#Cass can tell he’s not telling the full truth and it drives her up a wall trying to figure out why she can’t tell what he’s hiding

[jewelsli]

Not that I don’t love when Bruce’s kids outperform him and give him heart attacks, but I think it’s funnier when the kids think they are better fighters/spies/infiltrators/etc. then him but he’s just so proud so he lets them think that they are.

I think that Babs would be a really good hacker, the best in the family, but Tim, who thinks that he is the next best(and is still scarily good) has no idea that Bruce only let him think that he broke his record of hacking into secret organizations.

Dick is amazing at acrobatics, and centers his fighting style around it much more. He even won gold in the Olympics for gymnastics! Bruce doesn’t want to tell him that he trained under several gymnasts, contortionists, even ballerinas!!! and has the acrobatic fighting style mastered, so he (within reason) let’s his kid win on most occasions, he doesn’t need to fake loosing on trapeze though(I am still giving the kids SOME things they are better at…)

Cass knows that nobody can lie to her, she can spot everyone’s tells and knows most people better then they know themselves. Bruce is, however, extremely paranoid and also has a kryptonian he works with regularly. He lies so well that he can convince himself he’s telling the truth(which is literally the point in case of advanced lie detectors), and so what if he lets some of his tells be more obvious around his baby, he’s so proud of her for picking up such small things! And while Bruce is AMAZING at reading people, he can’t beat Cass, it is however much closer matched then the others think.

Let’s be honest, Bruce is banned from the kitchen and isn’t good at cooking… or so everyone thinks. While he’s not as good as Alfred or even Jason he could whip up something Gordon Ramsey would be proud of if he actually tried to.

Damian in the best fighter with swords, this is undisputed. Bruce just hopes none of his kids find his crate of custom katanas in the attic, if they do then he’ll say they are for Damian.

Tim is an amazing investigator, so good in fact, that Bruce has trusted him on his hardest cases. Everyone assumes this is because Tim is a better detective then Bruce, but he just loves seeing how proud his kid gets when he gets a breakthrough.

Batman doesn’t kill, Red hood does, everyone in their right minds knows that’s a lie. Before Robin came along, leaders of drug operations or terrorists would disappear into the night, never to be seen again. The only people who don’t seem to know this are the Bats children themselves. Sometimes you can still hear a cut off scream in the dark before the news announces a missing person that everyone just knew was doing something horrible, criminals are more wary on nights that the Bats brood are in. And people running trafficking rings pray that it’s the Hood when a knock sounds, the bat doesn’t give those people the mercy of death.

All of the bat kids know more languages then Bruce, and they keep learning more to throw him off, for a family of detectives they really should have thought about the fact that Bruce traveled the entire world, he knows ancient languages and the words that world in other galaxies use, if he could speak Martian then he would have learned it by now, he still does know that part that he’s able to learn.

Idk I just need more of Bruce being skilled at SO many things while his kids are like “oh yeah Bruce? He’s good but I could defeat him easily” and Bruce just so proud of his babies when they do ANYTHING.

Bonus:

Tim made a plan to neutralize Superman at some point, it wasn’t as good as Bruce’s but he replaced it so fast. When he later uses it to take down mind controlled or something Supes Red Robin is watching.

Nobody notices that Batman whispers something to Superman before he goes deathly pale and acts like the plan is working so well he immediately gets defeated. As for what Batman said to him? It was basically ‘Clark(they aren’t supposed to know identities here btw) my kid made this plan and I swear to every mortal and immortal force that if you don’t take the fall right now you will regret it for the rest of your life” and Batman was usually scary but this was like, God will cower before him terrifying and it scared evil Superman so much he went along with it.

Res Robin was smiling so brightly that later Clark honestly couldn’t be mad at the Bat.

Edit: I forgot to add this but unbeknownst to EVERYONE (including Alfred somehow) Bruce can and will stay awake longer then Tim and his drinks are somehow worse in terms of caffeination. The difference is that on the fourteenth day with no sleep everyone thinks it’s only been three even though he is Vividly hallucinating. The ability to hide his lack of sleep for the first week and a half leads them to believe he’s actually the worst at staying up since on what they think is his fourth day of no sleep (it’s his seventeenth) he’s talking to an apparently very vivid hallucination of Alfred the Cat in a suit and a Tiger named Tawny(he had met the tiger earlier that week) and having a civilized conversation with them

[starfall-spirit]

Hello there! It is my honor to close The Great Escape. It has been such a fun read thanks to @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship (ch. 1) and @aldbooks (ch. 2). Both of you are brilliant writers and to say taking on this AU was intimidating would be an understatement, but I hope I did it justice in some ways.

Another thank you of course to our moderator, @azrielshadowssing. This has been such a fun project to ease me into collabrative writing and I guarantee if there are more projects like this in the future I will be thrilled to participate again.

All that said, happy reading!

(Banner by captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship)

Part I // Part 2 // Full Ao3 // AWC Masterlist

Gwyn woke to find Beron being detained, the rest of his men unconscious. At least she hoped they were only unconscious. She knew her team knew how to clean up a job, but it was still risky when unplanned murders came into the picture. A pale hand was reaching down for her, quickly knocked away by one more familiar. Eris scoffed as Azriel scooped her into his arms, carefully arranging her whilst checking her for injuries before standing as gently as he could manage.

“Some help I was,” she groaned.

“Hush,”Az murmured. “You did your part. We’ll talk about the rest when we’re back with the group. “Rest, Gwyn.”

“Take her home,” Eris said gruffly. “It’s done. Get some rest, Berdara.”

The set of his jaw said enough. Part of this mess was Eris’ fault. Had he been compromised as a client? What little help he’d tried to provide her didn’t come off as someone who stabbed them in the back. Actually, she didn’t think Azriel would have left Eris breathing if he had played double agent against the company.

“I’m sorry,” Gwyn said when they were alone. “I was watching for a drugged drink, not a needle and—’

“Gwyn, this isn’t on you, sweetheart. Just wait until we’re with Rhys and Cass. We’ll get everything sorted out.”

“Everything?”

That question hung between them on the drive back to Night Corp. Everything about the assignment tonight? A debriefing after a messy fallout. Or everything to say about the last year as coworkers? Partners? She didn’t dare ask if he meant to tell their friends the whole truth tonight.

She noticed Azriel’s hand remained steady at her knee through the drive, his fingers resting casually and never straying from her kneecap to skim her thighs as they might usually. Perhaps he was too scared to touch her after Beron had. And she was still in that horrid dress, now dirty and torn, looking even less modest, somehow. 

She let out a ragged sigh, cursing the tears pressing her eyes and worsening her headache. She hated being a stress crier.

“Sweetheart…”

“Please, Az, just keep driving.”

She would compose herself, report to Rhys, and then go home and break. Just another hour or two and it would be over. Pulling up in front of Night Corp, the both got out of the car, Az rushing around the front when he saw her sway. “Come here, baby.” He wrapped his coat around her, watching her thread her arms through the long sleeves. It dwarfed her, but it covered the dress. Not to mention his scent had always given her comfort. “Can you walk inside?”

She was half-tempted to claim she couldn’t, just to see if he would really carry her up the few steps and into the building. But it was better to put on a strong face, regardless of how close she felt to crumpling from that drug. And she was getting steadier little by little. Movement would help, she knew. “I’ll be fine, Az. Let’s get this over with.”

She wasn’t stupid enough to try the steps in heels, so with those in hand, she entered the building barefoot, their height difference all the more obvious as Az kept beside her with a hand on her elbow in subtle support. “If you start to feel—”

“Thank the Mother, you’re back.” Cassian instantly wrapped her in a bear hug, lifting her a few inches off of the ground. “Rhys said you lost contact on the assignment and things went sideways. Here, sit down.”

“Everything was going fine at first. At least we thought Beron was none the wiser,” Azriel said. “It turns out Eris didn’t shake a tail yesterday when he came to discuss the final steps to all of this. Whether you were seen entering or leaving Night Corp, or if Beron was just paranoid about his newest employee is a mystery, but it was Eris’ exposure that triggered everything tonight.”

“This was sloppy.” With her gaze cast towards the floor, Gwyn hadn’t noticed Rhys come into the room. “We’ve cleaned up worse though. I trust my team there. I want the official write up by tomorrow afternoon. Tonight we’ll—” His eyes fell on hers and his frustration softened. “Get Gwyn home, Az. We’ll finish this when you get back.”

“Actually, she’ll be staying with me tonight.” Her body locked. “And going forward.”

Rhys chuckled. “About time you two fessed up. Go home. Rest. I want that report by five, Az.”

“I hear you.”

~~~~~

“Bath,” Az ordered, herding Gwyn towards the tub.

“That might just put me to sleep.”

“Good. Bath. I’ll run one for you.”

“With bubbles?” 

Az chuckled, rolling his sleeves back to start running the water. “Get undressed, Priestess.”

Despite her exhaustion, she shuddered at his tone, prying herself away from the bathroom door to throw her clothes in the bedroom hamper before taking a long drink from the waterbottle she had left on the nightstand that morning. “I’m burning that dress tomorrow,” she groaned, rolling her aching shoulders and unbinding her hair to help ease her headache as she made her way back to the gurgling tub. “Quite possibly every other outfit he touched for that matter.”

“Unfortunately, that would make for a rather expensive wardrobe replacement after so long undercover.”

She grimaced at that. The dress, she would burn. The rest of her clothes could be put through the wash again. Not that the paycheck she received wouldn’t cover a few new outfits. Whatever you had to say for their line of work, it certainly paid the bills. And yet for all the money they earned, the bathtub was only big enough for one. What a disappointment.

She sank down so she was submerged to her neck, her loose hair floating through the suds behind her. “We should both move,” she told him jokingly. “Find another apartment with a big enough bathtub for you to hold me every night and unwind.”

“I hold you in bed,” he murmured, starting to work the muscles at the top of her shoulders, his knuckles rolling against her neck. “And I tend to you here, even if the tub’s too small to share. Yet you still feel so neglected?”

“Not neglected.”

He hummed, silently lathering his hands in shampoo and tending to her hair, his trimmed nails just long enough to scratch against her scalp. There were moments in her past that had made her fear contact. She thought this might be the part she missed most. Friends and lovers brushing or styling her hair. She and her sister would spend hours upon hours brushing and braiding hair and trading secrets.

She was glad to have that intimacy with Az, even if it was a very different dynamic. She was glad he was the one who had brought her back to herself, along with Emerie and Nesta and the others. With Az, even after the stress of the evening, she didn’t break.

Her eyes fluttered open when his hands dropped from her hair and fell beneath the water to rinse the shampoo away. When they came back up it was only to tease her, his fingertips tracing over her nipples and stirring heat within here. “Needy, then?”

Caught between a drowsy bliss and the edge of desire, it took a moment for her to backtrack and connect what he was referencing. The tub. It only fits one person. Very problematic. “Yes,” she admitted, putting what little focus remained into leveling her breathing as one hand drifted south, the other steady in its teasing at her breast.

She heard him tut above here. “Gwyneth. You don’t hide those lovely sounds from me, angel. I taught you better than that.” She whimpered as his hands slid away to rinse the soap from her hair and apply her conditioner. “Patience, angel. Incomparable pleasure comes to those who wait.”

She’d spent enough time over the past year being edged by his wicked fingers and toys to know that much was true. But it was still frustrating. She slouched against the tub. “I’m glad Rhys and Cassian were supportive of us. I didn’t realize we were so obvious.”

He chuckled behind her, kissing just beneath her ear. “We’ll say it’s my fault. Cauldron knows I can’t keep my eyes off of you. And the rest of the team will be just as supportive,” he promised, effortlessly soothing the last of the night’s worries. “Regardless of the fact I’m your supervisor, the way things are run with our family it isn’t so different from Nesta and Cass. It’s better to have this in the open than complicating another future assignment, isn’t it?”

She nodded, losing herself in the smooth glide of his hands as he slowly worked her over from head to toe, every sweep of his hand lighting another little fire inside of her, despite the thin washrag between her skin and his. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing, especially as he ended her luxurious bath with his hand between her thigh, letting the rag float away as he finally pushed a finger into her soaked core. When she was just to the point of begging, he pulled his hand away once more, snapping open a fresh towel and drying every inch of her before combing through her hair.

“Az.”

“I know, angel.” He kissed her forehead. “On the bed.”

This wasn’t a night to play, though she certainly enjoyed when they did. This was a night to savor and explore, remapping what was so familiar and altogether new. A passage of time they’d face together for the rest of their days. And as Azriel’s body slid over hers, Gwyn knew she had finally found forever.

~~~~~

Now, with Gwyn and Azriel's story closed, shall we open another?

Feysand sneak peek and banner below. I hope to post the whole thing on Ao3 in Oct. for captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship's birthday.

Summary: Don't get outsiders tangled in the business. Rhys thought it was a simple enough rule for his people to follow. However, when Nesta calls to ask him to bring her little sister into the fold, the rules begin to change.

Because Feyre is on the edge of leaving her fiance, a man Rhys has had his eyes on for years, waiting to find a way to bring down from the inside. This shot at infiltration could be the key to avenging his mother and sister. He'd be damned if he didn't take it.

He never counted on falling in love along the way. Now he could only pray he wouldn't lose her playing this game.

~~~~~

“Nesta, family doesn’t get tangled with work. You know this.” 

Nesta Archeron was the last person he thought he needed to lecture on this matter. She was a strong asset to Night Corp and respected the secrecy required to run such an organization as theirs. Beneath the optics of a multimillion dollar marketing company was another line of business entirely. Every company had dirty laundry of one kind or another. His—espionage and assassination for hire. Discrete clientele who pay well and expect a job done quickly and quietly.

“Rhys, we’re just getting in touch again and she said—”

“I said no, Nesta. From what I’ve gathered this sister of yours is too intuitive for her own good and we don’t need outsiders poking around, no matter how loyal you think she’ll be to you when you reconnect.”

“Rhys, she’s dating Tamlin Greene.”

He froze in the middle of the sidewalk, instantly jostled by the busy crowd moving around him. “What?”

Rhys would tell you over and over the only reason he picked up the company his father and uncle left was out of some familial duty. But the honest truth was that he was in the revenge business. Years ago his mother and sister had been brutally murdered thanks to Tamlin handing their location to his own father. The Greene family had their own unfortunate accident a few days later, but Tamlin was left standing, marked as an enemy for the rest of his days. 

So many times since, Rhys had been just shy of a way in to finish the job. Considering how close to death Tamlin had come, the man lived his life with paranoia as a companion. There was no sneaking a team member in as a company employee or passerby in Tamlin’s life because he didn’t hire or contact those he didn’t explicitly trust. It seemed the only wild card in the man’s life was Feyre Archeron.

“She’s dating Greene,” Nesta repeated. “Things aren’t going well and she’s on the edge of leaving him. The only reason she’s still with him is because he’s putting her through art school.” Nesta huffed on the other end of the line. “Look, I know you’ve been having trouble getting a way into his company with our team members. But what if you could get into his house?”

He resumed his walk home, already calculating all of the ways this could fall apart. Nesta’s sister wasn’t trained like the team was. She’d be a hindrance. “Putting your baby sister in the path of a criminal, Nesta? I knew you were ruthless, but this is something else.” 

“She’s already in his path. And she’s always had strong survival instincts. I’ll ask Cass to train her to truly defend herself in case her cover is blown or the bastard loses control for any other reason. Please, Rhys. She needs to be pushed over that fence and that piece of shit needs to be gone for good. Help me set this up.”

Nesta never asked favors. And certainly not so nicely. He grimaced, already hating the words coming out of his mouth. “Give her the address and a time to come in. I’m not saying yes until we have a clear picture on how ready she is to walk out and how oblivious Greene is to her shifting feelings.”

“I wouldn’t put her in a situation that she couldn’t handle, Rhys.” There was a long pause, then, “I’ve done enough to hurt her the past twenty years. That’s done now.”

He nodded. “Alright, Archeron. Get it arranged and give the team a time to expect her.”

[confrontthefamiliar]

Full moon Sagittarius / Scorpio (Vedic)

In between the moon cycles I go to a festival

I drive Justin in his Subaru race car stick shift with the missing right side mirror back home.

He says everyone seems to eventually cross over to vedic.

So when the full moon finally comes I go back and forth about which sign it’s in: Scorpio or Sagittarius; my ninth or eleventh house.

I try to interpret the energy. Old friends text me and call, I take an old friend out on the town I was in before Truckee: Nevada City. I see heaps of old friends.

I feel patient with him and I get to be the calm one while he gets uncentered and I think of all the people that did that before but with me.

And then just as the full moon barely starts to wane I go to a small town country side of the lake boat party where we pack 17 people on a cruiser

Three of us get out on the board to surf the boat’s entrails

We drink and drink and drink at the picnic table and we congregate in the warm and fuzzy mirrored RV

A year ago I would have turned up my nose at these people

Who am I to judge when everyone is just making up their entire life?

Now I’m honored to get included

More and more i feel honored to get included

I want to turn over to Scottie and tell him I found the small town country drama shit to be less crude and more anthropologically interesting

Sometimes I get included in that bullshit too

Truth tells me it sounds like my life is becoming Roseville ghetto ratchet shit

But I didn’t tell him the half of it

Like how every day I see five new sides of Scottie

People seem to want us to claim each other or know how we feel about each other right away

But I like that we’ve stayed far away

So that we can see each other coming from a ways away and there’s so much room for us to change

And maybe one of us will find another way

But either way that’s love all the same

When I was arranging with Justin how we were leaving the festival, having had only one day’s notice to be there, he pulled up my number I’d given him a whole three seasons ago where I put my name down as Cass Money

Ugh

Was all I could say at first on three different festival drugs

I was different back then

Right, Justin said. You were more ratchet

He’s kidding but he’s right. Maybe he wasn’t even kidding. Maybe he wasn’t even right.

Back at Rollins Lake A woman asked me why I was so grounded why I kept things so close so I told her I experienced death as my first memory

She was looking for something so I handed her what seems to lie at the bottom of my heart

She wanted something so I reached into the ocean for that heart shaped rock

Sometimes I get tired by how much people want

I’d like to sail away

Or go back and meditate my whole life away

But then I get the feeling it’s all so magic

And I remember I’m always sailing

I’m always meditating

This could always be the most beautiful adventure or the most beautiful meditation there ever was

It all just depends on what I’m willing to give

It’s funny how we get so caught up in thinking things are not perfect

Like my tarot reading by a beautiful blonde haired girl in purple with big eyes that reminded me of the way I used to draw eyes when I was a kid

She told me I was surrounded by abundance but wasn’t seeing it or recognizing it for some reason

Each card she read was pulled out by the wind

A fourth, the hermit card.

No I groaned

I’m always that

Well maybe it’s me, she said, helpfully

But hours later I decided it was just another part of me to let go of

[kimoralov3]

Best Friend's Brother

Requested By: Anonymous

Word Count: 2055

Pairing: Sam Wilson x fem!black!reader

Warnings: Swearing like a lot of it

(Y/N)'s POV

"AJ, Cass, help me bring these sheets and stuff to the extra bedroom upstairs." Sarah said as she poked her head in the kitchen.

"Why are you setting up the extra bedroom room?" I asked as I munch on a slice of cornbread.

"Sam is coming back home and he's bringing a friend." Sarah explained as pointed the boys in the direction of the linen closet.

"Wait, Sam's coming back?" I asked as I looked up at her.

"Yeah. (Y/N), I told you this like a week ago. Do you not remember?" Sarah asked, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips as she walked over to me.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I must've forgotten. What time is he getting here?" I asked as I sat up straight.

"Sometime later today. He said that he was gonna stop by the docks to check on the boats before he got here though. You should meet him there."

"Why exactly should I do that?"

Sarah gave me a look that said 'I ain't stupid' before answering me. "Don't play dumb, (Y/N). I remember how much you used to talk about how you liked him, and how you wished you could just gain the courage to ask him out. And judging by how you reacted just now, I'm guessing that those feelings haven't disappeared just yet."

"I hate how smart you can be sometimes." I huffed out as I rested my head on the counter. Sarah chuckled before patting me on the back.

"You should tell him. You can't keep stuff like this bottled up forever."

"But what if he rejects me? I couldn't bear the embarrassment." I mumbled as I turned to rest my cheek flat against the counter.

"Well then you accept it and move on. But I highly doubt that you'll get rejected." Sarah said as she went to go help the boys.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as I leaned my head up.

"You'll find out eventually!" Sarah yelled from upstairs. I groaned, rubbing my face before going home.

----

Sam's POV

"So you have a sister?" Bucky asked as he looked at me.

"Yeah, why?" I asked as I looked at him suspiciously. Bucky just gave me a smirk and shrugged. "Oh no, I know that look. Keep that cyborg arm of yours away from my sister."

"I make no promises, Sam. Anybody else that I should know before we get there?"

"Well, yeah there's Sarah's best friend, (Y/N). Haven't seen her in a while, though." I rambled as I pulled up to the docks.

"So you have a crush on your sister's best friend? Pretty sure there's some type of rule against that." Bucky said as we got out the car.

"Woah now, who said anything about me having a crush on (Y/N)?" I asked as I got my tool box from the trunk.

"The way you talk about her suggests that you do. You saying that you don't?" Bucky asked as he followed me onto the boat. I shook my head, making my way towards the engine.

"You're seeing shit man. That's my little sister's best friend, why would I wanna be with her?"

"She could probably walk in here right now and you'd start grinning like the Cheshire Cat." Bucky said as he handed me a screwdriver.

"Are you gonna help me fix the boat or are you just gonna stand there and talk about what you think is going on in my love life?"

----

(Y/N)'s POV

Today's the day I guess. I thought as I hopped into my car. I texted Sarah that I was on my way and started the engine. During my drive, I let my thoughts run. Does he still look the same? Does he even remember me? Probably not. Whenever I saw him coming I'd run the other way. He probably thinks I'm a weirdo, and doesn't see me beyond his sister's best friend.

I shouldn't even be worrying about this. I sighed, stopping the car in front of the Wilson's house. I took a moment to compose myself before grabbing my phone and getting out of the car. I grabbed the pot of greens out the passenger seat and walked up the porch, knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal Sam standing there in a black turtleneck. Well fuck me.

"Hey (Y/N), it's good to see you!" Sam said as he pulled me into a hug. He smelled like a fresh baked batch of snickerdoodles, with extra sugar and cinnamon. I could get used to this. I gave him a smile once he pulled away.

"It's good to see you too, Sam! Man, you've gotten taller." I joked as I looked up at him.

"That, and you've always been on the shorter side. Here, let me take that for you." He said as he reached for the pot of greens. I said a small thank you and followed him into the house. "Sarah, (Y/N) is here!" He yelled up the stairs.

Sarah came into the kitchen, followed by a tall buff guy in a navy blue long sleeved shirt. "What's with everyone wearing long sleeves today? Y'all are aware that we're in Louisiana during the middle of the summer, right?" I said as I pointed between the two of them.

"Just got back from the mountains, still a little cold. The name's Bucky, by the way. It's nice to meet you." He introduced himself as he held his hand out for me to shake. I did and smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm (Y/N). So, how long are you staying?"

"Just a few days, I gotta get back to New York." He explained as he leaned against the counter.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay. I gotta take the boys to the library to work on a school project, but I'll see y'all later." I waved goodbye, taking one more glance at Sam - maybe for a bit too long - before helping the boys into my car.

----

Sam's POV

I watched as (Y/N) left with the boys. Damn it, I should've said something. "So that's (Y/N)? I see why you like her, Sam." Bucky said once the door was shut and locked.

"Damn Sam, even Bucky can tell you're head over heels for her. You been gushing about her to everyone you come across?" Sarah said as she chopped up some vegetables.

"So y'all both ganging up on me now? That's cold."

"Nah, what's cold is you holding onto your feelings for almost 20 years now. Even after I told you at prom that she had feelings for you." Sarah said as she waved the knife around.

"First of all, stop swinging that knife around before you poke somebody eye out. Second of all, how was I supposed to know that you were telling the truth? Especially when she gets with some guy the next week?"

"So you believed that she really liked Michael after how much she used to trash talk him?"

"I don't know Sam, you seem to be the idiot in this situation. Although I'm sure that's a role you're used to fulfilling." Bucky said as he stole a carrot.

"First of all fuck you," I said as I pointed at Bucky. "And second of all, yeah maybe I was an idiot for not realizing that they were a fishy couple, but what's the point in saying something now? Like you said it's been years, and I highly doubt that she still has feelings for me. So we should just drop it. Alright?" I looked between the two of them. Sarah was looking at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world while Bucky just seemed amused by the whole situation.

"Sam, did you not see the way she was looking at you? She might as well have ran across the room and kissed you right then and there." Sarah explained as she turned her full attention towards me.

"Y'all are seeing shit. Can we just drop it? Please?" They both agreed to leave it alone, moving on to their own things. There's no way she could still have feelings for me. Right? Yeah, that's crazy.

----

C'mon, how can you get lost getting to the docks that are only 10 minutes away. I checked my watch again, groaning in frustration. Bucky said that he'd be here at 2:30, but it was nearing 3:15 and I was growing impatient. "Bucky Barnes, I'm gonna beat your ass the next time I see you." I mumbled as I looked around the docks.

"Sam?" Someone called from behind me. I turned around to see (Y/N) walking towards me.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"

"Sarah texted me and said that she wanted me to help her with something. Are you down here to fix the boat?"

"Yeah. Bucky is supposed to be helping me, but he's almost an hour late."

"Sarah told me that he was watching the boys while we were working here." (Y/N) said as she looked at me. That's weird, why would they tell us to meet here if - oh God. "They told us to meet here because they want us to talk to each other. Dammit Sarah."

"Talk to each other? About what?"

----

(Y/N)'s POV

"About what?" Sam asked. If Sarah would've told me what she was planning I'd be a bit more prepared for this situation. Or run away. Yeah, I'd probably run away.

"About us, I guess."

"What about us?" He seemed to be confused, and that was honestly making it worse. How am I supposed to tell my best friend's brother that I've been in love with him since we were in high school? I sat down on a bench for a moment before speaking up.

"Look, I'm just gonna be honest with you," I started out. He nodded, signaling for me to continue and crossed his arms. His muscles just keep getting bigger and bigger. "I like you. I've liked you since we were in high school. Honestly, I'm not sure if this counts as just a crush anymore because I'm probably in love with you. I understand if you don't feel the same way, but Sarah keeps telling me that I should tell you. So I'm doing that now."

It was silent for a moment before Sam let out a chuckle. Then another, and another until he was full on laughing. Was me liking him that funny? "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at myself. Man, can't believe Sarah and Bucky were right."

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused here. Right about what?"

"About me being an idiot for not realizing that you like me back." Sam said as he sat beside me. It took me a moment to process what he was saying.

"Wait, you like me too?" I asked softly. Sam smiled, giving me a nod.

"Yeah, I do. Like a lot." Sam wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

"Wow, we're such idiots. We liked each other this whole time, but we were too stubborn to admit it." I giggled out.

"And we only admitted it to each other because Sarah and Bucky made us. Don't know how I feel about that."

"Well, let's just be glad. Then we can go beat their asses for tricking us."

----

"Where are the boys?" Sam asked as we walked inside the house.

"They went to go play with Ms. Sherlly's grandkids. What's going on here?" Sarah asked as she motioned at me and Sam's joint hands.

"We told each other about our feelings. Y'all ain't have to trick us into going to the docks to get us to confess though." I said as I looked between Sarah and Bucky.

"Well you two obviously weren't going to get to it yourselves. So we took matters into our own hands." Bucky said as he sipped on a beer.

"We're gonna get y'all back for this. Just wait." Sam said.

"I'm shaking in my boots." Sarah said as she patted Sam on the shoulder.

"Y'all gonna start treating me with some respect. I'm Captain America now." We all looked at Sam for a second before we busted out laughing.

[pipedream-parrish]

Happy 34th birthday, Twinyards

read on AO3

i

It is Aaron’s 14th birthday and he has just found out that he has a brother - a twin brother, an identical twin brother, who looks exactly like him and might just understand him, too. His mom didn’t do anything for his birthday - she hasn’t since he was little, or maybe those long-forgotten memories were really just dreams that have managed to worm their way so deep into his psyche that he’s accepted them as truth. The kids at school sang to him, which was fine, but Aaron can’t help but think maybe now it will be different. Maybe once he meets this brother of his, then they can celebrate their birthdays together. Maybe they can give each other presents, and eat cake, and blow out the candles using the combined forces of their breath. Maybe, maybe, maybe. 

(Andrew spends this birthday choking down cake that Cas got him, trying to hide the fresh marks on his arm, and thinking about the best way to keep his mysterious brother as far away from him as possible)

((one month later, Aaron receives a letter in the mail. He couldn’t tell you everything it said - he just knows that all of these maybes have just been thrown into the middle of a busy highway to be crushed under uncaring tires.))

ii

Its Aaron’s 15th birthday and his mother has celebrated by beating the shit out of him and then throwing a random assortment of pills from the bottom of her purse in his direction as an apology, and Aaron cannot help but think that maybe it won’t have to be like this anymore. He thinks about what Andrew said (Andrew, who really does look just like him, and who seemed so angry about Tilda, and seemed to believe that Aaron didn’t deserve, that he deserved good things--) had said to him, thinks about how maybe when Andrew moves his mom will stop it, maybe it’ll be alright, maybe nothing will hurt anymore and everything will be okay and he’ll have a brother. It’ll be the two of them against the world, and Aaron may not know this other boy all that well, but he promised to protect him, so that must mean something, right? Even if before that he said he didn’t want anything to do with Aaron, he changed his mind, and thats what matters, right? Right? And so when Aaron blows out the birthday candles that he bought for himself at eh convenience store the night before, he wishes for his brother to come home soon, and for them to be a family like they were supposed to be. Like he deserves.

((Six months later, Tilda is dead and Aaron has stopped believing in family.))

iii

It is Andrews’s 16th birthday and he has not spoken more than two words to his brother for most of the year, but Nicky tries to force them to do something, to celebrate, to be normal teenagers for once. Andrew leaves halfway through the elaborate dinner that Nicky has prepared, and pretends not to see the sad look he aims at his retreating back. Pretends that he doesn’t care what Nicky thinks of him, what Aarons thinks of him. Pretends that he stopped caring about Cass, that actually he didn’t care about that, either. Pretends and pretends and pretends, and convinces everyone but himself. 

((He’s not so great at lying to himself yet. He’ll get better with age.)) 

Late that night, after he’s heard everyone else going to bed, he sneaks downstairs and steals a slice of the double-chocolate cake that Nicky got them. There are already a couple of slices out from where Nicky and Aaron had some, so hopefully, this moment of weakness will go unnoticed. 

(Aaron spends his 16th birthday sad and mourning, refusing to look his brother in the eye. When he blows out the birthday candles with no help from a magical brother, he wishes that he never met Andrew in the first place. Not that he believes in magic or wishes or anything good at all, anymore. He barely has a bite of his cake before leaving the table. He, too, pretends not to see Nicky’s teary eyes as he leaves him standing alone in the kitchen, the remnants of a wasted attempt at love scattered all around him)

((he, too, is not so great at lying to himself yet. He, too, will get better with age))

(Nevertheless, when he hears Andrew come downstairs in the dead of night, he creeps into the hallway to watch his petty theft)

((He never mentions it.))

iv

It is Andrew’s 17th birthday and he is so high off the ground that he never even realizes the date.

Or maybe he does and just forgets.

The meds are still new, and he’s not used to them yet. Not used to the loudness, and brightness, and plastered on a smile. His cheeks hurt all the time now - he is constantly working muscles that have not had much use, the last couple of years 

(the last couple of lifetimes)

Needless to say, it is Andrew’s 17th birthday and he does not even realize it, and instead, he spends it in his room, his precious room that has a lock that works, coming apart at all his frying edges. Boys like him were never meant to grow old. Boys like him were never meant to last. And so he lays there and shakes uncontrollably, and laughs, too, tells himself this is fine, he’s fine it’s all fine and knows better than to believes it. Perhaps it is a mercy, that he eventually gets used to the meds. 

Perhaps it is not.

(Aaron doesn’t celebrate his birthday, either. Instead, he picks up extra shifts at Edens and goes to bed early. 

He cannot wait to leave this fucking house)

v

It is Aaron’s 18th birthday, meaning that he is a legal adult. He finds this funny. He has always been an adult; he was an adult when he was four and creeping across the house on silent feet to steal crackers from the pantry because mom forgot to feed him; he was an adult when he was 10 and forging his mothers signature on school papers, and making excuses for why she couldn’t come into parent-teacher conference night; he was an adult when he was sitting across from his reflection in a juvenile detention facility, and promised protection. One more birthday doesn’t mean shit.

(Andrew agrees. He, too, has been an adult for as long as he can remember.)

((Still, when Nicky slips cards under each of their doors wishing them a happy birthday and telling them he’s proud of them, and that he hopes that adulthood treats them right, well. If Aaron squeezes his eyes shut as hard as he can to prevent the tears from escaping, and if Andrew tares it up into a million pieces because it almost makes him feel something, then no one needs to know))

vi

It is November 4th, and the newly-coined monsters are in Columbia, just like they are most weekends. They make the same stops as always, go to the same club, the same restaurant. 

Never once is the word birthday mentioned.

vii

It is Andrew’s 20th birthday and he is about to make one of the worst mistakes of his life. For now, he sits against the windowsill, watching his smoke dissipate into the afternoon air, absently listening to the sounds of Nicky and Aaron’s video game wash over him. He’s grinning, as is usually is these days, and if he was capable of having a long-lasting coherent thought, he would want to carve that grin off his face.

Alas, he is not capable of long-lasting coherent thought. Oh well. Perhaps it’s for the best.

Renee got him a gift. Silly Renee. Always so nice, so kind, even to monsters like him. Hasn’t she learned better than that by now? It seems not.

When Nicky receives a phone call that leaves him in a panic, it is almost enough to garner Andrew’s attention. 

Almost.

When he leaves the room in a rush only to come beach with Neil, the enigma, the hallucination, the rabbit, in tow behind him, Andrew actually does start to pay attention. Only a little though. 

When Neil pulls him aside, and asks for the unimaginable, and then manages to make it seem like a good idea, well. Andrew’s interest has been peaked, and he agrees. Why not? It might be fun. Might be, might be, might be.

(It’s not. It’s not fun at all, and if nothing else then Andrew is finally allowed to leave that smile behind for good. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Andrew, happy birthday to me!)

((Aaron spends his birthday playing video games and wondering why the new kid holds such sway over his brother. When he looks back on that day, he will not remember any of that. He will only remember that that was the day everything went wrong, and he was unable to fix it.))

viii

It is Andrew’s 21st birthday, and it might just be a good one. No alarm wakes him up in the morning, even though he’s sure he set it last night, meaning he gets to sleep in. When he wakes up it’s to Neil bustling about the dorm room, clearly searching for something.

“Practice?” Andrew asks and is told in no uncertain terms that they will be blowing it off for the day. Yes, today is shaping up to be a good one.

Instead, they go out driving, blazing down empty roads as fast as the mas will take them, eating up millage and gas money and caring at all. Neil rolls down the window and lets out victorious whoops into the still afternoon, the wind flushing his cheeks and tousling his hair. Andrew almost thinks something disgustingly sappy about that but is able to rain in his own brain just in time. 

They got greasy diner food for lunch, and Andrew orders a massive ice cream Sunday that Neil doesn’t comment on. They go back to Fox Tower and lounge around their dorm, kissing and smoking and playing video games. They have pancakes for dinner, and Kevin doesn’t bother them once about going to tonight’s practice. Andrew goes to bed full and sated, and almost, almost, happy. It’s a good birthday.

((the next day at therapy, Aaron complains that he didn’t get to skip practice yesterday. Andrew shrugs and says that he should take notes for next year. It’s almost an invitation. Almost, but not quite.))

ix

It is Aarons’s 22nd birthday, and he takes a leaf out of Andrew’s book and skips practice. He and Katelyn drive into town, and walk up and down the streets, popping into stores at random and picking out delightfully ugly things for the other to buy. In one shop, Katelyn shows Aaron a shirt made from a disgusting green fabric with the gaudiest floral pattern he’s ever seen. In another, Aaron finds shimmering, sparkle filled pink and purple shoes with a six-inch heel. They both nearly get sick from laughing. That night, they go out to the fanciest restaurant they can afford and get wine drunk. Aaron tells Katelyn that he loves her, which is something that he’s told her a million times before, but that doesn’t stop it from mattering. This will always matter. She will always matter. He looks at her, just looks at her, and thinks about how lucky he is to have this. And he thinks about Andrew, just for a second, curses him for keeping her from Aaron. But then, for an even shorter second, the thought occurs to him. I hope he’s as happy right now with Neil as I am with her. 

((Andrew may not show it the same way, but he is. He is.))

x

It is their 25 birthday now (which it longer than either of them thought they would live), and after years of therapy and working through their issues, Aaron has decided once again that he wants a brother. And so he books a flight to Boston, and buys a ticket to Andrews game, and watches his brother play exy on their birthday. Their birthday. Sometimes he still forgets that they are a “they” now. He'll still say my birthday, my mom, my cousin, my family. But it's not just his, and so he meets Andrew at the player’s exit after the game and forces him to go to dinner with him. And they spend their birthday together, just the two of them, for the first time since they were born. And its-

Well, it’s not bad. It's kind of nice, actually. Stilted, at first, and undoubtedly awkward, but. 

But they’re still brothers, even after everything. They share family and history and most of their DNA, so it seems right that they also share a dinner. And they talk, about Andrew’s pro team and Aarons residency, and about halfway through Aaron realizes that even though he was the one who forced this, Andrew isn’t trying to stop it. He came with him to dinner, and he’s talked more in the last hour then Aaron thinks he ever has before, and Aaron realizes that he wants this too. Andrew wants a brother too. They part ways outside - Andrew doesn’t offer to drive him back to his hotel or to let him stay at his apartment, but that’s ok.

Because Andrew wants this too. 

Andrew wants this too.

epilogue 

It is the Minyard twins’ 34th birthday, and as has become a tradition they are each awoken by a phone call from Nicky. Aaron only grumbles for a moment before Katelyn is handing his phone to him and he’s picking up. Andrew takes longer, turning over and burying his face in Neil’s neck for a second or a minute or a year, before finally grabbing his phone. To be fair, it’s about 2 hours earlier for him than for his brother. When he was younger he would hang up, and Nicky would call back, and he’d hang up again, until around the third call when he would finally give in and answer and phone. He doesn’t hang up anymore. He supposes that he’s grown. It’s a facetime call, so he’s greeted with Nicky’s over-enthusiastic smile and Aarons bedhead that looks so much like his own. He props himself up on some pillows so that he’s nearly in a sitting position, and gives a halfhearted wave. Beside him, Neil stays lying down, curling himself into Andrew’s side. Andrew absently starts carding his fingers through his hair. Nicky starts to talk, telling them about the business, and the adoption process, and the cute thing that his and Erik’s dog did. King jumps up onto Andrew’s chest, and then there’s a lot of cooing over how cute she is. She starts to lick at Andrew’s temple, which makes everyone laugh and Andrew rolls his eyes. It’s ok. He doesn’t really mind. Aaron talks about the hospital, and then his toddler (who is really more of a kid now, she’s getting so big holy shit) bursts into the room, climbing up onto the bed. She says hi to her Uncle Andy (Neil taught her to say that when she was a baby, and it tuck. Again, Andrew doesn’t really mind) and Uncle Neil, and her cousins Nicky and Erik. they talk more, Andrew waking up and partaking in the conversion, occasionally mouthing things to Neil in Russian to make him laugh. He loves it when Neil laughs (he’s not so concerned with not thinking sappy things anymore).

It’s a good start to a good day. They order take out and eat it on the floor, just like they do every year. Neil gets him a cake, and he sings happy birthday, just like they do every year. 

A plane ride away, Aaron and Katelyn hire a babysitter and go out to dinner, just like they do every year. Katelyn gets him a loudly collared tie, just like she does every year.

It’s a good day for both boys (who are now much closer to men), but more than that, it is a good day for both brothers. For that is undoubtedly what they are now. Brothers. 

That night, they both get a text from Betsy. It says Happy birthday, my lovely boys. I hope this year treats you well. 

And then it does.

It does.

thanks for reading! if you reblog i’ll love you forever :)

[whereflowersbloom]

Precious Cargo.

Raven walked out of the bathroom, turning the lights off, leaving on the lamp next to Damian’s side of the bed.

“I know you’re still upset. “She said combing her freshly washed long hair. “Don’t bother denying it. I can feel it.”

A shirtless Damian was laying on their bed his attention on the book his hands were holding.

He glanced up his book to get a look at her figure. She was wearing one of his shirts, arms crossed, frowning at him. God, she always looked devastatingly beautiful no matter what she was wearing. So desirable. He couldn’t get enough of her. A part of him was still troubled after today’s events. He went back to reading his book.

He wouldn’t look at her because she’d see through him and know a new fear had arisen inside of him. This was something new for both.

But. They needed to talk.

Damian finally put the book on the bedside table, shut his eyes and sighed rubbing his temples. “I know you’re perfectly capable of protecting yourself, even so, you can never be too careful.”

His emerald eyes softening, falling on her still flat stomach. “Circumstances have changed...you’re carrying precious cargo now.”

He was worried. Raven smiled warmly, walking to the bed, joining him and placing her hands atop his tanned broad shoulders.

“I admit I’m still getting used to it. But Damian, I assure you, our precious cargo is safe. We both are.” She moved her hands to his neck, drew his head down to meet her mouth and kissed him.

At her touch, their kiss turned hungry and intense. Damian rolled over, trapping her underneath his body. “I’m the leader of our team, everyone’s safety is my responsibility, including yours, as my co-leader.”

His skilled mouth working along her neck, paying extra attention to the sensitive spots he already knew, his lover’s breath pulsing hard and fast. But she had to ask.

“Damian...we haven’t had the time to discuss it. Are you happy with the news?” She nervously bit her lip, it was silly having a moment of insecurity. She blamed her hormones.

He stopped for a minute to cupped her face in his hands, looking deep into her intense violet eyes. “Of course, I’m happy beloved. Our child is a blessing.”

“Sill, we should let the team know, and our family. Although I believe, Jon already suspects. My morning sickness kicked in, this morning after training.”

Damian groaned, dreading the idea of having this conversation with his family. He could already hear Dick words ‘Welcome to the Superhero dad’s club.’ Jason’s jokes. Barbara and Cass would buy all the baby essentials and whatnot Gotham had to offer. He wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about facing overprotective Clark.

“He’d found out eventually, he’s half kryptonian and your adoptive brother.” His best friend has been waiting their bundle of joy since they got married, almost two years ago, in a couple of months.

“Maybe we should tell him tomorrow, otherwise he’ll start interrogating us” raven suggested, affectionately running her fingers through his thick, dark hair. “It cant be that bad.”

He raised his head and cocked it to one side, a questioning lift to his eyebrows.

“Knowing him, he’ll run around the tower spreading the joyous news to the rest of the world, before we get the chance to do it ourselves.”

Raven chuckled softly. Her little brother tends to get overexcited easily like a child. “Jon is trustworthy and family. I’m sure he can keep it a secret for a few days. But it’s only a matter of time before the truth slips out.” She looked at him expectantly.

“I can arrange a meeting with our family. I’ll call Alfred to let him know we will have breakfast with everyone Sunday morning.” He murmured encouragingly. “If you give me your word, you’ll be cautious, at least until your first trimester is over. The book says...” she recognized that overprotective, obsessed with control tone he used sometimes. Wait book.

“Book? Did you just...Is that what you were reading, entirely concentrated?” Her mouth dropped open.

“What? I need to gather all the information available so I know how to proceed. So naturally, I got some books. Also, I’m planning on calling Cyborg, we need proper equipment.” Damian explained logically.

“You’re unbelievable, Mr. Wayne.” She covered her face with both hands and laughed. A loud giggle escaped her lips.

“Well, Mrs. Wayne. I admit this caught me off guard. And I believe it’s time to get you out of that shirt.” He smirked mischievously, his hands slip under the garment and stroke her soft flesh. “You have idea how much I want you.”

“Maybe, if you didn’t ruin all my nightgowns, leaving them completely torn apart. I’d have something else to wear.” She whispered breathlessly, every inch felt as if he were lighting fire on her skin.

“I never heard you complain, as a matter of fact, I’d say you rather enjoy it, habibti.” His mouth crashed into hers, possessing, owning, in a way she could never imagine. His lips, firm and warm, tempting her until she was gasping for air. “There’s always the option of buying new ones for you. However, you must have realized by now I prefer you wearing nothing at all.” Damian whispered in her ear, kissing under her ear and down to her neck. Getting rid of the shirt, landing on the floor.

Her husband drank up the sight of her exposed body arched underneath him, lingering on her full breasts. He licked his lips.

He nuzzled into her neck. “Your scent drives me completely insane. And I’m hungry for you, my love.” He breathed out.

Raven gulped. She wanted him now. Badly. Her stomach growled in that moment. The pain of her empty stomach. She closed her eyes embarrassed.

“Damian, love. I’m craving two things right now.”

“What is it, beloved?” Damian arched his eyebrow curious about what she needed.

“You, always, of course...and perhaps some waffles...topped with ice cream?” Raven smiled innocently.

“Right now? Isn’t it a bit early for the cravings...according to the book...” he didn’t finish. He knew that expression. There was no way he could say no.

“Please?” She pleaded as she tilted her head to the side, giving him an apologetic look.

Damian sighed, getting out of their bed. “Waffles and ice cream it is. Definitely, there’s no way we can keep hiding this from everyone.” He chuckled softly, massaged his temples trying to regain composure. “Stay here.” He stared at her adoringly and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” Damian heard raven say, a pleased smile on her face, he could tell. “I’m counting on it.” He let her know suggestively before leaving the room.

***

Bonus

The next day...

“YESSSSSSS!!! I KNEW IT.” The voice screaming in excitement of a certain half-kryptonian echoed through the Titans building. “CALL ME UNCLE JON FROM NOW ON. MY NIECE IS ON THE WAY.”

[batfamfucker]

Headcanons I have for the batfam (mostly just Bruce actually being a good dad because DC's still on some BS):

-All the batkids + Bruce cuddle a lot, especially on 'nightmare/night terror nights', nightmares and night terrors, unsurprisingly, happen a lot. It's not uncommon for one of the kids to either go to their closest sibling's room and pile in with them, or straight to Bruce's room. Doesn't matter how old they are, it's just a thing they do, and every member of the family just accepts it, embraces it even. No one ever gets shit for it. It doesn't matter how tired person B is, if person A comes in for any reason at all, even if they haven't had a nightmare and just want some cuddles, person B has no complaints. It can either be a no questions asked kinda thing or they can stay up and talk about it. Sometimes person B doesn't even get woken up, but instinctively grabs person A in their sleep and wraps them up in a big protective sleepy embrace. It's also not uncommon for word to get around about which room becomes the designated sleeping area for that night. Like, if Jason walks past Bruce's room and sees Damian curled up at his side, both of them fast asleep, he'll go right in and join. Then it'll continue with more joining depending on how many walk past, sometimes someone will even text the family group chat and be like 'Go to Bruce's room if you want cuddles'. It's also not uncommon for the whole family to be piled into the same bed in a singular night, especially after a rough night of crime fighting. Duke took a while to get used to this, but when he was sleeping at the manor one time, Damian came into his room. He was quiet and nervous, and Duke swears he saw him about to cry, and just opened his arms wide immediately. The moment Damian's small head was buried in his chest, it hit him why they did this, and he immediately understood. The next morning, he woke up to every sibling and one of the dogs in his bed. He couldn't stop smiling for a week.

-Mass sleepovers, which I've already described here

-Mass games of hide and seek around the manor, game night in general. Monopoly has been banned twice and still manages to get played every time

-They have a family group chat

-Steph and Duke are the only two Bruce hasn’t legally adopted, but he has everything ready should he need to

-Movie nights in the manor theatre once every month on the last Friday

-Bruce loves his kids and tells them he's proud of them often, tells them he loves them (sometimes verbal, sometimes silently through gestures, post-it notes, etc), has a separate calendar dedicated just to their birthdays, uses his detective skills to find them the perfect gifts, etc. Sometimes he just gets them gifts at random times. He'll see a cute dress in a shop window and think 'Steph will love this', Tim will complain offhandedly that he's running out of pens, and boom the next time he walks into his room, there's a brand new pack of stationary on his desk.

-Bruce has always tried to take them all to school every day and tried to pick them up as much as he can, which he's done since he first adopted Dick. He remembers how tiny Dick's first school bag was on his own back when he used to carry it for him. All neon blue with neon green straps. Sometimes he'd have Alfred stay at the manor and drive himself just so he could go on a walk and take Dick out for ice cream. He's done this with all his kids at least once.

-Adding on to this, Bruce tries to show them his support about everything, what their passionate about, school events, etc. Parents evening? It's the third one this week but he's going. Cass wants to show him her new dance choreography? He'll grab some popcorn and invite the others. Tim just took a really cool photo and wants to show Bruce? He makes sure to hype it up as much as he possibly can.

-Designated days where Bruce will hang out with a singular kid, which isn't on their birthday, to show them they're important and appreciated and not forgotten. Sometimes one of his kids will come to him, sometimes ask, sometimes some of them just kind of stand there awkwardly until he catches on, and he'll drop everything and take them out to see a movie or something. Just the two of them, just so they feel loved. His family comes first.

-Eat breakfast and dinner together as often as possible, you never know when there'll be an empty chair at the table so they try to savour as many meals (moments together in general) as possible. Every Friday night is designated family dinned night which starts just before patrol.

-Falling outs don't last that long because of this. You never know which fight you'll never get to apologise for or which word you'll never get to take back because anything can happen when you're a vigilante. You may not always return from patrol. Even Tim and Damian try to fight less after a few scares, trying not to take one another for granted. Yeah, they all be stubborn and fight now and again, but in the end, they all love each other and being stubborn and prideful isn't worth possibly leaving things on bad terms every time they put on that uniform

-Every time a newbie joins the family, they have a family meal together to watch the 'moment of truth' where the newbie tastes Alfred's cooking for the first time. They'll all discretely wait for the newbie to eat before digging in themselves, subtly watching as they try the food. It's Alfred's cooking, so they obviously always like it. The moment the newbie looks as though they enjoy the food, Alfred smiles and fills will pride, which makes the rest of the family happy, too.

-Lots of quiet but casual 'I love yous' from the kids. Dick openly says it to every sibling, with a million kisses to someone's cheeks and hair, and a bone crushing hug. Others may be quieter. Jason will leave a post-it on Bruce's computer, get a small plant for Alfred to put in the garden, grabs Tim a coffee if he's going past a coffee place on his way home, ruffles Damian's hair as he walks past and grins when Damian gets annoyed. Damian, like Bruce, takes into account people's interests or what's important to them (like when he found all of Martha's pearls for Bruce), he'll find an original book copy from an author, no matter how old is it, for Jason and Alfred, knows the exact pair of new ballet shoes Cass has been wanting for her birthday. He pays attention to detail and goes the extra mile.

-Older siblings 100% put themselves before the younger ones when in danger, especially if Bruce isn't there. If he is, he puts himself in front of all the kids. Oldest to youngest, starts with Bruce, then Jason and Dick, Tim and Steph, Duke and Cass, then Damian.

-Every Christmas, the kids that live at the manor/stayed the night will all get up and wait for each other outside Bruce's door. When everyone's there, they sneak in and then wake him up by jumping on the bed before piling onto him, crushing both him and each other in the process. Bruce swears they've broken his ribs on more then one occasion. It was fine when it was just eight-year-old Dick, but now it's anywhere between 3-8 kids, some of which are fully grown adults, just playing a game of pile on to wake him up. Either way, it makes them happy so he doesn't mind too much, even if they bruise him

-Alfred also cooks cultural meals. The family is very diverse, after all. He cooks traditional Romanian meals for Dick, Arabic cuisine for Damian, etc. Especially if he sees one of the kids looking a bit down or upset as a way of cheering them up

-Alfred is the real detective of the family, at least when it comes to food. He knows everyone's allergies without them even telling him, knows how everyone likes their food, even if they have the same meal. For example, if they're all having burgers, he knows Damian will have a veggie one, Dick and Steph like extra pickles, Duke likes extra cheese but no ketchup, Tim hates pickes, etc. Also knows how eveyone like their drinks with which meals, which drink they'll likely be in the mood for depending on their day and mood, how Damian likes his tea depending on how he's feeling, how everyone likes their protein shakes. Knows what proportions of food are perfect for each individual, Jason and Bruce eat the most, Cass and Damian the least, knows how much to plate up for each person so they won't get full but will still fill up

-Alfred and Jason bake together a lot

-Alfred and Damain have tea together

-Alfred is the only straight person in the whole family but he is not one of The StraightsTM, strong ally, loves his son and all his grandchildren no matter what. Every time someone new comes out, he just puts on a lil' pride badge and goes about his day

Bonus:

-Kate gets annoyed every time another batperson comes out (not really tho) because it destroys her cred of being the gay cousin/lesbian aunt the more and more it happpens

-Still goes to Christmas dinner with them even if she's Jewish because she likes the atmosphere and the food is good, and because loves them all

-They have a Hanukkah dinner with her in return

[scribbleb-red]

Camisado (Your Emo Andreil AU)

[This started as a Morning AU on Twitter, warning: we're going very 00s] 

Andrew and Neil meet in a chat room age 13. 

Andrew's handle is @/phantom!attheopera 

Neil's is @/isayshotgun 

Andrew initially hangs around because he finds it hilarious how Neil roasts people he likes and trolls people he doesn't.

They also both have things in common - starting with but limited to their love of PATD and pretty much all emo music they can get their barely-teenage hands on. Andrew likes it a little heavier than Neil - but they both rave about Brendan Urie, Gerard Way and the Maddens.

They strike up a penpal style relationship - moving first from the chatroom to private messages, then the msn and email. 

They confide in each other. Neil moves around a lot because 'my dad's a bad man, he's after me and my mom'. 

Andrew tells him about Cass and Drake.

isayshotgun: he shdnt do dat 2 u 

phantom!attheopera: i know 

isayshotgun: id get u out 

phantom!attheopera: how 

isayshotgun: im gd w/ knives 

phantom!attheopera: maybe you can teach me. 

phantom!attheopera: and I'll teach you to spell, honestly. 

isayshotgun: *eyeroll*

Neil doesn't come to get Andrew because Aaron happens first. 

And then Andrew's in juvie and playing exy and the only way he can stay in touch with Neil is email. He shouldn't even be allowed email, but he's willing to get on his knees to have computer access, access to Neil.

Something about email makes their friendship even deeper. 

Actually, Andrew's fairly certain that he's half way in love and that if they were different people they'd have already talked about this. Still, it's because of email that he notices something is wrong with Neil.

His emails, which were long and rambling, have suddenly become short - no less full of feeling and affection, but syntactically different. 

He tries to ask about it. 

From: phantom!attheopera 

To: isayshotgun 

Subject: what's wrong with you?

Neil is cagey at first but Andrew gets it out of him in the end. 

From: isayshotgun 

To: phantom!attheopera 

Re:Re:Re:Re:Subject: what's wrong with you? 

 Being shot really sucks. That's all. N

All Andrew wants to do then is cross the country, gather Neil close and keep him safe. They're fifteen now and he'll be leaving juvie next month. 

"Can you keep safe until then?" Andrew types. 

"U cant save me. We talked about this." Neil's reply is not what he wants to read.

Andrew's released to Tilda. He finds out his brother is hooked on painkillers and his birth mother is an abuser. 

phantom!attheopera: she hits him. I need to stop her.  

isayshotgun: ... ... 

phantom!attheopera: what? 

isayshotgun: is that weird? for moms 2 hit u?

phantom!attheopera: your mom hits you too? 

isayshotgun: 2 teach me not 2 be stupid. 

isayshotgun: keepin me alive 

phantom!attheopera: that's not how it works, no one hits you for your own good. that's... 

phantom!attheopera: my therapist calls it emotional abuse and controlling behaviours.

Neil ends up sharing a lot more than he was probably initially intending - about the one time a girl kissed him and he couldn't walk properly for a week; about the way his mom pinched him and made him recite their rules back; about how he wasn't allowed to be sick, ever.

phantom!attheopera: one of these days I'll find you and we'll run away together. We'll go anywhere you want. Settle somewhere safe. 

isayshotgun: do u think ud like me irl? 

phantom!attheopera: well I can't see your spelling if you're talking 

isayshotgun: rofl lmao

Andrew tells Neil about Aaron. 

phantom!attheopera: he's a total prick 

isayshotgun: hv u tried talkin 2 him about smthing easy? like exy? 

phantom!attheopera: just because you like stickball 

isayshotgun: no i mean maybe u need a bridge 2 talk. common grnd.

phantom!attheopera: ...maybe

Neil is the one who gives him the idea about crashing the car with Tilda in it too. He sends Andrew all the instructions on a floppy disk that he posts to Andrew's therapist. On the front of the disk, Neil has scrawled their usernames. Andrew smiles.

Their relationship is a strange one - they are always there on the other end of the computer to each other, but they've never swapped photos and never heard each other's voices. 

When Andrew gets a phone, he asks Neil if he has one and Neil says no, only his mom has a burner.

Still Andrew gives Neil his number and on his birthday, November 4th, he gets a call from a Seattle phonebox. 

"Hey," Neil says. Andrew can hear him shivering, the chatter in his teeth. 

"Happy Birthday, Drew." 

They talk and talk. It's the best birthday Andrew's ever had.

Right up until the gunfire.

Neil vanishes. 

There's no emails. No MSN messages. No highly irritating nudges. He's not in any of their usual chatrooms. 

Andrew doesn't get another phone call.

Weeks go by. First one then another then another.

Andrew leaves messages. He sends emails. He really really hopes Neil isn't dead.

Aaron and Andrew go to live with Nicky. 

They're approached by The Ravens. Andrew turns down the infamous Riko Moriyama and his absurdly pretty Number 2, Kevin Day. 

David Wymack shows up. The deal extends to Aaron and Nicky if he wants it. Andrew says yes.

Sometimes Andrew thinks about Neil and tries to make an effort with Aaron, but Aaron is angry and a recovering addict and nothing Andrew says or does is ever enough. He still tries. 

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

 Subject: 9 ways I'm trying to befriend my twin

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Re: Subject: make that 11 ways 

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Re:Re:Re: Subject: none of these are working 

From: phantom!attheopera 

To: isayshotgun 

 Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Subject: you'd hate him too

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun  

Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Subject: ok fine, I don't hate him 

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Subject: Happy New Year 

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Re: Subject: And Happy Birthday I guess

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Subject: I miss you 

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Re: Subject: I still miss you 

From: phantom!attheopera

To: isayshotgun 

Subject: Panic! are play in Columbia next month !!!

From: isayshotgun 

To: phantom!attheopera

Re: Subject: Panic! are play in Columbia next month !!! 

 got u a ticket c u there @ 7pm

Andrew blinks. He stares at his inbox. The 1 new message. Neil's username. Neil is alive. Neil is coming to Columbia. Neil is coming to a Panic! At The Disco gig. He bashes out a hasty message. 

phantom!attheopera: Are you serious? 

isayshotgun: yeh

The month vanishes under Andrew's feet. He's nervous. He's excited. Nicky is exuberant. 

"My cousin has a date!" 

"Not a date, Nicky." 

Nicky just slides a knowing look his way and when Andrew takes the car keys, tells him to drive safe and stay out of fights. Andrew scoffs.

They haven't been talking much, Neil and Andrew. 

But Neil promised that Andrew wouldn't be able to miss him. 

Neil was telling the truth. He's standing there, a too-skinny teenager with badly cut hair flopping into his eyes, with a giant sign saying "phantom!attheopera".

Approaching, Andrew sees that Neil is gaunt, there's shadows under his eyes, which are blue as the sky on a clear, cold day. 

"You ready to scream your crooked heart out?" Andrew asks. 

Neil looks up with a slow smile. It wobbles as if his face is out of practice. 

"Hey." 

 "Hi."

They will - in fact - scream their crooked hearts out that night. They will hold each other upright and throw themselves through the mosh pit, feeling the press of elation and anger and frustration and hope. Neil will trip a stranger who gets too close for Andrew's comfort. Andrew will deliberately spill a drink over a girl who won't stop eyeballing Neil with hearts in her eyes. 

"My hero," Neil laughs. His laugh is rusty too. 

Andrew wants to hear it again and again. He wants to hear it every fucking day for the rest of his stupid emo life.

When the music fades and the crowds disperse, Andrew and Neil are left in the carpark, sitting on the bonnet of Andrew's car. 

He asks Neil where he's going tonight. 

Neil shrugs. 

He asks Neil if his mom is nearby but he already knows the answer. Mary Hatford is dead.

They don't leave for hours. Neil explains everything that night - who his dad is, what he's running from. Andrew doesn't care. 

When they're both cold, they sit in the car and turn the heating up. Andrew offers his hand to Neil and Neil curls their fingers together.

Neil is tired. Neil is so so so tired. 

"Come home with me." Andrew says. "Stay." 

Neil slumps against the seats, his head tilted so Andrew can see every sharp angle of his face. There's no fight, no bargaining. 

Just a sweet, fluttering feeling neither of them know to call hope.

The end.

[rhythm-catsandwine]

Heat without his Alpha (almost)

Wincest

werwolf Winchesters

Smut at the end 18 +

Summery Dean goes into heat when his alpha is away. He has to deal with the consequences.

Sam and Cass were going on a hunt, and Dean was staying at the bunker. His heat was coming soon, so he had to stay behind. The hunt was far away a few states over.

“Uggg, I fucking hate this, can’t go on a hunt just because of a stupid mating cycle!” whines Dean as he hugs Sam and then Cass.

Sam runs his finger through his omegas hair “Dean, it looks like it’s just an easy salt and burns, we should be back in a couple of days, before your heats in full swing. How many more days do you think you have?”

“Usually at this point, I have a few days”, but this one feels different.

“Dean I promise I will do my best to get your alpha back to you unharmed and as soon as possible.” Says Cass

“Yeah, well just keep my bitch safe” Dean Teases

Sam swats Dean’s ass “jerk”

Sam and Cass leave in the impala. Dean immediately got to work locking every door. They had rigged all of the locks so that only the three of them could get in. He was safe form any alphas and their packs. He had never had pups so he was still venerable to being ‘stolen’ by another greedy alpha. The first day was great, Dean watched movies and to. Eating junk food, and laying on the couch. He went to bed late after checking in with Sam and Cass. He slept until he wakes up feeling hot.

Deans POV

“shit heats coming early. Crap, crap, crap. Mabey if I walk around it will help. I take off my shirt and started to walk the walls of the bunker. Soon I’m half running, but it helps to get the energy out and I cool down enough to fall back asleep. I can sleep in tomorrow”

Dean sleeps in and feels normal until noon. Then he feels the slick start to leak out. Dean heads to the laundry room to grab one of Sam’s shirts. He grabs the one that brings out both of their eyes. He puts it on slowly, letting it rub against his face. He heads to their room and grabs Sam’s pillow and smashes his face in the fluff. He inhales the scent of his Sam. His alpha. “Fuck you smell so good Sam, always have, smell even better now after being turned in to a wolfdog. Won’t tell him that I used to do this kind of thing, even before we got together”

Dean drops the pillow heads to the bedroom and scoops up the towels that he and Sam had used the last couple of days. Then to the living room to grab the blankets off the couch. He makes his round collecting anything soft. If it smelt like Sam it was like a bonus. Finally to the bedroom again. Dean drops the load on the bed, then climbs on and started arranging everything. He keeps rearranging things for about an hour. “Wait what am I doing? What did that book say? Neffing? Netting? No. Nesting, nesting. I'm nesting. It must be because I want pups. But does Sam want them? What if he doesn’t? What if he doses? What if I get pregnant and he doesn’t want them? What if he wants them and I can’t give him any? What if I get pregnant and he does want then and were bad parents, or I lose them? Why am I crawling around in this nest, like a dog does before it beds down for the night? I’ve crawled around three times now laying down sounds nice.”

On the third day, the heat is increasing in intercity. Increasing too quickly. Soon the waves are getting more than uncomfortable for Dean. He frantically searches for Sam’s pillow, but can’t find it right away. He throws everything that’s not a pillow off the bed, and finally finds it. His stats pressing it against his crotch. He tunes over on his stomach so he can get more pressure. He lies down on top of it so he can drive his hips into the pillow, hard enough to feel his hands on the other side. He humps the pillow for a time and then cums. Finally, some of the heat energy is relived. It’s only temporary, and the omega knows it.

Dean jumps at the sound of his phone ringing. Sam’s ring tone! He follows the sound of ‘Whole Lotta Love, by Led Zeppelin’ around the messy room. Finding the phone under a blanket. He answers a little too excited.

“Sam!?”

“Oh hey, Cass!

"Can I talk to Sam? ”

“What do you mean you’re not done with the case? Thought it was an easy salt and burn”

“Yeah I still want to talk to Sam. put him on”

“Hey, baby! How’s my other baby doing, your taking care of her right?”

“You’d better keep taking care of her. So how much longer you think this will take?”

“Olay, just want you home soon”

“No, I haven’t gone into heat”

“Did you just use the alpha voice thing on me?”

“Okay, yes, I lied. I am in heat.”

“I lied because I can sense your rut’s coming just in your voice….And my heat started early…” “It’s starting to get uncomfortable”

“No. just keeps your head in the game and just stays safe. I can’t have you get hurt, getting all alphaish.”

“Love you too bitch”

The fourth day is painful. The waves are coming hard and more often. Dean doses everything he can think of to ease the pain. He looks up old housewives remedies to help. Most don’t some do. The ones that do work don’t work enough and only take the edge off for an hour or so. Late in the evening when Dean hears his phone ring again.

“Sam?”

“You’re done with the case! Coming back to the bunker”

“When will you get here?”

“Please just hurry. Sammy, it hurts”

“If you’ve kept my baby tuned up, she can take a hard long drive straight home”

“You did! You’re awesome Sam! Just let Cass drive if you get tired.”

“Okay bye bitch” Dean curls up on the bed he knows that soon not much will help him. He needs his alpha. He strokes his cock and gets himself to cum. It barely takes the edge off. Tomorrow will be a painful day. Dean doesn’t sleep because of the pain that night. He feels the waves of heat hit like a fraught train. The slick is coming out almost constantly. All he can do is lay on the bed... Wave after wave of pain hits him in the stomach.

Then the delusions start. He keeps imagining Sam and Cass coming home when they are still hours away. He imagens having pups, and them dying, being killed, or his alpha doesn’t want them. He imagines his alpha, his brother, his Sam laying dead on the floor. He sees Cass dead too. Dean sees them dead and he can’t do anything but will himself to die. He sees their son Jack falling back dead in the cemetery. Its late afternoon when Sam and Cass get back. Dean hears them pull in. But is it them, or just another delusion of an omega in heat without his alpha? He feels a tug on the back of his mind. Sam is trying to communicate telepathically.

Sam’s POV

“I can smell Dean’s heat from the garage. The smell is intoxicating. But he’s not in here he would have heard us get back”

“Dean?”

“no answer” “I hear Cass call for Dean too, sill no answer. Shit, I fucking need him now. my rut has hit its full swing. Deans sent is everywhere and I can’t think straight. He must have run around the bunker a lot or his heat is stronger than he says”

Sam takes a deep breath as he starts to concentrate.

“Dean?”

“Sam”

“Dean where are you? Your sent is overwhelming and I can’t get a lock on where ya are.”

“Bedroom, get in here now! another fucking wave of heat is coming it hurts like hell”

“I’m coming”

“Well come the fuck faster and fuck me already bitch”

The connection is broken off by Dean. Sam runs through the bunker then down the hall to their room. He rounds the corner. Dean is curled up, in pain, clutching his stomach. The omega senses his alpha and his rut. He sets up as his alpha tackles him down on to the bed. Sam is already throwing his clothes off. He feels his omegas slick, soaking them both. Dean has striped and is rutting up on Sam. Sam reaches to grab the condoms from the nightstand. Dean slaps it out of his hand.

“Sam I want pups. I want a family”

“Dean this is just the heat talking”

“No! It’s not! I just haven’t told you. I didn’t know if you want them too. Now I can see it's obvious you don’t want any “

Sam’s eyes grow wide and his eyes look more golden than green. He holds himself high, asserting his authority and dominance.

“Dean, that couldn’t be further from the truth!" He growls.

Sam’s voice changes. “give- me-pups-omega” he orders. Chills run down Dean’s spine. “Yes, my alpha” he growls back.

Dean pulls the but plug out and throws it over the side of the bed. He needed to be ready the second his alpha returned home. Sam thrusts in and out of Dean, They move in unison as Sam’s knot starts to grow. The knot grows slowly. Finally, the knot passes through Dean’s rim and they are tied together.

“FUCK SAM” Dean Cums hard with the sweet release of the heat energy.

“DEAN” Sam soon follows at the sight and feeling of his omega withering beneath him.

They ride their orgasms, before crumpling together on the bed. Sam moves them so they can lie on their sides.

“So, when did you start wanting pups, a family?”

“When I was with Ben and Lisa I cared for them but didn’t really love them. I was in love with the idea of having a family. I wanted pups as soon as we were turned and I knew we could. You?”

“You know I always wanted the ‘apple pie life’. “It was soon after we got together. I started to want kids. I didn’t think it would be possible until we were turned.”

“So hopefully I’ll be pregnant after this, Okay you got to admit that still sounds kinda weird” Dean laughs

“Now you know omegas are more venerable and weak during pregnancy. And the first one is the most venerable.”

“Yes, Sam I read too”

“You can’t hurt if you are prego”

“Prego my eggo”

Sam laughs “Dean I’m serious. It sounds like you could lose the pups pretty easy the first time around. We’re going to have to limit your time outside of the bunker too. The areas thick with greedy alphas, and their packs. “

“I can at least wait until I’m showing right?”

“I don’t know. Cass and I noticed a lot more wolves out on the hunt.”

‘I can go out if you’re with me right? Other alphas and omegas don’t attack if the alpha mate is protecting them, right”

“I don’t know Dean, but well look into it.”

Dean tries to move his leg that was pinned under his huge brother. “Hey, my legs going to sleep. Mind if we roll over?” Sam moves them so Deans on top of him.

“Hey, wanna go again? I want you to fill me up”

“With pups or cum”

Dean runs his teeth over his lips. “Both and you can’t have one without the other”

“Ride me jerk”

“My pleasure bitch"

Dean grabs ahold of Sam’s Hips as he starts moving up and down. They move as one for a time. Eventually, Sam growls a warning. He arches up father into Dean as he cums. Dean groans and throws his head back as he releases covering Sam with another layer of white. Dean locks eyes with Sam as he rubs his hands in his cum. Sam hums as Dean kneads the muscles of his abdomen. Dean picks one of his hands up and runs it through Sam’s hair. “Dude! what the hell! what the fuck was that for?” complains Sam

Dean just gets more cum and messes Sam’s hair even more. “I’m still your brother, Sammy”

[12freddofrogs]

An episode of a Batfam TV Show

A while back I started wondering how I would design the Batfamily for their own TV. It started as a quick exercise, just considering ‘Season one would be Dick as Robin, and maybe he and Babs would do this, and then in S2 Jason would turn up’... and then it got detailed to the point I was working out individual episodes, character arcs, and themes.

This is an extract from Season Three, aka, Tim’s Robin run (pt1). The full chapter includes bright eyed Tim Drake nearly getting himself run over by the Batmobile so he can make his case why Batman needs a Robin, a minor cameo by the giant penny in the Cave, an adaptation of The Killing Joke, a driving lesson that technically involves Nightwing stealing the Batmobile, the Spoiler setting up in purple, a Wayne Gala or two, much mourning for what happened in the S2 finale, and Cassandra Cain rejecting her blood family for one that actually cares.

And, of course, this musical episode.

Full fic on Ao3  -Chapter 3 here. It’s much easier to read, especially on mobile.

Chapter 1 here.

Season Three, Episode Twenty - Songbird

A Pied Piper themed villain comes to Gotham. 

He has nothing to do with the Central City villain.

His powers work on children. Specifically, anyone under the age of about eighteen. It’s never made entirely clear what the cut-off age is, just that Cass is immune. 

Of course, no-one really knows how old Cass is, either, considering her lack of birth certificate.

 Tim is having an ordinary day at school, calmly walking past a couple having a break-up in the cafeteria, when the dramatic screaming match switches into a Broadway musical.

Tim is alarmed, and as he continues through the school, other people are bursting into song. Music is playing, and from the way he turns it’s obvious he can hear it and can’t figure out from where.

 “I need to finish my assignment for mathematics / but I can’t find the time without skipping football practise,” one boy tells his friends, then claps a hand against his throat.

“I’ve spent so much time working on Miss Greene’s essay / that I completely forgot about the science test today!” a girl sings, her voice calm despite the fact she’s frantically flipping through a textbook.

“He’s so handsome, he’d never notice me / what would I have to do to make him see?” another girl sings from her locker, glancing at a boy several doors away. He notices her singing, and she yelps, hiding behind her locker door.

Everyone is growing frantically confused by the music.

It eventually turns into a school wide song with everyone, including Tim, singing the same lyrics about “What’s going on? Why are we bursting into song?”

The song finishes and all the students stare at each other, wide-eyed.

“What was--”

“How--”

“I don’t--”

While everyone is still panicking, Tim slips out the school doors.

He heads straight to the Manor.

When Bruce opens the door, it’s to find a bundle of nervous energy fidgeting on his threshold.

“B, we - oh, no, it’s happening again.” Tim claps a hand over his mouth.

“What’s happening?” Bruce steps aside immediately to let his panicked third Robin into the house. 

It takes a moment as Tim scrambles inside, dropping his school backpack on the ground and turning to Bruce with a panicked expression, but finally he lowers his hand.

As expected, out comes another song.

“Bruce, we really need to talk because / there’s something in my voice. / Everything comes out as song / and I don’t have a choice. I don’t have a plan for this / so I kinda hope you do. / Otherwise get ready for Gotham’s musical debut. ”

"...I see.”

It’s not that Tim’s constantly speaking in song.

He still talks normally most of the time.

It’s just that whenever he feels something particularly strongly, he has an automatic performance about it.

He’s very concerned that when he sings, it’s always the absolute truth about how he feels.

“I have a secret identity! I can’t go to school if I’m going to sing about wearing a cape!”

Dick finds it hilarious

When he hears about the situation he comes up from Bludhaven immediately.

He’s trying to be sympathetic, but it comes across as insincere when he’s filming the whole thing.

“Come on, just one little song for the camera?”

“Mmm-fff!” Tim shakes his head, hands clapped over his mouth defensively.

Babs tells Dick not to worry, she caught Tim’s last performance on security cameras. Tim looks offended.

Meanwhile, Cass is jealous she’s too old.

“This is not a good thing, Cass,” Tim complains.

“Looks fun.”

“It is not.”

“Sourpuss.”

Tim has a song about being insecure in his place as Robin

Batman informs him that he is not to get involved in the case.

Tim grumpily agrees, and stays alone in the Cave while everyone leaves.

He starts on the obstacle course, swinging up and down on the wires as he begins to sing.

“Batman needs a Robin / That much is plain to see / The question that I’m asking / Is the Robin he needs me?”

He’s not insecure about being kept off this particular case, understanding if not liking it, but in general not sure about his ability to live up to the name.

 It finishes with a more triumphant declaration that he can do this. He’s Robin, he’s earned his cape, watch him go.

Steph is equally affected by the curse.

It’s the first time she’s turned up at the Cave, but she figured this was probably a big enough situation to be worth knocking.

She’s trying to make the most of it, and turns it into a game.

She acts like she’s finding it enjoyable. It’s almost believable until she does get a moment alone with Tim to confess that it’s creepy.

Steph and Tim have a duet.

Dick’s attempt at provoking them into singing finally works.

The song starts with Tim being annoyed at Dick, and quickly fades into both of them admitting they’re annoyed with the situation. It’s a very fast-paced cheer about how they can’t stop singing, when they find out who’s responsible that person will find out just what Robin and Spoiler can do.

They’re dancing around, jumping on and off the equipment, and performing perfect choreography.

Dick and Cass applaud.

It finishes with Tim dipping Steph, her balancing with one leg in the air, when they both react in terror. Tim drops her.

“I didn’t want — we didn’t want to do that,” Tim blurts out.

“You don’t understand, it made us move. It’s never done that before. It actually controlled what we did.” Steph’s breathing heavily, still sitting on the ground.

It’s discovered that the musical magic is not only growing, and is turning into a more complete form of mind control.

Dick and Cass suddenly no longer find it funny.

Within days, maybe even hours, the Pied Piper villain is likely to have an entire army of Gothamite children for choreographed villainy.

So, of course, the Bats push this situation up several rungs of the priorities.

Tim and Steph were already off the case, but now they are banned from leaving the Cave until they know exactly what this song can do.

They each call their parents to inform them they’re staying at the other’s house. Steph swears up and down that she’s just studying with Tim, seriously, she’ll bring home the flashcards as proof if she has to.

The two of them then actually end up making flashcards, because they no longer trust their bodies enough to train.

For a while everything is calm.

Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Oracle are all focused intently on the case.

Alfred is watching the two youngest.

It’s not a joke anymore, but with Tim and Steph sitting casually on the ground, talking together completely normally and checking in via coms, the situation doesn’t seem red alert urgent.

No-one notices how Tim starts humming as he cuts out the next flashcard, or that Steph takes up the tune while she coats one in glitter.

The scenes of them humming along together is intercut along with moments of the others working the case. The audience is very aware — Tim and Steph’s song has no diegetic soundtrack, so all the audience can hear in the Cave scenes are Alfred’s footsteps, the scratch of pen and paper, and two teenagers humming too quietly for anyone else.

Up until the point where they actually start singing.

Steph and Tim’s humming gradually changes into a song.

“Cut and paste and listen,” they murmer in unison, wistful and fanciful, still working on the flashcards. “Cut and paste and listen to the magic sound. Cut and paste and listen. The Piper is coming to town.”

Alfred is no longer dusting the computer. Instead, he clicks on the communicator so Batman can hear the chant, and carefully approaches.

Tim and Steph insist that they’re fine. They don’t speak in unison for it, but it does come out as more of a duet.

“Don’t worry, Alfred, we feel fine,” Steph insists.

“Absolutely marvellous,” Tim chimes in.

“Completely sublime.”

Tim gets to his feet with an encouraging smile, scissors dangling in his fingertips. “We’ve just got a song stuck in our heads.”

“There’s no need to worry.”

“And no need to fret.”

“It’s just a shame you can’t hear that sound.” Steph tugs at her ear, grinning.

 “It sinks to your bones and makes you feel like dancing around.”

 Alfred cuts off the song to assure them that the Pied Piper will soon be defeated. This whole nonsense will be finished with by tomorrow, and by this point even Dick will be grateful for it.

The songbirds are oddly upset about that idea.

“You’re getting him chased down by the Big Bad Bat?” Steph asks.

“That shouldn’t happen. The Piper won’t like that,” Tim says.

“No,” Alfred says slowly, warily. “I suppose he wouldn’t.”

The argument culminates when Tim nearly stabs Alfred with the scissors.

 Alfred dodges the blow on instinct, sidestepping the blade aimed at his head.

Tim freezes, his arm outstretched.

For a moment all three of them are still, Alfred watching the scissors over his shoulder and Tim’s eyes wide. Steph’s mouth hangs open.

The scissors clatter on the floor as Tim steps back.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry Alfred—” Tim nearly hyperventilates.

“Master Tim,” Alfred says after a moment, almost resting his hand on Tim’s shoulders but deciding against it. “I assure you I’m fine, but perhaps at the moment we should consider using the restraints.”

“Yes. Yes, we should do that.”

Tim practically bolts himself in to the medbay stretcher, and only allows Alfred to help because it’s not designed to be tightened by the patient.

Steph is slightly more reluctant, and has to force herself to take each step. She notably bites down on her lip, bunching her fingers into a fist while Alfred secures her to the other bay, but she allows it to happen.

 The urgency is immediately upped.

“Do you need someone to watch them with you?” Batman asks, pausing on a rooftop to talk into his comm.

“No. They’re quite lucid at the moment,” Alfred says, watching Tim and Steph talking nervously. “The best thing for everyone is for you to stay on the case.”

“I can come,” Oracle suggests. “The Cave has all the same tech so I can stay on the job, and if the kids are getting stabby you will need backup.”

It’s decided that is a good idea, especially as Steph starts humming again before slamming her head facedown into the pillow.

 Batman successfully tracks down the location of the Piper.

The three field vigilantes burst in, much to Piper’s horror.

They find him building a giant radio transmitter, and immediately start trying to shatter it.

Piper flees the room, carrying a small cassette player with him. Nightwing stays to make sure the transmitter is utterly broken. Batgirl and Batman split up to track the villain.

The Piper is caught by Batman, lifted off the ground by the scruff of his neck, when a dozen children come barrelling into the room to rescue him.

The idea of punching hypnotised kids makes Batman hesitate, and Piper manages to get away.

Worse still is that breaking the transmitter didn’t fix the problem. The kids are still hypnotised, and Nightwing reports that it wasn’t even finished. Piper had been making it for something, but it wasn’t the cause of the problem.

They search through Piper’s files, and track down that it was the cassette player that influences the children.

Steph and Tim are drifting back into their musical hypnosis.

 “Don’t listen to them,” Steph murmurs, pulling her face out of the bed. Her voice is too quiet for anyone but Tim to hear. “Hold yourself steady.”

“It’s time for a fight so you better get ready.” Tim holds up one hand. The picked restraints drop silently onto the mattress.

When Oracle arrives, Robin and Spoiler take the distraction and attack.

When Alfred and Oracle return to the room, it’s to find the two youngest have gotten into their uniforms and are swinging down from the ceiling at them.

 It’s not a real fight. The hypnosis is just telling them to go. It’s an escape attempt more than anything else.

Oracle is able to handle herself when Spoiler leaps at her, boot flying towards her face. A quick movement and Steph is thrown over Oracle’s shoulder, wincing.

But they don’t need to beat her, just outrace her. Spoiler jams a batarang into one of Oracle’s wheels while Robin locks Alfred in the cupboard, and by the time Babs can move again — it couldn’t have taken more than thirty seconds to untangle the batarang — they’re gone.

Fortunately, Batman already has a lead on where they must be going.

Over two hundred children — some as young as ten, most closer to fifteen or sixteen — have converged on a Gotham news channel’s office.

It’s a very convenient way for a villain’s exposition to be told to the audience. The children are singing about Pied Piper’s plan to broadcast his song to every child in the country as they forcibly drag the communication workers out of their offices. The Piper himself is walking through the chaos with a self-satisfied smile.

The song seems like a normal triumphant villain song, with a hint of creepiness when every once in a while, someone will say that they don’t like what they’re doing, they’re so sorry, can’t anyone help them?

Piper locks himself in the CEO office.

He’s humming to himself as he pulls out his cassette player. When he opens the case, an array of buttons that would look advanced on a phone blink back at him.

He begins to tap in a command when the window shatters.

Batman swings into the room.

Batgirl and Nightwing are close behind.

When Piper tries to run, he doesn’t get five steps. Batman throws him against the wall.

Piper glances at the door.

In an instant Batgirl vaults over the desk to reach it, turning the lock with time to spare before teenagers start banging on it. “Nightwing. Help… ballaracade?”

Nightwing is already pushing the desk aside it.

Once they’ve successfully ensured no-one’s getting in Nightwing informs her the word is ‘barricade’. Batgirl nods, pleased.

“Where are they?” Batman growls, looming over the terrified Piper.

“Where are who? The children? They’re all outside, or at least the ones I called are—”

“Don’t play games with me.”

“How do we fix it?” Nightwing demands.

“You can’t. It’s unstoppab—”

 “Lying,” Batgirl says sharply.

At that point Robin and Spoiler shatter a second window.

They land between Batman and the Piper, standing protectively over the villain. Robin has his staff at the ready while Spoiler’s cloak flutters.

They’re also humming.

It takes a moment for Piper’s shock to fade, but then his lips twitch in a smile.

There’s a fight.

Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl hold back.

Robin and Spoiler don’t, which means that the hypnotised fighters are actually able to gain ground.

And of course, Robin and Spoiler are singing all the while. By now that’s not the focus of the scene, feeling more like background music with lyrics than a Broadway fight scene. Potentially, the TV audience can’t even hear the music, just watches the singing characters.

The lyrics don’t really delve into anyone’s interiority (mainly). It’s just a fast-paced song about fighting.

Every once in a while, though there’s a line like “Of course I know I can’t win, but that’s never stopped me before.” “Of course I’ll try my best, but I’ve never wanted to lose more.”

Just enough to indicate that some part of Tim and Steph know what they’re doing.

Piper takes the distraction.

He gets the barricade open and a hundred mind-controlled teenagers pour in, and suddenly the Bats have a much bigger disadvantage.

Piper escapes. Nightwing follows.

There’s a chase as Piper rushes towards the ground floor.

A dozen children are thrown at Nightwing, diving in his way.

But a former Boy Wonder doesn’t get taken down by a thirteen-year-old attempting a tackle, not when he can bounce off the walls to somersault over their heads.

Piper goes for the elevator. Nightwing is delayed to the point that he misses the doors by centimetres.

He pushes off the eleven-year-old girl clinging to his back and rushes to the fire stairs. His grappling hook connect with the handrail as he leaps over the edge.

Freefalling down the spiral staircase centre gets him to the ground with time to spare. He bursts out of the door and is able to throw his bolos at the fleeing Piper, tripping the supervillain up.

Within seconds Nightwing’s on him, scrambling through his pockets. He finds the cassette player.

Before the children can converge again, Nightwing leaps up with his grappling hook, holding himself on the high ceiling and resting one foot on the top of a window.

He flips open the cassette player.

“Oh, look at that. A labelled ‘off’ switch.” Nightwing grins at Piper, who’s just managing to pull himself free from the bolos. “So if I flick it, will it do anything to inspire me to kick your teeth in?”

“No, no, please—”

“Begging sounds promising.” His fingers hover over the button. Below him, the children are swarming, trying to figure out how to climb the wall. “If this hurts anyone, I am going to break every bone in your body. So is there anything you want to tell me?” Nightwing pauses for an answer, but Piper doesn’t give one. The children are starting to create pyramids. “Alright. Here goes.”

 He flicks the switch.

Immediately, the music turns off.

The children stop pressing up against the wall and back away immediately.

“Is it over?”

Upstairs, the same happens.

Everyone freezes in their attack on Batman and Batgirl.

Robin drops his staff and retreats several steps.

“Fixed?” Batgirl asks.

Spoiler touches her head. “I think so.”

Of course, this means the Piper just got himself trapped.

He’s now surrounded by a sea of students who had been at least eighty-per-cent aware of what happened.

Nightwing swoops down and pulls him out before anyone can catch him, but waits just long enough for Piper to realise the danger he’s in.

Nightwing ties him up, and waits patiently for the others to come downstairs.

He hands over the cassette player to Batman and goes to hug the now-coherent younger two, but Spoiler brushes off the affection onto Robin. Instead, she walks up to Piper and punches him in the face.

“Feel better now?” Nightwing asks.

 “Yeah.” Spoiler steps back and allows Nightwing to reassure himself that she’s okay, letting him wrap her in a short hug. “Much better.”

So the day is saved, everything neatly finished.

Piper is arrested, the children/teenagers that hadn’t already dispersed are collected by the police to be taken home.

Later, everyone is back in the Batcave, exhausted. They’ve changed back into their civilian clothes.

“So I guess I am never going to another karaoke night ever again,” Steph mumbles.

“Karey-oakey?” Cass repeats.

“It’s like a place where you sing. You choose a song, and they’ll play the music for you so you can yell out the actual lyrics as badly as you like.”

“Oh.” Cass mulls that over. “The singing did look fun. Before the dancing started.”

“Are you seriously still upset you’re too old for mind-control?” Dick asks.

Cass shrugs.

There’s silence for a moment.

Tim groans. “Fine, I’ll come with you, but I’m not singing anything else today.”

“I know a great karaoke bar.” Dick picks up his jacket from over the chair. “They sell amazing nachos.”

“I could go for nachos.” Steph stands up.

“Already booking us a private room,” Babs says.

“I’ll prepare the car,” Alfred says.

Dick grins. “B, you coming?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“You won’t have to sing,” Tim adds. “Sit with me and Steph and watch while the rest of these losers get up on stage.”

“I assure you, Master Tim, I will not be singing.”

“Sit with me, Steph, and Alfred,” Tim corrects.

Bruce groans, but reluctantly gets up.

Dick leans over to Cass where Bruce can’t hear him. “Bet you five bucks I can convince him to get on stage.”

“Deal.”

End episode.

Available on AO3.

S1 episode extract here. (17 year old Dick gets kidnapped for ransom, is very bored.)

S2 episode extract here (Robin-Jason goes up against Two-Face, trades himself for a hostage, proceeds to be as sarcastic as possible).

S4 episode extract here (in which Tim gets a dose of fear gas, Spoiler confronts her inner child in an alarmingly literal way, and Cass is awful at baking cookies).

[mysweetserpentine]

Hurricane 01.

Words: 1900+

Warnings: None

A/N: hello all! I’m so excited to finally put this out there! Just a small preface before you start reading this is set in 2019 after their world tour. If you enjoy it, please give it a like and reblog if you want. 

.

Busting through the doors of the dressing room, I rushed to my vanity and threw my bag under it. I unzipped the garment bag that held my dress for the night and stripped down before sliding it on. Moving back to take a look in the mirror, I smoothed out the sleek, black, floor-length gown. The fabric clung to my body and the slit hit way to high on my hip for my liking.

“Formal night might be my most favorite after all,” Karina said in a sing-song voice, waltzing through the door of the dressing room. “Well, maybe if the boss wasn’t in a horrible mood.”

“Great, and I’m sure he’s even more pissed that I’m late,” I sighed, slipping on my heels and fastening the clasp around my ankle. “Alissa didn’t want me to leave. It was a battle to even get out the door.”

Karina walked over to her vanity next to mine and fluffed her hair. “Don’t sweat it. I covered for you. He’s too worried about the special guests that are coming tonight anyways.”

“Thank you. You’re the best,” I said, standing up to give her a quick hug.

“You know I got you,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand.

And she was right. The shady business that surrounded this place made it hard to know who was your friend and who wasn’t. Karina was really the only person I could trust that worked here.

Turning on her heels, Karina headed towards the door and flung it open. “Now hurry and finish. I’ll be waiting on the floor.”

I looked back to the mirror and sighed at my reflection. I didn’t want to walk around in dresses that were too tight or ridiculous outfits that might as well have been lingerie. This wasn’t life I wanted.

This wasn’t the life I wanted for Alissa.

But these are the cards I had been dealt and whether I liked it or not, I had to play my best game. And as much as I hated this job, it kept Alissa and I stable. It kept Alissa safe.

Slipping a pair of gold hoops in my ears, I took one last look in the mirror before standing. I pulled the handle to the dressing room door and took a deep breath.

This was going to be a long night.

-

It was May in Miami and club life was in full swing. By the time I made it to the floor, the club was already full. The bass pounded in my ears as I made my way over behind the bar. Spotting Karina, I walked to where she was mixing a drink at the bar.

“Boss wants you to greet Double X and the guests in the VIP section,” Karina yelled, pointing towards the VIP section near the DJ booth.

Xerxes Frechiani, known as Double X by his colleagues, was a marketer who visited the club often. He promoted anyone from artists to celebrities. He was a huge customer of ours who brought in a lot of business. Of course he didn’t know what went on behind the scenes. How could he? The club looked squeaky clean on the outside. If he knew the truth, it would ruin the partnership between him and the boss.

Making my way over to the VIP section, I put a hand on Xerxes’ shoulder. “I heard there was a party over here. I should have known who was causing all the raucous.”

Turning to see who came up behind him, Xerxes whipped around. “Cassia! Hello,” he greeted, giving me a polite kiss on the cheek. “Chicos, this is Cassia. Cassia this is Richard, Joel, Erick, Christopher, and Zabdiel,” he introduced, motioning to each of the boys. “They are part of the latin boy-band CNCO.”

“Of course! Xerxes has kept me updated with all your success. Congratulations on your tour,” I mused. Each of the boys greeted me with a handshake and a kiss on the cheek. When I got to Zabdiel, something about him made my stomach flip.

Reaching for my outstretched hand, Zabdiel took mine in his much larger one. I expected him to give it a firm shake like the rest of the boys but was taken by surprise when he brought it up to his lips. After placing a small kiss on the back of my hand, he pulled me towards him and placed another kiss on my cheek. “It’s nice to meet you,” he whispered in my ear before pulling away.

Giving his hand a soft squeeze, I excused myself from the group and headed back to the bar. I took a deep breath to regain my composure and tried not to think about the boy who had just taken my breath away.

-

After what seemed like forever, the night had finally wound down. I drug my tired body to the dressing room and kicked off my heels. Slipping out of my dress, I slid on a hoodie and a pair of running shorts.

I pushed open the back door of the club and headed toward the main street to catch a cab home.

“Cassia!” a voice shouted behind me.

Whipping my head around, I turned to find Zabdiel trotting towards me. I hadn’t realized how tall he was until I didn’t have my heels on anymore. “Zabdiel, what are you doing here?” I asked. It was already half past four in the morning.

Rubbing a hand over his spiky bleached hair, he paused before speaking. “I was hoping to catch you before you left,” he admitted.

“Oh really? And to what do I owe the pleasure?” I questioned curiously, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Let me take you out tomorrow,” he blurted.

His request had caught me off guard. We had only met tonight but I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt towards him. “Sure,” I replied with a smile.

My reply seemed to calm his obvious nerves as his face broke out into a smile. “Perfect. Do you need a ride home?” he asked.

“No it’s okay. I can just wait for a cab,” I shrugged.

“It’s late. Let me drive you home,” he insisted, motioning towards his car parked along the sidewalk.

It was late and I hadn’t seen any cabs pass by while we had stood there. I weighed my options of waiting for God knows how long or catching a ride with Zabdiel, choosing the latter. “Okay,” I sighed, giving in to his offer.

Grabbing my hand, Zabdiel led me over to the passenger side of a sleek, black Lexus LS, opening the door and letting me get in before getting in on the driver’s side. The car roared to life and we took off towards my apartment.

The ride was filled with small conversation, mostly with me asking questions about the places tour life had taken him. He mused about several countries including their trip to Japan last year. I listened intently, watching how his eyes came to life when talking about their fans.

Before I knew it we had pulled up to my apartment. Easing the car to a stop, Zabdiel put the car in park and turned to face me. Grabbing my phone out of my hands, he typed a few things and then handed it back to me. He leaned over the center console and placed a kiss on my cheek.

I pulled the passenger side handle and opened the door, stepping out on the sidewalk. “Thank you for the ride,” I said.

“Text me as soon as you get inside,” he replied.

Shutting his car door, I headed towards the door of my apartment complex. I turned and gave a quick wave before opening it and heading inside. Taking two steps at a time, I arrived at my door. I put my key in the lock and opened my apartment. As soon as I shut the door, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts. All the way at the bottom in the ‘Z’ section was a lone contact that read ‘Zabdiel’. I tapped on his name and opened a new message, shooting him a quick text to let him know I made it in. My phone buzzed back almost immediately with a new message. I opened it only to see a single heart emoji.

Dropping my bag on the ground, I flipped the light on. Heading towards the kitchen, I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out. Just as I was about to take a sip, a shrill scream stopped me.

“Mommy!” Alissa shrieked, running into the kitchen and wrapping her tiny arms around my legs.

“Ay dios mío. Qué estás haciendo, mi amor?” I questioned. Leaning down to pick her up, I set her on my hip. I brushed her crazy bed head out of from her face.

Out of the corner of my eye another movement startled me. “She’s been fighting sleep to wait for you,” my roommate, Maddi, yawned. Plopping herself down on the couch, she rubbed her eyes clear of sleep.

“I’m so sorry. Was she a handful?” I asked. Alissa was finally moving out of her terrible twos despite her third birthday this past February.

Maddi shook her head, standing to move into the kitchen next to us. “No. She was fine after you left,” she admitted, coming over to pat Alissa on the head. “We actually had a lot of fun.”

Setting Alissa on the ground, I handed her my phone and kissed her on the forehead. “Amor, go get in bed and turn on a movie. I’ll be there in a second.”

Alissa took off out of sight towards my bedroom. I turned towards Maddi, not being able to hide the smile that crossed my face.

“Okay you never come home from work this happy. What happened?” she asked skeptically.

The blush rose to my face before I could stop it, painting my cheeks a pink shade. “I might have met someone tonight.” I confessed. “He wants to take me out tomorrow.”

“Please tell me you said yes. Cass you haven’t been out since Alissa was born,” she said, giving me a sad smile. “I know you don’t want to let anyone in after-”

“Don’t talk about him.” I cut her off seriously.

Maddi put her hands up in surrender. “Look. All I’m saying is to give it a chance,” she pleaded. “I’ll even watch Alissa.”

It wasn’t that Alissa was a burden. She was the most important thing to me. But the second she came into this world I had someone besides myself to take care of. It had been me and Alissa since day one and letting someone else in was a scary thought.

I don’t even know why I had begun to psych myself out. He just wants to take me out. I may not ever see him again after tomorrow. Do it, my conscience pleaded.

“Okay. I’ll go,” I gave in.

Maddi let out an excited squeal, clapping her hands together. She wrapped me in a tight hug and gave me a squeeze. “Now go get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning,” she said, making her way towards her room.

Walking into my room, I found Alissa starfished on the bed. Picking up my phone, I turned off the cartoon she had playing and plugged it in to charge. I slid under the covers careful not to shift her too much. The exhaustion of the night finally caught up to me as I let sleep take me over.

.

A/N: Sorry that there isn’t much of Zabdi in here. I had to give a preface to everything otherwise nothing would make sense later. Chapter 2 will be up soon.

[thatfanficstuff]

Bound (3)

Pairing: Klaus x OC

Warnings: death, killing, i.e. canon typical stuff

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long but the feelings.... There are probably errors here. Let me know if they are too distracting. (I kinda love this chapter)

***

When my morning started, I certainly hadn’t anticipated stomping through the woods in search of werewolves. My hybrid boyfriend was currently giving me a piggy back ride after making one too many snarky remarks about how slow humans were. He had refused to leave me behind for the length of time this journey was likely to take though I had all but begged. I’d just have to trust him to protect me. While Nik carried me, my head rested on his back though I would occasionally press a kiss to his cheek. Stefan carried the wolf they’d tracked down. Nik had fed the wolf his blood and broke his neck but the man had yet to wake up.

Nik came to a stop and lowered me to the ground. It took me a moment before I heard the sound of voices. I peered around his side to see a group of people setting up camp not too far from us. He placed a hand on my arm and gently pushed me back behind his body. “Stay here until we’ve properly greeted our friends, all right love?” I didn’t offer a response, but I knew he wasn’t really expecting one.

I hid myself behind a tree and kept watch. Stefan dropped Ray to the ground in the midst of his friends. He landed with a hard enough thud that it had me cringing in sympathy. Not that he was likely to feel it, he was technically dead after all. The other wolves justifiably panicked, demanded answers. When Nik announced who he was, the panic remained but the noise quieted immediately.

It was then that Ray woke. One of the campers was the human boyfriend of one of the wolves and Nik compelled him to act as dinner. It hadn’t even occurred to me to question what Nik had intended to feed them to help them transition. Hell, knowing him his initial plan was to let them run wild and find their own food. As much as I loved Nik, I had to admit he lacked forethought sometimes. 

“Cassie,” he called. “You can come out now, love.”

I tried my best to keep my gaze locked on him rather than the bodies that littered the ground around us. He’d made quick work of the wolves. As if sensing my unease, he hooked a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into his chest. He made soothing sounds as he nuzzled against the side of my head.

“They’re dead. They’re all dead.”

The sudden outburst had me pulling back in surprise. Nik turned to face Ray who was now on his feet and crouched, an angry scowl pulling his features.

“It’s your fault. You killed them,” he yelled.

Nik tilted his head as he stepped in front of me, casually placing himself between the raving hybrid and myself. “Easy, mate. Calm down. They’ll be right as rain in no time. You’ll see.” He held a hand in front of him in a calming gesture and took a step in Ray’s direction. “You’ll all be much better off. No longer a slave to the moon. Won’t that be freeing?”

If the way Ray snarled and ran off was any indication, he wasn’t convinced by Nik’s spiel. “Bloody hell,” he grumbled, just audible enough for me to catch it. “Stefan, do you mind?”

Stefan’s mouth quirked as if he was amused. “Yeah, I got it.”

As he ran off the wolves slowly began to wake. Nik moved the poor human around to feed them one at a time, then he would offer his own blood to the human so he could heal before continuing the cycle. I was so caught up in watching him, I barely heard the crack of a branch breaking to my left. I glanced toward the sound to see a woman with her attention focused solely on me.

“Nik?” I did my best to keep my voice calm as if that would somehow keep the werewolf from making me her meal.

“Yes, love? I’m a bit busy.” He sounded distracted but I didn’t dare take my eyes from the woman to check.

Before I could make another move the werewolf lunged at me, flashing yellow eyes and fangs. A scream tore from my throat and I closed my eyes bracing for the impact there was no time to avoid. When nothing happened, I opened them to find Nik holding the woman by the throat. His entire body was tense and his face showed that quiet fury that made him so terrifying. “Now that’s not very nice,” he said, his voice sharp.

The woman struggled in his grasp for a moment longer before he shifted his grip and ripped out her throat. I gasped and Nik spun to face me. He closed the distance between us in one long step, his face still full of fury. Even though I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, instinct overrode logic and I stepped backward away from him, the rocky ground making my steps unsteady. His hands found my arms, steadying me even as we continued to move.

When my back hit the trunk of a tree, Nik crowded against me, boxing me in. “Why?” he bit out.

“What?” I asked, not understanding what he was looking for.

“She would have killed you had I not reacted in time. Why would you allow this?”

“You’re blaming me?” My chest ached with the shock.

“For not protecting yourself? Yes!” He all but roared. “You’re a witch, Cassie. Whatever you may think, you’re are far more important to me than any of them.” With the last word he gestured to the werewolves that surrounded us. No. Not werewolves, not anymore. Hybrids. “I nearly lost you to the ritual. I will not lose you do to your failure to put your life before theirs. Do you understand?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. He was right. I did think he valued the hybrids over me, but that of course had nothing to do with my reasons for not defending myself. Despite his fury, despite his claim that I was more important, I still found myself reluctant to admit my magic was gone. My gaze found Stefan as he reentered the clearing and dropped Roy at his feet.

Nik grasped my chin gently and turned my head back to face him. He looked half-crazy. “Please tell me you understand, Cassie.” All the fury was gone from his voice to be replaced with a plea. His eyes searched my face.

“It’s gone,” I managed to choke out.

“What’s gone, Cassie?”

When I didn’t immediately respond, he pressed his forehead against mine. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what you’ve been hiding.”

Apparently I hadn’t been as sneaky as I thought all summer. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. “My magic. It’s been gone since the ritual.”

There was a long stretch of silence. The voice that broke it surprisingly wasn’t Nik’s, but Stefan’s. “What the hell, Cassidy? Why didn’t you say anything?”

I shrugged and kept my eyes cast down so I wouldn’t see the disappointment on Nik’s face. After a moment, Nik pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Stefan, take Cassie to the car. I’ll be along as soon as I have a word with our friends here.”

He stepped away as Stefan approached. “Damon, Elena and Alaric were here. Ran into them when I caught up with Ray.”

I looked up in surprise, the motion catching Nik’s eye. He gave me a soft smile and winked in my direction. What the hell did that mean?

“I assume Alaric was checking on his niece. I can’t fault him for that. What did your brother and your girlfriend want?”

“They still have a problem believing we’re here under our own free will,” Stefan said.

Nik rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time to be bothered with their antics at the moment. Protect Cassie. I’ll deal with this lot.”

Stefan nodded as he scooped me up in his arms. “Close your eyes, Cass.”

I did as he ordered and we arrived at the car moments later. He tried to start a conversation with me several times, but I wasn’t about to explain myself to anyone but Nik at the moment.

Sooner that I anticipated, the hybrid himself appeared and announced his presence by opening my door, startling me. He held out a hand to me and offered a smile of apology. “I need a minute with my girl, Stefan. Turn on some music and relax for a bit.”

Stefan nodded as he started the car and flipped on the radio. Nik helped me from the car and shut the door behind me. He led me a short distance away and frowned down at me. I squirmed under his inspection but waited for him to ask his questions.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked finally.

“At first, I wasn’t sure. I just felt unsettled, incomplete. I’d barely survived. I wasn’t going to freak you and Elijah out by mentioning I thought something was wrong but didn’t know what.”

“And once you were certain your magic was gone?”

I shrugged and shook my head. “Our relationship started based on my usefulness. I already feared you would have no further use for me after the ritual was completed, I wasn’t about to tell you I couldn’t even light a candle any more.”

“You really think so little of me?”

I couldn’t miss the hurt in his voice so I was quick to correct him. “It’s not you, it’s me. My entire purpose since the accident was to break your curse. I did that. We did that. What good am I now, especially without my magic?”

“You can’t honestly believe that is all you are worth?”

“I went from Cassie, kick ass witch willing to pay the price for her magic and able to cast some killer spells to Cassidy Grimes, overly smart anthropologist specializing in a curse that no longer exists. What value do I have? I am just like every other human out there. A liability in the supernatural world and you know it,” I said, finally voicing the fears I’d been holding onto for months.

Nik huffed a laugh of disbelief. “You are more valuable than anything has been to me in my thousand years of existence. You will never be just anything. You will always be my Cassie. My love. Did you really think I would abandon you once I knew the truth?”

“I didn’t know what you would do, Nik. I only knew I was terrified to find out. I’m not sure I would want to live a life without you in it. Without Elijah. I’m a Mikaelson now, I’m afraid, whether you two want me or not.” I forced a teasing tone into my voice.

He grinned then. “As if we would ever let you go.” He looped an arm around my shoulders. “Come, love. Time for Stefan to drive us to Chicago.”

I pressed against his side as he walked us to the car. “What’s in Chicago?”

“Besides history? A witch that just might have some answers for us.”

Tag List:  @deadmanwalked @the-doctor-9-10 @kawaiirepublic @xlosttdreamss @tkdgirl2012 @cacti-succulents-andlesbians @killerheelsanddullknives @readeity @kayla-03-blog @star-incandescent 

@bookwormstrawberry - this is the first time I’ve gotten your tag to work for some stupid tumblr reason. Sorry!

[hippychick006]

4.20 - The Rapture

or the one about Castiel’s vessel.  Except it isn’t really about that and if you don’t watch it for that reason, you’re missing out on an amazing episode full of brother angst.  I’m glad I re-watched as this wouldn’t normally be on my re-watch list. 

Cas appears to Dean inside his dream.  Dean is fishing on his own, and it’s peaceful and quiet.  Not sure what to say about that right now, other than it confirms Dean is tired of hunting this season.  Cass needs to talk to Dean and wants him to meet him someplace more private, because apparently people could be listening in.

When Sam and Dean arrive at the meeting place, it looks like there’s been an explosion.  They see Cass in the middle of the bomb site, unconscious and go to help him.  Except, it’s not Cass, it’s his vessel, Jimmy (and lol at Misha’s voice). 

Jimmy’s eating as they question him on what he remembers.  He’s eating worse than Dean ever has.  He remembers some things, like having an angel inside you is “kinda like being chained to a comet”.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember what Cass was going to tell them.

We flashback to Jimmy with his family.  The scenes show him to be a religious man.  We see the television acting strangely, similar to the episode Castiel tries to talk to Dean.  Jimmy has a fit and passes out.

Back to the present and Sam and Dean have another disagreement.  Dean wants to put Jimmy on a bus and send him home.  Sam doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Jimmy’s the only lead they’ve got.

Dean: You remember when our job was helping people?  Like, getting them back to their families?

Sam: You think I don’t want to help him?  I’m just being realistic.  I mean hell, we’re doing him a favour

Dean: How?!

Sam: Dean, if we want to question the guy, you can bet the demons do too.  

We can see that Dean hadn’t thought about this, so they go tell Jimmy the news that he can’t go home right now.  Jimmy’s not happy with this news.  He tries to leave. Sam says if he does, he’ll put his wife and daughter in danger.

Jimmy: So, what, now I’m a prisoner?

Sam: Harsh way to put it.

Sam leaves the motel when he thinks Castiel and Dean are asleep.  Castiel is not asleep and seizes his opportunity to escape. I’m not sure this counts as dumbing down the Winchesters, because Sam is acting like a junkie that desperately needs a fix of demon blood.  Sadly, his hip flask is running low on the stuff so he’s only going to get worse.

Sam’s very irritated the next morning and edgy, so he’s not the least amused that Dean finds it funny that Jimmy gave Sam the slip.

Dean: What were you doing anyway?

Sam: I was getting a coke [In fairness to Sam, he did drink the demon blood next to the coke machine].

Dean: Was it a refreshing coke?

Jimmy is on a bus, flashback to pre-Castiel Jimmy who is preparing food.  The radio starts playing up and next we see Jimmy has his whole hand in boiling water.  Castiel asked him to do it to “prove his faith”.   Jimmy looks so young here. 

The Winchesters are driving and giving each other the silent treatment.  Anna appears suddenly in the back seat. Anna should know better than this, having lived as a human for years. Anna’s hair is a mess so I’m guessing whatever she has been up to isn’t good.  She tells Sam he seems different. 

Sam: Me?  I don’t know... [Sam laughs] a haircut?

Anna: That’s not what I’m talking about. [Anna continues to look at Sam for a few seconds].

Anna tells them that Cass got dragged back to heaven, which is a “panfully, bad thing” and that he must have pissed someone off.  Dean tells Anna in turn that Cass had something to tell them, but he doesn’t know what.

I’m ignoring most of the Jimmy/Amelia scenes which consist of her thinking he’s delusional and him saying to have faith. The scene I do like, is that we see Jimmy dressing in what we know will become Castiel’s trademark clothes.  As an aside, Jimmy is not a tax accountant, he sells advertising space for radio. He goes outside and asks Castiel what he wants from him.  A bright light appears above him and we hear whispering.

Jimmy: Yes, I understand.  Promise my family will be okay and I’ll do it.... then yes.”   

Beam of bright light and Castiel takes possession, which we get confirmation of when Claire appears and says “daddy” and Castiel looks at her curiously and responds, “I am not your father.”  Seriously Castiel?

Present day Jimmy reunites with Amelia and the thing I will pull out of this scene is this: “I was - I was confused, Amelia.  I was completely delusional.  And I thought - I thought God was calling me to something and I thought that it was important, and I was wrong.  I was such an idiot.  Heaven, hell... none of that matters.  The only thing that’s important to me is you and Claire...

Taps chin, hmmm, I wonder how this can relate back to Sam and Dean, given their disconnect this season.

Sam’s trying to get a hold of his pusher Ruby while they look to be at a truck stop.  He’s withdrawing big time and is not doing well.

Okay, turns out Sam was right (looks into the camera like I’m on the office), demons are after Jimmy and his family.  His neighbour, Roger, is one of them and I like the scene where Jimmy beats the guy while shouting “He’s a demon!  Run!” while Amelia looks on horrified that her husband is attacking their nice neighbour (this is just after Jimmy admits to being delusional and making everything up.)

Sam and Dean arrive.  Dean uses the demon knife to kill Roger.  Sam tries to exorcise Roger’s wife, while Dean gets Jimmy and his family outside, but he “can’t get it up.”  No problems though, because Dean can, but before he can stab her, she smokes out.  Sam appears woozy and Dean has to help him out.

I’m debating if this next bit counts as dumbing down the Winchesters, but they are in a rush to get away, so I’m inclined to let this one slide.  As Sam and Dean rush out of the house, Jimmy and Claire are waiting by the Impala.  Dean asks where’s Jimmy’s wife.  Amelia appears and says, “Right here.”   They really should have checked all of them for possession though.

They drive away and stop at a parking garage.  Claire and Amelia are in the car, Jimmy, Sam and Dean are outside the impala talking.  This is their entire conversation:

Jimmy: You were right.

Dean: I’m sorry we were.

Jimmy: I’m telling you, I don’t know anything.

Dean: I don’t think they’re inclined to believe you.

Sam: And even if they did, you’re a vessel.  They’re still gonna wanna know what makes you tick.

Dean: Which means vivisection, if they’re feeling generous.

Sam: I’m gonna tell you once again, you’re putting your family in danger.  You have to come with us.

Jimmy: How long? And don’t give me that ‘cross that bridge when we get to it’ crap.

Sam: Don’t you get it? Forever. The demons will never stop.  You can never be with your family.  So you either get as far away from them as possible or you put a bullet in your head. [Dean looks at Sam at that], And that’s how you keep your family safe.  But there’s no getting out and there’s no going home.

Dean: Well don’t sugarcoat it, Sam

Sam: I’m just telling him the truth, Dean.  Someone has to. 

I love the insights, the last 2 episodes have given to where Sam in particular is.  He’s not in a good place, and not just because of the demon blood.  He’s laser focused on what he thinks he needs to do - similar to robo!Sam in Mystery Spot.

Castiel and Amelia have an emotional farewell.   They leave her and Claire standing in the parking garage and drive off [in fairness, Sam hotwired a car for her so at least she has transport].  We see pretty much immediately that Amelia is a demon.

As they drive, Jimmy’s asleep in the back, and we have another great conversation between the brothers about what is going on with Sam and his powers:

Dean: What the hell happened back there? Sam: What? Dean: You practically fainted trying to gank a demon. Sam: Okay, I didn't faint. I got a little dizzy. Dean: Well, you can call it whatever you want. Point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. Now you can't even kill a stunt-demon number three?  [love this line]  Sam: What do you want me to say about it, Dean? Dean: Well for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean, it's yo-yoing all over the place. I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? I just – you're scaring me, man. Sam: I'm scaring myself.

Sam’s phone rings, turns out to be Amelia.  He wakes Jimmy up and gives the phone to him.  We don’t hear the conversation, but can guess she’s telling Jimmy she’s got Claire.

They arrive at a warehouse where Claire is being held.  Jimmy was told to go in alone.  He says he needs a minute and walks away.  Sam appears to be having trouble staying upright.  Sam and Dean talk:

Sam:  There’s no way they’re expecting him to come alone, Dean.  You know this is probably a trap.

Dean: Yeah, I know.  That’s why I have a plan.

Meanwhile, Jimmy calls for Castiel, “Castiel, you son of a bitch! You promised me my family would be okay. You promised you were gonna take care of them. I gave you everything you asked me to give. I gave you more. This is the thanks I get? This is what you do? This is your heaven? Help me, please. You promised, Cas. Just help me.”   Castiel does not appear.  Jimmy goes into the warehouse.

I’m going to presume Dean’s plan consists of them deliberately being caught as we next see them in the clutches of 3 demons.

Sam: Nice plan, Dean

Dean:  Yeah, well, nobody bats 1,000

Demon!Amelia accuses Sam that his “Wonder Girl powers aren’t working.”, Shoots Jimmy in the gut and tells her henchman to kill Claire. Not sure why she shoots Jimmy, since he’s the one they’ve been after all episode.  But since he’s not actually the point of the episode, we’ll ignore it and move on.

Turns out Castiel is inside Claire and s/he kills the demon.  Dean takes that opportunity to fight the demon holding him, as does Sam.  Dean’s struggling so Claire!Castiel kills that demon too.  Sam cuts his demon with the demon knife, smells the blood and drinks it.  Then he looks up at Dean and we can see Sam’s a messy blood drinker.  I’m not sure if Dean’s horrified at the blood drinking or the poor manners while Sam eats.  I’m sure he taught Sam better than that.  Sam turns back and kills the demon with the knife.  He stands and raises his hand at Dean, Dean flinches, then sees demon!Amelia behind him.  He jumps towards Sam and Sam exorcises Amelia easily, now that his demon blood tank has been filled back up.

Okay, so I think Dean might just have a few more questions for his brother, now that he has his answer for why Sam’s powers were weak earlier.

Claire!Castiel goes over to Jimmy.  “Of course we keep our promises, of course you have our gratitude.  You served us well.  Your work is done.  It’s time to go home now.  Your real home.  You’ll rest forever in the fields of the Lord.  Rest now, Jimmy.    [Well damn son, that’s harsh, you aren’t going to heal him?!]

Jimmy: No. Claire?

Castiel: She’s with me now.  She’s chosen.  It’s in her blood, as it was in yours.

Jimmy: Please, Castiel.  Me.  Just take me.  Take me, please.

Castiel: I wanna make sure you understand. You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it. Jimmy: It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me.

Castiel: As you wish

A couple of things, child Claire is awesome in this scene.  Great job.  Also, shouldn’t there be rules about using minors as vessels?  They can hardly be considered capable of knowing what they are consenting to.  Finally, “you won’t die or age”. This is why immortal characters should only ever have a limited time span.

Castiel’s back inside Jimmy and turns to go.  

Dean: Cas, hold up.  What were you gonna tell me?

Castiel: I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean.  I serve heaven, I don’t serve man, and I certainly don’t serve you.  

Sam and Dean are back to driving in silence again, and this next conversation is the culmination of the sneaking around and lying all season:

Sam: All right, let's hear it. Dean: What? Sam: Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing. Dean: I'm not gonna take a swing. Sam: Then scream, chew me out. Dean: I'm not mad, Sam. Sam: Come on. You're not mad? Dean: Nope. Sam: Right. Look, at least let me explain myself. Dean: Don't. I don't care. Sam: You don't care? Dean: What do you want me to say, that I'm disappointed? Yeah, I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man. I'm done. I am just done.

Sam’s phone rings, it’s Bobby, we see him in the panic room and he wants Sam and Dean to get over as soon as possible.

Sam: What’s going on?

Bobby: The apocalypse genius.  Now get your asses over here.

When they arrive, they are approaching the panic room.  Sam opens the door.

Bobby: Go inside.  I wanna show you something.

Sam walks inside, All right.  So, uh, what’s the big demon problem?

He turns and sees that Bobby and Dean have not entered.

Bobby: You are.  This is for your own good.

Bobby and Dean close and lock the door. 

Sam walks to the open latched window in the door.

Sam: Guys? Hey, hey.  What?

Bobby closes the latch.

Sam: This isn’t funny. Guys!  Hey!  Guys?!

Points up at all the brother content.  Look at it!!!  

On to the last two episodes.  I’ll need tissues, a dart board with Zachariah’s head on it, a bottle of whisky and an anger management toy, stat!  

[irrlicht-ghostfront]

best friends.

I realised I hadn’t posted it here yet... ah, well, what does it matter. 3300 words, Second-Person-View, Dean/Castiel

You’re not his best friend.

And yet, you’re in love with him.

It’s a trope you’ve read and heard a thousand times: best friends from childhood on fall in love and live happily ever after. It’s not a trope that would ever apply to you and him.

You’re not best friends; and you don’t know each other from childhood on. In fact, you were only able to join his life a few years ago. At times, you’re not even sure you’re friends at all: you know there are outings you never ever hear about. Sometimes he tells you it’s because he knows you wouldn’t enjoy it; or because it’s too late or too far away or it was something only for family and very close friends.

You know he’s sad sometimes, because he’s human, so you offered your ear whenever he would need it. He laughed and said he wouldn’t bother you with it. You know he bothers others with it. You’ve seen him sad; and the next day you’ve seen him being happier. You’ve seen him sharing secret laughs with Charlie and you wish you and he would share these secret laughs. You wish you could soothe his pain, but he wouldn’t let you. You only want to make him happy, but you can’t. Maybe, you think, it’s because you would be no good for him.

You’re lucky, you know that. The fact alone that such a wonderful being knows your name and admits knowing and perhaps even liking you, is a miracle in itself. It was pure chance that you slid into this group of friends and now you never want to fall out of it. You don’t like every single one of them – even though they’re all fine people – but you know you would take people a thousand times worse if it meant being in his space.

Years ago, you were sitting in a rather large booth in a bar – the bar itself had been packed and you didn’t wish to squeeze yourself in between to burly guys. The bar was full, but as it was yet rather early, it hadn’t been too loud yet. You haven’t been feeling very well that day, nursing your fourth beer but it wasn’t doing anything and you contemplated just going home and maybe hammer yourself with vodka and whiskey where you wouldn’t endanger anyone with unsafe driving. Then they came in. They were loud and laughing and you hoped they wouldn’t give you a headache. At least it wasn’t drunk laughing, so that was good. Maybe they would even leave again, seeing as there were no free booths left.

“Hey, mind if we join you?” they asked and you looked up and there he was and you couldn’t say no. So they slid in with you, laughing and introducing themselves and they were warm and good and distracting. You wanted to stay with them, so you opted for being brave and asked how often they met here and if you could join up. They were buzzed when you asked, so they said yes. Some days you wonder: if they hadn’t been buzzed, if they still would have said yes. But you don’t question it; and just tag along. You can’t be told no if you never ask.

At night in your bed at home, you smooch your pillow and whisper his name. It’s stupid, but you do it anyway. You wonder what it would be like if he was actually here. Would he like to cuddle? It’s a fantasy, so you suppose anything goes. In your bed, at home, everything is possible, so Dean can love you here. It’s comforting and it makes you smile as many times as it makes you cry. The Dean of your dreams while be gone when you wake up. And sometimes, even Dream-Dean turns away from you, because you’ve been feeling shitty all day.

You look in the mirror and wonder what you could change to be more appealing. Maybe you should buy some cool clothes, but you don’t have any fashion sense and you don’t even what cool is supposed to mean these days. Maybe Band T-Shirts were cool? But you mostly listen to Pop songs or Choir or Orchestra. You’re pretty sure a Taylor Swift-Shirt isn’t going to improve anything. You tug on your hair. Maybe something needs to be done with that? You’re too old to colour it spectacularly and you’re fairly certain Dean is too old to appreciate that too. You’re not even a woman, so you can’t even use make-up to improve your face.

Maybe that’s your biggest flaw, you think.

To be a man.

There’s a girl, and she’s been kissing him. You always thought that would make you angry, but instead it makes you sad. He laughs and smiles and she laughs and smiles and you can’t hate her, because she’s making him happy. She’s not even ugly; or stupid. You’re at the bar again, and it’s the third times she’s joined you and now she’s getting comfortable. She’s already having better connection to Dean’s friends that you do and it makes you even sadder. Something tugs in your chest and you apologise yourself to the bathroom and Garth asks if you’re okay. Garth is nice, nice to everyone, so you hate lying to him but what else should you do?

You escape to the bathroom and lock yourself in the stall and start to cry. In movies, or shows, someone would come looking for you. You low-key hoped that would happen; that he would notice and come here and tell you not to cry anymore. It doesn’t happen and you keep crying, because he’s happy, so you should be happy, but you’re not. You want to be loved; you want to make him happy. You could.

You know you couldn’t.

When you come back out again, they’re already gone.

You go home and get hammered, and Dream-Dean doesn’t come to you. He’s busy with his girlfriend.

Every magazine, every online-forum is telling you to drop him, to move on. Love like that isn’t healthy; it’ll just destroy you in the end. You know that, as you stare down on the question of 13-year-old Sophie who pines over a guy she can’t have. The magazine is telling her to let him go, she’s still young, she’ll find someone better easily. You know this as you turn to the internet that tells you the same. Get rejected, move on. But you can’t. They don’t understand. Dean is everything and you’re not worthy of being loved anyway.

I love you, you type on your phone. You never send the message and you delete it right away. You talk to the mirror, and the Dean in the mirror takes your advances and he’s happy. You’re pathetic, you think. You smash the mirror. You don’t bother taking care of your hand.

A month later, Dean says he’ll take five friends with him on a trip to a cabin on the mountains. There’s only room for five, so they’re gonna do a lottery. You think this lottery might only get two names, because for sure Sam, Charlie and the girlfriend are a given, but he says he’ll draw five names. That would give you five chances to be drawn. You get all excited and hope against hope. In truth, you don’t really have the time or the energy for it – you’ve been rather tired lately – but it would mean to see Dean every day, all day. It would be as close to paradise as you could get.

The first name is Garth. He says he’s coming in package with Mr. Fizzles, and if that would be okay and Dean groans but gives Garth the go-ahead. The next one is Benny and they fist-bump. You get anxious with each name, because your chance rapidly decreases. Then come Jo, then Charlie. Your shoulders sag. There’s no way you come in clutch. Dean will cave and say the last spot’s for his girlfriend. It would’ve been a dream, so now it will stay one. It also means you won’t be able to see him for awhile. You already wish he’d come back.

“And the last spot goes toooo... Cass!”

Maybe you died and went to heaven. Dean laughs like he’s happy and kissing the girlfriend and punching Sam in the shoulder. He doesn’t retract his drawings. You’re almost buzzing off your seat and you hope nobody notices it. You’re so happy you could die right now. You hope you don’t. Garth offers you his hand in a high-five and you take it. Garth smiles broadly, so you hope you did it right. You almost feel good enough to reach over and grab Dean and kiss him. You think, later, it’s a good thing you didn’t.

You, Dean and Charlie drive in one car, while Benny, Garth and Jo share the other. You have no idea how you landed that pole position, but you’re not going to question it. You can’t be told to go away if you don’t make yourself heard. You have to drive about three hours with pit-stops every hour. They have walkie-talkies, because Charlie insisted, so they can communicate while driving. Dean rolled his eyes, but Charlie didn’t deter. She kicked him in the shin and he agreed to everything she said – you think it’s because she’s threatened to kick his balls next.

So you’re sitting in the backseat and since Charlie’s in control of the map, you have the walkie-talkie. It makes you feel good, important. It feels like you’re actually supposed to be here, and not just by a horrifying mistake. It also helps that Garth has the other one, because Garth is always nice and easy to talk to. While you drive, you listen to Dean and Charlie bicker. You wonder if they would be a couple if Charlie wasn’t gay. Charlie’s nice.  She turns around to include you in the conversation every once in a while. It feels so nice. For the first time, you feel like you’re actually friends and that you’re not just here by mere accident.

The cabin has one big living space, and outside is a place for a bonfire and you hope you get to do that. You really hoped you would be able to bunk with Dean, but he will share his room with Benny. Charlie and Jo will share a room, so you stick with Garth (and Mr. Fizzles). It’s not what you wished for, but at least you’re here. And you even like Mr. Fizzles; he’s very easy to talk to.

The first evening, you get a bonfire going and you’re excited. You haven’t done bonfires since The Camp, so you hope this will be a pleasant experience. You’re determined to sit next to Dean, so as soon as he sits down, you throw your jacket on the ground next to him. He doesn’t even complain and you’re in heaven. And you get to eat marshmallows, too! While, yes, you sit a bit too close to Dean than should be acceptable, you don’t care because he doesn’t shy away from you. The temptation to just lay your head on his shoulder is quite big and you’re contemplating it a lot during the fire. You don’t, in the end, because you know it wouldn’t have ended nice. This is supposed to be fun; you don’t want to be rejected here.

The next day, you want to go hiking and you ask Dean to join you. He says no, so you ask again. He doesn’t want to go, and then he turns away. He seems weird and you wonder if that’s because you sat so close to him last night. At the fire, you’ve been warm and happy, and now it feels like a stone in the pit of your stomach. You say sorry, and you go hiking alone. It’s cold, and a lot less fun than you thought. You’re sure if Dean would be here, it’d be more fun. But you keep soldiering on. You hike until the sun starts to set and you have to turn around. You take a picture of yourself and know it would look better if Dean was here too.

When you come back from your hike, the cabin door is locked. You rattle the door a few times and shout for the others, but nobody answers you. You look beneath the doormat for a key, but there’s none. You look around the house, on the windowsills, and under pots for obvious hiding places, but there’s no key to be found. You don’t know what to think of that and you can only hope that they’ll come back soon. You look at your phone, but as you expected, you have no signal here. So you sit in front of the door, barring any other possibilities and wait for your friends to return.

It’s very cold.

“Cass?! Oh my God, oh fuck, Castiel, say something!” Someone’s rattling you. It’s so cold. Did you fall asleep? You shouldn’t have done that. It’s dangerous to sleep in the cold. “Oh shit, I didn’t give you a key, did I? Fuck, buddy, I’m so sorry, don’t be dead, fuck- “. You think that might be Dean. “Dean”, you say and someone lifts you up. There’s something warm in front of you and you reach for it. Dean, please let it be Dean. If you have to die, you at least want to be with Dean until the end. Somebody undresses you and you almost protest. You shouldn’t get naked in the cold. But when you open your eyes, the light is a bit yellow, so you might even be inside the cabin. Your friends came back. Somebody is wrapping you in something warm and you immediately feel a bit better. There’s someone patting your hair and that feels nice. You wonder if Dean would like that too. “I sure would, buddy.” Huh. Have you been speaking out loud? You’re not sure if you even really care anymore. So you decide to sleep, because you’ll care again tomorrow.

The next day, they make you tea and put the furnace next to you. They all fuss over you like you’re their valued friend and you soak it all in. You know it’s not gonna repeat itself anytime soon. Dean’s doting on you and you bask in it. It’s almost like Dream-Dean is real. He brings you tea and smiles and sits next to you and tells you what they did. He always repeats how sorry he is; how he was certain he gave you a key and that he’s so happy you didn’t die. It is okay; you tell him and put your hand on his shoulder and Dean smiles at you and you wish this moment would never end. You relish every second of it, so Dream-Dean can keep doing this.

You don’t go outside much after that. And if you do, someone always goes with you. It’s a very nice feeling, and you’re sad that you drive home in two days time. On your last day, you have a bonfire again and you’re only allowed if you’re wrapped in three blankets. You don’t mind, really. It’s cosy and warm and you managed to sit next to Dean again. You eat marshmallows again and you’re warm, and content, and thankful.

You go home, and that warm feeling disappears very quickly. Your boss tells you he’s contemplating firing you if you don’t show results. You see your cracked mirror again and remember why you smashed it. Dream-Dean isn’t happy seeing you; he’s off with his girlfriend. The time at the cabin truly feels like a dream and you’re not very happy about it. You try to be better at your job, but it just doesn’t work and your boss tells you to leave, with little preamble. You’re not sure what to do now. You have about enough money to keep your home for about two months, so you need a new job fast, but you’re old and you’ve only ever worked one job and you stare at your blank document, wondering what you should tell them to hire you.

You’re boring, and pathetic, and you don’t have any friends, and you don’t really deserve anything in the first place. Even your imaginary boyfriend left you to be with his girlfriend. You stare down at your hands and wonder what will happen now. In movies, and shows, and books, it would rain outside, but it’s a nice, warm, sunny day.

You have to save money, so you decide to skip as much food as you can. It would probably be best if you stayed in bed all day, so you would save money that way, too. Maybe Dream-Dean would pity you and come back?

It doesn’t take very long before you start feeling dizzy and disorientated all the time. You don’t use your car anymore, and opt to walk everywhere. Yes, it takes longer, but it saves you from buying gas. You’ve send out a few applications, but so far you’ve only received rejections in return. That’s okay, you weren’t expecting anything. You meet up with your friends, but you don’t order alcohol anymore. It’s too expensive, and water is probably better anyway. You’re tired and maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go out. But Dean is here, and you can try to feel a bit warm, if even just for a moment.

You even manage to stay until the end. You wonder if you should have told them that you lost your job and would be homeless in about three months. You don’t want to; they’d surely think you even more pathetic than you really are. Bring people don’t lose their boring jobs; they are stuck with them forever. Or at least, the boring person turns out to be not boring at all and finds a very exciting job that they’ve always wanted.

You’re not such a secretly interesting person. You’re boring, always have been, always will be. When the bar closes, you stand up on shaking legs. You wonder how you’ll get home. Maybe you should’ve eaten something this week. The pretzels from the basket surely weren’t enough, but you had food last week, so you couldn’t cave just yet. The pretzels just would have to be enough. You stumble out of the bar and someone catches you before you trip. You hope it is Garth. “Hey, buddy, you okay? You didn’t drink anything, you getting sick?” Oh god, it was Dean. You start to panic. You know you’ve lost weight rapidly in the last four weeks, and you don’t him to find out. But you don’t want to lie to him. You have to get him away. Your heart beats too fast and you just blurt something out. “I love you.”

Yes. That should be enough to get him to flee in terror. Castiel, the boring, stupid, pathetic person, in love with Dean Winchester? You hate to use that because you know it’s gonna change everything. Dean’s going to hate you. Maybe you can’t ever see him or his friends again. That’s okay, you didn’t expect anything else. You’ll always have that memory from the cabin and maybe you die soon, and maybe in heaven you can have all the things you ever wanted on earth.

Instead of running and screaming in terror, Dean pulls you close and you sag against him. You should’ve known. Dean is too nice to slap you in the face. He’s gonna do it slowly, see you less and less and thinking he’s being nice to you. He picks you up and you really like that and he sits you in his car and then he drives you to his home. He gets you up the stairs, he makes you some tea because he knows you like it and sits next to you, holding you close. You didn’t expect anything like that, but it’s nice. In the end, Dean never tells you to leave, so you stay. He smiles when you call it home and he holds you close every chance he gets.

Yeah, you’re not his best friend.

But maybe that’s not as bad as you thought.

[bookaholic1012]

Prythian Magazine Part 16

A/N: I am so sorry for updated late! I was not productive at all last week and only started writing this chapter on Saturday! I am super proud of this one, however, and it is the longest piece for a fic I have written so far at 3,242 words, so I hope this makes up for the wait! This is also not edited bc I wanted you guys to read this asap, so sorry for mistakes!

PM Masterlist  AO3  My Writing

Lucien cursed himself for drinking so much. Vodka, tequila and bourbon were the only he could name. He turned away from the light shining on his face, but when he did, Lucien rolled into a wall - a moving wall.

He reached out with his hand, refusing to open his eyes, and felt warmth; muscles flexed and relaxed under his touch. Oh Gods.

At last he cracked open his eyes to reveal a tattooed back - a naked tattooed back. Tanned skin, Illyrian tattooes, and dark, disheveled shoulder-length hair. Oh Gods, please no.

At that moment, the body rolled around, revealing the only person Lucien knew who fit what he saw.

Cassian Burakgazi.

Lucien sat up quickly - something he regretted instantly. He felt incredibly nauseous and his head was pounding like a thousand drummers were banging on their instruments. Lucien didn’t have time to see if there was something he could throw up in; instead he swiftly rolled so he was leaning over the bed and purged on the floor.

A grunt sounded behind him as a toned arm wrapped around his waist, pulling Lucien to Cassian’s chest. “Cassian,” Lucien hissed, poking Cassian’s arm. “Cassian!”

“Lucien,” Cassian’s voice was rough, and he burrowed his face in the spot where Lucien’s neck and shoulder met. And Cauldron boil him if that didn’t make Lucien harden.

“Cassian! Wake up!” Lucien jabbed at his arm harder, but that only prompted Cassian to hold him tighter.

Lucien needed to leave now! The close contact was doing things to his brain, his heart and his cock. His cheeks heated at the thought. Lucien wanted nothing more than to stay here - in the comforting position, the safety - it was far too soon. Too soon after Andras. Too soon to be doing something with another person.

Lucien pried off Cassian’s arms and - ignoring the pounding in his head, the nausea, and the twinge in his heart - got out of bed. He was relieved to see that his underwear was still on. Quickly, Lucien found his clothes, got dressed, and left the room.

“Do you want an aspirin for the hangover?” A velvet smooth voice asked.

Spinning around - another movement he regretted - Lucien was greeted with the sight of Azriel, who was stirring something in a bowl.

“I’m good.” A lie. One Az saw through.

“Sure. Just take an aspirin and have a glass of water. Then I’ll drive you to Mor’s.”

“I am fine.” Also a lie. He was not doing well - mentally, physically, and emotionally.

“Lucien,” Azriel sighed. “You are clearly having a killer hangover, and dealing with whatever you feel as a result of sleeping in the same bed as Cassian. I won’t interrogate you, but at least hydrate and take something for the headache.”

Lucien gave in, shuffling to the kitchen, and took the glass of water offered to him. He just finished taking an aspirin, when a thought struck him.

“How’d you know I was with Cassian?”

Azriel looked guilty. “You walked out of Cassian’s room.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you looked guilty.”

“Lucien, do you remember anything from last night?”

Lucien concentrated. He only remembered blurred moments: Talking with his newfound friends - because despite the history between them, they were indeed friends now - dancing, and… and lips. He told this to Azriel.

“Do you know anything specific about the lips?” Az was starting to act weird.

“I - Did I kiss the lips?” It seemed like the only logical option to him.

“Yes. Now do you remember who you kissed?”

A flash of shadows. “You?” Azriel did seem to be a part of the shadows after all, but Lucien knew the person he kissed.

A shake of his head. Finally, Lucien said the name of the person to whom those lips belonged.

“Cassian.”

Azriel nodded. “Do you regret it?” Of course he would ask that. He and Cassian are brothers. They would do anything for one another.

“No,” And that was the truth. “But I’m not ready for a relationship.” Another truth.

“Then tell him. I know Cassian and if you were to leave, he would brush it off, but it would have an affect on him. Cassian tends to blame himself and his… bastard status as he calls it on people who walk out on him.”

The two ate in silence after that. Slowly, the ache receded. Still there, but not as much as when he woke up. Lucien was scraping the last bit of his scrambled eggs when someone joined them.

“Azriel,” Cassian moaned. “Please tell me you already have a hangover breakfast prepped.”

With a roll of his eyes, Azriel got a plate for his brother, as well as water and aspirin. He put the latter in front of Cassian then left, leaving Lucien and Cassian to figure out what happened.

Seconds ticked by, the silence suffocating.

“Do you regret it?”

Lucien looked up at Cassian, startled by the question. “No. Why would I be?”

Cassian looked at him in disbelief. “Really? We kissed last night, and if how I woke up was any indication, we did a whole lot more than that.”

“What do you mean ‘how I woke up’? How did you wake up?”

“Well, for starters, I woke up in my boxers. I mean, sure I go to sleep like that anyway, but I remember our make out session. Also, I have hickeys and scratch marks, which I’m assuming are from you.”

“Cauldron boil me!” Lucien wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him.

Cassian let out a booming laugh before wincing. “Gods, it even hurts to laugh right now. But I don’t mind it Lucien. In fact, I kind of like it.”

“Shut up, Cassian!” Lucien had never been more mortified in his entire life. This moment surpassed the time when he and Andras were caught banging in a closet. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”

“I don’t know. I guess because I’m not good enough for you.” Cassian shrugged, faking nonchalance - a mask. He was pretending to not care about how Lucien thought of him.

Lucien’s temper flared. “Are you serious? Cassian, anyone would be a fool to not love you! No one is good enough for you, okay? Not the other way around! Don’t degrade yourself because you are not a bastard! You are one of the best people I have ever met. Gods, Cassian! Accept the fact that I love you and you are perfect for me, and I would love nothing more than to be with you, if I didn’t have so many gods damned problems!” It wasn’t until he finished yelling at Cassian that Lucien realized what he said.

“You-You love me?” Cassian gasped.

“Clearly.” Lucien snorted. “All the banter between us? That was me express my love. Well… it eventually became that.”

“You have a very interesting way of expressing your love, Foxboy.” Lucien loved the sound of his nickname on Cassian’s tongue. It had been awhile since he last heard the name - and he missed hearing it. Cassian cleared his throat. “I, um, love you, too.”

Lucien was sure he misheard, that somehow his mind was still foggy from his excessive drinking. “Seriously?”

“Yup. It’s hard to not fall for you, Lucien.” Cassian smiled - and Lucien thought it was the most beautiful sight in the world. “I actually loved you for awhile now. I didn’t tell you because I thought you did not feel the same way.”

Now it was Lucien's turn to grin. His joy was short lived when a recurring thought entered his mind.

Traitor. Traitor. What about Andras?

“What’s wrong?” Cassian asked, noticing the change in Lucien’s mood. He reached out to hold his hand.

“I want to be with you, Cassian. But… I also don’t want to.” The mix of shock and sadness in Cassian’s expression was heartbreaking. “It’s not you, I swear! The thing is… my previous boyfriend he recently… died.” Lucien's voice cracked on the last word. Two and a half months have passed, and he was still heartbroken.

“Was it Andras?” Cassian tentatively said.

“How do you know?” Lucien asked.

“I remember hearing in the news there was a car accident in the Spring Court part of the state. Two died - both were the drivers - and the passengers - five, I think - were injured.” Lucien remembered now. It was the biggest story, mainly because of who were part of the crash.

“It was Andras,” He whispered. “Andras died.” Tears welled in his eye.

“That’s why you have the scar; why Tamlin became a bigger asshole than he already was.” Lucien nodded; he hated thinking of that time in his life.

“Gods, Lucien, I am so sorry. And we don’t have to be in a relationship if you’re not ready. I’ll always wait for you.” Cassian said gently, placing a kiss on Lucien’s knuckles.

Love swelled inside Lucien. When an emotion he hadn’t felt since Andras became present in the presence of Cassian, he knew it was love; Lucien just hadn’t wanted to confront it. “I want to be with you, though. I want to be able to kiss you and hold you and go on dates with you, Cass.”

“Then what should we do?” And Lucien knew that if he said he did not want to be in a relationship, then Cassian would back off.

“I think… I think I can give us a try, but baby steps, Cass. Like, we would have to go at fucking grandma speed.” At that Cassian laughed - one of the most wondrous sounds Lucien had ever had the honor of hearing.

“I can do that,” Cassian promised. “But you’re going to have to tell me what I can and cannot do.”

And Lucien told - and showed - Cassian exactly that.

Weeks passed and Feyre still was pissed at Rhys. More than that even. He knew how much the truth meant to her and for him to not tell her his feelings, even if she understood why… it hurt.

She did not fail to notice, however, the light steadily returning in full force to Lucien. When Feyre returned to Mor’s house, she immediately noticed a difference in his demeanor - and he was more than eager to tell Feyre about what happened after Rita’s.

Cresseida - who Feyre learned was Amren’s boyfriend’s sister - called the two of them back. Apparently, other women had reported Tamlin, but nothing ever happened, which, as Cresseida had said, was likely because Tamlin bought people’s silence. This time, though, silence would not be bought, because Feyre was discovering her voice, and she was going to use it.

A court date had been set and news outlets caught wind of the news. Of course Tamlin was denying everything, saying Feyre was trying to get his money and ruin what he had built as “petty revenge for exposing her,” but she and Lucien were not backing down. The two were pushing back against Tamlin and Ianthe - who got roped into the matter - and it appeared they were on the winning side. Past victims of Tamlin’s abuse were now speaking out, and Feyre never felt better.

Of course, when the media would start talking about the case, Feyre knew she had to confront her sisters. Azriel found out they were staying at a nearby motel and he dropped of a letter from Feyre asking them to meet with her at The Sidra Café to talk.

“Feyre!” A cheery voice called when she stepped into the cozy building. Elain.

The sisters hugged. When they seperated, Feyre was greeted with the sight of a straight-faced Nesta. She was surprised when Nesta hugged her; Elain was the only person Nesta would openly show affection for. The three of them sat at a secluded corner table to provide them with as much privacy as one could get at a fairly busy café.

“I am so sorry, Feyre.” Nesta said.

“Why?”

“Why? Because you are my - our - baby sister and we did not realize you were with an abusive asshole! That’s why!”

“Until you showed up at Mor’s doorstep I hadn’t spoken to either of you in three years! Did you really expect me to reach out to you when I was in a difficult situation? Besides, I have Lucien and had Andras.” Feyre told them.

“We still would have wanted you to tell us, Feyre!” Elain cried.

“Well, How was I supposed to know? You never once bothered to help me before!” Feyre snapped. She inwardly sighed. This was not how she wanted their discussion to go; they were falling back into their old ways.

“We are sorry for that. It is my biggest regret, Feyre.” Nesta apologized. Elain nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry too,” Feyre sighed. “For not telling you what was going on between me and Tamlin.”

“Can we start over?” Nesta asked.

“I would like that.” Feyre said. Maybe coming here wasn’t so bad after all, she thought.

Nesta, Elain, and Feyre spoke for the remainder of the afternoon before they had to leave. Nesta And Elain had to head back home, but they promised to keep in touch.

Feyre left feeling like another weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Rhys, can’t you talk about this to someone else?” Mor whined. She loved her cousin, but his moaning and groaning about messing up with Feyre was starting to get on her nerves.

“But I need to know! Will she talk to me again? Why did I think having alcohol would be a good idea?” Rhys moaned.

“I’m sorry this is happening to you, Rhys, really. Do you have to complain to me, though? Isn’t this why you have Cassian and Azriel? Go bug them!”

“I already tried,” Rhys pouted. “But Cassian is being lovey-doves with Lucien and Azriel said it was my fault for not telling her sooner. Can you believe that?!”

Mor rolled her eyes. She could. Everyone told him to tell Feyre how he felt not more than a month after he had met her. It was obvious that he was in love, but Rhys refused to do anything about it.

“...And I just don’t know what do!” Rhys flopped down on the golden couch in Mor’s office. “Every time I attempt to talk to her, Feyre gives me the stink eye and walks away!”

“Then give her time. Now leave. I have work to do and you have to meet with Amren.”

“Fine, but I’ll find you later.” Rhys sighed, finally leaving and giving a Mor some peace. The second the door closed, Mor got a call from Andromache.

“Hey, Andi!”

“Mor!” Her girlfriend greeted. “Listen, do you think you can come down for the weekend?”

“Yeah, I’m free. Why?” Mor was curious; Andromache had never been a cryptic person.

“You’ll see. Just let me know if something comes up and you can’t make it!”

“Okay?”

“Love you!”

“I love you, too, Andi.” A warm smile graced Mor’s lips. One always did when she said those three special words to her girlfriend of five years.

Hours later, Mor finished finalizing the details for her show. In three weeks, her designs would be shown to the world in a fashion show. She couldn’t wait for the day to come! Her phone pinged, signaling she had received a text.

Want pizza???

I was thinking of Rita’s instead, Fey. That cool with you?

Yes! I haven’t been in awhile.

More accurately, she refused to go back after Rhys revealed his love for her. Mor really hoped her friend would decide what to do next. Mor hated seeing Rhys in such despair.

I’ll pick you up. I’m leaving now.

K. Lucien and Cassian are tagging along btw

We will suffer through their nauseating love together.

Deal.

Azriel was beyond exasperated. After telling the Inner Circle Hybern, Tamlin, and Ianthe’s plan, he could not find any information. They couldn’t do anything about it though without concrete evidence, and the recordings Azriel had could not be used. His contacts had nothing to tell him either - everything was silent. Between that and dealing with Rhys’s woeful behavior, he was in desperate need of a vacation.

Viviane burst through the door, Kallias hot on her heels.

“Az! Why didn’t you call me sooner?” Viviane exclaimed.

“Be happy Viv wants to get down to business now. I had to listen to her rant for hours!” Kallias said, earning him a light slap on the arm from Viviane.

“I did not!” She said.

Kallias and Viviane Winters. They became the best of friends when the two were only five years old. Viviane and Kallias had done everything together, never leaving each other’s side. When Kallias was eighteen, he left to go across the country to attend Stanford University. Four years later, he came back to Prythian where he reconnected with Viviane and ended up professing his love to her. As it turned out, Viviane also loved him, and thus began their relationship. Now the two were a happily married couple of five years.

“Sorry, Viviane,” Azriel laughed. “But I am so glad you are here. I knew you would be the best choice to represent Feyre and Lucien in court.”

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Now when do I get to meet them?”

“Today I think we should go over the details for the case, so… tomorrow? If they are available of course.” Azriel told her.

“Great!” Viviane squealed.

“Rhys, I swear on the Mother and Cauldron that if you do not shut up right now, I will cut out your tongue!” Amren hissed.

Rhys immediately shut up. He did not want to face Amren’s wrath.

“Now as I was saying,” She continued. “After the trial, you, Feyre, and I will go to Adriata. Tarquin has requested our presence for the unveiling of his new line. We will spend a few days there, hopefully find something on Hybern and his dealings, then come back.”

“Got it.”

“And you are going to be the one to tell Feyre. I do not care about whatever silliness is happening between you two; you will see if she will come and that is final.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good. Now go.”

Rhys was in total despair. He had given up hope on Feyre talking to him ever again. He swore that he would never drink again, but of course that promise wouldn’t be kept. For years Rhys fantasized how he would reveal his feelings for Feyre and all the ways she would react. Not once did he imagine a drunken revelation would be how she found out.

Rhysand contemplated asking Feyre in person, but ended up taking the coward’s way out.

You, Amren, and I were invited to Adriata after the trial.

No reply.

Are you going to join us?

Same response.

If you are, let me or Amren know.

Finally, an answer came.

Fuck off.

But are you coming?

I’ll let Amren know.

Ignoring the stinging feeling, Rhys called Amren.

“What?”

“Hello to you, too, Amren. Feyre’s coming with us.”

“I know. Ask Feyre to come again.”

“Why? She said she would come?” Rhys said.

“I wanted you to grow a pair and ask Feyre in person. You did not, so ask her again.” Amren demanded.

“You never said I had to ask Feyre in person!”

“Well I’m telling you now!”

“Alright, I’ll ask her again. In person!” Rhys emphasized.

“Good.” Amren stated before hanging up.

“Mother help me.” Rhys muttered to himself.

*Burakgazi means “warrior” in Turkish*

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[rhythm-catsandwine]

Heat with out his alpha (almost)

Sam and Cass were going on a hunt, and Dean was staying at the bunker. His heat was coming soon, so he had to stay behind. The hunt was far away a few states over.

“Uggg, I fucking hate this, can’t go on a hunt just because of a stupid mating cycle!” whines Dean as he hugs Sam and then Cass.

Sam runs his finger through his omegas hair “Dean, it look like it’s just an easy salt and burn, we’ll should be back in a couple of days, before your heats in full swing. How many more days do you think you have?”

“Usually at this point I have a few days”, but this one feels different.

“Dean I promise I will do my best to get your alpha back to you unharmed and as soon as possible.” Says Cass

“Yeah, well just keep my bitch safe” Dean Teases

Sam swats Dean’s ass “jerk”

Sam and Cass leave in the impala. Dean immediately got to work locking every door. They had rigged all of the locks so that only the three of them could get in. He was safe form any alphas and their packs. He had never had pups so he was still venerable to being ‘stolen’ by another greedy alpha.

The first day was great, Dean watched movies and to. Eating junk food, and laying on the couch. He went to bed late after checking in with Sam and Cass.

He slept until he wakes up feeling hot.

Deans POV

“shit, heats coming early. Crap, crap, crap. Mabey if I walk around it will help. I take of my shirt and stared to walk the walls of the bunker. Soon I’m half running, but it helps to get the energy out and I cool dawn enough to fall back asleep. I can sleep in tomorrow”

Dean sleeps in and feels normal until noon. Then he feels the slick stat to leak out. Dean heads to the laundry room to grab one of Sam’s shirts. He grabs the one that bring out both of their eyes. He puts it on slowly, letting it rub against his face.

He heads to their room and grabs Sam’s pillow and smashes his face in the fluff. He inhales the scent of his Sam. His alpha. “Fuck you smell so good Sam, always have, smell even better now after being turned in to a wolfdog. Won’t tell him that I used to do this kind of thing, even before we got together”

Dean drops the pillow heads to the bathroom, and scoops up the towels that he and Sam had used the last couple of days. Then to the living room to grab the blankets off the couch. He makes his round collecting anything soft. If it smelt like Sam it was like a bonus. Finally to the bedroom again.

Dean drops the load on the bed, then climbs on and started arranging everything. He keeps rearranging things for about an hour. “Wait what am I doing? What did that book say? Neffing? Netting? No. Nesting, nesting.im nesting. Must be because I want pups. But dose Sam want them? What if he doesn’t? What if he dose? What if I get pregnant and he doesn’t want them? What if he wants them and I can’t give him any? What if I get pregnant and he does want then and were bad parents, or I lose them? Why am I crawling around in this nest, like a dog dose before it beds down for the night?  I’ve crawled around three times now laying down sounds nice.”

The third day the heat is increasing in intercity. Increasing too quickly, too quickly. Soon the waves are getting more than uncomfortable for Dean. He franticly searches for Sam’s pillow, but can’t find it right away. He throws everything that’s not a pillow off the bed, and finally finds it. His stats pressing it against his crotch. He tunes over on his stomach so he can get more pressure. He lies down on top of it so he can drive his hips in to the pillow, hard enough to feel his hands on the other side. He humps the pillow, and cums. Finally some of the heat energy is relived. It’s only temporary, and the omega knows it.

Dean jumps at the sound of his phone ringing. Sam’s ring tone! He follows the sound of ‘Whole Lotta Love, by Led Zeppelin’ around the messy room. Finding the phone under a blanket. He answers a little to exited. “Sam!?”

“Oh hey Cass! Can I talk to Sam? ”

“What do you mean you’re not done with the case? Thought it was an easy salt and burn”

“Yeah I still want to talk to Sam. put him on”

“Hey baby! How’s my other baby doing, your taking care of her right?”

“You’d better keep taking care of her. So how much longer you think this will take?”

“Olay, just want you home soon”

“No I haven’t gone in to heat”

“Did you just use the alpha voice thing on me?”

“Okay, yes, I lied. I am in heat.”

“I lied because I can sense your rut’s coming just in your voice….And my heat started early…”

“It’s starting to get uncomfortable”

“No. just keeps your head in the game and just stays safe. I can’t have you get hurt, getting all alphaish.”

“Love you to bitch”

The fourth day is painful. The waves are coming hard and more often. Dean doses everything he can think of to ease the pain. He looks up old housewives remedies to help. Most don’t some do. The ones that do work don’t work enough and only take the edge off for an hour or so.

Late in the evening when Dean hears his phone ring again.

“Sam?”

“You’re done with the case! Coming back to the bunker”

“When will you get here?”

“Pleas just hurry. Sammy it hurts”

“If you’ve keep my baby tuned up, she can take a hard long drive straight home”

“You did! You’re awesome Sam! Just let Cass drive if you get tired.”

“Okay bye bitch”

Dean curls up on the bed he knows that soon not much will help him. He needs his alpha. He strokes his cock and gets himself to cum. It barley takes the edge off. Tomorrow will be a painful day.

Dean doesn’t sleep because of the pain that night. He feels the waves of heat hit like a fraught train. The slick is coming out almost constantly. All he can do is lay on the bed.. Wave after wave of pain hits him in the stomach.

Then the delusions start. He keeps imagining Sam and Cass coming home, when they are still hours away. He imagens having pups, and them dyeing, being killed, or his alpha doesn’t  want them. He imagines his alpha, his brother, his Sam laying dead on the floor. He sees Cass dead too. Dean sees them dead and he can’t do anything but will himself to die. He sees their son Jack falling back dead in the cemetery.

Its late afternoon when Sam and Cass get back. Dean hears them pull in. But is it them, or just another delusion of an omega in heat without his alpha? He feels a tug on the back of his mind. Sam is trying to communicate telepathically.

Sam’s POV

“I can smell Dean’s heat from the garage. The smell is intoxicating. But he’s not in here he would have heard us get back”

“Dean?” “no answer”

“I hear Cass call for Dean too, sill no answer. Shit I fucking need him now. my rut has hit its full swing. Deans sent is everywhere and I can’t think straight. He must of ran around the bunker a lot or his heat is stronger than he says”

Sam takes a deep breath as he starts to concentrate.

“Dean?”

“Sam”                                        

“Dean where are you? Your sent is overwhelming and I can’t get a lock on where ya are.”

“Bedroom, get in here now! another fucking wave of heat is coming it hurts like hell”

“I’m coming”

“Well come the fuck faster and fuck me already bitch”

The connection is broken off by Dean.

Sam runs through the bunker then down the hall to their room. He rounds the corner. Dean is curled up, in pain, clutching his stomach. The omega senses his alpha, and his rut. He sets up as his alpha literally tackles him down on to the bed. Sam is already throwing his clothes off. He feels his omegas slick, soaking them both. Dean has striped and is rutting up on Sam. Sam reaches to grab the condoms from the nightstand. Dean slaps it out of his hand.

“Sam I want pups. I want a family”

“Dean this is just the heat talking”

“No! It’s not! I just haven’t told you. I didn’t know if you want them too. Now I can see its obvious you don’t want any “

Sam’s eyes grow wide and his eyes seem to turn in golden. He holds himself high, asserting his authority and dominance. “Dean, that couldn’t be further from the truth!’  He growls. Sam’s voice changes. “give- me-pups-omega” he orders. Chills run down Dean’s spine. “Yes my alpha” he growls back.

Dean pulls the but plug out and throws it over the side of the bed. He needed to be ready the second his alpha returned home. Sam thrusts in. They move in unison as Sam’s knot starts to grow. The knot grows slowly. Finally the knot passes through Dean’s rim and they are tied together. “FUCK SAM” Dean Cums hard with the sweet release of the heat energy.  “DEAN” Sam soon follows at the sight and feeling of his omega withering beneath him. They ride their orgasms, before crumpling together on the bed. Sam moves them so they can lie on their sides.

“So, when did you start wanting pups, a family?”

“When I was with Ben and Lisa I cared for them, but didn’t really love them. I was in love with the idea of having a family. I wanted pups as soon as we were turned and I knew we could. You?”

“You know I always wanted the ‘apple pie life’. “It was soon after we got together. I started to want kids. I didn’t think it would be possible until we were turned.”

“So hopefully I’ll be pregnant after this, Okay you got to admit that still sounds kinda weird” Dean laughs

“Now you know omegas are more venerable and weak during pregnancy. And the first one is the most venerable.”

“Yes, Sam I read too”

“You can’t hunt if you are prego”

“Prego my eggo”

Sam laughs

“Dean I’m serous. You could lose the pups pretty easy the first time around. We’re going to have to limit your time outside of the bunker too. The areas thick with greedy alphas, and their packs. “

“I can at least wait until I’m showing right?”

“I don’t know. Cass and I noticed a lot more wolves out on the hunt.”

‘I can go out if you’re with me right? Other alphas and omegas don’t attack if the alpha mate is protecting them, right”

“I don’t know Dean, but well look in to it.”

Dean tries to move his leg that was pinned under his huge brother. “Hey my legs going to sleep. Mind if we roll over?”

Sam moves them so Deans on top of him. “Hey, wana go again? I want you to fill me up”

“With pups or cum”

Dean runs his teeth over his lips. “Both and you can’t have one without the other”

“Ride me jerk”

“My pleasure bitch’ Dean grabs ahold of Sam’s Hips as he starts moving up and down. They move as one for a time. Eventually Sam growls a warning. He arches up father in to Dean as he cums. Dean groans and throws his head back as he releases covering Sam with another layer of white.

Dean locks eyes with Sam as he rubs his hands in his own cum. Sam hums as Dean kneads the muscles of his abdomen. Dean picks one of this hands up and runs it through Sam’s hair.

“Dude what the hell. What was that for?” complains Sam

Dean just gets more cum and messes Sam’s hair even more. “I’m still your brother, Sammy”

* note*

This got a comment wanting more so it turned in to a long fanficton clled Prego Omego, Will put the next chapter up soon!