#And carlos's expression stop I am dead

[maxtermind]

fuck buddy finding out u went on a date ?

fuckbuddy!f1 drivers getting jealous

★ : feat :: max verstappen, charles leclerc, carlos sainz, lando norris, oscar piastri, lewis hamilton, george russell, alex albon

( misc. masterlist \ main masterlist \ drop a request )

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．MAX VERSTAPPEN !

max’s expression hardens slightly when you accidentally mention the date, but he tries to keep his tone light.

“so what, you’re moving on from us now?” he asks, his voice laced with disbelief.

you hesitate, trying to explain but panicking inside because what the actual fuck was he on about? his jaw tightens as he stands up from his spot.

“we were never official, but still…” he’s pacing now, running a hand through his hair in frustration. the hurt in his eyes is clear, even though he’s trying to hide it behind sarcasm. it makes your heart hurt.

“you can’t just kiss someone else and then act hurt over it!” he snaps, his hands flying all around him as he talks. it finally brings tears to your eyes and it makes max stop dead in his tracks.

you step closer, trying to reach out to him, but he shakes his head, feeling disgusted with himself for even being rude to you.

“i came back home to you, max. to you.” you say softly, and after a moment, he sighs, pulling you into his arms. a sudden coldness spreading over his chest, making him relax instantly that he decided to unpack later.

“don't know what i would've done if you hadn't,” max murmurs anyway, his voice softer now, his hold on you tightening as if to keep you from slipping away.

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．CHARLES LECLERC !

charles’s smile falters when you mention the date, but he quickly recovers, trying to keep things light. “you guys look good together,” he says, his tone casual, but you can see his tight jaw.

you open your mouth to reply, but he cuts you off, stepping closer and tilting your chin up to meet his gaze. “really?” he repeats, his voice softer now, almost vulnerable.

you can see the tension in his jaw as he waits for your response, his fingers gently brushing against your cheek. it goes on for a while, the back and forth tensing, though there’s a possessive glint in his eyes.

he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, watching you with a mix of curiosity and amusement. “did he wine and dine you? sweep you off your feet?” he asks, his tone light but with a subtle edge.

you chuckle at his attempt to keep things playful. “he tried,” you reply with a shrug, and charles’s smirk widens. “tried?” he repeats, clearly pleased that your date wasn’t all that after all.

“i bet he couldn’t even hold a candle to me,” he says confidently, standing up and walking over to you when you shrug it off,“come on, admit it,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around your waist, his lips brushing against your neck.

“you know i’m the one who really gets your heart racing,” he whispers, his breath hot against your skin, making it clear that no one else compares.

“charles, it wasn’t even serious,” you say quietly, and his expression softens slightly, tightening the arm he had around you.

“i just… i care about you, that’s all,” he murmurs, his thumb brushing against your skin as if reassuring himself that you’re still his. you smile, leaning into his touch.

“i know,” you whisper, and he finally pulls you into his arms, his hold on you protective and secure.

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．CARLOS SAINZ !

carlos’s eyes flash with jealousy when he hears about the date through someone else, but he keeps his voice steady. deciding to discuss it with you later.

“you like them… more? is that it? am i the second choice?” he asks as soon as he meets you, his tone deceptively calm, though his eyes betray his emotions.

you shake your head quickly, taken aback because you were hoping to tell him what happened yourself. despite that instead of calming yourself you started trying to reassure him. “that’s not true, carlos…” but he steps closer, his gaze intense.

“then you should choose me. choose us,” he demands, his voice low and serious. there’s a long pause as you take in the weight of his words, the tension thick in the air.

finally, you nod, and a small, relieved smile tugs at his lips. “good,” he whispers, wrapping his arms around you.

letting himself finally loosen up as he actually let's himself accept what he was actually feeling. not knowing how he in return helped you wind down too with just a touch.

“i’m not letting you go without a fight,” he adds, his voice fierce with determination. “because you're mine.”

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．LANDO NORRIS !

lando’s expression falters when catches a glimpse of your face on one of your mutual friend's instagram. feeling sick to his stomach while jumping to the worst case scenarios when he picks up his car keys to drive your apartment

when he sees you open the door with a smile, a flicker of something dark crosses his face, but he quickly hides it behind a half-hearted smile. feeling light headed and fairly delighted to find you all alone

“how will your date feel if he saw you with someone else?” he asks, trying to keep his voice light, though the underlying hurt is clear. it made a laugh fall out of your mouth.

you can see he’s wrestling with the emotions bubbling beneath the surface, trying to keep his cool despite the jealousy gnawing at him.

“lando, stop being hilarious,” you say softly, moving closer to him, but he’s already looking away, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his shirt— a clear sign he’s feeling insecure. it made your face drop as your heart clenched in your chest.

“it just… it doesn’t feel great, you know?” he finally admits, his voice quieter now, tinged with vulnerability. you gently take his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

“let me make you feel better,” you whisper, and after a moment, he looks back at you, his eyes softening.

he gives you a small, almost shy smile before pulling you into a tight embrace, holding you close as if to reassure himself that you’re really his.

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．OSCAR PIASTRI !

oscar’s face remains calm and neutral when you casually slip out of the restaurant where you were with your date.

it was a pure coincidence that oscar saw you here and despite of how much he wanted to, he couldn't just walk away without shooting you a text.

but there’s a slight tightening around his eyes that you almost miss once you see him. “so this is interesting,” he says, nodding as if he doesn’t mind at all.

he’s focused on something else— his phone, a book, anything to distract himself from the sudden twist in his stomach. regretting not just walking away but how could he?

“hope you are having fun,” he adds, his tone light but with a hint of distance. you notice, of course, and decide to test the waters. “yeah, it is nice… different.”

oscar nods again, a subtle stabbing pain shooting up his spin. not looking at you, and you realize he’s trying really hard to act like it doesn’t bother him.

“different how?” he finally gives in, his voice casual, but you catch the tight fists he was supporting as he asked.

you smile softly, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “just different,” you say, “but not better.” he finally looks at you, his eyes softening, and a small smile tugs at his lips. “good,” he murmurs, pulling you closer to him, his tension easing as he wraps his arms around you.

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．LEWIS HAMILTON !

lewis raises an eyebrow when you mention the date, giving you a cool, unreadable look. “cool. a real date? cool. that’s cool,” he says, his voice casual, almost too casual but his voice tight and words feel forced.

he’s lounging on the couch, his gaze drifting away from you as if he’s suddenly very interested in something else before he sighs because what right did he have to even be hostile about something like that?

“hope you had a good time,” he adds, trying to make peace but there’s a slight edge to his tone that tells you he’s not as unbothered as he’s trying to seem. you nod, watching him carefully.

“o-kay,” you reply, keeping your voice light. lewis just nods, not looking at you, and the silence that follows feels heavy before suddenly he snorts and your head snaps towards his direction.

“you’re not mad, are you?” you ask after a moment, and he finally looks at you, his expression softening a little.

“no, not mad,” he says, but there’s a flicker of something else in his eyes—maybe jealousy, maybe something more. “just… don’t expect me to be thrilled about it,” he adds, his voice softer now. you move closer to him, sitting beside him on the couch.

“sure,” you say gently, and he sighs, his shoulders relaxing as he finally wraps an arm around you. the air shifts and he pulls you even closer.

“alright, i am mad and maybe it's because...,” he murmurs, running his tongue over his lip while staring at yours. a gasp leaves your mouth when his hands wrap behind your neck, leaning in to a closer proximity

"i haven't made it clear enough and i apologise tot that but you're mine."

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．GEORGE RUSSELL !

george’s eyes widen slightly when he sees a guy on your story, and for a moment, he looks genuinely surprised before he takes a deep breath, immediately calling you over. feeling overly at ease because you agree in a single second.

“oh… you went on a date?” he asks, his voice soft and a little unsure and he looks so small. he’s sitting at the table, his hand resting on the mug in front of him, and you can see the flicker of hurt in his eyes, though he tries to hide it.

“i didn’t realize… we were seeing other people,” he adds quietly, his gaze dropping to the table.

you instantly feel a pang of guilt, realizing that he might have thought things between you were more exclusive.

“it wasn’t serious,” you quickly say, stepping closer to him, liking this more than you could admit to yourself. “i just… i didn’t think it would bother you.”

george looks up at you, his eyes soft but a little sad. “i guess i didn’t either,” he admits, giving you a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

you reach out to take his hand, squeezing it gently. “i don't think i honestly want to go on dates if not with you, george,” you say softly, and his smile becomes a bit more genuine, a shine covering his eyes.

“yeah… thank god,” he murmurs, holding your hand a little tighter as he pulls you into his lap.

who knew mutually deciding to be 'not serious,' could actually be this serious.

⤷．＞ᗜ＜．ALEX ALBON !

alex’s reaction is instant—he lets out a short laugh that’s more snarky as if in disbelief than amused when you tell me that you went on a date.

“oh, so that’s how it is?” he says, raising an eyebrow as he gives you a sideways glance. his tone is playful, but you can sense the underlying jealousy as you watch him crack his knuckles and tighten his jaw.

“did he pick you up in a fancy car and take you to a five-star restaurant?” he continues, his voice dripping with sarcasm. you roll your eyes at his dramatics, knowing he’s trying to cover up how much it actually bothers him.

“no, it was just a normal date,” you say, trying to downplay it. but alex isn’t letting it go that easily. “well, i hope he was worth it,” he says, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall, his eyes narrowing slightly.

you sigh, stepping closer to him, knowing he was close to shutting down completely. his eyes lowered as you put a hand on his chest, his fast heartbeat giving his nerves away

“alex, it wasn’t a big deal. i’m here with you now,” you say, hoping to ease his baffling anxiety. he looks at you for a long moment, his expression softening slightly.

“yeah, you better be,” he mutters, but there’s a small smile tugging at his lips. he pulls you into his arms, resting his forehead against yours. “because you deserve better than 'normal dates',” he whispers, his voice softer now, letting the unspoken words hang in between you two.

it fucking sucks that you went out with someone else, especially when he couldn't place why he was so fucking upset over it but for now, he’s glad you’re with him.

©maxtermind // do not copy, rewrite or translate any of my work on any platforms.

★ : a/n :: nor proofread. feedback and reblogs are appreciated!

[navstuffs]

How would Leon Kennedy and Carlos Oliveira react to a GN!Reader who gets lazy/tired while on top

author's notes: there is a meme around tumblr that says, "horse pretends to be dead every time it needs to go on a ride." so yeah, this is sorta where this idea came from.

(NSFW +18 UNDER CUT)

Leon Kennedy

Leon knows you will get tired as soon as you offer to be on top. He watches as your hips snap lazily against his, keeping a short set of pace that doesn't make his whole cock disappear inside of you. He is focused on your pleasure expression, eyes semi-open, and wrinkled forehead. You look adorable and irresistible, he thinks. Leon's hands hold lightly in your hips as yours hold into his shoulders for support.

You try to fasten the pace even with your legs complaining, be a good lover, and not get lazy. You got this. You are in total control and enjoying yourself as you ride your boyfriend's dick.

But you both know you need more friction, and Leon has noticed the pout forming on your lips.

"Honey? Can I move now?" Leon asks, and you are almost tempted to say no. But your sex is eager to be touched, and you know you won't be able to keep up much longer.

Poor Leon, you think, as he pleads with his eyes, begging you to allow him to take control.

When you nod, a little embarrassed of your performance, all thoughts vanish from your mind when Leon changes the angle of his legs and starts to hit a spot that makes you see stars. Again. And again.

"Feeling good?" Leon grunts, and you roll your eyes, mumbling a yes.

He doesn't stop, just snaps faster inside you, his thrusts not faltering for one moment. Leon likes to watch you melt in his arms, biting his lips as he continues hitting that delicious spot that makes you moan louder. It is with pride and possessiveness feeling on his heart that Leon knows only he gets you to feel like that. No one else.

His hands grab your asscheeks, and you have to hold tight to his shoulders, his shirt, anything, so you don't lose your mind. He leaves you a blabbering mess, with incoherent thoughts and desperate moans imploring for more, if it is even possible.

"That is it, honey. That is it" Leon whispers satisfied, your body just clay on his hands. You would let him do whatever he wants with you at this point. One of your hands goes instinctively to your sex, rubbing it, desperate to feel your release.

It doesn't take long for you to cum, Leon's whimpers of encouragement being the last straw. Your whole body shakes as you moan his name, and you feel Leon hiding his face into your neck, marking you as his as he cums.

You both remain like this until Leon licks the spot he bit, whispering close to your ear.

"My turn to be on top next."

Carlos Oliveira

Carlos's hands grip tight into your hips as you slowly sit on his cock. Your hands are on his chest, your eyes closed for better focus as you move down, his cock burying deep inside of you. Though lubricated enough, Carlos is still big. That's why he doesn't complain when you take him slowly, your hands using his chest as support. He doesn't mind, and he prefers like that until you get used to his size. The movements keep slow and torturous, and Carlos is confused if you are trying to kill him now.

"What are you doing? Are you okay?" Carlos asks, his voice expressing concern as he scans your face. "I am not hurting, am I?"

"No."

As you continue the slow pace, Carlos tests by moving his hip once, and you bite your lips. He does it again, making you moan.

"Do you want me to move?" Carlos tries because he seriously tries to let you do what you want but needs more. He needs to bury himself deeper inside you.

"Am I not doing a good job?" Your tone sounds hurt, and Carlos tries to explain himself.

"That isn't what I am mean-" That's when he realizes your big naughty grin. 

You don't answer, and Carlos wonders if that isn't exactly what you want. He pulls his legs up, bringing your body down into his chest, and thrusts his hips fast inside you, not stopping. Carlos adds more strength in every thrust. You want to move your hands for support, but Carlos uses one hand to grip your arms behind your back, and you can't move.

He keeps ramming into you, the headboard hitting the wall. Carlos likes to watch your eyes roll into your head, your leaking sex rubbing against his pubic hair, bringing him even more over the edge.

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

You can't even form a sentence to answer him, so close to your orgasm as you are. When you finally cum, screaming Carlos's name, it doesn't take long for him to follow you. He groans loudly, biting your shoulder and holding you tight in his arms, letting every drop of his seed inside you.

After taking a moment to relax, you flop to his side of the bed, gasping for air. Carlos gives you a side-eye as he wonders, curious.

"What was that?"

"Just trying to tease you," but Carlos knows there is more. He turns to your side, that face of his knowing you are hiding something. You admit, defeated. "Fine. I got lazy."

"You should have told me" Carlos brings you close to his body, kissing the top of your forehead. "I wouldn't have any problem getting on top."

You nod in answer, nuzzling into his chest happy and satisfied.

[littlemissmarianna]

Marriage is hard. 

The statement is cliché, but TK never doubted its truth. For years, he watched his parents struggle to make their relationship work and promised himself that his marriage would be different. He wouldn't argue with his spouse. He wouldn’t twist their words to manipulate them. He wouldn't yell and slam doors. He wouldn't bring up past hurts to inflict new pain. He wouldn't withhold affection as punishment.

TK was convinced he had safeguarded his marriage from all the pitfalls he witnessed throughout his childhood, but there's no precedent for this. He and Carlos are facing challenges neither saw coming. And while TK doesn't want to give up, he also doesn't know how to save their marriage when it feels like he's the only one fighting for it.

____________

Carlos will save everyone except himself.

Andrea has always known that, but it's still painful to watch him spiral like this. It's painful to watch her son disappear a little bit more each day.

"Mijo..."

Carlos doesn't look up. He never looks up. He never makes eye contact. He just sits at his father's desk either staring at the evidence or staring at nothing, distracted and distant.

And yes – Carlos has always been dedicated. He's always been focused and determined, but this...this is obsession. This unrelenting compulsion to investigate Gabriel's murder at the expense of everything else must stop before it's too late to salvage the life Carlos has abandoned. His health, his career, and his marriage are suffering from chronic neglect, and Andrea refuses to let it continue.

"Carlitos. You need to go home."

"I am home."

Andrea shakes her head. She can't deny that the ranch will always be her son's home, but that's not what she's talking about...and Carlos knows it. He spends more time in Gabriel's office than anywhere else, and while TK has been patient and supportive, Andrea sees how Carlos's absence is impacting his husband. She sees the sadness in TK's expression. She hears the uncertainty in his voice when he asks if Carlos is spending the night at the ranch again or if he's returning to the loft.

"You haven't seen TK in over a week."

"I've seen him," Carlos defends, gesturing to his phone. "We FaceTime every night."

"That doesn't count, Carlitos. TK deserves to sleep beside his husband."

"So do you," Carlos replies, his tone cold and sharp. "But Dad is dead, and whoever killed him is still out there somewhere."

"You're right," Andrea admits. "That person needs to be found and brought to justice. But your father wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your future for him."

"I'm not sacrificing my future," Carlos counters. "I'm trying to protect it. I can't move forward if I have to constantly look over my shoulder, Mom. What if this person isn't done with our family? What if you're next? Or Ana or Luisa or..."

Andrea knows the name left unsaid is the one Carlos fears losing the most. But her son doesn't realize that on some level, he's already losing TK. Carlos doesn't realize that the biggest threat to his future – to his marriage – is his apathy.

"Go home," she repeats, leaving no room for argument as she nudges Carlos out of his father's chair.

____________

This feeling never gets old – that straight shot of adrenaline that floods TK's system whenever the alarm goes off.

"Train derailment?"

"That's a new one."

"Sounds like a cluster..."

TK agrees, but he welcomes anything that takes his mind off his own train wreck. He never imagined he would feel this lonely being married. He never imagined he would be ignored by his husband or treated like a bother.

"Are you with us or the jocks this time?"

TK smiles and shrugs. Since Judd left, that's always the question when a call comes in: who will have custody of TK – the firefighters or the paramedics?

"We'll decide on scene," Owen says but tells his son to grab his turnout gear just in case.

____________

It's worse than they thought.

Some train cars are stacked on top of each other; some are scattered like toys after a tantrum. 

Survivors are covered in soot and dirt and blood as they wander around the scene in shock...while those who were not as lucky lie motionless on the ground.

____________

"We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news."

Carlos glances up as he pushes the food around on his plate. His mother insisted he eat lunch before heading back to the loft, but Carlos isn't hungry. He's just tired. Tired of feeling empty and detached. Tired of feeling like a failure.

Andrea gasps at the live footage. She recognizes the location instantly.

Carlos does, too. He also recognizes the 126.

"Do you see TK?"

Carlos shakes his head. He knows his husband has been putting his dual certification to good use, which means TK could be anywhere. The likelihood of spotting him in such a chaotic scene is slim, but Carlos keeps scanning as the reporter provides details.

Andrea leans forward, her own lunch forgotten as she also tries to locate TK. She always feels better when she has eyes on her boys. 

"Okay. We've just been told we need to move further back for our safety."

Carlos frowns. He's not there, but it looks like the reporter is already far enough from the scene.

The desk anchor seems to agree. "Has there been a new development?"

"Yes," the reporter confirms, glancing at the camera as she walks. "At least one of the train cars was hauling – "

The rest of her statement is lost as static fills the screen.

____________

The last thing TK will remember is trying to outrun an explosion.

____________

The faster something occurs, the slower it seems. Seconds drag on for hours.

Owen is familiar with that phenomenon, yet it still catches him off guard when it happens. He saw TK running toward him as the explosives began to ignite. 

But when the smoke clears, his son is gone.

____________

Andrea is holding Carlos's hand when the signal is restored.

"Sorry about that," the reporter says, breathless and disheveled. "We were just rocked by a huge explosion, but we're still here. We're fine."

Carlos never wants to see anyone get hurt, but this stranger's well-being is not his priority. He takes out his phone and sends a message to his husband, asking TK to let him know he's okay as soon as he can.

____________

There are now two active scenes – the derailment and the giant crater created by the blast. 

Even with flashlights, it's impossible to see the bottom of the hole...but Owen knows TK is down there, unconscious and injured.

"What do you need, Cap?"

"My son," Owen replies as he prepares to rappel into the darkness.

__________

Carlos tells himself TK is just busy. That's why he hasn't answered. 

Or maybe TK is giving Carlos a taste of how it feels to be ignored. That seems cruel in this situation, but –  

"We have an update," the reporter announces. "All passengers are accounted for, but sadly, one firefighter is missing. We have his photo..."

Andrea holds her breath, then tightens her grip around Carlos's hand as a smiling TK appears on the screen.

"This is TK Strand, the 29-year-old son of fire captain Owen Strand. Both are with the 126, which has a history of tragedy. Viewers may remember the station's catastrophic loss back in 2020. A paramedic was also killed in 2021."

Carlos's ears are ringing as he stares at the photo. Andrea was right when she said Carlos hadn't seen his husband in over a week. TK does FaceTime him every night, but Carlos doesn't hold the phone. He leaves it on the desk, so he can continue working. Each night, TK converses with the ceiling while Carlos grunts or hums his responses. 

Carlos can't even remember the last time he had an actual conversation with TK. He can't remember the last time he looked into those beautiful green eyes or kissed those soft lips. Was their honeymoon the last time Carlos held his husband? It was certainly the last time they made love.

When they returned to Austin, Carlos allowed himself to be consumed with rage. His only focus was avenging what he lost...which made him forget to love what he still had. 

But this is his wake-up call.

"Mijo..."

Carlos pulls away from his mother as he stands. He took an indefinite leave of absence from APD to pursue Gabriel's case; he took the same leave of absence from being a husband.

But as of right now, Carlos is back on duty.

____________

The 126 executes the rescue like they always do – as a family, as a team.

TK is unresponsive when they find him, but he's alive.

That's all that matters.

____________

Carlos is halfway to the scene when Owen calls.

"Please tell me you found him."

"We did," Owen confirms, though he doesn't ask how Carlos knew TK was missing. "We're still wrapping up here, so can you meet him at the hospital? If you're not too busy..."

The words are meant to sting. They're meant to send a message of their own, and Carlos deserves it.

"I'm heading there now," he replies as the Camaro sails through an intersection.

____________

A miracle.

That's the doctor's only explanation for how his patient survived an explosion with just a minor concussion.

My miracle, Carlos thinks as he kisses TK's bruised forehead.

____________

TK doesn’t remember coming to the hospital. He doesn’t remember anything, except –

“Baby. You with me?”

TK blinks as he realizes Carlos is sitting beside him.

“Hey. How do you feel?”

“My head hurts,” TK admits as he glances around the room. “What happened?”

“There was an explosion,” Carlos explains, his fingers gentle as they fan through TK’s hair. “But you’re gonna be okay. They’re discharging you soon.”

“Is Dad coming?”

“He’ll meet us at the loft.”

“Us?” Maybe it’s the concussion, but TK is confused. “You’re taking me home? Don’t you need to – ”

“I don’t need to be anywhere except right here,” Carlos replies, holding TK’s gaze. “I love you. It’s been too long since I’ve told you that.”

Carlos has said those three words every night before he hangs up, but they were delivered on autopilot. For weeks, I love you meant practically nothing. To hear them now with such conviction and sincerity makes TK want to cry.

“My dad’s case is important,” Carlos continues. “But you are my husband, TK. You will always be the most important part of my life. I’m sorry I haven’t been showing that lately. And I promise I’ll never make you doubt that again.”

TK nods and reaches up, closing his eyes as Carlos wraps him in a hug.

____________

The next morning, TK wakes up in his husband’s arms.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, smiling when their sleepy kisses turn into something more.

[adventuringblind]

Drive With You Forever

Chapter sixteen: Boo!

Max Verstappen x Charles Leclerc x Lando Norris x Reader x Oscar Piastri

Chapter summary: Reader scares Carlos, Max is overprotective, an unexpected visitor appears

Warnings: alcohol consumption, survivors guilt, arguing

Notes: After much deliberation, I've decided to let my affinity for even numbers win.

Previous <-

Masterlist

The sun is barely peaking over the edges of the sky as her and Lando walk hand in hand around the hungararing. Charles needed to be at the paddock early for his media duties. The two had decided to go with since they were up and let Max and Oscar sleep until the last minute.

The walk is peaceful. The shared airpods are playing soft music that Lando picked. Occasionally, he spins her around, or they stop to dance horribly.

It's so early that even the pitlane is empty. The occasional sound of tools can be heard, but no souls can be seen.

The music and Lando are so distracting that she doesn't notice anyone sneaking behind her. Hands grab her shoulder, which pulls a terrified gasp out of her. Instincts take over as she throws whoever it is behind her into the nearest wall. It's not hard, just enough to subdue. And scare- she supposes.

She holds whoever it was as her breath starts to even out. She can hear Lando and Charles laughing incredibly hard. Which is weird, because then who is she-?

"Carlos?!"

She releases her hold on him, and the spainard sinks to the ground. His expressions go through the five stages of grief.

"I told you not to scare her mate!" Charles is kneeling over in laughter.

She rushes to help him up. And to her shock, he lets her. She would have expected him to run in fear. Bolt to the nearest asylum and tell them to come get her.

"So, you're some kind of superhero? Or am I imagining things? Or are you really that strong?" Carlos asks questions faster than she could process. She's startled, overwhelmed, and frankly confused.

Charles comes to her rescue with his arms around her waist. "She's our superhero. If you tell anyone, you're dead."

"She looks like she feels bad for just shoving me against the wall."

"I never said it would be her doing the killing."

~~~~~

Charles flinches as Max slams the door behind him. He hates when any of them is angry. Max, however, has to be the worst.

Not because of anything he's doing wrong. The Dutch simply struggles to communicate when his emotions are flaring higher than normal. Charles hates seeing him so upset when all he wants is to keep them safe and happy.

He is currently curled up on the bed next to Lando. Oscar is sitting on one of the plush lounge chairs, and the female is curled up on a bar stool, not looking at anyone. She looked like she might cry. When Charles called Max to explain what had happened, he was not happy and started ranting over the speaker. Now she is sat there, blaming herself for messing things up.

"Carlos is coming over tonight, so we can explain this to him, yes?" Max asks the room. They all nod to confirm it. "I don't understand how this happened. We have no idea how Carlos is going to respond."

"He seemed fine when we left-"

"-But that doesn't guarantee he won't tell anybody." Max cut off Lando, and the Brit shrinks into Charles with a look of defeat.

Max then turns his attention to the female. The emotionally unstable girl who hadn't even been living in a proper home for that long. Who had immediately concluded she had ruined their lives once again (not that she ever did, this was her conclusion that Charles can't see how she came to).

"I would've expected you to at least have seen something by now. I thought your visions were to prevent these incidents, but they always seem to happen regardless." Max's volume rises as he speaks. His hand movements get more aggressive, and he can see the female getting more glassy eyed by the second. "It's so hard to keep you safe when you let things like this happen!"

Oh, Charles is going to kill him. But he'll have to do it later because before anyone can stop her, she is running out of the room. Only stopping to grab her shoes.

"Max Emilian Verstappen, I have half a mind to drag by the neck to Sebastian to explain this one to him." Seethes the Monegasque.

It's not often that they argue. Having more of them in a relationship means more arguments, but it also means more mediators. People who are neutral to help them resolve the issue.

Max already looks like he knows he messed up. "I didn't... I- I didn't mean it like that." He stutters out. Tears threaten to fall from his eyes.

Charles sighs in frustration. "Maybe we know that, but she takes things litterally." He goes through possible options. "I think we should give it an hour before we try to find her. Let her have some space first."

"Not sure how we're going to find her." Oscar points to where her phone lay. "Can't see her location if her phone isn't with her."

~~~~~

She's not sure where she's going. Just walking to clear her head. Figure things out. Understand why she can't just do things right.

Maybe Max is right. Maybe this really is all her fault. She let this all happen. She could've stopped it if she had more control over these stupid abilities.

She knows her mind is going to a dark place. It's a place she hadn't been for so long. But the voices that aren't hers are pulling her under water. She can't breathe knowing she messed up yet again. How many failures are needed to prove she's not meant to continue this life.

Her father had said the same thing Max had. Over and over, every day, the reason why he took everything from her. Because she had let her mother die and still doesn't have the strength to bring her back.

Why should she live? Her mother hadn't deserved her fate. Neither had any of her bloodline who came before her. Why should she be allowed to live freely when none of them had?

She must have blacked out while walking. Somehow, finding herself tucked away in a back alley, a bottle of alcohol in hand.

She didn't even know she had money. Furthermore, she doesn't even like alcohol normally. She supposes this isn't a normal occasion and instead takes a swig from the bottle. The burn in her throat distracts the thoughts in her brain.

She hears her name being called, but she's too apathetic to care. Yet as they continue to grow closer, she lets out a groan and shifts her weight upwards and against the wall. Her legs feel like they might give out from the weight. She falls, expecting to hit the concrete face first. Instead, she lands against another person.

"I've got you." Comes a familiar Australian accent. Oscar lowers her back onto the ground and assesses her for any injuries. "You forgot to take your phone with you. We've been searching for you for hours."

"Well, I guess Max can lecture me about it then. I'll add it to the compiling list of things I've done wrong."

Oscar isn't normally the most assertive person. He can be when he needs to, but he can also easily follow the flow of other people. This is one of those times where he needs to be. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were startled. You went defensive. Max knows what he said was wrong, and he didn't intend for it to come out that way." Her body is pulled into his. She hadn't realized how it had gotten late and that she is cold now. His body heat is comforting. "Come back with me and let Max apologize. Everyone is worried that you'd been taken again, and Carlos is at the room as well."

She can hear the waiver of anxiety in his voice. He hates not knowing where she is. It leaves too many possibilities for her to get hurt, or worse, taken away from him again.

Oscar helps her walk back to the hotel. The bottle of alcohol left behind in the alley for someone else to take advantage of. It's a long, wobbly walk where she feels anxiety building with every step. Even when they get to the door, she has half a mind to turn and run. Though she doubts she'd get very far.

Lando is the one to open the door. He looks as if he'd been crying. If he was, he didn't say anything.

He helps Oscar get her to the larger then neccecary bathroom. Then she beelines straight for the empty bath. Her safe place.

"Max wants to apologize. Can I let him in?"

"Yeah, but can you stay, please?" She's not sure she can express things properly right now and may need Oscar's calm to help the two very emotional people through.

"Wouldn't think of leaving."

He opens the door and summons Max over. It's an awkward few moments as the two get comfortable. She fiddles with her hands while they do so.

Max sighs. His eyes are red and tired. His face settled in his constantly moving hands. "I'm so sorry for what I said. I wasn't thinking properly and I was scared. Which is not an excuse I know-"

"I forgive you. It's not like I handled it well, either."

"I just want you to be safe. You've been through so much already that I just want to see you not worry yourself sick." They look at each other now. Really take in the hurt and worry that paint the feature of the other.

Oscar decides to give them a few moments alone before joining the others. Lando had once compared their post argument affection to remind them they are okay to aftercare. She deems them very different. In this case, both her and Max were high on emotions, so they did and said things that weren't right. But they'd all come to an agreement that when there are apologies made and forgiveness granted that they don't hold onto it. At the end of the day, they are human, and humans do stupid things. This is a promise that they are going to be fine.

~~~~~

Oscar isn't sure what he's expecting to happen when the two step out of the room, but it certainly wasn't Carlos being star struck.

"I have so many questions."

"You always have questions."

"I think he always has opinions, actually."

Oscar rolls his eyes. Carlos could ask all he wanted, but he probably would get the answers he's looking for. There is some part of him that knows Carlos commands and controls his environment. Yet the other side of him sees what Charles sees: a funny and playful Spaniard. Plus, the Aussie is new to all of this, and if anything, he can't help but feel mildly anxious.

"Have you always had your powers?" Carlos looks at the female with curiosity in his eyes.

"Yes, I was born with them." His eyes flicker to Max as the Dutch places his hand on her lower back. She seems to flinch at the question itself. As if having to recall the answer also brought with it memories.

Carlos keeps asking more specific questions, prying further into the females past. She does her best to answer as many as possible, but she's gradually steeping into a more anxious state.

"I think that's enough for tonight." Max pulls the girl into him, and her demeanor shifts again. Relaxed from feeling safe in his arms. “Jack, can you take her to the other room?”

Oscar simply nods and gently leads the female to the connected room. Two rooms since apparently it’s difficult for them to all sleep comfortably in the same bed that isn’t built for five. There have been many angry physios because they were falling off the bed or settling for the floor. So, they had to change tactics.

When he closes the door behind him, the two throw themselves into bed. “Does Max not want us in there for a reason?”

“Do you want to be in there still? Because I’m happy to sleep.”

He will not get to sleep yet, however, because there is a knock on the door. Oscar groans in exhaustion and annoyance. How had they managed to know what room they were in? Doesn’t anyone sleep these days?!

Oscar takes his sweet time getting up and meandering to the door. He swings it open with more attitude than neccacary, but to his shock, there is nobody on the other side.

A small box sits outside the door. For everything that has happened, a box is probably the least of their worries. Oscar, however, still gets a chill up his spine when he bring it inside the space.

"A package? Did you see from who?"

"A ghost? An invisible man?"

"No need to be rude..."

Oscar sighs and starts ripping open the small cardboard box. "Sorry. I'm just tired -" he catches a glimpse of the contents. "A whole box for a single note!"

The girl looks at his with curiosity. If she weren't so damn cute, he would close the box and think about it later. Instead, he unfolds the paper. "It's a letter... from your father."

~

Lando watches the older boys intently. Carlos and Max have been going back and forth for awhile now.

“Have you considered that maybe this is a condition?”

“Have you considered that her father is a psycho?”

Carlos had been trying to figure out the reasons behind everything. There is one, technically speaking, but it isn’t their place to share that information.

“I know you want to protect her Max, but maybe you should consider visiting the the guy and asking him about it.” Carlos gets up off the bed and stands in front of Max. His stance is loose and relaxed. “She looks like she’s in pain and ready to break at any second.” He claps Max on the shoulder before heading out of the room.

Lando looks at the older two. “Well that was eventful.”

Max flops down in between himself and Charles. The groan he lets out is muffled by the pillows. “I don’t like his tone.”

“His tone? Or the fact maybe he was into something?” Charles quirks his eyebrows.

“Both.”

The three of them pull back the covers after getting ready for bed. Lando having checked that Oscar and their superhero of a girlfriend are at least in bed.

“On the bright side, we can’t even think about that until after this weekend. We’ve got driving to do still.”

~

Names with lines through them were unable to be tagged.

Tags: @styles-sunflower @purplephantomwolf @boiohboii @reblog-princess-blog @jjsprobablywrong @jayda12 @faithm120601 @eugene-emt-roe @lpab @yaaadii @80sloverry @spongebeck3101 @eviethetheatrefreak @chanshintien @vellicora @hollie911 @pretty-little-bunny382728 @be-your-coffee-pot @copper-boom @allmyfanfavorites @sadg3

[sleepiexx]

Pillow Talk

Carlos Oliveira x fem!Reader

Note: so sorry I haven’t been posting, I’ve been working a shit ton and I have like no motivation to write

Summary: (Y/N) and Carlos reminisce about the first time they met, in Raccoon City.

Warnings: reader is super insecure, thinks she isn’t worthy of Carlos, but that’s abt it

Word count: 868

(Y/N) woke up and stretched, moving to go into the kitchen and grab breakfast but she was ultimately stopped as Carlos unconsciously tightened his arms around her so tight it felt like the grip of a dead man. Her hopes of leaving or trying to fight his tense grasp were crushed instantly, she’d been here many times before, none of which could she escape Carlos’s impossibly strong hold. At least this time she didn’t have to pee.

She sighed in defeat, turning over and burying her face into Carlos’s chest. She quickly realized that the position was completely impractical and turned her head so one cheek rested on his left pec. His steady heartbeat thrummed in her ears, a calming noise. So calming, it almost lulled her straight back into dreamland if not for Carlos’s groggy morning voice cutting through the atmosphere.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He groaned, holding her even tighter if at all possible. He kissed the top of her head with adoration, making her melt.

“Good morning.” She whispered.

They made eye contact, both of their faces breaking into a wide grin.

“You have bed head.” Carlos teased, messing with her hair which was going every which direction.

She scoffed, reaching out a hand to further mess up his already messy hair. “So do you, dipshit.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and smiled, leaning into the palm of her hand still placed at the top of his head.

“I love you.” He muttered.

She pushed his head down into the pillow and straddled him, pressing a firm kiss to his lips.

“I love you too.” She whispered against them.

Carlos’s arms snaked their way back around her waist, pressing her body against his. He buried his head in the dip between her neck and her shoulder.

“I’m never getting out of this bed, am I?” She joked.

He shook his head, beard scratching her neck. “Nope, never.”

She settled down on top of him, resigning herself to her fate.

She sat, tracing shapes into Carlos’s chest, “Y’know, if you would’ve told me this would be my life back when everything in RC was happening, I would’ve laughed in your face.”

Carlos smiled and laughed, (Y/N) laughing along.

“Oh yeah?” He muttered.

She nodded, looking up at his face. “Yeah, of course, I bet you’d have done the same.”

“Not me.”

“Not you?”

“Nah, I knew from the moment I saw you that I’d make you mine.” He smiled like he’d figured out everything. Like some omnipotent knowledge had been bestowed upon him and he’d never had any doubt whatsoever.

(Y/N) buried her face into his chest in embarrassment at how much his sentiment had flustered her, “You’re so sweet I’m gonna die,” she remarked.

“I’m serious!” He said, “I had the biggest crush on you since the second I met you. Would’ve made it more obvious, but we were kind of fighting for our lives.”

She smiled, staring at him in awe. “That’s crazy,” she mumbled.

“Well now I’m curious,” Carlos began, “when did you start to crush on me?”

She laughed a little bit, thinking back.

“Y’know, now that I think about it, I had a little crush on you back then too. Just didn’t want to admit it because of the circumstances.” The room was quiet for a second before she added on, “I also definitely thought you were out of my league. Still do.”

The last part was said quietly but Carlos heard. He furrowed his eyebrows like what she said was truly unbelievable, sitting up against the headboard so he could get a better look at (Y/N)’s expressions, “Me? Out of your league? (Y/N), come on, there’s no way.”

She sat up too, trying to pull herself off of him, but his hands maintained a steady grip on her hips. “I mean, you’re very handsome, Carlos. And funny, and sweet, an overall catch. I just never felt like I deserved you, honestly I’m still debating it.” She tried to laugh it off, but Carlos’s lips were pressed into a pout.

He shook his head profusely, pulling her closer, “But you’re my everything.” He frowned deeply, “Baby, you mean so much to me. You make me so insanely happy, you make me laugh so hard my stomach starts to hurt, and as an added bonus, you’re absolutely gorgeous.”

“Fuck,” (Y/N) groaned, “you’re so nice to me.”

His deep brown eyes continued staring holes into her own, “I’m not being nice, baby, I’m being truthful. I love you so much and I really hope that one day you can see yourself the way I see you.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, nodding along solemnly, “yeah, I really hope so too.”

Carlos kissed the top of her head, content with that answer— for now.

“Why don’t I take you out today? We could have a nice day out on the town.” He suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

(Y/N) tilted her head, “But I thought you wanted to stay in?”

“Changed my mind, wanna show you off.” He flirted.

Her face felt all tingly and she was buzzing at the thought. She agreed with a small, giddy smile, “Okay.”

[lirarey]

See you again (chapter 4 — ending)

That evening, Jane anxiously sorted through her things, trying to put her thoughts in order. The girl is frankly not used to talking about such difficult topics. What if everything goes badly and everyone decides that she's crazy?..

"You're not crazy," it sounded behind her, "but I still wonder what's going on."

Jane turned around with a start. The last phrase happened to be spoken out loud. Carlos was standing in the doorway of her room.

"I understand that everyone sometimes wants to be alone..." The guy broke off, and she remembered that one of his fears had always been loneliness. Without realizing it, Jane was hurting him even more. "But you weren't even here at your own birthday party. And you stopped practicing magic altogether. Something happened?"

"Magic is dangerous. Even for me," she replied quietly. "Mom was right."

"You never thought that. What happened?"

"I was in reality where you're dead!" Blue flames flared up from the surge of strong emotions on her fingertips, and Jane abruptly clenched her hands into fists, calming down. "Because of this, the magic is completely out of control. What kind of fairy am I if I can't even figure out my essence?"

"Did I dead?.." He took a tentative step forward. "Another reality? Little star, what are you talking about?"

"I've been living in another one all this year. The reality where you died shortly after my birthday. One day you didn't wake up. Cardiac arrest in sleep caused by a decrease in heart rate." Turning away, Jane ran her palm over the frame of the floor mirror, but pulled her hand away, feeling the familiar tingling in her fingers. "I've never seen more mourning in Auradon in my entire life. Even those who didn’t fully approve of the opening of the barrier expressed regret. So many people gathered... Mal tried to hide her tears, but there was a tremor in her voice. Evie came without makeup for the first time. She was visibly shaking, and Doug was holding her elbow. Jay and Lonnie came up later: they couldn't find Dude anywhere. Who would have thought that he would jump into my arms. He whined so quietly. He didn't want to talk to anyone. Even Ben didn't finish his speech. Everyone was shocked."

Carlos froze, listening intently to her every word. Now he looked strangely like a Dalmatian, which his mother disliked so much. All the muscles were tense, except for the wide-open eyes. She talked and talked, recalling the smallest details, not shutting up, afraid to stumble and see disbelief in his reaction. The fire in her hands flared up every now and then, but she had to restrain himself.

"Jane," Carlos crossed the small distance between them and took the tips of his fingers, still hot from the magical fire, in his palms, "Take a deep breath. I believe you."

It's amazing how just three words can affect a person. A wave of relief swept through her body.

"I really felt bad that day. You know, it feels like your heart is falling down... I woke up because of Dude." A grin broke through the serious tone. "He said that he was hungry and offered to have a snack. I didn't feel like sleeping anymore, so I agreed. In the morning, I didn't even remember what had happened. Considering your words, the picture is starting to take shape."

"To take shape?.."

"Yes. I can't know the exact reason, but it's not for nothing that many villains were brought back to life for the sake of being imprisoned on the Isle." Carlos smiled bitterly, closing his eyes. "Maybe no matter what I do, I'll always be a villain."

A villain. Of course. How Jane didn't figure it out before? There're almost no people left who would treat guests from the Isle badly, but after all, long-term habits aren't so easy to eradicate. To live for years in a place where you don't want to go back. To find salvation only in the company of the same unhappy children. Uma criticized Ben at the time for not fully fulfilling his intentions to study the villainous descendants in Auradon, but Jane didn't forget how many problems there were with Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay. Local students seemed to enjoy the opportunity to mock those who didn't really touch others. And, oh, horror, she was once among the abusers. A wonderful continuation of the parents came out of them. Her own birthday came under the hot hand of Audrey, who decided to join the other side. But the girl didn't want to look for the culprits, although Ben apologized for a very long time when everything was resolved, and even allocated money for a new event.

"No, you're not a villain. Everyone chooses their own side." Jane finally hugged him tightly, feeling the gusts of magic subside. "But villains can also love."

"Yes... Yes, they can," the guy repeated absently. "Because I love you."

Her heart skipped a beat. The girl knew about the existence of different languages of love, and his was definitely somewhere between actions and gifts. However, he never talked about feelings just like that. Compliments were undoubtedly present, although Jane didn't believe that she deserved all of them, but declarations of love happened in the most valuable moments.

"To be honest," she said in a broken voice, "deep down I believed that this was how it should be. That I can't love, therefore... when you... as a punishment..."

"Shhh, hush." Carlos pulled away, kissed her gently on the forehead and touched her face with his palms. "If I can be a villain who loves a heroine, then you can't only create other people's stories, but also take part in your own."

"What a heroine I am... I was just doing what I had to do," Jane replied sheepishly, not looking at him.

"My heroine." His words made her skin crawl. "A heroine who also needs rest."

"Don’t go," escaped her lips. "I understand that this is very unwise, but..."

"I'm not leaving," the guy replied with a hint of a grin. "If you promise not to tell anyone about this. I don't even want to know what the Fairy Godmother will think of me."

"Mom already thinks only good things about you!"

"Everything can change!"

And so, with jokes and tears of joy, this long day ended. But it was worth waiting for its end, at least for the opportunity to fall asleep in Carlos's arms. Touch the black and white hair, look at all the freckles on the face and listen to the measured heartbeat. It was here, at this moment, that Jane felt she could trust him completely. Maybe fate really gave them a second chance at their future together? Now the girl really believed in the personal "and they lived happily ever after."

☆☆☆

Thank you for reading this fanfic. I can't help but think that these two deserve a happy ending. Just like Cameron deserved it. This is a bright, sincere star that is probably shining at us from the sky right now. Many actors spoke well of him, and this isn't surprising.

[al9ayf]

ᥫ᭡ 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 | carlos oliveira x f!reader

✧ chapter 3 :: snake

｡˚ word count: 6.32k

｡˚ a/n: i need to give all y’all awards for waiting 6 months for the third chapter 😭 i am so sorry for the long wait i literally lost the motivation to write for monthsss until june hit and the gayness came out of me. i got a wake up call party people. i hope u enjoyyyy and i will be giving u more carlos content i promise

｡˚ content warning(s) :: smut, p in v

he was gone for what felt like forever.

you only realized that time was passing because of the different sounds jill would make. other than that, you sat still looking at the iv bag drip in a continuous pattern. but then you heard it. the sound of somebody running. you didn’t freak out or even bother moving. you were too tired, and you already knew who it was anyway. his footsteps were familiar.

carlos stopped running right as he opened the double doors. you were seated next to jill on a rolling chair with no back support. you turned your head to face him, eyes dropping to his belt where you spotted the vaccine dangling from it. you then looked up at him and noticed the smallest expression of anger.

“was he there?” you asked, standing up.

“oh, he was there,” carlos said, coming right up to you. “—sitting there dead.” your facial expression didn’t change. instead, you only rolled your eyes and turned around to face jill.

“were there any more?” you asked.

“none,” he said. “he left a video on the computer explaining everything, which i assume you alre—“

“yes, i already know.” you snapped, turning your head to face him. you were angered at the fact that nicholai killed your only coworker left to help you. the only other coworker besides yourself who knew how and where to make another fucking vaccine. you couldn’t do this alone, but you had to now.

you kicked the chair beside you and walked across the room to get the supplies needed. it was only a bandage, alcohol wipes, and some gloves. you didn’t want to infect her even more with whatever you had. you slipped the gloves on and went to work. carlos handed you the vaccine after you had wiped the area you were going to inject it in. you stuck the needle into her arm gently, hearing her wince at the pinching pain as you injected the vaccine into her. after that, you placed the empty cartridge on the stand beside you.

“she’ll still have a fever,” you said as you grabbed the bandage.

“for how long?” asked carlos.

you glanced up at him, then back down at jill’s arm so you could start wrapping the bandage. “don’t know,” you said. “it depends on how well she handles it.”

once you finished, you backed away from her and walked away. carlos came up next to her and eyed her face. she seemed to look somewhat better. he turned around to look back at you, seeing that you were removing the blue latex gloves from your hands and dumping them in the trash. you glanced at him to see that he was looking at you, and you felt somewhat of an easy feeling wash over you.

“we need to leave as soon as your friend arrives,” you said. “we need to create another vaccine before anything else happens.”

“where can we even find another one? umbrella has so many labs,” said carlos.

“only one of them has the materials to make the vaccine, and it’s right under this hospital.” you looked at the double doors, remembering how you visited this hospital so many times just to create and work on things that ultimately destroyed this city, and now possibly the world. you looked back at carlos.

“the horrors down there…” you muttered. “it’s a suicide mission.”

“there’s four of us, y/n. there’s no such thing as a suicide mission if we all work together,” he said.

“you don’t understand… i want that vaccine as much as you do, but there are more than just bio-weapons down there. it’s not the only thing that’s scaring me…”

“then… what is it?”

you glanced at jill who was resting peacefully, then sighed. “not in here, she needs to rest,” you turned your gaze back to him. you beckoned him to follow you out of the room. carlos opened up the door for the two of you, only to be met with tyrell running up to the door. he quickly stopped and started panting a bit, but had a relieved look on his face.

“i got here as soon as i could,” he said, still panting. “the vaccine?”

“i already gave it to jill,” you said. “she’s recovering and resting now.”

“oh, thank god,” he let out a deep sigh of relief. “and you two?”

you both stood there silently, not knowing how to answer. but you quickly cleared your throat and laughed awkwardly, “there are a few things we need to talk about privately. in the meantime, i want you to watch over jill for a bit—make sure nothing is wrong while we’re gone. but if anything happens, let us know immediately.”

“yeah, yeah of course,” said tyrell.

he entered the room which left the two of you all alone in the lobby. you walked over by the desk to get some distance away from the door so you wouldn’t disturb jill and tyrell with your voices. you played with your hands, unsure of what to say first. there was so much to go over, and your fingers kept sliding your wedding band up and down your ring finger.

“umbrella… they don’t want any of this getting out, y’know?” you asked, turning to face him. you moved your hands away from each other to stop your fidgeting. “it’s either them or some fucking spy or government group that wants it. whether it be the vaccine or the virus itself.”

you felt your heart rate kick up. “just the thought of it kills me on the inside. jesus… we’re doomed if one of those fuckers gets it.”

you started breathing heavily, almost as if you were about to go into full panic mode. you fanned yourself with your hands as you paced around the lobby worriedly. “we’re nothing compared to them. nothing, carlos!”

he walked over to you and stopped you in your tracks by placing both of his hands on your shoulders. you looked at him, still in a frenzied state. “you don’t know that,” he said. “you don’t know if there’s anybody down there anyway! you need to calm down.”

“there are rats in this company,” you said, grabbing his bulletproof vest. “one of the labs has already been infiltrated before the outbreak, and one of my coworkers is being stalked by this woman who wants the virus!”

you leaned in close to his face. “and nicholai is somewhere around the area, trying to find another way to get into this lab underneath our feet. he wants the vaccine so he can fucking sell it.”

carlos moved his hands to grab yours, moving them away from his chest so he can hold them. “listen,” he said in a commanding voice. “in a day or so, this city is going to be a goner whether we get the vaccine or not. but either way, we can still have the upper hand here if we secure the only escape route from the lab.”

you gulped down the built-up saliva in your throat, “and if we don’t?”

“we will. it’s the four of us against whoever or whatever is in our way.”

he saw you start to calm down and relax in his close embrace. you were still anxious, but you felt somewhat reassured. you were a scientist. the smartest out of the bunch here in raccoon city. fuck, you could outsmart all the bio-weapons and the undead—even the people after the virus. you were smarter than all of them combined. you looked away from him and down at the floor, cracking a smirk at yourself.

“maybe you’re right… i’ll try not to think about it in the meantime,” you gently grabbed your bitten hand. “i don’t want to stress myself out more…”

you moved away from him and walked over to one of the couches, sighing as you sat down. “i uh…”

you looked at him, locking eyes. “… i never had the chance to tell you the truth… about umbrella, about me, about all of this shit.”

carlos sat down next to you and placed his hand by yours. “if there is more to tell about your whole situation, then let’s talk about it after this whole shit show.”

“and once jill wakes up,” you added.

“yeah…”

you looked down, avoiding his gaze. “thank you.”

“for what?”

“everything.”

you looked back up at him and locked eyes. for the first time—you smiled. a gentle, soft, genuine smile appeared on your surprisingly still moisturized lips. he was almost taken aback by it, shocked at how much your smile became a rare sight to see now. it has been way too long. your smile lasted only a second longer before you looked away from his face and at his body. you reached your right hand out to grab the strap of his bulletproof vest. you played with the flashlight with your thumb, as if you were a little child with a toy.

“how heavy is it?” you asked.

“not that heavy,” he said.

you knew he was smirking, and you couldn’t help but laugh at how stupid this was. you looked at his face and raised an eyebrow. “i can see you breaking a sweat though,” you said, leaning in closer. you were just joking, of course, and it was an invitation to just be at ease and not at each other’s throats.

a lighthearted mood settled in between the two of you. “it’s not ‘cause of the vest, but because of you,” said carlos.

“… i always hated your pickup lines,” you said, smiling again.

“at least they get you to smile.”

“yeah, right.”

you suddenly tugged on the vest, bringing him down to your height while almost pressing him up against you. he placed both hands on either side of you to not fall on top of you and crush you.

you let go of the vest by slowly sliding your hand down the front of it, all the while looking up at him through your lashes. although you were tired, dirty, and smelled a bit bad due to the zombie guts and running around, he still thought you were gorgeous. carlos swallowed the built-up saliva in his mouth, only to quickly bend over the other way and start coughing into his fist. you sat there a bit shocked but with an amused expression on your face.

“am i that vile to you that you choked on your spit?” you laughed.

you placed a hand on his shoulder, only to move it down to his back to start hitting it gently to stop the coughing session. he let out a deep breath once he was finally finished, and turned his head to look at you. carlos saw the tiniest look of concern dancing in your eyes.

“you alright?” you asked.

he smiled at you as he leaned back on the couch. “as long as my vile wife is with me, i’m fine,” he flirted but joked at the same time.

you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at what he said, only to laugh a little right after. carlos felt at ease hearing you laugh, which helped boost his ego up a bit when he went to move his arm behind you and place his hand on your hip. you didn’t say anything as he pulled you closer to him. it felt weird to be close to him like this again. after months of being away without any communication, and the tension between the two of you the past few days—it was going to be weird. but you felt safe and comfortable. you looked up at him and into those dark eyes. he always cracked underneath your gaze. he couldn’t stare at you for too long before having to look somewhere else. you were the only woman to have this effect on him. to play better at his own game; his own flirtatious game. but it only helped his confidence to know that you were letting on. he was coming back into your life as your husband again.

he looked back at you quickly, fearing that if he strayed his gaze away for too long that you wouldn’t be there anymore. but there you were, smiling softly. he cracked again. you were just so beautiful.

“carlos…” you spoke his name as if it was the first time you heard it. he moved his head down to yours and you stayed. you didn’t move away. this was the perfect moment. he grabbed your cheek and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. you kissed back eagerly. your lips were still so soft and so moisturized. it felt amazing. when he pulled away, he couldn’t help but move back in for more.

he peppered kisses from your mouth to your chin, then down to your neck and the place behind your ear which always made you gasp and moan. his kisses only grew more eager and lust-driven. but you couldn’t do it here, not now! you moved your head so your lips could connect one more time before you grabbed his arm and stopped him. he rested his forehead against yours and stayed looking at your lips.

“baby—“ you said but got cut off.

“shut up.” carlos said and went back to work. he laid you on the couch and feverishly kissed you again. he moved his hands down to your shirt and rode it up, exposing your stomach and bra. you bit your lip to suppress a moan and placed your arm over your mouth to make sure it didn’t split out. carlos only moved your arm away and you gave him a serious look.

“we can’t,” you whispered. “it’s too risky.”

“i don’t care,” he said, kissing you. “i have to scratch fucking my wife in a apocalypse off my bucket list.” you cursed him as you laughed.

carlos moved you off the couch and bent you over it as he came up from behind you. you looked over your shoulder and frowned. “on the floor? really?” you asked.

he shrugged his shoulders. “you were going to fall off eventually. you know me,” you muttered a “shut up”. you couldn’t take him seriously at times, especially now. he hooked his fingers on your pants and underwear, making sure to slide both of them down at the same time. you were glad he couldn’t see your red face. you became embarrassed when you suddenly heard him laugh.

“a thong? really?” he asked. you rolled your eyes. “were you expecting this to happen?” carlos only continued. you wanted to hit him. when you didn’t give him a reaction, he only retaliated by spreading your legs a little wider and slipping a finger easily inside of your already dripping cunt. you laid your head on your hands and let out a shaky sigh. he smiled to himself. he pumped his finger in and out of you slowly. you could feel the roughness of his fingerless gloves against your thighs. it only made this feeling better.

you turned your head and pouted. “please, carlos…” you sighed. “just fuck me already.”

he pulled his finger out and ran it along the inner part of your thigh, making you shiver. “well since you asked so nicely…” he said, moving his finger away. you heard him unzipping his pants and some shuffling. you felt the tip of his cock enter you, but he didn’t move.

you rolled your eyes. “carlos if you don’t fucking—“ he shut you up by thrusting into you, and you gasped. he covered your mouth immediately and brought you up to his chest.

“we don’t want tyrell to hear you now,” he said, fucking you even harder. “it’ll be embarrassing for the both of us.” you couldn’t help it though. as he let go of your mouth, the first thing you did was moan even louder than your gasp. he felt so good you couldn’t even shut up about it.

you leaned your chest back against the couch to get into a more comfortable position, but every time carlos thrust into you, harder and harder, you kept being pushed back against him. he was going to fuck you dumb at this point. and even though he told you to shut up, he was also moaning and grunting, but in a much quieter voice. carlos suddenly stopped and slipped his dick out of you. you were going to turn and face him but he only moved you off of the couch and onto the floor.

your back was now on the floor with your legs spread just a little. carlos grabbed your pants and underwear again and moved them down to your ankles just to take them off, not bothering to do the same with your shoes. he just wanted the clothes out of his way. you brought your finger up to your lips as he brought you right to him, and slid right back in even more. you bit hard and moaned. carlos’ grip around your hips tightened as he fucked even harder and faster. his hair stuck to his face and his mouth couldn’t and wouldn’t stay shut.

“carlos—“ you moaned, reaching your hands up to his face. you cupped his cheeks and brought his head down to yours, immediately kissing him to shut the both of you up. your saliva mixed with his as your tongues clashed against each other. you moaned at how good everything felt. how good he was at making every part of your body sweat and shake. your cunt clenched around his dick and that is when he bit on your bottom lip in response.

your hand snaked around the back of his neck and you dug your nails into it in response, but it wasn’t hard enough to hurt him. carlos kissed you one more time and then pulled away from your lips. your bottom lip throbbed just like your cunt and you only felt more pleasure from it. carlos started to go faster, and your body twisted from it. fuck, fuck, fuck you were close and you know he knew too. carlos’ breathing became heavier and your moans only became louder.

he bucked his hips into yours and groaned. “you really love being loud,” he moaned. you hummed and went to grab your tits, massaging them as he continued fucking you.

“mmm—you make me feel so good, how am i supposed to keep my mouth shut?” you managed to say, only to moan right after. carlos laughed and shook his head. within the next minute, you felt yourself become more sensitive to any touch or movement carlos made. you felt yourself. you were going to cum any minute.

you put your arm over your mouth and cried. “yes—yes! right there! oh fuck!” you moaned as he kept his pace fast and steady. “yes!” you cried as you moaned. carlos needed to hold himself together. he couldn’t cum in you but at the same time, he wanted to so bad. ugh, fuck it. with a few more hip thrusts, carlos came inside of you, becoming still as a rock as he finally had his orgasm. you followed too, and you grabbed his face to kiss him again just to conceal your moans. you were loud when you came but this time you had to keep quiet (even though you already failed at that).

when you finally stopped, you leaned your head down on the floor again and started to breathe heavily. carlos slipped out of you and fell back on his butt. he needed a breather from that fuck. it was so good, so passionate, so raw. it took him out more than killing fucking zombies did. but it has been too long and you two needed to head back inside again. carlos pulled his pants back up and zipped them. he looked at you only to see you were still laying there with your legs wide open. you were too exhausted to do anything.

he moved over to you and grabbed your knees, closing your legs together and placing his head on top of them. he smirked at you and you looked away. you were too flushed and a bit embarrassed right now.

“round two?” he teased. you only moved your legs as you lay on your side, flashing him a playful look. carlos only grabbed your arms and pulled you up. you placed your head on your legs now and smiled. “thanks,” you said, looking up at him.

carlos became confused. “for what?”

“for reminding me of how much i missed your cock,” you joked, standing up now. you heard carlos laugh at both your joke and how you wobbled over to your pants and underwear. you sat down on the couch and slid them back on with your shoes still on you. you made sure the both of you look presentable enough before walking back inside the room jill and tyrell were in. he greeted the both of you with a smile and a “hey” before going back to work on his computer.

carlos took a seat next to him as you took yours next to jill. you were monitoring her, and as you started to unhook her from the iv bag that she no longer needed, tyrell leaned in close to carlos with a small smirk on his face. “she that good?” he asked. carlos looked at him and scoffed before lightly punching his shoulder.

“shut up, man…” he muttered. you stopped what you were doing and turned to look at them. tyrell was snickering to himself while carlos gave you a quick wink. you only blushed and turned back to jill. motherfucker.

—

waiting around hoping for something to happen isn’t ideal, especially since the government was going to bomb raccoon city soon. you and carlos left tyrell in charge to look after jill since she was recovering well, and the two of you headed off into the lab to start looking for another vaccine. you weren’t sure if there were any left, truthfully, but if you had to make it from scratch then so be it.

everything was going smoothly up until the two of you got ambushed by the undead. you were forced to split up, and ever since then, you’ve been wandering around the halls alone. you knew where you were going, but you feared that carlos would be lost. if only you kept the radio. you decided that you needed to stop waiting around for carlos, and instead start going after the vaccine. you needed to get it before anybody else—if there even is another person lingering down here…

you finally arrived at the storage room in front of the lab and you quickly headed towards the lift. you didn’t see anybody on your way here so you thought to yourself that you were the only one. that is until the lift reached the monitor room and there stood nicholai with his hands behind his back looking right at you. “there’s the woman of the hour,” he said, walking towards you. you quickly got off the lift and headed to him as well, glaring straight into his eyes.

“what’re you doing here?” you asked. “there’s no business for you here.”

he looked you up and down before walking past you. “last night i saw you get bit,” nicholai turned around to see your confused and shocked expression.

“how?” you snapped, coming up to him. “i was alone. carlos wasn’t even there—“

“you forget that i’m a monitor. i watch,” he said, fully turning around to meet your eyes. “and you were stupid enough to forget that i could see you wrapping that bite up in that train.”

you bit the inside of your lip harshly and it almost bled. nicholai laughed at your shaken appearance. and to add it all on top, he placed a hand on your shoulder and smirked at you. “umbrella already knows of this. your body is a natural resistor to the virus. they would be so glad to hear from you—“

he got cut off when the power suddenly went out. you could still feel his hand on your shoulder, so you slapped it away and gave him a hard punch in the face. you surprised yourself by managing to land the blow. nicholai groaned in pain as he fell to the floor. it was still dark so you could barely see him. but then you felt him grab your leg and forcibly trip you. you yelled as you fell and landed on your bitten arm. you felt blood squeeze out at the pressure which only made you hiss at the pain.

“stupid bitch,” he muttered under his breath. he got on top of you and grabbed your neck, squeezing it. you reacted quickly, and as he struggled to strangle you, your hands felt around his waist area and grabbed the knife he had in his pocket. you grabbed it and stabbed him in the leg. nicholai screamed in pain and you then scooted away from him. you backed into the wall, breathing heavily and gasping for air. fuck it burned. you still had the knife in your hands, and you gripped tightly onto it as you stood up and made your way toward him. he was visible now in the dark. you finally managed to get a grip on your surroundings.

nicholai got up from the floor right as you tried getting a swing at his neck. he grabbed your wrist harshly and under his grip slowly started to crush it. you screamed in pain and fear as he brought the knife closer to you instead. but then the lights turned on, and he suddenly pushed you away. he ran to the sliding door and you quickly followed after him. you were going to kill that son of a bitch. as you slipped through the doors, jill came up on the platform, managing to catch a glimpse of your labcoat and hair.

“y/n!” she yelled, but you didn’t hear her. the doors shut and locked behind you and it was just you and nicholai. but in a twisted turn of events, he suddenly pressed a button he had in his hand, and down came the doors. you rushed to it and banged hard on it.

“i’ll get you, you bastard!” you yelled. “you fucking hear me?!” but he didn’t answer. you knew the lab like the back of your hand, so you turned around and ran down another big white hallway. you ran into a black door and you slammed it open. all you had with you was this fucking knife and a bitten hand. you were screwed. this place was crawling with the undead. but you were here, so you had to do something. you walked into the supply room at the end of the hall to find some bandages. yours was dirty and bloody again. when you took them off, you saw how bad your hand had got. your fingers were way too skinny and your hand seemed to have shrunk a little. what the fuck?

you quickly found some bandages and wrapped up your hand again. you left the room holding it as if you had broken it. you realized after all the adrenaline that there wasn’t much feeling to it anymore. you walked up the stairs in pain and fear. the vaccine synthesis room was only down the hall. you saw no infected around, but right as you got up to the door, you suddenly heard the sound of a few behind you. you didn’t bother turning your head to look at them. you only busted into the room with fear and shut the door behind you. you walked straight towards the machine and looked around the table. there were no materials. your breathing became heavier as you looked around the room for any materials. nothing. fucking nothing.

you fell to the floor crying and you slammed your okay hand on the ground. “fuck!” you yelled. you knew there were some in badly infected areas, but you couldn’t go there like this. you were dying, you knew it. suddenly the door busted open and jill came in with her gun aimed. you looked up at her in awe as she came down to you.

“fuck, are you hurt?” she asked, bringing you to your feet. you shook your head as she brought you to the chair nearby to sit on.

“the vaccine…” you started. “the materials aren’t in here.”

“that’s alright,” she said, placing her gun back in its holster. “i’ll go get it.”

“you don’t understand—“

“y/n, i’ve gone through worse shit. just tell me where to fucking get it and what the fuck it is,” she cut you off.

you stared at her in shock for a second only to let out a small laugh at her attitude. you enjoyed how brave she was. you sat there explaining to her where and what to get. you needed an antigen and adjuvant for it to work, but they were far from each other in deeply overrun areas. but jill didn’t care though. she only thanked you and walked out the door, only to come running back in to grab a usb drive by the computer. you laughed again at her.

—

an hour later jill came back with what you needed. she only had a few scratches on her but that didn’t matter. you told jill you would meet up with her and carlos later while you worked on this vaccine now that she had gotten rid of the infected around the area. but before she left, you told jill that there was a weapon in the lab that could destroy nemesis once and for all.

“if you can’t shake it off of you, head to that room. you will finally get rid of it there,”

and then she left. you spent the next few minutes finishing the vaccine. and as you held that bright pink tube up to your face a thought came to your mind—maybe it could help you. raccoon city was going to be a goner either way. you were still alive. everything else was gone. you needed it more, right? you looked around for a needle and managed to find one. but as you held it up, you felt like you couldn’t do it. you finally got jill’s trust and carlos back in your life. you couldn’t do it.

you threw the syringe on the floor and left the room. there was a helicopter up on the roof you could hijack and prepare for the three of you to leave. you knew a shortcut—an elevator that took you straight up there. you walked into the hallways and went through a door at the end of one of them. there was an elevator that took you up to the roof. you arrived in a minute, and there was the helicopter. you ran up to it only to be caught off guard by a gunshot. nicholai came charging at you, and you took out the knife again. he knocked you down to the ground but without getting sliced across the arm for it.

“you’re strong for somebody who is infected!” he said, sitting on top of you again. this time he grabbed the knife from your hand and threw it away, breaking your wrist in the process. you screamed and tried rolling away from him, but it hurt so bad. you started to cry and push him away with your other hand, but that one was already weak and “decayed”. nicholai grabbed your throat and raised your head from the ground, banging it onto the floor below. you screamed even more, but before he could do it again, he suddenly got shoved off of you.

you kept your eyes shut in fear and pain. your head hurts so bad. your arms were on fire. you wanted to die than continue living in this painful hell. you opened up your eyes to see carlos beating the living shit out of nicholai. but they kept turning and fighting each other it all became a blur to you. your head felt like it was about to explode. and eventually, you passed out for a few seconds only to wake up again to feel somebody searching your body. you opened your eyes to expect carlos, only to come face to face with nicholai. he grabbed the vaccine from your pocket, but at that moment it wasn’t the thing concerning you. you rolled to see where carlos was, only to find his body not moving on the ground.

“carlos!” you yelled. you could see the faint moving of his chest, so you remained calm. at least he was still alive. behind you, you heard jill run-up to the three of you. she yelled incoherent words since you kept slipping in and out of consciousness. the only thing you managed to make out was a gunshot and the sound of some glass breaking. there was so much going on as you heard some more struggling and another gunshot. then everything went quiet. carlos suddenly appeared above you and he bent down to pick you up.

“everything’s going to be okay now,” he said, lifting you. he helped you inside of the helicopter and you laid your head down on jill’s lap. you couldn’t bring yourself to move much.

“the vaccine?” you managed to ask.

“gone,” said jill in an angry voice.

you didn’t reply to her. that’s what the glass was, huh? you shut your eyes and let silent tears spill down your cheeks. your hand, your legacy, your life… all gone.

—

a week passed after you returned home. the government was still forcing you to go through some regulations, but you didn’t mind since you and carlos were back in your home. he questioned your hand a few times but you told him that it was still healing after getting it caught in a fence while running through raccoon city. you didn’t have the heart still to tell him that you had gotten bit and were still living. you added to the lie saying after you went to the government hospital, they bandaged and sewed your hand back up. he believed you—of course, he believed you.

at the end of the week, in the middle of the night, you received a phone call. it was your house phone, not your phone. you knew who it was already. you got up from bed slowly and walked to the dresser by the window. it was an unknown number, but you still picked it up.

“hello?” you asked while walking out of the room. carlos was a heavy sleeper so he wouldn’t notice you gone for a few minutes. you walked out into the hall and into an empty room filled with boxes. you sat in the rocking chair by the window and looked out into the street. nobody was out there.

“you made it out, bitten and still alive,” the man on the other side of the phone exclaimed. “how?”

you leaned into the rocking chair and smiled. “don’t know, don’t care,” you said.

“has it spread?”

“a little. the blackness reached my wrist and my fingers are stiff.”

“and your other hand?”

“the wrist is broken but it should heal in a few weeks. nothing to worry about.”

“and the vaccine?”

“destroyed by nicholai.”

“good. we can fix that hand of yours too and take a sample for some experimenting.”

you shut your eyes and relaxed into the seat. the man on the other side muttered a few things and you could hear the tip-tapping of his keys. after a few seconds of silence he spoke up again. “we’re expecting you back at work soon,” he said.

“umbrella is gone. i cannot continue my work there anymore,” you said. “everything perished from that fucking bomb.”

“you won’t be working with them anymore, you’ll be working with me.”

“and what will i gain from working with you?”

“the power you never had from umbrella.”

you suddenly heard your bedroom door creaking open. you heard as carlos’ footsteps started coming towards the door. you panicked. “one second,” you said as carlos opened up the door a bit wider to the room you were in. you looked at him with a small smile on your lips. he looked exhausted.

“you’re up,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “whose calling you so late?”

you brought the phone down to your lap and sighed. “one of the government workers,” you groaned. “they need our passports tomorrow.”

“couldn’t they have waited in the morning?” you rolled your eyes at him and laughed. he came up next to you and leaned down to kiss your forehead. you felt so bad. “i’ll be waiting in bed then.”

you nodded your head and watched as he left the room. you listened closely to the sound of his footsteps as they disappeared and you brought the phone back up to your ear. “so?” the man asked.

“alright,” you said, getting up from the chair. “next time don’t call my house phone in the middle of the night.”

he didn’t say anything and hung up the phone. you hated blonde men. you went through the phone and deleted the number from the call history just in case. you walked back into your bedroom and placed the phone on its stand. carlos had his eyes shut but you know he was still awake. you crawled back into bed and into his embrace, placing your head on his chest. he wrapped his arms around you tightly and pressed another kiss on the top of your head.

“hey, y/n,” he started, looking down at you. you hummed in response.

“why are you lying to me again?”

ch. 1 and 2

bonus chapter party people?

ALSO THANK YOU FOR READING MY SERIES AND KEEPING UP WITH THE BULLSHIT UPDATING SCHEDULE 😭 I LOVE YOU ALL !!!

[serafiel-jacobs]

Baby Hotline (Fanfic)

New chapter from my main series 🩷

Geppetto had just finished teaching Pinocchio about different subjects, right now, his son was in his room, while he was sitting in the living room. Geppetto had forgotten to read the newspaper so he was doing that now, the main headline again was about another dead body being found, whoever this killer was they had a kill count of double digits and it didn’t seem like they would stop any time soon.

Then he read about that earthquake that happened yesterday, it was strange but not the first time Krat had been hit by one, and usually they aren’t a big issue like the one from yesterday. Geppetto is glad that was the reason his son took his time to get back home the other day.

After finishing reading the newspaper he set it aside and was going to go to his workshop but he stopped to look at the portrait of Carlo. It… feels strange seeing it now, he has always loved it, he treasures it, and was devastated when it was stolen. Carlo didn’t like staying still for the painting and he didn’t stop making that angry expression, but Geppetto didn’t care, he was just happy to have the painting of his son, something he could treasure forever.

But now, it doesn’t feel the same, not after Dorian Gray tried to murder Pinocchio. It’s still the same portrait, the one that he loves so much, and yet…

“Ugh, why am I overthinking this so much?!” Geppetto said to himself; everything had been fine, he had been fine, even after they returned from London. Why is now different? Maybe it’s not just him, maybe it’s the tense atmosphere.

The entire city has been tense, first because of that serial killer, but also because lately, it has just been bad news after bad news. The newspapers only seem to want to mention every single bad thing that happens in Krat and sure, it’s not like this place was perfect before, far from it but it’s almost as if the media wants to show the worst of the worst.

For Geppetto, there is also the petty work drama he has to deal with, and dumb gossip because he is a public figure. Again this has been happening more lately for some reason, yes people disliked him back then, but he ignored those sorts of comments or gracefully shut them down, Antonia gave him a few tips on how to deal with those situations and it helped tremendously. Now he is having a harder time dealing with them, sometimes he thinks maybe it's the age but Antonia is slightly older and has no issues, then again you don't mess with Antonia everyone knows that.

He is sure that’s also getting to Venigni because he hasn’t been to work in a few days.

Speaking of work, there is an annual work event that he has to attend tomorrow.

He has never liked it and he isn’t the only one who feels this way, there is a reason everyone at work calls it “gossip day” because every person from every department wants to go and just air out every small rumor they heard or just talk badly about those who they don’t like. It’s not like everyone does it, but a handful of people do and they are always the loudest so they dominate the event, Conrad for example loves this event, and hasn’t shut up all week about how excited he is about it.

It’s a special event because family members of the workers are welcomed, he did bring Carlo alongside Romeo on a few occasions and he may or may not have told them to ruin the party on purpose, last time they came was when Carlo was 15 years old, funnily enough, Conrad was there and he went too far, insulting his late wife in his usual passive-aggressive tone, one he could just claim that his words got “misunderstood”. He was furious and so was Carlo but his son took a deep breath and left the room with Romeo. Before Geppetto could even try to look for them, the sound of the fire alarm resonated in the building, the sprinklers activating and everyone becoming soaking wet.

Conrad did mention how expensive the suit he was wearing was and how it needed to be cleaned with water at a certain temperature. Geppetto wonders how Carlo was such a quick thinker.

Needless to say, after that day his son was banned from the event, but he gave him and Romeo a little reward for that little stunt.

…Okay maybe Antonia is a little right about him not being the best influence but that situation was justified.

Geppetto didn’t want Pinocchio to go because as already stated, he dislikes the event but as soon as Pinocchio heard about he was begging him to go because he wanted to spend time with him and he simply couldn’t say no after that. Pinocchio looked so happy that they were spending time together, more than usual, maybe that earthquake has him on edge? He tends to act clingy when he is upset, it's not an issue for Geppetto, he only worries about his son's feelings.

He promised himself not to make the same mistakes. Leaving Pinocchio all alone at home doesn't seem right, specially since Antonia and Eugéne are busy that day, no one else he can go to since Venigni is also attending.

He looked again at the painting, it really is a beautiful portrait, maybe he truly is just overthinking everything, despite who this painting came from, it's special.

“Sometimes…” Geppetto was speaking out loud, “I wish you would have met your brother”

Meanwhile, in his room, Pinocchio was scrolling the pages of the notebook that he had found underneath Hotel Krat. He recognized some of the symbols that were drawn as the ones that were in the sword, there were many drawings about the human body arrows pointing at certain things, and most of them were of the brain and heart. Pinocchio doesn’t know anything about medicine so he has no idea what these notes are talking about. Something about neurons and the nervous system, heartbeats, and arteries/veins.

Most interesting Pinocchio found notes about magic, actual magic, he wondered if he should try and test if they worked, the writings about divination were interesting.

“Look Gemini is this kind of about you” Pinocchio read the passage out loud, “The chirping of a cricket in pitch darkness is an omen of lighting the way”

“I am even more special than those crickets pal, and I will never leave your side” Gemini was sitting on Pinocchio's shoulder, reading alongside him.

There were notes about Ergo but these were in a different language he couldn’t recognize, he could only tell that they were about Ergo because the word was the same. He found a page dedicated to the gold coin fruit as well, but it was things that he already knew. The notebook was thick, pages had been added with different paper and notes pasted next to other notes.

Pinocchio set the notebook book aside for now and decided to make small talk with Gemini.

“You won’t say anything right?” Pinocchio was talking about how he lied to his father.

“I won’t” Gemini gave out a sigh, “Although I think you should eventually tell him”

“But that is only going to make him more worried; I know I shouldn’t get involved in this anymore but I just want to help others” Pinocchio doesn’t like it when others are hurt and this situation is awful, “What if someone like Simon is out there? I can’t let what happened last time happen again”

“Pinocchio you weren’t even there when Simon first started his plans” Gemini understands too that the boy wants to help but he can’t go on adventures like this all the time, “You deserve to live a normal life without having to constantly save others”

“But-“

“No buts Pinocchio, think about it, if you get involved your loved ones could get hurt, you don’t know what kind of person is leading this and if they are anything like Simon…”

That idea is terrifying, but Pinocchio is still torn about what he should do. In the end, he decides to listen to Gemini but if he does end up in trouble he will help.

Although with his luck most likely he will end up in danger sooner rather than later.

——

Pinocchio was at the event with his father, and he realized that maybe he should listen to him more often when he says things relating to his job can be boring. His father is talking with his coworkers about things he doesn’t understand, and Pinocchio has lost count of the times he has overheard people calling him and his father names behind their backs.

At least he has had some pleasant conversations, some of his father’s coworkers are nice and his uncle Venigni is here, although he was acting a little strange, well he is strange but not his usual kind of strange, but maybe he is just stressed like his father. His uncle did say that he wanted to speak in private after this was done.

Suddenly his father pulls him even closer to him as a man approaches them, he looks a little familiar to him.

“Geppetto good to see that you actually came and didn’t decide to skip another work duty,” Conrad said in a snarky voice, “Hopefully this son of yours doesn’t cause any trouble as Carlo did in the past”

Pinocchio didn’t like this man, he was being so mean for no reason but he knew that he should keep his composure, his mother taught him well how to stay calm in these situations.

“Conrad, you have never properly met my son, maybe before continuing to talk you should introduce yourself to him properly” Geppetto is also trying to stay calm.

Conrad wanted to roll his eyes but people were watching he couldn’t make his dislike for Geppetto that obvious.

Conrad extended his hand “It’s nice to meet you, I’m the supervisor of the quality control department of this union, but I’m sure your father has already told you about me”

“Um no” Pinocchio didn’t realize it but his blunt innocent honesty made him mad, “But it’s nice to meet you, my name is Pinocchio”

They shook hands, he could tell that Conrad had a firm grasp and he didn’t understand why, Conrad knew that he was very sturdy. But unbeknownst to Pinocchio it was because the man was trying to figure out exactly what material he was made of, thankfully for Pinocchio, Conrad isn’t smart enough to figure it out.

“Geppetto good to see you, and you brought your son how nice,” Said a voice from behind, “Oh sorry, I guess I never properly introduced myself to him, I am Harvey the subdirector of the union”

If Geppetto were to step down, Harvey would be the one to get the role, that's because of all the hard years of work. Conrad was not happy when he wasn't chosen to be the subdirector but it was left to vote, not just by all the members of the board but by other workers and Harvey won by a landslide.

Conrad spoke up again “The plans for the re-opening of the Grand Exhibition are going well” Technically, it was never opened, but that was how they had chosen to call it, to not get confused.

The Grand Exhibition was canceled due to the frenzy but now it’s being planned again, to show all the technological advancements Krat has achieved, even know Krat is still known as the “city of the future”. There are still doubts in the minds of the people but time has passed and this could make the city prosper like never before.

Pinocchio remembers how he was saving everyone back then, how he first got rid of the puppets, and how he… was attacked by those alchemists helping Simon, he didn’t think about it back then, just like he didn’t think about how he murdered those stalkers, he had to defend himself but now he feels guilty, he feels like he did something wrong. Everything felt so wrong at the Grand Exhibition, how those puppets mercilessly attacked him; his fight against Victor; the confrontation against Simon.

“Geppetto’s creations are truly marvelous, me and your father used to be collages you know”

Simon, the man who spread the petrification disease, the disease that killed his brother.

Pinocchio had a firm grasp on his weapon, he didn’t trust Simon, and the man could tell that he felt on edge.

Simon rolled his eyes, “Oh come on I did you a favor”

Pinocchio still remembers the words Simon spoke before leaving the place.

Simon had a smug grin on his face “If his dumb brat hadn’t died, you wouldn’t be here today”

“Son, are you okay?”

Pinocchio had snapped from his trance, but that bad experience was still on his mind, so he leaned in closer to his father, hiding behind him, even if Simon was gone it made him feel uneasy.

“I’m fine” Pinocchio lied but unlike his other lies, this wasn’t convincing.

Geppetto knows that this more than his son being shy, he is going to talk to him once this is event is over to see what’s going on.

The conversation kept going about the plans for the re-opening, almost everyone was too entranced in the conversation. Everyone but Conrad who had something else in his mind, still thinking about how Geppetto built Pinocchio.

The materials had always been what he was more curious about, the appearance was impressive, it must be some sort of synthetic skin, and those eyes, they look so real. What kind of voice box is that? The puppet does not have the usual filter, when he first saw him he expected the puppet to talk like Carlo, it doesn't sound like Carlo so it has to be something unique.

What type of springs, what type of gears, how his inner mechanisms work, how his movements run so smoothly. Conrad has worked with Geppetto on certain projects that can improve movement quality, yet when asked what method he used while building his puppet so that they can apply it he refused to answer.

What is powering him? Conrad isn’t stupid, everyone and their mother can deduce Geppetto used Carlo’s Ergo but there had to be something else about it. Ergo can only power so much, the things this puppet can do are beyond impressive.

But at this moment, what he is wondering about is the behavior of the puppet, it has the aspects of what anyone would like in a puppet, polite, well-spoken, and always respectful. But why is the puppet so… he doesn’t know how to describe it, it’s not just shyness, it’s almost as if every little detail can upset him, every time someone mentions anything related to when the frenzy it gets too nervous, the puppet was the one who supposedly saved everyone, shouldn’t the thing like bragging about his accomplishments?

Not to mention the crying, this puppet has that reputation, Conrad heard the crying when Geppetto was fixing the issue with the disruption crystal and he has heard of that time the puppet started crying loudly at one of the events held by Lady Antonia. Why would Geppetto want to deal with that? Crying is annoying and it doesn’t solve anything.

Despite all that, Conrad can’t deny how impressive the puppet is, it’s just, marvelous, but Geppetto keeps the secret all to himself.

“Geppetto are you planning on showing anything special for the Grand Exhibition?” Conrad asked.

Certain workers get to showcase things they build or plan themselves, Venigni for example would present his work with the trams and a few people from other departments present their team projects. Legion Arms are also being prioritized, they are revolutionary in the field of prosthetics after all.

“Not really” Geppetto is too busy supervising all the projects to do so, “Why do you ask?”

“That’s a shame” Conrad was preparing his words, if he sounded too blunt others wouldn’t be happy about it, “I know that as an engineer how important it is to protect one’s secrets, but I believe I speak for all when I say that how you build your son is wonderful”

Geppetto took a few seconds to process what he said and this time he wasn’t able to keep his usual composure.

“Are you asking me to show him off as if he was an object?!”

The atmosphere became tense, and because of the yelling many had turned to hear the conversation.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean it in that way”

Geppetto was furious of course he meant it that way and no amount of sugarcoating was going to hide it.

“Then explain to me, what you actually meant”

“Surely you would want the world to know of your genius insight, your puppet son is a good boy, perhaps you would want the world to see that, to see what a puppet is capable of being”

Pinocchio had stopped feeling on edge but now he was furious, at the way this man was upsetting his father and at the way he was talking about him, he was tired of others treating him as an object.

“In my opinion, we should focus our efforts on the new modes of transportation,” Harvey said, trying to de-escalate the situation, “I believe that is what could help other places around the world the most”

It worked and others started minding their business, Geppetto was waiting for the conversation to stop and find a way to excuse himself and his son. But Pinocchio was so mad his heart started pounding, loudly and it got to the point where it could be heard by others, his springs were reacting with force, resonating around the room. There was an awkward pause, but Geppetto took this opportunity to leave with his son.

“You heard that? It was an actual heartbeat, does he have an actual human heart inside of him?”

“But I could hear the faint sound of metal, it has to be one Geppetto made”

“How do you build a heart?”

“Those springs must be extremely resistant, any other puppet would have broken under such pressure”

Father and son were in one of the hallways, Venigni had also excused himself and joined them.

Pinocchio hugged his father tightly, he was having a really bad day, and unfortunately what he didn’t know was that it was about to get worse.

The sound of people talking loudly from the main room could be heard, soon they saw someone approaching them.

“Listen but unfortunately no one is allowed to leave until further notice”

“What’s going on?” Venigni had a bad feeling about this, a horrible feeling.

“A body was found on the back of the building”

Another murder was displayed as “art”, no one was allowed to leave for a few hours, while the police questioned everyone. As they were finally allowed to leave, there was a symbol drawn with blood on the floor, he recognized it, the symbol that was in all those Trinity doors.

Venigni could tell Pinocchio knew the symbol. “We need to talk, right now”

——

“It’s him, he is back,” Venigni said with dread in his voice, they had all gathered at his home.

There is no doubt about it, but how is this possible?

“According to my research,” Pulcinella began to speak up, “All the murders are the same as before, and just as before, a few reports of people who say the culprit ran away from arranging his scene, claim to have heard heavy footsteps, mechanical footsteps”

Just as before, the police dismiss those statements as mere imagination, the shock of seeing a dead body making them believe that they heard the footsteps of a puppet.

“But why would anyone bring him back? Whoever brought him back must have known what Arlecchino was capable of, why would anyone want a murderer running on the streets?” Geppetto couldn’t understand why anyone would do such a thing.

“I believe someone is trying to distract us from something” Venigni knows that all of this news, the coverage is too focused on this, all too take away the public’s attention from something or someone.

“It has to be the alchemists they must be up to something” Gemini chirped, there was not much doubt in his mind after what they faced inside the cathedral.

“But what could they be planning?” Geppetto is at a loss, but he never truly understood their motives in the first place, “They have been silent so far, not even an ounce of activity”

Pinocchio is feeling overwhelmed again, and the last thing he needs is a reminder that he lied to his father about what happened in the cathedral.

Suddenly the phone starts ringing, that’s too much of a coincidence, Venigni is hesitant to pick it up, it’s too much, he was about to do it when Pinocchio picked up the phone first.

“What do you want?” Pinocchio doesn’t want to play his stupid games anymore.

“What not going to let me have my speech?” The King of Riddles was heard from the other line, “Well since you are so furious is a good thing I’m out of your reach”

Everyone else got a little closer to the phone so that they could hear the conversation properly.

“I would have never guessed you were so rude, no reason to give me an attitude”

“Can you stop with the stupid rhymes and just give us the damn riddle?” Pinocchio is getting even madder, he has never spoken to anyone this way before, not the previous times he dealt with Arlecchino or even with Simon, even if they didn't deserve his politeness, Pinocchio has changed a lot since then, not afraid to show his true emotions and now the anger is consuming him.

“Fine, you are no fun, but first let me tell you what I’ve been up to”

Everyone stayed silent as Arlecchino talked.

“I’m not stupid, I know why I was brought back, so please cut me off so slack, I cannot say who brought me here even if I wanted, but at least my killing gets to be flaunted;

Venigni clenched his fist, just like the night his parents were murdered, he would talk like this, every word taunting his victims, never caring for the harm he caused.

“So Krat recently has been a mess Everyone living in such distress; It’s almost as if everything is broken, But tell me what can you break up Even if you never pick it up or touch it?”

Pinocchio thinks hard about it for a few seconds.

“A promise”

“Correct! Good job, you should treat yourself to a nice reward, I wonder what lies in the basement of the Opera House”

After those words were said, Arlecchino hung up the phone.

“Son come here,” Geppetto said while extending his arms, Pinocchio didn’t want to let go, today had been awful.

“This sounds to me like a trap,” Venigni said.

“It could be but…” Pulcinella was deep in thought, “Arlchecchino has always had issues with the alchemists, if one brought him back he mustn't be happy about it”

Venigni realized what Pulcinella was trying to say, “The alchemists are planning something in there, if we investigate and fail he wins by getting rid of us, if we succeed he wins in his plans against the alchemists”

Arlecchino is smart, it’s best to not underestimate him.

“We can keep talking about this tomorrow” It’s late and they live on the other side of the city, Geppetto knows they have to leave.

They said their goodbyes, Pinocchio hugged Venigni before leaving, he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt his uncle, he was going to put a stop to this.

——

As soon as they arrived home, Geppetto wasted no time on asking Pinocchio what was wrong.

“I… I don’t know! Everything!” Pinocchio began to yell, why did all of this have to happen? Why did he go to that stupid event? Why did Arlecchino have to come back just to torment his loved ones?

“Pinocchio it’s okay, I understand that-“

“No, you don’t! No one calls and treats you as if you are just a machine!” Pinocchio was too emotional to hear him properly.

“Son I know those comments are uncalled for and I have asked people to stop but as you can see people do it when we think we aren’t listening” Geppetto sadly can't stop it and doesn't know what else to do, “I’m sorry but this is the reason I didn't want you to come in the first place”

“Well I should have listened to you are you happy?!” Pinocchio was too frustrated now “I hate your work! I hate your stupid job and how your coworkers all see me! I wished you had another job!”

The room became silent, Pinocchio didn’t fully register what he had said until his father started crying and apologizing over again to him. How many times did Carlo say similar things to him? Even if the context is completely different, the sentiment is the same one.

“No Father, I didn’t…I was just…” Pinocchio doesn’t know what to say, it’s not like he truly hates his father’s job but it does bother him the things he has heard and he knows not all of them are like that but he is done hearing everyone talking behind his back.

“I’m tired” Pinocchio just wants this day to end.

The two of them went to bed, but Pinocchio couldn’t sleep that night, so he went to lie down next to his father, hopefully, this was just one bad day.

Hopefully, things will get better.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Heart’s Choice - Chapter 6 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Carlos Martinez 

Clutching the plastic evidence bag containing my belongings, I shake my head.

"I'm not working with him."

We stand under the harsh fluorescent lights in the station's lobby, which except for a few dusty fake plants and a row of plastic chairs along the wall, is empty. 

It's nearly midnight.

The chief of police angles a hawkish gray brow at me. 

"Standard consultation fee."

"I think you have me confused with someone else," I say.

"I don't consult with the police. You should contact Julian Hart if you want a psychic."

She puts her hands on her hips, reminding me of how Aunt Toni used to look when she wanted me to do something and there was absolutely no way I was getting out of it.

"First thing I did when I saw those symbols at the crime scene," she says.

"He's busy. Out of town with Hunter on some thing."

"Hunter, as in the former detective?" this comes from John Turner, who hasn't stopped scowling since his boss rescued me.

"One and the same."

"He works with a psychic now?" 

The tiny lift at the corner of his lip reveals his disdain for the idea.

"Well, he married one, anyway. Speaking of, don't you go stealing this one on me, Martinez," she nods at Turner.

"I can't afford to keep replacing them."

The flush and look of horror on the detective's face tells me there's a better chance of a snowstorm in Hell.

"Don't worry," I say.

"I'll tell you what I know but that's it. I was just tryna help Kyle, not play cop."

The chief eyes me critically. 

"All right. Answer two questions for me, Martinez. Is this some warlock wannabe who found those symbols on the internet somewhere or is this the real deal?"

I swallow. 

I'd rinsed my mouth out in the bathroom but the taste of vomit lingers, stirring my nausea anew. 

"It's the real deal," I say and she nods. 

"And is this the end of it? Or should we be worried?"

"It's just the beginning," I whisper.

She releases a heavy breath and smooths a hand over her gray hair, which is bound in a neat, single braid. 

"Listen, Martinez. There are indications that Kyle knew his killer. I can't reveal more details until you're onboarded as a consultant but it might shed light on things. Meanwhile, you've got expertise my team needs. You wanna help Kyle, don't you?"

"Yes but..."

"Think about it. Call me when you change your mind." 

She turns to the detective and nods. 

"Take him home."

Turner blinks, taken aback. 

"What?"

"Do you need your hearing checked? I said take him home."

Turner bristles. 

"With all due respect, Chief, I've got a long report to write up and I don't have time to play taxi driver."

Chief Coleridge is a good twelve inches shorter than Turner but as she draws herself up, she seems to grow taller while he shrinks. 

"With all due respect, detective Turner, tell me if I've got the facts straight. According to the statement that you yourself took, Martinez left his vehicle on the other side of town. His cell-phone is dead. The buses stop running at eight and it's past midnight. The man has no shoes, his clothes are wet and it's forty-eight degrees outside. Am I wrong?"

No but..."

"So, take him home."

Without waiting for a reply, she turns and marches up the stairs to the second floor offices.

Turner mutters a word under his breath. 

"Bitch."

I shift awkwardly from side to side. 

"It's okay, really. It's not that far. I can walk."

The detective looks at me and rubs the back of his head, making me accidentally appreciate the sculpted bulk of his shoulder and biceps. 

His expression softens a little, as if he's seeing me for the first time without his cop glasses on.

"Nah. I fucked up big time tonight and the Chief's got both our balls in a vice. Least I can do is give you a ride. Come on."

He leads the way outside and I follow, wincing as my sore feet encounter freezing concrete. 

I got scraped up pretty bad when Prince Charming here hauled me out of the stream. 

He glances over his shoulder at me and frowns, probably annoyed that I'm not keeping up.

"Wait here," he says.

"I'll bring my car around."

He strides off at triple speed and I sigh. 

Yep, he's annoyed.

A moment later, a black, unmarked sedan pulls around the side of the building and comes to a stop. 

The passenger side door pops open and I see Turner at the wheel. 

I get in, shut the door and shiver with relief as I feel warm air blasting from the vents on the dash.

I reach for one, intending to angle it more towards myself and for some reason Turner reaches for the same vent at the same time. 

His hand brushes mine and he snatches it back as if burned.

"It's not contagious," I say, rolling my eyes and hunching in my seat.

"What?"

"The Gay or whatever it is you're afraid of and you're not my type., anyway..." the only lie I've told so far. 

"Besides, you're married, aren’t you?"

He clears his throat. 

"Divorced."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He turns his attention to the road and I figure the conversation is over. 

He startles me when he speaks again.

"I'm sorry, too. I crossed a line, showing you those photos. I'll be lucky if the chief doesn't write me up for it."

I shake my head. 

"You were just doing your job."

"Not very well, it seems," he sighs.

"So, what's the deal, anyway? What did you mean when you told the chief this was 'just the beginning?'"

I glance at him but he's facing forward, eyes on the road. 

He's got a sharp jaw and a strong chin and his nose looks like it's been broken at least once. 

A thin scar bisects one brow and a shadow darkens his hazel eyes, as if he's seen too many things he can't un-see.

"I don't know. I'll have to verify some things with my aunt."

"Your aunt? What, is she a ghostbuster, too or whatever you are?"

"Asesina. My family are 'Asesinos.'"

"I thought you said you 'weren't' a murderer?"

I glance at him again in surprise. 

"You speak Spanish?"

"Just a few words. I know that one."

"Oh. Well, yeah, it means killer or murderer. In this case it's 'slayer.' Asesinos de espíritus malos' killers or slayers of evil spirits. That was the, er... the 'family business' traditionally. My aunt's the last one and she's given it up. She still knows all the shit, though."

"And?"

"And..." I take a breath. 

I recognized the symbols and given what happened to Kyle, there's almost no doubt in my mind as to what they are and yet it still feels like a dream and like saying it aloud will make the nightmare real. 

"It's part of a ritual," I say.

"A ritual to summon a powerful demon and gain it's favor."

"A real demon?"

 "No, an imaginary demon."

He glances over and narrows his eyes at me. 

"Fine. Let's say I believe in demons. You said 'part of a ritual.' What's the rest of it?"

A traffic light changes and he comes to a stop, engine idling. 

I stare at the bright red signal, as if it can burn the memories of what I'd seen in those photos from my mind.

"There are three parts," I say.

"Three 'feasts' or offerings held at specific times. That was the Feast of Pain. Next is the Feast of Blood. Finally, the Feast of Betrayal, in which the demon possesses and takes the life of a human host."

I shiver so violently i bite my tongue. 

Turner notices and turns up the heat.

"Okay. So what I'm hearing is this killer isn't done."

I shake my head.

"What's he get out of it, anyway? I mean, assuming this 'demon' is real."

I shrug.

"Power, youth, longevity, wealth. Something along those lines, usually."

Turner grunts, but says nothing more.

The light changes and he drives on, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

A few minutes later, we arrive at the garage. 

He pulls around the back, close to the stairs that lead up to my apartment and parks.

"Thanks for the ride," I say, opening the door.

"And don't worry. I'll let you know if I have any helpful information to share but otherwise I want nothing to do with this. In fact, I want to stay as far away from it as possible."

He nods. 

"Good. I respect the chief but I've already got a partner and no desire to run around playing Scooby Do."

I get out, wincing as my bare feet encounter cold, sharp gravel. 

Turner reaches over and opens his glove box, rummages within and extracts a business card.

"Call me if you've got something real for me."

I resist the urge the flip him off 'barely' and take the card, slamming the door shut with a little more force than needed. 

He drives away.

Wearily, I climb the stairs, unlock my door and let myself in. 

Then I toss his card in the trash, take a shower and fall into bed.

I wake, early the next morning, to something tickling my face. 

I brush it away. 

I'm tickled again. 

I brush it off again and roll over.

Spiders don't bother me, little eight-legged freak can go fuck itself.

Meanwhile, my alarm hasn't even gone off yet and I had a late, traumatic night.

A sharp slap has me wide awake and bolt upright in bed.

"What the fuck?"

I peel something off my forehead. 

It's Detective Turner's card. 

Meanwhile, my cell-phone, which I didn't take the time to plug in the night before, is fully charged and placed helpfully beside my bed.

"Are you fucking with me, Kyle? You want me to work with the cops? Is that why you led me under the bridge?"

The temperature in the room drops a good ten degrees and the light in my closet flicks on.

"Are you kidding me?"

The light fizzles and pops and I raise my hands in surrender.

"All right, all right. Don't burn the house down. I'll call him. You happy now?"

The light flicks back on.

Great.

I make a mental note to pick up some warding supplies in town, set some basic roommate bounds. 

I don't mind Kyle sticking around but I don't want him watching me sleep.

In the meantime, I study the name on the card.

"Well, Mr. John M. Turner," I sigh.

"Looks like you and I get a second date. Set up by a ghost. Too bad you don't bat for my team."

The light in the closet goes out.

I admit defeat and reach for my cell-phone.

[clearlyclairesblog]

Okay I have something that's probably not going to make it to AO3 so I'll post it here because it's short but sweet and I really like it?

I'VE GOT THE MOVES, A LESTAPPEN STORY.

The both of them wake at the exact same time, each to their own phone ringing.

Max reaches for it sooner than Charles, so he's the first one to hear his agent screaming in his ears.

"I-we what? Who d- Lando? Christ."

At the other side of the bed the same conversation is being held in a mix of English and Italian.

"No we didn't want to co- Cazzo (shit). Non ci credo (I can't believe it). What do we do now?"

They hang up and sigh. The simmetry of their gestures would make them laugh in any other circumstance but they're just too upset to bother.

They look at each other, trying to read the other's mind.

"I'm sorry."

Max is the first one to speak. He knows this is going to affect Charles way more than himself.

"I shouldn't have invited you to that stupid party."

Charles doesn't say a word. The expression on his face is hard to read. He looks as if he wants to speak, but each time his lips part they soon find each other again and no sound comes out.

Max's phone rings once again, breaking the silence.

" It's - uhm, it's Lando. He probably wants to apologize. What do I do?"

"Put him on speaker. I want to hear what he has to say."

His tone is cold and Max doesn't like it one bit. He does as asked.

"Lando. Just so you know, you're on speaker mate, Charles is here listening as well."

"Guys fuck. I'm sorry. Like, really sorry. I didn't mean to post that picture. Shit I wish I never took that at all. Charles I'm - fuck, I don't know what to say. I'll delete it stat."

"Don't. Leave it there."

Max looks at Charles with a frown of confusion on his face.

"Everyone saw that already so what's the point."

"Charles I really am sorry. I wish I d-"

"Yes Lando, you said that already. You wish you hadn't posted that. Still, you did."

"Lando, mate, we appreciate your apologies. Don't do anything. We'll call you back."

With that, Max hangs up and crosses the bed to reach for his boyfriend.

"Hey. Talk to me. Let's analyze the situation together, yes?"

"What's to analyze, Max? Lando outed us. Not that I didn't want to but, shit, I wanted to at least tell my family first?"

"I know schatje, I know. But we can either face it or let it destroy us and I don't honestly want it to affect us more than it should."

"Ferrari is going to hate me."

"Well, I'm sure Marko is somewhere having a heart attack right now. I'm dating a man and that man is Charles Leclerc? Oh he's probably dead by now."

That puts a little smile on Charles' lips.

"How are you so calm about this?"

"I'm not. But I am worried about you more than I am angry about this whole thing."

"I want to see the picture. Did you see it?"

Max shakes his head as he grabs his phone and opens instagram.

"It's on Lando.jpg right?"

"I hope. It's normally just Carlos that ends up on his main."

Charles is hugging Max from behind, his head resting on Max's left shoulder to look at the phone.

The first pic on the post is one of Charles alone, dancing to the music. There's a caption, too. <<He got moves ya know.>>

Typical Lando, really.

Max is scrolling the other pictures but what really captures Charles' attention is the comment section.

-Daniel.jpg: Omg. I'd never top this thread, that's for sure.

-Estebanocon: I didn't know but I'm happy.

-georgerussell63: Should have posted me and @ alex_albon but alright.

"Well, at least we look cute?"

Charles kisses him on the head.

"Of course we do, it's us."

"What th- did you known people actually gave us a ship name?"

"A ship name? Like.. Like, Ferragnez?"

"No idea who they are but I guess, yeah."

"Man, if you're going to publicly be my boyfriend you have to learn more about Italy"

Max chuckles at that. It never ceases to amaze him how Charles fused himself with Italy, Italians and all things related.

"I stopped eating pineapple on Pizza, I think that's a start. Anyway, there's plenty of comments about us where they call us Lestappen."

Charles reflects on it for a second.

"Lestappen?"

"Yep."

"I don't like it."

"I do."

"Of course you do, it's your surname basically."

"Someone's jealous."

"I'm not je-shit Max, look at this."

f1: we knew it from the Austrian podium 👀

"Is that admin for real?"

"To be fair we did almost forget we were not alone on that podium."

"Schat, you won. I couldn't care less about what others would think. Like I don't right now. I love you and you love me, so fuck everyone else."

"We still need to fix this, tho. Deleting it won't do it, we just need to face it properly."

"You want to schedule an interview or something?"

"They will probably make us do one anyway. But like, we should address it."

"Give me the phone."

Max pulls the phone from Charles' hands and starts to type.

"There you go"

maxverstappen1: you should see the other moves he got.

"Max!"

"What? It's true. You got the best moves in bed, babe"

charles_leclerc: I know I got the moves. Thanks for letting everyone know. @ maxverstappen1

pierregasly: @ yukitsunoda0511 you owe me 20 bucks.

[adarlingmess]

Ugnayan

Summary:

Filipino word, noun: connection between persons, groups, countries, etc.

A collection of works detailing a manananggal clan’s relations with the Treses, and their allies.

II: Bad Habits

Summary: After disrupting one of House of Arko’s operations, one of the Kambal meets up with their informant.

Words: 4540

Characters: Basilio, Crispin, Sabina (OC), Alexandra Trese (mentioned only), Ammie (mentioned only), Reyna Manananggal (mentioned only), Dominic Villaceran (mentioned only), Mama Grande (mentioned only)

Relationships: Basilio/Original Female Character

Language: English, with a few Filipino words and phrases sprinkled in.

Rating: 16+

Warnings: Strong language, violence, mentions of abortion, references to human trafficking + sexual trafficking, sexual themes

Author’s Notes:

I am: back on my bullshit again

People were looking for a part 2 so have more Basilio x OC stuff. Spoiler warning for Verdugo: Takutan because this story heavily references its lore and events! The comics are known to be darker in tone, and so is this fic, so heed the warnings above. No Taglish version this time, Darling niyo pagod na 😩

This was supposed to be a simple job.

Get in, rough up House of Arko’s operation while Bossing is paying them a visit in their mansion, get out, and watch as Bossing confronts them about it at the next social gathering they’ll host.

But nothing was ever simple about the aswang, right?

Now there’s a huge one trying to eat Basilio alive.

“Damn it, Basilio. Your recklessness is a bad habit that’ll bite us in the ass later!” his older brother berates him.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever! Now might be the right time to call for backup kuya,” he strains, attempting to pull the  magubat’s jaw apart with his superhuman strength. His fingers slip from the drool and it almost bites his hands off.

Crispin’s busy with a horde of mailap, taking turns in taking pot shots from him in the shadows. “We should’ve taken a page from Carlos’ book and brought palm fronds. Who should we call?”

“What about Maliksi?” Basilio suggests.

“What’s one tikbalang to all these aswangs? We need something bigger, maybe a higante to take on that magubat!”

“Gago, a higante can’t get here as fast as a tikbalang!” Basilio snaps.

“Mas gago ka! What about that playmate of ours from when we were kids, y’know, the one that tipped Bossing off about this whole trafficking operation anyway? Think she can fly her way here?” Crispin growls, shooting down a mailap who was foolish enough to ambush the more cautious twin from above.

Ah, yes. Sabina.

Boyish, intimidating, hard to figure out- but still hot enough to flirt with, despite being aswang; that’s how Basilio would describe her. This Sab was a far cry from the Sabina Marie he once knew years ago, the one who used to wear an all-girl Catholic school uniform, shyly shared her snacks and books with him, and kissed him farewell when her mama told her she’ll not be coming with her to meetings with the lakan anymore.

A few days after they caught up with each other, she turned up at the Diabolical not too long ago with a flash drive for Alex’s eyes only. She didn’t even breathe a word to him, much less look at his direction, but Basilio could only surmise that it’s his fault.

“Sabina? Well, manananggals who follow the queen can shoot. It’s- ungh- worth the shot!” Basilio answers back, straining as he gets swatted to the side with one gigantic claw. “You make the call, my hands are full!”

“Give me your phone, I don’t have her Facespace.”

Basilio looks down from several feet, and gives his brother a sheepish smile. “Uhhh, okay, but she’s been seenzoning me.”

From behind his mask, Crispin frowns. “What did you do?”

“She might’ve seen me tagged in Ammie’s story when I was supposed to watch her gig. I got there when her set was ending, and she was pissed.”

Grumbling, Crispin takes his frustrations off on a mabangis charging towards him, a flurry of bullets raining upon its body. “What did Bossing say about getting personal with informants?”

“What? It’s Sab. She’s-”

“An aswang who might have an ulterior motive in helping us. Tangina Basilio, think with your head sometimes! The one between your shoulders!”

Distracted, Basilio failed to stop the jaws of the magubat from closing in on him. As quickly as his reflexes allow, he tosses his brother his phone.

“Just call already! Tell her it’s an emergency.”

The older Kambal flies up and extends his free hand to catch it. Crispin launches Basilio’s Facespace app and begins to search for their informant. He found her under the name Sab Evasco. Crispin pretended not to see the string of messages Basilio left for her, all left on read.

Her phone rings. One time. Two times. Three times. Crispin dials again. Twice. Thrice.

Someone picks up. He puts the call on the loudspeaker.

There’s someone strumming a guitar in the background, accompanied by a drumset’s cymbals. They come to a halt and Crispin hears a frustrated woman’s voice from the other end of the line.

“Ulol gago, fuck you Basilio, you can tell me if you’d rather go on Starbreaks coffee dates with a wind girl than watch me play.  I’m a grown woman, I can handle a simple ‘no’. I’m not in the mood for your games! Now fuck off, I don’t want to hear from you. I have a gig to practice for.”

Basilio cringes as he listens to Sabina’s tirade. Crispin guns a charging mabangis down, and his mask dematerializes for a brief moment, just enough for him to mouth to his brother “Gago ka talaga.”

“Sabina, it’s Crispin. We could use some backup here. We’re being swarmed by aswang.”

The sound of a guitar being unceremoniously dropped and the mad shuffle to catch it can be heard from Sabina’s line, followed by quick footsteps. Sabina talks again, calmer this time. “What? Couldn’t Basilio get his own ass on the phone and tell me himself?”

With an exasperated expression, Crispin turns on the camera, and points the phone at Basilio, who’s caught between the magubat’s jaws. “He said you were ignoring him, and he can’t get on the phone right now, as you can see.”

The Kambal heard her fumbling with more equipment, which sounded like a guitar case being zipped up and carried. A brief argument with her bandmates follows, then Sabina talks again.

“I’ll be there. Stay on the line.”

Now they wait.

As much as Crispin wanted to help his little brother, his hands were full with the wave after wave of aswang coming after them. They’re relentless. This is their food supply the Kambal are cutting off, after all.

“Any luck with Sab?” Basilio asks, attempting to shoot the roof of the mabangis’ mouth.

The bullets barely penetrate the thick membrane. He’ll need to transform the Armas Infinitum into a more powerful weapon to lobotomize the gigantic aswang, but seeing how he’s separated from his twin, it’s impossible at the moment.

“She said she’s on the way. She’s still on the phone. Here!”

Crispin throws the phone back to Basilio, who catches it with one hand, while his other arm continues to struggle with the magubat trying to swallow him whole. He tucks it in his breast pocket, and he jumps near the row of the magubat’s front teeth, prying it open with both arms.

Through the aswangs’ growls, Basilio could faintly hear a woman cursing and the jingling of keys from the other side of the line.

“Hey Sab! It’s Basilio. Sorry again about missing your gig.”

“Shut up and hang tight. If I didn’t care for you at all...” Sabina snaps. Basilio could barely make out the words Sabina was saying due to the wind and sound of traffic. “I’m on my way.”

“Ngh, can’t you come any sooner? I heard that aswang intestines are nasty.” Basilio pauses, realizing his mistake. “No offense.”

“I said zip it. Isn’t it enough that I went out of hiding and agreed to be Trese’s informant? Now I have to be your backup too?”

“Working with Bossing has its risks. We made that clear, princess.”

“Don’t call me that.”

There’s more turbulence and wind from Sabina’s line. If Basilio guessed, she’s now flying to the scene. The Kambal’s struggle with the aswang continued until they heard their informant’s voice through the speakers again.

“Big bad war demigods can’t handle a single fucking magubat?” Sabina deadpans, the turbulence and noise no longer accompanying her voice. “Open the fucker’s mouth wide. Make sure he’s facing east.”

“Kuya! She’s in the area, help me pry the jaws open!” the younger Kambal shouts to his older brother, who dodges a leaping mailap and quickly flies up to his aid.

“What’s the plan?” Crispin asks, and Basilio shrugs.

“I don’t know, she just asked me to do it!”

Before Crispin could question Basilio, a shot rings throughout the building, and the magubat collapses. The Kambal let go of the heavy jaws and flew away, watching the near-twenty foot aswang crush a few of its regular-sized kind. Upon closer inspection, a bullet has torn its way through the roof of its mouth. It’s a clean shot. The magubat isn’t regenerating, much to the Kambal’s surprise.

It’s a pleasant surprise, nonetheless.

“That’s for trying to eat my brother,” Crispin spits, kicking the dead aswang’s head.

Soon, more of the aswang started dropping like flies, too. Razed by bullets from an unknown assailant, the House of Arko aswangs started to panic.

“Wait a minute, I know manananggals who follow the queen can shoot, but Sabina is a sniper? Do you know about this, Bas?” Crispin exclaims, tearing his eyes away from the dead magubat to face yet another wave of mabangis.

“No! Damn, she’s using special bullets too. Where’d she get those?” Basilio mutters. A mailap attempts an ambush attack, and before he could react, Basilio watches it get shot mid-air as it attempts to jump him.

“You���re mine,” Sabina hisses, her voice crackling through Basilio’s phone speaker, smooth through the static.

Her emphasis on the word “mine” made goosebumps ripple through Basilio’s arm.

“Hot. Could you say that again?”

What he got instead was a groan. “Fuck, don’t distract me Basilio. I’m not here for fun.”

“You seem to be having fun shooting House of Arko’s minions though.”

“Fair. You two better look for the hostages. I have a bone to pick with this lot.”

The Kambal looks at each other, and nods. Glass shatters as they fly out the building’s windows, to the upper floors. After taking care of the guards, they saw them. Men and women in cages, all naked, and herded like livestock. 

“Please, help us,” one of them whimpers, crawling to the front of the cage and grabbing Crispin by the arm. She’s dirty, and her belly is swollen. Basilio turned on the lights and they saw it clear as day: most of these women are pregnant. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on.

House of Arko farms their food, breeding humans like livestock, and harvesting fetuses from them.

Sirens are blaring outside, both from police cars and ambulances, waiting for the hostages to be rescued.

All is well, or so they thought.

“Fuck!”

The cry came from their informant’s line.

“Everything alright?” Basilio asks her after fishing his phone out of his breast pocket.

“There are a few of them who found my vantage point. They’re heading towards my position.”

“Get out of there already, the hostages are secure.”

“They saw me. I can’t let them report back to Mama Grande and her sons that a manananggal is helping you. Suspicion would fall on my clan.”

Crispin nudges his younger brother. “I’ll handle the hostages and wait for Bossing. You make sure our informant’s alright.”

“Way ahead of you kuya,” Basilio replies, taking his guns out and flying out the window.

Under the pale moonlight and the city’s lights, Basilio spots a group of aswang scaling a dilapidated building east of him. On the rooftop, he sees it. Wings black as night, flattened against the concrete. Sabina lies prone and is aiming her scoped hunting rifle downwards, picking off the advancing horde one by one.

“Time to play.” The demigod rushes in and makes bullets rain on the hostiles.

He takes out a mabangis approaching their sniper from her blind spot. Those who didn’t die from being shot fell to their death, regeneration halted either by his or Sabina’s doing.

Basilio descends on the rooftop, and he walks his way towards the manananggal. His mask dematerialized, and the wind tousled his long hair. Just to be safe, he kept a pistol in one hand.

Across him, Sabina takes out her wireless earbuds and puts them away. Then, she slings her rifle on her shoulder, safety on. With her wings, she crawled towards his direction, like how a bat would move. Then, uses her wings’ sharp claws to plant herself on the concrete, a feat regular bats couldn’t do.

“Thanks for the help, Sab. About that gig…”

Before any more words could come out of his mouth, Sabina holds up her forefinger and presses it against his lips. “Shh. No more apologizing about the missed gig. Just make up for it. You owe me.”

Basilio nods, smiling at her. He watches as Sabina fishes out a box of cigarettes and a lighter from her vest. She’s wearing a black, long-sleeved polo shirt underneath it, and its sleeves are rolled up. Her shirt was unbuttoned just enough for him to catch a glimpse of lace peeking through. For all her boyish, edgy posturing, her choice of underclothes is girlier than what Basilio expected.

It almost makes him want to unwrap her like a Christmas present, but he’ll keep that thought to himself.

“Nice outfit. You were rehearsing in that?”

“We had a presentation for a class. No time to get changed. Now there’s a hole in the back, so I might as well wear this more often on future operations,” Sabina replies, placing a stick of Marlborough Reds between her lips.

“I’m in the mood for a smoke and maybe a chat,” she continues. “Join me?”

Basilio nods.

“How did you know about House of Arko’s human trafficking thing, anway?”

“Believe it or not, it was a hunch,” Sabina explains, black fingernails scratching the sparkwheel several times. “Ugh, fucking lighter dying on me again. I just had it refilled… must be the wind,” she growls.

Basilio couldn’t help but chuckle at her frustration. “A hunch?”

“Hmm… maybe hunch isn’t the right word. It’s an educated guess. Mama Grande loved serving boiled fetuses to her house guests, correct?”

Basilio nods, waiting for Sabina to continue her explanation.

“I suppose that it’s my place to judge if their mothers didn’t want to raise them… I’m a manananggal, for fuck’s sake. But there’s one red flag House of Arko failed to hide. From what I can tell, those fetuses are around five to eight months old.”

Sabina’s lighter finally lit up, and with a triumphant laugh, she lit her cigarette. Then, she carries on with her explanation.

“Most abortions happen during the first three months of pregnancy. It’s rare to see expecting parents get rid of them that late.”

“So? What does that have to do with the whole thing?”

“House of Arko serving older fetuses could mean one of two things: either all, and I mean all of the abortions they performed are from those who are truly in need of one that late, or they’re getting them from another source, possibly an illicit one. They don’t have the most benevolent reputation, so my intuition tells me it was the latter. So, I paid the place a visit and recorded what I could. I guess I should be thankful that your bossing found that blurry video trustworthy enough,” Sabina concluded, watching as the victims were clothed and herded into ambulances.

Dumbfounded, Basilio scratches his head. “Wow. Glad you’re on our side. How did you know that three month thing anyway?”

“Research and personal accounts.” Sabina’s response is clipped. Cold. Abrupt. It only raised more questions than answers.

“Personal accounts? You’ve met people who got them?”

There’s a flash of regret in Sabina’s eyes; regret that she opened her mouth and let him know more than needed. She cuts him off. “I can’t put my informants’ identities in jeopardy either now, can I?”

Per his older twin’s advice, Basilio’s finally using the head between his shoulders. “No offense, but you’re a manananggal. Y’know, known for eating babies? Hearing that from you is suspicious.”

“Yes, I am,” Sabina says through gritted teeth, glaring at him. “I can assure you, I’m following the accords and I’m not exploiting loopholes like what House of Arko is doing. I’ll reveal everything in due time.”

“Alright, keep your secrets. For now.”

A tense silence has befallen them.

“So- '' the manananggal blows a cloud of smoke away from Basilio, “-is this going to be a regular thing? Because if it is, I might finally quit smoking. Nicotine makes my hands shaky. Can’t risk accidentally shooting your ass.” She pauses, looking at him in jest. “ I’d rather do that intentionally.”

“You’re breaking my heart, Sabina Marie,” Basilio retorts, clutching his chest in mock pain.

They share a laugh over it, the mood lightening up.

Basilio looks in the distance, taking in the view of the cityscape. “Maybe you should quit. Singers shouldn’t be smoking in the first place.”

“The tar helps me belt out raspy screams, but yeah, you’re right,” Sabina chuckles.

“So, when is this next gig?”

“Next week. In Ilocos Norte. All the way up in House of Arko’s ancestral home.”

“Should I take that info to Bossing?”

“Yep. It’s open to the supernatural public anyway, so it's not like I’m giving you top secret info. Even the wind tribe is invited, despite their bad blood with my clan. Hopefully things won’t get physical. Most of my sisters are still bitter over how they blew us away when my mom- I mean, Inang Reyna decided to side against the Treses.”

So that explains some things.

“I dunno, maybe I should bring Ammie so I can watch the two of you in a catfight.”

Sabina elbows him in the chest, hard.

“Not funny at all, Basilio. I don’t even know her personally! It’s you I was pissed at.”

Now he grabs his chest in genuine pain as he croaks out an apology. “Sorry.”

“Whatever. Bring whoever the hell you want, just keep your distance from me when you decide to go. Even my father’s going to be there. I need to be on my best behavior.”

The demigod turns to their aswang informant, interest piqued. She’s divulging a lot of information. Perhaps he can sway her to spill more secrets.

“Didn’t know that the Reyna Manananggal had a king.”

“Oh, no. She’s not the type to share her power with a man.” Sabina pauses to take another hit of her cigarette. “I meant my biological father. Villaceran.”

Now that was unexpected.

“You drop bombshell after bombshell whenever we meet. Tomas Dominic Villaceran’s your old man?”

“Look at me. I’m almost the splitting image of the guy. If there’s one thing I’m grateful for, it’s inheriting his good looks.”

Basilio grins. “Can’t deny that. Most of the manananggal kuya Crispin and I encountered look...”

“Hideous, I know,” Sabina says outright. “You still haven’t seen that side of me, so don’t be too quick to judge my sisters.”

Basilio treads carefully, knowing that he might be prying on a sensitive subject. “So, about Villaceran…”

“I’d rather not talk about him. Our relationship is… strained.”

Giving her a sympathetic, understanding look, Basilio nods. “Right. Never mind.”

Another interval of silence passes between them. This time, it’s a little somber.

“So, does this party have a dress code?”

“Yeah. Filipiniana. Wear a barong. It’s one of those pretentious events that attempts to make House of Arko more appealing to the masses or whatever. Manipulative assholes.”

“You can just refuse to go, Sab.”

“I could, but being Trese’s mole among the aswang means I have to attend clan activities to supply more information. That also means attending every single party those Arko fucks throw.”

“You really hate House of Arko, huh?”

Looking towards his direction to meet his gaze, Sabina’s eyes are filled with a sea of emotions. Hatred, indignation, and something Basilio couldn’t quite place.

“Why wouldn’t I? Mama Grande raised boys who can’t take no for an answer. The Arko brothers have no respect for us manananggal. As if we weren’t fetishized enough in Manong Karma’s stupid aswang dating book...”

Sabina clears her throat and calms herself down. Bad blood between aswang clans could mean war. Basilio knows he should take that to the boss. His gears are turning tonight. He asks Sabina questions that could risk her support.

“Is that why you agreed to be an informant? You wanna bring House of Arko down? Then what, your clan will fill the space they’ll leave?”

“What? No, I have no desire for power, not like how Mama Grande or my own mother does anyway. My personal gripes with them aside, the House of Arko wants to ‘unite the aswang under one banner’ with no respect to the other clans’ autonomy and customs.”

“So you wanna protect your clan?”

“That’s one of the reasons, yes. Mama Grande’s been trying to play kumare with mom- I mean Inang Reyna-” This is the second time Sabina slipped and called her mom. She clears her throat and composes herself. “And I need to stop that. Inang Reyna already made the mistake of going against the Accords once. Allying with the House of Arko will ruin us further.”

Basilio leans in closer. “And what are your other reasons?”

Sabina looks at him for a few, quiet seconds, and looks away. “I’ll reveal them-”

“In due time. Yeah, yeah, I can take that as an answer. So, making you sing in that event is a result of them being magkumare?”

A defeated laugh bubbles from Sabina’s chest. “You got it.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t invite sirena to sing.”

Sabina rolls her eyes and tosses the butt of her expended cigarette on the concrete. Basilio took it upon himself to crush the embers under his heel, seeing how her lower half is hidden someplace else.

“Oh please, this is House of Arko we’re talking about, Bas. They believe aswang are superior. Letting them shine would take away the spotlight from the aswang. Mama Grande asked for me from Inang Reyna so they can gloat that even aswang can make better singers than the famed sirena. Ugh, I doubt my singing style even matches the performance they want from me.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of performance are they going for?” he asks her.

“Now that’s another secret. You have to show up to find out,” she hums in response.

Turning away from him, Sabina checks how many sticks are left in the box. Two. She takes one and lights it up.

“Screw it, I’m going cold turkey. I guess this will be my final box. Maybe for tonight. Maybe forever.”

“Then maybe you should stop with the stick you’re smoking and throw the last one away,” Basilio suggests.

“Are you mad? That’s a waste of money!”

“Still counting your blessings even with your mama’s wealth huh?”

“Old habits die hard.”

Sabina blows smoke away from Basilio’s direction. The wind made it waft to his face anyway, and she mumbles a quick apology. He shrugs it off. Not like the adverse effects of secondhand smoke affected him anyway. Hank smoked and was polite enough to turn away too, but Basilio can still smell it. He didn’t mind it. Still, Hank had told him and Crispin that it was a tough habit to break, so he never touched a cigarette.

Not until now.

Basilio takes the box from Sabina and picks up the last stick with his lips. Then, he inches closer to her.

Ironically, in an attempt to help an old friend quit her smoking habit, Basilio engages in it himself.

Little did he know, a new bad habit was forming between him and the little lady before him.

“I’ll make sure it won’t go to waste then. Light me.”

Sabina raises an eyebrow. “Just don’t start at all. Give it back.”

“One smoke isn’t going to get me hooked, princess.”

Brows knitted together, Sabina chastises him. “Take it from me, bad habits start with just one little taste, Bas.”

“One little taste never hurts anyone...”

“One little taste could leave you wanting for more.”

Basilio can feel himself getting hot under the collar. He’d never thought an aswang of all creatures could make him feel all bothered, yet there he was, getting turned on by her choice of words.

“Princess, are we still talking about cigarettes, or something else?”

Hearing his question, Sabina exhales sharply through her nose, cheeks dusted pink. “Maybe both. Whatever. Come here.”

Black fingernails scratched at the sparkwheel. Sparks were flying, but there was no flame. The cigarette remained unlit.

“Well, it looks like fate isn’t letting you smoke, so better just give me the damn cigarette back, Basilio.”

With a sly look, Basilio closes in on her, and presses the end of his cigarette to the embers at the end of hers, linking them together.

To his surprise, Sabina is neither backing away nor babbling defensively like she usually does whenever he gets close. Instead, she presses her chest to his, a challenging look in her half-lidded eyes. She wasn’t wearing her glasses like usual, giving Basilio an unobstructed view of her heated gaze. Was it bloodlust or desire? Either way, it got his blood pumping.

“You’re chattier than usual tonight,” Basilio comments. “Bolder too. I like that.”

In the form she’s in now, Sabina’s eyes glowed an eerie white, and aside from the wings sprouting from her back, little horns sprouted from her scalp, the root concealed by her crown of short, wavy hair. Basilio didn’t pay mind to her dangling guts, instead, his eyes were transfixed on that cute little lace bra again.

Through the layers of cloth between them, he can feel her heart beating. Basilio faintly remembers the taste of human and sigbin hearts.

Now, what does aswang heart taste like?

A dark part of his psyche- perhaps from being Datu Talagbusao’s son- wanted to tear it out of her chest and eat it to find out.

Basilio felt the urge to taste all the battles she fought through her blood, and possess her heart in a way no other person can.

The memory of seeing his father tasting his mother’s blood inserts itself in the present, and the fear of turning into the monster he was is enough for him to shake that thought away.

Basilio tries to focus on something else.

His eyes wander to Sabina’s mouth. He might’ve imagined something else between her dark lips, in place of the cigarette. Something bigger.

Something of his.

Sabina’s been pliable tonight. Perhaps he’ll push his luck with her one last time.

“So, any plans tonight, dear princess?”

“Unless you intend to treat me like one, don’t call me that.”

“I’m done with work, so if you want me to make good on that and make up for my mistake…”

Giggling, Sabina flies a few feet away from him. The black wings on her back are translucent against the pale moonlight. They almost looked like a dark shade of red.

“Go tell your brother about the information I gave you for now, then meet up with me afterwards. I hid my lower half in an alleyway behind that motel,” she tells him, pointing to the building’s direction.

“If you’re lucky, you’ll get to rearrange my guts. Literally and figuratively.” Sabina continues, a naughty smirk blooming on her lips.

Taken aback by the pun, Basilio laughs. “I didn’t think you were capable of dirty jokes.”

“You should know by now that I’m full of secrets and surprises.”

Grinning darkly, Basilio finishes the rest of his cigarette as he watches her fly away.

“And I’ll uncover them all, dear princess.”

Translations:

ulol - crazy; Filipino profanity

gago/gaga - foolish or stupid; Filipino profanity

tangina - contraction of putang ina, lit. whore mother. Used as an expression to express irritation, anger, or astonishment

Inang Reyna - lit. Queen Mother.

mare/kumare - derived from the Spanish word madre/comadre; kumare a reciprocal appellation for the godmother or for the child's mother. In a more modern and colloquial context, it’s used to refer to a female friend. Magkumare means women who are friends with each other.

Filipiniana - Philippine related book and non-book material

barong - also known as Barong Tagalog. An embroidered long-sleeved formal shirt for men and a national dress of the Philippines.

[navstuffs]

Leon Kennedy

ONE-SHOTS:

SMUT:

two weeks (SMUT)

“give me two weeks, you won’t recognize her.”

5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (SMUT) (F!Reader)

Leon Kennedy is on his way to pick you up in 5 minutes.

Project L.S.K (SLIGHT DUBCON/SMUT)

After Spain, the U.S. government decides Leon Kennedy is too precious to be wasted, so they start a project with you as the leader. (aka the fanfic where you have to collect semen from Leon)

BratTamer!Leon with SpoiledRichGN!Reader

FLUFF:

Blind Date

Luis arranges a blind date for you.

Wonderful Surprise.

After a horrible day at work, you find a surprise at your job’s doorstep.

Leon protects gn!reader with his body

Secret Admirer

It is fall, and Leon Kennedy has a secret admirer.

DO IT FOR HIM

Leon catches a particular item on your stuff.

Sunbeams

Heart to-go

You hate coffee. Of course, with your luck, you end up falling in love with a cute blushing barista.

A convenient misunderstanding

Leon thinks you are in love with someone else.

GN!Reader takes Leon on (finally) a dinner date

"Who did this to you?" + Fluff

Leon's Guilty Pleasure

You shouldn’t have seen him like this, but now you and Leon have to deal with the consequences of his actions.

ANGST:

Emptiness (MAJOR ANGST, PLEASE READ MY WARNINGS CAREFULLY!), Russian translated version by @sonelik

You are dead, and Leon wonders why he is still alive.

Creep (MAJOR ANGST)

“You are so fucking special. I wish I was special”’; because sometimes love isn’t enough.

A moment forever ago

In an elevator, a moment forever ago, Leon might have found the love of his life. But it was over forever ago.

Anchor

It is 1 am when Leon Kennedy knocks on your door. He shouldn’t be there and you shouldn’t have opened it. 

HEADCANONS:

leon adopting a dog

threesome between leon kennedy x f!reader x ezio auditore (SMUT)

MISCELLANEOUS:

what would truly happen in emptiness (MAJOR ANGST)

How would Leon Kennedy and Carlos Oliveira react to a GN!Reader who gets lazy/tired while on top (SMUT)

You make Carlos go feral and speak brazilian portuguese/Carlos teaches you brazilian portuguese/ Leon speaks Italian while in bed (SMUT)

Leon + GN!Reader who doesn’t want to have sex (but can’t express it)

Fun times at the beach (SMUT)

A terrible encounter

An encounter with someone from your past brings your feelings over the edge.

Tiktok Prank

MULTI-CHAPTER:

RookieCop!Leon x BustyF!Reader (SMUT starts on 2nd part) - Traffic stop, Nude painting class

Your sports bra malfunctions during a traffic stop with a shy rookie cop. You continue meeting him in unusual circumstances.

sade trilogy (succubusf!reader/SMUT) - no ordinary love

Leon falls in love with you, a succubus. This series won't follow a chronological order.

babygirl series - calling leon babygirl, saving your babygirl, taking your babygirl to the barbie movie opening

[27emailsicantsend]

TOP 3 Rina scenes this season and why? go! :D

Oof this was a TOUGH question, because so many scenes were just *chef’s kiss*. There have been so many parallels, callbacks, and foreshadowing in everything that it’s hard 😭 I literally had to make a list and narrow scenes down because there were so many and for all different reasons. BUT I think I have narrowed it down to my top 3 with a bonus 4th thought that has really just been hitting me hard lately with them. (You’ll see what I mean)

1. WDYKAL-This was just a…. Masterpiece??? I don’t even know where to start on this one. Not only was Josh and Sofia’s performance outstanding in the way they sang, dance, acted through these literal single take scenes, but it felt captivating? Like I didn’t want to miss a second of the performance because I felt immersed in it. I think a lot of this has to do with what we understood about the characters leading up to this performance. I know Carlos gave directions beforehand, but as you watch the performance it stops being acting at some point. It makes perfect sense that Ricky said it was “heart wrenching” and Gina literally had to leave after that dead silence because the feelings involved were so heavy. This was something both of them had wanted for so long: to be able to express their love, touch each other, be near one another… and they literally had that but once the clouds of the song were taken down, they had to accept it as fake, even if it wasn’t. That cognitive dissonance can be excruciating. And then how impactful the end of the song was… when they were just staring at each other? I am grateful the show chose to end that scene in silence. It’s like all of the “noise” from the song, from the other people in the room, from their heartaches was drowned out and it was just them. The show and the song simultaneously kept building and building until it literally exploded in silence. To have such a heavy contrast make the viewers really feel how deep and connected these characters were in that moment and all together. I can’t say enough good things about this.

2. EJ slap/Ricky love confession- First of all, this scene was just bewildering! I know Ricky confessed his crush later in the episode, but this part was actually more impactful for me. I think this was because the entire episode had so many, not even hints at some points, that Ricky had a crush on Gina. So I didn’t feel very surprised? I guess by the end when he told Carlos. It was sweet, but didn’t give me that “shock value” I think I wanted for a confession. However, this scene did. I literally had to rewind my tv several times to process how FAST Ricky claimed Gina when Carlos said EJ stole the woman he loved. It wasn’t even a second thought on his mind. Ricky LOVES Gina. It’s not just a crush. Full on- in love. Then EJ states some of the biggest evidence that refutes claims Ricky never loved Gina: “you’ve held a torch to her for years”. While Rina technically only have known each other about a year at this point, the VIEWERS have been watching since 2019. I think this line in particular was some fourth wall breaking. Ricky has always had this special place for Gina in his heart for years that EJ noticed from the beginning. “So you care about Ricky?” These scene went outside not only the boundaries of the season, but the boundaries of TV with fourth-wall breaking. Then, just when you think it couldn’t get anymore intense: Ricky slaps EJ. I don’t think this has to do with just the little comments EJ had been making the episode before and then what he said now, but this pent up aggression Ricky felt from not being able to do anything about Gina because he waited too long in his mind. I think he was upset at himself and projected part of that onto EJ because EJ made himself a target by treating Ricky so bad and by dating Gina. We see later in color wars that Ricky went from outside sabotage to sabotaging himself and then pent up energy then becomes him crying himself to sleep. He is down so, so bad for her it’s crazy.

3. Though the woods scenes- so I know this is technically two or three scenes but I’m going to consider it one because it’s them exploring the woods. I love the parallel this has to Anna and Kristoff going on this journey together: literally and figuratively. They are going on excruciating climb and they’re not sure if it will even be worth it in the end but they TRY ANYWAY. Think about that sentence in the aspects of them going to find Elsa AND falling in love. This directly hints to Ricky saying, “I mean we’ve come this far, right?” He knows the journey has been scary and tough (“chicken”) and could end up not how he wanted it but he’s finally accepting change and recognizing that going out of his comfort zone could be far better than he ever imagined. That it’s worth the risk. He and Gina fall back into their old ways of talking and communicating and he’s realizing that maybe this is his second chance to do things right. To not only be a good friend to Gina, but to show up and stay. I’m telling you, the symbolism in this show goes CRAZY.

Bonus thoughts: I know this isn’t in the top scenes, but I had a really hard time not putting one of these scenes in my top 3: “I’m proud of you”, shameless, hey what’s wrong? (Season 7 promo), helping gina with EJ for camp prom, “where’s EJ?” On the basketball court, etc. Every one of these scenes was some effort on Ricky putting Gina first. Simply put: he didn’t do this with Nini. He purposely interfered, acted needy, and made things way difficult for Nini and EJ (not saying EJ was any better S1). However, this whole season was a direct contrast of his character to show his growth. That he doesn’t react to the way things are in an upsetting way. He’s putting Gina first because he loves her and wants her to be happy (as Olaf says), even if it hurts him. He showed up and stayed, no matter how tough it’s been. And a lot of these scenes show how he works BETTER for Gina than EJ. For example, Gina talked so highly of herself ep 3. How she wanted to be in the spotlight but never felt like enough. EJ changed the conversation back to him. Ricky, at the end of the episode (where the p*rtwell scene was at the beginning), made Gina’s accomplishment about Gina. He didn’t try to change the topic after Ashlyn left. He reminded her how big of a deal it was she made the lead and then LITERALLY showed a spotlight on her.

This show makes me want to cry, it’s so good.

[intoanothermind]

Stand Tall - Reggie

Word Count: 7.8k

- Reggie x reader

Synopsis: your younger sister joins a band of ghosts, but she’s not the only one who can see them. You’ve seen them since you were a child.

Masterlist

Flying Solo - Reggie imagine

Akai Ito - Reggie imagine (soulmate au)

Bright - Luke imagine

—

I took a deep breath and smiled before leaving the taxi. A month with many projects and exams in college made me spend a lot of time away from my family. When that happened, I used to spend time with a friend who lived closer to campus. But now that I didn’t have to worry so much for a few more weeks until the next round of tests, I can finally take a breath and enjoy some family time between classes. I smiled discreetly at the elderly woman who was always across the street, watching her daughter. She flashed a huge smile back at me before disappearing.

“Papa?“ I asked out loud, opening the door.

I heard a noise coming from the kitchen and Dad appeared already coming towards me with a huge smile. “Mi hija! How was the tests? When will there be more?”

“Are you already trying to kick me out again?“ I laughed, accepting his tight hug. “Don’t worry, I have one more month before the final exams for the semester. Where are Carlos and Julie?”

"Carlos is still in school and Julie is rehearsing in the studio.”

My smile widened and a weight lifted from my chest. I was happy that Julie finally got back to connecting with the music after mom died. It wasn’t easy for any of us, but it was especially difficult for her. When Flynn told me on one of the last calls about Julie - two years younger than me - playing again and even joining a band, I was really happy. I could always count on my sister’s best friend to keep me informed in the smallest details.

“So is she really playing again? I will leave my things in my room and go and talk to her. ”

“No, no. Let me take your backpack, go and see your sister.”

“Gracias, papa.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went out again through the door to go around the house and get to the studio installed in the garage.

I heard music coming from inside, but I frowned when I heard several instruments and male voices mixed with my sister’s. The song was already over when I opened the door. Julie was talking to three boys that I had never seen in my life before. A tall, blond man had drumsticks in his hand and rolled them in the air. One with brown hair in a cap was talking to my sister with a twinkle in his eye. But the one who caught my attention the most was the pale, black-haired boy who was playing with a bass a little further away. Was that the band? I didn’t even know that Julie could talk to cute boys without stuttering.

“Am I interrupting something? I can come back later.”

The boys opened their eyes wide and looked at Julie as she turned to me a little scared and with a awkward smile on her lips.

“Y/N, hi! I didn’t know you were going to get home today! ”

I looked at her with a frown. She was acting stranger than usual.

"Yes, you did, Julie, I told you last week and called dad yesterday.”

She widened her eyes even more when she noticed my expression.

“Why don’t we go to your room then and you tell me how is college? Have you done many articles? Did you pass the exams?”

Julie walked past me and headed for the gate, ignoring the boys completely.

“Okay, this is getting weird. Jules, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

The blonde let the stick fall on his face, the cap choked and the cute guy let the bass out of tune when he let his fingers fall. All of them, including Julie, looked at me with wide eyes.

“Can she see us?" the boy in the cap asked when Julie returned to his side.

"Why wouldn’t I see you?" I looked into the eyes of the three of them and that’s when I noticed the aura around them, a little blurry, an aura that I learned to recognize after a few years. “Sure, Julie and the phantoms. You are ghosts ”

"That was quick." commented the cute bass player.

“First the band’s name makes it kinda obvious. Second, Jules wasn’t the first person in the family to talk to ghosts.”

"Y/N…” Julie looked at me with an emotion in her eyes that I couldn’t figure out. "Does that mean grandma was really at the house when we were younger?“

I smiled a little sadly. Our parents were always understandable and tried to help us with everything, but when I said I talked to grandma, even after a year after her death, they had to take me to therapy. After a while, I simply learned to lie to Dr. Turner and say that I no longer saw the dead, I just made imaginary friends.

“Yes, but I haven’t seen her in years. Ms. Elliot, however, is still in the garden across the street watching over her daughter.”

"This is so cool!" exclaimed the man in the cap, approaching.

“Another lifer seeing us? Yeah!" the blonde smiled, also approaching along with the bassist.

Julie took my arm before I could introduce myself. "Y/N… Mom…?”

The weight on my shoulders returned and I sighed before I smiled at her, holding her hand in mine.

“She stayed here just long enough to ask me to look after you, dad and Carlos and say that she loved us very much.”

For a second I thought Julie would let the tears fall, but then she took a deep breath and passed her hand under her eyes to compose herself.

“Thank you, Y/N.”

“You still need to introduce me to your cute friends. I thought you couldn’t talk to pretty boys without being ashamed.”

The bassist broke into a silly smile and patted the blonde on the shoulder. "She said that we are cute and pretty.“

"Reggie…” The blonde shook his head before turning to me. “Sorry about… him. I’m Alex and these are Reggie and Luke.”

~*~ 

The past few days have been… a little bit strange. Well, for starters my subjects, despite having relaxed a little, I still have work to do. And while I’m at home, it’s difficult to organize hours of study and free time with taking care of three teenage ghosts. Julie was right - watching three kids who seemed to share the same brain cell is harder than it looks.

“Aren’t you going to give yourself a break?”

I was startled to see dad behind me, almost knocking over the glass that was still in my hand.

“The plan was to come and drink water and take my five-minute break.”

Dad made a face. “Good luck in studies, mi hija, but don’t forget to take a few more breaks. We don’t want you to fry that smart mind, do we? ”

I broke into a faint smile when Dad placed a kiss on my forehead before walking away. I sighed, getting ready for a few more hours of reading before heading up the stairs again to my room. When I got there, however, I stopped at the portal and went in quickly to close the door.

“What are you doing here?" I asked in whispers to the ghosts that were scattered around my room.

Alex was sitting on a purple puff next to the desk where Luke was sitting in the chair that usually sits opposite her. He had his head thrown behind, looking bored. Reggie was lying on the left side of my bed, looking tired.

"Julie kicked us out of her room." explained Luke, getting up and heading for my bookcase.

"Please don’t kick us out either." Reggie said with puppy eyes that he knew I couldn’t resist.

"Luke, stop messing with Y/N’s stuff!" scolded Alex and that’s when I realized that Luke was looking through one of the books he picked up on the shelf.

"It’s alright. Feel free to borrow any book you like.” I assured him, going to sit on the right side of the bed, where most of my stuff was spread out. "And you can stay, just don’t make too much noise, I need to study.”

“What do you study?" asked Alex.

"How long have you been studying?" asked Reggie and I laughed.

"I’m in my first year of journalism.”

“Nice." said Luke, sitting back in his chair and concentrating on the book.

"Well, now I need to concentrate." I said, lifting Reggie’s head that was on top of one of the printed articles I needed to read. I put his head back on the pillow and fluffed some of his black hair, hoping it looked like just a casual movement.

"Wow, what did you just do?!" Alex exclaimed, sitting upright on the puff.

"What did I do?" I asked with wide eyes and a racing heart at the possibility that he noticed.

"You touched him!”

“You really did!" exclaimed Reggie, holding my hand again.

"Oh, that." I sighed, relieved. “I always managed to touch ghosts. That’s why it took me so long to discover that I was the only one who saw them. ”

Luke and Alex remained wide-eyed, but Reggie just lay down again and put my hand back in his hair.

"I liked.”

While I fiddled with Reggie’s black hair with one hand, I used the other to lift the text up to my face to hide my red cheeks from the other boys. Gradually I ended up distracting myself, fiddling with Reggie’s hair as I read the text and made markings and notes. When my eyes started to weigh and my vision was blurred even with the glasses, I decided it was time to sleep. It wouldn’t do any good to try to study tired because my brain wouldn’t absorb it. I looked around when I realized that the boys had been silent for far too long. They were all asleep. Alex was huddled on the puff, Luke was hunched over the open book and Reggie’s head was bent toward my hand.

I smiled. They really looked adorable that way. I set my stuff down on the night-stand and stood up carefully so as not to wake Reggie. I lifted his head slightly to put a pillow under it. I took blankets from the closet and covered all three, remembering to take the book out from under Luke and marking the page he stopped with a piece of paper and left it beside him. I left the room trying to make as little noise as possible. I crossed the hall and sighed with relief when I saw that Julie was still awake.

“Hi sis." I whispered, getting her attention.

Julie looked up from her cell phone and smiled at me. She looked ready to go to sleep.

"Y/N!”

I broke into a smile. "Can I sleep here with you today?“

"Usually I’m the one to go to your room to ask for it." she laughed.

"Well, turns out that today my room is infested with ghosts.”

She snorted. "They are getting too loose.“

"I don’t really care." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I wouldn’t have minded sleeping there as well, but Reg took up much of the space in the bed and it would be weird.”

Julie giggled and looked at me with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

“Shut up!" I said warningly before she could say anything. "I don’t want to hear a comment about that.”

“Okay, okay." she raised her hands in surrender before moving to one side of the bed and lifting the bedspread inviting me to join her.

As soon as we settled down I watched my younger sister’s serene face.

"I’m glad you met them." I said quietly. "They do you good.”

“They do." she sighed. “And I’m glad you met them, too. They seem to like you. ”

I like them too." I said smiling slightly. “Although I don’t play like you do, I like to know that I also made friends with them. I also like to think that they will be here to take care of you when dad or I aren’t around. ”

"But I will always need my older sister around." she said quickly. "Besides, you made a promise to mom.”

I laughed lightly.

“That I did it and I intend to keep it, Jules.”

I approached her and hugged her. We sleep in that same position.

 ~*~

I arrived at the band’s presentation site with Julie and went straight to meet Flynn. She looked anxious.

“Am I too late?” Asked Julie, taking the backpack off her back.

“Too early.” Replied Flynn. "Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, Flynn! Glad we got there early. Distracting tía y Carlos while Julie went down the window was not as easy as it seems.” I commented, laughing to remember how I needed to distract our brother with a little ghost story.

The next performance was announced and the audience applauded as we watched Carrie take the stage in a shiny silver outfit and pink wig. I opened my eyes wide, trying to keep my face from turning into a frown.

“I never thought she was going to take this little group forward." I commented.

"I envy that you finished school before you had to see this." replied Flynn, tossing the braids over his shoulder.

“Hope you all came to have a great time.” Carrie said from the stage and put on reflective glasses, also pink.

“Dirty Candy? How’d she get on the list?” asked Julie.

“Her daddy probably made a call.” replied Flynn, pursing his lips. "I like this! Pretty flower.” she pointed to the vest that Julie wore and I realized I recognized it.

"Thanks. It’s dahlia. My mom’s favourite.”

Carrie started to sing and four other girls also came on stage. I raised my eyebrows, wondering how I got to a Barbie pop show. I felt the air stirring around me and noticed that Luke and Reggie appeared on one side and Alex on the other, all paying attention to Carrie. Alex, however, looked a little uneasy and I held back the smile when I realized why.

“Alex." I whispered, trying not to get too much attention from the people around me. "Go on, I know you want to.”

I didn’t even got an answer. He just disappeared from my side and appeared on stage among the girls. Julie looked at us behind her and Reggie shrugged while I just smiled. Alex looked confused for two seconds before he started dancing behind Carrie. In the chorus, he disappeared from the stage and appeared again beside me, slamming his fist on mine discreetly in greeting.

“You having fun out there?” asked Julie

Alex coughed a little, trying to hide it. "It’s not my fault. It’s my, hm… It’s my feet.”

“Yeah." Julie replied, raising her eyebrow. Reggie and Luke, on my other side, just looked at Alex smiling.

“Put me back in, coach.”He said before disappearing to the stage again.

“Oh, it’s the guys.” Julie explained to Flynn when she turned to us, confused.

"Alex is dancing with the girls and is so much better than Carrie." I detailed it a little more, making her laugh when imagining the scene. "My boy is rocking up there." I commented with a bit of drama, laying my head on Reggie’s shoulder without caring about people watching me interact with the air. "I so wish I could have that on video.”

“You look like a mom." commented Reggie, laughing.

"What can I say, the three of you just make me so proud." I joked, wiping my eyes as if I were drying a tear. But Reggie looked at me with a strange twinkle in his eye, but before I could ask anything, the song ended and we turned to the stage in time to see Alex doing a little jumping around saying something about blushing.

He came up beside me again, trying to hide it. “Hey. I was just… I was just doing that for you guys.”

I patted him on the shoulder in support while Reggie said, playfully. “Yeah, you can stop smiling now.“

“I’m not gonna lie. That was… kind of good.” Julie said and I clicked my tongue.

"Wow, Jules, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one in the band." I ignored the boys’ protests on hearing this. “The good part of the presentation nobody else could see, unfortunately.”

“Yeah. I forgot why I hate her so much.” replied Flynn.

Carrie and the other girls got off the stage and came towards us.

"Hi, girls. Um, isn’t it past your bedtime?”She said to my sister and her friend.

“Now I remember.”

“If you’re looking for Nick, he didn’t come.”Carrie continued on to Julie, who simply stepped forward confidently.

“That’s not why I’m here.“

As if waiting for a cue, the presenter introduced the band. But as Julie and the Fat Ones. I couldn’t help laughing at the face Luke made.

"Really?” asked Alex, with a grimace.

"Yeah, man. My handwriting sucks.” Luke tried to apologize.

"Next time, Alex will sign up." I said, trying to look casual.

Julie passed Carrie’s group straight to the stage. The expression on Carrie’s face was priceless when she walked away from us. Flynn left shortly after to turn on the projector - just for the sake of effect. Julie sat down in front of the keyboard and said the correct name for the band.

"Good luck, boys." I said, holding Reggie’s hand quickly and discreetly before going after Flynn.

The lighting focused on Julie and I felt my heart fill with pride. It was the first time I had seen my sister perform after mom died and I knew it was worth the punishment dad would give me if he found out that I helped her escape from home. When she started to sing, I accompanied the music by whispering softly through my teeth. After watching the rehearsals so much, Finally Free's lyrics stuck to my mind and as the notes went up I felt the music reverberating in my body. When the boys appeared on stage playing and people in the audience stood up, I felt like jumping for joy.

It was great to see people enjoying their work. It didn’t matter if they think they’re holograms - they’ve got a second chance to do what they love and to see them there at ease and full of energy is comforting. All four played with their soul and their stage chemistry was incredible. Especially from Julie and Luke. I didn’t need that Flynn me whispering over there they’re into to each other - the intensity of the look when sharing the microphone was obvious. Alex and Reggie also noticed the exchange of looks they had. What really shocked me, however, was when shortly after Reggie turned to me and winked at me. I choked on the lyrics I whispered to accompany Julie and did my best to keep my cheek from blushing. Flynn obviously noticed and laughed at me. The song ended, the boys disappeared again and the audience gasped.

“Thank you, we are Julie and the Phantoms. Tell your friends.”Julie said goodbye and got off the stage. I couldn’t help laughing when I noticed how she took Reggie’s phrase.

"Let’s meet them at the counter." I called Flynn, who quickly put the projector in his backpack and followed me.

Julie came to find us and quickly hugged Flynn.

“You were incredible!”Flynn said.

I soon hugged Julie too.

“Yeah, we were.”I heard Reggie behind me and turned to see him standing next to Alex and Luke, who were sitting at the counter.

"If it weren’t weird, I would give you a hug now." I said to them, trying to look discreet. "I loved the presentation!”

“I’ll charge you for my hug later." said Alex, making the boys laugh.

"Okay." I assured you.

"Hey!" interrupted Luke, pointing to someone behind us. “Whoever Carrie was trying to impress is coming this way.”

“She looks all business.”Commented Alex when we saw a woman with curly hair and a suit coming towards us.

“Wait, who should do the talking?” asked Reggie.

So cute, but also so dork.

“Okay, Julie. Julie.” he corrected himself.

“You got this.” Encouraged Luke.

"I can help you with it if needed." I whispered to Julie just before the woman arrived and offered Julie a hand.

"Hi, I’m Andi Parker, and I would- ”

“Julie. Y/N. ” a voice behind the woman took our attention.

It was dad.

“Shit." I swore under my breath.

~*~ 

Whenever I had some free time I went down to the garage to watch the band rehearsal. It was amazing the connection they had and how they gave their soul to the music. Julie and Luke singing together with everything they had, Reggie focused on his bass and Alex moving his head to the beat of his drums. It was an incredible sight, but also one that always squeezed my heart to the point that I needed to go back to my room before they finished a song to prevent the lump in my throat from dissolving into tears. I always wanted to have that connection that mom and Julie had with music, but I was never able to play anything and I certainly didn’t know how to sing. And now not only has she reconnected with mom in a way that I could never do, but she has also found something in common with three amazing boys.

At those times, when the tightness in my heart was too strong, I would lock myself in the bedroom, in the most absolute silence. I took out my notebook with notes. When I was younger, I used to try to at least compose a song, but after a while it became notes for a story. Music and books have always been my passions and if I couldn’t go on with one, why not try the other? Not that I would ever get the courage to publish something, but I liked to imagine that I would have some material for that.

"What are you doing?”

I let out a scream that certainly didn’t make me proud. I turned and realized that Reggie had appeared beside me on the bed - completely thrown on the mattress and with his arms behind his head. I tried to control my heart a little to respond.

“I thought you had a rehearsal.”

“I thought you were there watching us. When we took a break and didn’t see you there, I came to see how you were.” he shrugged, as if it was nothing much. "What are you doing?“

"Just a few thrown ideas." I replied, trying to sneak up on the notebook, but Reggie took it out of my hands before I could do it.

"This is for a book, isn’t it?" he asked, in a serious tone that I never saw him using. I just nodded. “Y/N, this is incredible! It makes me want to read. ”

I laughed softly, before asking. "Are you serious?”

“Yes! Why don’t you try to publish something? ”

I scratched the back of the neck, a little uncomfortable. "Well, I never thought I was going to be talented at anything.”

“How so?" he sat up, tilting his head so that I could look into his blue eyes. I was breathless for a moment.

“I really wanted to know how to make music, but when I realized I couldn’t do it, I tried to create stories where I could. But I never even thought it would be worth publishing. ”

“I think you should try. I would definitely read it. ” he said, opening a beautiful crooked smile. "Why do you do journalism when you could try to be a writer?”

“Because while I don’t have neither the material nor the courage, I can write other people’s real stories." I replied, taking my notebook back from his hands. I turned around to put the notebook and pen in my hand back on the night-stand. "What do you think about watching a movie?" I suggested .

"Yes! There are a lot of things that I still need to catch up to.” Reggie commented, lying back on the bed and making himself comfortable.

I tried not to blush as I got up to get my laptop. “We can see the Star Wars movies that you haven’t seen. We can skip the scene where Han Solo dies, no problem, I’ve seen them a couple times.”

"Would you do that for me?" he had a childlike gleam in his eye that made me laugh a little.

"Move over.”

We settled next to each other on the bed. I put the first movie on the laptop in my lap and we started the marathon. I barely noticed when I fell asleep on Reggie’s shoulder.

 ~*~

A few days later I was lying on the couch trying to complete a story that I had to deliver in two days. Reggie was sitting next to my dad at the table in the other room and none of them seemed to have noticed me there in the next room. I even thought about getting up to concentrate on the room, but I loved how Reggie tried to interact with dad. It was funny - and very cute. Alex came up and started talking to Reggie too. But when I heard Carlos’ voice, things became really interesting. I remained lying down, but I paid more attention to the conversation when Carlos commented about the house being haunted by ghosts who had a dream, but that dream was interrupted by a tragic accident.

“Our house is being haunted by a very talented… chef. ”I could hear the boys’ sigh of relief, but I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.

“Looks like someone fell asleep watching Ghosts Hunters and Chopped.“

I had to hold my laughter even more when Carlos started talking about a sauce recipe and Reggie commenting that he was like my dad. I made a face at the thought that I liked a guy who said he looked like my dad. It wasn’t very difficult for my little brother to convince dad to make the French dip - it’s not like he doesn’t like food.

I lifted my head and realized that Dad closed his laptop and left. I prepared to do the same when I heard Alex and Reggie’s conversation.

"I will miss them.”

“I hope you’re not thinking about looking for someone else’s garage." I joked, but feeling tight in my chest.

They both started, looking at me wide-eyed as I approached the table.

"Y/N… hey…” Reggie tried to hide it, but I could see in their eyes that something was bothering them.

But I knew they weren’t going to tell me, so I needed to find out another way. I would have to do an investigation. I’m glad I had some sources between the ghosts.

“Well, I need to go out for an interview with a source." It wasn’t quite a lie. "Don’t do anything stupid, boys.”

I squeezed Alex’s shoulder lightly and leaned down to kiss Reggie’s cheek before leaving. I left the house so quickly that I didn’t have to worry about hiding my burning cheeks. I also didn’t notice their reaction. I was on a mission to find my favourite skater.

~*~ 

When I returned home, I could almost feel the tears stubbornly leaving. But I swallowed the tears, because I needed to talk to Julie about what to do. I wasn’t even sure if she already knew about the boys’ situation or not, but we couldn’t leave them suffering like that. I couldn’t leave them suffering that way. I looked for it in the garage first. If my sister wasn’t there, at least I would have a chance to talk to them.

“Someone once told me that you don’t ask for permission. You book gigs by doing.”Julie was saying when I showed up at the half-open gate.

The boys were lying on the couch and on the floor, looking depressed, while Julie was standing in front of them, as if giving a lecture. Alex had the drumsticks in his hands and Reggie was hugging his bass.

“That was me.”Reggie said with a little smile on his face.

“No, it wasn’t.” denied Julie and Luke.

“Yes, it was.” Reggie grunted, looking down.

"This isn’t over.” continued Julie, ignoring him. “We were brought together for a reason. To help each other.”

“Yeah, but like Luke said… People don’t just play at the Orpheum because they want to.”Said Alex.

“People don’t.” I said, drawing their attention. “But ghosts do.“

Julie turned a little scared to me. From the look she gave me, I think my expression showed all the sadness I was feeling.

"All you need is to haunt them in a different way." I suggested, taking a deep breath to control my emotions. “In a few days Panic! At The Disco will play with a not very famous band that will arrive here almost at the last minute because they will be doing a show in Las Vegas. You just need to make sure that they don’t arrive on time and that you’re the best option.”

For a few seconds they were processing this and I used it as my cue to get out of there before they saw my tears pooling in my eyes. I couldn’t afford to be selfish. They needed to make the move before the only option left for them is to join Caleb. I heard Reggie’s voice calling me, but I ignored him and continued on my way to the house. But even before I crossed the space between the gate and the stone path to the smaller gate, I felt a hand pulling on my wrist.

"Y/N…” Reggie said quietly looking at me with those blue eyes full of emotion. “I don’t like it when you cry. I’m sorry.“

I laughed softly. I hadn’t realized that some tears had came out.

"No need to apologize. I understand that you need to do this. It’s just…” I took a deep breath, trying not to choke. “It hurts to think that I will have to lose someone else. Especially someone who has become so important to me. I mean, the three of you have become very important to me.”

"You have become very important to us too." Reggie said, still holding my hand. “You have become important to me. I’ll miss you.”

I didn’t think before throwing my arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly against me. He tensed for a few moments before hugging my waist with the same intensity. And we stayed there, saying nothing, just enjoying what could be our last hug.

“Reggie, we have to think of a plan!" we heard Luke shouting from the garage and Alex scolding him saying something about giving up a little space.

I took a deep breath before letting go of his comforting embrace. I placed a kiss on her pale cheek, this time longer than the one from earlier.

"Go. They need you.”

Reggie opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly turned and went home with tears streaming down my cheeks.

 ~*~ 

I was quite nervous as we waited to find out if the plan had worked. But while I just waited sitting on the sofa in the garage, with the occasional twitch in my leg, Julie was in front of me pacing and making my nerves worse.

"Julie, I love you, but stop walking before I need to tie you to the couch!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry, I’m nervous." she said, continuing to pace.

"I know! And it’s making me nervous!”

The boys suddenly appeared in front of us and Julie went into an outbreak, asking so many questions at once that I almost couldn’t keep up.

“That’s a lot of questions!” exclaimed Reggie, interrupting her. “Luke, do you wanna take this one?”

“Take a seat.” instructed Luke.

“Finally." I mumbled, pulling Julie by the arm to sit next to me.

“It’s fine, everything is fine.” continued Luke, approaching the low table in front of us and leaning on it with the other boys.

“Yeah. You should be getting a call right .. now!” said Alex, taking an effect break and pointing the boys at Julie’s cell phone on the table. But the screen remained off. After a few uncomfortable seconds, with me trying to keep from laughing at Alex’s disappointed face, he tried again. “Okay. Right… Now!”

The phone finally rang and Julie screamed.

“Nailed it.” said Alex, holding out his hand for Luke and Reggie to touch.

But Julie didn’t answer. "Answer it, Jules!" I shouted along with the boys.

She put it on speaker.

“Hi, this is Tasha from the Orpheum in Hollywood.”

That’s when one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen started. Julie jumped on the couch, almost stepping on me, while Alex jumped across the table towards the armchair and Reggie and Luke celebrated with a strange dance. Julie opened her arms when the woman spoke again and everyone stopped like statues watching her pick up her cell phone. And while Julie jumped on the table to answer Tasha, Alex jumped into the arms of the boys, who held him in the air.

“I’m swimming!” exclaimed Alex, waving his arms, and that’s when I let out a loud laugh.

The boys put Alex on the floor and Reggie came over to me. I looked at her confused, until he took my hands and pulled me until I was on my feet. A second later, I was in his tight embrace. He even got up and spun me around. I just prayed that he couldn’t hear my heartbeat. When my feet returned to the ground, I noticed that Alex and Luke were watching us. I motioned for them to join us and joined them in a group hug.

“I missed hugs." Alex commented when we parted.

"Own, you can always ask me for hugs, you big baby." I said, hugging him tight again. He hugged me with the same intensity.

I noticed, over Alex’s shoulder, Julie looking at us with a smile on her face. I smiled at her when I pulled myself out of Alex’s arms and went over to her, squeezing her in a hug too.

"I’m so proud of you, Jules." I whispered softly in his ear.

Her only answer was to tighten me more in her embrace.

~*~ 

I stayed with Julie in the dressing room the entire time. We were both nervous, but we managed to calm down a little when Flynn arrived after preparing some effects on the projector. But nothing came out of my head that the boys could be in trouble to take so long to show up.

"Y/N, you’re starting to make me nervous, too." said Flynn, and only then did I realize I was pacing up and down in front of the couch, just like Julie had done that morning.

"Sorry, it’s just…” I tried to explain, forcing myself to sit on the couch and stay still.

“We understand." said Flynn, holding my hand.

"I just wish that today wasn’t their last night here." I sighed, propping myself up and elbows on my knees and letting all the weight fall on my shoulders.

"Y/N." Julie called me and waited for me to look her in the eye before continuing. "You like Reggie, don’t you?”

I gave a sad smile and nodded, unable to find my voice.

“Called it!" exclaimed Flynn, pointing at me and making us laugh a little. "The Molina family seems to have a thing for ghosts, it’s impressive.”

Julie rolled her eyes, but ignored it. "You should talk to him before they cross over.“

"And are you going to talk to Luke about your feelings?" Flynn muttered and I pointed out to her nodding in agreement.

"I wanted to talk to Reggie about it, so as not to carry that regret the rest of my life, but… I’m afraid of the reaction.”

“He likes you.”

“Totally." agreed Flynn.

I sighed. "I need him to have a little more time then so that I can say something.”

Julie opened her eyes wide and got up from the couch to take my place walking back and forth.

“Now you broke your sister.”

We heard a knock on the door and the technician called Julie, saying it was time for her to enter the stage.

But the boys had not yet appeared.

“Just a second.”Julie shouted at the door and approached us. "Something’s wrong. The boys were getting those jolts pretty bad as I was leaving. And they wouldn’t stand me up again.”

I sniffed, following her thought. I felt paralysed.

“They must have run out of time.“

“I’m so sorry, Jules.” murmured Flynn.

“They didn’t cross over.”Continued Julie, but I felt like everything around me was fading. "They’re gone. And I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

I couldn’t help a sob that escaped my lips. I saw Flynn getting up and hugging Julie, but then the technician shouted at her again and the two of them ran out the door. However, I couldn’t do anything, just stand there, paralysed. My thoughts hammered in my mind, but I could only think that those three boys were gone forever without having the opportunity to make the passage. Those goofs that won me and my sister over and made a huge difference in our lives. And we would never see him again.

“Y/N. Y/N! ” it took me a while to notice Flynn shaking my shoulders. I had to blink a few times to see her through tears. "Julie ran to the alley behind Orpheum, you need to talk to her.“

"I… I…” I took a deep breath. Even though I wanted to just break up there, I couldn’t. My sister needed me. "Okay, okay.“

I got up and followed Flynn’s instructions as to where Julie had run. I opened the side doors and found her crying in the middle of the alley with a flower in her hand. A dahlia. Mom’s favourite.

"Jules." I whispered as I approached. She stood up for me, a little scared, but a second later she threw herself into my arms and hugged me tightly, as if only that hug kept her from collapsing. I held her even tighter against me. “Breathe, sweetie. Julie, I think you should sing.”

She released me a little and looked at me confused. I dried her tears a little - mine - before speaking.

“It would be a beautiful tribute to mom and boys. They lived, died and continued the life of ghosts through music. They would like that. That’s what I would do if I had your talent.”

“Thank you, Y/N. Really." said Julie, smiling a little before hugging again and entering.

But I didn’t go straight in. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down so that I was emotional enough to hear her singing without the boys. When I went in again and joined Flynn next to the coach near the stage, Julie finished a speech and sat down in front of the keyboard to begin. I already felt my heart squeeze again when she started the first chords. The song approached the first chorus and I took a deep breath, murmuring the words between my lips. It was when Alex’s drums came up that I felt my heart stop. A few seconds later Reggie appeared in a red and black suit playing his bass. I felt a sob tear through my throat and put my hand over my mouth. I felt Flynn holding my free hand and hugging me to the side, as if she knew I needed that support to keep me standing.

Luke started to appear, but he was fading and coming back. I opened my eyes wide, worried, but then he came back singing and he didn’t disappear again and I could only smile and cry, excited. Alex sang a few lines and Reggie followed shortly after. I didn’t take my eyes off him, absorbing him as much as I could before he disappeared again. Our eyes met and he winked at me, opening his smile wider and I smiled back. It didn’t matter if I didn’t have time to tell him everything I needed. He was there, on that stage, together with his friends, his family, fulfilling the dream that he cannot fulfil while he was alive. My heart broke when they finished playing and the boys were gone, but the shadow of a smile remained on my lips knowing that they crossed and could rest in peace.

~*~

Dad, Carlos and Julie were walking home in front of me. They sang the chorus of Stand Tall excitedly, but as much as I wanted to participate in that moment with them, I couldn’t. I wasn’t as strong as Julie and she realized that I wasn’t well, as she always pulled dad’s attention back to them when he tried to get me to join them.

“You and your phantoms were unbelievable tonight.”Dad said when we stopped on the porch.

"I’m going up to my room, I have a headache." I made some excuse when I passed them. However, I made sure to stop in front of Julie and hug her tight. “You were incredible, Jules. I’m so proud.”

“What is it with her?" I could hear Carlos asking as I opened the door.

"Leave her be, Carlos." I hear Julie responding in a light tone of voice as I enter and leave them outside still. "She had a rough day.”

I locked myself in my room and quickly changed my clothes for a sweatshirt set before throwing myself on the bed. I stared at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears that continued to fall, but it seemed impossible. Now that I was alone, it felt like a whirlwind of emotions was falling upon me. I don’t know how much time I spent in that catatonic state before I heard a noise inside the room. It was the same noise as when the boys teleported. I sat up quickly, looking around hopefully. My heart almost stopped when I saw Reggie still in his red suit shyly approaching the bed.

“Reg?" my voice failed, as did my line of reasoning.

I was dreaming. There was no other explanation.

"Hi, Y/N." he waved his hand in that cute way that only he knew how to do. But I was still paralysed, looking at him with wide eyes. He started to speak nervously. “Well, it seems that playing at the Orpheum wasn’t our unfinished business, so the boys and I disappeared into the garage to let you and Julie think we had crossed over, but then she went into the garage and tried to get us to Caleb’s club. But of course we weren’t going, so she managed to hug Luke, he started to shine, we started to shine when we hugged them too and Julie said that you were here alone and practically-”

I hardly understood a word he said. But it helped my brain to understand that it wasn’t just my imagination. I interrupted him before I could finish speaking. I just jumped out of bed, took his face in my hands and kissed him. It was as if all the weight in the world came off my shoulders and I could melt right there. I didn’t care that he was a ghost, I didn’t care that Caleb could go after them, I didn’t care that they would one day have to find out what their unfinished business was and needed to cross over to the other side and I cared even less that my tears were mixed with his. All I cared about at that moment was the feel of his lips against mine and his arms around my waist pulling me closer to him.

I just leaned away when I needed air.

"That was nice." he commented in a thin, choked voice. I realized that he still had his eyes closed and I smiled at the expression he had on his face. "Can we do this again?”

I laughed softly before pulling him back in for another kiss. I was lost in his smell, his taste and his touch. I hardly noticed the teleportation noise in the room again.

“Y/N, we came here to… Wow!”

Reggie and I walked away again and saw Alex and Luke near my closet, both blushing and embarrassed.

“Really, guys?" Reggie asked, not only keeping his arms around my waist but pulling me even closer. "Right now?”

“We came to see how you were doing, but you look busy." said Luke, scratching the back of his neck. I was struggling to keep myself from laughing.

"We’ll be back later." said Alex simply, taking Luke’s arm and making them both disappear quickly.

I looked back at Reggie, who was already looking at me with a silly smile on his face.

"Where were we?" I asked with a mischievous smile on my lips as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and played with a few strands of his hair.

"I think you can remind me." he said, leaning over and kissing me again.

[marjansmarwani]

taken by the tide of morning light

8.8k || ao3

A case of mistaken identity spells bad things for TK as Carlos races against the clock to find him, before it is too late. 

------

tortured for information square fill for @badthingshappenbingo

This prompt was requested by @morganaspendragonss so, so long ago, but it’s finally done. Holly asked for TK whump and while I didn’t do a ton of focus on the torture I do hope you think this was enough whump, my dear. Thank you for the prompt and I hope you enjoy! 

cw: mentions (and minor depictions) of torture. Beta’d by @silvarafael

----------

The last clear memory TK has is of Carlos’s soft smile right before he leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, a thank you for the coffee TK had brought him. He distantly recalls the wolf-whistles from Carlos’s co-workers and the exasperated eye roll from Mitchell, but it’s Carlos’s smile and the feel of his lips on his cheek that stay with TK. 

After that, all he knows for sure is a flash of pain; and then darkness. 

Even now he wasn’t fully sure where he was. His mind was a haze of pain, sounds, and sensations blurring together. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, to get a look at his surroundings. It felt as if he was restrained, somehow, and he thought that he could make out a figure hovering nearby. Turning his head to get a better look took considerable effort but when he managed he saw a man watching him. 

“You’re awake,” the man said, “good. Now we can get started.” 

“Started with what?” TK asked, making a conscious effort to keep his voice steady. Calm and steady was the best way to approach this — he knew that from both his time dealing with victims and from Carlos. Keep calm, keep them calm, and try to make a connection — that was what would get him through this, whatever it was.  

The man approached, studying TK as he grew closer. “You’re going to tell me what you know about the Goethe homicide.” 

TK wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. “The what?” 

“The Goethe homicide!” The man repeated, voice growing louder with his frustration “I need to know who did it!” 

“Why?” TK asked, hoping to deflect because he had no idea what the fuck the man was talking about, “Why do you need to know?” 

“Because it’s my wife they killed, and I need to kill them.” 

He said it so matter of factly, as if it were simply an item on his to-do list. TK swallowed, his mind racing as he tried to think of the best way to respond to that. He couldn’t tell the other man anything about the case because he didn’t know about the case. Honesty, he decided, was sometimes the best policy. 

“I can’t tell you anything,” he told the man carefully, “because I don’t know anything.” 

That just caused him to scoff, “Please. Even if you’re not working it you have to know something. A police station is just like any other office — people talk. You have to have heard something around the water cooler.” 

And suddenly it clicked in TK’s mind: this man thought he was a cop. 

“I don’t work for the police department,” he said carefully, making sure to keep his words clear and his tone even. “I’m a paramedic, I work at AFD Station 126. I am not a cop and I don’t know anything about the case you’re talking about.” 

“Then what were you doing at the precinct so early,” the other man scoffed, “don’t lie to me.” 

“I’m not lying,” TK repeated earnestly. “I just stopped to visit my fiancé before my shift. Our schedules haven’t lined up much over the past week and I wanted a chance to see him so I brought him coffee.” 

“You’re lying,” the man said again, voice full with just as much certainty as before. 

“I’m not,” TK repeated softly, but he was becoming increasingly aware it was fruitless. 

“You are!” his captor shouted and TK flinched as he stepped closer. The man came to a stop, now only a few inches from TK as he spoke again, “You’re lying and I need to know. I need to know who killed my wife. The fact that they are out there, still free and still living and she’s dead is…” he trailed off and when he spoke again his voice was heavy with grief: “It’s wrong.” 

TK studied the man more closely. What he saw before him was grief; a loss felt so deeply it had changed a man’s entire existence. Whoever he may have been before it was clear that all he lived for now was revenge and though TK didn’t agree on a moral level, he could understand. Maybe he and Carlos weren’t married yet but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he lost Carlos he would lose everything. It was a fear that lurked in the back of his mind; it had been there for years now. Carlos was one half of his soul; he was intertwined with his very being. Life without him was unthinkable and his heart went out to the man before him who had so clearly lost the person he loved and was feeling the very thing TK feared. 

“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now,” TK finally said. “I can’t imagine how much losing the person you love must hurt. I understand why you want to do this, but you have to know it’s not going to change anything. It’s not going to bring her back.” 

“No,” he agreed, “but it will make me feel better.” 

“Will it though?” TK asked. “Will taking someone else’s life really make you feel better?” 

“I can’t imagine I can feel any worse,” the man replied drily, “so I figure it’s worth a shot.” 

“What about your wife?” TK said instead. He knew he was taking a gamble but maybe, just maybe, he could help him see sense. “Would she want you to do this? Is this how she would want you honoring her memory? Would she want you to throw your life away?” 

There was quiet for a moment and TK thought that maybe he had broken through. But then the man shook his head and took another step forward, shaking his head. 

“I don’t have a life without her,” he said dully. “And thanks to whoever that manic was, I have no way of knowing what she would have wanted, do I?” TK and the man studied each other for a few moments and TK was sure that all the fear he was now feeling was showing clearly through his eyes. This was a desperate man before him and it was becoming increasingly clear that not only would he not listen to reason, he wasn’t about to let anything stand in his way either.

“That’s okay though,” he said after a drawn-out moment, leaning over to pick up something from the ground besides TK, “because you’re going to tell me who he is and where to find him.” 

TK’s eyes grew wider as he took in the bat now clutched in the man’s hands. “Wait,” he tried again, “I don’t—” 

But any further protestations were cut off by a gasp of pain and then another as the blows began to land and TK’s entire being was wrapped in nothing but pain. 

-------

This had seemed like the never-ending shift from hell, but it was finally coming to an end. Carlos breathed a sigh of relief as he glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that there were only 30 minutes left in their shift. Maybe if everything stayed calm…

But the sound of their radios crackling to life caused him to audibly groan. Of course they had one more call that would inevitably run over and keep them there late. He didn’t know why he was surprised; that was kind of how the night had been. He drained the last of the coffee TK had dropped off — the only good thing to happen in the past 12 hours — and stood, meeting Mitchell’s gaze to see a similar expression. 

“Cheer up,” his partner offered, “it’s an accident, you might get to see that fiancé of yours.” 

Despite everything that thought brought a smile to Carlos’s face, and caused his partner to roll her eyes. 

“I work with a lovesick teenager,” she muttered, but Carlos just grinned wider. 

“You’re just jealous Mitchell,” he teased, lightly jabbing her with his elbow as he passed her on the way to their squad car. 

“You keep telling yourself that, Reyes,” she called after him, but she was grinning. 

They kept up their stream of banter as they climbed into their squad car and headed towards the scene. When they arrived and climbed out of the car, Carlos couldn’t help from looking first towards the fire vehicles, trying to get a glimpse at the number on the side. 

He was saved the trouble when he heard a familiar voice and he looked over his shoulder to see Mateo doing his best to wave as he jogged by, arms laden with equipment. Mitchell rolled her eyes again beside him and he grinned at her. 

“Just don’t keep us here too long after we are done making heart eyes at your boy,” she requested with an air of exhaustion. “I want to go home.” 

Carlos shook his head at her before they parted, approaching different halves of the scene and taking statements. As predicted it took longer than the last 30 minutes of their shift and it was nearly an hour later that they finally returned to their squad car. He glanced over at where the ambulance was parked — there had been no injuries that required transportation to the hospital, thankfully — and his partner sighed. 

“Go,” she said wearily, “I can last a few more minutes I suppose. I’ll just be daydreaming about my bed while you’re gone.” 

Carlos gave her a grateful smile. He hadn’t seen TK at all while he was dealing with the witnesses and it just wouldn’t feel right to leave without at least saying hello. Especially because with their shifts being back to back it would be at least another 12 hours before he got another chance to see him. 

He made his way over to the ambulance, peeking around the open doors to find Nancy in the back, putting away their supplies. 

“Hey Nance,” he said in greeting, “where’s TK?” 

“Late,” Nancy said, snapping the drawer she had been filling shut. “He didn’t make it to the station on time; we had to leave before he got there.” 

Carlos frowned at her, “Did he call you at all?” 

“Nope,” Nancy declared with a shake of her head. “And he didn’t answer when I called, so I figured he just overslept. Which wouldn’t be that bad but the call for this accident came in just a few minutes after shift started. Chances are he’s waiting at the station now, dreading the amount of schlep work he’s going to have to do to make up for being late and missing a call.” 

Nancy was grinning mischievously but Carlos was experiencing the sensation of the world falling down around him. Something was wrong. 

“He didn’t oversleep,” he finally managed and his tone had Nancy straightening up and looking at him with a furrowed brow. “He stopped by the precinct this morning with coffee. He left with plenty of time to make it to the station, he should have been there on time. It’s only two miles.” 

Nancy’s expression shifted as he spoke and by the time he was done she was wearing a matching expression of concern. Tommy and Owen chose that moment to walk by, Tommy pausing as she registered the looks on each of their faces. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, causing Owen to stop beside her. The two captains looked at them expectantly, and Carlos swallowed. 

“I think something happened to TK.” 

-------

Another blow landed and TK gasped as the impact jarred his solar plexus, knocking the breath out of him. He tried to gasp for air but none came and all he succeeded in doing was aggravating the pain in his damaged ribs — a few of which were cracked, at the very least. He reminded himself not to panic, that his breath would come back. 

The man lowered the bat and casually leaned on it, studying TK as he tried to steady his breathing. The desperate breaths sent pain ripping through his chest so he did his best to calm himself, to even out his breathing. All the while he leveled his gaze at the other man, who looked back at him. 

“You know,” he said as he stepped back, “if you just told me the truth this would be over.” 

“I have been telling you the truth,” TK gasped, still struggling to pull enough air into his lungs to speak. “I’m not who you think I am, just like I’ve been saying.” 

“No,” the man said again, voice more desperate, “you’re lying!” 

“I’m not,” TK said evenly, watching the man closely. He was teetering on the edge, all it would take was one wrong move or word to send him into complete hysteria and TK didn’t know what that move or word might be. Every single time he opened his mouth it felt like stepping off a landmine, waiting to see if it would explode. 

“You have to be!” his captor argued. “That was the plan, and my plan didn’t fail! It can’t fail, I need to know.” 

“Maybe if you let me call someone,” TK offered hesitantly, “we can get you the information you’re looking for. Because I don’t have it, and no amount of hurting me is going to change that.” 

The man was quiet for a few moments and TK allowed himself to grasp onto a little hope — maybe he had gotten through to him. Maybe it would be okay. 

But the next moment proved him wrong as his captor’s face contorted in rage and he lashed out. TK flinched away, closing his eyes as the man moved towards him. He was unsurprised when pain exploded, though it wasn’t the type of pain he had been expecting. He had grown accustomed to the pain of the blows from the bat, but the blinding white-hot pain now exploding from his leg was new. He opened a tentative eye to see the hilt of a knife sticking out of his leg and it took every ounce of his self-control to not react. The last thing he needed was to feed into this and get him more riled up. 

Especially because the knife seemed to be embedded alarmingly close to where his femoral artery should be located, the last thing he needed was it being ripped out by an angry kidnapper. If he was right once it was removed he would be dead in a matter of minutes. His best chance — his only chance — was the knife staying put until help arrived. 

Because help would arrive, he was sure of it. 

The man seemed to get his last burst of anger out with the knife because he stepped away after that, turning around and muttering to himself. TK watched him warily, doing his best to read his body language and gauge his mental state. He knew he wasn’t stable, but if he could just find an opening; a way to get him to listen to reason he might just live to see the end of this. 

But the frantic pacing and muttering he was doing didn’t instill a lot of hope. TK pulled his eyes away from him and looked longingly towards the door. Help was coming, he didn’t doubt that. He just hoped they made it before it was too late. 

--------

It was as if TK had just vanished. 

They knew he had left the precinct at 5:40 — Carlos, three of his coworkers, and the desk sergeant on duty could confirm that. None of them had noticed anything amiss. The last anyone knew he had waved at Sergeant Grover and stepped through the front doors into the early morning chill. 

Then, nothing. 

A quick (unofficial) search found his car still parked on the street in front of the precinct. It was maybe 50 feet of distance — so short in the grand scheme of things — and somehow TK Strand had disappeared within its space. 

Carlos had brought it to his superiors and while they were sympathetic they reminded him that it was too soon to list him as a missing person. He was an adult of sound mind and body: until foul play could be reasonably proven there would be no official investigation. 

So Carlos played his trump card; it’s the only thing he could do. 

He waited anxiously as the phone rang, pacing as he waited. 

Finally, the ringing stopped. 

“Carlitos,” his dad’s voice said, warm and cheerful, “we were just talking about you! Anderson was just saying that he thinks you and TK should skip the--” 

“Dad,” he interrupted, skipping past the pleasantries and whatever opinion Anderson had about their wedding plans and right into what mattered, “I think something happened to TK.” 

“What?” The change in his Dad’s voice was stark. “What do you mean?” 

“I know it’s too soon to label him as a missing person, but he didn’t show up at work and I saw him right before that and he was on his way and we can’t get a hold of him and....” 

“Tranquilo, Carlitos,” his dad urged softly over the phone, “take a breath and then tell me what happened, from the beginning. 

So he did. He took a breath and then told his dad how TK had stopped by the precinct with coffee this morning, how he had left 20 minutes before his shift started, how he had never made it to the station. How his car was still parked on the street by the precinct. 

He told him everything, and then waited. 

Though it felt like an eternity it was only a few moments later when Gabriel responded. “I’m coming to you,” he said, and Carlos could hear the rustlings of movements on the other end of the call. “We’ll figure this out mijo, whatever it is.” 

Carlos leaned against his car, almost sagging with relief. It wasn’t that he had expected his dad to not believe him, to not immediately offer to help; but knowing that he was on his way here and that he would have help gave him a little bit of hope. 

“Thank you,” he breathed, feeling just a bit of the panic that had been crushing him since Nancy had told him TK never showed up to work melt away. 

“Of course. Try not to worry, we’ll figure out what happened. Nothing can stop the combined powers of the Reyes men, after all.” 

He knew his dad was going for a joke, was trying to lighten the mood and Carlos appreciated it. 

“Right,” he agreed with a small, hollow laugh. With a last thanks, he ended the call. 

Left with nothing to do but wait, Carlos thought back to the talk he had had with his Captain and one of the detectives. He could read between the lines of the official answer — no one on the force was going to stop him from investigating, they just couldn’t do anything to help him, officially. Never before had he been so glad his dad worked in a different capacity. Though if he were being honest, Carlos knew that even if he had been ordered to stand down it wouldn’t have stopped him. Nothing would have stopped him from doing everything he could to find TK. 

He was running through all the awful possibilities for the third time when his dad arrived. Before he could say anything his dad pulled him into a hug. 

“We’ll find him, mijo,” he assured Carlos softly, “no te preocupes.” 

“Pretty sure that’s impossible,” he retorted wryly, and his dad shrugged. 

“Let’s just take it one step at a time, yeah?” Gabriel said instead. “Do we have any clues or signs of him after leaving the precinct?” 

Carlos shook his head, “No. The precinct cameras only cover the entrance so he’s on camera leaving, but that’s it. And there are no signs of a struggle or anything by his car. It’s as if he just up and vanished.” 

“You know as well as I that no one ever vanishes,” Gabriel replied, giving the area a critical glance. “They always go somewhere and they always leave a trace. Maybe we can try to see if any other place got him on camera? So we can reconstruct the time after he left the precinct?” 

Carlos nodded, having considered that in the time he spent waiting for his dad, “I think the deli across the street has cameras. I don’t know how much they see but…”

“But it’s worth a try,” his dad agreed. “Then let’s go ask nicely — it’s not an official investigation, after all.” 

“Why should I help you?” the owner asked with a shrug when they explained their request, “a man’s business is a man’s business and I’m not about to get involved in that.” 

“Please,” Carlos interjected, cutting off his dad’s likely professional reply, “he’s my fiancé, and disappearing on his way to work is definitely not like him. I just want to make sure he’s okay.” 

The owner studied him for a moment before shrugging, “Makes no difference to me, have at it. Monitor’s in the backroom — down that hall, first door on the left.” 

Carlos nodded his thanks and led the way to the indicated room, his dad on his heels. They found the room and got the footage running with no problem but the process of finding the right footage was tedious, to say the least. 

Despite his best efforts, Carlos was barely watching — his head too full of anxiety and fear to truly focus on something as mundane as the passage of day-to-day life that crossed across the camera’s view. It was a busy street in Downtown Austin; there was so much activity it was hard to follow. But Carlos has grown good at spotting TK in any crowd, and apparently on camera was no different. 

“Wait!” he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright in the chair to the right of the monitor. “Go back a few frames and let it run at regular speed.” 

His dad did as he asked and a few moments later they were rewarded by a familiar car pulling up to the curb and a face he would recognize anywhere climbing out. They watched as he reached back into the car for the tray of coffees and box of donuts he had brought into the precinct before he shut the car door behind him and stepped out of the frame. They both watched intently, watching for any chance he might step back into the camera's view. 

Carlos could play through what had happened when TK had entered the precinct verbatim in his head, and he did as they waited, trying to anticipate the moment his fiancé would step back outside into the early morning sun. 

Carlos was finishing up an incident report from an earlier call when Sergeant Grover called over to him, “Reyes!” he had shouted, “your man’s here — and he brought donuts!” 

The enthusiasm in the older man’s voice made Carlos chuckle, but the sight of one Tyler Kennedy Strand leaning against the front desk waiting for him made him feel something entirely else. 

“Hey,” he said fondly as he approached, reaching out to press a chaste kiss to the other man’s lips. 

“Hey yourself,” TK replied warmly before reaching behind him and producing a cup, “I brought you some coffee — figured you could use some.”

Carlos took it gratefully, inhaling the enticing scent of hazelnut as the cup came closer, “Have I mentioned lately that I love you?” 

“It may have come up,” TK quipped, “but I never get tired of hearing it.” 

“Well in that case,” Carlos said, stepping as close as he dared considering that he was still in uniform and they were still very much in his place of work, “I love you, mostly because you keep me caffeinated.” 

“Oh is that why?” TK asked with a raised eyebrow, “Because I thought it was the way I…” 

Sergeant Grover cleared his throat pointedly, reminding them both that he was still only a few feet away and Carlos felt his cheeks heat up, but TK only laughed brightly. 

“That’s why I brought you the apple turnovers you like Sergeant, to make up for this.” 

“Are you bribing an officer of the law, Strand?” The desk sergeant asked and TK shrugged. 

“I don’t know, is it working?” 

“You know it is, son,” the older man chuckled and pulled one of the promised turnovers out of the box with a grin. 

Carlos shook his head fondly and TK grinned at him unabashedly before Carlos nodded to the rest of the coffees in the carrier, “Are these more blatant efforts to butter up my coworkers?” 

“We are well past that babe, they already like me. These are just to make sure they keep liking me.” 

Carlos snorted because he knew all too well the chances of them not liking TK for any reason were extremely slim. He had been coming around the station fairly regularly over the entire course of their relationship — not to mention all the times they worked together in the field —  and had developed his own relationships with most of Carlos’s coworkers. So he just gestured for TK to lead the way and followed his fiancé back into the bullpen. 

Twenty minutes of coffee and chatting later TK glanced down at his watch and grimaced. “My shift starts at 6,” he explained, “so I better get going.” He slid off the desk he had been sitting on, chatting with Mitchell, before stepping into Carlos’s space. Carlos leaned forward to place a warm kiss on his cheek and TK squeezed his hand affectionately before he stepped away. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” he had said with a soft, warm smile. 

And then he had left, disappeared into thin air. 

The video before him ran, each of those twenty glorious minutes he had gotten to spend with TK passing by at a snail’s pace, but he was too afraid to speed it up. He didn’t want to miss anything that might help. 

He could feel his father’s eyes on him and briefly pulled his own from the video feed to meet them. His gaze was worried and Carlos tried to give him a smile. His father simply shook his head and patted his knee gently, “We’ll find him, mijo. No one messes with our family on my watch.” 

Carlos swallowed and nodded, feeling a little bolstered by his father’s reassurance, despite everything. 

It’s a few minutes later when Carlos sat bolt upright, the sight of TK stepping back into the frame putting him on alert. He watched intently as TK pulled his keys from his pocket and stepped towards his car, eyes cast down as he sorted through the ring for the correct key. It was only because he was watching so closely that he noticed a dark sedan slow to a halt beside him, its driver climbing out and addressing TK. Whatever he said got TK to look up and pause, waiting as the man stepped closer. He was gesturing vaguely, his face plastered with a polite smile that TK matched. As they spoke he moved closer and though Carlos knew what was going to happen before it did, watching the moment the man struck out a TK wasn’t any easier with warning.

TK — caught completely off guard — crumbled at the blow, only for the other man to catch him before he fell and drag him towards the car. He opened the trunk and shoved TK in unceremoniously; taking furtive glances around the area as he did. Once the trunk was closed with TK inside the man dashed around to the driver’s seat and climbed into; speeding away down the deserted street. 

Carlos’s heart was racing when he pulled his eyes from the monitor to face his dad. 

“He was taken,” he said, voice low and horrified. 

Gabriel nodded, his expression dark and serious but when he spoke his tone was hopeful: “But he wasn’t very careful, we have a license plate. We’ll be able to track him down.” 

“Unless the car is stolen,” Carlos muttered, too deep in the fear and horror of what he had just seen to acknowledge a bright side. The man hadn’t even tried to cover his face, and Carlos didn’t want to think about what that could mean for TK. 

“We’ve done more with less,” his dad reminded him bracingly, “don’t lose hope.” 

Carlos nodded. While he appreciated his dad’s help and optimism, he couldn’t find it in himself to replicate it; not yet. Right now every possibility of what could be happening to TK, of what could go wrong was flying through his head. All he knew for sure is that they had to find TK, no matter what. 

He told his dad as much, and Gabriel nodded. “We will,” he assured Carlos, “and this helps. I’m going to call it in, see what they can find on that plate. Hopefully, we’ll have an answer soon and we can get TK back.” 

Carlos watched as his dad made his phone call, his eyes traveling back to the monitor in front of him before long. He stared at the frozen image of the car holding TK speeding away and hoped that wherever TK was, he knew that Carlos was coming for him. 

--------

Help was coming, TK knew that. 

He knew Carlos would find him and he knew that it was only a matter of time. He just hoped it was soon, because he wasn’t sure how much time he had left. He was doing his best to hold on but his body was about at its limit; ready to give in to the darkness coming ever closer as all of the pain and stress and the blood loss piled on. It’s all too much and he doesn’t need to be a paramedic to know he won’t survive much more. 

He blinked his heavy eyes as he tried to keep track of his kidnapper. He had told him time and time again that he is not a cop, that he can’t give him the information he wants because he doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about but it’s been no use. He doesn’t believe him and TK was starting to think that he is too far gone to listen to reason. The man is past the point of breaking, and TK never stood a chance. 

As time passed the blows became more and more erratic and TK had watched his captor become more and more unhinged with each passing moment. He had been doing his best to be hopeful, to stay optimistic; but now he was pretty sure he was going to die here. The thought  filled him with a cold certainty that is growing with each passing moment and drip of his blood onto the floor. 

He has had time to dwell on it now — it’s served as a distraction between moments of pain. The first thought that comes to mind is that he doesn’t have any regrets. If he had been faced with the same question not all that long ago he would have had many but he has made his peace with his mistakes and he is happy with where he is. The second thought is for his loved ones, for his parents and the family he had found here in Austin. He hates the idea of them enduring yet another loss in so little time and he is sorry that he will be the cause of their pain. 

But mostly he thinks about Carlos. He loved him so much. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with him and, while he was grateful to have had any time at all with him, it wasn’t enough. He wanted to marry Carlos and grow old with him. He didn’t want to leave him 6 months before their wedding with nothing more than fond memories and wishful thinking about what they could have had. He didn’t want to be the cause of his pain. 

He also knew that just because he didn’t have any regrets didn’t mean he’s ready to go. He had spent so long fighting for this life he had now — he wasn’t ready to give it up.

“I don’t know anything,” he tried again. “I’m not a cop, I’m a paramedic. I can’t give you the information you want.” 

Maybe, he thought, the 23rd time's the charm. 

“Stop lying to me!” the other man yells, fisting his hands into his hair as he turned away from TK. 

“I’m not,” TK told him again, softly this time. “I haven’t lied to you at all. Please,” he tried because what could it hurt, “I just want to go home. To see my family and my fiancé. I just want to survive this.” 

In all the time they had been in this situation (hours? Days? He had no idea anymore) TK had never voiced this desire but now he found he can’t keep it inside. The desperate need to survive overrode everything else and if begging was what it took he was willing to go there.

His captor faltered, turning back to him with something like a curious expression. 

“I’m not going to kill you,” he says, his tone laced with surprise and confusion. “If I kill you, you can't tell me what you know.”  

“Then I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” TK said once he recovered from the shock, “but unless you drive me to a hospital within the next hour, I don’t think you’ll have a choice. I’ve lost too much blood as it is; much more and I won’t survive it.” 

The man furrowed his brow as he considered TK’s words and TK let himself hope for a wild moment that maybe he had gotten through to him. But in the next the confusion was gone and he was shaking his head and striding forward again. 

“No,” he said matter of factly, “you’re going to tell me what I need to know.” 

He reached for the bat again and TK wanted to scream in frustration. He didn’t know anything, he never had. He was going to die here, for what?

He watched in grim acceptance as the man stepped forward, raising his bat to strike again but before he could complete the action there was an almighty crash from behind and TK got a glimpse of a swarm of police officers before his captor moved and blocked his field of vision. He dropped the bat and TK watched in horror as he reached forward and yanked the knife out of TK’s thigh. He was powerless to do anything but watch with dread as the heavy bleeding he knew would come erupted from the wound, gushing out at an alarming rate. He struggled against his bindings, pulling against the ropes in the hope that maybe he could break free and staunch the bleeding. But no matter how hard he tugged there was no give. He couldn’t believe that help was here but he was going to die anyway. 

There was commotion around him but his vision was starting to blur at the edges. The feeling of hands on his body and fresh pain exploding from his leg pulled him back to the present long enough to take note of a familiar figure crouched beside him applying pressure to the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding, yelling orders over his shoulder before turning back to TK with fear in his eyes and TK was suddenly not sure of what he was seeing at all. He had never seen fear like this in the eyes of his future father-in-law. 

“Stay with me son,” Gabriel said urgently, tone soft but somehow still commanding as he tightened his grip on the wound. “I do not intend to lose any family members today.” 

TK wanted to say something to that, wanted to make a quip to put the older man’s mind at ease. But it was taking all his energy to keep his eyes open, which probably had something to do with the blood seeping out from between the Ranger’s fingers. He somehow found it in him to ask the one question he had in his mind —  the one thing he wanted more than anything right now — and was beyond grateful it could be summed up in one word. 

“Carlos?” he asked, noting with a grimace how weak his voice was. 

“He’s just outside,” Gabriel informed him, “but if I know my son he’ll be here in a matter of seconds.” 

And suddenly he was — his familiar figure sinking to his knees besides TK, his beautiful brown eyes seeking TK’s own. He didn’t speak, instead choosing to reach a hand out to cup TK’s cheek, but his eyes said it all. They were filled with fear and unshed tears and so much love it almost hurt. TK leaned into the familiar touch, allowing it to ground him and using it as an anchor tying him to consciousness. 

“Hey you,” he managed after a few moments, needing the time even to muster those two syllables. 

“Hey yourself,” Carlos responded, never missing a beat as he placed his other hand on TK’s good knee. “Just hang in there Ty, paramedics are on their way in right now.”

“It’s not my team, is it?” TK tried to ask but he was sure the words were more slur than syllable. “They shouldn’t…” he wanted to say they shouldn’t have to see him like this, that they shouldn’t have to treat their team member but Carlos shook his head. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he told him. “All that matters is that you hang on. I know it hurts but you need to stay with us, TK. You need to stay with me.” 

TK nodded because he knew what Carlos was saying was true and he wanted to do that. He wanted that more than anything. He had been so afraid he was never going to see Carlos again and now he was here. TK wanted nothing more than to stay here with him. 

But his will was no match for the massive blood loss and he could feel himself slipping away. There was commotion everywhere: police taking the man into custody as he struggled, screaming about needing answers. Gabriel talking to him, urging him to stay awake and shouting for paramedics to help. It was all hectic and loud but it blurred into the background because the only thing that mattered to TK was Carlos and his calm, steady presence and tear-filled eyes. TK held those eyes with his own, latching into them like a lifeline. There was so much he wanted to say but he had no strength to say any of it. He hoped Carlos knew (he was pretty sure he did). 

Carlos’s eyes were the last thing he saw before his strength left him and everything faded to black, his voice shouting TK’s name following him into the darkness.

--------

Carlos spent the next few hours wearing a hole in the waiting room floor. 

If TK were here he would tease him, tell him that pacing enough to cause structural damage was his deal; not Carlos’s. 

But TK wasn’t here and the terror of watching his eyes close as he slipped somewhere Carlos couldn’t follow was still as fresh now as it had been in that moment. So he paced, for lack of anything better to do. He paced because if he sat he might think, and he couldn’t handle that right now. He couldn’t dwell on everything he stands to lose. He thought that maybe, if he kept moving, he could outrun his thoughts. 

The fact that he knew it was impossible wasn’t going to stop him from trying.

Others filter in and it’s all Carlos can do to even acknowledge their presence. He stops pacing when Owen arrives, pale and trembling because while Carlos knew his dad did his best to sound optimistic on the phone when he called the fire captain there is only so much of a positive spin you could put on this. He froze at the sight of the older man and opened his mouth, a hundred different apologies on the tip of his tongue; a thousand ways in which he should have been better, that he should have protected TK. 

But all of that is cut off when Owen pulls him into a hug, clutching him tightly and showing no sign of letting go. When they pull apart no words are spoken but Carlos could see the message clear in Owen’s eyes: this isn’t his fault. 

Carlos wished he could believe him, but he appreciated the sentiment all the same. 

When his mother arrived there was fear and anguish in her eyes. She beelined straight for him and wrapped him in the hug only a mother can give. There was safety in it and for a moment Carlos allowed himself to sag against her smaller frame, to take the comfort he so desperately needed. Then, he pulled himself up. If he fell apart now he wouldn’t be able to keep going. He needed to keep himself together for a little longer, just until he knew that TK was okay. 

Because he had to be okay; no other answer was bearable.  

Carlos knew he was not the only one who felt that way because when the doctor entered the waiting room there was a room full of eyes on him and the crushing silence of an entire family holding their collective breath. But then the doctor smiled and suddenly Carlos could breathe again. 

There were a whole lot of words and medical terms but Carlos cuts it down to the crux of it: TK didn’t die, but he gave it his best shot. There was talk of massive blood loss and transfusions and trauma to the chest and soft tissue damage and it’s all so much but TK is alive and for now, that’s what Carlos was going to focus on. 

He followed the nurse to the recovery room a few minutes later and when he got his first glimpse at TK, the optimism fled from his mind. TK looked so wrong in that bed: so still, so hurt. The heart monitor next to him traced each beat of that heart he loved so well but even still Carlos had a hard time believing it. It all looked so wrong. 

He took a hesitant step closer, and then another. Eventually, his feet carried him to TK’s bedside and he sank into the chair next to the bed; reaching out to take TK’s hand in his but hesitating. He didn’t want to do anything without TK’s consent, given everything. 

He hadn’t been able to focus on much during the waiting but he hadn’t been able to help but notice the grim look on his father’s face when he had gotten off the phone. It had taken some doing but he had managed to get his father to tell him what the officer questioning TK’s captor had found out: TK had been tortured. 

It had been a revelation that had brought his pacing to a halt and he would have likely collapsed if his father hadn’t gently pushed him into a seat as every inch of his body trembled. Even now the thought filled him with both a cold fury and raging fear: TK had been tortured; hurt repeatedly for information he didn’t even have. Now he was here before Carlos and he could only hope that he was strong enough to see them both through this; that he would be strong enough to support TK. Because while the doctor had assured them that the physical wounds would heal with time, Carlos had a sinking feeling that the mental ones would take a lot longer. 

So he sits quietly, close but never touching as TK sleeps on. And when TK wakes an hour later and reaches for his hand he clutches at it like a lifeline, smiling through the tears as he gently leans forward to press a kiss to his forehead. They didn’t speak but they didn’t need to. Carlos knew that everything he was feeling was shared — the fear, the worry, the relief, the love. When he squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes Carlos knew that TK understood the promise left unsaid: whatever came next he wouldn’t face alone.

-------

TK’s not fine. 

He’s well aware of this fact, and he’s pretty sure Carlos is too. It’s hard to hide things from the person who knows you better than anyone and who also happens to sleep in the same bed as you, after all. 

Physically, he’s solid. The bruises have faded, his ribs have healed. His body has replenished all the blood that was left on the floor of that abandoned warehouse. He passed all his physical exams with flying colors and has been back at work for about a week now. 

But though the bruises have faded and the pain is gone, the memories are not. Some days are better than others and today...is not a good day. 

He wakes in a cold sweat and sits bolt upright, chest heaving as the remanents of the dream that had woken him cling to his mind. He knows it’s a dream. He knows it’s not real but his mind has so helpfully filled in all the blanks; bringing back the sounds and smells and sensations,  slotting them perfectly into place, and fuck if it doesn’t feel every bit as real each and every time. 

He reminds himself to breathe and looks around the room falling into the familiar pattern. 5 things he can see: the door, the clock on his nightstand, the throw blanket at the end of their bed, the glare of a streetlight through the window, Carlos laying beside him. 4 things he can touch: the soft gray duvet covering their bed, the soft material of the faded APD shirt he had fallen asleep in, the coolness of the sheets beneath him, the corner of Carlos’s pillow brushing against his arm. 

He goes through the rest of the list, using his senses to anchor him back to reality before he takes a deep shuddering breath and quietly slides out of bed. He glances at Carlos’s still sleeping form before he steps away, slipping out their bedroom door and down the stairs to the kitchen. He knew his fiancé would want him to wake him, would remind him time and time again that he wanted to be there for him; that TK wasn’t a burden. 

But he couldn’t help but feel like one. 

Carlos had been his rock this entire time. In the month since his abduction, Carlos had been by his side each and every day for both the good and the bad. He had held him as he cried, he had stepped away when being so near someone was too much. He had treaded carefully in his own home, he had learned to spot the signs of a panic attack and had coached TK through far too many of them. And he had done it all without complaint because that was who Carlos Reyes was and while TK appreciated it more than he could ever say, he hated it in equal measure. 

He was trying to be okay, but he wasn’t and he knew he wouldn’t be for a while. His therapist assured him he was making great strides and TK believed her and he knew it was going to be a process but that did nothing to quell his frustration. There was still a part of him — a traitorous part he hadn’t been able to shake despite everything and all the growth he had managed in the past few years — that wondered when Carlos would finally have enough. 

Which is why he slipped out into the dark kitchen, alone. He just needed to pull himself together and go back to bed. Then he could go back to sleep and Carlos would wake up in the morning, none the wiser. He didn’t have to know that even now, over a month later, TK still couldn’t get through a night. 

Or at least, that was the plan. 

The reality was footsteps on the stairs as TK pulled his head out of his hands to see Carlos standing at the edge of the kitchen, studying him with concerned eyes. 

“Hi,” TK says lamely as Carlos carefully steps into the kitchen. 

“Hi,” Carlos says in return. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t have to. They knew each other so well they could have entire conversations without saying a word and everything from the way he was carrying himself to the way he was rubbing his fingers together told TK that he was upset. 

“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment, “I didn’t want to wake you.”

Carlos merely sighed and stepped closer, gently placing a hand on top of TK’s, lightly enough that he could pull away if he wanted to. “That’s not what I’m upset about, Ty, and you know it.” 

Tk looked down at the counter then, examining the color variations in the granite as he avoided Carlos’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I just hate feeling like such a burden. You should be able to sleep through a night without your basket case of a fiancé waking you up with the same damn dream he’s been having for weeks. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.” 

TK felt light fingers on his chin and allowed his head to be lifted so his eyes were faced with Carlos’s. They were just as warm and loving as always, but there was a sadness in them too. 

“You didn’t ask for this either,” Carlos reminded him, “and I wish more than anything you never had to go through that. But it happened and I am not going to leave you to deal with it alone. I care about you far too much for that.” 

TK could feel his shoulders loosening at Carlos’s words but he wasn’t ready to accept them just yet.

“Still…” he began, but Carlos shook his head. 

“Still nothing,” he told him firmly. “Don’t even try to tell me that if the roles were reversed you wouldn’t be standing right where I am, doing the exact same thing. You would never leave me to deal with anything like this on my own, why do you think you deserve to?” 

TK was quiet for a few moments before he finally spoke the words that had been hounding him. “I just hate being a burden,” he admitted so softly it was almost a whisper. “You deserve better than that.” 

Carlos shook his head. “I deserve to have the man I love be happy and safe,” he said instead. “And if that’s not possible I am going to do everything I can to make you feel as close to it as you can. We’re about to promise for better or worse in front of a room full of people we know, now is not the time to try and pull a solo act, TK. We’re in this together, just like always.”

TK blinked against the tears that had appeared in his eyes. He managed a small smile as he nodded, twisting his hand on the counter so he could grasp Carlos’s and squeeze it. Carlos returned his smile and leaned across the counter to press a light kiss to TK’s lips.

“Do you feel up to going back to bed?” he asked when he pulled away. “We can cuddle on the couch and put on a movie or something if you’re not. Whatever you need.”

For what was probably the hundredth time that day TK was floored by just how lucky he was to have Carlos in his life, to be loved by someone like him. He stepped around the counter, closing the distance between them as he pressed himself against Carlos’s chest. He smiled into the other man’s shirt when his arms instinctively wrapped around him.

“Let’s go to bed,” he said after a beat. “Just, promise me you won’t let go?”

“Never,” Carlos assured him as he pressed a kiss into his hair. “You’re stuck with me forever. For better or worse, remember?”

TK simply smiled in response and allowed himself to be led back up the stairs and to their bed. As they settled back underneath the blankets and Carlos settled against TK’s back and wrapped his familiar arms around him TK took a deep breath and closed his eyes with a smile on his lips.

Perhaps they had agreed upon for better or worse, but he had a feeling that maybe soon better would be on its way. 

[thedeathdeelers]

my definitely not late addition to @jukebox-week’s Legends day

please enjoy

——

look ‘ma, we made it (read here on AO3)

“Julie and the Phantoms!”

Cheers erupt around them as Julie stares dumbstruck at Luke, his eyes trained on hers.

She could feel her dad’s hands descending onto her shoulders, feel Carlos hollering to her left, and still she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

It was only when Luke’s frozen features start to melt into a grin did she feel her own face twitching back to life.

A scuffle next to them diverts her attention for a few minutes, shifting her gaze to watch the two other members of their band get swept up by the realisation of what just happened.

“WE DID IT!!”

Reggie was jumping up and down behind their table, reaching forward to pull and drag their semi-stunned blond bandmate out of his chair.

“We- we- we,” were the only words stuttering out of Alex as he let a bouncing Reggie tackle him in a bear hug.

Two soft hands cradling her neck bring her focus back to Luke, his grin engulfing the bottom half of his face.

“We really did it,” he says, his words barely audible over the raucous cheering around the venue.

Julie shakes her head, half in wonder half in disbelief.

“Should probably head up there before they change their minds, ya?”

She laughs at his words before she launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling herself tight against him, her face burrowing in his neck.

Not a moment later does Reggie take advantage of their hug, jumping on top of them, while simultaneously dragging Alex along, successfully creating a mini-Julie and the Phantoms dog pile right in the middle of the Awards show. Amongst the groans and giggles, Julie manages to catch Luke’s eye one more time before their families break up the moment, urging them to get a move on and head towards the stage.

Her hand clasped in Luke’s calloused one, they make their way towards the stage, only stopping at the bottom of the stairs so Julie can lift her dress up over her high heels. But before she can even lift her foot onto the first step, Luke slips his hand out of hers, scooping her up into his arms a second later to carry her up the stairs, bridal style.

She yelps at the sudden movement, disoriented by the lack of solid ground beneath her feet. She hastily throws her arms around Luke’s neck, firmly locking them into place. The sound of laughter and cheering from the crowd echoes behind them and Julie can’t help but laugh at the sheer insanity of the moment she’s experiencing. Choosing to focus on Luke’s face to ground herself, she sees his eyes flick to her face and away.

“Show off,” she mutters at his smug expression.

While his eyes are trained on the steps ahead of them, Julie pulls herself closer to his cheek and presses a lingering kiss to the corner of his lips. She can feel the sly smile taking over her features when his steps falter for a millisecond, his arms pulling her just a little tighter against him.

Once they reach the top of the stairs, Luke eases her back into a standing position, helping her fluff her dress back into a state resembling its original shape. Flynn was going to kill them.

Slipping her hand back into his, Julie gently pulls Luke along as they stumble a little to catch up to Reggie and Alex who were already walking towards the hosts waiting for them by the podium.

Reggie is the first one to reach centre stage, graciously accepting the much coveted Album of the Year award and hoisting it into the air to the sounds of wild cheering from all sides of the concert hall. Sneaking up behind their bassist, Alex surges forward and easily snatches the Grammy from Reggie’s hands, earning him a laugh from the audience (and a disgruntled whine from his bandmate) before he hands it over to Luke.

She watches as he stares at it dumbfounded, holding it close to his face to read the inscription on its plaque. He spends all of five seconds before Alex nudges him back into motion. He turns to Julie with a sheepish smile, finally handing it over to her. Julie knows she doesn’t have time to appreciate the heavy weight in her hand, so she grabs it and turns to the microphone jutting out of the podium.

The next few minutes are a whirlwind. The band had agreed beforehand that they would let Julie do most of the talking, making sure to thank everyone from family to friends to Andi and the label and their touring crew. The boys chimed in with extra names left and right, which only got the crowd laughing along at the chaos.

“I’d like to personally thank Principal Lessa, who without her, I’m not entirely sure I would’ve ever made it to this stage of my career. Our career. She believed in me and gave me a chance when it looked like I had wasted every single one, pushing me to work harder than I ever had before.” Julie takes a deep breath, knowing the next and final person she was about to thank would be the hardest.

“And last, but definitely not least, I’d like to thank my mom.” She feels a hand press up against her lower back, and she feels a little of the tension that had built up ease a little at the familiar touch. “She is the soul in everything I do, whether it’s being kind to strangers even when they prove to be difficult, to the very lyrics and melodies that we put into our songs for everyone to experience along with us. She is the reason I am here today, surrounded by my family,” she gestures to her boys as Alex and Reggie reach over to hold onto her shoulders with a light squeeze. “She is the reason music is a part of me and I will forever be grateful for everything she has given me, everything she ever taught me.” A soft watery giggle escapes her. “Miracles really do happen,” she shrugs at the audience.

Julie hears Luke chuckle at her words to her left along with everyone else. She takes in a deep shuddering breath before letting a small laugh makes its way out of her to ease her into the moment. “Te quiero mucho, mami. This is for you.”

The telltale sound signalling the end of their slot blares through the speakers as applause from their live audience roars into life once more. Julie steps back from the podium as she holds onto their Grammy, lifting it up for the crowd to see before she turns around to head off-stage.

What she sees behind her stops her dead in her tracks.

Because there, right in the centre of the stage for everyone to see, Luke, Alex and Reggie were getting into position to do a move she hadn’t seen them do since they had gotten their first Orpheum gig all those years ago.

This time though it was Luke running towards a kneeling Reggie, while Alex stood behind him arms outstretched as they got ready to hoist him up into the air, his arms spread wide.

Julie had to admit, It was surreal seeing them do this in their tailored suits.

The laugh bursts out of her at the thought, her hand automatically coming up to cover her mouth. She can see the hosts to their right getting worried, the technicians behind the curtains frantically speaking into their headsets.

But all Julie can do, all she wants to do, is divert her attention back to her band mates and fondly watch them as they celebrate this triumphant moment in a way that is authentically theirs.

She stares as Luke starts waving his arms around, pushing forward as if he was swimming the breaststroke midair, with Alex and Reggie slowly carrying him forward in her direction. Julie stays where she is as she watches them approaching, tilting her head to the side and waiting to see what they had in store - this was a new, never before seen part of their strange choreography - she wasn’t sure what to expect. She doesn’t have to wait too long to find out.

Within a few seconds they were standing in front of her, Luke‘s face only a few inches away as he reaches forward, cradling her face in his hands. She looks at him questioningly before he answers her unspoken question in the form of a soft kiss, pressing his lips against hers right there on stage under the blaring lights for the world to see.

She can’t help but momentarily forget about the world while his lips are on hers.

The kiss only lasts a second - she feels Luke shake a little; opening her eyes to find him staring at her as the boys holding him up start to lose their hold on him, his weight pressing down on them. He pecks her on the mouth one more time before the boys are pulling him away, moving backwards so as to drop their lead guitarist back onto the ground.

With their Grammy in one hand, Julie throws a quick wave and a bashful smile at the audience behind her, grabbing hold of a now upright Luke’s hand and pulling him along with her off stage, closely followed by Alex and Reggie.

They stumble backstage, barely enough time to catch their breaths before getting swarmed by people in headsets ushering them towards their next media stop.

But right as they’re about to cross the threshold separating them from a roomful of flashing lights and shouted questions, Luke pulls at Julie’s hand. She stops, looking back to find all three of her boys staring at each other as they take a second to take in...well, everything.

“We- that just happened right? I’m not dreaming?” Alex is quick to turn towards their bassist and pinch his arm, watching him yelp out loud, jumping out of his reach as he rubbed his arm.

“What was that for?!”

“No, we’re definitely not dreaming.” Alex shakes his head, still in a daze as Luke laughs at his best friends’ antics. He momentarily lets go of Julie’s hand, moving to stand in between his two best friends, draping his arms over their shoulders, pulling them in.

“We’re Grammy Award winners boys. We made it.”He squeezes his arms, pulling both boys closer to him to the sounds of whines before letting go. He then turns his head over to Julie, his gaze on her as his grin widens, lighting up the room.

A noise down the hall interrupts their little moment, with all four of them swivelling their heads in its direction.

“Julie And the Phantoms, the press is waiting for you. If you could please head in, we have five minutes of question time and then it’s back to your seats for the next award category. Thank you.”

The staff member doesn’t even give them a chance to reply as they turn right back around, talking a mile a minute into their headset.

The boys all turn to look at Julie as she stares back at them in wonder.

“This is really it huh?”

All three nod their heads back at her.

“Yup.” Reggie states, emphasising his answer by popping the p while he absentmindedly rubbed at his arm again.

“Well then - let’s not keeping them waiting, shall we?”

Julie rolls her eyes at a smirking Luke before placing her hand in the space between them.

“Legends on three. One, two, LEGENDS!”

FIN