#ID LET HIM SHOOT ME IF HE LOOKED AT ME LIKE THA- what who said that

[averycutesalamander]

rewatching all the Boothill scenes from the war dance and i must confess that while, yes, he was low-key bullying (not the right word but you get it) a teenager (and later apologized) but let's be real here, he looked hot doing it too

[theshadowspecter]

Nuisance

(Bloom: again, warning for character death.)

Abigail was lost in thought as she made her way back to her boat. She had to force someone to take her place or suffer a truly horrible fate. She briefly pondered about taking another Mafia member; they were dumb enough to go with her...but the Boss...she couldn't go back to Mafia town. Not just yet. How was she gonna break the news that one of their guys was gone?And then ask them to come back with her? Not to mention Snatcher had mentioned how Mafia soul's weren't filling, or something. What if she brought back some Mafia, and the demon decided they weren't good enough? Then there were the goats and nomads of Alpine, but she didn't know how she would lure them. That just left Dead Bird Studios....

Now there was an idea! The moon penguins had probably barely even heard of Subcon, and those owls, while timid, were also very gullible! She could even tempt them with the idea of using Subcon as the next location for a movie, that'd be bound to get someone in to at least scope the place out! And all the contract said was she had to bring them to Subcon, right? She didn't have to hurt them or even bring them to Snatcher himself, right? She quickly pulled out the contract to skim it over again, confirming her thoughts. This was gonna be easy! She brings an owl into Subcon, gets free of her contract, and helps the owl leave before Snatcher can, well...snatch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arriving at Dead Bird Studios, she brought out the Bird ID that she had received from the Conductor (as a deal to let him into the Mafia Town bar) and walked up to the receptionist. “Evenin',” she greeted, “I'm here to see the Conductor.” The receptionist didn't even look up from his magazine, he just pushed a button and the door to her left opened. She thanked him and went inside, her plan forming in her mind.

She easily found the conductor talking with an owl and waving a script about in his...wing? Hand? Whatever. They clearly weren't filming at the moment, which meant he might actually listen to her.

“Hey Conductor,” she called out, jogging up to him, “I just got back from a trip to that dark forest at the edge of the desert, ya know, Subcon? And I thought it would make a great setting for a horror flick! Do you wanna come check it out?” Conductor looked her way for a moment before turning back to his script and waving her off with his wing, “nae, lass, I'm too busy wit me current filmin ter check out some old woods.”

“Well fine,” she huffed. “Maybe Grooves will want to go instead.”

That did the trick.

“Ohhh no ya don't lassie! I ain't gonna let that peck neck beat me! I'll go check out Subcon with ye.” She perked up, “really?!”

“Aye.”

“Great!, we can go after your shoot-” she began, starting to walk away. “Now hold on a min, lassie, I canne go taday.” The girl stopped in her tracks, and she turned back to him, “you can't?”

“Nae, lass. I got too much work ta do. How's de dae afta tomorrow sound?” She forced a smile and agreed, then left the Conductor to his work. She could still ask Grooves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Now darlin, as much as I appreciate the idea, a horror movie is just not what the audiences want!” The penguin answered when she asked him, “if the Conductor wants to make a horror flick, that's fine by me! I know what people really want to see!” He smirked at his own rhyme, then left her to go back to his directing.

She sighed, before heading back to Mafia town. Like it or not, it was her home.

Back in Mafia town, she hesitated outside the entrance to Mafia HQ. She had to report to the Boss what had happened, but what was she going to say? The truth? I'm sorry but your Mafia man got gobbled up by a ghost that only let me leave after signing away my own soul? She pondered for a moment before walking away, back to her own home.

The next day, still wanting to avoid the Mafia HQ, Abigail went back to Dead Bird Studios. It would make for a nice distraction, at least for awhile. She had just walked through the main doors when a loud Scottish voice called over to her “ah lass! Perfec' timin!” Conductor had been talking with some owls before he went over to her. “Abou' tha' forrrrest,” he began, “I'm sorry ter say that I won't be able ter accompany yew after all.” Abigail froze up for a moment, “you can't?”

“Nae,” the bird continued, “Word is that Grooooves is ahead in his filmin, and I'm not abou ta just sit back and let him release a new movie unchallenged!”

“I see.”

“But fret not lassie, I'm still interested in tha' forest. In fact I've already come up wit' a name fer a new movie, 'Ghost Train', an' dat place will be da perfec' settin'! Course I still need someone ter scope out da place...” the Conductor spun around and pointed at a random Express Owl, “you'll do!”, he cheered. The meek owl let out a small cry, “m-me?”

“Yea, you! Go w' the lass to tha' spoooooky fores' an' see if it's got what it takes ta be in one o' MY movies!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was that very afternoon that Abigail and the owl set out towards Subcon. The history buff was lost in thought, trying to think of a way for her plan to work. 'If I could just loose the owl in the woods long enough to find Snatcher and tell him that I bought someone in but 'lost' them, that will have completed the contract. Then I'd just need to sneak back to the owl and get him out!' It wasn't a good plan, but it was all she could come up with on short notice. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a feathery wing tugging her sleeve. She looked down at the owl who nervously pointed ahead, “a-are we sup-pp-posed to go in there?” She turned and was surprised to see Subcon straight ahead. How long had she been lost in thought? She squared her shoulders, it was time. “Yep. That's Subcon.” She felt the owl shake. “It's...it's ok,” she said, more to herself than to the owl, “we'll just go in, take a few pics, jot down a few notes, and be out lickity-split!” 'At least I hope so' she thought, as she lead the way into the darkness.

The trek though the forest was uneventful, at the start. The express owl was very timid; he kept looking over his shoulder as they ventured further into Subcon. “A-are you sure this is the right way?”

“You bet!”

She really didn't have a clue. She was trying to find a spot where she could quickly leave the bird and then find him again. Thinking back to her previous visit, the only place that stood out to her was Snatcher's tree, but that would be walking right into the lion's den!

A quick movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She paused, and motioned for the owl to stop as well. With a small hoot, he looked around like a trapped animal and whispered, “w-why'd we stop?” “I thought I saw something,” the girl muttered. If Snatcher was around, he wouldn't be dodging behind trees. She shook her head, “its probably nothing, let's keep going.”

It took two more instances of sensing something just out of sight that finally made Abigail stop long enough to think. Were they being followed? As if to answer her question, some nearby foliage rustled and out popped a....little cloaked figure. They were small, their face just a glow, hidden under a hood. The owl gave a yelp and hid behind Abigail, who's curiosity overrode her fear. Who was this?

The little figure gave a small wave up at her, “you must be the one the boss wants.” Abigail pointed to herself, “me?” The figure nodded, “yeah! Boss said if any of us saw you, to bring you right to him! And anyone who was with you as well!”

“Boss?” Abigail questioned, “...wait? Us?! There're more of you?” The little hooded one nodded before running ahead a little, then turning back to them, “c'mon! The boss hates to be kept waiting.” Completely dumbfounded, Abigail followed the small stranger, the Express Owl in tow. Abigail had a hunch who this 'boss' was, but was so wrapped up in questions that her previous rough escape plan had all but left her mind.

They didn't walk for very long before the figure stopped and turned, pointing at Abigail, “Boss says you should wait here.” It turned to the owl and grabbed his arm, starting to pull him away. The owl frantically struggled, calling for help and reaching back to Abigail, who, with a “Wh-hey!” started to run forward to grab him when she felt herself stopped. Looking down she saw about half a dozen more small identical-looking beings holding her back. She looked up to see four more pushing and pulling the owl-still crying for help-into some brush. Abigail started to call out, “Wai-!” when a bunch of thorny purple vines shot out of the ground around the owl and the others, completely sealing them from her view. What horrified her more, however, was the dead silence that immediately followed.

The ones holding her back had let go by this point, and she paused to gape at the vines before turning to question the newcomers, but found herself all alone. A noise made her look back at the vines, which were quickly retracting back into the ground, revealing Snatcher. A slight rustle from behind the specter caught Abigail's attention, and she noticed what looked like a couple of those figures running off carrying something heavy...

“I MUST SAY I'M IMPRESSED! I THOUGHT FOR SURE YOU WOULD HAVE BROUGHT ANOTHER OF THOSE DUMB BRUTES.” Abigail looked away in shame. Now two had suffered because of her. At least there would be no more victims...

“There,” Abigail huffed, “I completed my contract! Now relinquish my soul!” The specter laughed, “DO YOU REALLY THINK A SINGLE SOUL IS ENOUGH FOR ME? THAT WAS JUST A TRAIL RUN TO SEE IF YOU WERE UP TO SNUFF! AND GUESS WHAT? YOU PASSED!” With that, her contract flew out of her jacket and burned up in some blue flames. With a flourish, Snatcher poofed another contract and quill pen out of thin air. “HERE, LET'S SIGN ANOTHER CONTRACT!” Warily, Abigail glanced over this new parchment, which now ordered her to bring a new person to Subcon at least once a week for, “an entire month?!” She read, horrified. “THAT'S RIGHT!” Snatcher proclaimed, “AND HEY, THAT'S ANOTHER MONTH YOU GET TO LIVE! PROVIDED YOU MEET THE CONDITIONS ON THE CONTRACT, ANYWAY.”

Abigail trembled, frustration filling her chest. She glanced downcast and whispered “I can't.” She heard him sigh and looked up to see him looking back at her. Still smiling, always smiling, but his voice sounded a little dour. He flicked his wrist and a small golden ball of energy-Abigail's soul- formed in his hand. “IF YOU REFUSE TO SIGN, THEN YOU FORFEIT YOUR SOUL TO ME.” “Wait a minute!” Abigail sputtered, “I finished the initial contract! You have no claim over that anymore!” The ghost smirked at this and simply replied, “TOO BAD. I NEED SOULS, AND IF YOU WON'T BRING THEM TO ME THEN I DON'T NEED YOU AROUND. BUT HEY, I'M FEELING PRETTY GOOD RIGHT ABOUT NOW, SO I'LL GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE.” His voice dropped to a deadly whisper, “SIGN. THE CONTRACT.”

Abigail's survival instincts kicked in and before she could even register what was going on she had already signed. Like before, the paper was stamped, rolled up and flew into her jacket pocket. Snatcher poofed her soul away with another flick of his wrist, before clapping his hands together, “WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS! I'LL EXPECT TO SEE YOU SOON! SMELL YOU LATER!” and dove into the ground. Not wanting to spend any longer around there than necessary, Abigail took her leave.

Her entire trip back she had racked her brain for solutions to her problem, to no avail, and by the time she got back to Mafia town, she had a headache. Before she could reach her house, however, she heard a “Stop!”. She turned to find a Mafia member, who continued, “Boss wants to know where you are. Boss says to report to him.” Abigail groaned, she really didn't feel like a confrontation, “tell the boss I'll see him bright and early tomorrow, ok?”

“Mafia agree to deliver message.”

“Good,” she said, heading off to her home. She wanted to sleep, but there was no way she could now. Once home, she put some coffee on and went over to her desk. Grabbing a pen and piece of paper, she started to write out ideas...

[jacksonroseroth]

Waste Love Chapter 4

Warnings: Language, Weed usage

Words: 4,708

Moodboard made by the amazing and wonderful @badwolf-in-the-impala​, none of the pictures are ours

~

Previous Chapter

~

The next day, everyone, not including Rook, had let what happened the night before go, at least for the time being. While the rest of the group hung out in the main room, gearing up for the show, Jersey went through her bag, trying to find something to wear and muttering to herself, irritated. She had settled on a dark washed pair of shorts but couldn’t decide on a top.

“What were you thinking?” Colson asked still standing in the doorway where he had stopped to watch her for a moment, listening to the conversation she was having with herself. Jersey glanced at him and chuckled, suddenly realizing her inner monologue wasn’t all that inner. As she packed up her bag again, she said, “I’m not sure...I don’t want to do a crop top again. Or the kimono…” She added a chuckle before she spun around and fell back on the bed with a sigh and an additional, “I have no clue.”

Colson smirked and went to his bag. While he dug through it, Jersey shifted and watched him. Finally, he turned and tossed a folded up black and white plaid shirt. Jersey caught it, sitting up to unfold it. The sleeves had been cut off and an EST19 patch spanned the shoulders, with a XX under it. Jersey smiled and looked at Colson.

“You sure, Colson? I’m not really part of EST.” She said. Colson scrunched up his face and said, “The fuck?! Sav, of course, you are! Wear it, babe.”

He turned back to his bag and smirked. “Wear this with it. It’ll look good.” He said. Pulling out another bag, he turned back to her and handed it to her. Jersey looked up and smiled, with a soft giggle, as she watched him.

“Ooh. More presents.” She teased, taking the bag and opening it. Jersey gasped as she pulled the swimsuit out. She looked up at Colson. “Cols-Wh-What-?”

“You really liked it. I wanted you to have it.” Colson said with a shrug and a smile. Jersey set the bag and suit aside, rushing to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, Colson wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her hair, briefly.

“Colson, you are so sweet. Thank you.” She said. Colson smiled and kissed her temple.

“Come on. We need to get ready.” Colson said with a chuckle. “Go on. Change.”

Jersey smiled and nodded, going to the bed to grab the bag and shirt. Colson left the room and Jersey quickly changed. Touching up her makeup before grabbing her phone and camera, she quickly slipped on a pair of sandals and joined the guys out in the main room.

“Ready, boys? I hope y’all weren’t waiting on me.” She teased, sliding her sunglasses on. The men all turned and began to whistle and holler, making Jersey roll her eyes. She had tied the shirt, knotting it just below her belly button, so the bikini top was in clear view.

“Aight! Aight! Shut it!” Rook called pushing through his friends and going to his cousin. “Put it back in your pants, perverts!”

Jersey giggled and folded her hands over Rook’s shoulder as he put an around her waist. “JP, calm down.” She teased, kissing his cheek.

“Yeah, come on, Rook. Don’t be so uptight, short ass.” Baze shot, with a smirk.

“Watch it, Sasquatch. I’m small, but that means I’ve got a much better range motion down low.” Rook said, pointing a finger at him. Jersey rolled her eyes and giggled as the rest of the guys started ragging and bagging on each other as they made their way out of the room and down to the vans.

They piled in and started freestyling to get themselves hyped up. Jersey took a few videos on her phone and plenty of pictures and selfies with the boys. Once they got to the venue, she roamed the stage while they did their soundcheck, trying to find the best spots. Backstage while they smoked and got ready, Jersey also took pictures for their personal use. And once Colson took the stage with the others, she stuck to her spots, sneaking behind Rook’s drum set every now and then to get to her next one. Toward the end of the show, Colson took a quick break before Dom joined them.

“Aight, I’ve got one more song for you guys! Y’all have been an awesome crowd!” Colson said with a smile. Jersey crossed the stage behind him, trying to get to another spot, which brought his attention to her. With a quick glance at her, he smirked and said, “I know y’all have probably seen someone running around up here with us today. Well, because I want my fans to have a little more of a peek backstage and the real energy we have up here on stage, we’ve got a new photographer touring with us! Ey! Savie! Come here!”

Jersey turned and stared at him, glancing between Colson and the others, who all were encouraging her to join him. Finally, she looked at Colson and shook her head with a soft giggle.

“Come on, Sav! Get out here!” Colson turned to the crowd and got them to start chanting ‘Savie! Savie! Savie!’ Jersey shook her head and sighed, giving him a look before she finally stepped out of her spot and made her way over to him. “Our new photographer! Ladies and gents! Jersey Savage!”

Jersey giggled at the stage name he created for her and covered her face for a moment as Colson put an arm around her and drew her in close, chuckling as the crowd cheered for her. A full blush had covered her face and her neck but she still smiled. Though her hands shook slightly, from the sudden thrust into the spotlight, Jersey held up her camera and snapped a few pics of the crowd, Colson leaving her side to stand in front of her, to get pictures with the crowd behind him. The cheers rose even louder when Colson moved but it was only briefly as Colson went back to her as she put her camera down.

“Savie, lemme see your camera,” Colson said into her ear, motioning to Rook and the others to come down to them. Jersey gave him a look. Colson chuckled and said, “I won’t drop it. I do, I buy you a new one.”

“You better not fucking drop it, Colson.” She said, taking the strap from around her neck. The guys came over and they gathered around Jersey with their backs to the crowd. Colson held up the camera, getting a good angle and hold on it, then spoke into the mic, with a smile, “Everyone fuckin’ smile! 3, 2, 1!”

Colson snapped the picture and handed the camera back to Jersey, kissing her cheek. He turned back to the crowd as the others went back to their places and said, “Yo, where’s my British friend at?! Y’all, let’s hear it for Yungblud!”

Jersey scampered back as Dom skipped out, laughing. His eyes lit up for a moment when he saw her and went to her. “You’re Jersey, right, love? Oh, man! Colson’s told me so much about you! We’ll cha’ afta!” He said, excitedly, kissing her cheek. Jersey smiled, stopping him, briefly, to snap a pic, and watched him join Colson. For the last song, Jersey snapped away, now moving visibly for the crowd to see. She got some close-ups of Baze and AJ, Slim catching her and taking a few selfies with him as well.

At the end of the song, Jersey got right behind both men as they made their last bows. Dom caught a few fans up front, pointing behind them and smiling. Dom glanced back and nudged Colson. Colson turned back quickly, smirking as he caught sight of Jersey. He whispered something to Dom before calling for Jersey to take another picture, to which she happily obliged. Once she took the picture, Colson looked at Dom and gave a small nod. All at once, both Colson and Dom rushed at her, scooping her up as she screamed and laughed. When they hoisted her up on their shoulders, Jersey only chanced two shots at the crowd, trying to get the best framing she could without falling, then dropped her camera to grip the men’s shoulders to keep her steady.

“Thank you, Reading!” Colson called into the mic. The crowd cheered and Colson caught Jersey as he nudged Dom to step away before they all left the stage. Colson carrying her backstage and she waited until they were fully offstage before wiggling out of his arms and turning on him.

“Fucking assholes!” Jersey laughed, punching Colson’s shoulder as he set her down. “I could have dropped my camera!”

Colson snickered and fended off her blows while Dom laughed and wrapped his arms around her, in a hug. “Awe, come on, love. We woul’n’t do tha�� to you!” He chuckled. Colson smiled and said, “Oh, yeah. Dom, Jersey. Jersey, Dom.” He added a chuckle and Dom released her as she turned to him, sliding her arm through her camera strap. She pushed her camera to her back as both hers and Dom’s faces lit up as they laughed and exchanged formal Hello’s.

“It’s so good ta meet ya, love! I’ve ‘eard so much abou’ ya!” Dom said, giving her another hug. Jersey broke the embrace with a soft giggle and said, “You too! Yeah, I heard I kept missing you the past few days. I’ve been dying to meet you! You’re honestly such a precious being, Dom. Honestly!”

Dom laughed and kissed her cheek, then pressing his to hers as he gave her another hug. “Aren’t you sweet! Colson! She’s so sweet! Where’ve you been ‘iding this one?!” Dom chuckled.

“Shit, talk to Rook. She’s his cousin.” Colson chuckled. Dom laughed, keeping his arm around her neck as he turned to look for the drummer and called out, “Rook! Wot the fuck, mate?!”

“Hey, man. She was the busy one.” Rook said. “Every time I wanted to invite her to do pictures, she was booked.”

“Oh, love, do you do other photography? Mah sista’s birthday is comin’ up. Would you do a shoot for her?” Dom asked, taking her hands. Jersey’s mouth dropped open and she stumbled over herself.

“I-I-Um, y-yeah! O-Of course!” She said with a laugh. Dom chuckled and kissed her cheek, saying, “Brilliant! I’ll grab your numba before we leave, yeah?”

They stuck around for a little longer while Colson and Dom did a few quick interviews and the others hung out and partied. Jersey left a little early to try and get a head start on her pictures and both Baze and AJ went along with her. While AJ tried his best to keep an eye on them both once they got back to the hotel, he had to get away for some privacy to FaceTime his family. Almost as soon as the door closed, Baze scooped Jersey up, laptop, camera, and all, and slid under her, holding her in his lap. Jersey gave him a look and giggled.

“Baze, AJ is in the next room.” She said, softly. Baze chuckled and said, “He’ll be at least 20 minutes.”

Jersey giggled and slid an arm around his neck as he moved her camera and laptop to the coffee table. Jersey shifted in his lap and retorted, “And the guys will be back soon.”

“So, let’s not waste any time then,” Baze said. He took her by her hips and laid her on the couch, making her squeak. She pushed at him gently, bracing her hand on his shoulder.

“Rook is going to fucking kill you if he catches us,” Jersey said. Baze leaned down and kissed her softly, Jersey clinging to him, slightly, wanting the kiss to last.

“He won’t. Trust me.” Baze said. Jersey chuckled as he kissed her again. She gave a small giggle into the kiss and slid the hand around his neck, into his hair, the other pressed against his chest. Jersey gave a small whine as she slipped her fingers into the unbuttoned slit of his shirt. Baze’s hand flew to her thigh, slipping his fingers under the edge of her shorts, pushing up.

“Mm, wait...Fuck.” Jersey turned her head, leaving only her neck open to him. Even as her fingers slid into his hair and her eyes fluttered closed as he laid soft, sweet kisses on her neck, she pulled her senses together and said, “Baze, we can’t. Not here.”

Baze gave a soft groan and moved his hand back to her hip and looked at her. Jersey sighed, pushing her hair back, still with her other arm around his neck, as she looked at him. “I’m sorry. I know I keep making it seem like-” Baze stopped her, shaking his head and placing a soft kiss on her lip and a hand on her cheek.

“No, no. It’s not your fault, Jersey. I want you. Sometimes I push it a little too far too. I know we can’t...Not that we’ll ever have enough privacy. It’s just-Fuck, you’re hot.” He said, with a soft chuckle. Jersey smiled and gripped his chin, gently.

“Baby, believe me...I want you too.” Jersey said before she dropped her hand to his chest. “But it’s bad enough I’m fooling around with one of Rook’s bandmates, but if he caught us-”

“Hey, hey. You don’t have to explain yourself, baby. It’s okay. I understand.” He said, with a smile. Jersey smiled and kissed him, slowly. She broke the kiss and crooked a finger at him. Baze chuckled and leaned even closer. She giggled, tongue tucked between her teeth, and put her lips to his ear and whispered, “Then, get the fuck off me.”

Baze laughed and sat up, pulling a smug smirking Jersey into his lap. She chuckled and disconnected her camera, as the pictures had finished uploading, and pulled her laptop onto her lap.

“You got some good shots today,” Baze said, reaching his arm around her to scroll through them. Jersey chuckled and shrugged.

“I got a few. Good enough for Kells to post anyway.” Jersey said, shooing his hand away to take over. Baze scoffed and said, “Come on, Sav. You’ve gotten a lot of good shots. You’re really good.”

She glanced at him and smiled. “Thanks.” She said, somewhat shyly. Baze chuckled and continued to watch her edit. Skewing her lips in thought, she finally leaned closer and kissed him softly. Baze smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Hey, let me see the ones you got when they picked you up.” Baze chuckled, moving her off his lap to get a drink. Jersey chuckled and said, “They’re probably blurry as fuck.”

“Well, you won’t know until you look. Come on, let me see.” Baze said, looping back around the couch, leaning on the back, behind Jersey. She giggled and moved the scroll bar all the way down and clicked on the last two pictures. To her pleasant surprise, the pictures weren’t blurry at all and captured the last enthused reaction of the crowd.

“Wow. They aren’t that bad.” She said, sitting back and toggling between the two pictures. She looked up at Baze and chuckled. Baze laughed and said, “See? Sav, they look great.”

Baze looked down at her and chuckled, leaning down to kiss her quickly. Jersey giggled and kissed him back, biting her lip, slightly. Baze then quickly moved away, rounding the couch and sipped his drink, as the locks on the door sounded. Jersey shifted, sticking her knuckle between her teeth as she went through the rest of her pictures, elbow resting on the cushion, as she tried to contain her smile. The door opened, both Jersey and Baze turning as it did, and the rest of the crew walked in.

“There you are. About time, bro.” Baze teased, going to Colson and clapping hands with him. Colson smirked and said, “Bro, I had shit to do. You packed yet? We gotta head out to Glasgow soon.”

“Nah, I was looking at Jersey’s pictures. She wanted an opinion. AJ’s FaceTiming his kids.” Baze said. Rook hurried over to his cousin and plopped down next to her, looking through the pictures with her.

“Hey, Colson! Come check these out, bro.” Rook called. Colson called out to AJ to pack his bags and pointed to Baze as he went to the couch, and said with a smirk, “Go pack your shit. They’re pulling the buses around now.”

Baze chuckled and followed Slim into their shared room to pack as Colson went to the couch, sitting down next to Jersey. Rook went to his room to pack and Jersey and Colson stayed on the couch, going over her pictures and talking about what he wanted for the next show in Manchester, after Glasgow.

“Hey. Baze. What was with last night?” Slim asked, glancing at the bassist. Baze looked at him, a brief fear flashing through him as he maintained his composure and asked, “Last night when?”

“I got up to piss. I saw you out in the kitchen with Jersey...Y’all looked pretty cozy.” Slim said, watching Baze’s movements slow to a stop. He looked up at Slim and said, “You gonna tell Rook?”

Slim shrugged and said, “Shit. I mean, it’s none of my business, but you’d better tell him you’re screwing around with his cousin before I’m not the one who catches you.”

Baze sighed and angrily zipped up his bag. “I haven’t slept with her. I wouldn’t do that to Rook. We’re not screwing around.” He said. Slim shrugged and said, “Still better to tell him before he finds out.”

Baze glanced out the door of their room, still seeing only Colson and Jersey on the couch. He looked at Slim and said, “Slim, you’re not-”

“Bro, you think I’d rat you out? I’m just telling you, next time it might not be me who catches you.” Slim said. Baze sighed and continued to pack his bags.

~

Over the next week, Jersey worked 2 more shows after Reading, keeping with the agreement that she’d only work every other show. While everyone recovered from the night in London, all of them taking naps on the nearly 2 hour Ferry ride to Calais in France, Baze and Jersey snuck away to have some real alone time. They made their way up to the top deck, where there were significantly fewer people. They snagged a little booth in the corner and cozied up.

“I’ve been thinking…” Jersey said, shifting between Baze’s legs, leaning back against him. Baze pressed his lips to her hair in a soft kiss, with a soft ‘Hm’. “I’ve been getting a weird vibe from Colson and AJ lately. They always make weird faces when I mention you, or me and you.”

“Yeah. Slim’s kind of been on my ass this week. I guess he saw us the night before Reading.” Baze said. Jersey pulled away, looking back at him.

“In the hot tub?!” She asked. Baze smirked and said, “No. That night in the kitchen.”

Jersey sighed and leaned against him again. Baze nuzzled her hair and murmured, “So, what were you thinking?”

Jersey chewed her lip and said, “Maybe we should hold off on things.”

“What do you mean?” Baze asked after a while, pulling away from her, slightly, to look down at her. Jersey turned to him and said, “Like...You do you, I do me... Just until after tour. When we can go somewhere without having to worry about everyone.”

Baze blinked then said, “Do you not want to be together?”

“No, I do. But I don’t want to always have to worry about someone catching us. We can’t ever be relaxed and just...Be us. We’re not even together now and we have to worry about being caught. I don’t want to have to worry about Rook flipping his shit cause he’ll think it’s just because of being on tour. We can actually show him that we’re serious so he doesn’t kill you.” Jersey said. She cracked a smirk and said, “Plus...I’ve seen Slim and Rook with chicks. And since we know Rook would kill us both, you should get some too.”

Baze snickered and said, “You won’t be jealous? Or get mad?”

Jersey made a face at him and giggled, turning to him to straddle him, and said, “No. Besides, we were never together. We just fool around.” With a shrug, she added, “I wouldn’t have a right to get mad.”

Baze chuckled and nodded. “That, and it also might be better that we make it official so Rook doesn’t chop off my balls if he finds out we had sex on tour.”

Jersey chuckled and nodded, sliding her arms around his neck. “So...This is the last time we sneak around till we get back.”

“Mmm...We’d better take advantage then.” Baze chuckled. Jersey nodded and giggled as Baze slid his hands over her thighs and up her sides as Jersey leaned down, cupping his face and kissed him. Soft moans filled the booth while they kissed, both of them wound up. Finally, they pulled apart and made their way back down to join the crew with half an hour to spare. Once the ferry docked in Calais, they made great time getting to Paris and wasted no time jumping into soundcheck and having a nice lunch before getting ready for the show. 

Paris went by quickly, Jersey tapping out after a few hits after the show. The next day in Brussels, while the guys did their soundcheck, Jersey did a little exploring with one of their bodyguards. She took advantage of being on an international tour and did some shopping, making sure to stop by a least one garden to take a few pictures for her own Instagram. On the next few shows, both Paris and Brussels included, the band did a little something more for her, either before or after the shows. Not only in appreciation for everything she did for them so far on this tour but because her birthday was quickly approaching, on the 5th.

During the Cologne show, Colson made sure she was free, done with editing pictures so she could enjoy the show, the full show, as a present of sorts. Jersey knew they would probably do something bigger for her after the show, already having overheard Rook and Slim talking about a cake. What she didn’t expect, was for it to happen during the show.

“How long do we have left? An hour? Aight.” Colson turned from talking to Slim and turned to the crowd. “Aight, so tonight is a special night. We’ve had a guest on tour with us and I’d like to bring her out here. Savie! Come on, girl. Get out here!”

Jersey shook her head at him, trying to shout ‘No!’ over the music that AJ, Baze, and Rook started playing. Colson smirked and kept waving her out, eventually getting the crowd to chant her name, again. Finally, Slim went to her and hauled her over his shoulder, making Jersey shriek. When Colson turned to try and call to her again, he laughed and stumbled away, slightly, at the sight of Jersey fighting Slim as he carried her over and set her down.

“Thanks, Slim! Ha!” Colson laughed as he put an arm around her neck and said, “This is Jersey Savage. Our Hotel Diablo tour photographer, and our Rookie’s cousin. She’s 27 today! Can I get a ‘Happy Birthday Savage’ on three, Germany?!”

He counted down as the crowd continued to roar and when he was done, the entire venue seemed to shake as they screamed, “Happy Birthday, Savage!”

They continued to cheer and applaud, growing louder when they saw Slim and another man carrying out a cake with candles. Jersey laughed and covered her face as they brought it over. When Colson tried to get the crowd to sing Happy Birthday, Jersey grabbed the mic, shuffling closer and said, “No. Hell no.” With a laugh, she said, “If you’re gonna subject me to the fucking Birthday song, it’s going to be in German, verdamnt!”

Colson laughed as the crowd roared once again, beginning to sing along as Jersey started them off with, “Zum Geburtstag viel Glück…” Her voice trailed off as the crowd took over and she laughed, her face flushed and never more positive in her life that she was as red as the roses on her shirt. When they finished singing, Colson called for quiet while Jersey thought of a wish and blew out the candles, then the crowd cheered again.

“Savie, you know we love you...But how much would you hate me if we smashed this cake in your face?” Colson asked as he slipped an arm around her neck. Tonguing her cheek while the crowd laughed, she gave him a look and said, “You do that, and I get a free Nut Punch.”

Bursts of laughter scattered through the crowd, as Colson looked out at them, nodding in agreement, and he gave a small shrug. “That’s fair. That’s fair.” He smirked at the crowd then looked at Jersey and said, “Worth it!”

Working together, as Colson slid his hand to the back of Jersey’s head and pushed, and even though Jersey tried to push back, Slim and the other man brought the cake to her. She was quick enough to bring her hands up to cover her face, but she still ended up with cake smeared on her face and covering her hair and arms. She shrieked when she saw it coming then stood there in a stunned silence, still wearing a small, also stunned, smirk while the others laughed and the crowd roared again.

“Happy Birthday, Savie!” Colson called, going in for a hug as a peace offering. Wiping the icing off her face and out of her hair, Jersey glared playfully at him and waited until he got close enough, then shoved her icing filled hands into his face. Colson stumbled back in surprise and Jersey stumbled right along with him as they both laughed as she smeared as much cake and icing on his face as she possibly could. They both slipped in the rest of the cake on the floor, looking like the worst pair of ice dancers ever. Colson managed to keep his balance and caught Jersey as well, both of them stumbling back trying to get out of the cake.

“Let’s hear it for Jersey Savage!” Slim called into his mic. He took over for a minute, keeping the crowd hyped while they both made their way offstage to clean up a little more.

“Colson, you fucking cunt nugget!” Jersey shouted with a laugh as she swung at him. Colson laughed, licking the icing from his fingers, easily avoiding her. “I get a free Nut Punch, you fucking egg!”

“You will, Sav! You will!” Colson laughed as he caught her hands to stop her, then pulled her into a hug. Jersey smirked, rubbing her head on his chest to wipe the icing from her hair. “Hey, hey!”

Jersey laughed as Colson chuckled and shook his head as he pulled off his shirt. She sighed and tugged off her own shirt, turning it inside out and folding it to wipe her face. “You owe me a new outfit, you bitch. This was my favorite shirt.” She chuckled.

He made a kissy face at her and smirked. “You think I’d do this and not know that?” He chuckled. Jersey giggled and shook her head. “Aight, I gotta finish my show.”

As he rushed by, he kissed her cheek and ran back on stage. Jersey sighed and tugged her hair back to tie it up. A few of the PAs were able to get her a change of clothes from the merch booth. She only took the sweats, not really caring at this point if she was only in her bra. She watched the rest of the show, happily, now that she was able to check cake smashing off her bucket list.

~

Next Chapter

~

Hope you guys liked it. If you want to be added to my taglist for this and/or future MGK/Colson stories, let me know! If you have any comments, feel free!

@badwolf-in-the-impala​​ @lovemythsworld​​ @kellsfanficalltogether​​ @mgkobsessed​ @sparxx27 @youbelongeverywhere

[wonderswritings]

Best Friends.... Or? 2/?

Summary: You met Chris on the set of Fantastic Four, and you two became fast friends. You’ve been by his side since, filming in three more movies together after. Spending so many years together you’ve learned each other's quirks and secrets, but have you really?

Pairings: Chris Evans x Reader

AN: As stated in the summary, you are an actress in this series and in some parts, I may give a small description or what you look like, it won't be much, with a small description of hair, makeup, and clothes. Any photos used to show anything, the girl will not be skinny. 

To be added to my tags: @capstags

For stories only: @capslibrary 

When the plane landed, the car Larry had waiting for us was waiting for us as soon as we exited the doors. We were going to just go to the parking deck but as soon as we left the loading dock, we were bombarded by paparazzi.

“You think Chris has that limo for us?”

I laughed, cutting a side glance to Larry as I stretched my muscles.

“I wouldn’t put it past him if there is but he said he wouldn’t.”

“Yeah he said he wouldn’t but this IS Chris we’re talking about here.”

“Touché.”

We had walked to baggage claim and grabbed our bags, and I put my hat and sunglasses on as Larry called to make sure the car was in the parking garage. When Larry got the ok, we started to head for the exit. As soon as we came to the check in, flashes started to go off.

“Y/N over here!”

“Give us a pose Y/N! Smile for us!”

“Does Chris know your cheating on him with his best friend?”

“Y/N! Y/N! When’s the baby due?”

Does Chris even know your in town?”

“Everybody step back now! Let us through! Back up!”

Larry had called for the rest of my security detail who was waiting in the car. One of them stayed and moved the car closer to the exit, and the rest came running towards us, pushing through the paparazzi. They circled around me, and Larry took the bags as I held my head down, pulling the hat down lower on my face. Jackson, Larry’s right hand, had grabbed my arm and was pulling me along. The paparazzi was following us, yelling questions or rumors that’s been floating around about me at me. I ignored them, keeping my head down as I was shuffled to the exit. The car door was opened for me and I threw myself in, moving to my designated seat as the others filled in. The door was shut and then we were off. I took my hat and sunglasses off, looking at Jackson.

“How did they know I was even here?”

He shrugged, pulling out his phone.

“No idea. There was a lone picture of you and Larry arriving to the airport and then one of you on the phone laughing. We don’t know if they somehow bribed the worker into letting them know where you would be landing or not. But we are looking into it for future reference.”

I nodded, taking my phone out and powering it back on. Immediately my twitter and Instagram was blowing up with notifications, but I paid them no mind, going to my messages and pulling up Chris’s contact.

Hey Captn’ we’ve landed and we’re on the way to the room. We had some run in with the vultures when we were leaving but everything's ok.  Oh hey, also I’m cheating on you with your best friend which I can only assume they mean Seb 😂 call me whenever so we can get together ok?

When we got to the hotel, I stayed in the car while Jackson and the others got out. They would be staying at the hotel that was closest to set. Larry told Amelia she could drive to set, and she nodded, starting the car and driving towards set. The security guard for the set stopped us, and handed us our ids for set access. Amelia parked the car while me and Larry went to my trailer. For the reminder of shooting, I would be staying at my trailer on set. I’ve always stayed in my trailer since I remodeled it. It wasn’t too big and it wasn’t too small. I was always glad when I got a part in a movie or show because it meant I got to use my trailer. Larry had placed my bags on the table, and he told me that since we got in six days early, my p.a wouldn’t come by until Monday. I thanked Larry, and he made me promise to call him or Jackson anytime I wanted to leave. I told him I would, though I would probably stay on set for the reminder of the day. Larry left, and I started to unpack my bags when my phone went off.

I saw that but I didn’t know what it meant?? 🤷🏼‍♂️ Since when have we been together?

I laughed, shaking my head as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

Haven’t you heard? We’ve been dating for six years, married for eight, had three divorces, we have two kids, and I’m cheating on you.

Dating for six and married for eight? That doesn’t even make any sense 😂

Sure it does. They’re saying we’ve known each other for years and we were married for eight years. After one of our many divorces, we started to date and we’ve been dating now for six years. You’ve yet to propose but sources say it’s coming.😂😂

Oh my god ‍‍😂😂😂 wow and we haven’t even gone on a single date yet!

Ikr? They’re ridiculous.

So what are your plans? Do you have any plans tonight or anything?

I figured I’d call Chris instead of text him, because I wanted to be able to finish unpacking. I called him but it went straight to voicemail.

😂 Dude answer your phone

I’m sorry, I thought I was in trouble when you called me

😂 just answer your phone dork. It’ll be easier to talk to you than text since I’m unpacking.

Ok, I’ll pick up this time

Good

I called Chris and this time he actually did pick up.

“Well at least you picked up this time.”

Chris laughed, and I moved to throw my suitcase onto the bed.

“I seriously thought I was in trouble. Especially after our last phone call.”

“Well you didn’t bring the limo so….” “That you know of.” I stopped taking my clothes out, staring at the phone as if it was really Chris sitting in its place.

“Chris!” “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I didn’t call the limo service, although I almost did, I kinda forgot actually.” “Oh my god Chris, you forgot about me?! I’m hurt.” I faked a sniffle, before I broke out into laughter causing Chris to start to laugh as well.

“When are you free? We can get together before I start shooting on Saturday.” “Well my p.a won’t be here till monday.” “Monday?” “Yeah, we got here six days early.” “Dude six? Seriously why did you even come so early?” “You know why Chris.” “Still? I thought that was over with?”

“It’s- it’s complicated. But anyway, if you have to start shooting on Saturday then that gives us five days and tonight to hang out.” “Aren’t you tired? We can hang out tomorrow so you can get some sleep.” I laid down on the bed, tossing my duffel bag to the ground.

“You know how I get after I fly. I won’t be going to sleep anytime soon.” “Alright, which hotel are you staying at?”

I cringed, knowing he was gonna start complaining once he found out where I was.  

“I’m actually on set.” “Your what!?” “I’m on set, in my trailer.” “Y/N seriously?!” “You know how much I like my trailer since I remodeled. Besides, I’ll be practically living here once I start shooting, so there’s no point in me staying at a hotel.” “Fine, I’ll be over in a little bit ok?” “Alright, the door will be opened.” “That’s not smart, you need to lock your door.” “Yup.”

“Y/N, lock your door.”

“I will, promise.”

“Alright, see you soon.”

“Don’t be late.”

He laughed, hanging up on me. I grinned, knowing good and well that I wasn’t about to get up to lock the door.  

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[foxrun-fluffery]

The Greatest Distance

My attempt entry into @sdavid09​‘s wild Plot Bunny Challenge! I adopted Plot Bunny #59!  

What happens when the company of Thorin Oakenshield ends up in our world? How will you cope?

Considering I can’t write first person to save my damn life, I’ve added an OC... who had a lot of inspiration based on a certain someone (and those who realize who can just shut up). 

Without further ado, here we go...

                                         CHAPTER ONE

NEXT CHAPTER

“How is it possible for people and places to change so entirely that they lose any connection with what they used to be? Can a man adapt to new things and new places without losing a part of himself?”

—Abdelrahman Munif

“Oi, Nori, put that down!” Dori barked at his brother, his hands still swatting Ori’s away from the stack of foreign books. He felt doubly frazzled, having to keep an eye on his troublesome brothers, on top of all that had happened.

While that was going on, Bombur had sneaked a peek into a cupboard in the adjacent room, and licked his lips when he spotted a box of brightly colored pastries.

“Uh-uh!” Bofur interjected, reaching past his brother to shut the cupboard door. “Ye were tol’ t’ leave tha’ alone!” He grumbled, shaking his head. “Ye jus’ ate!” And he waved his hand to the emptied boxes of food on the table. “Eh yeah, what was tha’ called again?” His eyes scanned the crowded room for their hostess, but she and their leader still hadn’t returned yet. Whatever it was, he sure wished he could get the recipe for his brother. Bombur was a master at recreating dishes.

Meanwhile Fíli and Kíli were pushing one another about beside the hallway mirror, trying on hats from the top of the coat rack. “Here, here, try this one! Haha!” They laughed over each oddly shaped and strangely colored headwear, modeling them in the mirror.

“No way! It makes my hair stick out weird! You try it!” Fíli pulled the hat his younger brother had crammed onto his head back off and returned the favor, shoving it on top of his brothers darker locks. “Aye, there.”

Oin was seated on the sofa, watching everything going on, only heading half of it. “Bats? Nah, lads no bats in here. Too bright!”

Hearing his brother, Gloin rolled his eyes and went on with his grumbling about their misfortune. “Who doesn’a use gold coin! It’s no’ natural!” Harrumphing again, he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Don’t trust folk who don’t use good coin!”

Bifur was, of course, the quietest of the bunch. He was sitting to the side of all the commotion, curiously inspecting a little toy, a bright red cart-like gizmo, with a ladder on the back. When he pressed a square button on it, the ladder would shoot out, telescoping out from the back of the cart. He could only see half of the mechanism, and was horribly curious about it. Maybe… maybe if he took it apart, he could see how it worked, and he would most definitely have it fixed up right proper before anyone was the wiser. With a light of glee in his eyes, he went off to fetch his tools from his pack.

Dwalin, ever the stoic, stood with a scowl on his face, watching all of their company and the antics they were getting up to. He rolled his eyes at more than a few, and kept a sharp watch on a few others. “Nori,” he growled after Dori had left the middle Ri brother to help the younger, “Put that back.”

Nori slipped a little figurine back onto the shelf beside him and ducked his head with a sheepish grin.

Then there was Bilbo. Poor, sweet, horribly discomfited Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. He had seen this all before, back when he had been the unwitting victim of Dwarvish drop-ins. Of course that was all before, before they had left Middle Earth.

That very thought sent shivers down to his curly haired toes. They had left Middle Earth. He didn’t even know that was possible. He didn’t even know there were other worlds! Sure, some weird fantasy novels claimed such things, but that was fantasy, not reality! It simply wasn’t possible. No. Not at all. But, try as he might, sitting sullenly on the sofa near Oin, with his hands balled into fists on his lap, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, he couldn’t deny where they were. Another world. A futuristic world. Everything was so strange, so surreal. Nothing made sense.

The entire room full jumped when a loud ringing noise sounded out, half of them drawing hidden weapons and looking for the cause.

Dwalin stared at a small rectangular device set upright on the counter, and the shrill ringing coming from it. He reached out cautiously, ignoring a few words of warning sent his way, and picked it up. Quietly, a voice spoke from it. “This is Generations Pediatrics calling, regarding your appointment for Monday, June 5th at. 4:30 pm. Please press one to confirm.” The balded dwarf looked up at the others, seeing a few guestures for him to do something although no one seemed to agree as to what. He recognized the numerical symbols as Westeron numbers, but wasn’t sure what he should do. Obviously the message was not for them, but their hostess. Don’t want to make her miss an appointment. Slowly he reached out and pressed one. The voice spoke again. “Thank you! Please be sure to have your insurance, ID, and medical cards with you. Have a great day.”

“Thanks?” He replied, “You as well…” then there was silence and, under the scrutinizing gaze of his companions, he set the strange device down again. It beeped as he returned it to the stand. Blinking at it, rather owlishly, the tough warrior felt uncertain. This whole place was strange.

There was a sound outside, a rumbling noise, and wheels crunching on the gravel. Every member of the company looked up, towards the door. Their leader and their hostess were finally returning.

Bofur piped up then, “I thought they were back an hour ago!”

“No, that was just another one of them machines goin’ by!” Nori corrected.

A murmuring ran through the group as the door opened, first admitting… a walking pile of bags? This was followed shortly by Thorin Oakenshield, with a small human boy on his hip. He had, in years past, carried both Fili and Kili that way. No longer wearing the regal clothing he had been, he was instead in a blue plaid shirt and a pair of denim trousers. His boots he’d had to keep, but he seemed to fit in much better with this new world. He set the child down, and the boy, a tall lad of four and a half, grabbed onto the back of his mother’s coat.

“Hey, it’s okay, wait love, lemme get this… stuff down…” The woman brought the bags over to the coffee table, setting them all down. “Okay, we got clothes for everyone!” She said, standing up straight and looking at her very unexpected houseguests. Slowly she exhaled, a strand of her hair dancing with her breath. “Right, now, Thorin help me get this sorted out, I’m forgetting who gets what… oh where’s.. Ah, Balin, here’s your coat.” She handed it to the dwarf who came into the room behind herself and Thorin. He was wearing something not dissimilar to Thorin, though his shirt was a deep maroon, not as deep as his own shirt had been, but it wasn’t too unlike it. There was thin stripes of gold colored thread running through it. It was a clean cut button up shirt, that their hostess had remarked to it being similar to what her own grandfather would wear. He had chosen to take that as a compliment, mostly because of her sweet smile as she had briely reminisced. She turned to face the dark haired dwarf again, “I think we got the tags off, but you might wanna check first.” The modern-dressed dwarf gave a nod, recalling how she had removed certain clipped on papers and adhesive strips from the clothing he now wore, and helped her sort through their purchases. While he did that, he thought back to what had brought them here, to this very strange land.

Gandalf. Of course.

                   “Gandalf!” Thorin’s deep rough voice called out to the wizard who stood some ways from their camp one night. “Where are you going?” “Hm?” The gray garbed man turned to look at Thorin, “Nowhere. I am… I am going nowhere.” His long wiry eyebrows knit together in consternation. “Which is exactly the problem.”

Frowning at the cryptic words, Thorin approached him. “Is there something wrong?” He kept his piercing blue gaze on the tall man’s face, though he had quickly learned his stare did little to break through to the wizard, as it did on most other people. Most. “Oh, there is something very, very wrong, Master Dwarf, very wrong indeed.” The wizard huffed, tamping his knuckles against his beard, then stroking it as though to calm himself. “This isn’t right… not at all. It doesn’t feel right…” “If you’re having second thoughts about this quest, it’s perhaps too late now.” Thorin grumbled, crossing his arms and raising a brow as he wondered what in Mahal’s name the strange man could mean.

“Gandalf?” Another voice piped up from towards the camp. Bilbo was making his way over. “Is everything alright?” “I’m afraid not, my dear Bilbo. Something has gone terribly wrong, things are not as they should be suddenly. In a way I cannot explain.” He fretted a bit more before he turned to face them. “I need some time to gather my thoughts and sort this out… get some rest, all of you.” Wizards, Thought Thorin, I wonder if the world isn’t better off without their kind. He did give the source of this new headache a nod, then turned back to camp. “Bofur, you’re on watch. Let’s turn in.” He cast one last glance at Gandalf, watching him pace a bit to and fro, before he returned to his bedroll, patting Fili’s shoulder as he passed the brothers. “Fili, you can relieve Bofur for second watch. Dwalin will take third.” Everyone agreed, and aside from Bofur, they all laid down to get some rest, eager to sleep after a very long day on their ponies.

One of the number, however, could not get to sleep. Even after the dwarves around him were snoring peacefully, or as peaceful as dwarves could snore, for he determined that more than a few of them sounded fierce even in their sleep, Bilbo lay wide awake, until the second night watch was near over. He turned this way and that, but it was to no avail. Sleep simply would not come to him. He rose, silent in the way of hobbits, and walked over to Gandalf, lighting his pipe once he was there beside his friend. “Have you sorted anything out yet?” Gandalf hummed before answering, “Yes… but I do not like the look of it.”

“Can you tell me?” Turning to look down at the hobbit, the wizard pondered briefly if it would do any good. “I suppose I may.” He glanced up, aware that Bofur was near enough to hear them, but he relented that it did not matter. They would all know soon enough. “Some fell magic has changed the flow of time.” “Uhm.. what?” Bilbo asked in utter confusion. “That… that can’t happen… can it?” Mirthlessly the wizard laughed quietly, “There is much that can happen that you do not know about, Bilbo Baggins.” He huffed through his beard, shaking his head. “I cannot address this with all of you in tow, however it seems to have fixed itself upon this company.” His lips pressed into a thin line for a moment. “Yes, I know what I must do. However, I think none of you shall like it very much at all. No you shan’t.”

“Oy wha’s this now?” Bofur had made his way over. “Seems you ought t’ be tellin’ the lads all, hm? Somethin’ comin’ after us, we should know!” He protested, though kept his voice hushed. If it wasn’t something worth waking the others just yet, he didn’t want to be in trouble with everyone. But he was ready to give a good shout, just the same.

Turning to look at the hatted dwarf, Gandalf arched a brow at his bold statements. “It will become all too clear in short order, however you are right, I should address this issue immediately. Rouse the others!” Waving the dwarf off, he looked at Bilbo, brows slowly lifting, “It seems you are going on a grander adventure than I first believed.” “I’m what now?” Bilbo sputtered, but the dwarves were waking at Bofur’s calls, and he could only watch in unsettled dismay as Gandalf left him to return to the camp. He huffed and stomped his foot in vain, missing his armchair and books very much in that moment. He just wanted to sit down on a soft cushion with a good book, and forget this nonsense! Too late for that. He hurried back when he heard Thorin begin to shout. “What is the meaning of this!?” The dwarven king rose, still gripping his weapon. “Why do you wake us, Bofur? There is no attack!” “Because I told him to.” Gandalf said, in his loudest shout, full of exasperation, sparing Bofur from the short tempered Oakenshield’s anger. He stood fast as those sharp blue eyes turned upon him instead. “You must all be prepared, immediately!” “Prepared for what?” Ori asked, still half asleep and confused. Dori shushed him, setting a hand on Ori’s shoulder, “Quiet now!” His attention, like that of all the others, was fully on Gandalf then.

Gandalf sighed, wishing he could explain this better, but with little knowledge to the workings of things beyond their world, it would take much more time than he felt they had. “There has been a shift in the flow of time. Someone does not want this quest to succeed, I fear. Someone beyond my knowledge.” He noted how Thorin’s expression darkened, but continued anyway. Stubborn fool of a dwarf! “It has happened before, though I daresay not for some time, not as you see it anyway. There is no other recourse but to remove you, the lot of you, until it is straightened out.”

“Remove us!?” A number of dwarves shouted in aghast or angry voices.

“Listen!” Gandalf cried, though it went unheard as all of the company began in uproar. His grip on his staff tightened as he tried to hold his own temper.

“Shazara!” Thorin bellowed, looking at his gathered company as they fell silent around him. “Explain yourself, wizard,” he nearly spat.

Still so very tired of dealing with this temperamental dwarf, Gandalf steadied himself with a sigh, and both hands on his staff. “There is much that I cannot tell you, even more yet that you would not understand, and I fear I have little time to tell you what I may. You will all be removed from this world,” He quickly held up a hand to forestall any interruptions. “Temporarily. Temporarily removed from this world and this timeline. Then you will return here, not mere seconds past the time you depart. How long you will spend in this other realm, I do not know, time does not flow equally. But you will return. So long as you do not die there.” “Die?” Bilbo qualied.

Casting him a sympathetic glance, Gandalf continued. “I will send you somewhere safe. Or rather, relatively safe, so long as you obey the laws of the land, and do not cause a stir.”

Nori suspiciously eyed everyone around him. Them, not cause a stir? They were doomed… He looked across and saw his friend, Bofur, who, judging by his expression, was thinking the same thing.

“It is a place I have been to before,” Gandalf attempted to assure them. “It is a safe place. Though, I cannot guess where exactly you will arrive, or who you shall meet there. But if you keep your heads down and do not draw attention to yourselves, you will be fine.” He told them, mumbling softly under his breath, “I hope.” He knew Bilbo heard him at the concerned look he received. “It is a land very unlike this one, they have progressed to a point such as we would think of a distant future, and it is a land in which combat is not treated the same as here. They are more peaceful and less violent. And there are no dwarves!” Not in the way that would make any sense to the company. “Sounds like yer sending us to the elves!” Dwalin growled.

“No, there will be no elves there. Nor any other non-human race.” Gandalf assured him, though he saw the discomfort in all of them and heard their murmured dismay. In a moment he was reminded of the behaviors of toddlers and small children. This brought a quirk to the corner of his mouth. That at least gave him a vague guide.

“No elves… no dwarves!” Ori gasped, sending a ripple through the little crowd.

“Only humans, how miserable!” Gandalf couldn’t quite tell who had said that, but he suspected it was either Oin or Gloin, and the quietness of the rumbled opinion gave him the belief it was Gloin.

“Those poor people!” Bofur muttered in pitying dismay.

“Will… will you be coming?” Bilbo asked, his softer voice managing to be heard through the others talking amongst themselves now.

Looking down at Bilbo, rue in his gaze, he shook his head. “I am afraid not. I must maintain the magic to the portal you will take from this end. The world you are going to has no magic left.” He wasn’t surprised by those gasps of shock. “There is not even memory of it. It is best not to discuss it too openly.” He looked to the others again, “I suggest you find yourselves an ally as quickly as you can, someone you feel you can trust.”

“How can we trust any of them?” Thorin snarled at the wizard.

“You will have little other choice if you wish to survive. And survive you must.” Gandalf looked up towards the sky, and his eyes moved, tracking things the others could not hope to see. “Ready yourselves. Leave but the barest necessities, they will be here when you return.”

“R-right, because time w-w-won’t pass here…” The voice of the hobbit was tremulous at best.

“Good fellow!” Gandalf smiled to him then. “Keep your wits about you. They are more peaceful, but less understanding, on a whole. A few bright souls still exist that would aid you. You will have to find one. When it is time for you to return, you will see the portal again. Walk through it.” “What if we’re asleep!?” Bofur objected, starting to sound panicked. Gandalf shook his head, “You will not sleep through it, that much I assure you.” His head snapped up and he nodded, “It is time. Come now, take only what you need.” And he fixed Fili with a stern look. “Only take a few daggers, if you please.” “I always do!” The older of the two princes grinned cheekily.

Bilbo started for his things and came to a stop, turning to face Gandalf, his curiosity giving him some semblance of confidence in his words. “Gandalf… surely if you have the power to do something like this… surely you could complete this journey without us.” Thorin seemed almost startled by the hobbit’s question, and he whirled to Gandalf then, his eyes expressing the same curiosity for the answer. “Yes, do tell us why you can do this, but not aid more than you have, or intend.”

Looking over at them and huffing, drawing his lips far up in a frown, Gandalf shook his head, “This is not my doing, nor my magic that can do this task. I am merely marking the target, as it were. Now, hurry and prepare!”

Soon the company stood, huddled together in unease, each carrying one pack, wearing their warmest cloak, and holding one blanket. A few carried visible weapons, against Gandalf’s recommendation, and the wizard and hobbit both were certain more than a few, if not all, carried numerous hidden weapons.

Gandalf looked them over. “Remember what I said, cause no trouble, and stay alive!” With one last uncertain glance at the company, he turned away, to face the dawning light. Raising his staff, he brought it down to the earth, aligning it just so for a second, and in a moment the rays of the dawn sunlight gleamed through the tangled wooden roots of the tip of the tall shaft. The end of the staff began to glow, and it grew brighter, and brighter, and brighter still.

It was blinding by the time the dwarves and hobbit realized that not only could they hardly see each other, they felt as nearly sickening pull on their whole bodies, seeming to stretch them beyond themselves. It didn’t hurt, but it gave every one of them a sense of terror that, could they have but moved in that instant, would have sent even the bravest of them fleeing. Just when it seemed they could no longer stand it… it got worse.

Reality folded upon itself, creating a wrinkle in the fabric of space and time, connecting two very distant points. What this felt like to the dwarves cannot be truly put into the words of any mortal creature, for the words do not yet exist. Though as the rare travelers such as these go, upon his arrival at their destination, Bilbo put it in the best yet description.

“Nope.”

NEXT CHAPTER

[blizzweirdo]

StarCraft Fanfiction: “No Omen, No Country’s Cause” Ch. 5

This chapter switches back to Stukov’s POV as he encounters the UED salvage crew. What he learns from them does not make him happy...

As always, this is also available on Fanfiction.net, Archive of Our Own, and Wattpad.

     Finally, Stukov heard the elevator to the bridge come to life. He had been aware of them the moment they were in range of his limited telepathic abilities. He had opened and shut the hangar door for them and made sure the elevators were working. They had taken their time, and he didn't know why—he could sense them at a distance but not hear their thoughts. He thought that perhaps it was fear.

     Good. Let them be afraid. 

     Stukov reached out to the infestation around him. Black tendrils snaked down from the ceiling and wrapped around his torso and arms then hoisted him up and out of sight. He mimicked the posture Izsha took on Kerrigan's leviathan. He would wait for them, let them talk and learn what they knew of the mission, and then decide whether to reveal himself to them—or not. The infestation closed around him as the door to the elevator opened. A group of four, two men—marines—and two women, probably, he reasoned, the shuttle flight crew. Their voices were muffled by their helmets, but he could still hear and read them because of his enhanced hearing and weak telepathy.

     "Why Admiral Stukov though? Why not DuGalle or something?" One of the marines said.

     "He didn't tell us."

     "I don't know anything about the guy, but that dude definitely had a drinking problem. No one keeps that much alcohol around that isn't an alcoholic."

     "He was apparently a high-functioning one."

     "He had five kinds of vodka. No one can function drinking that much vodka."

     "Well, he ain't functioning at all anymore, so he ain't gonna miss 'em"

     Crass, Stukov thought. He wondered why were they talking about him and why they had they been in his quarters. One of them had a bag he recognized from his closet. The call of the zerg surged in his mind. Kerrigan's leviathan was close. He stopped listening and started reading them as one of the marines began extracting data from a computer terminal with a data tap device. One was still thinking about what he had stolen from his quarters. The other knew much more. There would be an attack on Tarsonis. They hoped to take over the Dominion—or the Republic as they called it now, but of course they wouldn't know that—and then eradicate the zerg. But they were wading into a situation that they did not understand. There was a relatively stable peace between the human factions in the sector, the zerg, and the protoss. If Tarsonis was attacked, the human factions would rally, and Artanis would no doubt come to the aid of his terran allies. The zerg, under Zagara, would remain neutral unless provoked, but might also be persuaded to fight against them. It would be a war on three fronts and bloody. They had a much larger force than then he and DuGalle had with the Expeditionary Fleet, but that would not matter. All three races were licking their wounds from the war-torn last decade, but if they banded together—and they would band together—they would most likely repel them. And if they didn't, all sides would sustain heavy losses. He would not speak to them. I'll leave them to their folly. This time would be different. The zerg were not led by a vengeful Kerrigan, and while Zagara was ruthless, she only cared about her Swarm. She would have reason to defeat the fleet but not destroy it utterly as Kerrigan had. If they did not win, they would have the opportunity to surrender; he hoped they would take it.

He scanned one of the women and found nothing interesting. But the other one... He saw images mostly. An old ID card with his picture. That's how they got in my quarters. His dress uniform with his name on it. Strange. He didn't care about any of the items they took. The alcohol was useless to him and so was the dress uniform. But then, a young man he recognized. A dread settled into his stomach—something he hadn’t felt in a long time. But he wasn’t sure—his mind was not the same. Still, if it was who he thought it was, he had to do something.

Silently he drove the infestation away and lowered himself from the ceiling behind the girl whose mind he had just read. She must have seen him in her peripheral vision, because she turned towards him slowly and then screamed in terror, dropping to her knees. Both the marines turned to face him, raising their weapons. He raised his hands in response.

"Come now, gentlemen, there's no need for violence."

They opened fire. Stukov's arm swiped out at one, knocking him over. He disappeared into the infestation on the deck. The other he pinned to the wall and let the infestation creep over him. He turned his attention back to the two women. One of the women shot him in the back with her handgun, but it glanced off his infested shoulder blade. It hurt but healed almost immediately. He pinned her to the wall as well. The other girl was still on the floor screaming.

"I am Vice Admiral Alexei..." He began, but the girl would not stop yelling. "Stop that. I'm not going to hurt you," he said gruffly. He stared at her for a moment, and slowly some of the fear in her face left. "Are you done now?" He said sarcastically. But then he felt a twinge of sympathy. She was a kid who had never encountered the zerg before and had just come in contact with what appeared to be the twisted, bloated, reanimated corpse of a UED officer—and she probably thought she was next. He would have to treat them with more humanity than he had needed to muster in a long time.

     "It's okay. Really. Let me start over. I'm Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov," he said, gentler this time, and squatting down to her level.

     “You’re supposed to be dead!” Dauphin said fearfully.

     “That information is, sadly, outdated.”

     "You've been living here all this time?"

    "No, it's more complicated than that. But it doesn't matter. Who are you?" He stood again and offered a hand to help her up. It took a moment for her to take it and to answer.

     “I’m Capt. Carolyn Dauphin... The girl that shot you was my navigator, Lt. Katie Dean... Those two men are Sgt. Joseph Chang and Cpl. Joaquin Hernandez...”

     “And who is the commander of the fleet?”

     "Adm. Troy Reeves."

Stukov swore quietly. He knew him. Stukov didn't outright dislike many people, but he'd never had time for Reeves's mixture of pomposity, genteel bullshit, and incompetence. This would make what he needed to do even harder.

     "I must go to him. Give me your fleet’s coordinates."  

     “I’m not doing tha—” He read her mind.

     “Thank you.”

He willed the Aleksander to move. Dauphin’s face went white as the engines began to spin up; she was clearly frightened by his psionic ability. She would be even more frightened by the leviathan I’m sending to meet us there. His ability to read them faded as they reached FTL speeds.

     “They’ll shoot you down,” Dauphin said, her voice quivering.

     “Do they value your lives so little?”

The Aleksander dropped out of FTL. Stukov opened a comm line and sent his credentials. There was no answer. Stukov turned back to Dauphin. “Which carrier is Reeves on? Do they have a special frequency?”

     She hesitated.

     “If they don’t hear from us, they’ll shoot us down.”

     “He’s on the Kuznetsov. That’s where we were all stationed.” She showed him the frequency.

     “UED carrier Kuznetsov, this is Vice Adm. Alexei Stukov. I will rebroadcast my credentials. I request to speak with Adm. Troy Reeves.”

     “Adm. Stukov, this is Kuznetsov tower. We’re patching you through.” There was a moment of dead air. Then, the Aleksander’s bridge viewscreen came on. On it was the sanguine face of Adm. Troy Reeves. To Stukov, his mutton chops and elaborate grey beard made him look like something out of an American Civil War film. And like an idiot. He spoke to him without looking away from his control panel.

     “Stukov? You had better have a good damn reason to be still alive.” Reeves finally looked at him and the color drained from his face. “Lord have mercy, what have you done? You’re...”

     “Infested. That is the word you are looking for.”

     A queer smile played at Reeves’s lips. He seemed to be enjoying Stukov’s suffering. What a smug asshole.

     “Even so, Admiral,” Reeves said, letting his antebellum drawl lengthen his words, “you’ve got a lot of nerve coming crawling back to the fleet.”

     “And you have some nerve coming back to this sector after what happened to our expedition.”

     “Are you threatening me?”

     “Not yet I’m not, Troy.”

     Reeves bristled. He was one of those people who wanted to be called by their title no matter the situation.

     “If you’re zerg now, you’re a traitor. I’ll shoot you down myself. Tactical!”

     “Capt. Dauphin... Will you come here for a moment and tell your superior a little about yourself?”

     He heard Dauphin swallow hard as she stepped into view of his comm’s pickup.

     “Hello, Admiral. I’m Capt. Carolyn Dauphin. I’m a shuttle pilot based on the Kuznetsov, and I was assigned to Aleksander salvage mission.”

     “You’ve taken hostages.”

     “I prefer to think of them as my guests.”

     Reeves’s face flushed with anger. “How are you being treated? Where is your navigator and your marine detachment?”

     “I’m fine... But everyone else...”

     “They’re being restrained, and they are unharmed... for now.”

     “What do you want, Stukov?”

     “To talk.”

     “About what?”

     “About the mistakes you are about to make. I will not help you, but I can steer you towards allies and tell you how to minimize casualties, though I hope after speaking with me you may change your mind and return to Earth.”

     “Do you think me a coward?”

     “No, but I hope you’re not the fool I always thought you were. I will board the carrier Kuznetsov in one hour and will return your people to you. We will talk then. Be ready.”

Stukov cut the comm line. He turned to Dauphin. “Thank you for being cooperative.”

     “What else could I have done?”

     “You could have screamed. You could have goaded him to fire.”

     “I could have...  But I don’t have a death wish. I just work here.”

     “Hah! With that attitude, you may just survive...” He looked away for a moment, trying to figure out what he should do next. It would be unwise to tell them who he thought their “collector” was—it could be used against him. But he needed to get a message to him to tell him he was alive, or at least not dead, instruct him to leave the fleet whenever there was an opportunity, and, of course, that he would help him. It was a possibility that this person was not who he thought he was, but there were too many coincidences. The image he saw in Dauphin’s mind, the ID card that only could have been retrieved from his home on Earth, and wanting to find some token of him from the Aleksander. If it was him, it was wise to have not told them his name. The less obvious ties he had to him would keep him out of harm’s way—for now. “My ID card... May I see it?”  

     “What?”

     “My ID card. You have it.”

     “Oh! How did you?” 

     He made a motion with his hand for her to give it up. Dauphin rummaged around in the bag and gave him the card. He examined it. Inside, there was a wireless chip. He placed it on the console. It was old, but so was the ship. He was able to access the card through the ship’s computer. The storage was full, but if he deleted his thumbprint and his credentials, he could type several novels worth of text to him; Stukov only needed a short message. Finished, he gave the card back to Dauphin. “When you see him, give him this.” She turned it over in her hand and put it in her pocket.

     “What’s in it for me?”

     “I won’t kill you? And you can keep all that...” he said, gesturing to the bag, “I don’t care about any of it.”  

     “Who is he?”

     “I’m... not sure.”

     “You just don’t want to tell me.” He ignored her.

     “I think it’s about time we got ready to leave, yes?” Stukov let KD out of the infestation in the corner. She fell from the wall, coughing. KD ran to her.

     “God... I had my mouth open...”

     “Are you okay?”

     “I think that’s the most disgusting thing that’s ever happened to me.” Stukov watched them interact. How old are they? he thought, Twenty-five maybe? Children—all of them. Younger than my own would be now... Sent out here for what reason? Conquest? To protect Earth? When he left Earth, his children were young. Would I even recognize them now? Would they recognize me?

     KD noticed Stukov watching them.

     “Hey, what are you staring at?” she snapped. Dauphin shushed her.

     “Do you want to provoke him? Really?”

     “I’m sorry about restraining you. But you shot at me and didn’t leave me much of a choice.”

     He was angry at none of them—not even the marines. They reminded him of the men and women under him on the Aleksander. His mind was different now, but he remembered their names if not their faces. He always had an unwise sentimentality towards his young recruits, tending to act paternally towards them. Many responded to it, some didn’t. Either way, he tried to be a warm, fatherly figure—if not a crazy, Slavic uncle.  

     Gerard on the other hand... Stukov had men and women that were loyal to him over DuGalle. He was neither a taskmaster nor a micromanager, of which DuGalle had a tendency to be both—even with him. He could only imagine what Reeves was like. It infuriated him to know his death—and DuGalle’s--had most likely precipitated Reeves’s promotion.

     Stukov looked at the time on the console. They needed to start moving towards the hangar bay. With a thought, the infestation pulled the two marines further into the wall.

     “What are you doing?” KD exclaimed, “He’s killing them!”

     “No, I’m not. They’re uncooperative. I can’t trust them to walk to the hangar bay on their own power. They’re going there my way. Now, unless you’d like to join them...” Stukov gestured to the lift as the door chimed and opened. Both women were quiet as he ushered them in and escorted them down to the hangar bay. When they got there, the two men were in chrysalises in the hangar. Stukov and Dauphin loaded them onto the shuttle, and Stukov commanded KD to stay in the back with them. He took the pilot’s seat without protest from Dauphin. When he looked back, KD had gotten into the duffel bag and had fished out a bottle of schnapps. He had no idea where it had come from. It must have been Gerard’s. At least it will keep her quiet.

     Once at the controls, he found little had changed in their design since he had been gone. He opened the hangar bay door and maneuvered the shuttle out. The UED fleet spread out before him, shining ships stretching as far as he could see. He counted at least four carriers—floating bases really, larger than protoss capital ships but smaller than a city—and hundreds of battlecruisers flanked by smaller vessels, some of makes Stukov didn’t recognize. With the fleet in front of him, Stukov couldn’t help feeling pride and nostalgia.

     “That’s... Quite impressive,” Stukov said quietly.

     “Do you still think we can’t win?”

     “Yes.”

     Stukov radioed the Kuznetsov’s tower, warning them of his approach and that he had his “hostages” on board in case they got the idea to shoot him down. The tower directed him to a hangar. As he touched down, a group of six marines and a med team filed in to meet the shuttle. Good. They’ve underestimated me. I might make it out of here alive. He stood, reaching into one of the chrysalises with his infested arm, withdrawing Chang’s rifle. KD staggered away from him, at once both tipsy and afraid. Stukov didn’t need the gun, but he wanted to look like he did.

     “Carolyn,” he said as calmly, “I’m going to do something that you’re not going to like.” Dauphin’s head snapped towards him, her eyes wide. “I’m going to lead you out at gunpoint. Know that I have no intention of shooting you. It’s just for show.”

     “O-okay.”

     Stukov opened the shuttle hatch. “Come. You first.” He let Dauphin walk in front of him. “Stay back!” he yelled at the marines in the hangar. “I have a hostage. If you try anything, I will kill her. The rest of your people are onboard the shuttle. Take me to Reeves. The sooner I see him, the sooner I will leave you.” As soon as he had cleared the shuttle, the med team swooped through the hatch to help Chang, KD, and Hernandez. The marines formed a pack around Stukov and escorted him down the hallway. After walking for a few minutes, they came to a conference room. Inside, Reeves stood from his chair at the conference table, red-faced and already apoplectic. Behind him was a ceiling-to- floor window onto the fleet, perhaps chosen, Stukov thought, to intimidate him.

     “I don’t know what is going on in that diseased brain of yours, but you've got five minutes to submit to my command or I will...”

     “Hello, Troy. Good to see you as well.” He pulled out a chair for Dauphin, his gun still trained on her. He then pulled one out for himself and sat down, making a show of getting himself comfortable, even flipping his hat off onto the table.

     “Whatever it is you want, Stukov, you’re not getting it.”

     “You should hope that I do, Admiral. I want you and your people to live; I want you to turn around and go home.”

     “Do you doubt the strength of the UED Destroyer Fleet?”

     “I doubt it as much as I should have doubted the Expeditionary Fleet. You’re not here with a clear picture of the dangers of this sector. You need to come to this with,” he stopped, realizing he was echoing the past, “... your eyes open. Otherwise...” he gestured with his free hand at himself, “This is your future. All that is here is death.”

     “Ridiculous. We have almost the entire Earth sector military at our disposal. We will conquer the colonies and subdue the protoss—and the zerg.”

     “Is that so? Perhaps you need a little dose of reality.” Stukov reached out with his mind to his leviathan. A specially bred brood queen departed from it to the fleet. He selected a battlecruiser far from the Kuznetsov but close enough to view from the conference room’s window. In seconds, the Kusnetsov’s alarm klaxons began ringing. Reeves stood and went to a control panel on the wall.

     “Bridge, status report.”

     “We’re under attack—from the zerg. And it’s... spreading?”

     “What?”

     There was a bright flash outside the window. Reeves turned, watching in horror as the infested ship’s main engine blew. A neighboring battlecruiser had fired upon it to immobilize it, but it was too late. Tendrils of infestation had latched onto the second battlecruiser. It tried to pull away but could not and began to break up. This was not what Stukov wanted. He willed the infestation to keep it together. Another tendril snaked out and penetrated a supply freighter nearby. Drones swarmed on its hull as the contagion spread and took hold. Reeves looked on, horrified, as more ships were caught up in Stukov’s virulent pestilence.

     “This is the reality of the zerg. There is very little to be done in defense. They are a single-minded enemy, wanting only to survive and conquer. I have immense power, but even I’m not powerful enough to rule them.”

     “You... You did this? Stop it, Stukov! Stop it right now!”

     It didn’t bother him that Reeves was scared. He should have been. It was only when Dauphin looked at him, frightened and betrayed, that the coldness of the Swarm in him abated. Stukov felt conflicted. He should not have put that many lives at risk to make a point. The infestation withdrew at his command but he kept the most damaged ship from breaking up.

     “The effects are temporary. If you have any firebats, send them in. They should be able to remove any lingering infestation.”

     The alarms stopped abruptly. “Status!” Reeves barked into the communication console.

     “The zerg have retreated. Casualty reports coming in... Injuries reported but no deaths. Medical is putting the exposed into quarantine.”

     “Five ships in thirty seconds... I could have decimated your fleet today, and there are billions more zerg that those I control. Do you like those odds?”

     “Then fight with us.”

     “No. But I will help you under these conditions: you keep the Kuznetsov off the front lines and you don’t use your ghosts.”

     “Why these conditions?”

     “Ghosts are useless against the zerg,” he lied, “and you will need some way to rebuild your fleet if your ‘war’ goes as badly as I know it will. If you keep to these conditions, I will introduce you to the factions in this sector which may help you—the Tal’Darim, for instance—and speak to the leaders of the zerg on your behalf.”

     “That’s all? We attack Tarsonis in six hours. You can’t be more help than that?”

     Stukov shrugged. “If you want me to look over your battle plans, I’d be more than happy to send you my recommendations. But that’s all I will do.”

     “Stukov,” Reeves said, his voice lowering as he leaned in conspiratorially, “we’re not doing this just because we can. You know what the situation was when you left—now it’s only worse. Our colonies are failing because of our wars with them. The population of Earth is too large for its resources... Inhabitable planets are a dime a dozen here... We need the Koprulu sector and its worlds to survive.”

     “Then send colony ships and settle! No one will stop you. There’s no need to resort to conquest.”

     Anger seethed in Reeves’s face as he realized that Stukov was steadfast in his conviction not help him.

     “I always thought you were lazy... uncouth... Hiding in your lab swilling vodka with your dick in your hand after your wife left you... And that’s all you’re doing now.” Stukov laughed, surprised at how easily his mask of gentility slipped. He didn’t know he had gotten so far under his skin so many years ago—and without even trying. He rarely had even thought about Reeves, and yet Reeves remembered his post, that he’d been having problems with alcohol, and somehow knew his wife had left him. Stukov vaguely remembered that Reeves was married and that his husband was a musician of some sort. They had few friends in common, and there was no reason for him to know that much about him. Stukov thought that he definitely had some sort of complex.

     “I’m touched you remember so much about me, Troy. Do you know my children’s names as well? The brand of cologne I wear? Or is that too esoteric? If we’re done, I’m leaving. The Captain here will take me back to my ship, and then I’ll be on my way.”

     “Are you all right with that, Capt. Dauphin?”

     “I’m... I’m fine,” Dauphin mumbled. Putting on his cap, Stukov got up from his chair and escorted Dauphin to the door. As he left, Reeves gave him an odd look. Instead of following them out, he walked to the comm station and began speaking quietly into it. Stukov and Dauphin stepped out into the hallway. The same marines followed them through the ship, but, curiously, took them a different way.

     “Where are they taking us, Carolyn?”

     “The hangar bay. This just takes us to the other end.”

     “They’re wasting time.” Stukov knew something was up.

     Stukov and Dauphin entered the hangar bay from the other side. As they made their way to Dauphin’s shuttle, Reeves entered from the other side, leading a tall, thin man in handcuffs. When they got closer, he threw him to his knees and pointed a handgun to his head. The man looked up at them, wide eyed.

     “Greg?” Dauphin exclaimed.

     “Gregory...” Stukov said, anguished. Gregory turned to him, recognizing his voice. He squinted at him, confused.

     “Papa?”

     “This reunion is touching, but it will be fleeting...” Reeves said, his face beaming with satisfaction. “Don’t use any ghosts, you said. Of course I looked at the roster, and, for the record, yes, I do remember your children’s names.” A white-hot anger burned in Stukov. His hand tightened on his rifle as he wondered if he could get a shot off without Reeves killing his son. Or if he could lash out and strike him. “You have four children, correct? This is your youngest? If you don’t submit to my authority and commit to joining the attack on Tarsonis right now, I’m blowing your son’s brains out right here. Then, I’m sending a message home declaring you a traitor, and suggesting they round up the rest of your children and kill them as well. It’s a pity your ex-wife isn’t around anymore; I’d have her killed too.”

     “She’s... dead?”

     “Hah! You didn’t know? Well, that makes this all the more fun, doesn’t it?” He cocked the pistol and Greg flinched.

     “You can’t threaten him! He’s one of your own troops!” Dauphin blurted out.

     “Keep quiet, girl. I’ll do as I wish,” Reeves said, his anger rising. He pushed the gun against Greg’s temple.

     Stukov was stunned. He had no idea that his ex-wife had died. When did it happen? How? And now he’d put his entire family in danger. He should never have come here. But it was too late, and now he had no choice.

     “Stop,” he said, putting the gun on the ground, “I submit. Just... don’t shoot him.” Reeves motioned to one of the marines.

     “Take him to the brig,” he said, indicating Greg, “He’ll be safe there... For now. As for you, Admiral.”

     “Vice admiral. I guess you don’t remember everything.”

     “Oh, but I do. I watched the vids of your funeral—with pleasure, I might add. Afterwards, they made a big show of awarding you a tombstone promotion. Better late than never, I suppose. So, Admiral Stukov, you will gather your forces and meet us at Tarsonis in five hours. You will continue from there with the fleet and assist us in subjugating the Koprulu sector. If you are insubordinate, late, cowardly, or just fucking annoy me, your son will die. Do I make myself clear?”  

     “Yes... sir.”

     “Then get out of my sight.” 

Note: I also know that’s not how tombstone promotions work, but, hey, it’s the future and a fascist regime.

[shamelessly4shameless-blog]

Gonna take a lot.

Awesome prompt from @highoffcobain set in S.3 when Ian goes to join the army. xx

‘Philip?’

‘It’s Lip.’

‘It’s just Gallagher now. Get on.”

Ian feels an absolute thrill at those words. Just Gallagher now. Not ‘Ian’, not ‘Red’ and definitely not fucking ‘Firecrotch’. Just Gallagher. Anonymous enough to finally let him get out from being one of six but allowing him to keep that connection to his home. He tugs his scarf a little closer and hitches his bag a little higher on his shoulder, the guy behind him has fumbled his ID and it gives Ian a legitimate couple of seconds to savour this moment.

He balances one booted foot on the coach platform and takes a deep breath, his last of the frosty South Side air for at least four years, long enough to get over the hurt and the pain he has been living with for months. Long enough to stop seeing glimpses of perfect white teeth and bright blue irises every time he closes his eyes. Long enough to stop craving the touch of tattooed fingers and the scent of pomade. Long enough to feel whole without someone who has done nothing but push him away.

A car horn blares loud and close enough that Ian jumps back from the bus reflexively and several people in the queue scatter as a battered sand coloured car with familiar cracked headlights screeches to a halt in front of the bus.

Ian barely has time to register what is happening before Mickey is throwing the car door open and throwing himself out of it, not even bothering to kill the engine.

“GALLAGHER?!”

Mickey yells at the group of recruits, apparently unaware of the seven automatic weapons that have been instantly trained on his chest by the military personnel present.

“Civilian! You can’t park there!”

The officer beside Ian barks, drawing Mickey’s attention toward him. Ian considers throwing himself onto the bus and hiding from the situation unfolding in front of him but that is not who he is, it never has been, it’s why he can’t settle for what Mickey can offer him.

“I’m not fuckin’ parkin’. I’m collecting.”

Mickey glares and barrels forward.

“Step back, Sir!”

Ian hears seven rifles cocked in unison and panic floods his mind, pushing him forward before he has a chance to think about what he’s doing.

“It’s OK! Don’t shoot! He’s … He’s with me.”

He yells throwing his arms wide, shielding Mickey from the pointed guns, his knees almost buckling in relief as the weapons are lowered.

“Don’t ... what? These fuckers are gonna shoot me? Jesus fuckin’ Christ! No wonder the fuckin’ terrorists are winning!”

Mickey peers around Ian to yell at the military men and women who are all looking at him like he is pond scum.

“Shut the fuck up, Mickey! I’m sorry, he’s sorry. We’ll just be a minute.”

Ian implores and the sergeant with the clipboard clearly thinks the hood-rat with the piece of shit car is going to be more trouble than it’s worth to try and make him leave by force.

“Sort this out and get on the bus, Gallagher. Tell your friend he has two minutes to move his car or we’re going through it.”

“Yes Sir, Thank you.”

Ian nods before rounding on Mickey with absolute fury fuelled by adrenaline

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Mickey counters and Ian shoves him in the chest, hard

“Is this a fucking game to you?

“Oh yeah, I love games that nearly get me killed by G.I Joe and fuckin’ Jill over there!”

Mickey throws another filthy look and middle finger at the men and women in uniform and Ian grabs a fistful of his sleeveless hoodie, dragging him back towards his car.

“Get in your car and go home.”

“Not without you.”

Mickey snaps, slapping Ian’s hand from his top and stopping dead on the tarmac.

“Why? What do you see happening, huh? I come back and just wait for you to bend over once or twice a week?”

“Hey! Keep your damn voice down!”

Panic flutters across Mickey’s face and Ian buries his head in his hands with a frustrated, humourless laugh.

“Jesus, Mickey! You just crashed an army recruitment drive – pretty sure most people here have figured you’re gay, even if it’s still a mystery to you!”

Ian rubs his fingers into the socket of his eyes as if warding off a headache and sighs.

“Go home to your wife, Mickey.”

“She’s not … I don’t know how to … You …”

Mickey fights for the words but they won’t come and he can see Ian losing what little patience he has left.

What he wants to say to Ian is that he doesn’t know if exactly what he feels, he doesn’t know if Ian means everything to him and he doesn’t know if he can give Ian everything he clearly needs. But Ian makes Mickey feel something and that is more than anyone else has ever done and Mickey doesn’t want him to go.

Mickey draws his lower lip inwards and twists it between his teeth until there is a sharp pain and the faint metallic taste of blood blooms on his tongue. He looks up at Ian and sees everything that he stands to lose reflected in those beautiful green eyes that he sees in his dreams every night without fail.

“Don’t go, okay? Just stay. I can make more time for you. Whatever you need.”

The words sound weak and too small for all the emotion they contain. Mickey closes his eyes, embarrassed and utterly wretched. He sounds like a little bitch but worse because at least bitches normally manage to say something flowery. All he can manage is a pathetic plea and an offer of no substance. It is everything Mickey has to give him, but it is still not enough.

Ian is clearly thinking the same because he reaches out and puts a warm hand on Mickey’s freezing shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed the temperature until Ian touched him and the irony makes Mickey want to cry. Even his body is useless until Ian shows him what it should be feeling.

“I can’t stay just to be your mistress. You have a wife, you have a baby on the way and you won’t admit you’re gay. What can I do? Hmm? What can I do, Mick? What life is that for me?”

Ian speaks gently but every word slices the wound his departure opened in Mickey a little further.

“You chased after me, drove across town and nearly got yourself killed but when it comes to it that’s all you can do. You race to the brink and then you stop. I can’t keep stopping with you. I have to take a leap of faith somewhere. Maybe this is it. Go home, Mickey.”

Ian leans down and gently kisses Mickey’s cheek, tasting the slightly bitter salt from his earlier tears with only a faint surprise. Ian had cried too, but long before now and he simply doesn’t have any more tears to give.

Mickey touches his fingertips lightly to the kiss and swallows heavily, his eyes fixed on the back of Ian’s head as he walks back toward the bus. There is a roaring sound in Mickey’s ears and with every step Ian takes it seems to get louder and more insistent until it fills him completely, blinding him as well as deafening him. He shakes his head to clear it and see’s Ian’s face in profile, the strong line of his chin and the soft curve of his nose. The smattering of freckles across his cheekbones and the auburn sweep of his eyelashes. Loss hits Mickey like a thunderbolt and he takes a shuddering gasp before closing his eyes and letting the words he can no longer subdue tear out of his throat into the freezing Chicago air

Ian turns sharply and stares at him incredulously

“What did you say?”

“I said, I love you.”

Mickey opens his eyes wide and raises his eyebrows challengingly

“There. You happy now?”

Ian blinks at him mutely and then a small smile touches the corner of his mouth and he turns toward Mickey. He lets the bag fall from his shoulder and takes five quick strides forward until they are chest to chest, close enough that he can see the puckered flesh on Mickey’s pale arms, white with cold and the faint chapping on his lips, bitten and a little cracked. He can smell pomade, tobacco, and the musky vanilla scented soap that Mickey likes. He can see his future shifting shape and it might be better it might be worse but it no longer feels like it matters.

“Yes. If you mean it, then yes.”

Ian nods and Mickey runs a terse hand through his hair.

“I mean it. I don’t know the fuck I’m gonna do about it, but I mean it.”

“You can let me kiss you. Right here.”

Ian smiles and Mickey rolls his eyes, pressing his lips together tightly at the thought of it

“You better be getting your ass in car immediately afterwards.”

“Yeah. I will be.”

Ian gently cups the back of Mickey’s head and presses his lips softly against Mickey’s own. His kiss is gentle and reassuring, nothing like the fiercely passionate kisses that they have shared before, which have been all tongues and clashing teeth, an extension of the rough foreplay that Mickey needs to relax.

Ian pulls back and opens his eyes but Mickey remains frozen in place for a split second longer, eyes closed and lips slightly parted and Ian realises he has probably never been kissed like that before in his life, so he does it again.

This time Mickey responds, his hand coming up to mirror Ian’s own, running through the short red hair, his thumb caressing the shell of Ian’s ear with more tenderness that Ian realised Mickey’s hands were capable of.

The officer with the clipboard smiles and thinks of his own husband at home and neatly crosses Philip Gallagher off the list.

“We won’t be needing you on this bus, Gallagher. Mix up with the paperwork. Get out of here.”

He calls and then frowns at Mickey

“And you! Move your fucking car!”

*

Mickey drives and Ian watches the recruitment bus in the rear-view mirror until it is out of sight as they round a corner. Mickey glances over and tongues the corner of his mouth, eyebrows knitting together guiltily.

“If … ah … if you still wanna do this shit when you’re eighteen – I’ll deal with it, you know? Gotta live your dreams, man.”

Ian smiles and lays his hand lightly on Mickey’s thigh

“What about your dreams?”

Mickey snorts and shakes his head.

“I don’t have anything like that. Fuck fighting for this shit hole country! But I like redheads and I got one so, yeah. Maybe I’m okay with just that.”

Ian laughs and grins at Mickey before rolling his head languidly across the headrest to look at him properly

“I love you too, you know that right?”

Mickey startles and half looks at Ian before turning his eyes back to the road.

“No, I didn’t know that.”

His voice is quiet and a little subdued but there is a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth and after a moment his fingers begin to drum a quick little beat on the steering wheel. He is clearly and unmistakably very fucking happy.

Ian puts the radio on and the car is filled with the jingling opening of ‘Africa’ by Toto. Ian begins singing softly, deliberately exaggerating the pull of the words across his lips and Mickey laughs

“Man, this car don’t need to get any gayer!”

“… it’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from youuu”

Ian ignores him and closes his eyes dramatically, pumping his fists in time with the music. Mickey is trying to watch the road but his gaze keeps flicking back to Ian and as the drums signal the next chorus he licks his lips and joins in, his voice rough but surprisingly tuneful. The song continues and their voices get louder and more exuberant as it reaches its finale

“I BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AAAAAFRICAAAAAA!”

Both boys bellow the words, laughing as much as they are singing, pumping out of the windows, pointing at other cars and generally enjoying one stolen moment in a lifetime of thousands.

Ian leans forward with his iPhone camera and snaps a photo of them both. Mickey is pouting like a fucking rock star and Ian sets it as his background without hesitation. 

It is a new chapter and the future is limitless.

[writers-blog12]

I'm in love with someone I can't be in love with

I jostled in the back seat, a plastic smile plastered to my face. I tried to act happy, but to be honest? I'm just having a really bad day.

Simon's blue eyes caught my own in the rearview mirror. "Hey, you okay?"

My heart thuddwd in my chest. A flash of denial cut through my thoughts.

No. It can't happen. Get over it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do u ask?" I give a light chuckle, fooling everyone else in the car with ease. Except for my best friend, Kodak. And someone who should hardly know me at all: Simon.

Kodak simply raised his eyebrows at me, but understood I didn't want to talk and looked away.

Simon, however, narrowed his eyes. "You sure about that, Brit?"

"Simon, I'm fine. I'm having a great time."

Simon simply grunted and lowered his brows.

I ain't gettijng out of this one. Not with both of them on my butt.

Shortly after the volleyball game, with full stomachs, Simon dropped everyone off one by one. Kodak shot a were facetiming tonight look my way as he shut the door. Simon nodded his head to the front seat. "Hop up here."

"In fine back-"

"Front seat. Now. I am not moving this car until you get up here."

"Simon, really, I'm fine-"

He threateningly held his hand to his chest. "I'll do it," he threatened.

" Dont you dare," I growl, already preparing to pounce on his arm.

He flung his arm in a straight, diagonal motion, and I leaped forward and pressed his arm down to his leg. I shot him a withering glare until I noticed the humor in his eyes and the slight quirk in his smile. "What are you-!" I trailed off as he just looked down at our hands. Too late, I felt the tingling sensation that danced across my skin every time I touched him.

My hands were pressed against his open palm, resting on his thigh.

"When'd you get so forward?" His rumbling voice behind me made me jump a little. Before I could pull away, he intertwined my fingers with my own. He held our hands up to his face, my breath hitching in my throat. "Did you paint your nails finally?"

"Uh, yeah. I was just bored the other day and saw this picture on Instagram and I was like wow I really need to get back into painting my nails and..." My sentence died when I heard Simon's breathy laugh. "What?" I ask, nervous.

"It s just that you haven't moved yet."

After a moments hesitation, I retracted my limbs and planted myself in the passenger seat. I folded my hands tightly together and held them in my lap. I tried to hide the trembling shaking through my body.

"what's wrong, Brit?" Simon asked, probing my eyes for answers.

"I told you, I'm fine!" I put on my most winning smile. "Nothing to worry about!"

Simon allowed his eyes to flicker down to my hands, shooting a pointed glance my way.

My hands sprung apart. "Uh, my house is just a few blocks away."

"Im aware." He put the car in gear. "What's your curfew?"

"...why?" I answered cautiously.

"Would you just tell me?"

"...ten thirty."

"Cool." He took off, but missed my block.

"Simon, you missed the turn."

He kept his eyes fixed to the road, replying with "I know."

"Simon, what are you doing?" A feeling of uneasiness and nerves knotted in my chest.

He looked over at me, taking his eyes from the road. "You gonna start talking sometime?"

"Simon, eyes on the road!" I nearly shrieked, voice tight.

Simon only waggled his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Simon!" I reached over and grabbed the wheel, gently pulling the car away from the median. "Are you insane!?"

Simon gently grabbed my wrist, the pressure of his fingertips almost burning my skin. He guided me back into my seat, and returned his eyes to the road. "What's wrong, Brit?"

I sighed. "I just had a bad day, that's all."

"What made it a bad day?"

I lowered my head. "Don't really want to talk about it."

Oh, trust me. I did want to talk about it. But not with him. Because I was upset, because of him.

" Yeah, you do, come on."

"You've known me for five weeks and five days, how do you know I want to talk?" I burst, my tone close to angry.

"Ah, you've been counting down the days since you met me, I see." He smirked. "Didn't know you paid so much attention to me."

Despite my best efforts, I felt a blush creep up my skin. "I dont."

"Mhmm. And I suppose you just happened to run to the band room as fast as you can after school."

"I need to get my violin."

"Yeah, but you're always in there before I am."

"I never see you in there."

Simon suddenly made fierce eye contact with me, too captivating to turn away. "Do you want to?" He asked.

I opened my mouth for a stinging retort, but the words stuck in my throat. I clamped my jaw shut. I don't lie to my friends. And truth be told, if I told him I didn't want to see him, id be lying.

"In going to take that as a yes."

"Simon..."

He held a hand up. "Just hold on." He turned a corner and continued. "I asked you out the second week of school. I told you everything about..." He swallowed. "M y past, and my home life. I've told you everything." He took a deep breath, preparing himself. "And you told me you couldn't go out with me, because I don't believe in God. But you also said...you also said you really liked me."

"Because I do," I whisper.

"Wha t was that?"

"I did," I hurriedly correct myself. No, you still do.

"Brit, do you still like me?"

"Its... complicated, Simon."

"Why is it so complicated?"

Something inside me burst. But not immediately. More like I began to leak. I sighed. "You know how I've never kissed anyone, never wanted to hug anyone, hold hands with anyone?" I whisper

"Yeah," he rumbled.

" You know how in class sometimes we..."

"Play footsie?" He laughed.

"An d then we stay there," I say, barely audible.

Simon grew silent, face revealing nothing.

" It drives me nuts, you drive me nuts, Simon. You are the first guy I've ever done that with. The only guy I have liked the touch of." I took a shuddering breath. "And I hate that."

"Why?" He asks, clearly confused.

I roll my eyes, trying for an annoyed tone. Probably failing. "Because I can't be with you, you idiot! You are the first guy I have even ever thought of kissing and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Simon cut me off. His eyebrows were creased, yet I could catch the faintest smile beginning to split his face. "You've thought about kissing me?"

My eyes widened as I realized the horror of what I had done. "No, no, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves-"

"Was I good?"

The question brought me up short. "I don't know! I've been trying not to think about even hugging you, let alone kiss- just forget what I said! Turn around." I folded my arms and looked out the window, my knee bouncing involuntarily and making the chair emit a horrible squeaking sound.

I felt a warm hand rest on my knee, but my mind was too muddled with thoughts to notice. A few seconds later my ears caught something-silence. I looked down at me knee to see it had stopped bouncing, and to see a large, scarred, calloussed hand over top of it. Hoping he wouldn't notice, I slid my eyes over to look at him. He had one hand on the wheel, one hand on my knee. He looked good. Then I broke myself from my trance.

"Gosh-danging it, Simon!" I pulled my knee away, pushing his hand away with both hands.

" What? The squeaking was annoying."

"See, this is what I'm talking about! You drive me nuts when you touch me, I get all flustered whenever you're around, I don't think as well, about what I'm saying, and I want to be with you, and I can't because I can't be with someone who doesn't believe in God and I'm mad at you but I can't be mad at you because you're not mine and I can't be jealous because you're not mine and..." My voice was shaking, and breaths fast and short.

I looked out the window to see we had stopped. In one of my favorite spots. It was a little back road on the way to work, but it was farmland all around.

"How'd you know about this place?" I whisper, gazing out over the field.

I heard Simon lean over, like he was leaning on the console. I could feel his closeness, as much as I didn't want to.

"Tha t one night I worked with you, you took this way rather than the highway. And the look on your face when you see new developments, you look extremely pissed. You respect farmers. You love Texas. This is one of your favorite places in the world."

I turned away from the landscape to find my face inches from Simon's. Our breaths mingled for a second.

I leaned forward, and pressed my palm to his chest, gently pushing him back. "I cant," I whisper, choking the words out.

Simon pressed his lips into a thin line. "Yeah, I thought so," he rumbled. He forced his eyes brighter. "But no one said friends can't hug each other, right?"

I thought for a moment. "Maybe once can't hurt."

We stepped out to the front of his car, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, laying my head on his shoulder. His arms were firm and certain around my waist. It felt just as I had imagined it. Right.

But as much as it felt right.

It could never be.

[jaexbeoms]

Sunshine, Snow and Thunder: A Got7 Fanfiction (Chapter 12)

Chapter 12

Previous Chapter: Chapter 11

Pairings: OC/Jackson, OC/Youngjae, OC/Jaebum

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 1,834 words

Summary: This fanfiction follows three original characters (Lilly, Eva and Maria) who share a love for books, dogs and the unexpected. When a turn of events leads to them meeting GOT7, what follows is a whirlwind of confusing emotions, everlasting memories, and new experiences.

Also posted on Asian Fanfics

Maria.

I looked up from the sheets I was scribbling on when my phone beeped.

"Carnival today?"

I looked at the ID and rolled my eyes at the name 'Wang Master'.

"What time?"

The reply came instantly.

"I'll pick you up in an hour :D"

Looking at the time I realized it was already half past four. I shoved the half written script in my folder and got up. As I did my eyes landed on the letterman's jacket draped over it. Would I be too obvious wearing a jacket with his name and '852' written under it on the back? I probably would be. I pulled out a black tank and culottes. I pulled on my black choker and a snapback with 'Music Lover' written on it, slipping the jacket on. A day out alone with your crush, no big deal.

Who am I kidding? Of course it's a big freaking deal. Damn it.

I styled up my hair and the doorbell rang. My eyes raced to the clock and I raced out, slamming the door to my room shut. Eva looked at me, very confused as I ran past her.

Jackson stood there wearing his favorite black and blue everything. And no snapback too. Damn he looked good.

"Hey," He smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth.

"Hi," I answered, closing the door behind me. His eyes travelled to the jacket over my top and a grinned slipped on his face.

"Nice jacket."

I rolled my eyes grabbing his arm before leading him to the elevators.

"So where's the carnival anyway?" I asked once we were out the building. He slipped on his shades and opened the door to the cab he had driven in. I slipped in first and he followed sliding in next to me. He gave the driver instructions about where to go before turning slightly on his seat to look at me.

"Its a surprise."

I groaned at his reply and he began narrating the incidents that happened when he visited China to shoot the second season for the variety show he was MC-ing. I listened attentively, putting in an occasional laugh at the funny parts and patting his shoulder when he told me about something that had offended him. The cab came to a halt and he paid the driver, pulling me out excitedly by the hand.

As we entered I made the mistake of asking, "Where do you wanna go first?" He dragged me to the first thing on sight which so happened to be one of those tea cups which spun around. I sat across from him, hands on the wheel in the middle. He gave me a smirk, challenge clear in his eyes as the cups began spinning. Before I could comprehend what was happening he was already turning the wheel as fast as he could, making the cup spin faster than before. I laughed throwing my head back, hands firmly placed on the wheel helping his, unintentionally, spin the cup faster. He let out a shriek holding only my arms from over the wheel as the ride came to a stop slowly. We got down giggling and stumbling from it, a little dizzy.

After a couple more rides which ended in the two of us giggling like crazy, Jackson disappeared to get some drinks. He returned with two cans of cola, some chips and of course, cotton candy. ("It's a tradition no one should break when they visit to a carnival." So he had said before stuffing his face with the sweet.)

As we began making our way to the other side of the carnival he stopped, grabbing my arm before pulling me by my hand to one of the another stall.

"What do you want?" He asked me excitedly, paying the person who gave him three balls to shoot down the cans piled up in a pyramid.

"You already got me tons of stuffed toys the other day, when we went furniture shopping," I remarked happily.

"No, you are supposed to have those, yeah? Those don't count. How about that Twilight Sparkle over there?" I stared at him, baffled.

"How do you know a pony from My Little Pony?"

His cheeks turned pink and he cleared his throat, probably thankful we were conversing in English. I giggled as he threw the first ball. It knocked the top can down. I clapped and he threw the next one completely missing the pyramid. Putting a hand over my mouth, I looked away to hide my laughter. He narrowed his eyes at me and threw the third ball catching only one can. The ridiculous pout on his face made me giggle loudly, and I leaned over at him to support myself.

"Let me take this one try." I said as he got three more balls. I took one aiming for the can in the middle. It fell, taking the ones above and next to it with it. I smirked proudly, taking the next ball from a baffled Jackson shooting the rest down one by one with the two balls.

"And that is how you do it. So would you like the Twilight Sparkle?" He scoffed, asking for a minion instead. I patted his shoulder as he clutched the toy to his chest still wearing the pout all the way to the Ferris Wheel.

"I had my first kiss in a Ferris wheel," I blurted out once we were on the top.

"Cliché much?"

"Shut up."

"Did you feel the fireworks and butterflies? Did the time stop and it was 'only the two of you'?" I reached forward pulling at his ear as he laughed loudly, falling at his side and pulling me down with him. I shoved him over, sitting on his stomach.

"Ahhh, it hurts get up!" He whined.

"Are you calling me fat, Jaier Kayee Wang?"

"No, no! I-" he burst out laughing and I pouted, crossing my arms and sat back on my seat. He had calmed down by the time we reached the bottom and were let out. I began walking in front of him and he caught up, slipping arm around my waist before pulling me into one of his warm teddy bear hugs.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into my neck. My crossed arms were separating our bodies from being flush against each others. His warm breath on my neck sent shivers down my body and I reluctantly uncrossed my arms wrapping them around his shoulders, leaning my head against his.

I wanted to melt away at the moment and never be discovered again.

We found an ice cream stall on our walk back home after we had stuffed ourselves with dinner, laughter and tons of stories. The letterman jacket was tied around my waist and my snapback flipped slightly to a side, like I usually wore it.

"Let me pay~" I whined as Jackson handed the money to the man, "You already paid for all the rides and dinner." He handed a lavishly decorated chocolate sundae to me.

"A gentleman never lets a lady pay; especially on the first date," He remarked sneakily and walked ahead while I stood frozen on the spot.

Did he just... I think he did. What the hell!

I ran to catch up, stopping in front of him.

"What did you just say?" I asked. He looked down with an unreadable expression and began stuffing his mouth with ice cream.

"It's getting cold. We should head back," he murmured, looking down. Jackson began walking again and I followed falling step next to him.

We had disposed off the cups at some point and now walked in silence next to each other. Tension was radiating off him and I reached out to take a hold of his hand as we reached the apartment building. He said nothing until we were in the elevators.

He shocked me by apologizing just as came to the door.

"Come inside," I pulled out the keys. He stopped me from opening the door, taking my hand away and holding it.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I wasn't really thinking about what I said. And I'm sorry if I read the signals wrong and--"

"Hey!" I interrupted him shortly and he stopped, looking up from my hand clasped in his.

Leaning up a little, I gently pressed my lips to his. I quickly pulled away though. Jackson's eyes widened as he fixed his gaze on my face before placing a hand on the back of my neck.

My eyes slipped shut as his slightly rough lips enclosed around my upper lip. The slight taste of blood was present too, witnessing he had been biting his lip not even two minutes ago. There was no fireworks. Oh no, no. There was a whole building on fire. I wasn't sure if the hotness of cheeks was due to the warm hand on them or the rapid flow of blood upwards at the way he was moving his lips against mine. Pulling away, I swiped my tongue over my lips and could barely taste my cranberry lip gloss anymore.

"You read them really well," I chuckled as he placed our foreheads together. Frowning, he looked confused.

"The signals, you idiot. I really do like you and I'd be really happy if you'll be mine."

"Not happening," he announced suddenly, pulling away, "You'll be mine. Because I'm the man."

At this stupid command, I stepped on his foot and he winced, releasing me to crouch down and whine. I unlocked the door to find the place surprisingly empty... Eva and Lilly must already be asleep. It is midnight after all. Grabbing Jackson by the shirt, I dragged him in and shut the door behind him.

"Coffee or tea?" I asked as he took off his shoes.

"Whatever you have." He replied following me to the kitchen as I walked, draping the jacket over a chair on my way. I took out a bottle of cola from the fridge and grabbed two glasses.

"Hey, look don't take this the wrong way but," I began, giving him one of the glasses, "can we maybe keep this to ourselves just for now? I mean, just to keep the crazies from making a stupid move and all... And I wanna see if it really works out before we go blurting to people about all this. Don't think I'm ashamed or--"

Before I was finished, he actually cut me off with a kiss. I almost cringed at his way of shutting me up but pushed it to the back of my head and enjoyed the kiss.

"Don't ever do that again," I scolded once we pulled away.

"What?"

"Cut me off like tha--" He kissed me again.

"Like that?" He smirked.

"Oh my God--" I reached up and grabbed his ear, but he pulled away quickly and began running across the apartment, laughing happily. What could I do? I was so happy that I chased after him.

[djriter]

#Supergirl #AlexDanvers #MaggieSawyer #Sanvers #SavingAlex #Episode19 EPISODE 19 - Saving Alex-A Supergirl fanfic

Like most Supergirl and Alex Danvers fans, my imagination has been running away with since first hearing about upcoming Episode 19 in which Kara and Maggie must team up to save Alex. I have a whole story plotted out in my head as to how I envision this might unfold tomorrow night. So, for the first time since I wrote fanfic for Lois and Clark, I decided to write my story down and share it. Unfortunately, it’s only partially finished due to a run in with a broken tooth and having to have a tooth pulled. As I said I have a complete story plotted and will complete it soon, in the meantime please enjoy what I’ve written so far. Feel free to share with friends. 

EPISODE 19-Saving Alex - 

The warmth of the morning sun shining through the blinds woke Alex Danvers. She rolled over and smiled at the figure softly snoring beside her. How her life had changed in the nine months since this woman had come into her life. And through it all, besides her sister, one person had been by her side. Maggie. Maggie had been there for her through all the recent changes in her life, when she’d discovered the truth about herself and when her father had returned then betrayed everyone. Alex decided maybe it was time for one more change.

“You’re thinking too loud, Danvers. It’s our day off, go back to sleep,” Maggie mumbled without opening her eyes.

Alex chuckled and leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Maggie opened her eyes and smiled.

“Well, now that’s a nice way to wake up.”

“You know, you could wake up that way every morning, I mean if you wanted to. You’re already here most nights anyway, and…”

Fully awake now, Maggie sat up, “Alex?”

She always called her Alex in their more intimate moments, “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

Alex hesitated, rushing and stumbling over her words as she often did when she got nervous with Maggie. “Well, only if you wanted to, I mean, if you don’t think it’s too soon.”

“You want me to move in before we’ve even said….” Maggie started before being interrupted by Alex’s phone ringing.

Alex took a quick glance at the phone, even though it was her day off it wasn’t unusual to get called in to the DEO.  But it wasn’t.

“It’s Kara, I’m sorry I’ll be quick, we’re supposed to have a sister’s lunch today to catch up since we’ve both been so busy lately, maybe she’s finally decided,” she said, before sitting up against the headboard of the bed.

Maggie grinned, “Your sister and her food.”

“Kara, hey, where are we going for lunch? Oh, ok. I guess so. No, no, it’s okay we’ll go another time. Good luck.”

Disappointment clearly showing on her face, she turned to Maggie, “She canceled, she has to meet someone about a possible lead on a job, now where were we…before we even said what?”

Just as Maggie was about to answer, the text notification on Alex’s phone chimed.

“Know you were disappointed about lunch, pushed meeting back, time for late breakfast at Noonan’s before meeting. Meet me there, 30 minutes? Bring Maggie.”

Alex showed Maggie the text and asked, “Want to come?”

Maggie shook her head, “No this is your sister time, we’ll all have plenty of time together later. You go, enjoy, I’ll run by the station and catch up on my DD5’s and other paperwork my captain’s been complaining about, then I’ll meet you later at the DEO because I know you want to check in on that experiment in your lab and we can finish our conversation.”

“Promise?” Alex asks.

“Promise, go meet your sister.”

With a quick kiss, a smiling Alex hopped out of bed to dress, “What would I do without you?”

 An hour later Maggie was parking her bike in her spot at NCPD headquarters when the department’s SWAT team van came roaring up to the entrance. The SWAT Team, lead be Sergeant Carruthers rushed out in full tactical gear and headed toward the van.

Carruthers spotted Maggie crossing the parking lot.

“Sawyer! With us!”

Maggie rushed over to him, asking, “What’s up?”

“Silent alarm triggered at First National City Bank, four armed suspects, at least one ID’d as alien. They’ve already killed the bank guard, and are still inside the bank.”

Maggie hopped in the van without question.  Ballsy, Maggie thought as the van raced through the city streets. First National City Bank was just six blocks from police headquarters.

A short time later the van screeched to a halt in next to the squad cars that had already arrived on scene. Carruthers and his men took their strategic positions and Maggie jumped out to take a position behind the unit closest to the bank doors.

They didn’t have long to wait.

Four heavily armed men, wearing combat gear, came out of the bank shooting. Three were of average size Maggie noted, carrying automatic weapons, but the fourth was definitely alien. A massive hulk, close to 7 feet, carrying a nasty looking alien weapon.

“NCPD, freeze! You’re surrounded, put down your weapons and surrender,” Carruthers commanded through a bullhorn.

They all stopped, but the 7-foot alien scanned the scene as if looking for someone, he stopped when he spotted Maggie.

“Detective Maggie Sawyer!” he bellowed.

Her weapon drawn and pointed at the alien, Maggie stood. The alien began walking toward her.

“Stop, or I will shoot!” Maggie commanded.

The alien kept coming, “You’re not going to shoot, detective. In fact, you’re going tell all these officers to stand down and let us go.”

“And why would I do something crazy like that?”

He stopped just in front of Maggie and reached into a pocket on his sleeve, he dangled what he had in his pocket in front of Maggie’s face.

“Because if you don’t, she dies.”

Maggie blanched and lowered her weapon. She snatched the item from his hand and turned to the officers, “Stand down, everyone, stand down, let them go.”

“Sawyer, are you crazy? Nobody move!” Carruthers bellowed.

“I said Everyone stand down and stand down NOW!” Maggie screamed. She turned to Carruthers and held out the item the alien had tormented her with, the bloodied ID badge of DEO Agent Alex Danvers.

“They have a hostage.”

Carruthers took one look at Maggie’s face and the badge she gripped in her shaking hand and nodded at his officers to stand down.

The gang scrambled from the scene into a waiting panel van, the alien paused a moment.

“A pleasure, Detective Sawyer.”

“If you hurt her…,” Maggie growled.

“She’ll live, as long as the NCPD, and Agent Danvers associates at the DEO, oh and their pet alien Supergirl don’t interfere while my associates and I conduct more business while we’re in town.”

He got into the passenger side of the van, stopping long enough to taunt Maggie one last time, “We’ll be in touch Detective.”

Stunned, Maggie could only stand and watch as they drove away.

 Following a heated argument with Carruthers that resulted in the NCPD staying at the bank to gather evidence in hopes of identifying the kidnapping bank robbers, Maggie raced to the DEO to fill J’onn, Winn and the others in as to what was happening.

She paced, like a caged tiger ready to pounce, as Winn tapped in to the security cameras at Alex’s apartment to see if they could pinpoint when she was taken, but there was nothing, just a seemingly happy Alex coming out of the building to get on her bike and leave. They’d had no luck tracking Alex’s phone, which Winn deduced meant they were dealing with someone who had some technological savvy.

He tapped into the security feed outside of Noonan’s. They watched in horror as they witnessed the three human goons from the bank surround Alex as she got off her bike behind Noonan’s where she usually parked. Alex didn’t go quietly, putting up a fierce battle and almost escaping when the 7-foot alien stepped in and knocked her out with a wicked right cross. Winn clenched and unclenched his fists, and J’onn’s Martian eyes began to grow red in anger as they watched the alien then rip Alex’s ID from her belt and then viciously kick the unconscious woman in the ribs twice before instructing the goons to pick her up. One of the goons draped the limp Alex over his shoulder like a potato sack.

Maggie watched stoically, growing dangerously quieter and they disappeared down the alley and out of sight of the video camera.

Which is when Kara strolled in, nonchalantly calling, “Hi, guys, what’s up?”

That’s when Maggie unleashed the tiger. She stormed across the room and shoved Kara, actually managing to knock the Girl of Steel off balance.

“Where the HELL were you?” Maggie screamed, the tears she’d been fighting to hold back finally streaming down her face. “Why didn’t you stop it? You’re supposed to protect her? Don’t you even give a damn about her anymore?”

Confused, Kara gently pushed Maggie away.

“Stop what? Care about who, Alex? J’onn? What’s going on?”

J’onn stepped up and put a reassuring arm on Maggie’s shoulder, “Easy, Maggie. Kara, a word, we need to talk.”

Winn turned from his console and handed Maggie the phone she’d dropped when she’d charged after Kara. She hadn’t even noticed the phone had rung while she was yelling at Kara.

“Maggie, it’s Carruthers, he needs to speak to you.”

Maggie fought to gather herself then nodded at Winn and stepped away to take the call.

“Sawyer,” she answered.

Kara then took note of the palpable tension in the room and it didn’t escape her notice there was one person missing. Her heart was in her throat.

“J’onn, what’s happened to my sister?”

DEO Director Henshaw steps back and Kara and Alex’s adoptive dad, J’onn Jonzz took Kara by the arm and led her up the steps to the balcony overlooking the city.

Kara was really beginning to get scared.

“J’onn? Where’s Alex?”

“We don’t know. Apparently early this morning she was taken hostage by a part human/part alien team of bank robbers. When Maggie and the police arrived, they convinced them to let them go by showing Maggie this.”

He handed her Alex’s blood-stained  DEO badge.

Kara could barely breathe, her eyes locked on the blood smears on the badge.

“Is that her….?”

J’onn nodded and with a slight smirk, “You know Alex, she didn’t go quietly.”

He used the tablet in his hand to show Kara the security footage from Noonan’s. Kara fought to control herself wanting to fly off the balcony to find her sister, but knew she had to be smart, that’s what Alex would want her to do.

J’onn continued, “They told Maggie, Alex would stay alive as long as the police and the DEO….AND Supergirl didn’t interfere with whatever business he and his team were conducting in town.”

“But I don’t understand what was Alex doing at Noonan’s? We were going to meet there for lunch, but I called her this morning and canceled because I had a lead on a job.”

“Maggie told us that, then she said Alex got a text from you asking her to meet you for breakfast.”

“Text, what text? I never sent her a text!” Kara said becoming more agitated by the moment.

“They must have had someone hack her phone and used your number to text her to draw her out.”

Kara started stripping out of her outfit to reveal her Supergirl costume.

“Maggie’s right, this is all my fault! If I hadn’t canceled, I would’ve been with her, I could have stopped this. I’ve got to go find her!”

“Kara, wait!”

“No, J’onn, that’s my sister, I’m going to find her, she needs me, I love her!”

J’onn stops her from flying off the balcony with a simple, “You’re not the only one who loves her. Someone else needs your strength right now.”

He nodded down to the floor of the DEO where Kara watched a distraught Maggie pacing back and forth while talking animatedly to someone on her phone.

“She loves her, too.”

Kara shook her head, “I know she cares about Alex, but love? She’s never said anything.”

J’onn nodded, “Look again, trust me. Alex would want you to take care of Maggie.”

Watching Maggie finish her phone call and then after, making sure no one was looking, seemingly fall into herself with grief, Kara realized J’onn was right. Maggie loved her sister too.

Kara hurried down the stairs.

“Maggie?”

With tear stained eyes, Maggie looked up at Kara. And as Supergirl embraced the detective, they both said, “I’m sorry, this is my fault.”

Kara pulled back, “No, Maggie, this is my fault, if I hadn’t canceled lunch, I would have been with her.”

Maggie shook her head, “But you sent her a text to meet you.”

“No, I didn’t” Kara handed Maggie her phone, there was no text sent from it.

J’onn joined them and said, “We think they somehow hacked into Alex’s phone and were listening in to her calls then sent the text.”

A light bulb went off in Maggie’s brain, “Bring Maggie!”

“What?”

Maggie was excited, maybe they’d gotten their first real break.

“The text said, Bring Maggie! It makes sense now! That was the SWAT team leader on the phone, they ID’d one of the goons from the bank by a stray fingerprint he left when he grabbed a donut from the bank’s courtesy bar. And through that, we think we know who the alien is! They weren’t after Alex, it was a trap, to get me!!!”

Being able to start putting the pieces together seemed to help Maggie regain her calm, “Apparently kidnapping someone to use for leverage is this gang’s MO, National City is the third city they’ve hit in the last year. The leader is a Caldorian by the name of Drago. What they’ve done in the past is kidnap a high-profile police officer with each city’s police department and use them as leverage to keep police from interfering in their robberies. They usually pull three high dollar jobs, then leave usually within 24 hours, they were targeting me, the text said Bring Maggie, and I didn’t go, so when just Alex showed up they must have decided to take her to keep the police AND Supergirl out of their hair, this is all my fault, I should have gone with her!”

“Then they might have taken both of you! It’s not your fault Maggie,” Kara said, but she could tell there was something more.

“What happened to the hostages?”

Looking more frightened than Kara had ever seen her Maggie said, “They killed them, all of them, they’ve had Alex nearly 6 hours, she doesn’t have much time left!”

Kara put a reassuring arm around Maggie, “We’ll find her Maggie, together.”

 Behind them, an agent came up to J’onn and handed him a small package wrapped in plain brown paper.

After a brief conversation, he turned and held out the package.

“Detective Sawyer,” he said softly, “it’s addressed to you.”

Steeling herself, Maggie reached out for the package and tore it open, inside was a cell phone with a cracked screen, on the screen was taped a message, “Play video.”

Supergirl gasped, “That’s Alex’s phone.”

Maggie held the phone up in a shaking hand, “How the hell do I see this video?”

Winn gently took the phone from her, “Let me.”

He sat down at his terminal and hooked the phone up to his computer. A first a snowy image appeared,

then it cleared to show a darkened room, and in a single spotlight is a person, a black hood over their head slumped over in a chair, their arms tied behind their back.

Maggie’s heart raced, she stepped behind Winn to get a closer look, Supergirl and J’onn close on her heels.

Before they could make out if the person in the chair, they knew it was Alex but didn’t want to admit it, was alive or injured, Drago’s alien profile appeared in the frame. The camera shifted so they could see both him and the person in the chair.

“Detective Sawyer,” he began smugly, “I’m sure by now you know who I am, and what I am doing in your fair city. Just so we are very clear about what I want, I thought a little demonstration of what happens when people defy me were in order.”

He gave a slight nod, and behind him, two of the other men from the bank robbery grabbed the arms of the figure in the chair. One yanked the hood off to reveal a now awakened and very angry Alex Danvers. She fought against them and their bonds.

“Alex!” Maggie said, stepping even closer to Winn’s screen. Supergirl slid in next to her, putting one arm around Maggie’s shoulder, the other gripping the metal desk the screen sat on.

“She’s alive, Maggie,” Supergirl whispered to her, “and fighting.”    

Maggie gave her a slight nod. She couldn’t speak, her heart was in her throat, her eyes transfixed of the image on the screen, Alex, her Alex, her brave Alex, not a shred of fear in her eyes.

A third man appeared on and slid a table with a large tub of water on it in front of Alex’s chair.

From behind them, Maggie and Supergirl heard J’onn mutter, “Dear God, those bastards.”

“Now,” Drago continued, “my associates and I will be making a couple of more withdrawals within the next 24 hours. There will be no interference whatsoever, from the NCPD, the DEO, and especially you Supergirl. And don’t bother trying to find our location. I’ve done my homework on you Supergirl, where we are can’t be seen by your x-ray vision and I’ve also had it soundproofed. So remember, any interference, from any of you, and this is just a sample of what will happen to Agent Danvers.”

With another wave of his hand, Drago stepped out of frame.

Maggie, Supergirl, J’onn and Winn watched in horror as the third man grabbed Alex by the back of her hair and shoved her head, face first, down into the water and held it there as Alex struggled. After what seemed an eternity he pulled her head out of the water.

Drago stepped back into frame but addressed Alex, “Tell them, Agent Danvers, tell them to not interfere.”

Water dripping from her face, a gasping Alex looked Drago square in the eyes and defiantly said, “Go to hell.”

Then she directed a determined gaze directly at the camera lens, “You’ll find me, get him!”

Drago laughed and nodded. The man holding Alex’s head pushed it down into the water again, holding it under even longer this time.

Maggie didn’t breathe this time until the thug pulled Alex’s head from the water a second time, and watched her gasp for air. She felt Supergirl tighten her grip on her shoulder and honestly, she was thankful to have the support standing, she was barely hanging on. Maggie marveled at how the superhero was maintaining control. The arm she had around her shoulder was firm but gentle, but there was now a Supergirl sized impression where the hand gripping the edge of Winn’s desk had crushed the metal like paper.

No one else said a word, but she could see from J’onn tense posture and Winn fighting back tears that she and Supergirl weren’t the only ones this affected. Alex was special to all of them.

Her own eyes brimming with tears, Maggie turned to Supergirl and the others and declared, “When we find her…. he’s a dead man.”

Afraid of breaking down in front of everyone she stalked off.

Supergirl started after her, but J’onn stopped her, “Give her a minute.”

 Maggie stumbled through the halls of the DEO finally finding her way to one of the empty sparring rooms. She closed the door behind her and stalked over the sparring dummy. She hauled back and hit the dummy, letting loose the fury building in her.

“Dammit!”

She hit the dummy again.

“Dammit!” She hit the dummy twice.

“Dammit!” She unleashed a flurry of hits and kicks, there was no finesse to her moves, just raw rage, and somewhere in the middle of her physical release, came the tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t lose her, she couldn’t lose Alex now. Not after this morning, not when she realized what she had and hadn’t said to Alex. What she still needed to say.

Tears streaming down her face she cursing the sparring dummy, punching and kicking it until she fell against it, drained and slid down to the floor to her knees. That’s where Supergirl found her, on her knees sobbing.

Supergirl got to her knees next to her, putting a hand gently on the sobbing detective’s shoulder.

“Maggie?”

Maggie looked up with a start and hurriedly tried to brush the tears from her eyes. She’d never let anyone see her cry, not since the night her father had thrown her out.

“Did you find something?

Supergirl shook her head, “No, I’m sorry. J’onn and Winn are going over her phone to see if they can find anything. I just came check on you. It’s what she, it’s what Alex, would want me to do. To take care of you.”

Maggie shook her head, “Always taking care of everyone else, that sounds like Danvers, that sounds like Alex.”

Suddenly, the girl of steel grabbed Maggie in a tight hug, dissolving into tears.

“What if we can’t find her in time?”

Maggie took her by the shoulders and looking her square in the eye said, “We will, we’ve got our orders, from her. So, why aren’t you flying around out there looking for her?”

Supergirl shook her head.

“I can’t. I’m scared Maggie, I couldn’t bear it if someone hurt her like that again…or worse if they saw me out there looking.”

“That’s not what she’d want, Kara. She’s already told them to go to hell, and she told US to find her. We have to be strong, we have to be brave.”

Supergirl shook her head, “Alex is the strong one, the brave one.”

Maggie got up and held out her hand, “Then we’ll have to help each other be strong, for Alex. Isn’t it about time someone started taking care of her?”

Supergirl was reaching out to take Maggie’s hand when Winn burst in the room.

“Silent alarm just went off at the National City Diamond Exchange, 4 armed gunmen reported, one of them alien.”

“That’s them,” Supergirl said leaping to her feet.

“That’s not all, NCPD has units and the SWAT team on their way to the scene!”

“No!” Maggie shouted, “We’ve got to stop…”

Before she could finish her statement, Supergirl dashed from the room.

[stopsubstanceabuse1-blog]

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