#I got my medicine prepared . my beautiful tablets

[a4g]

We need rep for people who have periods that just make them violently sick and nauseous

[a-bang-for-your-bucky]

Playin' With Fire: The Morning After

Summary: Santiago and Dani deal with the fallout of their actions the night before. Dani starts preparations to leave for South America with Santiago. We get to dive more into Dani and Santi’s relationship, and Santi learns something about Dani’s past.

Warnings: 18+, Implications of smut, suggestive language, explicit language, ANGST, mentions of a car wreck and death (no descriptions), Dani does experience some anxiety and self-consciousness.

Word Count: 5,851

A/N: This whole series is a wild ride of emotions, and as I proof-read for posting, I find myself wanting to go in a whole different direction than originally planned. After this part, we start getting into the events of the movie, which is separated into three chapters. There are cameos in this chapter from another favorite show of mine. I know it’s unlikely that these characters would ever meet, but fuck it, it’s fan-fiction.

Dani’s alarm went off at 5:00am. Groaning, she reached over to press snooze. The light of her phone made her squint. She twisted the switch on the bedside table lamp, emitting a small glow across her room. “Shit,” She cursed, her body deliciously sore from the events of the night before.

She was never good at dealing with “the morning after’. She almost hoped that Santiago had snuck out while she was sleeping, but the warmth of the space beside her told her he was still there. What did I do? She thought. Guilt washed over her as she rolled over to face the man in her bed. She studied the features of his face, memories of the night before flooded her mind. Just the thoughts made heat pool in the pit of her stomach.

“Staring is rude, sweetheart.” Santiago’s words startled her, making her gasp. “Sorry, Teq.” He chuckled, his eyes still closed. How did he even know? Right, trained soldier.

“You’re still here?” She asked him, surprise thick in her voice. His eyes snapped open to look at her.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You know you were more than a one night stand.” He explained, bringing a hand up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. “In fact, I really wouldn’t mind if last night happened again.” He suggested with a smirk.

Dani was speechless, staring at his sexy, sleepy, face. “I, uh, um, I have to shower. My shift starts at seven.” She stuttered over her words, trying not to let him see the effect he was having on her. She moved to get up, only stopping because she remembered she was naked. “Could you, um, not look when I get up?” She blushed nervously, pulling the sheet tighter around her.

“Really Teq? Yeah, I won’t look.” He promised, then added, “Even though I already know you have a little birthmark that looks like a heart on your ass.” he teased her, and she smacked him with a pillow. Santiago shut his eyes and squeezed them tight.

Once she was sure he wasn’t peaking, she rushed up and over to the chair in the corner of her room, wrapping herself in her fuzzy robe. “Okay, you can open them.”

He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sight of her. Her dirty blonde hair was a mess of loose curls. If this was how she looked every morning, he wouldn’t mind waking up with her. He knew he should feel bad. If, when Frankie finds out that he slept with her, that he is taking her to South America, he’s gonna be pissed. It might just ruin their friendship, but in this moment, looking at Dani, he didn’t care.

Dani felt self-conscious under Santiago’s gaze. She pulled the robe tighter around her body, trying to cover herself more. He noticed immediately, and all but jumped off the bed toward her. “Dani, you are absolutely beautiful. You don’t have to hide from me.” He complimented her and he meant every word. He embraced her face with his hands, his thumbs, lovingly brushing over her cheeks. Slowly, Santiago lowered his lips to hers. Gently, he coaxed her lips apart with his own, taking the opportunity to slip his tongue past them.

The kiss wasn’t hurried like the previous night. He took his time, tracing the contour of her mouth, memorizing the feeling of her lips on his. The kiss gradually grew more fervent, needy. It was almost as if they separated, they would fall to pieces. Santiago released her face, moving his hands to the tie of her robe. Dani groaned as she pulled away, his hands falling to her hips, to keep her close. “I have to shower.” She said, reminding herself more than Santiago.

“I’ll join you.” He countered, fiddling with the tie again. She shook her head.

“Santi, I have to go to work. And you do, too.” She pointed out, grabbing his hands away. Their fingers laced together as he moved to place methodical kisses to her neck.

She whimpered as he nibbled her ear and he whispered, “I’ll make it quick. Let me make you feel good, querida.” How could she say no to that?

Forty-five minutes later, they exited Dani’s room and walked into the kitchen. Benny was already up, pouring a cup of coffee. “Morning,” He greeted them with a raised brow.

“Morning, Benny!” Santi beamed with a huge smile, all but telling Benny what had transpired between them. Benny tossed a knowing look at Dani.

“Don’t say anything, Benjamin.” Dani warned him with a pointed finger, “I have fifteen minutes to get to work.” She added, as she poured the liquid energy into her travel cup. Santiago handed her the creamer with a wink.

“Oh, Danika Kate, we are so talking about this later.” Benny teased, as she flew by him, grabbing her bag and keys. Santi threw Benny a ‘bye’ over his shoulder as he quickly followed behind her.

He walked her to her white Camry, opening the door for her to slide in. She started the car, rolling down the window, and closed the door.

“Can I at least get a goodbye kiss?” He pouted. All Dani could think about was biting that bottom lip. She acquiesced to his request, nodded her head ‘yes’.

He leaned into the window, giving her a sweet peck. Dani felt her stomach flutter. She knew she was in trouble. “I’ll call you later. Maybe we can grab a late dinner and talk about Colombia, yeah?” He hoped, not really wanting her to leave.

“Yeah, I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” She smiled, taking a quick glance at her watch. “Shit, I really have to go.” Santiago gave her one more quick kiss before telling her bye, and she drove away. The two of them were too caught up in each other to see Frankie’s truck stopped in the road, where he saw everything.

Dani had gotten to the hospital right on time. She barely made it through the ER doors before she was being called, “Dr. Reid.” She spotted the head nurse waving her over to the nurse’s station.

“Hey, Rebecca. How was your night?” Dani asked with a smile, sitting her stethoscope down on the counter to toss her messy hair into a bun, and then threw it back around her neck.

“It was hectic. We got slammed with a four car pile up after you left.” Rebecca sighed, handing her a tablet. “Bed four is ready to be seen. He came in with a complaint of ‘his worst headache ever’. BP is 185/100 with a long history of hypertension.” She presented to Dani as she looked over his chart.

Dani thanked her and moved toward the occupied bed. “Mr. Turner, this is your third time here this month. I thought we talked about this?” Dani chided, checking over his vital signs machine.

Mr. Turner shifted in the bed, “I know, Dr. Reid, but those meds made me feel so bad. I can’t take ‘em. Can’t you just give me something for the headache?” The patient requested.

Dani shook her head. “What good will it do you if we don’t treat the cause? Mr. Turner, your blood pressure is severely uncontrolled.” Dani paused, pinching the bridge of her nose, “If you don’t get this under control, you can die or have a stroke.” She explained to him, but could tell she was getting nowhere.

She pulled the rolling stool over to his bedside, taking a seat. “Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna treat your blood pressure first. Once we get that down, if the headache doesn’t go away, I’ll treat it. Deal?” She bargained with him. Mr. Turner grumbled an ‘okay’ knowing he wasn’t going to win. “Perfect. Rebecca or Nicole will be back with your medicine.” She patted him on the shoulder, flashing him a sweet smile.

Walking back over to the nurse’s station, she gave Nicole the medication orders. Dani made sure to tell Nicole to get her if the patient gave her any trouble. Dani liked working mornings in the ER. Usually, it was pretty slow.

She sat behind her computer, working on chart notes, when she heard a commotion in the ER lobby. “I’m looking for Dr. Reid. I’m her so-called best friend.” She knew that voice. Dani rose from her seat so fast she knocked it to the ground as she ran out of her office. She rushed around the corner to see Frankie being held by two security guards. “Fuck,” She mumbled, stomping toward him.

“Tequila!” Frankie boomed, trying to move past the guards. “Come on, Teq. Tell ‘em to let me go.” He told her as they continued their hold.

She shook her head, “Frankie, stop. Let’s go talk somewhere that isn’t in the middle of my ER” She looked around at the growing crowd as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her office. She closed the door behind them. Dani walked around her wooden desk, picking up the knocked over computer chair. “What the hell are you doing, Frankie?” She questioned him, taking a seat.

Frankie scoffed, “I could ask you the same damn thing.” Frankie sat in one of the other chairs, crossing his arms.

“I’m trying to fucking work, Fish.” She hissed at him. His nostrils flared, a quick sign that he was mad.

“I saw you and Pope.” He confessed, and Dani’s heart dropped. Thoughts raced through her mind. She wasn’t sure how to explain it. Then again, after everything Frankie has done in the last twenty-four hours, did she care?

“That’s none of your business.” She replied calmly, sitting forward in her seat. “You have no right to be upset.”

Frankie rolled his eyes, “You fucked my best friend, I think I do.” The words flew from his mouth before he could stop them. Dani’s eyes widened and she stood up.

“Get out. This conversation is over.” She demanded, pointing toward the door. Frankie didn’t move. “Get the fuck out, Morales, before I call security.” Frankie conceded, standing up, opening the door, and walked out.

Once she was sure he was gone, she let out a shaky breath, falling back into her seat. She cradled her head, thinking about how everything had gotten so messed up. Frankie had no right to be mad at her, right?

A knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts, and she lifted her head. “Shit, you okay Reid?” The doctor in the doorway asked.

She wiped the stray tears that had fallen and sniffled, “Yeah, I’m good, Karev. Have you seen the Chief? I need to talk to her.”

Dr. Karev studied her face for a second before answering, “Last I saw her, she was in her office. Are you sure you’re good?” He asked again, concerned. She nodded, and he went on his way.

Dani left her office, walking toward the Chief of Surgery’s. She stopped outside of the door, the sign read ‘Dr. Meredith Grey, Chief of Surgery.’ She took a deep breath to center herself before knocking on the door. A muffled ‘come in’ filtered through the wood. She opened the door and stepped inside. “Ah, Dr. Reid, just who I needed to see.” Dr. Grey welcomed, gesturing for her to have a seat, which she quickly took. This wasn’t good.

“I heard there was an incident in the ER lobby this morning. What happened?” She questioned her. Dani gulped, unsure of how to answer.

“I’m so sorry, Mere. It was my friend, Frankie.” Dani sighed. She wasn’t going to need to put in a leave, because she was going to get fired.

“Frankie, like the best friend with the coke addiction, Frankie? Why would he be screaming in the lobby?” Meredith wanted to know. Dani had talked to her some about what he had been going through, trying to get advice on how to help him.

“It’s a really long story. The short version is: He did something stupid, really stupid. And then I did something that may or may not have as equally stupid. He found out, and threw a tantrum about it.” Dani explained, realizing that maybe that wasn’t the short version. Meredith cocked an eyebrow at her, shaking her head.

“I swear, you residents are going to be the death of me. Keep your drama at home, Reid.” Meredith groused and rubbed her temples. Dani didn’t want to mention South America now, but she had to; A month would go by faster than she could blink.

“Um, there was actually something I needed to talk to you about. A friend of mine got me connected with a hospital in Colombia, South America. They offered me a position, and I really wanna take it.” Nervousness was radiating off of Dani as she finally spoke these words out loud. Meredith was the first person she had told that she was going. If she couldn’t tell her, how was she going to tell Benny and Will? How was she going to tell Frankie?

“That’s, that’s great, Dani. You should go. I will work on getting the paperwork you will need. And you will always have a spot here at Memorial.” Meredith promised her. Those words lifted a weight off of her. She quickly thanked her, and got up to leave. “Hey, why don’t you take the day off? You’ve been working a lot lately. You can’t save lives if you’re tired.” Meredith added.

“Thank you, Chief.” Dani said sincerely

before walking back to her office to gather her things. She quickly typed a text to Santiago. Hey, Grey is letting me off for the day. We need to talk, Frankie showed up at the hospital. She pressed send and exhaled sharply.

Santiago responded when she was getting into her car. Fuck, is everything okay? Do I need to come to you?

No. Just meet me at the house.

Santiago was sure he broke a hundred laws getting to the Miller house. He didn’t know what Frankie had done, but if Dani had left early from work, it couldn’t be good. She was already home when he pulled into the driveway. He was inside the house and in her room before he recognized he even got out of his truck. “Teq?” She was sitting on her bed, staring at the doorway.

“Frankie knows, Santi.” Was all she responded. Santiago cursed under his breath, moving to take a seat next to her. “He showed up at the hospital, caused a scene.” Dani continued to tell him everything.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Santiago groaned. This wasn’t how he wanted Frankie to find out. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. He turned to look at her. Her face was void of any emotion. “Are you okay?” He asked. She nodded and it wasn’t entirely a lie.

The events of the day showed her that she needed to go. That she wasn’t doing anyone any good here. She knew that if she stayed, she’d destroy herself trying to save Frankie. It wasn’t her responsibility to save someone who didn’t want to save themselves. It would break her heart, but broken hearts are easier healed than broken spirits.

“So, you’re really going with me?” Santiago’s cedar eyes bright with happiness as the words rolled off his tongue. He slung an arm around her shoulder. Pulling her into him, so she could rest her head against him.

“I’m going, Pope.” She sighed, content with her decision. “Meredith is already working on my travel papers. I”m gonna finish my shifts for the next two weeks, that way I’ll have plenty of time to pack.”

“Pack?” Will’s voice made their heads whip toward the door. “What do you mean ‘pack’?” Will asked again, widening his stance, arms crossing over his chest.

“We’re going to have to tell’em eventually, Cariño.” Santiago said, placing a kiss to her head.

Dani sat there staring at Will. He had been her rock for years. The entire Miller family had taken her in after the accident. When Will joined the army, it was her he wrote letters to. When Benny joined, it was the same way. The two men quickly took over the role of ‘older brother’ teaching her how to defend herself; Their father taught her basic car maintenance; Their mother taught her to cook.

“Okay. Someone tell me what the fuck is going on.” Will cured, “When did this happen?” He gestured between Dani and Santiago.

“You have missed a lot in the last twenty-four hours, hermano.” Santiago told him as he removed his arm from around her. Dani shifted, creating some space between her and the man beside her. Will moved further into the room, taking a seat in her corner chair.

Dani fiddled with her fingers, not even sure where to begin. Santiago noticed her nerves, offering her his hand for comfort. She accepted, lacing her fingers with his. The warmth from him flowed through her, causing her to shiver. Feeling like she could face anything holding Santiago’s hand, she took a deep breath before telling Will what happened with Frankie. By the end of the story, Will’s face had his emotions written all over it.

He was pissed. How could Frankie do that to her? How could she run away with Pope? “So, you’re just gonna leave?” He asked, voice low and gravely. “You think that’s the answer?”

She shook her head, “No, I don’t. But I’m not thinking about me. I’m thinking about the good I can do there. I’m thinking about the people I can save.” Dani put emphasis on ‘can’ to try and get her point across.

Will nodded, understanding where she was coming from. They had a similar conversation when he left for the army. “If this is truly what you want, then I support you, one hundred percent.” Will gave her his blessing. Dani launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

“Thank you, Will.” She chirped as he squeezed her tightly. She released him, straightening herself up.

“Don’t thank me yet, sweetheart. You still have to tell Benny.” Dani’s eyes widened. Benny was going to be crushed.

After the conversation, Will had left Dani and Santiago, but not before threatening that he’d hunt Santi down if Dani didn’t make it back. Santiago promised he’d protect her as if his life depended on it, which it did.

Not long after, Santiago left. His lunch break was long over and his boss was blowing up his phone. Dani used the time to herself to sit and think about everything. The more she thought about it, the more she knew she was making the right choice. She contemplated on how she was going to tell Benny. She decided to make his favorite dinner; His mom’s famous chicken pot pie. Thankfully, she had everything she needed.

Benny entered the house right as Dani pulled the meal out of the oven. “Holy shit. Tell me that’s what I think it is.” Benny grinned as he dropped his keys to the counter.

“Yep! Momma Miller’s chicken pot pie!” Dani answered him, putting the piping hot dish on the counter. “Why don’t you go clean up while it cools?”

Benny walked around the island to hug her. “You’re the best, Tequila. What did I do to deserve a best friend like you?” He questioned out loud before walking back through the house. Dani’s stomach dropped. She wasn’t ready for this.

Benny came back into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. Dani had the table set for just the two of them. “What about Will?” Benny asked at the sight of the two plates.

“Date. Probably won’t be back tonight.” Dani replied, grabbing a beer out of the fridge. She handed it to the blonde man in front of her, gesturing for him to sit.

“Alright. What’s up, Teq? I know you well enough to know when something’s wrong.” Benny called her out. The two of them have never had secrets. Will always joked that they were more like siblings than he and Benny were.

Dani told Benny all about Frankie while they ate. She explained everything that happened between her and Santiago. “Santi, he, uh. He’s asked me to go to South America with him. And I said yes.” She whispered, and Benny almost choked.

“You can’t go to South America.” Benny said in between coughs. He cleared his throat. “Teq, you can’t go. I feel like I just got you back.”

Tears welled in her eyes, “Oh, Ben. You never lost me. You are always going to be the pain in the ass brother I always wanted.” She reached across the table to him. “I’ll text and call whenever I can. I'm not gonna be gone forever.” She promised him.

Benny stood up, his chair scraping against the tile. He pulled Dani to her feet, embracing her in his arms. The hug told Dani everything she needed to know. He was silently giving her his approval. They sat back down and finished eating, Benny asking the occasional question about what she would be doing there. She honestly didn’t know, but she was excited to see where this path would take her. When they were done, Benny helped her clean up, loading the dishwasher while she put away the leftovers.

The two of them dropped to the couch, turning on a movie. Benny hit pause and turned to her. “I gotta know. Is the sex that good, that you’d follow him to another country?” He jested, his voice playful.

Dani rolled her eyes, “Wouldn’t you like to know. Looking for tips, Miller?” She chuckled, throwing him a wink. Benny huffed a laugh, sticking his tongue out at her before he un-paused the movie.

Week by week, the days seemed to pass by a little faster. As their departure date grew closer, Dani grew more nervous. Not nervous, like she was regretting her decision, but nervous like she couldn’t wait to see what the future held for her.

Although they completely supported their friend, Will and Benny tried to get her to stay. They hated that she was leaving. They even tried to get their mom to convince her to stay. Boy, did that backfire. Momma Miller was nothing but excited for her, telling Dani to take complete advantage of the wondrous opportunity.

Dani laid in her bed, sparing a glance at her phone. 6:30am. Santiago would be there soon, coming to take her to get her stuff from the hospital. She finished her last shift days ago, but put off getting her things. A piece of her wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Carolina Memorial had been her home. She experienced all of her ‘real doctor’ firsts there.

Pulling herself together, she slithered out of bed. Throwing on her robe, she tip-toed to the kitchen trying not to wake Benny. She started a pot of coffee. As if on cue, Benny shuffled into the room as the liquid began to drip. His blonde hair a mess, sleep still heavy in his eyes. “Good morning, Benjamin.” She said sweetly. He grumbled a response that she only assumed meant ‘Good morning’. Dani never understood why Benny still got up so early, even though he was not a morning person.

Luckily for Benny, Dani knew just how to perk him up. “Coffee, black, no sugar.” She said as she handed him a cup. Benny hummed in appreciation, taking the drink. Dani poured her own coffee, gazing out the kitchen window.

In true North Carolina fashion, the weather changed almost instantly. The day before had been beautiful, but today rain moved in, fog blocking out the sunshine. Dani hated days like this. Benny, who had drained his coffee, noticed Dani staring out the Window. He knew what was going through her head; He was the one who picked her up after.

“Hey.” Benny called out to her, and she turned to look at him. He didn’t need to say anything else, he just opened his arms.

“I’m gonna miss you, Benny-boy.” She spoke into his chest, and Benny chuckled at the nickname. He hadn’t been called that in years. Benny squeezed her tighter, only pulling away when loud bangs resounded through the house.

“Must be Pope.” Dani shrugged, pouring Benny another cup of coffee. Benny took it, going to open the door for him.

“Reid, I know you’re up. ¡Vamos!” Santiago yelled through the wood.

He jumped when the door swung open to reveal a very annoyed looking Benny. “What the fuck, man?” He groaned, taking a swig of his coffee.

Santiago smiled, “Sorry, Benny. I’m here to take Tequila to get her shit from the hospital.” He apologized. Benny mumbled something under his breath, moving to the side to let his friend in.

“She’s in the kitchen.” Benny said, gesturing toward it. Santiago slapped his shoulder as he passed by him, hastily making his way to her.

Santiago knew something was wrong when Dani hesitantly climbed into the cab of his red Ford. He recognized the look on her face, the anxiety. He’d worn that look many times. He didn’t press for information though. He just gave her hand a squeeze, reminding her that he was there.

As they drove along, something had dawned on Santiago. “So, we’ve known each other for what two years now?” Santiago asked Dani. She nodded in response, keeping her eyes on the road. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

She nodded again, “Santi, you’ve seen me naked. I think we are past ‘personal’.” She replied, fingers doing air quotes around personal.

Santiago bit his lip at the memory. It was only one night, but it was one of the best nights of his life. “You’ve met all of our families, right? Why haven’t we met yours?” He wondered, never recalling her even mentioning her family. Dani sucked in a breath at the question. She knew this day would come. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to tell him, it just wasn’t a pleasant memory.

“You guys are my family.” She whispered. “Well, the only family I have left. My parents died when I was seventeen, right before I was supposed to graduate. The Millers took me in, basically adopting me.” Dani paused, feeling Santi reach over to grab her hand. “I’m an only child, so Will and Benny are the big brothers I never had. No aunts, uncles, or cousins either.” She told him. The look on his face was the reason why she never told people, the look of pity.

“I’m sorry, Teq. How? If you-” He apologized, but she cut him off.

“It’s okay. They, uh, they wrecked their car. On a morning just like this. It was horrific. The hospital that they were transported to wasn’t a trauma center. They did their best to stabilize them for transfer, but it was too late.” She felt a tear drop as she sniffled.

Santiago wanted nothing more than to pull the truck over and take her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, Dani. Is that, is that why you became a trauma surgeon?” His words faltered, not wanting to push for too much information. She nodded; All she ever wanted was to do her best to prevent anyone from going through what she did.

The two gathered Dani’s belongings from her office rather quickly. Dani didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Meredith had stopped by, warning Santiago that he better take care of Dani or else and gave him the glare. Once they left, he told Dani that Meredith reminded him of Medusa, icy stare and all. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt, telling him that’s what the interns called her.

Dani remembered the night she first met Santiago Garcia. She had just graduated med school, completed her internship and was looking for a hospital to complete her residency. She reached out to the Miller brothers, who she grew up with, and stayed very close to. They welcomed her into their North Carolina home with open arms.

It was her first week there and the boys mentioned that they were having a friend coming in for a visit. “Pope is a good guy, one of the best, but will flirt with anything that has a pussy.” Ben warned her. She laughed at her friend’s crudness.

“Benny, you know I can handle myself. There is a reason y’all call me Tequila.” She reminded him, and Benny just nodded. “Besides, that is the last thing I need. I have a residency to focus on.”

Friday quickly approached. Benny went to meet Santiago at the airport while Dani and Will stayed to prepare for his arrival. Dani was helping Will cook dinner, when he came in from the back yard. “So, uh, I burnt the steaks.” Will confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. Dani threw a kitchen towel at him.

“Will! I marinated those steaks all day! How did you burn them?” She asked him, laying her head on the counter. “What are we going to feed your friend now?” The words were mumbled into the granite, but Will still heard her. He walked around, rubbing her shoulders.

“Santi will be fine with burgers from Luanne’s. You don’t need to impress him.” Will assured her and she groaned, standing up straight.

“Yes, I do. Aside from me, he’s one of your oldest friends. I want to make a good impression.” Dani knew she sounded whiny, but she really did want to impress Santiago. Will just gave her a look. “Fine, I’ll go ahead and call in an order. You think Benny will want his usual?” She asked, reaching for her cell. Will nodded and asked for his usual too. Dani quickly ordered their dinner, telling Will it was on him because he fucked up the steaks. Will laughed, tossing her his card and keys.

“Go get our food, Tequila.” He said teasingly. She shot him a quick middle finger before grabbing her bag and walking out the door.

Luanne’s was packed that night, so Dani ended up waiting a lot longer than she thought she would. Will had sent her a text saying that Benny was back and Santiago was asking where the mysterious Tequila was. She replied promptly, letting him know that she was leaving the diner now and that Luanne threw in a few slices of her apple pie for the wait.

Dani pulled Will’s jeep into the driveway. She slid out of the driver’s side, walking around to get the bag of food. She walked into the house, yelling that she was back. It was like a stampede through the Miller household. Benny rounded the corner first, followed by Will. Santiago came around last, calling Benny a “fucking cheater”.

“Guys, slow down.” Dani chuckled, walking the rest of the way into the kitchen. “What are you cheating at now, Benjamin?”

“Fucker thought he could pull a quick one. That was my fucking mushroom and you know it, Benny.” Santi explained, flashing a bright smile in Dani’s direction. “So, Tequila, I presume?” He stretched out a hand, introducing himself.

“Nice to finally meet you, Santiago. I’ve heard so many things about you.” She replied, shaking his hand. She pulled her hand back, and Santi shamelessly let his eyes roam over her.

“All good things, I hope? And Please, you can call me Santi.” He flirted, tongue swiping out to wet his lips, before sucking his bottom one back between his teeth. Dani scoffed and shook her head.

“Well boys, you were right. He didn’t even last five minutes.” Dani snorted, handing out the to-go boxes.

“Let’s eat. Then I can go back to kicking your asses at MarioKart.” Benny joked, before ripping into the container and taking a bite of his burger. “God, I swear Luanne makes the best burgers.” He groaned. The four of them ate, chit-chatting comfortably. Dani was surprised at how easy she fell in with Santi. It was like they had known each other forever.

Dani smiled fondly at the memory. Her and Santi stayed in touch after that weekend. She never imagined she’d find herself here, moving to another country with the man.

Even now though, when Santi had taken up so much of her time, she found her thoughts drifting back to Frankie. She was leaving in less than 24 hours and she still hadn’t told him. Dani picked up her phone, thumb hovering over the call symbol in Frankie’s contact. Before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed it. The line rang once, before going straight to voicemail. You’ve reached Frankie Morales. Leave a message. “Fuck.” Dani sighed out, tossing the phone to the bed.

Maybe it's better this way, maybe I should just go. Dani knew it would be hard, not saying goodbye. So she wrote him a letter. A letter telling him she was leaving, that she was sorry, and she would see him again.

Dani and Santiago opted for a midnight flight; The airport was almost empty. "You can still stay, you know? I won't hold it against you." Santi whispered to her. He could see the hurt in her eyes. He knew leaving would be hard on her, especially after everything with Frankie.

"You're stuck with me, Pope. My name is already on the apartment lease." She smiled at him. She was more than ready to go. Ready to make peace with her past and embrace her future.

Frankie woke up and started his normal morning routine. Vanessa was already in the kitchen making coffee. "Hey, this was stuck to the door." She told him, handing him an envelope. His name in her hand writing. He ripped it open, pulling the paper out. His eyes roamed the page, reading every word.

"No. No. No." Frankie mumbled, "fuck, I have to go." Frankie grabbed his keys and rushed over to her house.

He banged on the door, not relenting until Will opened it. "Tell me she isn't gone. Tell me Dani didn't leave." Frankie cried, still gripping the letter in his hand.

Will shook his head. " I'm sorry, Fish. They flew out last night."

Frankie's heart stalled in his chest. He dropped to the concrete of Will's porch. She was gone. He never got to apologize for anything. She was gone.

Catfish,

I hope this finds you well. I tried, Frankie. I tried to call. I tried to come see you. After everything that’s happened, I figured that this way was for the best. I’m leaving , Fish. I’m going to South America with Santi. By the time you get this, I’ll already be 35,000 feet in the air.

I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I’m so fucking sorry. I wanted so bad to help you, to be what you needed, but I wasn’t. And that’s okay.

Frankie, when we meet again, I hope things are better. I hope you are better. I want nothing but happiness for you. You will always be my best friend.

Love always,

Tequila.

TAGS: @danniburgh @speakerforthedead0 @221bshrlocked

Translations:

Querida- dear, lover

Vamos- Let’s go

Hermano- Brother

[cosmicgrdn]

overthinker

pairing: junhui x reader

word count: 2.7k

au/theme: angst/fluff

summary: taking care of your sick boyfriend is easy until you get in your own head

warnings: mucho overthinking, jun being the best boi

Panic.

That’s the only emotion that was buzzing through Junhui’s mind at this moment.

He was sick. His fever was high, throat scratchy, body aching. He couldn’t sing or dance or even goof around, let alone get out of his bed. However, that didn’t stop him from trying.

He knew better, obviously he didn’t want to get anyone else infected, but at the same time, he had work to do. Choreography to learn, lines to record and a whole comeback just months away. He can’t let down his carats, his members. He can’t let you down.

That’s what got him out of bed this morning and into the dance room. The members noticed immediately, the way he could barely stand and the pale white of his skin while his hair stuck to his forehead from the high body temperature.

They refused to let him practice, ending up with Mingyu left in charge until the managers arrived to handle the situation. But that didn’t help one bit. It actually made things worse, frustrating the young man beyond belief. The members acted as if they wouldn’t be doing the exact same thing as him, the managers acting as if they owned him.

He was hot, in pain, grumpy, tired and just wanted to at least watch the practice so that he wouldn’t be as behind. The group returned to learning the new dance while the managers sat back for a moment to allow everyone to calm down.

And then the door opened. And you walked in. And while he was ecstatic about seeing your beauty for the first time today, part of him felt extremely irritated.

“Really?” he scoffed as he turned to the others in the room. “You tattled to my girlfriend?”

“Hyung, we really just think you should get some rest.” Chan spoke quietly from the front of the room.

Minghao, who was sat near Jun, placed a hand on his shoulder, causing his older friend to look in his direction. “We get where you’re coming from, really. We’ve all been there. But just go home, rest, and you'll be back and better in no time.”

The rest nodded in agreement, Jun’s attention shifting when he felt the soft skin of the back of your hand grazing his forehead.

“Baby, you’re burning up. You don’t look that great, how long have you been feeling sick?” you cooed, a slight pout in your tone.

His attitude melted away as he watched your eyebrows furrow in worry as you placed a hand on his cheek, him leaning into it. The action made his heart warm and the total comfort of having you around brought tears to his eyes.

He looked down and a stray tear fell before he could wipe it away. A sniffle was all you needed before embracing him, a tiny sob coming out from his frustrations. The members watched silently from behind, recognizing that you were definitely the only person that could ever get through his stubbornness except possibly his parents.

“Come on sweetheart, let’s get you home.” you say quietly rubbing his back. He nods into your neck before pulling away and gathering his belongings around him. The two of you made your way to the door, him opening it for you before pausing and turning to the others.

“Thank you for looking out for me and my health. I apologize for my actions and attitude earlier, I really appreciate and love you all.” he bowed missing how the other members smiled and nodded.

“We love you too!” Jeonghan yelled from the back of the room, causing the others to join in.

“Get better soon!”

“Have fun taking medicine!”

“Go home already, I don’t want to get sick!”

“Take good care of him Y/N, he’s a sneaky one!”

You chuckled before replying, “He won’t leave my sight.” as you gave him a pointed look to which he returned a sheepish smile.

You two walked out of the building and into the car before the driver started his way back to the dorms, you in the backseat holding Jun’s hand as he laid his head on your shoulder.

“Why wouldn’t you say you didn’t feel good, you dummy. Do you like worrying me?” you mumbled into his hair as you gave him a light peck.

He chuckled without opening his eyes. “You know that’s not why. Even though you are pretty adorable when you’re all worked up-” a playful punch to his leg made him cut himself off with a laugh. “I don’t know, I just didn’t want to be behind, especially with the album and I don’t want you to waste your time trying to take care of me.”

You were silent for the rest of the ride as he slowly drifted off to sleep, the thoughts replaying in your head. He always worked so hard, especially being part of the performance line. He pushed his vocals with higher notes, his body with tougher choreography, and basically his sanity due to the crazy schedules they had set up. You knew what you were going into when you agreed to a first date almost two years ago.

You arrived at the dorms, waking Jun just enough so he could walk up to his room. You thanked the driver and followed your sleepy boyfriend, opening the doors and leading him to the bed before placing a couple blankets on and starting some soft music. When he instantly fell back into slumber, you made your way to the kitchen and began boiling some water for soup.

How could he not want you to take care of him? Did he think it was annoying, did he not like being coddled? But he was constantly searching for your affection whether vocal or physical, so you didn’t quite understand. Maybe he didn’t want to feel like he was unable to do anything, helpless? How dare he call it a waste of time when in reality, you would want nothing more than to spend every moment by him, nursing him back to health or not.

You finished the soup and began preparing a tray to take to him. You placed a water and some tablets on it along with the bowl and utensils and carefully made your way through the house. You quietly opened the door wider with your foot and placed the tray on the bedside table before sitting next to the bed.

He was facing you, blankets pulled up to his chin and mouth slightly parted. The hair on his forehead was still slightly damp from his fever, but you can tell it already wasn’t as bad as when you first saw him. He looked peaceful, skin flawless without any worrying lines or furrowed eyebrows or frowns clouding his features.

You weren’t sure how long you sat there, silently admiring him before a loud ping broke your focus. You pulled your phone from your pocket, quickly replying to the text from a friend before looking up to see Jun’s eyes just barely open and a small smile on his lips.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” you asked, quickly turning your phone on silent.

He shook his head and shifted his legs while letting out a big yawn. “I smelled the soup.” he croaked out with a giggle, sitting up slightly so his back was against the pillows.

You suddenly remember why you came in the room in the first place and scramble to first hand him the water and tablets, watching as he gulps it down before handing it back. You switch and hand him the bowl of soup, a grin growing on his face as he saw it was his favorite homemade chicken noodle soup you had introduced to him when he first got sick after you became a couple.

“I don’t know what I did in my past life to deserve you.” he whispered as he blew on a spoonful before digging in. You simply nodded as you looked down at your fingers, your previous thoughts making a dangerous return to the front of your brain.

As Jun neared halfway through the bowl, he realized you hadn’t said anything. You weren’t usually one to talk much anyways, but it was starting to nag at him since you were the same in the car. Were you mad at him for not saying anything before? Were you starting to not feel well yourself? He would hate it if he got anyone else sick, especially you.

You jumped when Jun’s warm hand was suddenly on your forehead, then your cheeks, mimicking what you had done hours before. Your eyes grew wider as he leaned forward looking you over before meeting your eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?” he questioned, eyes growing intense the longer you didn’t answer.

“I’m fine.” you squeaked out, him giving you a look that told you he didn’t buy that at all. “Really I’m okay. Just a little tired is all.” you lied.

You could tell he still didn’t accept your excuse, but offered a solution for it anyways. “Do you want to lay down? We can put on a movie, anything you want.” he said and before you knew it he was throwing the blankets off and moving to get up.

“No! Lay down, don’t get up.” you yelped as you placed both hands on his chest and pushed him back down as he puffed.

“My legs aren't broken Y/N, I can still get up and walk around.” he said with a playful tone.

You quickly retracted your hands as if he burned you, causing his smile to drop. He watched as you fought with yourself, between wanting to tuck him back in and instead returning your hands to play with each other in front of your stomach, the nervous habit he picked up after a while. It was small, but you only tend to do it when something was nagging at the back of your mind.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be so overbearing, but I just…” you trailed off. “I just want you to get better quickly, that’s all.” you whispered, so quiet he almost didn’t hear the way your voice cracked at the end.

“Overbearing?” he asked. “What’s that mean? I know you just want the best for me.” he said quietly as he reached for your hand and gently pulled it towards him, intertwining your fingers.

You nodded in agreement and looked down, feeling a lump in your throat, but did your best to push it away. For heaven's sake, he was sick and here you were, on the verge of crying about nothing.

“Now do you want to talk to me and tell me what’s going on in the pretty head of yours?” Jun asked patiently. He always got it out of you in the end and he knew exactly how to. A chuckle left him as you shook your head and continued staring at the ground.

“Are you really tired?” he asked.

You shook your head.

“Are you starting to feel sick as well?”

You shook your head.

He hummed to himself in thought. “Maybe you're hungry?”

You shook your head.

“Is it something I did?”

It took a second longer, but you shook your head. He knew he was getting warmer.

“Was it something I said?”

Your head stayed still, not wanting to admit what had you in such a dark cloud of thought. You used your free hand to cover your face, starting to feel the hot tears breaking through.

“Was I mean earlier?” he panicked, not wanting to see you cry a second longer. “In the practice room?”

You shook your head once more.

“In the car?”

The dam suddenly broke and you couldn't control your emotions any longer. He was quick to pull you into his chest and run his fingers through your hair as he kept you close.

“I’m sorry.” you choke out, voice muffled.

“Why are you apologizing?” he let out a dry laugh of disbelief. “If I’m correct, I was the one who said something in the car that upset you this much, I’m the one that’s sorry honey.”

“No, don’t apologize!” you cried out in frustration. You pulled away, but he refused to let you go, opting for holding your arms as you furiously wiped your tears. “I’m the one that needs to be sorry. I mean, you’re sick! You’re sick and I’m making this all about me for no reason, it was stupid and I shouldn’t get in my own head and I know that. I just want to help, I love you and want to see you happy and healthy and I know I can be a lot and clingy and too much. I don’t mean to make you feel bad and I just want to take care of you, but you need to tell me if you don’t want me around or need me to leave you alone. I don’t want you to think I’m wasting my time because you mean everything to me and I just-”

Jun placed his hands on your cheeks, slightly squishing so you couldn’t talk anymore. He lifted your head so he would be able to see your face, but you closed your eyes, not wanting to see his reaction to the mess you were.

“Baby, please look at me.” he said softly. After a couple moments, you shyly opened your eyes to meet his, swimming with emotion and glossy from unshed tears.

“You need to know I didn’t mean it like that, what I said in the car.” he cooed, unable to keep the waver from his words. “I only said that because I feel guilty for always having you take care of and look after me, even when I’m healthy.” he moved his hands so his thumbs were wiping your tears. He moved them to your jaw to keep you looking at him as he began to massage the behind of your ears, making you relax more.

“It doesn’t matter the day or time or where we are. If I’m sick or not, your feelings still matter more than anything. If it makes you upset, it’s not stupid. It’s actually really important because I need you to tell me as well. You’re not clingy, or overbearing, or too much. You’re the most gentle, kind-hearted, and loving person I’ve ever met. Even if I didn’t like being smothered as much as I do, I would still let you because the fact that you're willing to, let alone like taking care of me already makes you the best girlfriend in the entire universe. And I would let you do anything that makes you happy.”

You sniffle as he leans forward and presses a light kiss to your forehead. You close your eyes for a moment, relishing in the feeling of his pillowy lips and the passion you can feel from the simple action. He barely pulled back before beginning to pepper your face with small pecks, eventually making you giggle which allowed the tightness to lift from his chest.

He pulled you up and onto his bed before setting you right on top of him, your legs mixing together and head resting on his chest, listening to his breathing comfortably. The feeling of his hand rubbing your back made your worries drift away, everything you were thinking before seeming so absurd all of a sudden.

“How could I not want you by my side every second of every day?” he murmured. “I would be insane, you would have to put me in a hospital, cause I obviously would have lost my mind to ever feel that way.”

You chuckled at his ridiculous claims, but couldn’t help the pink that tinted your cheeks at the feeling. Him in your arms, so close and telling you how he truly feels gives you a warmth in your chest that no hot drink or fluffy blanket could compare to.

“You mean the world to me too.” he said as he adjusted you both so you were laying flat on the bed. He pulled the blanket up and over your bodies before wrapping his arms around your waist and closing his eyes. “I love you, my little overthinker.” he teased.

You lightly poked his side in protest to the new nickname, causing him to squirm before smiling. “Shut up.” you mumbled.

I love you too.

[sakamakisaywhat]

Headcanons for Shu, Reiji, Laito, Subaru, Azusa and Carla with a s/o who has a chronic skin disease?

SHU

- To be honest, he probably wouldn’t notice it at first - it’s not that Shu isn’t perceptive and he does pay attention to how you look, but unless it’s right in his face he would hardly give it a second thought - When the two of you first started dating, I can’t see it really factoring into his decision to go out with you one way or another - If you have to take medicine or put on cream to stop inflammations or flare ups, he wouldn’t be the best at reminding you but Shu would definitely try - “Did you forget to take your tablets again? You’re so troublesome... go and get them now or I’ll have to feed them to you myself.” - He might throw around the word ‘troublesome’ a lot but since Shu finds everyone and everything troublesome in some way, it’s unlikely having a chronic condition like this would bother him at all - Once Shu is serious about you, he tends to ignore such trivial things

REIJI

- Reiji would be surprised when he finds out that you have to manage a chronic skin disease, but he’d ultimately chalk it up to “one of those strange human afflictions” - While he might not be knowledgeable about your condition at first, he’d pore over books, archives, or any type of information about it to research the disease - Reiji naturally has an interest in science and medicine anyway, but the fact that by learning about the disease he’s also learning about you motivates him even further - He’d be very good at reminding you to take any medication - sometimes a little too good - “My dear, have you applied your cream yet? When managing this disease, it is best to establish a routine in order to effectively improve your condition. I in fact read an account by a physician the other day which recommended application of this poultice..�� - You might have to remind him that you’ve been living with this all your life so you know how to manage it just fine, but you appreciate his efforts anyway

LAITO

- While Laito definitely notices looks and is very perceptive when it comes to unique features in people’s appearances, it’s very unlikely having a chronic skin disease would change his opinion of you or even cross his mind at all - He might ask about it just out of curiosity, but as long as you gave him a straightforward answer he wouldn’t probe any further - If you were ever ashamed about yourself or felt down because of how you looked, Laito would definitely notice though - He’d be the first to pick you up and reassure you that chronic skin conditions are not only very common but don’t diminish your looks at all - “You’re unique, Bitch-chan. That’s what I like about you, but it’s not really on my mind. I can think of lots of other things to focus on.” - When it comes to helping you manage it Laito would probably leave you to it, considering you understand it much better than him, but he would encourage you to take any treatment regularly so you feel happier

SUBARU

- Subaru straight up wouldn’t notice anything different about you at all - it would either have to be extremely obvious you had a skin disease or you’d have to point it out to him (he’s not stupid but he’s normally probably too flustered about the romance to think about much else) - He’d never admit it to you but if you told him about it Subaru would really try to research and understand it - While he might not really know what some of the books or websites are talking about, he’d give them a go just for the sake of understanding how you function - After forgetting to pick up your prescription one day, you’ll be surprised to find it sitting on your desk when you got home - “Uh. You mentioned you were worryin’ about bein’ able to get it ‘cause of school, so I- I picked it up for you. Don’t fuckin’ smile at me like that, it’s not funny!” - Ultimately it’s not really something that would cross his mind at all unless you bring it up in conversation

AZUSA

- Azusa wants to know everything about you from your head to your toes, so he can please you and be the best possible Adam - He’s very appreciative you chose him over anyone else so he’d make an effort to inquire about your condition and try to help you manage it in any way you wanted him to - Azusa would be aware that these things can impact your self-confidence, so he’d try his best to reassure you that he’s never once thought about your skin disease negatively - “I love you... Eve. So these things... don’t matter to... me. I have... my own marks... on my skin. It’s not the... same... but... you still like me. So why would... I find you... unattractive?” - Azusa would treat you gently and make sure to find out when you’re having issues with it flaring up, so he can’t possibly hurt you - You’ll have to tell him if you don’t want to be treated like glass, but you understand that he’s just trying his best to look after you

CARLA

- Carla would definitely notice that you have a chronic skin disease and equally would almost definitely ask about it, but he would never judge you - It’s impossible for him to forget that he has a chronic disease himself, in his case likely much more severe than yours, so as long as your skin condition isn’t life-threatening he wouldn’t think about it very much - The only way it might possibly affect anything is that if you told him it was hereditary, but in that case he’d just prepare the resources to look after your children should they have it too - This is one of the few times he’d be willing to take instruction from you about how to best manage something - Carla would encourage you to be confident about your body, whether you felt self-conscious of your condition or not - “Mortal, you are the future spouse of the ruler of the Founders. Your beauty is unparalleled. This ‘disease’, weak as it is, is hardly worth mentioning.”

[taeswurld]

Ace III [Sporky]

pairing: bakugo x fem!reader

genre: humor, romance

TW: violence, cursing, angst, fluff

Summary: Shifting into My Hero was a total mistake, all those tiktoks you watched on a daily about shifting somehow convinced your brain to take part. Now the question is how to wake up, and most importantly, DON’T GET ATTACHED TO STUPID DRAWINGS!

A/N:

New chapter! Not sure how my upload schedule will go, I’ll probably just wing it or something. And I don’t really know in what direction I wanna take this fic, but I promise to make it as great as possible! Anywho, here’s sporky!

{ACE MASTERLIST}

Oops. Well it’s clear what big of a mistake you’ve just made. 

While being on the verge of passing out, you decided to grab the closest thing next to you, so you don’t fall and hit your head. Instead of a counter or wall (or literally anything else) you decided to grab onto an arm. 

A very muscular and warm arm. 

You quickly retract your arm to look straight into glowing red eyes. They look at you in that moment with so much hated and anger, that you literally had to do a double take.

Jesus did you kill this dude’s grandma or something? What is going on?

“Next time you even think about touching me, I’ll be sure to remind you why I’m the strongest guy here.” 

“Well shit my bad, no need to act like I shoved a scorpion up your ass. Jesus christ, what the fuck is your problem man? Did someone spit in your coffee or something?” You move to walk away, you are not about to deal with someone who acts like complete dick. Before you could though, this asshole grabs your arm and pulls you back.

“What did you say, extra? Alright then since you act so tough, fight me! I doubt you would win though, I mean, you have a weak ass quirk anyways!” He shouts as explosions start to come out of his hand, putting it up to you face as to scare you. 

Wait, pause. You just realized you have a quirk. I mean it had to be good enough to get into U. A. But what was it? Was it like Aang, and you were like some type of avatar? Or were you more like Wonder Woman, and had super strength? Or were you like Spiderman, and could climb walls with spidey-senses? Or maybe, you were just incredibly smart, like Batman or Iron Man? No, that wouldn’t make sense, they would’ve thrown you into the support course if that was the case. Or maybe, you could-

“Hey! Did your dumbass not hear me? Or are you deaf as well as stupid?”

Okay. That’s fucking it. 

You were hungry, had an agitated dog, and you still haven’t gotten your stupid pills. 

You push the guy off you with as much strength as you could (which wasn’t much) and growled at him. 

Yes, growled at him. 

“Bro, shut the fuck up! No one wants to fucking hear you scream at 7 in the fucking morning! Just stay fucking quiet! Or are you too fucking stupid to do that? Your dumbassery is getting on my last fucking nerves, so just SHUT THE FUCK UP!” 

Immediately, everyone backed away, and looked scared to be within 5 feet of you. And you don’t blame them, you always looked scary when you were really mad. You’re glad your angry, and not frustrated. Otherwise, you would’ve broke into tears. Nope, all you felt right now was pure hatred and rage. 

You took a quick peek at your reflection in the microwave and you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. 

You had a white aura around you, and your eyes were a dark blue, with a little bit of fog coming out of them. With you’re pajamas still on, your eye bags, and a little bit of smudged mascara from yesterday, you look like you crawled out of the straight depths of sleepy hell. Hiro growling next to you waiting for your orders to attack didn't exactly help you look any friendlier. 

You quickly calmed down, and decided to just take a quick breath, and whistled for Hiro to back off as well.

“Okay, I’m calm. Does anyone know where the Tylenol is? I have headache. I also need food, not just for me, but for Hiro. I’m sorry for yelling, I’m just really irritated right now, so I ask that no one pushes my buttons.” You take another breath, just to calm your heart rate. 

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah, no worries Y/N. I know how Bakugou can get on your nerves pretty badly.” A girl with pink hair quickly comes up to you. Well, not just pink hair, pink everything. 

“Here, Ochako, you know where the pills are right? Go get them from the medicine cabinet. I’ll go get you some breakfast, hun.” She quickly runs off to get me some much needed food. The girl with the short fringe, Ochako you assume, goes off to get you my stupid pills.

“Koda, would you mind going to Hiro-san and asking what he might want to eat? I’ll help out.” The boy with green hair asks. A really big guy comes up to Hiro, and tries to whisk him away. 

“Hey! Sorry to disappoint but he stays with me. I’m on edge right now and he’s the only dude who can calm me down.” They are not to about to take him away, you don’t know these guys yet enough to trust them, you still don’t even know how you got here. Hiro’s pretty much the only thing closest to home, if he leaves now God knows what could happen. 

“Oh! I apologize L/N-san. He already told me his answer anyways, so I’ll go prepare his breakfast so you can both relax!” He blushes, and bows before running off to make some food. 

“Thanks, sorry for yelling. I’m just kinda anxious right now.” Hiro barks as if to agree with you. It’s not even 8 a.m and you’re both already done with this bullshit. 

“It's okay L/N-san. Last night, you got hit pretty hard, you we’re not going to blame you for being a little rough around the edges.” The boy with green hair says before walking away to join the other dude. Jesus, you really need to know everyone’s name. You can’t call them ‘dude’ and ‘guy’ forever. 

“L/N-san! Sorry about Bakugou! I know the two of you seem to bash heads a lot, but I promise you that he doesn't mean it!” 

A cute little redhead comes up to you. He looks really sweet, except for his razor sharp teeth that look like they could cut thought anything. He puts his hand on you shoulder, as a little gesture to calm you down a little. Apparently Hiro didn’t like it, because he started to growl. 

‘Back off, dude. Don’t touch,’ he seemed to say. 

“Oi! Shiity hair!” Oh god. “Don’t apologize on my behalf! It makes you look stupid, and me look weak!” The red eyed blonde from earlier walks over. 

‘Shitty hair’, or whatever his real name was, put his hands up and took his place next to the blonde, tossing his arm around him. 

“Come on, Bakugou! You’re always fighting with her, maybe it’s best to just chill down! Come on! It’s a beautiful Saturday, we don't have any plans except to relax! We should totally go out! When was the last time we hung out with the class?” 

“Tch, I don't want to deal with these extras longer than I already have to. Besides, when doesn’t she get on my fucking nerves? That’s the only thing she’s good for anyways.” He shoves the red head’s arm off of him and stares at me.

“Come on Kacchan! You know she’s only teasing! Besides, you need to learn to be sweeter to girls! This is probably why you don't have a girlfriend, and why Ca-”

‘Kacchan’, or ‘Bakugou’, you’re not even sure anymore, grabs the pikachu looking dude from earlier by his shirt and looks like he’s about to punch him. 

“Don’t you dare finish that fucking sentence Dunce Face! And besides, it’s not like your desperate ass could get pussy anyways!” 

The piss-yellow blonde immediately gets scared and screams to run away. 

“Well you don’t have to say it like that, ya know! At least Y/N likes me!” He comes over to me and puts his arm around you. He pulls you into his chest and places his head on top of yours. Since you're sitting, it’s quite easy for him to tower you. 

“Not now dude, you are on my last fucking nerve.” You muffle into his chest as you move to push him off. 

Okay, super strength is for sure not your quirk. 

“Right, your pissed right now, sorry. By the way, I’ll go get you some wipes for your makeup. You look like a demon right now, no offense.” He runs off to God knows where, finally letting you breathe. 

“None taken,” you mutter. 

“Y/N! I brought the Tylenol, and some water for your to drink!” Ochaco comes back with a small pill tablet and a glass of water. As she hands you everything, she rubs your back as to say ‘don't worry, you’re in good hands now’. 

“L/N-san! Hiro’s food is ready! Midoriya helped out, so the process went by faster.” Koda and the green haired kid, Midoriya, comes back with a bowl of kibble and some steak. 

Of course Hiro would ask for steak. Why did you even bother? 

“Y/N! I’m back!” The pink girl from earlier comes with some rice and eggs. Weird combination, but okay. 

“I know you’re still getting a little used to using chopsticks, not being from Japan and all, so I had to look around for a fork.” You hands you your breakfast and a spoon. 

“Um, this is a spoon.” You say, holding it up for her to see.

“Yeah, I know. I said I had to look around, I never said I was successful.” She gave me a smile and little shrug before walking away. 

Oh boy. 

[loveistherootofhappiness]

A little late, but still good (As you can see, turning in assignments on time just isn’t my thing 🤦🏾‍♀️)

Ship: Madney Rating: T Word Count: 1923

Summary: This was purely a coincidence. Just because a handsome stranger just so happened to be sitting next to her, wearing her so-called lucky colors, it didn’t mean anything.

Day 6: “Do you believe in love at first sight?” + meet cute

Can also be read here

Maddie heaved heavily, struggling to catch her breath. Her lungs protested the full on sprint she’d just done to make sure she didn’t miss the bus. The bus driver, uncaring of her plight, looked between her and the meter, silently willing her to pay her fare so he could move on to the next spot. She took a couple of calming deep breaths, grabbed the change, from her bag, and turned to find her a seat.

She found one of the last seats available on the already crowded bus. Such was the bane of L.A. public transit. Sitting her bag next to her, she put in her earbuds to listened to one of her favorite podcasts as she waited to arrive for her hospital shift.

She’d gotten lost in the story she’d been listening to when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Slightly started, she quickly removed one of her earbuds and looked up, locking eyes with the handsome stranger in front of her. She felt, what could only be described, as an electric current flow through her as she held his gaze. She could have sworn she spotted a flash of something in his eyes before he broke their contact.

“I’m sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if the seat next to you was taken?”

Maddie found herself instantly charmed by the kindness in his voice and the lopsided grin he’d sported. She took in the rest of him. The light of the morning sun highlighted his bronzed skin and dark brown eyes. His salt and pepper beard gave him a distinguished look. He was beautiful.

But the most noticeable thing about him was his bomber jacket. It looked as if an abstract painting had been taken and plastered on to the material, with all the differing colors splattered all over it. It definitely reminded her of something straight out of the 90s.

“I’m guessing that’s a yes then,” his voice broke through her train of thought. Confused for a second, she quickly realized she’d gotten so lost in her thoughts that she failed to answer his question. She must look insane.

“Oh, no,” she moved her bag out of the way. “It’s all yours,” feeling the blush forming on her cheeks, she chuckled nervously as he sat down, “sorry about that, I think I got distracted by your jacket.” Not a total lie.

He snorted, admiring the sleeves. “Wish I could take credit for it. It’s my brother’s. Couldn’t find mine, so I stole his.”

“Your brother has unique taste, it’s nice.” She returned his grin with a shy smile, finding herself instantly charmed. As she looked, she was able to take in the colors a little more, it definitely had al the basic colors accounted for, but the colors she saw the most of were green, purple, and orange.

Your lucky colors for today are orange, purple, and green. Her roommate, Josh’s, voice floated into my mind as she remembered what he’d said that morning. Josh been reading the L.A. Times and insisted on reading their horoscopes, which included a part about lucky colors.

Maddie shelved that thought process immediately. Nope. She wasn’t going down that road. This was purely a coincidence. Just because a handsome stranger just so happened to be sitting next to her, wearing her so-called lucky colors, it didn’t mean anything.

When she heard the familiar ding, she saw that her stop had been reached. Gathering her things, he gave her a wave before she exited the bus and walked the short distance to the hospital entrance. She pushed thoughts of horoscopes, colors, and handsome strangers away to prepare for whatever insanity this city provided the ER today.

Easier said than done.

Maddie flopped down in her chair, completely exhausted as her shift was nearing it’s end. It seemed that pushing those thoughts out of her mind just wasn’t what her brain wanted to do. It wasn’t to the point of distraction, but she’d caught herself thinking about a certain handsome stranger multiple times. His eyes, his voice, his smile. It had been a long time since he felt that connection with someone. It was crazy, she’d barely spoken two sentences to the guy, but there was something there she couldn’t describe.

And she didn’t even get his name. Some luck, huh.

Maddie sighed, as she used her badge to unlock the computer. Checking the incoming patients chart, she saw that a patient had been placed in one of her assigned rooms. She signed up for him and read through his chart. Possible broken wrist. Sounded simple enough.

Grabbing the appropriate tablet, she headed to his room. She did the obligatory knock before entering. “Okay, Mr. Han, I” she was stopped short by the sight of him. Sitting on the bed, holding a bag of melted ice to his wrist, with a bruised cheek, was the guy from the bus this morning.

“Well, hi.” He said as he smiled at her.

“Hi.” She stepped further into the room and closed the door, doing a quick survey of him to catalogue all his visible injuries. “It looks like you’ve had an eventful day, Mr. Han.”

“Please, call me Chimney,” she mustn’t’ve kept her face as straight as she thought, as he followed up with, “long story.”

Part of her wanted to wanted probe further so she could hear it, but knew this wasn’t the time or place. “Maddie.” She introduced. “Okay, Chimney, mind telling me how your face and wrist ended like this in,” she made a show of looking at her watch, “12 hours?”

“It looks worse than it feels,” he flinched as he tried to flex his injured wrist. She started checking his vitals as he explained, “I was trying to break up a bar fight. Drunk guy wanting to take his anger out on other people. He got my cheek as I got between him and another guy. He popped my wrist as I was tossing him out.”

She grabbed his wrist from him, gently examining it. Black, blue, swollen, and out of place in several places. “I admire the heroism.”

“Wouldn’t really call it heroism, it’s kinda my job,” he looked from his wrist to her eyes, “I’m a bouncer... slash D.J. slash manager.”

“That sounds... busy,” she laughed as she gently let go of his wrist.

“It can be, but it’s a living.”

In that moment, the doctor walked in the room. She left the room, giving them some privacy to talk. Sitting down at the computer she was still in a state of disbelief. She didn’t know if it would be wise to call this luck, given the state he was in and she still had no idea where she stood in her belief in it, but she didn’t think she could call this a coincidence anymore.

Maddie gathered the things she would need to wrap his wrist and bandage his cheek. As soon as the doctor came out, the x-rays came back and confirmed what she already knew: his wrist was dislocated. She waited  for the doctor to put in the orders and do the obligatory explanations with Chimney before heading back to the room.

“Chimney, let’s get that wrist wrapped and get you out of here.”

She slid the stool in front him, gave him an initial dose of pain medicine, and went to work on getting him patched up. There was a comfortable silence between them as she bandaged his bruised cheek.

“You know of all the ways I thought about seeing you again, gotta say, this wasn’t on the list,” he told her as she moved on to his wrist.

She actions faltered a bit, but she quickly recovered and fell back into her rhythm. Looking up into those kind, brown eyes, she saw the sincerity there. “You thought about seeing me again?”

He smiled shyly, “well, I’d hoped,” she was well aware that her cheeks were a fresh shade of crimson, “now I’m trying to figure out the ethics of asking your nurse for her phone number.”

Maddie knew she had the biggest grin on her face. Ignoring her heartbeat, she slid on the brace and wrapped the sling around his neck and wrist. Reaching for the discharge paperwork she’d brought with her, she held out the clipboard and a pen. “Sign here please.” She kept the smile on her face as he looked between her and the pen, grabbing and signing his name as best he could.

“Listen, if I overstepped-”

“You didn’t,” writing on the paperwork before she handed him his part of it, “and it looks like I’m officially not your nurse anymore.”

He caught on quickly as she pointed to her name and personal number at the bottom. Taking out his cellphone right then, he sent her a text message. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Just making sure you know it’s me.” She chuckled and saved his number.

They pocketed their phones, he grabbed his things, which included the jacket, and they both walked out of the room. “Well, Mr. Han, it has been a pleasure, you know besides the reason that you’re actually here.”

“Gotta say, the pleasure has been all mine.”

“Stay out of trouble,” she told him as he turned and walked towards the exit.

“No promises,” he threw over his shoulder before walking out the door.

Making her way back to the nurse’s station, she put his paperwork on the rack to be filed, made sure all her charts were completed, and logged out for the day. When she walked into the nurse’s lounge she found two of her coworkers having a conversation as she walked in.

“Ask Maddie and see what she thinks.” Jasmine said.

“Ask Maddie what?” She asked as she got her things from her locker.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

The question gave her pause and she turned to face the two women. “Um, I don’t know.” A certain charming man came to mind as she thought about it, throwing her completely off guard. She was certainly charmed by him, definitely infatuated and instantly attracted, but love. That was a stretch, right? Though, she had to admit, she’d never felt that strong a connection with someone before. “Maybe. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a possibility.”

“See, Maddie agrees with me.”

“I just don’t think it can happen,” Malika chimed in, “there definitely attraction at first sight, infatuation at first sight, most definitely lust at first sight, but love? Absolutely not, how the heck can you love someone you don’t know?” She did have a point.

“You’re just a cynic.”

“Just another way of saying realist, Jas.”

Leaving the two women to their conversation, as all the implications were starting to give her a headache, she said her goodbyes and left. As she walked across the parking garage, she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She pulled out her phone and read the text on the screen.

Chimney Han I just realized, you probably know my entire medical history and I know nothing about you. How about we change that over dinner?

Maddie found herself staring at the message. All the implications and possibilities of whatever this thing was between them aside, she knew she liked him, at the very least. She felt excited at the thought of exploring the connection and see where it led.

She typed a quick, “I’d love to,” in response. ---

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

[modestlyabsurd]

An Old Memory (Loki x Reader)

A quaint, modest home nearly a century old with a faint aura of history. Curtains still flowing across windows, pinned back to allow yellow sunlight into the kitchen. Upon looking, one could feel the hustle and bustle of happy company, smell the coffee steeping in the old pot that shouldn't possibly still work, and see a young woman preparing Thanksgiving dinner for her small family. Huddled around the stove, watching her movements as well as the pumpkin pie she mixed, were young and old children alike. The woman let the youngest of the three lick the spoon before shooing them from the heated oven.

He opened his eyes from the distant memory.

Now, the home smelt simply of cleanliness and very light perfume that had not been misted in some time. The stovetop and surrounding countertops had a thin layer of dust upon them. The floors were clean, the air was a medium temperature due to proper cooling of the home. He looked around, walked quietly, into the living room. It left a lingering touch; forgotten, almost. Furniture arranged for plenty of guests (of all ages, by the large chest of toys in the corner) a television, a computer.

All was there, except any life.

He went over to the wall and studied the framed faces hanging proudly. He recognized her in many of them. In one she donned a blue dress, gazing lovingly into a man's eyes. Her hand on his face, their foreheads touching. The man was much larger than her, holding her closely in a field of grass.

The next was her in mid-laughter, hugging a smiling baby to her face. Radiant, alive. The following photographs displayed somewhat of a timeline, as she is pictured with two growing children, one boy and one girl, as well as grandchildren.

He looked into each room, there being only three. Two were empty, used as storage space with boxes stacked in every corner. Before he reached the back bedroom, a key turned in the front door. It opened. He quickly made himself invisible.

A woman entered. She carried market bags, visibly filled with food, and set them heavily on the counter. He nearly mistakes her for her mother, before he can clearly see their small differences.

This girl had swimming blue eyes, light hair, and was of course clothed up to date. But her body language so eerily resembled ... alas. With beads of stress over her face, she emptied the bags, which contained enough prepared meals for days. She then went into a cabinet above her head, pulled down a transparent shallow box, and emptied something from it as well; all in a habitual motion.

"Mama?" She called out, filling a glass with water. "I brought you some lunch!" Her accent was so easily recognized, he no longer questioned the roles here.

The lively woman of roughly twenty or thirty Midgardian years of age bounced past him unknowingly, to the bedroom he had yet to see. He watched from a distance as she knocked on the open door before entering, going to the middle of the room where a bed sat and a person lay motionless.

"Wakey wakey Mama, you don't wanna miss the sunshine."

The ancient lady opened her small, heavy eyes. They looked around the room, before settling on the young lady beside her. "Hey Lillie," she said.

"Hey there!" Lillie smiled down at her aged mother. "It's lunch time, you know that?You asked for something soupy earlier, so I made you some homemade chicken noodle. I hope it's half as good as yours was," said Lillie, showing the bowl of soup. Then, she began to spoon feed her mother's lunch to her.

This, is what finally caused Loki's throat to become hard and dry.

Every spoonful, every bit, every sip of water. For nearly thirty minutes, making mundane conversation in between. He started to wonder where Lillie acquired the strength of heart and mind to complete these grievous tasks. In his own mind, he could never do such things for even those closest to him.

Little by little, Lillie fed her mother until she began eating slower and slower. Eventually, she wouldn't open her mouth to the food. "You full now? Must've liked it, heck, there's hardly any left!" Lillie laughed.

"It was scrump-dilly-umptious. Thank you baby," she responded, taking the cloth laid under her chin and blotting her lips.

Lillie smiled, "You don't have to thank me Mama. I'm just happy to hear it was worth eating. Now we gotta take your medicine, okay?" Lillie took the tablets she'd placed on the bedside table along with the remaining water in her glass. "Alright, I'm gonna put 'em in there, then you swallow 'em with the water, okay? Ready?" And she did.

For another hour the two generations spoke of nature, current Midgardian events and random pieces of life's perspectives. Loki remained invisible to them for the duration, keeping his pained emotions inside until Lillie left.

After that, with caution, he uncloaked himself and stood in the doorway, watching the circle of human life taking its course. This was a cruel curse, he deemed, certainly cast upon the wrong person. She fell in and out of sleep, small sounds escaping her throat occasionally. Loki didn't know how long he had left.

With some uncertainty, he calls out her name.

She opened her eyes, and scanned around the room once more. Her gaze fell upon the strange man clothed in green armor. "Who's there?" her delicate voice asked.

Loki cleared his throat. "Loki," he paused, "of Asgard."

Her brow furrowed, as the name and vocals didn't register. "Loki? I, I don't know a Loki."

He entered slowly, careful with his steps, and careful not to startle the frail woman he once knew quite well. He sat in the chair that Lillie sat in before, by Y/N's bedside. Her confused eyes followed him intently; guarded. He recalled those eyes. Bright, squinting ever so slightly when she smiled or laughed. Now overshadowed by soft, wrinkled skin; the captivating brightness somehow remained in her irises.

Loki gently took her hand from her side, feeling it tremble. "You don't remember me, darling?" a smile ghosted his lips as they locked gazes. "I don't believe my appearance has changed drastically. Yours certainly hasn't either."

"Loki," she paused, trailing off into deep thought. She nodded, "It rings a bell. And I suppose you look a little familiar."

"Think back to when you were eighteen. You once had a dream that you'd left Midg- er, Earth, and ascended into another world. Do you remember that?"

Staring straight ahead - confused, worried, but beginning to recall - she nodded. "Yeah, yeah I do. There was people there, and... and it wasn't much different than Earth. They talked funny, kinda like you are right now."

"Yes," Loki breathed, holding her hand closer to him. "And on the journey back to Earth, the BiFrost began to crumble. Someone caught you before you fell to the abyss. Do you remember?"

"Yeah," she exclaimed as the emotions of this event washed over her once again. "The one everybody told me to be scared of, and I was. I was scared of him from the things I'd heard. He'd apparently killed a whole lot of people, and hurt twice as many. He was some kind of royalty there." She swallowed, "but a fight broke out on the bridge to Earth, and it started to break and I fell. But somebody grabbed my wrists before I was too far. I, I saw him. I screamed for my life, 'cause it was him. The one they'd told me about. Loki, that was his name. After that, I  stayed with him there for a little while longer and got to know him and, and," she trailed off. Her eyes darted back to the dark man beside of her. "It was you!"

Loki laughed and kissed her small knuckles. "Indeed. Though it was not a dream, my darling."

She glanced at her hand, Loki drawing over her protruding veins with his ghostly pale thumbs. To make sure this wasn't a dream either, she raised it, pressed her palm to his cheek. It was cold. Just as it used to be.

Everything began pouring back to Y/N as her medication took effect. She remembered accidentally winding up in another planet, another realm, though she didn't quite remember how she got there. That of course didn't matter at the moment as joy flooded her mind and body upon seeing Loki once again; sixty-something years later.

"Well I'll be. You're just as handsome as I remember you, Loki."

"And you are still the most beautiful, charming, most notably intriguing Midgardian I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

She was at a loss for words, the same effect he used to create upon her.

"I saw your daughter. Beautiful, full of life and strength of character. Like her mother."

"Lillie?" Y/N said, "Oh boy, she's something else. I, I don't know what I did to deserve such amazing kids. Taking all that time to come out here and take care of me every day. My son'll be out here by dinner time. Said he's gonna bring my granddaughter with him."

"You're a grandmother," Loki whispered to himself, in awe. "So many things have happened since our short time together. I think of it quite often now."

"Yeah," Y/N sighed, "I did too. Before my mind started leaving me. You know I'd have married you if the laws of physics allowed it."

Shaking his head, he thought back to those times, his actions. "I wanted nothing more than to marry you, my dear. But, as can be seen now," he laughs shortly, "it was not meant to be that way. You were still given a family, just as you always wanted and very well deserved." Loki looked off into the air, a smile painted on his face. "We used to discuss our futures back then. My wishes proved to be far more complicated than your own. I always wanted authority, or, equality, while you simply wished for happiness."

They locked eyes once again. Y/N could listen to Loki speak for hours on end. It was the few times like this that they shared, that she recalled so fondly after they separated. Him talking about anything and everything, in a proper soft spoken tone, unlike what she grew up around.

"Did your dreams come true, darling?"

"They did. After I came back home, I met my husband. For a while, though, all I could think about was you. How I couldn't be with you and all. I missed you real bad. But then he came along a couple years later. Stocky little blond-headed blue-eyed devil. But not at all like your brother. I think you'd have liked him."

"If I may ask, where is he now?" Loki asked, with the idea that he was treading on thin ice.

"Oh, he's been gone for years now. He was a good decade older than me, I think he was eighty-four? Eighty-five when he died? Died of cancer."

"My apologies."

"Oh, it was time. He was ready, and the family was too. He died a happy man." Loki couldn't help but think of the eighty-one-year-old white haired, fragile woman before him now, laying in her bed with little mobility. He shuddered it away for the moment, until her frail, aged voice interrupted such thoughts. "Did your hopes and dreams come true, Loki? I prayed they would."

Her small grip seemed to tighten a bit upon his hesitation to answer. Quite frankly, no. None of his dreams had come true. He was preparing for the war of his life and didn't see much of a happy ending in sight. But he found a source of sad, awful gratitude, in that his friend likely wouldn't suffer the consequences of said war. Not at this rate.

He refused to let her know the complete truth about this. Much like he'd always done, about everything. "No. Not yet, at least." He licks his lips, "But I was never the luckiest chap."

"Give yourself a break," says Y/N, looking straight into his eyes with the same bright sweetness he recalled so fondly. "You never know what's in store. You might think one thing's gonna happen, and then something totally different happens, but it turns out to be better than what you expected to begin with. Don't you have another thousand years or so left on you?"

Loki smiles sadly. A ray of sunshine pours through the window above Y/N's bed. "I suppose theoretically, yes. Nowadays I'm not so sure what my dreams are any more. To rule? To inherit? To love? To leave something behind besides a bad memory?Whenever I get to thinking about it too much it just ... smudges into a blur in my mind. Like a spilled pot of ink." He remembers exchanging letters with her years ago, after opening a passageway for them to do so. He remembers stopping as well. Allowing her letters to pile up on his desk within his prison cell, untouched. Unloved. Detached. How selfish he'd been to leave her without another word, reasonlessly.

The loosening of fingers around his cold hand jerks him back to reality, where the elderly woman's eyes fall closed and her hold slips away. Panicked, a cold sweat coating his neck, he grabs her wrist to feel for signs of life. A faint but steady pulse beats within her veins. He leans over her to listen for her breath, and it's there, in deep low snores. She's only fallen asleep.

Loki takes this to mean his time to reunite with Y/N has expired. Gently above creaking floorboards, he swallows down a wave of cries and stands; he notices the lines of concern on her forehead and kisses them, before silently bidding her farewell for the last time.

And on his way through the BiFrost back to Asgard, he allows himself to feel. The waves of light sweep away the tears, the whirring of speed muffles the cries. A series of realizations wash over him, but the most important being that something is about to give in the universe - and he's going to be part of it.

When he arrives at the base of the Asgardian palace, guards are lined up along the bridge's barriers. They bow. The gatekeeper Heimdall addresses him.

"Welcome back, Allfather Odin. I take it your journey was pleasant."

"Only as pleasant as a journey to Midgard can be."

~

memoriiiiiaaaaaa

hi hello thanks for reading this sad thing that's been hidden in my notes for years

tag list: @sydneyss-worlddd @afinedilemma @fire-in-her-veinz @belladonnabarnes @drakesfiance @internetgremlin @dragon-chica @sadwaywardkid @tarynkauai @triggeredpossum

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (38) Disobeying

So, I mentioned this on my Tumblr, but I guess some people didn’t see it, and left some pretty rude comments on the last chapter. While the world is in quarantine, that doesn’t mean I have tons of free time. I am working full-time remotely, and even more hours than normal. So don’t demand more of me because ‘I have nothing better to do’. Trust me, I’d love to write more.

For those of you who are always very patient and kind: Thank you, my little angels. I write for you and you only.

Ao3 | FF.net

—

“How are you today, Adrien?” Dr. Boucher asked.

‘Much better!’ Past Adrien would have said, considering he was off the ventilator. But today’s Adrien was much less enthused. He just laid there, staring at the doctor, before flicking his gaze to stare at the wall.

“The good news is, you can drink as much water as you’d like. We’d actually prefer if you drink as much as you can.” The doctor set the styrofoam cup down on the side table.

To Gabriel’s dismay, this also didn’t get a response from the boy. Adrien was listless, hollow, and a dull husk of his old vibrant self.

“So, since we’ve got you off the ventilator, I’m going to check something. We’ll sit you up, and then we’re going to perform a Laryngoscopy on you.”

Adrien at least looked at the doctor at this point.

“It’s a pretty painless procedure. From what I observed from the stream, I believe you may have developed vocal nodules. They’re little calluses that form on the vocal cords and cause the voice to became horse and raspy, as well as neck pain and exhaustion. Though I’m sure you’re exhausted for other reasons too.” He grinned. “So what we’ll do is, we’re going to fish a small camera in your nose down the back of your throat to look at the vocal cords. We’ll keep you awake for it. If you do have vocal nodules, we can perform surgery on them, depending on how big they are. Does that sound okay?”

Adrien didn’t answer. They were going to do whatever to him anyway, why would he have to consent to anything?

“Let’s just take a look first and see what we can do.”

Adrien really was a model patient. He did exactly as he was told during the exam, and even made some noise to move his vocal cords.

“Yep,” said the doctor. “He’s got a pair of matching ones. Big. These will have to be removed before he’s able to talk normally again.”

“Is that why he’s not talking now?”

“Could be. They are painful. But it can also be a psychological problem. Only Adrien has the answer. I’m sure he’ll communicate eventually, though patience is the best medicine for him right now.”

Adrien rolled his eyes at the conversation. Gabriel was never known for his patience before, especially when it came to him. Why would he start now?

Dr. Boucher fished the endoscope out, and let Adrien relax. “Great job, Adrien. That didn’t hurt too bad, did it?”

He shook his head.

“That’s a good boy.” He rubbed his hair.

The rest of the day passed slowly and in boredom. There was no TV in his room, and Gabriel hadn’t let him have a phone or tablet to look online. So he spent his time passing in and out of restless sleep.

The clock on the wall showed it to be around seven when Gabriel stood and stretched. “Son,” he stated, waking him a little more. “I’m going to go home tonight. I’m really happy with the progress you’re making, and I’m confident enough I can leave you in the doctors care until I return in the morning.”

He could have just left. Either way, Adrien didn’t really care.

Gabriel held the ring up in front of him, pinching it between his fingers. “Now, I’m going to leave this with you. Because it rightfully belongs to you. But you have to promise me you won’t use it.”

Adrien reached for it.

But Gabriel pulled it away. “Promise me.”

With a sigh, Adrien nodded, and held out his hand patiently.

Considering it good enough, Gabriel dropped the ring back into his hand.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Plagg stretched from where he had been sleeping on Adrien’s stomach. “It’s good to be back where I belong!”

“You can feel through the ring?” Gabriel asked, astonished.

“It’s a spiritual thing,” the cat drawled, nuzzling against Adrien’s hand. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “No, I suppose not. Adrien, I’ll bring you some pajamas in the morning so you can change out of the gown.”

Adrien didn’t bother responding. Instead, he slid the ring on his finger, watching as it shrank to adapt to the weight loss.

He hadn’t noticed how naked he felt without the ring on. But having it back felt like a piece of him was falling back into place.

Just right.

Gently, he rubbed his thumb over the band and just savored the feeling of having control back in his hands. He closed his eyes, and just reveled.

Plagg watched this with concern and a touch of curiosity as the hours passed. Adrien’s eyes twitched, and his brow creased in concentration. He remained this way long after the nurse came and turned off the light to sleep.

He wasn’t just admiring the feeling of the ring, he was thinking.

But the moment Plagg realized what he was thinking about, by then it was too late.

“Kid, you prom—!” Was all he could say before being sucked into the ring.

Like a drug addict finally getting a fix after being sober for days on end, the power rushed over Adrien and filled him with strength and adrenaline. The pain waned, and his focus sharped razor sharp. All his cords and tubes became disconnected and alarms started blaring.

He flung the sheets off of him, and rolled onto the floor, lacking the finesse to slide and stand. The police standing guard were already coming in the room, begging him to drop his transformation.

But Chat Noir refused, withdrawing his baton from behind his back. He let the staff do the work, extending it to hit one man in the balls, and the other in the jaw. Then, with a little work, he was up on his feet and staggering passed the guards.

Though gifted with superhuman strength, his body wasn’t used to moving. He shuffled and wobbled down the hall, frustrated with his own body for not working properly.

“Chat Noir?” A nurse asked in horror.

He hissed at her.

“Chat Noir!” She shrieked. “Wait!” Then she bit her tongue as she remembered training. She held her hands out at her sides, palm up. “Hey, it’s okay. Relax. What do you need? What can I do to help you?”

He shrieked at her, his voice cracking painfully.

“My name is Sam, okay Adrien?” She took a careful step forward as several staff members approached quietly from behind, intent on subduing him. “Do you want to see Ladybug? We can make that happen, okay? Let’s just get you a wheelchair, and you can transform—“

He shook his head violently. He was done waiting. ‘Oh you’ll see her soon’ they said ‘just wait a little longer’ they said. Well, he waited. And no one was letting him see her. He was sick of it. He extended the baton to knock her in the stomach.

“Move!” Someone shouted from behind, before a pair of arms hooked under his arms and pulled backwards. He was pulled off balance, but managed to stomp the person’s toes to let him go.

“Someone prepare 2 mg of lorazepam, we’re going to need to administer it the second we subdue him!”

But Chat wasn’t about to let that happen. He broke into a run, the best he could, and took off down the hall.

He had no idea where he was going, but looked into every room he passed, catching the attention of a lot of staff members.

It became a hospital wide game of tag.

Chat really didn’t want to hurt anyone, but if they were standing in his way, he was using force. At one point, he had gotten pinned by two robust men while a female nurse prepared to administer the sedative. He thrashed wildly, getting one arm free to scratch the woman in the face. One of the men attempted to recover the dropped syringe, only to loosen his hold on Chat, who then wriggled himself free and threw the other man off of him.

“Someone get John! He plays flag football on the weekends!”

“John’s off today!”

“Son of a bitch!”

As the chase went on, Chat grew more and more frantic and feral. He hissed at patients and staff alike, his eyes darting out and around, trying desperately to find a clue to his lady.

Then a little mousey nurse stood in front of him at the end of the hall. She looked shocked to see him barreling towards her, and froze like a deer in the headlights.

If Chat had to run her over, so be it. He wasn’t stopping.

Coming out of her shock, the little nurse held up her hands and shouted at him. “Third floor, room 308!”

As he came upon her, he grasped her by the shoulders and spun her out of the way, unharmed.

Just beyond her were the elevators, and he sprinted in one as the door was closing.

Inside, there was already a passenger, an old man with a bouquet of flowers. “Would you mind hitting the button for the fifth floor? My eyes aren’t what they used to be.”

As Chat heaved a breath from his sprint, he looked curiously at the man, and then hit the button as the man asked, as well as his own.

At the third floor, he was off in a sprint again. Counting down the room numbers until he reached the end of the hall. The police officers standing guard should have been a clear sign.

“Chat Noir, we can’t let you in.” One said firmly.

He hissed in response.

“Did you say Chat Noir?” Marinette’s sweet voice called from inside the room.

His ears dropped and his eyes dilated. Chat trembled and walked forward, ignoring the protests of the officers. Vaguely, he heard Tom talking to them, reasoning with them to leave him be.

But none of that mattered now, because she was here. His lady.

Like seeing the sun finally rise, or taking the first breath of clean air, Chat felt goosebumps settle down his spine as his body relaxed. A hand settled on his back to keep him steady, but his legs still wobbled.

She was so beautiful. Unbathed, bruised, and crusty, but still so beautiful. Those bluebell eyes that remained unchanged, and bored into him with a passion. It set the tips of his fingers tingling with the ache to have her, to touch her.

It was only a second as Marinette digested what she was seeing as real, before she flung her sheets off and hurried to him.

Her steps were weak and wobbly, and she almost fell. But she reached him, just as he started to slide to the floor. Her arms hooked under his and they dropped to the ground.

“Kitty…” she breathed.

In a voice so quiet it was barely audible, Adrien released his transformation. Once the strength was gone, he hissed in pain, and curled closer to her.

“Rebuke him,” Plagg huffed. “He promised he wouldn’t transform, and the second he was clear, he went ahead and did it.”

Marinette raised a hand to his head and brushed back his bangs back to kiss him. “My sweet, reckless kitty.”

He closed his eyes, exhausted from his excursion. But now he could rest, because he was with her.  

Marinette leaned her forehead against his, soaking in his warmth. Oh how she missed him. His touch filled her soul with a quiet calmness she hadn’t felt since that final night in the catacombs. Back then, she was holding him as he was dying, but now?

Now he was living. And it felt so right.

There was a clamor at the door as several staff members finally caught up to him.

“He just wants to be with Marinette,” Tom explained. “We can’t separate them.”

“Did someone tell Dr. Boucher Adrien escaped?”

“He went home for the night, but I’ll call him.”

Now that no one was trying to tackle him and tranquilize him, Adrien actually allowed a smile to grace his face.

“That can’t be comfortable down there,” said Tom, knelling. “Let’s get you kiddos on the bed, hm?”

Adrien didn’t fight the man. He was right, it was extremely uncomfortable on the floor.

Tom and another nurse helped them stand, and then sit on the bed, only for Adrien to lean on Marinette. In turn, she raked her nails over his scalp, eliciting a purr from his chest.

The doctor who had left to make the call to Dr. Boucher returned. “Dr. Boucher will be back in a little bit. But he said it’s best if we move Adrien’s bed up here.”

“Is he stable enough for that?”

“Doesn’t matter if he’s going to run away every chance he gets. Dr.  Boucher says it’ll be alright since he’s off of a ventilator now. He and Marinette have a team assigned to them specifically anyways.” The doctor came to Adrien and touched his knee. “Alright, you got what you wanted. You get to stay with Ladybug. But please, on behalf of the staff here, Don’t. Do that. Again.”

He rolled his eyes, but understood.

“Seriously Mr. Agreste,” The doctor continued. “Protocol demands that if patients show excessive violence towards staff, we are to put them in seclusion. I don’t want to do that to you. Especially after everything you’ve been through. So this is the only warning I’m giving you.”

Oh, seclusion didn’t sound fun. So he nodded in agreement.

“Good. I have to get back to my patients, but your team will be bringing the bed and equipment up soon. Please try not to move.” He sighed, and left the room.

Tom rubbed Adrien’s head. “You crazy kid.” There was no rebuking, no scolding or judgement, though he deserved it. Tom just didn’t see the point in it.

Before too long, a pair of nurses moved his bed into the room, moving Marinette over to make room. Then they moved Adrien into bed. “Don’t get too comfortable,” said one. “Dr. Boucher is going to need to examine you, and you’ll probably have your drains and catheter replaced.”

Adrien grunted in protest.

They had him lean on his side to check his stitches all the way down his back to his calves. “Despite your little stunt, your sutures look to be in good shape. I don’t see any pulls or tears.”

Finally, Dr. Boucher arrived, dressed in casual clothes. “Adrien, you teleported!”

Adrien hunched his shoulders slightly in shame.

“Dr. Kranken told me he gave you a thorough scolding, so I’ll skip that part. Instead, I’ll just check your wounds and make sure you didn’t add any time to your recovery.”

“His stitches look good,” said a nurse.

“Good, good. That’s the thing we are most concerned about.” He studied the labyrinth of stitches that made up Adrien’s back, prodding and poking as he went. “Sorry, I know this is so uncomfortable. But loose stitches can mean infection and infection with a skin graft like this can lead to necrosis or MRSA.”

“What’s that?” Asked Marinette.

“Necrosis is dead flesh. When the graft has poor blood supply, the skin will turn black and fall off. MRSA is a flesh eating bacteria, which can then lead to necrosis. So it’s very very important that you both follow our instructions.” Then he said a little quieter. “And stop freaking transforming into superheroes.”

Okay, the threat of turning into a zombie with flesh eating bacteria was a little more persuading than just “it’s not good for you.”

“Let’s see here...when you transformed, you forced your drains out, so that has to all be redone. And...” he held his arm out, inspecting the inside of his elbow. “And removing the IV the way you did blew out the vein. So we’ll have to wait until it heals before we can insert another one in this arm.” He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and a little in exhaustion. “Alright, we’re going to get you settled in here. Please promise me you’re not going to pull anymore stunts, huh? At least not tonight. My wife and son had to pause the movie.”

Adrien looked over to Marinette meaningfully, and then back to the doctor.

“I’ll make sure everyone knows not to move you from this room.” Then he looked at Marinette. “How are you feeling, darling? Anything new? Any symptoms that we talked about?”

“I have another headache. It’s not that bad though.”

“The nurse gave her some ibuprofen at 6:00.” Sabine added.

Dr. Boucher checked his watch. “I’ll let them know you can have some more in an hour. Think you can last that long?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Good,” he breathed. “Then Adrien, let’s get you some tubes.”

Adrien growled.

—

In the morning, Gabriel Agreste arrived at the hospital with a duffel bag over his arm. As he went on his way to ICU, he was stopped by a receptionist.

“Oh, Mr. Agreste?”

He halted, “yes?”

“Adrien was moved to Marinette’s room last night.”

“Last night? I thought he was still a few days away from being moved?”

“He was, but there was...an incident last night.”

Gabriel heaved a disappointed sigh, knowing exactly what happened. “Thank you,” he muttered out as he passed.

Upstairs, Gabriel stormed into the room, to find his son half awake, and looking at Marinette.

Then his gaze shifted to his father.

He had the gaul to look sheepish.

“I’m disappointed in you.” Gabriel shook his head. “You promised me.”

Adrien looked away, towards Marinette. Perhaps for reassurance.

“How am I suppose to trust you, if the first thing you do is disobey me?”

“Gabriel,” Sabine snapped. “He’s already been chastised. He knows what he did was wrong.”

“Does he? Does he know that he was being selfish and stupid?”

“You can’t get mad at him for being irrational.” Sabine stated, calm as she could.

“Irrational? My son doesn’t do irrational! Dramatic, yes. Emotional, yes. But not irrational. He knows better. And he knows how his behavior reflects on me.”

Sabine balled up a fist. “Have you ever seen Bambi?”

“What? What does that have to do with this?”

“Have you seen it?” Her voice took an edge.

“Yes?”

“Do you remember the little bunny? Thumper?”

“What about him?”

“He has this line: ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.’”

He huffed. “Excuse me? Are you trying to use the philosophy of a child’s movie on me?”

“If you insist on acting like a child, then yes. I will.”

Adrien and Marinette watched with concern as the argument escalated, the insults being tossed back and forth like a volley at a tennis match.

“Childish? Trying to raise my child is childish?! Sabine, he’s dangerous! To himself and other people!”

“That’s a real joke coming from you.”

“As if I had anything to do with this!”

“Keep running your mouth, and I’ll tell them what you did!” Her voice escalated. “And trust!? Really?! You can’t trust him, but you expect him to trust you!?”

He sneered at her. “Sabine, I didn’t say a word when your child recklessly transformed. I’m not trying to tell you how to raise your child, so don’t try to tell me how to raise mine!”

Tom stood from where he was sitting. Not a man to be prone to a temper unless it had to do with his daughter, he had let his wife duke it out with Gabriel. But this left him alone to notice the first of the tears.

He hurried over to Adrien, and very carefully embraced him into a hug.

“What are you doing?! Don’t touch him!”

Tom ignored him and petted the top of Adrien’s head. “Hey son, it’s okay. It’s okay, he’s just scared. It’s okay.”

Son.

Adrien relaxed into Tom’s hold, feeling safe and secure.

“Don’t coddle him! This behavior is appalling!”

“That’s enough.” Plagg’s voice boomed, shaking the room with a slight tremor. Everyone went silent as the kwami approached Gabriel. “You took five steps forward and six steps back, you low life.”

“Now you’re going to lecture me too?”

“No, Gabriel. I don’t lecture. I threaten. I will constantly give you second chances, only for Adrien’s benefit. But if you keep treating him like this, getting rid of you will be to his benefit. Do I make myself clear?”

Gabriel breathed slowly. “I understand.”

“Gabriel,” Sabine spoke firmly, but more gentle than she just had. “Don’t you remember what Dr. Boucher said? We won’t recognize our children. Maybe irrational is what Adrien is now. You need to learn that, and accept it. The sooner you do, the sooner that will stop.”

“Salo talked to him like that,” Marinette spoke. Her hands fisted the blankets. “She belittled us. Told us we were a disappointment. That we were wrong. We were bad.”

She swallowed harshly, tears pricking at her eyes. “If…if the first decisions we were able to make for ourselves were bad…maybe she was right.”

“Oh honey no…” Sabine breathed.

“Gabriel, you shit-stain, you tell them right this instant that didn’t mean it!” Plagg yowled.

Gabriel shook his head and came to stand between the two beds. He reached out both hands to touch them. “I’m sorry.”

Plagg was kind of speechless. He didn’t think that would actually work.

“I gave Adrien his ring back. I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the temptation…I’m more disappointed in myself for being optimistic.”

Marinette snapped her hand away from him. “Only you could make an apology sound so condescending.”

He pinched his nose. “You know what? I think I’m just going to leave. I’ll listen to that rabbit and keep my mouth shut. Apparently, I’m the bad guy here.”

“You are.” Sabine reminded. “So get it together.”

Gabriel dropped the duffle bag onto a chair and left, taking the coldness of the room with him.    

[nelly-boo]

Flower Shop AU

Rocky x female reader

Genre: Fluff

Warning: None

It has finally came - a few days off of school / work. There has been a lot of responsibilities, stress and headaches going on in your life, so it was nice for a change not having to worry about those things. It was a nice day of already late spring. The sky had its clear blue color, with a little clouds here and there. A quiet noon where all you could heard was a birdsong, melodical and relaxing. So you decided to take a little walk around the town, with consideration that all you have been doing for the past couple of weeks was your school / work thing, sleeping and eating. You put your shoes on, locked the door and exited out of the building, while heading to an unknown direction.

You liked spring. Yes, it does have its negative sides such as pollen, allergies, all kinds of insects, etc. But it still has its pretties. You looked around while taking in all of your surroundings. The biggest part of nature has already been born. Threes, flowers, grass, leaves.. Everything has got its pretty colors, shapes, smells.. You had earphones in your ears while listening to melodies that you like. But you couldn't resist to hear the melodies that mother nature was making. So you took off your earphones while letting the relaxing sounds to caress your ears. You were now walking past the river. The yellow rays of Sun melted onto your skin, giving it a shine color. The wind lazily was dancing between the locks of your hair, messing it a little. The sounds of river were so relaxing and nice that you couldn't help yourself, but to sit by it and to observe its pretties and uniqueness.

The recently scytheed grass looked like it called you to lay on it and to just relax. You lied down and all of a sudden all spring smells hitted your nostrils, that you couldn't help but to smile to yourself. You stayed there for about a half an hour, and when you felt yourself falling asleep, you right away got up and start moving. The sky now was changing its colors, which meant that it was time for you to go home. You looked at your phone to check the time, and it confirmed that it indeed had passed quiet some time since you left from your home.

You put back your earphones and headed to already known direction. At your way there, you came across one cute little flower shop. Maybe I should buy something nice to myself such as a flower or two, just for a change, you thought to yourself. You opened the shop door and as you stepped into, a bell above your head made it known that someone walked into the shop, and that someone now being you. The flowers were everywhere. On the floor, shelves, walls, ceilling...

"Hello, how can I help you today?" You followed the way the sound came from, and you were greeted by a cute, smiley boy, who expected your answer.

"Um, hi.", you shyly smiled back. "I came for a flower?", you weren't sure how you should answer him what you wanted. "Well yes, apparently we have a lot of those here as you can see.", he tried to joke a little. "Which one would you like?

You weren't sure, so you looked around a little and your eyes fell onto one beautiful flower at the back of the shop. "I think I like that one." You pointed your finger at the flower with a little smile.

He looked toward the direction you were pointing and nodes his head. "Hibiscus", he smiled. "Do you know what those mean?", he asked expecting that you don't know the answer so he can give it to you. "I don't actually. What meaning does it holds?" You were curious. "Do you want only one flower or more?", he asked without answering your question. "One will do", you smiled. He gave you the flower and smiled "The meaning of this flower is rare and delicate beauty. I can see why you choose those." He said with a wink. Did he just indirectly say that you are beautiful? You weren't sure. But you for sure could feel the blush creeping on your cheeks.

You smelled the pretty flower while trying to hide your flustered face. And suddenly the atmosphere in the room started to change. Everything started to get blurry, you felt dizzy, you suddenly couldn't breath properly, the room started to rotate and those are the last things that you remember before you passed out.

Half an hour later

You started to get conscious. You slowly opened your eyes and you felt a pain at the back of your head. You weren't feeling very well. As your vision got better the first thing you saw was a worried face of the flower boy beside you. "Oh my God you're awake! I got so worried I didn't know what to do-", the poor boy started to speak in panic but you were more interested in other thing, so you had to ask. "Am I in heaven? Are you an angel?", you blurted out. The sign of relieve that you're fine broke onto his face, not late after that following the most beautiful cheeky smile you have ever seen. His big dark brown eyes bored into yours. "No, I am not. But I'm relieved that you're fine.", he laughed. "You're not?", you asked, now already disappointed with that fact.

"But you saved me and you're so pretty, and your smile too, that you cannot be just an average human being, but an angel." It was extremely stupid of you, but it had to be said. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. His laugh was so beautiful like the rest of him. "Why, thank you", he cheekily said. You tried to get up slowly,but got a little dizzy so he helped you. "Whoa, whoa, easy there. Slowly, I'll help you." He leaned to wrap his arm around your shoulder and with the other the took your left hand to help you up. As you were now sitting, you observed your surroundings. "Are we still in the shop? What happened?", you weakly asked. "Yes, we are. We're in the room at the back of the shop where staff come here to have a drink or take a rest. I got so panicked I didn't know what to do and forgot to call 911 or someone else for help, so I just sat beside you and prayed to God for you to wake up."

“And to answer your other question, I think you had allergic attack. I think you're allergic to hibiscus, that why you passed out as soon as you felt the smell of it.", he explained. "Does you head hurts?", he asked concerned, slowly stroking your hair. "It does actually."

"I hope it's not too bad. It's because of the fall and I wasn't prepared for it so I couldn't make it on time to catch you before you fell. Wait here, I'll bring you some pain killers." With that he got up and headed to the other part of the room. He opened one of the shelves at the nearest.. something like night stand?? With a glass of water.

"Here.", he handed you the glass and tablets. "Thank you...?", you wanted to thank him but you realised that you don't even know his name. He seemed to understand what you meant so he introduced himself. "Oh my God I'm so sorry. How inappropriate of me." He shakes your hand. "Moonbyul. Park Minhyuk." He smiled brightly. "But my friends call me Rocky."

"Minhyuk.", you said, likening the way his name sounded from your mouth. "Well, thank you Minhyuk. My name's Y/N." You drank your medicine and tried to slowly get up. "Where are you going?", confused Rocky asked. "Home?" It was more like a question than an answer. "But isn't it better if you stay here for a while? You still haven't recovered. That fall was kinda bad.", he pointed out. "I think I'll survive.", you giggled. "I had to be home long ago, anyway." He noded his head in understandment. "Well, let me at least get you a taxi, so I don't have to be worried if you get home safe.

"Your taxi was waiting outside the flower shop, so you made your way to the exit door slightly leaning onto Rocky for a support. You sat into the taxi seat and he told you to stay right there. You apologised to the driver, asking him for a little patience while you guys were waiting. Not a few minutes after that Rocky came out to the taxi with a beautiful smile and shiny eyes and a bouquet with a mixture of flowers. "Here.", he handed you flowers. "Thank you.", you smiled shyly. "But what for?" "No reason. I just wanted to give a beautiful flowers to a beautiful girl. And no more hibiscus for you!" He pointed his index finger at you with the other hand on his hips. Now he gave you a compliment directly and you didn't know how to react. He handed the cash to a driver and spoke to you avoiding your eyes a little. "Um, I hope I'll see you around. Bye." With that he left.

The driver started to drive at the direction of your building, and you couldn't help but smile at the memorise of that day and because of the beautiful smells that filled the car. You lowered your head to smell the flowers and your eyes caught a little card between the flowers. You took it between your fingers and read what had been written.

"Hibiscus has meaning of rare and delicate beauty, but I couldn't have give you that again. So I decided to give you a mixture of flowers with different meanings. I know you don't understand the language of flowers, but I hope you'll understand the meaning of thornless roses and variegated tulipses."

P.S. "My number's at the back of the card, I hope you'll call me ;)"

*Thornless roses - Love at first sight

*Variegated tulips - Beautiful eyes

P.S. Because I couldn’t find a flower that represents having a crush on someone, I used ‘love at first sight”. I know that it’s lame and shit, but deal with it lol. Xoxo

[milatherese]

Update No. 5 (*cue Mambo No. 5*) – 90 Days, School, Discernment (just a lil bit)

Note #1: This update is long. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Note #2: If you don’t know Mambo No. 5, you need to listen to it (even though the lyrics may be morally wrong, it is quite catchy).

“How was the 90 day journey of a tiny bit of asceticism?” you ask. (nobody cares but I’m pretending you do haha)

That’s a question I still ask myself several days later. 90 days is a lot to process. Therefore, I have included my short answer to this question here: – It was a bit hard in the beginning but got easier as the days went by – I especially enjoyed the no social media / limited communication – I hated cold showers, actually gave it up by the end of the first month or so because it did more harm than good (imo)

The beginning was a little rough, but about as good as sacrifice gets. (you can read my thoughts on that here, here, and here) About a month in, I couldn’t cope, at least physically. I ended up just doing what I felt I was strong enough to do.

January was a little rough. Ever since school started, I had headaches every day (including non-school days). (If you’re wondering why I never shared this with you and why I hid my pain, it was because I didn’t want you to worry.)

At first the headaches were tolerable. I could get through a 12-hour day with minimal pain. They got increasingly worse. I began taking Tylenol according to the recommended dosage (1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours). I didn’t take Tylenol every other day (I try to avoid medicine, if possible) but I eventually “graduated” to taking the extra strength Tylenol, also according to the recommended dosage. Eventually, the headaches began to impact my studying. I had limited time to study (I had to time my studying during the lesser painful waves of my headaches). I was so worried for one class that I spent all my time studying for that one class during lecture of another difficult class (I figured I could bring up my grade in the second class later). Despite my high of level of unpreparedness, I was looking forward to taking the exams for both classes. I thought my headaches were the result of stressing over those two classes. Unfortunately, taking the exams for those classes didn’t end the headaches. In fact, they may have increased the pain.

My headaches soon became unbearable. I couldn’t hide the pain any longer. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t eat out of fear that I would only make the pain worse. I was in tears from the pain. Massaging my head and using an ice pack didn’t reduce the pain. I wanted to rip my head off to get rid of the pain once and for all.

At this time, I decided it was time to begin thinking about seeing the doctor about this. (Yes, I should have already gone to the doctor but my pain isn’t really a concern to me.) I decided that I would go to the doctor if the headaches persist for another week.

The pain was at its absolute worst one Saturday. I had to call in sick for work (we had an event – which I was really looking forward to, btw). I spent the day crying from the pain (at this point, my body wasn’t really responding to Tylenol). Finally, the physical pain began to affect my mental health. I was trying to figure out the root cause of the pain. I began questioning all my decisions – transferring high schools, transferring universities, not applying to a certain community, leaving relationships, etc. I was wondering if this was some sort of a punishment for making the “wrong” decision (which I later learned is no such thing, more on this another day). I felt so lost and alone. I was wondering if this was a taste of what Mother St. Teresa described as a “long dark night.” (I referenced this before in my last update but I just can’t get her long dark night out of my head.) I eventually cried myself to sleep and slept the rest of the day until 2am the next day.

When I woke, I noticed the pain had disappeared and, with it, the emotional rollercoaster I was going through earlier. I was able to get some rest from the physical and emotional pain and my mind was finally functioning as it normally would – quiet and able to think logically. It was clear that my pain was not for torment but for me to focus on something more important than the pain itself. I decided to pray the Rosary for it had been several weeks since I had been able to pray the Rosary without distractions (I would either fall asleep or be distracted by the headache or my studies). I prayed God would help me discern what He wanted me to tend to. I felt that I should prayerfully consider my career path now that I was away from outside influences.

I began reflecting on my semester thus far. There was one day that my mom visited campus and overheard some girls complimenting and encouraging each other. She told me, “I want you to be in whatever major they’re in. They seem happy. You don’t.” At the time, I was too stubborn to see that my happiness was just a mask I put on to “be strong.” I remembered writing pre-labs and post-labs but barely understanding the material, only understanding the grammar necessary to produce acceptable scholarly work. I recalled being so stressed that I was rude to the whole world (except for work) to the point that my mom exclaimed, “Who are you? You’re not human anymore!”  She was right – I wasn’t myself.  That woke me up. I thought, “What good is my major if it only brings out the worst in me?” In prayer, felt called to pursue another career instead of MD/DO. I still don’t know what career exactly, but I’m trusting that my time studying and preparing for MD/DO will help me in my calling.

That Sunday, I informed my parents and one trusted relative of my decision to change majors and they were overjoyed. (My uncle seemed to have already known in the beginning that I would leave the MD/DO path, but wanted me to come to that decision myself.)

So, I changed majors back to Allied Health, B.S.

I met with my academic advisor (not the one who screwed me over, for any of those who know the story) and we came up with a school plan. Estimated graduation date was Fall 2021.

I dealt with this change as best I could and things were on the up and up…until it wasn’t.

Early February, I learned that a close priest friend had passed away, just 3 days shy of his birthday. I had been looking forward to his birthday (not that I would be with celebrating with him, just happy he would be celebrating another year) so hearing the news was devastating. He was like an uncle to me. To quote what I said at a memorial, he was “a great friend, a big brother, a father figure, a very holy man, a man for others.” (There’s so much I can say on him but I’ll leave that for another post) The first day, I seemed okay. Minimal feelings of sadness. It hadn’t hit me yet. It hit me the very next day. And it hit hard and long. I was crying everywhere I went whenever I was away from family and friends. Some days were harder than others (my supervisor sent me home early to give me time to grieve). I was going through so many emotions. I was frustrated that I was taking so long to grieve (I later learned that grief has no time limit) and annoyed that I did not feel comfortable talking to my family or friends about it. I had faced loss before (when Bro. Morgan passed away), but never anything as devastating as this. I did not know how to cope with grief. I struggled to stay focused during class (actually broke down in tears at least during one class each day) and to finish my work (skipped out on a staff meeting due to waterworks). I cancelled a couple meetings and called in sick to group therapy twice. I distanced myself from the world and those who love[d] me. Unfortunately, all this affected my studies once again. Despite my lighter load, I could not concentrate. I did not think of sharing all this with my professors as I felt like they wouldn’t understand (or maybe I was just being stubborn again?)

It came time for RECongress and I held it together (somewhat…more on that on another post). It was that Friday that I was able to study without getting distracted by grief. I had an exam the following Monday. But one day of studying 3+ weeks of material was not enough to pass the exam. So there went that.

February went by with each day bleeding into the next. Each day was a blur until one blessed night.

My brother had arrived home late from school one day and as he was pulling into our driveway (why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways) a beautiful dog approached him. I won’t go into details but the dog is now ours and has been the biggest blessing this semester, especially in helping our family cope with grief. We believe (as do others) that Father Suarez sent her to us.

Come March and April, things were finally on the up and up again. I was studying every day and keeping up with work. But then quarantine hit and things went downhill yet again. I did become more active on this blog since March 16th but inside I was deteriorating. However, it wasn’t as detrimental as January and February. Let’s just say that I learned the house is not conducive to studying, I may need a new prescription for glasses, and we need to find better internet (or move to a place with better cell signal). I failed a final due to failed internet connection (thanks be to God I got another shot at it). I took my two other finals in the car in the parking lot in front of Starbucks.

Quarantine has been the best and the worst for me. I realized that spiritually, I was thirsty. Thirsty for God. I live-streamed Mass and adoration daily and at odd hours, even doing homework and studying “with God.” The more things I had to do, the more I felt the need to “hang” with God (which, in retrospect, may have been a bad decision because I ended up procrastinating and losing a lot of sleep). I learned to value receiving the sacraments in-person now. I’m more aware of when I sin or am near sin. It has also reignited the flame of faith. I’ve been doing a lot more spiritual reading, especially now that APU semester is over (still have one class at a JC).

Despite this, discernment got a bit murky. I began questioning my vocation and doing a lot more “reality checks” (and a lot more second-guessing). Frankly, I don’t think I would survive living in a community of all women since all my close friends are men. (Or is that an excuse I am making for myself?) I don’t think I would make a great mother either so perhaps I’m meant to be single? (Or am I just a harsh critic of myself and I would actually be a great mother?) I had not really spoken to my spiritual director in months (transportation and schedule issues, both on my part).

A priest I met at RECongress learned I was discerning religious life (if you didn’t know this, I hope this isn’t a surprise) and asked me to email him as soon as possible in case I need guidance. I didn’t email him until April 1st so that may have contributed to my overthinking. He replied a couple weeks later (and I replied a couple days after that and am still awaiting a response). I asked God for “another sign, for some clarity” and He gave me another. However, everything still looks murky to me. I feel both consolation and desolation at the same time. I might be facing another identity crisis like last semester. Aye.

Ok this is way longer than I had planned so I’m just gonna stop right here.

If you read this far, thank you for reading. If you relate to anything I shared, I hope you know that you’re not alone and that if you ever need anything (even if it’s just a listening ear), I’ll do my best to help. Just ask. (And if you need something but I haven’t replied in a long time, just reach out again. I forget to reply to messages quite often.)

[alfredosauce50]

Who’s the bad guy? (2p + 1p America x reader) 17

Wordcount: 3,330 The reader is referred to as she/her

Following the introduction of the items for auction, people settled down to be served lunch. Guests and staff present at the event called this lunch, but to the uninvited few, it was dubbed the first phase of their plan. The moment the drawn curtains were closed again, the woman on stage strut past the many treasures to the presenter who just joined her on the elevated platform hidden by waterfalls of fabric. From the surface, she was either an unfortunate girl taken against her will for her body to be exploited or a brain-dead prostitute desperate for quick dough. That was what the presenter thought at least when he laid eyes on her cleavage. And for judging a book by its cover and perhaps staring at her breasts, he grew too distracted to even notice the woman throw her arm back. He only glanced up when he caught a fast blur of movement in his peripherals, but before his brain even came to acknowledge the little pickle he caught himself in, a fist collided with his temple to knock him out cold. Letting out a grunt, black engulfed his vision and he felt pain explode in his head similar to being bludgeoned, but luckily for him, he only felt it for a second. He fell onto the ground in a heavy thump, and when he did, the woman ground her heel in his back. 

She glowered down at the motionless body and continued to dig into his skin with her shoe. "That's what you get for staring!" The man in the tuxedo stood in the grand hall and continued to dart his eyes all around the curtains as if he could see what was behind them. The fabric was still flowing around after being closed, but he was not focusing on its movement. Instead, he had his interest piqued on the bottoms of a pair of heels click-clacking around the stage. If you narrowed your eyes to squint at where the pair of feet were, you would be able to see the dark gray fabric of somebody's jacket meet the ground. "Best in her field, you say?" He breathed into his earpiece with wide eyes. The jacket was then dragged away off stage. "Can't argue with that." "Yep! She always gets the job done." Flavio piped in his ear. "You don't need to worry about the staff working backstage, Happy. She's got it under cover." Said man nodded. "Yeah, I think she does." A deafening crackling sound was heard and he cringed at that. That signaled the entrance of another one of their confidants, so he prepared himself to hear what they had to say. "She's doing her bit, Happy. Now you go do yours!" A gruff voice hissed at him. A bead of sweat formed around his temple at the reminder and he glanced around frantically. That was right. He was so distracted by Elizabeta's skills he let his purpose fly right past his head. "Right, right. Gotcha. I'm going to the kitchen now." The man responded, beginning his trip to the location as mentioned. As he power-walked through the long, winding halls, that same confidant added something else. "Lunch has already begun so the butlers are gonna come out any second! You better get those stubby legs of yours pumping!" "Hey! No need to call me names!" He complained, his volume lowering into a whisper towards the end of his statement. Nearly walking past the very destination he needed to get to, he took a few steps back before peering inside. On the receiving end, a maroon-haired figure kept his muscles tense as he listened in on what the pathetic security guard needed to say. Even with this minor inconvenience that posed little influence to the outcome of their plan, his heart was hammering without signs of slowing down. As he felt the little thumps reach the very tips of his fingers, his breathing grew shallow. "Don't make me go in there, Happy!" He growled. Even with his tanned complexion, blood was draining from his face to render him extremely pale thanks to the drop in oxygen flowing through his veins. Never had he remembered being this anxious before. Nothing but worry plagued his mind like a dark cloud. If this plan were to fail, his will to go on would disappear along with you. So this plan can't fail. He was going to make sure of it. Even so, he could not get rid of these thoughts and continued to breathe quickly, unevenly. If it were not for the hand slapping onto his shoulder to snap him out of a potential panic attack, he would have passed out. Glancing up with round eyes swirling with pure fear, he found himself staring at the softened expression of his partner. "Allen. It's going to be alright. Everything's going smoothly. Just take a deep breath and calm down." He spoke gently. It did not look like it at the moment, but he was shocked and perhaps even awestruck at the emotion the other was expressing. Allen always gave him the impression that he was not to be messed with and had nothing to lose. He was fearless. He even kept his head up high in the presence of the police despite being a wanted criminal. But here he was, shaking in his chair with glassy eyes. Whoever you were, it was clear as day you were the world to him. The blonde let out a small sigh as the other just crumbled in front of him. Allen just buried his face in his hands in silence. "Trust us. We've got eyes and ears everywhere and the most professional agents in the state working with us. We won't let you down." Regardless, Allen could not calm the thundering in his chest. Sure, the police lent a helping hand, but that did not mean it was a guarantee for success. What more was that Allen was let down by them a few too many times to trust them, and he never liked them to begin with. A memory suddenly struck him like a spear. And it just so happened to be the voice of his cousin, screaming at him after he told him to stay out of business he did not want him involved with. "What the hell? I’m not just going to ‘lay off’! (F/N)’s my friend and she needs a hero! The police are far more qualified than you, and they’re going to actually find the fugitive. That way, they’ll bring justice and get the bad guy!" It was not just a reminder why Allen hated this side of him. He was blinded with his love for justice and superheroes. And they were both beautiful lies in his opinion. Allen did not dwell long on this thought, however. It was what Alfred commented about qualifications that struck a chord in him. The police were not qualified for this at all, relatively speaking. Even with their skills, it was nothing compared to knowledge and experience. Flavio was more qualified despite never having harmed anybody before. Hell, even Happy was! He was the strongest player on the team. So why was he just sitting outside, when he could be helping his friends inside? He needed to go inside. The fear slowly thawed from his heart and was melted by a burning determination to intervene. The pounding he felt in his chest slowed a little, but it continued to thump violently against his ribs. Clenching his hands into tight fists, his knuckles turned white and the officer sitting with him held onto his arm. "Don't." Allen pulled his arm from his grasp and stood up, letting his chair scrape loudly against the ground. Throwing on his bomber jacket, he loomed over the other with a weak grin. Arthur was wondering where the Allen he met went; turns out he had always been here. "I don't think you and your department's got what it takes to take a guy like Luciano down. Nothing personal." He finally said. "I'm going in. If you want this plan to succeed, you'd let me." Turning on his heel to burst into a sprint towards the building's entrance, a few of the patrons of the eatery stood up with tense expressions. Before they could chase after the retreating figure, the blonde held up an arm to stop them. "And I don't give a damn if you don't wipe my record clean!" His earpiece crackled as he entered the lobby. "I'm going in the kitchen now. I'm commencing with the plan." Steering clear of the places with surveillance, he grabbed an unfortunate passerby and knocked him out. Once he stripped him of his formal wear he did not have, he changed into them and kept him in one of the storage rooms. Allen then pressed the little device in his ear to respond. "Change of plans. I'll be helping Liza's team. Alfred and Flavio, keep updating me on the situation. Happy, you go give that motherfucker a taste of his own medicine." "And I'm sure he's gonna love it." The said man responded. Once he appeared in the doorframe of the kitchen, he felt a flinch when he was greeted with an explosion of stimulants for his senses. So much to smell, see and hear. The clanging of pots and pans, the sizzling of food in hot oil, the frantic shouting of instructions and squeaking of food trolleys were heard. It was pure chaos. Happy refused to let himself become distracted again, so he put on a brave face and navigated his way through the suffocating room. He approached the man who had been screaming at the chefs and cleared his throat. "Hey. I'm serving Luciano's table for today and I need to know what drink he ordered." Happy started, grabbing his attention at the mention of the name. "A bottle of Smirnoff." He responded without hesitation. "Give it to him with the lid on." "Thanks." Turning on his heel, a small shrewd smile curled at his lips and he collected a bottle of the specified drink. He removed the lid with a pop, disregarding the instructions he was given and dropped a small pill in it. He did this all with a poker face, but inside, he was screaming. Although he lived a very eventful life as a bodyguard, he had never done something like this-- drugging someone. And with a roofie, in other words, a date rape drug. As the little white tablet began to fizz up the drink, he hid it there on the counter with his body for a few moments, intending to wait for the white froth to disappear. "Oh god, I can't believe I'm actually doing this..." "You better believe it. Everyone's getting their drinks, hurry up and get out there before he gets suspicious!" Flavio suddenly hissed, making Happy's heart skip a beat. He grabbed the bottle while it was still fizzing and left in a hurry. As he made his way through the halls, the froth slowly disappeared, but not entirely. Once he made it to the table in the center of the grand hall, he wiped the sweat from his forehead he did not know had been there and placed the drink in front of the man with a cigarette in his mouth. "Your vodka, sir." The moment you sensed the presence of someone behind Luciano, you darted your eyes to the butler and felt your heart rate calm. Like he knew you were staring at him for relief, he returned the eye contact and his lips twitched up just the slightest. You then diverted your attention to the bottle filled with clear liquid, noticing that there were still a few bubbles simmering up around the top. "Grazie." You heard the man mutter. Happy took that as a green light to leave, and so he did, walking away with a triumphant smile. Once he disappeared out of sight, the Italian man picked up the bottle and inspected it in his hand. Only then did the bubbles completely disappear. "There is a good reason why I always order water when I'm outdoors." He started, taking another puff of his cigarette. "Or at least, clear beverages." Even when the burning stench of smoke entered your nose to fill your lungs, you turned your head to him with your lips ajar. You tasted a sour little flavor in your mouth and your stomach churned. As he crushed the end of his cigarette in the ashtray into little specks of black and white, he rolled his magenta hued irises over to you. Those eyes of his were glowing in your perspective as he stared you down like they belonged to that of a nocturnal predator. "It's easier to tell if it's been tampered with." He continued with a devilish grin. The patronizing expression along with the words that left his mouth rendered you speechless. You were frozen to your seat, taken aback by how clever this man was. It was no wonder he was the face of the underground crime industry. Only he did people wrong, not the other way around. From then on, you felt the icy cold hands of fear clench around your heart again. Luciano was the very man who challenged Allen's status as the top dog, so it was not going to be easy to weasel you away from him. If you wanted to escape his grasp, you would need to communicate with your friends who were there with you, but the question as to how to do say lingered in your mind. Ripping your gaze away from his burning one, you let the bottle become the center of your attention. "What do you mean by that?" You asked in a feeble voice. "Have you ever been poisoned before?" He chuckled, the death in those eyes finally dissolving away. "Of course not. I can't let people beat me in my own game, can I?" Luciano picked up the bottle and poured some of it into his empty glass until it was half full with the clear liquid. "And whenever I doubt the safety of something I'm served, I always give it to someone else first." Making his way over to the table next to yours, he approached a female guest and kissed her hand. Their conversation was not very long before she accepted his offer, inferring that it did not take long for the woman to fall for his unparalleled charm. He returned with a small smile. Once he was comfortable in his seat again, he watched the woman take a sip of the drink she was given. "The effects will kick in soon. And she'll be down in thirty minutes." You took a mental note of that number. "What happens if she collapses then?" Luciano shrugged. "Then she collapses. But not for no reason. It just means that there was something in her drink." "But... How did you know? How did you know that someone tried to drug you?" He laughed, but in the most attractive way. "I don't know if you're playing dumb, but whatever it is you are doing, it won't work. Isn't it obvious, ragazza? Vodka doesn't fizz." The technical crew went down like flies. Regardless of who they worked under, it was only inanimate objects like wires and machinery they encountered problems with, not people. They did not put up much of a fight, but it was the security she broke a sweat for. Luciano's staff were skilled, very skilled, but they were not skilled enough. It may have taken some time, but it was not difficult to incapacitate them. And once the team of ten were all unconscious including the two buff men in shades, they were removed accordingly and transported outside quietly by a few members of the cleanup crew. They too were wearing formalwear thanks to Flavio's wardrobe. While this was happening, Flavio and Alfred scouted the vicinity and located Luciano's security floating about the place, giving her a map of the exact positions of her opponents. However, by the time she made it to their locations, not a single soul matching the physical descriptions she was given was present. Twirling a handgun with a hand, she scanned her surroundings with an inquisitive look. In save for the few employees occupying the halls and reception, there was no sign of any of Luciano's underlings. She pressed her earpiece with furrowed brows. "Uh, guys. I don't see them in the lobby. Don't tell me they left to someplace else." Heavy breathing was heard echoing loudly from two places, her ear and right in front of her. When she glanced up to the source of the sound, she blinked furiously upon immediately recognizing the male. Those vengeful blood-red eyes and dark maroon hair could not be missed. "They didn't leave. I just took them out." He responded in between breaths. The woman took long strides towards him, and before another word left her lips, she looked over her shoulder. She then faced him with narrowed eyes. "All of them? And where are they now?" She whisper-shouted. Allen laughed lightly and brushed past her to walk back to the grand hall. "Loosen up, lady. While you were making out with the tech geeks backstage I took care of his security and every single one of his cronies." Usually, she would have shot right back, but she was too impressed to do even that. "Are you serious? That fast?" She exclaimed, trailing after his form that continued to advance towards the tall double doors. "You didn't shoot them, did you?" Although that would have been the quickest way to get the job done, it was the least efficient. Firing a bullet was an explosion of noise and would ricochet off every wall in the building. Every single soul in the hotel would know the second the victim collapsed, and if they happened to miss such an obvious sign, they would eventually come across a pool of blood if it was uncleaned. Surely he wasn't this stupid. "You would've heard me." He murmured, not even bothering to spare her a glance. "But you didn't." Allen never slowed as he stormed towards the only thing separating him from you. The brunette walking with him did not stop firing him questions, including why he was even there when he wasn't supposed to be, but he left them unanswered-- all except this one. "Who are you?" She knew his name, but it wasn't his credentials she was after. The arm he had outstretched to reach for the glistening door handle stopped for a moment. What was his story? He grabbed the handle firmly, feeling the cold touch of the metal meet his palm and fingers. Allen couldn't anticipate what was waiting for him in the grand ballroom. He did not even know anybody's position. Where you were. Where he was. Luciano could even be waiting right behind the door for him with a knife laced with a potent poison. It all dawned on him when he touched the handle like a last-minute warning from an omnipotent force watching over him, but there was no time for safety. The slippery son of a gun would be gone before they were given the next set of instructions. So here he was, about to enter a scene bound to unfold into pure chaos. That was exactly what he was born in, so he did not mind taking a visit to his hometown. "I'm just a street rat who doesn't have a lot to lose-" He answered, reaching into his jacket. Everything that had happened in the past few years all lead down to this single moment, including all his mistakes he ever made that caused others to suffer. But he was going to make things right. "-but everything I know and love and everything that makes my life worth living is behind this door."

[endof-theline]

AU Yeah August | Day Three: Cruise Ship

Day three and still going with Cruise Ship: Stony on a cruise ship with a dash of a/b/o dynamics and bed sharing because I have a type apparently.

On Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20094565

It had been a fun formal evening for the Omega, he had persuaded the waiting staff to let him sit with his mated friends instead of staying with a random Alpha or on his own. He loved his friends and the cruise that he had been encouraged to join them on, but thanks to the dynamics and laws the world followed it meant that he couldn’t stay with them, not even on the same deck as them.

The Omegas had two decks to themselves where they slept and had shared shower rooms, the Omegas had the higher decks because society thought they were more delicate and their stomachs can’t handle the rough seas like Alphas can. The decks below them were for Betas, mated couples and their pups, however this was an adults only cruise so there were no pups on board, and then the lowest floors were for the Alphas on board since they were the toughest and could stand the seas easier than the other dynamics.

Most of the dining areas are between the Omega decks and Beta decks so that the Alphas didn’t have an excuse to be up on the Omega decks, the crew on board are also meant to try and keep Alphas away from the Omegas’ area if they see them going over there too.

That’s probably why a group of young looking Omegas were stood together, shaking a little and whispering nervously, as they watched a massive blonde Alpha sitting on the floor with his back against a door, quietly howling.

“Is that your room?” Tony asked the group who all startled but settled as soon as they scented that he was an older Omega, he pushed a more comforting scent that helped ease the younger ones nerves.

“N-No, we’re two along but he’s drunk a-and one of the Omegas on this deck tr-tried to get him to move and he growled at him!” The smallest squeaked making Tony’s heart melt reluctantly as he loosened his tie slightly and pushed the hair out his eyes.

“How about you guys walk behind me and I’ll distract him so you can get past?” Tony offered and the group all looked between themselves before nodding and following along behind Tony like ducklings, the Alpha immediately growled at Tony when stepped up close and he looked stunned when Tony just growled back at him “What are you doing here?”

“This is the Alpha deck, what are you doing here?” The blonde growled at him in return, puffing out his chest and moving to stand up. Tony pushed the smallest Omega straight past the Alpha and the others followed with whimpers escaping their throats as they ran past “HEY!”

“Leave them alone, asshole! This is the Omega floor, you’re drunk and lost” He huffed and managed to catch a glimpse of the Omega group rushing into their room and slamming the door shut.

“What? How di- Oh shit” The Alpha whined pitifully and slumped back down, Tony flicked his eyes up and realised that the man was leaning on hisroom door so he’s going to have to see the Alpha off “I’m sorry, my friends wanted to keep drinking and they weren’t drunk so one of them pressed the button for me, they must have pressed the wrong button on purpose so I look like an idiot”

“Oh, well I guess that’s better than what I first thought, I thought you were just trying to track down an Omega” Tony sat down with him and gave him a sympathetic smile “You should say sorry to those young Omegas though, you really frightened them by growling like that”

“I thought they were on the wrong floor, I was trying to protect them” He whined sadly as he dropped his head into his hands, Tony finally managed to pick his scent up and realised that he had bumped into this Alpha before “You’re the Alpha that helped me yesterday! When those guys put my glasses on the high shelf that I couldn’t reach”

“Oh yeah, they won’t bother you anymore Omega, it’s alright now” The blonde nodded and a comforting little purr slipped from his mouth making Tony giggle a little bit “How come you’ve not got them on? Did someone else take them?”

“No, I’ve got contact lens in, but thank you, Alpha, for looking out for me” Tony purred back to him which relaxed the man easily, it was a little mean for Tony to be praising and purring at a strange Alpha but no one was here to watch and the man’s upset and drunk so he needed to do anything to coax him “Can I offer a glass of water and maybe something for your head?”

“That would be real nice of you” He hummed and clumsily stood up with Tony’s help, the Omega guided him away from the door and let them in making the Alpha whine desperately again as he followed Tony inside.

Tony was forever thankful for his mother making sure he never left clothes thrown about and the next time he sees the steward that cleans his room, he promises to thank them again. An Omega of his standing could never be caught dead having a messy room, especially showing it to an unmated Alpha, the blonde had instantly scented the room as he walked in and was letting out a pleased rumble now.

“I’ll fetch you a drink and a painkiller, you just have a sit down” Tony guided him to sit on the sofa when the Alpha had started to walk to the bed, he noticed how the man watched him running around to take care of him and rolled his eyes at the behaviour, typical Alpha “It’s not polite to stare and definitely not when you don’t even know my name”

“Right, right, I’m sorry, you’re just-” The Alpha dropped his head in an unexpected move, looking ashamed of himself now and too much like a kicked puppy for Tony’s taste.

“I’m just, what?” Tony asked as he placed the glass down with the tablets on the side table, a part of his brain wanted to sit on the Alpha’s thick thighs and cheer him up while the rational part of his brain screamed that it was a bad idea.

“You’re very beautiful, I know I shouldn’t stare at you and I’m very sorry for it, I just- you’re stunning” He said all to honestly making Tony go scarlet and the Omega’s impulse gave in as he slid into the Alpha’s lap, bracing himself to hit the floor or to get smacked in general, but the Alpha just snapped his head up and yelped “Omega!”

“Tony” He said softly and with a smile on his lips “My name’s Tony, you’re not like any Alpha I’ve ever met before” Tony hadn’t met many Alphas that were kind to Omegas before, that didn’t either treat them like dirt under their shoe or something so fragile that he needs to be treated like fine china.

“Thanks I think?” He cocked his head slightly “My name’s Steve, Steve Rogers” Tony rolled the name around his head and when no red flags came up, he grinned brighter and had to lean up a little to really meet Steve’s eyes.

“Well Steve, Steve Rogers, would you like to share my bed for the night? I’d hate for you to get lost on the ship again and it would give your mean friends a bit of a fright, not to mention coming back to them scenting like me” Tony offered innocently and ignored the dark look that flashed in Steve’s eyes “Not like that, not until you’re sober, Alpha. Want you to still like me in the morning”

“I’m sure I will” He rumbled but stopped in a heartbeat when Tony pushed him back, feeling the smaller man tense up and prepare to get away “In the morning. Thank you sweet Omega, thank you Tony” Steve ran his nose through his hair and let out a purr, happily accepting the drink and medicine before putting it down to side.

Tony bashfully stood and ran to his bed, picking up a pair of soft, cotton trousers and running into the little bathroom. Steve chuckled and glanced around the small room with a smile on his face, it was much like his own room but there was a large mirror behind the small television and rows of little skincare and make up bottles and containers lined it. There was a stack of books on one side of the bed and by the look of them, Tony enjoyed sci-fi stories which meant he would get on great with a few of his friends.

The bathroom door opened to reveal Tony stood shyly in the doorway in his cotton trousers, his suit carefully folded in his arms that were hiding his bare chest as he pressed the clothes to him, a pair of round glasses on his nose making him look younger and sweeter - though Steve had thought Tony couldn’t have look sweeter even if he tried before then.

“Before you truly make up your mind, I have to show you something” Tony said, voice matching his body as he tried to make himself as small as possible, Steve nodded slowly and watched as Tony hesitantly lower his arms to show a scar over his heart. It was deep and ragged, but obviously well looked after as it didn’t look painful or raw like some Steve had seen.

“Sweet Omega, I’m honored you trust me with this, but it does not change my mind at all. Did someone do this to you?” Steve purred out to Tony who was looking at his feet instead, he nodded but never looked at Steve “May I touch you?” Tony’s eyebrows furrowed briefly but he nodded again and let out a shocked gasp when Steve’s big hands were placed on him, one over his scar and the other on his hip “Must have been a fool to harm you, someone so idotic to harm such a sweet man, you are so caring for someone who has been hurt”

“You’re drunk” Tony giggled when Steve snuffled Tony’s hair again and pushed the much bigger man away when he blew his hair “You’ll mess it up!”

“You’re going to sleep, no one will know but me” Steve teased him but Tony pushed his chest again and whined at him which just made Steve laugh merrily, ignoring that possessive pang in his chest to avoid scaring the Omega with his already intense feelings as he stripped off his shirt and kept his shorts on, leaving his shoes by the door.

The Omega crawled into bed and waited for Steve to lay down before wriggling closer to him, Tony yelped when Steve wrapped his arms around him and wrestled him to lay against Steve’s chest on their sides. Steve let Tony settle in his arms after flicking the light off and carefully putting Tony’s glasses away for him before going to ask if this was okay, if his newly found Omega was comfortable when Tony let out a quiet huff of air and a soft purr that rumbled sweetly in Steve’s ears as the pair fell asleep.

Both falling asleep with sleepy, sweet smiles on their lips and excited expectations for the morning…

[osmw1]

Crowbar Nurse  Chapter 6 — What Gives an Engineer Superhuman Strength?

—Why did my body feel so nimble?

Just exactly how did my body change…?

As I ran at the group of zombies, I questioned how impossibly agile I was, considering I had just finished working overtime.

It’s almost like I’m actually Sera Harvey.

I wasn’t able to leap over buildings or anything crazy like that, but it’s not like Sera was able to do so in the game either. Plus, the controls in DMC games are typical of most horror games in that the characters walk quite sluggishly. I suppose it’s more frightening this way. Being able to run like this is more than good enough for me. I prepared myself for the worst as I headed straight at the enemies. I knew this was already an uphill battle.

There’s only one way out… we’re going to do it and do it well! First, I’ve got to get the Tank to fire…!

The Tank fired a high-explosive shell as soon as I got within range. The shell traveled many times over the speed of sound and was heading directly at me. … however, the projectile impacted and detonated quite a distance away from where I was.

Perfect… it’s just like how it works in game!

With the Tank being a zombie, its slow lumbering movement did not help it track its target. The Tank is almost guaranteed to never accurately land its first shot. And muck like a real Tank, it would be unpleasant for anything standing immediately next to the gun, to say the least. The muzzle blast went straight into the surrounding zombies and they were all destroyed… the Minotaur took a huge hit as well. Everything is going just as I planned, save for one thing.

Augh! Don’t tell me I got caught too…!

A sharp pain shot through my body. I collapsed on the spot as the pain torn through me from the inside out. Before I had collapsed, the tank zombie fired another few shots… but I wouldn’t still be here if I had been hit by it. The situation was taking a turn for the worse.

“Gah… ugh…!”

Breathing was a lot harder than I remembered. … something must have happened to my lungs. My diaphragm and other muscles were functioning as they should, but I couldn’t breathe very well. The shockwave must have punctured my lungs.

I-I can’t move… crap. I can’t fight like this!

I thought the only tactic was to get the enemies to kill themselves, and honestly, that part worked alright… but I didn’t expect to receive this much damage either.

In the game, the blast radius is about 10 meters, but I’ve heard it’s much smaller compared to real life. Maybe I had misjudged my distance. I sure hope I didn’t receive a real Tank’s gun blast…

“Sera!”

Kiryū rushed over in fear. The Tank is still alive. It was dangerous for him to come over here… but I’m sure he knew that already. Just as I realized he had tossed me some recovery items, he turned to face the Tank with his crowbar.

Oh, that’s not a good idea. You can’t take down a Tank with a crowbar…

The pain seared through me again, leaving me unable to speak. I writhed in pain as the blood-soaked Kiryū came back with his blood-stained crowbar.

“Good thing it was pretty weak already… hey, use the healing items already! What, are you feeling too weak to use it yourself? Jeez… you okay? Do you recognize me?”

I faintly nodded at his question.

“Aw, jeez… I haven’t used any healing items in this game before, so I don’t quite know how to use ‘em… how about this bottle? Should I just sprinkle it over your body?”

I shook my head. That bottle… or rather, that vial in his hand has a rubber cap over the end of it. It’s so that you can’t open it by hand. You need a syringe to utilize it. For some reason, the protagonist spawns with a syringe—I did not. There’s a hospital section afterwards, so maybe I’ve gotta get one there.

“Hmm, how about these herbs then? What do I do with them? Can I just cram it in your mouth?” “…”

…

…

… hmm?

Umm, maybe?

I’ve never seen it being used in game before. In the game, you open the menu, select Items, select Medicinal Herbs, then select Yes when it asks Do you want to use this item?. Since it’s never shown how the protagonist uses the herb… I don’t have the slightest idea what to do with it. I’m not sure what Kiryū thought when he saw my expression, but he stuffed the whole plant in my mouth.

“Mm… ugh…”

A handsome youth ramming a handful of lawn clippings into a sweet, young girl’s mouth… this must’ve looked much worse than it actually was. Would this really heal my internal trauma?! Almost as if answering the question… a miracle occurred.

“Ugh…?!”

A refreshing tingling sensation rushed through my body as if I had been immersed in menthol. All the pain and breathing problems affecting me had disappeared instantaneously.

“… how does this world work…”

I spat the ball of herb out from my mouth.

“Those medicinal herbs worked as quickly as sublingual tablets…” “Let me know once you figure this world out…”

He heaved a sigh as I sat up from the ground. Kiryū, still sitting there, was dripping with blood… but none of it seemed to be his own—all of it was just splattered from the enemies.

“You took down the Minotaur and Tank without so much a scratch… that’s incredible, Kiryū.” “All I did was hit and run. You had weakened the Tank already and the Minotaur smoked itself with the gas turbine exhaust.”

He says it had gone so smoothly only because I charged in with all my courage.

“No, but still, you’re way too strong even with all things considered. … you’re probably the real one-man army here. Really, thank you so much for saving me… but I can’t help but feel like I’ve lost all my confidence.”

I forced a smile. Kiryū—a total beginner—had to save me. And I even boasted about how “I know this game like the back of my hand”.

“That was just a fluke. Don’t even get me started on how scary it was fighting enemies that could kill me in one hit…”

He urges us to hurry to a safe zone, to which I nodded with all my might. I was in absolute, 100% agreement. Since we’ve just taken down some special zombies, there shouldn’t be a mob for the next little while. Nevertheless, another Tank or Minotaur might show up if we were to take our sweet time. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

 Drastic measures.

 “… looks like we will have to grind for those levels after all.” “Hey, now. Did you forget you were at the brink of death, Sera? If we kill too many zombies and get too powerful, more of those special ones are going to spawn, right?” “I haven’t forgotten. That was… humiliating. If we were to avoid every single fight, there will be too many of them before we can react.” “I mean, I guess…” “Trust me.”

I’ve played this game so much, I can literally beat it with a plastic bottle as my only weapon. I’m a beast. Yet, I just showed Kiryū just how unreliable I was. It was absolutely shameful.

“We’ll make sure to be ready for next time. I’ll build us an unstoppable army from hell…”

I slowly stood up from the ground.

“… what’s that about an army?”

He seemed confused as he stood up with me.

“That’s right, an unstoppable army from hell. Even if I can’t level up in this game, there’s many other ways we can win. Don’t worry… I’ll turn these streets of downtown into a safe zone, like a garden that you can stroll through without a so much a care…” “I couldn’t care less about a garden. Let’s just calm down and plan our next moves.”

Kiryū, with a wry smile on his face, rolled his neck.

“That’s our destination, right?” “Ah, yes. We have almost reached the beginning of the stage. It’s my first time backtracking like this. It feels a little odd…”

As we twist and turn through the narrow alleyways, another new enemy creeped across our path.

—It was a Heart.

That wasn’t a metaphor for anything. The zombie was about four times the size of a yoga ball. Tentacles scrawl from the monster in the shape of a literal heart. I don’t remember what its actual name is. That’s how unimportant they are.

“Shit. We’ve used up all the herbs earlier…!” “We’ll be fine. That thing may look gross, but it is only ‘slightly stronger’ than the average zombie. We’ve got more than enough firepower to take it down…”

I walked in front of Kiryū. He looked anxious, but he seemed to calm down when we made eye contact.

“Could you please lend me your crowbar?” “It’s all sticky from the blood. You okay with that?” “I’ll be fine after wiping it with my skirt. This will be an easy fight… I used to kill a whole bunch of these things before my anatomy tests… so watch closely, okay?”

I took a few big swings with the crowbar.

“—Let do it. We’ve got to!”

    “Whew. That was a good workout! The heart is a complicated organ with lots of specific parts to remember. I couldn’t have passed my exams without the help of these guys!”

I listed out each artery by name as I bashed away with the crowbar before returning the crowbar to the blood-soaked Kiryū. I could imagine him thinking I’m some sort of psychopath giving a lecture on the human heart.

“Are all nurses like this…?”

I ignored his flabbergasted comment at me. Then, crossed the now navigable street and hurried to the Vital Watch.

“… let me just correct you that no, not all nurses are ‘like this’.”

“I don’t think you’ll find many female nurses who love blasting hellish monsters to giblets with a BFG.” “A BFG… don’t tell me you mean the Big Fucking Gun, the most powerful weapon from Doom…? I don’t think many people in Japan know what a BFG is… man, you’re hardcore.”

We finally reached the beginning of the game, even with us chatting. There were small two-story shops and the glass from their display windows lining the street. The alleys around here were a little wider, but many of them were blocked off by fallen utility poles and crumbled walls. Here was also where the army (though I don’t know which nation’s army, so it’s hard to make a joke here) faced off with the zombies.

“Oh, look, there are herbs over there. I’mma go grab ‘em.”

Kiryū walked from planter to planter to pluck the herbs from them.

There’s dirt falling out of his pockets…

The absolute beauty of a man contrasted his overflowing pockets like a bad joke. But those herbs saved my life earlier. I’m can’t exactly tell him to “cut it out because you look super lame” either.

Speaking of which, I’d like pockets of my own too. I’d like to have herbs readily accessible. Or at least a pocket big enough to fit my phone… too many dresses nowadays forgo pockets to focus on “showing off your perfect lines”. It’s honestly really inconvenient.

“… or maybe a drink would be nice too.”

Nothing beats a good drink after work.

“Hmm? A drink?”

Kiryū stood up as he looked at me. He must have heard my mumbling.

“Yes, I would love one. Ugh. You just need a frosty can of beer after working overtime. But instead, I was sent over here with no beer at all. Just my luck.” “That’s… unfortunate. I don’t think you’ll find any here. Once you we get back to our world, you can get your fill of booze.”

Scratching his cheek, he tepidly tried to console me, but I wasn’t about to give up so easily.

“No, I might get the chance. One of the healing items in this game is an alcoholic drink.” “Huh. If we find them, then yeah, that could happen.” “That’s exactly right. I wonder if there are any lying around… whoa, hey! Look!” “… that’s way too convenient…”

I ignored Kiryū as I filled my hands with alcohol and my heart with joy. I popped off the top and took a swig.

“Ahh, that hits the spot!” “You nurses sure love your drink… and are you sure about drinking something you picked up off the ground?”

He doubted me with a tilt of the neck, but I laughed in response.

“I’m sure. Absolutely sure. We picked up those herbs lying on the side of the street too, right? Same difference. And plus, I haven’t even finished working overtime and I was dragged into this adventure. I deserve this.” “… well, I guess so.” “Right?”

Down the gullet the liquor goes.

“There’s a real interesting part in this game too. You get a lot of health back from booze, but if you drink too much…” “What happens?” “… you puke it back out. Bleeeghhh!” “Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me.”

■The back blast of gas turbine engines

Just a quick tidbit from the author. After weapons like rocket launchers and tanks guns fire, there will be a blast of extremely hot gas. Being within 30 meters of the back blast will guarantee injury if not death. The heat will roast you to a delicious crisp. So, if you ever see one in real life, try to keep distance. Now that’s a top tip that will ensure your chance of survival. (Not that you would normally have the chance to get up close to an operating tank in Japan anyway.)

contents: /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /next/

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[thedarklightwithinus]

Straighten Up | Three

Summary; British Medic, Y/N Y/L/N has been brought in to join American Forces where she’s teamed up with a group of Marines. 

Pairing; Billy Russo x Reader

Words; 2.2k

Warnings; Nothing that I know of. Gif not mine. 

Previous Part; Two

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"Pretty sure you've brought along enough meds to sedate an elephant, Y/L/N. " Jones snorted, shaking his head in slight disbelief at the amount of medication Y/N had pulled from her kit attached to her vest. "Scrap that... Maybe seven." He added as Y/N laughed and shook her head. "Honestly, why did you bring all of that?"  

Y/N looked up, wondering is he was actually being serious. When she noticed his eyebrow raise slightly, she shook her head as a laugh left her. "This here," She motioned to her backpack. "Is a Unit One Pack...  Let me tell you now, it's not easy to fit everything inside it so don't start messing with it." She groaned as Jones picked up a wrap of bandage.

"There's so much shit there that I bet you can't even name half of it." Billy spoke up, a laugh coming from Davies when he had done. "Seriously, half that shit won't even be needed unless one of us sorry bastards forgets basic training." Once again, Davies laughed. Y/N frowned slightly as Castle sent her a look as if to tell her not to worry about him.  

"I can guarantee you now, Russo that this stuff would save your life, should you need it." Y/N muttered, ripping a piece of paper from her small notebook as she used it to separate a pack of tablets. "Besides, it's not up to me what I pack and what I don’t pack... I have to follow a strict packing list that was sent to my field officer back at Bastion."

Billy nodded slowly, understanding that what he had said wasn't called for. However, he was too proud to apologize and decided to make conversation rather than sit in silence for however long it took for Schoonover to radio in. "Why have you separated in into five groups?" He asked, looking as though he was genially intrigued.  

Y/N sighed as she looked away from where she was packing it back into her pack after insuring she had everything. "Because each group saves a life in a different way... Just like the six of us have our jobs, these groups do too." She muttered, smiling slightly at the look that had taken over his face. "Look, this one," She pointed towards the equipment that she had already packed. "Is fluid resuscitation which is one of the most important aspects to a critically ill patient." She pointed towards the next pile. "This one is for haemorrhage control which to me, is the priority of the five... Can't save a life if you haven't got the basic things to stop blood loss."  

Y/N continued on, telling the five mean about the other three groups of medical equipment she had been ordered to pack. Airway management, assorted equipment and battlefield medicine. For the most part, the five of them seemed genially intrigued. Of course, they had a little knowledge on medical treatment but it was nothing compared to what Y/N had spent a few years of her life studying both from books and actual casualties.  

Time seemed to pass by a lot quicker than it had done when they had first arrived at the compound. Before the six of them knew it, the sun was setting and the light that it gave off was slowly disappearing. Due to the fact that they had been given strict orders not to give away their position, Castle had given the order that anything with a light be either packed away or turned off.  

Once it had become too dark for them to see anything further than a few inches in front of them, Davies, Y/N and Billy were the first to succumb to sleep. An unofficial rota had been made by Castle that meant the three of them had four hours to sleep until it was time to switch to keeping a look out.  

It was Billy and Y/N who had the luxury of being on watch when the sun rose the next morning. The two of them stared out the door at the morning sky as mellow blues and pinks blurred together in a silver mist to create a gorgeous scene. Even when the world was drowning in grief and hardship, the sky remained beautiful. It was one of the things that kept Y/N's hopes up... If the sky remained vivid and powerful, then so could she.  

It was around midday when the first signs of news filled the six pairs of ears. The radio attached to the side of Castle's vest began to spit as Schoonover's voice came through much fuzzier than Y/N had expected it to be. "Alpha to zero one Delta, do you read me? Over." Y/N perked up slightly as she nudged Billy who was falling asleep against the wall beside her.  

Castle pulled his radio from his vest as he pushed the button in and raised it to his face. "This is zero one Delta, we read you loud and clear, over." It took a couple moments for the Schoonover's voice to return through the radio once more as the five of them moved towards Castle in order to hear better.  

"I've received your orders from Afghan nationals. Infiltration of the unmarked compound is to be put into operation immediately." Schoonover stated, his voice containing nothing but pure professionalism. "Airforce 9-2-2-5 have given you the all clear that any and all civilians have left the two-mile radius. From here on out, anyone you encounter should be treated as hostel. Once you have the building secure, radio in and I'll have Airforce Beta dispatched to your location. Good luck." With that said, the radio went dead.

"You heard the man." Castle spoke up, turning the dial on his radio of in order to keep it from being intercepted. "Get your kits and let's move." Y/N followed his orders, moving towards the corner where she had her pack. She pulled her arms through the straps and insured her helmet was secure before she grabbed her firearm and moved towards the door.  

One by one, the six of them left the small compound. Castle went first, his gun scoping the area to insure they were clear. Billy went next, keeping close to behind as he kept he lowered his gun slightly upon finding no immediate danger. Y/N followed after him, her eyes moving in every which direction as Davies followed her, Jones behind him as Henderson brought up the rear.  

The only sound that filled the air around them were the sounds of six pairs of boots crunching the gravel beneath their feet. It was as though they had agreed without actually speaking that it was best to not crack jokes as they had done for the first half of the mission. They were about to be, most likely, in contact with Taliban soldiers and though it was by no means new to them, the six of them still needed to prepare themselves mentally for what could happen.  

The sun beat down at them as they walked through the desert like conditions, seeking out the compound in which they were to infiltrate. The sand formed tiny dust storms around their boots as they kicked at the ground each time they took a step. Y/N brought her hand up and wiped at her forehead. It still amazed her just how bright and how much heat the sun actually gave of in other parts of the world. She was used to rainy days with sunshine making a rare appearance back in England.  

Though it was only a two-mile walk, give or take, to Y/N, it felt as though it had lasted ten minutes. She found herself wishing for more time to say her prayers which mostly ran along the lines of keeping herself and the five men around her alive. However, Castle's voice broke through the barrier she had put up. "Compound in sight!"  

Looking up, Y/N took a good look at the compound and found herself frowning. It was nothing like she thought it'd be. It was a complete mess, to put it politely. The window looked as though a child had boarded it up while the shabby wood panelling and the pealing door was bolted with rusty iron rods. It looked as though it had been standing in the middle of nowhere longer that Y/N had even been alive.  

As they moved closer to it, Castle came to a stop and motioned for the other five to come closer. He pointed at Davies and Jones before motioning towards the left side of the compound. He then pointed to Y/N and Henderson as he motioned towards the right side of building before, finally pointing towards Billy and himself before he nodded towards the entrance.  

Holding up three fingers, Castle lowered them one by one. Once all three fingers had been lowered, the six of them set of towards the compound, their knees bent slightly as they moved much quieter than any other time they had done.

Y/N followed after Henderson as the two of them moved around the right side of the compound. An opening that looked as though it had once been a side door presented itself to the pair just as they were about to walk past it. With a quick nod at Henderson, Y/N moved inside, keeping to a crouch as she surveyed the stone room with her gun. No immediate danger showed itself to the pair.  

A lone crate lay against the back wall which Henderson moved towards and began to check through as Y/N frowned and moved towards the source of light within the man-made room. She released a quite whistle as Henderson turned and raised a brow. Pointed up at the source, Y/N watched as he too frowned.  

A flickering candle light was mounted onto the wall, the wick still burning. The air was still as the flame barely flickered. It was steady and bright enough to relieve the darkness of the room, but it did nothing to comfort the pair. If anything, it made them more alert. If the candle was still burning it meant that someone other than them had been or was still inside the compound.  

Henderson stopped searching through the crate as he stood up and raised his gun once more. Y/N moved towards the door that lead her into another room of the compound. When she opened the wooden structure, her heart dropped as she raised her gun, her finger hovering over the trigger as Jones came out from the room opposite, looking slightly alarmed as he too, had his gun pointed at Y/N.

Before the two of them could even think, they had turned to the side, their guns trained on Billy and Castle who had just came out of the room to Y/N's left. The four of them lowered their guns as Castle shook his head slightly. "Clear... Compounds empty."  

"Whoever was here must've taken of recently... There's a candle that's still burning." Y/N said as she moved to let Castle into the room she was talking about. Jones took his pack of his back and began to open it as she moved towards the back wall of the compound that had an open doorway that lead outside.  

"Didn't know we were playing follow the leader." Y/N said, grinning as Billy wiggled his brows and followed after her.  

"Yeah, sure... You can be the leader this time." Billy replied, laughing as her nose wrinkled. Y/N took a quick look around to insure no one was hiding before she took her pack off and dropped it by her feet. Billy pulled a bottle of water from his own pack as he uncapped it.  

Just as Y/N was about to pull out her own bottle, a small flicker of light caught her eye to the left of her. She frowned slightly as she dropped her pack and took a few steps forwards, her eyes noticing that the ground had been dug up. It wasn't until she saw the wires and what was taped to the top that her eyes widened. "IED!"  

Turning on her heal, she saw the look of panic that overcome Billy's face as he dropped his bottle and took a look over her shoulder. Y/N knew she had seconds to take any sort of cover as her boots hit the ground rapidly. Before she even had time to breath, a body was knocking her to the ground and a small explosion filled the air behind her.  

It lasted mere seconds before it was over, the explosion being nothing like she had expected it to be. Y/N realized that she had her eyes shut tightly, as she forced them open. The ringing in her ears took a moment to die down and once it did, she finally got a good look at her surroundings.  

However, investigating the IED was the least of her worries as she remembered the body that had knocked her to the ground. It was then that she realized a heavyweight was pressed against her, stopping her from moving. Y/N's eyes widened as muttered one word. "Billy?" He groaned as he rolled himself off her, hissing as he pressed his hand against his lower abdomen. Y/N scrambled to her knees as she noticed her left hand was covered in blood. Billy's blood. "MAN DOWN!"

PART FOUR

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Straighten Up Taglist; @movokepwc  @aveatquevale-​  @clockworkteddy @assassinofmasyaf @asongofmarvelanddc @clockworkteddy @onebatch--twobatch @romanosgirl1978

[imgilmoregirl]

AO3 Link

Notes: WARNING: In the flashbacks we have the afterwards of the accident, so the child death thing will be really strong here. Also, mentions to the miscarriage again.

P.S.: All medical information in here is as real as possible, just of course, not Sarah's miracle awakening from coma. Am I a medical geek? A huge Grey's Anatomy fan? Or just someone who had to face lots of med classes only to get a teaching degree? All of it, lol.

In Need of Hope

Robert and Isabelle couldn't wait for an ambulance, but none of them were feeling good enough to drive either, so Ruby took them to the hospital in her bright red car. It was just around eight when they arrived and doctor Whale took Sarah in alongside his new assistant, Ariel and it took him only a few minutes to come back to the waiting room. Ruby had already left to help Granny tying up the dinner and Gold was alone with Belle who was impatiently toying with the handle of her purse. Only a small sight of Whale and she was up on her feet again, eager to know any news about their girl; Gold however needed a longer moment to stand up with the help of his cane.

"Sarah is not in coma again," Whale said and both of them were able to breathe properly again. "She just fainted."

"Oh, thank God," Belle sighed in relief. "But why did this happen?"

"I'm not sure yet, we are making a few more exams," he answered taking a quick look at the tablet he was holding. "You can see her once we are done."

They thanked him and Whale disappeared in the corridor and Belle hugged herself as she watched him leave. It was only then that Robert realised she was still wearing the same dress Ruby had gifted her with and it had no sleeves and was rather short, ending just before her knees. He thought himself an idiot to not have noticed until now that she must have been trembling all the time.

"Are you cold?"

"A little bit, yes..." Belle admitted and he took off his jacket, placing it around her shoulders and receiving a brief but grateful smile from her before it faded and she whispered: "I'm afraid."

"I know, but she is going to be alright. Sarah survived coma, she can survive whatever decease is taking her."

Opening his arms for Belle, he let her nestle on his chest in what he thought to be an instinctive gest. She needed comfort, he wasn't the right person to offer it and probably the last one she would like to, but he was the only one she had right now.

"Let's just hope," Belle murmured and allowed him to lead her back to their seats.

It was going to be a long night, but as long as it ended-up well, neither of them wouldn't mind spending hours and hours awake.

Seven Months Ago.

She woke up feeling hazy and sleepy, too numb to be just awakening in a normal day at her own bed beside her loving husband and that was how reality hit her hard. Belle was laid of her back, arms resting at each side of her body an insistent beeping resounding in the walls, her body felt twice as heavy as it did before and her head ached. Turning her head to the other side, she saw a grumpy nurse taking notes.

"My children?" Belle tried to ask but her voice sounded low and hoarse.

She coughed a couple of times, causing the nurse to look up, leaving the medical records, in which she was working, aside.

"Mrs. Gold, it is so good to see you awake," the woman attempted to smile, but it was a very fail attempt. "Do you know where you are? The name of the place you were born?"

"Do I look like a fool?" Belle answered harshly. "This is Storybrooke's freaking hospital, now tell me what happened to my children."

In other days she wouldn't have treated that poor woman so badly but her worry was interfering in her behaviour. Belle remembered everything perfectly, from the moment the car started to spin unstoppably in the road, by the moment she yelled at David Nolan to safe her children and leave her behind. Obviously, they all had made it to the hospital, so they should have some information and right now, she needed it.

Belle tried to sit up but groaned with a sharp pain that surged from her abdomen, which made her remember about her own wounds and the child she most certainly lost. Tears came to her face, as Belle let herself fall back to the pillows and the nurse touched her shoulder empathically.

"Please, Mrs. Gold, calm down, “she begged, looking genuinely worried too. "You've been through a very delicate surgery, you lost lots of blood and there were permanent damages. You lost the baby you were expecting, but even if it was due to the accident, it would have happened anyway, because you were going through an ectopic pregnancy."

"Excuse me?" Belle furrowed at the new term.

"It means the baby hadn't settled on your womb when it should've. The mass of cells was trapped on your right tube which cause the loss of it. I'm afraid the other has been damaged in the accident and is dysfunctional by now, so I'm truly sorry to say you probably will never conceive again."

Slowly, her eyes slid shut. It didn't bring her any comfort to know it wouldn't have been a successful pregnancy even if anything had happened and hearing the words "mass of cells" made Belle want to jump to the nurse's neck and strangle her. It was a baby, no matter how little it was. A life had been lost, they hadn't removed a cancer. She hated medicine sometimes. And she hated the fact she was never going to have the chance of having another child anymore, but couldn't give much a thought about it now, not when she still had two precious little ones to care about.

"I want to see my children," she told the nurse, throwing the sheets that covered her away and managing to sit up successfully this time, even though it caused her a horrible pain.

"I don't think this is the right thing to do now."

"Well, you don't get to decide it, I do," Belle answered pulling herself up to her feet and sliding to the wheelchair before she could fall. "Take me to them."

The nurse's lips tightened as she reached for the records again, when she turned around again, Belle could see that her name was Gabrielle Smith. She would never forget it, because that woman was the responsible for telling her the worse news of her life.

"Mrs. Gold, you should prepare yourself," Ms. Smith said, snorting heavily. "It was a very serious accident. Your son, Baden wasn't wearing a belt, he was thrown out of the car."

Of course, Belle already knew it, she had seen it with her own eyes, but it didn't yet make sense to her.

"Is he alright?"

"He had an internal bleeding that we managed to stop, but he hit his head really badly on the fall," there was a pause, a really long pause in which Belle swore her heart stopped in anticipation. "He was brain dead when he arrived two days ago. Last night the rest of his body gave up."

Still, the words meant no much to her for long, long seconds. Maybe her mind didn't want to make sense out of it, because she knew the pain would eventually come, but Belle stayed there, staring at the nurse with a limp face. Then, she started to shake and tears started to fill her eyes as the silence helped her to understand. His brain died, his heart gave up. He was dead. Her boy, her beloved Baden was gone.

The memories came in a flash: the first time she held him, just a toddler sucking his own finger, the day he called her his mama after his teacher saying his mother was there to pick him. Belle had been stunned by how quickly children could get attached to people and accept realities, Baden never had a mother, so when someone presented him the chance of having one, he embraced it gratefully. From that day and own, she was mama, mummy or simply ma all the time and she couldn't be happier. One day, Belle was simply a librarian dating the mysterious pawnbroker and in the next one she was taking a little boy to the park and buying him gifts.

People say your life chances once you feel your baby moving within your womb for the very first time, hers did when Baden Gold giggled at her from his father's arms and stretched himself into her direction, silently asking to be hold. Now, it was all over and she couldn't quite accept it.

"I want to see him," Belle demanded, taking away the clip on her finger that plugged her to one of the machines and looking up at the nurse. "Please, he is my boy."

It was probably what made the nurse sigh loudly and push her wheelchair through the white corridors of the hospital, but when they reached for the metal door and Belle saw that Gold was coming from the opposite direction, accompanied by another doctor, she understood they would eventually have to face it anything, if now or then it didn't truly mattered. She reached for his hand when he approached and Belle noticed there was a gesso covering one of his legs.

"Robert," she mumbled in a broken voice. "Did they tell you?"

He nodded wordlessly, eyes fixed in her face. It was like the moment they got married and they looked at each other knowing they had a new responsibility, but this time it was all too sad and heart-breaking to have a beautiful meaning. They were in this together just like they were in anything else for live, but none of them wanted to go on with this and see what waited for them behind that metal door. Time was needed, but their companions couldn’t quite understand it and pushed their chairs inside.

Victor Whale, one of the towns most known doctor was there, talking to a redhead, but he turned around when he heard the door been open and his face became expressionless as he walked towards the table in the centre of the room and uncovered the small body above it.

"Mr. Gold, Mrs. Gold, I'm really sorry."

But no condolences could be really heard by now. Robert and Isabelle’s eyes were fixed on Bae’s pale face, eyelids closed and a bit more protuberant than it would have been before. It was one of the effects of the brain dying first, Belle had read once. Until now she had stuck to medical terms that only made sense for her in books, however once Bae was laid in front of her and she could see the reality with her own eyes it all became real and made her shoulders shake as started to sob. He wasn’t moving. He would never move again.

"No," she heard Robert murmuring beside her. "No, please no."

With some effort he pulled herself up to her feet, feeling the jolts of pain take her breath way, but she managed to slid to the metal table, taking a seat beside her son and touching his cold face.

"Bae… My sweet, darling Baden," she wept, lifting him up on her arms and hiding her face on his hair. "No!"

Her scream was a painful and pitiful thing to hear, she was crying, holding a dead boy in her arms and all everybody could do was to watch, because of them understood her pain. Gold was still sat on his chair, silent tears falling from his eyes, getting more and more constant at each second. Whale took a deep breath and approached Belle, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Mrs. Gold you can't - "

"Get your hands off me," she yelled at him. "I want my son! My Bae!"

"Isabelle - " he tried again.

"No," the brunette retorted. "He was supposed to be going to a party. He asked me to take him to the movies! He is just a child!"

She was getting hysterical and he gently tried to pull Baden’s body away from her, but Belle acted like a fierce lioness protecting her puppies, she wouldn’t let go and the hospital couldn’t allow her to keep in contact with a deceased person when she had just gone through a surgery. The doctor summoned the other two and pointed at Belle.

"Take her out and give her some medicines to calm her down," Whale instructed.

There was a quick battle in which Belle fought to not be separated from Bae but ended-up being dragged away by Robert’s doctor as she screamed repeatedly: "I don't need your fucking medicines I need my son!"

"Mrs. Gold..." Whale trailed off in a weary voice.

"Where is Sarah?" Belle asked with a sob. "Is she dead too?"

He shook his head, but by the wrinkles that appeared in his brow she knew nothing good was about to come and, oh, what she wouldn’t give to be the one thrown out of the car to certain death in that moment.

"She is in coma," he answered.

Then, she felt something jabbing her arm and everything went dark.

Present days.

Exams took a long time to get ready, it was no surprise for anyone, so Gold and Belle had made themselves comfortable near Sarah in the emergency room. She was awake when they first entered there, a bit confused on why she was back to that place, but once they explained her the doctors thought she could be sick and needed to know what was making her faint, she was pretty understandable and fell asleep in her mother’s arms. But it had been hours ago.

Robert had allowed himself to take a nap on the chair beside Sarah’s bed, in which Belle was curled up with her, however he woke up after no much time and checked his phone to see there were a thousand and one missing calls from Ruby Lucas, but didn’t give much a thought to it, he had no news for her and Belle would eventually make the call herself. He sighed and fixed his eyes on what was left of his family, sleeping on that hospital bed. Gold heard steps coming from the hallway and glanced over his shoulder to see Whale walking towards him.

"Excuse me, can we talk outside for a moment?"

He nodded to the doctor and got a hold of his cane, standing up with some difficulty and shaking Belle’s shoulder to wake her up. Her nose wrinkled beautifully and she whimpered before opening her eyes.

"Sweetheart," Robert murmured, brushing the hair away from her face. "The doctors have news."

Whale was waiting for them in one of the corridors away from the patients and he had his “bad news face” on, which made Gold feel out of breath. He had been hoping and praying – even thought it was a really out of faith thing from his part – ever since he saw his daughter laying still in Ruby’s arms, and now he knew it all was for nothing. Something as already happening and he doubted they could stop that. And, God, he couldn’t lose another child.

"So what Sarah have is a deep anaemia. That's probably due to the time she spent in coma receiving all those kinds of medicines," Whale begun, looking between them as if he was making sure both were still fine. "We need to start a treatment soon or it can turn into a leukaemia."

"And what shall be done?" Gold immediately questioned.

"The most recommended treatment, the faster and more efficient uses stem cells," he explained. "We usually ask the family for identical sample, because it can take us years to find one that matches Sarah, but well, it is out of consideration in here, so we will start with more meds and try to find matching cells to use in her."

Glancing at Belle, he could see that she had her eyes closed and was nodding slowly. He knew what she was thinking, f it wasn’t for the things that happened in that accident or the way she had been hurt, then maybe they could have a chance to save their daughter for sure. Gold wasn’t an idiot, he knew stem cells could only be find at the beginning of a life and an identical sample required the same genetic material as Sarah. It was going to be a rocky road to find a donor compatible to her.

"There is nothing we can do to help?" Belle asked, hopelessly.

"Did you keep the blood of Sarah's umbilical cord stocked somewhere?" the doctor inquired. "Because that would be a life-saver."

Once upon a time he remembered hearing about clinics that stocked those kind of things, but who could ever imagine you would need stem cells to any sort of treatment? Only a few people in this world needed this stuff and they could never guess Sarah would be one of those.

"No," his wife shook her head. "We never thought it could be of much use."

"Well then, I'll prescribe her the right medicine and you can take her home," Whale said, lips tightened as he looked for a pen in his coat’s pockets. "I'll keep in contact about the cells."

They nodded, hearing him curse over the fact he had lost another pen, before making his way to the main counter to ask the attendant for one. Robert turned around to look at Belle and saw that she was visibly shaking, a hand pressed firmly to her throat.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm trying not to throw up," she confessed.

He quickly disappeared on the hallway and came back a few seconds later with a plastic cup in his hands, offering it to her and helping Belle to sit as he cradled her shoulders in his arms. It was a too-intimate gest to a basically divorced couple, but she never sent him any papers to sign and didn’t ask people to use her maiden name in any occasion, so he thought that maybe it was alright to give her some comfort.

"Drink some water it will be good for you," he advised and she lifted the cup to her lips, drinking eagerly.

Belle had never spoken about her weekly sections with Archie, although he knew she kept going there, because all the trauma had affected her deeply and sometimes he wondered if she would ever be the old Belle again. Crying the way she was doing now, had never been her thing.

"Sarah will be alright, won't she?"

"Yes, my love," Gold guaranteed, although he too needed some reassurance. "I promise she will."

The doctor came back a few moments later with the prescription and he took her and a still sleepy Sarah to the library’s apartment. Gold then, worked like the father he once was, sending Belle to take a bath while he cleaned the make-up and the glitter from Sarah’s face and changed her fairy outfit for a pair of pyjamas, he tucked her in bed and was just about to leave when Belle appeared in the room, wearing a huge t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She slid under the covers of the bed and tapped the empty space by her side.

"Robert, can you stay with me tonight?"

He wanted to say no, to confess it would only break him even more if he spent the night cuddling her knowing they had no future, but her voice was a pleading he couldn’t deny anything to, so he took off his jacket, tie, waistcoat and shoes and laid by her side, allowing Belle to tuck herself under his chin, getting comfortable before falling asleep.

The night had been a true hell for him. Gold hadn’t been this close from his wife for six months now, he had a lot to think given Sarah’s new condition and all he could to was try to control himself and not enjoy too much the warmth of a woman’s body beside his. He was afraid of falling asleep and accidentally having a wet dream about Belle, which wouldn’t be a surprise to happen this days, but he didn’t want to shame himself, so he kept awake instead, watching the beauty sleep and wondering how he could have been so lucky for her to have wanted him one day.

It wasn’t the case anymore of course. She was sad, needed comfort and he was there to hold her when she needed, but he was pretty sure once Belle woke up she would expel him from her apartment just like she did the day Moe entered there without permission. He had to admit that he missed her, though. She was the love of his life and he wished he hadn’t being such a bastard to pull her away the way he did. Gold knew she would have continued to fight for them if it wasn’t for the things he said and, if today she didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore, then it was his own fault.

And as a big bastard as he was, he couldn’t help but remembering the amazing years he had spent by Belle’s side during that night. Life had once been magical for them, but today it was only a weird black and white path they didn’t want to be facing.

When she eventually woke up, around six in the morning, Belle offered him coffee and Robert had a nice breakfast by her side before excusing himself to work. Not that he was really planning on staying much time open like he did every Sunday after Baden’s death, today actually, he needed a drink stronger than the expresso Belle gave him. He made his way to the shop feeling exhausted enough to not notice the man standing in front of his door at first.

"Mr. Gold, I was waiting for you," detective Rogers said with that stupid smile of his.

"I told you to get away from me," Gold remarked finding his keys and opening the shop's door. "I don't want to have anything to do with this case, I have my own problems."

"But - "

Rogers was interrupted by the sound of a car's door being rudly closed and looked away from Gold to see a little blonde girl, about ten years old rushing to his side.

"Papa!"

"Tilly, I thought I've told you to say in the car."

"Mummy is calling you again," the girl explained lifting up a cell, "should I turn the phone off?"

"Good idea, now go back," Rogers insisted.

Rolling her eyes, the girl finally did as he said. He couldn't even count how many times Bae did this same thing, rolling his eyes like he thought the whole world was a silly place. Gold would do anything to see him doing it now and if it wasn't for that one job he agreed to do for Regina - and not exactly for her, but for the whole town's sake - he would still have his son there with him.

"Let me warn you about something, detective," Gold said, against his better judgment. "If you love your child, get the hell away from this town, because seven months ago I had a beautiful, strong boy and now, because of this case he is dead."

The other man's eyes got wide and he sensed that Rogers was about to say something, however Gold didn't give him the chance, he entered his shop and slammed the door shut behind himself. He went to behind the counter and opened the safe where he kept a good scotch and a few other things, finding a glass and opening the lid when a bang came from the backroom and Robert turned around, startled.

"Who is there?"

He wasn’t really expecting the curtains to be pulled away to reveal Jefferson Madden, in fact he thought a cat might have broken in through that gap on the window he always forgot to fix, however there was only one person in that town despite of Belle who had his shop keys. His fucking best friend.

"Hey, I was looking for you," Jefferson said with his usual large smile. "Sorry I didn't make it to Sarah's birthday, Grace has a flu, but I've got her a present."

Madden put a sparkly purple box on the counter, but Gold merely snorted at it, because he truly wanted to be alone right now and Jefferson was ruining his intentions to drink until he passed out.

"Thanks, I'll get it to her tomorrow," he answered, hoping the guy would leave, which he obviously didn’t.

If there was one insistent person in Storybrooke, it was certainly Jefferson. The reason they were friends was probably because they were very alike, bad childhood, a thing for sarcasm, hate for most of the town, lots of money and an unconditional love for their wives and children. Belle had always enjoyed hanging out with him and Alice, but it had been quite a while since he saw Madden.

Not that he hadn’t received quite a lot of messages, phone calls and some visits from time to time, but Gold didn’t want to see anyone after Baden’s death. He had accepted company during the funeral, but it was only because it was supposed to be short and quick moments of condolence. Then, he preferred to deal with his pain all by himself, which was why he felt angry at himself for not just going home instead of coming to the shop, as Jefferson had started to pace around with no intentions to leave.

"You need to stop opening this place at Sundays,” Madden suggested. “The whole Storybrooke is closed."

Sighing deeply, Gold leaned against his cane impatiently.

"Jefferson, why did you come here?"

"Ruby said that Sarah fainted," he answered.

Of course, she did. A damned secret couldn’t be kept in that town. Not that he didn’t know Ruby had probably told him about that because she was worried and knew that Jefferson was one of the only few people capable of talking some sense into him, since Belle wasn’t able to do it at the moment, but it didn’t made him feel any less irritated.

"Anaemia,” Robert explained. “Another thing we didn't need to face."

He took the bottle of scotch in hands again and started to pour himself a drink before Jefferson’s hand stopped him. Gold arched an eyebrow at him, wondering how he could dare to put himself between him and his scotch, but the expression in Madden’s face was so serious that he truly caught the preoccupation in there.

"It's ten in the morning, you are not drinking," Jefferson stated. "Come on, you are going home with me."

"I don't want to get a flu," Gold grumbled, watching as he picked the bottle and closed the lid, throwing the half-full glass on the trash can.

"You are not," he guaranteed. "Alice will be upstairs with Grace all the time and you and I will have some fun with playing chess."

"Jefferson, playing chess is not fun."

Madden furrowed as if utterly disagreeing with it. They used to go out for drinks, play billiards and just talk in general, but as Gold was having this little problem with alcohol, Jefferson obviously wouldn’t that him to The Rabbit Hole or any other place like that.

"Alice wouldn't like if I took you to the arcade,” Jefferson pondered. “They got some dancers there."

"My child is sick, I don't want to go out," Robert insisted.

"Sarah is strong, we both know it and you won't help with anything if you keep locked here drinking forever," he replied firmly, gesticulating towards the door. "Stop being stupid and come along."

Gold had a choice, he could go or he could stay, but he did followed Jefferson out and not because it was what he truly wanted to do, but because it was what he needed to do to be a better father to Sarah.

It had been ages since Belle felt so safe as she did in Robert’s arms in that night, she slept peacefully even after such bad news. She only asked him to stay because she didn’t trust herself to not have the biggest anxiety attack she did in her whole life if she stayed alone. Belle felt useless. Sarah needed stem cells and she could be able to provide it for her body still worked like it should. It all was so pointless that she kept having her period every single month but she couldn’t actually conceive any more children.

She felt stupid too. Belle had read about stocking umbilical cord’s blood and she hadn’t given much attention to it, so now all it was left for her was to pray that somewhere out in this world a child would have similar genetic material to Sarah and could save her illness to evolving to a leukaemia.

Her breakfast with Gold had been peaceful, almost like the ones they used to share before, but he left all too soon before she could even attempt to ask him about what was happening between them in the day prior before Sarah fainted. Then, she was left to prepare something for her daughter to eat before she woke up. Sarah came to the living room yawing and rubbing at her eyes. Belle served some sandwiches for her and she started to eat while her mother washed the dishes.

"Mama," Sarah called from her seat by the counter.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Belle inquired, approaching the little girl and touching her forehead to check if she wasn’t warm with fever. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," the little girl waved her head positively, drawing patters on her plate using some of the jam that had fallen from her sandwich. "Last night Bae told me we need to believe in miracles. He said everything will be fine in the end."

Belle smiled at her, but her heart was pounding furiously inside her chest. She truly thought Sarah’s dreams were just dreams, but the words coming out of her mouth made her shiver, just as if they were a prediction.

"Your brother had always been a faithful person," she murmured, petting Sarah’s hair.

"I believe in him."

And oh, she wished she could have the same faith.