#Bridge x Syd

[skyland2703]

Anything Javelia with Sydge please 🫶

Also, if you need a partner in crime, I’m g.

Always down for a partner in crime ;)

HERE YOU GO~

Does a murder interrogation count as a very awkward double date?

[purposechef]

"Wait, so what was the best one?"

"The best what?"

"The best meal you ever had."

"It was Carmy's."

[chosen-hero-inari]

Magnetic

A/N- Breaking up the Whumptober posting because @yumizurueleonora were talking Power Rangers SPD, as we often do, and I got the idea for this.

I started working on it yesterday, you know a bit in the morning, a bit on the train ride to New York Comicon, and then at Comicon I ran into Dwayne Cameron, the actor who plays Dru (and more significantly to my childhood, Tyzonn in Operation Overdrive) and I had look this man in the eye like I wasn't writing gay fanfiction about a one-off character he played 20 years ago five hours earlier.

I took this as a sign maybe I should post this. So enjoy.

~

 Sky is so bored. 

Yes, he got thrown from the Megazord and would have been crushed by a giant robot if he hadn’t thrown up a shield that left him so drained he blacked out and had to be dug out from the rubble.

But honestly that doesn’t mean Cruger has to confiscate his Morpher and order him to relax.

First of all, Sky is perfectly capable of relaxing. Hitting his punching bag, training, and studying ARE relaxing.

Second, what if they need him?

But Cruger threatened him with paid leave if Sky didn’t take the week to “actually heal,” and he lives at the Academy, so he’s here in the infirmary with RIC staring at him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.

At least it’s been a quiet week, and Cruger’s returning in the morning and Sky will be back on active duty.

Sky reaches for the next book on his pile, and a piece of paper falls into his lap. It takes him a second to make out the language.

Tangarian.

Angel, will you come meet by our favorite spot at 09:30?

Sky blinks and rereads the paper. There’s no way.

But who would prank him like this? Who would even know? Syd and Bridge had been at the Academy at the time but they hadn’t really talked, and Sky wasn’t sure they’d ever shared classes with him.

It's not like he has to stay in the infirmary, he’s been ordered to do no SPD work. Sky makes up his mind in seconds and runs to grab his clothes and head out.

Just after 9:30 Sky’s worried that he’s wrong, but then a familiar head of light brown hair pokes out of the bushes and his heart stops.

“Angel!” Dru says. “I was scared you wouldn’t come.”

“Dru,” Sky breathes before rushing forward to crush him in a hug. “What are you doing here, I thought you were…”

“Well I’m not,” Dru says, “it’s a long story.”

“This is real, isn’t it?” Sky asks. “I’m not dreaming?”

Dru kisses his palm. “Did that feel like a dream?”

Sky isn’t sure whether he wants to laugh or cry. 

Dru chuckles. “Here I thought you’d be mad at me for keeping you waiting for so long.”

“How could I be mad at you?” Sky says, “I’m just happy you’re here.”

“Well that’s a shame, because I have a whole romantic ‘get Sky to forgive me’ brunch planned.”

“Oh,” Sky says. “Well I mean if you want.”

“Really? Not too busy?”

“For you? Never.”

Dru leads Sky to a shuttle, and in the back area there’s a picnic basket, candles, and the floor is littered with rose petals.

“If you’re up for making this a whole day thing,” Dru says, “there’s a special place I want to take you.”

Sky doesn't even have to think about it. This is Dru. His Dru. Back from the dead. Sky would follow him anywhere.

“Let’s go,” Sky says, holding up his wrist. 

There’s a familiar clink from Dru’s coil against his, and for the first time in a long time something in Sky’s life feels right.

-

While Sky’s in the back of the shuttle settling in, Dru heads to the front console and sets the autopilot with the coordinates. 

Viara-10 is supposed to have the most beautiful sunset, and it's the closest to a special magnetic storm on Tangar that’s supposed to appear if a marriage is auspicious.

That's where he’ll lay everything out for Sky, and they’ll be able to run away together.

They just have to get there first, which means–

On cue, a call comes on when they leave the airspace.

Jack appears on the monitor. “You don’t have authorization to leave Earth’s airspace, Agent Gren.”

Dru laughs. “Have you not already received reports of his death? I stole his credentials days ago. SPD really has gone downhill.”

It was a simple plan. Claim to be an SPD agent after a criminal, act injured, get into the Academy and shoot Cruger.

His timing had been a bit off since Cruger wasn’t there, but no one had suspected he wasn’t Agent Gren.

“Well what do you want me to call you?” Jack asks.

“I prefer my business associates refer to me as Giganis.”

“We’re not associates.”

“I was paid very well to handle Cruger, so yes you’re part of my business,” Dru says.

“I have authorization to shoot you down.”

“Oh sure, but you’ll lose a cadet in the process.”

Jack’s eyes widen. “You have Sky.”

Dru tilts his head. “I’m surprised you know a random cadet by name, but yes we’re taking a little trip, and I don’t want anyone interrupting us.”

“Let me see him.”

“No, sorry. Gotta go, bye Jack! It really was nice meeting you.”

-

Jack slams his fist on the monitor as soon as the signal cuts off. “Damn it!”

“Giganis,” Syd mutters, pulling up his file. “This guy’s wanted for… a lot of murders.”

“Video feed from the infirmary shows Sky receiving a letter and leaving just before Giganis shot the Commander,” Kat says.

“A threat, maybe?” Z says. “That’s how he lured Sky out?”

“Is Sky a weird choice?” Bridge asks.

“What’s weird about it, he knows we won’t destroy a ranger,” Jack says.

“But we wouldn’t destroy any cadet,” Bridge says. “Why not grab someone less able to fight back? How’d he find out Sky didn’t have his morpher on him? How'd he know Sky wouldn’t tell us anything?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Jack says. “I’m getting in a shuttle and following them.”

“I think you mean we?” Syd says. “We’re a team, we don’t let some ugly monster kidnap any of us.”

“Be careful, Rangers,” Kat says. “We don’t know what he’s doing to Sky, it might be a delicate situation.”

“We know, Kat,” Z says. “But we’re going to get our jerk back.”

-

Sky doesn’t know what he did to deserve the most perfect boyfriend in the universe.

Or.

“Is it ok if I still call you my boyfriend?” Sky asks.

Dru looks at him like he’s stupid. “I didn’t give you that coil because three years apart could come between us.”

Sky relaxes a bit and takes a drink of his mimosa. “Sorry I guess I was just– what have you been doing this whole time?”

Dru looks sheepish. “Well, I actually had amnesia, so I’ve been wandering around the galaxy taking… odd jobs.”

“Then how’d you end up back on Earth?”

“While I was out exploring, I kept having this nagging feeling, you know? That there was someone out there waiting for me. I saw… amazing things out there, Sky but it always felt a little… incomplete without you.”

“C’mon Dru, you’re going to make me blush.”

“Oh you should see what’s out there, beyond SPD. A whole galaxy!”

Dru’s eyes are glittering, and Sky’s heart skips a beat. Then Dru looks at him and grabs his hands. 

“You should come with me!”

“Huh?” 

“I was going to ask when we got to our destination but, Sky there’s no one I want at my side more than you!”

“Me?” Sky asks. “A-and come on I know you can leave SPD but I can’t.”

“Yes, you can!” Dru says. “You don’t owe them, or anyone, anything! I mean they didn't even make you red ranger even though you gave them everything!”

Sky steps back. “You know about that?”

“I saw a fight, and I could tell without even seeing his face that Red wasn’t you.”

“Disappointed?” Sky asks. “All that talk and–”

“Why would I be disappointed? Sky I don't care what color you wear, I just care about you.”

“Why?” Sky says, “I mean I’m… god I got told to take a break and I had nothing to do. Outside of SPD I don’t…”

“Why? Because, Angel, you’re the most beautiful, perfect, thing in the universe. I saw stars explode, different societies, wonders that would put what they’ve got on Earth to shame, and the thing I kept thinking was ‘I want Sky with me.’” Dru laughs. “I’m genuinely obsessed with you, I can’t get you out of my head.”

“Ha,” Sky says. “I’m a jerk, my friends–”

“Are they really your friends if they don’t see how amazing you are?” Dru asks, “or are they just people you’re forced to put up with.”

“If everyone forced to put up with me says the same thing–”

Dru pulls him close and kisses him. “Sky, Sky, Sky. Shut up. I can’t even put into words how I feel about you, it's like…” Dru’s eyes light up. “Like that ancient Earth song.”

Dru walks over to the panel and strings and piano fill the room.

“Dru, what is this?”

Dru smiles and starts singing. “You’d be so easy to love, so easy to idolize all others above”

“Dru–”

But before Sky can protest, Dru sweeps him into his arms and they start dancing.

“So sweet to waken with,” Dru sings, “so nice to sit down to eggs and bacon with.”

Sky wants to protest more, but Dru gives him a look that tells him to just enjoy it, and Sky finally cracks a smile and follows Dru’s lead.

“We’d be so grand at the game, so carefree together that it does seem a shame that you can’t see your future with me ‘cause you’d be oh so easy to–”

The moment is shattered as the shuttle shakes.

“Damn it,” Dru says. “Just HAD to ruin the moment.”

Sky races to the cockpit and checks the scanner.

“An unidentified ship is firing on us?” 

“They’re probably trying to disable the engines,” Dru mutters. “I can–”

“Hey, piloting was the only thing I beat you at,” Sky says, taking the controls.

He dodges away from the blast and turns the ship sharply upward.

“You’re crazy,” Dru says with a smile. “We’re heading to that planet over there.”

Another shot barely misses them, and Sky spots the landing spot through a pair of moons.

“I don’t like that look,” Dru says. 

“You love it,” Sky says. 

At the last possible second, Sky twists the ship sideways through the asteroid, and whatever ship was firing on them pulls away.

Sky lands them on the planet, and once the gear is engaged, Dru opens the hatch.

“That was amazing,” Dru says. “Now let’s get out of here so I can reward you properly.”

-

Z manages to land their ship roughly, and Jack immediately jumps out to check the damage.

“Damn, who knew Giganis was a good pilot?” He says. It’s gonna take forever to repair the damage.

Bridge is pacing around the open part of the ship. “We’re on Viara-10, right?” he asks. “Syd didn’t your magazine mention this place?”

“Uh yeah,” Syd says, “it’s the top ten most romantic date spots in the galaxy but what–” 

Before she can finish her sentence, Bridge is on his head and thinking. “And that asteroid trick, where did we see that before?”

Syd tilts her head. “Oh yeah I guess that was pretty similar to what Sky pulled back in our first year.”

“You think Sky was piloting?” Jack asks. “Why would he do that?”

“That was a partner sim,” Bridge says. “Who was the guy Sky was paired with?”

“God his boyfriend?” Syd says. “Shit I never saw him without Sky, what was his name? Dru…” Syd's eyes go wide.

“Harrington,” Bridge says. 

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him!”

“He was always hanging around Sky and talking to no one else, I mean I didn’t recognize him either without Sky next to him.”

“It all makes sense though, of course that’s what makes Sky go running from the infirmary.”

“Hold up,” Z says, “wanna fill in the guys who weren’t at the Academy?”

Suddenly a sound like thunder goes off, and Syd starts running. “We have to hurry, we can explain later!”

-

“How much further, Dru?” Sky asks, keeping his eyes closed.

“Just a little more… and, now!”

Sky opens his eyes and gasps. They’re on a mesa overlooking cliffs covered in vibrant blue flowers, and the sky is a deep purple highlighted by yellow streaks of lightning.

“We made it just in time,” Dru says. “The magnetic storm, it’s important here and similar to something on Tangar. Here it's just romantic, but on Tangar, you’re supposed to consummate your relationship beneath it if you want something that’ll truly last forever.”

“Oh, is that why you’ve kept me waiting so long?” Sky asks. “I did think it was weird you didn’t rip my shirt off as soon as we got on the shuttle.”

Dru laughs. “Ha, I've been very patient, do I get a reward?”

“You have a lot to make up to me Dru,” Sky says, pulling him close. “I mean a year and a half thinking you were dead…”

“Oh, Angel, let me show you how sorry I am!” Dru puts his arms under Sky’s shirt, and Sky is so ready but–

“Sky!” He turns back and sees his friends running towards them, out of breath.

“Oh good,” Syd says. “They still have their clothes on.”

“Why wouldn’t they have their clothes on?” Z pants.

“Don’t you rangers have better things to do than interrupt your cadets’ dates?” Dru says

“Date? As if we’d believe that,” Jack scoffs.

Sky frowns. “Why not?”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“You’re the ones who spent the whole week saying I need to learn to relax and then I go on a date with my boyfriend and you just assume I was kidnapped?”

“Hold on!” Bridge says, “hold on guys this is all a big misunderstanding! See we didn’t know Sky knew Dru, or Agent Gren, or Giganis, and Sky didn’t know he’s an assassin who shot Cruger, and Dru didn’t know Sky was a ranger!”

“You’re a ranger?!” Dru gasps.

“You’re an assassin?” Sky asks. “And wait, wait was this whole thing, the brunch, the rose petals, the music, this was all just… a way to use me as a shield so SOD wouldn’t shoot you down?”

“No!” Dru says. “Angel, my plan was always to come see you again, I was going to tell you when the moment was better but, come on is SPD really the place for you? There’s a whole galaxy out there, we could be free! You’d love it, I know you would.”

“To be clear, if we didn’t show up and you’d asked Sky this post-coitus, would he be able to say no?” Syd asks.

“I could convince him if you would just leave us alone!”

“To be clear,” Bridge says, “you're under arrest for injuring an officer and your many, many, many other crimes.”

“Stella would you all just shut up!”

“Did you even have amnesia?” Sky asks. “Or did you just run off and let me think–”

“Sky, Angel, my stars and moon, I wasn’t lying when I said I was thinking about you, about running away together, about wanting to give you everything! I swear I just–”

“You’re just also a space mercenary?” Sky says. He takes a deep breath and pinches his nose. “Dru that’s…. you need help. You realize you're talking crazy, right? Let’s just… go back to Earth and we can–”

“You’re the one who needs help, Sky! SPD has done nothing but hold you back and bring you misery. But you won’t see it with these rangers getting involved every minute!”

Suddenly, Dru shifts into a monster form, and Sky stumbles back.

“Here,” Jack says, handing Sky his Morpher. “Cruger’s back, so you’re officially back on duty.”

Sky nods and swallows. He forces out the words “SPD! EMERGENCY!” 

“Don’t make me do this, Dru,” Sky says. 

“I’m really sorry to have to do this to you too, Sky,” Dru says. “But you’re clearly not going to realize anything while they’re around.”

“Speaking of us,” Bridge says, “you're under arrest for, what was it, murder counts across ten planets, attempted murder of an officer, identity theft, and getting someone to come with you under false pretenses is still kidnapping even if you didn’t hold him hostage!”

“Yeah, payback time for the cargo bay,” Jack says.

“You know,” Dru says, “Cruger was nothing personal, but I’m going to enjoy destroying you and then smashing Sky’s morpher into dust!”

~

After the fight, they put Dru in a card for transfer and Sky collapses onto the ground.

“Is there any chance,” he asks, “that this is a coma? That that robot actually knocked me out and now I’m hallucinating a near death experience where my boyfriend comes back from the dead but he’s evil?”

“I mean anything's possible,” Bridge says, “we could all be brains in jars imagining we’re talking to each other.”

“But in this case,” Syd says, “no, sorry your ex sucks.”

Sky fiddles with the coil on his wrist. 

“Come on, Cruger and Kat are worried about you,” Z says. 

“Yeah, whatever.” Sky says getting up. “At least I can get back to work. This will be my last day off in a while.”

“See, I don’t think this is the lesson you should take from this,” Jack says.

“Shut up. Where’s the ship? I need to sleep for a bit.”

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

SPD OT5 playlist!

This one's a little different: because there's not just one one-shot for them and instead a sort of miniseries within the big series, I decided to just put together all the songs for their fics in one place. It ended up being not that much longer than the other playlists because I can't find my notes for the original SPD fic, so I just have the songs I literally indicated in the fics themselves, plus one or two additions that fit the VibesTM.

Anyway, say hi to the SPD OT5, who just like Jayden/Antonio, you cannot convince me wasn't canon in the original story. Like, have you SEEN the SWAT arc? The sleepovers? The fact that the entire series' backbone is their growing relationship with each other? S.P.D. more than any other series feels like a story about the relationship of the team, the underdogs against the world, and clearly that bled into my inspiration at the time as S.P.D. got like eleven fics and 42k+ words total? INCLUDING a couple of spin-offs involving their daughter and Dani Rocca (Chip/Xander/Vida's daughter) joining the team?

Anyway, I'm going to link the miniseries here instead of the one-shot fic for those exact reasons.

@skyland2703 @madhare0512 @khruschevshoe @liveinalovelyway @disastardly @augment-techs @our-raven-strife-universe @infinitysgrace @estel-eruantien

[augment-techs]

UNCONVENTIONAL AUs forensics AU + Sky/Z 👀

-Sky Tate is a forensic pathologist--most obliged and comfortable working with the bodies of the murdered or mysteriously demised than with ordinary people. Most of his lunches are actually taken down in the morgue, because he doesn't know how to communicate with people very well.

-High functioning autistic with an aversion to touch; his gloves are three times as thick and his bosses would be averse to ordering them if he wasn't one of the best at his job in the country.

-Elizabeth 'Z' Delgado, contrariwise, is a specialist in forensic nursing. She handles a great many people in a week that have undergone some trauma and need to be treated with great care while retrieving evidence off of them to help their cases go forward. Abuse victims, sexual assault victims, those who attempt suicide because of outside reasons--all of these are the people most likely for Z to be called in to see five days a week.

-Which is probably why, after a day of having to take the job of getting evidence and information off of a friend from the other side of the department--blonde, lovely, high functioning Syd, who did not deserve this--Z sometimes sneaked into the morgue to have a moment of silence and be alone without the bright lights and the camera going off and the 'why, why, why, why' rushing through the air coming from different places.

-Sky found her while he was having a lunch of seaweed noodles and wantons, pacing around to get his legs circulating blood and nearly tripped on her curled up against one of the lockers he liked to keep empty since he'd lost evidence off of some victims twice due to its breaking down.

-He offered up a wanton that hadn't been dipped in sauce, still warm and smelling of cream cheese and deep frying.

-She took it up, nibbling around the food as he lead her to a chair in the back near where he was working, not talking, just offering company without words.

-And it kept happening until they introduced themselves, quite by accident, when they were both off shift and bumped into the other at a Korean grocery; her looking over some pickled eggs and him going too fast around an aisle corner to look for the dried duck.

-Z's roommate Jack and Sky's roommate Bridge both noted that they were more...chipper...than usual whenever they came back to work from that day forward (complete with not making a big deal out of going out for specialty ramen or the Taiwanese restaurant that served something neither of them could pronounce but look a little like grey goo with mackerel bones floating to the top).

@skyland2703

[khruschevshoe]

Come let me love you

Let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter

Let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you

Let me always be with you

Come let me love you

Come love me again

-John Denver, Annie's Song

Sometimes, when Jack is looking at his arm, at the familiar green and red and pink and purple ink on his skin, he sometimes wishes- and he hates admitting it- but he sometimes wishes that there was blue there as well. He can’t explain the reasons why it feels oh so wrong to not have blue ink on his arm as well, why he feels like there's something not complete about the colors of the marks on his arm, but he can't help it. And it makes him feel like a piece of shit, thinking that way, because he fucking loves all of his Soulmates. Each one of them carries a piece of his heart, and he loves them to the ends of the Earth. His day would not be complete without Bridge’s rambling logic, Syd's flair, Z's selfless heroism.

But he also knows that he wouldn't be the same man without Sky's stubbornness and attention to detail tempering out Jack's more reckless tendencies. Sky is just as important a part of the team as the rest of them, and sometimes Jack wishes that that extended to the marks on his wrist.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, these scars on my heart I own them (we are unbreakable)

[aestheticaltcow]

I have asked

Ele fica todo "porra podia ter matado ela" e ela "tá tudo bem bear ☺️ você não sabia"

Sunshine Reader who works at The Beef (started working there while Carmy was working in Germany) he does not know much about her yet

Then he is making a new recipe and calls her to prove and she goes all happy, when he will put the spoon in her mouth everybody gives kitchen screams saying that he could not because he had set a thing she has allergy

He gets all "I could have killed her" and she's like is okay Bear ☺️, you did not know "

Sorry for the bad English

Hey, don't apologize for the 'bad English'. English is a very hard language. It's my only language, and it confuses me every day.

Anyway, enjoy :)

Allergic to Sunshine

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader

The Bear Masterlist

“Yo, you busy?” Carmy asked as you worked at your prep station. You shook your head, “Just on veggie prep for the lunch rush.”

Carmy nodded as he stood there with his hands on his hips. He watched you chop briefly before asking, “Can you taste something for me?” 

“Sure!” you smiled, placing your knife at the top right corner of your station before following Carmy to his. You passed Marcus and Tina on the way. After cheerfully greeting the two of them and engaging in some casual small talk, Carmy put the final touches on the dish he’d wanted you to taste. 

You liked Carmy; he was pretty serious but had a plethora of culinary knowledge. When he took over The Beef the summer after Mikey died, you weren’t sure what would happen to your job. The late and great Mikey Berzatto hired you as a catch-all employee of sorts. You were a broke college student who managed to convince him to give you a chance. 

After Mikey died, you were worried Richie would downsize, but he assured you that you were family- and you don’t fire family. When the staff found out Carmy was moving back to Chicago to take over the restaurant, Richie reassured you again that ‘Mr. New York’ wouldn’t be allowed to fire you because while The Beef may have been in Carmy’s name- it was Richie’s restaurant.

Carmy changed a lot about The Beef claiming it would be more efficient and it would be the change needed to turn it from just a sandwich shop to the restaurant he wanted to create to honor Mikey. He moved you from your catch-all role to learning how to be a line cook. He’d managed to teach you some basic knife skills and cooking quickly became a way for the two of you to communicate- despite your multiple food allergies.

When you made your way to Carmy, he passed you a plate of fancy-looking dishes with a green and yellow sauce swirl. “What is this?” you questioned as you took a spoon to the dish. “Tryin’ out some sauces for a seafood risotto Syd and I have been workin’ on,” Carmy explained as he leaned against his station with his arms crossed over his chest. You nodded, and he started explaining the sauces, “The yellow is a pineapple hot sauce, and the green is pea, garlic, and chili oil-”

“Yo Cousin! Are you tryin’ to kill her? She’s allergic to everything on that plate.” Richie yelled from the other side of the kitchen. Carmy looked up at the ceiling before sighing and turning his attention to you with a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face. “You were just gonna eat that? Even though you’re allergic?” 

You shrugged, “You didn’t know I was allergic to pineapple, peas… or most shellfish.” 

You watched Carmy squeeze the bridge of his nose with one hand as he took the plate away from you with the other. “Any other allergies I should know about?” he chuckled slightly.

“Pumpkin. You didn’t know- it’s okay, Carm.” you smiled as you playfully punched his arm. Carmy shook his head as he walked away from the station, laughing about how ridiculous this situation was. You couldn’t help but blush as you walked back to your station. He was something else, but so were you.

[tightjeansjavi]

And They Were Roommates | drabble

“Lavender Haze”

A/N: I have no explanation for this other than the fact that I’m severely touch deprived and want to take a bath with Joel and Logan 😔 thank you to @syd-djarin for the beautiful moodboard and thank u @sinsofsummers for betaing 😩

word count: 1.6k

Summary: A three-way in the bath OR Joel complains that his back hurts and you and Logan take care of him ;)

Pairing | Joel Miller x Logan Howlett x f!reader

Warnings: mature, smut, mentions of alcohol, throuple, Joel and Logan are your boyfriends who are also boyfriends, language, +18 minors dni!

series masterlist

The days are growing increasingly shorter and colder, and the winter months are steadfast on the horizon. But despite the chill in the air, and the dull ache in his lower back muscles and shoulders, Joel is content; satisfied. He knows that you and Logan are at home, anticipating his arrival. Joel can’t help but wonder what compromising situation he’ll find you and the Wolverine in today.

Just last week he stumbled upon quite the erotic scene, finding you sprawled out on the kitchen table beneath the sheer mass of Logan and his claws leaving long, jagged marks in the once pristine furnished wood. It was Joel’s favorite table, one of his first furnished pieces that he carved by hand. Logan apologized profusely—on his knees for the extensive damage he caused.

Today, however, the house was quiet—sans the familiar comforting crackles emitting from the fireplace in the living room.

There’s no sign of you, or Logan, till Joel’s good ear picks up on the distinct rumble of a low grunt, followed by a soft giggle coming from upstairs.

He let out a disgruntled sound from the back of his throat as he bent down to unlace his boots and immediately felt that familiar strain in his lower back from being on patrol all day.

“Gettin’ too fuckin’ old for this shit.” He muttered under his breath, kicking his boots to the side of the worn down welcome mat and hung the strap of his rifle along the hook in the wall.

His good ear perks up at the sound of your soft, desperate, little moans coming from up the stairs. He lets out a huff, subtly glancing down at the noticeable strain in his stiff, worn down jeans. There’s an endearing patch of mix-matched fabric stitched lovingly right along the thigh where a large, and obvious rip used to exist.

He shakes his head, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth and looks towards the top of the staircase with an amused grin. His favorite spot, the leather recliner near the fireplace is calling his name, beckoning him to sit down and rest his aching muscles, but his hardening cock has a mind of its own, and he misses his two lovers that he fondly calls home.

As he ascends up the stairs, he discovers articles of yours and Logan’s clothing scattered about, and he bends down, looping one of his fingers through the delicate hem of your discarded panties.

He slowly brings them up to his face, inspecting them with a twitch of his lips and the scent of your arousal permeating in the air. He inhales deeply, burying the bridge of his nose against the damp patch of fabric with a content sigh.

He stuffs your panties into the back pocket of his jeans and gathers up the rest of yours and Logan’s clothing on his way up. “Fuckin’ animals.” He chuckles to himself and makes a pit stop to the laundry basket in the hallway, first.

That’s when a new scent invades his senses; lavender.

His footsteps are undetected by either you and Logan, as you’re far too consumed with one another to hear Joel’s arrival.

You were surprised to hear that Logan was eager to take your offer up on having a relaxing afternoon soak in the tub, but you came to learn that the Wolverine did in fact enjoy a bit of pampering every now and then.

It started off innocent, with you giving Logan a well deserved scalp massage, lathering his hair in homemade lavender shampoo, but then he kissed you—and well, you couldn’t say no, not when he was whispering absolute filth between heated kisses, and guiding your hips to straddle his own. He didn’t give two fucks that you warned him about the risks of getting soap in his eyes, not when you were nestled so warmly around his aching cock.

“Don’t stop—please.” Joel hears the desperation in Logan’s throaty voice, and his jeans grow even tighter as he quietly pushes open the ajar bathroom door to find you and the Wolverine tangled together in the sudsy water surrounded by the soft glow of flickering candles.

And despite the way that his skin prickles with jealousy when he finds you nestled in the Wolverine’s lap, his arms wound around your waist, holding you flush, strong hands gripping the soft swell of your ass, blunt fingernails latching on like hooks. He doesn’t want his presence to be known, not yet, not while he can watch the way your breath mingles, hitches with want, and the languid roll of your hips—a constant rhythm being met with the sheer force of the Wolverine’s desperate thrusts causing ripples along the surface of the tub.

He crosses his arms against his chest, resting his exhausted back against the wall, watching the hidden desperation in a chaste kiss between you and Logan. He can feel your body buzzing with need—and the Wolverine can sense it, too.

“Thas’ it, sweet girl. Doin’ so good for me.” Logan purrs against your lips, a smirk appearing when he feels your nails digging into shoulder blades. His eyes roll back from the sensation of pain blurring into intoxicating pleasure. “Takin’ my cock so well, jus’ like you always do.”

Joel pushes himself off from the wall, padding over to the toilet and quietly flips the seat up before he undoes the buckle on his belt, followed by the metallic scritch of the zipper being yanked down.

The movement in the tub finally stills, and Logan briefly detaches his lips from yours, swollen with your kisses and a translucent thread of saliva hangs between you and him.

“That you, bub?” He rasps.

“Don’t stop on my account, Logan. Don’t wanna leave our girl hangin’, do we?” Joel answers back with a grin. “By the way, it reeks like a Bath and Body Works threw up in here.”

The other man laughs, loosening his grip around you slightly when you begin to pepper little kisses and nips at the base of his throat. “We would have waited for you, baby. But Logan has a way with his words.”

“His words, huh?” Joel teases and eases his cock out from its confines so he can finally piss. “Sure it was his words, and not his cock buried inside of you that did it?”

“He’s very persuasive.”

“Don’t I know it.” He grunts in reply.

“It was her magic hands that did it. You ever gotten a scalp massage from this one? I’m sure you have—but christ, she had me practically purring in her lap.”

“Mhm.” Joel hums and re-zips his jeans, closes the lid to the toilet seat and then flushes. “She does have magic fingers, that’s for damn sure.”

“Why don’t you join us, baby? The water is still warm.” You suggest with a coy smile, slipping out of Logan’s loose grasp so you can rest your elbows along the side of the tub.

“Mmm…but you know I hate baths, darlin.’”

“He does hate baths.” You said with a sigh, leaning back against Logan’s strong chest when his arms wrap around you once more, and his chin comes to rest along your shoulder.

“‘Sides, my back is fuckin’ killin’ me after patrol. Think im jus’ gonna crash out downstairs for a bit.” He reassures you both, pivoting on his heel to leave.

You and Logan share a knowing look and he brushes his lips against the shell of your ear, hot breath fanning the sensitive skin.

“Work too hard out there, Miller. Let us take care of you.” His voice rumbles against your ear as you lean further into him.

Joel’s lips twitch upwards as if he’s going to grin. “I see what you two shit stirrers are doin’, and it ain’t gonna work on me.” He softly scoffs, but his words don’t mirror his actions, and he feels that invisible, magnetic pull guiding him towards the tub.

“How about a kiss instead, baby? We’ve missed you.” You cooed.

“Alright.” He concedes, “one kiss for each of ya, and then I’m outta here.” He insists, but even he knows he can’t resist you or Logan in the end.

“One kiss, bub.” Logan rasps, and is already tilting his head upwards when Joel leans down, resting his hands along the side of the tub. Their lips brush just as you grab Joel’s hand and Logan reaches for the hem of his shirt. Together, you manage to pull Joel into the tub, sending watering sloshing over the rim and creating an even bigger puddle than before.

Joel’s not even the least bit angry, even though his scowl says otherwise. He laughs, deeply, right from his belly when he feels two pairs of lips along the side of his face.

“‘Coulda let me take my clothes off first.” He chuckles, turning his head to the side so that he can meet your lips, first.

“You wouldn’t have gotten in otherwise, bub.” Logan says teasingly, reaching for his belt under the water and undoes it swiftly.

“Touché, Howlett. Touché.” Joel sighs into your mouth, jaw going slack under the Wolverines touch when he pulls his cock free, finally.

The candles surrounding the tub have almost completely melted down by the time that you, Joel, and Logan pull yourselves out of the now lukewarm water.

The ache in Joel’s back is duller, now, and he can’t really complain much, especially after you and Logan took care of him devotedly. He still ends up lounged out on his favorite recliner, fireside with his clothes drying. A glass of whiskey sits perched in his palm as he relaxes, listening to the soft chatter between you and Logan in the kitchen.

A hidden smile appears over the rim of his glass, and he lets out a content sigh, warmth flooding his heart, all the way down to the tips of his toes.

So, this is what it feels like.

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[leviathanspain]

hi 🖤 idk if this is a good request? lol but i’d really like to read the ways carmen prefers to be with reader than claire/noticing she’s THE one and not the other way round, maybe there was a little bit of an overlap??? not necessarily cheating but- and how sugar or richie or syd notice that they are endgame

i wanna be yours

carmy berzatto x reader

synopsis: enemies to lovers, carmy likes the attitude he’s developed when he’s around you, far more than being with his girlfriend

part 2

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you knew he didn’t like you.

richie had hired you, after you had walked in with a pile of resumes, dropping off five copies of yours before walking off. he didn’t even get a word in, admiring your style of exiting instead.

he had called you not even an hour later and asked when you could start.

and here you were, a week into waitressing at the bear.

it was supposed to be this prestigious new restaurant opened by some hotshot chef. but you couldn’t be quite sure, chicago had just recently become your home. but quickly you learned the dynamics, except for him, who wouldn’t look you in the eye, let alone talk to him.

“y/n!” richie slammed a hand on the door, swinging it open, “third time calling, where is she?” he looked around in the kitchen, eyes searching for you.

richie looked at carm, who was just finishing a conversation with sydney, “yo cousin! have you seen your employee? her shift started twenty minutes ago!” his shouts drew eyes from the rest of the kitchen staff and carmy turned, sighing slightly as he walked up to richie.

“she’s your employee, cousin. you hired her, you deal with it.” his lip twitched up slightly and richie sighed, throwing his hands up, “it’s shot to hell, all of it!” he slammed another hand on the door and back to the front of house.

suddenly, you barreled through the kitchen’s back door, a bag on your shoulder, impossibly stuffed with belongings as you hurried to the locker room. carmy sighed with annoyance upon seeing you. he turned back around and tried to find something to busy himself with.

“hey boss,” you looked at carmy, who didn’t look up from his cutting, “sorry i’m late there was some-“ you had prepared an excuse! carmy didn’t say anything just shook his head, “don’t wanna hear it, go talk to richie.”

you felt your cheeks burn red with embarrassment as you bowed your head, shuffling past him and out of the kitchen.

“fucking finally! i was beginning to think you thought this shit was optional.” richie spat, throwing a towel at you, “start wiping down the tables for dinner.” you sighed, taking the towel off your chest, where it landed and stuck, and threw it onto a table.

for a moment, you watched as you wiped the table, before looking over at richie, who had his brows furrowed over the cash drawer.

“why does he hate me?” you had an arm on the counter, lips pouted slightly.

richie sighed, knowing exactly who you were asking about. “carmy’s just carmy.” you groaned loudly, “that’s all anyone ever says. it’s just an excuse for him to act like an asshole.”

richie shrugged, “that’s all i got. forget about it and just keep scrubbing, we don’t pay you for nothing, sweetie.”

you blew a breath out, doing just as he said.

“can you please tell carmy that i need friday off?” you hung onto richie’s arm, pulling him as he tried to run away from you earlier. you had been talking his ear off all day about your trip, and how you’ve been needing this.

richie pulled his arm back and held his hands up, “i’ll see what i can do. no promises though, friday night and it’s just me and you up here? we’ll see.” he tried to be realistic in a nice way, although he knew there was no way in hell you’d be able to get that day off.

“we’ll see isn’t good enough, rich. i really, really need this.” you had clasped your hands together to further express your desperation, and richie groaned, “ask him yourself then! im sick of having to be the bridge between you two.”

you blinked, “maybe if i knew why carmy hated me, then maybe i’d do something about it. but fine!” you walked over to the kitchen door, pushing it open. inside, you found the kitchen staff cleaning up. you refreshed your greeting with them before asking about carmy. sydney had directed you to the office, where only a dim light was the indicator that he was in there.

it took you a moment to build up the courage to knock, but the door swung open before your hand even reached it. carmy stood there, nostrils flared as if he had just taken a deep breathe, redness around his eyes, exhibiting his exhaustion.

there was genuine surprise on his face to see you, and you had to withhold a breath, “hey boss.” his blue eyes locked onto yours for a mere second before they floated away, resting somewhere on the wall behind you.

“what’s up?” his voice raised the question and you nodded, “right- i already talked to richie and he told me to ask you, and i don’t know if you’ll even say yes-“

“get to the point.” of course, you should’ve known by his fingers tapping against the door that he was getting impatient. he was important, and constantly busy, he didn’t have time for you or-

“i need friday off.” you breathed, feeling the release of your tension in your shoulders. you almost heaved just as he answered, unsure of what he would say.

“yeah, i guess that’s fine.” he shrugged slightly before clearing his throat. he closed his eyes slightly as your face lit up, “really? thank you, boss. i-“

“can i get past?” carmy interrupted your words and stared at the door, your body halfway covering it. “yeah- of course.” you scooted further into the office as carmy pulled on the doorknob. you felt the edge of the door tap your back, and you shuddered as it swung back and slammed as he left.

blowing out a breathe, you opened the door, eyes accidentally catching carmy’s, who was standing near the kitchen door. you looked away first, still reeling from the interaction in the office. as much grace as you’ve been giving him, it was getting exhausting having to hold yourself back.

“why is he so-“ you struggled for the words to describe your boss, especially to richie. you were frustrated, carmy’s constant dismissal of you, even when you were asking for something that would affect him and his workday, he didn’t care!

“y/n, it’s just cousin. he’s harmless, don’t worry about anything. you got the day off?” richie turned to look at you, your mouth still in a pout, but you nodded nonetheless, “yeah i did.”

“that’s good! just be happy you got it off, hmm?” he tried to be a mediator, tried to be nice and hear you out, but after hearing the two of you express your anguish over the other, day after day, he was getting sick of it. “why’d you ask for it off again? i thought you didn’t have a life.”

you scoffed, rolling your eyes as you stared at the ground for a moment, “that’s true. it’s my father’s- was, my father’s birthday.” you laughed slightly, pausing before speaking again, “he grew up here, going to the local theater with his father for his birthday every year. we’d make family trips every year to come back to chicago, watch movies with him in the same theater and share a slice of cake. after he passed, my sister and i were the only ones who did it for a while, but then she got married and suddenly, it was just me.” you shrugged, “and then i moved to chicago permanently, into the same house that my father lived in. and i got a job here.” you smiled weakly, “yeah.”

richie nodded, “yeah.” matching your tone of voice. he didn’t want to speak, letting himself sit with that. you were nice enough, a good kid, and he saw something in you, a little spark just wanting to be ignited fully. he didn’t know what it would take, but it seemed like you didn’t either.

carmy hadn’t realized that he had eavesdropped the entire conversation between you and richie until richie came into the kitchen, slamming the door against carmy, who had stood there, frozen, captivated by your story.

“cousin- get the hell out of the way!” richie barely glanced at carmy, too in a rush to even think to slow down.

carmy looked down at the door as he pushed the door open, out into the dining room. he looked up to see you wiping down the counters. you had a wet rag under your hand, and you were lost in thought as your hand moved in a circular, repetitive motion. you didn’t even notice him as he inched closer, unsure of what he was going to say when you noticed him.

“hey.” carmy realized he was speaking, and as you looked up, your attention. you couldn’t help but smile, this was the first time that you had seen him so still, and so in thought.

“hey.” you returned his greeting, letting the rag go, you turned your full attention to him. he laughed nervously and that made you smile even more. it was odd, how he changed so suddenly with you.

you raised an eyebrow, “is there something wrong?” he hadn’t said anything else, just staring in thought.

he shook his head, and returned himself to the kitchen.

“weird.” you exhaled, watching as the door swung shut behind him. how could carmy go from being the biggest asshole to you, to randomly greeting you then going silent.

you’d talk to richie about it later, but for now you had work to finish.

“claire.” carmy looked surprised to see his girlfriend. it was friday, and normally she stopped by on saturdays. “i thought you worked on fridays.” he pulled her into the office and claire shrugged, “i got off early, just to come see you.”

carmy nodded, “yeah. yeah.” claire raised an eyebrow at him, “i cant leave early tho. y/n asked for the day off and i didn’t realize how much she does so-“ he cut himself off watching as claire’s expression soured slightly.

carmy sighed, “i know- but i’m her boss, im going to have to talk to her eventually.” claire rolled her eyes, “god, i-“ she cut herself off and stood up, “that’s fine, carmen. i understand, really.” her tone sounded irritated as she opened the door. carmy found himself standing to rush after her, but stopped himself.

had he really made a judgement on you based on an experience claire had with you in grade school? so far, you hadn’t mentioned claire to be someone of the past, and carmy had wondered why.

carmy blinked, suddenly getting the urge to rush after claire. but as she walked right out the front door, carmy realized that he had been too late. normally, the guilt would set right in, but as he stared out into the dining room, he could imagine you standing at the counter, eyes shying away from his.

saturday had been a rough start for you. you had spent the whole night before, sobbing at the movie theater. your eyes had puffed up so much that you had to go home, barely able to see the movie through your tears. this time of year was rough for you, especially since your family hardly called. your father had been the glue to hold all your differences together, but it seemed not to have a lasting affect.

when you had arrived late to work, yet again, you had expected carmy to give you the silent treatment, or possibly even yell, but he hadn’t said anything.

except,

“i’m sorry about your dad.” he had looked down at the floor when he said it. you stared at him, shocked that he said anything to you besides the usual, and that he knew about your father.

“how long as it been?” more. he was talking more to you, “uhh-“ you couldn’t contain yourself, “two years. but it feels like-“

“yesterday. yeah i know.” he finished your sentence. “i lost my dad too. a while ago.” he shook his head, as if shaking the feeling that came along with it.

you nodded, holding a small smile that carmy had actually made conversation with you.

“thank you. and im sorry for your loss as well.” you brushed past him, still reeling.

months passed, changing things with time, including carmen.

not only had he become a better boss, but you could consider him a friend. transitioning to kitchen staff had made that happen, including moments that made you think of him as more.

there was no doubt of the chemistry you had with him. everyone noticed it, and sydney had half the mind to encourage it.

“you work so well together! he needs something and you’re there with it! it’s actually insane, like did you guys come from the same planet?” her voice got a little high as she rambled on and you laughed, “what planet would that be, syd?”

she shrugged, “something of greatness. i mean, he’s even said it himself-“

you held up a hand, ending her little ramble right then and there, “sydney. i am not anything like the world renowned chef that runs this place. im not even a sous! i was waiting tables just a month ago.” your hand pointed out to the dining room and sydney threw her hands up, “that’s exactly my point!”

you rolled your eyes, “please stop.” you couldn’t hear her anymore, not while carmy was just minutes from rounding the corner.

“want one?” carmy had noticed you were gone. the rush was starting to slow and you had decided to take a break, not knowing he would follow. there was a cigarette hanging in his mouth glumly, a lighter being tossed between his hands.

“i don’t really smoke.” you answered earnestly. carmy brought the lighter up to his mouth, taking a moment to light it. he inhaled, and you caught yourself staring at him as he exhaled.

“you don’t really?” he sat down, closer than he probably realized. you turned to look at him, eyes hooding as they focused on his cigarette. “mhm.” you answered, leaning a cheek on your hand.

you were reaching out before you realized, fingers wrapping around the cigarette, pulling it from his mouth and into yours.

carmy watched you with surprised eyes, as you took a long, deep drag. you exhaled it, hand outstretched to return it. he took it, smiling as he chuckled.

“i’m quitting.” you admitted. looking at carmy, waiting for him to react. he didn’t, and you laughed, “did you hear me, carmen?”

carmy took another drag, pulling out the cigarette to flick it against the concrete step, “no you’re not.”

“i am- i already talked to richie and syd-“ you found yourself trying to justify your decision until he raised his voice, “no you’re not! i said no!”

you flinched, not used to having him scream directly in your face. he didn’t need to, and so he never did.

until now.

your ears were still ringing. you had been staring at carmy’s side profile for five minutes, as he stared ahead in silence.

finally, “why not?” the pure shock had kept you quiet, but you had built up emotion, and your voice couldn’t help cracking.

carmy shrugged, “just don’t. just give me time, alright.”

your frustration grew with his vague answer. he was refusing your resignation, and now he was refusing to tell you why?

carmy panted quietly. he had been in the office for more than twenty minutes, watching as he phone buzzed with call after phone call from claire.

he couldn’t pick up, not when his head was full with thoughts of you. he knew it was wrong, he knew that claire should be the only girl on his mind, but she wasn’t and he felt horrible.

he stared at the phone, swallowing thickly as he picked up the phone, opening a desk drawer and tossing it in.

ever since he had found out that you had no idea who his girlfriend was, and that her entire reasoning to dislike you had been a lie, it had strained his relationship. but claire had been close to catching onto his disillusionment, and it seemed like she reached it.

he opened the office door, breathing in deeply as he saw you in the kitchen, eyes red rimmed but still diligently at work.

[playbucky]

Celebrate.

You and Ritchie had been a couple for a while, you had always been the bridge between him and Carm and now you and the Berzatto’s are opening The Bear. Characters – Reader x Ritchie, Carmen, Sydney. Word Count – 1k. 

‘God Damon Richie, you’ve been keeping this from us?’ You said when you were greeted by Richie in the black suit, the black on black looked good on him. He smiled widely when he saw your eyes run up and down him. ‘You tryna flirt with me?’ Richie quizzed, he wrapped his arm around you and pulled you closer. ‘No baby, if I was I would say I’d look forward to seeing it on my bedroom floor.’ You said, he smiled down at you before he placed a peck on your lips. ‘Might let you take it off me later.’ He commented lowly, you arched an eyebrow. ‘Really?’ You quizzed. ‘Mmm.’ He hummed. ‘Let’s just get through this, huh?’ You said, you patted his back and separated.     ‘Yeah.’ He sighed, you knew his nerves were bouncing around under his calm exterior. ‘Oh, come on love birds.’ Sydney said, you smiled at Richie as you noticed him stand taller. ‘What about it Syd?’ You challenged her as you turned, the lovesick smile on your face made you less threatening. ‘We’ve got prep to do.’ She said, you sighed but knew she was right. ‘Alright,’ you turned to Richie, ‘I’ll see you on the flip side.’ You said, he nodded and leaned into the kiss you pressed on his cheek, just missing his lips. ‘Carm in yet?’ You asked, the new chefs were listening to Tina. ‘No -,’ he pushed the door open, ‘he’s here.’ She said, Richie walked past him and into the front as you managed to spare him on last smile. ‘You’re late.’ You commented. ‘By thirty seconds.’ He looked at the clock that you were sure ticked louder when everyone was in a rush. ‘Still late.’ You told him, he shook his head. ‘God you’re becoming Richie.’ Carm commented, you scoffed and moved to allow him into the lockers. ‘No sweetie, you know I’ve been like this forever.’ You said, he chucked his rucksack into the locker and nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s such a shame.’ He replied, you stuck your tongue out at him. ‘Move it jackass.’ You pushed his shoulder, he stumbled slightly but listened to you. ‘Marry me.’ Richie said, you pulled back from him with wide eyes, his warm hands found their way to you neck. His thumb brushed over your jawline and he gazed down at you. ‘What?’ You questioned, unsure if you heard him correctly. ‘Marry me.’ He repeated, ‘I mean I don’t have a ring or anything but I can take you shopping tomorrow and put one on it.’ Richie continued, he was starting to ramble. ‘Yes.’ You said, he opened his mouth to continue before he froze. ‘What?’ He asked this time, you lifted a hand and cupped his face, the stubble tickled the palm of your hand. ‘I’ll marry you, baby.’ You told him, a wide smile took over his face. ‘Yeah?’ ‘Yeah.’ You agreed, he surged forward and captured your lips. His fingers found their way to the hair at the base of your neck and pulled you closer, your hand wrapped around his back, the pair of you tried to get closer which was impossible. Richie broke the kiss, he gasped for air before he leaned forward and pecked your lips a couple of times, you slowly opened your eyes and you smiled at him. ‘First thing tomorrow, you and me at the jewellers.’ He said, his nose brushed against yours, you were sure you had both gone crossed eyes but you didn’t care. ‘First thing?’ You reacted, he nodded, ‘Cause I was hoping that maybe this could stay on the floor longer. Y’know so we can celebrate.’ You played with the lapels of his suit jacket, he let out a low groan. ‘Fine, first thing on Monday.’ He amended his statement.

[skyland2703]

Color Coded Dynamics x Album Covers

Bridge Carson x Sydney Drew//Learn to Love Again

[thefanficmonster]

hii would love anything with sydney adamu x reader if ur still taking requests!! or even just headcanons honestly just need more syd content on here

Hi hun! Oh I'm always delighted to write for Syd, I'm obsessed with her 🙈 Hope you enjoy the fic darling 💌

Pairing: Sydney Adamu x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Bear S2, Swearing

Genre: FLUFF

Summary: When Sydney's left to do menu research duty on her own, she comes to realize a few things.

Her calls are going straight to voicemail, it's half an hour past their agreed upon time to meet up and she's frankly fucking tired. She's used to doing things on her own, knowing not to expect much from other people. But still she's astounded by how shitty this is. It's not like they have all the time in the world - quite the opposite actually. Every second counts. And Carmy just wasted 1800 seconds of precious time Syd could've used for menu research.

She's given up hope and is now waiting for the train to the first restaurant on her list, puffs of smoke escaping her mouth as she periodically sighs in continuous disappointment she can't suppress no matter how hard she tries. The momentary tranquility she finds from the chaos of the restaurant is time she cherishes, until it's interrupted by her ringing phone.

She's not even surprised to see it's not Carmy who's calling. She is, however, surprised to feel a wide smile stretch across her face when she sees your name on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, hi." She hears the exhaustion in your voice, the yelling in the background explains the reasoning behind it. "I know you and Carmy are probably eating some wonderful food right now but I really need to talk to someone sane or I'll commit a crime."

A laugh rattles Sydney's chest, a genuine, wholehearted laugh, "Nah I'm actually bored out of my mind waiting for the train. Alone. I'm more than happy to keep you sane for a sec."

"Wait, alone? Why are you- Richie for fuck's sake put the hammer down!!! - Sorry about that. Why are you alone?" Syd hears the click of a lighter on your end, signaling you're out for a brief smoke to prevent the aforementioned potential crime. Possibly a murder. Possibly of Richie.

"Because Carmy has dropped off the face of the Earth." She sighs, stepping onto the train that's finally arrived, rescuing her from the Chicago cold.

"That's unlike him. I'd be concerned if - Fak, honey, you're gonna wreck the fucking pipe! - You know what, never mind that. I'm sure he's fine. You wanna....not be alone maybe? I wanna be anywhere but here right now."

Syd could use some alone time, or at least that's what she was telling herself before you called. Now, she couldn't imagine spending her afternoon any better than visiting different restaurants and doing menu research in your company. "I'd love that. I'll be at The Montgomery."

"Cool, cool. It's a date."

Sydney playfully rolls her eyes as she hangs up the phone, the dory smile refusing to leave her face.

The two of you have been essential for each other's survival and sanity ever since this whole restaurant fiasco started. Her with her brutal realism and you with your unconditional optimism, it's safe to say you balance each other quite nicely, bringing you close and forming a strong bond between you.

Somewhere along the way, flirting started being sprinkled throughout your interactions, mostly from your end. But it's not like it's one sided. You both have fun toying with the potential of there being something more. Just as a joke, of course.

But in every joke there's a half-truth. One half from her and one half from you forms the whole truth - that you're both idiots that should stop hiding behind teasing and sarcasm and just say what you're feeling.

There hasn't really been much time for that though, not among the dust, mold and other substances currently littering the restaurant-in-the-making. You're a little too busy knocking down walls to build bridges.

You make it to The Montgomery half an hour later only to find Syd nose-dived into a notepad, jotting down impressions and ideas. You're not nearly as well-versed into the culinary world as she is but you're still more than willing to endure her long rants about each menu item and how it can be made better and incorporated in their own.

She's been sending you ideas, even cooking a couple of them for you to try these past few days. You don't have the heart to tell her you have the palette of a broke college student - you're not crazy to turn down free and fancy food. But it's not like Syd doesn't know that though. She does it more as an expression of what she cannot say with words. As her very own love language, curated just for you.

"Is this seat taken?" You smile down at her, motioning to the chair across from her.

She looks up, her whole face lighting up when she sees you. "I'm sorry, it's reserved."

Chuckling, you sit down, shrugging off your jacket, "Well, they clearly don't deserve it if they have you waiting here all on your lonesome."

You receive a playful eye roll in response. You get that a lot from her. And you find it adorable.

Syd pushes one of the plates towards you, handing you the second fork, "Try this, it has potential."

With some analysis of the layout of plates and bowls on the table, you quickly gather that what she's offering you is a concoction of two different dishes. You can't pick out what the individual dishes might consist of so this collaboration of the two is a complete mystery to you.

But if Syd says there is potential, you'll be damned if you don't believe her.

You pick around the plate, getting a little something of everything on your fork. The flavor is so full and different, almost overpowering. However, you can clearly see that potential Sydney was talking about.

"Thoughts?" She prompts you, waiting for your rating.

You tilt your head to the side, furrowing your brows, trying your hardest to gauge what ingredients have been used. Unfortunately, to no avail. There's no denying that it's good though. "It's something." You eventually say, causing Syd to scoff and shake her head, "However..." This grabs her attention and her gaze is back on you instantly, "...it's too overpowering. Heavy, even. If we serve this we'll need to plate it with some lemon slices or something to freshen up the flavor. Lighten it up, you know?" Seeing the grin on her face, you find yourself getting a little flustered, unsure if you just made an absolute dumbass of yourself. "Did that make any sense?"

"My thoughts exactly." She laughs, reaching to switch out the plate in front of you for a different one, "Oh and also, I pulled some strings and booked us a kitchen to test some stuff out tonight."

Your brows perk up, the corner of your lips pulling up in a smirk, "Us?"

"Mhm..." She hums in response, avoiding your gaze briefly as she grows slight flustered. Look how the turn tables. "I mean, if you're free, of course."

"I'm always free for you." You contain any flirtier remark from escaping your mouth. Because this is sincere. This is nothing short of the whole truth. You're always free for her. Even if you aren't, you're willing to drop everything for her.

And little do you know, she feels the exact same.

Syd nods, finally meeting your eyes again, "Cool. It's a date."

Fucking dorks

[thatone-brightstar]

The Bear & The Fox (Carmy Berzatto x Fem!Reader)

Chapter 10: Bared teeth and knuckles red

Words: 4.8 k

Summary: You finally decide to tell Carmy the truth.

a/n: Please read! Same as last time, don't wanna trigger anyone so, trigger warning: mention of suicide attempt in flashbacks. That is all.

Also, only three more chapters left and all I can say is thank you for enjoying this as much as I loved making it. I had never published anything I had written and you have all been so wonderfully nice that it really has boosted my confidence in writing.

Anywaaay, this one's gonna hurt so I apologize in advance and you can totally yell at me in the comments, but just a head's up I WILL CRY IF YOU DO.

Commenting is always appreciated!!

Your toes had grown red and numb as they dangled yards away from the freezing water. Soft sniffs ached in your chest and your grip on the metal grew unsteady with every gentle cry. The dots of the bright city lights blurred together in your watery eyes, but there was nothing but an unknown serenity lapping at your insides. Like the feeling you get from watching bio luminescent tides illuminate a dark beach with every sway. The night was still, only the light patter of a pair of footsteps that you confused with your heartbeat.

“You don’t want to do that.” A deep voice called from your far right and your body jerked towards the noise.

You scoffed at the tall man, too calm for someone who had stumbled into that uncommon situation. “I don’t even fuckin’ know you, dude.” You rolled your eyes and faced the water again.

“True..” He said, placing a cig between his lips and lighting the end. “but I do know that if you jump from this height, you’ll just end up crippled.”

“Well I don’t know how to swim, so I’ll probably just drown.” You answered with the same bitterness.

“Hardcore” He whispered, then slowly walked to rest his elbows a few feet away from you. 

The man took a long drag, the ember showering his strong features in an orange hue. Your eyes flickered from the burning tip to his face, only looking away when he turned towards you.

“You smoke?” He asked and you shrugged lightly. He pulled the beaten packet from inside his jean jacket with measured movements and slowly offered it to you. “How ‘bout one for the road, kid?”

You doubted for a second, then uncurled your frozen fingers from the bar and stretched out your arm to the man. In a flash, one of his hands gripped your wrist while the other circled your waist and hoisted you up and away from the edge. The world swiveled for a short second as you both fell safely against the snow covered path. You thrashed around in his grip, legs and arms swaying violently as a thousand screams were ripped from the deepest parts of your chest. But no matter your attempts, the man maintained a calm composure.

It was only when your screams died down to soft whimpers and your surroundings flashed with red and blue, that the numbness abandoned your body and you finally felt the cold seep through your clothes as you sat alone in the middle of the bridge. It was then that you heard his gentle words echo for hours in your head.

“You’ll thank me one day, kid. I promise.”

“Is it too much purple, Ms. F?” Kenny asked from his end of the small semi circle, pulling you away from the thick waves of your mind.

“Hmm? N-no no, that looks really good, Ken. Great job…” 

Your phone vibrated softly from one of the pockets of your apron, creasing your brow when Syd’s name flashed on the screen. A few indications were given to the kids before excusing yourself a few yards away to answer the call.

“Hey, everything ok-”

“I stabbed Richie.” Syd’s shaky voice interrupted.

“Y-You what?”

“And I walked out. I stabbed Richie and then walked out. I-In that order.”

You were silent for a few seconds, not knowing how to answer accordingly, because what does one say when someone’s confessed to stabbing someone, albeit a shitty someone, but still a someone. 

“H-how… did that happen?” You asked instead.

“Cause your stupid asshole boyfriend went bat shit crazy when I fucked up the to-go’s!” She began rambling about some software update in the system and how she had forgotten to block out the schedule, so by the time they were ready to open, they were already behind on hundreds of orders they hadn’t prepped for.

“Jesus, Syd! And you left them alone with that mess?!” You angrily whispered at your phone.

“You think I don’t know that?! I know I screwed up, okay? But when I tried to figure it out, Carmen got all up in my face and wouldn’t listen! He started fucking yelling at everyone and I was so pissed, and Richie- God Richie- h-he basically stepped into my knife. I know it wasn’t that bad, but I didn’t stay around to check.” She finished.

You heard her shallow breaths on the other end and waited for her to calm down. 

“D’you think I should go back?” She asked, when her voice had stopped shaking.

“Yes… but it’s too late now, it’ll probably piss him off more. Go home, sleep it off and try to solve it with a clear head in the morning.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She heaved in a heavy sigh that ended with a groan. “You-erh- you gonna tell ‘em… today?”

“I mean, I want to do it less now but… what’s one more bad news to throw into the dumpster fire that is today, right?”

Syd snorted ironically into the mic, her shaky breathes had slowly started to regulate.

“Alright, well call me if you need anything.”

“Yeah, you too.”

You hung up and saved your phone back into your apron. The void in your chest happily feeding itself with the bad news, only growing stronger and wrapping its roots around your ribs. Checking the time made you realize there were still a couple hours left until your shift was up, but it didn’t feel nearly as long as you needed to grow a pair and tell Carmy. 

Usually, you were great at keeping secrets. It came with the territory of being the eldest daughter and having an overprotective single mother. There were so many midnight escapades where you’d go smoke weed with your friends at the park that you’d take to the grave. Or the insignificant containers of lipgloss you'd steal as a teen just for the thrill of it, that now lived untouched at the bottom of your drawer. You always joked that, apart from your family and closest friends, you didn’t really have a conscience to listen to, or anything that could make you feel guilty over most things. Which is why the void that had been living in your stomach for the past weeks felt foreign and uncomfortable with every passing day that you did nothing about it. 

You hadn’t been sleeping either. The moment you felt your body drift away, your mind was clouded by the mirage of tired baggy eyes and a large grizzly bear on the snow padded bridge. The thunderous growl always jerked you awake and with sore lungs and dew over your brow, you’d move from the restraining covers into the small sanctuary in the living room.  The tiredness displayed itself proudly over your face, sitting heavy in the bags it had nursed under your dull eyes, for everyone to see.

It was one of the reasons you had been avoiding Carmy for weeks. No amount of concealer would cover them up and you knew that the moment he spotted your slouched shoulders, he’d know something was wrong. He probably already did. The time between your texts had grown larger, always hiding behind a ‘sorry, been busy’ or ‘fell asleep’. All because you couldn’t bare to tell your boyfriend the truth. You knew you’d have to eventually, the longer it took, the worse his reaction would be once you decided to finally tell him.

‘Today.’ You mumbled to yourself while getting ready, ’I’m gonna do it today.’ But as the day grew older, so did the regret of having to follow through with your own self imposed promise.

**********

The blank canvas sitting expectant in front of you worked perfectly to help you dissociate since the moment you sat down. The blue paint you had been chipping from your nails was long gone, but the repetitive action continued, leaving small streaks of red stinging by the time you washed your hands to leave. You expected to at least have half an explanation by the time you made the short walk to the restaurant, however, your brain seemed to have forgotten any trace of the English dictionary in your vocabulary. Only the simplest words remained and that was not nearly enough to explain the strange situation you found yourself in. 

The lights inside The Beef glowed a menacing white and the silence was so intense, you could even hear the electricity flowing through the fluorescents.

“Yo! We’re closed!” Yelled Richie’s voice from the side room once he heard the bell by the glass door ding, then you saw him slowly move towards you, with a rather noticeable limp. “Short stack! Nice of you to show up after we got our asses beat.”

“Yeah, heard you got it stabbed too…”

He threw a middle finger in your direction and limped past the counter and to the empty back where everyone seemed to have fled after the rough day.

“Mind if I take a look?” You asked him, dropping your bag on one of the tables.

“What, you ain’t gonna take me to dinner first?” Despite the tiredness behind his voice, he still managed to be just as annoying.

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. “Chill, alright? My mom’s a nurse, she taught me a couple stuff.”

“ ‘M fine, Ebra already patched me up, so no need to go all fuckin’ Doogie Howser on me, okay?”

You didn’t have the energy to protest or to even make fun of his old ass reference, so you just raised your hands and mumbled an irritated ‘Fine, I don’t fucking care anyway’ and walked past him to the office.

You saw Carmy hunched over the piles of invoices scattered around his desk, arms tensely resting on the firm wood and wisps of smoke floating in the thin air. You could guess how bad the day had been by the multiple stains on his regularly white shirt and by the strained muscles locked sturdily under the material. You stood frozen by the door, a sudden wave of fear washing over you at the idea that there was no way that this would not end terribly.

You swallowed the dryness that had accumulated in your throat and reached up a shaky hand to knock at the door. His eyes were dark and intense when he turned to you and a heavy breath filled his lungs as he observed you up and down. 

“Hey…” He greeted with a nod, then turned back to the mess of papers.

“I’d -uh- I’d ask how your day’s been but…” You said, pushing yourself deeper in the room and shoving your hands in your back pockets.

Carmy nodded slowly, letting his forehead fall over yours when you reached his side and taking in another deep sigh. “Sydney tell you?”

“Briefly, but yeah…”

“Marcus walked out too.” He said dryly, pulling away and raking his hand through his matted hair.

“What happened?”

“I dunno. I thought everything was finally going better a-and then it’s one thing after the next and I just… I snapped.” He confessed.

Your brows screwed in confusion, “But you’re used to yelling in the kitchen-”

“Yes, but this was different. I don’t know what took over me. I-It was like my mouth and my brain had no filter and all the words just came spewing out. Like I wanted them to feel like shit, like I needed them to feel what I feel every-fuckin’-day here.” He threw himself on the office chair and rested his heated face on his hands.

“Did you mean it?” You asked after a few moments. “What you said to them, did you mean it?”

Carmy dragged his hands down to his mouth, tired eyes fixed on yours, then shook his head ‘no’ slowly.

“Then maybe you can tell them that… Once you’ve all cooled down, of course.”

He was silent, brows knitted together in contemplation. “Ye-yeah no, I know-I will.” He finally said, rubbing his thumb to the inside of his palm and staring at you again. “Hey, uh… C-can I ask you somethin’?” 

Fuck. You didn’t trust your voice to answer, so you just nodded, hands curling tightly around the edge of the desk that hit your back.

“Are we… good? Cause you kinda went all cold turkey on me…” He said with a humorless breath that made the knot in your throat double in size.

“I was kinda hopin’ you didn’t notice that…” You whispered and he slowly stood from his chair to reach out for your hand.

“‘Course I would notice.” He shrugged and took a step closer to you, tilting his head to see your eyes fixated on the file cabinet behind him. “Is everything alright?”

You swallowed hard, it felt like razor blades going down your throat as you tried to figure out what to say or how to start. His thumb grazed softly at your chin, pulling your face up and forcing your worried stare to meet his. Despite the generous bags that decorated his eyes, the look he gave you was swarmed with devotion. As if there were something more weighted behind it that his body couldn’t hold and it was filtering through the cracks. His stare made the guilt inside you grow even larger, roots now too deep to be pulled out. 

In a few seconds of selfishness, you pushed yourself off the desk and closed the little distance between your faces, carefully wrapping your lips around his. He answered back instantly, circling his hard arm around you and pulling you closer to him. You kissed him hard and you kissed him long, because the pessimist in you insisted that it’d be the last time you’d be able to after tonight. It was selfish, yes, but at least you would have a sweet trace of his lips to remember before everything went to shit. 

His grip on you tightened, teeth pulling at your bottom lip with contained insistence. He needed the kiss too. After weeks of not seeing you and the worry that he might have done something wrong to scare you away, having you back in his arms was a surprise ending he did not expect for a hellish day.

But you pulled away too quickly and the way your eyes had begun to water at the corners constricted his chest. He didn’t say anything, instead rubbed his calloused thumb in circles over your tender cheek.

“There’s something I need you to know,” You whispered with a soft sniff that pulled the threatening tears back down. “A-and I’m not sure how you’ll feel about… us, after.”

His frown deepened, pulling away only slightly but it felt like a crater had opened up between you.

“O-kay… What, d’you cheat on me or somethin’?” He joked lightly, trying to lighten the somber mood.

“No, no of course not!” Your answer was rushed. “It’s more complicated than that…”

You took his hand and led him to his chair, then sat cross-legged on one of the short file cabinets that faced him. With a few deep breaths and your heartbeat heavy in your throat, you began.

“Fuck, okay. So before I started working here, I used to work privately.”

“Rich folks in Lincoln, I remember.” He added.

“Yeah, e-except I didn’t really tell you the whole truth…” You gripped your hands together to stop the light trembling and took another hefty breath.

“I was fresh out of culinary school when I got the job. Joyce’s fiancé actually got it for me, one of his co workers had recently widowed and he needed help with the meals for him and his daughter. They’re lawyers, so the  pay was really good. My grandma was a bit sick at the time and we needed the money for her treatments. So I took the job.” Your breath seemed to thin out as the images formed in your head once again.

“Everything was fine for the first few months, y’know I just went in a couple days a week, meal prepped, left dinner then went home. I was the ghost that fed them.” You sneered, eyes fixed on your locked hands and only his bouncing thigh in your view. 

“Then uh, the guy -Isaac– started showing up earlier. He would.. ask about my day and how my grandma was doing while I made dinner for him and his six year old. He even drove me home sometimes, when it was too late or too rainy to take the train. There was a hail storm, around June last year, that closed off everything and I couldn’t go home so he let me stay in the spare room. We got to talking and…” Your eyes wandered over his face for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to see how his jaw had locked tight and he held an inexpressive façade.

“Long story short, he was nice and I was young and stupidly naive, so we started dating. Everything was good for a couple months until… Turns out his wife wasn’t really dead - just… abroad.”  

You finally had the courage to look up at him, slight surprise evident in his raised brows and he leaned back. then took one of his hands to rub around his mouth and chin.

“Shit…” He whispered.

“...Yeah. I, um, I was making dinner one night, some sort of celebration -I can’t really remember for what-, I wasn’t even supposed to be there, but I wanted to surprise him… and they just walked in, like nothing.” The image of your fingers began to blur together under the sheer coat of water covering your eyes. “Isaac told her I was just some girl he tried to help out, but that I became obsessed with him a-and that he had tried to fire me.”

The silence in the small room was deafening. Just your ragged breaths and his barely controlled ones.

“She slapped me. Called me a homewrecker and a whore. And threatened to call the cops on me if I didn’t leave immediately, so… I did.”

Carmy stayed silent, waiting for you to continue, but you needed to take a couple calming breaths before doing so. You hadn’t spoken about this with anyone outside your therapist and it was proving to be harder than you expected.

“He tried calling me weeks after. trying to apologize but I blocked his number and every other number he’s been using to call me since.”

Your shuddering breaths permeated in the small room, as you let him take in the information you had spilled all over the floor. Carmy’s eyes were on you, but looking through you, lost in thought. 

“Is that why you reacted that way when Richie lied about Sugar?” You nodded slowly and something seemed to finally click behind his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” His voice was hoarse and barely controlled.

“I dunno…” You confessed in a breath. “I guess I was scared. I didn’t want you to think the worst of me. I think I’ve just grown so used to dealing with everything on my own that I didn’t want to be a burden to you…”

Carmy stood from his chair and crouched down beside you, hands holding both sides of your face and eyes glazed.

“Look at me-” He whispered and you did. “Please don’t do that shit, okay? Don’t hide from me and close yourself off- I hate that shit. You’ll never be a burden to me, alright? Not now, not ever.”

The guilt in your chest pulled once more and you felt your ribs concave with the pressure and force, a new batch of tears flooded your eyes that distorted the painful image of his saddened face.

“Is that why you’ve been acting so weird lately?” He asked.

You shook your head and bit your bottom lip with force.

“A month after that, my grandma got worse and I couldn’t find another job in the area. She- his wife- told all her friends that I tried to take her husband -which was complete bullshit- so no one would hire me. I was really depressed and it felt like everything was falling apart. I-”

Your chest shook again at the feeling of his thumb rubbing circles on your skin. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to-“

“No, I do.” You argued, sniffing hard. “I-I used to drive Joshua’s car before. I… guess it was my car back then. One night, they called from the hospital to let us know she had passed. -I don’t know what happened- I just got so overwhelmed that I took the keys and ran out the house. I didn’t even bother to take my shoes…” You stuttered, rubbing the sweat from your hands on your jeans. “So I-I was driving barefoot and in shock and it had just snowed so the roads were slippery a-and I’ve never been the best driver-.” You were rambling, too scared to reach the part of your story that really mattered to him.

“I don’t really remember much of that, just… the loud crash and how my vision spotted for a few seconds.” Your brows were furrowed deep in a scowl, eyes fixed on the tattoo on his left bicep but not really there. 

Carmy’s breath had caught in his throat as he hung on your every word.

“I c-crash… on one of the pillars of the state street bridge. But I wasn’t hurt, o-or at least I don’t remember feeling it. I just remember this… pain in my chest -like I had been stabbed- and the snow nipping at my feet when I got out the car.” You bit your tongue as you tried to continue. Like your body was stopping itself from speaking aloud. 

You cleared your throat from the salty taste of iron. “I um… I remember standing in the middle of the bridge. For what felt like hours. Then the idea just popped into my head and it seemed like the most logical thing…” You whispered. “Like it would silence all my thoughts so I just… Fuck, I-I… climbed over the railings and almost threw myself into the water.” You struggled to say, no longer holding back the fresh batch that spilled from your eyes.

“That night on the bridge…um-” You couldn’t think of the right words to use, if there even were any to deliver such shattering information. “There was a man…” His eyes caught on yours and something inside them understood where you were headed, because his hands loosened their grip by your sides.

You shut  your eyes hard, you couldn’t do it with his painful stare burning into you. 

“I-It was Mikey, Carmy… who pulled me from the ledge. Before I could jump.” 

Your cheeks felt cold as he pulled himself away. You opened your eyes to find his hardened gaze frozen on you and he shook his head slowly.

“W-what? No, no he-”

“I’m sorry Bear I-”

“You’re fuckin screwin’ with me, aren’t you?”

He stood to his full height and raked both his hands through his hair. You stayed seated, something about the situation made you feel like a scolded child.

“No! I swear I didn’t know it was him-” You rambled, unlocking yourself from your seated position and taking a step towards him.

“Bullshit!” He shouted, turning to you.

“It’s true!” You shouted back, your voice broke at the end from the force. “I found out from the pictures at your sister’s…”

His jaw was tense as he continued to shake his head. “No-no, that doesn’t make sense… Why would he save you then sho-” He stopped himself before the words even formed in his mouth.

“You think I would know?! It’s been eating me alive for weeks!”

His stare was hard and intense, it made you squirm under it for the longest minute, until he decided to speak.

“When?”

“January…” Your voice was barely a whisper.

“Did he… did he say somethin’ to you?” 

“I cant-”

“What did he say?” He asked again with bared teeth.

“He said ‘You don’t want to do that’.” You answered defeated.

“What else?”

“T-that’s it…”

“Bullshit! What else?!”

“I’m telling you the truth!” You snapped. Angry tears rolled down your cheeks, but he didn’t seem to care.

“So, what?!You came lookin’ for me cause you owe him some kinda favor?! Are you just tryna pay it forward or some shit!?”

You stared at him bewildered, your chest ached from the lack of air and your ribs seemed to crack with his every word.

“What the hell would make you think that?!” You sneered back.

“Or did he tell you to come lookin’ for me?! Didn’t trust his stupid little brother to survive out in the world alone?!”  His expression had grown somber towards you, the eyes you had grown to love now looked at you with nothing but uncontained rage. 

 “Carmy, I’ve been nothing but honest-”

“Oh that’s a load of crap and you know it!” Carmy mocked. “Were you planning on telling me? If it hadn’t been Mikey -if it was someone else who saw you that night- were you gonna tell me?”

Your eyes darted around the room, his gaze too intense to hold. You heard his kitchen shoes squeak as he took a step towards you and the dance felt all too familiar inside your mind.

He whispered your name, painful and slow. “Answer me, please.” He begged and you dragged your tear stained eyes to his bloodshot ones.

You shook your head slowly. He rubbed his hand over his mouth painfully hard and turned his back to you, sniffing loudly into the ceiling.

“Remember what you said to me, the first night you stayed over?” He asked, turning to you. “You said ‘you know I really care about you’ right? And you said that if whatever this was, was gonna work out, then we should  tell each other this kinda stuff, even the ugly. You said that, okay? You.” He took a second to breathe, turning away from you again and taking his hand in his hair. “A-and now you’re telling me all this shit that you had to tell me only cause my brother’s the one that stopped you from-” Carmy stopped himself with a sharp intake. 

“Go ahead.” You sneered. “Finish it.”

“Guess you were right. “ he said instead, Avoiding your eyes. “It only works out when we tell each other this kind of stuff.” You heard a crack deep inside your chest. “And we didn’t so…”

“Carmy, your not being fair-“ 

“No- you don’t get to say that, alright?!” He shouted, “Not when you ask me to be honest with you, but you can’t do the same with me!” Carmy took another step towards you and your reflexes made you take one back.

His shoulders fell slightly and his hardened eyes flickered around you for a few seconds before turning to the desk.

“I don’t have time for this crap…” He whispered with his attention heavy on the pile of unpaid accounts resting tauntingly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked, though the answer you already knew.

“It means-” He sighed shakily. “God, y’know I…” His mouth pressed into a thin line while he argued with himself over what he could admit.  “-I really fuckin’ love you.” Your brows raised in surprise and the words knocked out any trace of oxygen in your cells. “But I have too much on my back already to deal with this shit right now…”

You scanned the blurry floor, then the desk and even the ceiling, anything that could take your attention from the stabbing sensation that you knew too well in your chest. “Okay.” Is all you whispered.

“Everything’s shit and-”

“It’s fine.” You answered a bit more harshly than you intended. “I get it.”

You wrapped your arms around yourself, doing your best to hold in all the pieces together, then walked past his defeated frame - avoiding any sort of contact. Before turning the corner, you stopped yourself, knowing the simple words would eat you from the inside if you didn’t let them out..

“If it's worth anything… I love you too.” You whispered and the tenseness of his back proved he heard you. “Just so you know…”

Your legs numbly carried you to your bag, then out the front door and with the last ounce of energy in you, you dialed the one person you trusted the most.

He picked up at the second ring. “What do you want?”

“Joshua, I’m at the restaurant. Can you please pick me up?” You whispered between tears.

“Shit-” You heard shuffling, the sound of keys then the slam of a door. “Y-yeah, yeah sure. You okay?”

“No…”

“Fuck, okay. I’ll be there in ten.” Your brother answered in a rush. “And Fox?”

“Yeah?”

“...Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

A humorless laugh fell from your throat. “Okay.” 

Chapter 11.

Taglist: @pearlstiare @teteminne, @beebslebobs, @harrysmatcha, @yum-yahgurt, @pussy-f41ry and that’s it lmao

[greenmoons]

Power rangers writing prompts

I decided to do a post to ideas and prompts I have or recieved of Power Rangers, so people might decide to write them. Feel free to use them. It would be nice to get credit or message if you do use them but it's not necessary. If you have other ideas write me in the comments or in a message and I might add them to this list.

Some of the ideas are solid and some are very general.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:

Tommy Oliver struggling in school (can also be written as ADHD or learning disability character)

Autisic Billy Cranston

Civilians figuring out the rangers identities because they always stay to fight against the putties even without morphing.

2X08, the tape recorded the rangers morph and their identities revealed (by the news company or because Bulk and Skull screen it to everyone before the rangers were able to stop them)

2X09: Rocky, Adam and Aisha are coming to Angel Grove to the Broomball Tournament.

Sylvia, Kelly, Jeremy, Curtis finding out their cousins are power rangers.

There are many episodes with a child who hang out with the rangers so write fanfics from their point of view about the rangers, maybe what would have happened if they figured out their identities or what happened to them in the future because they appeared only once (Maria, Willy, Sylvia, Kelly, Jeremy, Cameron, Roger, Hallie)

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy:

Cassie became the pink ranger after Kendrix's death

Power Rangers Dino Thunder:

Rewrite of the season with Kat as Tommy's wife/girlfriend and the pink dino thunder ranger

Power Rangers SPD:

Sky, Bridge and Syd as red, blue and green, and starting as a team of three.

Cruger thoughts on why not giving Sky the red suit.

Z growing up in the streets.

Jack and Z first meeting.

Autistic Bridge Carson. Fic 1.

Cruger finding someone to take care of Z, Jack and Sam instead of letting them be alone in the streets.

Jack and Z experiences in the streets.

The rangers are doing Jack a birthday party since he never had one before.

E14: Bridge tries to read S.O.P.I.E's aura and figuring out she is a cyborg.

E17: Bridge reads Sky's aura and find out the alien switched bodies with him.

Sky handles differently with the whole Mirloc situation.

E30: Bridge thoughts after he got kidnapped.

E31: SPD calls Tommy Oliver of the future for help after the Dino Thunder rangers appeared.

Post series: Jack Landors/Ally Samuels

The other rangers team come to help defeat gruumm.

Z and Syd also got promotion in the colors.

Power Rangers Jungle Fury:

RJ journey to find in himself the wolf spirit and how he became a master.

Why RJ openned a pizza parlour.

Dominic journey when he was alone.

Power Rangers Samurai:

Lauren is the leader of the team instead of Jayden

Serena a ranger instead of Emily

Terry a ranger instead of Mia

General (comics related stuff, crossovers and dynamics between characters from different seasons):

The morphin grid bless the rangers and help them to succeed in life after they finished being rangers

One of the rangers get hurt badly.

The rangers deals with chronic pains from injuries they got in duties.

Power Rangers Mighty Morphin X Power Rangers SPD:

Billy Cranston and Bridge Carson meet and being autistic together. (Ideas for the meeting: Bridge will go to a mission in Aquitar and meet Billy there. Billy is on earth and SPD asking him for help in some tech. Billy meet younger Bridge before he is a ranger because he came to an internship in his company.)

Power rangers overdrive X Mighty Morphin the return:

Thrax and Selena meet

Thrax and Selena grow up as siblings

Kira and Adam talks more about Tommy

Power Rangers SPD X Soul of the Dragon:

Conner, Ethan and Kira meeting Dr. Oliver in the future

Conner, Ethan and Kira meeting JJ Oliver

JJ Oliver is part of the plot of the season (maybe in D-squad or E-squad)

[beermanoftana]

rules: make a poll of your favourite ships and see which your followers like the most

tagged by @rhaenyra-the-gracious !! everyone knows how much I love ships so thank you very much ❤️

tagging: @trumpkinhotboy @singinprincess @tangledupblue @sluggybasson107 who did I forget….

[argentavislovewritesyay]

Aight, Imma make a working Monsuno Sight Category System!

From the wiki:

Monsuno Sight is an uncommon attribute posessed by some humans which gives them the ability to bond with Monsuno more easily than others. This includes the Monsuno Essence in the earth which can allow the user to see visions from across distances. The Monsuno Sight Keepers are descendants of the Five Tribes of Destiny.

Monsuno Sight Keepers

This is a list of characters that has the Monsuno Sight.

Sophia Suno

Chase Suno

Jinja

Beyal

Kimi

Chef Syd

Hargrave

Dom Pyro (possibly)

Alpha

X-Ray

Tango

Unnamed Keepers (The ones kidnapped along with Sophia)

In canon Monsuno are stated to 'Communicate beyond words' by Beyal past his debut episode (Which in practice are glorified movie reels if you ask me)

The concept quickly grows both highly underused, underexploited, underexplained AND Deus ex Machina'ed to hell and back.

This are the abilities Monsuno Sight grants besides just bonding with a Monsuno:

Gain short glimpses into the future, which helps predict the next move of your opponent in a fight and/or future events that will play shortly. This is mainly the case in Season One.

Soul Projection: This was mainly used by Sophia Suno throughout the season as she manifested as an apparition of sorts to deliver messages to others.

As of Season two, the abilities of the Sight get more complex, mainly seen on The Hand of Destiny, which include:

High distance Teleportation, either on the user or another person, no matter if it's against their will

The ability to make weaker users see highly vivid and often terrifying hallucinations

The ability to use The well of Insight, a well filled with Monsuno Essence that allows the user a bird's eye view of location and targets (Although it is not explained if it's thanks to the Sight or an ability innate to the Hand

Steal other user's energy and their Sight as well, This also isn't clarified like the point above.

Alright, how I would classify The Sight into a more, cohesive I guess, concept.

Well it would be like this:

Standard Monsuno Sight

This are your average users, the most common around the world by far, nothing extraordinary but good enough to bond with a Monsuno, it does not automatically grant Visions but can be trained to become stronger. Most people live normal lives without ever realizing they possess it.

Non-Sight users

The other average around the world, I'd put it in, 2 of 10 ppl are Sight Users, Non users are capable of spinning a core and control a Monsuno but their bond is nowhere near that of a User, this is most commonly seen in S.T.O.R.M. soldiers, where the Cores are easily interchangeable between controllers because the Monsuno are trained to obey basic commands and display certain desirable behaviours, although this has a flexibility for combat, it leaves an open vulnerability the moment the non-User loses control of its Monsuno, which most likely can cost defeat.

A S.T.O.R.M controller that can successfully form a bond with it's Monsuno through the Sight easily rises through the ranks, althought that can gain you extra pressure from Charlemagne.

Keeper's Sight

A keeper is a person who can easily access to the Sight, as they naturally possess a great amount of energy to use it for prolongued periods of time

They aren't Monsuno Controllers, more often than not live the life of Monks and specialize in delivering prophecies, communicating with Monsuno and protecting important secrets and locations from falling onto the wrong hands.

They can also boost other people's Sight and strenghten momentarily a Controller's bond with their Monsuno during a fight to a level they usually can't achieve by themselves.

Their abilities make them targets of The Hand since they can be used as living batteries to boost their powers, more often than not at the cost of the Keeper's life.

The dreaming

The dreaming is a bridge between dimentions and Life and Death, it's appereance is that of a surrealistic landscape that is always changing, more often than not it mimics the location a Sight User is at the moment or has seen begore through an innaccurate lense, as if seeing and navigating things through a dream hence the name.

It can be accessed by an User to search for enlightnenment, predict the future, strenghten a Monsuno Bond or visit the previously deceased.

The dreaming can be a particularly tricky and dangerous place to navigate, since is accessed only through Soul Projection, a User can easily get lost and, literally, lose their soul, which renders their body an empty, useless husk.

They can also be affected if they encounter another User in the same location with less than good intentions or a Lost Soul trying to get back to their body.

Monsuno can also wander The Dreaming, which makes them as dangerous as encountering them in the physical world.

Ok, now onto the 'Special cases'

'Gifts'

There are two types of Monsuno Sight that are labelled as 'Gifts':

Universal Listener

This is a Sight User who can 'hear' Monsuno's voices clearer than anyone else to the point of them forming actual words, even more than Keepers without much effort. This allows them to have usually more positive bonds with their own Monsuno.

This is a passive ability, they usually train more to block their spiritual hearing because having the voices of all Monsuno in close vicinity on Speaker at the same time can become overwhelming pretty quickly. Users of this Gift include:

Beyal

One Eyed Jack

(Although Jack's is artificially acquired through implants in his brain)

Universal Commander

A Sight User that can extend their will onto other Monsunos, no matter if they have already bonded with a controller, but it's more often an only one way signal, they have a hard time receiving another Monsuno's Voice and have to train specifically hard to properly bond with one since the Gift has the downside of muffling it in favor of the User.

Depending on how well trained the Sight is, he user has the ability to overule a Controller's command over it's Monsuno or to downright erase a Monsuno's free will for a short period of time if they are strong (And stubborn) enough to break the creature. Although some Monsunos may willingly allow themselves to be controlled if the situation calls for it. The user can exhaust their energy to dangerous levels while trying to control an unwilling Monsuno, even more so one with a strong bond to it's controller.

Users of this gift include:

Kimi

Artificial Monsuno Sight

As the name suggests it, this are Users who have acquired The Sight through science rather than developing it normally. Users include:

Chase Suno

One Eyed Jack

Jack uses it through chip implants that mimic an Universals listener's Sight, the downside of this is that the voices cannot be blocked unless the implants are turned off, which effectively renders the Gift useless.

Chase shares DNA with Lock aka The Lynchpin, Jeredy did this so that Lock would be specially loyal to Chase.

Chase possesses an unusually strong Sight, which makes his bond with Lock the strongest of the series, but it does not mean he's the strongest controller.

Ok, I'll leave Chase's sight for the next part bc it's a whole can of worms to explain other than MC priviliges 😅 See ya!