#The top suggestion could've been so much worse

[illmoraineakoi]

Green: I can't wait to see what our adoring fans want us to do! Orange: They want you to eat grass, Green. Green:... Green: Guys what the heck

[kanencrow]

The Father who Stepped up - Shauna Shipman | One Shot

Summary: When Shauna gives birth to her baby boy, she finds herself designating you as 'the father who stepped up' after she experiences first-hand how nurturing you are to something so innocent and defenseless. It helps her simultaneously come to terms with the fact that she's a mother, and it also allows her to realize that she's actually kind of into you, too.

Warnings: Swearing, Suggestive Themes, Descriptions of Cannibalism, Talks of Jackie’s Death.

A/N: All characters are 18+ by default, and the reader is gender neutral (no pronouns were used). I'm tempted to do a part two that consists of more domestic stuff amongst you and Shauna because I don't think I added as much I could've in this one shot, but I'm not sure if anyone would want that, so let me know in my inbox!

Word Count: 10000+

It’s like clockwork for Shauna.

She wakes up every single night, at a time where the sun is completely gone, and the room she’s been cooped up in after giving birth is pitch black. Even the illumination of the moon doesn’t peek through the window, and so it only makes it more difficult for her to function when the almost habitual crying of her son sounds off the moment she preemptively wakes up. It’s gotten to a point where her body naturally rouses a few minutes before the baby starts to fuss – like it just knows that her time for sleep is going to get interrupted. It only makes her all the more frustrated and sad, because she values her rest, and she feels that no one wants to take the time to help her care for him.

Shauna’s sleep deprived and grumpy, even as she gathers her aching body and slowly gets up from the bed she’s practically been rotting on for the past few days. Bearing a child with a body that was weak from malnutrition and lack of water was far worse than any traumatic thing she had gone through in the past. So she can’t help the way she groans and whines while she walks over to the makeshift crib you and Van had put together using sticks, leaves, and rocks. It was a nice gift from the two of you, since it gave her a place to put the baby, just so there wasn’t that worry of rolling on top of him while she slept in bed. 

And sure, it made her have to get up more than she wanted, but the thought of losing her son because she wasn’t careful was something that didn’t sit right in her chest. She’d been meaning to thank you and Van for the thoughtfulness, but both of you had been so busy with chores around the cabin – and she could barely walk as is – so it just made the entire task all the more difficult. But with the way neither one of you looked expectant in receiving that form of appreciation, there was a part of her that didn’t find herself rushing in trying to convey how she felt towards the gesture. 

Using it was thanks in itself, right?

She expected the baby to start crying the moment she made it to said crib, but all she got as she rested her hands at the edge of the makeshift bed was complete and utter radio silence. She couldn’t ignore the way her heart jumps to her throat, a rush of anxiety coursing through her like a lightning bolt as the thought of him being dead enters her mind, and when she reaches down into the cradle – only to feel nothing but the blanket she laid out for him – it only forces her worry to skyrocket. Maybe she’s dreaming again, having some sort of nightmare about her boy dying, but she can feel the blanket – the soft fleece against her fingertips, so she knows she’s not asleep.

So, of course, that makes Shauna wonder. Where the fuck is her baby? 

There’s that flash of an image that courses through her mind – a reminder of one of the night terrors she had in regards to her baby boy just a couple days ago. How she heard his screams and his cries, only to find him being used as everyone’s form of satiation. She remembers their blood smeared faces and red teeth as they chewed and chewed and chewed–

“Shauna?” 

It’s like a bullet shoots through her back the moment she hears the softness of your voice fill the otherwise silent air of the cabin. It’s muffled at first, like she’s stuck in a bubble, but then her brain fully snaps out of the weird stupor she found herself in – the one full of fear and anxiety and distrust – and that’s when she suddenly recognizes the incoherent coo of her baby. You took him, she thinks to herself, and there’s a subtle emotion of anger and discontent towards that fact, but she also knows you – even if you haven’t talked to her nearly as much as the others have. Though even then, she knows that you wouldn’t do any of what her mind previously conjured up through dreams and intrusive thoughts. 

That’s all it is. Her mind. Playing tricks on her.

Because you’re kind, you’re careful – gentle – and, even if she didn’t think so when she first woke up, you’re sure as hell one of the only people who’s put in a valiant effort in trying to help her. Both throughout her pregnancy, and even now. Unlike Lottie, who acted like the biological father and insisted that her own child was some sort of incoming prophet, that he was going to change everything. But then you just stuck around, acting as some sort of safety net for her when she needed someone or something to fall back on. Because after losing Jackie, everything felt broken, like a train had gone off the rails and there was no way of pushing it back on track. 

But then you wiggled your way in, through soft words and empathetic or sympathetic glances, and she found herself letting you step through the tiny door of her heart. Because even though the thought of anyone seeing her as weak or incapable of taking care of herself made her want to recoil and die, she couldn’t deny that she needed it, and she couldn’t deny that she wanted you of all people to help her. And maybe that didn’t entirely sit well in her stomach for a good while – or even now, for that matter. That feeling of distrust towards everyone weighed her down, but you were insistent – in a good way, and so she found herself slowly getting over her own fear for the sake of eventually letting you in.

So she should have known you had taken him.

She forgot. 

She could only blame that on her fatigue. 

By the time Shauna turned around to look at you, the baby emitted a quiet coo, as his tiny hands reached up and grabbed at your fingers that you blindly wiggled down at him with your free limb. You were cradling him with your left arm, his head propped up by your bicep as he kicked his feet in the form of a stretch, but you were far more focused on the brunette before you, who looked completely distracted. It was hard to see her, but with the moon having peeked out from behind the trees it was once hiding behind, there was a slight glow on her face, which allowed you to take in the way she stood frozen in her stance and just… stared at you and her kid. 

The little baby in your arms was none the wiser, clearly in his element and content with using your fingers as his own personal form of entertainment. It helped you focus entirely on Shauna, though, when you tilted your head to the side slightly and spoke up, letting your voice break through the long-standing silence that almost suffocated the air. “You okay?” It was a simple question, but it held meaning, an intention, with the way your tone portrayed a genuineness to it. You were curious – maybe concerned, she wasn’t sure, but when you stepped forward slightly, trying to act as a form of comfort, it helped her confirm the fact that you weren’t putting on a facade, just to make her feel like she mattered. 

You actually do think she matters. 

She realized that, even with how slow her mind was being. 

“I was looking for him,” Shauna managed to utter. The response was sudden, and it almost made you flinch with how she didn’t really try to whisper amongst the two of you. But you weren’t offended, or mad for that matter. Just surprised, if not a little endeared by her lack of thoughtfulness. Because you know she’s tired, and you know that if she was wide awake, she probably would have actually put in an effort in keeping her voice down for the sake of not waking anyone up, or rousing the boy in your arms into a state of panic. But luckily, he’s clueless, stuck in his own little world that consisted of him holding your fingers like they were joysticks to an atari. 

“He’s right here,” you quietly assured, after a moment, as you settled your palm against his tiny belly and allowed him to lift your fingers up and down. He was so small, only about a week old, but for such a young little guy, he had been pretty responsive. “I noticed that you haven’t been getting any sleep ever since he came into the world,” you added on, shrugging your shoulders subtly, while Shauna shifted her eyes away from your own to stare down at the baby boy, who struggled to stay awake, as you bounced him slightly in your arms. His eyelids fluttered, and his stubby legs stretched out to hang off either side of your forearm, while you let out the softest huff you could muster, and continued. “I couldn’t sleep tonight, so I wanted to help.” 

Shauna hears your words, and she quickly takes them to heart, which causes her brow to furrow in thought, before she lifts her brown eyes away from her son to look up at you instead. “You didn’t have to do that,” she told you, as though she were almost scolding you. But you could only shrug her off with a shake of your head, knowing that she was just saying that to make herself seem stronger. Which – she was strong – but she also didn’t have to be. 

Not for this, at least. 

“I wanted to,” you quietly mumbled, as you stepped closer to her and sent her a small smile through the darkness of the room. You weren’t even sure if she could see the expression on your face, but you didn’t seem to find it in you to care, when you maneuvered past her and lowered the already sleeping child back into the crib. It forced Shauna to turn her body and watch you, and as you cradled his head and guided it to rest on the little bump underneath the blanket you were laying him onto, it caused her stomach to unintentionally flutter.

She wasn’t surprised that you were so delicate with the boy. Still, it managed to push her into a state of awe, as you slipped your hands out from underneath his body and stood back up to your full height. Through the darkness, she could see the way you stared down at him, admiring the way he peacefully spread out across the blanket, like a little starfish. And his fingers curling into fists were enough to convey to you that he had fully fallen asleep. It meant that your work in helping Shauna rest was done, and as you nodded to yourself and stepped back from the crib to silently make your leave, the brunette ended up reaching out and grabbing a hold of your wrist. 

It was surprising to her that you were thinking of leaving without saying anything, but after spending so many months with you in the wilderness, she guessed that she couldn’t be shocked. You’ve always been quiet, always kept to yourself and spoke to others only when they would speak to you. But that was a while back. Now you seemed a little more outgoing, but there was still a subtle shyness to you. Especially with the way you tensed slightly at her touch, and slowly turned around to look at her, as though you thought you were in trouble. However, you weren’t, and you seemed to recognize that when her fingers tightened slightly to squeeze your joint.

“Thank you,” Shauna stated, “really.”

You replied back with a simple nod and a sheepish smile. And that was when she let go of your wrist and allowed you to take a few steps towards the door and exit the room. And even then, you were as quiet as a mouse and mindful of the resting boy in the crib, and she couldn’t help but feel a certain type of way about you in turn.

It was a good feeling, though.

—————————————————————————

It was the crackling of the fireplace that acted as a form of ambiance to your mind, as you reclined along the window-side seat and stared out through the pane of glass. Your legs remained stretched out in front of you, socked feet moving mindlessly back and forth, while the incoherent murmurs of your teammates sounded off throughout the rest of the cabin, accompanying the resonation of wood crackling under intense heat. Snow fell from outside, coating the ground in even more of the white powder that had been nothing but unforgiving for the past two months, and you couldn’t help but wish for spring to come soon because of it.

There was a feeling that settled inside of your chest – intuition – that told you it was going to eventually melt away. Considering how often the sun had come out as of recent, it made sense. But for now, it was still cold, and you were more than happy to stay inside and admire the outer world from the comfort of the building you’ve been living in. Especially after spending the majority of the day doing chores, chopping wood that you took from the meat shed or shoveling the porch with the intention of keeping you and everyone else from being snowed in. Again. 

Your cheeks felt frozen by the time you stepped back inside of the cabin, but at least the fireplace was roaring with life, and at least Misty was there to give you a hot cup of water. She always made sure to do her part, and whether it was by helping or speaking up to give some sort of logical statement towards a certain idea or discussion, you appreciated her… quirks and all. And, sure, you would have definitely preferred hot chocolate or tea when she did gift you the treat, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and so you found yourself feeling thankful either way. 

“My god, can you just stop squirming, please?” 

Mari’s voice managed to break out amongst the rest of the softer sounds that echoed throughout the cabin, and just from the frustration in her voice, you could tell that she was the one who had been tasked with taking care of the baby. Even after months of him being alive, Shauna still hadn’t named him, and a part of you was convinced she never would, with how her features always shifted into an expression of melancholy and deep, intense thought whenever she scrutinized the face of her child. You could understand that she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was a mom, and although you kept a respectful distance – not wanting to push anything or cross a boundary, you did want to help.

You had, in ways that consisted of making sure he didn’t keep her up at night with his crying. You were more than willing to deprive yourself of sleep for the sake of Shauna having her beauty rest, and it wasn’t like the little dude disliked you or anything. He always seemed happy to be in your arms when you paid him a late night visit and moved out of the brunette’s room to go and sit by the window bench. That spot always gave you front row seats to the moon and the way it shined through to act as his personal nightlight, and you cherished the moment, all while you slowly rocked him back to sleep with his head against your chest. But that was really the extent of your aid, other than feeding him or keeping an eye on him when no one else could. 

But you did find yourself curious as to what Mari was doing. Especially with the way she huffed and puffed about the baby boy and his desire to wiggle like that of a worm. The thought of him giving her a hard time made you sneakily smirk to yourself as you swung your legs off the bench, and the moment you turned your body to look towards the kitchen, you stood up to your full height, all while your eyes caught sight of the girl trying to put a – poorly made – knitted hat on his head. You weren’t sure who made it, but it certainly didn’t look like something someone would wear. And if they did… they sure as hell wouldn’t be able to make it look good. 

Even if it was on someone as cute as Shauna’s son.

He was sitting on the table, and with the way he let out a little whine and grumpily swung his arms up and down, you could tell that he didn't want the hat on his head. But Mari was incessant, muttering something about how it’ll keep him warm, and you could only roll your eyes, as you walked towards the kitchen and scrutinized the scene with an intention of saving the little boy from the girl’s control. Which seemed to go as well as it could, when she eventually lifted her focus away from him and looked at you instead, noticing your presence the moment the floor creaked beneath your feet. It didn’t take her long to let out a huff, before she picked up the baby by his waist and held him out to you as though he was some sort of toy. 

“Here, take him,” Mari grumbled, “I can’t deal with it anymore.” Her patience was practically nonexistent, which wasn’t something you were ignorant to. You remembered the time where she almost strangled Travis because he wouldn’t stop complaining the first week you and everyone else crash-landed in the middle of the forest, so it wasn’t surprising that she was experiencing it in the current moment. Granted, you couldn’t necessarily blame her, but maybe she wasn’t the best person to rely on when it came to babysitting Shauna’s kid. 

So, you were swift in reaching up and pulling the boy into the comfort of your arms, before you settled him onto your hip, and when he immediately rested his head onto your shoulder and tightened his fingers to ball up the fabric of your Wiskayok Yellowjackets hoodie, you felt your heart swell in your chest, discreetly relishing in the way he seemed so comfortable with you. Mari even seemed to don an expression of surprise herself – with a mixture of jealousy – too, when her eyes glanced down to look at the boy, who made a point to direct his attention somewhere else, as though he was holding a grudge against the girl in front of you. 

Like mother, like son, you think.

It was kind of an amusing sight, and you found yourself huffing lightheartedly, as you cradled his butt with your limbs and spoke up. “I don’t think that hat fits him, by the way.” You gave her a teasing look, only to glance down at the child in your hold for the sake of making sure he was okay. And he was, with the way his eyes were now closed, all while he breathed contently against your collarbone and continued to grip the fabric of your hoodie like a lifeline. 

“He was just being difficult,” Mari mumbled, seemingly ignoring your statement and deeming it as incorrect, while she folded her arms over her chest and moved her eyes down to look at the boy, too. “It would’ve fit if he just stopped moving.” 

You found yourself humming at her words, but the sound was entirely mindless, “Whatever you say.” It wasn’t long before you turned your head away from her and took a moment to glance around the vicinity of the cramped cabin. There was an intent in the action, and when you didn’t find who you were subconsciously looking for, you allowed your eyes to fall back onto Mari, while you sent her a look of wonder. “Do you know where Shauna is?”

“Why?” Mari uttered, a certain glint of… something you couldn’t entirely decrypt suddenly forming in her brown eyes, but when the corner of her lip curled up into a smirk, it gave you the slightest inkling that she was finding your question comical. “Miss her?” And you came out to be correct, which made you immediately scoff at her question, and it only caused that small smile to break out into a grin on her cheeks, “What? Don’t act like you haven’t been trying to worm your way into her heart,” she said, “you’re almost worse than Lottie. With her whole ‘our baby’ thing.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just trying to help her out,” you stated, as you bashfully lowered your eyes, pretending to be occupied with the baby in your arms, who continued to rest comfortably within them. “It’s not easy being a single mom, and I don’t think Lottie’s whole ‘your baby is the key to make the wilderness happy’ bit is really helpful, either,” you added on, as heat rose to your cheeks at the distant thought of being perceived as some sort of lap dog for Shauna. And, granted, your valiant effort to defend her definitely didn’t help your case, but you couldn’t help it, considering the fact that Lottie had been a little… off ever since the baby boy was born. 

You weren’t unaware of the way she would just stare at you whenever you carried Shauna’s son. It was hard to understand if she was jealous of the sight, or if she had something on her mind and simply didn’t know how to address it. But maybe you were also overthinking it, and honestly, you couldn’t – and didn’t necessarily want to – bring yourself to think about it in the current moment, which caused you to quietly clear your throat, before you stepped back and gently hoisted the boy in your arms up to rest more comfortably on your hip. “Where’s Shauna?” you questioned again.

“I don’t know.” Mari shrugged, “Not here, clearly.”

Always the smartass, you thought to yourself, before you rolled your eyes and let out a heavy breath. It wasn’t long before you turned around and walked away from Mari, successfully deeming her as the most unhelpful person in the group, and you ultimately decided to search for Shauna on your own. The only place you could think she would be was the single bedroom within the cabin, and so you found yourself padding in that direction unconsciously, which caused the boy in your arms to tighten his grip on your hoodie, due to your movement. You weren’t even sure if she was going to be in there, but it was the only idea you had when it came to where she might have been, and so you went with the idea, secretly hoping you’d come out to be right. 

The murmurs of the rest of the group ended up disappearing by the time you eventually turned the corner and made it to the door, and when you noticed it slightly ajar, you didn't think anything of it, as you pressed on and pushed it open. It creaked, signifying its age, and you winced, as you glanced down at the baby in your arms, hoping that the high-pitch resonation didn’t stir him from his slumber. You were thankful, though, when all you received in return was a tiny grunt from him that portrayed his unconscious state, and it quelled the worry of possibly waking him up. His features were still relaxed, stuck deep in dreamland while he slightly drooled on your hoodie, and with a small smile at the sight, you lifted your head up to look forward.

You immediately froze in your place when your eyes fell onto Shauna.

The last thing you expected to see was her back, which was covered in nothing but the strap of her charcoal-colored bra and showing off her pallid skin-tone that was complimented by the few freckles that adorned it. They scattered across the expanse of her flesh like stars in the sky, and your pupils naturally flickered back and forth to admire each one. It felt like you had been punched in the gut, with the way your breath silently hitched in your throat, and a weight of something you couldn’t describe settled within your stomach. It wasn’t a negative feeling by any means, but you couldn’t deny the way you felt like some sort of pervert for having waltzed in without so much as knocking. 

You found yourself regretting your actions, though there was no way for you to rewind time or pretend like you had never stepped into the room to begin with. Especially when Shauna seemingly sensed your presence, as though she had some sort of sixth sense, and slowly turned her head to glance over her shoulder, peering at you with a form of curiosity in her brown eyes. You stood there, all the while, probably looking like an idiot, with the way you stared at her with a wide gaze and held her child in your arms stiffly. But you couldn’t find it in you to consciously assess how odd you might have come across. All you could do was stutter out some sort of apology, as you parted your lips and felt your stomach leap to your throat. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to just – uh…” 

Your voice trailed, and there was a certain air to Shauna’s demeanor that kept you from continuing, when you saw the ghost of an endeared smile fall onto her lips, before she turned back around and reached down to grab an old black band t-shirt that was tattered and had clearly seen better days. You remained idle in your spot, standing in front of the door as though you were a deer stuck in a pair of headlights, and as you dumbly watched the brunette pull the top over her head and allow it to fall down to cover her torso, there was a subtle feeling of disappointment that filled your chest. 

But you attempted to ignore it, while you swallowed and waited for her to reply. 

“Knocking exists, you know,” she uttered quietly, as she slowly turned around to completely face you, and lowered herself to sit down on the bed she had originally grabbed her shirt from. There was a subtle tone of lightheartedness in her voice, but you still felt embarrassment fill your body, as she gave you a tired, teasing look with her brown eyes and tilted her head to the side slightly. She clearly wasn’t offended by your intrusion, much to your own surprise, and that was when you found the ability to move your legs again, when you took a short step forward and bowed your head apologetically. 

“Sorry,” you mumbled, “I should’ve…” 

Shauna shook her head and shrugged, “It’s fine.” 

You decided to keep your lips tightly wound after her response, pressing them together tightly, and you treaded carefully as you sluggishly walked further into the room. Your legs kicked out slightly as you moved, and your eyes flickered around to take in the vicinity that you had found yourself in far more than you probably should have. Ever the conversationalists, neither one of you knew what to say next. Should you have said, ‘hey, here’s your baby,’ as though you were some pizza delivery person? That probably wouldn’t have been a good idea, considering he wasn’t food. But you didn’t know what else to do, except sit down beside her and silently hand her the child…

But even then, that didn’t feel right.

“Is he sleeping?” 

Shauna’s question broke through your muddled thoughts, and you found yourself immediately letting out a quiet breath of relief in turn, which was something you hoped she didn’t hear. When your eyes moved away from a random wall inside the room to meet her brown ones again, it didn’t seem like she picked up on the sound you made, when she simply stared at you with a certain type of earnestness that left you feeling warm inside. Her unwavering gaze after she inquired was enough to create a ball inside of your throat, and you found yourself trying to force it down with a swallow, as you slowly looked back down at the boy in your arms and nodded. 

“Yeah,” you affirmed, “he is.” Your verbal confirmation was the last thing you said, before you eventually made it close to her bed and sat down beside her. The mattress barely dipped with how firm and old it was, but you could still see the way she faintly jostled from the added weight, out of the corner of your eye. You found yourself focusing entirely on her son, though, when you gently maneuvered him in your arms and cradled him like he was a week old again. He was still light, easy to hold without feeling as though your limbs were about to fall off, but his hair had grown in, and it was blond. 

A dirty blond. 

His eyes were brown, though, and his nose looked like it was going to develop into a shape like Shauna’s, the older he got. That cute, slightly imperfect bridge that you always admired whenever you caught sight of the brunette’s side profile. His round face and little lips looked just like hers as well, and you found yourself fascinated and almost amused at how he barely looked like Jeff. Even with the blond hair that hadn’t fully grown in yet and made the little boy look like an old man who was balding. It was surreal, in a way. How the girl beside you had managed to create such a beautiful soul through an ongoing situation that left all of you feeling hopeless and dreadful. 

“I’m sorry.” 

It was the words of Shauna again that tugged you out of your daydream. You found yourself blinking a few times, and when you slowly pulled your eyes away from her son to gaze at her, she was already staring at you, looking into your irises with her brown ones that the baby in your arms carried, too. You had to stop yourself from admiring other parts of her face for the sake of conveying to her that you were listening, and when you mindlessly creased your brow in confusion towards her apology, she took that as her chance to continue, as she scooted closer to you and flickered her focus down towards the child you were holding. 

“I haven’t really been present,” she explained, clarifying herself, with a tone that conveyed shame, “for him.” You glanced down at her mouth for a split second, taking in the way that they were chapped and had dried-up blood on them, which you realized must have been from her anxiously nipping at her lips. Not only that, but it was also the winter, so you weren’t surprised, but even with the sight that didn’t necessarily look pleasant, you still found your stomach fluttering, before you shifted your attention back up to meet her gaze once again. 

You inevitably shook your head, finding your voice, “It’s okay,” you whispered, “I know things have been… hard, for you.” It was difficult to know what to say to help her feel better, but you put in a valiant effort to tread lightly, which seemed to work in your favor, when she slowly deflated and decided to lean closer to you and lower her head against your shoulder. The heavy sigh she let out shortly after was enough to convey that she’d been needing some form of comfort, and although you tensed slightly, you let her have it, as you continued and glanced down at the baby in your arms. “It’s not easy having a kid and then being expected to take care of it after everything that’s happened.”

“I did it to myself,” Shauna mumbled, as she pressed her thigh against yours and mindlessly plucked at the fabric of her t-shirt, “I shouldn’t have meddled with my best friend's love life.” Even with being trapped in the wilderness, there was still a certain air of intelligence in the way she spoke, and you couldn’t help the way the corner of your lip curled up, as you slowly nodded your head in response to her statement. “Now I’m paying for it.” Her tone was dry, ultimately, and you weren't sure if it was because of the fact that she didn’t have it in her to be sad about what happened, or if she was simply angry at herself now, for what she did. 

“At least he doesn’t look like Jeff,” you replied quietly, trying to lighten the mood in your own way, which caused Shauna to scoff dryly, as she pressed her cheek deeper into your shoulder and stared down at the sleeping boy in your arms. “Clearly your genes are stronger.” 

The conversation lulled slightly, but you weren’t surprised, when Shauna silently reached her hand out and wiped her thumb over the corner of her baby’s mouth. Dried spit, you realized, was what she was trying to make disappear, and it reminded you of the little stain you had on your hoodie from his drool, which created an emotion of amusement that fluttered through your chest as you watched her gently tend to her kid. It wasn’t a common occurrence. It was like she was scared to touch him, or hold him, or even be in a room alone with him. But at the same time, she was equally protective. She had mixed feelings, obviously, and you had a feeling as to why that was.

And you didn’t want to bring it up.

But it was nice to see her attentiveness, even if it was something that was short-lived, when she inevitably pulled her hand back from his face, and let it fall onto her lap. “I haven’t even named him,” she suddenly stated, and when you turned your head slightly to look down at her, she pulled her cheek away from your shoulder and sat back up to stare down at the floor between her legs. “I don’t even know how to be a mom,” she added on, and you frowned faintly, before you slowly stood up to your full height and ambled over to the boys’ crib, letting her words drift off into the air, while you settled him against the makeshift bed you and Van created for him, and tucked him under a shirt that acted as a blanket for his small body.

“No one does at first,” you eventually replied, pulling your hands away from him, before you stepped back from the crib and turned around to look at Shauna, who bounced her knee up and down anxiously, not meeting your gaze. “No one gives you a rule book on how to be a parent, Shauna,” you reminded her, “it’s not easy… but that’s why we’re here–” 

“You.” 

Shauna’s mumble cut you off, and you paused to scrutinize her, “What?” 

“You’re here,” she said, as she slowly lifted her head up to meet your eyes, “not them.” Your features faintly flinched in surprise, and when you shifted in your stance and shoved your hands into the pockets of your pajama pants that were just as tattered as all your other clothes, she continued. “You’ve been the only one who’s, like… actually helped me ever since I had him,” she explained, “I mean, other than Van, who helped make the crib with you, you’ve been here to take care of him, while I’ve just…” her voice trailed off, and she shrugged her shoulders, clearly at a loss for what else to say. 

“You’ve got other stuff to deal with,” you uttered, trying to defend her from herself. 

But Shauna shook her head, while you slowly trailed back towards the bed and watched her intently. “Like wallowing and resenting my own child who hasn’t done anything to deserve it?” You let out a deep breath when you turned around and lowered yourself to sit down beside her, and as your brow creased into a look of thought, she felt her eyes sting with unshed tears. “I’ve been the worst mom – you’re more of a parent than I am–” 

“Shauna, stop,” you stated, shaking your head, before you looked at her and watched the way she pulled her face out of her hands and sighed shakily, “you’re not a bad mom,” you told her, “I mean… it’s normal to feel like shit after giving birth,” you added on, with the intention of making her feel less guilty, “postpartum depression is a thing, and you’re probably dealing with that on top of… y’know.” Shauna’s brow furrowed at your words, and when she shifted her brown eyes to meet yours, you could tell she was confused by how you knew that, which caused you to quickly clarify, as you shrugged. “I paid attention in health class.”

“Of course you did,” Shauna laughed out, her voice thick with emotion, as she shook her head and smiled sadly at your words. You chuckled quietly in response to her reaction, feeling a sense of pride swell in your chest towards the fact that you made her giggle, but when she sniffled and glanced down to stare at a certain spot on your face, you felt your heart leap to your throat. “How come we never really talked… before all of this?” she questioned suddenly, as her pupils fluttered back up to meet your gaze, not allowing you the chance to truly dwell on the subtle action, “We were on the same team, yet we barely ever spoke to each other.” 

“Was kinda intimidated by you, actually,” you mumbled sheepishly, which caused her to give you an expression of disbelief, clearly unable to understand what might have been so scary about her. And it caused you to shrug your shoulders, as you shyly turned your head away and stared down at your lap, suddenly feeling small. Like you were exposed entirely. “I don’t know… I always wanted to talk to you, but I just… couldn’t?” You pursed your lips and pressed your palms together, and when you intertwined your fingers, you felt your cheeks heat up as you breathed in deeply and confessed through an exhale, “Guess I was just too scared to talk to a girl that I thought was pretty.” 

At your words, Shauna could only stare at you, her brown eyes focusing on the defined features of your side profile and the way you clenched your jaw tightly out of nervousness, as you stared contemplatively at the floor. Your nostrils flared with a breath, and her heart thudded against her ribcage once that only signified the way your words made her feel. It was a random beat at first, but then it happened again, and again, and again. It cemented her feelings – the way you had secretly made her feel over the span of two months hitting her like an unforgiving truck, and it caused her to swallow thickly, as she broke her focus away from your face and gazed down at your hands instead. 

She wasn’t sure what to say, and it was obvious that the silence that ensued wasn’t one that made either one of you feel comfortable. You shifted awkwardly in your spot, your face feeling flush, while Shauna lost herself in her own mind and continued to stare down at your interwoven fingers. It felt as though you were sixteen again, dealing with your first crush and experiencing mental gymnastics when it came to how you were going to confess that you liked the person you had eyes for. And granted, you were older now, but after spending… however many months in the wilderness, it felt like your social skills had vanished, and you were left ignorant again. 

As well as a fool that had no grasp on how to say, ‘I like you’ to a cute girl.

It felt like hours had passed – when in actuality it was a minute, before you eventually cleared your throat awkwardly and lifted your chin to allow your eyes to shift away from the floor and towards Shauna’s instead. Your lips parted, as if to try and say something – or to defend yourself for what you had already stated – but nothing came out. And while the brunette seemed to find herself frozen in the way she continued to gaze down at your tense hands, you studied her expression, noticing how her features were taut with contemplation and something deeper, but indecipherable.

“I’m sorry.” 

You suddenly apologized, without thinking, and when your voice – soft throughout the air – broke through the clouded thoughts of Shauna’s mind, that was when she blinked and jolted back into reality. Her brown eyes snapped up to your face, feeling them sting with unshed tears, and your brow furrowed to express your genuine guilt for making her feel uncomfortable. But she wasn’t uncomfortable. She was just… shocked. And confused. Because she had always been used to being second best, or stuck in the shadow of someone who was deemed as far more important than she ever could be. But even when Jackie was alive and she was actively experiencing the woes of being ‘the sidekick’ and ‘just the best friend,’ you still noticed her.

Still saw her as Shauna Shipman. 

Not Jackie’s best friend.

And it made her angry that you waited so fucking long to say something. 

To give her any sort of idea that you liked her.

Maybe it was the postpartum hormones that made Shauna swell with a mixture of frustration and sadness, or maybe it was just her, and it had nothing to do with the after effects of her giving birth. Either way, you saw a tear slip from the corner of her brown eye, and she could feel the salty droplet and the way it streaked down her cheek in an almost poetically depressing way. It only caused your breath to hitch in your throat, the guilt in your chest increasing drastically, and when you tried to reach your hand up to wipe away the stain, she grabbed your wrist, halting your movement, just as your fingers grazed over the skin of her face. 

“Shit, I’m sorry–” 

Ever the apologist, Shauna cut you off before you could complete your sentence, when she pushed your wrist down to pin it against your lap and suddenly leaned forward to press her lips against your own. The action was done with a swiftness that left your mind reeling and your body tensing as your body leaned back slightly, but when she unconsciously squeezed your joint that she held onto like a lifeline, you snapped out of your shock. The roughness of her mouth – chapped and dry – against your own, wasn’t unwanted. Especially not when you had been wanting to kiss her for the past year and a half. So it only made sense to relax into it, when you breathed out through your nose and allowed your eyes to flutter shut.

You promptly followed her lead, creating a game that consisted of her pushing and you pulling, as your lips parted to slot together like a perfect puzzle piece. Her grip tightened on your joint all the more, and although her fingernails lightly dug into your skin, it wasn’t enough to get you to move away from her. If anything, it urged you closer to her, when you reached up with your free hand and cupped her cheek. Your mouths moved together, quiet sounds of them smacking together intermixing with the soft breaths that the two of you let out, and before you could even realize what was happening, you were being pushed back against the firm mattress, which allowed her to pin your wrist she grasped above your head, while your other palm fell away from her face to rest against your stomach. 

Shauna pulled her lips away from you in that same moment, and when you let out a quiet pant and fluttered your eyes open, she was already looking down at you with a certain emotion in her brown irises. You weren’t sure what it meant, but with how hazy your mind felt, and with how quick your heart thumped inside of your chest, you couldn’t bring yourself to grow concerned. Especially not with the way she loomed over you, and allowed her fingers to finally loosen around your wrist. Your focus shifted in turn, to watch her as she slid them up and over your palm, before they curled between your own and eventually intertwined in a way that felt like a perfect fit.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner,” you mumbled, after a moment, as your eyes shifted back to meet the brunette’s. But Shauna could only shake her head dismissively, not wanting to talk about feelings, before she leaned down and pressed her lips against yours once again. 

You immediately reciprocated that time, no longer hesitant to succumb to the concept of loving her, and when you happily hummed against her mouth, she felt her stomach flip, as a weight of tension slipped off of her shoulders.

Just like water. 

—————————————————————————

There was something oddly therapeutic about the sounds of a baby giggling. The belly laughs that were infectious and left anyone who heard them grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. That may or may not have been you in the current moment, as you watched as Shauna blew raspberries into her boys’ belly from where he laid on her bed. His arms and legs swung back and forth to signify just how ticklish her actions had made him, and you felt your heart swell with affection towards the two, while you watched her pull herself up to look down at him with an expression on her face that conveyed nothing but admiration and love towards the child. 

She named him Jackson.

Because although she had her own personal qualms about Jackie, the thought of forgetting her like a distant memory wasn’t something Shauna could ever fathom, and you couldn’t blame her for it. You remembered having the conversation with her, shortly after you and her started dating, and you were all for it, because you knew how much she loved her best friend, even if the last time they spoke didn’t end on the best terms. She saw it as a form of an apology, in her own way. And although you didn’t fully understand – not nearly as well as she did – you went along with it, because it was her choice in the end, and there was no way in hell you were going to control what she did. 

Besides, Jackson was a cute name. 

It fit him. 

You snapped back into reality when a little fist smacked against your cheek, and you were quick to jolt back slightly, as you blinked and looked down at Jackson, who clearly wasn’t aware of what he had just done. He was far too focused on Shauna tickling his sides teasingly, and when he let out a high-pitch squeal as she picked him up, you chuckled softly, before your eyes flickered up to look at your girlfriend, who seemed a lot happier than two months ago, when you shared your first kiss with her. There was a certain glow to her. One that radiated from under all the dirt and grime that seemed to stain her face, even after washing it with water at the lake just an hour ago, and it made you happy in turn. 

She would never fully heal, you knew that. None of you would, realistically… once you all got out of this mess. But at least she was searching for the good in things now, trying to actively find optimism, rather than the pessimism she had been so used to embodying. And you were well aware that she would always be Shauna. The girl who didn’t get as excited over the things that you or other people would. Or the girl who found far more enjoyment in staying in and reading a book, rather than going out and mingling with people at a party she didn’t truly want to attend. Hell, even now, stuck in the wilderness, she acted like a ghost who occasionally payed the rest of the cabin a visit.  

But it wasn’t a bad thing. 

It would never be a bad thing.

“Hey. Earth to Y/n?” 

You blinked back into reality the moment Shauna’s voice broke through the fog of your mind, and you quickly realized that your eyes had fallen back down without you knowing, which ended in you intensely staring at the spot Jackson had once been laying. All that sat there now was a vacant spot, and it left the brunette feeling slightly worried. Especially with the way your gaze sat unwavering, simply focused down at the sheets, as though they were the most interesting thing in the world to you. It was obvious enough to you that she had put her son down to rest for the remainder of the day, and as you let out a quiet exhale through your nose and flickered your eyes up to meet your girlfriend’s, you rolled over onto your back and raised your brow in silent questioning.

“Hm?” You attempted to play off your daydream with a lackadaisical demeanor, but when Shauna scrunched her features up in both perplexity and concern, you knew you had failed miserably. Her brown eyes practically bored into yours, and you couldn’t bring yourself to avert your gaze, as you watched her move and sit back down on the mattress, before she clasped her hands together, so that they could rest comfortably in her lap, and gave you a certain look. 

“What do you mean, ‘hm’?” she teased lightly with a smirk, as she shook her head in amusement towards your poor ability to play off your bout of distraction. She crossed her legs over the other in that same moment, and when you shrugged your shoulders and sluggishly pushed yourself up into a sitting position, she tilted her head to the side and sent you an expression that conveyed nothing but genuine curiosity. “What were you doing?” she asked, while you stared at her silently, like someone who had been caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

“Just thinkin’,” you admitted, giving her another shrug, as the corners of your lips quirked up faintly. Shauna only rolled her eyes at your simple statement, and when you let out a quiet huff in response, she used your reaction as proof that you were okay.  

Though, even then, your vague explanation gave her the excuse to scoot closer to you, and you found yourself mindlessly leaning into her, as she reached her hand up to cup your cheek. “About what?” She gently rubbed the pad of her calloused thumb over the skin that sat underneath your eye, the touch almost featherlight in the way it felt against you. And you pressed into the feeling, almost melting against the warmth of her palm that cradled the side of your face, which caused her to smile softly in turn, finding satisfaction in how comfortable you were to her affection.

“You,” you eventually replied, before you raised a hand up and curled your fingers around her wrist, “and Jackson.” You gently held the joint in your grasp and turned your head slightly to press your lips against the heel of her palm, “Thinking about how so much has changed. In a good way.” You tugged it away from your face to bring that part of her body down into your lap, and she felt her heart warm, the moment you moved your thumb across the lines that decorated her limb. “I’m happy that you’re both here… that I’m with the two of you,” you mumbled, your voice coming out as a quiet whisper, as you lowered your chin to gaze down at what you were doing. 

Your introspective thoughts about Shauna and Jackson weren’t uncommon, and she knew that, considering the fact that you often found yourself daydreaming when it came to her and her son. How you would stare, and stare, and stare, until she’d eventually notice and snap you out of it with a question. Hell, sometimes your mind buzzed so much to the point where you would wake up in the middle of the night and head outside to sit on the porch. And then you would just… think, about her, or Jackson, or about your teammates that also resided in the cabin. And it was all while you listened to the randomly occurring sounds of owls hooting, or birds flapping their wings and rustling the leaves that they hid within.

“You always have a habit of becoming sappy after we put Jackson to bed,” Shauna uttered suddenly, as she glanced down at your fingers, and watched the way they continued to trace over the lines of her palm. “You know that, right?” You simply shrugged your shoulders, feeling the corner of your lip curve up into a soft, innocent smirk that was entirely mindless, and it caused a quiet huff of endearment to slip from the brunette, before she scooted closer to you – her knee pressing against your thigh – and used her free hand to pinch your chin with her index and thumb, as she slowly tugged your focus up to meet her own once again. 

“I can’t help it,” you replied softly, the moment you met her gaze, smiling a little brighter. The brunette flickered her brown eyes between your own, clearly stuck in a bout of admiration towards the way the color of your irises fit the different contours and features of your face perfectly, and your only form of defense consisted of you shrugging – again – as you pressed your lips together tightly. “It’s not my fault you’re you and he’s him.” It was clear she didn’t know what you meant by those words, with the way her brow faintly creased in reaction to your statement, but she couldn’t bring herself to question you.

She found your form of affection too endearing to try and deconstruct it.

With Shauna still pinching the bottom of your chin, you remained frozen in your spot, staring at her intently and with a certain glint of softness shining in your eyes. “You’re a dork,” she found herself pointing out, and you immediately brightened in reply, when she let out a loving chuckle and tugged you forward slightly, just so she could press her mouth to your own. Her sound of amusement died down the moment the tip of your nose brushed against her own, and when she tipped her head up slightly to graze her lips over your own, her eyelids fluttering, that was when you pushed in and kissed her, making the connection.

There wasn’t a feeling of anxiety or nervousness that filled your chest, as your hand slowly came up to cradle the side of her neck. It wasn’t like the first time you kissed her. Wasn’t a moment full of uncertain movement and uncoordinated positions that left the two of you huffing out embarrassed laughs and flushing with heat. There was intent and fluidity that went into it now, but even if you and her still acted like you had never shared a peck before, you still would have enjoyed the moment either way. But maybe you were also appreciative of the fact that you didn’t feel like you were going to explode anymore, just from feeling her against you.

With the way you were positioned on the bed, it wasn’t difficult for Shauna to shift onto her knees and use one of her hands to press it against your hip bone. Her other limb cradled your face tenderly, her touch possessive but equally gentle, and the moment your back fell against the mattress, and your head was suddenly cradled by the pillow, that was when her lips fell away from you. With a panting breath, your eyes fluttered open and stared up at her to see her own brown irises gazing down at you already, but before you could say anything to her, she was already leaning down – disappearing from your line of vision – to peck the side of your neck.

There was intention in the action, and it made you flush with heat, as she nestled herself between your legs and pressed her palms against your hips to keep herself from falling on top of you. Your eyelids fluttered when you felt the heat of her breath against the skin of your jaw, and as she kissed the line of it, just underneath your ear, your voice broke through the silence, as your head lulled to the side to stare towards the door of the room, which was already closed and providing the two of you with privacy. “What if someone comes in?” you questioned weakly, your voice lacking its usual confidence, as Shauna moved her hand down slightly and slipped her fingers underneath your shirt. 

“Everyone’s outside enjoying the sun,” she mumbled against your flesh, while you tensed up and let out a shaky breath as she smoothed her fingers up your stomach. You ultimately moved past the possibility of anyone barging into the room, even if her words didn’t fully convince you, but when her nails lightly tickled your skin, you couldn’t stop the quiet giggle that slipped from your lips, as your hand shot down to grab her forearm. 

Shauna let out a huff at your action, and you weren’t sure if it was out of annoyance or amusement. But when she nipped at your earlobe with her teeth and curled her fingers to continue lightly grazing her nails over the skin of your belly, you could tell she was simply trying to spur you on in the way you originally reacted. And it seemed to work in her favor, when you tightened your grip on her forearm and let out a quiet grunt that did nothing but convey your displeasure and sensitivity towards her teasing. 

“Shauna,” you groaned quietly, pushing at her limb.

But she didn’t budge, and she only moved her hand to hold your side instead, as she leaned back slightly to gaze down at you, her dilated pupils locking with yours. “What?” she asked, though you knew the question was entirely rhetorical, when you noticed the ghost of a smirk form on her lips, “I’m not doing anything.” Her faux innocence made you roll your eyes, and she chuckled in turn, finding your attitude comical to her, before she hunkered down to kiss the bone of your cheek, as her hand that lingered on your waist suddenly smoothed lower to tease at the waistband of your shorts. 

Her movements still managed to make you squirm, the action ticklish to you, though you also couldn’t deny the way it made your heart speed up, while she watched your expression intently. She searched for any sort of visible response from you, as she hooked her fingers over the elastic, and with the way your eyes flitted to meet her brown ones, it was easy to see the way your features shifted into a look of subtle surprise, the moment you felt the featherlight touch of her fingers graze over the band of your underwear. 

“I’ll go slow–” 

“Guys! Guys!” 

At the sudden voice, which erupted throughout the cabin like an annoying alarm, Shauna’s hand jolted out of your pants as though she had been burned with fire, while you sucked in a sharp breath and snapped your focus towards the door. It opened just as your girlfriend leaned back on her heels with an almost frustrated huff slipping from her lips, and while you propped yourself up onto your elbows, you saw the figure of Van peek through the gap they had created. 

Their eyes were as wide as saucers, and their expression was the brightest you had ever seen since you all became trapped in the wilderness. It made your brow furrow in turn, while the brunette stared at them with an unimpressed expression on her features, clearly unhappy towards the fact that the moment had been ruined between you and her. “What, Van?” 

You snorted quietly at Shauna’s perturbed response, and Van completely ignored it, when they grinned widely and frantically glanced between the two of you with a glint of excitement in their blue eyes. “Nat waved down a fucking helicopter.” Their words were enough to make your face scrunch up in confusion, almost not believing them, and when you pushed yourself up into a sitting position and narrowed your eyes at the goalkeeper, they didn’t even give you the chance to ask what they meant, when they answered the question for you.

“They found us, guys,” Van stated, clarifying themself, “we can finally get out of here.”

This took me way too long to finish.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Just Take It | Bonus Drabble 5

Summary: Fracturing your ankle was the last thing you wanted to do this weekend but I guess it's not that bad when you have your handsome husband to be your caretaker. Slice of life drabble from the future 🤭 Pairing: Inexperienced f!reader x Best Friend's Dad Jungkook (20 year age gap) Word Count: 2.9k (damn it's been a while since I put one of these out haha) Warning: Some suggestive language if you squint really hard lmao, oc is a pouty baby because she's in pain lol a/n: Barely edited per usual Requested by: 🧜‍♀️ anon 🥰 Start from the beginning

"How are you feeling?" Jungkook asks me once we're both in the car. "Humiliated" I say, hissing when I try to readjust my leg. "People fall all the time when they're hiking darling it's not that big of a deal" he tries reassuring me but it only makes me feel worse.

"But it didn't even happen on a rocky part or anything. We were literally walking on flat ground" I groan, my embarrassment increasing after running through what happened in my head again, remembering how many people were staring at us. 

"Honey it's okay" he chuckles, leaning over to help me with my seatbelt before he puts his on. "I basically tripped on air" I groan, not giving up on how mortified I am, the pain making everything seem so much worse. 

"Hey" he says, cupping my face and making me look at him while he rubs the space between my eyebrows in an effort to smooth out the scowl I'm making, "It's not the end of the world, I promise. It might've been a little embarrassing but it happens to the best of us" he says and my scowl turns into a pout, calming down a little but still upset with myself.

"Did you really have to carry me like that?" I cringe at the thought of how ridiculous we probably looked. "Like what?" he furrows his brows, "Like you were carrying me over the threshold after our wedding" I say, covering my face as if it would help get rid of how shy I felt on top of the humiliation.

He chuckles as his only response leaving me slumping back in my chair, not wanting to snap at him just because of the pain I'm in.

"You sure it's only a sprain?" he asks and I hum, "I've had one before and it felt just like this so I'm sure I'll be fine once we get home and I can ice it" I say and he nods his head.

"Then let's get you home" he agrees and pulls out of the parking lot.

~~~~~

"Are you sure you don't wanna go to the hospital? I can schedule an appointment instead so we don't have to go to the ER if that's what you're worried about" he asks me for the fifth time tonight but I think I've gotta give in since I don't remember my ankle ever swelling up like this.

"Okay" I mumble and he walks up to where I'm sitting on the couch and kisses my forehead. "That's my girl" he praises, handing me the snacks he's prepared for our movie night before plopping down right next to me.

He rests his arm around the back of the couch so I can lean into him while he starts up the movie we chose but as the night goes by the pain gets worse and I have to remind him about making the appointment before we go upstairs to go to bed.

"I don't mind taking you to the ER if it's getting that bad" he says, looking at me with a pained expression, hating that I'm hurting. "I think I'll be alright for the night, can you just help me get upstairs?" I ask and he smirks remembering my earlier complaints.

"Does my bride need me to carry her to bed?" he taunts and I give in, agreeing with him and he gives me a soft smile and a kiss on my temple as a response.

"You ready for bed?" he asks and I nod my head, taking another look at my ankle and growing wary about what could've happened. He turns off the TV and stands up, scooping me into his arms, careful not to move too fast but I still hiss when my foot droops a bit and I notice that the pain killers have worn off.

My hiss turns into a whimper and right after I can feel tears start to well up in my eyes and I can't control it anymore, the pain hitting me in waves as he gets closer to the stairs but turns to walk towards the guest bedroom instead.

"I'm not taking you upstairs if you're crying from walking on flat ground. I really wish you would let me take you in already" he says, placing another kiss on my temple before he lays me down on the bed and quickly grabs some pillows to prop it up adjusting it for me until he sees i'm comfortable.

"No I can w-wait until morning" I say, choking back the tears now that it's supported again. "You sure?" he asks and I nod my head one last time and he decides to respect my wishes.

"Okay well your appointment is at eight AM so you'll have to wait until then to be seen. I'll call them when I wake up to see if they have any cancellations so we can get in earlier" he says and I give him a sad smile while when he wipes off my tear stained cheeks.

"I love you" I mumble and he chuckles, "I love you too baby. You know I'm always gonna take care of you. In sickness and in health remember" he says and I chuckle for a second or two.

"There's that smile I love" he says, cupping my face before leaning down and placing a kiss on my lips. "Can you get me some more pain killers please?" I mumble after he breaks the kiss. He hums in agreement, "Sure baby" he says and places one last kiss on my lips before he goes to get them.

He comes back with a glass of water and another snack making me smile. "I'm gonna go grab your phone charger for you too and this is just in case you get hungry in the middle of the night" he teases. "But aren't you gonna sleep in here too?" I ask, worried that he might leave me alone. 

"I can't honey, I might move around too much and bump into your ankle. I don't want to hurt you" he says and I understand but I hate sleeping alone. "Okay" I say and pull the blanket over my head so he won't see how upset I am about all this. He knows though, he always knows. 

"Bunny please don't cry" he say softly, kneeling down next to the bed once he hears the first sniffle. I had just been crying after being moved in here so the news of him not sleeping here with me was easy for me to get upset about. "I don't wanna sleep alone" I say under the blanket and he sighs, pulling it down so he can talk to me properly. 

"I don't like sleeping alone either Bun but I can stay with you until you fall asleep if you want" he offers and I dry my tears and nod, satisfied with the compromise. I just don't like being alone when I'm hurting like this. I know we could just head to the hospital right now and then we can be together but I know both of us deserve some rest before going since I don't know how long we would be there at this hour. 

He picks up the arm chair from the corner of the room and sets it right next to the bed. "You don't wanna just come a lay down?" I ask and he chuckles. "Oh I definitely want to but it would defeat the whole purpose. Just close your eyes and try to get some sleep okay?" he responds and I nod, doing as he says and soon I find myself drifting off.

~~~ 

When the alarm goes off for us to wake up I groan and reach for my phone to try and turn it off but instead of grabbing my phone I end up grabbing a shoulder, opening my eyes and finding Jungkook laying his head on my lap and an arm draped over my thighs while he's fast asleep. 

I smile and finally reach my phone on the night stand and turn off the alarm. I lay there for a minute, admiring his sleeping face with his lips slightly parted letting out soft snores and I brush his hair out of his face so I can see him better, stirring him awake a little. 

"Did you sleep in here all night?" I ask softly and he hums in contentment from the feeling of me playing with his hair before he responds. "I didn't want to leave you alone" he mumbles and my heart warms at that. "Thank you honey" I say, brushing my thumb along the scar on his cheek and he gives me a sleepy smile. 

"We need to get ready to go" I remind him and he nods and takes a deep breath before sitting up slowly and cracking his back. "You should've gone up to bed Daddy" I tease and he narrows his eyes at me. "You better stop that before you start" he lets out in his deep morning voice and as much as I want to push it we really do have to get going. 

~~~~

"If you took one last bad step you could've completely broken it" the doctor says, bringing the x-rays in so we can take a look and I wince seeing how deep the fracture had gone. "So what happens next?" Jungkook asks, letting me focus on the x-ray a bit more while he talks through the next steps with the doctor. 

"We need to set everything back in place and put a cast on her. It'll take anywhere from six to twelve weeks to heal and from the looks of it it'll probably be closer to twelve. "That's three months!" I say in disbelief, dreading the fact that I'll have to be off my feet for that long. 

"Yes but good news is the baby looks strong and healthy so you have nothing to worry about on that end" he says in regards to the ultrasound we had taken just to double and triple check on them especially after the x-ray. I landed on my ass so I wasn't too worried but it doesn't hurt to check. 

"Thank God" Jungkooks says, taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "But no more hiking. You'll be around six months along if I'm not mistaken by the time your cast comes off and you'll have to take some time to restrengthen it afterwards" the doctor says and I nod my head in agreement. 

"Got it" I respond and I can see Jungkook deflate a little since it's one of his favorite things to do together but he understands how important my health and safety is as well as the baby's. 

"We can get you into surgery in the next twenty minutes or so so just hang tight and one of the nurses will come get you when we're ready" he says and we give him our thanks before he slips out, leaving us on our own. 

"You okay?" Jungkook asks and I smile, "Yeah, I'm just glad they're okay" I say, placing my hand over my little baby bump and he places his right on top of mine. "Me too" he agrees and leans down to place a gentle kiss on my lips and we wait patiently in the room until they're ready for me.  

~~~~~

After the surgery is done and dusted and he's managed to get me home he places me down on the couch, having carried me inside again even though I told him I was completely capable of using the crutches. He said, "No wife of mine will ever have to use those when I'm around" or something to that extent just to make me laugh, and it did.

"You take such good care of me" I say, blinking up at him slowly, still feeling a little out of it from the anesthesia since I knew I couldn't go through all of that if I was awake. "Just doing my job Bun" he says, leaning down to give me a kiss before going back outside to get my crutches out of the car, just in case I decide I want them. 

After coming back inside he grabs the footstool and sets it up to I can keep my leg elevated and puts plenty of pillows as well just like last time. "Doc said the pain meds would start waring off soon and that I should have you eat something before you take your next dose. Any requests?" he asks, walking over to the basket of blankets we have in the living room to drape one over me.

Everything he's done has just made me fall more and more in love with him and at this point I didn't even realize that that was even possible. Maybe I just had low standards from before but I don't know, maybe this is what true love looks like. It's not in the big gestures or the lavish gifts. It's the simple things like this that matter the most.  

"Bun?" he calls out to me and I realized I hadn't answered his question yet "Oh, um whatever you want is fine. You took me to my doctor's appointment and the pharmacy and everything so you can choose" I say and he nods, heading into the kitchen to start making us lunch and before I know it he's already grabbed a tray and placed it in front of me so I wouldn't have to go anywhere.

"Thank you honey" I say and he caresses my cheek before walking back to the kitchen to grab his food. When he's on his way back I hear the doorbell ring and look over at him, wordlessly questioning who might've come to stop by but he just smiles at me and opens the door, accepting some sort of food from a delivery driver which has me confused. 

"What's that?" I ask, the plain white bag a mystery to me until the scent of fries hits me and my mouth is watering. He sees my eyes light up when I figure it out and he chuckles, "And I got you your favorite" he says, handing me one of the two drinks he had brought in as well and I already know what it is. 

"Is that a mango milkshake?" I ask excitedly and he smiles while I take the lid off and take a sip, my milkshake mustache making him laugh. "That good huh?" he teases and I hum, "The baby was craving it" I say making excuses and he shakes his head but puts the fries on the plate next to the sandwich he made me. 

I take a fry and dip it in the milkshake and take a bite, and I can see him laughing again. "What?" I ask, not seeing what about this could be so funny. "You always dance around when you're eating your favorite food" he says and I roll my eyes. 

"Would you rather I dip a pickle in it like last time?" I cock a brow at him and he pretends to gag. "No please, not again" he shudders leaving me laughing at him instead. 

"I still can't believe you made me try that" he mumbles and I refute it right away. "You're the one who wanted to try it!". "Well you should've stopped me if you knew I wouldn't like it" he argues back and I giggle at his horrified expression. 

"How was I supposed to know that you wouldn't like it? They're called pregnancy craving for a reason Honey so you should've know better" I tease him and he grumbles something unintelligible under his breath. 

"Just don't eat it today alright? I don't want to have to taste it when I kiss you" he shudders. "Who said I wanted to kiss you?" I say playfully and he looks at me and then looks at my foot that's still propped up and huffs, slumping back into the couch. 

"What?" I laugh, not knowing what that reaction was for. "Just know that if you weren't wearing that cast right now you would've been thrown over my shoulder and dragged upstairs for that smart comment" he pouts and I laugh again, grabbing his arm and wrapping it around me, placing a kiss on his cheek for good mesasure.

"You know you love me" I say and he hums, "I do, and you better love me too or I'm taking back that milkshake" he says reaching for it and I smack his hand before he can get any closer. "I wouldn't be having your child if I wasn't in love with you dummy" I tease and he smiles and places a kiss on my cheek, making an aggressive smooching sound against it. 

"Stop" I whine trying to push him off and his only response is to hug me tighter and pepper me with more kisses. "Alright, alright I give up!" I call out, hoping that'll make him stop and luckily it works. He finishes off by planting one last kiss on my lips and nudging his nose against mine before standing up and walking back over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and the bottle with my pain meds. 

"Eat up so you can take your medicine, I don't want you to be in pain again" he says switching back to my handsome caretaker and I do as I'm told, eating my fill and taking the medication.

"Thank you Honey" I say, hoping to display my sincerity and he gives me a soft smile. "You're welcome baby" he answers, placing a kiss on the top of my head and the rest of our day goes by in a blur, laughing and teasing each other until the sun goes down. 

Like I said, it's the little things that matter to most and I guess it was just one of those days for us. 

Series Masterlist

Taglist: @jkslipppiercing @trina864 @kaitieskidmore97 @goddesofimortality @coolbluedude @coralmusicblaze @whoa-jo @00frenchfries00 @pastelpinkjoon @joonwater Rest of the tags are in the reblogs 💜

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[lollibumblebee]

Could you please do a minho x reader one🙏🙏🙏 where the reader goes to like help out in the maze without minho knowing, and then they had a bit of an argument about it in the map room🙈🙈 then minho likes grabs her and puts her on the table knowing it'll shut her up🙉🙈🙊 I KEPT THINKING ABOUT IT AND BSOQNSOA I REALLY WANT YOU TO MAKE IT😭😭😭 THANK YOU SO MUCH

OMFG, YES, SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. I FORGOT WHERE THE ASKS WERE LMAOOO

Eyes on me - minho x female reader

Warnings: kinda suggestive no smut tho

Y/n wakes up in the glade one sunny morning, with a mission, a plan if you will. Her plan was actually set up by her and newt last night, the grand scheme was that she would go with alby into the maze to help, just for one day, since minho always threw a hissy fit when y/n was in slight possible danger, and she had been wanting to go in there for ages.

Sprining out of her hammock, y/n gets ready for the massive day ahead of her, shaking alby and newt awake on the way to gather supplies, jumping on newt and consequently making them both fall off his hammock. "Be bloody careful," he says, rubbing his eyes and stretching. "I didn't mean to," she shrugs, jumping up and offering newt a hand to pull him to his feet.

"OK, let's go get some breakfast from frypan, and I'll go distract Minho," Newt says, shaking y/ns hand as they part ways for the separate jobs of the mission. Once y/n sees Newt walk off with Minho, she sprints into the map room with alby heavy on her heels, grabing their map for the day, and sneak quickly out the massive doors before they could be apprehended.

Once the pair in the maze, they head straight and follow the pattern, scanning for anything that any previous runner could have missed, with Albys skill of knowing ever corner and turn in the maze and y/n's new eyes, they'd be sure to notice anything even slightly out of place.

When y/n and alby stopped for lunch, she sat down on the concrete taking a bite out of the sandwich that frypan prepared, she accidentally triggers a button of some sorts that opens up a wall on the far east to where we were sitting.

Quickly, Alby marks down the place we stopped to eat, while y/n checks the coordinates and marks the spot , intent on exploring more. "Should we go explore?" She asks alby, glancing over to where he stands, tight beside the massive opening, just staring at the dark corridor.

"We best not, as it's getting dark soon and minho would actually fucking kill me if I let you in there without him scouring it top to bottom for possible danger" Alby sighs, using his foot to press the button once again to shut the section, and beckoning y/n to follow him out, back to the glade.

When the pair finally get back to the other gladers, all hell breaks lose, Newts waiting for them at the entrance telling y/n that minho is waiting for her in the map room, "I'm so sorry, but he's fucking pissed innit"

"Shit" y/n says, jogging over to where minho would be waiting for her.

Almost instantly, when she enters the map room, minho is standing right in front of her. "What'd you think you were doing???? Heading out into the maze like that, what would've happened if you saw a greiver or even worse something else?? You could've died out there, y/n"

"Yea, well, I didn't die, and I was nowhere close to dying. Get your knickers out of a twist minho. We found something new!!!"

"Well good for you that doesn't escape the fact you went into the maze without permission-"

"I don't need your permission to enter the maze minho, both Alby and Newt approved me going into there, you have no say against it-"

"I reckon I do have a say, thanks very much, also there's nothing in the maze you could've found that I haven't already found, I've explored that maze top to bottom"

Y/n huffs in anger as she explains what she and alby found. Minho was not having it. "That's literally fucking impossible. I've never seen it therefore it probably isn't there. Look y/n I don't want you going into the maze for your own safety it's-"

"MINHO, YOU DON'T GET IT!!! I was a runner before as well. I just barely got to see the maze cause I got injured cause of stupid Ben. I would've been in the maze right beside you, and you refuse to fucking here me out when I really have discovered something important-"

She's suddenly interrupted by minho smashing his lips into hers, strong muscular arms grabbing her and hoisting her up onto the table where he continues kissing her like she's air and he's drowning, lips against lips, teeth against teeth, as y/n brings one hand to rest on minhos chest and other grabbing and lightly tugging the hair on his head, listening as he basically moans on her mouth, he can never get enough, running his hands all on her, grabbing at all the places that make her eyes roll back in her head and whimper softly against him, glad that the table and his big strong figure was there to hold her up.

When minho finally let's y/n breathe she exclaims, "what the fuck was that for!!"

"I needed to shut you up." He gives her a charming smile, and goes right back to kissing her.

OMFG I FINISHED PLS REQUEST MOREEE

[adventuringblind]

Every Step of the Way

Oscar Piastri x Reader x Logan Sargeant x Liam Lawson

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, sick fic

Summary: With a new diagnosis, sometimes things can be confusing and scary. Oscar, Liam, and Logan do their best to help make things as easy as possible.

Warnings: Authors limited knowledge of cancer and chemotherapy

Notes: To the requester, I hope this brings you some comfort. I understand the fear of a new diagnosis. It's a difficult things to navigate.

Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi

The appointment feels like it was years ago, yet she's still sitting in the office. The weight of the words sinking in, the new diagnosis still registering.

Cancer. The single word nobody wants to hear. It is a life changing thing that could pose to be fatal.

And right now, she feels alone. At the mercy of her own emotions. Her phone buzzing beside her, but her consciousness is too far away to notice it.

She hadn't been feeling well for some time. Oscar had suggested seeing a doctor, but she claimed allergies. She'll have to admit to him that he was right (again, as per usual).

The boys have been busy lately, off racing and traveling. She's been stuck home trying to get through all these appointments. The one time they are home, she wishes they weren't.

How is she supposed to tell them her body is trying to kill her? They have too much going on in their own lives right now to worry about her on top of it. The lovely anxiety she's been having over being a burden to her boys sets in once more.

She hates it. These dejected emotions want to escape from her via tears. Yet they don't come. They pool in her eyes instead, just on the cusp of sliding down her cheeks.

Her phone buzzes again. She looks at this time and sees the spam from Liam and Logan asking if she's been kidnapped or something. So much for not worrying them.

She drives him in silence. Only her thoughts to keep her company. The ones that tell her maybe she did something to deserve this. She thinks back to anything that could've cause this kind of karma.

She pulls into the driveway and tries to put a smile on her face as she walks through the door. "I'm home!"

Liam nearly tackles her to the floor as he scoops her up and tosses her onto the sofa. The one all three of the boys have turned into the perfect comfort spot with blankets and snacks and a movie already on the screen.

“Figured you might want some reprieve after your appointment.” Logan tosses a blanket over her.

“You don’t want to now the results?”

Oscar wraps an arm around her and tucks her close to his chest. “You were supposed to be home two hours ago. whatever it is, we can talk about it after you’ve had some time to wind down.”

She ends up falling asleep during the movie. the comforting presence of all three boys has her mind drifting off to somewhere that isn’t her own failing body.

She tries to soak up the normalcy of it all before things get worse. The voice in the back of her head is telling her that they won’t want her around when she’s too exhausted to do anything. when she starts draining their bank accounts because of all the medical bills.

The sleep she got was restless despite not waking up. They’d moved her to bed at some point. The cuddle pile and soft snores tell her it’s probably still early.

She maneuvers herself out of bed without waking the boys. A dance she’s done a thousand times before.

The glass of water is in her hands, but she doesn’t remember walking into the Kitchen. Everything is too much right now.

Her knees find the floor and the water spills everywhere. The glass shatters when she throws it in anger.

So much for not waking anyone.

Footsteps hastily make their way towards her. She can hear them whispering as they come around the corner and see the mess that she’s made.

“Love, I’m gonna come get you alright?” Strong arms wrap around her and bring her off the floor. She zones out listening to the song clatter of glass being picked up.

Back on the sofa again. The boys don’t push but she can tell they want answers. all three of them share nervous gazes.

“Cancer.”

She waits for anyone to say anything, to get angry and scream, maybe even cry. Instead she is hugged with such a gentle kind of love that she breaks. The tears don’t stop until she is dehydrated and choking.

“We’re not leaving you, alright? This diagnosis doesn’t stop us from loving you.”

The next week is torture. Getting ready for and starting chemotherapy is a nightmare.

It hurts, she’s sick, and the exhaustion makes everything worse.

But she also has people around her who love and care. They stick with her on the bad days and the worse days. they make the best out of the good days.

Oscar makes sure she sleeps, Logan makes sure she eats, and Liam tries to kidnap her when the other two get over protective.

It’s certainly a hard road. Some days are harder and she can barely function, but she’s trying.

Plus, it does help having people who love her around.

[literally-arkansas]

I could fix him (I would make him worse)

Clay Puppington x reader

•

Bartending was never easy. You didn't go into the job thinking it would be a breeze, but you'd hoped working somewhere called 'Moralton' might give you any sort of reprieve.

It did not.

There were some characters in town, with various stories, who opened up to your listening ears simply because they had no one else to tell or their lips became too loose. All were various levels of sad or concerning, but none stuck out more than that of Clayton Puppington.

He liked to blame others for his mistakes, always had to be on top. He got angry when he was drunk, and spiteful and brash. But he also cried, easily broke down, and all too often would go from looking like top dog to sobbing into the counter. His face would get red and scrunch up through tears, or he'd slam on the table as he silently sobbed, yearning for more whiskey. It was clear as day he had something deeper going on, always opening up to you but never enough.

Safe to say, Clay was a piece of work. The way he sobbed when he got angry suggested that somewhere within him, at one point maybe he wanted to see himself get better, but it was easier to see others get worse.

And you knew this, of course, but to see him frantically slamming his fist on the thick glass window on Easter Sunday was a whole new level of low.

You yourself had only showed at the bar to do a little bit of spring cleaning. Forghettis was closed for the holiday. In a perfect world, one that was clearly not this one, the citizens would all be spending time with their families or friends rather than alone.

Whether or not they were drinking was a personal choice.

With a sigh, you brushed back your hair and took purposeful steps to the door. Your shoes stuck slightly to the ground, a result of a few poorly mopped spills over time. Bells jangled as you opened the door and peeked out, stepping one foot out into the sidewalk.

"Clay," you called out, your eyes scanning him hesitantly. The well dressed man immediately came to attention, trying to compose himself regardless of the fact you'd seen him in worse states. His brown eyes locked on yours, more admiration than you could claim you'd ever seen in them. "We're closed."

"C'mon, just one drink. I haven't been here in... what, a week?" Somehow Clay managed to be grumbly even when he begged. His brown hair was slightly disheveled, a cowlick sticking out from the rest.

"Three days," you corrected. You couldn't help yourself from thinking, 'and I doubt you've been sober for any of them.'

As you spoke you scanned the sidewalk, checking for any by standards who might see what was about to happen. It was likely wrong of you to do any part of what you were doing. You were closed, for one thing, and it was ridiculous you would break that for one man (and one man only). You knew exactly why you were doing it, too, bad intentions and selfish wants.

With a sigh, you nodded. "You have until I finish cleaning."

Clay's face lit up as much as you'd ever seen it. He was quick to follow you, his hand brushing against your lower back as the door shut almost immediately behind you. His hand was warm against you and full of light you'd never seen in him.

"So, where have you been?" you asked, peeking behind you to glance at the man. You walked in, a route you could've taken blindfolded, behind the counter of the bar.

"Hunting trip with the kid," Clay explained, nonchalant. "We caught a lot of nothing but I got a lot of something. What're the odds you have brandy?"

An eyebrow quirked at the lack of use of his son's name. Mindlessly, you poured him a drink. Immediately, he threw it back.

"That's a shame. My dad took me hunting when I was little, too," you mused, reminiscing on a time long ago. "I always felt a little guilty killing things, but my dad always told me it was getting them closer to God, and then we'd pray for them. And we never killed anything we wouldn't eat.” Clay’s eyes followed you as you walked up and down the length of the bar, wiping away unforgettable nights, as well as those too good to remember. “I don't think he ever saw it that way, actually. He was just thinking of me."

Clay's eye twitched as you handed him another drink. "Why would you be appreciative of him lying to you?”

Clay must've drank before coming to be talking like this. It wouldn’t surprise you if the whole reason he’d come was because he’d exhausted his personal collection.

Deep down, a little part of you liked to think he’d came just to see you. Such a shame, the state he was in. Such a shame, the state you were in.

"It was comforting,” you replied, trying to be gentle. Parenting him, almost. “I don't think he was lying, either. He just… put it into a perspective that made me feel safe.”

"He sounds like a wuss,” Clay commented, throwing back another shot.

"He made quite a few sacrifices for me, and sometimes maybe one of those was… being gentle,” you replied, a little bit more edge on your voice. As you saw it, part of masculinity was being brave enough to set it aside when the time counted.

"Sacrifice!” Clay laughed. Rather, guffawed. “Boy, do I know about sacrifice. I made the ultimate sacrifice, you know. My happiness for my kids. And I do it over and over and over and over again, day in and day out.” He banged on the bar, his words slurring.

As you attempted to craft a response to that that would be even a little bit constructive, the door swung open and there appeared Reverend Putty, slightly disheveled.

"We're over!" Revered Putty shouted, pointing at somebody outside the door. Much more calmly, he turned to gaze inside the depressingly darkened room. "Didn't think you'd be open on Easter.”

"That's because we're closed,” you commented, your eyes softening. “I’m sorry, Reverend.”

"What's he doing here?” Putty asked, somewhat annoyed. He shot an accusatory gaze at Clay.

You looked from the disheveled Clay to the mildly depressed Reverend. "He's doing a routine health inspection.”

"Goddamn it,” Putty grumbled, stepping out the door. “I'll be back tomorrow.” The bell on the door jingled merrily behind him.

Clay laughed animatedly. “What a loser! That guy finally loses his virginity and it's to the ex Ms. Papermouth.”

"He probably had a pretty good time if she has an ex husband,” you commented.

"It can't have been that good if he's an ex!”

You scoffed, nodding exaggeratedly slowly. Shots fired. "Maybe she broke up with him,” you suggested.

As if the devil had called, the door opened once again, exploding the room with a blinding level of light.

“Hello?” Mr. Papermouth, the town’s policeman announced as he let himself in.

“Look who it is!” Clay exclaimed with an exaggerated laugh. “We were just talking about you, you know-“

Papermouth’s eyes widened, and you shut that down before he could bring himself in and start a fight. “No, we weren’t. We’re closed.”

“You don’t look closed-“

“We’re closed. Easter Sunday.”

“Why is he here?” The same question you’d already heard. Like history repeats itself.

“He’s just about to leave,” you said, giving Clay a pointed look. Officer Papermouth gazed skeptically, but eventually showed himself out.

Clay chuckled heartily, shaking his head. “Everyone in this town is so pathetic.” The irony of his words was not lost on you. “Can’t satisfy his sorry excuse of a wife.”

“Everybody’s going through something,” you reminded him. “It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t come in here and drink himself away.”

“Yeah, good, so I can do it alone,” Clay remarked.

“Wouldn’t you rather *not* be alone?” The question was genuine, hinting at something deeper you shouldn’t have even been thinking.

“Being alone is the only way to be,” Clay stated. He gestured for you to refill his drink, which you reluctantly did, wiping the counter. “Others are weak, but not me.”

“Having support doesn’t make you weak,” you stated, cocking your head to the side slightly.

“Who told you that?” Clay laughed out loud. His face was turning a soft shade of red. “Your *father*?”

“Actually, yes, he did,” you snapped. “And he taught me patience, and you better thank God he did, because otherwise I’d have kicked you out too.”

“Then kick me out! But I bet you can’t, because you rely on others,” Clay taunted. He said haughty in the barstool, his arms crossed over his chest. “You need me here.” Still, he watched you closely, waiting for your response.

You shook your head, conflicting feelings in your heart. Above the rest was a growing annoyance, uncertain why you hadn’t removed him yet.

“I don’t need you here,” you insisted, not technically lying. “In fact, you’ve got about five more minutes before you have to pack it up.”

“I doubt you’ll enforce that,” Clay commented, although he didn’t sit so big anymore. “You and everybody else are so desperate for a friend. I bet your father was just as much of a pushover as you.”

(Why he was so fixated on the relationship between you and your father was uncertain, but somewhere within you you knew it was something about Orel. He was projecting.)

"Clayton Puppington, I will not hesitate to ban your entry if you say one more bad word about my father. He was a great man and an even better parent.”

Clay scoffed. Never knowing when to quit, he challenged, "If he's *sooo* great, how come I took his job?”

You weren't sure if he was trying to provoke you or just that drunk, but you didn't care. He probably wouldn't remember it the next day, anyway. Red filled your head, spurred on by all sorts of things you weren’t ready to understand, but most of all by his blatant disrespect for your family.

Before you were even aware of your hand moving, you hit him.

Clay's eyes went as wide as yours when the loud smack reverberated off of his face. His hand came to cup his cheek and you took a step back, surprised you actually had the balls to do it.

The room went silent, Clay giving you a strangely earnest look that crossed shock with hurt. Your heart stopped.

"Clay, I'm... I'm sorry,” you apologized, realizing what you’d done. Yelling at him would’ve been a more productive move than that - you were grown adults, brawling in a bar. “I should've never done that.”

"What?” Clay asked, his voice small.

“I guess I'm not great at using my words,” you admitted, trying to be as polite as possible. Clay was a big customer - you didn’t exactly want to lose his patronage. “Drinks are on me.”

You brushed a hand on his cheek gently, inspecting the slight red mark. He leaned into it, just enough for you to analyze it for nights after, but not too much.

“Can I kiss you?” Clay asked all of the sudden.

Glancing at him, your eyes softened slightly, confused. You bit your lip, sure you'd never get the chance again. You’d be lying to say you'd never thought about it, never fantasized about it. The way his lips would feel against yours, the way his hands would feel rubbing up and down your sides. In your hair.

“Why would you want to do that," you laughed slightly, crossing your arms over your stomach.

“I think I love you,” Clay admitted bluntly.

“Clay,” you said.

“What?” he asked.

“I just slapped you and now you love me?” you reiterated, hoping he’d understand how crazy that was. How unfortunate that was. “No, Clay, you know you don't love me. You love that I listen to you.”

Clay wasn’t convinced. “No, I think I do,” he claimed with conviction. “I want to.”

You sighed, resigning yourself to bear your soul. You placed your hands down flat on the bar, no longer sticky.

“Look… I like you, Clay. More than I should. But you have a wife,” you reminded. “And the way you look at Daniel is nothing like me.”

You couldn’t deny the gazes you’d seen them share - and the way the jealousy held you in its vise.

“That’s because you're different.”

With a sigh you replied, “Ask me when you're sober. It won't make either of us feel any better right now.”

And that was the gimmick, wasn’t it? He loved you when he was drunk. And even if he loved you sober, he never was.

Always two drinks in, always two feet apart.

[elk96]

No Better Way to End a Day

Cillian Murphy x female reader.

Warnings: umm, work stress? a slight hint of angst, and some suggestive context-also, English is my second language.

You are going through a tough day(week) especially at work, and so your nerves are...kinda really bad, so you snap at your boyfriend, who tries to make things right.

Just a little something to get us all through the day, Ig

"Coffee at this hour babe? How will you fall asleep at night"? Cillian asked, coming down from your room. 

You sighed heavily as another thunder almost shook the whole house. Taking a sip from your coffee, you counted in your head all the things you had to do until night. Finish work. Clean the windows. Iron Cillian's clothes and yours, fucking find a way to hold your job-but your boss had suddenly gone nuts, nothing was good enough, everyone was irreplaceable. Your coffee was cold, you realized, but you gulped it down anyway. Heating it felt like too much work for your already worked up nerves.

"I won't, that's the fucking point"! 

"Okay…I'll go out, have a beer with the lads".

"'Kay", was all you answered.

Cillian stayed there staring at you for a moment, keys jingling at his hands. He opened his mouth to say something before an angry glare of yours prompted him out of the door. 

And just like that, he was gone. And you were stuck home. With all the chores. And all the work.

With a deep sight you finally found the strength to get off the couch, and sit in front of your computer. The first notification you found was a text from a colleague of yours, which informed you of a new interview of all employees in the company.

Fuck.

Fuck. 

But you had done nothing wrong -to the contrary, you were exceptional at your job. Until your supervisor didn't like your face or something.

I look like shit and I feel even worse.

I look like hell 'cause I'm going there first, you sang in your mind. 

In a catatonic state, just as the rain had subsided into silent drops, you finished all your programmed work. It was nearly 11 at night when you emerged out of your "office". 

Cillian came home at the same hour too, scaring the life out of you as you headed to the laundry room. 

"Fucking hell"! you cursed breathily.

"Sorry", he answered with a smile. "I'll go get changed and I'll come for dinner", he added and leaned to kiss you on the cheek.

Dinner? What fucking dinner? You'd been working all day, he was out partying and fooling around, but that didn't matter, you were supposed to have cooked dinner on top of that. As if you hadn't told him not to eat all the soup at lunch.

You're being irrational, you thought to yourself as you stormed to the only place you'd have some privacy: the bathroom.

Banging the door closed behind you, you slid slowly to the floor against the wall, pressing your head on your knees.

It wasn't his fault, any of it, you complained to your stupid self. He had a wonderful afternoon well earned. Before your worked up nerves got the best of you, you heard a soft knock on the door.

"Baby? What's wrong? Y/ N? Did I do something"? Cillian asked softly, making you scrunch your face in regret. With heavy steps you got up, opening the door and falling in his arms.

"I'm sorry", you wailed.

Cillian rested his chin on your hair, brushing his fingertips against your shoulder.

"Let's go to bed huh? And we'll talk about it, and cuddle".

"I'll cook something quick first", you sighed, accepting your faith.

"I ordered Mexican," Cillian smiled and ushered you to your bedroom. He threw his clothes on a chair quickly before pulling you to the top of the bed, arranging the pillows and throwing a blanket over your bodies.

He kissed you on the temple softly.

"If you wanted me to stay tonight, you could've said so, you know I would've without a second thought", he murmured. 

Cillian looked at you with that hurt look in his eyes, complaints and love lying within them. He always gave you that puppy -eye look when he wanted to convince you of something. 

"Nothing important, I was just childish", you answered. You'd been together for the last 3 years, but still, you hated the idea of him knowing you had such an attitude all day long because of fucking work stress.

"Is it your boss again"? he nevertheless guessed.

"We'll be interviewed tomorrow, all of us. He tries to figure out who's the easiest to sack".

"Don't worry you silly. You're the best there, everyone praises your skills and devotion".

"I'm just anxious, I know it's stupid, but still. And tired. I was working all day long", you said, pressing your head firmly against his shoulder.

"I know Y/LN", he said sweetly. "It's just a bad day though, it will pass".

He reached on the bedside table, pulling your favourite chocolate out of it. 

"Especially with some help", he smirked and you immediately bit off a chunk of it. 

"I'm sorry I snapped at you like that".

"You scared the shit out of me", Cillian chuckled.  "I spent half my time with the lads trying to figure out what me and Dave had done wrong with our girls".

You smiled at his last words, you loved the pet name. "My girl", he'd always call you while he finished, and you'd usually reach another high at this point. You shivered at the thought of it, and Cillian, somehow reading your mind again, placed a burning kiss on your neck. He nipped on your skin, sucking a large purple mark. He lowered his head to your collarbone, bringing his hand to caress your breasts.

As always, if you enjoy please please reblog and/ or comment!!

"Don't worry", he smirked. "I won't do anything tiring", he whispered in his dark voice as he moved to settle between your legs. 

"Cillian!", you squealed. "What about the food"?

"Oh,I'll eat that too".

"No, I mean what if it arrives during-

"Let me take care of that sweetie. You just relax".

-----

You were just catching up your breath when the food arrived, Cillian carrying it like a trophy to bed along with all necessities so this little gesture didn't end up a complete disaster. You practically buried your face in your plate. He had ordered just right: chicken wings, country style potatoes with bacon and cheese sauce and tacos with yogurt dressing.

"I'm sorry I was like that", you said again, stuffing your mouth with chicken.

"Hey", Cillian scolded you. "Stop thinking about it, will ya? I too am a fucking prick when I'm under pressure".

You gave him a half smile, knowing deeply in your bones that this wasn't true. But it wasn't your regular behaviour either -hence his troubles thoughts- so you decided you could forgive yourself.

Cillian chuckled as you tried to fit all the remaining potatoes in your mouth, and got quickly downstairs to wash the dishes and clean everything. He returned to find you sat on the edge of the bed, playing with your thumbs.

"'D you wash your teeth an' all"?

"Yeah. I still have too much tension though, for some reason", you added bitterly. Your head was heavy with exhaustion but, of course, why would you have it so easy as to get some damn sleep?

Cillian cupped your cheeks tenderly, peppering your face with kisses before he carried you in his arms to the bathroom. He put up your hair in an -acceptable?- attempt of a ponytail before stopping you off your little clothing.

"After you ma' am", he motioned, and followed you into the shower. The warm water felt better than a heavy, heated blanket.

Cillian massaged your shoulders lightly, pressing kisses all over you, whispering sweet nothings in your ear. No better way to end a day, you thought, until you felt his erection pressing against your ass.

"Something got you excited Mr. Murphy"? you asked playfully, yet in a manner that you hoped discouraged his plans. A little while longer and you might as well melt under his touch.

"Perhaps it's time I taught you about the benefits of vanilla sex Y/ N", he whispered against your neck, turning off the shower.

@joy-dwaekki there you go darling, hope you like it and it helps💙

[five-oh-thirst]

For One Night

Prompt Day 21: Haunted or abandoned place

Pairing: Cody/Rex

Tags & Warnings: suggestive, bad jokes, fluff, nudity

Note: My thoughts were too big for my word count. I wanted the abandoned place/one bed/hot sex trope, but there wasn't enough room for the porn so I improvised.

Read on AO3

The cold rain beat down hard on the ground around them as they trudged through the thick forest. Rex could hear the splatter of heavy rain drops against his duraplast armor, and it began to grate on his nerves. They were still way off target, and with the light of day far behind them and the storm getting worse, they'd struggle to make that night.

"We need to make camp," Rex said through his helmet's intercom.

"Where?" Cody asked. "Everything's been washed away, and anything that hasn't will."

Rex sighed. He was right. Where they were, coupled with the inclement weather, wasn't suitable for anything other than mud guppies, mosquitoes, and giant snakes that wouldn't think twice about dragging them into the forest and eating them. They needed shelter, and they needed it quickly.

"Do you see anything on your radar that looks promising?" Rex asked. Cody always had the best telemetry, which meant he was more likely to find decent shelter than him.

Cody was silent as he looked at the mapping system in his HUD. "There's something two klicks west of here... Looks like a structure."

"Great," Rex said. "Let's go." He turned on his heels to head west, but as he stepped, his foot slipped on a wet leaf, and he fell face down into the mud. Groaning, he lifted his head up and wiped at the front of his helmet to clear it off. It didn't help much. Cody stretched out a hand to help him up, and they set off towards the coordinates.

Relief washed over them when they finally arrived. It wasn't a large structure and looked abandoned, but it had a roof and four walls, and at that point, that's all they cared about. They had a slight moment of hesitancy about just barging in, but at the next loud crack of thunder, they both rushed inside.

The perimeter search was simple enough. The inside was just as unassuming as the outside, and based on the info from their HUDs, there were no life forms or droids inside the building. They were alone. Good.

There was, however, an old bed, which meant they didn't have to sleep on the floor. It was a nice bonus in their line of work. The only thing that could've made it better was a shower with running water, and lo and behold, there was one, but it was cold water.

"Do you want to go first?" Cody asked while he worked at removing his armor.

Rex pulled a twig out of his shin plate. "I'm already cold. I don't need to be colder."

"The water would feel good," Cody countered. He pulled his soaked blacks over his head and wrung some of the water out.

"Hot water would feel good," Rex corrected, shivering as he pulled his top blacks off.

Cody slipped his lower blacks off and wrung them out, leaving him naked. He grabbed his flashlight and scanned around the room. "Look," he said, and Rex turned around. "There's a fireplace. You can get warm after you have your cold shower."

Rex sighed and pulled his blacks off his last leg, tossing them onto the ground. "Fine. I'll go first, but there better be a fire going when I'm done."

Cody smirked. "Yes, sir."

After his stone-cold shower, Rex returned to the main room, where he was greeted by an amber glow and Cody wrapped in one of the blankets from the bed. He tossed the blanket onto Rex, then headed off to take his own cold shower. When he returned, Rex was sitting in front of the fire with the blanket wrapped around him. He'd also found a way to hang their blacks up to dry over the fire.

"May I join you?" Cody asked as water dripped down his legs and onto the floor.

Rex looked up and opened one end of the blanket as an invitation. "If you must."

Cody sat down and huddled close to Rex, then pulled the edge of the blanket around himself and back to the front to close it up. Rex leaned his head against Cody's shoulder, and Cody rested his head on top of Rex's.

"Does cuddling under a blanket while naked make us gay?" Rex asked, barely keeping his eyes open as the exhaustion finally took hold.

Cody snorted. "I thought we already were. Or does sex not count anymore?"

"Nah," Rex said. "Sex is physical release. Cuddling is gay."

Cody chuckled. "We could have sex if you want to feel less gay."

"I'm too tired for that," Rex mumbled. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Maybe we can be gay for just one night."

Cozytober Masterlist

[tarot-by-e11e]

Hey dear, first of all I would like to say that I really really deeply appreciate that you did my reading, and I am sorry too because you've already been having a hard time and the readings energy could've affected you...so sending my warmest wishes and love. Know that dms are always open to communicate too!>3

Feedback; Everything literally every single thing you mentioned in the reading resonates with me. I grew up financial instability, I'm the eldest daughter so had to take care of my siblings surely, was always been told how worse I am and all that whatever you mentioned, and the the sentence of how I lost my childhood and even feel like i never had one makes sm sense because that's absolutely how I feel..but it's okay those things definitely are my past now and don't worry i know you weren't trying to say I deserved them but rather how courageous I am.. that's definitely how I see it too somewhere i did came out as a fighting warrier...your words of a diamond warrior just brought tears to my eyes. Tbh I'm not the type to see myself in a victim light or dwell over what happened anymore but reading it again did made me realise quite a few things making me feel more connected to myself and my inner child. Your words of encouragement were absolutely heartwarming and yes unfortunately I do struggle with loud noises and too flashy lights make me uncomfortable as i grew up with arguing parents so your suggestions were something that i never even thought i needed but even they made me realise how i can bring more comfort to myself so thankyou so very much. EVERYTHING in the reading from top to bottom resonated so much and brought sm healing too in some form so thankyou so very much once again.

I know dear time has been rough but i hope you remember we all are a warrior too in some form..so you definitely carry the courage to get through everything too. Giving you the warmest hugs and sending good energy your way. Take care and wish you and amazing month ahead 🫶🏻🤍✨🧿

Hi dear,

Thank you so much taking the time to sending me a feedback so quickly~

OMG I was right??!! Oh dear!!! let me just give you a hug...

If no one has told you yet today, I'm proud of you.

You've gone through so much at a young age, and you finally and eventually got out of it! You do that!!! You definitely deserve to treat yourself right, after everything that you've been put through.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm really happy that the reading has helped you to feel a bit better, even just a tad bit.

Yes, there are actually a ton of suggestions online about how to live life with a disregulated nervous system. Just remember, if you have a certain trigger, than create the opposite effect in your home. If it's loud noises, anything that can create a calmer ambience would do the trick. If it's bright lights, warm incadescent lights, preferably table lights, rarely overhead. It's better for calming ambience.

Awww that's so sweet!

Thank you for letting me know how the reading resonates with you.

I hope that, moving forward, you can find more ways to incorporate being kinder and gentler to yourself, into a daily habit.

[marley-manson]

2, 6, and 10 for the MASH asks

Thank you!

2 . what’s a detail that you would consider insignificant but you like ?

Okay idk where this falls on the insignificance scale but it's not super important, it's just a good touch, so: the way Mr. Kwang is an OR extra in a bunch of season 3 episodes until he gets a subplot in Love and Marriage. Early Mash especially doesn't usually put much care into continuity so I liked this.

6 . who’s your favorite nurse ?

I'm saying Margaret doesn't count here or she'd win easily. So I'm gonna go with nurse Gaynor in The Nurses, because I feel like she's the only woman ever on the show aside from Margaret to get a non-gendered non-romantic subplot about how much living in a war zone sucks, and I loved to see it and wish we could've seen it more. She's an emotionally closed-off alcoholic because she sees too much death on a daily basis! That's the kind of character writing I want to see when it comes to women!

10 . least favorite storyline involving your favorite ( or one of your favorites ) ?

Toss up between Who Knew and Commander Pierce.

Who Knew sucks for recharacterizing Hawkeye as emotionally reticent and deflective, something absolutely mind-bogglingly obviously in contradiction to Hawkeye in every other dramatic episode he's ever been in, and in contradiction to how he's handled actual romantic relationships, and the reasons he doesn't engage emotionally with every nurse he fucks.

In Who Knew he suggests that he's scared of committment which is why he only has casual sex with the nurses, which is stupid because we've previously seen somewhere between three and five women he was down to commit to (Erika, Carlye, Kyung Soon, plus arguably Inga and Kellye if his pathetic ending in the latter ep was a willingness to date her and not just an offer for a pity fuck) and the actual thematic reason he has a lot of casual sex is because war is hell and sex is a distraction. He has previously expressed his distaste for the nurses as people because they're army volunteers a few times (eg "a woman out of any uniform" is his answer to the question of what he misses in The Interview, and he disparagingly refers to Erika's status as a lieutenant while hitting on her in Radar's Report), which is another explanation for why he doesn't want to marry them. And he also just likes to have casual sex in keeping with the show's relationship to the counter culture movement, something that was written in a positive way for the first half or so of the show (for better or worse.)

Who Knew is a total rewrite and recontextualization of all of that, and it's done badly, and I hate it. Also on top of that it revolves around invading the privacy of a woman who accidentally walked into a landmine because she was mooning over Hawkeye, which is such a godawful episode premise I can't handle it lol. If the goal was even partially to recontextualize the womanizing as a character flaw for feminist reasons, and it probably was, then woof. I'll take the womanizing over that, thanks.

And Commander Pierce sucks because it exists solely to finger-wag at the anti-authority attitude of the first half of the show and call Hawkeye a hypocrite. It contradicts Hawkeye in Carry On Hawkeye and Officer of the Day, it presents Hawkeye with a situation he's handled with grace in the past before (being in charge of a shorthanded OR) instead of even bothering to put him out of his comfort zone to try to justify his reaction, and it makes Hawkeye suddenly care about military rules just because he's stressed out, which is absurd to the point of self-parody.

It's easy to imagine Hawkeye as a bad leader under pressure lol (though not in the OR imo but sure, in a military context) but certainly not the kind of bad leader who barks out military commands and calls his friends by their last names and sulks about having his authority undermined for an entire day. It's pure bad pro-military writing that gives the impression of being embarrassed about earlier (superior) Mash tbh and it sucks.

ask meme

[tierra-paldeana]

Geeta had always been Rika’s friend since the day they met. Their bond was so strong that they told each other everything including Rika’s troubled past in the pond. But some days where harder for Geeta than others, she never knew how to handle their friendship especially in their adult years when it was made off a lie, she couldn’t tell Rika that she was bribed by the teachers and parents to be her friend to calm down the wild student and who else to do that than the smartest student in school? The plan was simple Geeta would be her friend for a year and from her Rika would branch out and make friends with other people and then she’d pull away but it never worked. They stuck together. That made the conversation Rika overheard ten times worse. 

Rika decided to head to the Medali gym to get some food and watch Larry fight trainers to see any note worthy ones she might face soon. Her booth was empty except for her and a few empty plates of food that’s when she heard the voice of one of her favorite people on the booth behind her. Geeta was here with someone else, she didn’t even notice her arrival. But something was off. The other person was comforting her? Why? Is she okay? Then she caught the reason why Geeta was being comforted “It’s been years Ge. You’ve gotta tell her it’s already been driving you crazy since graduation.” The other person said “I can’t just do that. The situation is more delicate than you think.” Geeta repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

 “Just tell her about the parents and teachers she might understand. You can’t keep holding it in.”

“What if I lose her? What if she hates me and never wants to see me again?”

“That was the plan wasn’t it? Be her friend for a year then ditch her. For Arceus’s sake Rika has feral episodes you said it yourself. Didn’t she stop the whole Elite four process for a week after her most recent episodes?”

“Look I’ll think about it.”

“You’ve already said that a million times.”

On anon, pretend to be one of my muse's loved ones, but try to be as heartbreaking and anger-inducing as possible!

// i know i'm supposed to reply to this in-character, but instead i wanted to praise this anon for writing something that took so much of this blog into consideration agahgshdgs i really appreciate it-

the only criticism i can give is the fact that geeta's choice to help her when they were teens came out of a mixture of the teachers asking her to and her own volition. she could've declined to do so at any moment, and there wasn't really a set minimum time she was supposed to stay with her- something i like to drive home when it comes to this blog is that geeta's decision to help her in general was selfless, and something she decided to endeavour into all on her own.

of course, the academy saw her as fitting for the job of convincing her to come since she was a top student, but ultimately the decision to go with geeta was rika's, as while geeta would sometimes suggest and ask her about school, she never really pressured her into joining. geeta protected her and saved her life, and it was from that point on that rika decided that's where she wanted to be, by her side - the side of the one person that cared about her and wanted her to be happy and safe.

all of this ultimately leads into what i intent to get across with my version of rika's story: geeta helped her in a selfless manner, something she was never required to do but she did it anyway because she's empathetic with those who struggle, and this led to a friendship that stays strong to this day. she's always been understanding and patient with rika, even during her feral episodes, and is never annoyed with her 'flaws', as she fully knows and understands her past and everything that makes her up as a person, since she's practically the only one who knows every detail about it.

still, this was brilliantly written, and it made my heart hurt, so props to you anon ;;;;;; it also makes me warm and fuzzy inside when someone takes everything i've established here into consideration asgdhghgfs

[thedo0zyslider]

Explosions Across Lifetimes - Chapter Eleven: See You Feels Scary (And Losing You Is Worse) - 7k words

(There was so much i wanted to put in this chapter, but some of t had to be moved to twelve bc it was so long lol)

Jimmy acts on his gut feeling, and finds exactly what he's looking for

A03 Link

Playlist

The feeling Jimmy had about his friends' disappearances never went away. In fact, it had increased with every passing second since Fwhip had notified them.

It had been a day of tireless searching, and they’d found absolutely nothing so far. They’d started looking at Rivendell and the Crystal Cliffs, then when nothing was there as they expected, they moved onto the surrounding kingdoms. Now Jimmy was searching the wilderness around his own empire, because even after searching ten whole empires they hadn't found anything.

It felt pointless to Jimmy, searching the swamp, when his head was still screaming at him to go to Mythland, or the Lost Empire instead. He was fairly sure their friends were in one of those two empires, because who else would've kidnapped them really? Who else could've kidnapped two people so seamlessly, without any clues, other than two possessed friends? Who else gained anything from kidnapping Scott other than Xornorth itself?

But the group had agreed to search those two empires tomorrow. The excuses were that it was getting late, or that they didn't have an idea of where Sausage or Joey were at any given moment. Which shouldn't be hard information to get really, in the cod's opinion. That mission was obviously going to be some sort of group effort, and Jimmy still being injured was somehow used as an excuse as well. He wasn’t even that hurt anymore! The Codfather had a slight limp in his injured leg at worst , maybe he was a little clumsy with a sword because Sausage just had to stab his dominant hand. But he could fight just fine, especially if he was with a group.

He’d found that suggestion a little insulting actually, because they'd all seem him fight with worse injuries than a hurting leg before. Jimmy could understand why they would want to be wary though, in case Sausage did try to finish what he stated.

The blonde sighed, calling to his people. He was stopping the search earlier than he was supposed to. It was clear that nothing was in the swamp, and the biome could get quite dangerous at night. Honestly the Codfather didn’t want to go to Mythland and get hurt again, and he also didn't want to risk finding Scott and Gem dead. But that last possibility was growing by the minute, which was a thought Jimmy didn’t like one bit.

Now it was really too late to do anything, and he had to reluctantly call it a night. He did want to just keep going, but he had a strong feeling that Gem would whack him over the head, if he made his sleep schedule even worse for her sake.

Another day passed with nothing, and Jimmy became more sure of his hunch. You couldn't even call it a hunch anymore, because he was dead set on that idea. Gem and Scott had been missing for three days at this point, which was making him even more sure.

By this point every empire had been searched. All of them had been scoured top to bottom, all but Mythland and the Lost Empire of course. Jimmy knew why, they were scared. All eight of them were scared to go and enter the danger zone.

Realistically, they needed to go in there. Because where else would Scott and Gem be? Well, they could be in the nether, but that was supposed to be searched today. They were even going to the End. They were so scared of what might be in front of them they were going the the bloody fucking End , a dimension no one had been in since the demon released, when two whole empires had yet to be searched.

Under normal circumstances, Jimmy supposed the End and Nether were reasonable places to look for two missing rulers. But this wasn't normal circumstances. There was a demon, with two people under their possession. Two people who've shown they're prepared to hurt people.

He'd suggested going to visit Joey first, just so Pearl and Fwhip could put off seeing Sausage for a little longer. He knew Shrub had been dying to try and talk sense into her neighbor as well, and the little gnome had jumped to agree with his idea. But no, the majority vote had said otherwise. They’d risk going there after, because Scott and Gem not being there was a real possibility as well, and they'd be putting themselves in danger for nothing.

Jimmy could tell a few others wanted to agree with him, but they were holding themselves back. Pix and Katherine especially. But those two only excelled at leading when it came to boring stuff, like meetings and diplomacy. They weren’t good at convincing Pearl and Fwhip, too very stubborn people, that maybe Sausage kidnapped his sister and maybe he'd done something worse than that. Jimmy didn’t want to believe it either, but he also had a new scar, hidden right under his Codfather’s head, that proved that option was a very real and likely possibility.

They were stalling, that's what they were doing. They were waiting again, and Jimmy was getting bloody sick of waiting. Because they always waited, all twelve emperors did. That was their whole thing, waiting too long to do anything. That was gonna be the thing that ruined them all one day, that one little flaw, he was sure of it.

They'd hesitated to do much about the demon, because most of them had never seen anything like it before; it was unknown and scary and none of them knew how to tackle it. They'd waited and let Xornorth grow in power until he could free himself. Scott had waited too long to be truthful, which had just dug their collective grave deeper. They hadn’t done anything when Sausage and Joey vanished, hadn’t tried to help them, just waited for them to come back demon possessed. Jimmy’s earliest memory was waiting, waiting for Lizzie to return to the sea. He and Fwhip had waited, waited for the worst possible time ever to try and be something more; to get over that stupid rivalry and admit it was getting harder and harder to hate each other. There were probably a handful of other examples he couldn’t remember at the moment or was even aware of. So yeah , Jimmy was more than a little tired of waiting.

By the time he thought this it was already past midday, and sadly the world didn't stop turning when bad things happened. He was busy, he had things to do. So he'd wait until tomorrow morning, when he knew he was free, and then he'd do something. He'd do what no one else was doing and run into the danger zone.

He could handle waiting just a few more hours. Probably.

After the past two days of nothing, Gem and Scott had been kidnapped for four whole days so far. Any longer and it would be a week before they knew it. Jimmy didn’t know what the hell his two friends were going through right now, but any guesses he had weren't good ones. Those guesses made him more anxious, more antsy, more convinced he should do something sooner rather than later; by himself if he had to.

Day two of nothing was also the day after he'd said he'd do something the next morning. And well, it was morning now. He wasn’t busy today. Jimmy suddenly had a decent guess of how his day would go, and it was probably going to be horrible .

The Codfather would tell only one person where exactly he was going, just in case he didn't come back. It took a few minutes of searching, minutes he shouldn't have time to waste, before he found his favorite member of the Cod Council.

He waved Caleb down quickly, and the other was soon walking alongside him. The two men walked towards the more swampy, uninhabited parts of the empire with less buildings, looking as if they were going to try one more fruitless search. Hopefully looking entirely unsuspicious, mainly because Jimmy wasn’t trusting his body language not to betray him. He wasn’t sneaky, or a liar, or very good at hiding his true intentions ever, so he was expecting someone to figure out just what he was planning on doing sooner or later.

They chatted as they walked, engaging in normal, friendly conversation. Though Jimmy did let himself fall more silent the further they got anyway from the main part of the empire. If his friend noticed, or that anything was up, he didn't comment on it. Knowing Caleb, he probably was just giving Jimmy space and letting him set the pace of their conversation, clearly aware of how hard the past few weeks had been on him.

"I'm going to Mythland." Jimmy announced it after a particularly long stretch of comfortable silence. Caleb stopped in his tracks, and openly gaped at the blonde once the words processed in his head.

"Codfa-- Jimmy ," He stated, dropping all the formalities for the first time since he'd been made a Council Member; even despite Jimmy’s insistence that they weren't needed. "That is a horrible idea! What the bloody hell are you thinking?" Caleb hissed, irritated clicks escaping him. The younger cod even grabbed his shoulders, nails digging in slightly and shaking him a little. That made Jimmy blink in momentary surprise. The two were genuine friends, but Caleb was a man of duty and had never quite got over the formal origins of their relationship.

"I know what I'm doing, okay?" Jimmy reassured him, resting a gentle hand on Caleb's arm letting the smaller hold him as much as he needed. "If Sausage finds me, he won't kill me."

"How do you know that?" Caleb's voice became gradually smaller, eyes glazed with poorly disguised worry.

Jimmy just gave a grim smile in return. "Because I'm more useful alive than dead." He said it so casually, and that was a sentence no one should ever have to say ever, let alone like it was normal .

The younger cod was silent for a few painstaking moments, eyes searching Jimmy’s face. He seemed to figure out that no one was talking the Codfather out of this, and would have to suggest some other options instead. “At least let me come with you!” He hissed, gaze hardening as he let go of the blonde’s shoulder. “I know you can still fight, but Sausage will take advantage of your wounds!” Ah, there was that fearless side of him coming out. Caleb’s hands fell to his side, fists tightening as Jimmy firmly shook his head no .

“If I’m being this stupid, I’m not putting anyone else in danger!” He said firmly, trying to keep his face as steady as possible. One part of him, the scared part of him, the one that knew this was stupid and could get him killed , desperately wanted to have some sort of backup. But the rest of him knew he would never stop blaming himself if someone got hurt because of him. Caleb had a good point, a possessed Sausage would absolutely take advantage of those old wounds he’d caused, but this was assuming Sausage was even home . No one could really confirm that, and that man never stayed in one place for long anyways. Jimmy had like, a fifty-fifty chance of running into the guy, which wasn’t good ; but he could work with it.

“If anyone asks, just tell them I’m at Fwhip’s, or looking in the swamps or something.” Jimmy said, giving the younger a pat on his shoulder. Before any more protests could be made he was taking off with his elytra, and flying off towards the dark forest on his border. Despite being several feet up in the air, he could practically hear Caleb’s exasperated sigh from all the way there.

Jimmy had decided to go check Mythland first, mainly because he doubted Joey was a spooky dungeon type of guy. And because trips to Mythland didn’t take long in general, so it wasn’t long before he saw his destination below him. Honestly he was surprised this was going so smoothly thus far, and that he hadn’t been spotted while literally flying . You’d think it would be harder to break into an enemy kingdom. Jimmy landed near the wall Sausage had made, a physical result of all those older feuds of theirs, and hid against it. Quietly as possible, he pulled out his communicator and started to type. He was about to tip off to all his friends that he was being an idiot, but what could they really do? Stop him?

SolidarityGaming: Anyone have a hunch on where Sausage and Joey are right now?

Pixlriffs: Jimmy, why are you asking?

Oh-ho-ho capitalization , Pix was being serious. The Pixandrian was trying to tell him not to do whatever he was going to do, in his own way, and he should know by now that Jimmy was stubborn as hell and that wasn't going to work.

SmallishBeans: jim don't be stupid

SolidarityGaming: that is so rich coming from you mate

SolidarityGaming: im gonna be careful i swear!!! just need to to know

Shubble: no idea about joey but you could probably take him in a fight

Pearlescentmoon: sausage messages me and comes over sometimes still, which are normal other than the evil demon thing

Pearlescentmoon: he said he needed to go get materials for something, so he'll be away for a while.

SolidarityGaming: thanks!

fWhip: if you get hurt again i think im actually going to strangle you

He read the last message a few times, being able to feel Fwhip’s worry through the screen. The blonde typed a few words, hoping to be reassuring. Something stupid like that he'd be fine, he could handle himself. Jimmy just deletes it after a minute, deciding it wouldn't do anything to stop his partner's worrying. He shoved his communicator back into his pocket and managed his way over the wall.

He kept to the outskirts of Mythland, not wanting to risk being caught. But he did beeline for one building in particular, one that had an ominous air surrounding it. The people, from what he could observe from the side, also generally seemed to be avoiding the building, and it gave Jimmy a sinking feeling in his gut. The thing was also built to kinda look like a dungeon, which seemed like a Sausage thing to do. If he was gonna have a cell of some kind he'd make it as, like…dungeony as possible.

He slowly made his way to the large wooden door, finding that his hands shook a little when he reached out to clasp the door knob. Jimmy took a deep breath, hand lingering on the doorknob still. He mentally prepared himself a little, then quietly turned the knob and opened the door.

The Codfather walked in slightly, and found himself in a dungeon just as he'd expected. It felt damp, there was a light scent of blood in the air, and it was extremely clear the room had been used fairly recently. Jimmy was pretty sure by now that he'd just hit the jackpot, and that his strange intuition had been right all along. Though that thought just made him more mad they’d held off for two days, but he could focus on that later. For now he took a few more into the room, shutting the door softly behind him. From here he could see metal bears, and what looked like a figure in it.

“ Gem? Scott? ” Jimmy hissed as quietly as he could, while still ensuring the two could hear him. The cod was also assuming those were the only people the demon had kidnapped, which he was sure of, and didn;t want to think of random citizens being in these horrible ol’ cells. He moved further into the room after a hesitant second as he did, hearing shuffling noises as he did, and the blonde found basically what he was expecting. It was still disturbing though, like really disturbing.

“Jimmy!” Gem exclaimed as loud as she dared, and Scott startled in the cell next to her. It hurt, seeing them like this, and seeing the sense of pure relief in Gem’s eyes when her gaze landed on him; probably the first friendly face she’d seen during these four long days.

“How hurt are you two?” He asked, having rushed forward to grip one of the cold metal bars. The two looked, ….relatively okay, but also not at the same time. He could tell they were injured a little, yes, and they were probably dehydrated and starving, but other than some basic and obvious observations, he wasn’t very good at telling anything else.

"He's hurt worse than me." Gem said, casting a glance over her shoulder at Scott. The elf stayed in his little cell, sat on the floor giving Jimmy a weak smile. The cod just nodded in response, forcing his mind to not think of that and focus on doing something productive.

“Is there a key anywhere?” He asked, taking a quick survey of the room. There were a few barrels and chests, and knowing their owner, they were probably filled with random junk.

“In the barrel over there,” Gem pointed to said barrel, and of course Gem knew where things were in Sausage’s empire. Of course he’d told her at one point, before the demon before everything, and now she’d been forced to live within inches of freedom for four fucking days .

The Codfather nodded again, quickly moving away and starting to rummage through the barrel that had been pointed out. It took a few seconds to find it, and Jimmy’s shaking hands certainly weren't helping, but he did eventually get a grip on the key. He thought his brain was trying to detach itself from the situation a little, because just how fucked up this all was wasn’t really sinking in yet. This also wasn't a good situation to detach from, he kinda needed to be present to keep all three of them safe.

He unlocked the cells, hands still trembling, and Gem was suddenly shoving past him to get to Scott. The elf had to lean on the wall to stand, with Gem having to half carry him out into the rest of the room.

Scott muttered something about a leg injury when the two reached Jimmy, the blonde now carrying him instead. He didn’t want an already injured Gem having to support basically all of Scott’s weight, even if Jimmy himself was still a little hurt.

Well this is just dandy. He thought a little sarcastically, watching as Gem, who seemed to be on autopilot really, ran off to another barrel and began to look through it. Three injured people against a demon possessed one.

That barrel seemed to be where the two prisoners' stuff had been stored, the wizard now taking various tools and weapons out. Scott tried to stagger forward, but Jimmy kept a tight hold on him, fairly sure he would faceplant if the elf tried to walk on his own. He also noticed how Scott flinched when anything touched his left side, and the cod kept his arm well away from there. His eyes searched over the elf again, and this time he could make out a handful of bruises of the elf; a few healing cuts as well. The injuries littered every exposed inch of skin the other had, including his face. If Jimmy looked over to Gem he could see similar wounds, just in lesser amounts.

So from what he’d gathered, both of them were just generally beat up, and probably needed a hot meal, a bath and some water as soon as possible. Scott also seemed to have something in his leg broken, as well as either very bruised sides of broken ribs; maybe even some internal bleeding. Gem probably also had some bad injuries, but knowing her she was most likely pushing through the pain for their sakes. Her left arm seemed a little stiff, and she appeared to wince when it bent a certain way.

Speaking of Gem, she’d turned back to them, magic staff in hand and wizard’s hat now atop her head once more. The Codfather hadn’t even noticed she was missing her hat before now, which he felt like he should’ve, because Gem never went anywhere without it. As he was pondering that the wizard silently handed Scott any weapons and tools he’d had when they’d been taken, and the elf looked very relieved to have the familiar weight of his bow in his hands again. His other items were shuffled away, but he kept a firm hand on said bow.

“He got the worst of it,” The wizard muttered, noticing the concerned looks Jimmy threw at Scott every few seconds. It was a little off putting, to see the other man so…so fragile. Scott had always appeared strong for as long as the cod knew him, even during the lowest points, so seeing him broken like this was upsetting to say the least. At best it made him incredibly worried, and made the blonde wonder what the hell these two had been put through, and how bad it must’ve been, to break Scott so terribly. Gem’s voice trembled as she continued, distracting Jimmy from his worries. “He started, t-to take some of it for me-”

“I’m fine Gem, really.” Scott said, wincing in pain as he did so. Jimmy didn’t know if the wince was from speaking, since that was the first time he’d talked since he’d been found, or if it was from another injury. They’d very obviously been tortured to some degree, so Jimmy’s brain naturally wondered if he’d hurt his throat from screaming; which wasn’t a fun thing to wonder about, by the way.

"It's not fine, Scott!" Gem almost snapped at him, and her eyes started to prick with the beginnings of tears. She tightened her grip on her staff, gaze shining with pain.

"She's right, it's not fine!" Jimmy hissed, wanting to break up the small squabble. Scott just glared at him, and the Codfather glared back. Normally, they would’ve had some sort of silent argument, would’ve stared each other down until one of them looked away. But Scott didn’t have the mental energy for that it seemed, and just tried to rest his head against Jimmy’s chest. The cod pursed his lips, and held Scott tighter.

“We should go!” Gem said after a second, and led them towards the door, shakily holding it open for her companions.

"We can't fly, can we?" Jimmy asked, frowning deeply. The three had managed to limp a few feet away from the dungeon now, doing so almost painfully slowly. Knowing Sausage was gone was a good thing, but he was material gathering. And that either took five minutes or five hours. Getting out quickly was Jimmy’s top priority at the moment, mainly because Sausage could be home any minute. They could get out easily without flying, his empire was just around the corner, it would just be nerve wracking is all.

“Nope. Not flying, sorry.” Scott spoke up, and Gem nodded in agreement. It was then Jimmy took a glance at Scott’s wings, and found that they no longer shone brightly as they used to. The once silky soft, white and gold feathers were now messy, muddled, and covered in drying, flaking blood. There were even a few patches where no feathers remained at all, and he held off a shudder at the thought of how painful it must’ve been. The cod looked at the elves’ antlers as well, and saw that the left had been broken in a few places, and the right one wasn’t in much better shape. The blonde’s heart ached at the sight, knowing how personal both of those things were to the elf.

“I would usually try some sort of cloaking spell, maybe teleportation, but I don't know if I have the energy for it.” She said it dejectedly, and Jimmy felt a wave of sympathy for the wizard. He knew Gme relied on her powers a lot, so presumably not being able to use them must’ve been hard on her.

“Alright,” He said, trying desperately to keep a sigh out of his tone. “Walking it is then.”

Walking, as the blonde had predicted, took longer than any of them were comfortable with. Scott was on edge the entire time, flinching at any random rustle or noise in the distance. Gem had her staff pointed out in front of her, and Jimmy was sure she would shoot anything that dared to get too close; no matter who or what it was. It only took thirty minutes, maybe forty with a slower pace, to walk from the Codlands to Mythland, (which was mainly because Sausage built so many damn things,) and a walk that length had never felt so agonizingly long before.

When they did get into safer territory Gem reluctantly put her staff down, her gaze no longer darting around like she was being hunted. Caleb, the absolute madman , the MVP, found them quickly; and it looked like he’d been patrolling every border of the empire since Jimmy had set off about two hours earlier. Every day Jimmy was more convinced the young cod was just the best person to ever exist ever .

The next thirty minutes or so was a blur, of Caleb running into the main village area to get help, of the three of them moving faster; Jimmy and Gem determined as hell to get Scott to a healer. The elf really looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion at any minute. The wizard didn’t look any better herself, but the Codfather got the sense he couldn;t convince her to do anything but fuss over Scott at the moment. At some point a light drizzle had also begun, which reflected the mood surprisingly well.

Two healers, Hemlock and Cove, rushed over once they saw the three. Jimmy, who’s still injured arm was starting to ache by now, gave the pair a grateful glance when they took Scott from him. The elf let himself be carried off without protest, blinking as rain started to fall a bit harder.

Jimmy hummed worriedly, clicking words of codlish to the two healers. Codfolk didn’t mind the rain, they enjoyed it even, but he had a feeling rain wasn’t gonna be good for Gem and Scott. He was pretty sure one of them was almost feverish, and Scott was like, permanently cold instead of warm. The blonde wasn’t entirely sure how that affected his body temperature, but he wasn’t taking any risks! He didn’t want the elf out in the weather for too long, and had told his two citizens to adjust the pace.

Cove clicked back to him, and her and Hemlock adjusted the pace best they could. Before he knew it they were in the healers shack, and the building suddenly felt far too small. Jimmy watched Scott be whisked off, and made a mental note to expand this.

A third healer ran over to help, and Jimmy could not remember their name for the life of him right now. It started with an A , or maybe a B . Something like that. All he could remember about the person was that they were in his and Caleb’s age group, and were the youngest healer the empire had.

They nodded at Jimmy, before taking Gem’s hand and starting to drag her off to another part of the building.

She seemed to have forgotten that Scott already had two experienced people tending to him, and shook her head in protest. "Heal him instead!" The wizard insisted, motioning towards where Scott had been taken too, and Jimmy quickly shut her down.

“Heal her, Cove and Hemlock have everything else covered.” He ordered the healer, before turning to Gem. “If they didn’t do it I’d heal you myself.” He hissed non-threateningly, glaring lightly at her.

The wizard just glared back, but she did begrudgingly let the young cod drag her off to another room on the small building. Jimmy had to wonder yet again exactly what they’d been subjected to, for Gem to be so focused on keeping Scott alive and nothing else. How much he’d taken for her.

After that he knew his Council had found him, and the Codfather was swarmed as soon as he’d left the shack. He didn’t know exactly why he’d left, other than wanting to give his trusted healers space and that the rain felt nice against his scales. He happily let the group of cod descend on him, and for once didn’t really care that they were chewing him out, because he so deserved it. Their worried and angry words fell on deaf ears, as his brain started to fully process just what he’d seen over the past few hours of his life. Eventually though the group had left, probably sensing this was a conversion for later, and Jimmy ended up sticking his head back into the door.

“I’m calling Fwhip,” He called into the building. The cod only turned away to do so when he heard Gem’s yell of “Okay, cool!” from the other room.

Jimmy pulled out his communicator, quickly typing a message to Fwhip. The Count was the first person that came to mind, even though Katherine would've been a better pick for healing reasons. His sister was also here as well, so maybe that was why. He should probably call more people than Fwhip, but he also doesn't need six people crowding around two injured ones and interrupting his healer's work. So immediate family only would have to do it for now.

SolidarityGaming: Found Gem and Scott in Mythland’s dungeon. They were tortured

SolidarityGaming: We’re at the Cod Empire, healers shack.

SolidarityGaming: Hurry please? Scott's injured bad and im freaking out a little.

He got his answer within seconds.

fWhip: holy shit i’ll be there in five minutes tops

True to his word, Fwhip was landing nearby in five minutes, goggles over his eyes to keep the rain out. He probably shouldn’t have flown in the middle of a storm, but neither of them were in the right mindset to really care. He just took the Count’s hand as soon as he was in reach, squeezing tight as he silently led the half dragon inside and to his sister.

The third healer had already left, presumably going to help their co workers. Gem stood, fiddling with her staff absent mindedly. She looked better than she had just a few minutes before, and had been given a fresh set of clothes. He assumed that it would take a few rounds of healing potions to get both of them back to full health. There was also a plate of untouched food on the table, and he presumed Scott had been given the same treatment in the next room over.

Fwhip let go of Jimmy’s hand quickly, and practically ran over to his sister. Gem blinked in surprise, but it quickly turned into a joyful kind of relief. Fwhip held Gem’s face in his hands as tightly as he dared, moving her hair away as he checked for injuries. “Are you okay?”

"Yeah, I'll be fine.." Gem muttered. Fwhip, who looked to be on the verge of tears, drew his sister in for a hug. She hugged him back tightly, and Jimmy slipped out of the room, sensing this moment wasn't for him to witness.

He walked over and into the other room, seeing Scott now sitting up in the bed. He’d been changed into some basic Cod empire clothes at some point, ones that were far too big for him. He was being absolutely swallowed by the shirt, sleeves hanging off his arms. It was clear holes had needed to be cut for his wings, and the collar was a little stretched; probably having been caught on the elves' antlers. Scott wasn’t one for baggy clothes normally, but seemed to be tolerating it while his normal outfit was cleaned and sewed up. Cod empire clothes could also be quite cozy, in Jimmy’s humble opinion, so he hoped that was a nice bonus for the other man.

"Hey." The elf muttered after the door was shut, looking just as tired as he had when Jimmy had found him. He sat on the bed, his lower half buried in a mess of covers and blankets. The healers had clearly tried to make the ruler as comfortable as possible, and it looked like their efforts hadn’t gone to waste. Scott seemed to be melting into the fabric a bit.

"Hi." The cod smiled back softly, hesitantly sitting down next to Scott on the bed. The other said nothing, just gave his own shaky smile in return.

Jimmy didn’t really know what to say, so he just asked the most obvious question he could think of. "You okay?" The blonde muttered, idly swinging his legs from where they hung off the edge of the bed.

Scott made a sort of amused huff. "As okay as I can be after…..after that ." He responded, fiddling with one of his rings. Jimmy blinked a bit, having forgotten that Scott often wore jewelry, and a lot of it. He didn’t know how that fact had slipped his mind, he'd never seen the elf without at least one pair of earrings on before.

"What was….. that anyways? If you wanna talk about it, that is." The Codfather asked the question hesitantly. Scott could say no if he wanted, Jimmy was pretty sure he was the last person the elf wanted to talk about his trauma with, especially because of…recent events.

Scott stayed silent for a few minutes, long enough that Jimmy figured he wouldn't say anything at all. But that man was always full of surprises, good or bad, and did eventually speak. “It was like…kinda mix of more traditional torture methods and magic.” Scott’s voice shook each more with each word, and Jimmy instinctively reached for his hand. The elf held onto it tightly as he continued speaking, like it was a lifeline.

“It was mostly magic though, which is better than being like, whipped or something.” Scott shuffled closer to him unconsciously. “I don’t think Sausage has had many… opportunities to try out his powers yet.”

“Did Xornorth not give Joey any magic?” Jimmy asked, a little curious.

Scott let out a hum in response, a noise that seemed to be comforting to himself. “He did, but I don’t think it was very much. Joey has like, this weird ugly crown thing and whatever power he did have seemed a little weak. Sausage is the one with an actual staff.” He explained.

“Was wondering why he wasn’t going around attacking people, if I’m being honest.” Jimmy responded, feeling how Scott gently thumbed his palm. He didn’t think the elf was doing it consciously, and figured it was probably done in an attempt to stay put together. As if anyone would blame him for having a breakdown after the past few days.

“I think he’s just a pawn.” Scott continued, his gaze a little far off. “He seemed a little out of the loop if I’m being honest, and never showed up without Sausage there.”

“He’s clearly smitten for my bro-- Xornorth .” Scott’s face scrunched up at the thought, and Jimmy gave a smile at that. The way the elf referred to his sibling, like he was hesitant to acknowledge that they were related, didn’t escape the cod, but he elected not to say anything about it. “I think Joey’s just being used because of that, and that Sausage is more of a protege.”

“Makes me feel bad for the guy, even if he is a massive pain in the arse all the time.” Jimmy mumbled, and Scott let out an amused snort at the last part. “He’s gonna be so heartbroken if we manage to fix all this…” The elf ran a hand through his hair, seemingly dreading that little possibility.

“Not ‘if’,” The Codfather said, giving the other a light tap on his shoulder. “ ‘When’ ” He just got a quiet, unintelligible murmur in response. It sounded skeptically, maybe even a little sarcastic, and Jimmy had half the mind to scold Scott for being so hopeless. They kinda had to have hope that they’d beat the demon, because if they didn’t what else would they have?

“Was Fwhip right? Was that actually Sausage?” He ventured, remembering that one message his partner had sent after his own encounter with the man. He didn’t think that had been Sausage personally, but Fwhip knew him better, so what could Jimmy tell. He’d only seen the man for like, five minutes anyways, and had just ended up doubting his own view on the matter as time passed.

“He acted the same, spoke the same, but it wasn’t him.” Scott said it with certainty. “I think Fwhip’s in denial, or something, because that’s clearly not him.” The elf gaze stopped being distant, and moved to Jimmy for the first time since he entered the room. “I know you two don’t get along, but he wouldn’t try to kill you, even if you really pissed him off.”

Jimmy made a click of agreement in his throat. “If he wanted to hit me over the head with an axe, I figured he woulda done it years ago.” The statement was meant to be a little humorous, the cod having forgotten that only Fwhip really knew how bad his injuries had been.

“ That’s what he did!?” Scott exclaimed, voice finally rising above something more than a soft, shaken up tone. “Jesus, no wonder Fwhip was worried about you dying ! He gave you head trauma!”

“Got a scar from it too,” Jimmy huffed, tapping a certain part of the Codfather’s head. “Right under there.” Scott made another unintelligible mutter, and they fell in a short yet comfortable, maybe even slightly settled, bout of silence.

“How often was Joey there?” He asked, remembering how earlier Scott had said that he hadn’t shown up much.

“Like once a day, maybe two maximum.” The other responded. “I think a part of Sausage couldn’t hurt Gem, so Joey did most of that. Until-” “Until you started taking most of it for her?” Jimmy butted in, allowing his voice to be a little sharp. Scott simply nodded in response.

“Why’d you do that anyways?” The Codfather asked, making his tone soften. He had a few guesses as to why, and he didn’t like any of them. Said guesses basically all involved Scott thinking he deserved it more than Gem, or some stupid train of thought like that. It was probably true to some degree, even if Jimmy was desperately hoping it wasn’t. He was fully prepared to beat those thoughts out of Scott’s head with a metaphorical broom if he had to.

“….Cause everything’s my fault.” Scott whispered. “If I had said something about the demon none of this would’ve happened-”

“It’s not your fault Sausage is stupid and power hungry.” Jimmy cut him off a little too fiercely. Scott just huffed indignantly, shuffling further away from the cod. It was clear this was a conversion the elf did not want to have right now, and Jimmy just shut his mouth. That man always had to be stubborn when it came to things like this, didn’t he? Another silence lapsed between them, this time more stiff and unfriendly. Their fingers were still laced together, so he could tell Scott wasn’t too peeved at him.

“I preferred Joey though, just a little bit.” Scott slowly went back to their earlier topic, his grip on the blonde’s hand tightened. “Sausage like to be… affectionate? I don’t know how to describe it. He just did things like hold my face, coo at me, generally act really gentle before hitting me with a spell.” At hearing that, Jimmy finally reached over and pulled the elf into a hug. He didn’t know why he hadn’t done so sooner, really, after being so scared of losing him. Of losing both of them.

He felt Scott tense a little, Jimmy taking care to avoid the now bandaged wings. Eventually, Scott’s arms wrapped around him in return, and he let the other melt into him; head carefully buried against the cod’s chest. Jimmy didn’t even bat an eye when his shirt began to grow damp, perfectly content to sit like that for however long Scott needed.

“He didn’t do anything else , if you’re worried.” Scott muttered into his chest. “Just….was really physically affectionate.”

“Still wasn’t okay.” Jimmy muttered, clutching the other a little tighter than he had before.

“I know…” Scott responded, and began to slowly pull back a bit. He was awkward about it, like he wasn’t sure if it was okay for him to hug the Codfather. Even though he clearly needed a hug, or something like that.

There was a soft, distinctive knock on the door when Scott had first started to move away. Jimmy wasn’t very surprised when Fwhip was opening the door a moment later, his gaze almost immediately zeroing in on the tears still lining Scott’s face.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” The Count said lightly, closing the door gently behind him.

“Nah, your good man.” Jimmy responded. Scott just offered a small wave of greeting, the other hand going to wipe his eyes. Fwhip’s tail just flicked in response, before he walked over to stand in front of Jimmy.

He grabbed the cod’s face, probably a little rough than intended, and held his partners cheeks in clawed hands. “Don’t you ever do something that stupid again !” He growled, though the noise came from a place of concern rather than irritation.

“Sorry…” Jimmy muttered, leaning into the touch a little. He felt Scott’s gaze move away from them a little awkwardly, probably going to stare at the wall again or something. Fwhip closed his eyes, lightly resting their foreheads together and his tail winding around the Codfather’s legs. “Seriously…stop making me think I’m gonna lose you buddy” The Count muttered quietly.

In response Jimmy frowned, and maneuvered to press a small kiss to Fwhip’s gloved hand. The half dragon said nothing, clearly thinking it would be better to continue that discussion later. Instead he let go of the cod’s face, and fixed his gaze on the blue haired elf sitting mere inches away.

“And you,” Fwhip’s words startled Scott out of his own head, the elf jumping in surprise. “C’mere!” Fwhip moved away from Jimmy until he could give Scott a hug of his own, leaning uncomfortably over the side of the bed. The elf seemed a little puzzled, but hugged the Count back as well when it became clear he wasn’t letting go anytime soon,

“Didn’t think you still cared that much.’ Scott murmured, punctuating it with a dry and humorless laugh. Fwhip pulled away at that, gripping the elf’s shoulder. His gaze switched back to serious in an instant, and Scott seemed to shrink under the look he was given.

“I wanted to punch you , I didn’t want you dead, Scott!” He hissed, and the elf just moved his gaze to the bedsheets. They were gonna have to do a lot of work with Scott’s self worth issues, weren’t they?

“Where’s Gem?” The blonde asked after a moment, having thought Fwhip would stay close to her.

“Said she was gonna help fix up her and Scott’s clothes. Probably with magic or something.” Fwhip grunted. He was clearly still annoyed at the elf in front of him, indicating by how his tail moved against the floor, but both he and Jimmy had decided to leave it be for now. Now wasn’t the best time to try and convince Scott he wasn’t the worst person ever, when his brain had just been given plenty of fresh experiences to back it up.

As if one cue Gem walked into the room, forgetting to knock and just throwing open the door. She was in her regular outfit again, somewhat used codlands clothing draped over her arm. The wizard had Scott’s normal attire as well, and even from here Jimmy could tell the fabric had been fixed magically. It was a distinct lack of stitches, the cloth looking as if it had just mended itself back together, like bones did.

Gem threw the items in her hand down on the bed, before basically throwing herself at Scott. The elf blinked in surprise again, clearly not expecting to be getting so much love today. “I’m just getting all the hugs, huh?” He muttered, smiling as he returned the wizard's embrace.

“Because you're stupid !” Gem half laughed, half choked out. She went to grip the elf’s shoulder, mirroring her twin, and gently throttled him about for a minute. “You are the stupidest person in the room right now! And Jimmy is literally right there!”

“Hey!” The cod giggled, giving her a lighthearted glare. Gem just smiled cheekily at him. Fwhip just huffed and patted his partner's arm in playful sympathy.

Scott laughed at that, it was a good laugh too. It was the most joyful sound he’d made all day, and Jimmy was glad he could still be so happy after everything he’d just endured over the past four days.

A few hours after that they left Scott to sleep and hopefully eat a little, because he was clearly still exhausted. He’d offered a room for Gem and Fwhip to stay in, not feeling comfortable with the former being discharged so quickly. Usually Gem would be antsy to return home, but the cod was pretty sure her concern for Scott was overriding that. Fwhip didn’t even have to force her to accept the offer, and the two disappeared into their own room soon after.

Jimmy didn’t want to call it a night, he really didn’t. But he was tired, and the sun was starting to set. He had more things he wanted to talk about with the elf, some personal, some the whole group of them needed to hear, but he supposed that he could wait to do that.

For the second day in a row, Jimmy promised to do something in the morning.

[away-ward]

Ok, since many nightfall readers freakin hate the train scene so much, do you guys have any ideas of how it could've been done better? Because tbh i had this question since the beginning of me hating that scene, but for some reason, i could not for the life of me imagine the train scene to be something else. Because i just knew that PD had to do something very very very weird and ugly, and over the top to amp up the "craziness" of the last book for this series. I just knew since the moment alex appeared, she would cause unnecessary drama for emmy and will, so a very very very ugly and big closure would have to happen and like i said, i cant think of anything else. I know the train scene was absurd AF, but i dont know a better scene to fix that part of nightfall.

I think pd already ruined the whole book since the moment they dropped aydin and alex in that book. And the moment alex came in, it's like watching a car crash, it got worse and worse and worse, so the ending should be for emmy, will, alex and aydin to confront their deeply ugly feelings of jealousy, envy, anger etc. etc. in a ridiculously "devils night" way. Yeah, do you get what i'm saying? If any other anons can give some other possible headcanons of what could've happened to solve emmy and alex's + will and aydin's stupid rivalry in the last moments before they ran away from BC + in the train, please do share. Readers kept on being angry at that scene (me too) but i never saw anyone actually suggesting a scene that can wrap up the whole ridiculousness of this weird emmywillalexaydin foursome problem better than what was in canon. And i hated that i couldnt give a better suggestion because those scenes were shit as hell!

I agree with the anon that said about PD's writing shit ass development writing. I feel like a lot of things pd wrote in this series, were really just for shock values that they couldnt integrate and blend well in a more coherent plotting or characterisation. Idk, it does take me out of the story because what the hell was that for? This was the same reaction i had for all the threesomes and orgies in the past 3.5 books too.

That’s a good question, and honestly, I don’t have much of an answer. As it’s been discussed, PD particular brand of sharing doesn’t hit right with a lot of readers, so I’m not sure there is anything that could be done to change this.

However, I think if one were to attempt to write an AU for this scene, it would be important to look not at what happened, but the characters at play.

I used to think that the train scene was supposed to parallel the gym scene with Damon and Will, and for the most part I still do. In the train scene, Will becomes Emory, having to watch the person he cares about most being intimate with someone else. However, Emory doesn’t become Will, she becomes Damon. Which is an odd choice. I think it was supposed to back-up the idea that Emory is finally going after what she wants and desires; giving into her impulses without giving it a second thought or overthinking like she had before.

It’s just her desire for Alex comes out of nowhere. There really is no build-up to their friendship that would lead to this. On top of that, it’s paralleling Damon and Will’s friendship, which is supposed to be so deep that it has no comparisons in the series.

Because of these reasons, it aligns more with the Rika/Banks scene in Hideaway. Emory effectively says “All of you have had Alex, so why shouldn’t I? That would even the playing field.”

But I didn't understand why that solved the problem Banks and with Rika, and it's the same here. The Alex/Emory scene doesn’t work for so many because it doesn’t seem to offer a good reason for why their problems with each other are resolved.

If PD wanted to put Will in Emory’s place so he could experience what Em’s had to go through with him “playing the field”, Emory needed to be the one accepting pleasure, not giving. Not having it forced on her.

Wanting and accepting and inviting. From someone not Will.

Instead, PD put Emory in Will’s place, with her pursuing pleasure thoughtlessly.

But didn’t we just learn that that type of behavior got Will nowhere? So, why put Emory in that place?

And this is why I say I think the scene was supposed to parallel other scenes but I can’t say for sure, because after a while it gets confusing and tangled. I can’t wrap my head around what this scene was supposed to accomplish narratively other than being spicy.

Maybe like you said, it’s supposed to resolve the issues between Alex and Emory over Will and Aydin. But I don’t see how this puts everyone on even ground.

Narratively, I didn’t mind the shower scene (on a personal level, it's ew). I think it accomplished a lot in bringing the issue to a head. The issue mainly being that Will and Alex are too close and found too much comfort in each other. As much as the plot irritates me, Aydin proving that Alex still thinks of Will as hers, and her attachment to him wasn’t going to just disappear was a point they needed to understand.

But it goes nowhere. Instead, it’s framed as if Emmy doesn’t want it to go away, but wants to be apart of it.

So, in short, I don’t know how to fix the scene within the series as it is. I don't know who to bring in, who to move where, who should do what.

Ultimately, in all of my fix-it ideas, moving NF to the third book is still my go-to. If that were the case, we could bring Damon while he was still at his worst in to play, which might change the dynamics some. Either way, what I think should have happened was a clear shifting in who Will goes to for affection and intimacy. Not Damon, not Alex, but Emory.

Moving NF to the third book also means we don’t have to deal with Alex and Aydin’s relationship right away, which gives Willemmy some room to breathe because the series doesn’t have to resolve everything within the last 100 pages.

I also don’t think MichaelRika and Kaibanks needed to be there. That was weird and kind of useless.

(P.S. I haven’t said this before because it’s not that big a deal, but I kinda hate that Micah’s name is Micah because it means I can’t shorten MichaelRika’s ship name to MiKa. Their ship name is a mouthful as it is.)

I agree with the anon that said about PD's writing shit ass development writing. I feel like a lot of things pd wrote in this series, were really just for shock values that they couldnt integrate and blend well in a more coherent plotting or characterisation. Idk, it does take me out of the story because what the hell was that for? This was the same reaction i had for all the threesomes and orgies in the past 3.5 books too.

Same same.

do you guys have any ideas of how it could've been done better?

If any other anons can give some other possible headcanons of what could've happened to solve emmy and alex's + will and aydin's stupid rivalry in the last moments before they ran away from BC + in the train, please do share.

Well, that's the call, guys. Does anyone have any ideas?

Sorry I could be of more help.

-KO

[shoutabe]

HEARTH 翔太 → 咲哉

shouta doesn't like to ask his dad to tagalong on his work trips that often, but he forced himself to this time. with his signature youngest-child-puppy-dog-pout at maximum level, he made himself brave and received a yes rather quickly, even when he wasn't only asking for a spare ticket for himself, but also for a friend.

he vividly remembers the two of them talking about homesickness very early on in their friendship, and ever since then, they've dreamed about visiting their homeland together. while he knows deep-down that their conversation wasn't intended to be romantic, he couldn't help but paint their reveries in hues of rose and vermillion; framing them with chrysanthemums how they do in all of his favorite manga.

maybe it's pathetic of him to long for his friend so badly, but as sentimental as he is, he finds it difficult not to want to continue growing closer to him. increasing levels of intimacy is scary, but somehow, shouta is unafraid of leaning into it. he doesn't think anyone's ever made him feel as safe as sakuya makes him feel, and even if friendship is all that's on the table for them, he's glad that they're in one another's lives. ultimately, that's all he can really ask for.

sighing while finishing up the last bit of the dishes from breakfast, shouta places the final rinsed pan into the drain-tray. "so! we have literally all day to do whatever we want," he begins, sauntering over to the dining table to reclaim his cushion.

"we're in minato, so we can roppongi hills, or we can go to the national art center, or hang around odaiba..." each suggestions sounds fine to him, so he wonders what's on sakuya's mind. "we also can travel outside of minato, too. my dad left one of his credit cards, so we're covered!"

days like this don't come often to him. typically, he has some sort of schedule or itinerary laid out for himself, but since it's still early in their trip, he thought easing into it would be the better approach. that, and well, sakuya's more spontaneous than he is, so he's trying to speak his language a little bit, too. "also, i'm still sorry that all of my collectible plushes fell on top of you in the middle of the night, but at least they're soft? it could've been much worse—it could've been all the posters in frames."

[zimmyzz]

Demon Slayer AU

Explanation: me and my best friend (@zombie-catzz ) have this helluva boss rp. It's oc x canon, so if you're not comfortable with this, then I suggest you do not read this. This is just one of the many (and I mean many) aus that we have created. This rp has been going on for over a year now, and we've worked on and built the story since it's started. This is the Demon Slayer AU, based on the anime. I'm the only one thats watched this. This is my ocs pov mostly, but I write in third person. Let's get on with the story!!

Chapter one: "Mom...?"

Zakaria steps through the forest, a paper in hand. Their ears were flat on their head, and their fluffy cat tail was wrapped around their waist, like a belt. They were puzzled. Their mom wanted them to visit, but they didn't know why. She told them she missed them in her letter and gave them an address, which was obscure.

"Mom's handwriting doesn't look like this," Zakaria realizes, their fingers digging into the paper. "It's much neater."

They began walking towards the house, the snow crunching under their shoes. They weren't from here. They lived in a different part of Japan. As the approached the house, they noticed things were different. The flowers she took care of year round were dead, which was strange. Winter had just started a few days ago, meaning she would've taken the flowerpots inside by now. Windows were open. Her mom hated bugs year round, so it was strange that the windows were still open. They grabbed the icy doorknob, turning it and stepping inside.

Immediately, Zakaria was greeted by an awful smell. They pinched their nose with their fingers, gagging slightly. The smell was horrible, like rotting meat. They could hear the buzzing of flies. They walked into the kitchen, opening the chemical cabinet and grabbing a bottle of air freshener. They sprayed around the kitchen, unplugging their nose and giving the air a whiff. It didn't help. The cirtusy air freshener only mixed with the horrible smell, making it worse. They felt like they were going to vomit. They walked out of the kitchen and over to the staircase. They walked up it, making sure to avoid the third step from the top. It had always been broken and creaked when you stepped on it. When they got to that step, it was much more broken than before. They raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to the step?" Zakaria asked themselves, stepping over it and into the second floor hallway.

The smell had gotten worse. They gagged once again, feeling like they were really going to hurl. They walk into their mothers room. The first thing spotted was their mother on the floor, a large gash in her stomach. Their eyes filled with tears, their body beginning to quiver.

"M-Mom..?" They whispered, mostly to themselves. They sprinted over, sliding onto their knees.

Flies and maggots surrounded her body. Her stomach, liver, lungs, and heart were missing, but pieces were seen on the floor near her. Her ribs had been torn out. They were on the floor, cracks all in them, across the room. She had been mauled. Maybe it was a bear or some type of animal? It couldn't be. Bears would be hibernating right now.

"Who did this to you?" Zakaria shouted to the air, the screams ripping through their throat.

Tears began filling their eyes, angry tears, but also sorrowful tears. Angry because they wished they could've been here. Maybe if they were, she would still be here, but sorrowful because they loved their mom. She would do anything for them, and they shares the same feeling. They took deep breaths, trying to calm down enough to speak. They touched her cold, limp hand, pulling it to their heart.

"I'm sorry I didn't visit earlier, mom.." Zakaria whispered to her, hoping to God she hears in Heavan. "I'll miss you."

Zakaria dragged her body down the stairs. They saw what looked like a blood handprint on the doorknob. Their eyebrows furrowed, touching it. It was already dry. This clearly had happened a while ago. They looked at the window closely. The window wasn't open, it was shattered.

Chapter Two will be called New Friends, so stay tuned!

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the sea of monsters

1.1 and lead us not into temptation

warnings : cussing, nudity, pirates, luke being a man, implied/off-screen violence

word count : 4.9k

1.1 I Get a Full-Body Spa Treatment and Luke Gets... Well

I woke up in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of gray uniform fabric. Luke sat next to me, attempting to paddle.

I tried to sit up and immediately felt woozy.

"Rest," he said, reaching out to stop me seconds too late. Like I'd been too late to help my baby brother. Only my one was way worse. "You're going to need it."

"Tyson...?"

He shook his head, looking genuinely upset, reaching over to me and smoothing the hair at the top of my head down. "Angel, I'm sorry. So sorry, baby."

We were silent while the waves tossed us up and down.

"He may have survived," he suggested half-heartedly, though he obviously doubted it. "I mean, fire can't kill him."

I nodded, but I had no reason to feel hopeful. I'd seen that explosion rip through solid iron. If Tyson had been down in the boiler room, there was no way he could've lived.

He'd given his life for us, and all I could think about was how I'd been so irritated by his need for my comfort around the ghosts aboard the CSS Birmingham. And Clarisse, what about her? Had she managed to survive the explosion?

Waves lapped at the boat. Luke showed me some things he had managed to salvage from the wreckage— Hermes's thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. He'd fished me out of the water and found my duffle bag, the only one of the three that had survived. I still had Hermes's bottle of multivitamins, and of course, I had Riptide and Shaker. Plus, my phone and credit card were there, which I was immensely glad for. I had no battery and nowhere to use my card, but at least I wouldn't have to get new ones.

We sailed for hours, barely speaking as I focused on directing the boat. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too— as if a thunderstorm were coming. Or something even more dangerous. I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of our destination. But that didn't make me feel any less lost.

No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr. Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best we could. And we talked about my latest dream of Grover.

Our best guess gave us less than twenty-four hours to find Grover. And that was assuming that my dream was accurate and that Polyphemus didn't change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.

"Yeah," I said bitterly when Luke pointed that out. "Because you can never trust a Cyclops, right?"

Luke sighed and stared across the water. "I'm sorry, Angel," he admitted. "I was wrong about Tyson, okay? He was a good kid. I wish that I could apologize and tell him that."

I wanted to stay mad at him, but it wasn't easy. We'd been through so much together. He'd saved my life more times than I could count. It was stupid of me to resent him, especially when it was really myself that I was upset with.

I looked down at our measly possessions— the empty wind thermos, the bottle of multivitamins, a useless phone and credit card. I thought about Tyson's innocent sweetness. He had trusted me, and I had let him down when he needed me most. Why did the people I love always get killed? First my mother, then my brother.

Maybe the Fates had cursed me for some reason. Maybe I had been reborn, but I was such an awful person in my first life, the Fields of Punishment weren't enough suffering, so they had given me a life of tragedy to ensure I repented. Well, if that was the case, it had worked out perfectly.

"Why do the gods even let me live?" I wondered. "If I'm prophesied to destroy the world, it would be safer just to kill me."

Luke sighed and raked a hand through his windswept blond curls. He looked as worn out as I felt.

"Allie, I don't know," he shrugged. "I guess some of the gods would like to kill you, but they're probably afraid of offending Poseidon. Other gods... maybe they're still watching you, trying to decide what kind of hero you're going to be. You could be a weapon for their survival, after all. The real question is... what will you do in a little over two years? What decision will you make?"

"Did the prophecy give any hints?"

Luke hesitated. Neither of us mentioned the prophecy much, mostly because the pressure tended to make me feel like I was going to have a panic attack. But I was feeling masochistic, so I brought it up anyway.

Maybe he would've told me more, but just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. Luke looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into his lap.

"Land," he declared, pointing. "There's land nearby!"

I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.

The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

"This is so definitely a trap," I stated, rising and squinting at it.

"Yes," Luke agreed. "But we need more supplies and a faster boat, so we might as well trip it, anyway."

I sighed, and gave a reluctant nod of agreement.

We sailed past into the dock, and were greeted by a sign saying we had arrived at 'CC's Spa and Resort.'

"Why would a spa be out in the middle of the Sea of Monsters?" Luke asked suspiciously. 

I ignored him, focusing on a much more important fact. "Shower," I cooed. 

He gave me an exasperated look. "Trap, Angel," he reminded me.

I waved him off irritably, giving him a look that said I was not going to budge on this topic. "After I'm clean," I insisted. 

He huffed and gave in, rolling his eyes. 

Oddly enough, our rowboat wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Finally, there was an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship.

After a moment of investigating the docks, we followed the sounds of habitation, as well as the smell of food. We passed through a sort of outdoor lounge, and that's when I noticed something odd.

There were a lot of women, ranging from their teens to their thirties. They were all stunning, swimming in a pool, kicking back in a tub, sipping drinks on lawn chairs. But there were no guys around. It made me feel suspicious. I supposed that it could be a women's only spa, which was typical enough, but. This was the Sea of Monsters, and we were demigods. That would be too easy.

"Where are all the guys?" I asked Luke in a low tone.

"Huh?" he mumbled back. When I glanced at him, he blatantly gaping at the half-naked women we were passing. I shoved him as hard as I could, glaring at him. My peeve of getting sexualized creeping up on me.

"Hey, Pretty Boy!" I snapped. "I'm right here, you know."

"And?" he shrugged, and I went to punch him, but was interrupted.

"Welcome!" a woman exclaimed, coming up to us. She looked like a flight attendant— blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands, wearing a bright 'business person' smile. For some reason, her demeanor seemed off. Something about her stance made me think she would make a better warrior than a businesswoman.

And, honestly, she just gave me a sense of unease. Like she was an enemy, and I had to get away as quickly as possible. When I glanced at Luke, he didn't seem to pick up the same feeling. But then again, he was still staring at the women in bikinis. I bit back an angry growl of frustration at that, stepping on his foot to draw his attention.

"My name is Hylla," she continued. "I'm a manager here at the resort. Is this your first time with us?"

Luke and I exchanged looks.

"Uh, yeah," I gave a hesitant nod.

"First— time— at— spa," Hylla said with a nod as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see then..." She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the stunning young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"Oh, please." A herbal wrap sounded perfect. But then I remembered the deadline.

She was busy jotting down notes, but she smiled nonetheless.

"Right!" she said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure CC will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

"Uh, we can't stay," I replied quickly.

"Why not?" she frowned.

"Well, we have this thing soon," Luke explained vaguely, finally following my lead. "And it's kind of got a deadline, you know? We have to hurry."

"Well, at least stay for a few hours," she insisted. "Meet CC and have something to eat."

Something in her eyes told me if we didn't submit, we would end up in a fight, and I was way too exhausted for that to go well. We exchanged quick looks, before reluctantly nodding.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," I muttered, making Hylla smile brightly.

I had to admit it. The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by water slides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

Tyson loved horses, and I knew he'd love those fountains. I almost turned around to see the expression on his face before I remembered: Tyson was gone.

"You okay?" Luke asked me. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," I replied. "Just... let's keep walking."

We passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests— still only young women, as far as I could see— lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal face masks dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As we headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old— Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about— moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift me off the steps and carry me toward her.

We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but I didn't think about it too much, because just then I saw the lady who'd been singing... and whoa.

She sat at a loom the size of a big-screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional— a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

The woman turned. She was even prettier than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.

I'd never been particularly insecure, not when it came to my face or body, but a couple more minutes and that could've very well changed. 

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked me with a friendly smile.

"I appreciate pretty things," I replied honestly.

Our hostess smiled at that. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is CC. You'll fit right in here, what with looks like those. Have you ever had a blemish in your life?"

The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must've been guinea pigs, from the sound of them. Meanwhile, CC looked us over with a frown, irritating me a bit.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?" Luke asked. He looked like a kicked puppy, which just made me more annoyed at the woman.

CC called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Allie on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

I bristled at that. "What's wrong with my hair?" I demanded. Sure, some hair was falling out of the braids, but it wasn't that bad, was it? And, I frowned. She wanted to separate us? That seemed like a bad idea. We didn't have time to spare. Who did this woman think she was, anyway? I noticed how entranced Luke was by her, and it made me even more pissed off for reasons I refused to admit to. 

"I really don't think—" I began, but she stopped me.

"Go with Hylla, dear. She'll sort you out, nice and quickly. You don't have to worry about a thing."

"Go on, Angel," Luke added, waving me off without looking away from CC's revealing top. "You said that you wanted a shower."

I scoffed, but reluctantly, I followed Hylla out the door, and was bustled off to some sort of make-over area. There, I met her younger sister, Reyna, and received a make-over. It reminded me of getting ready to film for a movie or do a shoot for the cover of a magazine. All in all, I felt pretty at home. I got along with the girls fantastically, and they restored me back to my regular self.

I had been waxed, plucked, buffed, and polished for almost two hours before they finally declared me finished. I stared at myself in the floor-length mirror, feeling like a Barbie doll, but still myself.

I wore a single-strap, very low neckline, floor-length, white-and-gold-colored dress with a long slit up to my mid-thigh. Underneath, I wore a pair of six-inch golden stilettos. I ran my fingers through my curtain bangs at the front of my hair and tossed them out of my fierce-looking face. I hadn't done a shoot for a few weeks, and this felt right up my alley. 

My hair was done up with golden strands that twisted down my perfected curls and a diadem that Hylla told me had been passed down from an old Spartan Queen— Aerla, if the legends had told her right. It was encrusted with diamonds and had a sentence engraved on the back in Ancient Greek saying: And this to hold my promise to my people. 

The girls had let me keep my usual jewelry that hid Riptide and Shaker, which wasn't hard to convince them of, as they mostly matched anyway. Even though my face looked airbrushed from the makeup, I almost couldn't even feel the difference. 

Reyna and Hylla clapped and looked me over, making sure there was nothing else they could add. Finally, to top off the whole outfit, they'd given me a gold purse that had my old clothes and shoes in it as well as a new bikini for the pool, a pair of Gucci sunglasses, a spare dress and shoes, and extra lip gloss. 

Although I was feeling great and the impulse to stay was growing by the minute, I decided very firmly that it was time to find Luke, and get the hell out of there. Grover and Camp awaited us, after all. I didn't have time to play dress-up forever.

"You look beautiful," Reyna told me. 

I smiled back. "Thank you," I returned politely. "Listen, can I go and talk to CC, please?"

"Of course," Hylla cheered. "You can tell her that you want to stay now."

I gave her an appraising nod, but held my true emotions to myself. They were so nice to me, I'd hate to hurt them by letting them know that I had no intentions of staying. 

As we walked down the hallway, Hylla praised me and my talent of not walking harshly while in heels, which, like many other things I did, was achieved from many years of wearing stilettos for premieres, red carpets, and runways. 

We arrived back at the same place that we had first met CC in, and Hylla left me. When I entered, CC was humming at her loom once again, but Luke was nowhere to be seen. A sick feeling turned in my stomach, and I cursed both of us for being so stupid as to go into a trap deliberately. How arrogant were we? Hadn't we learned any common sense over our lives? Morons, both of us.

Especially Luke. I bet that he had been too distracted by CC's breasts to notice that she was about to kill him. This was all his fault. He'd known about the Greek world a lot longer than me, after all. I would've left earlier if he hadn't pressed me into going with Hylla to the damn make-over. At least the stilettos would be handy to stab someone with, if needed.

"Ah, Allie! You look absolutely stunning!" CC exclaimed as I entered. 

I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously. "How do you know my name?" I demanded, but with a light enough tone to keep her from suspecting how much I knew. "I never told it to you."

She faltered for a second before quickly rallying, giving me a familiar smile. It was the 'I'm innocent, not a monster. Lower your guard so I can kill you, demigod' smile. I had become very acquainted with that smile, and I cursed our foolishness again when I saw it.

"Your friend, Luke, told it to me," she claimed. 

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh?" I asked curtly. "Where is Luke, by the way? We really have to get going, you know. We have a deadline." In the corner, the guinea pigs squealed for attention, giving me a headache.

"Why would you want to go, my dear?" CC asked, ignoring my question about Luke. "You have so much potential!"

"Potential for what?"

"Potential to be a sorceress, my dear," CC leaned into me. She waved her wrist, causing a small flame to dance over her hand.

I took a wary step back. "A sorceress?"

"Yes, my dear." CC held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a demigod when I see one. And the world is full of gossip about you, since your claiming last summer. We are not so different, you and I. We both admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men. We are both drop-dead gorgeous. You'll fit right in!"

"I don't understand," I said slowly. A guinea pig squealed again, and I made to rub my forehead, but went back on it, after remembering I was wearing makeup. 

"Stay with me," CC urged. "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"

"But—"

"You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes," CC insisted. I bristled at the insult to my home as she continued dismissively. "How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"

"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart, Harriet—" I listed, but CC cut me off.

"Bah! Men get all the glory." CC closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."

Realization dawned me. CC. "You're Circe!"

"Yes, my dear."

I backed up, twitching for my sword, and Circe laughed. "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."

"What'd you do to Luke?" I demanded harshly. Circe smirked and waved at the cage of rodents in the corner.

"Only helped him to realize his true form."

My eyes widened in realization. In the Ancient days, Circe had turned men into actual pigs. Apparently, she had modernized, like most of the Greek world.

"Forget him," Circe said. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."

"I—"

"Astraea, think about it!" Circe rose to her feet, clapping sharply.

I hate being called by my full name. If she hadn't turned me against her by turning Luke into a rodent, she would have by using that damn name. Talk about bitches.

"You're the first mortal daughter of Poseidon in history," she continued, pacing back and forth while waving her hands. "Your power and potential are undoubtedly unmatched. As the child of the Great Prophecy, you can bring the world to its knees. Bend it to your will. No more gods expecting everything from you. No more all work and no play. No more men seeing you as a toy. Be a goddess. Accept my offer and become my apprentice! Nothing will stand in your way of gaining whatever you desire!"

I glanced away, thinking furiously. I had to figure out a way to get Luke and get off this dumb island of brainwashed women. But I had to keep the dress. That was my exception. 

"Can I have a moment to think in private?" I asked innocently, keeping my eyes wide. "It's a lot to take in. I would never have guessed that someone as famous and amazing as you would offer me a chance like this."

Maybe I was over-doing it a bit, but, well, Circe was an immortal. In my experience, they had high opinions of themselves, and had the impression that having their attention was every mere mortal's heart's desire.

"Of course," Circe smiled. "I know how honored you must be that I would deign to offer you my aid. Take your time." She waited, folding her hands, and I bit back a growl of frustration.

"In private," I added.

Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, of course. I'll go and check on dinner while you think it over." With that, she strode out of the room. 

I breathed a sigh of relief despite hearing the sound of the lock being engaged, and I rushed over to the cage of guinea pigs. "All right, which one is you?" I groaned and then cursed. There were at least a dozen, and all of them looked the same! How in all of the Fates' names was I supposed to figure out which one was Luke?

They all squealed, making it worse. 

"That isn't helping," I complained, fighting the urge to run my hands through my beautifully done-up hair. 

I scanned the room and spotted the cuff of Luke's jeans sticking out from under the loom. An idea sparked, and I rushed over and began rummaging through his pockets. Finally, I yanked out the bottle of vitamins and scrambled back over to the cage.

"Oh, this is gonna go so badly," I groaned to myself, unscrewing the top and dumping the entire jar into the cage. I saved one, shoving it into my mouth, just in case it could help at all. A second later, the door opened and Circe, Hylla, and Reyna all entered.

Circe's eyes widened at the scene that greeted her. "You stupid girl!" she cried. "What have you just done?"

I scrambled up, summoning my swords, but before I could say or do anything else, the cage broke. The guinea pigs all grew into various men. Naked men, to be more specific. Which was about to go as well as you could imagine, considering most of them were pirates.

"You witch!" One of the men roared. "You are going to pay for what you've done! I am Blackbeard, and I will have my revenge!"

Holy fuck. The Blackbeard?

"N- now, Edward," Circe stammered, waving her hands at him. I caught Hylla's eye, knowing I'd feel awful if anything happened to either of them. They had treated me perfectly. I didn't want this to be my 'thank you.' 

Run, I mouthed. Hylla nodded and grabbed her sister and pulled her out of the room as the sorceress backed away.

"Arrgghh!" the pirates yelled. They began to race towards Circe, somehow holding swords, and she turned to run, tripping over her dress.

I was still looking away, so I nearly beheaded Luke when he grabbed my arm without warning me. "Woah, Angel," he chuckled. "Relax. Thanks for the save, by the way."

"No problem," I mumbled. It was a little funny, since with the stilettos, I was almost as tall as he was. He obviously wasn't used to it, as his eyes settled on my collarbones, where my head normally was.

"They didn't do anything to you, right?" he asked, sounding worried. 

"You do realize you're naked, right?"

He was silent for a moment, before he moved away, and I heard him grabbing his clothes. "Uh, I have a wonderful suggestion, Angel," he chuckled nervously. "Let's never, ever, tell my siblings about this. Like, ever. Okay, safe to look now."

"We should go," I said, making no promises not to tell the whole camp about this particular adventure.

He gave me, or rather, my outfit, a skeptical once over. "Dressed like that?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned toward him angrily, my previous fury at him for getting us in this mess in the first place doubling. "I know the hell you did not just utter the words 'dressed like that.' I don't exactly have time to change," I snapped back, not caring for his shocked expression. "Now, c'mon. I don't want to have to fight a couple dozen pirates, do you?"

"Good point," he nodded. "Let's go."

We ran down the hillside through the terraces, past the screaming spa residents and the pirates ransacking the resort. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw various herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over the tables piled with sauna towels.

I almost felt bad letting the unruly pirates out, but I guessed that they deserved something more entertaining than the exercise wheel after being cooped up in a cage for three centuries.

"Which ship?" Luke said as we reached the docks.

I looked around desperately. We couldn't very well take our rowboat. We had to get off the island fast, but what else could we use? A sub? I didn't know if I could control one of those, and no way in Punishment was I going on a jet, even if one of us could manage to fly it. And then I saw it.

"There," I said firmly, pointing it out.

Luke looked doubtful. "But—"

"I can make it work."

"How?"

I couldn't explain. I just somehow knew that an old sailing vessel was the best bet for me. I grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him toward the three-mast ship. Painted on its prow was the name that I would only manage to decipher later: The Queen Anne's Revenge. One of the most famous ships in history.

"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled somewhere behind us. "Those scalawags are a-boarding me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"

"We'll never get going in time!" Luke yelled as we climbed aboard.

I looked around at the hopeless maze of sail and ropes. The ship was in great condition for a three-hundred-year-old vessel, but it would still take a crew of fifty several hours to get underway.

There were two of us and we didn't have several hours. I could see the pirates running down the stairs, waving tiki torches and sticks of celery.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the waves lapping against the hull, the ocean currents, the winds all around me. Suddenly, the right word appeared in my mind. "Mizzenmast!" I yelled.

"Bless you!" Luke yelled back as the air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking.

Luke ducked a cable that flew over his head and wrapped itself around the bowsprit.

"Allie, how the fuck..."

I didn't have an answer, but I could feel the ship responding to me as if it were part of my body. I willed the sails to rise as easily as if I were flexing my arm. I willed the rudder to turn.

The Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock, and by the time the pirates arrived at the water's edge, we were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.

*    *    *

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