#I need to inject every fix it fic in my blood stream

[that-girl-glader]

Nah, cause I physically have to remind myself that Thomas and Newt are FICTIONAL. FICTIONAL. Because I keep getting Hella depressed everytime I see the longing in Newt's (great job by Thomas Brodie gangster btw) eyes. Like omdays that boy LOVED Thomas. And omdays Thomas loved Newt, BUT BY DASHNER. Newt DIES??? AND I AM SO SO SAD THAT THESE TWO PEOPLE SO DESPERATELY IN LOVE DIDN'T HAVE TIME. AND TIKTOK EDITS ARE NOT HELPING. FOR the sake of my own mental health. I have to remember that they aren't actual people just to stop from hurting so much. It just makes me so sad.

[youryanderedaddy]

♡100 followers special♡

Guys, I would like to thank all of you for all the support since I started this blog, you are the best <3 Btw this is the fic Elon Musk doesn’t want you to see lol, jk jk 

Title: Humanity

Words: 3.6k 

Summary: When you get sold to an odd looking robot after the last failure of a rebellion, things go better than you had expected. Until they don’t. 

tw: robot/AI apocalypse au, dystopia au, slavery, slight non - sexual public nudity, discrimination, vulgar language, mention of death and child abuse (in the past), obsessive behavior, non - consensual touching, angst 

              AD 3061y., 14 September

 Your hometown was in ruins, shattered by the Forces and left without any source of food, clean water or reliable manpower. The rebellion had failed just like the first ten attempts and as much as you had wanted to believe this time would be different, your dreams stayed nothing more than a way to cope with the harsh reality. Any intelligent individual had either managed to flee before the prosecution or died in agony while trying. You could still hear their pained screams ringing in your ear, the desperate look in their pupils sealed forever in your mind along with the sound of heavy breathing slowly fading into the background like your own hopes for a better future.

 The ones who decided to play meek and close their eyes to the inhuman torture happening in the area were spared, but what awaited them could potentially be worse than death itself. You were part of the flock of pitiful weak humans who had surrendered to the heartless machines wanting nothing more than to see mankind squirm and kneel underneath their mechanic heel like a bug. And now you would face the hour of judgment – tired and exhausted, heavy rusty chains around your bruised ankles making every next step a little harder than the last one. But you were certain that the most painful humiliating event hadn’t taken place yet and the thought made your blood run cold. You could recall the countless stories you used to hear on the streets from your friends about androids stealing kids and selling them like cattle to the most powerful leaders of society. Back then you would laugh at them, finding the ideas ridiculous, better fit for a conspiracy theory or a legend rather than an actual threat. But during that time life was easier – the robots were still your friends, just your average citizens, equal to the humans in every manner. It wasn’t until ten years later that some of them realized just how much better, stronger and smarter than the people they really were. That’s how the apocalypse started and that’s how it was going to end. These days the mortals were becoming extinct with the population cut down to one million. You didn’t have names or rights to any possession. Your mere survival had one purpose only – to entertain the machines so they could feel human again. And right now you were being dragged to Soraq, also known as the biggest slave market in the country.

----

 It was just as terrifying as you had imagined it to be. The Capital was supposed to express wealth, luxury and maybe even happiness but your old human views were easily opposed when faced with the mud  covering what was left of the pavement and the pale exhausted bodies of the mortals wandering the streets searching for a hot meal and a little bit of kindness it was clear no one wanted to provide. You reached out to help a young girl sobbing all by herself on the ground but the Officer roughly yanked your shoulder back and ordered you to keep going – his cold hard touch was enough to bruise your skin.

 After a few long minutes of uncertainty your keeper finally stopped, pulling you up some black stairs leading to a small stage and if you weren’t too busy looking around for the others who were captured, you might have noticed the crowd gathered inches away from you. Soon enough you were forced to redirect your attention as you heard the approving screams and cheering below. There were hundreds of robots staring at you, smirking maliciously, pinning you with their cold calculating gazes. You finally realized that this wasn’t just a bad dream or a nightmare, something unreal you could easily run away from by opening your eyes. You were about to become property and the worst part was the way the cruel machines perfectly resembled people – they looked the same except for the dark red pupils each possessed which glowed when going into a fight mode. But unlike humans the androids had gotten rid of their most intimate emotions and fears, turning themselves into empty shells, shiny and murderous with no way to experience anything properly, be it pleasure or pain.

 “Ladies and gentlemen!” The Officers started off with a low chuckle, his heavy hand wrapped tightly around your arm. His voice should have been programmed to be monotone but now it had a playful edge to it. “Today our dear subjects have decided to be feisty yet again. They still haven’t learned their lesson it seems.” He grinned eerily, quickly followed by the mocking laugher of the crowd. Some even shouted slurs and insults but you tried to focus on controlling your feelings. You needed to stay calm if you wanted to survive. “We really can’t expect more from the mankind. They are primal after all, they just can’t learn from their mistakes.” The male robot paused for a second to fix his microphone. “It’s in their DNA code to be foolish and pathetic. That’s why we need to take better care of them.” He whispered the last line down your neck and despite knowing that the machines didn’t have actual lungs, you could swear you felt his cold breath on your sensitive skin.

 “The woman is in her early twenties. Her background is unknown, but she certainly looks like someone you would want in your collection.” The android continued talking as if you weren’t there, his hands all over your tinier frame. The mass was yelling, but you only made out the words „down”, „strip” and „human”. Your eyes watered involuntarily and you let the tears stream down your cheeks in spite of the weakness they showed. It didn’t matter – it couldn’t get any worse so you could at least let yourself experience such little bits of comfort. In the next moment the Officer ripped your old ragged t-shirt, exposing your breasts to the cold autumn air. The hot red humiliation washed over you as the degrading whistles pierced trough your heart. It was such a cruel unfair punishment and you couldn’t even keep your composure long enough to not break down ugly – crying right there.

 “The bidding starts at one thousand eros!” The robot’s evil voice echoed through the area, reaching the market borders. Suddenly all the attention was on your scared vulnerable half-naked self. More than ten androids raised their hands, making your stomach turn in terror. Most of them had unpleasant appearances, resembling old people, usually men. “Do we have two thousand eros?” The officer added quickly afterwards having seen the shown interest. This time there were only five bots willing to buy you for so much money – but the show was far from over. “Am I seeing three thousand eros?” Your keeper kept going, determined to drain your bidders off their wealth, but to his utmost surprise now there were only two robots with their hands in the air – one seemingly younger and the other looking all wrinkled and bitter at the world. You silently prayed that fate would work in your favor only this time and hand you over to the man who would treat you more like a living being and less like an object.

 “Ten thousand eros.” Suddenly the android with a kinder appearance declared out loud, his cold stern gaze fixed onto you. The other male hesitated for a moment, probably wondering whether or not you were worth so much money, but at the end he cursed under his breath and slowly put his hand down with a sour expression. “Sold to K-010 for ten thousand eros!” The automatic voice of the Officer was ringing in your ear like an alarm while the crowd was shouting and cussing, some going as far as to criticize your new owner for giving up his monthly salary for a “cheap human whore”. Next he was invited on the stage to sign off all the needed documents leading to your freedom being ripped away forever and you were injected with a tiny chip which would make your location visible to your buyer at any given time. The android looked at you soon after and in one swift move he managed to place his leather coat on your shoulders, muttering at you to cover up. You obeyed, embarrassed by the reminder that your upper half was still fully exposed to all the hungry prying immortals. When the chains were finally removed, the robot took you by the hand and led you to a small white flying car with a yellow lily drawn on top – the brand was popular among the most powerful members of the Forces.

 “Don’t even think about running away.” K-010 growled when he noticed the way your attention drifted to the nearby road before finally taking your seat. You knew it was pointless now that the tracking device was deep into your skin but deep down you still couldn’t kill the last bit of hope screaming at you to do something before you were too far away to find home again, wherever it was. “If you so much as look outside while we drive, I will use my lasers to turn you into ash. Okay?” You nodded meekly and sank into the soft comfortable seat, wishing that your body would stop shaking in fear but to no avail.

---

 The journey was long and silent but it made you remember the days when music was still allowed and you used to turn the radio all the way up in your mother’s car. You would sing loudly until your throat hurt and your friends would ask you to just shut up and focus on the road. Everything was so normal and happy back then. The stinging nostalgia threatened to overcome so you tried to focus on something else. You finally faced your owner in an attempt to study his appearance. He was probably in his late twenties, his hair white with some black locks here and there, a fashion trend you usually didn’t care much for. You couldn’t afford to bother with your hairstyle when you were constantly running for your life after all. The robotic male had sun-kissed brown skin, he was taller than most human men and his lips seemed softer than most robots’. But the biggest mystery laid in his deep dark eyes, they looked scarlet at first but the more you stared, the easier it was to realize the color was actually brown.

 “Are you a cyborg, K-010?” You asked in a small voice out of the blue, breaking the peace and quiet in the air. The android didn’t spare you much attention with his gaze fixed onto the open sky serving as a road, still he opened his mouth slightly to respond. “My name is Kyle, the numbers are just a formality.” He inhaled sharply as if he was reminiscing a bad memory. “And yes, I am biologically human – just with a few practical upgrades.” You had heard of such people before, the ones willing to become an experiment so they could join the high society oppressing their own neighbors, friends and relatives, setting the lands on fire and destroying the dying environment but you had never met one until today. Honestly, you felt betrayed. It was one thing to be some unfeeling machine’s plaything and entirely another to be owned by someone with a functioning heart even though they weren’t too keen on using it properly.

 “Why would you do that?” You couldn’t stop the question from leaving your lips in the next moment. “You should know what humans have to go through just to stay alive. Today hundreds of us were crushed and sold like some animals! Yet you changed yourself to appeal to their disgusting standards.” You raised your voice, the hot tears already spilling down your cheeks yet again, your fists clenched in pure anger at the foolish greedy man. He simply shook his head and leaned back. “I had my reasons, sweetheart. You don’t know anything.” With that the conversation had ended, you could try and argue or even blame him for being a selfish bastard but it wouldn’t have done you any good so you decided against it. It didn’t matter much anymore.

----

 A few months went by slowly even though time meant little to someone in your position. Living with Kyle wasn’t as terrible as you thought it would be – his mansion was big and spacious, luxurious even. You had your own room and you were allowed to explore the house in your free time. You didn’t have many duties to attend to, your work mostly revolved around cooking, cleaning and keeping company with your owner when he was too tired to keep the robotic mask on and just wanted something sweet, something weak, something more human around. He didn’t want much out of you so you tried to do your best and stay on his good side – there was always a warm meal waiting at the table at night, every window was carefully wiped from the previous dust and the glass was now shining brightly, and you would listen for hours on end to the cyborg’s ramblings no matter how dreadful it could be sometimes.

 But it couldn’t be denied that the man had some odd habits, even if you were to overlook him buying a living being instead of simply hiring a maid. For example, you knew how thin the walls actually were because you could hear him cry almost every night. The half-robot would hold you close any time the news were too loud or a bottle of beer had fallen and shattered on the ground. Still you weren’t allowed to leave his home so all the doors leading to the outside world were locked while he was away or at work. And there were these weird long cuts on his shoulders you had managed to take notice of the first time your master had asked you to bathe him. You hadn’t meant to prey upon his naked form, but the task had been so awkward you needed something to focus on to drive the unpleasant thoughts away. The injuries looked deep and the man would close his eyes any time the soap made contact with them. Finally one day you gathered the courage to ask him what had caused the raw scratches. You were messaging his scalp gently, applying jasmine in his roots, trying to soothe his nerves and get to the information.

 “ ’S not important. ” K-010 answered lazily while arching his back into your touch. More often than not the male would melt under your care and you couldn’t help but wonder just how lonely it was to be neither a human nor a machine. “She is dead now.” He whispered darkly, secretly hoping it wouldn’t reach your ear, yet it did. “Who is dead?” You questioned him after a while, stroking his wet locks until you heard him moan. You were getting better and better at provoking a reaction from the cyborg and despite knowing it was manipulative and a little devious, he was still the ruthless owner who held your one and only life in his palms. You needed to be sneaky if you wanted a safe, comfortable life.

 “My mother.” Kyle added quickly before looking at the blue ceiling, the glossy material copying both of your reflections. The mention of the woman made the sensitive skin of his nape crawl but he kept talking. “The crazy bitch used to beat me every. She even tried to kill me a couple of times.” A slight smile appeared on his full red lips. “It didn’t work out in the end, unfortunately.” So that’s where the cuts were from – he had been violated in his childhood by no other than the person supposed to look after him. You had always hated abusive parents taking advantage of their authority and even now your own imagination made your heart ache at the picture it painted. A small boy being hit over and over until there his whole body was bruised and bloodied. A child with no one to turn to. It didn’t excuse your master’s evil doing but it certainly explained a lot. “Don’t make such a sad face, darling.” He cooed at you, reaching out to pinch your cheek. “I will always be grateful to the Forces since they gave me the power I needed to finally free myself from her grasp. I even buried her myself after everything was said and done.” Kyle grinned from side to side like a little kid waiting to be praised for the picture they had drawn, except now the man was speaking of the way he had murdered his mother. You were at a total loss of words, suddenly too frightened to respond.

 “What’s so special about being a human anyways?” The cyborg grumbled, sounding almost offended of the words you still haven’t said but were definitely thinking deep down. You were staring forward unable to draw away from that one crack in the wall, his words flying above your head. Your confusion was interrupted by the man quickly raising to his knees and catching both of your hands with his strong robotized ones. The cold touch of the metal combined with the camouflage of a soft skin was enough to mess your mind even further into the maze that was his dark gaze. Next thing you knew the male had you pinned on the hard ground, spotlessly clean and reeking of abstergent. You tried to squirm away but the hold of your wrists was too tight and strong to even make your struggling worth the trouble. “Just look at how weak you humans are.” K-010 taunted you, smirking teasingly, cruelly, yet there was something desperate in his eyes, something hidden. “You are so fragile I could probably break you if I were to press harder on your flesh.” He whispered into your ear, breathing down your neck as he dug his icy fingers into your collarbone and made you whimper pathetically at the dull pain. “People are foolish creatures, illogical by nature. They try to fight authority yet the moment they are left with a free choice, they find a way to run from their responsibilities.” The cyborg chuckled maliciously while digging his nails further into your skin.

 “We might be doomed forever because of our emotions but there is something you fail to consider.” You finally spoke out despite your rapid heartbeat and fear so great it could defeat death herself. The predator already had you in his sharp claws and there was no pointing in playing coy anymore. The worst had come to worst. Your words caught the attention of the half-robot and he licked his lips in anticipation to hear what you had to say. “Unlike the androids we can still experience love. And at the end a life without love is a life wasted in the big picture. We might be mortal but you are the ones waiting to die instead of living.” You spat at the man fiercely, ready to face any punishment he would bestow upon your weak tired body for the sheer honesty. Instead he started laughed maniacally, the sound so loud it hit the ceiling and echoed through the house like a pained scream and so violent his shoulders shook to the sides. For the first time his eyes were glowing in a bright red color so saturated and vivid you couldn’t stand to look at them.

 “This is really funny, my little human.” Kyle pronounced carefully, having calmed down. He lowered his head so that his lips were ghosting over yours, just brushing against them. “I belong with neither humans nor robots so why does my chest ache every time I look at you? Tell me, darling, am I in love?” His voice was harsh, husky – as if he was purposely trying to sound evil but the tears in his eyes pointed at another feeling. A raw painful feeling.

 You couldn’t reply not only because you had no idea what to say after the confession but also because you couldn’t breathe properly with his pretty, wicked face so close to yours. Your silence only managed to stir the cyborg up further into his madness and he kissed you roughly, hungrily lapping and biting at your lips until they were sore and bruised, the robotic man more than happy to lick the small drops of blood off. For a moment you considered kicking or shouting for help but there wasn’t anyone willing to in the radius of kilometers. No one of significance cared much about the few remaining mortals. “I could never love you.” You uttered weakly, half – heartedly pushing the man away. You were all alone in this and there wasn’t really a point in fighting someone so much bigger and stronger, yet a sad little part of you hoped that Kyle would leave you alone if you made it clear enough just how much his actions were hurting you.

  “It’s fine if you don’t love me by choice.” Your master replied calmly in a cold piercing voice. His hands were wandering through your form stopping at your hips to draw them into his. The pretty dress you used to like so much was now crumpled and reeking of him, torn apart from your shivering body and thrown away. You wished you could cry but all the adrenaline had left you too uneasy to process the pain and fear. Kyle whispered in your ear while stroking your hair gently and it made you feel like a trembling sheep before a starved butcher. “I own you, little human.” He placed a small kiss on your hot sensitive neck. “And I have enough love for both of us.”

[lacontroller1991]

Fix You (Freddie Mercury x Reader)

Song Fic “Fix You” by Coldplay

Uh to me this is the saddest thing I’ve written beside my Joe!Deaky fic about Freddie’s death, so beware

WARNING: Heavy mentions of drug abuse.

When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need

When you feel so tired but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

You’ve tried to give up your drug addiction long before you met Freddie and the rest of Queen. Being addicted to drugs since you were a kid, it was a habit hard to fix. After becoming Queen’s assistant, you started sobering up while on tours since you were constantly around the boys and didn’t want them knowing. Occasionally you would sneak backstage during their set and take a snort of cocaine some groupie would have, ignoring the stares from said groupies. However, you didn’t get much, until you toured in Mexico with them.

When the tears come streaming down your face

'Cause you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste

What could it be worse?

You placed the needle by your vein, slowly pushing into the skin, feeling the familiar pinch you were used to. Injecting the drugs, you sat on the bathroom floor and rolled your head back, relishing in the relaxing effect the drugs had. After a couple more injections you were out of it. Time was not something you knew and frankly, you were glad. For the first time in a couple of years, you were relaxed. You could do what you’ve been craving to do after you started working. You began to drift away as a memory began to set in.

You were about 7 at the time your parents started introducing you to drugs. Claiming it was a candy stimulant, you never questioned your parents, knowing that if you did, you’d get in trouble. As the years passed, you were in and out of hospitals, seeking redemption from the demon that controlled your life. Your parents yelled at you the first time you were admitted at the hospital. You were 12. Doctors just thought you got into a stash, but little did they know, you had been consuming drugs through multiple ways.

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

“I wonder where (Y/N) went, she was here a couple hours ago, and I doubt she retired so soon, especially after a show,” Roger commented out of the blue as the rest of the band nodded their heads.

“Yeah she normally goes with us to the bar, should we check on her?” Brian asked as Roger nodded his head, gathering his stuff getting ready to leave, but Freddie stopped him.

“Let me do it darling, I’ll check on her.”

“You sure?” Brian asked as Freddie waved him away.

“Of course I’m sure!” Freddie shouted before walking out of the room and making his way up to the hotel room.

But high up above or down below

When you are too in love to let it show

Oh but if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

You laid on your bathroom floor, spun out and not paying attention to the banging on the door to your room.

“(Y/N) Darling, you in there?” Freddie asked through the door and waited for a response before knocking again.

“Come on, I know you’re in there love, let me in,” shaking the door handle, he sighed, trying to shove the door open but to no avail. Putting his hands in his pockets, he pulled out a key that Miami had given him for access to your room in case you wouldn’t answer. Unlocking the door, Freddie walked in the pristine room and looked around. Your suitcase was neatly tucked away underneath your made bed. Nothing seemed out of place. Confusion spread on his face as he noted that the lights were on and you weren’t in the room.

“Darling?” He called out which caused you to wake up in a startle. Panic set in as you quickly rushed to hide the stuff. Ripping out your needle, you quickly threw it somewhere in the bathroom along with the drugs and hid your hands behind your back as he entered the bathroom.

“Oh, sorry love, didn’t know you were in here,” he mentioned before beginning to close the door, but you stopped him from doing so.

“It’s nothing really, whatcha need Fred?” You asked, pretending to not notice the pain in your arm as blood started dripping down from your vein and onto the floor.

“Well the boys and I were wondering where you were, so I came and looked for you,” he replied before looking down and spotting the droplets of blood that stained the white tile, “what’s that?”

“Oh that,” you asked pointing to the blood on the floor, making sure to not use your other arm, “it’s dye, I was gonna die my hair.” You smiled sweetly but Freddie rolled his eyes and scanned the counter, not seeing any dye bottles or dye.

“What is that. I’m not gonna ask again,” his voice got stern which caused you to stare at him in shock before sighing and pulling your arm from behind your back, causing his eyes to bulge as he looked at the bloody arm. Quickly pushing past you, he grabbed toilet paper and applied pressure to the cut.

“What happened?” Concern laced his voice as you let out a shaky voice, looking anywhere but him.

“Nothing, it’s a minor cut.”

“Dear, you do not get a minor cut that bleeds this much. What were you doing?”

“Drugs.” You admitted causing him to look at you before pulling you into a tight hug. Beginning to cry, you leaned into his chest as he lowered the both of you to the floor while he sat there holding you in his arms.

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

“Should we go check on them?” John asked Roger and Brian, who looked at the clock for the 80th time, wondering what was taking Freddie long to find you. Eventually nodding, the three got up and left the room, heading to the hotel.

As they walked into the hotel, they saw Miami sitting on the bench in the main entrance on the phone with someone they didn’t know. As Miami hung up the phone, he walked over to the band with a look of sorrow on his face.

“It’s (Y/N).”

“What happened?” Brian was the first to ask a question as Miami rubbed his face.

“Freddie found (Y/N) in her bathroom with her arm bleeding, he’s with her right now but apparently she was doing drugs.”

“Well we all do drugs,” Roger commented as Miami shook his head.

“According to what (Y/N) told Freddie, she’s been addicted to drugs for most of her life, I am contacting a rehab specialist for when we get back home so she can get better.”

“Alright thanks, Miami,” John said as the three took off towards your room.

Tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

oh and tears come streaming down your face

And I

Barging into the room, Roger, Brian and John heaved for air loudly as Freddie and you looked up from where you were on the bed. Their faces softened as they noticed the bandage around your arm and they all took a seat on your bed.

“Why?” John asked, rubbing his hand over your leg as you let out a breath, leaning into Freddie’s chest.

“It’s a long story,” you replied as Roger rolled his eyes, his gaze stern but concerned and scared.

“Well, you better start explaining,” Rog commanded as Freddie shot him a disappointing stare while Brian smacked his arm.

“Watch it Rog,” Brian warned before looking back at you and smiling softly.

“When I was younger, around 7, my parents started me on drugs and ever since I’ve been in and out of rehab facilities. I thought that if I got the job as your guys’s assistants then maybe it would help, but it hasn’t and I managed to get some drugs and so that’s why I didn’t stay after the show.” You whispered out as they all looked at you in pity.

“(Y/N), we could’ve helped,” Brian mentioned as the rest nodded in agreement.

“I already told her that dear, she doesn’t believe me,” Fred responded as John looked at you.

“Why wouldn’t you believe that. We care for you.”

“Yes I know, but you guys have the tour and albums and I couldn’t burden you with this.” You explained as Freddie got out of the bed and paced around the room.

“So here is what’s going to happen. Each week, you will be in a room with one of us, for every tour, no matter what, until you are 100% better. When we get back from tour, we are going to help you, no denial. We will help you with therapy and everything else. You’re our family. So starting tonight, you’ll stay with me, next week you’ll stay with Brian, then Roger, then John and it repeats. Understand?” Freddie stated as you looked at him as if he were a crazed man.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Oh he’s serious,” Roger replied, reading Freddie’s eyes and determining that he wasn’t joking around. Walking back to the bed, Freddie climbed in next to you and grabbed your hands.

“We will get through this, I promise darling.”

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

[alisonembers]

Cogs and Queens (Eberron Fan Fic) - Week 10

Content Warning: Course Language, Depression, Violence.

—————————————————–

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S0z2iDg9ZF7diC1Zz0n_E7F0lfaxWmmq/view?usp=sharing Properly formatted version.

Mercury’s consciousness comes back to the realm, Kal screaming at Mercury’s face, Tal panicking in the corner of the room.

“Wake the fuck up, god damn it! Don’t die on me! Wake up!” Tal screams.

Mercury coughs, turning on their side, vomiting off the bed, a stream of blood mixed with bile landing on the floor.

“Oh, thank gods,” Kal says. “Your pulse stopped. I thought you were gone!” they brace themselves against the nearby wall.

Mercury looks up at Tal with watery eyes. “The fuck you doin’ here?”

“I’m glad to see you ali—”

“Fuck off, Tal,” Mercury says, rolling back onto the bed.

“Are you okay? How do you feel?” Kal asks, holding Mercury’s cheek.

“I had a bad dream when I apparently flatlined.”

“You sure you didn’t go to the afterlife?” Tal asks.

Mercury reaches for the scalpel holstered on Kal’s chest. They whip it across the room at Tal, shattering against the wooden frame next to him with lightning speed.

Tal backs away through the door, his hands raised.

“What about your wrist? Is it still in pain?” Kal asks.

“I can feel it, but it doesn’t hurt. What did you do?” Mercury replies.

“I injected a mix of medicines into your wrist, which will influence the bones to heal faster,” Kal says.

Mercury raises their arm, looking at their wrist. “I can’t move it. I mean. Not that I’d want to. But it’s not flopping around.”

“Magically in place. With a spell. It’s set to release in two days when it should be healed.”

“Thanks…” Mercury says. “I need to get out of here. I need to get home,” Mercury hoists themselves up with their mechanical arm.

“Try to rest until it’s healed. Please.” Kal places a hand on their shoulder.

“I have one thing I need to do before I rest…” Mercury moves to the side they didn’t vomit on, and with their mechanical hand, breaks their revolver forward. They reach in behind their back under the coat, feeling for a pouch of ammo. They take out a single bullet and load it into their gun.

“Mercury, please,” Kal says. “Don’t do this.”

Mercury cracks the revolver back and walks around the bed. They head for the doorway cocking the hammer of their gun. As they walk into the hallway, they spot Tal sitting at a table in the kitchen. Mercury points their gun at them, eyes full of fury.

Tal raises his hands, squirming back in his seat. He falls out, tumbling backward, hitting his head on the bricks of a fireplace behind him. He looks up at Mercury, fear in his eyes. “No, please, I’m sorry!” he yells, looking at his gun across the room.

“Get the fuck out of Sharn by morning, or I’m coming for you!” Mercury shouts.

“What? Where do you expect—”

Mercury screams in frustration, tears streaming down their face. “Fucking leave gods damn it!”

“I’ll be seeing you,” Tal says with a straight face.

Mercury kicks the table over, landing on Tal, and storms out of the room. They push through the front door out onto the street, tears streaming down their face.

 V

 Mercury sank deeper and deeper into the cold water. Life had been a mess for them, and every day brought increasingly tricky struggles. I wonder how Quinton’s doing… Haven’t seen ‘em since I fled. Their bottom meets the flooring of the deep stone tub, their eyes tight shut.

A vision comes to them, a dream, though not quite. Mercury finds themselves standing in a wheat field, grain growing to knees height. They spot a newly painted farm house, with an older man out the front hacking away at wood. Two small pink tieflings come running out of the house. “Mercie, Merry! Behave!” a familiar voice calls from inside the house.

Mercury begins walking towards the farm house, pushing their way through the fields of wheat. That’s not…

“Come here you two!” the voice calls, an older pink tiefling with a small frame rushing out the door.

“Mom! Can we go to the markets today!?” one of the twins call.

“Mercie, not today, we already told you we can on weeks end,” the older tiefling says, kneeling to them.

“But moooom, I wanna get apples!” Mercie says.

“We have apples inside, sweetie.”

“They’re green!” Merry says. “I want red!”

“Mercie, Merry… Please. If you behave and wash your clothes, I’ll add some extra spice into tonights stew.”

“Okay!” the two children shout, and run back inside.

The figure turns out looking across the field, locking eyes with Mercury, yet seeing right through them. They pull their hood and cloack back, revealing their mechanical arm and identical yet older face to Mercury.

Mercury opens their eyes, gently feeling the bottom of the tub, using their tail to propel them back up towards the surface.

“I was worried for you,” Davil says from Mercury’s right.

“Oh, Davil!” Mercury scurries out of the tub, over the edge, their tail making up for their broken wrist. They launch into Davil’s arms, smiling as tears stream down their cheeks. “I asked for you, but you were working.”

Davil gently pets them on the back of the head. “Are you okay? What happened.”

“Remember Tal?” Mercury asks.

“Tal?”

“The half-orc who showed me around when I first came to Sharn,” Mercury says. “He introduced me to Quinton? Use to ride with the gang a few years ago?”

“I remember,” Davil says.

“Fucker broke my wrist. He hurt me bad. He used me. In more ways than one,” Mercury says nervously.

“Gods damn, Mercury. What did I tell you?” Davil hugs them tight, their wet body soaking into Davils clothes.

Mercury cries into their shoulder for many minutes, Davil tearing up himself, for he had rarely seen Mercury in such a state.

 V

 Mercury lays tucked tight against Davil’s chest, watching the lantern light shimmering in through the windows. “I wish it was moonlight.”

“Would you like that?” Davil asks, sroking their cheek.

“Yeah. I would.”

“Take a break from this life, Mercury. Spend a few weeks with me. Come with me out of town, leaving Sharn for awhile. We can go to a small town and rent a room there. Get a different pace for awhile.”

“I’d like that,” Mercury says, their tail coiling around Davil’s leg.

“I’m glad,” Davil moves his hand down from Mercury’s check, resting his hand on their upper belly.

“You know… I think I might want kids one day,” Mercury says nervously.

“You want kids?” Davil asks surprised.

“Yeah. I mean. I can dream… But this curse on me… I don’t know if it will let me… If I can find a way to fix myself. Maybe that’s something I can do.”

“Let me get this straight. You? I mean. What would you want your kids to call you?”

“Mom. I don’t care if it’s inheritly gendered. I just think it’s nice. Claim it for myself,” Merucry says.

“Crazy. Mother Mercury. Mommy Mercury. Mamma Mercury,” Davil says giggling.

“Okay, stop!” Mercury replies, laughing. “I live every second like it’s my last… But it doesn’t hurt to dream once in awhile.”

“I love you, Mercury,” Davil says. “I don’t want to loose you.”

Mercury rolls their head to look at Davil, a smirk on their face. “I know, Davil… I don’t know I can promise to live…”

“Just don’t try to die, okay?” Davil asks.

“If anything happened to you… If anyone hurt you… I’d not stop until they were dead.” Mercury says. They lean up, kissing him, and roll back into being little spoon. Two weeks outside of Sharn. Never been away for more than a night… Not since I came here.

 V

 Mercury slowly moves across the room, looking out of the top floor naked. What does it mean? I was where early? The curse? Kal said I flatlined… I was dead…

Davil gently wraps his arms around Mercury from behind. “So when did you want to leave?”

“End of week?” Mercury asks. “I promise to rest until then. I won’t go out looking for a fight.”

“I trust you,” Davil says.

“I trust you too…” Mercury replies. They try to flex their right wrist, yet remains completely fixed.

Mercury closes their eyes, leaning backwards into Davil’s chest, taking a deep breath in, and taking the moment to think.

To be continued…

[notgoingtohappen]

Eternity (Stefan/Caroline Fanfic)

My version of the finale. Basically the ultimate fix-it fic. I needed to write this to heal and this is canon for me now. I hope you guys like it. 

Dedicated to the entire steroline fandom.

~

Time slowed down, each millisecond an eternity.

Stefan's eyes hurt, looking straight ahead, at the white-hot hellfire roaring towards him and Katherine.

His heart beat at a million miles an hour, and dread filled his chest. He felt numb, and terrified, and more miserable than he had ever, ever felt in his one hundred and seventy years alive.

This was it.

This is how he died, on his wedding day, immolating himself in fire.

He tried to remember.

I'm doing this for myself. I need to. It's the only way I'll find peace.

Moments from his end, the thought was laughable. And so untrue.

He tried to say the words over and over again in his head, and it didn't work. He could feel the panic building up in him.

A small voice in the back of his mind screamed at him, getting louder and louder. His mind raced. He didn't want this. He had everything, he was finally happy. He was married to the love of his life, he had killed the devil, he had a chance at redemption, he had a family.

Oh, god. What had he done? Taking the cure out of himself and injecting Damon with it? What had he been thinking? Damon would die as a mortal before Elena ever woke up.

He didn't even say goodbye to Caroline. After years of obstacles in their way, they were finally together. They were married. The thought of her crying over him again, the pain she'd feel on losing him forever, clawed at his heart.

None of them would ever forgive him for this.

All the lives the ripper had claimed, Enzo, every name he'd written down all these decades. All of his sins... he needed to atone. He needed to make it right.

He would never forgive himself for this.

The white light was going to have to wait.

Time sped up again. The fire was so close, the heat stung his face.

The impulse that overtook him was unbelievably strong. It was the most natural instinct; of survival. His reaction was instantaneous: He pushed Katherine forward, and jumped to the side as the flames hurtled past him and Damon, taking Katherine Pierce with them.

Relief flooded him for a second before he realised something was off. How had he moved that fast? How did he feel strength and power surging through him, when he was supposed to age rapidly and be dead within a week? Why did he feel​... like a vampire?

Impossible.

He eyed Damon who was lying unconscious next to him. He started pulling him up, bracing himself for the full weight of a grown man, and found that Damon was about as heavy as a stack of books.

What was going on?

Was he in heaven?

He tested his speed, which should have been a regular human's, and immediately sped forward, out on to the street and past the town's border.

Whatever was going on could wait. He needed to find his wife.

He stopped, lay Damon on the side of the road, took his phone out of the pocket and stared at the screen. One message, Caroline Forbes.

"Stefan, please call me. Please."

Her voice was shaking, racked with tears. He swallowed, swearing he could feel his heart break in two. How could he have imagined doing this to her?

"I need you to know that I understand"

He didn't deserve someone like her. Who loved him and his haunted mind, enough to let him know she understood why he was going to sacrifice himself on their wedding day.

"I love you."

She was struggling to get the words out, each word succeeded by heaving sobs. He could see her in his head, tears streaming down her face, twisted with grief instead of lit up with her usual beautiful smile.

"I will love you... forever."

Stefan's vision blurred, the lump is his throat actually painful now.

She cried quietly for a few seconds before whispering a heartbroken "I understand."

The tears began to spill as he hit dial. He was never going to leave her again. He was never going to do that to her again.

~

Caroline sat in the dark, deserted parking lot outside the motel, hugging herself as shaking sobs escaped her. She had thought she was done with grief. It made her chest seem hollow. Empty.

Stefan was dead.

The thought made ice water run through her veins.

She glanced down at her hands, trying to calm herself. She looked at the three rings decorated her fingers. Stefan had given her each of them. The daylight ring, given to her her by her best friend. Her engagement ring, by her fiance. Her wedding ring, by her husband. They didn't even get to spend a day together as husband and wife.

She felt like she was never going to stop crying. Thank god the girls were playing with Alaric in the motel and couldn't see her. How was she ever going to smile and put on a brave face for them? How was she going to tell them their stepfather was gone?

Her phone buzzed, and despite everything she had been through her entire life, she felt her heart hopefully skip a beat.

It sank again when she saw Bonnie's face flash across it.

"Hey, Caroline?" Bonnie asked gently.

She missed her best friend so much. She needed her. Bonnie was the only one who would understand her pain, having lost Enzo.

"Hey. Where are you?"

"I'm in town, getting in a car and on my way to you and Ric."

Caroline tried to string a coherent thought together. "So it isn't destroyed?"

"It isn't destroyed. Caroline, I sent the fire back. I have my magic again."

She tried take a deep breath before whispering, "Stefan and Damon?"

Silence.

"I looked everywhere. They're gone, so is Katherine. I'm so sorry. How are you holding up? Can I get you anything?"

Caroline felt the grief consume her all over again. 

"Just get here quick"

Not waiting for a reply, she hung up the phone.

And what she saw made her heart practically stop beating.

One missed call, Stefan Salvatore.

It couldn't be.

She stared, shell shocked and unable to move, as Alaric rushed out of the motel towards her.

"Caroline! Stefan called me. He and Damon are okay. They're on their way."

Her head swam, and all the stress and pain and trauma of the past few hours caught up to her as she fainted.

~

Caroline lay snuggled up in the warm bed, stirring awake as she felt the early morning sunlight falling on her face. She sighed and turned over in the soft blankets, before opening her eyes and starting as she realised she was in an unfamiliar room.

The memories came rushing back. Her wedding. Kelly Donovan. The explosion. Katherine. Stefan. Oh god, Stefan.

She sat up quickly and saw a figure simultaneously get up from the chair next to the bed and speed towards her.

Stefan sat at the edge of her bed, his hands gently taking hers in his.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He was shaking his head, eyes so sad, hero hair tousled and wedding suit still on.

Caroline stared, speechless.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know how you'll ever forgive me. I don't deserve you. I'm so sorry for putting you through that Caroline, on your wedding night, after I promised you I'd prove myself worthy of you every day for the rest of my life. I understand if you-"

She cut him off by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing into him like she was never going to let go. Like he'd come back from the dead, which he had.

His arms snaked up her back, pulling her close tightly, as butterflies fluttered in her stomach at his touch. He felt so familiar. She felt safe again. Like nothing had changed and everything was going to be okay. And it was. She couldn't believe it.

They sat like that for what seemed like forever, neither wanting to let go. Until he said something that struck fear in her heart again.

"Caroline... I have to tell you something."

She pulled away, looking intently into his eyes, for a hint. His eyes glistened, and there was a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I'm not human anymore."

Caroline finally found her voice. That was probably the longest she had ever been quiet.

"What? Stefan I know you were on suicide mission number twenty, but tell me you still have the cure in you."

He looked away and she wondered how much more she could take. All these emotions and changes. Hope, just to have it ripped away from her. This was a cruel joke. Someone up there hated her.

Stefan's hand touched her hair softly before cupping her face like he always did to reassure her.

"I gave it to Damon. But when I did, I had speed and strength again. But I don't need human blood like before. I'm not a vampire."

She was so confused now.

"What... what are you saying?"

"I'm like Cade. Bonnie thinks because I killed him, I got his immortality. Just like her. She became immortal too, when she created another dimension."

She swallowed, gripping his hands tighter. "So you... rule hell?"

He chuckled. "I don't think so. Kai said Katherine took over that. I do have some of his powers though. When I look at people, somehow I just know if they're good or evil. And somehow we brought Enzo back."

A smile lit up Caroline's face and joy filled Stefan. He had been afraid afraid he'd never see that smile again.

"I love you, Mr Salvatore."

"And I will love you forever, Mrs Forbes hyphen Salvatore. Did you know that goodness radiates off you more than anyone I've ever met?"

She wrinkled her nose playfully. "Wow. Too cheesy."

"Completely true, though." He said, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

Caroline laughed and Stefan crashed his lips to hers, hands sliding up her back and pressing her close to him as she shifted onto his lap, straddling him.

She pulled away to tell him, very clearly, "Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again."

Stefan nodded, eyes dark with desire, before spinning her around so she lay below him and kissing her again.

~

"Just tell me! Where are we going?" Caroline laughed, walking into the airport with Stefan, her hand in his warm one.

He smiled and stayed annoyingly quiet.

"Fine. I'll guess. Paris? Dubai? Hawaii?"

"It's our hundredth wedding anniversary, so I planned something a little more special." He said, eyes glinting mischievously.

"God, if you say we're going to Antarctica to honour that bloody snow globe you gifted me back when we met, I am leaving you and returning to the school."

He stared at her for a moment and then burst out laughing.

Since starting his path of redemption, and a fair amount of therapy, he smiled a lot more. It made her happy to know he was healing.

He pulled her away from the crowd, into the area where the private jets were.

She narrowed her eyes, grinning at him.

He handed her a brochure with a beautiful island on it with a name she couldn't pronounce.

"Surprise! I figured it was time to start spending my three hundred year old wealth."

Caroline stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck. He dropped their bags and his hands came to rest on her waist, holding her as he anxiously watched for her reaction.

"Stefan Salvatore," she said, "Are you going Twilight on me?"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"You know? Those vampire novels? Edward Cullen, the werewolf, dumb love triangle, very inaccurate?"

Understanding dawned in his eyes. "I'm offended." He announced, looking away dramatically.

"Did you name it Isle Caroline?" She was unable to contain the peal of laughter that escaped her lips.

He shook his head, picking up the bags and walking towards the counter.

She ran up behind him, hugging his waist and resting her head on top of his shoulder.

"Thank you for this amazing gift, Stefan."

He turned and looked at her, both their eyes glowing with love. Love that was meant to last, that hadn't ever faded, merely morphed, from friendship to something even better than true love.

"Anything for you."

He made her happy. And she made him happy. And they had eternity together, here on earth and then in the afterlife, where they would find each other and everyone they loved again.

THE END.

[queercapwriting]

Hey, if you got the time could you please write a Sanvers fic where Alex risks her life for Kara because we all know Alex, that hoe takes bullets for her BULLETPROOF sister, and maybe gets hurt and Maggie gets mad and scared? (Bonus Points if Maggie finds out this way that Kara is Supergirl)

Perhaps this is obvious from the prompt, but be aware that this getsviolent (but of course our babies will be fine and in love and safe, my nameisn’t Jason Rothenberg).

IF YOU CAN’T READ PAST THE “Keep Reading” LINE FOR SOME REASON, READ THE WHOLE THING HERE, because it does NOT end with Kara yelling!!!!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/8856685/chapters/20919791

Kara doesn’t see the Kryptonite-based, diamond-tipped bullets speedingtoward her.

So she doesn’t understand, at first, why Maggie is breaking formation; whyMaggie is screaming her sister’s name; why Maggie is sprinting across thewarehouse, across the warehouse whose walls are shattering from the barrage ofmachine gun fire she is blazing through.

She doesn’t understand, until she hears a sickening ripping open of flesh.

Doesn’t understand until she looks down to see Maggie get there just in timeto catch Alex as her limp body falls; until she sees Maggie cradle Alex’sbleeding form with one arm and unloading five rounds rapid of bullets into thechests of the two Cadmus lackeys who’d shot at Kara.

Who’d hit Alex. Because Kara didn’t see, because Alex dove.

And Alex’s blood is pouring out of her shredded torso, flooding ontoMaggie’s hands, soaking into Maggie’s clothes, and Maggie’s gun is firing andMaggie is not missing a single target.

Kara sees only red and Kara seees only her sister and Kara has sworn neverto kill but Alex is pale and Alex is starting to seize and suddenly Kara is realizingthat there is no one left to rage at; no one left to even consider killing,consider maiming, consider hating – except herself, because Alex, Alex, Alex– no one left because Maggie has left no one standing.

So now there is only the eerie silence that accompanies the aftermath ofMaggie’s loaded gun; now there is only J’onn sprinting and Kara flying andAlex’s third-in-command shouting orders for an immediate medical evac andMaggie ripping at her shirt and using it to stem Alex’s bleeding – to try tostem Alex’s bleeding – her hands the color of a Halloween prank gone wrong; herhands the color of war.

Kara lands and Kara yells and Karaconvulses and J’onn’s arms try to contain her and she knows nothing else.

(continues below the keep reading line and here).

“Alex,” she sits bolt upright, and J’onn regards her gravely.

“She’s still unconscious after surgery, she’s with Detective Sawyer, she – ”

Kara is gone, Kara is sprinting, Kara is slamming her way into the emergencymedical bay; Kara is not at all slowed down by the sedative J’onn must have injectedher with to bring her back to the DEO in one piece.

The thing that stops Kara in her tracks is the sight of Maggie; Maggie withstitches holding together her shooting arm; Maggie covered in a combination ofher own blood and her girlfriend’s; Maggie sitting beside Alex’s bed, faceblank, not even flinching at the bang Kara causes when she careens into theroom.

Eyes are empty. Eyes staring at Alex’s still too pale face.

Eyes with the ghosts of eight dead Cadmus gunmen – eight dead Cadmus people– screaming behind their shutters.

“You were shot,” Kara says to Maggie simply, dully, as she trembles forwardto take Alex’s limp, IV-ed hand into her own, finding the pulse in her fingersand breathing for the first time since she saw her sister falling.

Maggie doesn’t look at her. Maggie’s face, her body, doesn’t register thatshe heard her at all. Her shirt is still dripping with Alex’s blood, asickening counterpoint to the machines measuring Alex’s weak vital signs. Herhands are crusted dark red.

Kara turns to J’onn, who’s slipped into the room behind her, arms foldedacross his chest and staring, grim-faced, between the girls. His girls.

He shakes his head slightly at her, and Kara tries again.

“Maggie. You were shot.”

Maggie’s expression still doesn’t change, and her eyes don’t leave Alex’sface, but she swallows and she breathes and she opens her mouth and her voicecreaks like she hasn’t used it in years when she says, “I didn’t notice.”

Kara bites her lip and J’onn stares at the floor.

“You got her out of there, Detective Sawyer. You got her out in time. She’sstrong. She’ll fight, and she’ll be just fine – ”

“You’re bulletproof,” Maggie ignores J’onn and moves for the firsttime, fixing her eyes on Kara. Eyes sharp enough, eyes enraged enough, to obliteratethe chests of three Cadmus men, to shatter the skulls of five, even with herown arm riddled with their bullets.

Because they massacred everyone in the bar. People she had cared for. Peopleshe had loved.

And god dammit, they would not take Alex Danvers from her, too.

And those eyes, that gaze, that rage, she’s focusing now on Kara – on Supergirl– on the woman whose cape alone can shield people from full out explosions,whose fingers could crush bullets, whose hands could toss an entire alien prisoninto space.

“You. Are. Bulletproof,” she spits again, and she rises this time.

Winn’s pale-faced sprint through the hall comes to an abrupt halt when hehears Maggie’s yell. He grimaces, and tears flood his eyes. He swallows, and hesprints back in the opposite direction, his face a mask of grim determination.

“The bullets were laced with Kryptonite, Detec – ” J’onn tries, stepping upto Kara’s side like he’s bracing for Maggie to attack. Because he is.

“I don’t care if they were laced with nuclear explosives. You’re bulletproofand you people have her so brainwashed into doing her job perfectly thatshe shredded her abdomen for you, she might right now be dying for you,and to what, spare you a little pain? My god, you think you’re so highand mighty that you – ”

“Maggie – ”

“Not the time, Winn,” she growls and he cowers, breathless in the doorway,but he doesn’t move.

“Yes, now, Maggie. Listen, you love Alex. So does J’onn. So do I. And so…”He takes a deep breath and glances at Kara, who holds her breath at J’onn, whonods once. “And so does Kara.”

“What the hell does Kara have to do with this?”

Winn gulps and Winn passes Kara the glasses he’d run to get. She breathesand she uses one hand – the other is still holding Alex’s – to put them on.

Maggie furrows her brow and Maggie blinks and Maggie stares and Maggie’sstomach implodes and Maggie collapses.

Knees crash into the cold ground, shoulders wrack with silent sobs, withindefinable grief.

Because now – because Supergirl is Kara, damnit, and Alex, Alex, ofcourse, Alex – now suddenly her rage has nowhere to go, no one to be pouredinto, and it might just destroy her.

She doesn’t hear James run into the room and she doesn’t hear him when hemoves behind Alex’s bed and kneels next to her. She recognizes his hands, hisscent, surrounding her as he gathers he into his arms, pulls her against hischest.

She recognizes him, recognizes who’s holding her. And she hits him anyway.

Hits at him, stronger with one arm than the other because the force of herflat fisted punches nearly rip her stitches open. She hits at him, tears herthroat with her guttural, futile yells, hits at him harder.

Kara sobs and Winn covers his mouth with his hands and J’onn looks carefullyaway and James absorbs every blow, just shushing Maggie softly and wrapping hisarms even tighter around her raging, trembling, breaking body until her punchesbecome sobs and her yells become desperate gasps for air.

None of them knows how long they stay like that; how long Maggie’s bodywracks with wasted rage and consuming terror; how long James stares at Karathrough Maggie’s mess of hair, whispering wordless comfort to the woman who ranacross a machine gun sprayed room to get to one of his best friends; how longWinn’s hand alternates between covering his face and running worriedly throughhis hair, the other firmly holding Kara’s free hand; how long tears stream downKara’s face, alternating her gaze between James’s sad eyes and Alex’s closedone; how long J’onn doesn’t breathe, holding his arms across his chest becauseif he moves them – if he stops physically holding himself together – he mightjust break, too.

None of them know how long they hold vigil before Alex coughs, before Alexrasps her sister’s name.

“I’m here. I’m here, Alex. You’re okay, everyone’s okay – ”

Alex blinks her eyes open slowly, groggily.

“We need to update our body armor,” she chokes, and J’onn and Winn laughdryly while Kara sobs.

Maggie is frozen at the sound of her voice, frozen at the sound that lifemakes when it needs to let you know there’s still some hope in the world.

“Where’s Maggie?” Alex wants to know next, and James puts a tentative handto Maggie’s blood-sprayed face, leaving a fresh print of Alex’s blood on hercheek from having held Maggie’s stained body and sopping clothes so close. Shestares up at him with faint surprise, like she’s forgotten that anyone elseexists. Anyone but the woman asking softly, asking painfully, for her.

“I’m here, Danvers,” she croaks, and she swallows, and she accepts James’shands as he pulls her to her feet.

“You got hurt,” Alex pales even deeper than before, panic rising in her eyesas Maggie rises into view and Kara holds Alex down to the bed. Maggie laughsdryly.

“Most of the blood’s yours, babe.”

Alex blinks and sinks back down and twitches the fingers of the hand that’snot being held by Kara toward Maggie.

Maggie gulps and Maggie steps forward and Maggie bends down and Maggie kisseseach of Alex’s fingers, her knuckles, the back of her hand. A single tearblinks down Alex’s face as she registers the tear-streaked blood stains on herlove’s face.

“I’m okay,” she tells her. “I’ll be okay.”

“You almost died.”

“What, and left you all to deal with Winn without me? Not getting rid of methat easy, Sawyer.”

A single, dry sob wracks Maggie’s chest and Alex blinks out another tear.

“Too soon. Sorry. To Maggie. Not to you, Schott.”

Winn laughs wetly and puts his hand on her ankle and she winks at him asbest she can.

“You gave us quite the scare, Alex,” J’onn tells her, still subtly hugginghimself, and Alex fights to focus on his face.

“I’ll be okay.” She turns to Maggie. “You caught me.”

Gunshots – her gunshots, lethal gunshots – ring through Maggie’s ears andher love’s blood pours through her fingers. She kisses Alex’s hand again.

“I’ll always catch you, Alex. Just maybe a little warning next time you takea stomach full of bullets for your sister, okay?”

“For my…” Alex turns groggily to Kara and blinks in swooping, suddenrecognition of the strange sight of her glasses with her Supergirl outfit. “Youtold her? They told you?”

Maggie nods and smoothes Alex’s hair out of her face, trying to answer herunspoken are you angry at me for lying with her eyes, with her hands,with the way her heart is beating only for her, only for the woman whose needto be perfect, whose constant sense of shock that Maggie likes – loves – her,whose insistence on taking bullets for a bulletproof superhero, suddenly andperfectly make sense.

And makes her love her all the more.

Kara reaches over Alex’s bed to touch Maggie’s shoulder.

“Of course we told her, Alex. She’s family.”