#Blind!Sammy Au

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

Blind Takaaki AU where bro somehow finds a way out of the apartments and walks 2 miles to the WoH base. Just to use the bathroom. All because Aloysius was busy and couldn't help him find his way there.

Yeah, nobody knows how he left the apartments and everyone is now panicking.

[iprobablyshipit91]

iprobablyshipit91 Fic Recs

So this started as me keeping links of all my favourite Dean Winchester fics that I finally decided to share so others could hopefully find some great stories and the authors would know how much I love their work. It’s kind of grown to a very, very huge list, but I love everyone of these works, they’re amazing and deserve so much love. I hope you find something you love on here 💕

There’s a mix of fluff, angst, smut, au etc. Please make sure you read the warnings for each story on it’s own page.

Beautiful Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Dean Winchester x Reader

Should I Stay or Should I Go by @daisythekitty

Sweet Dreams by @deanssweetheart23

Slip Up by @deanwritings

Bad Moon Rising by @hintsofhoney

Not the Planned Delivery by @lazydoodlesandfanfic

Unnamed by @lostdreamr-blog1

I’ve Got You by @spnexploration

Broken Ribs Against Fingertips by @the--blackdahlia

Motel Diablo by @waynes-multiverse

Sharing is Caring by @zepskies

Mini Date by @avanatural

The Talk by @avanatural

And Baby Makes Four by @carryonmywaywardone-shots

Nows the Time by @crashdevlin

Down on Dean by @deanwanddamons

The Prettiest One by @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior

Always You and Me by @deanwinchesterswitch

Bullets and Bands by @deanwinchesterswitch

Capeesh? By @deanwritings

I Ship It by @deanwritings

It’s Okay by @deanwritings

Safe Now by @deanwritings

What We Lost by @deanwritings

Tell Me About… by @impala-dreamer

Glances by @kasimagines

It’s Okay, I Love You by @kasimagines

Poison by @kasimagines

Obeying Temptation by @kittenofdoomage

Sweet Satisfaction by @kittenofdoomage

Nannas Love Sammy by @littlegreenplasticsoldier

Something New by @princessmisery666

Date Night by @princessmisery666

I Would Never Hurt You by @procrastinatorimagines

Frayed Ends by @scuttling

Must be Love on the Brain by @sleepywinchester

Below Freezing by @soaringeag1e

Promises by @supersleepygoat

Friendzoned by @talesmaniac89

Stupid Cupid by @talesmaniac89

Crazy on You by @thoughtslikeaminefield

Different by @watermelonlipstick

Labyrinth by @waynes-multiverse

Love on the Brain by @waynes-multiverse

Gesundheit by @waynes-multiverse

Dark Waters by @wearywinchester

Above Ground by @wearywinchester

I Won’t Say (I’m in Love) by @zepppie

The Wrong Winchester by @cherry3point14

Good Things by @crashdevlin

Baby Spoon by @deanwanddamons

Rumours by @deanwinchesterswitch

Blind Love by @jawritter

Faded by @kasimagines

Sacrifice by @kasimagines

The Last Call by @kasimagines

To Know You by @littlegreenplasticsoldier

Watch and Learn by @littlegreenplasticsoldier

Can’t Fight This Feeling by @pink-sparkly-witch

Mischief Managed (2) by @sinfulsoulx

A Few Moments of Madness | Last Time? by @smellingofpoetry

Familiar by @spnhunter4life

Dream On by @talesmaniac89

Well, Hello There Stranger by @talesmaniac89

If You Want it to Be by @zepskies

Midnight Espresso | Devour Me by @zepskies

Clear the Area by Alisha Ashton

Many of Horror by Alisha Ashton

Closing Walls and Ticking Clocks by Alisha Ashton

In the Dark by Alisha Ashton

Comfort by @fangirlingfromdownunder

Baby, We’ve got a Problem by @deanwritings

Night Falls by @deanwritings

Captives of the Court by @impala-dreamer

Carry On by @jawritter

My Saviour by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Heart of a Hunter by @muchamusedaboutnothing

The Widow by @pink-sparkly-witch

The One That Got Away by @pink-sparkly-witch

Hold On I’m Coming by @ravengirl94

The Arrangement by @ravengirl94

Long Way Home by @supersleepygoat

Cross my Heart by @smol-and-grumpy

Home to You by @smol-and-grumpy

Collared by @spnexploration

Pack by @spnexploration

Limelight by @talesmaniac89

Charity Heist by @talesmaniac89

The Man in Apartment 43 by @talesmaniac89

Practically Magic by @thelibrarylesstrektraveled

Supernatural Series Rewrite: Season 1 by @waywardaardvark79

Supernatural Series Rewrite: Season 2 by @waywardaardvark79

Miscommunication by @winchest09

Don’t Say a Word by @winchester-girl67

Never Say Goodbye by @zepskies

[holylulusworld]

Designed by pain (4)

Summary: Broken hearts are hard to put back together. 8 years ago, Dean lost something he didn’t even know he had in the first place. Will he get a second chance?

Pairing: former AU!Dean Winchester x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, implied break-up, angry Sam, Mary bashing

A/N: This was an alternative idea for the first chapter of my Bucky story: Monster-in-law masterlist. I decided to use it for a story with Dean.

Designed by pain masterlist

Designed by pain (3)

“Sammy, I can’t just go to her hotel and ask her to forgive me or take me back,” Dean mutters under his breath. Sam talked him into confronting Mary and to talk to you before you got the chance to fly back home.

“Dean, this is your only chance. We will talk to mother and ask her if she has anything to do with the missing note. After we clarified that our mother is the worst,” Sam snorts at Dean’s pained expression. “What? We both know our parents are the perfect example of a failed marriage and selfishness.”

“Do you honestly believe Mother had something to do with the missing note?” Dean asks. He still doesn’t want to believe his mother would do such a thing.

“Yes, I believe she is behind all of this. Mother invited Lisa, and she distracted you. Hell, she even refused to acknowledge Y/N’s presence.” Sam throws his hands up. “Wake up. Our mother is a manipulative mastermind.”

“I’m going to ask you this only once, Mother,” Sam stalks toward his mother. He straightens his back and tries to look even more intimating as he dwarfs his mother. “Did you steal the note Y/N left that night eight years ago? Yes or no.”

“Samuel, where is this coming from out of a sudden? How dare you come here to attack your own flesh and blood like that,” Mary sniffles. “I can’t believe my son talks like that to me.”

“I guess this means yes, Dean.”

“Mother, what did the note say?” Dean pleadingly looks at his mother. “I know you wanted me to get back together with Lisa, but please, I need to know if you took the note Y/N left.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she snaps at her son. “If you’d excuse me now. I got better things to do than letting my sons walk all over me.”

“Stop!” Sam blocks his mother’s path when she tries to leave the room. “You will answer Dean’s question. I know you don’t care that you ruined his relationship with Y/N and that he lost the woman he loved that night. But I will not let you ruin the one chance he got with Y/N.”

“Samuel,” she sniffs and wipes a fake tear off her cheek. “I didn’t take a note. I saw the ring, that’s all.”

“So, you admit that you entered their room that night,” Sam takes a step toward his mother and another. “Answer my question. Did you enter their room and take the note.” He gets louder with every word. “YES OR NO MOTHER!”

“YES!” She sneers. “I never liked that woman. She was no good for your brother. I invited Lisa to make him see what he was missing out. I took the note and left the ring. It was for the best.”

“What did she write?” Dean asks again. “I need to know.”

“I don’t remember,” she shrugs. “I burned the note, and that’s the end of the story. You should thank me.”

“You are dead to me,” Dean shakes his head when Mary tries to touch his arm. “You ruined the best thing ever happening to me. I can’t believe I was too blind to see that you’re a manipulative bitch.”

Dean turns on his heels and storms out of the house. He gets into his car to drive toward your hotel, forgetting about his brother and his hurt pride. He’ll try to get you back. No matter what.”

“Now that Dean is gone,” Sam’s voice is dangerously low as he leans closer. “You will tell me what she wrote. If not, I’ll make sure John will hear about your dirty little secret.” He smirks darkly when his mother whimpers. “The pool boy…”

Dean didn’t make it in time. When he arrived at your hotel, you already checked out. He drove as fast as possible, pushing his beloved car to its limit, but it was no use. 

The airplane was in the air, and you were gone. Once again, he came too late…

“Mommy!” Your son runs toward you, giggling and laughing when you pick him up and twirl him around. “How was your flight? Did you get me something cool?”

“I got you something cool,” you whisper and peck his hair. “Look inside my back, baby. You’ll love it. Uncle Bobby got it for you.”

“Cool,” your son opens your bag to find another classic car model. It’s a 1967er Impala. A split-image of Dean’s car. The one your son wanted since he found an old picture of Dean and his car. “I love it, mommy.”

“I know baby,” you run your hand over his hair. You sigh but shake the sadness off. Seeing Dean after so many years hurt you more than you thought possible. “Let’s have dinner before we look for the perfect spot for the car.”

Your son was fast asleep while sleeping soundly on the couch. After dinner, and a long conversation with your son about cars, and the airplane he drew, you fell asleep on the couch.

The last days drained all the energy out of you, and you couldn’t wrap your head around the fact that Dean had the guts to blame you for leaving. He even lied about the note you left.

Dean wrings his hands. He debates whether to use the number he got from Charlie or not. What if you don’t take his call? What if you don’t believe his mother stole the note you left?

He takes a deep breath and dials your number, waiting for you to pick up the phone.

Dean closes his eyes, holding his breath when you take the call.

 "Hello, this is Ms. Y/L/N phone you are speaking to. I'm Michael Joseph Y/L/N, how can I help you?" Dean gasps at the other end of the line, whilst he tries to find his voice. He didn’t expect a child to answer his call.

"Hi, I'm Dean Winchester and I wanted to talk to your aunt Y/N Y/L/N..."

"That’s my mother, Sir. My aunt lives in France. I'm afraid my mother fell asleep on the couch. I'm asking you to call again in the morning."

"You're Y/N's son, huh?" Nosy Dean tries to get more information. "How old are you buddy? When is your birthday?"

"Why do you want to know?” your son asks. “Mom said not to tell strangers more about me. I don’t know you, so you are a stranger.”

“Uh-I’m an old friend of your mom. I’d like to give you something for your birthday,” Dean feels bad for lying to a child, but he can’t stop now.

“I'm seven, Sir. But I'll turn eight soon...well in a few months." Your son politely answers while Dean tries to remember how to do mathematics. His heart races and his jaw goes slack realizing he's got a child...with you. "Shall I tell my mom you called?"

"No, it's okay, buddy. I'll call her later..." Dean hastily says. The last thing he wants is for you to know that he knows about your sweet little secret.

Half an hour later Dean stands in front of Sam’s door, he harshly knocks and calls his brother’s name.

"SAM, Sammy, we got to fly to London, today,” he calls for his brother. “SAMMY! OPEN THE DOOR!

Sam opens the door. He yawns and rubs his tired eyes. “Dude, it's 2 am. Why are you at my apartment?" Sam grumbles. “Can’t this wait?”

"Sammy…I got a son,” Dean splutters and wildly gestures toward his car. “Y/N got my kid and I need to get to London...now..."

Designed by pain (5)

Tags in reblog.

[rems-writing]

Seduction gone wrong

》 Pairing: siren!Seonghwa x hunter afab!reader (platonic)

》 AU: supernatural AU

》 Wordcount: 3k words

》 Rating: nc-17

Nets: @mirohs-aurora-society @othersideoutlawsnetwork @illusionnet

I'm also tagging @doom-fics since they're a huge SPN fan :3

“First, we had to deal with that one siren that Bobby had to kill for us and now this?! Sammy, I don’t know.”

“Dean, I don’t like it either, but we have to. Besides, the Choi family has done so much for us when we had that one case. This is the least we could do.”

“Who are the Chois if I may ask?”

Sam and Dean turned to Castiel and Jack, who tilted their heads in confusion at the same time when Cas asked that question. 

“The Choi family helped us out with a wendigo case one time when they were in town. They had everything they needed to track them down. All they needed was a bit more muscle. The eldest and youngest were kind of weak at that time.”

“Oh yeah. Wasn’t the middle child drooling over you one time? Cas, let me tell you. Her brothers didn’t like that at all. They thought Sam was showing off.”

“I wasn’t!”

Dean chuckled softly while Sam shoved him lightly with a somewhat annoyed scowl on his face. It didn’t help that there was a faint blush on the tall man’s face as Dean said that. Jack saw this and a small grin appeared on his face. Cas had a small grin on his face as well. 

“It seems you two are well acquainted with these Chois. And from the sound of it, you guys are sure yet unsure at the same time. Tell me. What’s so different about this siren from the one that Bobby helped you kill? Assuming you guys are tracking down a siren.”

“We are. And unlike the last one, this one is different. This type of siren is basically the blueprint of all the sirens we’ve already faced. It’ll be harder to kill. We don’t know anything about this siren so we’re going in blind.”

“It shouldn’t matter though.”

The three of them turned their heads towards the nephilim in confusion.

“Like Dean said, kill first, ask questions later. Maybe it’s a good thing we’re going in blind. That way, we can pinpoint this siren’s weakness and use it to our advantage. Will we get hurt? Yeah we will. Will it be worth it? Yes.”

The Winchesters were deep in thought as they let Jack’s words sink in. Despite the lingering doubt in their minds, they knew in their hearts that they owed the Chois. Sighing wearily, Dean fiddled with the keys of their iconic black 1967 Chevy Impala. 

“Ok. It’s settled. We’re going to help the Chois.” 

Sam nodded and immediately went off to load their supplies inside Baby. Jack followed behind Sam while Cas stayed behind to talk with Dean some more. 

“If I may ask, what exactly do they need help with?” 

“The youngest Choi. His name is Jongho. And he’s been missing for some time.”

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

“Hey, guys.”

San greeted the Winchesters and allowed them inside. Cas & Jack were stunned with the way San looked. They’ve been told he was weak. However, with the way he carried most of their weapons inside his home with ease, it seemed they were deceived. It wasn’t their fault however. The Winchesters themselves didn’t know how much San had bulked up since the last time they met. That’s when Jack made his bold statement. 

“You’re huge, sir.”

Sam looked mortified, Dean & Cas gaped at the nephilim, and San chuckled softly. A faint blush was on his cheeks as he nodded his head in acknowledgement of Jack’s compliment. 

“Thank you, Jack. And I hear you’re powerful.”

Jack beamed brightly and nodded rapidly. San matched his bright expression as he gestured for the hunters and seraph to take a seat. As they sat down, they heard footsteps descend the stairs. They all turned around and their jaws dropped. 

“Y/N…”

“Hi, guys!”

You greeted them cheerily and hugged them all, except for Jack. You shook his hand and then hugged him. After that, you ran over to San and hugged him. San threw an arm around you and kissed the side of your head. Dean’s eyes were wide, Cas had his head tilted, Jack was intrigued by the family dynamic, and Sam.

Poor Sam.

The youngest Winchester was trying so hard to keep it together. You’d certainly grown from that teenage girl he first met to an amazing young woman. Your hair was longer, your figure was fuller, and your sunshine personality stayed the same. Dean elbowed him slightly in order to get him to stop staring at you. After all, the last thing he needed was an earful from her brothers. 

“Thanks for helping us out.”

“Of course. We figured we owed you one after that wendigo case a long time ago.”

Once the pleasantries and small talk were over, the six of you got down to it. You and San had the area mapped out and pointed to areas that the siren had holed himself up in. You also explained to Cas & Jack how Jongho was taken. Sam heard the slight crack in your voice and looked at San, who nodded stiffly as his way of letting him know that he could comfort you. Sam stood beside you and spoke softly. 

“Hey. We’ll get him back. Jongho’s a tough kid. He hasn’t fallen victim to this siren’s tactics yet so we still have time.”

“I know, but still…”

“Kid, don’t worry. We got this.”

You looked up at Dean after reassuring you in that gruff voice of his. You grinned slightly and nodded in acknowledgement to his words. After San laid out a plan for tomorrow, you all ate dinner and retired in your respective rooms. Sam took over San’s room, Dean & Cas shared the guest room, San took over Jongho’s room, and you shared your room with Jack since you wanted to know the nephilim more. 

“So what’s the tea on Dean and Castiel?”

“Oh you have no idea, Y/N.”

You giggled as Jack recounted all the times that their tension was thick. 

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

“Alright. We’ll split up. Dean goes with Cas, I’ll go with Jack, and Sam goes with Y/N.”

Everyone nodded firmly as San spoke authoritavily and listened to the plan one more time before splitting up into their respective pairs. Dean & Cas went deeper into the forest, San & Jack searched near the lagoon, and you & Sam went inside the cave. As the two of you entered the cave and pointed your flashlight and gun in whatever suspicious direction, you decided to make some small talk. 

“So Jack told me about the tension between your brother and the angel in the trench coat. I just wanted confirmation from you.”

Sam chuckled smoothly as you asked about Dean & Cas.

“Yeah… they acknowledged that certain feelings for each other are present. Now it’s just a matter of acting upon those feelings. As of right now, I’m helping him come up with date ideas.”

“Ok but that’s cute though.”

Your giggle made Sam’s heart melt. He wanted to hear that giggle more so in between your conversation, he cracked some bad jokes here and there. Some of them earned a smack to his shoulder, but most of the time, you simply giggled. 

‘So cute.’

Sam thought in the back of his mind. After a few more minutes of searching the cave, your flashlight flickered. You cursed under your breath and Sam noticed this. He tried to pull out the spare flashlight in his rucksack as fast as he could, but to no avail. As soon as your flashlight went out, a slimy hand covered his mouth and dragged him away. You were too busy beating up your flashlight to notice that he was taken away. After a couple more smacks, it flickered back to life. You smiled in victory momentarily before shining it all around you. That’s when you noticed the opened rucksack beside you. The smile vanished and panic set in. 

“SAM?!

You yelled out for him in worry as you carried the rucksack with you and searched for him. 

“SAMMY, DON’T PLAY WITH ME! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

You heard faint whispers echoing throughout the cave and a chill went down your spine. Despite that, you pushed forward. Shuffling sounds were heard behind you and you pointed behind you, only to find nothing. You huffed quietly and searched around some more. 

“Over here.”

Your ears perked up at Sam’s quiet voice from a certain direction. Your gut was telling you to not go in that direction, but against your better judgement, you walked towards the sound of the voice. You laughed awkwardly. 

“I told you not to play with me!”

You teased him and Sam laughed lightly.

“Sorry, babe. I couldn’t help it.”

You froze in your tracks, all teasing manners thrown out the window. 

Sam never called you any type of pet name, let alone ‘babe’ at that. However, you decided to play along. 

“No worries!”

As you got closer, your flashlight shone upon the familiar backside clad in a flannel and huge brown jacket. You then saw the back of his head. His chestnut brown hair was still swept back, but did it appear longer? Or was that your imagination? Either way, you shrugged and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and smirked. 

“Hey there~”

Your heart was racing rapidly at the way Sam’s voice was lighter and a bit more seductive. 

“Uh… hi.”

Sam cooed at the sight of your unsure nature and stepped forward before reaching out to caress your cheek. His touch felt familiar yet it was still slightly foreign. He never willingly touched you. He always had to have approval from you first before doing anything else. He bent down to your height and observed you even further. You held your breath and kept your guard up even though you wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch. 

“Have I ever told you how utterly gorgeous you are?” 

You’ve never heard Sam say that before. If you did, it would be awkward. Because that’s how Sam was. He slowly backed you up until you hit the cavern wall. He bent down some more and inhaled your scent, which made you freeze. Your flashlight was dropped from your hand and you tried hard to reach for the gun you stupidly tucked away when you saw him. He retracted his head and leaned in closer to you, feeling his breath on your lips. 

“I’ve wanted you for so long, darling. You grew up beautifully. Now? I can claim you as mine.”

You weren’t paying attention since you were focused on his eyes. 

Sam’s eyes were brown. 

This Sam’s eyes were silver. 

You momentarily looked behind you to see Jongho creep up behind ‘Sam’ with a dagger in his hands. As much as you wanted to feel relief upon seeing your baby brother, you had to focus on the task at hand. You snaked a hand onto his shoulder and signalled with two fingers to have the dagger given to you. Jongho saw this and nodded before delicately placing the weapon into your waiting palm. Once your fingers curled around the hilt in a tight grip, you smiled sensually at ‘Sam’ before driving the dagger into his shoulder blade. 

“FUCK!”

You pushed him away and Jongho held him down with his impressive strength while the real Sam appeared out of hiding and aggressively pulled out the dagger from fake Sam’s back before angling the blade towards his neck. 

“Who are you?!”

A loud cackle echoed through the vast cave as fake Sam slowly morphed back into his true form. His hair turned from brown to black, his face morphed back into something of androgynous beauty, and his body shrank back into the lean form the siren started out with. The flannel, thick jacket, jeans, and combat boots changed into a ruffled white shirt, slim black pants, heeled black boots, and a black corset that hugged his tiny waist deliciously. An evil smirk was on his face as he broke out of Jongho’s hold and pinned Sam down to the ground. Sam struggled underneath the siren’s grip while the siren straddled the taller man and looked down at him seductively.

“My oh my. Such a handsome man you are, Winchester. I can see why Y/N likes you.”

Sam shivered as the siren bent down to lick a stripe up from the base of his neck to behind his ear with his long tongue. An obnoxious moan left the siren’s lips as he ground his hips into Sam’s lap slightly yet aggressively whilst his head was thrown. His fingers dragged down Sam’s chest and he bent down once more. 

“Don’t you want me?” He asked him seductively, his silver eyes shining brightly with malintent. 

“HANDS OFF MY MAN, SEONGHWA!”

Sam’s eyes widened as you sprinted towards Seonghwa and tackled him with all your might. Jongho helped him up and checked for vital injuries, to which there were none. The youngest Choi and the youngest Winchester had to run over towards you to pull you away from Seonghwa. The siren was holding his defined cheek since you scratched it with the dagger. 

“This isn’t over, Choi Y/N.”

Seonghwa smashed a crumbling wall next to him, giving him time to slither away whilst the three of you moved out of the way to avoid getting hit by falling rocks. Sam covered you while Jongho kept an eye out for anything suspicious. Once the debris stopped falling and the dust settled, you ran over to Jongho and cried out of relief in his arms. Jongho hugged you back tightly and kissed the top of your head. 

“Thanks for saving me.”

Sam nodded meekly, still trying to shake off the icky feeling Seonghwa left on him. You looked up at Sam and walked over towards him before grasping his hand in yours. 

“Hey. It’s over. Come on. Let’s get out of here.” 

“Yeah yeah. Sure.”

Jongho felt bad for Sam since Seonghwa was basically the alpha siren and he honestly had no idea that Seonghwa would do that. You tried your best to calm Sam down as the three of you walked out of the cave. The remaining four approached you guys and Dean looked distraught as he walked over to Sam’s trembling form. Cas looked over at Jongho to check for any injuries he needed to heal while Jack looked over at you and San. The two of you had a silent conversation, which confused Jack. 

What the hell was happening?

Soon, all seven of you made it back into the Choi household, where the atmosphere was awkward yet comforting. Dean and Cas were asking you, Sam, and Jongho questions about what happened while San grabbed a jacket and walked out of the house briskly. Jack was debating on whether or not he should follow him, but after mulling it over, he decided to just focus on his family. After recalling today’s events, everyone went to sleep. It had been a long day. Dean & Cas took up the guest room, Jongho got his room back, Sam shared your room (much to both of your delight) and Jack took up San’s room since San wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Team Free Will 2.0 were confused as to why the eldest Choi was out so late while you and Jongho knew of the simmering anger that was threatening to tip over inside of San’s subconscious yet decided to let him handle it on his own so Jongho could sleep right away while you were busy comforting Sam. 

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

“You went too far, Hwa.”

The alpha siren giggled mischieviously while San was seething with anger. The two men were in a hidden alcove located alongside the western part of the lagoon. Seonghwa sighed and glided over to San before wrapping his arms around the man’s broad shoulders. 

“At least Sam and Y/N are now closer than before.”

“Yeah but you seducing the youngest Winchester wasn’t part of the plan.”

“While I’ll admit that it’s my fault for doing that, you have to admit. It worked.”

San sighed and uncrossed his arms as he looked down at his lover with disappointment. Seonghwa noticed and the playful demeanour washed away. He carefully held San’s face in his hands. His silver eyes faded into a normal brown and they went big with sadness. 

“I didn’t hurt Sam or Y/N, right?”

“No, you didn’t.” 

“If I honestly went too far, just tell me. I’m so sorry, darling.”

San sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose while Seonghwa panicked. His hands were shaking, which was uncharacteristic of him. He was the alpha siren for fucks sake! He shouldn’t feel any shame! And yet here he was… 

“I’m sorry, San. I’m so sorry.”

San heard Seonghwa apologize hoarsely and reached out to grab him by the waist with one arm. The other reached out to grip the collar of his ruffled shirt. 

“Don’t apologize, Hwa. It wasn’t your fault. Your siren nature instinctively told you to do that.”

“But you hate it! I can smell the jealousy on you, y’know?!”

“So what if I’m jealous? It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does! I love you, San! I care about you! Can’t you see that I’m willing to change for you?!” 

San’s anger diminished when the first tear fell from Seonghwa’s starry eyes. He reached out to wipe it away. Seonghwa leaned into his touch and sniffled. 

“Don’t cry, my love. Please…”

Seonghwa hiccuped and looked away from him. San didn’t like that. He grabbed his chin and kissed the siren on the lips desperately and passionately. Seonghwa immediately kissed him back and dragged him over to the bedrock that was in the alcove. San hovered over him, his hands finding his waist before staring him down. 

“You’re mine, Seonghwa. No other man or woman can make you feel this good. Always remember that the next time you want to seduce someone out of the blue.”

“Y-Yes, daddy.”

“Good boy…”

[steviewashere]

My angsty Steddie fic that I just posted where Steve's dog is put down due to cancer actually started as a fluff fic, surprisingly.

It was actually going to be a No Upside Down, Different First Meeting, Neighbors AU. Steve was going to be Eddie's new neighbor. He goes to introduce himself. And lets Eddie know that he's also partially blind—y'know, just in case an emergency happens.

Anyway.

The dog was actually still going to be a senior golden retriever. Just. He was actually retiring from being Steve's guide dog. Now adopted as his companion for however long that Sammy, the dog, had left in his life. Steve was going to invite Eddie over (the two of them had become quick and wonderful friends) to celebrate Sammy's retirement and grant Eddie permission to pet Sammy, an itch that Eddie always wanted to scratch, but knew better than to do it.

And then as the night closes and Sammy goes to sleep for the night, Steve and Eddie were going to stay up a little later. And at some point in the lax of their conversation, Eddie was just going to admit the harbored feelings he's had, Steve reciprocating.

The fic was going to end with Eddie figuring out a way to make his home comfortable and accessible enough for Steve, Sammy, and the new guide dog that would be at Steve's side when Eddie couldn't offer an elbow.

So. Uh. Yeah.

Sorry that you got what I posted instead, the saddest thing I've probably ever written.

Maybe I'll write this in the future. Y'know, after I finish up my big bang and also the ask box prompts and any additional angsty august things I can think of.

[madhatterbri]

Safe | W.O.

Summary: Will's enemy takes something very precious to him. His enemy won't live to make that mistake again. This is based on Will being in the same time period as the Peaky Blinders. ❤️

Author's Note: Starting up an AU series. Let me know if there is someone you all have in mind. Of course, Hangman is gonna be in it.

Warnings: Torture, blood, death, cursing

Proceed with caution.

Pure fiction starring Will, Kenny, Sammy, and Konosuke.

Y/N looked out the window of her home. The village streets were quiet except for the few farm animals running around. The inhabitants of the small village were secured in their homes. They didn't want to be caught by the wrong sorts. People taken this time at night were usually found with their throats slit in the morning. Fortunately for her, she was waiting for the wrong sort.

Will Ospreay was coming to visit her from Essex. He made sure to visit during the weekends. A knock on the door alerted her of his possible arrival. She turned to look at the clock on the wall. He was a little early, but she didn't mind. More time with him was never frowned upon.

"Coming," she called happily. She rushed to the door and opened it. Two men in suits stood before her. A cigarette hung loosely on one of their lips. He took one last drag before flicking the cigarette to the ground.

"You Y/N L/N?" The man asked, cracking his knuckles. She wasn't sure how to answer the question. She had only met Will's men a few times. Surely, they would know who she was if they were looking for her.

"May I help you?" She asked deflecting the question with another question. The two men looked at each other with a smile before rushing into her home. She screamed in fear. "What is this about?"

"You coming with us, little lady," one of the men grabbed her arms, placing them behind her back. She struggled to try to slip out of their hold. "Be a good girl and hold still,"

Y/N thrashed around, trying to push them off of her. The man in front of her was close to her head. She headbutted his nose, causing it to break on impact. Blood gushed out of the broken nose. His nose began to swell immediately as a bruise formed. He let out a series of curses while the man holding her arms laughed.

"Wrong move, bitch," the man with the broken nose growled. He punched Isabelle in the stomach causing her to double over in pain. The man's fingers snaked through her hair and pulled her back up. She yelped in pain as she stared into his eyes.

"We were going to play fair, little wench. Good night," he smiled. The man brought his other hand back and struck the right side of her face. Her body went limp as she lost consciousness.

Y/N started moving her head slowly. The world felt as if it was spinning around her. Throbbing pain from her head reminded her of her situation. She opened her eyes to see darkness. The rough fabric of a sack blinded her vision. The captured remained quiet, trying to listen for any sounds. Men were talking around her, but none of them sounded like Will. She wasn't sure if they knew that she woke up. The talking suddenly ceased. The rough sack was removed from her head, allowing her to see.

Her left eye scanned the occupants of the dimly lit room. Her right eye was swollen shut. No doubt a parting gift from the man she headbutted earlier. Three men stood around a table whispering. They were dressed in suits with long coats. They could easily pass as Will's men. Fear coursed through her veins. She turned her head and noticed the table of knives around them.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" She asked slowly still trying to get accustomed to her surroundings. The two men from before stood at either side of her. Their hands were placed roughly on her shoulders.

"We hear you got friends, miss. Friends that a lady like you shouldn't be havin'," the leader smiled and grabbed her chin roughly. Y/N studied his face. A beard and mustache covered a good portion of his face. The skin that could be seen was covered in scars and fresh cuts. Will talked about him before. His name was Kenny Omega, and he didn't mind roughing up men, women, or children to get information.

"I haven't got any idea what you are on about. I am a girl from the village," she gulped.

"The pretty ones always play dumb. They don't stay dumb for long when I show them my friends," he sighed and motioned his head towards the table. Kenny let go of her chin roughly. Different instruments started to click together as he moved them. He hummed to himself while looking through the contents that lay on the table. Y/N tried to move, but the men on her sides held her steady.

"I don't know nothing," she attempted to resist the men holding her. Their grip on her shoulders intensified.

"Last chance little girl. Bruises go away, but these are forever. You will find that life isn't as kind to the deformed," he pointed at the different scars across his face. He grabbed a knife. No doubt this utensil was used before in previous attacks. He smiled at the knife upon seeing his reflection. "This will do,"

He walked over to her and placed the knife against her cheek. The sharp tip cut into her skin, causing drops of blood to fall. She screamed in pain.

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about Will Ospreay," he answered. "And no lying,"

"We grew up together,"

"Is that all?" He asked with a smirk. "Why does he come to the village to see you?"

"He is just visiting me,"

"Wrong answer," he sighed. "And you were doing so well."

Kenny motioned to the man next to her. She could feel the man smiling next to her. Her arm was grabbed roughly and positioned on display for the madman. The knife was placed firmly against her arm. A series of pleas for him to stop echoed throughout the room. He dug the blade into her skin before sliding the knife across her arm. She screamed in pain again. Blood started rolling down her arm.

"This is one of the many perks about this job. I can smell lying," he smiled, licking the blood from the blade. Y/N attempted to resist their hold again to no avail.

"We are... lovers," she gulped as tears poured down her cheeks. Doubts of seeing him again started to toy her mind. He warned her about the life she was getting into by being with him. The money and jewelry came with a price, and she was currently paying for it.

"I know, little one. Another perk is paying people to give me the information I want. Your dear little friends were more than willing to give me the information I needed for a few mere pounds," he stared at her eyes. "I left a note in your house on where to find you. He has two options: let his whore die or risk himself to save her. I think we both know which he will choose,"

Y/N was slipping in and out of consciousness. Every time she passed out, they splashed her with water to keep her awake. Her body felt battered and bruised. She could feel hope in Will rescuing her, starting to fade away.

"Please let me go. I have told you everything I know. I won't tell a soul what happened here," she begged once more for her release.

"Oh, I know, little one," he motioned for the men to grab her head. A man grabbed her hair and pulled back. She yelped from the sudden movement. The two men worked together to keep her mouth open. "Unfortunately, you won't be speaking again. Maybe we will even add a little smile. Whores are so much prettier when they smile," The knife came closer to her mouth.

"Step away from her, bruv!" A loud yell sounded throughout the room, followed by a gunshot. One of Kenny's men fell to the ground, dead from a gunshot to the chest. Konosuke stood at the door. His dark hair is wild to signal that he has been in a fight. Bruises and cuts cluttered his face. He wore a suit and long coat.

"A one-man army," Kenny chuckled and placed a cigarette on his lips. He lit the cigarette and took a puff. "And not even the right soldier,"

"Wrong, Omega," Will spoke from behind him. He took off his cap and slapped Kenny in the face with it. Sharp razors tucked inside the cap sliced open his face. He grabbed his face and fell to the floor, screaming in pain. The other man holding her started to run from the scene. Sammy Guevara appeared and shot the man attempting to escale. The dead man fell to the ground with a thud. Will balled up his fists and punched Kenny until he was no longer moving.

"Let's get you out of here," Will stated and turned his head to look at her. His clothes were bloody from a mixture of his blood and those of his enemies. He kissed her softly as she started to sob. "You are safe now. I've got you,"

[inkdemonapologist]

CTHULHU AU BUT THEY'RE GENETIC EXPERIMENTS IN AN UNETHICAL SCIENCE FACILITY OVERSEEN BY THE MASKED MESSENGER: GO

sometimes an AU just explodes into being so here's a bunch of scribbles of this Experiment AU that have suddenly happened over the last couple days…. also more AU deets under the cut:

Subject 418 (Sammy/Prophet) is one of those open-third-eye-unlock-psychic-awareness dealies, a test of how far human awareness and psychic ability can be pushed. Prophet (more officially considered 418's "active state") is eager to please the doctor overseeing the experiments and believes that if he proves himself useful, he'll be given work and able to leave the facility - though his full power is too stressful to maintain constantly. The "resting state" (Sammy) only has a fraction of his powers, but is more sullen and uncooperative, and knows nobody gets out of here. Both are easily stressed and overstimulated by all their extra psychic feedback. Sammy doesn't know if he was always like this. It doesn't feel right, and he has to wonder if he originally came from Outside, but he can't remember a life before this place... He doesn't know if he ever had a name and stubbornly refers to everyone else by their numbers, too, bitter about those who remember their life outside.

Subject 430 (Jack, concept by @whatyouwantedmetosee with design thoughts by me) is lab-created! An empath with healing powers and the ability to share, broadcast, and change emotions, he's also blind and fairly dependent on others. Jack's not unhappy at the facility, happy to help, and often moved to Sammy's room to calm him down. Subject 414 (Henry, concept and design by @inkcryptid) was more-or-less kidnapped when his latent powers to see and experience different timelines were discovered. Intense experimentation has strengthened his powers but muddled his brain; he's been here for decades but seems to be caught in a loop of believing he's only been here a few days. Subject J-OIE (Joey, concept and design by @inkyvendingmachine) was a mutant child acquired by the facility as a baby, put in Henry's care early on and pretty devastated when Henry stopped remembering him. He has some dream abilities and can turn his whole body to a liquid form, but despite a lot of testing, he hasn't unlocked the ability to turn into anything else. Now an adult, he's not intentionally uncooperative when he sneaks around the facility… he's just bored, and desperate for attention. The Masked Messenger (concept collaborative, design by @haunted-hijinxer) doesn't have a name in this AU yet, but he's the doctor overseeing these experiments, and while he has lots of reasonable explanations for his research, it's very obvious he's just Curious and thinks human experimentation is very Interesting. The mask he wears supposedly nullifies the others' powers… but it's actually MM himself that does that, using the mask to hide the fact that he has powers, too.

Theres some other NPCs in this but I HAVENT DRAWN THEM YET so THAT WILL HAVE TO DO FOR NOW........ we'll see if I continue losing my mind or if I've gotten out of my system lmao

[ourtearsofrain]

Chapter 17- This Wicked Shiver Chills Me Down to My Soul

Pairings: Danny Wagner x Sam Kiszka

Genre: angst, hurt(literal)/comfort, fluff

Word Count: just over 3.2k

Warnings: AU typical events/threats/violence, graphic and severe injury (broken bone), vomiting, brief mention of syringe/needle

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Sam

For a moment, Sam thinks he’s dead as his senses cut out, feeling as if he was suspended midair in a black void. As his pain creeps in, bringing him back to full consciousness, he wishes he was. Excruciating pain rips through his body, everything set alight with a raging fire; and through it, he can feel the hot ache spreading up his left arm as if it were boiling the very blood in his veins. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look. Fuck. Sam feels bile raise in his throat as he glances down to see his arm covered in blood, the deep red of it blocking out the color of his skin, with one of his bones snapped clean in half and protruding from his arm.

Feeling that hot, thin saliva filling his mouth, he has just enough time to turn ever so slightly to the left as he vomits, each retch convulsing his body and sending waves of heat radiating up through his arm. He collapses onto his back, the bright sky causing him to squint as he makes out what had to be the form of Hazel still standing 30 feet above him. Somewhere near him, he hears the whistle of an arrow let loose as Hazel disappears and another finds his side, towering above him and blocking out the sun.

“Sam!?” Daniel’s worried face comes into view as he falls to his knees beside him, hesitating as he reaches towards him.

“Daniel.” His voice is weak, and he can’t tell if he even said anything, feeling as if someone had shoved cotton in his ears, his own brain thick with it as he tries to sort through his sluggish thoughts.

“Oh God- I- I need to reset the bone- it’s going to hurt but I need to do it.” Daniel’s voice cracks at his words, and Sam feels pressure on the raging hot fire burning across his forearm before he hears a sickening crack, and his senses are yanked back to being fully functional. He can’t tell if he screams, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he did as agonizing pain reverberates through his arm, the sensation bringing bile up his throat again. Having already emptied his stomach, each heave brings up nothing as his muscles spasm against his ribcage, sending a deep ache into his chest and causing him to barely register Daniel’s hand on his back. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Sam. It’s ok, you’re ok.”

Sam falls onto his back sobbing, his eyes screwing shut as pain throbs through his body, his head feeling as if it were about to explode. “It hurts- it hurts so much, Danny.” He barely notices the slip up, uncaring as the other man makes no move to correct him.

“I know. I know, Sammy. I’m so sorry. Just- just hold still, I’ll take care of you. I’ll be right back, I promise.” Sam feels Danny’s hand leave his shoulder, the scuff of his boots on the molten rock the only other sign that he had left him. He closes his eyes, finding no use in keeping them open with his tears blinding him, before trying to take deep breaths and doing all he could to keep his thoughts away from his arm. Daniel. Danny. He didn’t care that I called him that. He- he’s going to help, he has to. He wouldn’t just leave me. What if he leaves me like this? Hazel would. Panic courses through his body as he considers trying to get up to find him, fear like he had never known before taking over his mind at the thought of Danny leaving him.

His mind is set to ease as he hears Danny’s heavy footsteps coming towards him quickly, as if he had run to get back to him, before the warm trickle of what must have been water numbs the pain in his arm momentarily. “It’s the water from the pools. I don’t- I don’t know if it’ll work the same not being submerged, but I- I have the healing paste I can use and-” Danny cuts himself off, rustling around in his bag hurriedly until he must have found what he needed. “And I have the stuff you used on my shoulder, it should- should help your arm. I’m sorry if this hurts.” The second he says it, Sam can feel a slight cold pinch, guessing that Danny had injected the medicine he had received in his Sponsor Gift.

Trying to find his voice, Sam clears his throat as it comes out scratchy and worn. “Couldn’t hurt more than anything else that just happened.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I- here, hold still.” Sam does as he says, not moving a muscle as Danny tenderly picks up his arm and wraps it with gauze a few times before he feels him place something firm above and below his forearm, finishing by wrapping it up the rest of the way. He opens his eyes as the pain recedes, the medicine beginning to course through his system plus the additional support easing the pain. Did he really use the shanks he made to splint my arm? How ironic. “It’s a good thing I didn’t use all of them for the fire last night. I- I know they aren’t ideal, I can make better ones but that’s all I have right now.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re helping me, you don’t need to apologize.” Sam finally looks at Danny, only to be filled with horror as he sees half his face covered in blood. Forgetting the state his arm was in, he shoots up to a sit, immediately reaching for his face with his right hand as he holds his left arm to his body. “Danny, your- your face.” His hand comes up to cup his left cheek, Danny’s blood sticky and warm against his palm.

“It’s fine.” Danny brings his hand up to Sam’s as their gazes meet, more care and concern still behind his eyes than Sam had ever seen in his life. “She missed my eye, it’s alright.”

“No- here, let me-” Trying to move his left hand to his cheek, Sam hisses in pain as fire spreads through his arm once again.

“No. You’re going to hurt yourself more. Hold on.” Once again, Danny finds his bag, searching through its contents until he pulls out the tattered remains of his shirt. He tears the fabric until it splits in two, looping the bottom half of the shirt over Sam’s head and around his left arm to make a rudimentary sling, restricting his arm enough for him to not be able to move it much. “There. You’ll heal faster if you leave it be.”

“Do you have more water? The magic bubbly pool water.” Danny’s laugh almost makes Sam forget his pain for a moment as his cheeks tint pink, both from the growing warmth inside him fueled by the sound and embarrassment. “What?”

“Nothing. I just think you may have hit your head a little too hard there, Sammy.” Danny gently grazes his fingertip across Sam’s forehead, sending electricity coursing through his body as he brushes the small strands of hair that had fallen from his ponytail back with a small smile.

“Just give me the goddamn water.” Doing as he says with a light laugh, Danny hands him his canteen as he watches him, waiting for what Sam would do with it. “Sit down. Not by the vomit, please.” Damn, I really just threw up everything in my stomach in front of him and he just, doesn’t care? Isn’t disgusted? He tries to focus on his task as Danny moves to his right side, sitting down silently with his legs crossed as Sam drenches the remainder of the shirt with the water, his hand shaking as his body tries to function through the remainder of his pain.

“Hold still.” Sam smiles at him as he repeats Danny’s previous words, bringing the wet cloth up to gently wipe the blood from his face. Danny’s eyes don’t leave his once as he gently scrubs his skin, making sure to take extra care every time the cloth caught on the vertical gash above and below his left eye. “Get me the healing paste.” Sam’s cheeks tint pink in his embarrassment as he realizes his words. “Please. Get me the healing paste please.”

Grabbing it from the bag, he unscrews the lid for Sam before holding it out to him, watching as he collects a liberal amount onto his fingertips before spreading it across Danny’s skin carefully, never once bringing his gaze away from Sam. When he finishes, he hands the jar back to Danny, thankful that he was too focused on screwing the lid back on to see Sam watching his every movement, his attention completely captured by the other man’s fingers on the metal. “So, where are we going?”

“What do you mean?”

“In the arena, we can’t stay here. Hazel she- she got away. I think I hit her on the leg but to be honest, I was too focused on getting to you-” As if he had just then realized what he said, Danny’s eyes dart up to Sam quickly, trying to gauge his reaction. He was focused on me? Don’t let it get to your head, Sam, he would do that for any other tribute that was his ally. You aren’t special to him. He’s just a good person. Finding none as Sam trains his face into a neutral expression, he continues, unaware of the other man’s thoughts. “She’d be stupid to stay in this portion, but it would be stupid of us to assume that she or any other threats nearby are gone. So, what portion do we want to go to?”

“She might run back to water, we found a great cave that’s hidden in plain sight. But she could also run back to the forest, to that area by the lake we found. She isn’t smart or creative enough to come up with new hiding places.”

“So mountains it is? That’s the only section she hasn’t been to, there’s nowhere for her to hide there if it is true that she wouldn’t be able to find her own place to stay safe.”

“I guess.” Sam watches as Danny packs his bag back up before standing and offering a hand down to him, his grip strong as he lifts most of Sam’s weight. As he makes it to his feet, he’s suddenly overcome with dizziness, as if all the blood in his head had suddenly left. Danny’s hand not grasping Sam’s right forearm comes up to grip his left shoulder, helping the other man steady himself as he tries not to fall back down. “Sorry, thanks.”

“No problem.” Why is he blushing? He keeps looking down at something, what is he looking- oh. Sam feels his cheeks heat as he realizes he was still holding onto Danny’s arm, his gaze dropping as he drops his arm and picks up his bag, slinging it over his right shoulder before finding his sword again and gripping it tight in his right hand.

“Lead the way, will you? I have a horrible sense of direction. And um-” Shame fills him as he prepares to ask what he needed to, embarrassed that he couldn’t take care of himself with his arm being in the state that it was in. “I can’t really fight back with my arm and the bag only half on. I can try to block with the sword I have but if- if we run into anyone, I won’t be much use. Can I- can I count on you to have my back if we do? I know it’s not your responsibility but-”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, Sammy. I’ll look out for you.”

Those words melt Sam completely. Danny may be a strong, skilled fighter, but he has a heart of gold. He could have easily made some excuse up about just ‘trying’. It’s not his job to look out for me, I should be able to do that myself. But he agreed to anyway. And I- I trust that he will. He doesn’t seem like the type of man to make empty promises.

“Ready?”

Danny’s voice rips him from his thoughts, making him realize that he had been zoning out while staring at him. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“You alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seemed like you went somewhere, like you were lost in your own mind. You good?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s nothing.” Sam waves the question away, not wanting to explain where his train of thought had been going. Trying to keep his mind under control, Sam follows Danny without another word as he leads them through the terrain of molten rock, the towering mountains slowly growing closer on the horizon with every step.

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“So, I- I definitely think this is the ‘air’ ss- section.” Sam tries to joke through his chattering teeth, hoping that Danny would be able to hear him over the wind whipping at their skin, flurries of snow sticking to their red cheeks and hair. “Are you- are you sure we should keep- keep going?”

“I- I don’t know. It’s getting- getting too dark. We need to find shelter or we’ll ffr- freeze to death out here.” If Sam hadn’t been so cold that the only thing he could think about was whether he’d still have all his toes by the time morning came, he would have thought that the way Danny was hugging himself in an attempt to stay warm was cute.

“There. What about tthh- th- there.” Sam raises his right arm just enough for Danny to guess the direction he had been referring to, trying to make himself as small and compact as possible to preserve his body heat. Danny follows the gesture to see a small, dark cutout in the mountainside, barely large enough for them to squeeze through.

“Might as well try.” Sam follows as he starts towards the opening, praying that it would lead to a cave. Thankfully, after a couple minutes of walking sideways through the crack, Sam suddenly feels the walls around him grow wider, signaling to him that they had finally found a cave. The only sounds that can be heard are the wind whistling through the rock and Danny rustling around in his bag before a small light fills the cavern as he strikes a match.

“I’m gonna make a small fire but it won’t- fuck, it won’t be large enough to keep us warm. We could smoke ourselves ou- out if we make it too big.”

“I’d honestly take that over ffr- freezing to death.” A strange look passes across Danny’s face that he can’t quite place, but he doesn’t ask about what it was for as Danny stacks a small pile of the remaining sharpened sticks. Within no time, they have a small fire burning bright in the center of the cave as both men huddle around it, their hands extended towards the warmth. “God, it’s still so cold, I don’t know if I can sleep in this.”

“I-” Danny cuts himself off quickly, his cheeks turning red from more than just the cold in the low light flickering across his face. “I know of a way we can keep warm.”

“What is it?”

Despite Sam’s eager tone, hesitation crosses Danny’s face as he looks up at Sam quickly, his eyes dropping once again as he appears to consider whether to propose the idea to him. “Skin to skin contact helps preserve body heat and- and warm you up.”

“Oh.” Oh…

“We don’t- we don’t have to. I have some clean rabbit pelts that we can make work and I think I have a heat retaining blanket or tarp in my bag.”

“No- no, it’s fine.” Eager much? “Whatever keeps us alive, right?”

“Yeah… yeah, whatever keeps us alive.” Danny says nothing more as he sets in on unpacking his bag, laying the rabbit pelts on the cold stone below them and covering a just large enough space for the two of them to fit. As he watches Danny hesitate with the blanket in his hands, his eyes looking at everything except for Sam, panic fills him more and more as the seconds tick by.

God, I need to break this silence, it’s getting unbearable. Say something, anything. “So uh… how do you want to do this?” Not that. Why the fuck did you say it like that?

“Uh- we uh, probably will be fine just taking our- taking our shirts off and then… then we can lay down and…”

“Yeah, uhm… alright.” Sam averts his eyes as Danny unzips his jacket, pretending to be focused on taking off his sling and getting his jacket and shirt off without messing his splint up. He was literally shirtless for the first half of a day that you knew him, how is this any different? I mean for starters, you’re also fucking shirtless and will probably be cuddling him. That’s what’s fucking different. What the fuck is wrong with you, Sam? Why are you so paranoid about this?

It isn’t until he hears Danny spread the blanket out that he looks up, finding Danny starting to lay down on half of the pelts as he held the blanket up for Sam, signaling for him to lay down with him. He tries to keep his eyes away from Danny’s chest as he joins him, finding that it was easier to avert his gaze with his back to him. Thinking he was in the clear, Sam lays down, trying to calm his racing heart as Danny lowers the blanket. Suddenly, he feels Danny snake his arm under his neck, the other wrapping around his side and pulling him towards his chest until Sam’s back is flush against his skin, warmth flowing into his body at the contact. Shit, can he feel how fast my heart is beating right now? Thank God he has his hands balled into fists, I don’t know if I could handle it if his hands were open and splayed across my- Guessing where his thoughts would leave him, Sam cuts himself off, trying to lull himself to sleep by watching the fire crackle only feet from them. 

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah.” Neither say another word as they lay on the ground, the air thick with awkward tension as both men feel that the other wasn’t completely relaxed.

Finally, after a few minutes, Sam can’t take it anymore, knowing that he would never be able to sleep if he didn’t voice his thoughts. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Keeping me alive. I said earlier that it’s not your responsibility, but if I didn’t have you as an ally, I would have been long dead. Hazel would have killed me if you hadn’t been there when I was stung, and she definitely wouldn’t have tried to help me or my arm or try to keep me from freezing to death.”

“Of course, Sammy. You’d do the same for me.” Would I? I’d like to think that I would, knowing him as I do now. But I don’t think I’m as good of a person as he is. He’s too caring, too kind. He’s too good for this arena, for this world. “Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, Danny.” Sam finally lets his exhaustion catch up to him, easily relaxing into Danny’s arms as sleep overtakes him.

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Taglist: @jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka @milojames16 @gretnavannfleet @aioba1503-sdm @sanguinebats @cheersdannyx2 @musicislove3389 @holdingup-fallingsky @freyjalw @hailthegodsong @Maddie-Rae

[luna-andra]

The Shadows Return | Simon 'Ghost' Riley x OC Retired AU | Chapter 4: Breathe

Author's Note: I'm off of hiatus! 🎉 I'm already 3k words deep into chapter 5, so that should be coming out soon. Here's to writing more in 2024 (if anyone still cares about this fic lol) 😁

Word count: 6.2k

Content warning: slow burn, eventual smut, 18+ only, fluff, mentions of mental health

Chapter 1 to start from the beginning. Next chapter

It in fact did not hold. Even worse, it happened within a couple of days. The cherry on top? Andra was unaware as she sat curled up with the book Ghost had pulled off her bookshelf. She was revisiting the story, with a flush that crept up on her face, radiating the apples of her cheeks. The chances of her losing all ability to sit there without so much of a hue of red on her face would be dead in the water. And imagining Ghost’s voice narrating the male’s dialogue? No shot she would be alive after hearing him whisper that shit in her ear. 

Sammy’s frantic bark snatched her out of the shameful fantasy, warning her that something was awry outside. Andra plopped her book down without a second thought, slipping a finger through the window blinds to find her chickens free-roaming outside the pen. “Shit.” She grabbed the cream-colored cardigan from the back of the couch and threw it on and slipped her feet in some easy access shoes, darting outside to go scoop up each chicken. One by one, she stuffed them back into the cozy chicken coop where they would be on lockdown, muttering profanities and curses under her breath. 

All of them went willingly and without so much of a fight. Except for the broody hen, Helen. “Cut it out!” Andra hisses as she winced at the peck of her angry little beak. Her feathers stopped flapping frantically as she was shoved into the coop, and Andra swore she received a side eye from the poultry. She did a head count, not seeing any other chickens in the vicinity. There was a rooster missing. “Dammit, Ted…” Andra jogged around the perimeter of her house, followed up with the barn, the enclosure a couple of more times, and lastly the patches of crops, weaving in and out of the stalks of summer produce, on the hunt for that damn rooster. The tracks of chicken prints were too sporadic, too many chickens have toddled around for her to notice any wandering prints veering off in a different direction. Or maybe she just sucked at following tracks. 

At this point she checked every area nearby seven times over. Her throat tightened, eyes burning as she was on the verge of tears. Andra thought of every scenario, the worst including a wild animal finding the rooster and making a meal of him. She cared deeply for her animals. It pained her to think about finding a mangled, poultry corpse in its wake. 

Andra wiped her teary eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan and shambled back inside. Her phone sat next to the book she abandoned, and she went to pick it up to make a phone call. The line rang once, twice, thrice. It forwarded to voicemail. 

“Ghost, it’s me.” Her voice quivered. She cleared her throat to gain composure. “I’m alright, but my chickens got loose and one is missing. Thought I’d give you a heads up if you find one wandering the road or jumped your fence… okay, sorry to bother you.” Andra hung up after leaving the message, and let out a leaden sigh as she sunk into her couch. Sammy senses her distress and provided comfort with a nudge of her nose against her elbow, her big brown eyes looking up to Andra. 

He called it, too. She replayed Ghost telling her, if the chickens get smart, they’ll breach it. Her chickens have half of a brain cell, collectively shared amongst each other. She never expected it to actually happen. She nearly raised those chickens after they hatched, when they were able to be separated from the flock of the breeder she bought from. They were the first farm animals she had ever owned, spending so much time researching before and after owning them, learning their personalities and behaviors. Andra wanted to continue her search, through the backwoods of her property or across the street in the overbrush of weeds and trees, but it felt like it would be too unsafe to go out there without some form of self-defense. So, she curled up into herself on the couch, hands concealing her face and catching the tears falling from her burning eyes.

----- 

Ghost was hit with a wave of uncomfortable heat as he walked out of the psychiatrist’s office. Something else to aggravate the growing headache he seemed to get after the waste of the one-hour session he spent with Dr. Smith. He believed that Ghost made some sort of progress this time around. Why did he have to go and open his mouth about things?  

”Simon, good to see you return.” Dr. Smith always greeted Ghost with the same salutation at every appointment, whether it was genuine or not, Ghost didn’t care. He was probably just relieved that he returned instead of eating one of his own bullets. “What’s new?”  

Ghost’s scowl remained on the clock relentlessly ticking in the back of the room until he decided to direct his attention to his doctor. “Not sleeping well.”  

“Is it worse than the last time we discussed?” He asked with a professional tone. 

Ghost gave a stern nod. “Getting less hours.” He knew the next question that was going to be asked. “Even with the meds, I have been compliant.” 

Doc took a moment to scribble his notes. “What’s changed?” He looked up to meet Ghost’s face sincerely.  

“Took on another project at the shop. Waiting on the parts to come in, but I have been inspecting the rest of the truck to see what else I can patch up to make sure it doesn’t come back too soon.”  

The conversation veered to details about the truck, Ghost’s shoulders relaxed the more he droned on about the project. It was sometimes a relief to discuss work with other people than Soap and the guys at the shop. He was reluctant to admit that he found a kernel of camaraderie with Dr. Smith upon discovering he was a veteran as well. Ghost cared enough to learn about what he did with his time; a mechanical engineer that served and ducked out once his years were up. It sounded like he mildly enjoyed what he did, retiring so he could pursue a different career and took advantage of the education benefits. Smart man. Possibly something Ghost should have done but was too arrogant and young when he had first enlisted back in 2001. 

Dr. Smith pushed his bifocals up the bridge of his nose with a finger. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you so invested in a project before.” 

Shit. Ghost fell for the tactic. He let out an exhale as he leaned back in the cushy chair, turning away. “It’s for my neighbor.” 

The sounds of pen scratching against paper filled the silence. “Never heard you talk about your neighbor, or anyone else besides your old mates for that matter.” 

“Her truck breaking down is the reason why we met.” Ghost explained with a tension in his jaw.  

“Is she part of the reason for your loss of sleep?” 

Ghost muttered under his breath, “Christ.” He sat up in his chair and rolled his neck. “This is starting to feel more like a chat I would have with Johnny over drinks rather than a psych appointment.” 

Dr. Smith laid his pen flat on his yellow notepad. “It might not be ground breaking work we are doing here, but you managed to tell me more than you have in the past three sessions we have had.” He got up and walked behind his desk, retrieving a prescription pad from a drawer, and started writing. “If you want, I can up the dose or we can keep it the same and I’ll send you on your way with a refill.” 

There was a relief that came over Ghost. “Let’s keep it the same.” He didn’t want to talk about Andra anymore, and thankfully it was obvious to Dr. Smith. 

“Here we are.” Dr. Smith handed Ghost the white slip of paper with awful chicken scratch. “Keep looking for that humanity, Simon. It’s in there.” 

The truck took an uncomfortable amount of time to cool down. His shirt stuck to his body, increasing his irritation. Might as well start driving to the shop, it’s not gonna get any better. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and felt a haptic vibration in his hand. 

One missed call. 

From Andra. 

Ghost, it’s me. The adrenaline dump flooded his veins. She sounded upset and in distress. He’s never heard her on the verge of tears before, it was like a claw punched a hole in his chest and used his heart as a stress relief toy. Whoever, whatever made her this upset was high on his priority list to handle.  

He had to replay the message another time, realizing the rest was muffled out and ignored after the first three words. I’m alright, but my chickens got loose and one of them is missing. “Christ, woman...” Ghost let out a breath that he was holding in. What a way to start a voicemail, making him think the worst that could have possibly happened. She must have noticed it too because her next words sounded more level-headed.  

He killed the line with the voicemail inbox and dialed the auto shop. “Rus, I gotta call out for the day. I’ll make up my hours, oh and let Mr. Caldwell know his vehicle will be ready tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be there for his pickup.”  

There was no fuss about Ghost calling in on short notice. He was the one person in the shop that the supervisor didn’t have to worry about. Much to his chagrin, he couldn’t say the same about Soap sometimes.  

Ghost shut the door a little harder than he meant to, his head fell back against the headrest as he took a deep breath. Was it happening again? He reached into the glove box, retrieving his pills. His hand tightly gripped around the small orange vial as he worked on controlling his breath. Inhale for five, exhale for five. Ghost hated that stupid technique, it felt ridiculous. But it worked. The panic was subsiding, and the pill bottle fell from his hand onto the floorboard of the truck beside his foot.  

Ghost picked it back up and tossed it into the neat compartment, leaving the parking lot of the office to make his way over to her. 

He pulled up to the sight of Andra kneeling before the broken part of the fence line, putting some kind of temporary fix for the day. Her head perked up as she noticed him coming closer, parking in the dirt driveway. Andra got up on her feet and wiped loose grass and dirt off of her jeans, her eyes red and puffy. He killed the engine and stepped out of the truck. 

“What are you doing here?” Andra sniffled, trying and failing to hide the fact that she’s been crying. 

“Got your message.” He answered. 

Her lip quivered as tears welled up in her irritated eyes again, and she turned her head away to look at the pen. “Ghost, you didn’t have to show up.” She covered her face in her hands, taking in a deep breath. “I just wanted you to let me know if you find him, this didn’t have to turn into a search party.” 

“Where do the tracks end?” 

Andra looked at him again after wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “This way, maybe I’m not sure.” 

He wanted to rag on her about her lack of confidence in tracking prints, but didn’t when he remembered who he was talking to. There was nothing worse in this moment than seeing her so worked up and upset over this damn chicken. He was going to find it for her, it couldn’t have gone far. 

She led him to an area and pointed to the pockmarked ground full of three-toed prints. “This is where they mainly stayed, and, the tracks are just all over the place and don’t really lead anywhere…” 

“There,” Ghost pointed out a trail of individual tracks that led astray. Of course, it wandered off into the thick wooded area of her land. He headed back to the truck to retrieve his pistol, tucking it into the backside waistband of his jeans. Andra wasn’t fazed at the sight of his gun, probably reminded her of being back home. “Stay here, I don’t want you getting hurt out there.” 

“I’m going.” She protested with a broken voice as she followed behind him. 

“I don’t want you getting hurt out there.” Ghost stopped to turn back to her. “And we don’t know if there are any wild animals out there.” 

“You’re gonna want me out there, trust me.” Her voice was firmer this time; she wasn’t taking no for an answer. 

Ghost sighed as he observed her small, trembling frame. She really needed to put something on other than loafers.  “Go put on some sensible shoes, and we’ll look together.” 

Andra was quiet, all except for the crunching leaves beneath her boots. Ghost took the rear, letting her take lead at a short distance. If she was going to trip, fall or hurt herself he would be able to prevent it from turning into a disaster this way. Her shoulders slumped, but her head swiveled as she combed her surroundings. 

“You ever explore these woods?” Ghost breaks the thick silence, and attempt to pull her from her somber. 

She glanced over her shoulder in dismay. “No, I’ve never had the courage to come out here alone. I hear howling late in the night sometimes.” She resumed her diligent search, and Ghost doubled down on what he thought she looked over too quick. 

The tracks were growing thinner, but they still led them into the path of ancient trees. Sunrays bled through the leaves and branches of birch and ash trees, cascading ribbons of light down on Andra. Her hair shimmered with bits of blonde strands within her brunette hair, something Ghost never noticed before. Every rustle made her stop, startled by unknown wildlife. Most times it was the scuttles of lizards across stepping stones and miniature boulders. When it wasn’t this damn chicken, her shoulders would fall with a sigh. 

“We’ll hear it before we see it.” Ghost reassured her. 

“He’s probably dead by now…” 

It pained him to see Andra sulk over her lost animal. Ghost stopped beside where she planted herself, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked down to his touch, then up to his masked face in surprise. “Let’s keep looking.” His hand retreated before she could place her own hand over his, then another rustle in a wild bush a few meters ahead alerted him. 

The damn bird came clucking out from behind it. 

“Ted!” Andra exclaimed as she raced to him, collecting the brainless animal into her arms and embraced him. “You stupid fucking bird, making us come out here to get you.” 

“You named the bloody thing Ted?” Ghost deadpanned. 

She plucked bits of leaves and twigs out of Ted’s feathers. “I never said I was good with coming up with names for animals.” 

Ghost chuckled at the sight of the brightness returning to her face. She met his eyes, kindness and gratitude radiating before she could even tell him with words. “Thank you, Ghost. You’re always coming to my rescue.” 

His heart jolted at her words. “Don’t make a habit of it.” Andra’s giggle made him turn away to hide his sheepish reaction. Andra passed him up, focused on grooming Ted and insulting him fifty different ways. Something caught his eye before he started to follow her. 

Footprints. 

Not their footprints, these were in an area off the beaten path. Ghost retrieved his firearm before stalking towards them, inspecting the prints. They were older, it wasn’t from recently and there were more than one set. Three sets of footprints. He turned his attention to the direction Andra was walking away, unaware that he stopped to investigate. 

It couldn’t be some random people or even kids coming out to wander these woods, at least that’s what Ghost convinced himself. They were too far out away from town, away from other neighboring people. Who knows, maybe the group was traveling their own acres and turned back around once they realized they came into someone else’s property. He really wanted to believe that, and not the darker theory that crept into his thoughts. Or did she lie about coming out here? Why would she do that? She could have easily explained she had gone exploring with a group. 

All of the prints looked too big for her foot size.  

Ghost didn’t want to alarm Andra. He just got her to smile again, this conversation will come up later.

----- 

Ghost was relieved to see Andra’s spirits lifting without another tear in sight. That stupid bird put her through enough turmoil, he’d rather never have to see her like that again. She was going over the details of how the broken pen and runaway chickens were discovered. “They would have all been gone if Sammy hadn’t barked at the window.”  

“What had you so distracted?” Ghost poked with mild curiosity.  

Her answer left out of her rushed before she could stop herself. “I was reading – and in between I was prepping some dough to make sourdough bread.” She interrupted herself once more, lost in her own thoughts. “Oh no, did I leave it on the counter or did I put it in the oven to rise? It’ll be fine if it rises for a few more hours, right?”  

It sounded like she was talking to herself more than asking Ghost, which was fine because he didn’t know the first thing about baking bread. He chuckled to himself. “Horror or romance?”  

“Huh?” Her external ramble was interrupted.  

“Were you reading horror or romance this time?” Ghost glanced at her briefly, his smirk concealed beneath the mask.  

Andra went sheepish once more. “Romance,” then, her tone shifted as she grumbled, “It was getting good until you gave my pen Ojo.”  

Ghost whipped his head to her direction quickly with a perplexed expression. “I did what now?” What does an eye have to do with anything?  

“You gave it the Evil Eye,” she looked back to him. “That’s why it broke.”  

His fingers tapped against the steering wheel as he waited for the light to change, feeling even more confused now. Ghost let out a lighthearted scoff. “It’s my fault that it broke now?”  

Andra huffed a defeated sigh. “No, I’m just being ridiculous.”  

If that’s what it was, Ghost found it amusing. “So now you’re gonna ‘ave to explain the Evil Eye to me.”  

“We have this superstition in Mexican/Hispanic culture where if you look at something for too long, you can potentially send bad energy its way. It can be an object or a person, and to cancel it out you can touch it or them.”  

“That’s not a thing.” Ghost retorted, holding back laughter. “I never heard about that when I was in Mexico.”  

A playful smirk crept over Andra’s face. “Maybe because they believed you were the Evil Eye incarnate.”  

Ghost let out a sarcastic laugh. “Very clever.” The truck rolled into the parking lot of the hardware store, locating a convenient parking spot nearest to the store. Ghost cut the engine, and sat there for a second. “Well, if that’s the case,” Andra gave him a puzzled look as he reached out to run a strand of her soft hair between his fingers. “That way your hair doesn’t fall out.”  

The gesture was well worth the furious blush that spread over her face like wildfire, despite his own heart jackhammering in his chest.

-----  

Ghost was reassessing the hole in the pen while Andra let out Sammy to run around and handle her business. He gives her a quick greeting pet before standing on his feet, gesturing to the pen. “We can either replace this side or replace the entire perimeter.” 

“Might as well use all of the supplies I bought.” Andra pulled her work gloves out from her back pocket and slipped them on. “We work on different sides?” 

He nodded with a grunt. Watching Ghost haul the supplies off the bed of his truck was something Andra couldn’t pull her focus away from. What is wrong with me? She was acting like the sight of muscle and sinew flexing and tightening beneath his work shirt was… erotic. And Gods, every time he grunted and growled from the weight of whatever he hauled off his truck… that’s it, no more romance books for you for a week. He slid on his own gloves, this pair had her biting back a smirk. They matched his skull balaclava, and it made her wonder if he shuffled around in skeleton-patterned socks in the comfort of his house. 

She looked away with a smirk when Ghost noticed she was gawking. “I know, I know, don’t say anything.” 

“I didn’t.” Andra’s voice went up in pitch. Her smile grew when she caught a glimpse of him shaking his head in her peripherals. 

Ghost was fun to tease, and his choice of gear made it easier to find something to poke fun at. Was it low hanging fruit? Sure, but it’s all she had to tease him for. The joking around was her way of trying to learn more about people, and if they could laugh or joke back, they were worth getting to know. It was the ones who stuck their noses up at Andra that she steers clear from. 

The work began, and Ghost had Andra looking like she had never picked up a hardware tool in her life. While she had one length of old fencing nails removed, Ghost was nearly done with the sides of his wall. The man knew how to work efficiently, it didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat. 

“Did your dad teach you how to do blue collar work?” Andra asked as she struggled with a nail. 

His rhythm and focus was derailed by her question. “No, old man wasn’t worth shit.” 

Oh… the gravel in his voice sent a chill down her spine. Estranged father, got it. 

Ghost resumed, cutting out the needed dimensions of chicken wire. Andra could see him blink a few times, that calloused glare lingering. “I did some work in basic and before I was sent off to my specialized unit, not making chicken pens, but we learned out way around manual tools for several things.” He went quiet once more to concentrate on the measurements. 

Andra threw aside the old chicken wire once she pulled out all of the nails. “Do you have any siblings?” 

He hesitated before answering. “An older brother.” 

“Oh.” She started unfurling her needed piece of wire. “Do you stay in contact with him?” 

“No.” His answer came out short and quick, nearly cutting Andra off. 

What am I doing? Andra frowned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something you don’t want to talk about.” 

Ghost sighed as he used the staple gun to nail in the new wire. “No one ever asks, so I’m not used to talking about it. Considering you’re quite chatty, it was bound to come up.” Her cheeks burned from his comment. “Maybe someday.” 

That hardened look softened to humor, and relief washed over her. Don’t bring up the family. She felt stupid for mentioning it. Maybe she would never learn more about the mysterious man who, for some reason, kept helping her out when she’s been nothing but trouble. He was right about one thing; Andra is chatty. And she didn’t want to give up talking to him. She decided to switch gears. 

“Hey Ghost.” Andra grinned to herself. 

“Hmm.” 

“Don’t challenge Death to a pillow fight. Unless you’re prepared for the reaper cushions.” 

Ghost froze in place, his eyes flickered to her. “Not bad.” 

“Your turn.” She encouraged. 

He took a second to think of one. “What do you call a dog with no legs? Doesn’t matter, he won’t come anyway.” 

Andra peered over her shoulders. “Don’t let Sammy hear that one.” Ghost chuffed a laugh. “My favorite Disney movie is the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I love a hero with a twisted back story.” 

That one managed to get a snicker out of Ghost. This dork likes puns. 

“What did Kermit the Frog say at his puppeteer’s funeral? Not a word.” 

He’s morbid, and it’s great. 

“Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.” 

There was a beat of a pause. “That was bad.” 

“C’mon, it was good.” She laughed. 

“I have bad puns, but that one was awful.” 

The lacerating pain hit her hot and fast. “Fuck!” The whipping sound of the wire sprung against the wall, make it stop in its tracks.

Ghost immediately shot up onto his feet, flying over the short distance she was away from him along with Sammy galloping over in concern for her momma.  He saw the blood saturating her jeans as well as the gash that was oozing beneath the torn denim. “Let’s get you inside.” Ghost had linked his arms underneath her shoulders and hoisted her with ease, earning a growl of pain from her. “I got you, we’ll take it slow. Do you have a first floor bathroom?”

Andra threw an arm over his shoulder as he guided her to the house, giving him directions for the bathroom he led her to. Sammy stayed behind them the entire time, whining and panting as if feeling helpless. Andra coaxed her companion with reassuring words in hopes to calm her down. She was hissing and groaning the entire way there, and her attempts of trying to focus on anything else but the pain failed her, until a smell hit her. Was that cardamom? It filled her lungs as she took a deep breath, trying to disguise it as a inhale to calm her down. Technically, it did the job because wholly Gods, he smelled like a comfort she never had.

He swung open the front door, carrying most of her weight. Hell, he could easily carry all of her weight if he really wanted to. “Is there a first aid kit in here?” Ghost asked while he eased her down on the lip of the bathtub. Sammy laid by the bathroom door, watching Ghost closely to make sure he's taking care of Andra.

“Yeah, below the sink,” she whined. He didn’t waste any time finding it. “God, today really stuck it to me.”

“Bad things come in three, isn’t that the saying?” Ghost quipped, earning a snort from her. “If the broken pen is the first and Ted was the second, this one must be the third.” He slid off his gloves and ran his hands through soap and water in the basin. “Can you pull up that pant leg?”

Andra tried, but it had her wincing from the flashes of pain. “Nope, that’s not gonna work.” Ghost returned, his fingers tugged at the zipper of the first aid kid before kneeling in front of her. “There’s a pair of scissors in that bag, I don’t care about losing a pair of jeans-” His damp hands settled her leg between his thighs to stabilize it, and with hardly any effort at all he tore the denim wide open. Christ alive. “Or you can do that.”

“Let’s get this cleaned up and wrapped.” Ghost abandoned her leg to swiftly rummage for the necessary supplies. Antiseptic, gauze, and self-adhesive bandage. With everything lined up beside him, Ghost gripped the back of her leg, right onto her tensed up calf and gently moved it. She could feel the tremor in his hand. “It’s not deep, you won’t need stitches.”

Andra sighs in relief, followed by a yelp when an antiseptic-doused washcloth was applied onto the wound. His sorry was quiet and short, if she heard it. A deep focus washed over her from the sight of Ghost knelt before her, caressing her leg while the other hand cleaned her off. The pain suddenly didn’t feel as bad as before, now when his touch became her entire focus. His thumb was tracing little circles into her flesh, just barely.

He must have noticed how still and quiet Andra went. His Autumn brown eyes looked up to her, devoid of distance. His stare had its own gravitational pull, sucking her in. Christ, am I really getting this worked up? It made her feel like she knocked back two fingers worth of whiskey, her legs turning to jelly and her brain now fuzzy.

“Is that okay?”

A breath caught itself in her throat. She’s never heard him whisper like that before. A head nod was all she could manage. Ghost returned back to her wound, and she’s so thankful for it. Suddenly, the ceiling got much more interesting to look at. But that scent floated near her nostrils once more; that was definitely cardamom and something else she couldn’t place. Something soothing, something that made his musk smell… delectable. Her cheeks were red hot from the thought, the need, to press her face into his shirt, the neckline of his balaclava, anything, to sear that scent into her mind.

The cloth of the gauze patch stuck to the fleshy bit of her knee, and she’s startled by the rip of the self-adhesive bandage.

“Done.”

Andra braves a glance at her knee, flexing it slightly to test the hold of Ghost’s handiwork. Of course, he would know how to patch her up in a pinch, and she tries not to think about how many of his brothers in arms he had to do this – and much worse – for.

Further down, sitting on the tops of his thigh was a trembling hand, the other one continued its soft ministrations on her calf. It’s like it was for his own comfort rather than hers. Regardless, she could melt from the soothing sensation it brought her. She was scared of doing something that would make him pull away, but as if he read her mind, Ghost did it anyway.

“Thank you.” Andra warbles sheepishly. “I get to keep the limb because of you.”

Ghost let out a chuckle, his shoulders releasing some trapped tension there. “I’ll finish up out there.” He stood up, and offered Andra a hand to help her get to the living room couch, leaving there with a tornado wrecking every thought about what had happened.

Idiot idiot idiot.

Ghost was just helping her, Andra drilled in her head. It didn’t mean anything the way he touched her, right? Or the way he spoke, the words cutting through her like soft butter. Or the look he gave her. She’s delusional, right? Andra rubbed a hand over her face, desperately wishing she had a bottle of wine in the kitchen.

The hour she spent sitting there chewing her nails and petting Sammy felt like a death sentence. She could catch glimpses of Ghost through the screen door. Every now and then he would shake his head at himself. Her heart sank to her stomach. Maybe he was frustrated with having to help her out today. For having to possibly take time out of a work day to deal with her bullshit. And then that whole thing with bringing up his family…

Stupid stupid stupid.

Andra was so deep in her head, she didn’t realize Ghost had come back inside until the screen door smacked the doorway behind him. “Everything’s solid now.”

She braved a gentle grin. “Thank you Ghost. I meant it earlier, you’re always coming to my rescue and I don’t take that for granted.”

He gave her a terse nod as he pushed open the screen door, his hand resting on the top of the threshold. “Try not to need any more savin’ for a while, hmm?”

Andra couldn’t hold back a smile. “I’ll do my best.”

-----

The truck will be ready tomorrow. 

Tomorrow is today. Andra looked over Ghost’s text again as if there’s a hidden, underlying message in his words. She chews at the innards of her cheek, tapping a foot on her tile floors. It was one of the first messages Andra has received from him that was more than one word. He had checked in several days after he repaired the pen at least, but after giving Andra a short ‘Good’, radio silence. 

She didn’t bother asking Johnny about Ghost. If she was someone that Ghost didn’t want to keep in contact with, fair enough. She’s felt like an enormous burden for the both of them since Ghost found her on the side of the road. Besides, Sunday mornings were already busy enough with Johnny accumulating a harem of regular customers. It was great for business, replenishing the crater that the transmission fix left in her savings. She was preparing for the plummet that was going to follow when the ladies realize Johnny wasn’t returning. 

As well as preparing for the possibility that both of them might go back to being strangers. They never crossed paths before, or at least she doesn’t recall ever seeing a masked man and his mohawked companion in public. 

Andra sighed as she tucked her phone into her back pocket, reaching for her coffee mug on the kitchen counter she leaned against. Maybe she overthought the moment he spent patching up her wound. It left a pink scar slashing across her knee, trailing down her shin. No, stop the gaslighting. His hands definitely lingered on her for longer than anyone should have. She wished he had stayed longer, wished he had done more. 

“Hellooo?” Johnny’s voice carried through the entrance. Andra was used to him coming in when the front door is left open, yet she was jolted back to reality once her inner monologue was interrupted. He offered to come get her before going in for his own shift. Still extremely reluctant to accept gas money for the miles he had put into travelling back and forth. 

“In here,” Andra called out as she finished the rest of her coffee, rinsing out the mug and leaving it to sit in the basin.  

Johnny couldn’t stop talking about some girl that worked at the fish and chip shop he frequents on lunch breaks as they drove to the shop. “You think it means something if she goes outta her way t’ring us up? I mean, sometimes she’ll be in the back and will take over when she hears me.” 

Andra scoffs. “How more obvious does she have to be?” 

He clicks his tongue. “I just don’ wanna make it awkward if there’s nothin’ there.” 

“Don’t be a dick about it, then there won’t be anything to worry about.” Andra got the feeling that Johnny didn’t have the best track record with women. Hence why he was so clueless about this one. 

The two of them walked into the shop jabbing jokes at each other when Andra saw Ghost behind the counter, leaning into his fist as he looked down at an open book. He was sporting the same navy button up shirt with the shop’s logo embroidered above the left breast pocket, the sleeves rolled up to his biceps to reveal his tattoos and smudges of car grime. She could see a tension shift in his shoulders, like he was fighting the urge to look up at her. Okay…? Johnny tapped a fist on Ghost’s shoulder and continued to breeze past him, walking through a door that led to the depot. Andra approached the counter with a frigid apprehension, tapping her fingertips against the surface. “Hey, is now a good time to pick up my truck?” 

“Aye.” Ghost kept his focus on the ledger he was working on, then turned away without a glance to file through a cabinet to search for her invoice. One-worded answers again. 

She let a few seconds of suffocating silence pass before trying again. “The breeder I had bought my chickens from hit me up to let me know she’s got a goat that’s going to give birth soon. I was thinking about taking the kid off of her hands.” More flitting of paper. “I’ll have to expand and build another pen once I can bring it home.” 

“Hmm.” Was all Ghost gave her. A mere acknowledging hum if that. He retrieved a paper with a small zip-lock bag containing her key, stapled to it and returned it to the counter. “Sign this to indicate that we released your vehicle back to ye, if you want, we can inspect the truck really quick to see if everything is in order.” 

His cold attitude and lifeless voice was a punch in the gut. “Did I do something wrong?” No response, just a hand picking up a pen from a worn out metal cup followed by a slide of the pen across the counter. Her expression hardened, and she scribbled a half-assed signature before shoving the pen down. “No, an inspection isn’t necessary. Okay, so I definitely misread the whole interaction in the bathroom then. Not only did she misread it, but the whole thing was also in a different language. Now this passive-aggressive stand-off was Ghost’s way of interpreting it for her. Message received, loud and clear.

-----

If you're enjoying this story, any engagement is appreciated 🖤

[foolondahill17]

Sam lunges, baseball bat raised, prepared to brain the silhouette of the intruder. The shadow jolts backward, raising both hands.

"Whoa - whoa! Easy, tiger!"

Sam stumbles at the voice and narrowly avoids slamming his baseball bat into his brother's skull.

"Dean?" He asks in a voice dangerously near a yelp.

"Yeah - get that thing out of my face." Dean's teeth flash in the stripe of light filtered through the blinds from the streetlamps. "Not interested in getting grand slam dunked, dude."

Sam drops the baseball bat to his side. The kitchen light flares on, and both Dean and Sam frantically blink to adjust to the change. Behind him, Jess barks, "What the hell is going on?"

Panic surges inside Sam's body. Dean and Jess in the same room. This is bad. This is very, very bad.

"Oh - hiya, sweetheart," Dean recovers first. He claps Sam on the shoulder, and Sam feels his touch like an electric shock. It's been nearly four years since he's touched his brother. Nearly three since he's heard his voice. "Wanted to drop by, see how the little bro was holding up. You're graduating this week, right? Well, consider this your present."

Dean spreads his arms, and he grins, but it occurs to Sam that Dean doesn't look very good. He's thin in a way that looks deflated, like he's lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. There are dark circles like bruises around his eyes and about a week's worth of whiskers on his jaw.

"You broke into our apartment?" Jess snaps. Sam knows he should back her up, but his tongue is swollen in the back of his throat.

"Eh, didn't wanna wake you up by buzzing in."

"That's kind of you," Jess says coolly.

"You know me - always thinking about others," Dean quips. "Hey - and there's someone I want you to meet." He cranes his neck so he's looking below the kitchen island, where Sam's view is blocked by the cabinets. "Hey, Benj? You can come out now, honey."

Shuffling, and then a little boy pops his head around the island's edge. Jess audibly gasps. Sam's jaw hangs open.

The little boy scrambles to his feet and runs behind Dean's leg, small fists clutching at his jeans, burying his face in Dean's thigh. Sam doesn't know shit about kids, but he looks about five or six.

Dean pats the little boy's head, stroking his dark hair. "That was really good," he tells the kid. "You hid just like I told you. You wanna meet your Uncle Sammy and, ah," he looks at Jess. His eyes linger on her chest, and, insanely, Sam experiences a brief rush of relief: at least that's something familiar in a sea of bizzarro surprises. "Your Aunt Smurfs?"

"Jess," Jess breathes, all the heat leeched out of her.

"Sam - ah, Jess," Dean pats the little boy's head and grins. "This is Ben."

There's no more of this AU. I fucking refuse to start another wip. Even though I already have this idea completely plotted in my head. Hit me with Sam's baseball bat if I put anything else down on paper.

[diamondzoey]

More bug army incorrect quotes

Victor : Is there anyone here who’s actually straight?

Jemma: *raises hand*

Raine: *puts their hand down*

(Jemma is bisexual)

Amber: Why are your tongues purple?

Azren: We had slushies. I had a blue one.

Jemma : I had a red one.

Amber: oh.

Amber:

Amber: OH.

Nash:

Nash: You drank eachothers slushies?

Raine: Seriously, Korey, how many people would you have killed if we’d asked you to?

Korey: That’s not important

Raine: I DISAGREE.

Sammy: You know what your problem is?

Emerald : I only have one?

Jemma: The best part of an oreo is the cookie part, not the frosting. Deal with it.

Victor: Darkness without light is an abyss. Light without darkness is blinding. You cannot have a coin with one side.

Chester : YO SOCRATES! IT'S A FUCKING COOKIE!

Joan: If I fall down these stairs, I'm just going to lay down and accept my fate.

Modern Au

Duarte: Get in loser, we're going shopping.

Easton: This is a McDonald's drive thru.

Mafia!Jemma: Are you ready to commit?

Mafia!Azren : Like, a crime or a relationship?

Victor : Nothing in life is free.

Raine: Love is free.

Emerald : Knowledge is free.

Sammy: Friendship is free.

Korey: Self-respect is free.

Timmy: Everything's free if you don't pay for it.

The Squad: ...

Emerald : Timmy , that's illegal-

Victor : No, let them finish!

One of the bugs walking around and stubs their toe on a table leg and starts cursing a lot while jumping on one foot

Jemma covering Sammy’s ears:..

Sammy having no idea what’s going on: *Confused

Easton: *Locks Korey in the car.* Act like a child, get treated like a child.

Korey : What? Isn't it illegal to leave a child locked in a car?

Vincent : I got us matching friendship bracelets, and you say I don't care about our relationship.

Chester : These are handcuffs.

Vincent : Yeah, 'cause we're partners in crime!

Jemma in all Aus treating Sammy like her son: :3

Azren in all Aus: being a simp for jemma

Bugs in this one

Victor&Vincent- @littlesiren79

Raine- @willowve01

Sammy- @ccstiles

Duarte- @puffin-smoke

Azren- @strayharmony943

Emerald- @aspenm00n

Korey- @rozeliyawashereyall

Joan- @rustycopper4use

Chester- @not-5-rats

Easton- @itsargyle

Amber- @astralbulldragon13

Nash- @lightdragon789

[dragonbma]

giving your AU a kiss on the head, then promptly strangling Vos (pls use this to infodump whatever you want)

First of all, bless you. Second, I figured I should finally get this out of the way so enjoy this headcanon-turned- AU-canon dump:

TLDR: Vos developed photophobia from being in the Sea Temple for so long + Jack has tinnitus.

Vos Possession AU Infodump time:

Pre- Sea Temple adventure, Vos would usually wear his hood down or back. This was mainly to keep the hood from blocking his field of view on any side, keeping him alert and aware on adventures. His goggles would either rest on the top of his head or be worn around his neck. Post- Sea Temple, that changed to him using his hood to shield the sun (and most lights) from his eyes. After being in the obsidian cage for so long, Vos’ eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and became painfully sensitive to light when he was finally released. (They look similarly to how the Fred’s Keep residents’ eyes look. I also headcanon them as having mild photophobia, only severe when the sun is out.) It takes a bit of getting used to, but Jack is there to calm him down initially.

—For anyone unfamiliar, photophobia is an extreme sensitivity to light. One of its causes is no exposure to natural sunlight; for example, being in a dark, cramped box for a decade. Vos’ photophobia starts out very severe with even the poorly lit Sea Temple appearing too bright. However, his vision slowly readjusts to where only going out in direct sunlight hurts his eyes.

—Side Note: When Romeo is possessing Vos, his irises shift to a darker shade of blue (which isn’t very noticeable when his hood is up.) He also alters Vos’ vision whenever he is in control to remedy constantly being blinded.

—Fun headcanon: I like to think Vos naps/sleeps by sliding his hood and goggles over his eyes. ^^

Bonus: Thanks to being in the obsidian cage for so long, Vos is mildly claustrophobic, being around obsidian makes him uneasy, and he gets nervous talking to people (after his only interaction in the past decade was with an angry god.)

—Wall of the Builder? No thank you. Nether portals? I’m not going anywhere near those. Despite knowing the Nether is the only place to get blaze rods (for his brewing), he opts to stay away from the portals. This only furthers his friendship with Ivor who offers him all the blaze rods he needs and even lets him use his brewing stands.

—Ivor is going to have a blast trying to describe the Witherstorm fiasco to Vos-

—His old enchanting table has even started to look familiar…

I can’t be the only one who sees a crumb of resemblance if you take the book away- anyways onto Jack:

Along with the PTSD we see him struggle with in game, Jack also gets tinnitus from the Sea Temple. It starts immediately following the combined laser blasts from the elder guardians that kill Sammy (which was incredibly loud,) and worsens after hearing the cage crash down on his friend. It reaches a peak when the elder guardians turn their lasers towards him while he flees the guardian room. When he finally gets back to the island where the trio stashed their stuff, the ringing starts to die down.

—His tinnitus is neurological and pretty minor unless he’s extremely stressed or thinking about the failed adventure. Normally, his tinnitus presents itself as a low ringing noise when everything is quiet, but it can suddenly raise in pitch or volume if say… some stranger came into your shop with a gauntlet similar to one you had that unlocked a deep sea deathtrap of a Brita filter that killed two of your best friends. Hypothetically of course.

—Jack is. the. friend. ever. He helps Vos get accustomed to Beacontown, offers him a room in the emporium attic, and introduces his friend to any residents with similar interests. Jack also takes immediate notice to how Vos looks at his old enchantment table and is quick to swap out its red banners with lapis blue ones.

[Tysm for the AU ask! Fun fact: I could not read the ask without envisioning Wheatley giving Vos a kiss on the hood before grabbing him by the scruff of the neck- and it made me chortle every time.]

[according2thelore]

and ES!Dean's says, "who's this asshole? oh shit. is he blind? my bad." <- MADE ME CACKLE. I love those introductions SO MUCH oh my god!!! you are so smart. your brain must weigh you down so much, how you walk anywhere is a mystery to meee

I love this AU so much. I love it! LS!Sam very rarely getting upset with ES!Dean and it turning him on is craazy i love it. ES!Sam and LS!Dean are such brooders together too, god. i like to imagine that the LS brothers immediately forgot that anyone else exists when the younger ones appear, which leads to cas popping in. and es!sam absolutely ADORING cas after he's hated so much of their lives is definitely what leads to ls!dean banning all their friends from the bunker til this is over, lol

omg thank you, anon! <3

my brain does in fact weigh me down. it's a curse. (and by weigh me down, i mean i'm always writing lines of dialogue on post-its and in my notes app and in random docs never to be seen again). charlotte and i were sitting together on our couch once and she looked over at my scribbling frantically on my ipad and said, "tell me you are not hand-writing fic rn." dear reader, you'll never guess what i was fucking doing.

all jokes aside! THANK YOU?? omg?? that's so incredibly kind! my brain is regular-sized, i promise you!

lol i think ES!Dean would of course be very pissy over sam having a new friend, but a lot of his anger and fury in the first few seasons is very internalized. you can smell the self-loathing and terror rolling off dean in the pilot because he's wriggling in excitement that sam is back and trying not to ruin it.

but "so-there-was-a-girl" and "you-weren't-there-when-i-went-to-bed-last-night" LS!Dean? uh-uh. that's his little GUY! his little SAMMY!

and mr.-prays-every-night ES!Sam is too thrilled to meet a live and in person angel that he cannot let it go. especially a castiel that knows sam is good and is kind to him (as opposed to early seasons castiel).

LS!Dean for sure declares a blockade of people coming in.

hunters need help? that's too damn bad, here's garth's phone number. castiel needs sam to look something up? call him. friend needs somewhere to sleep for a weekend? here's $500, get yourself a hotel room.

thank you for this ask anon! mwah! <3

-lizzy

[superstarzolar]

i’m gunna talk about how these lines apply to athazagora because it’s been driving me insane the last few hours . my explanations start out kind of decipherable but then they quickly turn into rambling . you’ve been warned.

also i want to reiterate that i’m talking about how these quotes apply to ATHAZAGORA specifically— most of this isn’t just talking about how it relates to actual canon.

Henry and Charlie

Henry couldn’t stop Charlie from being pushed out of the building and subsequently being killed by William, this one is obvious.

Sammy and Charlie

Similarly, Sammy wasn’t able to prevent what happened to Charlie. But, unlike Henry, Sammy holds a special type of guilt, as he believes that if he had been with her instead of wandering off to enjoy himself at the party, he could’ve stopped it from happening.

Cassidy and Sammy

Leading up to the Bo83, Cassidy did all that they could to stop Michael and his gang from putting Sammy’s head into Fredbear’s mouth, but ultimately failed to do so, making Cassidy feel responsible for the bite as well. This came with an immediate punishment of having to watch the bite happen up-close.

Jeremy and Gabriel

Jeremy had always felt a need to protect the entire friend group, but especially Gabriel, as he was not only his best friend, but he was the youngest member of the group too. Sadly, Jeremy wasn’t able to protect anybody, let alone himself or Gabriel. In fact, when they were cornered in the safe room by William, Gabriel initially tried to defend Jeremy, which resulted in him being the first victim out of the two.

Additionally, his inability to stand up for himself also caused his friends to die, as he wasn’t able to protect Susie or warn the others about what was to come (at least, that’s what he believes— his guilt blinds him to the fact that he didn’t know what was coming, either, and so isn’t responsible for William’s later actions.)

Andrew and Cassidy

On the day of Cassidy’s party, Andrew was late, and so wasn’t there in time to stop Cassidy from following William into the safe room. This tardiness was punished almost immediately by Andrew having to discover what had happened to Cassidy right after he arrived (sounds a bit like a… Parallel….. Hmmmmmmm).

Henry and Charlie

Once again, this is obvious, but I have something else to add; this could also be Henry talking to the other missing kids, as he is also freeing them from their animatronics alongside Charlie.

Jeremy and Gabriel

Unlike Henry, Jeremy adheres to this line throughout the story, and not just at the end. After they all die, he dedicates himself to protecting the others to make up for his inability to do so before. This provides an explanation as to why Bonnie usually attacks first in most games.

Charlie and The Missing Kids

Like Jeremy, Charlie applies this line after death, as she tries to help them following the pain they experienced instead of preventing it in the first place.

(Additionally, isn’t it funny how Charlie accidentally doomed her friends into decades-long torment in hopes of giving them a chance at life again… She tried to help them but ended up causing more harm than good… Sounds a bit like her father… He tried to entertain and protect children but ultimately failed to stop (and even enabled) the danger…. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm)

Bonus round!!!

The Missing Kids, in general

The missing kids stuck around after their deaths for a number of reasons — Damnation and revenge, of course— but also because they weren’t happy with fading into the background of everything after what had happened to them. They wouldn’t allow their pain to be forgotten and glossed over.

(This is actually why the name of the au is Athazagora, as the full word, athazagoraphobia, can mean the fear of being forgotten).

[unhonest-iago]

Chuckle Sandwich Fic Masterlist

Blind Bitch Hrs [GN]

Chuckle Sandwich as academia

Incorrect History; Crystals

Fracking…more like sharting [GN]

First Impressions Matter [GN]

Can I have this Dance?; Slimecicle asks y/n to teach him how to dance [GN]

Love Languages [GN]

Everywhere I Go

Because I Care About You; Me infodumping about FOB via x reader fanfiction [GN]

Bouquet; How the Chuckle Sammie boys react to y/n gifting them flowers [GN]

Declare Yourself the Best Writer; Charlie reassures y/n when they doubt their writing abilities [GN]

Soda Pop; Y/n asks Ted to open their soda after struggling [GN]

Alphabet Improv; Victorious AU

Poems; Types of poems Charlie writes y/n [GN]

Working 9 to 5; Ted & Y/n are coworkers. Y/n helps Ted when it comes to slang while Ted helps y/n translate their frustrations into professional lingo. [GN]

Russian Roulette; Jschlatt & Reader play Russian roulette [GN]

Would it be Okay…? [GN]

Stutter; Y/n & Ted talk about Diego Hargreeves’ stutter [GN]

Horns; Bull hybrid Ted in attempts to escape y/n's yandere affections, ends up getting his horns removed [GN]

2 girls 1 cup (sfw); y/n, oblivious, asks Schlatt about a certain nsfw video after hearing about it through the grapevine [GN]

Jambo; Jambo wants to cuddle w/ Reader more than Schlatt [Fem]

Milk and Cookies; sleepy/soft schlatt x reader [Fem]

Knives Out; Reader shows Schlatt their knife collection [GN]

I’m Still Breathing; Ted x Reader + breath play [Fem]

Couple Costumes [Fem]

Your Beauty Never Ever Scared Me; Reader's an Enderdragon hybrid [GN]

My Hero; BNHA au

In a Bind?; The boys find out y/n wore his binder for too long [Male]

Under-dressed Alcoholic

No Shave November; The boys coax y/n into participating in no shave November [Male]

Sm0L; Ted discovers y/n is an age dreamer/regressor when they slip for the first time [Male]

Father Figure; how Chuckle Sammie reacts to finding out y/n sees them as a father/parental figure [GN]

Pained Oblivion; Slimecicle being oblivious to avian hybrid! y/n courting him [GN]

Band; What band instrument I think they'd all play

Out on the Town; Ted takes y/n out on the town, just headcanons revolving around that and 'em being tourists [GN]

Risky Business; Schlatt and Reader recreate the dancing scene from Risky Business [GN]

Little Chef; Ted & regressed reader decide what to do for the day [GN]

Passenger Prince; The chuckle sammie bois as your passenger prince [GN]

Slimecicle x Reader: Getting a Tattoo [GN]

Feverish [GN]

Jschlatt Headcannons

Bed Bugs; Regressed reader falls asleep during car ride w/ Ted [GN]

Rainy Mondays; Charlie & Reader spend a rainy day together [GN]

[chesters-ocs]

I am humbly requesting more Sylvester x Butcher content, please and thank you.

Maybe of them finding out that Sylvester's pregnant with Sammy?

i decided against the pregnancy idea, because i think i hit my limit of thinking about it for the day and now im just sorta ehh about it. so. have a younger au of them, before sylvester was even married to līva

wc: 550

"C'mon kitty, ya scared already?" Butcher teased, as the two of them explored the rundown building.

Sylvester only scoffed, as he trailed after the large man, clutching his worn down leather jacket around his body: "I'm not. It's just cold as shit in here!"

"I thought you liked the cold?"

"Not right now I don't!"

"Heh, sorry, kit."

"Whatever, jackass."

Butcher turned to face his friend with a questioning look in his eyes, when he heard the soft click of the lighter, staring down Sylvester.

"I thought you didn't smoke?"

"Guess you're just a bad influence on me," he retorted.

"Yeah yeah, blame it all on me, why don't you!" Butcher laughed, before extended his hand out, gloved palm facing up.

"Fuck you want?" Sylvester questioned, sticking a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"Give."

".... Damn neanderthal. Ask politely and I'll consider it!"

"Tell me to be polite and I'll set that bullshit bob of yours on fire."

"Wha- Hey! I thought you liked the bob!" Sylvester huffed, fixing his hair absentmindedly the moment the subject switched to it.

"Would be cuter if it was black. Like burnt crisp black," Butcher commented.

"... Well. You're buying the dye then," he spoke, finally holding out an unlit cigarette for Butch to take, and he snatched it up within a second, pulling out his own lighter, pondering the deal offered to him, as he took a drag.

"Deal. You look good in black, kitty. Real good," he smirked, before noticing the way the smaller man kept shaking, from the biting wind that ran trough the building, and sighed.

"Oh for fuck's sake, take this. You're like a sad, miserable leaf," he complained, as he draped his own coat over Sylvester. He stilled for a second, not expecting the gesture, but thanked him with a nod, as he buttoned it up.

"Where didya get this? It's... nice," the short man complimented, enjoying the warmth seeping into his bones finally.

"It's dad's. Or was, I suppose, just added a few of the patches myself" Butcher shrugged, feeling no need to comment further.

"Ah... I see."

Finally reaching the stairs, Butcher was the first to ascend them, testing their strength in the process: "Seems safe enough, come on, we don't have much time left!"

Smiling to himself, Sylvester just trailed after him, as Butcher broke the chains off the lock, which were keeping the door shut.

The light from the roof seeped in and temporarily blinded the catman, as he pulled on his sunglasses, before stepping out

Colours filled his vision. The very reason Butcher dragged him out here in the first place.

To watch a sunset from here.

The cruder man of the two had already made his way to the ledge, leaning on it, as he stubbed out his cigarette with his heel, the other following suit soon after, having gotten down to the butt of it too.

Smiling looks good on him, Sylvester thought, approaching his looming figure. Butcher looked truly happy, as he looked over the treetops, just facing the sun with the slightest of smiles on his lips, light reflecting in his eyes.

Reds, oranges and pinks filled the sky, with not a cloud in sight. A perfect day to watch the setting sun.

Approaching the edge, Sylvester noted that their motorcycles were still parked and standing upright, before he was pulled into an abrupt hug.

"Thanks for coming with, kitty. I appreciate it," He murmured into his hair, a smile on his lips.

"Anytime, birthday boy. Anytime."