#Someone help I'm being sad about Warren again

[zoomclown]

something that I don't think gets talked about enough is how much Warren needs to be validated by the people who are harming him.

Like how hard he latches onto being important. He will let them treat him any way they want so long as they see him as valuable. I think that beyond the avoidance, there's a part of him that wants to stay at Red Valley just because he is told he is useful.

When he holds himself hostage, the first thing he mentions is that they need him. He believes they will do what he asks because he is valuable to them. When he finally stands up to Bryony and tells her he doesn't want to go back in the pod, he immediately follows it up by mentioning that he is valuable to Overhead. Trying to get her to affirm his worth. Even when they get back from the meeting with the board and he asks her if any of their relationship was real. After hearing her tell them that she's been deliberately triggering his PTSD, he is still trying to get her to say she ever valued him at all.

He could get validation from Gordon any day. Gordon, who somehow manages to convince him that he might actually have value beyond his usefulness as a test dummy. But his need to hear it from people who are actively causing him life-threatening harm just speaks to his experience of parental abuse. The experience of looking into the eyes of someone who is actively hurting you, and instead of fighting back, waiting for them to tell you you're good enough.

[lazlolullaby]

Terry McGinnis gets yeeted to the past and becomes besties with Jason

he also has Ace and the shelter doesn't allow "scary dogs" inside.

So. He's a homeless teenager and his big dog. Who both have Batman level training. Possibly his suit, but it's funnier if he doesn't.

because I've seen Damien VS Terry a few times but I haven't seen our juvie children Jason and Terry interact much in fandom.

Mostly follows the DCAU timeline but you know. General fluid canon playground bashing action figures together because I love Terry and by dint of him being in the future he's a little estranged from the Bat Fam and that makes me sad.

first thing: Terry knows he can't wipe himself out of existence because of the way he traveled. His future is fine, he just has to repair his time machine.

But you know. Homeless, no resources. Bruce taught him to be suspicious of the government, and this is before the League, so. Not many people he can turn to.

It was almost an accident, but he was walking Ace and caught the Joker mid-rant against Batman and Robin. Terry heckles them as a distraction. He insults the Clown good. He even throws in a barb against Batman just to be funny.

Tim tries to guide him away, but the Big Brother instinct kicks in and he ends up fighting the Joker anyway.

When Batman tried to catch up to him, Terry flinched and ran. Sure, Bruce would help, but he wanted to do this by himself.

Red Hood hears about this and decides to investigate. "Hey, buddy. word is you ain't scared of clowns. I hear you could use some protection."

Terry weighs his options. He's read about Jason Todd. Red Hood. The whole mess. "It's not like I'm not scared, it's just - that Robin kid. I had a little brother his size and I'd be pissed if a low rate clown ever hurt him." And "you know death doesn't stop some people. Why don't we mock him? Make sure no one takes him seriously ever again?"

"I'm listening."

Terry becomes an Enforcer in Crime Alley. He gets close to Jason, mostly because of shared backgrounds and complaining about "their old bosses", not that Jason knows he's also talking about Bruce.

Terry had a big yelling match with his father Warren the last time he saw him before he died. He starts to soften Jason up to the idea of talking with his father since they both have dangerous night jobs.

There are raids for getting Terry's time machine up and running again. There are also surgical attacks on the Joker's usual haunts and goons. Terry and Ace get caught and taken back to Wayne Manor.

Terry specifically asks to watch how Alfred makes his cookies and food. Bruce thinks he's being paranoid but he just wants to know how to make food the way Older Bruce likes it.

Bruce thinks he's Jason and does a DNA test. It shows that he's not Jason, but he is Bruce Wayne's son. Terry didn't know this, and while he was keeping it together so far, he freaks out.

Ace was trained as a medical dog and can tell when someone has heart problems. He makes Terry lay on the floor. "Yeah this is your heart problem, here's a sneak peek of your future."

Idk how to end this but it's like, Jason comes in the front wanting to see his friend. And also talk with Bruce.

[kissorkill16]

Peaceful: A Sky High Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Warren had a panic attack, and Magenta is being a good friend and comforting him.

P.S., a gift for @darrenpeace

Also, this is completely platonic. Do not tag as ship!

Magenta was just minding her own business, thinking about nothing except her date with Zach. She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts when she smelled smoke coming from the boys bathroom.

She figured someone might be smoking, but then again, how could one single cigarette produce THAT much smoke? She looked around to see if anyone else was around, and when she saw no one else, she stepped in, and what she saw next shook her to the bone.

Warren was sitting in the corner of the bathroom, clutching the sides of his head, gritting his teeth, and knees up to his chest. Magenta also seemed to notice some tears running down his cheeks, dripping onto his pants.

"Holy fucking shit.", she mumbled.

Warren jerked his head up, and his demeanor changed. He went from partially sad to extremely angry. His fists combusted in flames, and he snarled at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?!", he yelled.

"I smelled smoke.", replied Magenta, her face as still as a rock.

"Get out!", Warren raised his hand, and it looked like he was about to strike her. However, Magenta didn't even flinch.

Instead, she pulled out a water bottle, filled with cold water, and dumped it all over him. The water extinguished the flames.

Warren rubbed his eyes where some of the water had hit him. "What the hell?!"

"Listen, hothead. I don't know what's got your panties in a twist, but I guess since I'm the only one here right now, I might as well do what I can to help you cool off."

Warren really didn't want any comfort right now, he thought he didn't need it. He wasn't a child, he wasn't helpless, and he certainly wasn't a total baby. But he felt like he didn't have much of a choice since Magenta saw him like this. He slid back down to the floor, and curled up into a ball.

Magenta made her way over to him, she wrapped her arms around him in a comfortable hold. "Do you want to talk about it?", she asked.

Warren shook his head.

"Okay. Take all the time you need to pull yourself back together, I'll cover for you if anyone asks about it.", she said.

"You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"

"About what? Big bad Warren Peace needing comfort from the goth guinea pig girl?", joked Magenta. She giggled when Warren tilted his head to look at her and glared. "Of course I won't."

Warren buried his face back into her stomach, more tears forming in his eyes and dripping onto her shirt.

Magenta didn't mind though. She may not have entirely liked this dude, but she would be damned if he ever had a panic attack and no one was around to comfort him.

[topazy]

Inside, outside

Pairings: 10k x reader, Addy Carver × sister reader

Warnings: Swearing, violence

Chapter: 5.01

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story! I'm feeling a little sad but looking forward to writing the final season of the chaotic love story between Astra and 10k💕

You swing the hammer in your hands fast, cracking the skull of the Z in front of you open, flinching as its blood splattered over you. Turning on your heels, you bury the claw into another Z’s eye socket before using the blade in your other hand to stab it in the side of the head.

“I give you mercy,” you say, wiping the blood off your face with the sleeve of your jumper before putting your hand flat against a tree. You lean against it and catch your breath.

Thinking the coast was clear, you’d split off from the rest of your group momentarily to go for a pee, but ended up being chased by the undead on your way back. As you walk up a hill in the direction the rest of your group is going, you spot Doc running with a brunette by his side towards them, then hear the familiar sound of gunshots as 10k and Sarge take out a handful of Z’s.

“What’s going on?”

“A Z just said ‘no’,” Murphy replies.

“What?”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “A Z just said ‘no’ right before 10K shot him.”

“Right,” you snort, before leaning up and kissing 10k on the cheek. Dropping your backpack to the ground, you open it and rummage inside it before pulling out a bottle of water that you hand to the brunette Doc rescued, saying, “hey, I’m Astra.”

“Hi… Thank you,” she shyly accepts.

Since being unable to stop the black rainbow, the survivors of your group decided to head to Newmerica, and along the way, you helped anyone you came across. It was hard given the lack of water, food, and ammunition, but humanity needed to look after one another again, even strangers. It was the only way life in the new world would work. Maybe it was hope of a better life, but the sky seemed clearer, the grass was healthy and un-stained by blood and zombie guts, and the air was much fresher.

Once everyone had something to eat and drink, Doc declared it was time to move on before any more deaths came.

While heading back to the vehicle parked at the bottom of the hill, Murphy leans into you and says, “I don’t know about Granny; she doesn’t look so good. I swear to God I saw her cough up a hairball.”

He was right; the elderly woman who claimed her name was actually Granny looked as if she'd been sick for a long time. 10k and Doc saved her and her adult children from a horde of Z’s days prior, and initially you thought their sickly appearance was due to exhaustion, but now you weren’t convinced it was the only reason. You were worried Granny wouldn’t even make it to Newmerica. You whisper, “I think we should be ready to show mercy at any time.”

When a couple you rescued let out a deep, chesty cough behind you, Murphy looked back and waved to them. “How y’all doing back there?”

“We’re good,” the man replies. “She’s actually feeling better, and my stomach cramps have stopped.”

Murphy laughs cheerfully before turning to look straight ahead again. “If they weren’t talking, I’d swear they were Zs. What are they still living for, huh? I’d say just die already.”

“I say the same thing about you all the time.”

He glares at you, “brat.”

You laugh as Murphy walks faster to catch up with Doc, no doubt to argue about whether Warren is still alive again. The subject of their arguments caused knots to form in your stomach. You knew what it was like to have nobody believe you that someone you loved was still alive, but then again, you only experienced that with 10k because Murphy put you through it.

You step to the side to wait for 10k, who is at the back of the group making sure the dead don’t creep up, but as the others walk by, you do your best not to gag. Not only did the people you rescued look dead, but they also smelled like death.

—

Your eyes flicker between the road and the figure disappearing into the distance. Murphy had just split off from the rest of the group on his own to go search for Warren while the rest of you headed to New Mexico. Although you had a history with Murphy, you didn’t like that the group was getting smaller, plus you doubted he would survive long on his own.

“A few hundred more miles and we’ll be in Newmerica,” Doc says, railing everyone together. He stopped driving half an hour ago so everyone could stretch their legs.

Sarge stands beside you, mumbling to herself while looking between the different people. Suddenly she turns to you and says, “Oh shit, we’re a person down.”

You do a mental check of everyone that’s there and realize Granny is missing. “Hey Doc! We’ve lost one; Granny’s gone!”

Everyone splits off into pairs to try and find the elder women. Granny couldn’t have gotten far, but in her confused state, she could have been a danger to herself.

Luckily, it doesn’t take long for 10k to find her. She was hunched over, eating brains from a rotting corpse. “That’s disgusting.”

When Granny’s son pulls her back, she claims to have no idea why she ate it. It scared you to see how zombie-like she was becoming. Doc quickly orders everyone to go back to the truck. You go to leave, but 10k grabs your hand and pulls you back slightly. “Do you think Granny is a cannibal?”

“Possibly, I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it. They all seem so sick.”

“Do you think the black rain caused it?”

“God, I hope not; what if everyone in Newmerica is like that?”

He lets out a deep sigh and says, “We’ll figure it out.” 10k eyes soften as a smile plays on his lips. “Just think, once we are there, we can finally start to spend time together, just us, with no interruptions.”

“I can’t wait.” You press your lips against his, but pull away when you hear the sound of an engine being turned. “We better hurry before Doc sends a search party.”

Still holding your hand. 10k leads the way. Most married couples got to spend their first few weeks of marriage doing nothing but have sex, and it was growing increasingly frustrating how difficult it was for you to not even be able to spend ten minutes alone with 10k without being interrupted by the undead or someone in your group.

“Front or back?”

You squeeze his hand before letting go. “I’ll go in the back.”

You jump into the back of the truck beside Sarge; the tension between you is gradually getting less awkward. You sit with her facing the others while 10k gets in the front beside Doc.

“Alright, let’s go, kids!”

—

It made you nervous seeing how sickly everyone in the back looked aside from Sarge. The two of you kept glancing at each other, sharing a knowing look. The people you’d rescued all looked as if they were dying from some type of flu. You feared things would turn bad at any moment, and seeing the way Granny’s face began to twitch, you gripped your blade just in case she turned.

As Doc starts to pull over, you look around confused. He was pulling towards what looked like two men selling stuff at the side of the road from a camper van. Not exactly what you envisioned the new world would look like.

Feeling that something wasn’t right, you hang back by the truck as 10k, Doc, and Sarge go over to speak to them. Something didn’t seem right. You jump out of the truck and take a few steps forward, but turn back after hearing a grunting sound. You see Granny struggling to get out and offer her your hand to help her down, but she slaps your hand out of the way, jumps down, and runs towards Sarge.

“Brains!”

You get whiplash from looking back and forth between three different people who your group had taken in because they had turned nearly completely Z-like; they didn’t appear to be fully dead or alive.

When one of the men who was sitting by the stop point aims his gun at Granny, a young woman with short, slicked-back black hair appears and gently gets him to lower the gun. Her clothes were clean and fresh-looking; it was obvious she hadn’t been roughing it like the rest of you. She walks towards Granny, who was being restrained by 10K and Doc. She clicks her fingers to get the older woman’s attention and pops a black biscuit into Granny’s mouth, which turns her back to normal. Granny gives the woman a cuddle, then steps back to cuddle her son.

The woman looks at Doc and says, “How long has she been dead?”

“Dead? We just thought she was sick. She’s talking.”

“No, she’s dead. So are those two,” she says, pointing to the couple your group rescued. “They’re talkers.”

“How is that possible?”

“Since the black rain, people don’t just turn like before. Their bodies are dead, but their souls remain conscious. The dead don’t just walk—now they talk.”

Oh shit.

The mysterious woman hands more of the biscuits out to the half-dead people and explains that there are supposedly traces of brains and something else that prevents them from fully turning. You notice the similarities between the women and the figure of someone on the posters hanging up on the camper van.

“I’m George,” she says. “And this is my friend, Lieutenant Dante.”

Lieutenant Dante was most definitely already dead. Your group really messed up with the black rain; now the world has talking zombies.

“I’m Astra; this is 10k, Sarge, and Doc.”

“Sweet names. So what are you guys doing all the way down here? No offense, but you look as if you’ve been through hell.”

“We are looking for Newmerica.”

George tells you that Newmerica is just an idea that will hopefully become its own nation, and everyone, dead or alive, is welcome to vote. Dead or alive.

Doc shrugs and says, “Sign us up.”

[doyouknowwhoyouare13]

Nyx watches Daisy Jones and the Six

gonna be updated every week when I get the chance to watch that episode

Episode 1

oh boy

why am I starting this right after I finished crying

good lord

anyways

They look just how I imagined

especially Daisy

She's perfect

so pretty

OOOH TRACKS AS EPISODE NAMES???

so sad

GRAHAM

HELP

God those drums are so bad

I'm sorry

oh no

"I wasn't naive I was a baby"

crying

again

SHE WRITES HER A'S LIKE ME

WARREN

💀

god not the wedding

this is so sad

his father has no clue how much he messed up Billy

oh shit

GRAHAM

WTF

MARGARET???

DID I MISS SOMETHING

CAMILA!!!!!!

this is so good so far

oh Chuck...

Don't tell me they changed his story

wtf

oh not this bitch

SIMONE

God I love the outfits

Love at first sight

god I cried more about them than anything else in that goddamn book

Karen is gorgeous

HER ACCENT????????

BRO

I'M IN LOVE WITH HER TOO

STOP I'M GONNA CRY

SAY THE QUOTE

COME ON

YEAH SAY THE QUOTE

WOOHOO!!!!

GO DAISY

I love this sm

HER VOICE

HOLY

I love Camile being a photographer

that's so cute

ok took me long enough

anyways

episode 2 baby

TEDDY

HELP ROD

KAREN

I love them

oh they-

slay!!

Don as in..Evelyn?? yes or no

I still need to finish reading that

DAISY

HER VOICEEEEEE

SHE JUST LEFT 💀

HIS RUN

he's so awkward

LOU ADLER????

HOLD ON I'M SO CONFUSED

WHICH ONE IS LIKE IN EVELYNS

whatever I'll find out when I actually read it

HIS CELEBRATION

I LOVE CAMI

sam's voice my lord

HELP I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC

oh more sex

THERE'S NO WAY

HELPPPP DAISY

Warren is actually the love of my life

oh Cami don't cry

oh god Billy is gonna start spiraling now

crying

oh she's so happy

and he

UGHHHH

breaks my heart

she deserves better

they have the cutest outfits

OH GOD

OH NO

NOOO

GO CAMI!!!!

what the what

bro

omg Billy

I'M GONNA CRY

literally tearing up rn

OH CAMI

Heartbroken

episode 3

going to rehab

as he NEEDS to

is that gonna be like a timeskip orrrr

maybe they'll talk about Daisy for this episode

oh it was a timeskip

OH BILLY

not upset over it my ass

eddie is such a salty whore

I love it

omg Billy looks like he's about to cry 24/7

SIMONE IS

OMG

SHE'S LIKE ME FR!!!!!!!!!!

OMG

I'M GONNA GO INSANE

ok so Daisy isn't her real name I see

GO DAISY!!!

omg my fav couple-

oh wait no

why so many old people

oh that's bad

VOCALS????

SIMONE MY LORD

ew men

such a cute baby

look at him

he literally likes her sm

eddie is in love with cami

OMG CHRISTMAS!!!!

HONEYCOMB

let's go baby

THE song

"the fuck is this Teddy" 💀

IT SOUNDS SO GOOD

IT JUST

AHHH

their voices

omg

just perfection

A NIGHTMARE 💀

OMG THE CONTRADICTION JUST LIKE THE BOOK

episode 4

SEVENEIGHTNINE BABY

THE WAY THEY'RE ALL SEEING IT

I LOVE THEM

HELP THEY'RE SO HIGH

I JUST CAN'T GET OVER THEIR VOICES

someone's mad

NO WAY THEY USED HER VOICE

oh no

Niccolo is gonna be here soon....

uh oh

I love this

just gonna leave it there?? bro karen 😭

their dynamic is too good

episode 5

THE WAKE-UP CALL

WHO IS THAT

THERE'S NO WAY SHE JUST DID THAT

WARREN 😭

SHE DIDN'T KNOW EDDIES NAME 💀

He's so in love with her (Graham)

GRAHAM IS WITH SOMEONE ELSE????

HER BREAKING IN 💀

look at them go!!!!

HA

SHE JUST JUMPS IN THE WATER

Them being friends??? I kinda like that

She IS pretty

pretty best friends

look at them go

she's so pretty

THEY'RE SO FUNNY

look at them getting along!

KAREN!!! GRAHAM!!!

FINALLY WOOHOO

look at them agreeing with each other

well nevermind

omg Billy

so slay

THE HUG

where are the twins

I just realized

well that might be where they are

episode 6

last one for now

this song is too good

KAREN AND GRAHAM

THE QUOTE

THE QUOTE

OMG

I don't like this photo man

DO THE OTHER QUOTE

oh you fuckers

not the Margaret thing again

AURORA!!!!!

uh oh

no Daisy

NOT THE POOL

I mean he's right

omg they're back on bad terms

AGAIN

STOP

NO

THEY KISSED

SCREAMING

BITCH

AHHH

FUCK YOU

YOU BITCH

AHHHHHHHHH

DON'T SHOW IT AGAIN

IS THAT MY FAVORITE SONG IN THE BACK??

YEP

oh no

the argument

THAT BITCH DAISY/hj

NOOOO DO THE QUOTE

slay democracy

SAY THE QUOTE NOW PLEASE

NO

omg

NO SHE LEFT

well gotta wait til next week now 😭

[artdecosupernova-writing]

OC Kiss Week Day 5: Memory

WIP: Darkspace Portent Pairing: Warren x Thrive Timeline: Thriving: Meridian (ish. loosely. pre-first draft so everything is wrong.) CW: Some, like, pain and stuff. Injury? Uh, if you don’t like reading about people in sustained physical pain, then don’t read this lol. Also, blood. Rating: T Words: 1,728

***

"How bad is it?"

Thrive tightened his fists over the surface of the table, jaw wrenched closed, and shook his head. After a few beats during which the veins in his arms became alarming in their prominence, he released the breath he'd held. "It's not as bad…as it was the last time."

Warren cast a worried search over the screen of the organic data extractor from his position in the corner of the room. "Yeah…I'm not sure that's making me feel better about this."

Thrive grimaced and a hand reached up as if to remove the electrodes attached to his skull, but instead, he pressed his fingers to his temple. "It merely means that Ataneq and I will have to adjust the ratio of input and…and the output of…no." His face went blank. "I can't think." He slammed his wrist on the table and threw his head back, letting fly a lengthy swear in Solnai at the top of his voice.

Warren, understanding how much agony one had to be in to use that particular swear, switched the machine off and jumped to his side, kneeling beside his chair. "Okay, sweetheart, okay. That's good enough." He whipped an absorbent cloth from his pocket and dabbed the moisture from Thrive's forehead, turning his face toward him and registering the swelling relief not just through their physical connection, but their mental one as well. "You're doing great. Let's take a break."

"I'd rather not," Thrive rasped. "We're close. This is the most important thing I've ever done."

"And I'd rather not watch you fry your beautiful brain to a crisp." Warren dragged a second chair over and helped Thrive's trembling hands hold the cloth to his neck and the rest of his face. "Also, this is very much not the most important thing you've ever done."

Thrive grinned at him, as exhausted as he was in doing so. "Well…one could argue that you are the Most Important thing I've ever done."

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth," Warren muttered playfully, beginning to take the electrodes off of Thrive's chest.

Thrive grabbed his hand. "No. One more."

"Hey, I meant it when I said I was gonna put a stop to this if you punched that damn self-destruction button of yours again." Warren gripped Thrive's hand. "This machine is in its infancy and could kill you if you don't take a break."

Instead of the belligerence Warren expected, Thrive turned to him with excitement in his eyes. "The solution is right here. We could be moments away from a breakthrough. The entire kingdom is as close to being able to harness th'crode technology as you and I are right this second, Warren. You will be able to store your own memories without my help."

"Yeah, I kinda know all of that—"

"Do you understand how difficult it has been for me to watch you forget?"

Warren paused. The excitement had fallen away to reveal a deep sadness, remorse he hadn't seen in quite some time. "…It's gotten pretty bad."

"Yes." Thrive applied pressure onto the electrode Warren had started to remove. "Conversations with you about our shared past have become daily reminders of my misjudgment. My selfishness. You shouldn't have to rely on someone else to make sure your cherished memories never die over time."

Warren looked from him to the data extractor. "I still think you need to do this while natural..."

"The point is to test the extractor's capability on a human subject." Thrive straightened his spine. "Our physiology may be different in a lot of ways while I'm human, but I'm not about to test it on you in this stage of development. All it needs is recalibration. I've suggested putting the extraction points directly on the brain, but that idea was shot down rather quickly."

"Thank you, Ataneq," Warren grumbled.

"Let me do this one last time." Thrive pointed to the machine. "One last time. If it doesn't work, I will give up for the rest of the day."

Warren sighed into his hands. "I can't. I can't inflict more of this pain onto you. It's too much. No, I'm saying no. If you wanna torture yourself one more time, you need to get someone else in here to do it."

Thrive's eyebrow quirked.

Which was how, ten minutes later, Warren found himself standing next to Thoeala on the other side of the room while Ataneq calibrated the machine.

Warren turned a frown to Thoeala.

"Oh, you think I'm gonna say no?" Thoeala laughed. "You think just because he's my dad I have an opinion about his well-being?"

"Why are you still here if you didn't want to do this, Pop?" Ataneq asked, repositioning the electrodes on Thrive's head.

Warren sniffed. "Because if this doesn't kill him, I will."

Ataneq took Warren's previous spot behind the extractor. "Right. Counting down from five. Father, recall a memory. Let's keep it simple."

Thrive screwed his eyes shut and nodded, hands tightly clasped together. "Test designation eight-four-six-four," he said for the audio/visual records. "Recalling a memory of my last audience with Delegate Sinkship."

"Simple," Warren corrected. "Not painful."

Ataneq swiped a finger over the screen. "Long live the King. Five. Four. Three. Two. One."

A high-pitched whine rose from the machine and Thrive placed his hands flat on the table. "Yes…immediate drop in physical discomfort from designation eight-four-six-three." He inhaled slowly through his nose, then released through his mouth. "My sinus cavities are warm and there is a sharp sting behind the eyes."

"Holding onto the memory?"

"Yes. Begin transference…now."

Ataneq had only just done what he was told when Thrive let out an unusual sound. A guttural wail he tried to suppress, hanging his head, face contorting into a grimace. Thoeala bristled beside Warren and Ataneq narrowed his eyes.

"There's now…" Thrive touched the center of his forehead, fingers shaking visibly, "…severe—severe pain. Frontal and…damn it..."

Warren's guard raised. Any pain he deemed "severe" could have killed anyone else on the spot. "Thrive, shut it down."

"How close are we," Thrive asked through gritted teeth.

"I can't actually tell. Everything's going haywire," Ataneq said. "Your receptors are being overloaded; you need to stop the transference or you're going to go into self-preservation mode."

As Thrive opened his eyes, a single rivulet of blood rolled down from his nose. "Hemorrhaging. Numbness in…in the hands." He swiped the blood away with a thumb and winced again. "And I'm experiencing a burning sensation on the skin."

"Fuck," Warren spat. "This is exactly why I didn't want to do this again!"

Ataneq held up a hand in Thoeala's direction when she crossed over to Thrive. "Don't touch him yet. I stopped the extractor but he wasn't able to cut off the transference. He's got to come down gradually."

Thrive's eyelids drooped and he snapped upright in an attempt to stay present and focused. "I…I'm about to…fall into preservation state."

"Genius." Warren leaned over the table and gestured around his eyes to get Thrive to make eye contact. "I have been alive for so fucking long and you wanna know why I'm only now starting to get gray hair?"

Thrive carefully rested his head in his arms, tugging the electrodes' wires to their limit. "I may have an idea..."

"Yeah, he's out," Ataneq said after a second of silence.

Thoeala sighed. "So he did that for no reason?"

"No, he succeeded."

"Excuse me?" Warren glanced at him in alarm. "…You mean he actually managed to transfer a memory into the databank?"

Ataneq nodded. "It's not very clear, but it's there. I can just make out vague shapes moving across the screen. We can work with this."

Warren walked around the table and kneeled beside Thrive, who didn't appear to be breathing at all. He felt his neck for a pulse and was satisfied to catch the glacial thrum of his system working to mend his brain. "Babe..."

"Wow," Thoeala exclaimed, peering at the screen of the extractor over Ataneq's shoulder. "That is incredible! Yeah, I can see an outline of Sinkship!"

"Thrive," Warren said, raking his fingers through Thrive's hair. "You did it. We'll celebrate when you're awake." He removed the electrodes and kissed Thrive's temple, his ear, and the bit of cheek exposed to him. "You cause me enormous stress but you also never cease to make me proud."

Thoeala and Ataneq each took turns patting Thrive on the back before leaving the room. "Give us a heads up on how he is."

"Always," Warren promised before settling down on the floor.

He was there for close to half an hour before Thrive sank back into consciousness, folding himself upright and wiping the rest of the blood from his nose.

"Welcome back," Warren said.

Thrive turned, clearly not expecting to see him, grogginess still present on his face. "You waited."

"Well, yeah…you pulled it off. I couldn't just leave you here."

Thrive patted himself down for the wireless electrodes that were used to monitor his physical response to the testing as Warren got up to perch himself on the table. "I'm surprised that it actually worked."

Warren leaned over to capture him in a firm kiss. "I'm not."

"I suppose I owe you an apology." Thrive kissed him again. "I'll take this as a sign to always do what you say from now on."

"Oh," Warren said with a sly smile. "Nice. I don't even care that you're making fun of me. I will take full advantage of this."

"As I've no doubt." Thrive offered him only a half-sarcastic smirk in return. "I believe you called, rightfully, for a celebration."

"You heard that, huh?"

"I'm…in a word, spent. Would you like to stay the night at the Fertile Patch? We could set up a camp."

"That sounds fantastic."

Thrive kissed him one final time before they parted ways to prepare for the hour-long shuttle trip. Warren apprised the kids of Thrive's state and while Thrive managed to stay awake on the ride over, as soon as his head hit the lush grass of the uninhabited area of wilderness he was down for the count again.

Warren watched the sunset by himself, using Thrive's stomach as a pillow, lost in thought about the impact the day's accomplishments would have on the neighboring galaxies.

He'd played a part in history yet again, it seemed.

[scarthefangirl]

Can you stop?

mama!nat x daughter!reader

Request: I'd like to request a Natasha x teen daughter reader were she is like this clingy nice kind talkative person and for some reason natasha starts getting annoyed by reader and hanging on with an other teen and actually yells at reader telling her these rude things and reader is no longer this talkative person and doesn't laugh anymore and natasha starts missing her old self and tries to get her old daughter back.

Warnings: Crying, rambling, bubbly reader, alcohol mentioned, drunkenness (briefly), sadness, loosing yourself, not proof read, rushed ending, (lmk if I missed any)

A/N: I changed the request slightly (Nat doesn't hang out with another teen, sorry) but I tried to keep it true to the request!! (Also that play is not actually four hours I just you know I yeah)

Word count: 2005

Y/N's mother was always right there for her, she always cared about Y/N and loved Y/N. She put her first above everyone in the world. But teenage years are hard for everyone. Sometimes parents get exhausted. Kids misbehave or get moody.

Y/N had her moments, sure, but she is a great girl. She always smiles and shares a positive attitude. She is optimistic and peppy and gives off bright vibes. Y/N is always there for any avenger, or anyone in general, and she is always trying to help people.

Natasha completely adores Y/N and is so proud to be her mother. But sometimes Y/N can be a lot for Nat to handle alone. It doesn't mean she doesn't love Y/N, she truly does, but even she gets tired.

This week was one of those weeks for Nat.

Y/N was being her usual perky self, so happy and energetic. She is heading down for breakfast, starving. She changes into a simple outfit, a t-shirt and jeans. Y/N sits next to her mother, planting her plate beside Nat's. Natasha gives her a pity smile and continues chewing her eggs. Y/N thinks nothing of it and digs into her bowl of cereal.

"Any plans for today mom?" Y/N asks before waving Wanda over to their table. Natasha shakes her head and turns the page in the newspaper she was reading.

"Maybe we could go watch my friend Katie in her school play! She is really excited and is begging me to go. It is about something odd, two authors combining a bunch of grim's fairy tales PR something. I never really read fairytales you know? They seem so fake. And besides your telling me some prince is going to kiss a dead fifteen year old chick? I don't think so. And everyone hunting the beast in-" Y/N's rambling is cut off by her mother's voice.

"Your point Y/N?" Natasha groans in an annoyed tone. Y/N looks at her bowl, feeling a bit embarrassed of her rambling patterns.

"Um, her show is at 2, I was hoping you would take me and maybe we could go together. It is a four hour show but it seems good. If you want of course, we don't have to. I just thought it might.." She catches herself ramble again and stops sheepishly. Nat sighs and nods.

"Its whatever we can go."

"T-thanks." An awkward silence over takes the meal, even Wanda feeling the tension. Y/N notices her mother's mood and decides everyone would feel better if she left. "I, um, I think I'm full."

"Okay, did we ask? You are old enough to leave the table alone. We don't need to hear about it Y/N." Natasha mutters angrily. Y/N gulps down the lump in her throat and stands up. She washes her dish off and puts it in the sink. The teenage girl heads to her room, placed beside her mothers. She lays on her bed and cries softly, feeling terrible for making her mother mad. Y/N was always a people pleaser, does things for everyone but her. She always acts and does things in a way she hopes will please the people around her. Natasha is someone who Y/N always tries to make happy. It hurts Y/N to see her mom so upset with her, all Y/N wants is to make Nat proud.

Y/N puts in her airpods and presses shuffle to her playlist. The first song to play is One More I Love You by Alex Warren. Y/N gets cozy in bed and drifts in and out of sleep.

~

Throughout the day Y/N subtly reminds Nat of their plan, only twice though. Natasha promises to pick up Y/N on her way back from the gym at 1:15 and then they could go. It is a long drive to the school so she has to get Y/N early. Y/N is very excited and Nat seems to be in a better mood.

Y/N waits by the door of the compound for her mom. 1:20, 1:30, 1:45, slowly the minutes ticked by. 1:50, 1:58, 2:00.

At 4:15 Y/N walks grimly back inside, mascara dried on her face. Y/N is upset and disappointed. But mainly she is kicking herself for even bringing it up. Her mom is so busy, of course she doesn't have time for this. What kind of jerk invites a busy avenger to a four hour play?! Y/N Romanoff does that's who.

Natasha and Carol Danvers walk into the compound around 11:30pm. Y/N is asleep on the couch and wakes up at the sound of laughter. She looks over at the kitchen where Nat and Carol have entered. They are holding drinks and are dressed fancy.

"Um, hey mom." Y/N walks into the kitchen. Nat nods upwards as if to say sup. "You said you were going to the gym."

"Plans changed." Natasha laughs throwing her arms in a W shape. She takes a long sip of her alcohol, as does Carol.

"You missed the play mama."

"Oops." She cracks up into laughter. Y/N feels tears burning her eyes but she pushes it down. "Maybe next time baby."

"Mom I am really upset. You promised. I waited for hours and you get back drunk and can't manage an apology. I, I really wanted tonight to go well. I miss hanging out with you. I have been making friends around town and I know I haven't been around much but I am missing you a ton. I thought maybe today would be the start of being together more. I-" Again Y/N is cut off by her mother,

"You need to shut up! You talk to much. Don't you know how to close that darn mouth of yours? You are always going on an on about Lord knows what. If your upset go cry in your room, I am so done hearing your voice constantly. You want friends? Shut up. No one wants to be around people with big mouths." Even though Natasha is drunk and doesn't mean it, Y/N is totally hurt. Her mother sees her that way? Her own mom? Natasha and Carol go out of the room, probably to get more to drink or something. Y/N sinks to the floor of the kitchen, sobbing uncontrollably.

~

Weeks passed and Y/N sunk into a depressive state. Natasha apologized for her attitude hundreds of times but Y/N was so hurt. She told Natasha that she forgives her but deep down the hurt was still there.

Y/N had always been insecure about being to talkative and to loud, and Natasha confirmed it all.

The whole team could tell Y/N was different. The whole mood went down without Y/N's positivity. Natasha feels awful, like she failed as a parent. And Y/N keeps telling herself people will love her more if she just stays silent. Thoughts run through her min such as just stay quiet, or, it isn't even funny so there is no point in saying it, or even, they don't care. They hate you. Y/N has to remind herself to shut up. She was so used to being the strong one emotionally, now she is letting all her bad emotions eat at her.

Today Y/N is laying on her bed and watching TV. Her door is open by a sliver until Sam pushes it open and stands in her doorway. He smiles at Y/N when she puts her attention to him.

"I heard this joke, wanna hear?" He asks. Y/N knows he is trying to make her feel better but it won't help.

"Fire away." She says emotionlessly. He nods before continuing.

"What is the difference between spinach and boogers?" There is an awkward pause before he finishes "Kids don't eat spinach!" He cackles. Y/N rolls her eyes at his attempt to be funny. Normally, Y/N would have laughed because he thought it was so funny. She loved it when people laughed at their own jokes, thinking it made the joke funnier.

"Good one, can you shut my door please?"

"Oh, um, yeah." Sam shuts the door, feelings hurt and confidence broken. Y/N hits play on the television and sinks into her bed. She hates making the team feel bad but she reminds herself that she is doing it for them and they would realize it soon. If she started talking again they would all remember how much they hate her.

The next person through the door is Wanda Maximoff. She doesn't say anything, she just lays in bed next to the teen. Her presence is comforting and makes Y/N feel better a bit. Eventually Wanda has to leave but the hours she spends everyday silently building trust with the girl will never be forgotten. Y/N will one day be grateful for Wanda and Sam and everyone on the Team, but she currently believes she is doing the right thing. She is hurting herself though.

Once more Y/N's room is invaded, this time by her mother. The young woman pretends to not notice her mom, hoping that her mom will leave her in peace. But clearly Natasha cannot read her daughters mind, as she decides to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hey Y/N/N, whatya watchen?" Nat asks casually.

"Boy meets world." Y/N answers straightforwardly. She doesn't take her eyes off the TV, refusing to look at her mom. She really isn't mad at Nat, but she knows if she looks at Nat to long she will burst into tears. She wants to talk so bad, she wants to hug everyone she sees. But she also wants to tell her mom how she feels. Y/N hates herself.

Natasha must have noticed Y/N's lip trembling because she scoots further onto the bed, closer to the teen.

"Lets talk Y/N."

"There is nothing to talk about mama."

"Its been weeks. I've tried giving you space and time but I'm worried honey." Natasha starts, "I love you, and I miss your bubbly happy mood. You are sad and that makes me sad. I want you to be yourself. Its okay to be not okay. But I need you to talk to me. Maybe if we talk about how your feeling then you can feel more like yourself."

"You miss me?" Y/N asks curiously. She knows she shouldn't budge so easily but she does miss herself.

"Obviously! You are my favorite person in this whole world. You. And I understand I hurt you and for that I feel eternally sorry. Is there anything at all I can do to help you my love?"

"I hate myself." Y/N admits, tears in her eyes.

"What?!" Natasha shouts in surprise. She never expected that to come from the teenager who is the definition of yellow.

"I am to loud, I talk to much, I am selfish, I- I am better off to never speak." Y/N breaks. Maybe it was the fact that she missed Nat, or maybe she missed talking, but it was so easy to get her to spill. She was ready to talk to her mother.

They do talk, for awhile. The hours tick by as they swap feelings, experiences, and more. Y/N has a feeling she will be closer with her mom after today. They understand each other better now. Y/N feels better about herself, like she can be more of who she is. It will take time for Y/N to fully recover but this is a start.

They do talk, for awhile. The hours tick by as they swap feelings, experiences, and more. Y/N has a feeling she will be closer with her mom after today. They understand each other better now. Y/N feels better about herself, like she can be more of who she is. It will take time for Y/N to fully recover but this is a start. As time moves forward Y/N learns, with Nat's help, to love herself. And she helps Natasha move beyond her past and love herself.

After this night they definitely have a stronger bond then ever, so look at world; Natasha and Y/N are coming through.

~

Tags: // @themarvelprince // @misselsbells06 // @american-sataness // @cr0ssoverf4n4tic // @powerfultaylor // @blackwidow-3 //

[ticketstomydaydreams]

5:3666

(All We Have: Part Two)

Part One

Colson x Female Reader

Summary: You and Colson fall into a night time studio routine when he starts keeping you company through your insomnia and you decide to work though some past demons

Word count: 3,200 (ish, I lost count editing)

Feels: Fluff with a dash of past trauma

Warnings: Drug & alcohol consumption, domestic violence, cursing, Colson being so sweet it almost makes your teeth hurt

Companion playlist:

Machine Gun Kelly - 5:3666

Warren Zevon - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

The Vamps - All Night

Halsey - You Should Be Sad

A/N: If you've been affected by anything in this story, please know you're not alone. My inbox is always open and I'm all ears 🖤

______

During the first couple of weeks of moving in, you’d been partying A LOT. The guys wanted to show you just how mad it got, breaking you into their chaotic household, blending the days together. Everyone was hyper and the house was buzzing with energy. You'd been so exhausted from all of it that you'd been all but passing out each night, but you couldn’t lie, it was great fun.

You’d tried to pass on a few nights but Colson would never hear of it, often forcing you out of your room to get involved as the house was filled with people, jam sessions taking place in between drinking games. It was a far cry from your usual homelife, your last housemate mainly kept to themselves so your place was normally pretty chilled. Colson had used your place as a quiet escape over the years, but it seemed you wouldn’t have the same set up extended to you here with this lot.

With the pandemic unfolding, the house had started getting quieter, less people in and out every night and everyone was settling into a lazier way of life. The gang were mooching around the house throughout the day and while the house was still lively at night, it wasn’t quite the party central you’d almost started getting used to. Your normal working routine went out the window as everyone had started working from home mainly and without your daily routine, followed by nights out partying, your insomnia was back with full force.

______

You were lying in your bed, trying to force sleep on yourself but after trying to nod off for a couple of hours, you accepted defeat and got back up. Throwing some sweats on and one of Colson’s huge hoodies (you’d been slowly sneaking them out of his closet, finding that the masses of material drowning your small frame were super comforting), you headed down to the kitchen, turned the stove on and filled the kettle up. You were scrolling through your phone when you heard footsteps on the tiled floor. Colson strolled into the kitchen looking disheveled in a white tank top and boxer shorts, hair ruffled and looking sleepy

“Dude, it’s 3am how come you’re up?”

“Couldn’t sleep, living that oh so fun insomnia life again” you sighed “Did I wake you?”

“Nah, I was already awake. Couldn’t sleep either and heard someone moving about so thought I’d come down” He replied, climbing onto one of the breakfast stools

“Yeah, I think it’s not having much of a routine. Hate lying in bed staring at the ceiling so just got up. You want a cup?” you offered, pointing to the chamomile tea you were brewing

“Sure, thanks” he says, taking the steaming mug from you

You sit down at the breakfast bar with him and start chatting, scrolling through instagram as you do. After about an hour, as you’re talking about an article you’re reading, you notice Colson doesn’t respond and you look to your right and see he’s fallen asleep, leaning on his hand, his mouth slightly ajar.

“Hey, sleeping beauty” you whisper, rubbing his back with your hand “Go to bed”

He slightly jolts at your touch, opening his eyes “Nah man, I’m keeping you company”

“Some company” you laugh softly “pretty sure you just slept through all my rambling there”

He leans against your shoulder, closing his eyes again “Hey, at least you’re not sitting here alone. That’s something right?”

“That’s true” you smile, leaning your head against his “You’re very appreciated, do you know that”

You gently push him upright and stand up “Come on, let’s go to bed. I’m pretty tired myself, so you’ve definitely helped”

He’s laid his head down on his arm on the counter, his breathing getting heavy immediately so you pull his other hand making him stand up. He stands up and puts his arm around your shoulder as you walk towards the stairs, your legs feeling heavy as you climb each step, carrying some of Colson’s weight as he sleepily walks with you

Once you’re standing outside your bedroom doors, he pulls you in for a hug

“Night kid, don’t be wandering around bored if you can’t sleep yeah? Just come get me. Nothing worse than sitting up alone at night…”

“Will do. Thanks Col” You squeeze him a bit tighter as he kisses the top of your head

“Night” you smile, as he let’s you go and turns and heads into his room, waving his hand up behind him

Undressing and crawling into bed, your eyes feel heavy as your head hits the pillow. Colson was right, insomnia was a much less lonely experience with a friend.

______

Of course, as is always the way after your sleepless nights, you sleep in super late the following day meaning the cycle continues and you find yourself wide awake as the witching hour approaches. Feeling restless in your bedroom, you get up, and decide to head downstairs and out into the studio because you figure you might as well put this time to good use. You settle into a chair with your acoustic guitar and started playing, stopping and starting as you figure out a melody, working your latest lyrics in with it

“I wanna start this out and say, I gotta get it off my chest. Got no anger, got no malice…”

“I thought I told you to come get me if you couldn’t sleep”

You almost drop your guitar as you hear Colson’s voice behind you, “Jesus, how are you such an enormous human but you still manage to creep up on me all the time?”

“Just a stealthy motherfucker I guess” He laughs, flopping into the chair next to you

“Whatcha working on? That sounded sweet, keep playing…”

Colson knows you sometimes get a bit self-conscious with people watching you sing, so he lights his joint, rests his head on his hand and closes his eyes. You smile as you see what he's doing, thankful he always understands what you're like.

You turn back to your notepad, reading over your lyric outline quickly before repositioning the guitar in your lap and resetting the metronome

___

‘I wanna start this out and say, I gotta get it off my chest

Got no anger, got no malice, Just a little bit of regret

No, nobody else will tell you, so there's some things I gotta say

Gonna jot it down and then get it out and then I'll be on my way

No, you're not half the man you think that you are

And you can't fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs, and cars

I'm so glad I never ever had a baby with you

'Cause you can't love nothing unless there's something in it for you

Oh, I feel so sorry, I feel so sad

I tried to help you, it just made you mad

And I had no warning about who you are

I'm just glad I made it out without breaking down

And then ran so fuckin' far, that you would never ever touch me again

Won't see your alligator tears

'Cause, no, I've had enough of them’

___

“Man, that was beautiful Y/N. I got some chills right there…You just wrote that?”

“Nah, it’s something I dug up from ‘back then’. Been going through some old lyrics and samples while we’ve got all this time on our hands. It’s kinda cathartic to go over some of that stuff now there’s a bit more distance you know”

______

A couple of years ago, you’d been stuck in a really toxic relationship with your ex, Stevie. Your time with him had been a tornado of arguments, drugs and the constant heartache of him cheating on you. Every time you’d get close to having the strength to leave, you’d always cave in and the mess would continue with you losing a bit of yourself each time you stayed. You’d become pretty used to his violent outbursts, he had always been controlling and short tempered, often pushing you and throwing stuff around your apartment. Despite his own frequent infidelity, he flew into a jealous rage with you constantly.

He’d always hated Colson, despite him being one of your best friends, and while he’d play nice to his face you’d always get it in the neck once you were alone about how you and Colson were ‘too close’ and he ‘didn’t trust him’. Before that final night you’d spent with him, things had been pretty good with the two of you for a few weeks, there hadn’t been much drama and so you hadn’t thought too much of inviting him out with you and the gang for a night out clubbing. Your good run had clearly come to an end, when you felt his hand grab your arm tightly and drag you off the dancefloor where you’d been dancing with Colson. You’d been bundled into an uber so quickly, you hadn’t even managed to get your handbag from inside. You saw Colson running out of the club, followed by Rook and Slim who was holding your bag, as the cab pulled away.

Once you were back at the apartment, he flew into a rage. You’d never seen him this bad before, his eyes were dark and when you tried to argue back, calling his jealousy ‘pathetic’ he snapped. He’d grabbed you by the throat and slammed you against the wall, “Don’t you ever disrespect me like that again” he’d spat in your face, before striking you so hard with his fist that the skin across your cheek split open. It was as if his actions had knocked him back to reality, he’d let go of you and you ran to your bedroom, locked the door behind you and started packing a bag. He hammered on the door, begging you to open it and you could hear that he was crying. You looked around for your phone before you remembered you’d left it at the club. Desperate to get away, you opened your laptop and brought up instagram, managing to send Colson a message asking him to send you an uber to his house straight away. You’d thrown your laptop and a few more bits in your bag, the battery dying before you had a chance to wait for a reply, before pulling the bedroom door open and barging past Stevie. He’d tried to grab you, but you’d finally had enough “Never fucking touch me again” you spat, pushing him off you. The hatred in your voice rooted him to the spot and he said nothing as you walked out, the door slamming behind you.

Once you were outside the apartment building, the reality of what had just happened and the situation you were in started to wash over you. You had no phone, no wallet, your laptop was dead. Just as you were starting to seriously panic, an uber pulled up and Colson had leapt out of the backseat. You’d been in total shock and had just let Colson guide you into the cab and then out into his house, up to his room. He didn’t say anything as he led you to his bathroom and lifted you up onto the counter. He grabbed a flannel and soaked it with warm water, rinsing it out before pressing it softly against the cut on your cheek, gently wiping away the blood that had mixed with your mascara laced tears. The tenderness of his actions was almost too much and you started to sob again.

“Hey, hey. Y/N, look at me” he said softly, lifting your chin so you looked at him, his blue eyes misty themselves “It’s okay, you’re safe here. Don’t move, I’ll be back in a sec”

He left the bathroom and returned with a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. Putting them on the counter next to you, he crouched down and undid the straps on your heels, slipping them off your feet and then helping you down from the counter. “I’ll leave you to change”

When you came out of the bathroom, Colson was lying in his bed “Come here” he said, holding his arm and beckoning into his side. You crawled under the covers next to him and snuggled into him, his long arms wrapping around you.

“Col…” you said quietly

“Yeah?” he whispered back, stroking your hair off your forehead

“Thank you…”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’ve always got you Y/N”

______

“I hated that fucking guy. That night...I wanted to kill him after what he’d done to you”

You see him tense up at the memory and you lean over and squeeze his knee “You’re such an amazing friend, do you know that. I don’t know what I would’ve done that night without you”

"You're a fucking warrior Y/N, you'd have handled your shit. I was just happy you trusted me enough to let me be there for you. You deserve so much better than that" he says, covering the hand you'd placed on his knee with his, staring you in the eyes and returning the smile that's crept across your face

"You know there's been a few punches I've wanted to dole out on behalf of you over the years, but you've never let me" you tell him

"Too right I'd never let you. I never want you in the drama, you're too good for getting caught up in that shit" he replies, pointing at you with mock sternness

"Hey" he says, seeing your expression wash over with a tint of sadness "At least the sleepless nights aren't what they were then…

… If we're gonna work through some old demons this lockdown, I'm sure I've got some songs and lyrics that have never seen the light of day" He reaches over the desk and pulls his laptop towards him "You've inspired me… "

"Oh no, are we gonna fuck our heads up with this?" you joke nervously, worrying that Colson's going to delve into something that's going to upset him

"Nah, I got you covered and you got me, right?"

"True dat" you say, as he holds his fist out so you can fistbump, his eyes now focused on his laptop screen

______

You felt kinda bad, having kept Colson up all night with you the last two nights, especially as you'd got him reminiscing about some tough memories, so tonight you tried to sneak past his room when your restlessness got the better of you.

"Nice try kid!" Colson says as he throws his bedroom door open, causing you to yelp in fright. standing there topless with his sweatpants hung low in his hips, he lights the joint hanging from his mouth "I told you we were in this together now"

"I felt bad, making you stay up with me"

"You didn't make me do shit…Wait a sec, let me find a hoodie. If I have any left in here…" he says, giving a pointed look towards the huge blue hoodie you were wrapped in before walking back into his room and rummaging through his drawers

"Oh shush, you have like a hundred…"

"Right come on" he says, pulling a pink hoodie over his head and flipping the hood up over his messy hair "Let's see what we get into tonight…"

______

And so the nights went on like this, the two of you falling into an easygoing studio routine. If there wasn't anything else going on in the house, you'd eat dinner together then head to the studio and work through the night into the small hours, skipping out the pretense of trying to sleep. You were both pretty productive at this time it seemed, both being proclaimed night owls, and keeping busy during these uncertain times was keeping your minds off the unfolding pandemic.

Considering he’d referred to his home studio in the past as the ‘rage cage’ (and it certainly could still be party central when the entire crew got involved), it was actually a place you drifted towards to relax these days. You’d always worked well together in a studio, but over the weeks spending so much time just the two of you, you became more in tune with each other, noticing when one of you had hit a wall and it was time for bed. Sometimes you'd work in comfortable silence, side by side, engrossed in your own seperate tasks. Sometimes barely any work would get done as you put the world to rights talking about anything and everything in a late night impromptu therapy session.

This evening, you'd been sitting cross legged in your chair for hours now, focusing so hard on editing a song which was driving you mad, you hadn't realised your feet had gone numb. As you try to move, your knees crack and pins and needles shoot through your legs. Colson looks up from the screen he'd been engrossed in after hearing you groan and sees you rubbing your feet trying to bring back the feeling to them

‘C’mere’ he said, before turning his chair towards you and leaning down to grab your legs, bringing your feet up onto his lap. He pulls your socks off and begins massaging your feet. You lean your head back, eyes closed and let out a long ‘hmmm’. You don’t see Colson glancing over at you and shifting in his seat as he lets out slow breath before turning back to his screen

“Now this is the kind of work session I could get used to”, you sighed "You being my studio bitch on hand for foot rubs. Although, I imagine this enjoyment goes both ways Mr Foot Lover” you tease, throwing him an exaggerated wink

Colson throws his head back with a hearty chuckle, and light heartedly slaps your calf

"Keep it in your pants Y/N"

You laugh and wiggle your toes, Colson letting out a dramatic, throaty groan in response. "Those are some sexy little toes though" he states, sticking his tongue out.

Still laughing, you put your hand to your chest, and gasp as you feign prudishness and try to pull your feet away. He grabs both your feet in one of his hands, keeping them in place then leans over the desk and pulls your laptop towards you

"Get on with some work you, this is supposed to be keeping you motivated, not distracted"

He scolds affectionately, with a smile on his face

“Okay, okay, spoilsport” you grumble as you pull your computer onto your lap

Half an hour passes, your legs still on Colson’s lap with him still massaging your feet absentmindedly with one hand while he works, and your eyes begin to feel heavy. You don’t realise you’ve fallen asleep, until you’re awoken by a “woah” from Colson as he catches your laptop which is about to fall. Taking it from your lap, he states “Right, time for bed you”

You check your phone and see it’s already 5:36am.

You stand up and stretch then walk over behind Colson, putting your arms around his shoulders, and resting your chin on his head. Looking at his screen, you yawn “You got much left to do?”

He leans back into you, bringing his hand up to rest on your arm, “Making some good progress so just gonna finish a couple of bits”

“Okay dude” you gently kiss the top of his head and squeeze the back of his neck a couple of times as you turn to leave “Try and get some rest, we’ve got a long day of sweet fuck all to do tomorrow” you say through another big yawn

“Heh yeah, Night Kid” he says softly, letting out a yawn himself. Colson turns and watches you head out of the studio and lets out a big sigh. Feeling the back of his neck still tingle from where you’d squeezed it, he’s suddenly aware of how empty the room feels without you in it....

______

Taglist: @triplexdoublex @thisshitisfuckingdifficult @brightblaqkkheaven

Lace Up! ❌❌