#Letting go of jesse was a release and a relief for him

[vastiitas]

god, i will never shut up abt his names, but also yikes bc there is sm to dismantle bc i dont ever shut up abt his names--

jesse mccree is a name he plucked off of the unknown history of strangers: a gravestone, a forgotten sign. This blog will always be about people, in a way, the scrappy interconnectedness of humanity and :skull: this name isn't an exception.

There's a shit load of irony in the name Jesse meaning "son of God" when it's the day that he guts himself of his faith and abandons himself (i call it doomsday, sometimes judgement day- bc it is in this visceral rawness of loss - when War comes crashing in from the sky and people are dying all around him - that he is both the furthest and closest to the notion of God, the all mighty, holy fury; and i could actually go off on a tangent here about how deserts are also a place of exactly Just This: spiritual dispossession while also being places of distilled clarity and abstract manifestations of which include the sacred.)

McCree is also funny pick, in the scheme of things, when you find out it means luck; and you could chalk up his survival as a case of it being good or bad. Cole's life can be summarized as the wheel of fortune tarot; tumbling perpetually in mercurial fortunes.

He, ofc, has no fcking clue abt this at the ripe age of 11 when he grasps them off of rotten monuments and only finds the whole thing funny as hell in this private humored way, this wry and wrung-out-dry way, when he finally does find out.

As for his original name's meanings - I will never be normal about Cole - because its English origin is coal; unrefined thing, black and lumpy, but it's potential packed in something unsuspecting and dismissable, all requiring just a spark. Pair this up with his former partner in crime, Ashe, and im vomitting up blood, sobbing, because it's the predecessor of fire and its aftermath. They come hand-in-hand for the chaos they drove in together. Ofc w how i've written my timeline, there's no lining up with him going by Cole during his Deadlock days, but it still makes me sick regardless because He knows even if nobody else does. But tangent aside, it really sums him up in his Blackwatch days. Something to be overlooked, until someone realized he could be used to keep others warm.

Cole also means Victory of the People when you look into its greek origins and :weary: god. It suits his inability to walk away from people in harm's way so very well; that he is of the people in the way he has stumbled through the ups and downs of humanity. That, in his younger ages, he did have a healthy appetite for winning.

Cassidy comes with the meaning of clever, and if there is always one thing I like to reference from his youth and how he was raised, it was that Cole always found his way into trouble, by his own hand or not, and his mother, exasperated, would frequently tell him while picking up the pieces of the aftermath that if he were going to cause trouble, that he should be clever about it. (In other words, she at some point knew her child would keep finding these situations, erring more on believing him more often than not the cause, and that if she could not stop it from happening, she could encourage him to be better about being caught or slipping between the fingers of authority.) She was a bearer of folktales and carried enough on tricksters, but Cole will always be a fan of Zorr.o, funnily enough, as was his father who capitalized on that Clever namesake with his manipulations.

But at a larger scale, his names have also always been a keystone in representing his relationship to himself in past, present, and future-- running from yourself only to find that you've gone full circle, turning around to face your own shadow in order to greet the breaking dawn, etc etc- i don't get to use his Jesse name often, but it's just so important bc his 'birth', his 'baptism', is the thing that came first in all the narrative when the blog first started-

For the longest time this imagery was the root of my blog; Just this hunched figure of a child rising from this primordial earth of a desecrated town and his chest is heaving, animal. He is slathered in dust and ash and everything is so damn quiet and he is so shell shocked and filled with fury that he has regressed to this based thing, distilled to silence, body trembling in the ruinous wake of a war.

Jesse McCree is caked in grime, caked in dirt and dust and blood. He is some heathen thing that desolation itself wrung to life. Jesse McCree, baptized in fire, doused in gunpowder and gasoline. Jesse McCree, wild and angry, eyes hollowed into something deep and dark and black.

Cole Cassidy is a reminder, a damnation, a shade of the past rippling like A DESERT MIRAGE. he is lanky and too weak, hands trembling adrenaline-burdened on a gun he can't shoot STRAIGHT. Cole Cassidy is the boy who let his parents die beneath the strike of IRON. As far as JESSE MCCREE was concerned, Cole Cassidy didn't deserve to survive, either.

Cole Cassidy, buried in an unmarked grave on an obliterated land with no one left to grieve him.

:weary: Cole Cassidy is rot in his mouth; unwieldy and burdensome like a corpse forcefullly stuffed betwen his jaws. There is so much hatred and scorn and disgust he carries for it, for the weakness it represents, coalesced in his grief and survivor's guilt that the abandonment of his name acts as self-murder and he is so very violent to himself in that regard. It's why he gets so nauseous as a child in the verses where he's not allowed to break free from it, because this is, in a sense, a child's attempt at locking into control when he doesn't have any.

It is his way of jamming his teeth into the threads of his own fate; hauling himself crawling through the desert and stampeding forward with spite buzzing down his arms and into his fists, spiking the light in his eyes as he glares down the hand that was given to him--

That said this is his perception of cole cassidy because he packs all of his weakness into that name, stuffs that failure to shoot true into that person like he's haphazardly pawing in clothes into an overburdened suitcase, but this compartmentalization is not a thing of separate identities as it is simply, a narrative break with him digging his fingerpads against the wheel. in reality, he has always been a bit of a trail blazer, an independent wanderer, a kid with a penchant for trouble and all of this PERSISTS past doomsday with the caveat being there's a lot more PTSD involved in the aftermath.

And, honestly, Cole does grow out of all that anger because he simply does not look back. Jesse let's him throttle forward without the baggage and his eyes are perpetually locked onto the horizon. Because there is nothing to turn back to or go back to if Cole Cassidy is dead, resting with all the other ghosts in a town that's been levelled to nothing.

He rides into maturity as he lives out his years and i could go on about the timeline of it, how it unfolds and all the elements that drive into it since this current portraiture is bleak and somewhat feral, but then i'd be getting really off topic, but :skull: The gist of it is that a lot of these emotions are when he's 11 and he's got a fuck load of time between then and the start of Deadlock Rebels (15) and he doesnt even have to think about Cole Cassidy.

By the time he reclaims his name, he is, amusingly, back in the desert after having left BW/OVW, back to where it all started. He is well into his 30's. Something to be said about the circular nature of everything, time is a flat circle, the return to the start in the third act with a new contextualization etc etc. Dispossessed by yet another belief, made anon in a ghost town after narrowly escaping death and still on the verge of it. (And, god, He cant help but find the whole damn thing morbidly amusing, in a fucked up way, in the same way he found out about the meaning of Jesse. Because he knows that kid he'd been would be losing his absolute shit for coming back to this place that had both made and unmade him after Everything; the idea of it all being for nothing. But he's older, and he's changed, and he can swallow this rut of shit circumstances with a laugh because of course it'd be like this, and by now he's learned to roll with the punches because his life has just been Defined by it-)

Exhuming Cole Cassidy is a survival tactic because it is a name just as lost to time as the effigies that he plucked Jesse McCree from (the latter being of no use anymore with bounty hunters and enemies alike crawling everywhere searching for him), but it is also a return to home. Smthing smthing, sucking the dirt out from under your nails just to taste where you came from . He says it with a certain tired humor when someone first asks his name as he comes to, after a moment's worth of consideration for the circumstances that has brought him here. It feels like a private joke and it feels strange on his tongue, because as used to as he is introducing himself by some false name for BW coverts, this is not a true lie; but then, also, saying it outloud for the first time in years and he realizes the lack of scorn, the lack of self-hate. These things that he hadn't realized he'd been subconsciously expecting/had so severely associated the name with.

He makes the choice to commit to it while determining his next moves in this back-watered town with only a single arm left. Reclaiming his name is self-forgiveness. It is reminiscence and self-reflection that there was no real difference between jesse and cole; that jesse was still strung along by different forces and influenced by them and that there is no newfound invulnerability to the name as he once needed it to be when he was just that 11 yr old. It is self-acceptance and consciously acknowledging that he was a child when he murdered the name away, that all that self-hate and scorn was unfair to himself and that he had stopped holding himself to his personal failures a long time ago (though he isn't sure when; just knows he stopped; and it's a culmination resulting from his steady self-assurance in his abilities to protect others within a reasonable margin, tested and proven over and over again thru BW/OVW, on top of having long understood that collateral happens and not everybody can be protected-)

He packs jesse away, let's the name rest and return to oblivion to their original owners despite how much he's made it his own. In terms of story-telling, reclaiming cassidy is a circle reclaiming its starting point, intercepting the past in order to make way for the grounds that denote the future, etc etc, All the shenanigans i was mentioning earlier that the shadow must be faced in order to proceed to the morning.

Most stories like this end with Death as the next act, but ahckntjt ig we thank the fact that this is an rp blog and not a story-

[imsuperhungry]

4 𝙖𝙢

ᴇɴᴛʀʏ 003

(yandere until dawn)

WARNINGS: Yandere Themes, Bad Descriptions

WORD COUNT: 1654

"all the girls are girling!"

(9:12 𝖯𝖬, 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖠𝖡𝖨𝖭)

After a few more minutes of holding Josh and reassuring him that I would be fine with Mike and Jess, he finally released his grip. His reluctance was clear, but I could sense him slowly letting go. With a heavy sigh, he allowed me to step away from the basement, the lingering weight of his concern still in the air as I moved toward the light outside.

When I reached the main floor of the cabin, I found everyone there except for Emily and Matthew. They were all gathered in their own groups, engaged in conversation, but the absence of the two left a noticeable gap in the group. I glanced around, wondering where they might be.

“Where are Em and Matt?” I asked, glancing around the room. A knot of concern formed in my stomach at the thought that Jess and Emily might have started another argument while I was gone. 

“Emily left her bag at one of the cable stations,” Chris said, stretched out on a vacant couch. “She went back to grab it and took Matt with her.”

I let out a sigh of relief; Emily was okay. Smiling, I turned to Chris and thanked him for the update. As I looked over at Mike and Jess, I noticed they were positioned by the door, clearly ready to leave as soon as I was. Their eagerness to leave was obvious in the way they looked at me.

I turned to everyone else to say my goodbyes, deciding to keep things brief since I’d be back soon. However, as I started to wrap things up, everybody except Jess and Mike began to hug me tightly, as if it might be the last time they’d see me. Their warmth and sincerity caught me off guard, making the moment feel more significant than I had anticipated.

After the long hug, I made my way to the door where Mike and Jess were waiting. As I turned to wave one last time to everyone, I reached for the handle, only to have my hand gently pushed aside. Mike was clearly determined to be a gentleman, insisting on opening the door for us.

With a soft “Sorry,” I stepped out into the snowy chaos, Jess sticking to my side like glue. As we began our walk, an awkward feeling settled in, making me feel like the third wheel on their date. I glanced at them, noticing the easy rapport between Mike and Jess, and I couldn't shake the sense that I was intruding on a moment meant for just the two of them.

I tried to stay quiet the entire way, hoping to give them space to flirt or enjoy each other's company. Instead, Jess took it upon herself to fill in the silence.

“Oh my gosh, _____, I totally forgot to show you!” Jess exclaimed, digging through her coat pocket. “While Mike and I were driving here, we passed this store filled with jewelry, so naturally, we had to check it out.” With a flourish, she held out her hand, revealing two stunning necklaces that sparkled in the dim moonlight.

Each necklace showcased a heart-shaped pendant: one in a soft, warm gold tone and the other in a cool, shiny silver. Both were complemented by fine, slender chains that enhanced their delicate appearance. The heart pendants featured intricately engraved borders, lending a thoughtful and personalized touch that made them even more special.

My mouth dropped open in awe as I continued to admire both necklaces. To say they were beautiful would be an understatement; they were undoubtedly the most stunning necklaces I had ever seen. The craftsmanship and detail captivated me, making it hard to look away.

“And wait, that’s not even the best part!” Jess exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She picked up one of the necklaces and gently opened the heart, revealing that it was actually a locket.

I let out a giggle of delight; the necklaces were such an incredible gift. Overwhelmed with gratitude, I wrapped Jess in a warm hug, momentarily pausing our snowy walk.

I felt Mike tug at my hand and turned to find him staring at me with a playful grin. “Hey, I had to walk her all around the store to buy those,” he said, chuckling. “She dragged me through the aisles for almost an hour, completely dedicated to finding the ‘perfect one,’” he added, emphasizing the last part with exaggerated air quotes.

I understood the hint and opened my arms to embrace him. Jess wrapped her arms around my left side while Mike took my right. They were so close that I could catch the scent of Jess's perfume mingling with Mike's cologne.

Jess smelled of baby powder, with a hint of something sweet underneath. In contrast, Mike carried the scent I expected—woodsy and outdoorsy, evoking the fresh air of the wilderness.

Eventually, I had to let go, eager to resume our trek and find somewhere warm, as the cold was already biting at my skin. The chill in the air served as a reminder that we needed to keep moving, and I was determined to find a cozy refuge soon.

“We need to find a picture to put in these lockets,” Jess said, handing me the gold one with a bright smile. “It would be so cute to carry a little piece of us wherever I go.” As she spoke, she began fastening the silver locket around her neck, her excitement evident. 

I began to follow her lead, trying to fasten the gold locket around my neck, but once again, my hands were gently pushed aside. A larger hand reached in from behind me, softly taking the locket from my grasp.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” Mike said with a grin i could hear, “Just keep walking.” As we continued to move forward, he expertly fastened the locket around my neck. The cold air made the heavy metal locket chill against my skin, causing me to shiver as it settled on my chest.

After a few more minutes of walking, we finally arrived at the guest cabin, where Mike and Jess had practically been banished to by Josh.

I said my goodbyes at the cabin, but, of course, I was yanked into yet another bone-crushing hug, sandwiched between Mike and Jess. They invited me to stay with them, but I politely declined, aware that Emily—or anyone else in the group—wouldn't be thrilled with that idea. I appreciated their warmth, but I knew it was best to keep the peace among everyone.

As I began my walk back to the main cabin alone, a horrible gut feeling nagged at me, suggesting something was wrong. I couldn't pinpoint the source of my unease, but it was unsettling enough to quicken my pace. The desire for company grew stronger with each step, urging me to reach the warmth of the main cabin as quickly as possible.

I guess you only truly appreciate how cold a snowstorm can be when you're alone; the chill felt even more intense in the solitude. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets and started to bolt toward the cabin, urgency pushing me to move faster than just a walk.

Reaching the cabin in just a few moments, I quickly opened the door and shut it behind me as I stepped inside. The warmth from the fire Josh had lit earlier enveloped me, instantly lifting my spirits and bringing a smile to my face.

The cabin was empty, a clear sign that everyone had gone off to do their own things. I stood there for a moment, basking in the warmth, genuinely feeling better than I had in a long time. But then, I heard the floorboards begin to creak, breaking the silence and making my heart skip a beat.

I froze in fear, silently praying to whatever was above that a stray rabbit had somehow snuck in. Despite my apprehension, I slowly ventured toward the source of the creaking, taking cautious steps with short strides and even shorter breaths. I couldn’t quite understand why I was so scared, but an unsettling feeling gripped me as I approached, heightening my senses and making every sound feel amplified in the quiet cabin.

I scanned the area, finding nothing out of the ordinary. The three couches sat neatly arranged, the low-hanging chandelier, and the fireplace crackled reassuringly—all seemed perfectly normal. Yet, despite the familiar surroundings, a sense of unease lingered in the air, making me second-guess the tranquility of the space.

And then it happened: a loud "BOO!" echoed behind me, and I let out the loudest scream I had in ages. The sound rang out, leaving my throat feeling raw from the sudden burst of terror, and I instinctively slammed my eyes shut, my heart racing.

Then I heard that same familiar, cackling laugh that I recognized from countless similar moments. It was a sound that brought both exasperation and relief, and I realized I should have seen it coming. A mix of annoyance and amusement washed over me as I opened my eyes and turned around, finding Chris hunched over, laughing.

I rolled my eyes and waited for Chris to finish his fit of laughter. I didn’t have the energy to yell at him; the long walk had really taken a toll on me. 

As his laughing died down, he began to sit and look at me, a look of regret, yet still amusement clear on his face. 

“Sorry, sorry!” he said, raising his hands in the air as if to surrender. “It’s just too fun seeing you scream like that. I was actually on the way to find a Ouija board.” A wide grin spread across his face, clearly relishing the moment.

I rolled my eyes once more and plopped down onto one of the couches, lethargy washing over me. My eyes shut as I curled into a ball, hoping to sneak in a quick nap.

I had no idea there were a pair of eyes watching my exchange with Chris, nor did I realize how angry their owner was.

[crumb]

i love how benson is, on the surface, this devil-may-care kind of character, going around shooting people, dragging randy around to fix his life and scaring the hoes in the process—but at the same time there are these little details that show how much he does care. I mean the big obvious one is his motivation for wanting to fix randy, fix randy and help him not turn out like benson and the rest of the people in the small town, we all know this and have gone over these themes. but the smaller details, unintentional or not, those are really nice. Benson being the only one at Burger Burgers Burgers who has his sleeves cuffed and his shirt tucked in. This is one of many details that shows Benson does care, he cares about how he looks and how he's perceived to some extent. because let's be honest, it does set his character apart from the stereotypical 'redneck working at a fast food joint'. Which then gives an added weight to when he walks outside for his cigarette and untucks his shirt. he's releasing himself from this more restrained version he's presented himself as up until that point. Which then ALSO makes Chris saying "Benson, why do you fucking care?" even funnier. because like... Benson basically responds by killing him which in a way is him saying "hey, you're right, why do I fucking care?" lmaoooo Benson is also the only one, other than Randy (and I guess hardy?) who is wearing BBB uniform trousers. Chris is wearing cargo joggers and Jess is wearing a mini skirt with fishnets. If benson really didn't care about that job, or how he looked at that job, would he be wearing 100% of the uniform, well fitted, cuffed, tucked, cleaned, and ironed? And then when changing outfits at his house he puts on a fuzzy yellow/green cardigan and graphic ringer tee, the choices of which feel very intentional and like they're his favorite pieces of clothing. Which I think must be true if you think about him knowing this is his swan song, he wants to go out looking good. But what he doesn't change? His trousers. You'd think after killing three people at a job you probably don't particularly like and dragging their bodies around, changing out of the uniform would be a relief, other than wanting to just get out of clothes that are recognizable to the restaurant. Which makes me think his BBB uniform trousers are the best/most well-fitting trousers he owns which in itself is interesting. I mean look at the clothes he gives randy, they're not that much different in body size so even on benson those jeans would've been oversized as hell. This somewhat cleaned up version of himself that he presents, especially pre-killing spree, juxtaposed to his home life and his car is, I think, a great representation of Benson as a person. His home life, the clutter, his Ma in the front room, the clothes he gives randy, the junk strewn around his car—versus his cleaned and cuffed and tucked uniform and his stylish cardigan and graphic tee (idc what you say i love the cardigan)—I think it shows someone who is struggling but putting on a brave front, trying to come off as put together, as someone who knows himself and doesn't care about other people's perceptions, but at the same time so desperately does care and hates that he cares, and hates that he can't seem to change things. he can only dress them up a little to look presentable to passersby. and maybe it's one of those "the walls are just blue because they're blue!!" type situations and the wardobe dept or kyle or carter or the art director and whoever else, maybe it's just simply style/design decisions by one or several of them and there's no subtextual meaning behind it all—but even if so, I love that, to me at least, it's developed this deeper meaning within the context of the film and the character.

Don't even get me started on the Kurt Cobain cardigan and Benson having a shotgun in his trunk.

[asimplearchivist]

𝑪𝑯. 𝑰𝑰 — 𝑭𝑨𝑪𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑼𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮.

𝐂𝐇. 𝐈𝐈 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑.

[𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓽'𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽] [ 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ] AO3 | SPOTIFY | PINTEREST summary 🕷️ ⤏ miguel struggles to come to terms with your brief encounter. pairing 🕷️ miguel o’hara/spider!reader word count 🕷️ 3.5k a/n 🕷️ ⤏ I don’t know that the collective’s HQ is actually an old Alchemax facility, but it made sense to me since the go-home machine is similar to the collider. I haven’t been able to find much information on the wiki about 2099’s world, much less spiderverse miguel’s version, so I’m gonna sprinkle in my own headcanons as we go along until I learn anything different. if any of you happen to know any details (like currency, layout of Nueva York, little things like that) please let me know! I’d prefer this fic not to have glaring discrepancies to the source material if at all possible. :) 🕷️ MASTERPOST 🕷️ 🕷️ PREVIOUS CHAPTER ⤎ 🕷️ ⤏ NEXT CHAPTER 🕷️

“I told you that you weren’t up for that. I could’ve handled it just fine.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

He could feel Jessica’s eyes trained firmly on his back, though he did his damnedest to ignore the persistent prickling along the back of his neck. O’Hirn was struggling again, given most of the toxin had already worn off, and it was all the restraint Miguel could muster not to just toss him over the boardwalk into the yawning depths of HQ and be done with it.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“I’ve got it,” Miguel responded brusquely, clenching his jaw.

“Just because I’m pregnant,” she started, “doesn’t mean I can’t—”

“I don’t need you getting yourself hurt,” he interrupted.

“I’m only two months in,” she sighed. “I hate to think about what you’ll be like later on. Even my husband isn’t as worried as you are, Miguel.”

“You’re exposed to enough danger as it is,” he growled. “I had it covered.”

“If you nearly drowning is your definition of ‘had it covered’, then I worry about what it means for you not to have it covered.”

Finally, they made it to the containment center, and Miguel dropped the mercenary face-first into the cage, muttering under his breath all the while. The field turned on with a hum, and Miguel released a terse exhale of relief as he stepped back for it all to be finally over.

“Hiya, boss! How’d it go?”

Almost over, anyway.

“Fine.” He turned and started to walk towards his office. “Jess, remember to fill out a report. LYLA, catalog Alexander O’Hirn into the queue for departure.”

Her lax footsteps were declaration enough of her intention to do anything but that.

“You could have at least explained the basics, you know. Since she’s from an adjacent 2099, she’d understand the multiverse theory. The Alchemax in that reality is performing similar experimentations for dimensional travel, and she’d evidently run into their projects before.”

“What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ do you not understand?”

“The part where it excuses you for being an ass.”

He stopped and turned on his heel, lenses narrowing as he glared resolutely down at his companion. “It’s classified to anyone not enrolled in the collective.”

“Ooh, touchy,” LYLA commented, appearing over Jessica’s shoulder like the demonic conductor she was. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” Miguel ground out.

“Something happened. Your vitals are all over the place, boss.”

“I told you not to monitor me.”

“Does it have to do with the fact that she’s—”

“Don’t,” Miguel bit out.

LYLA raised her palms placatingly, twisting and regarding him wryly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“She’s not the same,” Jessica reminded him needlessly.

“Of course she isn’t,” he growled. “Why do you think—”

She raised a manicured brow at him, effectively shutting him up. He opted to glower instead. “And because she isn’t the same, you owed her a civil response—especially since the big lug back there almost popped her head off like a cork. She obviously knows your counterpart because she recognized you. I know you’re going through a lot right now, but it didn’t give you a reason to dismiss her like that. It’s not her fault that any of this is happening, and we always need new recruits.”

Miguel bristled. “I’m not recruiting her.”

“And why not?” Jessica propped her fists on her wide hips.

His lenses narrowed further. “You know why.”

“Yeah, I do.” She shook her head. “Because you’re letting your personal bias interfere with the job.”

Miguel scoffed and turned away from her once more. “All this is on a need-to-know basis, Jess. We’re not so sore in need of help that I have to pull every conceivable Spider-Person in the multiverse into the coalition.”

“Don’t you think she needs to know why her dead husband randomly walked out of a portal and acted like she didn’t exist?” LYLA remarked.

Jessica fell silent, obviously in shock, and Miguel dropped his head to pinch the bridge of his nose. “LYLA.”

“I ran preliminaries while you were gone,” she continued lightly. Miguel twisted just enough to watch her use multiple holograms to display your credentials and history as she listed off your name and date of birth. “...Spider-Woman of 928C for five years. Widowed by one Miguel O’Hara of eight years in a classified, freak accident at his laboratory in Alchemax. Refused answers regarding the nature of his death, she snuck in to investigate herself. She was then bitten by a genetically and radioactively modified Goldenrod Crab spider he had assisted in mutating, which imbued her with the classic spider powers, plus…” She squinted at the words streaming across the screen. “...boosted olfactory senses, organic webbing excreting a sedative pheromone, and pigment-shifting abilities that are largely ineffective as camouflage but make for easy changes in hair color and skin tone—oh, look, she gives herself temporary tattoos with it! Neat! She then proceeded to steal the experimental suit of UMF in the same lab and has since been doing her best to stop Alchemax’s schemes and protect Nueva York’s civilians. Heh, the suit colors kind of make her look like a strawberry pie.” She glanced up at Miguel appraisingly. “Did I miss anything?”

“No,” he said tightly. “That about covers it.”

“You said you didn’t know much about the canon events of that universe,” Jessica scolded.

“I knew the basics,” he snapped, “which is why I wanted to avoid confronting her. I wasn’t going out of my way to learn the rest!” He cut a glare towards LYLA, who shrank back slightly. “But thank you for the input.”

“Just trying to help,” she replied lamely.

“Don’t bark at her,” Jess interrupted. “You could have briefed me on it. I could’ve gone by myself if you didn’t want to risk exposure.” She tilted her head slightly. “And if you didn’t want to face her.”

The UMF dissipated from his head so quickly that both woman and AI jumped. The midday sunlight pouring in through the windows on the far wall stung his eyes, but he didn’t care. “I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”

Jess regarded him coolly for a long moment, and Miguel spun to march himself into the blissfully quiet and empty haven of his own lab.

“You owe her an apology,” the woman called.

Gritting his teeth, he stopped long enough to throw his reply over his shoulder. “And why is that?”

“If you’re in this bad of a state seeing her now,” Jess said, “how do you think she feels having grieved you for five years?”

Miguel’s talons pierced into the meat of his palms as he stayed silent and stalked away.

The lab was blissfully quiet, save the hum and chirrup of the numerous machines and monitors working away in solitude. It was raining outside, drumming against the roof and narrow windows near the ceiling to allow in faint shafts of bleak, tepid gray light. The occasional muffled rumble of thunder made him wince, even as the dark room allowed his eyes to finally relax. Still, it would take a while for his head to stop throbbing.

He had been too harsh on Jessica—LYLA, too—he knew that. He didn’t have an excuse. But the migraine he’d woken up with that morning combined with the fact that any Rhino, no matter what universe they originated from, were royal pains in the ass. Almost drowning and scarcely avoiding impalement had not done anything to improve his mood, either.

Miguel let out a harsh sigh as he sank heavily onto the platform resting at floor level, propping his elbows on his knees and dropping his head into his hands. His fingertips dug into his eyes and temples in a feeble attempt to assuage the aching pressure but to no avail. He needed to sleep, seeing as he’d gleaned none the night before after having determined a mission to the dimension directly neighboring his was necessary ASAP—the anomaly might not have fully transitioned until a couple of hours ago, but LYLA’s predictions had been correct and he knew they’d needed to act fast.

Even still, it had almost been too late.

He was always too late.

He gritted his teeth with a growl, shaking his head and straightening to glare up into the shadowy rafters. The patches of amber holograms flickered like candlelight, dancing with images and footage and readouts he couldn’t be bothered to check at the moment—his vision was blurring and if he tried to squint any more today he worried his eyes might pop out of his skull altogether.

“No new anomalies, jefe.”

“LYLA.” He dropped his gaze to the glowing figure floating at eye level. She had her arms folded over her chest, glasses pushed all the way up her nose to hide her eyes.

She rubbed her nose briefly. “Yeah, that’s the designation. Don’t wear it out.” She summoned a graph and pointed to it. “The spike is fading in 928C. Everything should be back to normal by tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” He swallowed, dipping his head to scratch the nape of his neck. “Hey, mira, I’m…sorry, about earlier.”

At her lack of response, he raised his eyes again and found that she had blinked away just as fast as she’d appeared.

Miguel released another sigh, cursing under his breath. He’d done enough damage for the day, he figured.

It didn’t take long to get to his quarters. The uppermost floor of the compound was glassed in on all sides, and bigger than Miguel would ever have wanted—but the construction of HQ had been primarily handled by LYLA seeing as he’d been busy hunting anomalies and recruiting other Spider-People to the collective, and with the haste to get everything up and running he hadn’t really stopped to consider anything besides the necessities. The old Alchemax facility suited perfectly to his needs, and having more money than he knew what to do with from his old position in the upper echelons of the blasted corporation, he’d let her have the reins so he could have more time to work.

To be fair, the living space was…nice. Just big, with amenities and furniture that felt a little too modern. (It made it feel all the more empty.)

Miguel shed the UMF suit and chunked it in the nano-regenerator, wincing as he tweaked the bruises around his ribs. Grappling with a man twice your size in a heavy suit of impenetrable armor while underwater was decidedly not his definition of a good Friday night.

He traipsed into the bathroom, tapping the screen to activate the shower and adjust its jet settings and temperature. He’d be healed by tomorrow, he knew, but the soreness would linger for a couple of days. He’d just have to try not to twist too much.

Miguel stopped to scrutinize himself in the mirror, not for the first time (and definitely not for the last).

The warm white light spilling from the mirror’s rim highlighted his silhouette and the numerous scars littering his frame, the edges of his reflection growing hazy from the steam billowing out over the top of the shower’s tall glass walls. He scarcely recognized himself from the man he’d been six months prior. Working so hard combined with constantly improving his strength for better mobility and endurance in the field had changed his figure so vastly from the lean muscle upon which he’d previously relied while managing Nueva York by himself. It felt surreal, sometimes—but if he could distance himself from the man he’d used to be in any way, he’d take it. Miguel no longer wanted to make mistakes like he did. (It might actually kill him, this time, if he did.)

Miguel shook his head with a low growl, reaching up to tug the loose locks of hair off his forehead—and, in so doing, reminded himself of the band still snugly hugging his ring finger. He regarded it for a long, tense moment as he ground his teeth until his temples throbbed. He fought down tooth and nail the tide of fluctuating emotions that the ring brought—when he wore the suit, he barely noticed it. Out of sight, out of mind, and all that.

Miguel swallowed roughly and pulled it free, dropping it into the little ceramic dish next to his sink before trudging into the shower to scrub away his woes.

He did feel marginally better afterward, which was a small boon. Dressing in his favorite pair of worn sweats helped, too. He wasn’t hungry, but if he wanted to dissuade the headache with the abnormal amount of aspirin it took to even put a dent in his hyperactive metabolism, he’d have to eat something—so he fixed himself a club and choked it down with water.

By the time he’d settled into bed, flat on his back and gazing blankly up at the dark ceiling with an arm thrown over his forehead to shade his eyes from the city lights glowing along the skyline, his nerves had settled for the most part. He’d apologize to the ladies tomorrow. Maybe, as tired as he was, he’d actually be able to get more than three hours of sleep for once. (Doubtful.)

Miguel sighed heavily, shutting his eyes. He didn’t want to think about it. If he thought about it he’d get upset all over again. It had taken every iota of willpower he possessed just to get through the whole damn mission to begin with. One would think, after the couple of months that he’d had to get over the entire ordeal (his mistake—his greatest mistake—one he would never be able to reverse or rectify no matter how much he regretted it), that he’d have a better handle on his emotions. He’d fucked up catastrophically. Now he was forced to pick up the pieces by holding the multiverse together with nothing but his bare hands and his sheer force of will. He could never afford to allow his selfishness to influence the fate of the multiverse.

Miguel sucked in a deep breath, but the stretch twinged his ribs again. He turned over onto his side with a terse sigh, grabbing the pillow on the opposite end of the bed and stuffing it under himself in an attempt to buoy the bruises. Despite the darkness, his eyes still made out the shape of the overturned frame on the opposite nightstand.

Even while it was face-down, its glass face cracked beyond repair from the force of a previous breakdown, he recalled in perfect detail the picture it housed. You’d always insisted on printing out physical copies despite it having long since fallen to the wayside with the mass digitization nearly a century prior—the photo albums crammed into a box in the top of the closet were painful reminders of that habit. That one in particular had been your favorite: the pair of you at the park, lying on a canvas, red and white gingham picnic blanket, faces turned toward each other’s and away from the sun. You’d snuck the picture while he hadn’t been paying attention, having shut his eyes briefly because it had been unseasonably warm for early autumn, and he’d admittedly almost drifted off breathing in the fruity scent of your shampoo. You’d never told him about it until he’d noticed it’s addition on your bedside table a week later.

It had been the day of your fifth wedding anniversary. He’d lost you in a nearly identical manner to 928C’s alternative version of you—an inexplicable accident at Alchemax in the robotics laboratory where you’d enlisted your profession. Only when he’d tried to investigate further, he’d been drugged with Rapture by the CEO, and his attempt to revert his DNA back to its previous state was thwarted, resulting in…well, the monster of a genetic disaster that he was now, having to regularly utilize injecting a modified serum to tamp down the more feral aspects of the spider DNA slowly but surely attempting to overwrite his own.

His suit was technology you had developed. LYLA was a product of your collaboration with him. There were still sprinkles of you throughout his entire life, even though he’d buried you three years prior—the dimensional travel watch was spawned from the earliest prototypes that you had started, the Go-Home Machine adjacent technology, the anomaly analysis system—he couldn’t escape the ghosts of your influence no matter how much he tried.

Not that he wanted to. It was both torture and comfort to have you so close.

But losing you prematurely is what had spurred him to irrationality, upon discovering the neighboring universe where you’d lived instead and his alternative self had died—and the fact that you’d had Gabriella had broken what little resolve he’d tried to initially maintain. (Miguel didn’t want to think about the possibility that you might have been pregnant when you’d gone—he’d been vehemently avoiding the thought for years, and he’d continue to do so until the day he died because he wasn’t certain he could bear the confirmation of his worst fear.)

But his desperation to deny the multiverse of its cruel dictation of his life story had come back to bite him—he had paid the ultimate price for his negligence twice over.

Miguel squeezed his eyes shut against the hot sting threatening to spill over. He thought he’d been doing better—an incorrect assumption, evidently. The inconsistency of grief was what struck him blind every time. He’d known that he faced the likely possibility of running into another you going in to apprehend the anomaly, but…hearing your voice had nearly unmended him at the seams. Knowing he’d almost been too late to stop yet another you from getting killed…it had been all he could do to keep it together. Yes, he’d come across as dickish as a result—but if Jess knew how hard it had been to look at you (even if you weren’t his you) without falling at your knees, she’d understand why. He had to distance himself in order to spare both himself and this different version of you from the perpetual destruction that plagued him wherever he tread. He couldn’t lose you again. It would unmake him.

The rip of fabric tipped Miguel off that he’d accidentally perforated his pillowcase. Again. He groaned under his breath, curling himself further around the pillow wedged under his ribcage. The faintest whiffs of your old perfume clung to the cotton, and Miguel inhaled it greedily despite the sorrow that threatened to overcome him at the visceral memories it summoned behind his eyelids.

…He remembered that day in the picture clearly. You’d tasted like strawberries from the large bowl you’d eaten mostly by yourself, the sweetness and tartness lingering under your tongue. He could still feel the warmth of your hands on his face, your fingers carding through his hair as he’d rested in your lap while you read to him from your latest rom-com novel. You’d both ended up falling asleep for a few hours, exhausted from long shifts at work with increasingly demanding schedules, waking to the evening golden hour being overtaken by an ominous cumulonimbus. Halfway home the rain had started, and you’d both been soaked to the bone clambering into your shared apartment—and despite the chill, despite the wicker basket forever remaining warped from the overabundance of moisture, despite your recurring teasing over the years about his forecast research falling painfully short, you’d often recalled that day with unfathomable fondness.

He also remembered the desperation of his name on your lips when he’d found you after the explosion, already half-gone. You’d been terrified, confused—yet once you’d realized the inevitability of the situation, you’d circled around to comfort him instead. He’d never forgive himself for his own weakness preventing him from giving you peace, knowing he’d be all right as you’d slipped away, far beyond his mortal reach. (He wasn’t. But he’d wanted you to think he would be.)

That same desperation had tinged your alternate’s voice earlier. The terror, the confusion. He’d been fighting back tears at the agonizing recollection.

He let them spill, now, muffling himself into his pillow in a vain, feeble effort not to break the silence of his empty bedroom in his empty quarters that comprised his empty home.

…Maybe Jess had been right, after all, he thought later, once he’d had no more grief to shed. Face damp, eyes aching, head throbbing once more, he traced mindless patterns into the top sheet where you would have lain with his talon—always facing him, unless he’d managed to talk you into letting him hold you from behind. If this is how badly he felt from less than a minute’s worth of dialogue, how would you feel?

He did owe you an apology. And as much as the thought pained him, they did need more help around HQ. Miguel drifted into a fitful sleep, wondering if you looked any different under your mask.

[nahoney22]

Honeyyyyyy🥰

congratulations on hitting 4000 followers! Thats huge! Honestly, no one deserves it more than you. Thank you for all the wonderful things you have requested throughout the years💕

I would like to request a Jesse x Fem!Reader, where reader gets discharged from a lengthy hospital stay and gets to go home, where her partner Jesse picks her up and takes her home and cares for her. Its a very self indulgent request i must admit. It can be sfw/suggestive or nsfw if you like, but mostly i‘d love some caregiver!jesse 🥺

ilysm 💕🌸🪷

Relief

Jesse X F!Reader

word count: 781

After being discharged from hospital, Jesse shows you just how much he missed, cares and loves you.

warnings: 16+ as there is implied sexual content but nothing explicit. female reader, mentions of hospital visits and reader having a bad autoimmune system, slight angst but fixed with lots of fluff and comfort. Established relationship.

Authors note: thank you for the support always bestie. Enjoy, sorry it’s a little on the shorter side. ily 💜

After what felt like an endless cycle of blurred days and nights, the comfort of home beckoned. Your autoimmune condition had warranted an extended stay at the hospital, and although the memories of long hours and less-than-stellar meals lingered, there was a beacon of hope waiting for you on the other side.

You had been with Jesse for just over a year now and never had you been so lucky. He was the perfect blend of kindness, humor, and of course - undeniable good looks. So, it wasn't surprising to find him eagerly waiting for you in the lobby, his foot rhythmically tapping the floor. But when his eyes met yours, any signs of impatience melted away, replaced with a beaming smile.

"There’s my girl," he greeted with a joyous grin, leaning in to plant a tender kiss on your cheek.

Mustering a weary yet content smile, you replied, "Here I am." Your smile widened in delight as he gracefully unveiled a bouquet of your favourite flowers from behind his back. "Oh, Jesse," you murmured, "you really didn't have to."

"No," he smirked, arm confidently linking with yours, guiding you as he flagged down a cab, "but it made me happy to."

With a content sigh, you both settled into the taxi, heading towards the sanctuary of your home. The mere idea of being enveloped in the soft embrace of your own bed was enough to make you feel more relaxed. Jesse's eyes were fixed on you, tenderly observing the visible signs of your exhaustion. But, he was smart enough not to voice his observations. Instead, he pulled you closer, letting you nestle into his side for the duration of the ride.

A short while later, the familiar setting of your home welcomed you. Stepping inside, you inhaled deeply, reacquainting yourself with its comforting aroma. Overwhelmed by the warmth and familiarity, you sank into your couch, releasing a sigh that echoed your longing. "I've missed this so much," you murmured, gazing up at the ceiling. As your gaze wandered, a realisation dawned. The place was spotless. Not a single trace of dust to be seen anywhere.

Catching your surprised expression, Jesse chuckled, "Thought I'd do a bit of tidying up."

Your laughter joined his as relief washed over you. The realisation that he'd taken it upon himself to do every little chore that was pending made your heart flourish.

From the laundry to the dishes, from taking out the trash to scrubbing that stubborn grout in the kitchen sink you'd been meaning to tackle – everything was done.

"Jesse," you whispered, admiration and affection swelling within you. Although you two didn’t share a home, mostly due to Jesse's commitments with the GAR, seeing the lengths he'd gone to care for your space during your hospital stay only deepened the bond between you.

Jesse's face lit up with a touch of pride as he then pointed towards the fridge. "I also prepped some meals for you." He admitted with a sheepish grin, "Though, I won't guarantee they're gourmet quality – cooking isn't exactly my specialty." His hand instinctively went to the back of his head, a gesture he often made when slightly embarrassed.

“Anything would be better than the dirt they serve in there.” You shudder at the cold gruel you were offered.

Overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, you responded, "I can't begin to express my gratitude." He settled down beside you on the couch, wrapping an arm around you protectively.

"You could start by resting and taking it easy," he said with a playful smirk, his lips gently brushing your temple. His fingers began to work magic as he moved them into your hair, massaging your scalp and making you sink further into his embrace.

"That sounds perfect right now," you admitted, stifling a yawn as relief washes over you. Curling even closer to him, you whispered, "I love you."

"And I love you," he replied, ensuring both of you were covered with a throw blanket before starting a holomovie, the volume just low enough to be comforting. Cherishing moments like these was essential because they were so rare.

That evening, Jesse managed to whip up a surprisingly delicious meal. The two of you shared stories and laughter, catching up on all the happenings you missed while you were away. And as the night grew deeper, he effortlessly lifted you, a hint of mischief in his eyes, and carried you off to bed. Even as passion ignited between the two of you, kisses turning into heated dances and breathing turning into soft moans, Jesse's touch remained gentle. And his whispers held promises and love that saw you through the night.

Oh, how you missed him.

Requests open until the 15th of October 2023 ☀️

Kofi 🧋

Masterlist

Tags: @andyoufollowyourheart @whore4rex @imperialclaw801 @temple-elder @mysticalgalaxysalad @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @captxin-rex @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka @theroguesully @ladykatakuri @jambolska-grozdova @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @rain-on-kamino @either-madness-or-brilliance @staycalmandhugaclone @ko-neko-san @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet @dangraccoon @plushymiku-blog @chrissywakingup @kixs-husband @pb-jellybeans @nunanuggets @sleepycreativewriter @erellenora @zippingstars87 @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @therealnekomari @tech-depression-inventory @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @tinyreadersmur @seriowan @by-the-primes @the-bad-batch-baroness @kaminocasey @marvel-starwars-nerd @ladytano420 @ladyzirkonia @raevulsix

[silent-raven13]

Control your boyfriend, Morales!

Stealth mission!

Miguel whispers through intercom: Alright, I need everyone to be quiet! This anomaly is very dangerous when it wakes up! -every Spider-hero being extra quiet- So we need to use this chance to capture it.

Gwen whispers: Got it.

Pavtri nodded: yes, sir.

Peter, Jess and Ben quiet voice: Right.

Miles low soft voice: Ok.

The group slowly crept close to the anomaly monster sleeping in an abandon building. Ben almost tripped until Jess caught him. They all sigh with relief when Miguel got close to slowly put the net around. All sweating bullets until they can sigh in relief-

BOOM!

Spider-punk comes into the scene blasting off music!: OI! WHATS TAKING SO LONG! I THOUGH YA'LL WERE DEAD!

The anomaly woke up with red eyes being super pissed off. Miles quickly went over to his boyfriend with a whisper tone: Bae! Shhh, be quiet!

Hobie shouting: HUH! WHAT? LUV, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M PLAYING THIS SWEET RIFT! WHAT'S WRONG!

Miles waves his arms in panic as he quickly tries to hush his boyfriend: Hobie, shh! The monster... it doesn't like-

Hobie spotted the anomaly: THERE IT IS! Come on, luv. Let's go get it! Oh, look- -he bumps into some abandon metal can, probably a homeless person used it for fire, and it made loud crashing sound- OPPS SORRY GUYS!

Gwen and Pavtri groans at their punker friend. Miguel glares at him, then saw the anomaly quickly went to attack him: AH! CONTROL YOUR BOYFRIEND, MORALES! -he shouted in anger-

The anomaly was able to multiple into mini versions and attack with its electric body! Ben: Ohh, so that's why we can't wake them up!

Hobie looks at the monsters running around: Oh, sooo dats why.... -he grins under his mask-

Miles shook his head with one hand on his head being slightly annoyed: Bae... -then noticed the little monsters jumping around using their electric bodies to stunned some of the Spider-gang- I told you-

Hobie chuckles being the devious type, he put one arm around his Sunflower's shoulders: It's Anarchy, luv! Nothing should ever be easy for Spider-heroes.

Miles frowns under his mask: You did that on purpose!

Hobie: Dats for leaving me out of the mission! -he chuckles at Miguel trying to round them up!- Pure chaos! I love it!

Miles sighs: Bae, what if this thing releases poisonous gas and I caught wind of it and die!

Hobie hums: But it didn't and I would've taken you out of here before you even know it! -One of the mini monsters came by the punker and bite him having to use it's electric shock- OW! -it felt like painful pinches and zaps-

Miles: That's what you get! -crossing his arms at his boyfriend's pettiness and karma-

Hobie frowns under his mask: SUNFLOWER!

The lil electric monster hissed at him before jumping over to Miles, with one big hop landing in his arms. Miles without a thought caught the anomaly and saw the electric shock didn't work on him. Miles: Oh! It doesn't hurt me! hah, they're kinda cute. -seeing how the little anomaly didn't feel threaten, it nap into Miles arms. He pet it seeing how soft and the electric sparks wraps around his hands as he absorb it.- Huh, looks like we found a solution to this...

Hobie whines: Sunflower! I'm in pain!

Miles saw the mini monsters going over his punker to zap him. It seems they were mad at him for waking them up. Miles hums: Karma is a bitch, bae...

Hobie quickly tries to get away: LUV! -he whines-

Miles: Remember, pure Anarchy! You gotta love it.

Hobie: Your so cruel, Sunflower!

[masterjedilenawrites]

He Is Loved

Jesse x reader | 1.2k words

Content: hurt/comfort, fluff, some kissing and references to sex, one curse word, the healing power of hugs

Inspiration (from @rosemarynightmares): I want to hug Jesse. Like, he's hot as hell no questions asked, but I also just want to hug him. Like a long hug. And tell him that he's loved and that he's enough and wonderful exactly as he is.

Jesse wore his emotions on his sleeve. It didn't take a hyperdrive scientist to know what he was thinking or feeling. It was getting him to work through those feelings in a healthy way that was the tricky part.

But it was a part you alone had mastered.

Today it was a troubled energy he brought home with him. He'd spent most of the day in training and had only sent you a short response to your friendly message earlier about how it was going. So you weren't surprised to see his shoulders hunched and his jaw clenched, though you were still upset he was feeling that way. He immediately made his way to join you in the bedroom.

You yourself had done a little workout that day as well, and hadn't quite been home long enough to shower and get yourself more presentable. Still, your clone boyfriend pounced right on you, his neediness more apparent than ever as his hands and mouth roamed wherever he could reach.

"Jesse," you breathed out a little chuckle. "Let me freshen up first. I feel gross."

You were trying to pry him off you far enough to slip out from under him. But he only seemed to be spurred on more, sucking harder on your neck and clawing at your waist to get closer.

"You know I don't mind," he husked as he came off your neck and moved to make a matching mark on the other side. That's when you pushed back a little more.

"Jesse, please," you said. "I'll be quick."

He huffed, hanging his head against yours and breathing heavily. His grip on your waist loosened just enough to show he was relenting. He could never say no to you.

You wiggled away before you could change your mind. You knew he was frustrated, but you'd make it up to him once you rinsed off, got some fresh clothes, found some protection. You'd make it a long, special night, just for him, and his tenseness would be eased away.

But after you finished your business in the refresher, you found your man slumped on the bed where you'd left him. His shoulders were pulled forward as his elbows rested on his knees, his head hung low and his hands wrung together in absent-minded anxiety. He looked... defeated.

You gulped down your own worries at the sight. There could be any number of reasons pulling your boyfriend down into the dumps like this. It would take more than sex to truly bring him relief.

You said nothing as you slowly walked forward. Whatever troubled thoughts were on his mind kept him distracted enough to not notice you approaching until you were right in front of him. He straightened up in surprise, his hands already on their way to grab hold of your hips, to fall into the only routine he knew of for comfort. But you pushed past, took your stand between his legs, and pulled his head to rest against your chest.

"Baby..." you whispered soothingly, pleased to feel his arms snaking around your middle to return the embrace. "What's wrong?"

He didn't respond at first, only breathed you in deeply and released a sigh. Finally he mumbled into your flesh, "I'm fine. Just a long day. Just need to feel you."

His hands started to wander to your hips again and you pulled away, taking his head in your hands as you looked down at him. You could tell he was putting a lot of effort into relaxing his features, trying to give you more of that cheekiness he usually had this time of night. The longer you stared, the more unnerved he felt, and the more he tried teasing you with his touch on your hips.

You weren't going to let him fuck his emotions away this time. You let go of his face and jerked your chin to the bed. "Lay down," you gently instructed. "On your side."

He was perplexed but did as he was told, probably assuming this was some game you were initiating.

You circled around the bed, crawling into it behind him and settling yourself down carefully. Your damp hair dragged behind you on the pillow as you scooted closer to him. He was craning his neck, trying to see what you were up to. Eventually you sidled up right by him, pressing yourself against his backside, curling your arms around his muscular torso and pulling him into you, in what could only be described as a nice hug.

"It's okay," you whispered into his back. "Everything will be okay, beautiful. I'm here for you."

It was exactly what he'd told you, on probably a dozen occasions now. Any time you'd had a bad day, had made a mistake, had felt just a little too down on yourself... Jesse had been there to hold you close and tell you all the things you needed to hear.

Now that it was your turn to return the favor, Jesse didn't know what to do with himself. You could almost feel the way he wrestled with his emotions in your hold. His muscles tensed, his breath hitched. A tentative hand rested on the one of yours that splayed across his chest.

"You are wonderful, Jesse," you continued in a low, soothing voice. "So good and brave..."

His fingers started to curl around yours, his body started to curl into the embrace.

"You are perfect, just as you are. You are enough."

His breaths started to come out faster, his chest rising and falling quickly under your grasp.

"You are loved, Jesse. You are loved."

He let out a choked sob, shoulders trembling against you as he finally released whatever pained, ugly feelings he'd been harboring inside. You placed a few kisses along his back but otherwise let him have his moment, simply keeping your arms locked firmly around him as a reminder he was not alone.

It was a long time before Jesse's sobs petered out, before his breaths regained composure, and then it was another long moment of silence where you continued to hold him, unsure if he'd fallen asleep or was just resting with his thoughts. After a while, he finally let go of your hand and slowly shifted himself to roll around to face you. His face was a sight you'd never seen on the man before. Tear-stained and clearly exhausted, but also at peace. He'd found his catharsis at last. His eyes roamed over your own face for a moment and then he brought his hand up to comb through your hair.

"Thank you," he whispered so quietly. He moved his face in and brushed his nose along yours. "For everything."

You smiled. "Everything's okay."

He hummed in acknowledgement and then pulled away to look you in the eyes again.

"But if it's alright, I'd like to hold you now."

Your smiled widened as you immediately got yourself into position, turned so that he could gather you up in his arms as he did every night. His nose went straight to your neck, breathing you in and placing tender kisses at the top of your spine. You shimmed backward so you were flush against him and ready to settle down for the night.

"I love you," he said. "My beautiful, beautiful person."

~ ~ ~

Everything Tag: @damerondala, @dangerousstrawberrypie, @fallingforthem, @harleyevanstan, @imabeautifulbutterfly, @justanothersadperson93, @misogirl828, @itsagrimm, @error6gendernotfound, @theroguesully, @clonesimp, @techie-bear

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[shadowsofthegun-if]

Loved your answer for my last ask. Here's another one though lol

How would everybody react to the MC getting shot by someone and they think they're dead now but out of nowhere the shooter gets shot dead by the MC on the ground and it turns out it only hit the MC's shoulder?

im starting to think youve managed to get ahold of my notes or something 👀. Keeping it vague like last time and kinda not answer the prompt☝

Aster: The tears streaming down their face have left them practically blind. All they can focus on is the feeling of blood on their hands. Hot and sticky blood. The feeling leaves them on the brink of panic, regretting not paying any attention to the few first aid lessons that they were taught. Aster knows that they're not going to lose their Star tonight, but the fact that they're here and hurting almost drives them to madness. They swear to everything that even has the chance listening that they will never let this happen again.

Ro: They're frozen, they want to move but they cant bring themselves to do it. All they can focus on is the blood on Blessings shoulder. They can still hear the sound of the gun going off. For a moment, all they can think of is their Father and how painful his last moments were, and how Ro could do nothing to help him in that moment. This time they can help. This realization sets them into motion and they rush over to Blessing to begin their assessment of the wound. Ro will not let another one of their family suffer, not as long as theyre still here and breathing.

Jesse: The wave of relief that flows through his body is enough to knock him to his knees. He thought he lost his Blessing, his purpose, his everything. It was only for a moment but that moment was long enough for him to realize that he'll never be able to handle that pain. He'll burn the world to the ground before he ever has experience anything like it again.

Harrison: The burning rage that flows through his veins still has control of his mind. Even after the shooter is on the ground dead he cant stop himself from firing three more shots into the body. When Harrison turns to look at Blessing the fire in him begins to dim. He so badly wants to be angry, to yell at them for being an idiot and getting themselves shot, but he cant. All he can bring himself to do is kneel next to them and brush the hair out of their face, releasing a small sigh and finally letting the rage die out.

[jaygarrickspeedgrandpa]

"C'mon Jesse, you got this. keep going. Feel the lightning in you, be the lightning!" Jay commands sternly.

"Jay-" Harry starts to speak before Jay cuts him off, knowing what he's going to say.

"She has to do this on her own, Harry, she can do it. This is part of the gig, if shes to be a hero, she has to be able to push through anything."

"She won't be a hero if you don't go out and help her! she'll be dead!" Harry argues, "She's my daughter, if you won't save her, I will!"

Harry starts to storm off, but Jay grabs his arm and stops him,

"I know what I'm doing, you have to trust me. You have to trust her. She's got this."

Harry stares at Jay for a second, before pulling himself out of his grip and heading to the monitors the furthest from him. Jay smiles slightly, he may be sleeping on the couch tonight, and a few days after, but he's slept in way worse conditions for way longer. He returns his attention to the monitors.

"You'll instinctively know when to release it" Jay says into Jesse's earpiece, "Feel the lightning flow through your body, feel it culminating in your arm, when you feel it's almost unbearable, let it go."

Jesse runs in a tight circle, one, two, three more times, before launching a bolt of lightning straight at a giant cyborgs chest. As the electricity courses through the machine, it overheats it circuits and shuts the whole thing down. it collapses on to the ground, and Jesse stops and falls to her knees, exhausted and bruised, but smiling.

"Fantastic job Jesse!" Jay exclaims, "take a little breather, and come back when you feel ready."

Jay sits down in his chair and lets out a sigh of relief.

"One more hit from that thing and she would've died." Harry speaks up, back still to Jay.

"I know." Jay replies, "She wants to be a hero, Harry, this is the life. We won't be around forever, she has to learn how to do this on her own."

"By almost dying?!" Harry yells back, facing him angrily, "You couldn't just teach her how to throw lightning in the lab instead of letting her risk her life on something you don't even know if she could do?!"

"Sure! Just stop the fight, let the giant cyborg kill innocent people," Jay raises his voice, "as we just teach her in the lab! She has to adapt in the field! the lives of innocent civilians are at stake!"

"Better them than her!" Harry yells back, "She's my daughter first and foremost, not a hero. Her life means more than anyone elses. You have no idea what I've done to protect her."

"Don't act like she means nothing to me! I would give my life for her! and you have no idea what I've gone through to protect her." Jay replies sternly.

They stare at eachother in silence, the tension is so palpable you could cut it with a knife. It's only broken when Jesse runs in and braces herself against the desk.

Harry quickly moves over to her and supports her,

"come on, let's get you looked at. You took quite a beating..." Harry says leading her towards the medbay.

Jay watches them in silence, perhaps the couch is still too close for tonight, and he hasn't seen his Earth 3 friends in awhile, maybe he'll pay them a visit.

[stankycowboy]

At the movies with @chainsawcutiie

The drive-in parking lot atmosphere reeks of stale popcorn, cheap cologne, and virulent hormones. Not a soul is paying attention to the worn out screen; it is doubtful even the director would blame them. Severen idly gnaws on a Twizzler, spitting the candy out rather than swallowing it. He loved the mouthfeel of the stuff, but it made him sick as a dog when he tried to eat it in earnest— and he didn’t quite feel like hurling his guts up on this particular night. Without something to capture his interest, the creature felt his mind wandering, going to a melancholy place he usually reserved for when he was alone. Things unfocus, and for one who claimed to not be reverential of the past, it comes pouring in, almost to spite him. He sees the drive-in around him, but it is in a different state, they are clustered about a different car, and for all they could care it was the same movie on the screen.

Diamondback is chiding him for throwing popcorn at Homer, as the child-like creature snarls at him. Mae is trying to calm the boy down, his angry protests drawing eyes, much to Severen's delight as he roars with laugher. Jesse, silent amidst the chaos of all of them, is earnestly trying to watch the movie. It is so vivid in his mind’s eye that Severen loses time and place. Maybe it is the mirroring of smells, perhaps it is the unexplainable connection he still has to the one who turned him— can feel Jesse lingering just on the other side in a hidden, unreachable place. A pain gathers in his chest as one memory fades into another, this a more infuriating one. The train. Every night for a week he had argued with Jesse. Never in their decades together had they ever fought like this. Watching Mae return every night, weak as a newborn foal, and Caleb with that shit-eating grin on his face; it was a wonder Severen hadn’t ended him then. But he had sworn an oath, and that meant something. For this reason alone he uncharacteristically relayed his concerns with words instead of actions; as much as it ate at him to do so. Their bickering brought in Diamond, who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) chose a side. She would agree with Severen, but backup Jess, ‘wait a week’, ‘give him time’. Well the week had been over, time was now up. It was his turn to correct the mistake, yet they stopped him once again. One more night. One more goddamn night. He felt a trembling rage boil in his core, fingers tight around the red licorice treat like it was a lifeline. Instead of releasing his fury he again uses words, ones that chose themselves without his contemplation. Speaking snaps him out of the mental prison, he is back on the lot, paved but for the grass peeking through its aged cracks. Here he lies atop a custom hearse with a different blonde who silently stares at him, her expression a mix between friendly concern and derision. Silence draws out between them. The only sound is the muffled audio from the radio speakers. It isn’t really true, what he said. Lira trusts him, more than his family ever could. She would have to in order to allow herself to be with him. She was not one to play fickle games, needlessly wasting her time. Severen was not prone to lies regardless, he was grandiose at times, certainly, but when one lived a life as he did, there was rarely a need to embellish the truth. His words had oozed out of the only wound that would not heal. They had not trusted him. They had not believed him. And because of that They were dead. And he was not. If he had let them down, it should be them at the drive-in, not him. The age old story of self persecuting victim is not a look he feels fitting, the cliché loathsome to him, though it is equally tough to shake. It is a relief when Juliet breaks the quiet; even if what she says is the dumbest thing he has heard a human say to him-- that she trusts him.

He snorts and tosses some of her abandoned popcorn at her as he clamps his teeth around the last remaining half foot of plastic candy. For her to trust him is most assuredly a mistake. Although, reflecting on his past actions, he definitely has laid the groundwork for her to do so. He’d only threatened her life a handful of times, and considering she still sat beside him living and breathing, a testament to a restraint he had shown few others— fewer still for benevolent reasons. Internally, he chided himself on getting cozy based on improvised weapons of murder, but hanging around her was a good time; something he was always after. It may just be the two had some strangely agreeable similarities; it did not, however, guarantee a lifetime of friendship. As much as he wanted to tease her for saying he “treated her more human than other humans had”, it was a sad fact of life that humans were the least able to get along with their own kind. He outright laughed, though probably not based on what she expected. Had he not helped humanity escape itself in his youth? Watched it rip itself apart across the centuries? It would take something inhuman to find anything redeemable in the horrific species; he just so happened to find them delectable. “You don’t want me treating you human, best hope you keep using that “warm vanilla” lotion, I cain’t stand that shit”. He gives her a crooked smile, cheek dimpling in that charming way that had lead so many to their doom.

Juliet deviates the moment, perhaps uncomfortable with how close they had veered toward sentimentality, remarking on the quality, or lack thereof, in the current picture. Severen realizes he is fresh out of licorice and decides there ain’t much else to do here if the movie blows and the snacks run out. Hopping off the other side in a clatter of discordant metal, The Savage One slicks back his hair and stretches. “I’m gonna go scare some people” he states, casually scanning the car littered lot for the perfect victim. He gives a short chuckle and heads in a chosen direction, back to his usual rabble-rousing self.

[illusioninfnty]

Outlast: Chapter Two (Sam Giddings x Reader)

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 2.4K

21:17

The cable car door was stuck. Of course it was.

“Maybe we can try banging?” Chris asked. “I think I saw Jess waiting out there.”

“Oh yeah, totally, and also alert whatever psycho killer is out here where our exact location is? Yes, Chris, what a great idea,” Sam replies sarcastically.

You roll your eyes at the two and start banging on the door. You weren’t too excited to see Jess out of all people but would rather get the meeting over with if you could help it.

“Uh, are you guys having a really weird stroke?” Jess’s voice is muffled by the door but her tone is all too familiar.

As she lets you out, Chris lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Oh. My. God. I thought we were goners, another ten minutes in there and I would’ve chewed off my own leg.”

“You’re gross.” Sam addresses Chris, then turns her attention onto Jess. “Thanks. Were you waiting for someone?”

You rock on your feet and tug on your backpack trying to get this over with. You haven’t had any contact with Jess since the night of the prank and you weren’t sure how to talk to her now. You felt like you didn’t really know her.

“Um, wow.” Jess maneuvers herself to be in your view, making it impossible now for you to avoid her. “A full year of you ghosting us and you aren’t going to say hi? Typical.” She rolls her eyes at you and crosses her arms.

You press your lips tightly together and give her a forced smile. “Hi, Jess.”

She stares up at you for a second before letting out a noise of disgust. “Whatever. I don’t even know why I’m bothering.” She turns back to Sam, seemingly prompt on ignoring you now. You couldn’t really blame her, because you were planning on doing the same. “Yeah, actually, I’m waiting for Mike.”

You let out a humorless chuckle. “Mike’s a big boy, he doesn’t need you holding his hand to guide him to the lodge. Even if he did, it'd be better if he stayed out here.” 

“Not the time…” Sam warns.

“Like you know how Mike’s doing now even though you’ve been ignoring all of his messages?” She asks accusingly.

Chris raises an eyebrow as he listens in on you and Jess. “Oh? And how would our little Jess know that?”

Jess lifts her chin. “Mike and Em split. We’re together,” she concedes.

You roll your eyes. “Of course Mike can’t keep it–”

“Okay!” Sam drags you by the arm away from Jess. “We’ll see you in a bit at the lodge. Nice talking to you!” She gives the girl a half-hearted wave over her shoulder.

“Seriously, you need to chill.” Sam tells you through gritted teeth once you’re far enough away that Jess doesn’t hear. She has you sit down on a bench and takes a seat right next to you, so close that the fur of her hat tickles your cheek.

“Aw, c’mon. I kind of want to see a catfight happen out here. We need something exciting.”

“Chris.”

“Right. Sorry.”

You sigh and lean into your girlfriend’s warmth. “I’m sorry, Sam. You know how I get when he’s mentioned. I’m trying not to cause any problems. I really don’t want to ruin this for us, you know that, right?”

“I know. I know.” Sam rubs your back to calm you down, which always works. It probably would’ve been a bit better if Chris wasn’t hardcore staring the two of you down.

You glance up at him. “Do you mind?”

“No. No! Of course not. I love lesbians!”

“Chris!”

22:00 ; Nine hours until dawn

As the three of you make your way up to the lodge, you see a familiar figure waving at you in the distance.

“Josh!” You exclaim, running towards your close friend. You envelope him in a bear hug and his laugh is muted by the puffy hood of your jacket. “God, I haven’t seen you in forever, how have you been?”

When you release him from the hug, he spits out some of the fake fur that lined your hood. “Um…I’ve been doing well. Really missed you.” He gives you a small smirk. “How has the lady been treating you?” You punch his arm as Sam and Chris finally catch up to you.

After the two of them greet Josh, he takes Chris with him to find a way to unlock the lodge door.

“Why am I not surprised he hasn’t opened the door yet?” Sam says to you exasperated. She shivers and presses herself against your side.

You wiggle your eyebrows at her. “I can think of ways to keep you warm while we wait.”

She attempts to hide her smile behind her mitt but you notice it anyway, a small one forming on your own face. “Don’t let Josh overhear you. He’ll have a field day hearing your shitty attempts at flirting.”

You let out a fake gasp. “Me? Shitty? And I thought that we were the perfect lovers. Soulmates, even!”

“Hey!” Sam gives you a playful shove. “Stop twisting my words you little sneak!” You laugh and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s go see the others,” she tells you and extends her arm out for you to take.

“Alright, alright.”

When you make it up to the front door, you realize it’s only Matt and Ashley who are there. “Hey guys,” you say gently, unsure of how they’ll react to seeing you again.

The two of them look up and you notice the surprise in their faces. Matt is the first one to speak up.

“Tex! Hi!” He comes up to you and looks as though he’s about to engulf you in a hug before he stops. “Is this cool?” He asks, almost nervously.

You calmly smile and start to extend your arms. “Yeah.”

“So how have you been? Feels like years since we last spoke.” The two of you give each other a quick pat and then step back.

“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.” You look down ashamedly. Matt was a pretty good friend of yours, but his involvement in the prank made you hesitant to speak to him again, even though you knew he felt guilty about it. You felt even worse after hearing him sound so excited to talk with you again. “It’s been pretty good. Sam and I actually got an apartment together a couple of months back.”

His eyes widened. “No shit? That’s great! Do you think…” His voice trails off but you get at what he’s hinting at.

“Yeah, definitely.” You give a bigger smile now and can feel your cheeks heat up. “I’ll make sure you’re one of the first to find out.” You give him a knowing smirk.

“You better!” He calls out as you move to approach Ashley, who’s sitting on the front steps of the lodge’s doorway.

“Hi,” she says quietly, playing with the frayed pieces of her fingerless gloves. You knew Ashley was typically like this so you didn’t think anything of it.

“So how was seeing Chris again?” You hold out the “o” sound teasingly.

Startled, she looks up at you and you can see her face blush in embarrassment. “What are you talking about?” Her eyes shift in an obvious attempt to hide her crush.

“Ash, it’s fine. We pretty much all know about it, you don’t have to be so nervous,” you say softly.

She buries her face into her palms. “God, it’s just so embarrassing, you know? I feel like I’m being so awkward around him, I don’t know how to act.

“We’ve all been there once.” You pat her shoulder encouragingly. “I know when I first met Sam she was a complete stammering mess when talking to me. It was very cute.”

She snorts. “And you weren’t?”

“That’s a secret I’ll never tell.” You wink at her and raise a finger to your lips. She kicks you lightly for your joke.

Before you leave her alone, Ashley calls out your name gingerly. It startles you, rarely hearing yourself referred to by a name other than Tex. “It’s really nice to see you again.”

You grin. “You too, Ash.”

As Sam heads over to see the view at the bottom of the hill, you make your way around the lodge to find Josh. 

“Got a second to talk?” You ask as you find him, waiting for Chris near an open window.

“For you? All the time in the world,” he says jokingly.

“You better.” You lean against the power box placed under the window and face him. “How have you been doing?”

He lets out an irritated grunt. “I don’t want to talk about–”

“I know,” you cut in, “I didn’t mention it. I’m asking about you. It’s been a bit since we caught up.”

Josh seems surprised at your answer. “Thanks. I…really appreciate it.” He pauses in thought. “I’ve been alright. It’s definitely a lot quieter at home, but I’ve gotten into a routine. I’ve found things to ease my mind, you could say.”

“Maybe this trip will be able to help, too.”

He sends you a nod and a smile. “I sure hope so.”

You squeeze his hand. “I’m going to go check up on Sam.” Just as you reunite with your girlfriend again, the lodge door bursts open and out comes a small animal as Chris screams.

“What was it? Are you okay?” Ashley stands up from where she was sitting, concerned. “It was like a bear, or a tiger or something–”

“Aw, it was just a cute little baby wolverine!” Sam bends down with her hands on her knees, admiring the tiny animal.

You all head inside to get out of the harsh winds. The lodge, however, was freezing.

“Well that didn’t help much,” you say as you inspect the inside of the place.

“Hey, to be fair no one’s been up here. I’ll get a fire going,” Josh replies.

As you all begin to settle in, Jess comes in with Mike. Emily strolls in a little while after, rolling her eyes at them and taking a seat next to Matt on one of the couches.

Like you did with Jess before, you look down to avoid having to interact with him. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Sam giving you a warning glance. 

Mike, of course, notices your behavior right away. “What, you can’t even make eye contact with me now?” His voice raises as he calls you out. 

Jess scoffs. “She did the same thing earlier to me,” she informs him as you clench your jaw.

You wrinkle your nose and your face tightens up as you do your best to hold your tongue and not disturb the so-called peace of the room.

“Still too much of a fucking pussy to talk to me?”

He always knew just what to say to get you riled up. “Fuck you, Mike.” You stand from your seat on the couch and take long strides until you’re right in front of him, making him look up to you. “I’m not the fucking one who got my friends killed for the sake of upholding my ego.”

“At least I’m not a miserable fuck who gets too piss ass drunk to do anything right.”

“Stop it!” Josh’s yell makes the two of you pause in your bickering. “This is not why we came up here. This is not…helping. It’s not what I wanted. If we can’t get along for ten minutes then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right? Mike–why don’t you check out the guest cabin. The one I told you about.”

Mike’s hardened stare is still on you as he responds. “Fine by me.” 

“Anywhere without these losers is fine by me.” Jess chimes in. She holds onto Mike’s arm as they exit the room.

Once the two start making their way to the cabin after Josh gives them the key, he grabs your arm and tugs you aside where only Sam can hear your conversation.

“Please apologize to them.”

His request shocks you. “Right now?” He nods.

“What? But you sent them–”

“I know. But I really think you need to go talk to them privately. Especially Mike. Without any of us around to interfere.”

You throw your head back in frustration. “Look, I know I’m being irrational. I’m trying to be civil about it, Josh, I don’t want to ruin this for you. Or for anyone else.” You rub your temples. “It’s just, every time I see him, it all comes flooding back.”

You glance at him after your small rant. “Oh god, I’m being a total ass right now. If anyone should be pissed at Mike it should be you, not me.”

“You’re allowed to feel however you want. They were your friends too.” Josh’s reassuring words make your eyes tear up, but you force yourself to hold them back. You hadn’t cried since the day you found out about the twins’ disappearance, and you didn’t want to start again now.

“However, for the sake of the trip, I think it’ll be best if you make amends with him. Even if it’s temporary,” Josh pleads with you.

“Can I at least ask for an apology, too?” Josh gives you a look, and you concede with a light groan. “Alright, you win. I’m only doing it because you asked me nicely, though.”

Josh grins at you and throws his hands up in surrender. “Hey, whatever works. I’ll see you soon.” He heads back to tend to the fire, and Sam gives you a peck on the lips before you make your way outside.

“You better hurry back or you’ll miss out on a warm, relaxing bath with me,” Sam calls after you in a singsong voice.

You turn back to her and give her a crooked grin. “You know I wouldn’t miss that for the world, darlin’.” You head outside and follow after Mike and Jess, hoping you can just get this apology over with quickly.

Character Traits:   

Honest: 6/10 ↑

Charitable: 8/10 ↑

Funny: 6/10 ↓

Brave: 7/10 ↓ 

Romantic: 5/10 ↓

Curious: 3/10

Relationship Status:

Ashley: 6/10 ↑

Chris: 8/10 

Emily: 5/10  

Jess: 3/10 

Josh: 9/10 ↑

Matt: 7/10 ↑

Mike: 1/10 ↓

Sam: 10/10

Chapter One || Chapter Three

[piastrinorris]

An Unambiguous Love [10/10]: Rescue Mission

1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 :: 9 :: 10 ::

alternate AO3 link

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson x f!Reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: Your favourite customers really make it easier returning to the town you never went to school in. If only your friends at work would stop trying to play matchmaker between you.

Chapter 10 word count: 3608

A/N: And that's a wrap! I really hope you've all enjoyed reading this fic as much as I loved writing it. I have two oneshots in this universe already planned, but if there's anything in particular y'all want to see, feel free to prompt it!

The next day, you’re busy moving the oldest of the “new releases” rack to their respective aisles when you hear Jesse clear his throat behind you. “Oh, jeez!” you press your hand into your chest. “Oh, you scared me. You good?”

“Uh, yeah! I was… I was going to ask, I know you’re not in this Saturday, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang -”

You interject, “I’m sorry, Jesse, I’m just… Not in a great place right now, I wouldn’t be good company one-on-one.”

“It wouldn’t be!” Jesse replies hurriedly. “It’s… A whole bunch of us. From here. Like a staff appreciation thing. We’re closing early, everyone’s coming, it’s a whole thing. You wouldn’t need to be “good company”, you can just show up and then be a part of the group, if that makes you more comfortable.”

You sigh with relief. “You know what? Hanging out with everyone here, without work hanging over us… That might just be exactly what I need,” you nod. “Yeah.”

“Awesome!” Jesse claps. “Uh, so Saturday, at the complex, 1pm, we can go get food, watch a movie, just hang out. See you then?” 

[...]

You’re so excited to get to see all your work friends outside of work, for once. You’re rambling on about it to your brother, who tells you that he misses your other friends. He likes it when they’re here to visit. You tell him that you still do, too, but that it’s okay for you to have more than one group of friends. You still dread to think what life is going to be like with both Steve and Eddie again after kissing the two of them individually, without any inkling of which way to decide between them, if at all.

You put those thoughts away for now, though. Now, you’re going out with other friends. None of this drama has to exist around them. You guys can all just have fun and be nerdy together. Even Cameron’s been actively chatting to you about things these days. The first real conversation you’d had with him a week prior, where you'd both talked about your excitement for the next instalment of Elvira due to come in, truly made you feel like you were an instrumental part of the team.

You find a relatively central space inside of the theatre entrance and await any familiar faces. The boy that knows Nancy is here too, looking at you. It's a tad unnerving, but you try and look away, especially when he slowly reaches for the phone handset on the wall.

Jesse is the first to show. He greets you warmly, trying to pull you in for a hug. You've never really hugged him before, so you're in unfamiliar territory here, but you comply nonetheless. He's constantly trying to make small talk, which you reply with vague sounds to as you eagerly look around, getting more and more desperate as time goes on

Eventually Jesse looks at his watch. "I don’t think anybody else is coming."

You narrow your eyes. "Not even your sister? Didn't you bring her with you?"

"Hm? Oh, of course, I meant to say. She decided to spend time with friends from school instead. And come to think of it, I vaguely remember Cameron saying something about not making it either. I assume since he isn't here now either that Ralph has bailed without warning, so maybe we should just get some food, the two of us?"

"If it's all the same to you, I- I might just… Go home, like I said, I’m not great company on my own right now,” you falter.

Jesse holds your arm, “Come on, don’t sell yourself so short! Let’s at least get something to eat while we’re here, right?” he grins, almost unsettlingly.

You go to protest, but your stomach betrays you as it makes a loud rumbling sound. “Alright, we’ll get some food and that’s it, okay?”

—[ meta ]—

Nancy’s busy tidying up when Mike bangs on her bedroom door. “Pick up your phone! It’s that guy from the school paper!” he shouts through it. 

She picks up her receiver. “Fred? What’s going on?”

His tone is heavy with an arrogant smugness. “Just wanted to let you know that I was right, all along. You were setting your friend up with those two, Harrington and the freak -”

“Fred.”

“And I said, maybe you were wrong, and that there was no romantic interest there at all? Guess who’s getting cozy with another man. Hugging him closely and everything.”

"I don't… Another man? Who?"

"Do I look like Hawkins' ultimate socialite? How should I know? Either way, I think you sho- oh."

"What? What 'oh'?"

"..."

"Fred?!"

"She does not look as happy being here as he is. Keeps looking around."

"Fred. Answer me honestly. Does it look like she's in danger?"

"The guy is trying to stay in close proximity to her, but she doesn't look like she wants that."

"Fuck. Okay. I'm hanging up now. Don't do anything stupid, just… Get her some help if it looks like he's hurting her."

Nancy hangs up the phone and immediately calls Family Video.

~~~

Meanwhile, at the video store, Steve has been pacing the aisles, wanting nothing more than to talk to Robin about what happened between him and Y/N, but all six kids are around and he would rather have the ground swallow him whole than have a bunch of freshmen be his romantic counsel.

He jumps at the chance to answer the phone, "Y'ello, this is Family Vi- Oh, hey Nanc- ... Uh, I don't know, a couple of days ago, why?"

As he's asking that, Eleven pulls Dustin over to the window, points over at the comic book store and then at the clock, looking puzzled. Dustin also looks confused, adding a, "That's weird."

"What is?" Robin asks.

"Y/N told me and El on Friday we wouldn't be able to buy anything this afternoon, because the store was closing early so all the staff could go out. But it's that time now, and it doesn't look like it's closing."

Robin's face falls. "Nobody else has said anything about closing early today."

Steve's face widens in horror. He interrupts Nancy’s retelling to ask, "Nancy, did Fred say anything about who that guy could be? ... Do you happen to know of a guy named Jesse? Fuck, there's no time, shit!" He hangs up and hops over the counter. Only one thought crosses Steve's mind: I can't do this without him. On his way to the door, he calls out. "Robin! I need you to call Eddie, tell him to meet me at the theatre ASAP, immediately, right now."

Robin looks perplexed. "But you're you, surely you can handle this jerk, why do you need Eddie?"

Steve spends almost every ounce of restraint he has on thinking before he speaks. He's barely been coming to terms with his own sexuality for weeks now. The only one who might understand is standing right in front of him, but so are six teenagers, still practically children, to whom he does not exactly want to explain the complexities of his feelings of attraction. Instead, he simply looks at his best friend, panicked, and yells, "BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN LIKE CATS AND DOGS, ROBIN." before running out to his car.

The kids all look at each other, confused, before plastering themselves to the glass to watch Steve speed away. Robin, on the other hand, finally feels as though everything about this entire mess she's been meddling in now makes sense. It's never been Steve versus Eddie, vying for Y/N's affections separately. It's always been the three of them. That's when they're at their happiest. That's who they're most comfortable around. That's what the answer's been all along. Steve and Y/N and Eddie.

Quickly finding the number, Robin hurriedly dials Eddie's phone number. As soon as it stops ringing, Robin starts, "Ed, hi, no time. You need to go to the theatre, now. Y/N needs you."

"Me? Why not Steve, isn't he with you? What's the panic?"

"Not anymore, he ran out and asked me to call you. Look, Eddie… I get it, okay? Right now, Y/N needs you both. And I know Steve needs you and her, and you need the two of them, too, alright? Just… Please? For them."

"...On it."

Robin slams down the phone, and looks at the kids. "Which of you feels like reporting that creep to his manager?"

—[ end meta ]—

"Hey, hey, what's the rush? You'll make yourself unwell again, eating that quickly," Jesse chuckles. "And besides, at least now you're paying me back the time I spent covering for you, right?"

You look puzzled. "But I did extra for you on my first day back, I was only supposed to be on opening but I closed as well so that you didn't have to.”

"True, but I covered more than one shift for you, didn't I? My time is precious too, sweetheart." The pet name cuts through you like a poison-tipped blade. That word only belongs in Eddie's mouth.

Still, you carry on eating in silence, barely making eye contact with him. He still keeps trying to engage you with inane talk about work. He mentions that he heard from Cameron that you're interested in Elvira, but apparently, the House of Horrors franchise is already not to Jesse's liking, and he's subjecting you to learn how in excessive detail.

When you both finally finish eating, you hurriedly make your way out of the eatery when he takes hold of your arm, "Did you see Highlander, by the way?"

Relief washes over you, and boy, in this moment, does it feel good. "Yes! I have! I've already seen it, not 100% sure it was my kind of movie, though."

"Oh, it's my personal policy that you should see every movie twice before forming a full opinion. There's a showing in about 20 minutes," he looks at his wristwatch.

You groan, "It's nice of you to offer, and all, but I really feel like I should just go back home and rest up, y'know? Like I said, I only really felt up to being in the background of a group hangout rather than be super present -"

"So, what's the difference between sitting and watching a movie, and sitting at home? You know, I really feel like you're not giving me a chance here, I've done nothing but welcome you since the first day you started. I invited you straight into my campaign, which you left after the first arc. You talk to everyone else, my sister goes to visit you, when you've got a far more age-appropriate person to invite over standing right in front of you -"

You interject, "Tiff came over because she asked one of my friends whom she also knows to take her. She took that initiative herself."

"Oh, your friends," he sneers. "Do you mean the ones who sneak away from work to talk about you behind your back?" Your face falls. "Yeah, they all do it. Making creepy little comments about those… Boys that hang off every word you say," Jesse's tone fills with venom. "Please, what business does Steve Harrington have at a place like ours? You know how many women he goes through? And then he thinks he's got free control of the market in our store, the one place I might find somebody worth talking to. And when I finally do, of course he shows up. And Munson? That freak? What could he possibly off- Oh," you don't like the sound of that. "He's using his drug supply on you, isn't he?!"

"You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Jesse. I'm leaving," you turn to walk away, but he grabs your wrist with more force, pulling you towards him.

"No! I deserve just as much of a fair shot as anyone, especially those two. You at least owe me that mu- AUGH!" 

The next five seconds happen so quickly you can barely register them. Two arms clad in leather wrap over you, holding you tightly as someone with a perfect mop of hair tackles Jesse to the ground. You hear the familiar dulcet tones of Eddie soothing you quietly in your ear. He starts leading you backwards as Steve stands up from the floor, brushing himself down and looking over at you both with a reassuring smile.

Jesse soon stands up as well, shouting, "What the hell is your problem, Harrington?"

"My problem," Steve illustrates every point of emphasis with a shove into Jesse's chest, "is that you, think you're owed the world, because you tell people you're nice while being the most obnoxious asshole around."

“Oh, come on, Harrington, be a man, won’t you? You know you want to punch me,” Jesse sneers.

Steve scoffs, “What, so you can go running to your boss, and tell him you weren’t to blame, that Y/N is, and get her fired, just because a weasel like you can’t take no for an answer? Please.” He grabs Jesse by the front of his shirt, and pulls it up high, leaning in close enough for their noses to almost touch, as he growls, “You’re going to leave now. You’re either going to tell your boss that you can’t work any more shifts with Y/N, or that you’re going to quit outright. Or else things are not going to be pretty for you. Got it?” He drops Jesse, who collapses onto the floor. You hide a giggle behind your fist, and lean into Eddie, who wraps an arm around you and slides his fingers into your hair comfortingly.

Steve turns to see you both, and he smiles warmly at the sight as he approaches you both. As he’s walking towards you, Jesse stands and yells, “Still too chicken to fight after all these years, Harrington?! C’mon, why not try and give your daddy something he can be proud of you for, for once?”

You feel yourself getting angry over that, but it’s nothing compared to what you see from Eddie. You feel him tense beneath you, and you look up to see him seething. His fingers start to curl up until he realises he’s still embracing you. He looks down and softens his grip, trying to look reassuringly at you, but you put a hand on his chest and look defiantly up at Eddie. “Hey,” you whisper up at him. “Just… Do it. Kick his ass.”

Eddie kisses your forehead before walking off, placing a hand on Steve’s stomach briefly as he walks past him. You reach out to Steve to pull him towards you, hugging him closely. You both watch on as Eddie marches over to Jesse, moving the rings from his left hand onto his right and forming a fist. “Oh, so she’s leading you on as well, is she, freak? Maybe I ought to back off, who wants a sl-”

The next moment happens in slow motion. You watch every single one of Eddie’s rings dig into the side of Jesse’s face, dragging his skin with them as his arm swings in front of him and his fist collides with Jesse’s cheek. You watch his skin tear as a bruise already starts to form below his eye.

A security guard strides over to drag Jesse back by his jacket. “Alright, alright, let’s get you kids out of here.”

“Didn’t you see! That guy attacked me!” Jesse shouts, pointing over at Eddie.

“I saw you try and restrain this poor young woman first,” the guard points out. Steve opens his mouth, looking both shocked and offended, most likely at how the guard must have noticed but still didn’t intervene. Not wanting to cause any further drama, you hold Steve back and wave at Eddie to get his attention and call him over. He joins you, and the three of you embrace for a while, completely ignoring the amount of eyes that are on you.

Eventually, Steve pipes up, “We should, uh, we should get outta here. We should get you home safe.”

You pull back to finally notice what he’s wearing. “Oh my god, are you meant to be working right now?!”

He waves off, “Eh, that’s not important. Robin’s got it all under control over there.”

“M-maybe we should all go, to my work,” you look between him and Eddie. “Explain to Cameron what happened before he can twist things."

Eddie frowns, "I'm sure we can just do that over the phone, sweetheart. I'm with Steve, I think we need to get you back to your own place."

Your face contorts a little, and both boys look at you with concerned confusion. A hint of amusement laces your tone as you admit, "I know it's probably less safe for Eddie to leave his van unattended, but I'm not sure I can stomach finally experiencing his driving for the first time."

"I'm not bad!" he frowns, to the tune of yours and Steve's laughter. "Fine. I'll be the most careful driver you've ever seen. Promise."

True to his word, he drives at the limit, stops at every sign, constantly looks over to check on you both. But, as you're learning, it's not necessarily the way Eddie drives that causes unrest in his passengers. Between his poor suspension, less-than-padded seating and the seatbelts either not locking at all or pinning you to the back of the seat, even the most careful driving has made for a pretty meagre experience. Eddie has a hand on your knee the whole drive, as Steve holds your hand. The feeling of safety that brings you almost outweighs your discomfort. Almost.

When you get back, you quickly glance into your living room to greet your family, who are busy teaching your brother. The boys also poke their heads in to wave to them, an extra sentiment you appreciate. Eddie leads you up the stairs, with Steve following close behind, though not before Marvin snakes his way past all your feet, nearly tripping Steve up in the process. "See, I told you! He's trying to kill me!" You simply laugh him off as you get to your room.

Eddie holds the door open, but you stand in the doorway, arms crossed. "Doesn't it make it easier if the middle person gets on the bed first, or have you forsaken your dib-" Laughter consumes your last word as Eddie quickly yanks off his jacket, throws it aimlessly and launches himself onto your bed.

The three of you arrange yourselves, Steve spooning Eddie but with his arm snaked beneath the two of you, you laying with your head on Eddie's chest and arm outstretched over him to hold Steve's hand. Even Marvin finds himself a spot to sleep in. In this moment, you experience nothing but genuine comfort and happiness. This is what you were seeking all along. You look over at Steve, who’s just constantly looking back and forth between you both with pure joy in his eyes. You look up at Eddie, whose eyes are closed but has the most genuine and content smile on his face. Though you’ve not said it, it’s clear in this moment: the three of you are all madly in love, and it may never make sense to anyone else, but it makes sense to you.

When you next make eye contact with Steve, you beckon him over, raising your eyebrows in offering. Gleefully, he leans over Eddie’s torso to kiss you, and you once again feel his smile against your lips as he kisses you once, twice, three times. A small whine from Eddie, who’s just realised what you two are up to, pulls you both away to lean up and start showering the corners of Eddie’s mouth and his cheeks with quick little pecks, causing him to grin against the two of you. 

You spend the rest of your evening together: Eddie shows Steve some of your D&D books as they try and conceptualise a character to go alongside the ones you’d designed for those two - you’re not sure what charms you more, Steve’s constant ability to only grasp about 60% of every concept, or Eddie’s patience with him despite him practically chewing through his own knuckles; Steve once again flicks through your “personal highlights” VHS collection, stopping at random times elected by Eddie to pick one out at a time and critique it, usually ending in a heated debate between the two of you; you start reading The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy aloud to them as they listen intently - sat as always, Steve sprawled on his side as Eddie lays on his stomach and keeps kicking his feet up in the air - while both looking at you with nothing but adoration. You keep telling them off for distracting you, but it falls on deaf ears.

You even get a phone call from Cameron while he’s at work, checking in on you, apologising profusely and reassuring you that Jesse will never set foot in the store again. He tells you that he hopes you’ll still feel comfortable working there, but that he understands if you can’t. You tell him you’ll see him tomorrow.

Your parents eventually call the three of you down for dinner, and even around your family, the boys just… Fit. Everything fits. Sure, there’s plenty of other complications that come with dating two people who are also dating each other - far more for Steve and Eddie, specifically. But as long as you’ve got your boys, and they’ve got you, everything is as it should be.

[ahsokryze]

Hi, what about “oh no: [character] gets sick at the worst possible moment.” with Anakin and Ahsoka? Thanks in advance!

thanks for the prompt! // prompts now closed

oh no: Ahsoka gets sick at the worst possible moment.

~ ~ ~

Ahsoka hadn’t been feeling that great all morning. She had tried to push through it, knowing that she would probably feel fine once she was heading into the heat of battle.

But now that she was standing in a crowded gunship next to her Master, being shaken left and right by the turbulent motions of the transport vehicle, Ahsoka realised just how wrong she had been.

Her head throbbed as the gunship continued to sway from left to right, her stomach was turning, and her whole body felt so achy that her trembling legs barely had the strength to keep herself upright.

She internally cringed. This was literally the worst timing possible for this.

The gunship swayed to the right, causing Ahsoka to bump right into her Master’s side.

“Woah there, you okay, Snips?”

Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. Ahsoka released a breath, looked up at his face. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling.

“Ahsoka?” Anakin whispered after a moment, furrowing his brows in concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Ahsoka closed her eyes, bracing herself. Great timing, Tano. Great timing…

“Master... I…” she started. But then she was shaking her head, wrapping her arms around herself. Her lip wobbled, she tried to bite it.

“I...”

But that wasn't enough.

A miserable sob escaped her lips. Anakin gently pulled her over to the side, kneeled in front of her. She let it all out, told him about how she hadn’t been feeling well this morning and how she thought she would be fine, but now she isn’t—she really isn’t—and she knows this is the worst timing possible for this sort of thing, but there’s nothing else she could do—

“Hey—shh, it’s alright, Ahsoka,” Anakin said, giving her a comforting smile as he wiped her tears from her cheeks with his thumb. Ahsoka’s breath stuttered. He took hold of her shoulders. “Let’s just take a moment to breathe, okay?”

Ahsoka nodded, releasing a breath.

“Focus on my breaths.”

Anakin began to slowly breathe in, and out. She did her best to follow him, trying to match her breaths with his, until eventually their breathing was synchronised.

“That’s it, Ahsoka. Just breathe…”

Now that she had managed to calm down, Anakin met her eyes, gently rubbed her shoulder.

“Okay,” he said. “Snips, if you really think that you won’t be able to fight right now, then you can stay behind on the gunship when we land and i’ll tell Judd and Dash to fly you back to the cruiser once all of the men are out.”

Ahsoka looked to the floor, faintly nodded her head as she chewed on her lip.

“I don’t want you to fight if you’re feeling awful like this,” he continued. “It would only be more dangerous. I don’t want to risk that.”

Anakin lifted her chin with his finger to meet her eyes again.

“Snips?”

Ahsoka gave him a pointed nod.

“That sound okay?”

She nodded again with a sniff. “Mmhm.”

“Okay,” he said, giving her a sympathetic smile. “It’s settled then.”

Suddenly, the gunship swayed to the left, causing Ahsoka to stumble right into Anakin. He reached out to steady themselves, placed one hand on the floor as he caught her in his lap.

“Woah—got you.”

As soon as they were steady again, Anakin helped her up, stood to his own feet again. Multiple arms reached out to help them.

“Are you alright, sirs?”

“Yes, we’re fine, Jesse. Thank you.”

“Just making sure, sir.”

As Anakin gave the clone a nod, Ahsoka let herself bump against her Master’s side, let out a miserable sigh. She really felt awful.

Anakin reached for her forehead.

“Snips?” he said, pulling back. “Once you get back to the cruiser, I want you to go straight to medical, alright. Let the medics check you out.”

Biting her lip, Ahsoka nodded.

“You’ll do that?”

She nodded again. Anakin let out a breath of relief.

“Great,” he said. Then, gently rubbing her shoulder, he added, “Will you be okay to wait here for a minute while I go talk to the pilots?”

Ahsoka chewed her lip, gave him a nod.

“Good.” Anakin patted her shoulder, turned to move away—but before he did so, he met her eyes.

“Hey, it's going to be okay, Ahsoka,” he whispered. “It's going to be alright.”

~ ~ ~

[rothjuje]

So much has happened since my last post. Alyssa started kindergarten! She absolutely loves it. Gen is pretty pissed though that Alyssa gets to leave and she has to stay home. Once George starts preschool in October we’ll have some fun adventures/one-on-one which I think she desperately needs.

We got the new roof! After lots of debate we went with Estate Grey. Justin and my parents wanted black, I wanted something better for the environment and more neutral. We wish we would have gone with the black though because it looks the same as our last roof, much lighter than we had anticipated. Whatever. It’s just a roof. And in align with the rest of this move, it ended up being more expensive than quoted because seven of the boards were rotted underneath. Glad it’s done, glad we had the budget to do it.

What else? The girls started dance. Jess the neighbor has become my best friend and I would be an insane person without her. Seriously. I must have manifested our friendship. And this town. And my plants. Very very happy, just mentally recovering from the absolute hell that was April-July.

The twins turn 3 a month from tomorrow. I am having a lot of feelings about it. Three is the age where children leave the baby/toddler stage and enter the kid stage. It also has significance in Jewish culture, it is a stage of new maturity. Also in Jewish tradition, children have their first haircut at age 3. I’ve discussed if we were going to leave George’s hair long, chop it off, or let him choose. Because we are Jewish, I would at least trim it at age 3 for tradition. But because he is still preverbal, I have to guess whether he would want it long or short. George has some sensory stuff and hates the feeling of the hair brush, his hair being washed/styled, and it getting in his eyes. Sometimes he will get frustrated and start slapping it away from his eyes. I feel like I have to explain this because I know some people are going to be upset when we cut it short enough to be above his eyebrows. Of course he can grow it out later if he wants it long, I just want him to be in control of that decision and for now I am making the decision based on what I think he would choose.

My mom came to visit and we did some fun things but I was also a grouch. When I was hospitalized while pregnant with the twins, and then endured the trauma that is watching your 2 pound baby struggle to breathe for 3 nerve-racking months, I needed some time to come back to my normal self after. And that’s where I’m at right now. The move was so stressful. Stressful on all three of my children, stressful on my marriage, stressful financially. Carrying the mental load of a household relocating to a different time zone and a completely different culture was a lot on my anxious soul and I feel a little broken. I’ve been crying more than usual and it feels good, like a much-needed release. I just need to be still and recover for a bit before I can be back to my normal self, before I can be the fun, patient person I used to be. I’m getting there, but I’m not all the way there yet.

Exhale. The routine of Alyssa being back in school is delicious and grounding. Earlier bed times have been healing for everyone. My TX neighbor is coming to visit next week and she is so calming and so good with the kids. After she leaves it will be a crazy week replacing most of the flooring in the house. And then it will be October. We’ll have lots of visitors then and George will start school and then November will be still, quiet. Major house stuff done. No visitors planned. No birthdays. Just settling in.

I think I’ve figured out how to get George to sleep. The magnesium lotion DOES help, glad I stuck with it. And you guys were right, that was way too much melatonin for him, .25 mg is what he needs to stay asleep but any more than that and he is hungover the next day. He has slept through the night 4 nights out of the past 7 and it honestly is such a relief. Not just because we all desperately needed sleep, but because I was so worried about how sleep deprivation would affect his development and how he would be able to function at school. It seems like such a simple thing but between Gen and George I did not get to sleep through the night for 3.5 years (couldn’t sleep well while pregnant). That is a really, really long time to feel sleep deprived.

So. Things are good. I am feeling more okayish. Never moving again though..

[hotch-stufff]

I Promise to Never Let You Go

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings!: kissing, crying(happy tears), fluff, wedding, Jack being the cutest best man, but literally all fluff. In the flashbacks though. There are mentions of kidnapping, arguing, kissing, but mostly fluff in those too

Description: Yours and Aaron's wedding :)

A/n: I was in the mood to write something fluffy, so I figured why not go with a wedding. I absolutely love writing soft Hotch.

*italics are flashbacks*

-Masterlist-

--------------

Your heart beat out of your chest. 

Your gown fluttered around your feet as you moved forward to wait for him.

You stood hesitantly before the door, you knew he would look amazing. You knew he would be standing there wearing that soft smile.

You pushed open the door and walked to him. He heard you coming and when you reached him you tapped his shoulder. He began turning slowly, and his breath hitched when he looked at you.

A tear filled his eye as he stared at awe at your floor length dress that fit you perfectly. He looked from the soft fabric of your viel to the uncomfortable heels he knew you would ditch the first chance you got.

He looked at your engagement ring, holding your hand in his. His eyes shifted to your lips, the sparkling pink gloss that adorned them. And then finally he looked deep into your eyes.

"You, you are breathtaking." He breathed. His voice was softer than you had ever heard it before. You smiled at him.

"And you, Mr. Hotchner, are so wonderfully handsome." He blushed at your words, he always did when you complimented him. He leaned towards you, pressing his forehead against your own.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked, as he cupped your face, rubbing his thumb soothingly against your cheek. You placed your hand on his, and smiled. You were more than ready.

"So ready." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose.

"See you out there." He whispered, pulling away.

First kiss

"Thanks for the ride, Hotch." He looked over at you, smiling softly.

"Of course Y/l/n. Anytime." The car filled with awkward silence as you two sat there. But your eye contact never broke. It didn't even waver. You felt yourself leaning in slightly, but he turned away.

"Goodnight Y/l/n." His voice was hoarse and full of emotion. 

"Um, goodnight Hotch." You unbunckled your seat belt and slid out of the car, shutting the door behind you. 

Why were you filled with such a sense of disappointment? What were you expecting?

He watched you as you walked through your door, and he waited until you turned out the lights.

He should have kissed you. 

But he didn't know how you felt.

He couldn't see you peeking out your window, thinking the same thoughts.

He should have kissed you.

He turned off the car, ran through the yard, stepped on your front porch.

Before he could knock, you turned on the light, and opened the front door.

And he kissed you.

And now that he kissed you, he never wanted to stop.

The guests were waiting, and Aaron stood at the end of the aisle. His son stood next to him, and he glanced up at his dad. 

"Daddy?" Aaron bent down so he could be eye level with his son.

"What's up buddy?" He asked. Smiling at the boys crooked tie in his mini suit.

"Can, can I call Miss Y/n mama now? Cause you guys will be married?" The innocence of his son made Hotch's heart swell.

"Are you sure bud?" He nodded quickly.

"Yeah, mommy will always be mommy. But now I can have a mama too!" He was practically jumping up and down with excitement. 

"Of course Jack. If that's what you want." Hotch smiled before standing back up.

"Thanks daddy!" He wrapped his little arms around Hotch's legs, before standing back in his spot.

Meeting Jack

"Are you sure he will like me?" You asked, nervousness filling your voice. You were meeting Jack for the first time and you were terrified.

"Absolutely. He will love you, I promise." He squeezed your hand as he pulled into his driveway. "Are you ready?"

"I guess." Your voice shook as you stepped out of the car, and walked to Hotch's front door. He unlocked it and walked inside. 

"Hey Jess." He greeted the woman in the kitchen before going off to find his son.

"You must be Y/n!" Jess walks over and introduces herself.

"Yeah, that's me. It's so nice to meet you!" You went to shake her hand, but she quickly brought you into a hug.

"Jack is so excited to meet you." She says, which calms you immensely. 

"Really?" She nodded, and smiled softly at you. You were both quiet for a few moments before she spoke up again. "Thank you." You look at her confused. 

"What for?" You weren't expecting her next words.

"I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. So just, thank you." You smiled and looked down. Before you could say anything else, a little boy, the spitting image of Hotch, stood in the doorway. You looked over and walked towards the boy.

"Hi Jack. I'm Y/n." He squinted at you and looked you up and down. You began to grow nervous as your boyfriend walked up behind his son.

"Jack?" He asked, worried his son was upset.

"Spiderman or Batman?" He asked, still squinting. You held back a smile and a serious look adorned your face.

"Spiderman obviously." You say and Jack is quick to smile.

"Me too! I love Spiderman." Jack walked forward and grabbed your hand, going on and on about all his Spiderman toys as he led you to his toy room. Hotch smiled as he watched you, and his heart was overfilled with joy.

"Don't let her go Aaron." Jess whispers once Jack drags you out of earshot.

He just smiled and shook his head.

"I don't plan on it." And he walks back the hall to join you two.

The music starts and the people grow quiet. 

The doors open slowly, and the flower girl, one of your nieces, begins making her way down the aisle. Behind her is Henry, carrying the rings.

Hotch takes a deep breath before the bridesmaids begin emerging.

Each one wearing a different dress in the same color. Emily, and then Penelope, and then Jj.

The music changes and Hotch's heart stops.

He may have already seen you, but you look even more beautiful as you walk down the aisle. Your father holds on to your arm, whispering how happy for you he is the whole way.

But you can't take your eyes off of Aaron.

This was it.

You reach the end of the aisle, and your dad kisses your cheek gently.

He turned to Aaron.

"If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you." He threatened, an edge of humor in his voice.

"Yes sir. But I promise you, I won't ever hurt her." Was Aaron's response and you fell a little more in love with him.

You turned towards him, and he mouthed an i love you before the priest began speaking.

"We are gathered here today…"

First 'I love you'

His heart was bursting from his chest as he looked at the fear in your eyes. He wanted to look away. Because the fear scared him beyond believe, but he couldn't. Because if he looked away, he would see the gun pointed at your head, and the arm wrapped around your throat.

"Please." You begged. It had been 3 days since your disappearance. 3 long, insufferable days. 

They had finally found you, but this unsub was not giving in that easily.

"Shut up." He growled in your ear and you whimpered as his hold on your throat tightened.

"Just let her go." Aaron tried talking him down. "We don't want to hurt you, we just need you to let her go." He thought he was convincing, he thought he had you in his grasp.

But the unsub surprised everyone by turning his gun on Hotch. He waited a minute and then shot him. He fell back and hit the ground hard.

"No!" Your broken scream ripped through the air as the unsub released you. Derek shot him and you scrambled over to Aaron.

"Aaron, Aaron are you okay? Where is it?" You searched desperately for the wound, but didn't find one. You finally found the point of impact and it was just on his vest. You sighed in relief and your body sagged.

"It hit my vest. It just, knocked the wind out of me." He muttered, breathing heavily on the ground. He slowly stood up and you did as well. Before you could say anything else, he brought you into a bone crushing hug.

"I love you." Your voice wavered as you began sobbing into his chest. Neither of you had said those words yet, but you supposed it was time. He pulled you closer, if that was possible, and stroked your hair soothingly.

"I love you too sweetheart." He murmured. 

"About time!" Morgan yells across the room, and everyone chuckles.

You giggle softly and stare up at the love of your life.

"Well, I guess the secrets out." He says, his voice void of any sternness and a soft smile resting on his face. 

"Yeah." You muttered softly before lifting on your toes and kissing him desperately. 

"I have been told that the couple have prepared their own vows." The priest's voice booms from beside you. 

"Aaron?" Aaron pulls out his paper from his pocket, and stares deep into your eyes. He takes a deep breath before beginning. 

"Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n, I love you. It took me a long time to realize and an even longer time to say it. But I do, I really love you. More than I have loved in my life. I remember the first time I had realized. We were on the plane and I was exhausted, refusing to sleep though. You stood up, only being on the team for about 4 months, and you walked to the kitchen. You came back with a cup of tea and you stole my file." People chuckled and you smiled at the memory.

"You told me, 'Hotch, if you don't sleep, I will throw you off this plane.' I thought you were kidding, but you had that look in your eyes, that little sparkle that I have come to love. And I just, I couldn't deny you anything. So I fell asleep and I woke up to all of my files being done.

I got home in time to tuck my son in that night. And, and I have never been more grateful for a person in my life Y/n. That was the moment I fell for you.

I fell faster than I have ever fallen in my life. You complete me. You are the missing piece that I have been looking for. And in this dark dark world we live in, you are the light that leads me through the days. I don't know where I would be, had I not met you.

I hope you know how much I love you. And how much my son loves you."

"I love you more than spiderman!" Jack yells from beside his dad and you let out a watery chuckle at his little outburst.

"More than Spiderman? Wow." Hotch responds as he continues, tears appearing in his eyes.

"You are incredible Y/n. And I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. You're it for me. I love you, forever. And I promise to never let you go. For as long as I may live." His voice was so full of emotion by the end of his speech that he had to take a moment to calm down before slipping your ring onto your finger.

"Y/n?" The priest asks you next.

You reach behind you and JJ hands you your vows. You open the paper and try to calm your breathing before you start.

"Aaron Christopher Hotchner, I love you. I feel like I haven't said those words enough. I love you more than anything in this world. You are the most incredible person that I know. You do so much for me and for Jack, and you make me complete.

It took me so long to finally break down those walls of yours, but I am so glad that I did. Because now, now I have the most amazing man in the world. Now I get to spend the rest of my life telling you how much I love you.

I still remember the first time we said those words. I don't think I could forget. You scared me so much and I was so worried I would never get this moment with you. 

But we're here, we made it through everything life has thrown at us. And I have no doubt that we will survive everything that life throws at us in the future. I will always be here, I will be here to fill your coffee, to hold you when you need to be held. To put a smile on your face if you need a light. I love you Aaron Hotchner." You stopped and bent down so you were eye level with Jack.

"And Jack, I love you little man. I always will, I promise." He leans forward and gives you a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too mama." Your heart just about stops as you stand back up, tears filling your eyes. You look at Aaron and he is no better.

"I love you Aaron, and I promise to never let you go. For as long as I may live." You finish your vows and hold back a sob. You're just so damn happy with this man in front of you.

You slip his ring on his finger, and his hands grip your own as the priest continues. 

First Fight and Moving in Together

"Okay, what about a blue color?" You asked as you scanned the different paint shades. This was more difficult than you both had anticipated.

"What about grey?" He asked.

"Grey? That's too.. gloomy." You giggled at his furrowed brow.

"Gloomy?" His voice grew softer at your giggling. "Alright fine, how about a soft green." He suggested.

"Okay, now we're talking" you reached over and grabbed a grayish green and held it up for him to see. 

"I like it. It will look great with my couch." He says.

"Your couch? I thought we were keeping my couch?" You two really needed to sort out all the details. He had recently asked you to move in with him, and you were trying to pick out a paint color for the living room. 

"No, we are keeping your side table, not your couch." He muttered. 

"Fine, fine. But we are keeping my shelf right?" He looks bewildered for a moment.

"Where would we put it?" He asks. Honestly this was getting kind of frustrating. 

"I don't know. Okay, what about my chair?" He sighed tiredly. 

"Y/n, there isn't any space for it." You shook your head.

"Aaron, you can't expect me to just get rid of all my stuff." You stated. He heard the frustration in your voice, but continued anyway.

"Why not? The stuff in my place is fine." This probably wasn't the best place to have this conversation.

"Because Aaron, then we would just be living with your stuff. It wouldn't be our place, it would still be your place. Besides, my stuff is important to me. I cannot believe you think I should just get rid of all of it" You were beyond frustrated with the man in front of you.

"Sweetheart-" but you cut him off.

"You know what, it's been a long day, let's just head home." Maybe you were being dramatic, but he can't just expect you to get rid of everything.

The car ride was silent the entire way back to his house. Only when you pulled into the driveway did you realize it wasn't his house at all, it was yours.

"What are we doing here?" You asked.

"Lets go pick out some stuff for the house okay? For our house. I'm sure we can compromise on a few things. Your couch can even go into my office." He was trying really hard and you felt bad for being so stupid and dramatic. 

"I'm sorry. Thank you Aaron." You leaned over the console and kissed him. 

"I'm sorry too sweetheart. I love you." He whispered against your mouth. You pulled back to admire him.

"I love you too."

"Do you, Aaron Hotchner, take Y/n Y/l/n, to be your lawfully wedded wife, for as long as you both shall live?" Aaron squeezed your hands and looked deep into your eyes.

"I do." He spoke softly.

"And do you, Y/n Y/l/n, take Aaron Hotchner to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?" 

"I do." A tear slipped down your cheek as your face began to ache from smiling so much.

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." Aaron cupped your cheeks before bringing you in for the best kiss you had ever shared.

He moved his hands down to your waist before picking you up and spinning you. You giggled as he went to set you down but instead slipped his arm under your legs and carried you out of the reception. You laughed as you guests cheered.

"That was a bit of a dramatic exit Mr. Hotchner." You say, teasing him.

"Only the most dramatic for you, Mrs. Hotchner." You smiled at the name.

"I love you." You murmured.

"I love you too sweetheart." And his lips found yours once again.

Proposal

"Seriously Aaron, where are we going?" You giggled as he dragged you further down the path. He had been increasingly suspicious the last few days. You weren't entirely sure what was going on, but the goofy smile he was wearing right now distracted you from your thoughts.

"My god woman, you are so impatient." He laughed and walked a little further past an opening in the branches. "We're here." He shoved you forward slightly and you gasped at the bueaty of the scene.

The view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking. But to add to it all, the white ros petals spread across the ground made it that much more beautiful.

"Aaron what is all this?" You asked, spinning around to see him. Your voice caught in your throat and you gasped once again.

He was down on one knee, as he pulled a small box from his pocket.

"Aaron…" your voice was quiet as you stepped towards him. He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring with silver swirls surrounding it. 

"Y/n, I love more than words can express. You make me unbelievably happy, and I can't imagine my life without you." You couldn't contain your tears as he continued, taking your hand in his own. "Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and marry me?" His voice was so full of emotion and you nodded.

"Yes, yes of course I will." He stood in front of you and slipped the ring on your finger before bringing you into a desperate kiss.

"I love you so much Aaron." You said once he pulled away. He gently moved a piece of your hair behind your ear before softly kissing you again.

"I love you too. So damn much." He murmured back against your lips.

"It's time for the official first dance of Mr. And Mrs. Hotchner." Rossi announced as everyone cleared the dance floor. You both made your way over and you smiled up at your husband. 

The soft melody of Amazed plays over the speakers as he takes your hand. 

He spins you and brings you close, before settling his hand on your waist and the other holding your hand tightly in his own.

He begins to spin you around the dance floor as he sings the words softly to you.

"I'm so in love with you." You smile at the man in front of you. "I wanna spend the rest of my life, with you by my side, forever and ever." He sings the words in your ear and you rock back and forth. He pulls you impossibly closer and pulls his head back only to lean in and kiss you. 

"Baby. I'm amazed by you." He whispers as the song dies out. Everyone begins clapping as you admire his beautiful face.

"You, you are amazing, my love." Your voice breaks slightly at the emotional situation. 

He smiles one of those breathtaking smiles.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and Jack. A family." He murmurs into your hair as he pulls you close again.

"Me too." You pause, unsure if this is the right time to tell him. "But, we may have to add someone to that list." You say. He looks confused for a moment before the realization crosses his face. 

"You're…?" He trails off and you nodded, another smile making its way to your face. 

"Honey, thats, thats…" he can't even finish the sentence, he just pulls you in for another kiss.

"God, I'm so in love with you." He says.

"I love you too Aaron." And you continued your dance, even happier than before.

<3 <3 <3

--------------

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you all liked it. Also I am starting a tag list. If you would like to be included, just message me and I will add you! Also just let me know who you want to be tagged for.

Hope you all enjoyed!

*Images from Google and ssahotchnerxx, but mood board is mine*

[slasherhaven]

Hi! I have too many exams soon soo may i please get a hc for what would slashers do when their collage student s/o got very very stressed about exam and study for DAYS without sleep and got big dark circles and she always looks like she is about to cry. And maybe they worried about her health. Thank you, ily💖💖

Aw man, I feel ya. Hope you get the grades you want!!!

The Slashers with a collage student S/O who is stressed about exams:

Thomas Hewitt 

Thomas knows what it’s like to be overworked and exhausted but he hates seeing you like that.

He feels a little hopeless with helping you study, not really sure how he can help.

But he is determined to make sure you look after yourself.

He’ll make sure you eat, not leaving you alone until you do. He’ll make sure you sleep, carrying you to bed if he has too. He will also insist on take a walk outside, thinking you need a break and that some fresh air might be some help.

And when he comes to check on you, seeing you about ready to cry, Thomas just scoops you up in his arms, insisting that you take a break and just cuddle with him for a bit. You need it. 

Michael Myers 

At first, he doesn’t really think about it. It’s your business. He has no interest in your studies.

However...when something is clearly bothering you this much...well, then Michael starts to pay attention to it.

He can’t really help you. Both because he wouldn’t really know how too and because he’d get bored.

But he will drag you away from your work and force you to take breaks. And he will spend that time with you, knowing that you would just go back to working yourself to death if he didn’t.

Jason Voorhees 

Normally he likes watching you when your busy. Whether you’re studying or just reading, he likes the cute look of concentration on your face.

But this was different. You didn’t look content in your concentration, you looked stressed. Very stressed...and he didn’t like that at all.

He let it be at first, understanding that what you were doing was important, and just stayed silently concerned.

That is, until you started to become outwardly frustrated, tears welling in your eyes. That’s when he’s going to intervene.

Jason will approach you, gently pushing the work away from you, telling you that you need to get some rest. To relax before continuing.

Even if you protest, he’ll insist. Going for a walk in the woods to give you some fresh air, or just cuddling up together until you fall asleep. 

He understands that this is important to you but you need to take care of yourself first.

Brahms Heelshire 

Brahms had been avoiding you a little bit recently, mostly because you always seemed so stressed and it was worrying him. 

At some point you had snapped at him, telling him that you just needed some peace and quiet to get some work done. You had apologised instantly and Brahms wasn’t mad.

But he was getting more and more worried. You weren’t eating regularly (and for once he wasn’t only bothered because of his own sake), and you weren’t sleeping enough, staying up all night, working. He missed cuddling up to you in bed but the dark circles under your eyes was what really concerned him.

He snapped when he saw the tears of frustration welling up in your eyes. That’s it! You’re taking a break!

He’d force you to go on a walk with him in the garden, to eat a proper meal, and to get some well earned rest.

He can’t really help you study, he’d probably just get in the way but he cares about your wellbeing!

Bo Sinclair 

It probably depends on whatever it is that you’re studying but when Bo does try to help, he refuses to admit that he has no idea what this means. Well, you must be smarter than him because holy crap, he doesn’t even know how to help.

His concern about your wellbeing and metal state starts off kind of passive with comments like “you should probably take a break or something” and “you ever going to go to sleep?”

Eventually, when you look like you’re about to cry, he will be more active about helping you. Closing your laptop or book, taking the pen out of your hand and ordering you into the bedroom. You need to take a break and get some rest.

Is still all grumpy when he lays on the bed and pulls you into his arms, letting you cuddle up to him and release a shaky breath.

Take a break and come back to it later, once you’ve got some sleep.

Vincent Sinclair 

When he’s not busy, Vincent usually sits with you while you’re studying. Always willing to lend an ear if you need to talk through something.

Normally he will busy himself with something while you work, so that he doesn’t disturb you.

This time was no different.

When you huffed, muttering harshly to yourself, Vincent looked over at you in concern.

As soon as he sees the tears in your eyes, Vincent is stopping whatever he is doing to check on you. 

He’s pushing the work away from you, asking you to just take a break. It’s difficult to fight him when he looks so worried about you. Vincent will just guide you up to the top of the bed and cuddle with you, smiling to himself when you finally fall asleep. He’s sure it’s been almost a week since you got a proper night’s sleep.

Lester Sinclair 

God, if he could help you study, he would. But looking at this stuff just makes him feel kind of dumb, but that doesn’t seem to bother him too much. He’s always telling you how smart you are though, so he really hopes that you don’t feel that way about yourself.

He’ll do whatever he can to support you and help you in whatever way he can though.

He is concerned about how stressed you are, suggesting that you should take a break and go back to it later.

But he doesn’t get forceful until he sees the tears. Then he is wrapping his arms around you and pleading with you to just get some rest before you burn out completely.

Bubba Sawyer 

Studying is stressful enough. Studying in the Sawyer household? It’s near impossible.

Drayton is usually shouting about something, wanting you to do some sort of chore. Nubbins and ChopTop are always running around, playing music loud, or just causing some sort of trouble. And if you ask any of them to quieten down, they just ask why you bother studying anyway. What’s the point!?! They don’t understand.

Bubba is the only considerate one, encouraging you and trying to keep it quiet for you.

But he gets so worried about you, watching you work yourself into exhaustion. He hates it. Lot’s of concerned babbling and whines.

When he sees that you’re about to just start crying, he quickly pulls you into a hug, stroking your hair and letting you get it all out. It’s then that he decides that you’re taking a break right this second. You can carry on tomorrow, right now you need something to eat and some proper sleep. No arguments. Bubba can be stern when he wants to be, when it comes to your wellbeing.

Billy Lenz 

Billy isn’t much help with actually studying. He’s probably going to get bored or just get in the way more than anything. His absolute feral, chaotic energy is not exactly what you need when you’re trying to concentrate.

But if you need to talk yourself through something that you don’t fully understand, he will listen and nod along, even if he has no idea what you’re talking about.

When he starts to get concern, he just kind of watches you silently with a small frown. He knows that something isn’t right.

When he realises just how stressed you are, that you’re close to crying, you’re going to get a whole lot of cuddles. He doesn’t like that there isn’t much he can do but he can distract you for a moment! And make sure you take a break and get some rest.

Asa Emory (The Collector) 

Ah yeah, he’s been there. While he was probably the time to fly through his studies, perfectly organised and acing everything he did, he does not how much stress exams can put on you.

He is the best person to go to for help. He’ll help you set up a study schedule, give you tips, help you study. This is one of the few things that he doesn’t instantly take control of, he just wants to help.

He doesn’t like that you’re not looking after yourself but he does love your determination to do your absolute best.

He’ll just force you to go to bed, reminding you that you can’t study effectively if you’re running on no sleep. You’ll do better if you get enough rest and look after yourself. 

Jesse Cromeans (Chromeskull)

He won’t plan any trips around this time, you need him here...or you’re just not going to look after yourself properly.

He notices that you’re not sleeping properly instantly but forces you to get some sleep when the dark circles under your eyes become noticeable.

He’ll help you set up a schedule or just be there to help you wrap your head around something if you just need to talk yourself through it.

Jesse loves how much effort you put into your studies but he hates seeing you so stressed, looking like you were about to cry.

Anything he can do to make it easier for you, he’ll do it. He also make sure you take breaks, even if he has to pick you up and carry you away from your work.

Otis Driftwood

He still does get the point of studying and collage in general but if it’s something you want to do, he will support it. And he’s expressed this to you honestly.

But as soon as it starts upsetting you like this? He’s furious.

He’s no so subtle about it. You’re tired, you have dark circles under your eyes, you look like you’re about to cry, there is no way you are getting any productive work down right now, so you’re going to take a damn break.

He’s dragging you away from your work if you protest.

You clearly need to relieve some stress...and do you know that an effect method of stress relief is???

Baby Firefly 

Baby is a great distraction!

She noticed that you were sleeping properly instantly because you weren’t going to bed with her and instantly started to try to fix that.

But when she started to see your frustration and the tears welling in your eyes, she wasn’t backing down.

She’s pulling you up from your seat before you can protest, already talking about what you’re going to do today. 

Likely only watch a movie until you fall asleep to her playing with your hair because she knew that you just needed to get some sleep and stop working yourself so hard for a moment.

Yautja (Predator) 

He loves that you’re interested in knowledge and education but he doesn’t like this effect it’s having on you right now.

He will help you in whatever way he can but right now you need help that you won’t ask for or even allow yourself at the moment.

You need to take a break and rest before continuing your studying. You’ll do better that way. Can’t you see that?

Your mate just wants to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. And if that means throwing you over his shoulder and carrying you away from your studies?...he’s definitely going to do it.

You definitely haven’t had enough sleep recently. So sleep and eat something, then he will let you get back to work.