#Lex knows the people deserve a pat on the back

[skylarmoon71]

Lex Luthor (Smallville/X-Men) AU - Fanfiction - Chapter 5

“Mr. Luthor.”

His head turned a bit lazily, and when he saw the suit, he realized. You were off today, so he couldn't understand why you were here. He patted his hand for his phone, then looked over when he saw it between the couch cushions. You lifted your own phone and he couldn’t help but smile when you ended the call and his phone lit up before the screen turned blank. 

It dawned on him that you probably heard the entire conversation with his father, then the self loathing mutters to himself and the aggressive consumption of alcohol. He didn’t even have it in him to feel embarrassed or ashamed. 

“Come to babysit.” 

He joked, hand reaching for the filled bottle. You crossed the floor and when you took his wrist, you paused. 

“You’ve had enough.” 

He just lifted a brow. 

“Am I grounded?” 

Your face was neutral and he pulled back with a nod. 

“I get it.”

He knew pity when he saw it. That’s the only reason you could be standing here. Surely you had better ways to spend your Saturday night. 

“You don’t have to be here. I’m relieving you of duty.” 

“So you can go back to drinking? I think I’d prefer it if my boss didn’t get alcohol poisoning.” 

He just let out a dry laugh.

“Boss.” 

He hated that he wanted there to be more. He wanted you to admit that there was something there. But you wouldn’t and he didn’t deserve it. To be happy. All he could do was laugh.

“Maybe my dad is right. I’m just trying to make up for the emptiness in my life.” 

His life had been one crap show after the next. If by some miracle he ended up happy, he knew he might just ruin that too. 

“I respect what you do.” 

Lex hadn’t expected to hear that. This time his gaze focused, and your expression changed. It wasn’t as blank as it typically is. Nor was there a glare. Your eyes looked almost soft, empathetic. 

Inviting.

“I know your name carries weight and a lot of people suffered when your father closed that plant. I’ve seen some of the organizations that you have supported. Maybe you were inspired by Clark, or you’re just making up for some emptiness like you said before. Whatever the reason, you could have stopped at any time, but you’re still trying. You’re helping people, so I’ll protect you with my life.” 

Lex knew at that point what you meant. He understood that your body was able to take quite a lot, but it’s obvious that death is a possibility for you. Maybe it took more than what the average person can endure, but you were still somewhat human. Vulnerable to a point. The realization made him unsettled. The thought of anything ever happening to you was terrifying. 

Especially if it ended up being because of him. 

He should have left well enough alone, but now that you opened the door, all he wanted to do was rush inside. 

“Is it because I’m your boss, that’s why you’re so willing to die for me?” 

You looked a little less sure. For just a moment your gaze wavered, like you needed a second to come up with a response that would reflect your cold exterior.

“Of course Mr. Luthor I-” 

“I heard that conversation you had with Clark.”

That made you freeze in place. He saw it, the slight change in your posture. You looked ready to cover it, but he moved closer to you. For a moment you didn’t react. He knew you assumed he was just going to question further, maybe make a point, but when he started crossing into your space, your stance falters.

“Mr. Luthor, you're drunk.” 

Despite how much you tried to make your voice steady, you backed up, that frown still painted on your face. Yet behind it, behind it was just a spec of emotion. Your back hit the wall and he finally stopped. 

“You and I both know that isn’t true.” 

At this point, drinking was nothing but a pastime for him. He wasn’t even buzzed.

You refused to meet his eyes, and he finally reached down. You flinched when you saw his hand and he paused. There was a vulnerability in your gaze. Almost like you’d never truly experienced this before. 

Care, touch. 

“It’s okay.” 

His voice was soft, almost a whisper and when he finally touched your cheek, you looked up at him. For the first time there wasn’t a glare, or an indifference. He could see it, actual emotion behind your gaze. 

He exhaled, licking his lips softly as he leaned in, pressing a kiss to your lips. Your brows knitted as he cupped your cheek, holding you for three, maybe four seconds before he pulled back a mere couple inches. Your breath came out a bit ragged and his eyes opened, watching every reaction. 

You looked a bit lost. For the first time since you’d started working for him, it seemed like you didn’t have an answer. Maybe because this wasn’t some situation that required tactical expertise. 

He couldn’t seem to stop himself. 

Moving in again, this time his lips landed at the base of your neck and you actually released a gasp, hand gripping into his shirt. You were braced on the wall, so escape was impossible. With every brush of his lips, he could feel your soft resistance, or was that encouragement? 

The sounds you released, it was hard to differentiate.

“Mr..M-Mr Luthor…” 

You sounded so meek and all he can do is demand more. You’re not a soft spoken or shy person. Everything about the situation felt out of character and he wanted more.

He knew it was selfish. 

He was definitely taking advantage of his position, but you weren’t pushing him away like he would have expected. You were almost holding on tighter. You had the strength to break bones. If you’d sucker punched him right now he would have gladly taken it and walked away. 

But when his hand glided to your chin, titling your head softly to get better access to your skin, he was almost certain he heard you moan, or purr. Your hand clenched into the cloth on his sleeve and without a beat his lips were once again on yours. 

Your lips parted in surprise and his tongue took the invitation. This time he heard the audible moan. You tasted as good as he imagined. He took a sharp inhale through his nose, this time cupping both cheeks as he pressed closer into you. The collision caused a soft thud to resound as he fought to control himself and you tried to keep up. 

Each brush of his tongue urged a sound from you. He could feel your heartbeat, it was hammering, echoing against his chest. He prayed desperately that this was a reality. That he wasn’t having some kind of fever dream. One of his hands slid over your waist, against your back, up your shirt. When you arched into him, he realized it was real. 

You released another desperate sound and he barely had a chance to do much more, because you gave a firm shove and he skidded back. 

It was sobering. 

Your breath was heavy, and he seemed to take in a quick one of his own. 

You looked shaken. For just a moment there was a pleading in your eyes, almost like you were about to beg him not to leave. Not to go, not to stop. Just as he planned to speak, you broke eye contact, jaw clenched. 

“It was a lapse in judgment on my part. It won’t happen again.” 

Your words were cold, like a barrier. He could feel it, hear it in your tone. You were scared. If he agreed, walked away, he knew you would move forward, act as if it never occurred and continue looking out for him. 

But he couldn’t do it.

“It wasn’t.”

He heard the shaky breath you tried to hide. 

“Look me in the eye and tell me that you feel nothing and I will let this go.” 

He saw it, the way you wavered before you schooled your features. 

“I feel nothing. You are my boss, I am your employee. There is nothing else.” 

Your voice lacked any emotion, and Lex nodded.

“That’s unfortunate. Especially since I’m falling in love with you.” 

You couldn’t hide the shock, and this time he smiled. You took a step back and he took a hold of your wrist before you could make a break for it. He pulled you in and you stumbled, letting out one soft gasp before he was now pushing you against his desk. 

His lips descended with an urgency and not even a second after you were returning the kiss. Lex smiled internally, relieved that he’d been right. Your words were merely a mask. You were just scared. 

After a few heated moments he pulled back and you pressed your forehead to his chest, as if to gather yourself. He could understand the hesitance, the fear. 

“I-I’m..I’m not built for love..” 

It was the first confession that you had made, and all he could do was hug you. 

“Neither am I. But I..I’d really like to figure it out.” 

For once in his life, he didn’t want his name to be the reason that he had to lose something. He wanted this. Something about it felt right, real.

When he felt you pull him closer, he realized that maybe, there was a chance after all. 

[cakeinthevoid]

Prompt/Part 1 — Part 2 —

Part 3 — Memory Meal (Under My Skin — Jukebox The Ghost)

Longer chapter that may deserve some content warnings! Flashback to whumpee in cage (not explicit/POV), implied/mentioned captivity, mistreatment of individuals (mentioned), injuries (listed, mentioned)

Truthfully, Carrie didn’t know why it took so long for them to make this discovery. They should have just treated this case as they did every other: business as usual. 

Carrie suspected that their success with most of the institutes patients is a result of the tried and true method of treating people normally. Yes, Carrie was also professionally trained in all the practical aspects of the job, but it was the softer skills that had greater effect. Their last resident needed to heal from severe leg injuries, but Carrie was almost more proud the day she had spoken kindly than the day she could walk again. 

They smiled as they remembered her, Rosia—a young woman who came to their home so full of rage and righteous fury and left with a little more hope in her heart. Not a completely new person—she was just as biting with compliments as she was with curses—but Carrie liked to think she would find the good things with a little more ease than she had before. The stars knew she needed it. 

Reflecting on all the most recent patients, Carrie found the idiosyncrasies of their most recent case…not disturbing, but it made them more uneasy than their typical case. 

Carrie loved music—everything from punk to classical—and would play it often throughout the day. Most of their patients had their own favourites too, making it easier to bond with them over the shared interest. Willow was the first time Carrie had decided to hold back.

Susceptible to audio/visual cues. Prone to overreact. Easily stimulated. Danger to the public. 

Those were only a few of the least worrying lines on the first page of the patient report they received those few weeks ago. They were expecting someone like a firecracker, like Rosia, or someone ‘violent’ like Lex—who at most could be called defensive—but instead an entourage from the institute arrived just to deliver a stoic Willow. 

In a cage. A cage barely tall enough to stand in and uncomfortable to sit in.

Before they even brought Willow inside, four of the institute officers came in to do an audit of their home. When Carrie had said that the institute did their annual audit just four months ago, the lead officer had simply said this was a “special case.”

Getting information out of those officers was like pulling teeth. 

The officers scattered across their home, even inspecting the field beyond the porch. Then they asked where the cell was. At that point Carrie pulled their own rank and announced they’d take it from here. The officers were skeptical but acquiesced. They looked eager to leave despite pitying looks at Carrie.

The lead left last with words of warning.

“Keep ‘em in the cage. I know you’re gonna wanna take ‘em out as soon as I leave—I read your files, don’t deny it—but at least this once, follow the institutes instructions to the letter. At the very least, keep ‘em locked up for a day or two.” 

Carrie had wanted to respond, but he continued: “I like you. Heard good things, and you do good work. So I’d really hate to be called in to clean up your body. Whatever would be left of it, anyway.” 

Either oblivious to or ignoring Carrie’s growing horror, he finished with a quick, “Just tie ‘em up when you feed ‘em and don’t hesitate to call for backup.” Then he pat them on the shoulder and took his leave. 

Carrie had stood there in dumb shock for a good minute after the door shut. 

Their kitchen timer went off and pulled them out of the memory, but they couldn’t shake their initial impression—especially when it was so far from what Willow was actually like around them alone. 

Willow was their highest rated patient to date, and yet there had not been any serious incidents at all. 

Granted, there was the time with the spoon… 

Spoon. They needed a spoon for the salad bowl. 

Carrie refocused their efforts on preparing the dinner according to the diet requirements outlined in Willow’s patient folder. They doubted this diet would sustain a healthy human, let alone someone recovering from broken ribs, malnutrition, and a painful amount of bruises and lacerations. 

Carrie had long begun taking the institutes words as guidelines rather than law. No one had reprimanded them for it (not severely, anyway) so they assumed some reading between the lines was expected. All the food groups were covered and allergies were respected, but Carrie did enjoy taking liberties with how they did so. Cooking was not only useful, but an enjoyable way to de-stress.

Taking the chicken out of the oven, Carrie chanced a look around the corner and caught a glimpse of—nothing. They frowned slightly as they plated two servings. They were really hoping Willow would sleep some more. 

As expected, once the cutlery clattered onto the table, it only took a few moments for Willow to meander into the kitchen. Carrie gave them a warm smile. They haven’t exchanged any words, but they adapted rather smoothly to a quiet system and schedule. 

Willow slipped into a seat at the island table and rested their hands in their lap as they waited for Carrie to seat themself. Once they had taken their spot at the head of the island, Willow gave a polite nod and took up their fork. 

Their hand still shook a little, but they were able to cut the chicken into bite sized pieces using the edge of the fork. 

Dinner was a quiet thing. Willow would only nod or shake their head slightly every now and then. Carrie decided not to bring up the music. Attempts at conversation died soon after, but the silence was comfortable. 

Tomorrow, Carrie would begin Operation Music Festival. 

Tag list (comment/ask to be added!): @whumpkinpie <33

[sparkletastic-cookiedough]

When other people recognize the subtle plot points I shove into the background, I get so excited. Like, amazing! You thought about the implications! Have a cookie!!!

Or rather, have an extra update. I thought of the origins of the bracelets slightly differently, so it’s not quite what you expected.

Also, I just realized Nightwing was in the original prompt. Alas, I already marinated this idea in my brain. Too late. Just pretend that he wasn’t there.

That, and sorry it took a while. I’m not a fast writer, and this took me quite some time to make.

//-\\-//-\\

Nightwing watched Constantine exit the League meeting with a passive stare. Really, Dick was holding himself back from outright glaring at the man. They let Constantine, the mess of a conman who has threatened the fabric of the universe as many times as he’s saved it, join the Justice League. Yet Nightwing, a hero with a great success rate, still had yet to get in.

It was probably Batman’s revenge for all the pranks they pulled on the Justice League. Messing with Batman’s coworkers was an unwritten rule of becoming Robin. Even after passing on the mantle, Nightwing still played high frequency audio tones at Green Arrow. It was fun to prank the League.

Damian didn’t quite understand the pranks yet- he kept going a little too far into death threats territory. Thankfully, the presence of Spoiler made up for it. She had once targeted Superman with Hair removal cream in his shampoo. The press in Metropolis had a field day when Superman had to fight Lex Luthor while sporting his bald look. Clark Kent had to write an article about it. Clark was not happy.

Around a minute later, another person exited the meeting room. This time, it was a teenager. Small and lanky, with visible insecurity on his face, the kid had shining white hair that Dick wanted to ruffle.

But what caught Dicks eye the most was the bracelet. Dick remembered that bracelet. Batman had initially created it for him, after all.

“Dick, chum, I made something for you” Batman had said. “I know you’ve been scared that I’m going to disappear on you. And I want to promise you that as long as I can help it, I’ll come home to you.”

Batman gently guided his son’s hand to his chest. “You feel that? That’s my heartbeat. It means that I’m still alive. These bracelets will measure heartbeat. It sends that information to the other bracelet, which will display if you tap, and have an alert if it gets too high or too low. You can always see mine, chum, and I can always see yours.”

Dick put his bracelet on. He smiled. “Thanks, dad” Dick wrapped his father in a hug. “I love you.”

Bruce stood stiffly for a moment, then patted Dick on the back. “I love you too, kiddo.”

Dick smiled at the old memory. The bracelets had since been upgraded, fitted with a tracker, the tech made lighter and more compact, and eventually implanted into their body.

Even Jason, who had his struggles with the family, had an implant. After some long discussions with Bruce, he agreed that his old man at least deserved to know whether or not Jason was alive.

Every Robin had worn the bracelet at one point. Even people who weren’t Robin. Batman had given the Robin bracelet to each member of his family, extended or otherwise. It was a two way security thing.

Nightwing was glad his mask contained a camera. Just by blinking twice, he could snap a picture of whatever he was looking at.

The pic was sent to his communicator, which he then sent to Barbara. She’d inform everyone about the possible new addition to the family.

Dick put his communicator back in his pocket, and went to introduce himself. He didn’t want to scare off the kid, who looked frightened and traumatized already. (He already fit in with the rest of the family).

“Hey, I’m Nightwing.”

//-\\-//-\\

Barbara stared at the transmission from Dick.

Bruce had gotten another one. The glowing kid would fit in nicely with Duke and Claire. They had frequently complained about not having enough people with powers on the team.

Barbara tried to operate a facial scan, only to be met with no results.

Which was concerning. The kind of lifestyle someone has to have in order to appear on no cameras ever would be… disturbing. It pointed to a past like Damian’s, or Kon’s.

“Well shit” Harper said behind her. “Bruce picked up another one?”

Barbara hummed.

“You think he warned this kid about taking the bracelet off?” Harper asked.

When Harper had gotten her bracelet, she had it for two days before taking it off and tinkering with it. Within two minutes, Red Hood had crashed through the window, looked at the situation, and commed over that everything was fine.

Batman still checked on her in person that night. He wrapped her up in his cape, gave her a new bracelet, and made her promise not to take it off again. Harper came back three weeks later with an improved design that was blue and purple, and now included the ability to monitor body temperature.

Barbara thought for a moment, only to send a message to Nightwing. Better safe than sorry.

Then, after considering it for a moment, she hacked into Nightwings camera. She wanted to meet her new family member.

\\-//-\\-//

Nightwing checked his communicator as Barbara sent over a message.

All Seeing Eye: Make sure kid knows about the bracelet, we don’t want another Harper situation.

Nightwing sent back a thumbs up. “Sorry about that, important hero stuff” he said to the teen.

“Don’t worry, I get it. I was a hero in my hometown for a while before…” the teen trailed off, a sad expression on his face.

“Hey, you’re in a safe place now.” Dick rubbed the teens back comfortingly.

“Still can’t believe I’m actually in a space station.” The kid smiled. “Then I look out the window, and there’s the moon, actually.”

Dick blinked twice to capture the smile. He’d put that in his family photo album. “I’ve had tons of missions in space. There’s some pretty incredible stuff out there.”

The kid looked at him with stars in his eyes. “Really? Like what?”

“Let me tell you about the time Starfire and I fought the Space Zebras. It was actually one of our better dates, now that I think about it…”

\\-//-\\-//

Batman took the zeta tube out from the Watchtower. The meeting had taken far longer than he’d planned.

He stepped into the batcave, only to be greeted by more of his family than usual.

Tim was researching ghosts on the Batcomputer. Damian was sparring with Steph. Cass was doing stretches. Duke was watching some sort of video on one of the largest video monitors in the cave. Harper was braiding Barbara’s hair as the two of them watched with Duke. Even Cullen and Alfred were down here, despite not being active in vigilante work most of the time.

“What’s going on?” Batman asked.

“We’re waiting for Danny, of course.” Damian answered without looking away from Steph.

“I already have a room ready” Alfred noted.

Batman was confused for a moment, before remembering the kid that Constantine had brought in. “Danny isn’t coming with us.”

The room became silent. Then everyone started screaming at once.

“Father, what exactly-“

“B, since when-“

“Bruce, don’t try and deny-“

Batman rubbed his temples. “Enough. I can’t answer you when you’re all talking at once.” The room fell silent once more.

It was Duke who spoke up. “You gave him the bracelet.”

“He was worried about his caretaker, and it was interrupting the meeting. I gave him the tools to ease his worries.”

“So no new siblings?” Tim asked.

“Correct.” Bruce nodded at his son.

“Dang. Who’s going to tell Dick?” Barbara asked. Each of his children jumped to touch their nose. They stared at Steph, who was currently pinned beneath Damian.

“No fair, I can’t access my arms.” Damian let her up. “Fine, I’ll do it. But we’re having waffles tomorrow.” She pulled out her communicator.

Alfred made a note of it.

“Whose kid is he then? Wonder woman’s?” Duke asked.

“Constantine’s.” Batman said.

The room erupted into pandemonium once more.

Cass grabbed the communicator from Steph’s hand, and started typing out her own message.

“Cass, what are you-“

She looked Steph in the eye. “New baby brother.”

Each of the kids took a moment to absorb Cass’s words. Suddenly, they all sported the same mischievous grin.

\\-//-\\-//

Nightwing cuddled with his new sibling on the couch.

“Man, I didn’t know Constantine had other kids.” Danny said.

Nightwing froze. “Constantine…?”

Danny nodded. “He’s my guy now, I decided. I wouldn’t normally share, but you’re pretty cool.” Danny snuggled into Dicks chest.

Dick checked his communicator.

Spoiler Warning: Yeah, turns out that the kid isn’t B’s.

Spoiler Warning: False alarm, sorsozkwnsjiz-

Spoiler Warning: New Baby Brother.

Spoiler Warning: Kidnap. Bring to Cave. Cover in Blankets.

Nightwing knew his mission now. “Alright kiddo, it’s getting late, so I’m going to take you home, yeah?”

Danny mmm’d affirmatively. If he wasn’t convinced before, Dick was now. Danny was his new baby brother, and he’d be coming home tonight.

*hisssss* My comfort human!

Nightwing stared, he turned his head staring at Zatanna in a way that clearly spelled the question: Are you seeing what I am seeing?

Zatanna only gave him a shrug with a smile before focusing back on the meeting, leaving Nightwing to turn back and stare. He wasn't the only hero in the room with that reaction. There were a couple others too that reacted similarly. Only Batman appeared to be able to hold his pokerface.

Right before them was Constantine trying to explain to them all how their goverment basically fucked them over, while a 'ghost' teen was clinging to the man's shoulders glaring and hissing at them all. Worst of all Constantine was acting like the kid wasn't even there. Like there was no a white haired, black and white dressed teen hugging the man around his shoulders while glaring at them with glowing Lazarus green eyes.

"Uhm John? What's with the kid?" Green Lantern finally asked interrupting another one of the magicans rants about how screwed they were to which the Brite only glared at the hero.

"Ignore him."

"But..."

"IGNORE him."

"Maybe we should remove the child from this meeting before we continue?" Superman offered good naturally and Constantine looked pretty much done with them all, Nightwing noted. The blond waved with his hand as if telling them to 'go on try it'.

The heroes exchanged glances. Before Superman moved forward reaching out to remove the teen....

...and promptly got bitten. Nightwings eyes widened as he noticed the teen actually broke kryptonian skin!

The teen then proceeded to hiss at them while clutching onto Constantine protectively. The magican only let out a suffering sigh and muttered something about never touching a core again.

"My comfort human! Get your own!"

[gay-ghosts-committing-crimes]

But the Way That You Act Isn’t Good for Your Health

AO3 link here

Summary: Once upon a time, Alex's parents were cool. They cared deeply about him and his friends. Once upon a time, Alex hadn’t come out yet. OR Five times Alex’s parents were there for him and his friends, and the one time they weren’t.

Warnings: Homophobia, swearing, mention of conversion therapy

Words: 3,899

taglist, just ask to be added or removed: @barrel-of-cat-mituna @completekeefitztrash @tiergan-andrin-alenefar @lemontarto @hershis-kotlc @genesiscaveat @everything-else-and-mars @juline-dizznee @chaotic-basics @an-absolute-travesty @classyfunnyquotesmuffin7 @iamstealingyourgenderaswespeak @itstiger720 @introvertedscarecrow @sunset-telepath @an-idiot-in-a-trenchcoat @cowboypossume @anaccidentwaitingtohappen @sofia-not-sophie @fire-sapphics @dr-alan-grant-blog-blog @real-smooth @juline-dizznee @it-tastes-like-lizard​

1. 

Alex's stomach twisted and his fingers twisted into the hem of his shirt, tugging and pulling at it like it was a lifeline. The yelling outside continued. Beside him Luke patted his arm, his nine year-old face screwed up in concern for his friend. On his other side sat Reggie, leaning close and fidgeting with Alex's free hand. He was solemn too, but in a different way than Luke, closer to Alex's anxious tap-dancing heart.

Alex's chin jerked up as his dad opened the driver's seat door and stepped in, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on Reggie's hand.

"What's going on?" He asked, when his mom finally got in as well. It was supposed to be a fun outing for the boys; The day was warm and the beach was open, and the three nine year-old boys were tired of being cooped up inside. He stopped twisting at his shirt and his fingers moved to tapping at his leg when his parents shared a look. 

Reggie pressed closer to his side, and Luke did his best to put his arm around them both.

"I've got you," He said gravely, his soft voice offset by the slight whistle caused by the gap left behind where a top tooth had once lived.

Alex's parents finished their silent conversation and Mary, Alex's mom, turned to face them.

"Sometimes people get angry and don't act well, but that doesn't mean it's right, okay? That man out there is one of those people right now, so you boys and I are going to stay in the car for a little bit while Mr. Mercer gets out and makes sure the man doesn't hurt that young lady, that sound good?"

Alex nodded and his breathing evened a little bit. The yelling was scary, but he knew his dad could handle it, his dad was the strongest man in the whole world.

Reaching across the console, Mr. Mercer gave Mrs. Mercer's hand a light squeeze.

"I'll be alright, Mary." Alex's mom gave a soft smile and nodded, but the crinkle in her brow stayed in its place.

"I know Paul, I love you." A quick kiss was pressed to her knuckles and then he was out of the car, the door closed behind him.

The three boys waited with bated breath as the shouting paused, started up again and then stopped abruptly. There was a low discussion, and even through the car Alex could tell the words were angry. He took Reggie's small hands in his own -he knew how his friend got when people yelled- and rubbed it with his thumb. Reggie gave him an appreciative smile, and Alex smiled back, glad that the action had helped calm them both down. A man rushed past the front of the car, pausing a moment to aim a kick at it before running off, swearing profusely. The three boys jolted and Mary's hand flew to her mouth with a gasp, but he didn't come back and they relaxed a fraction.

After another minute, Mr. Mercer returned to the car, slipping into the driver's seat silently and sitting there for a long moment. Finally he moved, putting the car in reverse and getting ready to pull out, then stopped abruptly. He turned to the backseat, studying the boys' faces.

"Boys?"

"Yes, Mr. Mercer?" they responded in unison.

"Always respect women. Treat them decent and keep them safe, okay? And the same goes for you, if someone isn't treating you right, get out of there, you deserve to be safe." The boys shared wide-eyed glances as Mr. Mercer started pulling out again, but they nodded anyway.

It took a long time for the boys to start talking again, but eventually the silence was broken by Luke, who elbowed Alex in the ribs.

"I think your dad is a superhero, 'Lex."

Alex thought of the girl his dad had protected, her face shiny with tears when he had managed to twist around in his seat to look, shiny but relieved, and he agreed. His dad was a superhero.

~~

2.

"Hey 'Lex? Is it... Is it okay if I come over to your house for a sleepover? Bobby can't and Luke-" Alex was already asking his mom before Reggie even finished his stumbling words, his voice tinny through the Mercer family's Nokia, knowing after a few years of friendship that his voice only wobbled on days where it was too much for him to be alone.

(Alone with two people. Two people who never stopped fighting for long except to criticize the kid that did everything to make them happy. Everything except be enough, apparently. Alex sometimes wished it was okay to want people to go to hell, but Reggie didn't want that, and his mom said that was bad... Still, Alex was Not a Fan of the Peters’ parents.)

And if Bobby wasn't available...

Bobby had shown up about a year prior, and Reggie had immediately decided that he was going to be a part of their friend-group. To Bobby's credit, he seemed to be fond of Reggie, and that was a quick in to the group in Luke and Alex's book. After a while, Bobby grew to be the one Reggie went to when he needed someone, but couldn't handle being around everybody. He'd go over to Bobby's and all of the other boy's gruffness would melt at the sight of him, and Bobby would make it okay.

Bobby was Reggie’s go-to, but Reggie was coming to him, so Alex needed to be there for Reggie.

"Mom?" He waited patiently as she finished putting the casserole she had been preparing in the oven, her blonde hair shimmering and haloed in the evening light coming in through the kitchen windows, and he was reminded of the art of Mary, Jesus’ mother, and how a golden halo had adorned her head too. His mom brushed her hands off and peeked in the oven one last time before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and turning to face him, eyes smiling.

“What’s up, bug?”

“Can Reggie come over?” And then her eyes were softening even more, and for a moment Alex wondered if Mary was as kind as his mom. His mom who always made sure to give Reggie an extra hug, to praise Luke on his singing, and to press a kiss to Bobby’s head and laugh when he twisted away and pretended that he hated it, even though a smile tugged at his lips. His mom who always knew just how to cheer his friends up. Alex thought about it for a minute more and then decided no, his mom was the kindest and prettiest out of all the moms, even Jesus’.

“Of course he can, I’ll even make my special macaroni and cheese!” Alex’s mom gave a small grin and ushered Alex back out of the kitchen. “Now scooch! I’ve got to finish the casserole.”

He giggled and let Reggie know that he could stay, that it was gonna be okay, that Reggie could probably even bring over the guitar he was starting to learn how to play, and they could jam together. 

He glanced back at his mom, her hair still gold in the light, and grinned at her soft, tired, and slightly sad smile. She blew a kiss and tucked a strand of gold behind her ear, and then Alex was away again, cheering his friend up over the phone while he gathered some stuff for their sleepover.

~~

3.

Alex heaved a sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face; He had a terrible headache, and the way practice was going? He wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the band did too.

“Okay Luke, I get we want this perfect, but it’s hot and I have a headache, is there any way we could take a quick breather?” 

Luke, surprisingly, just gave a loose nod and flopped onto their couch, face in a weak scowl, more brought on by frustration at the music than any anger towards Alex. It had been a rough week at home for him, and in his mind their struggle with this song was probably one more confirmation that his mom was right, that his music was only dragging him and his friends down.

It tore Alex apart, to see Luke like that, so he slumped onto the space beside Luke, elbowing him slightly before relaxing into the cushion, making sure to “annoyingly” slouch against Luke. The couch was big enough for all four of them to squeeze together, and had taken three of them to carry it into the Mercer’s garage the day they had found it at some estate sale the summer before, and now it was a regular occurrence to find the boys gathered together, bodies tangled together haphazardly on the worn piece of furniture.

Soon, Bobby joined in, grumbling about how sweaty Luke was, but taking the time to ruffle his hair before settling in, patting the spot beside him for Reggie to take. Luke swatted at Bobby’s hand and rolled his eyes as he half-heartedly tried to shove Alex away, inevitably giving in to the crushing affection of his friends and sighing heavily.

They sat that way for a stretch, silence strung between them like unlit Christmas lights; Noticeable, and somehow liminal, waiting for something to flick them on. The thick air felt like an inverted weighted blanket, just as heavy but the direct opposite of comfortable, and Alex lazily found himself wondering if they should add Christmas lights to the garage.

“Alright, enough of the moping guys, we’ll get this!!” And then Luke was hopping up off the couch, so what if it was clear that the pep in his voice was fake? He turned back to the boys and swung his arms wide, “We just gotta take a short break and come back and whip this song.”

His smile was achingly wide (and painfully put-on) but Alex found himself smiling back. Luke might be a hardheaded dumbass sometimes, but they were still friends, and Alex wanted Luke to see that he wasn’t the failure he thought he was.

“Sure, because we were the ones moping,” Alex rolled his eyes and heaved himself up, tugging Reggie up behind him, and headed to the door, yelling back over his shoulder- 

“Last one into my parent’s kitchen gets the armchair!”

The rest of the boys launched after him, knowing the stakes of being forced to sit alone on the Mercer’s uncomfortable armchair versus being able to crowd together on their couch was more important than whatever claims of friendship came before. Bobby attempted to shove Luke behind him, only managing to allow Reggie to get a head start, and scuffled at the doorway, Luke pulling at his shirt and biting at his hand.

“No fair man, I was already farther away!!”

Alex only laughed, throwing open the door to his house and making a break for the couch as the other boys tumbled in after him.

“Hey mom!” He called out, “The boys are trying to kill m-” He was interrupted by a decorative pillow to the face and a crow of laughter from Luke as Reggie gave Bobby a high-five.

“Oh hi boys, I didn’t know you’d be coming in today! Reggie, it’s so nice to see you again, how’s your sister?” Mary Mercer walked in smiling from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. 

“And Luke!! I haven’t seen you in weeks besides creeping into our garage to play that marvelous music of yours. When do you plan on giving us a concert? I expect a friends and family discount of course,” She winked and gave a small chuckle.

“Paul and I have loved hearing you boys practice, and you’ve developed so much just this summer! Of course, I’ve always loved your music, but lyrically? Why, you’ve become a genius when it comes to lyrics. We’re so proud of you.”

She squeezed Bobby’s shoulder and gave him a fond smile before heading back to the kitchen.

“I made some sugar cookies and lemonade; I’d planned to bring it out to you boys, but since you’re inside now… Well, might as well enjoy the air conditioning.”

Luke, who had practically bloomed like a flower previously wilting, followed her into the kitchen, his smile now genuine and brighter than the sun itself, and the rest of the band followed.

~

“Say Mrs. Mercer, do you think we really could do a concert?”

The boys had sat down at the kitchen table, quickly downing most of the cookies, and Luke had taken the pause in eating to probe what Mrs. Mercer had said earlier. She stilled from where she stood at the sink and hesitated before turning to look at the boys with a gentle smile.

“Of course I do, Luke. Mr. Mercer and I have always admired your talents, and all of you boys are amazing musicians. I would love to see you build your skills even more, and I’m certain other people would adore your music.”

Alex watched as Luke grinned and tucked into another cookie, warmth filling his chest.

And later, when his mom pulled him aside and asked if Luke was doing alright, he pulled her into a tight hug and replied, “I’m pretty sure he’s doing a lot better, thanks to you.”

~~

4.

Alex wasn’t sure what to think when his chest started tightening and his breathing became erratic and painful. Maybe he was dying. Maybe he had a terrible hidden sickness and now something had triggered it and, oh God maybe he was dying.

He was dying and he didn’t tell his mom that he loved her that morning, and Luke didn’t know that he was one of the most incredible songwriters Alex had ever known. He couldn’t breathe and Reggie didn’t know that he meant the world to Alex, and Bobby didn’t know just how fucking much Alex cared and how much he loved it when Bobby gave him one of his rare hugs.

Because now Alex was dying and he couldn’t breathe and everything was foggy and maybe he was sobbing but his chest was so tight that he couldn’t see how he could breathe in enough to cry, let alone sob. And this was it, wasn’t it? Alex was dying alone and it was so fucking stupid because how did he go from writing his essay for English homework to this? To this sobbing panicked mess, rocking on the floor?

He was fucking dying and it was on his kitchen floor. And he was freezing and sweating and God, his stomach hurt too and maybe he wasn’t dying, maybe Alex was just going to lay there and be tortured.  Nope, he was going to die, and holy fuck he wasn’t ready for heaven. His heart was going a mile a minute, and of course this was going to be how he died and-

His death was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder and Alex tried jerking away but he couldn’t move. He could only shake and suck in for breath as the hand carefully pulled him into a sitting position and a low voice started pushing through the fog in his brain.

“Alex? Alex, bud… breathe with me, okay? It’ll be okay.”

But how could he fucking breathe? How could Alex breathe when it felt like his heart was going to explode at any second, his lungs captured in a vice, when his mind couldn’t hold onto a single thought for more than a second-

“Alex, you gotta work with me kid, you just gotta breathe, okay? Breathe in for as long as you can, and then hold that breath. You got it ‘Lex, c’mon, breathe with me. Alright, slow breath out now- you got it-”

And then the hand was his father, and the voice telling him to breathe was his dad, telling him he loved him and that it was okay, that Alex was okay.

Alex kept breathing, and his dad kept holding his hand, and telling him he could do it, that he was proud. Eventually Alex’s heart rate slowed, and while he felt nauseous and exhausted, he could breathe now.

It was okay, he was okay.

“Dad?”

“Yeah ‘Lex?”

“I… Thank you.”

“Always kiddo. And Alex?” Alex looked up at his dad and gave a weak hum. “If you have another panic attack, tell me? You don’t need to be going through that alone.”

Alex nodded and sagged back into his father’s waiting arms.

He was okay.

~~

5.

“Alex! C’mere really quick, I need your help with something!”

Alex looked up from where he sat cross-legged on the floor of his room at the sound of his dad’s voice. He sighed and pushed himself up, ruffling Bobby’s hair on his way out. The band had been brainstorming which songs to perform at their next gig, not that it was going to be very big, but Alex figured that Luke and Reggie were more of the brains of that particular operation, so he set off without a complaint.

Bobby swatted at his hand and rolled onto his back, closing his eyes and leaving Reggie and Luke to be the only one’s actually going through their songs.

“Yeah dad?” Alex leaned over the staircase railing, eyeing the way his father sat hunched over at the table, a scratch piece of paper in front of him, and a pencil tucked behind his ear. Paul Mercer was a tall man with piercing blue eyes, soft brown hair, and a wry smile. Alex liked to think he took after him, aside for the blondness of his own hair.

“Ah, Alex. Can you come over here? I’m making a list.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at that.

“O….kay?” He hopped off the last step and pulled up a chair beside his dad, taking a closer glance at the paper.

Extra blankets

Extra pillows

(extra clothes??)

Pool money for mini fridge

Add loft

“Dad, what’s all this for?”

His father scrubbed a hand over his face, pulling his hand down to rest his chin on his palm.

“I’ve been thinking, well, your mother and I have been, and… your friends…”

“Yeah?” Alex’s voice was sharp, but his dad was acting weird, and he was protective of the boys.

“They don’t have the best home life, so your mom and I were thinking about making the garage more your space. The couch is already in there, so we figured, if you boys wanted, to give it fully to the band. Blankets and pillows for when one of them needs to stay over, a fridge, which, granted, you boys would need to pay for part of it, some odds and ends you boys might need. What do you think?”

Alex turned his eyes up to his father’s and worked his jaw, his throat tight.

“Dad… That’d be great, yeah.”

His dad’s face broke into a relieved smile, and he clapped Alex on the back.

“Alright, well then. You can go back up, but if you think of anything to add, I’m drawing blanks for anything else.”

“Yeah, okay, thanks dad.”

When Alex walked back into his room a few minutes later, Luke and Bobby in an arm-wrestling competition on his bed, Reggie egging them on, he rolled his eyes and smiled.

He was grateful that his parents cared as much for these dumbasses as he did.

“Alright boys, break it up!” He sat on the bed with them, giving a yelp when Bobby launched at him and put him in a headlock before rubbing his knuckles on his head.

He smiled.

~~

+1.

“Supper’s ready!” Mary Mercer called from the dining room, and Alex took a shaky breath and rubbed his sweaty palms on the front of his shirt before walking into the room and sitting at the table.

His dad wandered in next, pressing a kiss to his mom’s forehead, and settling hard into the chair across from Alex.

“Ah! Chicken pot pie! Delicious.”

Alex gave a half-hearted nod of agreement, his stomach churning as he eyed the food in front of him. This was usually one of his favourite meals.

“Well, shall we say grace?” The family of three held hands, Mr. Mercer saying a short blessing while Alex sent up his own frantic plea.

Just let them accept me, God, please.

“-Amen.”

Mrs. Mercer began serving the food and Alex waited anxiously until all of their plates were full to interject.

“Hey mom, dad?” His stomach twisted harder, and he felt his face already heating up. His parents waited expectantly, his mom smiling encouragingly and his father giving a nod. He could do this.

“I’ve been thinking about this, and… I’ve been really struggling with it. It’s been this way as long as I remember, it’s not a big thing it’s just- I’m gay.”

There. It was out.

Alex’s shoulders were hunched, and his eyes tightly closed. A piece of silverware clattered on a plate, a gasp. Good sign or bad sign? Good sign or-

An awkward throat-clearing. 

“Son.” His dad’s voice was low and oh shit, Alex had misjudged this and his dad wasn’t happy and-

He opened his eyes.

Fuck.

His father’s eyes were full of anger, and his mother… Alex’s mom sat in shock, her hand covering her mouth, the tablecloth in front of her a mess of food, her abandoned fork lying prone and vulnerable. Alex found himself relating to it.

“Alexander…” his mom tried, pausing a moment before giving a small unbelieving scoff. “Surely you’re joking. You know our family isn’t like that.”

“And!” Mr. Mercer added, “It’s not funny either.”

Alex’s stomach dropped even further.

“No, dad- mom- I’m actually gay. That’s just part of who I am! I’m still Alex, I just. Can’t make myself like girls.” And he should have stopped. He should have stopped before he even said anything, but he was anxious and why weren’t his parents saying it was okay? Why weren’t they saying they still loved him? And-

“I… like boys instead.”

If words could be knives then they could also be nails, and Alex had just successfully finished the construction of his very own coffin.

A chair slid across the floor, and then his father was pointing angrily and telling him to “get to his fucking room” but Mr. Mercer didn’t yell, and he didn’t swear. Mr. Mercer helped Alex through panic attacks over school, and told him stories about the ocean, and Mr. Mercer never, ever swore.

Except Alex was stumbling, shell-shocked and heartbroken, up the stairs and to his room, and his dad was turning back to his mom and saying “How the hell did we raise him to be a homosexual?” and Alex’s eyes were filling with tears, his chest was tightening up, and he couldn’t breathe.

He shut the door behind him, leaning against it and sliding to the ground as his breathing became even more ragged. Alex wasn’t okay and his parents weren’t okay with him, and as he felt another panic attack coming over him, he used the breathing exercises that the very same man who was now talking about kicking him out, had taught him.

Alex fell asleep to the sound of raised voices.

He woke up to a conversion therapy camp’s pamphlet being shoved under his door.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Come When You Call, Pt 3

"Did you know I used to play the piano?"

They're inside now, chased inside by the heavy summer heat. Lena's curled sideways on the couch, her feet in James' lap as he leafs through a book he's already read before. The question comes low and uninvited, offered apropo of nothing beyond Lena's deep thought.

James lifts his head, scanning his memory for any mention of the piano, or any instrument. He finds none.

"No, I didn't."

Now that he thinks about it, he has little information stored away about Lena's life before she came to National City. It was a part of her life she seemed content to leave in the past, and James was happy to let her. He'd been glad to have any part of her she was willing to share at all.

Lena nods. Her fingers trace the knitted pattern of the blanket pooled across her knees, her gaze fixed on the tip of her finger. "Used to fence too."

"Yeah?" he asks. He nudges her playfully. "Were you any good?"

He knows she must have been-- Lena isn't the person to do anything halfway. His suspicions are confirmed when Lena nods, mitigating her hubris with a slanted shrug. "Almost made the Olympics one year."

"Holy shit." James pats her shin with a smile. "You know, I might have a trophy somewhere around here for peewee football."

Lena laughs, and a weight lifts from James' chest at the genuine sound of it. Her smile brightens her entire face, and James can't help but grin.

"I would have liked to see that," Lena says.

Suddenly, James remembers the box he'd shoved into his bedroom closet. "I might just have the next best thing. Hang on."

He scoots out from under her and disappears, returning with a pile of photo albums in his arms.

"I dunno if you know this," he says, "but this house used to be my gran's. And one thing about gran is that she never threw away anything."

"Oh, no way," Lena chirps, sitting up to receive the first album with both hands. By the time James sits next to her, she's already got it open to the first page, where James sees his infant self yawning from inside a blue hospital blanket.

"Gran also liked to document everything," James explains. He taps the picture next to it, where his grandmother held him close to her chest with happy tears in her eyes. "This is probably only going to get us to about middle school."

Lena beams as they peruse the entire album, and James narrates what he can remember about each photo. His dad shows up in a few of them, which almost makes James' throat lock up with emotion, but talking about him feels natural with Lena. She drinks in every picture, every memory he shares with quiet appreciation.

"We never had anything like this," she says softly, running her fingers over the film trapping the photos to the page.

"That's a shame," James says. "It'd be a kick to see little Lena."

"I mean, we had the official portraits, and there's various press photos I'm sure you could find if you really wanted to. But memories like these?" She gazes at the photos, tracing the curve of Kelly's three-year old chin. "I don't know if there was anything worth documenting, come to think of it."

Not for the first time, James' heart goes out to the girl Lena used to be. Before he can say anything, Lena clears her throat.

"I used to wonder if my mother ever took photos like this, before she--" Lena cuts herself off. Her eyes darken for a brief moment, before she lifts her chin with a deep breath. "If she did, I never saw them. I didn't even have a picture of her, let alone myself."

James can't speak for a long moment. When he lost his dad, he'd at least had his photos-- those of him and those taken by him, each preserving different pieces of his father. He couldn't imagine trying to grieve without them.

"I'm so sorry, Lena..."

"I'm the one who's sorry." She looks up from the album and meets his gaze, her eyes focusing on him with familiar intensity. "The way I ended things between us... you deserved better than that."

James swallows, unprepared for the sudden turn. "I appreciate that..."

"And I should have kept in touch when you left," she continues. She swallows thickly. "I wasn't sure you'd want to hear from me."

"Me either." The confession comes low and soft from James' chest. He'd thought of calling Lena probably a dozen times, but talked himself out of every single one, certain that she'd want nothing to do with him.

Lena's hand settles on his knee. Her touch is warm, and singular in its rarity. For all that she craved physical intimacy, she rarely initiated it. She does so now, meeting his gaze once more. Suddenly, they seem unfathomably close.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, James."

James' hand lifts from where it rests against the back of the couch, his fingers gingerly brushing the hair from her face.

"Lena, I--"

Suddenly, the phone in James' pocket rings, launching into a jaunty jingle. Coming back to themselves, they both disengage-- James to fish out his phone and Lena to return her focus to the album still in her lap.

James clears his throat when he sees the caller id. "Kelly, hi."

"Hey, is Lena there?"

"Yeah, just a sec." Tapping the screen, he holds the phone between them. "You're on speaker," he says loudly.

"Lena?"

"I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Nothing yet," comes the reply, huffing through the phone. "No movement from Lex at this point. We're probably going to have to wait for Supergirl and the others to get back before we're able to wrap things up. But I'm not calling about that."

Lena's brow furrows, silence hanging poignantly until Kelly continues.

"I wanted to check on you, see how you're doing."

"O-oh." Lena's stutter belies her surprise, as does the flush that creeps up her neck. James bites back a smile. "I'm okay."

"And James has been behaving himself?"

"Hey!" James squawks indignantly, earning an unexpected giggle from Lena. "I'm right here, you know."

Kelly doesn't relent. "And are you behaving yourself?"

James scoffs good naturedly, leaving Lena to come to his rescue.

"Yes, he's been the perfect gentleman," she says, patting his knee. "I couldn't have asked for a better host."

"Good," Kelly declares. "If he steps out of line, just let me know and I'll come kick his butt."

Rolling his eyes, James stands to grab a drink, but as he does he gives Lena's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She flashes a smile at him, bright and beautiful, before she takes the phone off speaker and places it to her ear.

He takes his time in the kitchen, giving them room to have a conversation without him. He wonders if either of realize that Kelly's just disproven one of Lena's fears the night before. Though she might not believe it right now, Lena does have people who care about her. Kelly is just the start.

[supeson]

i feel myself get tired

You’re prepping a dog for surgery when you hear the news report. Lex Luthor is battling Superman with one of his new supersuits in downtown Metropolis. Again. You sigh and turn to the doctor about to scrub in. “What do you want to do?”

She looks nervous, but ultimately throws her hands up in surrender. “Put him away, we’ll see if we can wait this out.”

You nod and get the help of a coworker, putting the Retriever mix onto a stretcher and getting him into a cage, leaving your coworker to monitor him. The news hadn’t said what part of downtown they were in, so you decide to go outside for a small break. Thankfully your clinic is in the basement of a building, so there’s no need to worry about some cape crashing through at any time. You pass the reception desk, nodding to Pat as you go. She tries to stop you, but you wave her off, assuring her everything will be fine.

Stepping outside, you’re glad to see no destruction has befallen this part of town yet. You pop a squat on the stoop of the bodega on the corner of your block and pull out your phone, checking social media. Of course, people are trying to live stream the fight while running for their lives, and you’re sure little Jimmy Olsen is somewhere around the scene, trying to take as many pictures as his camera can hold. You’re about to exit out of the app when the stream you’re watching follows a car that’s been thrown towards your street. You look up just in time to see a 2012 Ford Fiesta come barreling towards you. 

“Well, fuck m-”

The rest of your sentence is ripped away from you by the wind as it rushes past you, the car smashing into the spot you once were in. Your phone is captured in an iron-clad grip in your left hand, while your right hand scrabbles for purchase on a red cape. 

“If you had wanted to visit me at work, there are other ways of doing it, babe,” You wheeze, trying acclimate yourself to the high speed you suddenly find yourself flying at. 

“Why were you outside if you knew there was a fight going on?” Clark asks, setting you down on the top of a building five miles away from the action. 

“I dunno, I figured you would have dunked Luthor into the ocean by now and had him in cuffs,” You say, brushing the debris and bug guts off of your scrubs. “Why is it every time you fly, you look immaculate as always, but I always ends up getting hit by every flying insect in Metropolis.”

“Yes, well, he brought some friends.” You look off into the direction of the fight, now conglomerating at the parking deck near your job. You watch Wonder Woman kick one of Luthor’s lackeys (also outfitted in some type of suit) across the street, into an abandoned construction site. You start to cheer until she picks up a car. Your car. 

“Clark! I just paid that off! No! Bad! Bad Diana! Put my car down! I need that! DIANA!” You scream, but of course she can’t hear you. Clark winces as your car smashes into the villain, effectively rendering them unconscious. 

Clark presses a kiss to your head, murmuring a “stay here, please”, before joining the fray again. Diana shoots him a beaming smile as her Lasso binds the lackey in place. All Clark can do is shoot her an awkward thumbs up. From there, it’s a matter of minutes before he has Luthor out of commission as well. You sink to the ground, holding your head in your hands. Getting home tonight was going to be a bitch.

                                                              *

You walk that last stretch from the bus stop to your house, a quaint little thing on the outskirts of the city (for reasons that only solidified themselves today), and rub at your eyes one more time. Your feet hurt, the rest of the day had been filled with emergencies, and worst of all? The tickets you had been trying to buy for a concert next month sold out in a matter of minutes. Your internet had frozen trying to load the web page, and by the time it had loaded again, the primo seats you had been trying to snag were gone. 

You unlatch the gate to your yard, and guiltily look towards your garage. “At least I still have my house...”

“Oh, you have a little more than that, sweetheart.” Clark stands on your porch, smiling. 

Your look only sours more. “I know, I know, there are people starving and dying, I should be-”

“No, look.” He hits the button for your garage door, and it slides up slowly, revealing a brand new light blue mini-SUV sitting within. You drop to your knees (in the grass thankfully), silent tears streaming down your face. Clark is at your side in an instant, rubbing your back. “I uh, also...” He trails off and digs into his back pocket, pulling out some papers and holds them out to you. Once the initial tears fall and the blur is gone, you realize they’re concert tiickets. The exact seats you had wanted. 

You launch yourself at Clark, crying harder now. “Clark Kent, I don’t deserve you.”

“Well, I didn’t buy the car. A reporter’s salary isn’t much, y’know. Diana felt really bad about trashing your old one, so she took the liberty of footing the bill for the new one. I went ahead and added it to our insurance.”

“Tell Diana I’m finally gonna show her how my Switch works,” You say, pressing kisses to Clark’s jaw. He looks at you surprised, before he laughs and kisses you back, the sunset illuminating the two of you in hues of pink and orange.

[taliaquinn]

Why Me!? Chapter 20

Authors Note:                                                                                                So hey guys!! A lot of you figured out my mini-Easter egg when I mentioned New York City. Kudos to you smarties. Let me tell you my tag list is open, because I adore you guys a lot.

“So where's Dick and Cass?” Marinette asked wondering where Dick disappeared off to. He was SUPPOSED to be there on the plane with them. However, once they arrived at the airfield Dick was nowhere to be found. 

Flinching Tim looked up from the business files in his hands. 

Hey while he was gonna be in New York City he may as well look into future business partners and get some more jobs in Gotham. 

“Well uh, Dick he uh decided to stay..home because….” side-eyeing Jason he quickly elbowed him.

Startled while reading his book he took a quick second to decide on a good cover story “because…his ribs still hurt and you know what Bruce is like all overprotective and stuff…so shes babysitting him....” Ugh Tim and Him were going to have to practice on coming up with good cover stories. The whole Keeping the family secret from the family was getting really annoying.

“That sucks, this is my first trip to New York City,” Oblivious to the awful cover stories Marinette continued sketching. She did plan for her class to have a field trip to New York City to tour around. But all those plans went down the drain once she left. Oh well, there loss.  “I'm even going to meet up with my friend Chloe at the hotel!!!” Marinette said excitedly. Chloe sent her an email a day ago about her vacation plans, (her revenge plans too). Marinette was over the moon when she found out that she was going to be there for the Stark Gala too!!!!

Mr.Wayne, her dad, even extended the trip a few days and got her a room, aka suite so Chloe could stay with Marinette more. 

Chloe of course was curious as to who exactly these relatives were. I mean come on they booked a suite at a five-star hotel, in New York City, for Marinette and a Friend.

 Marinette promised to explain everything to her when they were together. 

“She's….the Mayor's daughter right???” Jason asked, trying to change the topic.

Unbeknownst to Marinette, Jason and Dick, before Bruce and Dick fought anyways, convinced Bruce to get Marinette her own suite, so she could do the babysitting job without distractions. It was pretty easy to guilt-trip Bruce once they pulled the “Daughter who you never knew about” card. Guilt-tripping works.

At Marinette's excited nod he added “She’s frikin loaded right?”

“Jason, you realize we’re on a private jet, on our way to New York City, to stay in a five star hotel, to attend the Stark Gala?” Tim teased, flipping through business papers. Bleugh Lex Corp that's a definite pass on that business offer.

“ Yeah right, you guys are attending the Gala” Jason rebutted “I have my own stuff to do Timmers”.  

“Stuff” meaning a top-secret joint mission with Captain Rogers and Black Widow. Working together to take down a drug trafficking ring located in the heart of the city. Working with the Avengers every now and then exhilarating for Jason. Sure the Avengers worked more closely with the Government but they didn't have a universal; “No-Kill” rule.

Which was why Bruce hated joint-missions with the Avengers.

Extra icing on the cake for Jason.

“Excuses” Tim mumbled, upset that Bruce was forcing him to sit the mission out. Something about him being “overworked” pfft. He wasn't drinking coffee that much.

“Speaking of the gala, Marinette you have your dress ready?” He asked. Knowing that Marinette decided to make her own dress for the gala. 

“Yep finished the detailing last night, and have my jewelry and shoes ready,'' Marinette said, patting her suitcase. Mr.Wayne was nice enough to buy her a bunch of fabric and also gifted her a necklace and bracelet to match. He also gave her earrings but she opted out of them since she learned her lesson about taking off her Miraculous. Thank you very much.

“What's with the armbands?” Jason asked, seeing Marinette pack them earlier. He assumed they had something to do with her “babysitting” job. 

“Oh they were Alexei’s, they match with that I'm wearing”

“Your biological mom?”

“Yep, gotta ask Mr. Wayne more about her, I was only barely able to pry so much from my mom” Her mom would get too emotional sometimes when Marinette asked too many questions.  Eventually, she just gave up asking.

“Ha Mr. Wayne, you do know that annoys Bruce to no end right?” Tim joked, seeing Bruce's face of frustration every time Marinette refers to him as Mr. Wayne.

“I do, it's just…” she was still struggling with her Biological parents and having a bunch of siblings suddenly “Too awkward for me to call him anything else”

“Jesus you sound like Peter” he scoffed. 

“Who's Peter?” She asked with a slight scrunch of her eyes. That oddly reminded both Tim and Jason about Bruce. Bruce would scrunch his eyes whenever asking a question sometimes.

“Oh trust me you'll meet him soon” Jason answered going back to his book.

Dick was right the whole Wayne vs. Stark rivalry would be a perfect distraction. Oh if only Tim had his Camera.

......……

They finally landed, and soon Bruce was helping everyone off and into a car and heading towards their hotel. Once at their hotel, Bruce checked their bags in. Jason stayed behind to “rest” while everyone went to Stark Tower.

“Wait so Tony Stark is the one who is Throwing the Gala?” Marinette asked curiously inside the car.

 “Yep he’s throwing the gala to raise funds for hospitals and clinics all located around the world” Rolling his eyes Tim continued “Well that's the official reason anyway, right now he wants to out-do Bruce's Charity Gala from a few months ago” 

“As if that will ever happen” Bruce added. Ha, Stark wished he could outmatch his Galas.

“Talk about rich people's problems” she sighed.

“You're not wrong, One more thing, watch out Tony might try to take you as his own”

“What!?” Marinette squeaked out

Soon they arrived and made their way towards the suites. The elevators swished open to a smiling Pepper Potts and pouting Tony Stark.

“Pep, you see this? Bruce managed to get another one, you know what's the score now? 7-4” Tony complained once he saw Marinette. Bruce only glared back.

Ignoring them Tim stepped off and made a beeline towards Pepper and hugged her careful to squeeze her too tight

“Congratulations Pepper,” Tim said.

“Oh Thank you, Tim. It's great to see you after so long” Pepper said, hugging him back. She glanced around and noticed that a certain Red Hood was missing

“Where's Jason?” she asked frowning

“Unfortunately he stayed behind at the hotel to rest” he answered rolling his eyes. “But I brought someone better,” he said, reaching and pulling a startled Marinette forward.

“Meet Marinette Dupain Cheng,”

“Eeeep, uh Hi, I'm uh Mari-Marinette, but youalreadyknewthat, uh Hi” Marinette stuttered out. 

Completely starstruck at meeting The Pepper Potts. CEO of Stark Industries and Style Icon. Oh god, she wished she brought her sketchbook. Maybe she can do a quick sketch on a napkin

Pepper couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the Stuttering French girl, reminded of another awkward teenager. Hopefully, Tony doesn't try and claim this one. She was pretty sure that Bruce wouldn’t appreciate that at all, judging by the way Bruce was eyeing Tony.

“Brucie dear you adopted another one!?’ Tony teased Bruce swinging his arm around his shoulder

“She's my daughter Stark,” Bruce responded, glaring at Stark  “also what are you pouting about?  I hear you're going to have a baby soon congratulations Pepper by the way”.

“Brucie, you have your gaggle of children. I deserve one too!!” Tony complained, wrapping his arm around his Pregnant Wife's shoulder. Trying, yet failing, to conceal his excitement at getting another kid.

He turned to greet Marinette when suddenly his eyes went wide. Marinette only stared back.  A sudden staring match between her and Mr.Stark was happening apparently. What was Marinette's life? She remembered once being a normal girl. Maybe she should just blink.

“Wait HOLD UP!!!” Tony exclaimed suddenly ending the staring match, looking back and forth between Bruce and Marinette squinting.  “Are you sure this adorable child is your child?” 

“Oh for the love of go- yes I’m sure Stark” Bruce sighed exasperatedly. “Why does everyone ask me that”

“Cause she's adorable, sweet, and all Sunshiney, and well you’re….you” Tim answered. 

“Bingo, Don't worry Bruce I got a Sunshiney child too, matter of fact here he comes now” Tony comforted.

“OhmygoshMr.StarkI’msosorry” a soot-covered Peter apologized running up to him. 

“There was a fire in the lab,dummytriedtoextinguishitbutthemhesprayedhimself,

“Kid, Bruce Wayne is he-” Tony tried to cut in

“soIhadtoputoutthefireandcleanDummyUp”

Rolling his eyes he grabbed Peter's shoulders and twisted him towards everyone else

“Oh...uh Hi?” Peter squeaked out looking like a deer caught in headlights at seeing the three guests

“Hiya Peter,” Tim chirped excitedly standing next to Marinette who was awkwardly waving hello.

“Hi, Tim” Peter answered relieved. Thank god Tim, fellow tech geek, was here. He doubted he could handle Bruce Wayne on his own.

‘Anyways Brucie you remember my sunshiney kid, Peter, right?” gripping Peter's shoulders from walking towards Wayne. Nu-uh he wasn't going to risk losing Peter to Wayne.

“Mr. Stark I'm not your kid, I still live with Aunt May. I'm your inte-”

“Hush kid“ Tony ordered covering Peter's Mouth.

Marinette sent a silent prayer.  Bruce now had his hands protectively on her and Tims shoulders while Mr. Stark was doing the same to Peter. She would need a miracle to be able to survive this trip.

College Francis Dupont                                                                            Paris, France                                                                                                      2 p.m

“NINO!!!”  Nino couldn’t help but flinch, he’s been trying his best to avoid Alya all day. 

Luckily the breakup happened on Friday so he had the weekend to put himself together thanks to friends and icecream, lots of ice cream.

Surprisingly Chloe was the first to approach him after the breakup. After her, Aurore and Kagami came over to comfort him. They brought him some chocolate filled pastries. After a few hours of comfort, he received a phone call from an unknown number. When he picked up it was the voice of the sweetest girl on earth that greeted him.

“Hey Nino”

“Marinette,” Nino breathed out left speechless “Why, why are you even calling me?” 

“Don't be ridiculous Nino, I still consider you my friend, and right now my friend just got out of a toxic relationship” Marinette answered, yep she was happy for Nino when she heard that he broke up with Alya. Finally. “How are you”

“Who even told you?” he asked, still trying to get over the shock.

Releasing a slight giggle she replied “Chloe”

Nino couldn’t help but laugh through slightly watering eyes “Of Course”

At the reminder of Marinette, Nino mustered up the courage necessary and turned to face his ex.

Be brave Be Brave Be Brave B-

“Nino wanna explain to me why you’ve been ignoring me and Adrien since last week!!??” Alya yelled.

Channel your inner Chloe Bourgeois, he reminded himself. “We broke up, remember? I didn't want to hear your excuses”. That was all Alya ever did, make excuses. 

“Excuses?” screeching Alya took a step forward closer to Nino, instead of staying there took a step back trying to keep his distance away from him “Yes, excuses you always try to act like you never did anything wrong, or not even bother to apologize” “No I don’t” 

“You're doing it right now, jeez why do I even bother Marinette warned me” 

“Marinette” she spat out. Of course. She’s the entire reason why she lost Nino. Well, she wasn't going to let her win. She was determined to get Nino Back.

Oblivious to her anger, Nino explained. “Marinette warned me, as your ex-best friend she became well-acquainted with your “apologies”” 

“I don’t owe you an apology, you just overreacted” Adrien called her, and told her how Nino refused to talk to him and was instead talking to the class traitors “Matter of fact I’m here to give you a second chance, we can go and be a couple again and be happy”

“Yeah, sorry no dice,” He started to walk away doing his best to block out her screams. 

“NINO, DONT DO THIS!!!” 

A purple butterfly soon emerged from nowhere. Nino watched as it made its way towards Alya. Only one thought ran through his mind as he witnessed the butterfly merge with Alyas glasses and purple bubbles engulf Alya. 

Run.

Authors Message:                                                                                        Hope you guys enjoyed this extra long chapter. I can’t wait till I post the next chapter. Also I’m gonna start writing a series that focuses on Dick Grayson soon.  

I have part two of the Hamilton AU written out I just have to do this annoying thing called editing. Keep an eye out for that soon.

As Always stay Safe and Healthy Loves.

Taglist: (Still Open)

@purplesundaze @silvergold-swirl @k-poplunardreams @pepelachanel @laurcad123 @maribat-is-lifeblood @kass-is-weird @another-fan-of-anotherplan @damianette-is-life @amayakans @parallelparabox @miukiiu @valeks-princess @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @thezestywalru @dreamykitty25 @pirats-pizzacanninibles @mochinek0 @shamefullove @mochegato @souleateralicestein @thestressmademedoit @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @aestheticnpoetic @flufflepuffle296@mysupporthyperfixations @itsmeevie01 @jeminiikrystal @iglowinggemma28 @whydoexamsexist @kuroko26 @animalgirl05 @susiej1118 @damianthebratboy @ccwkm6967 @valyui901601 @wannajointhecrabcult @thornalchemist23 @tazanna-blythe @rebecarojas07 @moonlightstar64 @chylou34

[thejolexgroupchat]

the one where they met in med school - part twelve

silk red boxer briefs and broken bones

Hi everyone!! Hope you enjoy this next part. This one was so much fun to write for obvious reasons. Let us know what you think and what you’d like to see next.

If you haven’t read parts 1-11, go check out our Master List :)

Happy Reading! - @iamtrebleclefstories​ @doc-pickles​ and Nat!

———

(February 2006)

Alex felt stupid. Like, if this didn’t go well, he wouldn’t hear the end of it for years. He wasn’t even sure if Jo would like it. If she wanted this. She never said anything about Valentine’s Day, but he assumed it was because back in October she mentioned something about how she’d never celebrated it before. Jo didn’t exactly know what to expect when it came to holidays in general, let alone a holiday that was dedicated to love. 

It still kind of blew his mind that he was the first person to ever truly tell Jo he loved her. He was the first person to show her that she was worthy of someone’s care and admiration. There was just so much to love, he didn’t understand how anyone could’ve ever met her and thought otherwise. 

So that’s why he found himself doing this incredibly stupid, cheesy thing, because Jo had never had someone make a fool of themselves to show her that she was worth it. He’d written her a card with some of the most romantic and sickeningly sweet things he’d ever said. He bought champagne, lit some candles and littered the bed with dozens of rose petals. He even bought a pair of ridiculous red, silk, boxer briefs that he’d be wearing when she got home after a long day of classes.

He’d just finished the last couple touches when he heard the front door open and Jo’s light footsteps make their way across the small apartment. Alex took a deep breath as he watched the doorknob of the bedroom turn.

“Alex?” Jo stopped in shock staring at the sight before her. “What is going on?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day?” Alex smiled awkwardly and pointed around the room. “You said you’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day and neither have I, so I thought I’d put together something nice. But now that you’re staring at me like that, I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t have.”

Jo stood slack-jawed as her eyes scanned the room, noticing the rose petals, the candles, the champagne, a letter with her name on it, and Alex standing in a pair of red, silk boxer briefs, looking back at her with flushed cheeks. She let out the tiniest laugh, “Oh my God.”

“And now you’re laughing at me. Great,” Alex grumbled, face turning hot with embarrassment. “I knew I shouldn’t have done this.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Jo grinned, eyes shining. “I’m laughing because I’m in shock and I can’t believe you’d do this for me. You aren’t exactly the most romantic guy.”

“I know,” Alex sighed. “I know I’m not the most romantic guy and this is probably really weird for you, but you deserve this. You deserve all of this and more. So yeah, I bought champagne and put flowers on the bed, I wrote you a love letter and I’m standing here in these… really tight red shorts because you’re worth it. And if I have to make a fool out of myself to show you that, then I’ll do it.” 

Jo’s face softened and she grabbed Alex’s face in her hands, “I love you. And I love that you care so much. But really, Alex you know me. You didn’t have to do all of this. Valentine’s Day is special and has been special for the past two years because I’ve gotten to spend it with you.” She lifted her hands off his face and ran them along the waistband of his red boxer briefs, looking at him suggestively. “Besides, I am a simple girl.” 

“Really now?” Alex raised his eyebrows and allowed a sly grin to make its way onto his face. “So… what do you say we forget all the fancy stuff and just have sex?”

“Hold it right there, mister,” Jo placed her hand on his chest and pushed lightly. “At least pop the champagne first.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

———

(January 2008) 

“Hey! I haven’t seen you around in awhile,” Jo stood next to Lexie at the nurses station, bumping her friends shoulder as she looked her over. “You haven’t been avoiding me have you?”

Lexie’s eyes widened as she turned to Jo, a blush spreading across her cheeks, “No! I’ve just been busy, I’ve been on Sloan’s service so you know how that is.”

“Oh he still finds time to operate in between screwing every nurse in the hospital? Interesting,” Jo chuckled as she pulled the chart she’d come over to grab, noticing Lexie’s lack of response to her joke. “What? Don’t tell me you actually like the guy. He’s a major douche and that’s coming from someone who’s dating Alex.”

“Hey! Watch it,” Alex walked up to the duo, pressing a kiss to Jo’s cheek as he took the chart in her hands. “What’re you talking about? Sloan sleeping with all the nurses?”

“Why are we still talking about Sloan’s sex life?! Why can’t we just drop it,” Lexie’s voice was shrill and loud as Jo and Alex stared at her in confusion. “I have things to do, I have to go!”

Jo watched as Lexie stormed off, head tilting to the side as she tried to decipher her friend's mood. Alex shrugged, turning his attention to the chart in his hand, “Must be PMSing or something.”

“Alex! Come on,” Jo smacked Alex’s shoulder and stared at him incredulously. “Somethings up with Lexie, I don’t know what it is but I’m going to find out.”

Alex rolled his eyes, pressing a kiss to Jo’s forehead before walking away, “Let me know what you figure out Sherlock!”

__

Jo couldn’t put her finger on what exactly was up with Lexie. She was for sure avoiding Jo now, turning the other way if she saw her in the cafeteria or in the hallways. And the other interns said she’d been leaving as soon as her shift was done, barely saying goodbye to them before jetting out the door. 

After knowing each other for almost five years, Jo and Lexie kept very few secrets from each other. The situation at hand however made Jo nervous, worried that maybe she’d done something to upset Lexie. Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed the frantic voice of her best friend as she rounded a corner towards the surgical floor. 

“Jo! I need your help,” Jo turned towards Lexie’s voice, finding the brunette leaning out of an on call room with a nervous look. “I messed up, oh I’m so screwed. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier but-“

“I said Torres not an intern,” the voice booming inside the on call room made Jo’s eyebrows sky rocket into her hairline as she met Lexie’s eyes. “Come on Little Grey, I’m dying here.”

Jo tried to peek around Lexie, but the other girl kept herself firmly positioned in the doorway, “Oh my god, are you sleeping with Sloan?!”

“Yes and I think I broke his… you know…,” Jo pressed a hand to her mouth as she realized exactly what Lexie was saying. “Do not laugh! This is not a laughing matter! I need you to get Torres, please?”

“Okay okay, but you owe me so big,” Jo walked away, giggles escaping her as she began her hunt for Torres. “Oh man I’m never letting her live this down.”

Jo continued down the hallways in search of Doctor Torres, frustrated that she was seemingly nowhere to be found. She really did want to help Lexie out, but she had her own work to deal with.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered, Princess,” Jo visibly relaxed as Alex came into her view. “You need me to drag you into an on call room for some stress relief?”

A chuckle left Jo as she shook her head, “No I’m looking for Torres actually. You will not believe what I just witnessed.”

“Torres and I just finished a consult actually,” Alex motioned to the orthopedic surgeon who sauntered up to the duo.

Callie eyed Jo suspiciously as the younger woman wrung her hands. Before she could ask what was happening, Jo blurted out her dilemma, “I found Lexie in an on call room and I’m pretty sure she broke Mark Sloan’s penis.”

Alex and Callie stared at Jo in shock, both too stunned to answer as they took in what she’d just said. A moment passed before Alex broke out into loud laughter, followed shortly by Callie who was struggling to fight off tears as she bellowed with laughter. 

“That’s a good one Wilson,” Callie clapped Jo’s shoulder as she wiped at her cheeks. “Oh that’s a funny joke!”

Jo rolled her eyes, turning to Alex with a serious expression, “I’m not making this up! I’m pretty sure that’s why Lexie was acting weird the other day, because she’s been sleeping with Sloan. And now she’s gone and broken the man’s prized possession.”

“That’s her serious face,” Alex pointed out, his laughter dying down as he stared at Jo in disbelief. “Wait, Lex really broke Sloan’s penis?”

“Yes! Will you please go help them,” Jo pleaded to Callie. “I love Lexie but I don’t wanna think about her and Sloan getting it on. That’s too much, even for me.”

“Oh no Wilson, you’re not getting out of this that easy,” Callie shook her head in amusement. “I’ll give you two minutes while I go check on him and call Shepherd or Hunt, but you’re scrubbing in on that surgery.” 

Jo’s face dropped in horror as Callie walked away. Jo looked at Alex, “Oh God… I think I might be traumatized after this.” 

“I’m never gonna let Lexie live this down,” Alex laughed again. “She always gave us so much shit about our sex lives. She will never hear the end of it from me.” 

“I just don’t understand,” Jo shook her head in confusion. “Why Sloan? He’s like… sixteen years older than her.” 

“People want who they want,” Alex shrugged. 

“No you don’t get it. Lexie has only slept with like six people in her entire life. She’s normally so selective with who she sleeps with. She doesn’t sleep with just anyone,” Jo turned to Alex with raised eyebrows. “That’s why I’m so surprised she ever slept with you.” 

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex scrunched his face and pointed to himself. “I’m great in bed.” 

“Yeah but you’re you,” Jo patted his shoulder and walked away. Leaving Alex standing there in confusion. 

***

Jo had just scrubbed out of surgery when she found Lexie waiting outside for her, sheepish expression on her face, “Look… Jo—“

“How long?” Jo raised an eyebrow at her friend. “How long have you been sleeping with him?”

“Two and a half months,” Lexie mumbled quietly, avoiding eye contact with her friend.

“Two months! Geez, Lexie,” Jo shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me? I tell you practically everything. Two and a half months? You found out about Alex and I days after we got together.”

“I know,” Lexie banged her head against the wall. “I—He’s my attending. And he’s notorious for screwing anything with a pulse. I just didn’t want anyone’s judgments or opinions. Especially because I was the one who initiated everything.”

“Lex, I’m not just anyone,” Jo leaned against the wall next to Lexie. “I am your best friend. I’m the person you’re supposed to talk to about this stuff. And I know I didn’t have a lot of experience in being someone’s person before meeting you, I do know that these are the kind of things that we should be talking about.”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Lexie sighed. “It’s just… ever since my mom died last year, I can’t help but clam up when I should be talking to you about what I’m going through.”

“How about this, any time you share something with me, I share something with you. You told me about Sloan so now I’m going to tell you something,” Jo turned to face her friend. “Do you remember back in May when I was a wreck and Alex came to Boston to check on me?”

“Yeah,” Lexie nodded. “I was really worried. You wouldn’t talk or eat. All you did was cry.” 

“Well, I had a pregnancy scare back then.”

“You what?” Lexie’s eyes widened. 

“And I didn’t know how to deal with it so I just cried for three days before Alex showed up,” Jo looked over at Lexie and let out the smallest laugh. “He was so good about it, too. He held me and took me to buy the test and read the results. Then he told me that I wasn’t crazy for feeling a little disappointed that the test was negative. And… that was the first time he told me that he wants to marry me and have kids with me one day. When we’re ready.” 

“Jo that’s—wow,” Lexie reached over and squeezed her best friend’s hand. “We really got to do better at talking to each other.”

“Yeah we do,” Jo agreed. 

“I can’t believe you thought you were pregnant and didn’t tell me,” Lexie narrowed her eyes at Jo.

“I can’t believe that you started sleeping with Sloan and didn’t tell me,” Jo countered.

“That’s fair,” Lexie’s face broke out into a grin. “Next time you think you’re pregnant, you better tell me.”

“Who says there’s gonna be a next time?” Jo wrinkled her eyebrows.

“Please,” Lexie scoffed. “With the way you and Alex go at it, I’m surprised that you’ve only had one scare.”

“Oh shush,” Jo shoved Lexie slightly. “Watch out, before you have a scare.”

“Please, my IUD is a faithful friend and she wouldn’t let me down,” Lexie grinned. 

“I really hate you sometimes.”

[calpalirwin]

Adrenaline

Summary: Ashton didn’t know it was possible for someone to breathe new life into the broken parts of him he long believed were dead and buried. He didn’t know you were possible.

A/N: Hitting a wall again with my WIPs, so time to find inspiration elsewhere for other ideas. This beauty courtesy of Tyler Rich’s new album, and specifically the song Adrenaline (hence the title and main storyline) and a smidge of Still Love You.

Word Count: 2.1k

And away, and away we go!

__

I was faintly aware of the sound of my front door opening and the sound of feet running up the stairs. But much like the call of “Ash,” that accompanied Calum barging into my bedroom, it was all muddled like I was submerged under water. And given constantly feeling like I was drowning, I supposed that made sense in some fucked up poetic way.

More barely registered movement: curtains pushed open, and a frustrated “Jesus, mate…” as sunlight hit my square on my face. 

“Fuck!” I hissed, screwing my eyes shut, but still seeing splotches of light behind my eyelids as I rolled over, burying my head in my pillow. “Are you tryin’ to make me blind?!”

“No, I’m tryin’ to figure out where the fuck my friend is. You haven’t seen him, have you?”

“Oh, piss off!” I grumbled. “It’s been like 3 days, fuckin’ relax…”

“3 days? Try 3 months.”

“Months?” I rolled back over, squinting over at Calum, the sun still far too fucking bright. “Can you put a dimmer on that, or something?”

“A dimmer switch on the sun? Really?” was the scoff before the lamp on my nightstand flicked on and he shut the blinds. “Is that better, Your Highness?”

“Fuck you…” I groaned, hoisting myself to lean against the headboard. “Months?”

“Yeah. We’ve been taking turns checking in on you.”

“And you chose this particular time to piss me off? To what do I owe the occasion?”

“Am I pissing you off, or are you pissing yourself off? Have you seen the state of this place recently? Or the bottom of all these bottles making everything a lil blurry?”

I held up 2 fingers, a dull ache starting to spread across my head. “Things are going… mmm… swimmingly.” I did my best to flash him a smile, but all it did was somehow worsen the pain beating on the inside of my skull. “Mmm good mate… Honestly.”

Calum rolled his eyes, not convinced of my Oscar-worthy performance. “Look, we’ve been trying to let this shit run its course. Waiting for you to bounce back on your own. But, call me impatient. You got 5 seconds to start dragging your rank ass towards that shower before I carry you there myself.”

“Impatient,” I teased, swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. I braced my hands on either side of me before pushing off.

The floor of my room came rushing towards me, before someone caught me. “Fuckin’ hell, Ash!” Calum swore. 

Cold water hit my face, making me gasp in shock, recoiling away from the stream. “My clothes…” I mumbled, my hands pulling my tank top away from my chest with a wet suction.

“Are fine,” Calum told me.

“Sss cold,” I shivered, my teeth clacking together. 

“Good. It’ll sober you up. Don’t forget to scrub behind your ears!”

The more that water rained down on my face, the more the ringing in my ears subsided. I peeled off my tank top, the soaked fabric slapping against the floor of the tub, followed quickly by my boxers. I nudged them out of the way with my toe before adjusting the water temperature to something a little less bone-chilling.

The grime and filth washed down the drain with my shampoo and soap, my body returning to its normal smell, rather than the dusty brewery it had become.

With a towel wrapped tightly around my waist, I exited the bathroom in search of clean clothes, feeling like my body had come up to the surface but my ears were still fully submerged. The jury was still out on which was more preferable: drowning or floating.

My bed had been stripped, and Calum was throwing empty bottles of liquor in a trash bag. “Jesus... I was gone that long?” I asked, worry starting to churn my stomach into knots.

Calum stilled at my voice, straightening up and turning to look at me, a sad look on his face. “Yeah. What the hell happened, Ash? She cheated, and then lied to you about it. If anyone should be torn up about this, it’s her. If anyone deserves the 3 month long bender, it’s her.”

I let out a huff of air, rifling through the fog for the memory. “We had 2 years before that started happening though,” I defended. “2 good years. And then…” I mimed a bomb going off.

“Boom…” Calum said sullenly.

“Boom,” I agreed, one of my hands going to ruffle through the hair on the back of my head. “Just having a hard time separating the good from the bad, I guess. Didn’t mean to be gone so long.”

“S’alright,” he answered, before waving what appeared to be the last of the bottles in his hand at me. “You got anymore in the house? Full or otherwise?”

I shrugged. “I’ll help you look, and clean up.”

He held up a hand, stopping me as I stepped to leave the room to search the rest of the house. “Get dressed first. I mean, yeah, it’s your house, and I’ve seen your junk plenty of times, but I’d rather not.”

I blushed, gripping the edge of the towel still wrapped around my waist, ducking quickly into my closet. “Thanks, Cal.”

“Anytime, mate.”

“Nah,” I said, stepping into a pair of boxers and then jeans. “I mean…” I grabbed one of my shirts from a hanger, thrusting my arms through the sleeves, fingers fumbling to do up the buttons. 

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Calum cut me off, not waiting for me to find the right words to address my gratitude. “And I meant what I said back. Now c’mon, help me clean up your mess. Or start dishing out the cash for a maid. God knows you’re loaded.”

~~~

“Shit, my bad,” I apologized as a body jostled into mine.

“Ash?” the person asked in surprise.

My entire body froze. “Hey, Lex…” I said, looking down at my ex-girlfriend.

“Hey… How’re things going?”

“They’re going,” I chuckled dryly, my ears roaring, my head sinking deeper and deeper.

She flashed a smile. “That’s good. It’s… uh, nice running into you. I miss you.”

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. “Yeah right.”

“I mean it,” Lexie insisted. “C’mon… we were good together, weren’t we? Don’t you miss me back? Even a little?”

“I-” I started but a hand found my shoulder.

“Was just getting ready to leave. Right, Ash?” Calum urged, jerking his head in the direction of the exit.

“Uh… yeah. Yeah, we were just leaving…”

“Oh… Well, it was nice to see you again, Ash. Cal…”

“Lex,” Calum nodded curtly at her, his voice hard as stone.

I glanced over my shoulder at Lexie as I followed Calum out. She gave a wiggle of her fingers in a goodbye, before dancing up close with some other guy, his hands roaming her body possessively. I clenched my fists.

“Not worth it,” Calum warned low.

“How can I still feel anything akin to love to a girl I don’t even like?” I wondered aloud as we started walking the streets. “It makes no fuckin’ sense. She lied to me. Letting go should be easy.”

“And that’s exactly why I don’t bother with dating,” Calum told me, lighting a cigarette.

“Maybe you should. People are starting to talk about why you aren’t miserable like the rest of us.”

“Ask me if I give a fuck,” he scoffed.

I laughed with him. “I’m serious, Cal. Pretty sure you could come out tomorrow saying any goddamn thing you want. You’re gay. You have a secret family. Anything. And everyone would be like ‘yeah, that checks out.’ Even me, and the rest of the guys.”

“Gay and I have a secret family,” Calum continued with the joke. “There’s power in being mysterious, Ash. I’m telling ya. It’s great. You should try it sometime.”

“Yeah, maybe…” I leaned down to grab a rock off the sidewalk, chucking it at the side of a building. It ricocheted off before clattering to the ground.

“Oh, we’re throwing rocks now?” Calum asked in amusement.

I shrugged. “I dunno. Felt good, though.” I picked up another pebble, cocking my arm back to toss it, throwing it harder than I meant to when I caught sight of the street signs indicating where we were. It clanged loudly off a dumpster, the roar in my ears growing.

“Jesus, dude,” Calum winced.

I braced my hands on my knees, doubling over and breathing hard, breaking into a cold sweat like I’d just run a marathon. Mentally speaking, I supposed I had.

“Ash? Ashton!” Calum shook me.

“What? Sorry…” I shook my head to clear it.

“You alright?”

“Nope.” I popped the “p” and threw another rock. “I can’t get her out of my head. She’s everywhere. All the time! Even here!” I pointed angrily up at the street signs, wanting to throw my fist into the dumpster but I settled for throwing another rock, the ringing matching the sound that blared in my head.

“I don’t know who the fuck ‘she’ is, but you wanna not take out your feelings for her on my dumpster?” someone demanded.

I whirled to find a woman propped against a service door, hands on her hips, hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a green work apron covering up a black polo tucked into black slacks.

“Sorry,” Calum apologized. “We’ll uh… I’ll take my friend somewhere else.”

“Yeah, you do that.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Maybe try the beach.”

“You offering to come with?” I asked.

Her laugh was both harsh and light. “Go with your friend, drunk boy.”

“Not a boy for 1. Stone cold sober for 2.”

“Funny. I don’t remember asking. Or giving a shit.”

“Geez… who hurt you?” I laughed, beginning to enjoy her fuck-all attitude.

“Could ask you the same thing,” she countered.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, tell that to my dumpster.”

I walked over to pat the green metal container. “Doesn’t matter,” I crooned to it dramatically before flashing her a grin.

The corners of her lips quivered upwards in a reluctant smile, while Calum sighed loudly, grabbing at my arm. “Stop bothering her with your bullshit, mate. She ain’t biting.”

“She’s smiling, so I’m halfway there. If you think I’m funny now, you should see me when I’m not throwing rocks at a dumpster.”

“Well, here…” she reached into the pocket of her apron, pulling out a napkin and a Sharpie. She turned to use the door as a flat surface to scrawl her number across the napkin on. “Call me when you’re sober, and we’ll see how funny you are then.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Calum groaned.

She paused, the napkin inches from my fingers, looking over at Calum. “Should I not?”

“What do I look like, his babysitter?”

She laughed. “No. But you are his friend. Or so I assume. He usually like this?”

“Sometimes yeah,” Calum admittedly truthfully. “Good sort though.”

Her smile was dangerous and devastating as she handed me the napkin. “This really your number, or are you just fucking with me?”

“Call it, and find out.”

I pulled out my phone, dialing the number and hitting the call button. A phone started buzzing inside her apron pocket. “I wonder who that could be,” she wondered in faux-innocence, answering it. “Hello?” she asked, sweetly, her greeting reverberating out of the speaker of my phone.

“I’m sober.”

~~~

“That’s rough,” she commented softly as we watched the waves crash and break along the shoreline, the sky starting to pinken along the horizon.

I shrugged, my hand finding hers in the sand. “I’m sure I’ll find the reason why it didn’t work out one of these days. Maybe it’s right under my nose.”

“Maybe,” she agreed, tilting her head up towards the sky and taking a deep inhale. “You ever think we’re meant to meet certain people?”

“Like those people you meet and feel instantly connected to?”

“Yeah. Almost like soulmates. Like across all the different lifetimes there are, and all the different possibilities, you’ll always find each other.”

“Yeah. Do you?”

“Sure would explain why I’ve been sitting here all night with someone I barely know,” she laughed softly.

“Ah, c’mon,” I teased. “You know me. We’ve been talking all night.”

“But do you know me?” she challenged.

“I’d like to.” I swallowed and glanced down at her. “Is it too forward if I kiss you right now, or should I wait until we watch tomorrow’s sunrise?”

“Kiss me, and find out.”

When my lips collided with hers, the only roaring was that of the ocean.

__

Tag List

@frontmanash​​ @goeatsomelife​​ @flameraine​​ @creator-appreciator​​ @cxddlyash​​ @1-irwin-94​​ @sparkling-calm​​ @tea4sykes​​ @youngblood199456​​ @5-seconds-of-obsession​​ @gosh-im-short​​ @aquarius-hood1996​​ @talkfastromance4​​ @itjustkindahappenedreally​​ @philthepegacorn​​ @boomerash​​ @miirandaaa​​ @karajaynetoday​ @myfavfanficsever​ @stormrider505​ @cashtonisruiningmylife​ @another-lonely-heart​

[astrid-goes-for-a-spin]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014), Supergirl (TV 2015), Superman & Lois (TV 2020) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Lois Lane & Iris West Characters: Iris West, Lois Lane Additional Tags: Reporter! Iris West, Central City Citizen, Female Friendship, Commiseration, Women Being Awesome, Women Mentoring Women, Lois and Iris becoming friends, they have a lot in common okay, haphazard characterization of Lois Lane, unholy mix of CW Lois Lane with Smallville Lois Lane personality, Iris loves dessert, Cat Grant (mentioned) - Freeform Series: Part 3 of Iris Week 2020 Summary:

Then it all catches back up to her all at once: there’s no more Earth-1 or Earth-38, and in practice this means that it’s entirely possible she can run into Lois Lane at a national journalism conference.

On their own, Lois and Iris try to get to know one another and realize they have a lot in common.

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

for the tumblr crowd, here’s the full text: 

“Hey! West! West! EARTH TO IRIS WEST-ALLEN!”

At this, Iris turns to see who’s been shouting at her. The conference center is choked with people, and Iris would much, much rather be under the radar this weekend. But apparently she’s well-known enough now, at least in journalistic circles, that the back of her head is recognizable.

It takes Iris a moment to make out who’s calling to her. Pale skin, dark hair, an almost manic affect. The woman waving her over is so absolutely in Iris’s mental uh-oh category that all she can do is blink and stare for at least two seconds.

Then it catches back up to her, all at once: there’s no more Earth-1 or Earth-38, and in practice this means that it’s entirely possible she can run into Lois Lane at a national journalism conference.

Iris wades through the crowds to catch up to her sort-of-friend, and Lois grabs her arm and tows her out of the foot traffic and into a hug.

“It’s so nice to see you doing something normal!” Lois exclaims, patting Iris on the back. While she talks, she’s already steering Iris towards one of the courtyards in the convention center, against the flow of people. “Is it just you here?”

“Yep.” Iris taps at her badge. “I only have three people on staff, so Allegra and Kamilla are back in Central sending their work for edits this weekend.”

“Oh right!” Lois points a finger. “I forgot you were at a do-it-yourself paper. How is it, being editor-in-chief?”

Iris laughs. “I don’t have time to win Pulitzers, that’s for sure. Do you know my entire staff is on Team Flash now? Half my work is doing cover-ups.”

Lois lets out a theatrical groan and guides Iris into a wrought-iron chair at a little table for two. “Hate that. Perks of still technically being on maternity leave after I spent almost two years off-planet is that Perry lets me do whatever I want as long as I’m sending stuff in every once in a while.”

A waiter comes by. Iris didn’t even know they were at a restaurant – but apparently there are several aside from the two food courts. Lois chats him up by name while Iris covertly tries to take some weight off her feet. Her pumps are killing her. She sneaks a glance at Lois’s – she’s also wearing heels, but with the ease of one long since resigned to damaged Achilles tendons.

By the time Iris is tasting an absolutely beautiful coffee-flavored gelato, their conversation has moved away from work: Lois tells Iris about living on Argo and the trials of caring for a half-Kryptonian infant here on Earth; Iris fills Lois in on meeting and losing her adult daughter in less than a year and about the months filled with dread that her husband’s time remnant might murder her. Lois commiserates by telling her about Lex Luthor, and Iris can’t help but worry about taking care of a future West-Allen who’s sure to be a speed-force-powered toddler.

“You and me? We deserve an award,” Lois says, snorting.

Scraping to get the very last of the gelato, Iris looks up at her. “Lois, you have two Pulitzers.”

“You will in time, once that little paper picks up,” Lois says carelessly, and Iris blushes. She might not have grown up on a world where Lois Lane’s name was newspaper royalty, but her confidence still feels pretty damn good. “Which it must if it’s still leading the metahuman beat from Nora’s time.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Iris says. “For once, the only things I know about the future are good ones.”

“Amen,” Lois chuckles. “God, I’d go crazy with all the time travel. Other planets I can handle. Alien husband, got it. But waiting kills me every time.”

“At least there’s oxygen on earth,” Iris says flatly. “I…cannot even imagine traveling in space. It’s making my skin crawl right now.” She shudders for effect.

A phone chimes. On instinct, both she and Lois grab for theirs.  Iris laughs a little – it’s only an alarm she set last night so she would remember she wanted to go to the panel at 3.

“I have to go!” Iris blurts, pulling out a bill and putting it down on the table, gathering up her purse. “I’m gonna be late to Cat Grant’s talk on growing a media company-”

“Oh, just skip it,” Lois groans. “If you really want to meet her, I’ll introduce you. She hangs all over my husband every time she sees him and drunk texts me about how much she hates my freckles and adorable button nose. We owe each other a few punches.”

“Lois!”

Whether Cat Grant’s talk is actually going to be good, Iris does not find out. The floor beneath her shakes, shakes in a way Iris knows in her gut is not good. Needless to say, she did not pack a plasma rifle for the journalism convention.

Lois, on the other hand, looks more energetic than Iris has seen her since the end of the multiverse. She’s got an honest-to-god pen and paper out (how does she have time? Just record it!) and is already halfway across the room before Iris can stand.

“Lois! Where are you going?” Iris shouts after her.

“To find out what’s causing the earthquake,” Lois says like Iris is being an idiot.

Iris stares, and then the light comes on. They’re in a building chock-full of news media – most of whom are cowering beneath any cover they can find. They have no idea how widespread whatever this problem is, and people need information.

Iris and Lois are, perhaps, some of the only journalists in the world with the experience and chops to find out what’s going on in a (likely) unnatural disaster, and steal the scoop while they’re at it.

“I’m calling Barry,” Iris says, hurrying after Lois.

“Too slow, West,” Lois snorts. “I already pressed the emergency beacon in my watch.”

Chasing after her through the convention center towards street, Iris laughs. “You’re such a nerd.”

“A nerd who, if you’re not careful, is gonna steal your headline,” Lois points out. “And by God, your little baby newspaper needs it more than my storied career does. Go, get on the scene!”

As Iris nears the last few sets of stairs to reach the outside, she can see flashes of gold as Barry races around, presumably rescuing civilians from debris. This earthquake was so sudden – and in Metropolis, not on any major fault lines. Iris flicks back through her mental catalog of catastrophes: Geomancer? Malcom Merlyn’s earthquake machine?

There’s the edge of a cape in view now out the glass doors, and Iris notices Lois isn’t with her – there’s a young woman on the stairs, gripping the railing like she’s afraid the sky might fall. Before Iris knows it, Lois is sitting beside her, coaxing her hands off, stroking her hair, urging her to stand. She looks up and meets Iris’s eyes.

“Go get that headline and scoop all these old bags,” Lois commands. “I’ve got it here.”  

Iris huffs a laugh, then reaches down and takes off her shoes. “Yes ma’am,” she says, snapping off a quick salute and dropping her purse.

Armed only with her phone, recorder app open, and the will to prove her newspaper will last into her daughter’s time on its own merits, Iris runs.

[queenvidal]

Reuinons

- 6 months are a long time, they have a lot of catching up to do -

- Work on AO3 -

Chapter 1:

Shepard escapes the elevator to go for the cockpit, Joker pinged her, said she needs to see it herself. What  it is, he did not elaborate but she went nevertheless. Quickly she hurries to her spot to the left side of the pilot seat. “What’s wrong?”

Joker activates his console. A small map of the cluster opens up with three glowing dots on the left corner. This must be the Dalatrass, Victus men and the krogan Clan-Chief. “See that?" Joker asks, his voice barely over a whisper, he is nervous. "They are all just far enough from each other to be not in weapon range. I’m mean no pressure Shep but that is next level tense.”

“Yeah, Wrex told me they could not agree on a neutral meeting ground until now.” She could hear the tiredness in Wrex voice on their last vid-call. When she told him about Victus suggestion of holding the negotiation meeting here on the Normandy, he visibly relaxed. Certainly he would never admit it but Shepard assumed or hoped, it's been mostly because they would be able to finally see each other in person again.

Joker clears his throat, not knowing how to express his concern. “Shep, don’t get me wrong but with you and Wrex… you know, aren’t we considered biased technically?”

Shepard sighs. Not only technically. “Yup, but in the end all three of them agreed. So either they don’t know or don’t care. In worst case though, they will use it against Wrex. We’ll see.” She and Wrex kept their affair private but they didn't hide, still from Shepards point of view, it doesn't seem too likely for Victus and the Dalatrass to know about them. And even if they did, with their consent to the meeting ground and Shepards presence, they agreed on letting private matters slip.

Joker turns his head back to his console again. With a few hand movements over the screens he sends all three fleets a notification of their arrival and their location for the meeting. “I don't like this.” He mumbles. “I really don’t, Lex.”

She pats him on his shoulder lightly, careful not to injure him. “Me neither, Joker. Let’s hope we don’t cause another war.”

All three lights on the map start to move, Shepards sign to get moving as well. She turns on her heels to go back to the elevator. As comfortable as her leggings and the training jacket are, she can’t hold a diplomatic meeting dressed this way.

When she arrives in her cabin, she hangs her jacket over her desk chair. Her long black locks are getting fumbled into a bun before she takes the captain attire out of her small closet. After all this time it still feels wrong to wear what should have been Andersons uniform.

Shep takes a look in the mirror for a second, trying to calm her nerves. As much as she dispides the idea of her being the one who has to beg the other species for help, all of this bullshit has its perks, she'll finally see Wrex again.

But even though Alexis is looking forward to it, she wished it would be under different circumstances. This is going to suck, no matter the outcome. And she has to stay neutral and diplomatic, both are attributes she was always lacking of. She is a soldier, not a politician, she should be fighting alongside with Anderson on earth and not trying to form a alliance between three species, that are hostile towards each other for centuries.

Traynors voice sounds over the speakers, breaking the Shepards train of thought. “Commander, the salarian Dalatrass and the krogan Clan-Chief are ready to come aboard.”

“Have them brought to the conference room, I’ll join in a second.” Shepard buttoms up her formal jacket and checks her reflection one final time before turning to leave her cabin.

Usually she’d be mad that their elevator is taking so long but right now she is thankful for every second she can stay in its small space. But eventually it opens its doors with a woosh, releasing her.

Traynor nods at her Commander with a compassionate smile on her face. Shepard smiles back but it doesn’t reach her eyes. It's uncharacteristically quiet on the deck, everyone is on high alert. The tension is sickening. The two Privates in the scan area salute Shepard as she slowly passes them. They are also absolute quiet.

When nearing the final door to the conference room, Wrex and the Dalatrass can already be heard arguing. Loudly. Alexis takes a deep breath before she opens the door to join them.

The Dalatrass is pacing around. “The krogan is in no position to make demands!”

Wrex just folds his arms unimpressed. “The krogan has a name, Urdnot Wrex. And I am not just some junkyard varren you unleash whenever you’re in trouble."

Perfect. They've just stared and are already on each others throats. Shepard takes her spot at the table, returning to her commander face but the moment her grey eyes lock with Wrex red ones, Shepard can't help but let a tiny smile slip through. The krogan acknowledges her arrival with a nod. Not what Shepard expected after they have been apart for almost six months but considering the circumstances and the audience it is more than she can ask for.

Wrex eyes stay on her a few seconds longer before he continues. “I’ve got my own problems. Reaper scouts have arrived on Tuchanka. So why should I care if a few turians go extinct?”

Primarch Victus mirrors Wrex posture, not impressed either. “Trying to draw out negotiations will get you nowhere, Wrex. I have no time for it! Just tell us what you want for your help.”

The Clan-Chief leans on the table and turns his red eyes to the Dalatrass. “I’ll tell you what I need. A cure for the genophage!”

The eyes of the salarian go wide in shock, everyone at the table is surprised by Wrex demand. Alexis decides to keep her mouth shut, but not so the Dalatrass. “Oh, Absolutely not! The genophage is non negotiable!”

"Wanna bet? Sur'Kesh is still untouched but I wonder how long that will be the case." Wrex voice is dropping even lower. It almost sounds like a threat, making Shepard finally join in.

"Dalatrass, the genophage should be discussed. You can't expect Wrex to sacrifice the krogan race like that! I understand you are opposed with the idea but we are past problems like the krogan rebellion. We have worse to fear.”

But the other woman waves her off. “You are not in the position to say that, Shepard. My people know them best.”

Wrex sneers at her. “According to you no one is in the position to do shit. You used us to fight a war you couldn't win. It wasn’t any of your species or the asari that stopped the rachni. It was krogan blood that turned the tide!”

“Yes.” The Dalatrass admits. “And after that you ceased to be useful! The genophage was the only way to keep your ‘urges’ in check.”

If Wrex eyes could light fire, the salarian would be a pile of ash. Shepard can see how hard he is holding himself back. Back in the day, he would have jumped over the table and snap the womans neck.

Victus interferes, “Dalatrass, you may not like him but Wrex is right. Insulting him won’t change that."

But she just waves him off as well. “I won't apologize for speaking the truth. We uplifted the krogan to do one thing: wage war. It is all they know because it is all we wanted them to know.”

Shepard has to sigh in annoyance again, this is leading nowhere. “Yeah, I think we all went to school and learned about the rachni war, your people's morals behind their actions is a matter to debate but not here-

“I won’t let history repeat!” The Dalatrass interrupts. “Cure the genophage and you doom us all.”

Shepard has enough of this overly dramatic woman. “Whether you like it or not, we all need krogan help to win this war! And obviously and quite understandably they won't fight to extinction, not for you, not for me. They and with that we need a cure!"

“And then what once it is over? We'll simply trade one enemy for another. There won’t be peace because krogans don’t know how-”

Victus slams his fist on the table in frustration “Enough! This is all theoretical. It would take years to formulate a cure. Time we simply don’t have.”

Wrex huffs a sarcastic laugh. “My information says otherwise.” He moves from his spot to the small console on the desk in front of Shepard. While typing in some codes he continues. “A salarian scientist, Maelon. He was on my planet testing a cure on our females.”

He turns his face to Shepard. “You met him.”

She nods. “Yeah and I remember his methods to be baberic.”

“But what you didn’t know is that other females survived his experiments.” He opens up a file and the screen behind them starts to play a video. It shows secret recordings in a salarian laboratory, krogan females locked away in small glass cabins.

“So…” Wrex continues. “The Dalatrass sent in a team to clean up the whole mess and to take them prisoners.”

Oh no. That’s not good. Shepard and Wrex turn to the Dalatrass who seems to be lost for words. “Where did you get this? This could be just a fabrication!”

Wrex storms to her, glaring at her with fury in his eyes. “Don’t dare to insult me! Those are my people and they are immune to the genophage. And you. Give. Them. Back!”

Shepard steps in between them before it escalates, she gently pushes Wrex back who looks at her for a moment before he retreats.

The Primarch leaves his spot as well. “Dalatrass, is this really true?”

But she isn’t answering, instead she ignores both men and turns to Shepard. “How will a cure benefit my people?”

Okay, fuck diplomats and fuck being biased.

“What the hell, are you really that blind? Pallavan is burning right now, Earth is burning right now! And so will Sur'kesh, Thessia and every other damn planet in this galaxy if we won’t cement this alliance. The genophage is going on for almost fifteen-thousand years, the krogan paid for the rebellion, a lot has changed since then! They deserve to be cured.”

The Primarch agrees. “She is right. The hard truth is we don’t have a choice.” He steps closer to the salarian. “Give Wrex what he wants.”

But the Dalatrass just keeps looking at Shepard. "I'm the blind one? Actually I'm afraid your 'sympathy' towards krogans is clouding your judgment."

And here they go. Shepard figured it would be only a matter of time for one of them to bring up their relationship. She wants to answer but Wrex is faster than her.

"Shut the fuck up! Dragging private affairs into this discussion to save your own skin, we all agreed for the Normandy to be the neutral ground, so treat it that way!"

Shepard tries again, in a now calmer voice. “Dalatrass, see that way. Either a cure or a harvested galaxy. Your call."

The salarian woman sighs, finally realising she has been defeated. “The females are being kept at one of our STG bases on Sur'kesh.” She turns to face Shepard again. “But I warn you, Commander. The consequences of this will be felt for centuries to come!”

“Fine by me.” Shepard simply says as she rounds the table to get to the exit “They’ll be nothing compared to what happens if the Reapers win.”

Wrex smiles at his human. “Let's get the my women.”

But the Dalatrass interferes again “You are not setting foot on Sur'kesh! This will take time to-”

“Now!” Victus growls. “It happens now. As a Council Spectre, Shepard can oversee the exchange.”

After a moment of silence all three turn and leave the Dalatrass alone but she speaks up again one final time to threaten Shepard. “I won’t forget this, Commander. A bully has few friends when he needs them most!”

Now it's Alexis time to wave the Dalatrass off with her hand before the door closes behind her. It won't be Shepard, who’ll have to face the Reapers on her own, it’s the salarians if they won’t cooperate.

When the they enter the CIC, both Victus and Wrex turn around to talk to her at the same time. Wrex glares at Victus while trying to dwarf him by looming over the turian. It's obviously a threatening attempt and Victus is getting the hint. He tells Shepard, that he has important business with her to discuss and asks her to see him once she and the Clan-Chief are 'done'.

Both her and Wrex are looking after him, waiting for him to get out of earshot. When the krogan is certain no one dares to listen to them, he returns his focus back to the Commander. “I have to talk with you. One to one, business related, but that can wait.”

Shepard raises an eyebrow in question. “Uhm, okay. Then why did you scare off the Primarch?”

He comes a step closer, entering her personal space. “Private matters.”

Alexis can't help but snort a laugh. “Very smooth, Wrex.” She hopes no one can see the blush of her face when she's making her way to the galaxy map to order Traynor to set course to Sur'Kesh once the Dalatrass passed the exact position of the lab with the krogan women.

Wrex is already standing in the elevator waiting for his human. His eyes are not leaving hers. The blush intensifies and her heart is picking up speed. Wrex ruby eyes always did things to her but right now it's all her mind can think about.

Finally dropping her Commander face, she joins him, smiling from ear to ear. The Clan-Chief slams his fist on the button for Shepards cabin, not paying any attention to the startled humans on deck. Once the doors are closed, they can have the reunion both were looking forward to.

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Day 28: Connections - A Strange Kind Of Ferality Chap. 2: The Spread Of Team Phantom

Danny’s become something of a legend everyone in Amity knows, as have the other strange teens.

Jasper bops Levy on the nose as she hops to sit on his lap. “Now that you and your folks have finally moved to Amity Park with the rest of the family, want to hear a tale?”.

Levy nods and bounces around slightly, grinning with a few teeth missing.

Jasper clears his throat, “now this is a legend of Amity. But not just of our strange ghostly home, no, of America herself”, pointing out the window to one of the many images of Phantom’s logo that the town was decorated in with pride, “I’m quite sure you know of Phantom. But this isn’t about Phantom. But rather a boy, a living mortal boy, the son of two ghost hunters actually”.

Levy giggles, “so ghosts are still involved”.

“Indeed they are, though not really. You see their son, the Fenton boy, Daniel or Danny I believe his name was. Well you see, he was a strange one”.

Levy tilts her head, “like the kid who eats glue sticks and thinks soap tastes good?”.

Jasper laughs, “oh so much more than that, little one. People say he was like a feral animal, all snarls and bared fangs. Could move like a lithe cat and wounds never seemed to stay as long as they should. I’ve even heard it told he once broke his leg only to walk off as if nothing ever happened. Some folks even believed he could hear you across town or would walk in time with people's heartbeats”.

“Oh that is really weird”.

“Indeed, and it’s a sad thing, because you know how people are about weird. They don’t like it and end up chasing it away”, Jasper pats her head as she frowns, “yes it is unfortunate. But he came back, always did. Sometimes he’d stay for days only to disappear after government agents showed up”.

Levy goes wide-eyed and gapes, “wow! Was he some kind of mutant or something? Alien?”.

Jasper chuckles, “hard to say. But it wasn’t just him who was strange. See he had two close friends as well. One was known for being creepy and hitting on everything even before Daniel had become strange. The other was a goth girl with more fondness for plants than people”.

“Plants are better than people though?”.

“You’re not wrong. But I heard it told, her plants would bite and attack people. That she could even control them. A witch they said”.

“Aunty Shade is a witch! She makes so many pretty smelling bags”.

“That she is, but I’m certain no one believes Shade’s summoning ghosts or putting curses on people. One story tells how the goth girl, I believe her name was Sam, had transformed into a dragon once because a girl insulted Daniel”.

Levy giggles at that and mutters, “good. Deserved it”.

Jasper smiles slightly and pats her head, “you have quite the taste for justice don’t you?”, readjusting in his chair, “anyway, none of the rumours about her could really be verified. Though she had many the same as Daniel, growling and being threatening. But the other friend, Tucker was his name, we can verify some of the rumours about him. You can even look it up, see he could hack anything. Even ghosts. He’s on most government watch lists because of that. And I remember how you were so impressed when Lex jumped that river. Well, Tucker supposedly jumped across roofs and would fall down people's chimneys, only to apologise and climb out their windows. And another strange thing I’ve heard, apparently he dated his electronic gadgets”.

Levy snorts and starts laughing, making Jasper smile as he continues, “now all this is just quirky of course. Where things get truly strange is after all three left Amity, only to return. As I’ve said Daniel never stayed away too long, but these two friends seldom visited and they only did with Daniel with them”.

“So they were really close friends, what’s weird about that?”.

“Oh nothing. What’s weird is how they were all weirder every-time they returned. Or at least the weird was more noticeable. They were feral through and through. On the prowl, looking for danger; putting everyone in the town on edge”. Leaning down and whispering to her, “now the real story begins after their visits had been going on for years. The two friends started doing the really truly strange things Daniel was known for. Eyes glowing in darkened alleys, fangs and pointed ears, unnatural shows of strength and healing. Whatever had made that boy strange had happened to them as well it would seem”, whispering even quieter and almost menacingly, “and every so often another teen would be seen hanging around them. Acting strange but not nearly as much. Except for the ones who would show multiple times, they’d be feral too. Like whatever was up with Daniel was actively spreading”, grinning darkly, “and sometimes it was an Amity teen who would wander to them, start hanging out with them. Start changing, and eventually leaving Amity with the boy. Sometimes they come back with the boy, feral and wild. Some say Daniel’s a monster snatching away teenagers and making them like him”.

Jasper chucked at her wide-eyed expression as he leans back, “but the absolute strangest thing. The nail in the coffin for the boy, and those who followed after him, not being human. Was that none of them seemed to age. And even to this day, I hear it told you can still occasionally spot Daniel visiting Amity, some of the missing teens visiting Amity, feral teens from other towns visiting. Even though for many that shouldn’t be possible. Because, tell me, how long have the ghosts been around?”.

Levy tilts her head and makes a face, “six hundred and something?”, scrunching up her face, “but that means Daniel’s older than that!”.

Jasper bops her nose, “exactly. And yet...”, Jasper chuckles as he points out the window, Levy following where he points.

Looking back and forth from Jasper and the boy outside. Black hair, blue-eyed, short and skinny. Flanked by a purple-eyed goth, a orange-haired boy with freckles, and little black-haired and blue-eyed girl barely older looking than Levy. Levy watches as the black-haired boy talks with a dark-skinned bleach blonde girl that Levy recognises from Casperhigh. The boy laughing, revealing fangs; making Levy squeak and look back to Jasper.

Jasper just nods at her, “seems he’s here today”, patting her head as she looks back out the window, “now I know he’s an interesting one, but you best stay away. Him and his children never seem to cause harm, but danger always follows them and they are all wild things”.

Levy looks back at Jasper, “but what about the dark-skinned girl? She’s from school?”.

Jasper sighs, “I’m sure her folks will keep her inside, away from the boy and the other two. But he may spirit her away all the same. He’s taken a shine clearly”.

Levy frowns, “but doesn’t she know he might take her away? Everyone knows this tale right?”.

Jasper chuckles and pats her head, “she knows, everyone does. Especially in Amity. But it’s said that those who follow the boy are meant to. Some fear he spirits them away as he pleases, but most agree that every single teen choose to go with him”.

Levy looks back out the window as the four walks down the road, the goth tossing a burger to the dark-skinned one and flashing a fanged smile. Black hair tucked behind her pointed ears. Looking back to Jasper, “must not be bad then”.

Jasper frowns, “still best to not tempt fate dearie”, smiling again, “and there’s still more to this tale to tell”.

Levy tilts her head, forgetting about the strange boy potentially leading astray a high schooler, “oh?”.

Jasper nods, “you see these feral teens, Daniel’s teens, Daniel’s ‘children’; they show up in towns all over America. But each city sees one of them more often than any of the others. Amity sees Daniel the most of course. New York sees one named Peter. Chicago has Wes. New Jersey, Bruce. Las Vegas has Lily”, pointing out the window, “the goth, Sam, her city’s Elmerton. And the little girl, who some suspect is actually Daniel’s biological child, her place is Michigan”, leaning back, “and another thing each of these towns has? A ghostly protector. Some say that these teens are sacrifices, created into something not so human as anchors to the mortal world for a good ghost. That Daniel and Phantom were the first”. Bopping her nose, “and you know what really supports this? Michigan’s ghost protector is a little girl who looks nearly the same as our Phantom”.

Levy mouths ‘wow’ before speaking, “couldn’t they just be ghosts? Daniel be Phantom?”.

Jasper laughs, “now there’s a theory! I’ll leave that up to you to decide. There are plenty of theories about those teens, the feral children, the wild ones. But you want my opinion? A ghost is dead and no matter how strange or not quite human. Fenton clearly isn’t dead”.

Levy tilts her head, “what do you think they are?”.

“Oh? Fair folk, fae, fairies. My guess is that Daniel was a changeling, a fairy child swapped with a human child”, rolling his hand in the air, “and that the exposure to ectoplasm from the Fenton parents changed him into a conduit from here to the Ghost Realm. Connecting to Phantom”, tapping his chin, “I believe Daniel takes all the teens who follow him to the land of fairies equivalent in the Ghost Realm”.

“Why?”.

“You see, it’s said if a person stays in the land of fairies for long or eats their food, they’ll become fairies themselves”.

Levy shrugs, “I guess that makes sense, but they don’t have wings? Fairies have wings”.

Jasper laughs, “not all of them, and certainly not changelings”.  

Levy huffs, “I think my idea makes more sense”.

Jasper pats her head, “I’m sure you do dearie, I’m sure you do”.

End.

[onegayastronaut]

My Hero (Lena Luthor x Reader)

Requested by anon: Hii!! Can you do one where you're krytonian, but stronger than Kal and Kara combined, and no one knows how and you fall in love with Lena Luthor so naturally when someone tries to hurt her it makes you extremely mad??? Like mad enough that it's basically Kara throwing Cat Grant off of the balcony while on red krytonite, but not actually hurting anyone other than the people who tried to hurt Lena or being on red krytonite???

Words: 1346

Being a Kryptonian on this planet was amazing for the most part. You had two amazing family members, Kara and Kal, and you would constantly bombard them with questions when you first started using your abilities. Both of them had told you about both the positive and negative aspects of being a superhero, and you thought that being a hero for the people was the best thing that you could do.

Visiting National City was supposed to be a temporary affair. You missed Kara and Alex so much, and all you wanted was to spend a week with them. What you didn’t count on was the fact that Kara had such good looking friends, chief among them a certain billionaire. Of course, given both Kal’s and Kara’s history with the Luthor family family, you knew of Lena. If Kara’s account of her was to be trusted, Lena was attempting to turn her family history around, and you respected that. The fact that she was very good looking was just a bonus. Maybe staying around in National City was going to be a good idea.

Both Kara and Alex were beyond happy about the fact that you decided to stay in National City. Now that Supergirl was laying low, it was a relief to know that another Super was going to take care of things. Kal gave you a knowing smile as he hugged you goodbye. Even though he knew that you were going to be more than capable of taking care of business, he knew that the real reason you decided to stay behind.

“I’m going to miss you, cousin.” Kal gave you a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“No, you won’t. I bet you’ll be the strongest person around.” The two of you laughed at your good-natured jab. You were stronger than both Kal and Kara combined, and they enjoyed teaming up together to try and defeat you during training sessions. They were yet to be successful, and you loved rubbing this fact in both of their faces.

-----

Settling into National City was easier than you could have ever imagines. Both Lena and James were beyond thrilled to have you on board at Catco, and Kara helped you get a decent apartment near work. Life seemed to be moving along quite well, except for the fact that your heart belonged to someone so unattainable it made your heart hurt just thinking about it.

“You know...it’s always best to talk about your feelings directly rather than bottling it up inside.” James’ voice jolted you back to reality, and you glared at him suspiciously.

“Who said I was bottling up my feelings?”

“Well, for starters, you’ve been staring at Lena’s office from the day you got here. And I know how you act around people you like. If I’m reading my body language correctly, she likes you too.” James gave you a wink as you blushed.

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, maybe you should have a talk with her and see how things go from there.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? She’s my boss after all.”

James snorted as you voiced your concerns. “She is your boss, but by the way you’re looking at her, a blind bat would be able to tell how much you like her. And Lena is one of the smartest women I’ve ever seen, so most likely she’s already figured out how big of a crush you have on her.”

The more you thought about what James said, the more it made sense. Maybe asking Lena out on a date wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

-----

Dating Lena has been the best thing that has happened to you in a very long time. You had been honest about your abilities from the start, and she had been appreciative of your honesty. It had caused some tension between you when you had first told her, but you had worked it out since then. Neither of you wanted to lose each other, and she understood why you were hesitant to be honest with anyone considering the current anti-alien climate.

Lex was still a threat to the general public and alien safety, and the Children of Liberty were still trying to prove their worth by attacking aliens. What made the problem worse was that they were now deputized by Ben Lockwood. They were a nuisance to stop, but it was part of the job. Your focus was on finding Lex because you knew he posed the greatest threat to the safety of Lena and everyone around her. You were consistently vigilant because you couldn’t bear to even think about Lena being in danger. All of fears and concerns came to a head one day when the Children of Liberty decided it would be a good idea to attack Catco. They wanted to make an example of people who supported aliens, and several employees were hurt in the process. You managed to get there in time to stop them from causing any further hurt, but the damage was already done. You saw Lena shaking in her office while standing over the still form of one of the attackers. He was still alive, and he had the nerve to act afraid when you stepped into the room.

Taking the cattle prod out from Lena’s hands, you led her towards the couch. “It’s all going to be okay, Lena. I’m here, you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

“I didn’t want to seriously hurt him, (Y/N). I just wanted him to stop.”

“I know. He’s okay...for now. But not for long. I’m going to make sure that the Children of Liberty know that their methods are going to be matched.”

“Babe, what are you going to do?” Lena reached over to hold your hand, but instead of answering her, you turned and picked up the now fully conscious would-be thug up by the throat.

“You and your friends will now know what happens to people who would dare harm someone I care about. You will help me with that.” The man choked as your grip tightened around his throat and you led him towards the balcony.

“Please, you don’t have to do this.” You were surprised that this man was able to manage choking out a complete sentence.

“You shouldn’t have come here then.” There was no mercy in your tone, and you lifted the man over the balcony. His feet dangled in the air, and you could hear a gasp of horror from the people who were standing on the ground. Good, you thought. This demonstration will let people see that they should never even think about attacking Lena ever again.

“Babe, listen to me. Babe, look at me.” Lena’s voice brought you back to the balcony of L-Corp. “If you drop him now, all you’re going to do is to prove them right. You have to bring him back so the police can have him, alright? Is that okay?”

“He tried to kill you Lena! All they do is to make people hate and fear aliens! He deserves what I'm going to give to him.”

“And I agree with that. But if you kill him right now, you'll be a wanted fugitive. You won't be able to be here, with me. This man isn't worth it, (Y/N).”

You dragged the man back onto the balcony just as the police ran in with their guns drawn. “It's about time you all got here. Where were you all before? There a sale at the donut store down the block that I don’t know about?” A snort from Lena told you that she was physically alright, this time at least. If there ever was another attack from this group, you couldn’t say you would do the same thing you did today. Nobody hurts your girlfriend, and these self-named “watchdogs” better keep that in mind. But hunting down the individual members of the Children of Liberty was going to be a mission for another day. Tonight is all about taking care of Lena.

[facepalming-since-chernobyl]

Well, it's official now: SG has become The Lena Show guest starring Supergirl/Kara Danvers (Kara Zor-El who?). Also, constantly-gets-manipulated-by-others-and-makes-terrible-decisions Lena "savvy"? "As ever"? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (And because it needs saying: The Lex story is beyond dumb. Criminals (especially ones as dangerous as him) don't simply get released because they're dying. And certainly not "secretly". PEOPLE DESERVE TO KNOW IF A MURDEROUS PSYCHO IS BACK ON THE STREETS, OKAY.)

The best thing is that people who were SCREAMING about “Give to Kara her show back!!!” when Mon-El was still there, now are weirdly quiet and just moan about  poor snowflake Lena :((( Wonder why. LOL

Maybe Lena injected herself with her shit and grew some “savvy” genes or something. Because for sure she didn’t have them when Rhea made her look like a hormonal teenager with brain ruled by mommy issues.

Like, yeah, for sure, they just free Lex. Sure. On the other hand he is form Trump… sorry, Luthor family, you know, white privileged people, who have become rich thanks to super shady business, so of course the justice system patted his head, gave him tissues and fred him, just like that, so he can die surrounded by his friends and family etc. This is American JUSTICE, I guess.

[shotsbyshae]

Control

Summary

A Lexi Wilson Story. A much needed girl's night out goes according to plan for Charlie and Lexi until a pretty face catches the eye of the red-head, a new friend calls Lexi out on her bullshit, and an unexpected phone call changes her life.

A/N: Trying to slowly post all the Lexi fics I have in my collection.

Some girls are full of heartache and poetry and those are the kind of girls who try to save wolves instead of running away from them. – Nikita Gill

Word Count: 4074

OC Cast: Lexi Wilson - Chloe Bennet; Evan Clark - Chris Evans 

The dark-haired girl is asleep on the infirmary bed while Rowena carefully places a stone amulet around her neck. She gently touches the girl’s shoulder comfortingly before she exits the room, worry evident on her face. The witch stops in the doorway of the kitchen as two sets of eyes look at her expectantly.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” the red-head begins, “the magic inside her…”

Rowena shakes her head as she tries to figure out her next words.

“What?” Dean questions.

“It’s more than just natural magic,” Rowena finally says.

Dean shares a look with his brother and Sam glances back to the red-head, “What’s that even mean?”

“I don’t have the answers you’re looking for,” Rowena responds with a shrug of her shoulders, “I’ve given her a binding amulet, it’s equivalent to the handcuffs you were using, until she can learn to control it…I’ll be happy to help guide her in any way that I can, but it’s up to her.”

“Are you saying she’s more powerful than you?” Dean questions her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not answering that question,” Rowena remarks, pointing a stern finger at the brother, “but I’ll stay until she wakes up. Where’d the pretty one go?”

Both brothers give the red-headed woman looks of disapproval as Sam states, “He had to go, something about his friend killing him over the mess he left at her house. He said he’d check in later.”

“Pretty one,” Dean remarks, “really?”

Rowena gives him a smirk and a shrug of her shoulders before she turns to go check on Lexi.

 A few weeks later

 “At least it looks nice,” Charlie says as she points at the blue pendant resting at the base of Lexi’s neck, “and it works?”

“No magic,” the girl responds wiggling her fingers at this alternate version of her friend, “until I can master it on my own.”

The red-head smiles as she pulls open the door to the bar, “After you Sabrina.”

Lexi rolls her eyes at the comment, the loud music and smell of alcohol hitting her like a wall as soon as Charlie had opened the door. She smiles at the atmosphere and grabs Charlie’s hand as the two of them make their way to the bar. It was the red-head’s idea for a girl’s night and Lexi couldn’t agree more.  Drinks, dancing, and blowing off steam after a very stressful last few weeks was exactly what she needed, just a night of not thinking about life, consequences, and fate.

There’s probably anywhere from fifty to sixty people crammed inside bar, some seated along the wall or at the bar, some are dancing, while some gather around the pool tables which occupy the far end of the room.

Charlie looks at Lexi with a devious smile, “What kind of night are we having? Whiskey…rum…tequila?”

The dark-haired girl ponders for a moment, then the corners of lips curl up mischievously as she and Charlie both say simultaneously, “Tequila.”

 After several mini dance parties, a few stronger than usual margaritas (thanks Joe), and an impromptu sing-along session of “Just a Girl” in the women’s restroom, Lexi is now watching Charlie hustle a twenty-something frat boy in a game of pool, while the girl she’s been flirting with stands close by watching with admiration. Lexi’s vaguely listening to the frat guy’s friend who is standing beside her, obviously trying to flirt, but she’s too busy watching Charlie expertly run the table.

“Of all the bars in Kansas,” Lexi hears a voice say and she closes her eyes, Oh shit.

She tilts her head slowly to look up at the person who’s leaning against the metal column beside her and sees Evan smirking back at her. It had been a couple weeks since she’d seen him last.

“Well,” she raises a curious eyebrow, “this is my bar, so what are you doing here?”

“Your bar?” he looks confused, as frat boy dejectedly turns away from the situation.

“I work here,” she responds, then holds up her drink, “not tonight though.”

“I see,” Evan responds and nods his head, “well, this wasn’t my choice.”

“Ooohhhh,” Lexi turns trying to look past him as she says quietly, “you’re on a date.”

“More like I agreed to meet someone here,” he replies quickly, looking over his shoulder, “and I shouldn’t have.”

“Like ex-girlfriend?” she questions.

Evan takes a deep breath, then looks at her with a little bit of shame apparent on his face, “More like a girl I used to hang out with...on occasion that I forgot was very, very, clingy.”

“Booty call,” Lexi states trying not to laugh.

“What?”

“The term is booty call,” she continues, then pats his chest reassuringly, “rookie move, texting a clinger. Have fun with that.”

Lexi turns back to continue watching Charlie’s game of pool and she takes a long sip from her drink. She watches her friend for a moment before she realizes Evan is still standing there and she glances back up at him.

“Do me a favor?” he questions, his expression begging for her help, “Please.”

Lexi makes her way to the bar where Evan is standing next to a blonde-haired woman who stands just a few inches taller than herself. The dark-haired girl walks with determination up to the other woman and gently places a reassuring hand on the middle of her back and greets her with a warm smile.

“Hi,” Lexi says politely to the blonde, then she turns a stern face toward Evan, “Someone’s being naughty.”

There’s a momentary flash of panic in Evan’s eyes at the tone of voice Lexi’s using with him, where’s she going with this?

“What?” the blonde woman questions.

“Oh,” Lexi glances back at her, she doesn’t even recognize the tone of voice she’s using, “sweetie. You don’t know?”

The woman looks utterly confused at the situation and Lexi leans close to her in order to say quietly, “See, the thing is, Evan’s found that he really likes to answer to someone, if you catch my kink?”

“Shit,” Evan says under his breath as he drops his eyes to the bar in front of him.

She looks at Lexi smiling but still not understanding her, “I don’t.”

I wasn’t planning on giving a lecture on the subject, Lexi thinks to herself.

“Well,” Lexi begins, glancing back to Evan momentarily, completely satisfied with the level of uncomfortableness on his face, “have you ever heard of a dominatrix?”

“Oh,” the girl’s eyes light up, “like Elena was to Christian in the books?”

“Exactly!” Lexi smiles seductively to her, then gives her a wink, “So, you are kind of a pawn in this little game he likes to play, and when I find out he’s with another woman, I can punish him to the fullest extent of my abilities, isn’t that right babe?”

Evan looks over to Lexi, “Yes mistress.”

Lexi snaps her fingers authoritatively at him, “Did I say you could look at me?”

Evan jerks his eyes back down to the bar, “No mistress.”

“That’s messed up,” the blonde looks a little upset, but then she smirks, “but hot.”

She grins appreciatively to Lexi as she grabs her coat and leaves the bar. The dark-haired hunter turns her mischievous smirk over to Evan who gives her a sidelong glance, “I deserved that.”

“Bet your ass you did,” she replies, then nods her head back toward the pool tables in the back, “now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a girl’s night to get back to.”

“Understood,” Evan states, “Thanks again for the save.”

“No problem,” she gives a wave of her hand as makes her way through the bar.

Charlie walks over to her inquisitively as she gets closer, “Where’d you go?”

“Saw someone I knew,” Lexi replies with a grin, “went over to say hi.”

The red-head wiggles her eyebrows playfully, “Like flirty hi? Because if the hot J. Law look alike keeps her game up, I’m sorry, but I’m not going home with you.”

Lexi laughs out loud at the comment and she replies, “You do you boo. No judgement here, she is hot.”

“Right,” Charlie’s smirk is priceless as she continues, “So, I need you to get your flirt on, that way I don’t feel too bad when I ditch you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Lexi replies with a smile, then looks past Charlie to the small table she and Charlie had their drinks on, “where’s my drink?”

“Oh,” the red-head responds, “yea, she drank it by mistake.”

“Do you even know her name?” Lexi questions with a grin.

“Jen?” Charlie shrugs her shoulders, “No, I’m pretty sure it’s Molly…or Maggie.”

Lexi shakes her head, “I’m going for another drink then, would you like one?”

“No,” her friend holds her hand up, “I’m riding the good buzz right now.”

The dark-haired girl nods her understanding before she turns and heads back towards the bar. Evan is still sitting on the bar stool where she’d left him moments ago, except now he has a beer in his hand. He smirks when he sees her walking back towards him, “Couldn’t stay away?”

“No,” she narrows her eyes at him for a brief moment, before she stretches up on her tip toes to lean across the bar top, “Joe, I need a refill when you get a chance please.”

The bartender gives her a wink, letting her know he heard her order over the music and constant chatter of the other customers at the bar. Lexi turns her back to the bar and leans against it slightly as she waits on her drink.

“Girl’s night huh?” Evan questions.

“It was,” Lexi says, “but my friend seems to have found someone to take home, so…”

“Ahhh,” he replies, “she’s dumping you.”

“Yea, I don’t blame her though.”

She hears Joe place a glass on the bar behind her and she turns around to grab it. She takes a sip, letting the sweet and sour taste wrinkle her face, as Charlie’s voice rings out from behind her, “Hey Lex, we’re going to take off.”

That was quick.

Lexi turns around and sees Charlie standing there with Molly/Maggie and she smiles, giving her friend a quick hug, “Okay, be careful. Text me when you get wherever you’re going.”

“Charlie,” Molly/Maggie says in sad tone, obviously a little tipsy “we don’t have to leave your friend by herself.”

The brunette pushes Lexi’s hair behind her ear in a flirty fashion as Lexi giggles uncomfortably, “No…no, I’m good.”

Charlie looks amused at her friend’s unease at the situation, so she adds, “Are you sure? Three’s better than two.”

Evan nearly chokes on his beer as Lexi shoots Charlie a death glare, but Molly/Maggie moves closer and her lips are on Lexi’s before the dark-haired girl can register what’s happening. Evan doesn’t feel bad for watching this moment transpire, because Joe is glancing over too, as well as everyone else within five feet of them.

When the brunette pulls away from Lexi, she smiles seductively at her, “Sure you don’t wanna come with us?”

“I will,” a stranger from the bar mutters.

“Look,” Evan leans in on the conversation, looking at the brunette with a smirk “I thought she and I were having a moment, how the hell am I supposed to compete with you?”

The woman looks genuinely upset, “Oh no! I’m sorry. A moment? Aww, that’s adorable, Charlie look how handsome he is.”

“Yea,” Charlie’s trying to contain her laughter, “Lexi’s in good hands, let’s go.”

Lexi gives a nod of her head to the woman and she can still see the amusement on Charlie’s face as she turns to walk with the brunette out of the bar.

“Wow!” Evan says as Lexi turns back to the bar still in disbelief.

“Right,” she replies as she moves her hand to her mouth and pulls something out, “this isn’t my gum.”

She sticks the souvenir on a napkin and takes a long sip from her drink as Evan closes his eyes tightly, a smile permanently plastered to his face at the moment, “So, so many comments.”

“Keep them to yourself,” she remarks.

He nods, then takes a sip of his beer as he watches the girl tap the side of her glass absent mindedly with her index finger.

“What’s the game plan now?” he questions her.

Lexi snaps out her thoughts and glances over at him, “I think I’m going to hang out for a while, you?”

He cocks an eyebrow, “Is that an invitation?”

Lexi narrows her eyes at him playfully, “No handsome, it’s not. I know what your game plan was tonight with blondie…and I’m not your consolation prize.”

Evan scoffs in offense, “Get over yourself Wilson.”

“Excuse you?” her smirk falls.

“I’m not stupid,” he turns on the stool to face her, a small grin on his face, “I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Lexi stares at him for a moment, then glances down at her glass as he continues, “Hell, I’m pretty sure if it came down to it, and it had been left up to me and I wasn’t able to bring you back, he would have killed me. So, I get it, you’re complicated.”

“More now, than before,” she says quietly, still staring at the ice in her glass.

He waits a moment before saying, “I’m listening.”

Lexi hesitates, but she’s not been able to talk with Jody or Donna about the events of that day and Charlie’s great, but she’s still not her Charlie. What the hell? “When Laura ordered me to kill Sam that day…I saw the hatred in Dean’s eyes, the hatred for me. I wanted to unbind my powers to have the advantage over Laura and look where that got me? I killed Logan, I almost killed Sam, I caused more damage than anything, and now…now I can’t even freakin’ control it. They look at me like I’m sick or…worse, like I’m broken now.”

She chews on her bottom lip for a moment, swallowing the lump in her throat before she continues, “I’m not broken, I know what broken feels like, I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been before, and I think that scares them. I was supposed to go to a family game night a couple nights ago. Mary called to invite me, but I couldn’t make myself go.”

“Lexi, they care about you,” he says reassuringly, “that’s obvious.”

“I know,” she replies quietly, “but I’m not the same person I was, and that’s obvious too.”

Evan waits a beat before he questions her, “How’s the training coming along?”

“Good,” she replies quickly, “it’s good.”

He stares at her curiously for a moment, seeing her sudden uneasiness. Lexi looks over at him and sighs as she drops her head back down, “Okay, I haven’t been training. Rowena’s tried, but I keep putting it off.”

“Seriously?” Evan questions her, then pulls his wallet out of his pocket. He digs some cash out and lays it on the bar beside his empty bottle, “Fine, come on.”

“What?” she questions in confusion.

“Come on,” he repeats himself, “I’m driving.”

Lexi thinks about protesting as he offers her his arm, but instead she loops her arm through his and remarks, “Fine, but I’m only going because I’m hungry and we’re stopping for food at some point.”

“Deal,” he laughs as they make their way out of the bar.

“What are we doing here?” Lexi sounds annoyed as she looks at the dark empty field scattered with round haybales in front of her.

Evan lowers the tailgate of his truck and hops up to sit on it as he says nonchalantly, “Training.”

“WHAT?!” She spins around to face him.

“You heard me,” he smirks.

“No,” she replies, “I’m not.”

“I’m sorry,” Evan responds as he folds his arms across his chest, “Earlier you were saying how you think your friends might be scared of you, but what I’m thinking is…you’re scared of yourself.”

Lexi puts her hands on her hips defiantly, “That’s not it…I’m not...”

“Then take the amulet off,” Evan responds, “You have a choice Lexi, you can either fear it or learn to control it.”

“I could hurt you,” she replies quickly.

He holds up his hands, wiggling his fingers, “I can protect myself, take the amulet off or I’ll do it for you.”

Lexi’s heart starts to race, but she takes a deep breath as she reaches up to unclasp the necklace from around her neck, then carefully lays it on the tailgate beside Evan.

“Now what,” she questions.

“Focus,” he says, leaning to put his elbows on his knees, “focus your energy on one of those bales.”

Lexi turns to look back into the field and she clenches her hands into fists tightly, feeling the strange power rushing through her veins. She raises her right hand up outstretched towards one of the hay bales as she focuses her mind, imaging the haybale exploding into a million stray pieces of cut grass, then she watches in delight as her vision begins a realization.

“I did it,” she says proudly, turning to look at Evan who’s smiling as well.

“I know,” he replies, “You were given these powers for a reason Lexi. You own them, they don’t own you. You shouldn’t have to keep trying to fight them or bind them, you have to own them. Now, try again.”

She nods her understanding and turns back around, centering herself and focusing on the next haybale for a moment before it explodes as well. Then carefully she moves her hand from haybale to haybale exploding the seven remaining visible bales in the field.

Lexi turns around proudly as Evan slides off the tailgate, “Well done grasshopper.”

Her cellphone begins to ring from the back pocket of her jeans and Lexi pulls it out, realizing it’s not quite as late as she thought it was and sees the name on the screen Sam W.

“Hello,” she answers, placing the phone to her ear.

“Lex,” Sam says softly, “I should have called you sooner.”

Her heart immediately drops from the tone in his voice, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mom…she’s uh…” his voice breaks, “gone.”

The tears welling up in her eyes burn, so she closes them as she drops her head, “Where are you?”

“Bunker.”

“I’m on my way,” she replies before ending the call. She slips the phone back in her pocket as she picks the amulet up and reaches up to slip it back around her neck, her gaze meeting Evan’s.

“What’s wrong?” He questions, concern apparent on his face.

“Their mom,” Lexi begins, trying to keep her tears at bay, “she died, I need to go. Can you take me?”

“Of course,” he responds before lifting the tailgate shut.

“I’ll wait here,” Evan says as he parks the truck outside of the bunker.

The dark-haired girl nods her head in understanding as she opens the door, “Thank you.”

He nods then watches her close the door and descend the steps leading into the bunker.

Lexi makes her way through the door and down the staircase, her eyes red from the tears she’s let silently fall on the drive over. Mary Winchester wasn’t her mother, but she was one of the first women to treat her like a daughter. It feels as if someone has ripped her heart out of her chest and the pain only intensifies when her gaze falls on Sam, who’s walking across the war room to greet her, and she sees the pain and grief on his face.

He pulls her into a hug, and they cling to each other for longer than normal, silent tears falling from both of them. Dean makes his way to the doorway from the kitchen and stops upon seeing them. When they release each other, they notice the older brother watching and Lexi gives him a small sad smile as she walks over to hug him as well. He wraps his arms around her for a moment before pulling away and Lexi can tell immediately tell he’s not reached the level of acceptance that his brother has.

“Come on,” he says to her, “I’ll get you a beer.”

He turns and heads toward the kitchen and Lexi glances back at Sam with concern.

 Lexi takes a sip of her beer as she processes her thoughts after Sam explains to her what happened with Jack and Mary.

“Where’s he now?” she questions.

“We don’t know,” Sam replies.

“We’ll find him,” Dean says sternly.

“And then what?” Lexi questions, glancing at him with concern.

“We do what we have to?” Dean responds.

“I bet,” Lexi scoffs with a shake of her head.

“I’m sorry?” Dean cocks an eyebrow at her.  

“He’s still family Dean,” she responds angrily, “we don’t know what happened, maybe it wasn’t his fault, maybe it was an accident.”

“Killing someone’s an accident?” the older brother’s tone is harsh.

“Dean,” Sam tries to diffuse the situation as Lexi glances down at the bottle in front of her for a moment before she turns an icy gaze back to the man standing by the bar.

“So, you’re saying I killed Logan on purpose?”

Dean’s whole posture softens as he sees the comparison she’s making, “That’s not what I meant Lexi. You know that. Jack is different, he’s dangerous.”

“So am I,” she replies coldly.

“Lex,” the younger brother says, a pleading tone in his voice. Tensions are high enough without the two of them fighting right now.

“Sorry Sam,” Lexi looks at him for a moment, sadness in her eyes, “I should go.”

“Don’t,” he shakes his head.

“I’m sorry,” she responds, knowing she can’t sit here and argue with her friend. They all deserve time to mourn, they don’t need to be arguing right now. She pats Sam’s hand gently as she stands up, “I’ll call you later.”

Lexi turns to leave, her gaze stopping on Dean for a moment. He’s not angry with her, he’s angry with the situation and his face softens as he gives her a soft nod in understanding. She returns it and makes her way out of the room.

 Lexi opens the truck door and Evan doesn’t comment on the fresh stream of tears on her cheeks as she climbs in and fastens her seatbelt.

“Take me home,” she says quietly without looking over at him, “please.”

He doesn’t respond only turns the key in the ignition and puts the truck in drive as she stares at the passenger window fighting back the surge of emotions.

 A few days later

The knock from Lexi’s door surprises her and she pauses the TV before she stands up to make her way over to answer it. She looks through the peep hole and quickly opens the door to allow her friend inside. His eyes are red and slightly puffy, a clear sign he’s been crying, but she doesn’t say anything. Lexi closes the door as he walks over to sit in one of her chairs in the living room, he leans forward elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. She knows this isn’t about the argument from the other night, this is him finally accepting what’s happened. The dark-haired girl moves to stand beside him and runs a comforting hand from the top his head to the base of his neck.

The man looks up at her for a moment as he places his hand on her waist, guiding her to stand in front of him. She’s seen a multitude of emotions in her friend’s green eyes over the years: anger, bliss, fear, sadness, disgust, need, and desire. This one she knows, and she lays her arms across the tops of his shoulders as he rests his head against her abdomen and envelopes her hips in his arms. Her heart breaks as she feels the tears seeping through the fabric of her t-shirt, leaving a cool damp spot on her skin. She moves her hand to the back of his head and runs her fingers through his hair. She would stand here and hold him for as long as he needed, because they were each other’s person, complicated as it may be.

[evangeline-perry]

Narnia 3: Peter x OC: part 12: final part

completed series

masterlist

2nd A/N: this is the end of my Narnia OC story, I hope you enjoyed it ^^

We sailed in one of the rowing boats throw a field of waterlilies floats in the water.

‘So, what was it like when Aslan changed you back?’ Peter asks Eustace.

‘No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it myself’, Eustace told him, ‘Then he came towards me. It sort of hurt, but it was a good pain. You know, like when you pull a thorn from your foot. Being a dragon wasn't all bad. I mean, I think I was a better dragon than I was a boy, really. I'm so sorry for being such a sop.’

‘It's okay, Eustace’, Peter assures him, ‘You were a pretty good dragon.’ Peter and Capian chuckle while rowing, Eustace smiles sheepishly.

‘My friends’, Reep spoke solemnly, ‘we have arrived.’

We reach a shore and about 20 feet further a wall of water stands in it’s place, what lies behind it, we couldn’t see.

‘Aslan’, Eustace says, causing us all to turn around to the lion who’d started to walk behind us.

‘Welcome, children’, Aslan greets, ‘You have done well. Very well indeed. You have come far, and now your journey is at its end.’

‘Is this your country?’ I ask him.

‘No, my country lies beyond’, he tells me.

‘Is my father in your country?’ Caspian questions.

‘You can only find that out for yourself, my son’, Aslan tells him, ‘But you should know that if you continue... there is no return.’

Caspian walks forward to the wall of water, touches it while hesitating a moment, before returning to stand with us.

‘You're not going?’ Peter asks surprised.

‘I can't imagine my father would be very proud that I gave up what he died for’, Caspian states, ‘I spent too long wanting what was taken from me and not what was given. I was given a kingdom. A people’, then he turns to aslan, ‘I promise to be a better king.’

‘You already are’, he tells him, ‘Children.’

‘I think perhaps it's time we went home actually, Lex.’

‘But I thought you loved it here’, I say confused.

‘I do’, Peter tells me, ‘But I love home and our family as well. They need us.’

‘Alexa?’ I look up at Aslan, ‘I think it’s time to tell him, don’t you think?’ I nod.

‘Tell me what?’ Peter seems confused.

Hesitantly I take his hand and place it on my stomach, his expression shows that he is catching on but doesn’t believe what’s happening yet.

‘Peter…’ I breath in and out, ‘I am pregnant, with your child.’

‘Are… are you serious?’ he asks bewildered, I simply nod, ‘How long have you known?’

‘A month or two before we got to Narnia again’, by his reaction I can tell he wants to ask why I didn’t tell him sooner, ‘I was afraid how you would react… are you angry with me?’

His expression goes from bewildered to a bright smile, in mere microseconds. He picks me up and spins me around, this makes laugh.

‘I’m going to be a father!’ he exclaims, ‘We’re going to have a family of our own.’ he puts me down and pulls me close.

‘Congratulations’, Caspian smiles as he pats Peters shoulder and sidehugs me, ‘and my best wishes.’

‘Congrats’, Eustace adds, ‘You’re going to be great parents. I’m sure of it.’

‘Thanks Eustace’, I smile.

‘Ow what a wonder’, Reep exclaims, ‘I am very happy for both of you, your majesties.’

‘Thank you reepicheep.’ Peter says.

He bows, then seems to be thinking about something before turning to Aslan, ‘Your Eminence… ever since I can remember, I have dreamt of seeing your country. I've had many great adventures in this world but nothing has dampened that yearning. I know I am hardly worthy but with your permission, I would lay down my sword for the joy of seeing your country with my own eyes.’

Aslan smiles at his words, ‘My country was made for noble hearts such as yours no matter how small their bearers be.’

‘Your Majesty’, Reep bows.

‘No one could be more deserving’, Caspian states, smiling.

‘Well, I...’

‘It's true’, Peter adds, before bowing to him, Reep bows back.

I bend down, now sitting on my knees. ‘May I?’

‘Well, I suppose’, He begins, ‘Just this...’

I hug him close, picking him up as he hugs back.

‘Goodbye, Alexa.’ We pull back.

‘Don't cry’, Reep says, walking to Eustace.

‘I don't understand’, Eustace says tearfully, ‘Will I not see you again? Ever?’

‘What a magnificent puzzle you are, and a true hero’, Reep smiles, ‘It has been my honor to fight beside such a brave warrior... and a great friend.’ he bows before turnign to the water wall, where a small boat stands for him, ‘I won't be needing this.’ he lays his sword down in the sand and starts rowing, within short time he is out of sight, over the wall.

‘This is our last time here, isn't it?’ I ask Aslan, tears forming in my eyes.

‘Yes. You have grown up, my dear one.’

‘Will you visit us in our world?’ I question as I let go of Peter and put my hand through Aslans mane.

‘I shall be watching you’, he tells me, ‘always.’

‘How?’

‘In your world, I have another name’, He tells me, ‘You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia. That by knowing me here for a little you may know me better there.’

‘Will we meet again?’ I continue.

‘Mm. Yes, dear one’, he assures, ‘One day.’

He roars at the wall, it splits open into a corridor, before returning to us.

‘Your child shall have a good life, with extraordinary parents, it will be happy and go on many adventures of his own.’ he speaks it as an enchantment, then he blows out, wind stroking my cheeks, it feels like magic, it is.

‘You're the closest thing I have to family’, Caspian adds in, ‘And that includes you, Eustace.’ he puts his hand on Eustaces shoulder

‘Thank you.’ Eustace smiles sheepishly. We all hug Caspian goodbye, when I let go I go over to hug Aslan, tears now rolling down my cheeks.

‘Will I come back?’ Eustace asks after a moment of silence.

‘Narnia may yet have need of you’, Aslan tells him.

We walk into the corridor but when we look behind us, it closes. We are under water again and swim to the surface. We have returned to my room, everything is as it was. Water runs out of the room, into the portrait again.

‘Eustace?’ our aunts voice calls out, ‘Eustace... what are you doing up there? Jill Pole's dropped in for a visit.’

Eustace stands up, picks up the painting and hangs it back on the wall. After looking at it one last time, we exit the room, close the door behind us.

We spoke often of Narnia in the days that followed. And when we left cousin Eustace, after the war ended... we missed him with all our heart... as I know all Narnians will miss us all... till the end of time.

Peter and I got married, for the second time. We invited Eustace, he was thrilled. 3 short month later, Peter and my baby was born, a beautiful young boy, he had Peters blue eyes and my dark hair. Welcome to the world, Caspian Pevensie.

<- PREVIOUS