#AND SHE FUCKING SCREAMED AT MY IN THE HALLWAY CAUSE SHE WAS MAD HER FILE WASNT DOWNLOADING

[blissfali]

girl i just got yelled at for no reason

[mystar-girl57]

𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲, 𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : Dealer!Ellie Williams x reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : Finally reaching our Crescendo and leading into our Coda of this story Ellie and you finally get some time to talk, but that isn’t until we see Seline’s madness from a different view point first

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : Seline, blood, violence, fighting, unconsciousness, like 3 lines mention on r!pe, head wounds, one homophobic slur aimed at you and Ellie

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 : I am not going to lie to you this is my first time writing a fight scene so its gonging to be absolute shit, and this is only partially proof read I am sorry i was eager to get this out. Also i know that Ellie’s name is just Ellie but i have a hc of when she’s in trouble or someone’s seriously trying to get her attention that she’s called Eleanor

You couldn’t stop the laughter that erupted from your throat while you, Jesse and Dina all stumbled down the hallway. The three of you looked like drunken soilders as you hand your arms around one another, you being sandwiched between the couple and you sang “I want it that Way” so off key that even AJ McLean would be put to shame. You all swayed side to side singing as loud as you could while trying to not fall making more giggles erupt from your mouths.

As you drew near to Dina’s room though you noticed that the door was wide open. The others noticed it too because soon your singing had ceased and you let go of each other. Jesse put you and Dina behind him and the two of you crept after him in a single file line. With every creak of the floorboards under your toes you winced. If someone was in there you knew for sure they had heard you.

Getting close to the opening, the three of you put your backs to the wall to listen for any commotion of the intruder inside.

“You drugged my drink, you took advantage of me while I was in that state! And because of that— because— because of you I lost that one good thing in my life. The one thing that was keeping me together, making sure I didn’t lose myself! Now she’s gone!”

Ellie?

“Oh please don’t be such a baby about it. Drugged or not you kept whining her name over and over again, you even called me that skank's name on the way here! You mistook me for her.”

The Blonde.

Without much thinking you stepped forward, around Jesse and rushed into the dorm. You found Ellie on the ground cornered by the blonde from the party. From her body language, the way she was folded in on herself, her green eyes wide with fear you knew she was scared. You watched the blonde grip Ellie’s jaw leaning in and that’s when you acted. You stepped back on your left foot, and with your right you stomped down. There was a satisfying thud and Ellie’s attacker was on the floor. You were absolutely seething. All this time you had thought that Ellie had just gotten bored of you and found someone else to fuck with but that wasn’t true at all! She was forced and that made you a whole other definition of anger.

Your eyes didn’t tear away from the blonde on the floor, even when Jesse came in to get Ellie out, even when Ellie’s screams to not leave you fell on your deaf ears you stood there fists clenched, your shadow casted on the woman’s body in front of you. The door slammed shut behind you sealing the apartment into darkness without the light of the hallway, your shadow disappearing.

“Get up.” You snarled walking over to the woman, you canvas sneakers thudding against the vinyl floor. You reached down and grabbed a fistful of the faux blonde hair, her dark roots showing. “I said get the fuck up!” You yelled, jerking her up. The woman’s now busted lip was pulled back in a bloody snarl. “Who the fuck do you think you are?!” You demanded.

“A bitch who’s better than you.” She chuckled spitefully.

And those words right there caused you to snap.

The fight was a flurry of hair pulling and nail clawing. The woman managed to force you to the ground, sending a harsh blow to your hairline with her sharp heel. You could feel the skin bust open followed by warm blood gathering. You were dizzy to say the least, your vision blurred and a loud ringing in your ears but you refused to give up. The woman raised her foot to stomp back down but with every ounce of strength you had left in you, you rolled onto your back and covered your face with your arms so the heel hit your forearm rather than your head again. When she hesitated, seeing you block her attack you took that moment to grab her ankle and push her off you.

Once the woman was off of you, you were able to get to your feet, using the wall as support. Had it not been for the anger and adrenaline in your veins you would’ve been out like a light on the ground already. Reaching behind the blonde you managed to get her in a choke hold, her shorter body wriggling against yours. “What the fuck is your name even?” You spat applying pressure.

An airy chuckle came from the woman as she turned her head slightly to the right so you could see her mean blue eyes. “Seline.” And without any warning she stamped down on your foot and bit down on your forearm. You felt the skin break and in a desperate attempt to get her off you grasped her hair once more and slammed her against the wall.

Seline instinctively let go and her body slipped from your grasp. You watched as she fell into a heap on the floor and you knew the fight was over. You had won.

It was a good thing too because you were starting to feel the after effects of your wounds with the adrenaline wearing off. Your head was throbbing, your legs wobbling as you struggled to walk to the door. You pulled it open, finding Jesse already standing there looking as if he was about to open the door himself.

You squint your eyes as the hall lights filtered in, making your pupils shrink from the sudden change of light to dark.

“Did ja’ win?” Jesse asked. You could tell he was trying to lighten the mood, probably shocked from your appearance. What had been probably a five to eight minute fight felt like it went on for hours.

You simply looked at him with the face of “not right now” before going over to Ellie and Dina. You weren’t sure what to say to Ellie at the moment. You had been so mad at her all these weeks that you didn’t even give her a chance to explain. Now you stood here feeling like a fool.

Seline came out after you, one of her broken stilettos in hand, her hair a mess and make up smeared and mixed with blood. A satisfied smile would’ve shown if you hadn’t been so damned exhausted. Seline went twoard’s Ellie and you instantly got closer to your girlfriend, ready for round two should it be needed.

“Y’know what Williams?” She growled “Enjoy your fucking animal you fucking dyke.” With that she spat on the white tip of your canvas sneakers. Oh it was time for round two. But Jesse, sensing what you were about to do, grabbed the back of your shirt to keep you from going forward. And it was a good thing too, you knew you didn’t have it in you to go through that fight again. You all watched her limp down the hallway and into the elevator, the doors closing with a ding. Punctuating that she was out of your life forever.

You looked at Ellie and she looked at you with a meek smile, but upon making eye contact she dropped that smile and looked away in shame. Why did she do that? Were you glaring? You were probably glaring. With Seline gone there was now an unasked question hanging in the air. What now? You and Ellie obviously needed to talk, but oh your head. You felt as if you were going to collapse at any moment.

Jesse’s words were muffled in your ears and you just absently responded “Got it.” to each command. He must have been satisfied because he pulled you gently, your body limply falling into his embrace. You could feel his worry roll off of him in waves. A part of you just wanted to close your eyes and pass out there, give into the sleep that was nipping your skin, its claws pulling at your shirt but you forced yourself to stand back up.

The blood started to collect at the corner of your jaw, collecting until it made a large drop and dripped down onto your shirt.

You weren’t sure what happened after that, you were working on autopilot. You lead Ellie into the dorm, splatters of blood on the wall and the floor. It looked like a crime scene.

Ellie took the lead, gently taking your wrist into her hand and leading you to the bathroom. She was worried, it was obvious that you needed to go to the hospital you were losing so much blood. She was shocked that you were still up and walking. You were shocked too.

Making it to the bathroom, Ellie sat you down on the lidded toilet. Your eyes were down, blurring in and out of focus. She cupped your jaw, her thumbs rubbing it over your bruised and bleeding cheeks. Ellie’s mouth was moving but the ringing in your ears was so loud that you couldn’t even make out what she was saying. You guessed that she had said something about you staying put because you watched her rush out of the bathroom.

Your body leached forward and you tried to grab onto the sink to stop the pull but gravity won and with a loud smack you hit the ground everything going black.

You blinked slowly, finding nothing but a cream color in your field of vision. It took a couple more blinks for the haze to wear off and for you to realize that you were looking up at the ceiling. But who’s ceiling? This one had green stars and planets littered on its surface looking back down on you.

The smell of the bed and pillow that you laid on wasn’t your own. It was more of a cologne than a perfume, a mix of woody patchouli and amber of ambroxan. Ellie’s cologne. The Luna Rossa that you bought her every Christmas and birthday with how fast she went through it. Turning your head to the left you saw a photo strip of you and Ellie making all sorts of different poses within the four frames. There was another one beside it too, a more recent one. With each photo you got more intimate.

The first you turned to look at each other, then in the next Ellie tucked your hair behind your ear, the third she cupped your jaw, the two of you moving closer, eyes starting to close and in the fourth one your lips connected.

Taking in all the pieces, the ceiling, the smells, the photos you were able to figure out that you were in Ellie’s room. Ellie. You sat up quickly, too quickly though. Your head was throbbing still and you put your hand to your wound only to find that it had been bandaged already.

“I would be careful moving if I were you.”

Your head shot up, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. There to your surprise was Ellie standing awkwardly in the partially opened doorway. From the light pouring in from the living room’s window behind her you could tell that it was morning.

“What time is it?”

“Around three in the afternoon.”

“Three in the afternoon?!” You sputtered trying even harder now to get up as you threw the fluffed up comforter off of your body. Your classes! Tests! Lectures! You had missed a whole day of school! “How long have I been out?!”

In your quick movements and your body still being fatigued you stumbled over yourself and the bed itself. Had it not been for Ellie (and well the bed) you would’ve fallen flat on your face.

“Easy, easy,” Ellie gently urged, holding your body to hers. “A little over twelve hours now, I was about to come check on you. Jesse said if you weren’t up within the next thirty minutes to call the hospital.”

You frowned but listened to her words, your eyes focused on her orange and red striped shirt. “Hospital? Why would we need to go to a hospital?” You were a whole world more confused. What trouble could you have possibly gotten into that would make you go to the hospital as well as you waking up in Ellie’s bed.

You remembered Dina bursting in your room announcing you were going out then forcing you to get dressed. Skip ahead to the party you and Jesse did shots together in celebration of your first outing without thinking of Ellie, then you remembered singing Drunken Sailor and Welerman to somehow get to I want it that Way while the three of you made it back to Dinas but after that everything was hazy.

“I tried to be quick,” Ellie sighed leaning against the bed with you wrapped up in her arms. “I was so scared she had killed you or that you were going to die from what happened. So when I saw you on the bathroom floor, all that blood I just, I didn’t know what to do I— I called Joel but he—”

Ellie’s words started to get caught as a lump formed in her throat. She couldn’t describe the fear she felt seeing you out on the ground wheezing in pain, your eyes closed and blood pouring out onto the white tile. She called Jesse who immediately came running back. Neither of them were sure what they should do. If they called an ambulance they would see the wounds and police would be contacted. Police would then want to search all the apartments and they would ultimately find Ellie’s weed selling stash causing you, Jesse, Dina n’ Ellie could all kiss your education good bye.

While in her panicked state, Ellie called Joel who did his best to keep the young woman calm while walking her through the process of cleaning your wounds and bandaging them. He had her focus on the worst one first; your forehead then he moved her down to the bite mark on your arm and then your busted knuckles and lastly a few cuts that litterared your body along with the various bruises that Seline had cursed you with. She knew that had she been in a better physical and mental state she would’ve gone after Seline herself. Make the woman feel the pain that you were feeling but tenfold. Let her understand the hell she had put the two of you through over the past month. Let her see—

Ellie’s thoughts were cut off when she felt something squeeze her body. Her cheeks were wet and droplets were falling onto her shirt and your hair. She didn’t even realize that she was crying until she heard you whispering comforting words into her ear while you hugged her shoulders. Ellie’s eyes squinted with more tears and she hugged you tighter sobbing into your shoulder. She thought she had lost you that morning you walked out, then when she found you in the bathroom. Would it take the third try for you to be gone? Ellie pulled you closer, shaking at the mere thought of having to go through that fear of losing you again.

“I know that you don’t forgive me,” Ellie mumbled into your hair after a while. “And I don’t blame you but—”

“Eleanore stop.”

Ellie instantly stiffened thinking you were upset but when you gingerly cupped her jaw, moving around so you were sitting in her lap; Ellie felt some relief. She wrapped her hands around your waist and forced herself to keep her head up looking at you.

“Ellie, I am not going anywhere.” You started while thumbing her jaw, “Yes, we definitely need to talk but we can fix this. I realize now you were serious when you said you had no idea what you were doing and I should’ve listened to you.” You looked down with a small sigh, “I was just so mad because she was on you all night and the other girls have done it too and I was worried that you had realized how much— how much— I don't know prettier they are, smarter, better than me. And you deserve better! There is so much that I want to give you but I struggle—”

It was your turn now to ramble out your thoughts in a quick and nervous tone, venting all the fears you had mixed in with the insecurities about your body, your brain, your abilities. And Ellie listened, she let you list off each one. With every check to that list she held you a little tighter, pulling you a bit closer until eventually she had you wrapped up in her arms.

It was clear to see that you two were cracked and broken both on the inside and out.

But the good thing about something being broken is you can fix it before it shatters.

© 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫-𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝟓𝟕 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬

🏷️ @flo-solerdiaz378 @ellieseater @l0v3e1i @sl-ut @hebrokeimup @siesie2 @yookayyo @hotgirlsshareaccounts @danveration @strawberryclaws @lanasluverr @niyaahhhhhhh @daddysfavoritesexkitten @moonlightdivine

[yikesharringrove]

Agitation (or disturbance of the mind)

Here is my piece for the Harringrove Big Bang!! I’m so so proud of how this piece turned out and I’m so excited to share it! @harringrovebigbang

Read on Ao3 (highly recommended. It’s over 16k).

Special thanks to my beta readers @thinger-strang @crispysteve without whom this story would’ve been scrapped in many fits of emotions.

Art for this story to be linked soon by @thedogsled

Check out this amazing moodboard by @memes-saved-me !!

Enjoy!

-

Steve Harrington is a liar. 

He always has been. 

Nearly everything about him is a perfectly crafted facade. 

From the story of his family’s move to Hawkins when he was eight, to the smile that slides easily onto his face when he tells Robin I’m fine. 

Steve is a liar. 

But it's all out of necessity. All for the greater of some good he isn’t all that clear on anymore. 

It was always about protection. 

Protecting his friends and everyone in Hawkins from the truth about Hawkins National Laboratory. 

Then it was about protecting himself from his powers. 

From the way his words had a knack of worming their way into someone’s brain. Of setting up shop inside and clanging around until they could do nothing but bow to his suggestion. 

Just because he could get his way with the right inflection and the telltale shiver down his spine, didn’t mean that that was okay. 

It was drilled into him the first night he arrived in Hawkins. 

After his file was stamped with a large red mark that read defective, he was given to one of the scientists and her husband. 

The Harringtons. 

A normal new family from Eastern Oklahoma. 

That’s what they told everyone. 

That’s what they made sure Steve parroted to everyone in his brand new school. 

His new father took a cigar to the tattoo on his wrist, welting the flesh with an ugly burn. He ignored Steve’s screams and tears. 

You have to fit in here, Steven, he had said, the cigar smoldering between his fingers, Steve clutching his wrist, eyes shining with tears. You have to fit in and be normal. 

So Steve lied. 

He smiled and told everyone he came from a normal family from normal Oklahoma. He said that he lived in a normal house, and read normal books, and played normal sports. 

And he tried, and failed, to convince himself the lab was a dream.

-

“We should do something after this.”

Steve was careful to keep his voice casual. He didn’t want to let Robin in on how much he was dreading returning to his empty house tonight. 

Robin didn’t acknowledge him. She was sorting the returned movies, placing them in piles of genre so they could easily be returned to their proper section. 

Steve quietly lifted his leg, and lightly kicked her hip. 

She glared at him. 

“Quit ignorin’ me. Just say yes, or no.” It’s not like if she said no it would crush him or anything. No. It’s fine. 

“I just have a bunch of homework that’s all, like, due tomorrow,” she said it slowly, as though telling him a beloved relative had died. 

Was it that obvious how lonely he is?

“Don’t worry about it, Buck.” Robin took school real serious. She had perfect grades every year and had already applied to sixteen colleges and universities, including four Ivy League options. 

So Steve didn’t blame her for not skulking around with him. 

With college-less, nowhere bound Steve. 

“I’m really sorry,” she began, getting that sad look in her eye like that night in the mall bathroom when Steve spilled his drugged-out guts. Literally, and metaphorically. 

“Nah, I was just lookin’ for something to do. It’s okay, Robin. Really.”

And it was. 

Almost. 

It’s just that, Steve’s not got a lot going for him right now. 

He’s got a big empty house, and a brain that likes to give him excessive nightmares, and one age-appropriate friend in the whole place. 

But he doesn’t wanna talk about all that shit. 

And Robin looked like there was something on the tip of her tongue. Something her teeth were barely holding back. 

So Steve just scooped up the stack of neatly ordered Action films, and made his way over to the far shelf, taking himself out of the situation before it would get to a place that would only make him lie more and more. 

Robin means well. He knows she does. 

It just feels like a lot of her well-meaning chats end up with Steve lying through his fucking teeth and Robin nearly in tears of frustration at his lack of openness with her. 

She feels like being tortured and drugged together gives them a close kind of kinship very few share. 

Steve feels like he’s got just too much fucked-up baggage to dump on her. 

Not when they’re trying to put the Upside Down behind them. 

Not that Steve could ever put it behind him. 

He felt something build in his gut. Something hot and heavy. Something that always meant his powers were scraping at the walls of the neat little cave he had shut them in. Something that meant his skin would burn until he unleashed some of his pent-up energy. 

He took a deep breath, blowing out the air slowly through his nose. 

He had rules to his power. Rules he had given himself, mostly. Things he’d never use his powers for. 

He tried to avoid his powers at all costs, but he had seen what could happen if he tried to tamp them down. It was less dangerous to open the lid of the box just a tiny bit. 

Especially if he did it right. 

He made his way back over to Robin, finding that spot in his brain that made a shudder zip down his spine. The spot that was made of cold and electric heat. 

It was always too simple when he let the power take over. 

Locate her feeling. Let him consume him. 

And then just, twist it as much as he wants. 

“Robin,” he spoke slowly, honing his suggestion. “You don’t have to feel bad about not spending time with me tonight.”

He felt her sadness and guilt about the evening recede about as fast as the tide. 

She really shouldn’t feel bad about ditching him, especially not when her education is the main priority. 

He matched her lazy grin, wiping his nose discreetly, only a small drop of blood smeared against his hand. 

The rest of the shift passed without incident, and the roaring feeling in Steve’s gut had been sated enough for the time being. 

So he pushed it back out of his mind, and returned to his empty house. 

He was saving up to get his own place. He really was. But it was easier this way. He didn’t pay any bills, had lots of space to himself, and a pool in the backyard (that he never used). 

And it’s hard for him to explain, but there’s something tugging him back into this house all the time. 

He doesn’t know if it’s because it’s the only home he ever knew after the pain and fear that was his childhood in the lab, or if it’s something else that makes him feel tethered to the too-big house. 

Sometimes he thought there was a sense of safety in the old place. 

With parents that spent excessive amounts of time doing research for things he didn’t understand but was sure were important, it was largely an emotion-free place. 

Which was good for Steve. 

High emotion situations made his power boil up and spill over the edge like a pot of water on the stove. 

A place like his empty house, he could keep everything in check. Not get his feelings tangled with those around him. Not catch thoughts that were just beginning to be molded into something brand new. 

He clambered into bed, punching his pillows around in a way that was decidedly not petulant. 

There was a steady silence in the old house. A silence that was as depressing as it was easy on his brain. 

And there wasn’t silence. 

Creaks. 

Creaks issuing from downstairs. From the floorboards in the hallway. 

Footsteps. 

Steve was out of bed in a second, bat held aloft in as close to ready position as he could maintain while bolting down the stairs in his socks and faded green gym shorts. 

He knew how to navigate the house without a sound. Practice of tip-toeing around a volatile not-father kinda ended up giving him something useful. 

The creaks were still progressing, moving up the hallway from the back of the house, where his parents’ empty bedroom sat still. 

The person was getting closer, lumbering slowly as if they were trying to be quiet themselves. 

Steve adjusted his grip on the bat, taking proper batting stance, ready for the intruder to round the corner into his section of the hall. 

First sign of a person, and Steve would swing. 

No questions asked. 

The floorboard before the bend in the hall gave a loud sound, and he could’ve sworn he heard someone curse under their breath. 

He closed his eyes, and swung. 

His bat sailed through the air, and connected with, not an intruder. 

And then he was filled with an overwhelming sense of fear. A completely feral state of fight or flight made him nearly bare his teeth in an animalistic growl. He felt fear, and dread, and pure stubborn, stupid resolve. 

It nearly blinded him, the emotions were so thick and clear. 

And then there whooshed out of him, as though being sucked up by a feelings vacuum, leaving him empty and confused. 

His top lip was covered in blood. 

He had a lot of fucking questions as he stared at the bat, hanging by it’s long nails in the hallway wall, the ominous creaking moving past him towards the stairs. 

The footsteps that were caused by no one. 

It’s official. 

Steve’s lost it. 

He’s fucking crazy. 

He’s hearing footsteps and voices swearing quietly, and he’s going mad and completely batshit and should be tucked away in a padded room for the rest of his life. 

He didn’t even bother to wrench the bat out of the wall as he stumbled after the imagined footsteps. 

He clearly needed to get a good night’s sleep, and to forget that anything happened at all tonight. 

-

Billy hates Harrington’s house. 

He doesn’t, really. It’s given him excellent shelter while he pulled himself together, and it’s out of town enough to serve as a good base for the little gang of Lost Boys he had accumulated. 

It’s just that, the old house likes to make a lot of noise. 

It keeps him on edge. 

Every squealing door hinge, and every creaky floorboard sets his teeth on edge and makes him whip around in a frenzy, expecting to see a demogorgon snarling at him from the sitting room. 

He nearly had a heart attack when he heard the thuds coming from upstairs. 

He generally liked to avoid the top floor of the house. 

Harrington’s bedroom was up there, and it wigged him out something fierce. He’d only been in the dilapidated version of it one time, his first night in the house he had claimed for safety. 

He didn’t intend to stay the night in there, he had just stumbled upon it, and curled up in the bed. 

He remembers not sleeping the entire night. He was so scared after coming to in the library, something slimy and disgusting slipping its way out of his throat. 

The whole place had been screaming, as though the Upside Down itself was alive. Alive and being horrifically murdered. 

He didn’t know what it was called then, all he knew was that Harrington’s house was the first one he came across, and that Harrington’s room was depressingly empty and impersonal. 

But, there was a thudding coming from that general area, and if some kinda shitty creature was making its way into the house, he needed to hedge it off before it did any damage. 

He took hold of his ax, never far from his side these days, and slipped out of his cot. 

The floorboards in the hallway were creaky, and he tried to walk slowly, muffling his footsteps as much as he could in his heavy boots, not wanting to warn the monster he was coming for it. 

He cataloged the crew in his head: Hopper had his troop of three in the basement where they were resting up for the supply run tomorrow. Timothy was on nightwatch with his team of five. Billy was in a pack with four others; Heather Holloway, her mother, Janet, and the two boys they found skulking around the library the same night everyone seemed to wake up. One of the boys was called Andrew. The other hadn’t spoken a single word the entire time they’d been trapped. 

Billy liked to call him by different names each time he referred to the kid. Trying to get him to laugh. He couldn’t’ve been more than seven years old, and he was trapped in this fucking hellscape with the rest of them. 

Andrew was thirteen. Billy didn’t like to look at him much. Andrew reminded him of Max. Which made Billy feel empty and achy in a way he didn’t think was very productive for survival.

But Andrew took a shine to Janet Holloway. Probably missing his mother and needing more comfort than his thirteen-year-old self was willing to admit.

The Holloway women were a hell of a lot feistier than Bill originally gave them credit for, saving his ass in a scrap just as often as he had been there for theirs. Heather and Janet were equal parts caring and soft, with the right amounts of clever and bossy to take point on their team. 

Billy let himself be the muscle. 

He let himself be the watchdog and attack dog. He took nightwatches and never let his weapons out of his grasp.

Everyone had a role. 

And that was perfectly okay.

They had to keep together in this world. They wouldn’t survive it otherwise. 

They’d all lost enough people to understand that. 

One of the boards gave a hefty creak under his left foot, and he breathed a quiet fuck through his bandana, listening for more of the thudding. 

It had stopped about forty seconds before, Billy had counted, and he couldn’t hear any other sounds of something forcing its way inside. Plus, the nightwatch hadn’t sounded any alarms. 

He took another step, ax held ready and aloft in case he came face to ugly face with one of the horrible creatures that prowled the night. 

He rounded the corner, and there was a loud bang on the wall next to his head. 

He jumped as paint chipped off the wall and flew all over him. 

He was hit with a feeling of intense fear, and adrenaline rush that caused all the blood in his ears to rush. He looked wildly around, seeing, nothing. 

Billy bared his teeth, ready to go down fucking swinging. 

As long as he took the fucker down with him, that’s all that matters. 

Save the rest. 

And he stood, ready to fight, ready to die. 

And there was nothing.

Nothing in the hallway. He was all alone. 

None of this shit made any sense. He hadn’t dreamed the wall cracked beside his head, and looking back, there were holes in the wall, and a big dent that had splinted the white paint and drywall beneath it. 

There was some fucked up shit going on, and Billy didn’t like it one bit. 

He continued down the hall, creeping to the stairs to check the original source of the noises that had woken him up. 

Harrington’s room was pretty much just as he remembered it from that first night in the house. 

It was sparse and sad-looking. The covers on the bed were all jostled and thrown around, the horrible spindle-like vines covering nearly every surface in the room. 

They had cleared the tendrils in other rooms, cutting them and burning them back, ensuring the vines didn’t start creeping over them when they weren’t looking. 

Billy didn’t fancy being covered and tethered by the slimy black vines. He was pretty much over all this Upside Down shit. 

He took a cursory look around Harrington’s room, not noticing any signs of forced entry from a creature, really nothing was out of place. 

The meager school trophies on the bookshelf next to the closet looked rotted and tarnished, just like everything else in this absolute hell called a parallel universe. There were few pictures in this room, much like the whole house. It had taken Billy a long time to notice the lack of inhabitancy the house had. The way it seemed to feel so cold and empty, it would be that way in the real world too. 

His eyes swept over the dilapidated dresser, cataloging the room quickly for anything that should worry him. 

Billy deemed the whole scene safe, and made sure to close the door tightly as he retreated back downstairs. 

-

Steve’s going fucking crazy. 

He was still in bed, his alarm clock ringing angrily at him as it had for the past six minutes. 

He hadn’t slept at all last night. 

Something just felt. Off. 

The feelings in his chest were scrambled, and they felt foreign to him. Like he had taken in somebody else’s emotions. 

But proximity was the key to his power, and he was alone. Alone alone. 

Like, the closest person was Mrs. Gardfeld in the next house, all the way across their combined, much too big, yards. 

It felt like. It felt like someone was in the house with him. Someone was in the house with him, and they were scared, and stubborn, and tired, and a flurry of things that made Steve feel ill. 

And he couldn’t push them out. 

He couldn’t find the chasm between this slew of someone else’s shit, and his own messy cocktail of feelings. 

The other feelings were like those awful vines in the tunnel. Snaking around under his feet, wiggling up his ankles and keeping him stuck in the mud. Wrapping around his own emotions and squeezing until they just merged into one. 

He’s lost the metaphor. 

Doesn’t matter. 

His feelings are fucked and his brain is fucked and his day is fucked. 

And he has to work a double at Family Fuckin’ Video. 

He found his way out of bed. Not going very far, just standing next to his warm nest of blankets, debating getting back in and hiding for the rest of his life. 

He was going to be late for work. 

He didn’t really give a fuck. 

Keith would be all smug and probably make some remarks about Steve not even being worth the less-than-minimum wage he was making. 

He took a shower, not so much cleaning himself as letting the lukewarm water cascade down on him and hope it got rid of the stench of sweat and anxiety and bad sleep that was clinging angrily to his skin. 

His brain was empty. 

Empty save for the pounding otherness that were these horrible fucking feelings. 

Robin didn’t even have the heart to call him out for being nearly half an hour late.

“You look like shit.”

No, she just called him out for looking like shit. 

“Y’know, it’s really wonderful to have such a caring and thoughtful friend in these trying times.”

She rolled her eyes. He always told her one day she was gonna get stuck like that. With her eyes permanently fixed towards the ceiling in exasperation. 

“Drop the attitude, Steve Harrington. Just because you didn’t sleep doesn’t mean I have to suffer.” 

Sometimes it was hard to tell if she was joking. Steve just clenched his jaw and stared at her blankly. Either she would get mad at him, or sigh and roll her eyes. 

She sighed and rolled her eyes. 

Bingo. 

She wasn’t actually mad at him. 

“You okay?”

“Jus’, some weirdness. Bad vibes.”

He couldn’t give her more than that. Couldn’t say I can feel someone else in my house and I don’t know if someone is hiding in my house or if I’m going crazy, oh and by the way, I was one of those freaky lab kids and I can manipulate and feel people’s thoughts and emotions, by the way.

That’s too much for a slow shift on a Saturday morning. 

That’s too much for really any time of any day.

No, Steve fully plans to take all that shit to the grave. Like a real man, his dad would say. 

“Well, if you could take your bad vibes back to rewind duty, that would leave all the good vibes up here to me.” She shooed him off with her hand, landing a quick slap square on his left asscheck when he groaned and dragged his feet dramatically on his way to the back room. 

Not that Steve would ever actually complain about rewind duty. Steve preferred doing it to anything else in the place. Especially re-shelving. That was just asking for someone to come ask him for a movie recommendation. Steve only watched the same five campy old westerns and when he recommends any of those, people seem to wanna get out of his face right quick. 

No, rewinding was dull and monotonous and solitary, all the shit that Steve really needed on a day like today. 

There was a strict routine and he didn’t have to think or do anything. 

Just sit. New tape. Rewind. Put in case. Put in re-shelve bucket. New tape. Rewind. Put in case. And again and again and again until all the tapes were ready to go. 

Hawkins tended to take out a lot of movies on the weekend. Not much else to do when you aren’t sixteen and ready to hit up any party you could possibly weasel your way into. 

So, Steve had about fifty some odd tapes to rewind from the past few days and he was feeling benignly excited about sitting in the small room for most of his shift. 

It was easy to pass the shift like that. 

Sitting with the quiet whirring of the tapes being tracked back to the beginning. Not having to deal with anyone’s thoughts except his own tedious ones about when he should take his lunch break and reminding himself to check the TV Guide for anything good tonight. 

It was an odd emptiness that took hold of him throughout the day. And he almost felt, well. 

Lonely. 

He almost felt lonely. 

Which is fucking bonkers because that horrible feeling of someone else had well and truly fucked him over last night, and well into this morning, but he kind. Missed. The other presence. 

He’s officially crazy. 

Someone find this boy a padded fucking cell because Steve Harrington has officially gone all kinds of batshit bananas wacky. 

He’s feeling lonely because the horrible not his feelings of fear and anger and betrayal and desperation aren’t clogging up his little brain sink. Even when they were, the brain sink was threatening to burst and leak all over his brain kitchen. 

Or something to that effect. 

He let his eyes unfocus, watching Jaws at double speed and backward for the fourth time that day. 

There was something about the foreign feelings he just couldn’t quite wrap his head around. 

Something twinging in the back of his brain, screaming at him to open his eyes and pay attention. 

But that’s never been Steve’s strong suit. 

-

“Stupid. Fucking. Vines .”

Hopper muttered to himself a lot. 

It was usually too muffled underneath his own bandana face covering and the hefty beard he had been sporting to discern whatever he was thinking, but it’s not like hating the awful black tendrils of gross plant/monster/everything-that-made-up-the-Upside-Down hybrid of vine-ish tentacles was something that just Hopper experienced. 

It was a sentiment they all shared as they hacked away at the new growth in the dilapidated Bradley’s Big Buys. 

They had already ransacked the general store five times over, and took as much as they could salvage from the wreckage of the other-dimensional mall. 

Supplies were needed, and they had to be smart about it. 

Things had been quiet lately. 

Not many beasties out and about since the night they all seemed to come to. 

Hopper had said something about the gate closing and the brain being cut off from the body. 

Billy hadn’t listened. 

He’d been scared off his ass and all that had really registered was clear for now. 

So, they made supply runs. And poked around town for any survivors left to take back to Basecamp Harrington. Only Billy called it that. 

They had the runs down to a system. 

Pry away any vines they could, burning them back as they went, making enough room to slip into the bargain store, gather as much canned food and grimy medical supplies as they could manage, and book it back to the relative safety of the big house on the edge of the forest. 

Nobody talked about what they’d do when they ran out of supplies. When they’d exhausted their resources and were stuck with nothing but the vines on the ground and the spores in the air. 

Billy got it. 

It’s not like he wants to hear he’ll probably die of starvation and/or a gangrenous infection before he’s eighteen. 

They just. Make do. 

Ration food and keep each other safe. 

Always thinking about the minute they’re in and the minute coming up. Not looking too far forward. 

There’s nothing to see too far in the future. 

Billy crashed the blunt end of his ax through the sliding door at the front of the store, clearing away as much as he could. 

Janet and Andrew would slip inside first go, taking as much as they could carry with them. Next round, Heather would take the little one and gather anything left. 

Billy would keep watch. 

He always kept watch. 

Things had been too good for too long. 

After the first wave of those who didn’t make it, the whole broken side of the Earth was too kind to them. Not sending horrible fleshy monsters to nearly suck out their very souls. 

Billy didn’t think this could last for much longer. 

Heather took the little one by the hand, rushing past her mother and Andrew as they returned with their supplies. Billy did a quick scan of them, noting no new injuries. Nothing out of the norm. 

Supply runs were choreographed down to the minute. 

Should the group not return in forty-five minutes, a search team was sent out. 

The small group trudged back to the Harrington safehouse, keeping in the shadows, not a single one of them daring to speak. Billy walked slightly behind the others, never letting himself relax for a single second. 

Things were too quiet.

-

The feeling hit Steve over the head like a sack of bricks being whacked against his skull. 

Walking into his home was like walking into a stinking den of fear and anxiety. The air was clogged with so many emotions Steve felt like he was choking on them, slowly being crushed under their weight. 

Whoever was emitting all these, Steve felt sorry for them. He can’t imagine living with this much bad energy taking up space in someone’s brain. He could barely cope with his own terrible bullshit. He doesn’t know how someone could cope with this. 

He tried to move through his evening to the best of his ability. 

He nearly set the house on fire when he left the tin foil covering on his frozen meal, causing the microwave to spark angrily at him, the potatoes underneath the corner of foil that had nearly caught fire to smolder and blacken. 

Even in the shower, the water as hot and steamy as he could stand, he felt that prickle he couldn’t get rid of. 

Like if he could just close his eyes and reach out far enough, his fingers would brush someone else. Someone nearby. 

He’s felt it before. That there was a person just out of reach. A person he could feel clear as a bell, but couldn’t alter. Couldn’t manipulate. Just had to experience everything that was going on inside and try to hold on for the ride. 

He wore headphones to bed, blasting a mixtape Robin had made for him last month. Something with a lot of heavy guitars and girls wailing about society. 

He doesn’t think it was all that good, but it helped. Helped him feel like maybe the person wasn’t seeping into his own soul. 

And the whining synth of Patti Smith finally let him get some goddamn sleep. 

  “Hello?”

It was his house. 

But it wasn’t his house. 

It was a blank void. It was nothing. It was nowhere. 

But for some reason, his brain kept telling him it was his house. 

“Harrington?”

It was Billy. Hargrove. 

But it wasn’t Billy. 

He was dirty, covered in soot and horrible black sludge that made Steve’s stomach churn. 

“Why are you in my house?”

Billy looked around the blank void all around them. Water sloshed on the floor, lapping at Billy’s black boots. Steve observed his own toes. 

He was barefoot, but he couldn’t feel the water. 

“This is your house?”

Steve didn’t want to explain. 

“You’re dead.”

“Could be soon.”

Nothing Billy said made any sense. But then, Billy never made much sense when he was alive, either. 

He was an enigma to Steve. A big question mark all wrapped up with a gorgeous face and perfect body.

“Where is this to you?”

Why was Steve’s brain so adamant on declaring this place his house?

“Somewhere safe.”

-

So. 

That’s something. 

Dreaming about Harrington. 

Not necessarily something that Billy wanted to have happen to him while he was experiencing the worst possible time in his life. 

Or maybe he did. 

He’d said it in the dream. 

Somewhere safe. 

It’s what he felt in that blackness. 

Safety. Warmth. Hope. 

All the shit he hasn’t felt since he opened his eyes in the rank-ass library. 

That darkness was like a harness, keeping him grounded to something real. Tucking him in gently at night and kissing him on the head. 

It made waking up that much shittier. 

Knowing he’d be on nightwatch with Heather and Janet tonight, he used resting up as an excuse to lay on his cot, hardly moving in the clouded air. 

He needed to process. 

There was something so fucking weird about that dream. 

It felt real in the moment, and he didn’t question anything that had happened. 

Why there was water on the ground at his feet? Why Harrington was there wearing pajamas Billy could only describe as skanky? All of this made perfect fucking sense to dream Billy. 

Awake Billy, had some fuckin’ questions. 

Mostly, those previously listed. As well as: what the fuck?

He blames seeing Steve specifically on being in his house. That makes sense. You tend to think about a guy quite a lot when you’re living in the broken shell of his family home. He blames seeing Steve in those itsy-bitsy shorts and a homemade cropped t-shirt on the well repressed sexual interest he refused to admit he felt towards the guy. 

All that made sense. 

But everything else. 

Steve said he was dead. 

Was he dead?

Was this Hell?

Purgatory?

He’s read The Divine Comedy, and this doesn’t quite match up with any of the shit Dante waxed on about. 

And dream Billy didn’t think that was a weird thing to say to someone. To accuse them of being dead. He just said could be soon and then acted like that was a normal fucking response. 

His head was spinning out of control. 

The only thing that made sense was when Billy said they were somewhere safe. 

Because, they were. 

Even in the void place, he knew they were safe. 

There was a small tapping sound on the wall next to the open door frame. 

The door had long since rotted right through. 

“Miss Janet sent me to see if you’re alright.”

Andrew was always calling Janet Holloway Miss Janet. 

It makes Billy wonder if manners like that were beaten into him by a father like Neil. 

He hopes not. 

He likes Andrew too much for that. 

Andrew hovered around while Billy swung himself out of his cot. 

He changed out the bandana over his mouth and nose. 

Most of them slept fully dressed, even with their shoes and socks still firmly on their feet. 

You had to be ready to go at the slightest sound of Bad in this place. 

Plus, everything was so goddamn dirty, what’s a little mud in the sheets in the grand scheme of things? And the rancid rotting smell of the Upside Down did wonders to cover the smell of body odor.

Billy followed Andrew down the L-shaped hallway, to the sitting room where he found Janet and Heather huddled together on one couch, the little one between them. 

“Apparently something happened on the run last night.” 

Billy’s blood ran cold. He couldn’t make out Janet’s expression under her face covering. The little one got up from his spot on the couch, standing in Billy’s shadow. He liked to do that. Billy figured he felt safe behind someone so much bigger and stronger than him. Someone with a big fuckin’ weapon that was never too far away. 

“Who’d we lose?”

“No one. Everyone’s okay. Hopper just called all of us for a discussion, then went to the basement.”

The basement was Hopper’s domain with his little chunk of the crew. 

He had found some busted up H.A.M. radio from somewhere he refused to explain, and spent all the time he wasn’t watching over his shoulder for threats or gathering supplies from smashed grocery stores, trying to fix it up, tuning it to different crackling stations, and yelling into it. 

El. El, I need you to copy if you can hear me. El!

-

The pillow was a mess of blood the next morning. 

It was congealed and cracked and tacky against his face and made the pillowcase stick to his cheek and his bloody upper lip in a way that kinda made Steve wanna puke a little bit. 

His nose had bled in the night. 

He never got nosebleeds. 

Unless he used his power. 

And that dream. 

That blank void space and that mucky scraggly Billy lookin’ like the hunky star of some apocalypse movie.

Wait.

Blood forgotten, smeared on his face and neck, Steve tossed himself towards the phone on his nightstand, smacking his shoulder against the wooden corner and tumbling to the floor, his legs still tangled in his sheets on the bed. 

He couldn’t deal with anything, snatching the phone up and punching in the only number that was grinding through his head. 

“ Pick up pick up pick up pick up pick up, ” he muttered into the receiver. 

His upper body was still flopped over to the plush carpet, legs twitching and shaking on the bed with his anxiety. 

He’s had some massive fucking realizations and he needs backup. 

“This is the Byers.”

“Put El on the phone.”

-

“Oh. Steve’s covered in blood again. The Upside Down must really be back,” Dustin said in complete monotone as Steve opened the door. 

Steve couldn’t give less of a fuck right now. 

He felt like he was on the verge of a major breakthrough, all coming in the neat package of a major breakdown. 

He felt manic and shaky and so what if he forgot he was covered in the aftermath of a superpower-nosebleed-explosion?

“Shut up. Just get in.”

El had rallied the old troops from St. Paul, calling everyone at the ass-crack o’fuck in the morning and saying something about catching some weird Hawkins vibes all the way from Minnesota. 

It was a fucking weak excuse, but explaining the whole Steve situation was just not really in the cards today. 

He’s got an agenda and they need to stick to it. 

Robin said she’d gather Max on the way to Steve’s place, and Nancy was probably hauling Mike and Lucas over faster than a speeding gun or whatever that expression is, so all Steve had to do was get his story straight. 

“And maybe you should think about putting on a clean shirt? At the very least. I’d say, maybe just start over. Take a shower. Powerwash your face, even.”

“When the fuck did you become sarcastic ?”

“Right after you became friends with the coolest chick on the planet and then decided you’re too good for her.”

“ Chick. Don’t call Robin a chick. And I’ve told you, we’re just friends. I’m not too good for her.”

Really, Steve thought she was too good for him. 

Well, that, and there’s the whole part where she’s super totally not into guys at all. 

“So, what’s this all about, anyway? Mike said on the phone that El called him and left a really cryptic message.”

“Look. She called me to explain and ask if everyone could meet here,” Steve lied. “I’ll give you guys a recap once the rest of the gang shows.”

“But she thinks there’s something going on with the Upside Down? Again ?”

“I think she knows there’s something going on with the Upside Down.”

The more Steve sat with the memory of how Billy looked in that dream, the more he was certain of where he was. 

Billy had been ratty. His normally perfect hair was long and limp, greasy on top and matted around his face. He was sporting a patchy beard, nothing like the fuckin’ pornstache the guy had been rocking all last summer. 

And he was filthy. Covered in grime and dirt, and Steve’s sure if he’d looked harder, he would’ve seen traces of that viscous black goo that only meant bad news. 

There was a squeal of tires, an alarm signaling the arrival of Nancy in her mother’s station wagon, toting her brother and Lucas. 

“I’m in this now, Lucas Sinclair!” came Erica’s voice from the entryway. 

Steve was tapping his foot impatiently.

“Erica, you accidentally found out about all this!”

“So did you!”

The Sinclair siblings’ bickering was only cut by the sound of the Wheeler siblings snapping at one another in turn.

“Am I the only one that thinks it doesn’t make sense to meet up this early? El and Will are like, seven hours away!”

“Mike! It doesn’t matter. We all have to talk and figure out what’s going on.”

The sounds of arguments all quieted abruptly as the four people rounded the corner and caught sight of Steve.

“Oh, Jesus. Who kicked your ass this time?” Mike snipped at Steve. 

Oh, yeah. He keeps forgetting he’s covered in his own nose blood. 

“What? It’s nothing. I kicked my own ass. Just take a seat.”

“I told you to-”

Steve didn’t wanna hear it. 

He loves all these people, but his head kinda felt like it was full of mushy jelly and runny pudding and all the loud talking wasn’t doing much to help. 

He stepped out onto the porch, snagging the pack of cigarettes he kept stowed in the flower box next to the door. 

It took two to finally tame his nerves any. 

Sitting there with all the people in his house waiting for an explanation, he kinda felt like his haphazard plan was shit and going to fall through immediately. 

Just tell them El called. Tell them she saw Billy in the nowhere place and she thinks he’s alive. Easy as pie. 

The tell-tale sound of a skateboard making its way closer and closer announced Max before he saw her. 

Robin was pedaling next to her, helmet lopsided on her head and not buckled underneath her chin. 

They were talking animatedly to one another, their laughter dying as soon as they saw Steve waiting for them.

“Fuck. So this is real.”

“Why does everyone think I got the shit beat outta me?”

“Your ass gets creamed every time some spooky shit goes down in this place, Harrington,” Max informed him. 

She was a little Billy replica, all the way down to the way the corner of her mouth twitched up when she said his name. 

It would’ve been sad. The way she tried to become her brother after losing him so violently last summer. 

But something like relief settled into his bones, strong and real and wait ‘til I tell her Billy’s not dead and he was laughing. Curling in on himself cackling so hard his stomach had already begun to get sore

“Fuck. He’s lost it,” Robin sighed, ditching her bike next to Dustin’s and heaving Steve up, both hands underneath his armpits.

-

Nobody dared speak. 

“And you’re sure? You’re positive you heard one of those things?”

Janet had her arms twisted over her chest, her jaw tight as she watched Hopper’s every move. 

“It’s not really a sound you forget.”

Billy’s hand was shaking, he was gripping the ax so hard. 

“So, we’re fucked,” Angela said harshly. Her cold voice sent ice down Billy’s spine. “If those things are back, we don’t stand a fucking chance.”

Hopper scrubbed his hand over his brow, sighing through the cloth over his mouth and nose.

“It just means I have to try harder. I can get to El, I know I can.”

Hopper said that a lot. But he never explained what getting to El meant. 

Heather had explained she met El once, but she said it was weird and she only saw her like some kind of shadow, a figment in this dark empty place. Somewhere as cold and broken as the Upside Down felt. 

The little one was leaned up against Billy, his left hand balled in the edge of Billy’s leather jacket. He stood like that a lot. It was grounding for Billy. Kinda like holding Max’s hand when she was young and still thought he was the coolest person she’d ever met. 

“But, you only heard something, right? So it very well could be nothing.” Timothy was good at keeping mediator. He always kept a level head and talked slowly and calmly. They needed someone like him in this nightmare.

“They make this noise. This kind of wet chirping. Like this gurgle that just sounds like they’re watching you, ready to pounce out at any time, shrieking and attacking. It’s not a sound you forget.” Hopper had this horrible haunted look on his face, and Billy fucking believed him. 

“Then we up nightwatch. Stick together,” Billy offered. He never usually piped up with strategy, but that’s the best he’s got, and frankly, he thinks it’s the only way they’d all be able to make it through. 

“Exactly. We move in a pack now. Keep track of everyone together, and stay aware of what’s around us. I think we should do a major run and then lock up for a few days to see what goes down.” 

Hopper leaned back in the ratty armchair he was taking up, looking around to see if anyone challenged his ideas. 

Billy had given up his alpha male attitude the second Hopper yanked his upper arm and nearly screamed at him, asking Billy if he was ‘one of the flayed’ all while aggressively checking him over for injuries. 

First time any of Neil’s lessons actually sunk in. 

Respect and responsibility. 

If that fucker could see Billy now, doing nothing but respecting authority and taking responsibility for all these peoples’ lives. 

“We should rest up. Take a run tonight. Get a lay of the land,” Timothy said with an air of finality. Nobody argued. 

Hopper nodded. 

Everyone broke out from the Harringtons’ living room, milling around to get prepared for tonight’s run. Taking stock of what they needed to keep going for the next few days. 

Billy was itching to slide back into his cot and try to seek out that space if he can. The empty space where Harrington and that warm feeling of safe existed. 

The little one stayed clinging to his jacket, and Billy took a loose hold of his wrist, trying to provide some kind of basic comfort to the tiny kid. 

“You wanna go raid the cabinet?” The kid stared up at Billy with big eyes. Billy could never tell what color they were in the gloom. He thinks maybe green. 

The cabinet was a large door, built into the wall of the sitting room, and clearly where the Harringtons kept their games. 

They had these excruciating couple thousand-piece puzzles, the pictures peeling and faded on the pieces. They had Trivial Pursuit and backgammon, and all kindsa shit. 

The little one went and pulled out the checkers board. That was the only game Billy knew how to play anyhow. 

He and Max used to sit for hours, playing with this dinosaur-themed checker game Max’s dad got for her one birthday. 

It helped, playing a game. Helped pass the time. Help bait the anxiety. 

Helped them all feel a little bit closer to human.

-

“I don’t. Get it.”

Apparently, Nancy was not the only one, if the blank stares Steve was receiving from around his living room were anything to go by. 

“Yeah, why did she call you ?” Mike’s snitty tone was really grating on Steve’s fragile nerves.

“She said, she called to make sure everyone could come over here before she told you all to just show up this early on a Sunday morning and then she kinda explained what happened.”

Max was white as a sheet, tracking Steve like he was playing a horrible joke on her. 

“And she saw Billy. Billy Hargrove .” 

Steve nodded at Dustin. 

“Why does she think he’s in the Upside Down?” Robin asked, perched on the coffee table, sitting closest to where he was standing nervously. 

“She just knows .”

It was frustrating, trying to impart the seriousness of the situation without just spilling his guts. 

He rubbed absentmindedly at the cigar burn on his wrist. 

“I just don’t believe this. I talked to her three days ago, and she’s still having trouble with her powers. She can barely move a book, and hasn’t been able to get to the void since July, and you’re saying she accidentally saw Billy Hargrove, who we all saw murder a bunch of people and then get killed -”

“Shut up! He wasn’t himself!” Max shrieked out over Mike, the only time she’d even opened her mouth since Steve had mentioned her stepbrother’s name.

“Even if he is alive, El couldn’t have seen him! It doesn’t make sense!” Mike’s voice rose over Max’s, and Steve has a fucking headache and he’s over it.

“It was me! I had a dream. I went to the void. I saw Billy in the Upside Down. I called El to say she saw him.” 

Everyone went dead silent, staring at him.

“Steve,” Robin began, searching his face.

It was like all the wind that had been filling up his sails, powering his energy ship, had suddenly quit blowing. 

Steve was tired. 

He sank to the floor, crossing his legs where he sat.

“I need you all to shut the fuck up for a moment and let me explain, because I only wanna say all this shit once.” He covered his bloody face with his hands. “I’m like El.”

That statement hung in the air for a moment. 

And then there was a roar of noise.

“How could you keep this a secret?” Dustin shouted.

“Not in a million years !” Lucas decided. Erica yelled something back at him, vaguely defending Steve, which was nice.

“You mean you came from the lab?” Mike had a look on his face like he’d swallowed a particularly bitter lemon. 

“Everybody, shut the fuck up!” Max roared, glowering at each person until they were silent again. 

In all this Robin hadn’t said a word. She was pale, staring at Steve.

“Look, I don’t wanna go into it because it fucking sucks to think about,” Steve still hadn’t uncovered his face. “But yeah. I was in the lab. I got out because they decided I was a failed experiment. My mom worked at the lab and she took me and we pretended like the three of us moved here from Oklahoma and my dad told me never to tell anyone. And I haven’t. Didn’t even tell El. She recognized me from then. Don’t even know how, I left when she was like, three. Doesn’t matter. I’m a freaky lab kid and last night I fell asleep and saw Billy in that-what’d you call it? The void? Yeah, I saw him, and he’s covered in dirt and gross black Upside Down shit, and he’s fucking stuck there, and now we’re here.”

There was another silence. 

Steve didn’t dare to look at any of them.

He didn’t want them to laugh in his face. Tell him he was making all this shit up and leave him alone to deal with Billy trapped somewhere else. 

He wanted them to take his word for it. To quietly believe this crazy fucking shit of a story because the scared other feeling was back and clawing at his spine and making him want to burrow into the ground and find somewhere safe and secure and-

“Okay.”

Of course it was Robin. 

It was always Robin. 

Steve let himself look at her. 

She was pale, but she was smiling at him. 

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Steve nodded once.

“Okay. Uh, great.”

“Wait, if you’re defective, no offense, then how did you see Billy?” 

Steve stared at Max weighing his answer carefully. 

“Because, well, the defective thing, that was all, I didn’t mean to, that was before I really understood what I could do. Don’t get me wrong, it really worked out, but it was an accident.”

“Spit it out, Sailor Man.”

“ Erica .”

Erica just rolled her eyes at Lucas. 

“Okay. Uh, before I explain, just, just keep in mind that I have rules, and I don’t use my powers if I can avoid them, and I’d never use them to be a creep, but-”

“Steve!”

“Fine!” The words were right there, ready to tumble out of his mouth and ruin his life forever. 

There was no going back after this. 

The second they knew, everything would be different.

“I can feel other peoples’ emotions and, like, change them.”

Another silence.

“I don’t understand.”

Nancy was the last person he’d ever want to have this conversation with. 

He knows what she’s thinking. He knows that the great anger brewing inside her is because she assumes he made her like him. Made her attracted to him. 

Made her want him. 

“I don’t use it like that. I would never, put something there that shouldn’t be there. It’s just, When someone feels something near me, I can tap into it. Let it become my own feelings. And then I just, change it. Just a little.” He cast around for a harmless example because so far, everyone was staring at him like a goddamn creep. “Robin!”

She startled slightly when he yelled at her.

“Okay, so Robin. I’d never, ever make you feel something not true to you. Like, I’d never make it so you were into me when you’re totally not, right?” He cast a glance at Nancy. “But, like, the other day, when you felt really shitty when I invited you over and you were studying, I just, I made it so you wouldn’t feel bad. I felt all this guilt you had for leaving me alone when you thought I was having a shitty day, and I made it so you didn’t feel guilty because you shouldn’t. That’s the kinda level I allow myself to work on.”

The look Robin was giving him was breaking his fucking heart. 

Worse still, was the feeling of betrayal that began eating away at her. 

“So, right now. You can tell what we’re all feeling?” Even Lucas, ever the level-headed one, couldn’t look him in the eye.

“I don’t want to. I don’t try to, but I can’t really avoid it. I just try to ignore it. But sometimes, sometimes if I bottle it all up for a while, it comes crashing out of me, and that’s when bad shit happens. If I don’t use it occasionally, it only wakes things worse, and I-”

“I can’t hear this.”

Robin’s anger crashed through Steve like a wave, nearly knocking him over. She stood, towering over him. 

“When we were in that bathroom, all drugged out of our minds. I-” she sniffed, rage tears pooling in her eyes. Steve likes her eyes. So crystal blue. “Are we even really friends?”

Her last question was nothing more than a whisper. 

And it made Steve wish he was never born.

He gaped at her like a dead fish.

“Rob, of course we are! I would never-”

“Because I hated you. And then one summer. Two whole months where we’re close enough that you can get all up in my brain, and suddenly I’m telling you shit I’ve never told anyone before.”

“It wasn’t, Robin I swear, that whole time, I never once used-”

She held up her hand, cutting him off. 

A sob caught in his throat as she turned on her heel. 

She slammed the door closed behind her. 

Another fucking silence. 

Steve couldn’t look anyone in the eye.

Their feelings were enough for him now, betrayal and anger and disappointment rushing into his lungs, drowning him. Choking him. 

“You’ve used them on all of us.”

It wasn’t a question. 

It was just a statement. The coldest he’s ever heard Dustin sound. 

“I just want everyone to be happy.”

“Jesus, Steve. You realize that’s actually totally fucked up, right? You can’t just make us feel whatever you want,” Dustin bellowed at him, standing up like Robin had done, looking down at Steve where he sat pathetically on the floor. 

And, when it’s put like that. 

Sure. 

It’s kinda fucked up. 

But he’s only ever meddled in a way that’s good. He only ever tries to make his friends feel the positives. Hell, on the night of that stupid Snow Ball, he’d given Dustin enough self-confidence to make Madonna seem insecure. 

All he does is try to help. 

“All I do is try to help.”

More fucking silence. 

Steve was so goddamn sick of silence. All he had was silence. He had the nothing, empty quiet. And he didn’t want it from the people who were supposed to make his life loud. 

“El won’t be here until later tonight. I think we should just meet up then.”

Steve buried his head in his hands, biting back sobs as the small group filtered out of his house. 

This is why he had wanted to take this secret with him to death. 

He told everyone who he really is, and now they all hate him, and he’s completely alone, and wherever Billy is he’s fucking scared and-

“Steve?”

Max’s voice was small, mirroring the way she was curled in on herself in the plush armchair near the wall. 

“Do you really think Billy’s alive?”

Steve nodded at her, desperately begging her to stay. To help him. 

“I know he is.”

“I have an idea.”

-

He doesn’t remember falling asleep. 

Doesn’t remember much of anything in this place. 

He studied the water lapping at his muddy boots, dragging his toes through it to make the water wave and ripple. 

It didn’t make a sound. 

“I want to help.”

Billy knew Steve was there even before he spoke. 

Something about the warmth he brought to the void place. 

The safety. 

“Don’t know if you can.”

Steve’s lips twitched into a ghost of a smile at that. His face was covered in blood, dried and flaking away from his skin, painted all the way down his face and neck, some staining the collar of his shirt.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“That happens when the only interactions you have with a guy are to beat his ass.”

Steve cracked a real smile at that. Something big and bright that made Billy’s gut twist in a way he didn’t quite like. 

“You’re forgetting all those other times we spent together. You’re not very subtle, you know.”

Yeah, Billy knows. 

Mostly because he wasn’t trying to be subtle. 

He had talked to Steve about his bitchy ex while they both had their dicks out in the shower. He was trying to be very much un-subtle. 

“Wasn’t trying to be.”

“I know.”

Oh. 

Steve knows. 

And all he had done was stare blankly at Billy. 

Nice. 

“I need to know where you are.”

“Why?” 

“Because I can help.”

Billy just blinked at Steve. 

“Do you know El?”

Something funny happened to Steve’s face. He kind of gave a little smile that flickered into a frown and landed on something a little pinched and awkward. 

“Yeah. How do you know her?”

“Hopper keeps saying he needs to get to her. None of us know what he’s talking about.”

And with that, Steve’s eyes went huge, and his jaw dropped. The water at Billy’s ankles sloshed quietly. 

“Hopper’s there? Chief Hopper? Jim Hopper is there?”

“Jesus, yeah. Been here since we all woke up.”

Steve acted like Billy had told him that Farrah Fawcett herself was on her way to shave his head. 

Meaning, he looked struck fucking dumb. 

“I’m gonna need you to explain.”

“I don’t know. Don’t remember much. Crashed my car on one of your shitty backwoods roads, and then everything is just, kinda, gone. I woke up in this shithole version of the library and Hopper found me here and we’ve kinda set up camp.”

Billy shrugged lamely. Something was dripping, he could hear the sound of it far behind him.

“There’s more of you? How many?”

“Not as many as there should be.”

Steve’s mouth pinched, and his big droopy eyes went all sweet and sad. 

“Where are you? Where’s the camp?”

Billy was suddenly embarrassed. There was a sound like a stream flowing over rocks.

What’s he supposed to say? The hellscape skeleton of your house oh and by the way all your stuff is here and I slept in your bed once because I was scared and sad.

“Someone’s house. Don’t know whose.”

Steve huffed some air out of his nostrils, his mouth pinching again. 

Billy hadn’t realized someone could make so many different expressions just by pursing their lips in different ways. 

“Find out. We’re coming to get you.”

A crash of a wave, and Billy was back in hell. 

-

Steve sucked in lungfuls of air, tossing the towel that had been covering his eyes to the ground. 

“You saw him.” 

Max was sitting in front of him, the t.v. playing static behind her. 

“Yeah. He’s okay. I mean, he’s really gross. Like, he’s-sorry. He’s okay.”

Max was still staring at him like she didn’t quite know how to proceed. 

“But he’s in the Upside Down?”

“Yeah. And there’s others. He said Hopper’s there, that he’s been trying to contact El.”

“Wait, Hopper? He’s alive?”

“Billy said all of the flayed woke up after the Fourth of July in the Upside Down. He doesn’t know anything that happened in this world, and Hopper was there and they’ve set up, like, some kind of camp, or whatever. He said they’re in someone’s house. He doesn’t know who.”

“ Fuck .”

Yeah, Steve agrees with that sentiment. 

This whole thing was like, kind of a lot. 

And deep inside him, those other feelings had yet to leave him alone all day. 

There was some kind of disappointment knocking about in his brain. 

He knows it’s Billy. 

All of those other feelings, it’s whatever Billy is feeling right that minute wherever he is. 

And it only happens when Steve is-

“Max, he’s here.”

She whipped around behind her, staring at the front door like Billy could waltz through it at any moment. 

“No, no not here, here .” She clearly didn’t understand. He used the towel to wipe the fresh blood from his upper lip, still having yet to clean himself up any. “The camp, the safeplace, it’s here. They’ve set up in my house!”

It felt like a revelation on par with the greatest inventions. Steve felt like the scientist that landed the man on the moon or the very first person to melt cheese onto fries. 

A genius. 

“So, he’s, I mean, he could be, just, here .” She looked over the room wistfully, and Steve knew how she felt. Like she wanted to pierce her hands into thin air, tearing a hole in between the two worlds and ripping Billy straight outta hell. 

(Really, she just filled him with a wave of fierce determination, but Steve likes to take poetic license on other people’s feelings sometimes.)

“And you can feel him.”

“Yeah.”

“Is he, okay?”

And he knows this question. 

Not the okay he assured her of when he first saw Billy. Soothing that he wasn’t missing any internal organs or possessed by any monsters. 

She wants to know if he’s held it together. 

“He’s scared. He’s always scared. But he’s really fucking stubborn, and he- I don’t know why he feels these things, but sometimes he gets kinda sad. Almost like he’s lost something, and sometimes, it feels like he’s caught fire, and his insides are just going up in flame and he gets overwhelmed by them. And sometimes he feels-” He hadn’t meant to continue.

“Tell me.”

He’s pretty sure Max knew what he was going to say next. 

She just wanted it confirmed. 

“Hopeless. Sometimes he feels hopeless.”

She sniffed, her eyes shining as she looked anywhere that wasn’t Steve. 

“But, we know now. He doesn’t have to be hopeless anymore. We’ll find a way in, and we’ll get him out.”

He didn’t want to manipulate her. 

He didn’t want to cross the boundaries everyone clearly thought he already had. 

But he was positive he would find a way to Billy. He was positive he would get him out and get him home. 

He sent a wave of that determination and hope and conviction to her. 

“Yeah. We’ll get him.”

-

“Hopper, man, some funky shit is going down.”

Hopper whirled around quickly, halfway to his feet and asking who's been hurt before Billy raised both hands, acting like he was calming an anxious horse.

“Nah, sorry, shoulda worded that better. I just mean, something’s happened to me. With me, maybe. I don’t know. Just hear me out. This shit’s gonna sound, insane.”

Hopper didn’t say anything as Billy explained, beginning with that night when the wall shattered next to his head, and ending with his most recent trip to the void place. 

Billy shrugged lamely when he finished explaining. 

“So, Harrington, huh? Never woulda guessed he was like her. You sure you didn’t see a little girl anywhere in the blank place?”

“No. It was just us. Both times.”

Hopper leaned back in his chair, scratching a hand through his thick beard. 

“The first time one of the demogorgons showed up on our side was behind Steve’s house. Took Will Byers from his shed. They live some few miles away. Second time was in Harrington’s backyard. Took Barbara Holland.” Hopper sighed, looking in the direction of the busted radio. Billy could more or less see the cogs turning in his head. “If you see him again, tell him where we are. Tell him I think the walls are thinnest here. That maybe he and El could tear through. Better yet, tell him to find me if he can.”

He clapped Billy on the shoulder, looking right at him in that way he did sometimes. It always made Billy feel like a little kid. 

“Thank you, kid. You might’ve just saved us.”

Billy felt awkward and didn’t really know what to do with his face. Thankfully, Hopper turned away from him, cutting the moment short and moving back to fiddling with the old radio. 

Billy ducked his way up and back to the furthest bedroom on the ground floor, taking a seat on his low cot and digging his palms into his eyes. 

He didn’t know how the void happened. If he could only get there in his sleep, or if it was Steve’s doing somehow. 

“C’mon, Steve. Where are you? Come find me, Pretty Boy. We gotta talk.”

When he moved his hands away, he was in that blank place. 

Billy was taken aback a bit, thinking somehow he had created the place around him. 

Until he saw Steve, standing nervously and staring at Billy. 

“I felt you. What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, you felt me? What in the fuck’s that supposed to mean.”

“Don’t worry about it. What happened? Are you guys okay?”

Steve wasn’t covered in blood anymore. 

In fact, he looked freshly showered, his hair slightly damp and soft-looking without product. 

It’s how he always looked right after having a post-practice shower. Clean and warm. Soft and inviting. 

“I talked to Hopper. He told me to give you a message.”

Steve’s eyes lit up, and he took a step towards Billy, the water rippling where his foot disturbed the surface. 

“He said, well. He told me where we are. Apparently, we’re at your place.” Billy tried to smirk a little, act like this was brand new information to him.

“Yeah. I gathered.”

“He thinks the walls are thinnest at your place. Said that maybe you and El could tear through easily. That mean anything to you?”

Steve nodded so hard his bangs flopped right into his eyes. 

He pushed his hair out of his face, tucking some behind his ear. Billy tracked the movement. 

“We’re going to try tonight. Maybe around six. Can you guys be ready by then?”

“We don’t have any way to track time around here. Don’t even know if it’s day or night, really.”

Steve bit his soft bottom lip, looking at Billy like he wanted to cry for him. 

“Then I’ll come and get you before. Warn you when we’re about to start. Make sure everyone stays close. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep it sustained, and we want to get everyone out if we can.”

“Steve, man, what in the fuck is going on? I’ve been shut up in this place for, for I don’t even know how long, and all of a sudden, you just start showing up in my head and telling me that you’re gonna take point on this big fuckin’ rescue mission.”

Billy doesn’t want to admit it to anyone, least of all Steve Harrington, but he’s scared, and confused, and he genuinely wishes that he had died in that library instead of waking up. 

“I’ll explain it when you get back.” 

And Steve smiled at him and the corners of his eyes crinkled and Billy didn’t quite feel like he wanted to die anymore. 

-

“Where are they?”

El didn’t even say hello when she pushed Steve’s front door open, just made straight for Max and Steve in the sitting room.

“They’re all being dicks,” was Max’s answer. “Steve told us about how you two know each other, and everyone kinda freaked.”

“I mean, it’s pretty freaky.”

“Yeah, sure, but they didn’t need to be such shitbirds about it.”

Somewhere between feeling harshly angry at Steve and his powers and hearing her brother’s voice crackle through the television speaker, Max had pretty much ensconced Steve as her sidekick. 

Which he didn’t mind in the least. 

It was kinda odd seeing the Byers in his house. 

Jonathan looked. Exactly the same. 

Like literally. His hair had grown out since his mother had taken a pair of scissors and a bowl to it last summer, and he looked just like the Hawkins Jonathan Steve was used to. 

It was kinda nice. 

At least one thing hasn’t changed. 

Especially because Will is pretty much unrecognizable. 

He had shot up, growing until he could nearly look Steve in the eye. And thank God, he must've followed Jonathan’s footsteps and stopped letting Joyce cut his hair. 

It was longer, adn shaggier, but it made him look so grown up. 

Nearly as grownup as El, her hair nearly down to her shoulder blades, the top of her head coming up on Steve’s chin, showing off the signs of her own growth spurt. 

Even Joyce was sporting a new look. Longer hair with bangs that were swept off her face.

She gave Steve a comforting hug, and those were just the same. 

Unease filled the room. 

Nobody knew what they were walking into. El had to have given them the basics, and Steve figures she explained some on the long drive back to town, but there had been even more developments since the last they had spoken this morning. 

Steve sifted through the borderline panic of Max and the Byers, clinging onto the fierce calm that El was radiating. Probably for his benefit more than her own actual experience. 

“I know where Billy is. We talked. I have an idea.” He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the feelings. “Hopper’s alive.”

It took a second. 

El’s carefully maintained calm wavered for a moment. 

And then it crashed down. 

Disbelief, relief, denial, anger, hope, joy. 

Everything a person could possibly feel at once poured out of El and Joyce both, nearly knocking Steve off his feet with the sheer velocity of the emotions. 

“Saw him?”

“No. But Billy mentioned him. He said he’s been trying to get to you.”

El’s eyes filled with tears, and Steve could feel the satisfaction, the pride, welling up in her that Hopper was still thinking of her. That he was trying to reach out. 

“My powers,” she trailed off.

“Yeah. I know. But, he said, well, he told Billy to tell me, he thinks the walls are thinnest here. Maybe in the woods outback. He thinks we can do it.”

Sorry,” Joyce interrupted. She had gathered herself somewhat, but her feelings were still shaky. 

She always felt like she was trembling emotionally. Joyce felt everything nearly as viscerally as Billy did. 

“I think we’re not on the same page. Steve, you spoke to Billy? El said she sensed him.”

“Steve is like me. From Papa.”

“You mean, from the lab?” Jonathan clarified. 

Everyone was staring at Steve again and he felt like burrowing a hole right through the floor and hiding underground forever. 

“Yeah, I got out when I was a kid. My parents were pretty hell-bent on hiding it from everyone. But. You know. Cat’s outta the bag now. But yes, it was me who saw Billy. He’s in the Upside Down. A bunch of people are. Including Hopper. It sounds like they were all taken and the flayed people out here were like, fake. Like evil twin versions.”

Sure, it’s a shitty explanation.

It’s the best he can do, okay? Leave him alone. 

“So, what’s his plan, then?”

That’s the good thing about the Byers, though. They get the whole, priority thing. Now’s not the time to focus on shit like Steve’s fake life. Not when the Upside Down is concerned. 

“Billy didn’t say much. Just that he thinks maybe El and I could like, band together to open it. I don’t really know how, I mean, I haven’t thought about it much, I just spoke to him, but that's the idea. I told him I would meet him in the void or whatever before we go so he can gather everyone and get ready.”

“So, is it just us?” Will asked quietly, biting the inside of his cheek. He was disappointed. His friends not being where they were needed. Not being there to see him for the first time since his family moved away months ago. 

Steve shrugged.

He was battling his own disappointment and hurt at everyone ditching him. 

“No. Let’s start calling. We need to stick together for this one. Billy hasn’t said anything about how bad the Upside Down has been, and we need to be ready to fight off anything that tries to get through.”

“Max is right. They should be here.” Will was already making his way to the phone placed on the side table. “They need to be here.” 

Jonathan caught Steve’s eye, jerking his head slightly to the hallway. 

Steve followed him, already knowing the line of questioning that was about to hit him. 

“I knew you called El. I picked up this morning. Now the story makes a lot more sense, I guess.”

“Yeah. I’ve been getting this weird feeling for a couple months, but I finally put it all together. Probably would’ve happened faster it is was El.”

“I don’t know. She’s been struggling a lot. She practices every day, but,” he sighed” I don’t know if she’s strong enough to make this work.”

He’s worried, adn scared, and has that exact same tremble-feeling that his mother does. 

“I know. I just don’t think we can leave them any longer. Billy said they’ve already lost people. I don’t know what it’s been like for them, but they’ve been stuck for fucking months, and-”

This time, it hit him so hard he really did blackout. 

His vision clouded around him, and his whole body burned with the raging fear inside of him. 

He could hear something, could hear someone screaming, adn something, something that sounded horrible, and so very very like a-

-

“Demogorgon!”

It’s like it had come out of nowhere. 

This towering figure, long and thin in all the wrong fucking ways.

And the sound. Billy realized what Hopper meant about how it’s not something you forget. 

They were in some form of a ready position. 

Billy among the front of the group, holding his ax he had never let go of in the first place. 

His heart was pounding. 

We’ll be out soon. We’ll be out soon. 

He didn’t believe it. 

How could he?

How the fuck is Steve Harrington going to get them out of the worst place ever? No offense to him or anything, but the guy could barely make a goddamn milkshake without spilling something on the sticky tile floor of Scoops Ahoy! and now, Billy’s life is in this guy’s hands while he stares into the jaws of a monster that looks like it stepped right out of H.P. Lovecraft’s wettest dreams.

It’s not like this is the first time he’s had this realization, but he is in way over his fucking head. 

“Steve,” Billy grumbled to himself through gritted teeth. “If you can hear me, get us the fuck outta here.”

The thing ahead of them wasn’t moving. It stood in the line of the trees behind Steve’s house. 

It was staring down the clump of people on the other side of the backyard. 

The air was still. 

Billy’s ears were ringing. 

He stared the thing down. 

Its long fingers twitched. 

Someone screamed. 

And the thing charged. 

It roared like nothing Billy had ever heard before. A shriek that seemed to vibrate Billy’s bones and tremble the earth underneath his feet. 

It charged. 

Sprinting forward on long thin legs, it loped with a grace that turned Billy’s stomach and made his knees wobble and threaten to give out. 

Plant your feet. 

It rang through his head, Steve’s voice from, some time Billy couldn’t remember. Or maybe Steve was just the little voice that commanded his bravery now. 

Either way, he dug the balls of his feet into the cracked ground, and waited. 

Don’t stop fighting.

He swung. 

The ax clocked right into the side of the thing, barely cutting into its thick leathery skin, but it slowed it down. 

Well, actually. 

It made it change course from attacking the group as a whole, to honing in on Billy. 

Which was less than awesome. 

Billy wrenched the ax out of its tough body, thick, sticky black goo connecting the ax with its entry point as he drew it away. 

He swung again, nearly hitting the same place. 

The thing cried out, roaring over the sound of screaming and gunshots. 

Hopper had his rifle trained on the flowered head of the one Billy was furiously chopping into like a tree. 

There were two more, two he hadn’t noticed in his preoccupation with the one in front of him. 

He didn’t know who was who. Which gunshot belonged to which gun, which shriek belonged to which animal. 

He didn’t know if the cries of pain were from the awful beasts or the people in his camp. He was hoping the former. 

He swung again. There was a sickening sound of the metal blade connecting with something solid. Something like bone. 

Hopper shot it, once, twice in the head. 

It was whining, making a high-pitched noise as it staggered about. 

One last blow to the side of the thing, and it was finished. 

The monster flopped onto the ground, dark liquid oozing out of it, its body nearly split in half where Billy had hammered it with his ax. A great gaping wound that showed sticky dark entrails. 

Billy turned. 

His brain was working in slow motion as he charged into the battle still raging. 

He didn’t know how many of the things had arrived. 

All he knew was taking them out.

His arms were sore from the force he was putting into each blow with his ax. His muscles threatened to give out at any moment.

Drive them back. We’re coming. 

The thought was shoved into his head. He didn’t know where it came from but he believed it. 

“Help is on the way!” He shouted to no one and everyone. 

He had taken down two more demogorgons with the help of the others. One was missing its body, a petal head lolling on the ground, getting trampled on in the fight. 

-

Steve had felt the demogorgon before Billy saw it. 

It was an odd feeling, almost like it was a black hole sucking up everything he thought and felt before he could cling onto it. 

It made him feel cold, and empty, and just like the Upside Down felt. 

“We don’t have time!”

El was insisting on contacting the others. She was livid with them for abandoning Steve, but things were taking a turn for the small group trapped in that hellscape. 

“Steve’s right. If there’s a demogorgon there, that means the Mind Flayer has gotten some strength back, wherever he is.”

Steve nodded at Will gratefully.

“But, what’s the idea? You two open the gate. Then what? We wait for those things to come through to our side?” Jonathan asked, kinda harshly, if you ask Steve.

Steve rubbed his eyes, his fists pressing against them so hard he was seeing odd shapes. 

“No. I go through. I get them. I bring them back.” His head was a fucking mess. Billy was all over the place. Fear, desperation, and a horrible calm that only came when things looked like the end. Plant your feet, he thought, trying to get his feelings to Billy through the thin dimensional wall. Don’t stop fighting. “For the past few days, all I’ve been able to feel is somebody else’s fucking fear and this stupid stupid stubbornness and I know it’s Billy, and I know he’s in trouble. Like right now. The demogorgons are coming for them, and he’s so scared. He’s so fucking scared and he thinks he’s gonna die, and he’s trapped .”

He looked at each person individually, glaring at them all in the eye. 

“We don’t have time.”

So it was decided. 

He brought El outside, and stared into the shimmering water of the pool. 

The pool where a demon came out and dragged Barbara to her death. 

It gave him the fucking creeps. Well, it more gave him the severe anxiety, but there was something about it that made it seem like it was the best place to try and rip the fold between himself and Billy. 

Drive them back. We’re coming. 

He wanted Billy to have some hope. Something like a lifeline that would keep him fighting the monsters. 

He had wrenched his nail bat out of the wall it was still planted in from a few nights ago, and stood next to El, ready to try. 

“To be honest, I don’t know how to help you.” It was the only thing that scared him about this plan. “I don’t have the same powers as you. The telekin-the moving stuff around. I don’t know how to open this.”

She looked at him thoughtfully. 

“In Chicago. Kali. When I’m angry my powers are better,” she took his hand. “Make me angry.”

Steve closed his eyes. 

He tried to push Billy to the side, clinging onto the first bit of El he could sense. 

Her anger was like a melted core running through her. Driving her in a lot of ways. 

He grabbed onto it. 

Papa. Everything he did to your mama. Being locked in isolation. Fights with Hopper. Being trapped in the cabin. Feeling alone and not knowing how to fix it. New kids at school being mean. Techs in the lab that treated us like rats. The smell of skin burning. Parents that called you a freak. 

He didn’t know when he had stopped using El’s ready-made rage, and began siphoning his own straight into the beating heart of her fury. 

His gut began to feel white-hot, and he could feel the blood dripping down his lip. 

Lying to everyone. Being abandoned for the truth. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. 

Steve was livid. 

He’s never felt an emotion consume him like this. Felt one feeling take over so completely it’s like there was nothing else in the world. 

He opened his eyes. 

There was blood flowing steadily from El’s nose, and he knew his was doing the same. 

He could feel his heart pounding against his ribs, his body going into overdrive to divert all of his energy to his powers. 

The rift glowed red through the clear pool water, splitting open like a seam on a well-worn shirt. 

The burn on his arm ached, and he pushed into it. 

He remembered being held down on his father’s desk. Remembers the cigar being forced against his skin, bubbling up and disfiguring the tattoo beyond recognition. 

He remembers his father, this is for your own good, Steven. You’ll tell everyone you had an accident. People won’t question a burn like they will a tattoo. 

Like no one would take one look at the quarter-sized mark and know what would make it. 

He remembers getting the tattoo. 

It was nearly the same process. 

He was strapped down in a chair, his screams going ignored as the needle drove into his skin over and over, leaving a neat black number behind. 

001

Number One. 

The first in a series of children bred for something more, and beaten into acceptance. 

His head felt like it could explode. He didn’t know what was going on around him, was barely aware of El’s sweaty hand in his, and the bright red light coming from the cracked bottom of the pool. 

It was open. 

Number One took a deep breath, and dived into the pool. 

-

It was the little one that noticed it. 

Billy had been trying to yell at him to get back inside, to keep himself out of harm’s way. 

They had killed six demogorgons, and more were certainly coming. 

The trees in the forest were rustling in a way they never did on their own. 

The little one was pointing frantically, his eyes wide and scared. 

Billy turned, and his blood ran cold. 

Something was moving in the pool. 

It was making the thick non-water slosh around dangerously, the dark liquid lapping over the sides and staining the concrete. 

There were vines crisscrossing over the surface of the liquid, and Billy approached it carefully, hoping whatever was coming out would be trapped underneath them. 

“This is the last fucking thing we need,” Hopper gritted out, cocking his rifle and aiming at the sludge. 

And then Billy’s head felt like it had been cracked open. 

He was blinded with pain and rage and 

Help me, Hargrove!

He started swinging his ax wildly at the vines. Trying to break them apart enough for a body to fit through. 

His heart thundered in his chest, and he dropped to his knees, ripping at the slimy black tendrils. 

He shoved his left arm in.

It was like dousing his arm in ice. Like the liquid was made from the purest essence of cold. 

He searched frantically with his hand, finding something solid and yanking with all his strength. 

He had to put both arms in, grabbing hold of whatever he could, using his body weight as leverage to extract Steve from the cold. 

He was limp when Billy finally got him out, but breathing heavily. 

He opened his eyes, wiping his face free of the goop and blood covering him, and grinned at Billy. 

“Told’ya we would get you out.”

They shepherd him inside, most of the gang speechless and struck dumb from the events of the past while. 

Steve was given a change of almost clean clothes, and allowed to use some of their bottled water ration to clean the freezing black fluid from himself. 

He wasted little time, and was down in the Upside Down version of his living room with everyone else. 

“We can’t be long. El had to use a lot of strength to open it, but she’ll need her strength to close it, too.” 

Nobody knew what in the fuck Steve was going on about. 

Nobody but Hopper, that is. 

He still had disgusting pool sludge all over his front from when he pulled Steve into a tight hug when he had gotten his bearings back from his journey through the rift. 

“We can’t send people through that shit. It took all of Billy’s muscle to get you outta there.”

“So we drain it,” Steve insisted. “My parents drain it sometimes, I know how to do it.”

“I’ll keep watch. Make sure nothing tries to make itself known.”

Billy had barely wiped himself off. 

He didn’t care anymore about how freezing that shit was, he just wanted to surge forward, and get back the fuck home.

Hopper studied them both.

“Bring weapons. Yell if you need help.”

Billy nodded once, and turned on his heel, following Steve out the back door. 

Steve led him to a wooden shed on the side of the house. Billy had to clear the vines away from it before Steve could pry open the doors. 

It was full of pool equipment, and it didn’t take long for Steve to locate a large grubby pump. He knocked it against the wall of the shed until the filter attachment clattered off, leaving bigger openings for the sludge to, hopefully, run through. 

“Shit. This thing is electric. You got electricity?” 

It was the first time Steve had really gotten a good look at Steve since being in the Upside Down. 

He looked exactly as he had in the void place. His hair had a lot more disgusting black fluid in it, and he overall looked kinda shitty with the flecks of grime and blood on his face, but he looked bright. Alive. Strong. 

“How did you do it? Take me to that place. Figure out we were here.” 

Steve flushed. Billy had become overly aware that his face was completely covered under his bandana. Steve should cover his face. 

He drew another one of his back pocket, and, he didn’t know why, but he tied it around Steve’s face. 

Seriously, he could’ve just handed it to the guy and called it good there. But no. He had to set his ax on the ground, propped against his leg, wrap his arms around Steve’s shoulders, and tie the bandana like this was some intricate ritual. 

All while Steve just stared at him with those fuckin’ eyes of his. 

“It’s a long story.” Billy could barely hear Steve speak through the dirty cloth now covering his mouth and nose. “I’ll tell you when we’re back. When we’re safe.”

“I’m holding you to that, Harrington. Can’t have a guy poking around my dreams and shouting in my head without knowing his intentions.”

It was as close to flirting as Billy dared right now. 

Right before they tried to journey between worlds. 

“Good to know you heard me. I was trying to give you something of a pep talk.”

“Well, it worked. I would’ve just put my arms out and let those things rip me to shreds if I hadn’t have known.”

Billy didn’t know what Steve’s face was doing behind the cloth, but his eyes dropped, and Billy imagined that little cinch of his mouth that he had noticed Steve doing so much in that void place.

-

Billy meant it as a joke. 

He really did. 

And the Billy that was torn to bits in the mall wasn’t this Billy. Wasn’t the real Billy that was made out of real Billy materials and real Billy personality. 

But it still made Steve feel queasy, thinking about his arms spread wide, black goop pouring out of his mouth and nose as the Mind Flayer decimated him. 

“We’ve got a lot to talk about, Billy. Just, not now.” 

And Steve turned off, hauling the pump back to the pool and taking calming breaths. 

The pump sank without much effort, like there was some kind of gravitational pull at the bottom of the pool. 

Steve had connected the thickest hose he could find, adn sent Billy off with the extension cord to find an outlet that didn’t spark and threaten fire. 

Before no time, the pump was humming, and pushing black slime through the hose and onto the dead grass. 

They didn’t need to get it all out, just as much as they could shove everyone through. 

Steve closed his eyes, trying to reach El like he had Billy. 

We had a hold up. Shouldn’t be long. 

He could feel her on the other side. 

She promised she would stay close enough to the rift that Steve could get in touch with her. 

He could feel something slither down his spine, a wordless confirmation from her. 

The liquid in the pool was slowly edging down, leaving a stain on the once-white walls of the pool. 

“Gather everyone up. Tell ‘em to meet out here. Tell ‘em to leave it all behind.”

Billy was still staring at the edge of the forest when he commanded Steve. 

It was odd, being in his house that’s not his house. 

Everything was so. Wrong. 

From the way the house seemed to be crumbling down, reduced to its studs in some areas, to the way it was still clearly his house. Paintings his father had bought. Elegant furniture his mother selected. 

It was all there. Just under a thick layer of dirt and nightmares. 

He thought idly about his bedroom, wondering if it would look like it did on his end. A little messy, the sheets typically rumpled and unmade. 

He resisted the urge to wander upstairs, reminding himself he was on a mission. 

“It’s time. Don’t bring anything. It’ll probably be ruined along the way.”

Everyone looked grave. Steve tried to smile at them, tried to push through some calmness to them all. He had forgotten Billy’s bandana was tied around his face. He sent one last wave of quiet confidence around the room, and led the group through the kitchen. 

They had barely rounded the corner of the kitchen island when they heard a strangled yell from outside. 

Steve put his head down, and sprinted through the shattered glass doors, skidding to a halt in the threshold. 

Billy was staggering backward, his ax forgotten on the ground and his left hand was clinging wildly to his right shoulder. 

His jacket was in tatters, thick blood dripping bright crimson down his arm, standing out like neon against the dark, dirty ground. 

Steve didn’t feel himself moving forward. He didn’t feel his hands raising in front of him. 

He just felt anger. The same anger from before that had ripped through him like a raging forest fire and straight into El. 

The thing shrieked. 

It backed away from Billy, twisting and writhing as its horrible screams filled the air, making the hair on the back of Steve’s neck stand on end. 

Fierce fury was exploding out of him, and he grit his teeth against the pounding in his head. 

“You don’t get to hurt him,” Steve barely barked out. 

All went still, and the demogorgon snapped into pieces. 

Steve felt like he could pass out where he stood. 

He had never felt so wrung dry. 

His vision was waning at the edges, and he felt an arm around his waist, coaxing him toward the red light now barely shining through a thin layer of slime in the pool. 

“Hold your breath, Pretty Boy.”

-

Steve was limp against him, and Billy was doing his best to ignore the searing pain in his right shoulder as he held Steve close to his side. He had fumbled off both of their face coverings, moving clumsily through the pain of his injury. 

He took one last breath, and jumped into the rip between worlds. 

He plunged into the water, the crystal blue of a chlorinated pool. 

It was the best feeling in the world. 

Being covered and surrounded by clean. The heated water doing more to soothe Billy’s frayed nerves than anything in his life. 

He kicked hard, swimming one-armed to the surface, Harrington a dead weight in his injured arm. 

His head broke the water, and he took in deep lungfuls of clean, crisp air. 

Someone was tugging at Steve, and Billy, for the first time in his fucking life, was glad to see those kids Max was constantly hanging around. 

A woman Billy didn’t know was fawning over Steve, feeling for a pulse, and looking relieved when she felt his hot breath against her palm. 

“There’s more coming,” Billy coughed. 

He barely managed to get the words out, dripping muck and grime on the cement by the pool, when it felt as though he was hit from the side by a speeding train. 

He buried his nose in bright orange hair, hugging Max back as tightly as he could manage. 

He was exhausted, and feeling her there, alive and okay, was all that was keeping him standing. 

“I thought, I mean, we all thought you were dead. We saw it. That thing killed you .” Billy realized, with a whole lotta horror, that she was crying. Sobbing outright into his dirty chest. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” How could they have seen when that monster just came at him? 

“Oh, you’re bleeding.”

And if she only just realized he was hurt?

Max frog-marched Billy inside, to a very pale-looking Nancy Wheeler, sitting ready with a first aid kit. 

Billy had to peel his clothes off his body, the fabric stuck to him like a second skin. 

Nobody was speaking, and more of the people locked in the other place came traipsing into the room, fluffy towels wrapped around their shoulders. 

Hopper was the last to come in, holding the woman tight to his side underneath the striped pool towel. 

“Steve and El are closing it back up.”

There was a quiet murmur around the room.

Nancy patched up Billy’s shoulder, Max still stuck to his side like glue, the little boy from camp pasted to his other side. 

He had no idea how much time had past when Steve finally came traipsing into the room with Max’s little friend, both of them sporting matching bloody noses. 

Steve looked like shit. 

His face was covered in blood, old and new, and he still had some of the gross not-liquid in his hair from the Upside Down. 

But Billy doesn’t think he’s ever been happier to see someone in his life. 

“I’m sure everyone has questions,” said the woman tucked against Hop’s side. El, Billy assumes, had taken her place on Hop’s other side, wrapping the towel around her shoulders as well. 

The woman launched into a story that made Billy feel like his brain was oozing out of his ears. 

A monster. One they had all met before. Playing body snatcher in their sleepy little town. 

Apparently, one had been wearing a Billy meat-suit and wreaking havoc around town, which made Billy wanna throw up until he died. 

Which, not-Billy, had died. Fuckin’ brutally. And in front of everyone. Which sure as shit explained why Max wouldn’t let go of his sweaty hand. 

The story made Billy queasy, and he took to studying everyone in the room instead. 

All the kids were there, even the one that had been following Steve around like a little shadow, but they were all glaring in the very much opposite direction of Steve. 

Steve himself was pressed almost against the wall, looking like he’d collapse if the wall weren’t supporting him. 

“What’s up with the cold shoulder?” Billy muttered to Max.

“They’re mad at Steve right now. He’s been lying to us all.”

It was all he got out of her before everyone started moving around. 

The woman, Joyce Byers, he’s learned, had finished her story, and the group from the Upside Down had begun clamoring for rides home, or maybe something to eat. 

Billy just saw Steve manage to slip away before he followed him. 

It took some doing, shaking off the little one, who still wasn’t speaking, and looked ready to burst into tears when Billy told him to stay behind in the living room. 

But Janet Holloway took the kid’s other hand and gently led him back into the living room. 

Billy nodded at her, and sped up the stairs. 

It was weird, being in Harrington’s actual room. 

It was messy, and looked like Steve spent most of his time here tossing clothes on the ground or twisting up in his bed covers like a tornado. 

But it was oddly comforting. 

Being in Steve’s real room, and not some perverse dirty copy. 

Steve was standing, facing the bed, peeling his borrowed jacket from his shoulders and leaving it there on the floor.

“I never said thank you.”

Steve startled at Billy’s voice.

“Yeah. No problem.” Steve’s tone was light and airy, but Billy heard him sniff.

“Max said the little shitbirds are mad at you. Something about you lying.” 

Steve turned around, giving Bily a watery smile.

“It’s a long story.”

“I got time.”

So Steve told him. 

About the lab. 

About the experiments. 

About the torture. 

He explained that he had rules. Never making anyone feel something they already didn’t. Never altering someone’s opinion of, or feelings towards him. 

Billy grit his teeth as he imagined Wheeler giving Steve a hard time about that.

Steve was silent for a moment, not looking at Billy.

“It’s okay if you hate me. I mean, everyone does now.”

“You'd be able to feel if I hated you. You and those powers of yours just saved my life, Pretty Boy. I’m pretty sure I’m feeling the farthest thing from hatred just about now.”

It was as close to a confession as Billy would let himself get. 

But if Steve knows what he’s feeling at any given moment, then that means that he knows, and he didn’t-

“Quit it. Insecurity isn’t a good look on you.”

Steve sounded tired, and he flopped back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling with his arms out. 

At first, it didn’t sit quite right with Billy. 

He had barely even begun to identify what he was feeling when Steve swooped in and just point blank told him what the emotion was. 

Billy spent nearly all of his time being a big fuckin’ facade. 

He tried his very best to hide any emotional tell from anyone around him. 

He prided himself on being a chameleon. That nobody would ever truly know how he felt in any given situation. 

And here’s pretty boy Steve Harrington. Who is feeling just as, if not more, strongly as Billy is. 

But, it takes out all the parts of emotions that Billy hates dealing with. 

Showing them. Talking about them. 

He’d never once had to grapple with the words to explain how he feels to Steve. 

Steve would just. 

He’d know. 

And god, that’s kind of a nice idea. 

Billy sat down gently on the bed. 

“Alright.”

Steve’s head popped up to stare incredulously at Billy. 

Billy just grinned at him. 

[talicat713]

It’s Positive (1/4)

Jax Teller x reader

Part One

**GIF NOT MINE CREDIT TO: @barnes-and-parker and @charliehunnnamm​**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s Positive Masterlist

A/N: Hi all.  This is my first Jax story.  This will have four parts which all will be posted this week (hopefully!)  Wanted to thank @rebel-without-cause-x for getting me hooked on SOA.

Warnings: language, pregnancy, childbirth, labor, brief breastfeeding, 

Taglist: @rebel-without-cause-x  @chibsytelford

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Jax had known each other for years. You were like a daughter to most of the men in the MC, but mostly Tig. Your father had taken a bullet for him, and he promised to protect you for the rest of his life.

You had been in love with Jax for a while. But in the beginning he saw you as just his best friend. He was always preoccupied with the club and whatever girl he was sleeping with. He did however still make time for you once a week to hang out and have movie nights.

You weren’t around when he was with Tara as a teenager. You and your father rolled into Charming soon after. You were the one to help pick up the pieces from that failed relationship, but he still slept with tons of women to get over the pain.

When he announced he was marrying Wendy, your heart shattered. It was right around the time your father had died and you were a mess. Jax had been there for you as much as he could, but you and Wendy didn’t get along. Drugs had killed your mother at a young age, so you knew all the signs of an addict. When Wendy pushed him away from you, you turned to Opie.

You and Opie had a small fling after that. Jax was a little jealous. He had never had to share you with any other guy because you never dated. It wasn’t because you didn’t want to, you were so hung up on Jax and Tig did EVERYTHING in his power to scare every guy away from you. Eventually, you and Opie broke things off, so he could be with Donna, but stayed friends.

Jax and Wendy’s relationship was always messy. He had sent her to rehab a few times, but she never stayed. He filed for divorce after the last straw. You didn’t know that they had tried to rekindle their relationship until she showed up one day with a pregnancy test. Jax got scared and ran, so you made it your mission to help Wendy despite not liking her.

You tried really hard to keep her clean while she was pregnant, but it never worked. She had drugs hidden all over the house, so when you would take one stash, she would go to another. You and Gemma were the ones to find her on the kitchen floor bleeding. You instantly thought the worst. Gemma has sent you to go find Jax while she waited for the ambulance.

You were there when Jax saw his son for the first time. The tears in his eyes killed you, but he didn’t want comfort from you. That’s when you realized that Abel's doctor was Tara.

You sat at the hospital everyday just watching the baby. You had to admit that Jax having a baby made you a little excited. You had always wanted to be a mother, but having polycystic ovarian syndrome and an irregular cycle, you knew that might never happen. In the back of your mind you knew Wendy wasn’t going to be a constant mother figure in his life and Jax wasn’t going to be around as much, so you were determined to make sure that little boy had someone constant in his life.

When Jax brought Abel home and you were waiting with open arms to take care of him. That was when Jax realized he had feelings for his best friend. Jax never told you about his feelings, and he continued his relationship with Tara. The two ended up having a baby of their own, another boy, Thomas, who you also fell in love with.

But once Tara got overwhelmed with being a mother, being a doctor, and dealing with Jax and the club, she ran away again, leaving Jax with both kids. Jax had called you that night crying and you stopped everything you were doing to go be with him. That was the night you became a mommy to those little boys. He admitted his feelings soon after and you two started dating.

Jax asked you to be his old lady one day when you had brought the boys to visit him before a long run. He had been talking to the guys about asking you for a while. Asking Tig for his permission since he was the closest person you had as a father. Tig made sure to playfully grill him, but ultimately agreed. He had even given Jax the ring your birth father kept for you.

Seeing you walk over to him with both kids on your hips made his heart explode. He looked at the guys, silently telling them he was proposing right then and there. Once you got close to Jax, Chibs took the boys out of your arms and Jax got down on one knee.

“I knew from the moment I met you, that you were going to be in my life forever. It wasn’t until Abel was born that I realized my love for you was more than just friends. You’ve been by my side and have been my rock though out everything. I don’t know where I would be now without you darlin’. So what do you say, will you be my old lady forever?” Jax said as he smiled up at you. Of course, you said yes and one month later you had a small wedding.

That leads us to today, one year later. You were sat in Jax’s room in the clubhouse waiting for the results of the pregnancy test you just took. It had taken longer than you’d hoped to have a baby of your own. Jax could tell you were getting frustrated, but always reassured you it would happen when they least expected it and if it didn’t they had two beautiful boys.

You were taken out of your thought by the timer on your phone going off. Cursing under your breath, you looked over at the boys sleeping on Jax’s bed hoping not to have woken them. Sighing in relief, you got up from the bed and grabbed the test off of the desk. You started to cry when you saw the two very bold pink lines. You were pregnant, finally.

After you had composed yourself, you put the test in a plastic bag, then tossed it into the diaper bag on the floor. Grabbing the baby monitor, you walked out and shut the door quietly. Jax was over working on a bike so Tig was the only person in the clubhouse.

You stood next to him and wrapped him in a hug against the bar. “Hey doll, you feeling better?”, accepting your hug.

You chuckled,” I’m pregnant Papa Tiggy,” hugging him tighter.

Tig pulled out of the hug, complete shock and excitement on his face. He was about to start screaming until you cut him off,” I literally found out five minutes ago so Jax doesn’t know. Also, I have sleeping children down the hall, keep quiet.”

Tig pulled you back into a hug and kissed your head. He was so excited for you and your little family,” Oh doll, I’m so happy for you. When you gonna tell Jax and everyone? You know I’m terrible at keeping secrets.”

“I’ll tell Jax soon, but you have to promise not to tell anyone! Not even the ladies you sleep with,” you warned.

“My lips are sealed doll, I promise,” he replied, making the locking his lips and throwing away the key gesture.

You just smiled and pushed him playfully, then you noticed the time. It was time for church. You rushed to the club door standing in front of it so no one could get through. Jax walked over and kissed your lips, making the guys behind him roll their eyes.

“Hey darlin’ you're in my way,” Jax said while kissing you.

You pulled away,” I know I’m doing it on purpose,” you then pushed him back a little so everyone could see you,” I’ve got two sleeping babies in there. If ANY of you wake them up, I’ll cut ya!”

They all laughed a little and nodded, following you into the clubhouse. They all filed into the room as quiet as they could. You checked on the boys who were thankfully still asleep and then went about cleaning up around the clubhouse.

A little while later, everyone filed back out loudly, which you knew would wake the boys. Jax walked over to you grabbing your face in his hands,” You feeling any better baby? You're still pale.” You just nodded and pulled him into a hug. You hadn’t noticed Abel and Thomas come walking out of the room.

Chibs noticed the boys and ran over to pick them up. When he did his eyes widen at what Thomas was holding,” Uh Y/N what’s the wee lad holdin’?”

You turned to them and cursed under your breath, walking over to grab Thomas from him.

“Y/N? ,” Jax asked nervously.

Sighing as you turned to everyone,” It’s a pregnancy test,” everyone’s eyes widened curiously,” I didn’t want to announce it this way but... it’s positive. I’m pregnant.”

Cheers erupted in the room. Jax walked over to you, handing Thomas back to Chibs, then pulled you into the hallway. He grabbed your face in his hands again, “how long have you known baby?”

“Only a few hours, but I’ve suspected for a few weeks. I’m so sick and my boobs are sore. You're not mad I didn’t say anything right? I didn’t hear them get up and I shouldn’t have put the test in the diaper bag, knowing they both go in there,” you questioned panicking a little.

Jax then placed lips onto yours, “Darlin’ I’m so fucking happy I could scream it to the world,” he then placed his hand on your belly and smiled,” Just be happy Gemma wasn’t here. She’s going to be mad she wasn’t the first to know. Good thing, that’s where we are heading.”

Gemma knew something was up the minute you and Jax walked through the door. She brushed it off when she saw her grand babies. You managed to keep the secret until after dinner. You had just put the boys in their room to play for a while, then walked back into the kitchen to help Gemma do the dishes.

“What’s going on with you and Jax? I can tell you're keeping something from me,” Gemma asked curiously.

On cue, Jax walked into the kitchen, wrapped his arms around you resting them on your belly. Jax then looked up at his mom over your shoulder and smiled,” We’re havin’ a baby.”

Gemma gasped, then pulled you both into a hug, “Oh my babies, I’m so happy for you both!”

Jax smiled,” Thanks Mom.”

A week later, you made an appointment with the doctor. You dropped the boys off with Gemma and drove over to the hospital. Jax had left early in the morning so you hoped he remembered the appointment. When you pulled up do didn’t see him or his bike.

After filling out all the paperwork, they called you back into the exam room. As you were waiting for the doctor, you got a little emotional. You really wanted Jax to be there with you. A knock on the door brought you out of your thoughts. A nurse walked in stating there was a big blonde haired man with a biker vest demanding to come back to you. You rolled eyes and told her to let him back.

“Baby I’m so sorry I lost track of time. Wait, were you crying? What’s wrong? ,” he asked as he walked over and stood in front of you.

“I thought you weren’t coming. The doctor hasn’t been back yet,” you said as wiped your eyes looking down.

Jax grabbed your chin so you would look at him,” I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” as he placed his other hand on your belly.

After a few minutes, the doctor came back to go over everything with you, then they got the ultrasound ready. As you pulled up your shirt and laid back, Jax notices a slight swell in your belly. It almost looked like you had eaten too much, but he knew that it was your baby. He smiled and grabbed your hand.

“Mr and Mrs Teller, has anyone from your families ever had twins? ,” the doctor asked. You and Jax looked at each other wide-eyed, shaking your heads no.

“Well then congratulations, you are having twins. Looks like you're almost twelve weeks along. Let’s take a listen to the heartbeats shall we,” the doctor continued.

You were speechless and scared. You were going to have four kids under the age of five. Jax sensed your nervousness and have your hand a squeeze. Then the sound of a heartbeat played through the machine, and then another heartbeat. You and Jax looked at each other, tears filing both your eyes.

Once the doctor finished, she left the room to send the nurse back in to schedule the next appointment.

“Fucking twins Jax,” you exhaled running a hand through your hair.

Jax stood up and kissed you, but was cut short by the nurse from earlier. She scheduled your next visit and handed you an envelope. Inside were a few pictures of your little babies inside you. Jax took one and placed it in the pocket of his Cut.

“We will be fine darlin’. You're the best mom in the world, and we have world's best grandma in our corner as well,” he said as he helped you off the bed.

“Now where was I,” he said, pulling you into a kiss, placing his hands on your belly again. You smiled into the kiss. Jax always knew the right things to say to make you not worry.

(posted 07/13/2020)

[valkyriesryde]

Abort Mission

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: It’s Bucky’s turn to catch you reading fanfiction 👀(companion to Seargeant Boinky but can be read separately)

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, a little bit of chaotic dumbassery, NSFW content 18+ only pleaseeee 

Word Count: 2,519

A/N: Happy bleeping birthday @lokibringsmejoy​ I have no words except that I love and cherish you and thank you for everything you do uwu

A/N2: This is my first time writing smut and its not even full smut but I’m very sorry if it's terrible please forgive me! Shoutout also to @twirling-in-the-twilight​ for being the hype man everybody needs in their life. 

The fanfic she’s reading is Supposed To by the birthday girl and its a masterpiece

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Oh, really?” You’re teasing him and Bucky smiles down at you in that way that makes your heart move inside your chest. He hums before he leans down and his soft lips are on yours. Kissing you gently and making the ground fall from right under your feet.

Bucky usually does that to you – make your knees weak. Sometimes he does it without even touching you – it gets impressive like that. At first, you hated him for it, staying mad at him for weeks on end when he would try to reach out to you. You hated feeling weak.

“Are you reading about me?” Bucky leaned over the back of the couch as you yelped and fumbled with your phone, dropping it with a clunk onto the ground. 

“Don’t DO that!” 

“Sorry, I saw my name on your phone,” his breath was on your cheek and he pointed to your phone while you quickly picked it up and locked it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, why would I be reading about you?” Nope nope nope, abort! Run awayyyyyy. 

“That’s why I asked.” Noooooope. Gotta get the flip flop diggity out of here and pronto. 

You knew it was a stupid idea reading fanfiction in the living room, why would you do that?! That’s right, he wasn’t meant to be here! Bucky wasn’t supposed to be home until tomorrow with everyone else that would read over your shoulder *cough Natasha cough Sam* but nope. Apparently they were back early. Which left you red faced and retreating towards the nearest exit and onwards to your room. 

Ain’t dealing with that.

Huh. Bucky jumped over the back of the couch into the spot you had previously occupied and thought for a moment. Bucky smiles down at you...kissing you gently...Bucky usually does that to you...you hated him for it. Was that your diary? But he hadn’t kissed you and he was pretty sure you didn’t hate him? Bucky’s eyes widened as he thought, maybe she wants me to kiss her?! Haha no that can’t be it, that was his fantasy not yours. He looked down the hallway you’d retreated, unless?

“This is fine, alright. Nothing to worry about,” you paced your room, deep breaths in and out. Everything is fine. He probably only saw his name and that was it. No need to worry. 

“I have a question”

“AH BUCKY! STOP DOING THAT!” Bucky laughed and stepped into your room, closing the door behind him and walked to stand in front of you with a stupid smirk on his stupid pretty face.

“Why?” He whispered it into your ear, his hand hovered over your hip, “am I going to catch you doing something you shouldn’t?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” 

So your curiosity may have gotten the better of you after you caught Bucky reading Avengers fanfiction (about himself) and maybe, over the past couple of days, you had begun reading different stories about the different members of your team to see what people thought of them. Then, completely on accident, you came across some saucier material about Steve and got really uncomfortable. So you moved on, and found even saucier things on one Sergeant Bucky Barnes and when people say girls are a sucker for a bad boy they are not wrong because mob boss!Bucky was doing things to you and soft mob boss!Bucky was quite possibly worse than real Bucky...okay that’s a lie but it was a close second!

“I would actually,” his flesh hand came up and his fingers brushed against your jaw and held your chin, “but I’d really like to know why you were reading about kissing me.” His eyebrow quirked up and a shiver ran through you when he licked his lips, his eyes watching your lips. 

“Maybe I was curious Sergeant.”

Bucky sucked in a breath and shook his head at the nickname. “Could have just asked,” he leaned in closer, his lips brushed over yours and his fingers curled around your waist. 

God, his lips were soft. You pulled him closer by the back of his neck and when Bucky gasped and groaned at you pulling the ends of his hair. You took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and take control, licking his bottom lip Bucky gladly gave you entrance. 

His hands gripped your hips, they pulled at the fabric of your shirt as you moaned against him. This was a dream it had to be. There is no possible way that this was actually happening, you had to pinch yourself. Or, Bucky’s fingers digging into your back could do the trick too. 

“Bucky,” you breathed out the words, your chest heaving against his you felt him hum against your neck while he pressed a series of kisses along your jaw and behind your ear, nipping and sucking causing you to whimper in his arms. “Oh fuck.”

“Off?” you didn’t trust yourself to speak a coherent sentence when he pulled the bottom of your shirt up to your ribs so you finished the job and threw it somewhere behind you. Bucky immediately pulled you back into him, you clawed at his shirt and it soon followed yours being flung across the room. 

God, his chest was gorgeous. Fuck the consequences of whatever was going on. Fuck emotions and that stupid schoolgirl crush you had on him, though it was quite possibly no longer just a schoolgirl crush.

Bucky couldn't quite believe what was happening either but if he stopped and thought about how bad it would be if you were caught or how long he'd wanted this to happen it would ruin the moment and he wasn't risking that. He pushed down the feelings he felt for you. He pushed down the domestic fantasies that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about. 

Your hands traveled down his back, nails dug in when he grabbed your ass and you gasped against his lips, Bucky knew he was done for. 

In a clashing of teeth, skin, and hands you moved towards your bed, not once moving an inch away from each other. Bucky would rather die than be any further away than a distance where your lips could attach to his neck.

He lifted you up by your thighs and lowered you onto the bed. He trailed his mouth over your collarbone and down your chest. His fingers pulled at your bra wanting to tear it from your skin as you arched your back and unclipped it for him. 

He sighed and sat up slightly, taking in your chest as his hands rubbed over your skin, every inch he could get his hands on. "So fucking beautiful," he mumbled leaning down and pressing wet kisses down your breasts and across your stomach. 

Your hands tangled in his hair and you couldn't help but push him further down towards where you needed him but he happily followed. His fingers dipped into the waistband of your leggings as he pulled then over your hips and down your legs.

Bucky was in a state of euphoria when he saw you lying there in nothing but your underwear. He snapped out of it when he felt you tug him back down by his shoulders and he couldn't help but laugh against your lips, so desperate to have him close.

You pulled at his pants, pulled at the belt and the zip before he got the message and pushed them all the way off. 

"Half expected you to be commando Sarg," your hand rubbed against his crotch and Bucky moaned your name into your neck, his hands holding him up at either side of your shoulders.

"Keep calling me that darling," his thigh pressed against your core and he moved it slowly up and down making you grunt, "and see what happens." 

"Make me Sarg." Bucky moaned and whimpered like he'd never done before and if anyone walked past or even stood anywhere near the room they would have heard him but he didn't care. His fingers pressed against your core slipped under the fabric and you felt your head roll back into the pillow as he bit your skin.

"You're going to be the absolute," he pulled his fingers away from you and hooked them into your underwear, pulling them down along with his own, "death of me." He moved to lie between your legs and pulled your thighs up around him, your ankles crossed over his lower back and you pushed him down towards you. 

"Please Bucky," it was hard to keep composure when your whole body was screaming for him. Bucky's arms wrapped around your back as he rubbed against you and nuzzled his head into your neck before pressing a firm kiss laced with passion and need for you.

"I hate to ruin this,"

"Top draw." 

You felt electric under him, on top of him, tangled in him. He couldn't keep his hands off of you or decide exactly where he wanted them to go next so he settled for everywhere at once as he held you close against him and his hips met yours. Bucky felt electric, he felt it moving from his fingertips to his chest as he let out a shuddering breath and it moved dipper to his stomach. This was a dream come fucking true, quite literally.

He felt like fire against you. Every movement, every sound, it left you wanting more and more until you felt your entire body shake over and over again against him. His fingers tangled in the mess that was your hair as he settled on top of you with heavy breathing, Bucky kissed one of the many marks he'd left scattered over your skin and rolled onto his side as you both composed yourself.

"Holy shit."

Bucky laughed as he pulled the sheet higher over to two of you, sleep already threatening to consume almost as much as you had. "You did say you were curious."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Nat I need to tell you something and you need to keep it a secret." It was the next morning and you'd cornered Natasha in the briefing room after a team meeting as she picked up the stray files.

"That depends did you do something stupid and/or wrong?" She raised her eyebrows at you shutting and locking the door.

"Yes." She sighed and fell into the nearest seat, her forehead held up by her hand.

"Alright. What is it?"

"You have to promise you won't tell, I mean it." 

After your... escapade the night before you and Bucky had promptly fallen asleep and when you woke up the next morning you cursed yourself for making your life that much more complicated and all because some fanfiction got you horny. Curses! You'd hurried quietly out of the room and Bucky was still sound asleep until his phone started blaring at 7am from Steve asking where he was. Fuck. 

"I promise."

"Natasha I'm serious you can't tell anyone. Not even Clint."

"I'm a spy, I can keep a secret." You sat in the chair next to her after peering down the hallway for any stragglers who might eavesdrop, the coast was clear.

"I slept with Bucky last night," you watched Natasha go through what seemed almost like the three stages of shock.

"You did what now?" Confusion. "Oh my god," realisation. "This is amazing," acceptance.

"I don't think I'd call it amazing although, like, it fucking was! But that's beside the point!" Natasha nodded along but you could tell she wasn't really listening, especially when she stood up and collected her things.

"FRIDAY can you please tell Sergeant Barnes to come back to the conference room immediately."

"Of course."

"And do not unlock this door until he arrives," she winked at you before she started out the door and ran down the hallway. You'll kill her. 

"Hey FRIDAY said I was needed, oh." Oh. Fucking oh. You sat at the table with your head banging slightly against the wood while you sang 'kill me now' under your breath. 

"You told Nat didn't you?" Bucky sat on the table next to you, he toes brushed over the carpet as he swung his legs. You stood up and looked at him, he was so gorgeous smiling sweetly at you. God, you just wanted to kiss him again and for the rest of your life.

"I was in a state of vulnerability you can't blame me for wanting someone to talk to." He held out his hand which you graciously took and he pulled you between his legs. 

"Could have talked to me, missed you this morning," his voice sounded so small and dejected. 

"Couldn't risk you saying the wrong thing back?" He let your hand drop and slid down from his perch but you didn't move from out of the spot between his legs, no, this is where you wanted to stay. What if he rejected you?

"Want me to go first?" You nodded your head and Bucky held your cheeks in his hands, one cold and one warm but both giving you a sense of serenity. He kissed your cheek softly, "I've been thinking about kissing you and holding you and taking you out on a date for months now." Another on your other cheek "been stupid scared to since you got me all flustered in the kitchen last week," he had a small smile when kissed the corner of your mouth. "You should know last night didn't mean nothing to me." And on the other corner, "it meant the absolute world to me." His lips brushed against yours, you could feel his breath on your face as you held his wrists. "You mean the absolute world to me, darling. Dammit, I adore you."

You wanted to kiss him, just an inch closer and you could but he wouldn't let you move. You hummed and watched him lick his lips slowly. Too slowly.

"Will you let me make up for not being a proper gentleman and take you on a date like you deserve? Please?" His eyes pleaded you and you nodded and pulled him closer, finally being able to kiss those soft lips of his. 

It wasn't long before Bucky had turned you around and had you sitting on the table with him between your legs holding your waist. He wanted to be the perfect gentleman, take you out, flower you in adoration but you were just so gosh darn perfect how was he meant to keep his hands off of you. 

You pulled at the fabric on his shirt and pushed your hands underneath to run your fingers across his stomach, feeling it constrict under your fingertips.

"Here?" 

"Not here!" Natasha opened the door, her tone was stern but she beamed the two of you, "please keep it PG where people can see you."

"That's all I need to hear," Bucky lifted you over his shoulder and you let out a squeal, gripping the back of his shirt and giving Nat a sheepish wave as he marched down the hallway. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed! 

Permanent Taglist (Open)please don’t read if you’re not 18+: @witch-of-letters @harryngtonewithyourshit @morsmordrethings @buckysdumbmetalarm @marvelsangels @momobaby227​ @weirdlyokaywithit​

Bucky Taglist  (Open)please don’t read if you’re not 18+: @bxrnsfeyson @brilliantbellesoares @supraveng @chubby-dumplin @stuckonjbbarnes @meganlikesfandoms

[singeramg]

How Things Could Change: Part 2

Pairing: Henry Cavill/ Black! Reader

Warnings: None really, I guess slight language

Chapter: 2/2

Summary: The aftermath of your accident...

Part 1

The Unexpected pt 2

Your head was pounding and your chest hurt like hell. You could hear the heart monitor beeping and smell the familiar yet unwelcome smell that came with hospitals.

You hated hospitals.  More like you hated the sadness that came along with it.

You however wondered why you were there? It all came back as you came to. The rain, the tires screeching as you tried to stop. The arguing with your boyfriend Henry, the impulsive decision to leave said boyfriend. All coming together to form the massive fuckup of a car accident. You were surprised you remembered that much.

“Y/n? Baby are you awake?” You groaned at the sound of your mom’s voice. 

“Hold on baby I’m gonna call the nurse.” She brushes your hair back slowly and softly and in one minute the nurse and doctor file into the room.

“Ms. (Y/N) (Y/L/N) it’s good to see you awake. Do you know where you are?”

“Hospital”

God, your voice sounded awful. 

“Water please.” You gasped out. The doc allowed it and your mother held the styrofoam cup to your mouth. Upon drinking you relaxed, then took stock of yourself.

“Ms. (Y/L/N) do you know why you are here?”

“Car accident.”

“ Good. It seems the concussion you sustained has not impacted your short-term memory.”

“How long have I been out? Also what is the damage because I feel like shit.”

The room chuckles. 

“Not long at all actually. An hour. In addition to the concussion, you’ve got a sprained wrist, a broken ankle, 2 broken ribs. And facial lacerations, mostly from your airbag deploying. We were unable to give you certain medications due to your condition.”

“Condition” you asked confused.

Everyone looked at you, then the nurse shared a look with the doctor and then he looked at your mother. She smirks and says

“ Sweetheart you have no idea do you?”

“No? What is going on? Am I dying?” She laughs, and holds your hold.

“Y/n you are pregnant.” The gasp you gave could be heard down the hall.

“Wait! What? I know you lying!”

The room erupted in full blown laughter by then. The nurse, a 40 something herself black woman had to excuse herself. Meanwhile your  mother just pulled your body to her and hugged you. (Narrator note: This is how your mom found out you were pregnant before you and Henry, and she will never let the two of you live it down, saying she knew it before the accident because moms always know.) 

“My baby is having a baby!”

Your heart dropped into your stomach, your palms get sweaty. You could hear the heart monitor went wild. You fought the urge to blackout again. You felt sick. You motioned for a bin, and up came the bag of Doritos and Reese’s you ate on the drive to Henry. 

“Yep, dear expect a lot more of that.” 

Your mom says, then takes the bin away once you are done. You chug more water then you looked to the doctor who with a serious face and said to him.

“And you guys are sure?”

“Positive. We ran multiple blood tests on you upon your arrival to our ER. I assure you however the baby is okay despite the accident. We of course can and will be monitoring you during the course of the healing process and treatment...”

“Wait where is Henry?!”

You asked suddenly realizing your boyfriend was nowhere to be found. Your mom patting your hand comforting.

“Honey I tried to call him. He’s not picking up. I texted him what hospital you were in...”

Then you hear a bunch of commotion

“What do you mean I can’t go back? She’s my fiancé!!!!”

You being his fiance was news to you, but you wouldn’t touch on that right now. 

The voice instantly recognizable with its accent heavy in his anger. You must have not been that far from the front door if you could hear him. 

“Momma go get him before he gets locked up and I’ve got to explain to my child why their father is doing a 3-5 for assault.” She snickers and goes out to the hallway. Meanwhile the doctor turns to you with a smile.

“ I’ve got a consult coming from obstetrics coming down. We will do another ultrasound now that you are awake. Plus I’ll see if we can get something to make you comfortable. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

You smile back and watch the middle-aged sandy blonde doctor leaves just as Henry barrels through the door. He freezes in the hallway. Almost instantly recognizing him, despite the light stubble and curly hair from having his hair longer for the role he was in.

“Wait this is your Henry?” You nod and smile. He smiled back and goes on his way.  You mother come back in behind Henry, who looks absolutely devastated looking at you.

“Baby I’m f...” You start and in a non surprising move Henry breathes a sigh of relief, hugging you as much as he could in your ER bed. You try and sit up to hug him back forgetting you have two broken ribs. The resulting yelp causes Henry to panic and let you go.

“Oh no did I hurt you? I am such a fucking idiot...”

You waved him off, letting the pain pass along with the mild nausea. Your mom hands you some more water. 

“Baby just relax and breathe. Can I get you something else?” She offers.

“No momma, but could you give me and Henry a moment alone for just a second?”

“Of course. I’m gonna to run down to get some coffee. I’ll be back.” She smiles and you knowing your mother you say.

“Oh yeah mom, Do not breathe a word of this to anyone until I say so.” She said okay, but you knew at least one of her siblings would know before morning. She pats Henry’s shoulder on the way out. As soon as leaves closing the curtain and glass barrier behind her, Henry drops into the chair next to your bed, tears in his  eyes.

“I am so sorry I pushed you to leave. You were mad, I wouldn’t let up I..” You shake your head in the negative.

“Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill. (It took you a long time to get that name down) None of these is your fault. Honestly it was Mother Nature (You would find out later that the crash was actually caused by reckless driving. One person would die, one critically injured and you would end up being the least injured of everyone despite them having to use the jaws of life to get you out.) and my fault for being so damn hard headed. I shouldn’t have left the hotel room.”

You offer him.

“Y/n you scared the life out of me darling. All I could hear was the sound of you screaming. The sound of metal hitting metal, then nothing.”

“I am sorry baby.” You offer him.

“Don’t ever be sorry for this. I am just grateful you are still here. What did the doctors say?” You instantly get nervous. You knew you had to tell him everything because they would be coming to do the ultrasound in a little while. 

“Well I have a concussion, sprained wrist, 2 broken ribs, and my ankle is broken. Not to mention my face from the airbag deploy.”

“Shit baby girl...”

“There’s one more thing…”  You tried to move again. You hissed again, it made Henry furrow his brows.

“Darling why are you sitting here in pain. Don’t you want me to call the nurse have her bring you something?”

“Henry they can’t give what would normally give a patient to me. They are consulting with another kind of doctor to check.”

“You have a drug allergy to pain meds now? When did that start?” You looked at him. No time like the present you guessed.

“It’s not an allergy. With my type of condition they have to get a consult.”

“Y/n are you sick?”

“The doctor they have to consult is an obstetrician.”

He will look at you confused for a moment, as his mind tries to piece together what you mean. You watch it set in with concern on your face. He comes impossibly closer to you, taking both of your hands in his, they were large, swallowing them. He looks you in your eyes.

“Obstetrician as in a baby doctor. As in you are pregnant?”

You nod too afraid to speak, not sure if you could talk or make squeaky noises. You see his eyes fully as they widen so far in excitement you can see the heterochromia in his eyes,  the two slightly different colored blues, with the space of brown in one. They fill with tears again but they do not fall. Yours however do. Again he worries over you, worse because he cannot Move you much to hold you.

“Are you not happy about this?”

“I’m actually more okay with this than I thought I would be. I fully expected to be catatonic when I found out but I’m fine. Great even. How do you feel about this?”

You asked even though you were afraid to hear the answer.

“Y/n I am over the moon! I just found out the love of my life will be having my child. I couldn’t  be more thrilled if I tried.”

You smiled and he leaned down to kiss you. 

It still takes your breath away like it did from day 1. 

A/N: Thanks for reading! As of now I am done with this! I may come back to visit this if I get some requests to or just for fun :D 

[anotheronechicagobog]

Dunder Mifflin Meets Intelligence AKA

Volomag and Vodka Part 2

Warnings: swearing, mention of vomit, numerous times, pranks

Written by @anotheronechicagobog

A/N I hope you guys laugh at this as much as I did writing it. The pranks are from a show called “The Office U.S.”, I do not own that or One Chicago Also, Kevin’s sister Vinessa makes an appearance

Whoever coined the term ‘morning sickness’ deserves a slow and painful death. Kim thought bitterly as she was hugging the toilet at ten at night. “Kim? I made you some ginger tea and I got you a glass of water.”

“I fucking love you.”All Adam could do was laugh as he sat on the edge of the bathtub and gathered Kim’s hair in one hand and rubbed his hand up and down her back. Kim let out a grateful hum before her stomach lurched again. The gruesome sound of Kim spewing more stomach acid (because let’s face it, there’s nothing else left for her to throw up) into the porcelain toilet bowl.

Several minutes later Kim felt better, not good, but better. She felt okay enough to get off the floor. She stood up and grabbed the glass of water Adan had brought her from the sink counter and washed out her mouth before grabbing her toothbrush to complete the process of removing the acidic bitterness from her mouth. By the time she raised the mug of tea to her lips it was cold. “Thank you, Adam. For everything.” Her eyes met his in the mirror as he came up behind her to wrap his arms around her middle. “No thanks is necessary. This feels like a dream come true.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I... I don’t think that I’ve been this happy in a long time. I know that we’ve had our issues, but I love you. I have for years. Even when we broke up, I can’t stop. Even if I wanted to.”

“I love you too.” And she did. She might not know where she stands with him right now, she might not want to be labelled as his girlfriend right now, but she does love him. Dating after Adam was hard because she was always comparing them. No matter who they were or how much she tried to stop it, none of them came even close to the bar that Adam had raised. “C’mon,” he kissed the crown of her head, “let’s go to bed, we’ve got work in the morning and you might wake up a few more times in the night.” She smiled softly as he guided her towards her bedroom.

They hadn’t moved in together, but they were looking for a place. Three bedrooms. One for the baby, and one per adult. Adam and Kim, they had such a dramatic history, that they weren’t actually sure how to handle it. They wanted to have this baby, they wanted to parent together, they just weren’t sure if they should be in a relationship while doing so. It was a complicated situation, but they were doing their best to make it work.

————————————————————————————————————

The next day Kim was standing behind the desk at the 21st district. It was a... Unique change, because despite her bubbly personality, she’d managed to be grumpier than Trudy was behind the desk. It had absolutely nothing to do with the work, the officers, or the civilians, and everything to do with her pregnancy symptoms. Nausea and soreness kept her awake at night, causing her to be exhausted and in need of coffee, but she can’t have coffee! And on top of all that, people were constantly bringing food in that thrust her into a constant state of “if I don’t keep my mouth closed I’m going to hurl on everything in front of me, yes I have tried ginger ale, saltines, and ginger tea, and no, none of them have worked”. She was excited to be a mom but she was ready to behead somebody.

“Hey mama, how are you holding up?” Trudy, yes she was letting Kim call her by her first name now, had become her saving grace. Since Kim was covering the desk Trudy was free to do work in the back office and go on patrol. In return, Trudy was making sure Kim always water, Gatorade, and Polish beef barley soup (it was the only thing that didn’t make her hurl). “I haven’t disintegrated anyone with a glare today, so good.”

“Ha! Well, I brought another blue raspberry one for you. I’m gonna head out with Tay for the day since O’Donnel is out sick today.”

“I’m so glad that you were able to get her assigned to 21 again. I missed her.”

“Spare me the love fest, Burgess.” Her tone may have been snappy but the smile on her face and light in her eyes gave away just how happy she was. “Have a good day Sargent.”

“You too.”

————————————————————————————————————

Hailey and Vanessa had been keeping her up to date with all the goofiness of intelligence. All the jokes and all the pranks. When they noticed that Kim looked like she was going to cry, scream, and throw up, they figured they should do something to cheer her up. And since nothing ridiculously funny was happening on its own, they decided to make it happen, with some inspiration from one Jim Halpert.

First, they decided to try one of Vanessa’s favourites. The vending machine prank. They grabbed all of the small knick-knacks from the guys’ desks (excluding Voight because they didn’t have a death wish) and convinced the vending machine guy to let them put them in the vending machine. Adam’s Groot bobblehead, name plaque, and Chicago Bears bouncy ball, in places C4, D2, and H7 respectively. Kevin’s Chicago Blackhawks hockey puck, large globe pencil sharpener, and small Chicago bears teddy bear, in places A6, I3, and F2. Jay’s magic 8 ball, Deadpool figurine, and ‘cereal killer’ spoon, in places G5, D9, and A3.

Second, they moved Kevin’s desk into the bathroom. Phones, computers all plugged in. And aside from the items in the vending machine, all were where they normally were on Kevin’s desk. Vanessa even placed all of his files in order and each spine of the folder a couple of centimetres forward each level. So it looked kind of like a staircase made of folders, and that was how he always did it, according to Vanessa. That earned the dark-haired woman a knowing chuckle from Hailey who, Vanessa reminded, really didn’t have room to talk.

Third, they moved Jay’s desk into the corner of the bullpen, where Al’s used to be, and put a large navy blanket over it. Figuring that was enough to keep his desk out of sight. Together, with some scrap wood from one bewildered Matt Casey, they wrapped the pieces of wood together in such a way that they imitated a desk, a chair, a computer monitor, a phone (that one was a pain), his file divider, pencil cup, pencils and pens, and stacks of files. They were both so proud when the got to look at the finished product.

Fourth, Hailey had gone to a hardware store and gotten a spool of red wire. She plugged on end into Adam’s monitor before placing the wiring with tape along the front of his desk, the floor, all around the edge of the break room, out into the bullpen again, before going down the hallway to the interrogation room, up the wall across from the gun safes, attached to a plastic tub filled with neon coloured ping pong balls. This one went a little off-script, but they were both excited to see how it would turn out.

Fifth and finally, they took the containers out of the fridge that they had made first so that the contents would have time to solidify. Taking off the lids of the three containers, the two women flipped them over quickly onto plates. Thankfully the jello stayed completely intact, each confection clearly showing the mugs inside.

Giggling they stood back and high fived, feeling good and excited for the next day. A heavy cough interrupted them from their internal praise and sense of accomplishment. “Sargent. Hi. What are you doing here so late? We don’t have a case.”

“I was about to ask you two ladies the same thing Upton.” The two women looked at each other and sighed, knowing they were caught, Hailey answered.

“We were setting up pranks for the guys.”

“Don’t you two think that’s a bit childish?”

“It’s to cheer Kim up. She’s been so stressed, and the pregnancy symptoms have been so awful that we thought she needed a good laugh. Plus, it’s not like the guys will get mad at us. Adam and Kevin will go puppy-eyed once they realize this was all for Kim, and Jay’s in love with Hailey so he won’t be mad at her, and he can’t be mad at me if he isn’t mad at her since we came up with all of this together.”

“Hey! He doesn’t... Whatever,” she muttered when she saw the look Voight gave her, “Plus, we didn’t do anything that involved your office, your stuff, or you.”

“... Alright. At least there’ll be some entertainment to distract from the boredom of spending all day doing paperwork. Now get out of here, get some sleep, you have to be back here in five hours.”

————————————————————————————————————

“... Where is my desk?”

“Forget that, why is mine wrapped up like some kind of present?”

“Mine looks fine... But different? Does that even make sense?”

“I’m gonna need coffee if I’m gonna deal with whatever th fuck this is.”

“Start a big pot, Kev.”

“Hey what is this red wire? And duct tape?”

“It’s a computer, Ruzek. It has wires.”

“Thank you for your sarcasm Rojas, but seriously, what is going on? And why are your and Hailey’s desks normal?” Hailey pulled out her phone and started recording Adam as he unplugged the red wire and pulling it up. The duct tape came up with a sticky ripping sound. Everyone watched closely and angeled themselves to get a better look as the tape lifted up from the bullpen floor and continued into the breakroom, Adam growled in frustration as he exited the breakroom pulling the wire up just after he had entered and gone in a circle. Everyone followed him curiously as he went down the hall to the interrogation room, just as Jay was about to shout out an agitated question, the tape went up the wall. When Adam gave a final tug, the last bit of tape came off the wall, but he’d also pulled the rest of the wire, at what it was connected to, down to him. Causing started gasps and shouts from the guys as 100 neon ping-pong balls rained down from the ceiling all over them. “Okay seriously, what was that?!” Hailey, Vanessa, and Voight were all in the background enjoying the show.

“Wait, wait... Do you hear that?” The shouts stopped and everyone strained their ears to listen to what Kevin was pointing out. A desk phone ringing. From the men’s bathroom. Voight subtly took Hailey’s phone to continue the recording. “What the hell?!” Kevin, Adam, and Jay had found Kevin’s desk in the bathroom. Looking confused as hell he looked to his brothers before picking up the phone. “... Hello? Oh, hi Vinessa. Listen I’m gonna have to call you back, something’s going on at work. I love you okay? Say ‘hi’ to auntie for me... Okay, I’ll tell Kim you say ‘hi’. Bye.” He hung up the phone before sitting down and stretching his arms out over his desk. Almost nothing is out of place. “What the ACTUAL fuck?! And where is my hockey puck?!”

“Okay, now I’m even more curious as to why my desk is wrapped up like a birthday present.” Numbly nodding their heads all the men left the bathroom and cornered Jay’s desk. Vanessa had Hailey’s phone and she watched with her boss and roommate as they did their best not to blow their cover. Jay shook his head, puzzled at the state of his desk before putting his arm on his desk and plopping down in his chair... Everything immediately collapsed. Leaving the girls pushing back tears as Jay tried to stand up in the sea of slippery wrapping paper and wood. “Fucking hell someone please tell me that the coffee is done.” He looked like Bambi on ice trying to get up as Kevin hollered from the breakroom, “pot’s done! And thank fucking God for that! Hey! Why is my hockey puck in the vending machine?!” Hailey and Jay followed the crowd in last, Hailey having to help her partner get up. They entered and Adam looked like he was about to blow a gasket. “My name plaque! Groot! Who- Why would someone do this?!”

“Who the fuck put Deadpool in the vending machine?! And where is my desk?!”

Taking shaky breaths all the boys muttered the holy word; “coffee.” Kevin went to get the creamer when he stopped dead in his tracks. Three thuds later, and each of the boys’ favourite mugs were on the counter, floating in piss yellow jello. “Why is my mug in jello?”

“I washed these last night! First the ping-pong balls and now this?!” Adam reached into the jello and pulled his mug out, the jiggly substance still visible inside the mug. The two pranksters (and witness) burst into tear-jerking laughter. Hailey snatched her phone back and sloppily emailed the video to Kim before the boys could stop her. “O-oh - oh m-y- Fu- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“You two did this?!” The girls quickly got off the floor and hauled ass to the women’s bathroom. The lock clicked just as the guys reached the door. “Hey!”

“Get out here now!”

“What did we do to deserve this?!” Their voices were lost in a mixture of laughter and yelling. Hailey and Vanessa were curled up on the floor hugging their stomachs and each other as the laughter became painful.

Suddenly the yelling stopped, and their boss’ voice made it’s way to the two hyenas. “I think it’s time to explain, ladies.” They took deep breaths, their laughter finally coming to an end. They untangled themselves and stood up, but didn’t dare leave the sanctuary of the ladies’ room. “Kim’s been really sad lately. We wanted to cheer her up.”

“And you thought that pranking us was the best way to do it, Hailey?!”

“Yeah, Jay. We all get a kick from joking around now and then, and she’s told Vanessa and I numerous times that sending pics and videos of funny work mishaps brightens her day.”

“We just wanted her to smile again, guys. She constantly looks like she’s about to burst into tears or rip someone’s throat out with her teeth.”

“... Fair enough. I know that this has been hard for everyone, but Kim and I really appreciate your support.” The click of the lock and squeeze of the door had Jay looking into the delighted eyes of his favourite person and... he wasn’t angry. He’d calmed down when they were talking about Kim, but seeing Hailey smile? Really, truly smile? He’d do anything for that. Vanessa stepped out of the way, and into Kevin as Jay wrapped Hailey in his arms, tucking his face into the crook of her neck.

“Kim is my best friend.”

“Hey!”

“Shut it, Adam. Kim is my best friend. Thanks for caring about her.”

“Don’t thank me, it was really, really fun.” And just like that, the intense emotional mood was broken. Causing laughter, from everyone this time, to reign supreme.

“As much as I love this... I’ll call it team bonding and get HR paperwork on hand, we have a desk day today. And we all need to work. So let’s put Atwater and Halstead’s desks back in their rightful places.”

“Okay seriously, where did the two of you put my desk, Hails?”

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

The signature footsteps of Trudy Platt raced up the stairs to the intelligence bullpen, drawing all eyes to her. “Can any of you explain why Kim had to excuse herself to the back room to roll on the floor laughing?”

[rational-mastermind]

Day 4! Today’s lucky couple will be Chris and Claire!

--

I was quickly making my way down the corridors. A little skip to my step. It was a good day. I thought so at least. I saw Trilby coming down the hallway and waved the file I was carrying to him.

 “Yo! I got another case! Wanna-”

 “NO.” Trilby interrupted firmly, as he briskly hobbling past me on his crutches. “Not after last time, you don’t.”

 The crutches weren’t related to last time.

 “Well shit.” I pouted.

 I stuffed a hand into my pocket with a sigh.

 “Guess I’m flying solo.” I shrugged.

 “Chris?” I turned around and saw Claire poke her head out of her own office. “Who’s flying solo?”

 “Oh. Me. Mission.” I showed her the file I received. “Winchester. Witch. Demon. Me. Solo.”

 “..Oh no you’re not.” she shook her head warningly. “Uh-uh. Nope. That’s got bad vibes all over..”

 “Whatcha mean?”

 “I mean I may not predict the future, but this feels wrong.” she bit her lip in worry. “Hmm.. I wonder if Yarrow-”

 “Well.. You wanna tag along?” I offered.

 “I’m sorry?” she looked at me in confusion. “Me? Wh- wait, you mean- me??”

 I shrugged.

 “Well why not? I mean..” she pushed up her glasses and gave me an incredulous look. “No, come on, I’m serious. Why not?”

 “Chris.. I’m.. I-I don’t..” she fiddled with her glasses, looking uneasy. “Chris, I don’t... Go out in the- in the field too often. I just.. I just do paper work.”

 “Well then you should go with me!” I grinned. “Yeah, this would be awesome!”

 “I don’t...know...”

 “Aw, come on, Claire.” I gave her a hopeful look. “Just this once? It’s just one little demon! I mean, I could handle it myself, easily, but-”

 “No!” she suddenly blurted out and then looked more worried. “..You.. You really shouldn’t..”

 “Then you come with me. It’s a win win!”

 “How so?”

 “Well, you get to make sure I’m not alone...” I came up and kissed her hand. “And I get to spend time with you.”

I always loved the way Claire flushed whenever I did something nice for her. The way she fidgeted and stammered. It was just so cute! I was happier by the day that we ended up being together.

After Trilby wound up with Siobhan, I thought it was just gonna be something casual. Something simple and easy.. A way to blow off steam after work. But well.. After spending more and more time with Claire.. I’ve really warmed up to the idea of being more than just fuck buddies. Especially if it means seeing her get all flustered and cute. It wasn’t simple, but that was okay. It didn’t have to be.

Unlike this mission.

It was supposed to be simple.

It was supposed to just be some bitch in the woods, some stupid edgy teenager getting in over her head.

It didn’t have to be like this.

The client was a young teenage girl named Susan Medon who was, allegedly, just doing spooky shit in the woods. A small Blaire Witch kinda thing, where she scares her and her friends and accidentally summoned a real sonuva bitch.

Apparently Susan didn’t just do this kinda thing for shits and giggles.

Holy fuck the woman was as much a monster as the thing she summoned.

Susan Medon knew exactly what she was getting herself into. She wasn’t just in this for a good prank. She did this kinda thing for revenge.

According to Claire, who acted as a sort of medium for this mission, Susan had been practicing this kind of dark magic shit for a while now. She was good. Really good. And the poor idiots that were bullying her at school hadn’t realized that the poor little goth chick they made fun of was planning their demise.

Now we’re locked in its house. I say “it” because Susan is dead now. And whatever’s possessing her body now is in control. But even then that wasn’t my concern. Oh no no no.

It was the thing’s pets that I had problems with.

Hell hounds, and plenty of them. They were nasty things. And poor Claire was terrified.

“So what do we do now?” she asked, as we hid out in the kitchen, salt lining the doors and windows around us.

“I’m thinking. I’m thinking.” I was pacing, frantic.

I had to get her out of here safe. I didn’t know what all to do. I could coat my machete with salt, but that would only ward them off for a bit. And even then the salt would eventually wear off after a few good swings. And even then I didn’t know how to get her out. I could fight the demon, but it was a strong bitch. And that was only if I could find the thing before it jumped me. And that was only if the hell hounds didn’t get us when we stepped out of the door.

“Chris?”

“I’m thinking!”, I grabbed at my hair tugging.

“CHRIS!”

She tugged on my arms and I looked up. She was looking at the door and while my blood was turning to ice, I mirrored her.

There was a persistent scratching at the door and I could see bits of the salt being tugged at. One claw managed a good swipe at the flimsy white stuff and I heard a piercing whimper.

The fucking bastards were trying to dig in.

“Wasn’t salt supposed to work??” Claire asked. “I thought they’d get burned.”

“They don’t care.” I said, fear gripping me for the first in a long time. “Cause there’s more of them.”

 “Oh shit, Chris, what are we gonna do??”

“...Where’s that sink?”

I quickly go over and douse my trusty machete. I throw a dash of salt on it and then guide Claire to a corner.

“Stay here.”

“Chris?!”

I quickly poured the remaining salt in a circle around us. I looked at her sternly and cupped her cheek.

“Claire, stay safe.”

“Chris, no don’t-!”

I gave her a kiss goodbye and stepped out of the salt ring.

“Chris!!”

She grabbed my arm to pull me back in, but by then the barrier by the door was broken. Hell hounds busted down the door and she pulled back in fear. I readied my blade. Five large dogs, that’s 3 more than earlier. They circled around me, drool dribbling down on the floor and teeth barred. Their snarling was a deep, guttural noise that reverberated through the floor. Their bright red eyes pierced mine.

“Alright you disgusting mongrels.” I gritted my teeth. “WHO’S FIRST?!”

I began hacking and slashing as best as I could. The dogs winced and all but screamed in refreshing agony. But it wasn’t a solid victory on my part. After killing them, I was hurt. Badly. And I had just barely managed to kill the last one, its teeth just starting to pierce my soft fleshy shoulder. I pushed it off and weakly tugged my knife back out.

“CHRIS! Oh fuck!” Claire hurried out of the safety of the salt ring and rushed to my side. “Oh fuck fuck fuck, oh no no no, what do we-?! Are you- Wha-what do we-how do I-?!”

I was out of breath and losing blood fast. It was hard for me to keep my focus on the room.

“Claire.. Claire listen..” I felt my strength draining out of me. “You goda.. Hurry... Use.. m’blood.”

“What?? No- Chris, I need to get you patched up first.” She ripped off her jacket and used my blade to cut off a sleeve. I shakily raised a bloodied hand and dropped it on hers, hoping to stop her.

“No.. No Claire.. Y-ya godda... godda do the perfication...” I was slurring. My head was throbbing, the room was swimming and growing dark. There was a loud ringing in my ear. I knew I wasn’t gonna last long. “Do the perfication rin...”

“Chris!“

I passed out, only left dimly hoping she just did as told. I didn’t see the tears flowing down her face or the way she tried to shake me awake. I was left to the endless void of unconsciousness until later when I saw the result of what happened.

Apparently Claire can get crazy scary when she’s mad enough. Psychics, am I right? Honestly, seeing what grotesque and gruesome lengths she would go to for my sake is about the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

“And that was one of the best dates I’ve ever been on.” I concluded.

“Great... So why did you need to tell ME?” Trilby sighed, rubbing his eyes.

[salty-donut-collecter]

Why Stay?

Act II, Part One

Twenty-Seven   {Masterlist}   Part Two

Chapter Word Count: 1,652

Trigger Warnings: Anxiety mentioned, yelling, talk about bones breaking, insults

Please tell me if I need to tag anything else :)

*Also, I’m planning on having this story as a slow burn, so please be prepared :)

Prompts: “Do I look like I give a fuck?”, “I don’t know what I’m feeling, but I’m feeling a lot of  it.”, and “Not to dictate your life, but drop your shitty friends.”

A/N: It’s been a bit, but I’m glad I have a system for this stuff now! Lmao this story is gonna have you guys dying, but I hope you like it nonetheless. 

Happy reading! (Also, feel free to comment your thoughts! I love reading comments :))

Also, if you’d like to be added to the tags list, please let me know! :D

_____________________________________________________

You woke up on Saturday morning, a headache forming as you tried to remember what you’d dreamed.

“Whatever,” you mumbled, getting up and stumbling around in the dark until you got into the dark hallway.

Jesus, what time is it? You wondered, looking around at how dark it was. You looked at your smartwatch (something Katie had left in your room for Christmas), sighing as it read 1:22 am because you knew there was no chance you would be able to go back to sleep now.

Okay… you took a deep breath, I guess today is just going to be a lot longer than planned.

And indeed it would.

Now, you didn’t really think the day was long…. Until Micheal called a “family meeting”, which really just meant y’all had to sit in a room and listen to him before discussing a topic he’d introduced. (The last topic you’d witnessed was furries and kinks because he wanted to see Steven die a little on the inside. (You all know he’s a kinky bastard at heart))

You sighed, wondering how long this one would take because you’d been getting ready to try and sleep again. However, you were intrigued to find he was holding a meeting in one of the kitchen rooms, which was just a room with a huge ass table that could fit the whole family. (So this would be the equivalent to a normal family’s kitchen table.)

You sighed and made your way up there, making sure to be the last person in the room so you could sit next to Micheal, letting Maverick take the right side, while you sat on his left.

“Okay, so I know it hasn’t been that long since Y/n’s been back,” Micheal gave a little eye roll, “Buut, I also don’t care.” he shrugged, holding a hand around his torso in a way you found particularly interesting.

“So, due to my inability to give a shit, and my abundant need to call family meetings, I decided to quell my raging curiosity,” Micheal smirked a little, clearing his throat and demolishing all visible joy as quickly as it came. He then proceeded to open his jacket, extract a familiar folder from under his shirt, and toss it far onto the table, where it flew open and spread its’ contents out for everyone to see.

“So,” Micheal looked at you, his contact lenses red because he was into that, “Care to tell me what this is?”

You had no doubt in your mind that he had already read it, and been furious about it. This told you he already knows everything in that folder by heart, and he was ready to both defend you, and rip the team a new one, which was something you actually found refreshing.

“It’s a file of the information I gathered to quell my own curiosity, actually.” You mused, sitting back and letting your feet sit up on the table. Your chair tipped a bit, but you didn’t mind it much.

Clint was doing the same things, actually. You had a small leaning competition as the conversation continued.

“What were you curious about?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

You smirked, taking a break from you small competition as you sat upright again, “I thought you had powers, actually, and no one gave me the answers I needed to make a proper conclusion.” You shrugged, “So I looked into it myself and got kicked out of the Teen Titans.”

Steve glared at you, “Nobody kicked you out, Y/n. You left because you didn’t want to face the consequences of your actions.”

You chuckled, “Sorry, I didn’t know getting my jaw broken by your shield in a world I made just for you was an invitation to stay and continue to be an Avenger…” You looked up quizzically, “Come to think of it, accusing me of killing people behind your back because I’m an apparent rage monster also didn’t seem like a part of the welcome wagon-- wow, Steve, if you’re so good with etiquette and I’m so bad with it, you should probably teach me-- oh wait, you did, didn’t you? After I’d just gotten here? I’m sorry I failed as a student. It’s just so--”

“Y/n, that’s enough.” Rhodey deadpanned, glaring at you from next to an already peeved Tony. Guess they didn’t get much sleep either. “We’re all happy to have you back, trust me.”

Clint laughed, “Wow, Rhodey, that’s rich!” he sat up, arms softly landing at the table as he looked at the Iron Patriot, “You really wanna go down that route? The whole: yeah, we’re happy to see you again, even though we literally accused you of being a psycho killer last time we talked, but hey! It’s all good now, right? Cause Jesus Christ dude!” Clint laughed, “She literally ran around the fucking w o r l d so she could get a break from our fugly mugs. So I say we give her one. There’s no need to drag this on, Steve.  Little girls wouldn’t be leaving Christmas presents in her room if she was a horrible person.” Clint rolled his eyes, already done with the conversation that’d just started.

“Barton, we’re trying to--” Vision started

“Don’t give me that logical bullshit cause that’s not happening right now. You, Vision, can logic your way into and out of this, but them? Yeah, no. They don’t have the goals you do, and it’s fucking time you realize how biased they are.”

“Okay, but my husband was literally the Winter Soldier.” Steve deadpanned.

Clint gave him the weirdest smile, “And he had a type of microsurgery done on him that was very painful and unsafe to get HYDRA out of his head.” his smile dropped, “We fucking been knowing about your husband, Steve. The thing is, no one cares anymore because he took care of that problem as a consenting adult.”

“I don't need a surgery.” You gave the people at the table a weird look, wondering if the kids should’ve been invited to this conversation. You felt a small finger tap your lower shoulder. You flinched, but calmed down when you saw Katie.

She motioned for you to come closer, so you leaned down to her level.

“Can I sit in your lap?” She whispered, lifting her arms up so you could lift her.

You chuckled, “Of course, my smol bean.” you replied, gently grabbing her under her armpits and lifting her into your lap, where you’d crossed your legs so she’d be comfortable. You looked over to see Chloe itching at her arms. She’s getting anxious.

“Okay but guys,” Micheal’s voice somehow transpiring over everyone else’s with great intensity. “You’re failing to answer my question.” He looked down at you, as if knowing something you should know too. (Really you thought of it as only half of “sharing a knowing look”)

You just shake your head, nothing coming to mind for now. He also shook his head, disappointed in you for some reason.

Micheal turned to the rest of the adults, looking peeved as per usual.

“Why. Didn’t. You. Tell. Me?” He asked, changing the question to better their ability to answer.

Everyone was quiet. The less everyone spoke, the more upset you got with their inability to take responsibility for their forgivable mistakes. You understood the fact that it was a hard thing to do sometimes, but this was getting fucking ridiculous.

“Okay, I get that this is hard for you but honestly grow the fuck up.” you snapped, your eyes rolling as you moved Katie over a little bit. It’s not like you needed to be screaming in her ear-- she didn’t do anything wrong and was too cute for that anyway.

“Y/n there’s more to this than--” Stephen started, but the excuses were honestly too annoying to listen to again.

“That I obviously know about cause I’m a stupid teenager.” You angrily sighed, “So I’ve heard. However, I’ll also say that we can’t do shit about the other things at hand if you’ve never bothered to-- I dunno-- talk about them?” You huffed, your knee bouncing as you try to maintain your composure. Katie is looking more anxious by the minute.

“Y/n, will you be okay?” Katie asked.

You gave her a sorrowful look. You were almost mad at Micheal for bringing her and Chloe into this.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay sweet pea,” you assure her, sounding sweeter than honey on top of Turkish delight.

Your gaze returned to the conversation at hand, which had actually gotten really heated within the couple of seconds you’d left for. Okay then.

“I don’t have to explain myself to an overgrown lab rat.” Stephen snapped, pointing at Pietro from his place at the table.

You stood up, Katie in your arms for only a moment before you quickly set her down. “Stephen, we don’t need to turn this into a fight.” You cautioned, your eyes starring the Master of The Mystic Arts with a flash of anger.

“She’s right, Stephen.” Tony was also standing, looking at Strange with quite the opposite look. You hadn’t seen Tony look that concerned for someone in a while.

The air was tense. Having so many emotions in one room was bound to create trouble, but the type of trouble was a mystery to everyone, causing a subtle fear that only stirred the pot more.

“Stephen, what kind of trouble are you talking about?” Steve jumped in, also standing.

You were surprised by his random aid to your side of the argument, but you decided that it was the least of your worries right now. Your hand gently squeezed Katie’s, momentarily reassuring her after hearing her softly whimper.

Stephen glared at Steve, as if wondering if he should answer him honestly, or tell him to shut the fuck up because he’s been nothing but unhelpful this entire time.

Well, you were screwed.  

_____

Taglist: @introvertedsin @galacticalstarcat @acidrain707

[roselukes]

Almost Forever - Ch 5 - c.h.

Previously

Summary: Feelings make things difficult

Warnings: swearing, brief violence, mentions of violence

Tag List:  @lashtoncurls @wildhearthood@rosesarered516 @dweebluke @heartbreakashton94 @calsfrontcurl @calumspeachy @dukehoods @cosmocalum @wrappedaroundcal @monsteramongmikey @glitterprincelu @irwinkitten @hereforlukescruff @astroashtonio @catchinqcalum @irwinvalentines @kinglycalum @calumculture @angelmikeyy @hotmessmichael @curlyhairedpopstars @meloncal @heavenlyhemminqs @24kcalum @calsjackets @boytoynamedcalum@alyssarester @ssophisticated-simplicityy @mycollectionofnuts @mysteriouslycali @calteahood @cakesunflower @ohhmuke@lukesflaredpants @slimthicccal @ghostofch @norawashere @calthesensation @caffeinatedcalum @calinthewatermelonshirt @caswinchester2000 @cthoodaf @singt0mecalum @letsfuckndance @calumscorgi @rosesfromcth @c-sainthood @softforcal @talkfastfletcher @talkfastcthood @cal-pal-cuddles @honeyedhood @moonlightgodcalum @maybe-a-fangurl @asht0ns-world @pagesuponstpages @burncrashbromance @colourfulcalum @flannelpunkcalum @fallfrxmgrace @calumsmermaid @5-secondsofcolor @cunnillucas @babylonduke @babylon-corgis

“Please, tell me you didn’t.” Crystal sighed, looking at Kayla.

“I did.” Kayla whined, burying her face in her pillow.

“Kayla, if Michael finds out you and Calum fucked, he’s going to be pissed. Do you remember how mad he was when Ashton accidentally touched your boob?” Crystal raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, which is why Michael can’t know that Calum and I hooked up.” Kayla sighed. “He also can’t know that I want to do it again.”

“Stop it. You can’t do that.” Crystal said, kicking Kayla’s shin gently.

“Crystal, you’re fucking my brother. You don’t get to tell me not to fuck Calum, you’re not related.” Kayla rolled onto her side and leaned up on her elbow, her head resting on her palm. “I just really enjoyed being fucked by Calum.”

“Stop saying that out loud, Michael’s gonna be home any minute.” Crystal laughed quietly. “Has he seen your new tattoo yet?”

“No, and I don’t think he will. It’s not exactly in a spot Mike sees.”

“What’s not?” Michael asked, standing in the doorway of Kayla’s room.

“Kayla’s new tattoo.” Crystal said, turning to look at Michael.

“Lemme see.” Michael said, sitting on the bed next to Crystal. Kayla lifted her shirt and showed Michael the fresh ink, a detailed arrow above the wispy words “follow your arrow.”

“Calum did it for me.” Kayla said, hoping he wouldn’t press the issue of the placement.

“He knows you’re yee yee.” Michael said, and Kayla scoffed.

“You’re the yee yee that moved us here.” She huffed, hitting Michael with her pillow.

“Cut it out.” Crystal said, taking the pillow. “My God, you’re like children.”

“No, we’re like siblings.” Michael grinned as he sent a gentle punch to Kayla’s arm. “Anyways, I have to take care of some stuff, so I need you to drop Kayla off at Calum’s office.” Michael said, looking at Crystal.

“Why Calum’s?” Crystal asked, side glancing at Kayla.

“Can’t I go with you?” Kayla asked, looking at Michael.

“I have to do this alone. Calum’s the only one available right now. Ashton’s booked with clients and Luke’s managing the bar.” Michael said, getting off the bed. “Get her there now, please.” Michael pressed a quick kiss to Kayla’s head and one to Crystal’s lips. “I love you both.”

“Bye, Mike.” Kayla sighed, rolling off the bed as Michael walked out of the apartment.

“He’s really putting you back with Calum as if Calum’s gonna do anything other than fuck you senseless.” Crystal shook her head and stood up.

“Should I put on something a little more sexy?” Kayla wiggled her eyebrows, causing Crystal to giggle.

“You’re a freak.” She laughed softly. “You’re fine in that, let’s go.”

*** “What do you mean nothing got delivered?” Calum asked into the phone. Kayla spun around in her chair, nearly dying of boredom. She had been in Calum’s office for a little over two hours now, and all she had done was listen to Calum argue with various employees and customers. “Alright, just keep an eye out, okay? Precious cargo.” Calum said, nearly slamming the receiver down.

“Your job is so boring.” Kayla sighed, continuing to spin around in the desk chair.

“You’re gonna make yourself throw up doing that.” Calum said, his eyes not leaving his computer.

“Throwing up would at least give me something to do.” Kayla whined, pressing her feet into the carpet to stop her chair from spinning.

“Why don’t you go help Millie with the filing? That’ll give you something to do.” Calum said, picking up the office phone. Kayla sighed heavily before getting out of her chair and leaving Calum’s office. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the receptionist’s desk.

“Do you guys have a break room here?” She asked, leaning against the desk.

“Down the hall, to the left.” The receptionist, April, said. Her voice was monotone and her dress was bland. Kayla sighed to herself and walked down the hallway and entered the break room, opening the fridge. She saw a container with Calum’s name on it and swiftly pulled it out. She opened the tupperware and giggled to herself.

“Always was a fan of Michael’s cooking.” She mumbled before grabbing a fork and taking a quick bite of the cold marsala. She closed the tupperware and placed it back in the fridge.  

“Hey, there. Would you mind helping me out with something quickly?” Kayla looked up at the unfamiliar voice.

“Uh, sure.” She shrugged, walking over to the tall man.

“I just need you to stand here and watch for a delivery. I have to take a call for a client.” The man said, leading her down the stairs.

“Oh, okay.” She said, looking around the dock. The man walked away, leaving Kayla alone. She sat on one of the boxes and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her palms. “I was more entertained in Calum’s office.” Kayla huffed to herself, tapping her foot on the tile. She had hoped the man would be back before the delivery came, but with her luck, the truck came and the man was nowhere in sight.

“You work here?” The driver asked, handing her a clipboard.

“Yes.” She lied, signing off on the delivery. She handed the clipboard back to the driver and he glanced down at her signature.

“You’re Michael Clifford’s sister?” He looked at her.

“Yeah, how do you know Michael?” Kayla asked, looking at the driver.

“We’ve got beef, and you’re gonna help me end it.” He said, pulling out a gun and pressing it against Kayla’s stomach. “Make a sound and I’ll kill you right here.” She wanted to scream, but she was frozen. The driver grabbed Kayla’s arm and ushered her into the back of his truck.

“Please..” Kayla tried to beg, but the sound was caught in her throat. Flashbacks raced through her mind as the driver tied her hands behind her back and closed the back of the truck. She felt paralyzed as the truck began to move. She knew it had been a mere few minutes since the truck left Calum’s office, but it felt like hours. She could feel her heart pounding and her blood coursing through her veins, the sound deafening. Then, the truck stopped.

*** Calum was frantic. He looked everywhere and Michael was going to be there any second. “Have you seen Kayla?” He asked, stopping at the receptionist’s desk.

“Who?” April asked, barely making eye contact with her boss.

“Tall, blonde hair, green eyes. She was wearing a neon green sweater and black leggings.” Calum rolled his eyes.

“She asked where the break room was about 2 hours ago. Haven’t seen her since then.” April shrugged.

“I checked there.” Calum groaned.

“Then, I don’t know.” April shook her head and turned back to her phone. Calum slammed his fist down on the desk as he stormed away.

“Enrique, have you seen a tall blonde girl wearing a green shirt?” Calum asked as he passed his shipment supervisor.

“Yeah, I asked her to watch for a delivery. The boxes are there, but I figured she just left.” Enrique said, handing Calum the package slip.

“Are you fucking stupid?! This packing slip is from Heinz Mills. They haven’t delivered to us in nearly 5 goddamn years. You didn’t think that was fucking suspicious?!” Calum yelled, the vein in his neck pulsing.

“I didn’t sign for it, I didn’t notice it until she was already gone. I didn’t even know who she was.” Enrique pleaded.

“She’s about to be fucking dead.” Calum said, crumpling up the packing slip. “Clear out your desk. You’re fired. If I ever see you back here, I will not hesitate to rip you apart.” Calum seethed.

“Calum, where’s Kayla?” Michael asked, walking into the bullpen where Calum stood in front of Enrique.

“She’s fucking gone, Mike. The Raiders took her and they’re probably bringing her to Dixon.” Calum said, storming past Michael and into his office.

“I gave you one simple instruction. You weren’t supposed to let her out of your sight!” Michael yelled, following Calum into his office.

“She was getting restless just sitting her, so I told her to help Millie with the filing. Clearly, she didn’t listen. Fucking Enrique made her sit and wait for a delivery, but Taggart got her instead.” Calum said, sitting in his chair. He picked up his phone and dialed Ashton’s number.

“I trusted you to look out for my sister. It hasn’t even been a month since the last attack!”

“You don’t think I know that?! Mike, I thought she would be safe with Millie. I gave her the most isolated job in the building to keep her occupied. This isn’t my fault!” Calum yelled, before turning back to his phone. “Ash, Kayla’s gone. The Raiders got her and they’re taking her to Dixon. Cancel your appointments and meet us down there.”

“I should’ve taken her with me.” Michael shook his head, following Calum to the parking garage.

“No, that would’ve been more dangerous. She can’t go with you to your sales. Do you know how many times you’ve been jumped while supplying? Imagine what would happen if your junkies saw you with a girl like her. She’s safer with us.”

“She’s clearly not safe with you.” Michael rolled his eyes, sliding into Calum’s Range Rover.

“She’s safer with me than she is with you. Now shut up and track her phone.” Calum said as he pulled out of the garage, speeding down the side street. He parked in front of Dixon’s bakery, a front for the narcotics he sold with each donut.

“Her phone says she’s at the office. She must have left it there.” Michael sighed and got out of the car. Ashton pulled up behind Calum’s car and got out, Luke getting out of the passenger seat.

“What the hell happened?” Ashton asked, walking over to Calum and Michael.

“Calum was negligent and let my sister get fucking taken.” Michael said, walking into the bakery.

“Well, if it isn’t Michael Clifford and his ratpack.” Dixon smirked, pulling off his gloves. “What brings you to Sunshine Creamery today?”

“You know exactly why we’re here.” Michael glared at him. “Where’s my sister?”

“Oh, you mean little Kayla? She’s doing just fine. In fact, I think she’s enjoying some quality time with a dear friend of mine. Perhaps you remember him from the day you shot his eye out.” Dixon smirked at Michael.

“Where is she?!” Michael yelled, pulling out his gun.

“Fuck this.” Calum said, jumping over the counter and grabbing Dixon by the collar. “Where the fuck is Kayla?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Dixon smirked. “You have fun in Ashton’s tattoo shop?” He raised an eyebrow and a sense of concern floated across Calum’s eyes.

“How do you know about that?” He growled lowly.

“I know everything.” Dixon smirked. “Now, unless you want Michael to know what you and his baby sister have done, I’d suggest letting me go.” Calum hesitated for a moment before releasing Dixon’s collar.

“Bring her out here.” Calum said, his hands over his gun.

“This is gonna be fun.” Dixon smirked to himself and walked into the back room. He came out, pushing Kayla in front of himself as a human shield, his gun pressed into her side. Her arms were tied behind her back and her mouth was taped shut. Blood dripped from her temple and the dried tear tracks on her cheeks showed her pain.

“Let her go.” Calum said, pulling out his gun.

“You think your guns scare me?” Dixon laughed dryly. “If you want me to let her go, you’re going to have to put your guns on the counter. All of you.” Kayla whimpered as Dixon tightened his grip on her sore wrists and pressed the barrel of his gun deeper into her ribs.

“Okay, okay, just don’t hurt her.” Michael pleaded, putting his gun on the counter. The boys followed suit, their eyes never leaving Dixon.

“Perfect.” Dixon smirked, removing his gun from Kayla’s side. He pulled the tape from Kayla’s mouth and wiped her tears. “Save those for when you really need them.” His smirk widened as he lifted his gun, pulling the trigger.

[jemej3m]

To the Good Place We Go (p.2)

part two! (sorry about errors totally didn’t read over this)

credit goes to @gluupor​ for the idea! link to their the good place au here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16782301

warning: aftg typical violence

part one here: http://jemejem.tumblr.com/post/182518320202/to-the-good-place-we-go

“I don’t belong here.” His voice shook. He imagined his father was looking up from the Bad Place, grinning like the mad-man he was. Neil was delivering himself into hell, because it was the right thing to do. His morals had been warped and distorted on Earth. If he was going to spend eternity suffering, he might as well make himself feel better by doing it honourably.

Also, he wanted to prove Andrew wrong. But that was besides the point.

Three-hundred and twenty-one residents, an omnipotent ethereal being and a walking Wikipedia stared at him in shock.

“Well.” Wymack clapped his hands together. “Dismissed, everyone!” He crooked a finger at Neil, and he felt his heart clambering to get out of his chest as he shuffled forward. He tried not to flinch as Wymack’s fingers brushed over his shoulder, and in less than a blink, they were standing in his office. Wymack rounded the desk and grabbed a stress ball off the desk and propping his feet up on the oaken edge, throwing it up and catching it repeatedly.

“Well?” Wymack offered him the chair. Neil sat. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I didn’t try to get in or hack the system somehow.” Neil murmured. “I’m not a mole. It’s a complete mistake.”

“Ha. A human, hacking into the universe? Very interesting. Very impossible. You humans are so strange.” He caught the ball, took his feet off the desk and leaned forward. “Neil Josten, you’ve been chosen as a candidate for MPP. The Middle Place Project. Nicky!”

“Yes?” Nicky had blooped into existence next to him.

“Strike Neil Josten off the Test One list.” Wymack’s smile was small but warm.

“That was a test?” Neil said testily. Wymack held out his hands.

“Honesty is an integral part of being a good person. You, out of everyone, are the most practised liar. Eight years on the run, twenty-two identities—I’m surprised you aren’t having an identity crisis.”

“Same.” Neil muttered. In all honesty, he was glad to have died as Neil Josten. Neil Abram Josten. Out of everyone he’d been, Neil was his favourite.

“If you can come forward, in front of the entire neighbourhood nonetheless, then I’m sure the rest will follow.” He cleared his throat. “The Middle Place Project is proving that humans are capable of  change, whether it be improving, or failing. There’s a few in the midst of the neighbourhood that we’re watching to see whether or not you can improve from your characteristic behaviours on earth.”

“Will we get into the Good Place if you do?”

“Maybe in five-thousand years.” Wymack promised. “If I can manage to convince my superiors of  your genuine progress.”

“Right.” Neil drawled. “Five-thousand years. No biggie.”

He glared at Neil with intense scrutiny, but somehow, Neil was unafraid of this ethereal being. He was giving Neil a chance, wasn’t he?

“Well?” Wymack grouched. “What are you still doing here?”

“What am I supposed to—“

“Figure it out, Josten. Just don’t tell anyone it’s a test. Got it?”

He pursed his lips. “Cool. Yeah. Got it.”

Wymack watched him, unimpressed, as he shuffled towards the door. Neil shot Wymack a quick grimace as he slipped out.

He blew his bangs out of his face with relief. Andrew stood in the waiting room, arms crossed and eyes barely slits. “So?”

“I’m alive.” He twinkled his fingers. “See?”

“Actually,” Nicky piped up.

“Shut up, Nicky.” They both ground out.

“Test forty-seven!” Wymack clapped his hands. “We’re finally getting into the good stuff. Ethical responsibility!”

Neil threw a troubled glance at Andrew, who, of course, stared impassively back. Ethics?

“What’s sitting in a classroom gonna do about our ethics.” Seth grunted.

Neil had decided he disliked Seth intensely. It was something about the constant fits of anger, irrational judgements and toxic intolerance to everything that wasn’t Allison’s tits or Adderall.

“Well, actually,” Kevin chided. Wymack snapped his fingers, effectively muting Kevin. The young man tried to scream in horror, but slumped in his chair with defeat.

“We’re going to be learning about some of your moral philosophisers and interpret what they had to say about what’s right and wrong. How about some basic questions, hm? Just to gage where each of you at.”

This wasn’t going to go well.

It was fine, wasn’t it? They had, what, five-thousand years?

“These first few should be simple.” Wymack picked a clipboard off his desk. “Let’s see. Neil?”

He looked up at the towering, omnipotent being. “What?”

“Is murder good or bad?”

Neil shrugged. “Depends.”

Wymack looked a little dismayed. “Andrew?”

Andrew jerked his thumb at Neil. “What he said. For example, Seth is a perfect example of why murder isn’t always bad.”

Neil grinned at him, and liked the way a spark of amusement glinted in his eye. Seth was probably clambering out of his chair to haul himself at Andrew in a fit of rage, but Neil wasn’t watching. He simply appreciated the sunlit hair that shone like spun gold, and the perfect understanding shared between them.

Their benevolent guardian simply dragged a hand over his face as his classroom dissolved into chaos.

“Good morning, son.”

Neil opened his eyes slowly. He was sleeping in a double bed, his double bed, in his cottage. In the afterlife. He was in the Middle Place. His name was Neil Josten. He had died at the age of 19. He played striker. His soulmate was Andrew Minyard.

Sitting upright, he saw Andrew standing at the opposite end of his bed. There was a young man standing behind him with a vicious glean to his eye; He had his chin hooked over Andrew’s shoulder.

Andrew was gagged, hands cuffed behind him. His feet were bare: His skin shone with sweat as his muscles convulsed. There were bruises blossoming under his skin: He’d put up a serious fight. How was he bruising? Could you be hurt in the afterlife?

“I said, good morning.”

Slowly, Neil craned his neck around. All six-feet of his father were craned over the edge of his bed, one fist denting the mattress and the other wrapped around Neil’s neck. He was looking at a mirror image, the eyes and the hair and the sadistic smile. Thick fingers tightened around Neil’s windpipe.

“Young Drake Spear was promoted to help me. It’s time to collect our rewards for such excellent work down in the Bad Place.” His grin was that of a wolfs.

“Fitting.” Neil wheezed out. Honestly, he was terrified. The thought of eternity trapped with the unending methods of his father was enough to wish that there was a way for Neil to die and end up in a further layer of the afterlife.

His father only laughed. The last thing he remembered noticing was Andrew closing his eyes. For a moment, it looked as though an angel was praying.

Dan crouched down, back to the wall. In her hand was a magnetic clamp, ready for Bad Nicky. It’d render him useless, and they couldn’t let Nathan Wesninski, Drake Spear or Riko Moriyama have access to him. They were powerful enough as it was.

Kevin was bone-white beside her. It had to have been years since he saw Riko Moriyama. Neil and Andrew weren’t the only ones facing their old demons today.

The man who’d stabbed Dan in the back had been boiling in a pit of acid. The demon in charge of the tank flashed a grin at her. “Want to join him?”

Aaron’s mother had leapt out at him from a shuffling line of prisoners, grabbing for fists of his hair and screaming. She hadn’t been able to tell which twin it was, mixing up the names as she spasmed with hysteria. Aaron had clutched his arms to his stomach and hurried away.

With Dan and Aaron’s close calls, Renee knew it was every possibility that her old gang leader had heard the commotion the group had caused and would want to connect with the girl who ended his life in a knife fight. Renee was clutching her rosary, praying as every demon brushed by her.

God, was Dan exhausted. Matt, Aaron and Seth had all been lured with narcotics. Then Matt got into a fight with a security guard, and Seth backed him up. Then someone insulted Allison as she was trying to flirt her way through a checkpoint, and she’d clawed their eyes out with her nails, but gotten bust up at a result.

So yeah. Not a great time for any of them.

“This is it, kid.” Wymack warned. “We’ve got a window of thirty seconds to get them out of there.”

Dan nodded.

A young man left the room, meaning Bad Nicky was watching over Andrew and Neil. Dan rolled out from her hiding position and bolted at the black-clad man standing in front of her. She whacked the cuffs on, stunning the look of contempt right out of those big brown eyes. He stumbled, turning around to look at her.

“Oh my god,” Allison cackled. “Bad Nicky is a straight, fuck-boy version of Nicky?”

It was true. He was wearing a flat-cap, backwards, and a big grey hoodie underneath a leather jacket. His jeans were torn and he wore stupid, stereotypical boots. He had a tattoo of a girl with her tongue between her fingers on his neck, and a gold-capped tooth.

“Hell.” He slurred. “You got me. Ha-aahh.”

Nicky was staring at himself with horror. “Disgusting.”

“Andrew,” Kevin faltered. “Where’s Neil?”

Andrew was sitting up, both hands chained to the bedposts behind him. He was blindfolded, his clothes in tatters and bloodied. Aaron rushed forward, dragging Nicky with him. The chains were cut and Dan watched Aaron murmur something to Andrew as he tore his blindfold off.

“We have to go.” Andrew said, fierce. Dan had never seen him so angered. “I know where Neil is.”

Matt grabbed bad Nicky and hauled him over his shoulder. The group filed out, lead by Andrew, Aaron surprisingly right on his heels. Despite the obvious abuse, he was legging it down the hallway. With the chaos of the Bad Place, the rag-tag team and their badges had looked like nothing more that a bunch of demons. With a Bad Nicky incapacitated and over Matt’s shoulder, they were running out of time. Andrew somehow had perfectly memorised the route to Neil’s cell.

They were almost there, when Andrew staggered to a holt. The young man they’d seen leaving the room earlier was standing in front of them. Aaron acted too quickly, brandishing a knife and jumping the guy. The knife buried itself into the man’s chest. Dan gasped.

“I won’t let him touch you again.” Aaron promised his twin. “Go.”

Andrew said nothing, instead shoving his way through a metal door on the left just metres past.

The demons present whirled upon their entrance. Dan felt her blood boil as she saw Neil in a chair, head hung. He couldn’t even lift his head to see who’d appeared.

“Wesninski, these humans are mine.” Wymack growled. “Give them back. They’re official property of the Middle Place.”

“Oh, oops.” The man—who did look scarily similar to Neil—grinned at the younger boy. Riko Moriyama. “It’s almost as though demons have to follow rules. Incredible.”

Riko had no eyes for anyone but Kevin. Kevin, who stood with his chin up and broad shoulders as he stared the other boy down.

“I’ll oversee your retirement myself, you rotten sack of sadistic fuckery.” Wymack snarled, stepping forward with Nicky at one side and Andrew at the other. “Back down. Now.”

“Kevin, Kevin, Kevin.” Riko clucked his tongue. “It’s so nice to see you. Such a shame that we’re opposed like this, brother.”

“I’m nothing like you.” Kevin rasped. “I’m going to go to the Good Place.”

“Why bother?” Riko leered. “When you can have so much more power, down here? They recruit the worst, you know. I was just human too. Now look at me.” He lifted his hand, and Neil spasmed, head flung back and mouth open in an aborted scream.

That was the precise moment that everything went to shit — as if everything hadn’t already gone to shit. Wymack launched at Wesninski: Andrew was hurling towards Riko, and the rest were attempting to shut the door on the copious amounts of demonic spawn trying to get a better look.

Dan was desperately trying to get someone’s attention but the only one who listened to her was Renee. That was ultimately futile, because Allison was thrown aside and Renee, obviously lost her shit. Even the faithful had their breaking points.

Kevin was desperately clawing for Neil to break him free: Andrew was brawling with Riko with a desperation that had Riko shaken, Wesninski was waving a knife in Wymack’s general direction, Matt was thrown over a demon’s shoulder and causing a ruckus, Seth was yelling and Allison was wiping furious tears off her face, snatching a knife off Renee.

Wesninski threw the knife. Riko threw himself at Neil. The door was thrown open.

“ENOUGH.” Nicky screamed, standing in the middle of the room.

Everyone froze.

“I’ve been through a lot, today!” Nicky’s voice was so shrill that Dan would have winced if she weren’t completely stiff. “I’ve hauled almost a dozen of you shits through portals, this way and that way. I’ve been running faster than I’ve ever had to run in my life, because I don’t run, I teleport! My husband’s disappeared because he wasn’t compatible with the Bad Place, I’m not meant to be this emotionally distraught because I’m just a machine, and now this?” He gasped. “I. Am. Flabbergasted. It’s my favourite human word, and that’s what I am right now. Not only have you—“ He pointed to Wesninski. “Defied basic laws by having a child with a human, you’ve been recruiting humans! Gracious, do you know the worst part of this entire shit-fuckery?” His voice raised into a scream once more. “I have to live out the rest of my eternal existence knowing that Bad Nicky is a straight fuck-boy!”

“That’s the worst part?” Neil said, weakly, his voice raw with screaming. “Well, gee, Nicky. I missed you too.”

“So,” Nicky continued. “I’m going to unfreeze my friends. Friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S. And we’re going to leave. And am going to report your demonic asses to the new Lord Ichirou of the underworld, and I hope you live in agony for eternity. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” He snapped his fingers and Dan almost collapsed, if it weren’t for Matt holding her up. “We’re leaving.”

Andrew hauled Neil to his feet, clutching the taller boy to his side in a fit of possessiveness.

Dan stood by the door as she counted her crew out of Neil’s cell, watching Nicky carve an angry path through the mob of frozen demons. She glanced over her shoulder to see Kevin glaring at Riko.

“Kevin,” Dan started.

The man slapped Riko so hard that Riko’s head shifted, even with Nicky’s freeze power. Or whatever the fuck that was.

“You deserve so much worse than hell.” He said, calmly, before marching out the door. Dan followed him, squeezed his shoulder. His look was not as confident as he’d been momentarily ago, but he offered her a shaky smile.

“Let’s go home.” Wymack said, tiredly slinging an arm around Nicky’s shoulders.

They all smiled faintly, and with a nod, they were on their way home.

“How’d you do in the Trolley exam?”

Andrew glared at the sun. It was still peering over the horizon, the endless rolling hills, trying in vain to grasp a few more minutes of illumination. It turned the sky into a brilliant palette of purples and blues.

He wanted to shove Neil off the roof of this stupid house, but he probably wouldn’t even break a bone. He had been sleeping in Neil’s grossly cramped cottage for a few months, where there was only one room and Andrew had been donated the couch. They’d razed Andrew’s old house to the ground a few weeks back. That had been great fun.

The reason he wanted to shove Neil off was murky, but he knew part of it was because Neil provided him a tether: To stay in the Middle Place, to try and achieve Good Place status with everyone else, to stop himself from marching down and delivering himself into greedy hands. It didn’t matter if Drake and Wesninski and Riko were gone. Hell would still suck.

He hated it.

But he also couldn’t cut the rope.

“I ran you over. It was very satisfying.”

They corner of Neil’s mouth quirked. Andrew hated that too. He hated Neil’s stupid red curls and brilliantly blue eyes. They were sparkling in the sunset, each freckle and scar glossed with a decadent shade of gold. “What was it between?”

“You and nothing. I think I’m a bit behind in class.”

Again, the quirk of the mouth.

Truthfully, the choice had been between Neil and Aaron. Because they were all already dead and this was just a theory, Andrew knew it didn’t matter. But still, he’d found himself torn. Usually apathetic and uninterested, he was placed in the simulation and felt a strange thrumming in his. ear. His heartbeat. Quickening.

Aaron was his brother. He had promised Aaron protection. Aaron had gotten them both killed. Aaron ignored his conditions and went out with Katelyn, and lied about it. Aaron was his brother. Andrew died protecting Aaron from their mother. Aaron had stabbed Drake for him. Aaron was his brother.

But Neil was his other. Neil listened. Neil smiled. Neil was honest with Andrew. Neil was relaxed with Andrew. Neil looked at Andrew in a way that made Andrew felt as though he was coming undone, unravelling at the seams. Neil could see Andrew. Neil understood Andrew.

He’d only had a split second left to decide.

He’d chosen Neil over Aaron.

“Yes or no?”

Neil narrowed his eyes. “To what?”

“A kiss.”

The word sounded so delicate out of Andrew’s mouth. He felt delicate, exposed and raw to Neil’s understanding gaze. All this studying of ethics and morality and those stupid philosophers was getting to Andrew’s head. The question yes or no was balanced on a scale, the decision between forever and never ultimately resting on Neil’s final answer. Andrew fucking hoped it was a yes.

Death made one’s apathetic resolve melt like ice sometimes.

Gosh, he was a miserable forking sap. It was disgusting.

Neil smiled, so hesitant that it was almost unnoticeable. But Andrew saw it. Maybe Andrew understood Neil, too. “Yes.”

Fork the Good Place. Andrew was already there.

once again, credit goes to @gluupor /// link to their the good place au here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16782301

hope u enjoyed!

[depressed-sock]

Reveal Au part 2

A Fallen Hero Fanfic 

This series will have spoilers! And Kiyo has the suicidal scar!

Plan in Action

Kiyo 5 hours earlier:

 “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” you mutter as you study the holographic map Mortum has laid out before you. These assholes couldn't put Ortega on a lower floor near the side, oh no, they had to apparently put him smack dab near the center of the building up about 5 floors of 8. “Are you sure this is accurate?”

 “Undoubtedly,” Mortum frowns, as he flicks his finger causing dozens of red dots to suddenly appear, “Let’s not forget the small army as well.” He takes off his glasses rubbing his eyes with a tired sigh. “And of course the dampeners. Kiyo… we’re not going to be able to do this with just the two of us.” He looks as frustrated as you feel.

  “Fuck,” all this information and you still don’t have a clear plan. “I could use Eden to-”

  “No,” Mortum’s face turns stern, you had reached an agreement of not using Eden but you’re not seeing many other options.

 “Fuck!” your hands come up to your face muffling your scream of frustration before you slam them down on the table, “I don’t know what else to fucking do!”

  You grit your teeth as you eye the map carefully. What if?... It’s a definite thought but… no buts Herald could get you up high enough to reach the floor… the others could cause a distraction...but they’re not going to want to leave you alone with him, let alone trust you to actually save Ortega…

  “What if it’s not just the two of us?” you ask, moving your fingers to zoom out the map. There’s a hallway that leads straight to Ortega from that window…

  “What do you mean?” Mortum looks at you confused but you’re already miles ahead in your thought process. How would you get them to trust you? You’d probably have to take someone else with you. Can’t be Herald you’ll need him ready to get Ortega to medical help, Argent would be better focused on distracting and attacking, so that leaves Chen… Mortum coughs into his hand and you’re pulled back into trying to focus on what you were saying.

  “We tip off the Ranger’s and I get them to agree to a temporary team up,” you mumble moving the map so now you're looking at the dots on the roof. You can brainwash them, it’ll be a fast and dirty process and they’d probably be snapped out of it easily but it might be enough to make sure they don’t set off the alarms too early.

  Mortum barks out a laugh looking at you disbelievingly, “You can’t be serious... you are, shit.” He rubs his hand over his face, “That’s a huge risk, especially if you’re going to tell them who you’re there to save.”

 “Well then I guess I’ll have to be there for something else…” you zoom out the map fully, “What else did your contact say?”

 “Well, there is a weapon you could go after. It's a floor under where he’s being held,” Mortum adds a green dot below Ortega's blue one, “We can use the parts for our ‘project’.”

 “What kind of weapon?” you ask leaning forward.

 “A fun one,” he smirks at you and you can’t help but match it.

 His smirk turns back into a frown, “It’s still a risk I’m not sure you should be taking.”

 “I have too,” you focus on the map, “I have to save him…” Even if he didn’t save you. You shake your head, trying to will that thought away. He didn’t know you were alive, it’s not his fault… he would have come like he always did if he knew… would he really have come if he knew the truth about you? You honestly doubt it.

 “You will,” Mortum’s hand is a comforting presence on your shoulder, speaking words he doesn't fully believe.

….

Steel Present:

  You watch as they hold their palm steady letting it project a small map of the building, “Your idiot is located here,” a blue light flashes onto the screen. Right smack dab in the upper middle of the building. Fantastic, the sarcasm your mind supplies doesn’t seem adequate enough for this entire situation. “What I’m after is, luckily for you, directly below him,” a green dot flashes on the screen a floor below the blue one, “The plan is to get you to him and than we go our separate ways as you return to flyboy with the Idiot. There’s a clear path from the window to where they’re holding the Idiot captive,  so it should be a clear shot there and back.” A fifth-floor window lights up along with the hallway leading to the room Ortega is supposedly being held in.

 “So you want us all to fly up there?” Argent glares at them and they let out a loud sigh.

 “No, you’ll be the ‘just in case’ distraction waiting on our signal,” Argent grits her teeth in response but before she can say anything more they stop her, “Listen I get it, you enjoy a good fight as much as I do and you’re also worried about him but the best chance you have of getting him out of there in enough pieces for you to scream at later is for you to play decoy so we can get him to flyboy.”

 “So you’re going to have Herald fly both of us up?” you eye them distrustfully. This could all still be a trap. Get you all separated so it’s easier to pick you all off. “What about people spotting us?”

 “If I’ve done my job right no one will even know we’re in there until it's too late,” they cross their arms defensively, “Flyboy is going to need to be ready to extract the Idiot.”

 “I’m standing right here,” Herald frowns crossing his own arms, “Steel should we really be trusting them?”

 No, you shouldn’t be… something about them feels incredibly off and you can’t quite place it. Maybe it's how they keep referring to Ortega as the idiot, it sets off something in your memory you can't quite place. But if what they’re saying is true you may not have a choice. Your jaw locks as you stare them down. You're going to have to take a leap of faith and hope all the stories from civilians about Heartbreak are true. That they’ve saved more lives than they’ve harmed.

 “Fine,” you say and their shoulders sag in relief, “But I want a guarantee that you're not going to betray us once you have us separated.” They hesitate at that, head tilting to the side like a cat eyeing its prey.

 “What kind of guarantee? I could give you my word but I doubt that would be enough for you. I could even give you the name of someone close to me but names are easy to fake. So what exactly could I give you that would make you trust me long enough to pull this off?”

 “You’re making it really hard to trust you,” Herald glares at them, obviously not looking forward to this whole situation but honestly who among you really are?

 “You shouldn’t trust me,” they respond, “I’m not here for trust, I’m here to retrieve what was taken from me.”

 “What was taken from you?” you ask, what is so important that they need your help to retrieve it?

 “A… friend,” they shake their head with a laugh, “Same as you I suppose.”

  You eye them carefully, there’s no way to tell if they’re lying to you, “Alright, let’s do this.” You hope for everyone’s sake that this is the right choice.

….

Kiyo Present:

  You let Herald take ahold of your suit and you both take off to meet Chen who is already waiting for you at the top. It would be so easy for him to let go of you, to let you fall but with how armored your suit is you definitely wouldn’t die, let alone get injured. You can’t help but wonder if he knows that or if the reason his grip tightens is because he truly doesn’t want to drop you. He sets you down gently next to Chen on the other side of the shattered window. Looks like he followed through with your plan, the glass is practically dust as you step on it.

 “Wait nearby just out of sight, until the Marshall here gives you the go-ahead,” you point your thumb at Chen who grunts in response. Apparently, he’s still mad at you, or maybe it’s just he’s fully convinced this is a trap. It’s not a trap for him at least, might be for you considering how many telepathic dampeners are in this place. The Ratking responds with a light comforting touch, you can barely feel it through the dampeners but you appreciate the sentiment all the same.

 You got lucky with the roof guards being just a bit out of range, but here you have an enormous headache and are almost completely head-blind. You're trusting Ratking to keep you as up to date as it possibly can while also trusting the Rangers not to betray you.

  Herald files off and you turn to find Chen staring you down. He is so much more intimidating when he looks set for war. “This way, don't attack anyone unless I say so.”

 “You expect me to follow your orders?” his voice is cold, sharp. A response you deserve.

 “I expect you to do what's necessary for yourself and your team,” you respond harshly. Chen is a rules first person but you sincerely hope he's willing to bend them a bit for everyone's sake. You're taking this risk fully aware that he might try to capture after all is said and done.

 He doesn't bother with a verbal response as he allows you to lead the way. You turn off your mic to quickly open a private communication line with Mortum, “How's everything looking from your end?”

 “Looks clear, no heat extra heat signatures on your level and there are only the same two people registering as awake,” you can hear him quickly type something before he lets out a curse, “You may want to hurry, I'm picking up extra signatures heading towards the elevator.”

 “Fuck,” you curse and Chen looks at you startled by your outburst. Shit, you turned the mic back on too early, “We need to hurry.” You take off down the hall, there should only be two real obstacles in your way and they're guarding Ortega's door. “Be ready to start punching,” you say over your shoulder grabbing the corner of the wall to make a sharp turn. Chen slides a bit trying to keep up with your faster pace and sudden turns.

  “Shouldn't there be more people here?” he asks sounding like he's regretting trusting you. The whole place feels too quiet to not be a trap and you don't blame him, you wouldn't trust this whole situation either.

  “There was,” you don't bother explaining, it's not exactly something to brag about. Just some drug-laced pizza you had one of your brainwashed guards deliver. The only two that hadn't eaten it are the ones still on guard duty. “Get ready!”

 You turn the corner and immediately charge the first guard, who lets out a surprised shout only to be swiftly taken down just as Chen's fist slams into the other guard’s head. Too easy… it sets off your paranoia. All of this feels too easy, but maybe that's because you've got the Rangers backing you up.

 You don't wait for Chen to refocus, you go straight for the door and open it. Ortega is battered and bloodied, his head down against his chest as his arms are chained and suspended above his head. His breathing is shallow but he's clearly breathing. You can feel the immediate relief as you realize he’s not dead or seriously injured.

 “Found him,” your voice feels weak and comes out more like a whisper. He responds by weakly looking up in surprise.

 “Ki-”

 “Ortega!” Chen pushes past you and you let him as fear courses through you. It sounded like… No, he couldn't know… he couldn't know that you're Heartbreak. He couldn't have been about to call your name.

[kdinthecity]

Confessions of a Teenage Sugar Queen: Sweet Little Lies

This piece can be found on Ao3 and ff.net or by following the links below.

Chpt. 1 | Chpt. 2 | Chpt. 3 | Chpt. 4 | Chpt. 5

Chpt. 6 | Chpt. 7 | Chpt. 8 | Chpt. 9 | Chpt. 10

Zuko pushes himself to a standing position too abruptly, and I scramble to get my feet underneath me. He'll bolt again, I bet, but instead a silence just hangs in the salty sea air between us long enough to sting. I see the realization in his eyes, the drop of his shoulders, the tightness of his jaw, and I want to take it back—take it all back, if I could.

"So Ikem, he's—"

I nod.

"And Kiyi—"

I shrug. She could be Ikem's daughter and not Ursa's, but there is an undeniable resemblance between the feisty five-year-old and her would-be half-brother. "Zuko, I—"

A full range of emotions passes across his face in a matter of seconds, and whatever I intended to say next simply dies in my throat. His rage flares, but is quickly replaced by piercing hurt and confusion that penetrates to my core. Then he settles on that distant expression—decidedly the worst one of all. He's shut me out again.

We didn't revisit the whole boyfriend-girlfriend conversation, but Zuko is probably right. I am crazy for hoping we could make it could work. There is too much uncertainty, too many—

"Too many lies," Zuko says and resolutely shakes his head. "I'm done with all the lies."

I had been thinking secrets, not lies. The truth is there, just hidden. We are supposedly on this journey to find answers together, but there hasn't been enough time to talk about everything while we're running for our lives. Yet, I've apparently betrayed his trust by keeping secrets from him—that is, if he ever really trusted me at all. I was the one making confessions back at the airport but had only assumed our feelings were mutual.

I should tell him what I know before we head back to Noren—err, Ikem's house, but now he is intently focused on his phone, punching at the screen with unnecessary force. I pull my phone out to check the bus schedule and notice that I've missed two messages from Dad. He says he's at Ikem's, which I already knew, and is worried, so no surprises there, except…

What the—? Dad knows about Ikem?

I feign ignorance and text back, "I'm sorry, but who is Ikem? I don't recall visiting anyone by that name."

He responds, "I meant Noren," which strikes me as odd, so I half expect him to call my bluff and add, "But you knew what I meant." I stare at the words on the screen, and suddenly I want to scream. Zuko is right. IT'S ALL LIES!

"Come on. The White Lotus has service here," Zuko says briskly. "I've called us a car."

His fingers interlace with mine, and he leads me up the rocky beach pathway at a rather quickened pace. I've heard of The White Lotus before, an app-based rideshare service, but I've never used it. Headquartered in the Bay Area, it's widely popular there, although I had no idea its footprint expanded as far as Alaska.

Of course, the driver would happen to be Aleut, too, and recognizes our shared heritage. His chattiness has robbed me of any chance to talk to Zuko, to at least warn him that we're likely walking into a situation where his uncle, my dad, and Ikem are all on the same side. I mean, I think we're on their side, too, just purposely left in the dark on a lot of things. Whether it is lies or light, there is much to be revealed.

The scene upon our arrival should not have shocked me, honestly, but whatever had been keeping me together through all of this, completely shatters. Zuko barges in the door, heads straight for Ikem, and shoves the man against the wall. I crash into Dad's arms despite my earlier misgivings. Kiyi screams.

"Where is my mother?" Zuko demands.

"Nephew, now let's just—

With one hand fisted in Ikem's shirt, Zuko rounds on his uncle and points a shaky finger at him. "Or how about you tell me where she is?"

Iroh's hands shoot up in a placating gesture. "Ursa is safe, and that's what matters! But not everyone is safe, and that's why we're here. Please, we need to tell you something important."

At this, the façade breaks. Iroh catches Zuko with a fierce embrace while Ikem skirts several paces away. A sigh, a shudder, a faint I'm sorry. It's a moment that shouldn't have an audience, yet here we all are. Even though I'm enveloped in strong, safe arms, I wish I could disappear—escape. I bury my face into Dad's chest where my tears have already dampened the fabric of his shirt. The lingering scent of moonpeaches only makes me cry harder.

Sokka emerges from a corner of the room and gently addresses a trembling Kiyi. "Hey firecracker, weren't you gonna show me some cool masks in your room or something?" The young girl sniffles, then accepts the hand he's offering, and they disappear down the hallway together.

Can I go with them? I silently plead. This day started so innocently for me with Kiyi—and the smell of moonpeaches… talking about masks on the wall—and The Blue Spirit Crashing.

Nothing could have prepared me for the series of events that would happen today. And nothing could have prepared me for what Iroh is about to say. A simultaneous, collective movement is made toward the couches and chairs, because news like this is better taken while sitting down.

"There's been an incident." The old man clears his throat or chokes on his words, it's hard to tell which. "At the Marine Science Center. It caught fire last night, and—"

My dad takes the cue and continues, "Most of the animals are safe. Yue was able to set them free into the bay before the place was engulfed in flames. But because she went back to rescue them, she didn't make it out in time herself. It's uhh, all over the news. Some guy named Hahn has been interviewed, and they're looking for you two. There will be a full-scale investigation because they suspect arson as the cause."

I can barely form thoughts much less words. I somehow manage to hear Zuko speaking past the pounding in my ears.

"Are we suspects?" he asks.

Iroh shakes his head.

"But my father is behind this."

"Zuko, don't—"

"Come on, Uncle, you and I both know what he's capable of." Zuko catches my eye for the briefest of moments. "I think we all know, so please. There's no use sugar-coating anything."

I fight the urge to become a self-declared Sugar Queen—just a normal, blissfully unaware almost-sixteen-year-old. In my steadfast quest for answers, I hadn't fully weighed the impact of the truth, past or present. I sure as hell didn't think about who else might suffer the consequences.

Zuko voices my very next thought, "This is all my fault."

"It's not," my dad counters. "You can spend years consumed by self blame, but it won't bring any more or less honor to the deceased's name. Seek justice, yes, but not at the expense of safety."

These words hit home for me, but Zuko doesn't skip a beat. "But it should have been me. Ozai probably went to the Marine Center looking for me. I turned him into the police! My own father. I gave them Mom's files and The Painted Lady's, too. It won't matter, though, because all of that Death Valley stuff will be covered up by now. He goes around terrorizing everyone—killing people even, but because he neatly covers his tracks, it will never end. He's too powerful, too connected. As the primary benefactor for the Marine Science Center foundation, he'll probably give some bullshit speech about how he is so sad for the loss. Meanwhile, there is no proof of his madness. No one knows what Future Fire Industries does behind closed doors!"

"Mai does!" I blurt out suddenly. How could I fucking forget something so important? Zuko raises a brow in confusion, and with all eyes trained on my every movement, I rummage through my purse to procure the USB drive she had given me the other night at Mushi's. "Mai put some files on here about the weapons Future Fire is making," I explain breathlessly. "She gave it to me before we left, and everything has happened so fast since then. I'm sorry I didn't—"

Iroh reaches out to take the device from me. "I will personally make sure this gets to the authorities. You kids have dealt with so much already."

"Make a copy of it first, Uncle," Zuko suggests. "You never know with my father."

"Oh believe me, I know," Iroh says solemnly. "I know far too well."

I shudder at the thought of what Iroh must know and wonder how he's managed to evade his brother's wrath or influence. Then I remember that Zuko said his uncle worked for Future Fire at one point. A flicker of mistrust stirs inside me. What if—

"We've been tracked."

I'm beginning to hate when Zuko finishes my inner thoughts aloud. Because most of what I'm thinking is pretty dark these days.

Zuko, looking very pale, points to his phone and clarifies, "I don't know why Mai is offering to help again, but she warns that Ozai somehow knows we're here." He runs a hand through his hair and mumbles to himself, "He'll kill her next for tipping us off."

My dad asks the hard question. "Iroh, can you think of any way he could have known that you sent the kids here? Or that you were coming here yourself?"

The older man furrows his brow. "I was quite intentional with the travel itineraries, and the paper trail should have been minimal. But like my nephew said, Ozai is very well-connected, so the possibility exists—"

"It was me." Zuko now appears paler than pale. Impossibly pale. Is he going to pass out? "Fuck, I wasn't thinking. I was so careful to use cash everywhere just like you said, Uncle. But the White Lotus… I used the app to get us a car. I haven't used it since… and it's still—"

Iroh nods in understanding, his expression grim. "I see."

My dad looks back and forth between them, bewildered, and I sense the same seedling of mistrust taking root in him that I had felt earlier. It would help if he actually had a clue what we're talking about. The explanation quickly follows, not that it sets anyone at ease.

"My brother's credit card is still tied to a taxi service, of sorts, that Zuko can access from his phone," Iroh says with a sigh. "He used it often last summer when he was interning at Future Fire and did not have a car of his own, yet. When Zuko came to live with me just recently, I checked for any tracking devices Ozai might have placed on the phone, and we deleted a few suspicious apps. But we must have overlooked The White Lotus."

"So where are we going?"

No one had noticed that Sokka had rejoined the group. No one has an answer for him, either.

"So… the megalomaniac is chasing us… we gotta go somewhere he can't find us," Sokka continues. "The Bahamas would be nice and warm. Hmm, maybe… Spain? Or how about… Japan?"

"Don't get too excited there, Sokka," Dad intones. "We can't really afford—"

"Pick anywhere, and I'll send you there," Iroh says, then persists when my dad starts to shake his head. "Hakoda, it's the least I can do… after all the grief my family has caused yours."

Iroh then turns to Ikem, another person who's been forgotten in the mix. "I trust you have a safe place for you and Kiyi?"

"My parents live in a remote village in the Yukon Territory. We'll go visit them until this whole thing blows over."

Ikem's response surprises me. Why wouldn't they go see Ursa? Is it too risky?

Well, I'll take that risk. No more lies. No more sugar-coating.

"Thanks for the offer, Uncle Iroh," I say. "We'd like to go to Ba Sing Se. And we want Zuko to come with us."

[tiemeupspidey]

Caught Web Handed

Series: Peter Parker Imagines

Relationship: Peter Parker x Reader Warnings: Swearing cause I swear a lot get used to it or don't read my stuff Word Count:2,000+ A/N: Typed this before my shift! Enjoy my darlings :)

[Reader's POV]

"Now just do the equations worksheet over the weekend, you have a quiz on formulas on Tuesday have a great weekend everyone!" the teacher waves to us before walking back to her desk. Putting your notebook away you zip up your bag.

   Slinging the straps onto your shoulders you pick your phone up off the lab table. Taking your beanie and putting it on your head. You start to walk towards the door when a hand grabs onto yours. Looking at your hand to the body thats connected to the other one. You smile realizing it's your boyfriend, Peter Parker.

"Baby, I'll see you over at my aunts tonight for dinner right?" he asks looking at you with a cute smile. Nodding you quickly peck him on the lips.

"Yes I'll head over there after school,I offered to help her cook" walking hand in hand the two of you leave the room. Fixing your glasses you push them back up the bridge of your nose.    

“No wonder why Aunt May larbs you so much” his laughter making you smile, it’s so damn cute. It was his Aunts way of saying I love you and since you started dating she says it to you too. Now you’re a part of the Parker household.

   Peter kisses you goodbye once you two reach the end of the hall. He said he had to go do something for the Stark Internship. Your friends joked he was cheating on you but you all knew he wouldn’t. Peter wasn’t like that all, he reminded you of a love sick puppy.

    Walking down the hallway next to you, you pass through a sea of people to get to the doorway. Peter was long gone by now doing whatever for Mr. Stark. Zipping up your windbreaker you step out into the windy environment. It was fall in Queens and quite chilly to be exact. Holding onto your skateboard as you step down the entrance steps.

   Teachers stood outside watching as people left. Their eyes monitoring everyones behavior some eyes on you due to your skateboard. Leaving the school grounds and placing your skateboard on the ground. Placing your maroon Van clad foot on the black board. Your eyes looking down at the Spider-Man sticker you made to decal it.

   Pushing off with your left leg you stand fully on the board. The wind blowing against your skin as you roll down the street. Using your left leg to push for more speed. Music playing in your headphones as you make your way to Peter’s place. The streets turn into a blur as you make your way down. Skating across crosswalk ,thankfully no one next to you. You hated skating and having to get off if there were more people trying to cross.

   A red blur passes by capturing your body sending your skateboard off into the street. Headphones popping out of your ear as a cars honking fills the air. A scream leaves your mouth as you see you’re not on the ground connected to the lovely Earth. Seeing your skateboard get snapped in half broke your heart. The man driving the car slammed on his breaks flipping you off.

   You were held in strong arms making you snap back into reality. Looking up you see it’s Spider-Man. Words couldn’t even form in your mouth. Your jaw was ajar and probably broken open from shock. He swings another web descending from the perch he was holding you on.

“Watch where you’re going bitch!”

“Hey buddy that’s not how you talk to a lady!” He shoots a web hitting the man in the mouth. Another web securing his hands to the wheel.  

“I-I don’t even know what h-happend I was just crossing the street I-”

“Don’t worry, he was the one who almost hit you trying to speed through a light… Are you okay?” his voice sounding worried as he placed his hands on your shoulders. The eyes of his mask narrowing as he looked at your body.

“I’m fine thanks to you Spider-Man, my skateboard not so much” you sigh pointing over to your crushed buddy who was murdered.

“Can I offer you some web transportation today?” his voice sounding very familiar. Your mind just couldn’t process anything at the moment after what happened.

“Thanks but I have to go help make dinner tonight, maybe I’ll see you around Spiderling”you wink at him before walking over to the guy trying to get the web off. Pulling out your brass knuckle rings you slip it on.  Raising your arm you punch his back window.

“That’s for Zippy you impatient fuck” Checking the road you cross it and pick up your murdered pal. You’ve had him since you were in middle school. 

    The man looks over at you like you’re insane. His face angry but he couldn’t say anything cause it was muffled. Flipping him off you make your way down the street. Putting your headphones back in your ears you turn the music up. Secrets cover to Shape of You starts up making you grin. Singing along you continue your way to Peter’s apartment.

-

“Sweetie can you grab me the vegetables I washed? they're in the sink in the colander” May asks as she chops up the onions her eyes watering slightly.

“Got it” giving her a thumbs up you walk to the sink pulling the colander out.  Water droplets drip so you shake it a few times before setting it on the counter.    

     Grabbing a cutting board you place a zucchini on the board. Opening a drawer you find a knife and pull it out. Hitting the drawer closed with your hip you begin to cut the vegetables. May instructs the way you should cut as she slides the onions into the sauce pan. Elvis was playing in the background as the two of you cooked.

     May and you talked about what was going on at school. You told her how your art piece got picked for a contest. Peter was more the science smarts you were the artsy one. Total polar opposites but love each other so much. It was also a plus for having a smart boyfriend, he’s your own tutor.

   Sticking the pan in the oven you set the timer for an hour. May was cleaning up the kitchen while everything was baking. She had the sauce on a simmer to keep it warm till Peter gets home. Lifting your backpack off the ground you carry it to Peter’s room. Walking in his room and stumbling on his shoes. Kicking them to the side you roll your eyes.

     Going to the bottom bunk you set your bag on the made bed. Leaning against the wall you cross your legs. Pulling out your laptop you open it up to Tumblr. Scrolling through your feed on the Spider-Man Blog you had. You’ve been trying to capture pictures of him and thankfully you had your camera set up in your glasses.

     Taking them off you flip a latch open and plug a micro usb into it and the usb into the computer. Downloading the file you upload it and add a caption. Adding the tags you want and post it to your blog. Pressing play you watch as you’re hoisted up and how you look up to see Spider-Man. Watching the clip again smiling cause you knew it would get loads of reblogs. Closing your laptop you unplug your glasses.

      Putting them back on your eyes adjust being able to see clearly again. You could see without them but the world seemed more clearer with them on. Thankfully your dad knows how to add technology to things so you were able to have him customize the glasses. They were perfect because you were able to capture footage of him.

     Moving to the edge of the bed you freeze seeing the door close on its own. Quietly getting out from under the bunk bed your feet step onto the floor. Looking up you see Peter on the ceiling crawling. A strand of a web hanging from the door closed. He jumps down quietly and gracefully, his back to you.

“You’re Spider-Man?” You blurt out making him jump turning around. A look of fear plastered on his features.

“N-No I’m not” Peter’s voice panicked as his suit slides off his body. His muscular body coming into view making your eyes grow wide. Peter wasn’t like this before,where did this body come from? What the actual fuck was happening?!

“You were on the fucking ceiling Peter Benjamin Parker” your voice rising a bit from what you saw. He covers your mouth pinning you against the ladder of the bunk bed. Peter looks back at the door becoming dead silent.

“Quiet please, May doesn’t know..” He looks you in the eyes, his eyes begging you practically. Nodding he lets go of your mouth stepping back.

   Watching as he slides out of the suit. Pulling on a sweater he had draped over his desk chair. His hands pulling down the sweater covering his prominent abs. A blush on your cheeks as you look away from him. Jesus Christ you didn't know he had that body hidden under the clothes he wears.

“How long have you been hiding this from me” crossing your arms over your chest shifting your weight to one leg. Your hip popping to the side as you waited for an answer.

“It happened a few weeks before we dated…I just feel like I need to do something around here while I can.. Mr. Stark made me this suit, it used to be this homemade one but now I have thi-“

“HE made your suit?” you ask in awe looking at the suit on the floor. A lightbulb going off in your head, looking back up at Peter you point at him.

“This is the Stark Internship isn’t it or is it just a cover? Holy fuck you’re working with Iron Man” Peter’s smiling at your freak out moment that you were having. Your boyfriend is Spider-Man.

“You’re not mad at me?” he looks at you with the sweetest eyes, he reminds you of a puppy sometimes. Shaking your head no you pull him into a hug. His strong arms wrapping around you tightly.

“I’m just mad you didn’t tell me cause I’m your biggest fan” you give him a playful glare as he lifts you up.

“Do you know how hard it was to keep this a secret? You’ve almost found my suit so many times while you’ve been here” Peter laughs lightly setting you down on the ground. The door opens to show May peeking her head in.

“Hey I- Oh Peter I didn’t know you came in!” Peter turns around kicking the suit under his desk. May raises an eyebrow looking at Peter’s tense body.

“Dinner will be ready soon, Peter put some pants on” she closes the door leaving the two of you in Peter’s room. Peter jumps hitting the ceiling open a small latch. He hooks the suit up closing it letting out a sigh.

“Now why don’t you show me the footage you captured today” Peter grins pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose. Your eyes widening at his statement he just made.

“What do you mean?” You look away heading towards the bottom bunk.

“You really think I was just saving you or coming out of nowhere? I did that so your blog could get tons of hits” He sits down next to you on the bunk a content sigh leaving his lips.

“Son of a bitch” you laugh shoving him slightly only to be pulled into his arms. Peter kisses your forehead making you smile.

“Don’t think I didn't notice you charging your glasses in class today, my Spider Senses tingle more around you the most” his smirk growing only making you roll your eyes. He was such a smart ass but he’s yours and you were so content with your life. Daily content because Peter is a part of it.

   For the remaining time you showed him the clips of you caught of him. Him asking you how you got certain angles or how you did certain shots. Dinner was ready and the two of you headed out to the dining room table. May being a hoot with her jokes with Peter. Life was great and even greater knowing your boyfriend is the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man .

[onewfantaesy]

so this is something i started writing like at least a couple years ago and i never finished it but it’s pretty decent and i like the story so 🤷 anyways taemin finds out his parents aren’t actually his parents and his sister and brother-in-law are not actually his sister and brother-in-law

"Taemin, what is he doing in my house?" The fourteen year old turns his head quickly at his brother-in-law's voice and grins sheepishly. His own hand is currently gripping his friend's to try and drag him down the hallway to his room, but he wasn't expecting Jinki to be standing right outside Taeyeon's room.

"He's hanging out with me." Taemin tells Jinki sweetly, but the man shakes his head. Jinki's lips are pursed into a straight line, and he does not look amused.

"Why is he in my house, Taemin?" Jinki asks again, and Taemin's grin turns into a pout.

"Luna said I could." Taemin tells him firmly, "We're just gonna be hanging out in my room. It's my room, you said it was!"

"Well it's my house, Taemin." Jinki sighs, rubbing his forehead.

"Please, Onew, please?" Taemin begs, hurrying over to Jinki and folding his hands, "Please, bestest big brother-in-law in the whole wide world?"

"Fine," Jinki groans, "But you better not be doing anything illegal in my house; I know your parents, Jonghyun."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Lee, sir." Jonghyun says hurriedly, letting Taemin pull him down the hall and into his bedroom.

"He's just having a friend over, Jinki." Luna comes over, rubbing Jinki's arm.

"I taught him." Jinki complains, "It's weird having students in my house. Besides, he's too old to be hanging around with Taemin."

"They're only two years apart, Jinki; you're being overprotective." Luna warns him, "Besides, we told him that was his room; he can have friends over if he wants to."

"It's just - your parents said-"

"I know what they said, but they haven't really been sticking by it, have they?" Luna seethes, "Just, please, just let him have his friend over, okay? They're not doing anything illegal or anything."

Jinki lets out a deep sigh, "I just want what's best for him."

"And I don't?" Luna snaps, "I've had to watch them practically ignore his existence for fourteen years, Jinki-"

"So have I." Jinki tells her, and they both decide that they'll end their little spat there so they can go figure out what their three year old is up to; Taeyeon's been too quiet for too long. Naturally, when they find her, she's cut off all the hair from a few of her dolls, and they spend the next hour cleaning up the fake hair from her carpeted bedroom floor and teaching her that doll's hair doesn't grow back.

Once they've got Taeyeon occupied with something else , Jinki's knocking on Taemin's door as he walks into the teenager's bedroom, "Taem, is your friend gonna be staying for di- Oh my God."

"Get out!" Taemin screams as he throws a pillow at the door that Jinki's already pulled closed.

"Oh my God." Jinki mutters to himself as he walks back to the kitchen with wide, terrified eyes.

"No, Jonghyun, wait!" Taemin begs as he runs after Jonghyun, but the sixteen year old is sprinting out of the house and to his car to drive away. Before his sister or brother-in-law can say anything, Taemin's hurrying back to his room to grab his backpack and follow Jonghyun's example of running out the door.

"Taemin, where are you going?" Luna calls, "What happened?"

"Your stupid husband doesn't know how to knock on the stupid door!" Taemin shouts, and he runs out of the house before they can ask him anymore questions.

"What did you see?" Luna asked in an desperate tone.

"They were - oh my God - they were making out!" Jinki holds his head up in his hands, "They were making out right on his bed!"

"They're teenagers, Jinki," She scoffs, "I can't believe you didn't knock!"

"I did knock!" He defends himself.

"Did you do it as you were walking in, because you have a really bad habit of doing that." She snaps, and Jinki smiles sheepishly, "Shit, Jinki, my parents aren't home right now! They won't be home until Wednesday, at least!"

"So?" Jinki's eyebrows furrow, "What's that got to do with this?"

"I don't want him there by himself!" She raises her voice, and she tells him that he has to go bring him back before the end of the night.

On Monday, Jinki's furious, because he couldn't find Taemin anywhere over the weekend, and Luna won't stop blaming him. She's afraid that he's been kidnapped, or hurt, or worse. Jinki knows that he's fine, though, because he can see through the attendance online that he came to school today. Taemin doesn't have Jinki's class until fifth period, though, and Jinki hasn't seen him at all throughout the day. 

When Taemin finally walks through Jinki's classroom door, the older is so annoyed that he just grabs the boy by the arm and drags him over to his desk.

"Let go of me," Taemin hisses, "I'm mad at you."

"I can tell by the way you were AWOL all weekend." Jinki hisses right back.

"You walked in on me," Taemin seethes quietly, "You did it on purpose."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Jinki defends himself, and he's glad that the bell hasn't rung yet, "How was I supposed to know?"

"You wanted him gone the second he walked in the house!" Taemin accuses, "You wanted to kick him out for something, and you found it! Congratulations!"

"Taemin-"

"Don't tell my parents what you saw," Taemin warns, but Jinki can see the worried look in his eyes.

"You are not the one in charge here," Jinki tells him, because despite his best effort to stay as quiet as possible, he knows a few students are listening.

"Just don't tell them!" Taemin says desperately, "If you like me even a little bit, you won't tell them; please."

"Okay, okay; I won't tell them." Jinki says to calm him down, only because he doesn't want the other students to question anything, "But you have to come home tonight; and you have to tell me why."

"Fine," Taemin agrees through clenched teeth, "Dad already wants to take me out of dance; if he finds out about Jong, I'll never be allowed out of my room again."

Jinki sighs, running a hand over his face as the bell rings, "Go sit down, Taemin." 

The boy huffs and walks to his seat in the third row. Taemin crosses his arms and sinks in his chair, not even bothering to take out any notes when Jinki starts going over a new algebra concept. 

Jinki thinks the kid's damn lucky he can ask for tutoring at home. 

When the bell rings fifty minutes later, Jinki grabs Taemin's arm again when he walks by his desk, "You better drop the attitude, mister, 'cause it's not cute."

Taemin looks him up and down with narrowed eyes before spitting out, "You're not my father."

There's a pang in Jinki's chest, but he ignores it and says back, "Just come back here after the dismissal bell, will ya?"

Taemin doesn't say anything as he pulls his arm out Jinki's grasp and stalks out of the classroom. He doesn't come back to Jinki's classroom at the end of the day, and when Jinki calls him, it goes straight to voicemail.

"He's fine, Luna; just in a bad mood, is all." Jinki assures his wife that night, "He's probably staying wherever he was over the weekend."

She yells at Jinki that he needs to make Taemin come home tomorrow, or else. Jinki's afraid of what that "or else" might be, so he does the only thing he can think of.

"Detention, Taemin." Jinki puts the slip of paper on Taemin's desk, "I told you to take your notes out, and you didn't, so detention. Today. After school."

"This is such bullshit." Taemin seethes under his breath, and even though he heard it, Jinki lets it slide.

Taemin comes trudging into Jinki's classroom at the end of the day and falls into his seat, hiding his face in his arms. A couple other students come filing in within five minutes, and Taemin internally groans at the fact that he's not the only one Jinki gave a detention to, today. Once they're all seated, Jinki tells them they can leave after half an hour.

"And keep your heads up." He reminds them, and when Taemin pulls his head out of his arms, he glares right at his brother-in-law.

"Hey, aren't you related to Mr. Lee?" The boy sitting behind Taemin asks quietly, and Taemin rolls his eyes.

"Fuck off," Taemin whispers back, and Jinki shakes his head.

"No talking," He tells them, "Or would you all like another detention?"

They all shake their heads, and for the next thirty minutes, Taemin sends the nastiest glare he can muster to Jinki. When Jinki dismisses them, he crosses his arms when Taemin tries to leave with the rest of them.

"So help me God if you try to run away again." Jinki says loudly, and Taemin stops in his tracks, embarrassed at the fact that the others heard him being scolded by the man.

"I'm not running away," Taemin defends himself as he turns to face Jinki, "I'm not even related to you! You're my sister's husband, so stop trying to act like you're my dad, because you're not!"

"Taemin-"

"Just stop!" Taemin pleads.

"Taemin, what's wrong?" Jinki asks him, "I'm sorry I caught you and Jonghyun-"

"It's not about Jonghyun!" Taemin cries, "It's all this! You and my sister act more like my parents than my actual parents do! And it's annoying and confusing and-"

Jinki pulls Taemin into a hug, holding the teenager's head under his chin while he talks, "I'm sorry that they're not good parents,"

"It's because I'm a mistake," Taemin mumbles, trying to push away from Jinki.

"You are not a mistake." Jinki tells him firmly.

"I'm seventeen years younger than Luna; that doesn't sound planned to me." Taemin chokes out.

"Taemin-" Jinki starts, but Taemin cuts him off.

"Just let go," Taemin pleads.

"Not until you say that you're not a mistake, because you are not a mistake, Taemin." Jinki tells him seriously, holding onto him tightly and putting his face in Taemin's hair.

"Then why don't they love me like how you and Luna love Taeyeon?" Taemin chokes out, sniffling.

"Who knows, Taeminnie?" Jinki says, "But me and Luna, we love you very much, and we want you to come home tonight. Okay? Let's go home."

Jinki's still holding Taemin close to him when they walk out to the parking lot. Taemin's eyes are red, and he looks like he's about to break down at any moment, so Jinki tries to get them home as quickly as possible. He's worried, though, when the boy doesn't talk during the ride home. Taemin doesn't even change the radio station to that techno crap he's been so into lately. When Jinki pulls into the driveway, he puts his hand on Taemin's head and ruffles his hair.

"Don't look so glum, buddy." Jinki teases, his lips quirking into a lopsided smile as he tries make Taemin stop frowning.

"Is she mad mat me?" Taemin asks quietly before they get out of the car.

"No, no, not at all," Jinki assures him, "She's just worried about you, kiddo."

"Can I stay here tonight?" He asks, "I don't like staying at the house when no one's there."

"Course, buddy." Jinki smiles softly, "Luna wants you here, anyway. We both do. And so does Taeyeon."

"How is namesake, lately? Haven't seen her in a couple days." Taemin's lips twitch into a smile at the thought of the three year old.

"Oh, as good as any three year old, I suppose." Jinki says as the two get out of the car, "Tried giving herself a haircut yesterday. Thankfully, she hadn't started cutting any off when we caught her."

"She loves scissors," Taemin mutters to himself, "It's weird."

"Where did she get them, I wonder?" Jinki says aloud, giving Taemin a knowing look.

"No idea." Taemin smirks, entering the house behind Jinki.

When they enter the house, Luna immediately hurries to the door, "Oh God, Jinki, was he at - Taemin!"

The fourteen year old smiles nervously before Luna runs over to him with a serious expression on her face, "Taemin! How dare you just leave and not tell anyone where you've been! Do you know how worried I was? You didn't even call-"

"Taemin, why don't you take Taeyeon into her room and watch her for a little bit, okay?" Jinki cuts in, nudging the teenager towards the toddler who's sitting in the middle of the living room.

"Jinki," Luna growls, but Jinki shakes his head.

"I need to talk to you. It's important." Jinki tells her, and Taemin looks between the two adults with wide eyes before he hurries to pick Taeyeon up and bring her down the hall.

"Hey, namesake. Wanna play a game?" Taemin asks with a grin, and the three year old agrees enthusiastically.

"Jinki, I haven't seen in him four days," Luna starts, but Jinki guides her over to the couch to sit down.

"We need to tell him. Now." Jinki tells her in a desperate tone, "He thinks - he thinks he's a mistake. They - they haven't kept up their part of the agreement, so we don't have to, either." 

"But, we weren't supposed to tell him until he was 18, they said-"

"I don't care what they said." Jinki snaps, "I can't watch them neglect him much longer, or I might snap."

Jinki's voice cracks at the end, and he holds his wife's face in his hands as he stares into her eyes and speaks slowly, "We have to tell him."

"Okay," Luna agrees, her eyes moist, "Okay. Go get it; it's in the safe, with the rest of that stuff."

Luna sits on the couch while Jinki walks to their bedroom. She holds her head in her hands while her elbows rest on her knees. Her heart is beating hard and fast, and she feels tears gathering in her eyes. When Jinki comes back, she composes herself and walks to her daughter's room.

"Taemin?" She asks softly as she opens the door. Taemin is helping Taeyeon build something with her legos, and she can't help but smile at the sight. Taemin's head turns to the doorway where Luna stands, and she watches as he chews on his bottom lip.

"Yes?" His voice is soft, and she gestures for him to follow her.

"Taeyeonnie, can mommy steal Taeminnie from you for a little bit while you play in here?" Luna asks with a slight laugh as she kneels down in front of the toddler.

"Okay." Taeyeon agrees easily as she continues to build her castle. Luna sighs in relief, and she leads Taemin out of the room and into the living room.

"I'm sorry," Taemin says in a strangled voice as he follows behind her, "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"It's not that, baby," She says softly, "We just - Jinki and I need to talk to you. About something important."

"What's going on?" Taemin asks slowly as Luna has him sit down on the couch next to her. Jinki is sitting in the chair next to Luna, and he hands her a document.

"Taeminnie, sweetie, I don't really know how to tell you what's going on, so, so just read this, okay?" She chokes out, handing the document to the teenager.

"What is this?" Taemin furrows his eyebrows as he reads it, and once he reads it, his eyes go wide, and he repeats in an angry tone of voice, "What is this?"

"It's your birth certificate." Luna says softly.

"But - But this is wrong." Taemin spits, "Is this a fucking joke?"

"Don't talk like that," Luna scolds him, "And this is not a joke. We wouldn't joke about this, Taemin."

"This isn't funny," Taemin's voice cracks, "What - what do you think you're doing?"

"Taemin," Luna starts, but Taemin shakes his head.

"What's going on?" Taemin asks, and when Luna moves her hand to wipe the tears off his cheeks, he jerks back and scoots further away from her, "This isn't funny."

"It isn't supposed to be, Taemin." Jinki tells him softly.

"I'm going to tell you what happened, okay?" Luna says quietly, and she only starts talking again when she knows she has Taemin's attention, "When Jinki and I were in high school, you know we were together in high school."

Luna sighs, rubbing her arm as she thinks of how to tell him, "We did what any other high school couple wants to do, you know? And, well, I found out I was pregnant."

Jinki moves to sit behind Luna on the couch and rub her arms while she talks, "My parents, his parents, none of them were very happy with us, as you can imagine. And, well, they gave us an ultimatum: either have my parents adopt you, and have you and everyone else think that you were my little brother, or have us give you up for adoption to - to strangers."

Luna sniffles as she tells him the very condensed version of the story, "Baby, I couldn't just give you up. I never, we never wanted to give you away. We wanted you to be ours, we didn't care about how old we were, but our parents, your grandparents, didn't think that was a good idea. We were going to start our senior year when you born, and they didn't want people to know that their kids had a baby before marriage."

Luna scoffs at the idea, but she turns to send a watery smile to Taemin, who looks like he's going to be sick.

"When were you gonna tell me? Or were you just gonna let me think my entire life was a lie until the day I die?" Taemin snarls at the last few words, and his eyes are narrow and red.

"They said we couldn't tell you until you were 18, but they haven't been taking care of you, Taemin." Jinki tells him, but Taemin starts shaking his head.

"You think that's better?" Taemin snaps, "I just - I can't-"

His breathing is heavy, and his lower lip wobbles as he rises from the couch and grabs his backpack. 

"Taeminnie," Luna reaches out for him, but the teenager moves quickly and heads towards the door.

"Taemin!" Jinki says loudly, and the boy stops for a moment, "Wherever you're going, if you want to tell whoever it is you've been staying with, you can. It's okay."

Taemin doesn't say anything as he runs out the door. Luna starts crying into Jinki's shoulder when Taemin leaves, but he rubs her back and tells her that they still have a toddler they need to take care of. He lets her pull herself together while he goes to tell Taeyeon that Taemin had to go. The only way they get their daughter to not cry over Taemin's absence is to promise her that she can have whatever she wants for dinner, and that she doesn't have to eat her vegetables tonight.

The next day, Jinki's heart beats fast as he waits for his fifth period to file into the classroom after lunch. He knows Taemin is here, he saw the boy at his usual lunch table when he was walking back from the teacher's lounge. The bell signalling the end of lunch hasn't even rung yet when Jinki hears someone walking by the door. He looks up, and he's so relieved to see Taemin standing in the doorway.

"Taemin." Jinki breathes, "Are you okay?"

The boy nods, and it takes him a moment before he walks timidly into the classroom. Before Jinki can say anything else, Taemin starts talking in a nervous voice.

"I've been staying at Jonghyun's house. I know you don't like him, but he's my friend, and his parents said I can stay there whenever I want 'cause they know about, about Luna's parents being not there all the time, and, and they like me, so they said it was okay. I've pretty much been living on his bedroom floor for like, two weeks now. And I know you caught us in my room, but it wasn't really what it looked like, we were just, we were curious, and then it kinda just got too far, but we weren't gonna do anything, like, like that, you know?" Taemin speaks quickly, and he hardly takes any breaths until Jinki stands up and puts his hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

"Take a deep breath, okay? It's okay, you don't have to explain anything to me." Jinki tells him softly, "Just breathe. There you go; that's it."

"I told him," Taemin's voice cracks, "I told him, and I know you don't like him, but he's my best friend, and I didn't know who else to talk to about it."

Jinki wipes away the few tears that spill down Taemin's cheeks as he shushes him, "It's okay. I told you it was okay, didn't I?"

Jinki laughs lightly, trying to make Taemin smile, "It's okay."

Taemin's chin wobbles as he shakes his head, "I don't know what to call you anymore, or Luna, or, or them, and they come home tonight, and I don't wanna be there, because I don't know what to do."

Jinki pulls Taemin over to his desk, and he sits down on his chair and has the boy sit on his lap as he runs his fingers through his hair. He lets Taemin cry into his neck and hit his arm, and Jinki's heart breaks at the sight of his child breaking down. He holds Taemin's head under his chin while the boy practically hyperventilates, and rests his cheek on the top of Taemin's head while he thinks of what to say.

"You can call us whatever you want." Jinki says quietly, "But baby, you have to stop crying. You're going to make yourself sick."

"I'm scared." Taemin chokes, and Jinki shushes him again and smooths down his hair.

"Scared of what?" Jinki asks, but Taemin shakes his head.

"I don't know," Taemin coughs as the tears continue to pour down his face.

Jinki thinks for a moment as he lets out a sigh, and after a couple minutes, he gets up to write something on the board. Taemin watches him from Jinki's seat, and he tries to calm himself down. By the time Jinki finishes writing page numbers and problems on the board, Taemin's stopped crying, but his breathing is still quick.

"Come on," Jinki holds his hand out and motions for Taemin to come over to him, "We're gonna go home, okay?"

"But, but what about-?"

"Don't worry." Jinki smiles, motioning again for Taemin to come with him and repeating, "We're gonna go home."

Jinki puts an arm around his shoulders and guides him to the main office. He tells the secretary that Taemin's sick, and that he's going to take him home and someone will need to sub his next two classes.

He's already had to argue that he's one of Taemin's emergency contacts and that he needs to get him home when the principal walks into the office. The secretary is saying it would be too difficult to get subs on such short notice, and that Jinki needs to stay.

"What's going on here?" Jinki turns to see his boss standing behind him, and Taemin grips Jinki's jacket.

"I know this is short notice," Jinki starts.

"There's two minutes until the next period starts!" The secretary adds in, but Jinki ignores her.

"But I really need to get him home." Jinki tells his boss, who takes one look at Taemin and instantly softens his expression.

"I'll sub for your next couple classes, if it's so hard to find another teacher." The man directs the last comment to the secretary.

"Thank you," Jinki says quietly, and he turns to sign Taemin out and send a nasty look to the woman behind the desk.

Jinki sends a thankful smile to the man as he guides Taemin out to the parking lot. Taemin is quiet for practically the entire car ride until they're about to turn the last corner.

"You didn't name Taeyeon after me, did you? You named her Taeyeon because she's my sister, and you wanted us to have similar names, didn't you?" Taemin's voice is quiet, but Jinki's just relieved that his breathing seems to have evened out.

"Yes, that's why we named her Taeyeon. It was going to be your name, if you were a girl." Jinki tells him, 

"I always kinda wondered why Luna and I had such different names." Taemin mumbles, playing with the sleeve of his shirt.

"My family was more traditional, Luna's wasn't, but she really liked the names I suggested back when she was pregnant with you, so we stuck with them." Jinki smiles at Taemin when he pulls into the driveway, "Taeyeonnie's still at preschool, so it's just gonna be the three of us for a couple more hours."

"That's probably a good thing, though, huh?" Taemin asks as he follows Jinki into the house, "She didn't go to work today?"

"She doesn't work on Wednesdays, remember?" Jinki reminds him, and Taemin looks lost for a moment.

"Oh. I forgot what day it was." Taemin mumbles, and the faraway sound of his voice worries Jinki.

"I looked like you, don't I?" Taemin asks, and it throws Jinki for a loop.

"Yes, yes you do." Jinki agrees, and he leads Taemin over to the couch before he goes to find Luna. When the two of them come back out, they find Taemin sitting on the couch staring at the blank television.

"Taeminnie?" Luna sits down next to Taemin, "Are you alright?"

"Taeyeonnie looks so much like me because I'm her brother, and we both look like the both of you." Taemin says slowly, "But we look a lot like Onew. That's why I look like Onew, not like you."

"We didn't know who you would look like when we decided who was going to adopt you." Luna says softly, and she moves to hold Taemin's hands in hers, "But you do look a lot like Jinki; you're both very handsome."

The small smile that Taemin sends her is a huge relief to the two adults, but the tears that start welling up in his eyes make the both of them feel like their back at square one. 

"I'm sorry," Taemin stutters out, "I'm sorry I ran away last night, and before that, and, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Taeminnie," Luna pulls him towards her and wraps him in a hug, "Everything's okay. It's not your fault; none of this is your fault."

"I don't - I don't know what to do." Taemin tells them.

"You don't know what to do about what?" Luna asks him.

"I don't wanna go back," Taemin sobs, "I don't wanna go with them, but they come home tonight, but I wanna stay with you."

"You can stay here if you want, baby." Luna tells him, "That's why you have your room, remember? It's your room, Taeminnie, because we want you to stay here." 

"They're gonna get mad if I'm not home. I haven't been home the entire time they've been gone, they're gonna know." A strangled whine leaves Taemin's throat after he talks, and he leans his head on Luna's shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jinki moves so he's kneeling on the floor in front of the couch, "They're not gonna do anything to you, okay? You're going to be okay."

Taemin doesn't say anything, but he nods his head as another shaky breath leaves his mouth. Luna leans back on the couch, pulling Taemin to lie down with her as she runs her fingers through his hair and whispers to him.

"Do you remember when you were little, when you would get sick and we would spend hours watching TV and sleeping on the couch?" She asks him softly, and he nods his head again, "Do you wanna do that now? We can watch whatever you want."

Taemin nods his head again, and Jinki hands Luna the TV remote for her to turn something on for them to watch. She stops once she gets to a show that Taemin likes, because he hasn't said anything as to whether or not Luna should continue looking for something else. The two of them stay like that for a while, and when Jinki leaves to go pick Taeyeon up from preschool, they're still lying on the couch and watching TV.

"Have you been going to dance?" Luna asks him, pulling the blanket Jinki put over them further up Taemin's shoulders.

The boy nods his head and sniffles, "Jong's been taking me. He likes to watch."

"He's a good friend, isn't he?" Luna smiles, because he's been telling her about Jonghyun while they've been lying down together.

"Yeah. I think he mostly just likes to stay so he can make fun of me afterwards, though." Taemin mumbles, and when Luna questions him, he immediately clarifies, "Not for dancing! It's just, there's a girl that I maybe, sorta, kinda like. He likes to tease me about it."

"You like a girl?" Luna asks with a grin, "Who?"

"I'm not telling you." Taemin pouts, "Because now that you're my mom, I can't tell you, because you're going to be embarrassing about it."

"I would've been embarrassing about it regardless." Luna's grin is now more at the fact that he called her 'mom.'

"I'm not telling you," He repeats, gripping her shirt and snuggling his head closer to her neck, "If I take her on a date and it goes well, then I'll tell you."

"It's a deal, then." She smiles, kissing the top of his head.

"Are you going to tell Taeyeon?" The question is so sudden that it takes Luna for surprise, "Are you going to tell her that I'm her brother, not her uncle?"

"If you want us to." Luna tells him, "I'll tell the whole world that you're my baby if you want me to."

"Okay." Taemin agrees quietly, "I don't think she'll understand."

"I don't think you give her enough credit." Luna smiles, "She is a mini-you, after all."

"This is true." Taemin smirks, and the small laugh he lets out warms Luna's heart.

"I love you." Luna says softly, and Taemin smiles.

"I love you, too." He whispers, but his smile falters when they hear the front door open.

When Jinki walks into the living room, the two of them stare at him in confusion.

"Where's Taeyeon?" Luna asks.

"I took her to spend the night with my parents. I figured it'd be best if we figured out what we were going to do about everything before we said anything in front of her, and they've been wanting to see her for a couple weeks, now." Jinki tells them, moving to sit on the floor next to them, "How you holding up, buddy?"

"Better than before." Taemin tells him quietly, 

[istrys]

Nothing Ventured Pt 5

Istrys could hear the rumbling against the walls, but she didn’t think too much about it. As dust rained down from the ceiling, the Necromancer and a handful of her minions made their way deeper into the underground complex, but there was something off about this place.

“The fuck are the demons?” she whispered out loud, narrowing her gaze. The hallway was pitch black, depriving her of most of her sight; fortunately she saw through the eyes of her minions, allowing her to step over debris and swollen corpses with minimal effort. Before she decided to turn around, the faint whispers of cackling caught her attention at last. Istrys tightened her grip on her festering runesword and stuck close to the wall, letting one of her ghouls peek its rotting head around the corner to see what she was up against.

A cruel grin spread across her face at the sight of the Oathguard’s Val’kyr, spellbound to the wall as a horde of imps danced before her in their crazed frenzy. Fel corruption crawled along Vesks’ skin and armor, forcing out painful grunts; with each of her labored breaths the imps cackling grew louder, clearly delighted in her suffering.

“Submit, Scourgespawn.” a bulbous Imp Mother slogged in her fetid pool, leaning forward to drop her meaty elbow against the railing. “The sooner you yield to the Legion, the sooner the pain will stop.”

“N-never…” Vesk hissed through clenched teeth while her wings strained against her enchanted chains. “I served as a puppet once… I… will… NEVER��� do-ARGH!” an imp blasted her exposed stomach with felflame, causing the others to burst out in laughter.

“My children can do this all night.” the demonic woman licked her juicy lips with a fetid tongue. “Imagine what the Legion can accomplish with the Val’kyr at our side. No demon would ever have the need to return to the Twisting Nether to regenerate. The power my lord would give you would be… without equal.”

Istrys began making her way into the chamber in single file with her minions, hoping not to spoil the element of surprise. I think I’ve had enough of this. She thought to herself, sinking her finger into one of her minion’s chests; quickly she began forming runes along the smallest and fastest of her ghouls, until there was no more skin left. Go, my pretty. Make momma proud.

The ghoul let out an ear-piercing screech before leaping out into the open, grabbing the Imp Mother’s and all of her children’s attention. Instinctively the startled imps unleashed a volley of fireballs toward the wretched creature, bombarding that corner of the chamber with fire and smoke. Before the Imp Mother could speak again, the monstrosity dashed out of the smoke with runes burning away at its flesh; the imps screamed while unleashing the next wave of fire, clearly terrified of such a strange apparition.

“No! STOP!” the rotund demon screamed, but it was too late. The raw magic absorbed by the ghoul’s runes was converted into shadow magic and magnified two-fold, unleashing a devastating blast that engulfed the imps. The Imp Mother roared in anguish, seeing bits and pieces of her children sprawled across the floor in bits and pieces. Istrys dashed out with a hand firmly gripping her runesword, followed by her minion menagerie. “My babies!” the demon curled her putrid lips back to flash her tiny teeth. “You will regret this!”

A fetid blast of fel sludge was coughed forth from the demon’s pool, sending a wave of filth in Istrys’ direction. Quickly she slammed a boot into the shoulder of one of her ghouls, propelling her over the wave; with a flick of her wrist the sword was brought down, sending a bolt of raw unholy energy to bash against the demon’s face. The Imp Mother cried out in pain while Istrys landed on the wet floor with a heavy roll, already prepared to launch another death coil at her enemy; but before she could rise to her feet, she saw the demon beginning her retreat into a portal. “A thousand curses upon you!” the Imp Mother bellowed, clutching her wounded face. “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me!”

That was easier than I thought it would be. She seemed important enough to be one of Miraan’s lackeys, but she was so weak. Istrys slowly brought the tip of her blade into the ground between her boots, giving the chamber around her a quick glance over to make sure the threat was truly gone. Or perhaps I’m just too strong? Heheheh…!

“You sh-shouldn’t have come here…” the Val’kyr coughed weakly, catching the Necromancer’s attention. “There is a powerful e-evil approaching…”

“I’m already here.” the Necromancer gave Vesk a coy shrug, but the scowl spread across the spirit’s face made it abundantly clear she was not amused. “So… how am I to get you out of here… I certainly can’t carry you all the way home… perhaps a Death Gate?”

“There’s n-no time…” Vesk remained very still, even as her fel-scorched wounds crept along her transparent skin. “Soon… I will fade… l-leave me…”

“I came all the way here to rescue you.” Istrys scrawled at her, slowly crossing her arms. “I’m going to save you from your True Death, by any means necessary.” Her arms fell idle at her sides as she stared in silence; eventually her scowl twisted into a cruel grin. “Use me, Vesk. Let me serve as your vessel until you are whole again.”

“M-madness…” the ethereal woman hissed through clenched teeth. “Attempting to… h-haunt your body will… will kill us both…”

“What choice do you have? Do you want to remain in this realm… or is drifting in Helheim for eternity a better fate?” The Necromancer drove her runesword into the ground, causing what few ghouls under her control to violently rattle before collapsing where they stood. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Make your decision!” the angelic being remained silent, staring through the reckless woman. The agony of her burns were becoming too great to ignore, causing her to grit her teeth as she did her best to endure. However this pain would never compare to what she would burden once she arrived at her final destination. “Well…? Hurry up and make a move!”

“F-forgive me…” Vesk began to violently tremble as her body began to burn a blinding cerulean. Before Istrys could speak another word, the Val’kyr slipped out of the shackles that bound her to the wall, shifting into an unrecognizable shape while she rushed the Necromancer.

Vesk’s wispy silhouette slammed into Istrys with a force she was not prepared for; it ripped her clean off her feet and tossed her limp body into the wall on the other side of the chamber. She felt her arms and limbs shatter in the wake of the impact, as an overwhelming presence pushed her further and further into the smoldering rock. With her sight clouded by the unholy presence invading her mind, her hearing deafened by the sound of her own distant screaming and her skin set aflame by this attempted possession, the Necromancer couldn’t notice crashing into the floor below. The fear of death was the only thing she could focus on now, terrified she misjudged her own limits to endure what no other has; at last the thought of begging the Gods for another chance flashed into her mind, but the thought didn’t linger for long.

Her dead and blackened heart beat once for the first time in decades, ripping her out of her comatose state to introduce her to a new definition of agony. Istrys writhed along the floor and clutched at her chest, filling her useless lungs to the brim with air to scream as loudly and as long as she possibly could. Another heartbeat threw the Necromancer onto her back, forcing her flickering eyes to gaze lifelessly up at the ceiling. Raw unholy magic freely coursed through her body, overloading her senses to push her to the brink of insanity.

When she returned to her senses, she slowly sat up in a field covered in mist. A bellowing horn in the distance drew her gaze to the north, overlooking the glimmering sea. Istrys rose to her bare feet, glancing down to see her two tiny hands trembling before her. “Vesk? Vesk where did you run off to?” A strangely familiar voice called out to her, causing the young girl to glance over her shoulder; there stood a Vrykul girl wrapped in leathers and furs, staring through Istrys with her intense brown eyes. “There you are… if we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the ceremony!”

“I…?!” Istrys timidly squeaked, while her sister snatched her by the hand. She stared at the back of this girl’s head, and as they ran along the fjord toward the village below, the colors all around her began to bleed into each other until all she could see was darkness once again.

“Can you hear me?” a voice echoed in her head, bouncing around in her skull. The Necromancer was barely able to move, seemingly paralyzed from the whole ordeal; but at least her sight was returning. “Esmeralda? Can you hear me?”

“Ugh…” Istrys pinched the bridge of her nose, still struggling to shake off the numbing pain that lingered in every inch of her body. “Fuck that hurt… how long was I… was I out?”

“I’m not sure… but I’m surprised we were successful. This was supposed to be impossible.” Vesk’s voice rang in her head, but the Necromancer was too busy staring up at her hands to care; she could almost see the unholy magic shifting around beneath her skin. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like death.” Istrys rolled over onto her stomach as soon as she was able, finding her newfound weakness increasingly frustrating to work with; it took just about all of her strength and focus to push herself off the ground to sit upright. “We need to regroup with Whitstan and the Redblood. This took far longer than I’d like and it’s uncomfortably quiet outside…” With a snap of her finger her ghouls rose off the ground. Her largest one approached her from behind, silently scooping her up into its gnarled arms. “And Vesk?” Istrys whispered while she was carried out of the chamber.

“Yes?”

“Call me by my real name again and we’ll be nose-diving into the Void. Got it?”