#Where are you gonna find an eye doctor in the middle of the ocean?

[badlyblurry]

Maybe the child stans comforting mabel and Dipper?

Stories about sea days keep the nightmares away 👍

I’m sorry this took so long anon, I got busy with school stuff. But hey, at least it’s almost summer! 😁

Edit: this is connected to this request and also this request

[darling-i-read-it]

Burns

Charlie Swan x fem!reader, Carlisle Cullen x fem!reader 

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: age gap (for both men, both are legal but carlisle is like 223297493 years old so do with that what you’d like lol), burns (second and first degree), doctors office, me knowing too much about twilight 

Author’s Note: IM WRITING A PART 2 RN BUT WANTED TO SEE IF YOU GUYS LIKED THIS <3 I literally randomly had a burst of inspo to write this and i lowkey love it…

Summary: You’re a waitress at the local diner to pay off tuition in the summer. You have a small crush on the chief of police who comes in to get his coffee from you. You thought that was all it was until you met the resident doctor when you have a mishap and now you’re stuck between two incredibly charming men that both have a little crush on you. 

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

Forks, Washington was under a near constant cover of rain. You were aware of it when you woke up in the morning, prepared to see the dreary weather that greeted you through the window. You could smell the rain on the pavement before it came, see it in the clouds as they hovered above. You were always prepared for it, always ready for it. 

Today, the sun was out. Summer usually calls for something more temperate. You found that those days weren’t necessarily unwelcome, but never your favorite. Everyone went outside when it was sunny. You could see people you hadn’t seen in ages. You never made an effort to see them in the first place for a reason. There was an uncharacteristic amount of skin showing. It may only be mid 70s but everyone suddenly acted like the ocean water was a relief to their burning skin. 

You sweat easily, especially in the diner. The Lodge had little to no air conditioning and the sun brought people in droves. Everyone wanted a bite to eat. They all remembered the diner had milkshakes. It was never a great mix for a waitress. 

You turned the corner on your heel, giving a quaint smile to Cora, your coworker. She looked like she was going to melt away. 

“Do you think anyones gonna leave early today?” she asked quietly behind the counter. You shook your head. She had the coffee pot in her hand and was holding it tightly so it didn’t spill. You looked around the packed diner, laughter bubbling from sections where it normally was silent. You shook your head, giving her a sad look. 

“We’re in for one.” 

“I should’ve called out,” she muttered. “You should’ve called out. This place needs us.” You shook your head. 

“You’ve gotta put food on the table,” you reminded her. She had a kid who was going into middle school. You had met her when Cora brought her in, her headphones stuck in her ears and reading some trashy teen novel. 

“Always the voice of reason,” she muttered. “Plus, you gotta pay tuition.” 

“Don’t remind me.” 

You were going to college in Seattle but always worked the summers back in Forks. You loved the little town despite its insanity. You found that most of it was quiet, even on louder days. Plus, it was always easy to find a job back home. You were practically shoved the waitress apron when you returned this summer. You had been doing it since you graduated high school, always trying to find something to keep yourself occupied. You were coming upon your senior year in college and the extra money helped immensely. 

“Hey, your boyfriends here,” Cora teased. She pushed herself off the counter to refill someone’s coffee cup. You furrowed your brows in confusion even though you knew exactly who she meant. 

You watched as chief of police Charlie Swan walked through the doors with a clink of the bell above his head. He met your eyes and gave you an awkward half wave, which you returned slightly more enthusiastically. He walked up to the counter, squeezing between the people sitting there. Someone said hello to him and he gave them a nod in acknowledgment. 

“You guys are busy today huh?” he questioned, scoffing. 

“Just a bit,” you admitted. His presence never ceased to bring butterflies to your stomach. Maybe you were harboring a small/not so small crush on the sheriff but you tried your best not to show it. You assured Cora it was just something silly for you to feel as you passed through your work day. Still, her eyes lingered on yours as she went around the counter to greet someone else because she knew you were busy. “It’s the sun.” 

“Brings out all the loonies,” he said. 

“I imagine you’re busy out there too.” He was always scanning around to make sure no one was doing anything wrong. His eyes flicked from you to the people beside him, then back to you. 

“Taking my 15.” 

“Just to see lil ol me?” you teased. Even as the words left your mouth you felt self conscious of them. This time though, he gave a half smile. 

“You make the best coffee I’ve ever had,” he promised. You tried not to get flustered. 

“Well, it looks like you need a double today, Sheriff.” 

“Charlie, how many times do I have to tell you?” You rolled your eyes. He leaned against the diner counter even though there were no seats. You turned around, every other table lost in your mind. Cora would help you out until he left.

“Well Charlie, it might be too hot for a hot coffee. You could’ve gone to one of those fancy coffee shops,” you offered, grabbing a coffee pot. 

“Yeah, can you imagine me ordering there? I have a hard enough time with you.” 

“I think I get what you mean by now,” you joked. You poured him a cup and grabbed three sugars and two creams. “Anything else?” 

“You always this quick with your service?” he questioned, looking at the people down the line who hadn’t gotten their food. 

“I’m just the coffee girl with a pretty smile. I don’t control the food orders.” You handed him a stirring stick as he opened his sugar packets. “Plus, you’re the chief of police Charlie. I don’t wanna get arrested.” He chuckled, a real genuine laugh. 

“I think I’ll let you off for this one.” You smiled at your success. The laugh was guaranteed to be the highlight of your shift. 

“Thanks Charlie.” You turned back to the kitchen which was starting to call things out. “Anything else?”

“No ma’am.” He grabbed some cash out of his wallet. “Keep the change.” 

“You’re my favorite customer Charlie,” you joked at his more than generous tip of 100%. He did a little salute with his finger and raised the cup to you. 

“Go do your job otherwise you’re bound to get more angry customers than I am.” 

You nodded once and bowed out of the conversation gracefully. You grabbed the food from behind you and started to bring it out. Cora gave you a look as you passed her, the smile plastered on your face a clear tell of your conversation. 

“Peach cobbler,” you said to one of your regulars. She was a small old lady who always came in on Saturdays, at exactly the same time. You enjoyed talking with her and catching up on her life. She got the same thing each time and the consistency was something you appreciated. “Sorry it’s been slower today Miss. Heidi. The heat has the whole of Forks out!” She shook her head, brushing you off. 

“No worries at all,” she assured you. “It’s not like I’m not gonna come back.” You shared in her shaky laughter. She picked up her fork just as you were about to leave and pointed it at Charlie. “You making heart eyes at the chief over there sweetheart?” You flushed immediately. Maybe you weren’t so great at hiding it. 

“Maybe. But keep your mouth shut Heidi,” you whispered with a smile. She chuckled. Her eyes lingered on Charlie who was finishing his coffee already. He had started a conversation with the man beside him. Charlie seemed to know everyone in town. 

“Aren’t you a little young for him?” You rolled your eyes. 

“It’s perfectly constenting and legal,” you assured her. “I’m plenty older than his daughter if that’s what you’re gonna say.” 

“I was gonna mention.” Her eyes wrinkled at the edges, shaking her head. Her movements didn’t feel like she was disagreeing with you. More so that she was gossiping with a friend, just girls being girls. “He had his heart broken by her mother, you know. He’s a good man.” 

“Is that your consent Heidi? Because I don’t even know if he feels the same way.” Your voice was lighthearted. She grabbed your hand, her saggy skin feeling comforting. 

“I wouldn’t worry too much sweetheart.” You scrunched your face a little and shook off her words. You were still on the clock. 

“Enjoy your peach cobbler Heidi.” 

-

You brushed your hair out of your face. The sun had finally subsided for the evening, giving way for the clouds. You embraced their presence, appreciating the way that the cool air felt on your overworked skin. Cora was still hanging around after her shift, waiting for her husband to come pick her up. You sat on the back steps of The Lodge, watching the trees sway. 

“The air feels so crisp,” you muttered. 

“You say the weirdest things,” she grumbled, laughing. She was leaning against the building. “It’s the trees.” 

“I know.” You were going to leave right after work and finally drive back home but you needed a moment to sit and enjoy the day. It had been a long shift. Cora and you were officially trauma bonded. 

“How was the chief?” 

“Good,” you promised. “Sweet.”

“A guy can be sweet and catch criminals?” 

“He’s assertive,” you argued. When Cora laughed she did it with her whole chest. 

“Honey, you’re down bad.” You rolled your eyes and stood up. Cora’s eyes followed you as you did so, turning back to the door inside the diner. “You’re goin back into that hellhole?” 

“Forgot my phone,” you said. “Also, I am not. It’s a work crush. I’m entitled to one! Just like you like the produce guy!” 

“I do not like the produce guy. I think he’s hot. Big difference!” You rolled your eyes as you opened the door back inside. The heat hit you again, unpleasantly. You had to weave through the cooks to get back to the front. You couldn’t remember when you had put your phone down. You were making a phone call during your break. Maybe you had left it on hte steps outside after all? 

“Hey Jerry?!” you called to the cook in the back.

“What?!” 

“You seen my phone?” 

“No! All I’ve seen are burgers!” You rolled your eyes harder this time and dipped underneath the counter to see if you had put it with the sugars and stuff. You let out an annoyed groan when it wasn’t there. 

You turned too quick and ran right into the closing waitress. She was holding a hot pot of coffee and effectively spilled it all over you. You gasped involuntarily, the feeling of scorching coffee seeping through your clothes. The gasp turned into a seethe as you packed up. You could hear her speaking, the high pitched, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” reverberating off your eardrums. You had dropped coffee on yourself before. All you could think of was that you needed a towel and some cold water. 

You turned on a dime and walked back to the kitchen. You turned on the sink back there and fumbled your hand around for a towel to use. 

“Jerry, towel,” you mumbled, the burning skin now setting into a tingle. He turned his head around and saw you. He started to fumble around. You walked in front of him to grab the towel and just barely lost your balance, causing your hand to fly up onto the table. 

Right onto the stove. 

This time you yelped. The coffee was already forgotten as there was now more of an issue at hand. 

“Woah dollface!” Jerry exclaimed. He grabbed your wrist because you were just staring at your red hand. You had put your entire palm down. You looked up at him, tears staining your eyes from pain, and he brought you over to the sink. 

“Oh fuck,” you groaned as he put it under the cold water. It didn’t subside any pain, just added another sensation. “Jerry that hurts!” 

“Hey Y/N, I have your phone in my apron.” Cora came through the door to witness you breathing heavily next to the sink, Jerry the cook practically holding you down. 

“She burned her hand on the stove,” he explained. 

“She spilled coffee on me,” you blubbered childishly. You could feel all your body parts at once, like you were on fire. You had no brain power to say anything else. 

“Oh Jesus,” Cora muttered. She rushed forward, grabbing your wrist to look at it. “You gotta get this checked out honey.” You gave her a somber looking face. “I know, I know. I’ll take you. Where’s your car keys?” You reached in your apron with your non burnt hand. It was soaking wet from the coffee. 

“Is she okay?” the waitress asked, sticking her head through the window. 

“She burned her hand on the stove,” Jerry said. 

“She what?!” 

Cora put her hand on your back, leading you out the door. You took deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. You were fine. You were gonna be fine. 

“I’ll be okay,” you whispered. “You have to g-”

“I’ll have Steven do it,” she said. Her husband. You gave her a look of pure thankfulness as she helped you into the passenger seat of her car. 

“I really don’t have to go to the hospital over this,” you tried to say. 

“I know you don’t. But I think it’s safer than waiting.” You put your head against your headrest. 

-

Cora dragged you by your free arm to the front desk. She was the one who gave your name and your information as you stood beside her, holding your hand. You looked like a mess, given the coffee all over you. You were sure this could all just be fixed by some water and ointment from the store but Cora insisted. 

She rambled on about how a family member hadn’t gone in for a burn and it ended up being more severe then they thought, damaging below the skin. Her words were not comforting. 

Eventually they called you back to be looked at. You sat on an exam table with a thin paper on top. A nurse had come in to check on you and give you something for your hand while you waited for the doctor. 

You were in a row of beds. Cora pulled the curtains aside to give you privacy. 

“I really don’t think that’s necessary,” you said. 

“They don't get to know all your business. HIPAA or whatever.” You squinted. 

“I don’t think-” 

“Ladies.” Carlisle Cullen stepped through the curtain at the open side. He was holding a clipboard, a charming smile plastered on his face. Your breath hitched at the sight of him. He was gorgeous. “Y/N, I hear you burned your hand.” You nodded. 

“And her chest,” Cora muttered. She must have noticed Carlisle’s looks as well. Or maybe she just noticed your reaction to him. You cleared your throat. 

“I had coffee spilled on me.” 

“No, you should check it out. It’s bad.” You gave a look. Carlisle’s smile remained, shaking his head. You had heard of him but never had a reason to come out and see him. You wouldn’t even call this a valid reason. 

“Sounds like an awful case of bad luck.” You nodded. “Can I take a look?” He sat on a spinny chair and pulled it towards you. You extended your hand to him. 

“I’m gonna go call Steven,” she said to you. You nodded. She patted your back, her eyes lingering on your doctor even as she left. Carlisle held your hand in his, gently looking it over. You looked down at him. 

“A stove did this?” 

“Yeah. It was dumb,” you promised. “I lost my balance looking for a rag for the coffee burn.” 

“And that’s okay?” You nodded. 

“I think. I mean, my hand feels way worse,” you assured him. 

“Your friend seems to think otherwise.” 

“Cora’s dramatic by nature.” He laughed gently. 

“Well the stove fought back.” He wheeled backwards towards the table beside your bed. “It looks like second degree burns on your hand. I’ll send you home with some ointment for it and you’ll wanna wrap it up so that you don’t get it caught on your clothes or anything.” You nodded. “I’ll wrap it for you first, show you how to do it.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Of course.” He stood up and fumbled in the desks drawer. “Are you sure you don’t want me to check on the coffee burns?” He glanced back at you. You looked down at your shirt. It had mostly gotten your stomach. You could still feel pain there, probably driven by the fact you never got to clean it off. 

“If you think it’ll help?”

“Stomach burns are interesting just because of their placement. It’s harder to wrap them. I think it would be beneficial for me to make sure they’re only first degree, if anything.” You nodded. You would listen to him read the phone book. 

“Okay.” He walked back over. Before even touching your shirt he made eye contact with you. 

“Only if you’re comfortable. I can wait till your friend comes back if you want me to.” You shook your head. 

“I’m okay!” you promised. You cleared your throat and grabbed the hem of your shirt. You carefully lifted it up over your torso, holding it just above the wet spot. Carlisle’s eyes went down to your body. 

“You said the hand hurt more?”

“By far.” 

“Can I touch you?” Please. You cleared your throat again. 

“Sure.” He put an icy hand on your hip, lightly brushing your burn with his thumb. 

“How much does that hurt? Scale one to ten?” 

“Five.” He applied more pressure. 

“Now?” 

“Seven. Your hands are really cold, which could be worsening the effects,” you joked. He chuckled, his lips turning up a bit. 

“Sorry about that.” He backed up a bit. You put your shirt back down. “Those are first degree burns. It only hit in some spots. Should feel numb or touchy for a couple days. You can put the ointment there too but you shouldn’t have to wrap it up.”

“The hand needs it.”

“The hand needs it,” he agreed. He had put some stuff on the counter, which he now took in his hands. He squeezed something out a bottle and put a bit of it on his finger, taking your hand back in his. “Let me know if the pressure is too much.” 

You watched him, your free hands fingers curled under the bed you were sitting on. He gently covered your hand, using such a light touch that it was like he was barely there. 

“You’re good at this.” 

“It’s my job,” he said, smiling. “Are you from out of town? I don’t think I’ve had you in here before.” 

“Just lucky,” you quipped. “I go to college in Seattle too so I’m usually out there.” He nodded slowly. 

“Fancy.”

“The drive back is beautiful.” He nodded slowly. His hand lingered on yours as he examined his work. “So is this town.” 

“Do you work at the diner?”

“Yeah! That’s where I got this beauty.” He scooted back, grabbing the bandages.

“I think my son’s seen you there. He’s graduating high school in a year and likes his seclusion,” he explained. 

“Son?” you asked. 

“Edward.” 

“No, I’m just stunned you have a child. You look far too young,” you said, laughing incredibly. He grinned sheepishly. You tried not to think of him being married or the lack of ring on his finger. 

“He’s technically my foster son,” he described. 

“I see. Do you do it all on your own?” You winced. That was aggressive. “I don’t mean to pry.” “It’s alright,” he said, shaking his head, completely cool. “Yes, they’re all under my care. I haven’t found the right one quite yet. Plus, she’d have to take on more than a couple stragglers with me.” His eyes flicked up to yours. They met for a moment longer than they should have. You had to look away. 

“Sounds like a task.” 

“It’s definitely not for everyone.” He tightened your bandage. “There. I’ll send you home with some of this, it’ll be sent to wherever you get your prescriptions.” He stepped back from you. “Try to be careful around stoves next time.”

“Yes sir.” He gave you one more look, a kind hearted smile and then was on his way. You followed him until he was gone out of view. You were glad he hadn’t checked your pulse because you were sure it was beating out of your chest. Cora came around the corner. 

“He’s too old for you too,” she said. You laughed dryly, shaking your head. You could practically still feel his touch on your hand. So gentle. 

“You’ll learn to get used to it,” you teased her. She rolled her eyes. “Were you waiting out there the whole time?” 

“Wanted to give you and Doctor Dreamy some alone time.” 

“You’re such a wingwoman!” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the Sheriff.” 

Part 2

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 108 }

where is your heart at?

opla!sanji vinsmoke x fem.reader

the ebb and flow of the ocean rocks the straw hat's ship in a back and forth motion, making you feel as though you were caught in a rhythmic lullaby.

a soft yawn escapes from your lips, and you were about to turn in for the night when a flash of blond was seen from your periphery. with a tilt of your head, you saw that it was sanji who caught your eye. observing him now, you realized that he was currently settled on the deck, gazing up at the night sky with a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. and you stood there, wondering if he needed someone to talk to.

how you came to be part of the straw hat crew was in a bit of an unorthodox manner. you lived on a well known island that acted as a hub for those who spent their time traveling the seas during their journey. you had a deep love for medicine and helping people heal, and yet...despite how you successfully studied and became a doctor by your own hard work and merit, you felt empty- unsatisfied even.

there was a routine that you were getting used to, and it was making your life become a bit stable and stale. it was always the same: you'd wake up in the morning, see the few people who come to your home with complaints of them or their loved ones feeling sick or injured.

doctor, please, i need your help, for my son has a fever from swimming in the ocean for too long.

doctor, do you have anything to help with my sprained ankles?

my stomach has been feeling awful lately, do you think you can help me get rid of this pain?

despite how much you loved your work as a doctor, you still felt as though there was something better for you out there, something much bigger than what your life had resorted to.

it was during this time in your life that you met a peculiar young man who had dreams of becoming the king of pirates.

on your way home, you found a young man passed out in the middle of the street, his red tank top and blue shorts caked with dirt as a straw hat remained askew atop of his head.

your instincts as a doctor kicked in right then and there, and you saw that his chapped lips were cracking, almost bleeding due to how dry they were. recognizing that this poor young man was dehydrated, you quickly ran to the nearest well and grabbed a bucketful of fresh water.

"okay sweetheart, you've gotta wake up a bit and drink some water for me." you place the bucket next to you and began getting the refreshing liquid into your hands before splashing his tanned skin with it. the sensation of the water on his heated skin seems to rouse the boy from his unconscious state, and when you managed to get a few drops into his lips did he finally open his eyes, revealing the comforting brown hue of them.

"whoa...i had no idea water could taste so sweet." the young man still seemed to be in a daze while you continued to coax him to drink more of the water in hopes of helping him recover from his dehydrated state. in what seemed like seconds, he perks up while eagerly introducing himself to you.

"hey there! the name's monkey d. luffy, but my friends call me luffy, so you can call me luffy, too! what's your name?"

your head was spinning from how bright and optimistic luffy was, but managed to stutter out your name to him. he repeats your name while shaking your hand in a firm grip.

"i gotta say, if it wasn't for you, i would totally be a goner! are you like, a doctor or something?"

you send him a wistful smile, "yes, i am a traveling doctor, but i mainly work locally, here, on this island. the townspeople usually tells me what ails them, and i help them when needed."

"well, i have a gut feeling that you'll fit right in with me and my crew, and we'll need a doctor if i'm gonna find the one piece and become king of the pirates!"

you couldn't stop the giggle that escapes , "what? you truly believe in such legends?"

"it's not a legend! it's the ultimate treasure that i'm determined to find with my friends! and you-" luffy ends up grasping your hands tightly into his. "you are going to make the perfect addition."

you blink back at him with your lips pursed. was this truly happening? and could you consider this a miracle? did you not consider your life stale and uneventful?

and now, this boy was pretty much offering you an escape; a chance to see the world and finally fill that emptiness you had been feeling. looking into his doe eyes and detecting no lies from him, you give luffy a smile and extend your hand out to him, accepting his offer.

when you first joined luffy's crew as their appointed doctor, you felt nervous upon entering his ship. following luffy's advice to pack lightly, you only came on board with your medical supplies and a few change of clothes. in the same eager voice, luffy introduces you to his crew, referring to you as the crew's doctor while going into exaggerated details on how you had saved his life when he passed out just a few moments ago.

"luffy, i told you not to eat so much salted meats! you were so focused on the food that you hardly drank anything, that's why you were dehydrated! and did you even get the supplies we needed?!" the woman with bright ginger hair known as nami scolds at luffy, and you had a feeling you would get along with her.

as nami continued to scold luffy, your eyes trail over to see his other crew mates: zoro, the pirate hunter with green hair and usopp, the laid back young man who had a gentle smile on his face. you were about to greet them when a sudden whistle cuts you off, catching your attention as a smooth voice calls out to you.

"my my, i had no idea luffy found such a refined lady to join us."

you were slightly frowning now, for you were certain no one who knew you well would ever call you refined or a lady. you glance back to see the source of the voice, feeling your heart soften and race just the tiniest bit.

standing a few feet away from you was a tall, blond man with sea-green eyes and a flirtatious smile. he wore a well tailored suit that fit him to perfection, and seeing the way his soft strands of hair fell across his handsome (almost angelic) features was enough to make any woman fall to her knees for him.

you watch as the man steps closer to you, swearing you heard zoro let out a grunt of annoyance as the tall blond takes a hold of your hand while brushing his lips at the back of them.

he whispers your name for a brief moment before continuing, "my heart has been stolen by you at first sight, madam, and you may call me sanji, for there is nothing more that could possibly fill me with joy than hearing the sound of my name coming from your parted lips."

before sanji could place his lips against the back of your hand, you ripped it away from his grasp while swinging your bag towards him, landing a hit against the back of his head as he let out a grunt of pain.

"you're the crew's casanova, i see." you were laughing genuinely now, feeling amused at sanji's antics as he gave you a sheepish smile. "ah, you wound me, milady. but if i can get you to laugh like that more often, mademoiselle, it would all be worth it."

you roll your eyes to bite back the heat that was threatening to form on your cheeks, turning away from him to hide the grin that painted your features.

even during that first day, you knew that you belonged here, with luffy and the others.

throughout the journeys you shared with them, you remained by their side.

from stitching up zoro's deep wounds, to healing nami's fever, somehow, you formed a tight bond with each and every one of them, never once taking them for granted.

you even managed to put up with sanji's quirky and flirtatious nature. during your travels, you realized that sanji had a particular fondness and weakness to beautiful women, watching in amusement as he attempted to woo them into his arms, only to fail miserably.

and during the times where the blond cook would flirt with you, you would simply brush it off or tease him back, never once taking him seriously since you knew he would simply flirt with or hit on any woman he came across.

but, that had to be such an isolated existence, right? despite how sanji acted like he was an open book and was able to share his heart with the world, you had a feeling that truly wasn't the case for him.

you could see that now, watching him all alone on the deck while his friends were asleep-

and the loneliness that he exuded resonated deeply within you. forgetting all about your prior exhaustion, you step closer to him while clearing your throat, alerting sanji to your presence. he sees you and snuffs out his cigarette, and your heart warmed at his thoughtfulness.

"a penny for your thoughts?" you lean against the ship's bannister, looking down at the ocean waves while admiring how it perfectly reflected the night sky above. you kept your gaze on the crescent moon, silently beckoning for sanji to speak.

you could hear the smile in his voice, "a penny for my thoughts, you say?" he chuckles a bit. "what? you think something's bothering me?"

you shrug, still keeping your gaze on the dark waters of the ocean. "yes. for starters it's well past the midnight hour, and you're still awake."

"so are you."

"this isn't about me, sanji." you laugh, letting out a sigh before meeting sanji's gaze. his eyes appeared darker from beneath the moonlight, and you found it hard to decipher his emotions and what he was thinking.

"to me, you're an anomaly." sanji's eyebrows furrow in response to your words, yet you continue to explain, "you put on such a carefree and happy façade, you flirt constantly with women, yet sometimes, i feel like you're achingly lonely."

you shut your eyes briefly before standing back to your full height, no longer leaning against the bannister as you look back at the ocean. "i sometimes wonder, just where is your heart at, sanji?"

"it's with you." sanji answers without hesitation, causing you to break out in a knowing smile. you already had a retort on the tip of your tongue, ready to rebuttal his flirtatious words like you always do-

that is, until you finally got a good look at him.

the faint scent of cigarette smoke still lingers in the air, and as your eyes met with his sea-green gaze once more, you saw a strange, unfamiliar glint within them. his soft strands of hair blew in tune with the wind, and he was looking at you like you were the only girl that existed in the entire world-

he was looking at you with an expression akin to that of love and adoration.

your heart was suddenly pounding now, lips parted as the air seemed to escape from your lungs in shallow breaths. yet still, sanji keeps his gaze on you, reaching out a hand to brush back your hair when he tells you,

"my heart is with you. it's been with you since the moment i first laid my eyes on you."

you could feel your head shake, "n-no, that's not true. there's no way..."

sanji's smile was wistful, seeming to recall your first meeting as he gently curls a strand of your hair with his fingertips. "i knew you didn't believe me then, but i meant what i said... you had captured my heart. and that feeling...that feeling never went away- even now."

he takes you in his arms then, allowing your hands to rest against his chest, where you could feel the steady racing of his heart from beneath the palm of your hand. your smile was wide now, and you allow yourself to lean up against him, pressing your lips against his in a sweet kiss.

sanji tasted of hot cocoa and faintly of smoke, the taste strangely addicting to you as you delved your fingers into his soft hair. the more his lips molded against yours, the more you felt yourself melting into him.

you cling to him, relishing in his warmth while looking up at him with adoration in your own gaze.

"i never thought, nor even dared to dream that you could even feel the same way for me." sanji was grinning now, allowing the tip of his nose to gently inhale the scent of your hair as you rested your head against his chest before admitting to him.

"my heart is with you, too."

a.n. - lowkey have the biggest crush on opla!sanji. he's actually so cute and swoonworthy 🥹. this is so self indulgent, and unedited, so i apologize for any mistakes / errors!

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[sack-thing]

A Bad Dream

A little scribble, 1,654 words. Not new actually, but I edited it slightly and it's time to repost it!

It's a bonus that would happen during chapter 10 of Year 3, focusing on Luu Kah's pov (I wanted to write him breaking down alright) but Weylin's in it too.

I wonder if I should post it on AO3? Anyway there we go~

---

The past two days felt like they had no end. Luu Kah went and checked on Délia one last time before leaving for the night. Only Roy would stay in the room, at her side, in case something went wrong; he had volunteered for that even though the doctor said things should be fine.

Délia was asleep, but she seemed to be in a stable state indeed. It felt better to see her resting like that than breaking down in the desert like the day before because of her injury. And because of the news that Ramsey had been petrified by a basilisk—a monster apparently known in Leuda to turn its victims into stone forever.

Luu Kah left the medical house, leaving Roy with Délia, and decided to go for a walk in the village. The rare Selkies he saw on his path seemed to look at him in curious ways. But whatever the reason was, he didn’t have time to bother with them.

He was thinking about what Délia had said when they were still in the Lynari desert. Before she fainted, she wanted to go and look for Ramsey, even if his body was currently turned into stone. She argued that they couldn’t leave him like that, that he’d be left alone in the middle of the miasma if the petrifaction was to dissolve. At that point, Luu Kah reluctantly said that it wasn’t supposed to… But if it did, the thought was actually terrible. He wouldn’t survive. The team chose to go back to Leuda because Délia’s state was critical, but they did leave Ramsey like that after all. He was still in the middle of that damned desert, all by himself, surrounded by miasma and probably monsters.

Luu Kah reached the end of his walk path and stood there at the top of a cliff, facing the ocean, only half paying attention to his surroundings.

Délia was right. They needed to get Ramsey out of there. Délia couldn’t do that in her current state, but he… He could do it. The thought of leaving Ramsey like that was unbearable. Now that they had made sure Délia would be fine, Luu Kah could do it and, at the very least, bring Ramsey’s body back to a safe place.

- - -

Luu Kah was sharing a tent with Weylin that night. There was no way he could fall asleep even if he wanted to, which was convenient since he was about to leave anyway. He had waited for a good hour to make sure Weylin was asleep; she hadn’t moved nor made any sound in a while now. Luu Kah set into motion. He grabbed the crystal pendant, the desert’s map, his clothes and his weapon with as little sound and friction as possible. He was ready within a minute and left the tent.

The air was surprisingly cold at this hour compared to the heat they had to endure during the day, but he could bear with it. It was time to go back to the Lynari desert. He wasn’t with Ramsey when he got petrified, but he remembered Weylin and Linitaa’s explanations and would find the place again thanks to the map. For now, his first destination was the village’s exit. There he would wake their papaopamus, Sally, and maybe he could borrow a cart or something to have her drag it. He was going to have a day of travel before reaching the desert, and he needed something to carry Ramsey when going back.

Luu Kah made it to the caravan and Sally near the village’s exit. He put a hand on the animal’s head and stroked her fur gently to wake her up.

“Sorry girl, I’m gonna need you for a while.”

He barely started to get her ready that he heard steps coming close. He knew those steps and didn’t bother to look back.

“Where are you going like this?”

It was Weylin’s voice. Of course. It would’ve been too easy. Luu Kah closed his eyes; he knew she already had the answer to her question.

“Please, don’t tell me not to go.”

“Do you really think I can simply let you go and have you too turn into stone?” Weylin asked.

Luu Kah shook his head. “I’m not gonna get petrified. If I get there tomorrow night, maybe the monster won’t be around.”

“You don’t know about that. I’ve never heard of monsters leaving their usual area at night.”

Luu Kah gritted his teeth before turning to face her. “What I know is I can’t leave Ramsey there like that!”

Weylin clenched her fists. The gesture sent back a few memories to his mind, of when he was a new caravanner with Ramsey and they sneaked out at night one time, only to get into serious trouble against some monsters.

“I am not happy with that either,” she retorted, “but what are you planning to do? Drag a stone body, in the middle of a desert, surrounded by monsters? There’s no way you’ll be fast enough to avoid the countless threats there.” Luu Kah couldn’t see her face under the helmet, but he was pretty sure she was sending him a death glare. She raised her voice. “That desert is dangerous enough as it is. Letting you go there and take the risk to end the same way as Ramsey is out of the question. We have nothing to protect us from that curse.”

Luu Kah felt himself boiling. “Who cares what happens to me, it doesn’t matter! Right now, just as we're having this useless conversation, Ramsey is—“

Before he could finish his sentence, Weylin stepped toward him to grab his shoulders and shake him. “Stop that, Luu Kah! What do you think you can do if something happens to you? You won’t save anyone like that!”

He froze, as if she’d just made a point on something he hadn’t thought about. He didn’t like that. Sometimes he hated Weylin’s rationality. And apparently, she wasn’t finished.

“Do you hear yourself talk? I’ve already told you before: your life is your priority! And what about Ramsey, what would he think? Do you think he’d be happy to hear you say that? Would he be happy if you sacrificed yourself for nothing?!”

Weylin was yelling. It was unusual. That’s right, she was the caravan’s captain. And as she had told them in the past, she had responsibility over their lives, at least to some extent. What happened to Ramsey probably shook her more than Luu Kah thought.

Weylin was still holding him as he stared at the ground and felt his eyes becoming hot and wet, despite the cold air blowing on his face. He tried to mutter a response. “But… I just wanna bring him back to a safe place… What if we never saw him aga—“

Luu Kah suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t speak. He could barely manage to bring his shaking hands to his face, even though he didn’t know what he wanted to do with them. He didn’t get what was going on. It felt like he wasn’t there anymore.

A monster that turns its victims into stone forever. He had tried to block the thought so hard. Or rather, his brain understood the words, but that was it. He hadn’t truly registered them within their current situation, and he realized it was for a good reason. Now that he just said what it meant out loud…

It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. Ramsey was always with them, always with him. They couldn’t lose him like that.

“Luu Kah… Breathe,” Weylin said, her tone softer than before. “Focus on your breath. Slowly.”

He heard her voice. Maybe she already tried to talk to him before and he didn’t hear. He was breathing again now, but it was fast and unsteady, and he still couldn’t properly take in enough air as sobs made their way into his breath. Weylin made some space between them but still held him, hands on his shoulders. Tears rolled down on Luu Kah’s cheeks as he hid his face in his hands.

It was awful. That wasn’t part of his plan. He’d never wanted Weylin to see him like that. He’d never seen himself in that state either, actually.

“It’s going to be fine, Luu Kah…”

He didn’t know what to do with those words. It wasn’t fine. Not if Ramsey was gone.

Weylin gently moved him until his back rested against a rocky wall, and now held him with only one hand. His whole body was shaking along with his sobs.

“Listen… Even if we’re not looking for Ramsey right now, I promise that we aren’t giving up on him.” Weylin said. “Monsters won’t have interest in him as long as he’s in that state.” Luu Kah felt her hand grab his shoulder with a little more strength before she resumed. “And then… Surely a cure must exist, even if no one around here has discovered it yet.”

Luu Kah wasn’t sure if it took a few minutes or an eternity before he managed to stop crying and somewhat find a regular breath again. After that, he felt completely empty and weak. Weylin didn’t speak much more; she just stood by him. Then after a while—he didn’t know how much time had passed again—she placed a hand behind his back to make him walk to the tent with her.

Once they got there, Luu Kah was exhausted and crashed on his cot. His mind was still blank and he couldn’t process coherent thoughts anymore. Weylin said a few words, something about how he should rest, before she turned off the oil lamp.

Luu Kah couldn’t stay awake even if he wanted to. Before falling asleep, the only coherent thing that crossed his mind was his wish that those past two days were only a very bad dream.

[spencers-renaissance]

This Gravitational Pull

Summary: Penelope Garcia sets her two best friends Derek & Spencer up on a blind first date. Even with the best intentions and highest expectations, no-one could've predicted it would go quite this well.

Tags: fluff, first date, au: diff first meeting, shy spencer, insecurity, anxiety, flirting, cuddling, protective derek, silly amounts of affection

Pairing: Derek Morgan x Spencer Reid

Word Count: 2.9k

Masterlist // Read on AO3

I started writing this and then realised that I'd set their date in a pub's beer garden? I googled it and apparently they are a thing in America so I kept it in. I don't know how common they are, but I hope it's all good and you can picture the setting just fine.

Spencer really wishes he hadn’t agreed to this blind date.

Not because he doesn’t trust Penelope — he does, he trusts her implicitly and entirely — but because it's a blisteringly hot day in late July and the heat compounded by his shaking nerves is making for a rather unpleasant sweating situation.

A bumblebee buzzes quietly around the table he’s sat at, briefly interested in the iced coffee he’s got his hands wrapped around, and Spencer watches it with a gentle sort of intrigue, able to briefly take his mind off the impending date. He knows that Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan is physically attractive, Penelope had made that more than clear with both her copious photos of him and the way she’s sung his praises since she started working at the FBI, but if anything, that just makes him more nervous. If Derek wasn’t his type, then he wouldn’t have as much to lose.

He runs a nervous hand through his hair as he heaves a small sigh. Worst case scenario, he can run home to his apartment, order Indian food, bury himself in the early edition of War and Peace he just won in an auction and forget that this date ever happened.

“Spencer? Spencer Reid?”

A surprisingly deep and sexy voice has him looking up from the watch face he’s been staring at perhaps a little too intensely, and he’s instantly taken aback by the Greek God standing in front of him. He’d known Derek was attractive, he'd seen pictures of him, but no camera could ever hope to do someone so beautiful any semblance of justice.

“Uh, y-yes, um, yeah. That’s me.” He shakes his head to try and recover his awkward word stumbling before discreetly wiping his sweaty palm on his trousers and standing up to shake Derek’s hand. “You’re Derek?”

“The one and only,” Derek says cheekily, shooting Spencer a grin that already has his stomach churning with a mix of excitement and crippling nerves. “Penelope told me you were gorgeous, but let me tell you, she really undersold it, pretty boy.”

His cheeks instantly flush red as he fights to maintain eye contact, blinking owlishly at the other man. Did he really just say that?

“I was going to say the same thing.”

Derek’s grin only widens. “Well, it looks like Penelope matched us well, then.”

This time Spencer allows himself to briefly duck his head as a baffling mix of pleasure and mortification swim around his chest. He puts it down to inexperience. Any other explanation will only compound his embarrassment.

“She did,” he agrees, smiling over at Derek and hoping desperately that he’s managing to stay cooler on the outside than he is on the inside. “Do you want something to drink?”

Derek nods. “I’ll go and order a beer at the bar. Do you want anything or are you okay with that coffee?”

“Oh no, I’m fine, thank you,” Spencer says, and mentally he praises himself for finally getting out a coherent sentence that doesn’t sound hopelessly mangled and flustered.

He watches Derek as he strides into the pub, looking as cool and confident as his looks and personality allow, and he realises that he really does just have a way about him. The bar is relatively crowded due to the blinding heat on a Saturday afternoon, but the bartender serves him instantly, all the girls eyeing him interestedly and the guys knocking his shoulder and joking about with him as though they’re all easy, long-time friends.

It’s nice, Spencer thinks, to be the focus of someone like that’s attention. Derek could have his pick of most people drinking here, but he only has eyes for Spencer as he comes back out, holding a tall pint and wearing a happy, focused expression as he sits back down.

“Do you not drink?” Derek asks curiously and without judgement, gesturing to his coffee.

“I go out with my friends sometimes,” Spencer says, blushing again, “but I’m a bit of a lightweight, and that’s not the best state of mind to be in on any first date, let alone a blind one.”

Derek chuckles warmly at that, and the sound is a pleasant rumble reminiscent of a distant thunderstorm. Spencer wants to melt into it.

“I think I’d like to see you all messy on a night out, pretty boy,” Derek says wryly, still grinning shamelessly, and Spencer gets the distinct impression that this ‘pretty boy’ business is going to be a Thing between them.

Spencer cocks his head and takes a sip of his coffee through the long metal straw. “Maybe you’ll have to join us some time.”

“Does that mean we’re going on another date?” Derek asks, but before Spencer can panic that he’s said the wrong thing, he’s smoothly continuing. “Because I’m more than down for that.”

“You are?”

“Pretty boy, you ever looked in the mirror?” Derek demands playfully. “Add that to this cute little nerdy bashful doctor thing you got going on and you’re the whole package. Of course I want another date with you, and we’ve barely even started this one.”

Spencer flushes bright pink at that, and decides to move the conversation on before he melts into a literal puddle in the middle of this beer garden. “So you know Penelope through work?”

Derek gets the hint. “I was part of the group that arrested her, actually,” he chuckles, “and I thought she was gonna be a nightmare to work with when we gave her the option of working for the FBI instead of going to prison. But then she showed up on her first day decked out from head to toe in pink and yellow, her hair dyed back to her natural blonde, and the way she smiled when I called her baby girl��� well, it was smooth sailing from then on. Did you know her back in her Black Queen days?”

“I was her one phone call,” Spencer answers, his face splitting into an easy grin as they discuss his favourite person on planet earth. “I was terrified she was going to jail and I’d lose her forever, so I was over the moon when you guys offered her that deal. We went to get our hair done together the very next day.”

“Oh yeah? And what did Pretty Boy have done to his hair, hm?”

Spencer blushes. “Let’s just say she wasn’t the only one who had a rebellious phase?”

“Now that I have got to know more about.”

“Save it for date number two, SSA Morgan,” Spencer shoots back, relaxing into the easy banter between them.

“Alright, alright, baby, I can do that,” he says, winking again. Thankfully, Spencer manages not to do an embarrassing impression of a traffic light this time. “How did you and Penelope meet?”

“Back in college actually,” Spencer nods. “She was sort of going off the rails after her parents’ death, but I think finding a scared 12 year old in her Geography elective helped her rein it in a bit. We’ve been glued at the hip pretty much since we met. Even when I went to MIT for a bit to complete my Engineering PhD, she came with me. Since her job back then was mostly hacking and some supplemental side jobs, it didn’t really matter where she was based, she was just hellbent on protecting me like she has ever since that first Geography class.”

“Wow,” Derek says, looking genuinely shocked as he leans back a little bit, eyeing Spencer with curious eyes. “You went to college when you were twelve? I’m glad you had Penelope because that could’ve been a disaster.”

“It kind of was,” Spencer nods, laughing a little. “But it meant that I had five degrees including three doctorates by the time I was twenty-one so I wasn’t too mad about it.”

Derek stares at him consideringly, the soft smile on his face making Spencer’s stomach fill with butterflies. “You’re quite the genius aren’t you?”

“Well, I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified, but I do have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and can read 20,000 words per minute.”

Derek just stares at him.

“So, yeah, I guess I’m a genius?” he says bashfully.

Derek laughs, shaking his head. “Definitely a genius. I mean, Penelope told me you were clever, but this is like… insane. Are you sure you’re okay to go out with a mere mortal like me or should I see myself out?”

“Yeah actually, Derek, sorry, it’s not going to work out,” Spencer says, feigning seriousness. “I can’t be with anybody who’s not within twenty IQ points of me or doesn’t have at least two PhDs.”

“A good actor, too? What don’t you have going for you, pretty boy?” He laughs in that wild and free kind of way Spencer always wishes he could, and he wonders whether Derek could teach him how.

Derek watches him like there’s something special about Spencer as the sound of their laughter mingles, looks at him like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be but right here, right now, and the warm intensity of it has a buzz going in Spencer’s chest, a pleasant feeling he can’t imagine anything dousing, and he never wants Derek to take his eyes off him again. Not if this is how it’s always going to make him feel.

The hours of the afternoon fly by and all of a sudden the sun is setting and they’re feeling distinctly hungry.

“How do you feel about getting some street food and taking a wander down to the beach?” Derek suggests hopefully, and Spencer can’t help the wide grin that splits his cheeks at the idea.

“Let’s do it.”

The beach is slightly cooler than the garden now the sun is setting and a soft, salty breeze is floating in from the ocean, so they sit close together in the sand, sharing their servings of nachos and fries between them.

“What’s your family like?” Spencer asks, a little daringly after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence.

Derek smiles. “They’re amazing. It’s been just me, my mom, and my two sisters since I was ten years old, but I think losing my dad only brought us closer together, y’know? We had to learn from a young age how to rely on each other, and we were also taught the very valuable lesson of just how important family is and how nothing in life is guaranteed, so we’ve made every effort to be as close to one another as possible.”

Spencer watches with quiet admiration as Derek gushes about his family, and takes another bite of their nachos. “Do they live locally?”

“No, they’re all still back in Chicago,” Derek says. “It’s sad sometimes, being so far away from them, but they would have killed me if I’d stuck around back home just for them and hadn’t chased my dream of climbing the ladder of the FBI.”

Spencer nods, chuckling along with Derek as they stare out at the quiet, tumbling waves of the ocean.

“What about you?” Derek asks. “Are you close with your family?”

Shit. He hadn’t exactly considered that asking Derek about his family would lead to reverse questioning about his own. I mean, call him a genius all you want, but social interaction is not his area of expertise.

“Uh, it’s just me and my mom. She lives back in Vegas,” he explains, clearing his throat awkwardly as he hopes that’s enough to appease his date.

Truthfully, it probably would have been, but Derek doesn’t say anything immediately, and the silence feels like it’s choking him into admitting the truth, however much it makes his chest tighten and his stomach flip with anxiety. What if this is it? What if Derek doesn’t want to start something with someone who has a family history as fucked up as his? What if he reads between the lines and sees that Spencer could be just like his mom in the future, and thinks that starting a relationship is just too risky?

“She has paranoid schizophrenia,” he blurts out, the words rolling off his tongue without his express permission, and instead of shutting up, they just keep coming. “When my dad left when I was ten, I had to be her sole carer until I left for college at twelve, but even then she refused professional help and medication, so I was taking the train from Pasadena to Las Vegas every weekend to try and help her out, and it got messy a lot of the time. It was only when I turned eighteen that things got a little bit easier, and that was only because I betrayed her trust and had her sectioned into a Sanitorium.

“They’re amazing, they take really good care of her and I did my research obviously, but I think a part of her still resents me for doing that.”

He stares out at the ocean for a couple of seconds before he suddenly realises where he is and what he’s just done.

“Oh my god,” he says as horror and dread fill him from the bottom up, “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have just dumped all that on you, I’m sorry, just—”

“Hey, pretty boy,” Derek says gently, placing a reassuring hand on his back to get his attention. “It’s okay, don’t worry. I’m just happy you felt comfortable enough to tell me all of that, and besides, I asked the question, and I meant it. I wanted to know the answer.”

Spencer feels some of the panic recede a little, and he looks up at Derek to try and gauge whether he’s telling the truth. “Really?”

Derek’s expression only softens further. “Really.”

He relaxes a little further and leans into Derek’s side, smiling to himself when Derek wraps his arm fully around his waist, resting his head on top of Spencer’s.

“I feel like I’ve known you way longer than just four hours and fifty six minutes,” Spencer says eventually.

Derek chuckles, and this time Spencer can feel the low rumble against his cheek as well as hear it. “It might be the biggest cliche in the book, but I feel exactly the same, baby.”

“I think sharing street food on the beach while staring out at a sunset as romantic and beautiful as that one has cemented the cliches in this date enough already,” Spencer points out, laughing a little.

“That is very true,” Derek agrees, squeezing his hand against Spencer’s waist. “We could round all the cliches off with a kiss, if you’d like.”

Spencer sits upright, blushing again as he eyes Derek’s flirtatious but serious expression. “I’d like that a lot.”

Derek wastes no time in taking Spencer’s jaw in his hand and leaning in slowly to place a long, sensuous kiss to his lips. Spencer kisses back with as much control as is possible when your experience is next to none and you have one of the most beautiful men in the world turning your stomach inside out with his attention, but it seems to be enough for Derek because as soon as they pull away, he’s grinning widely.

“You’re quite the kisser, pretty boy.”

Spencer fights the blush but it comes anyway. “I like that.”

Derek’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “The kiss?”

“No, the pet names.”

Derek’s expression smooths out and he smiles again, a little more tenderly than his usual cheeky grin. “Well, that’s good, because I have plenty more up my sleeve, sweetheart.”

Spencer flushes with pleasure this time and settles back against Derek’s side, observing the blue sea as they settle into silence once more.

“I’m not very used to all of this, by the way,” he says after a while, the sky slowly darkening.

“Used to what?”

“This. Kissing. Dating. Pet names.”

Derek looks down at Spencer to try and get a better look at his face. “Really? You could’ve fooled me.”

“I’ve only ever had one boyfriend before, and this is only the second date I’ve ever been on.”

“Any girlfriends?”

“Not really my area.”

“And this other date, was that with boyfriend number one?”

Spencer shakes his head against Derek’s shoulder. “No, I never went on a date with him. I met him in college and we were friends first, so we never really dated, just fell into a relationship.”

“Ah.” A brief silence settles over them again, but Derek doesn’t let it hang long. “You know I’m not bothered by any of that, right? You could have never dated anyone ever before or have screwed your way round half of California and DC and it wouldn’t matter a single bit. Not if you were here with me, right now.”

He laughs softly as Derek lightens the mood, and something in Spencer’s chest feels like it falls into place at that, like his last anxious reservation has been washed away and he can really move forward, forge onward with this scarily exciting endeavour.

“You’re a good man, Derek Morgan. You know that, right?”

Derek kisses the top of his head. “I do,” he says, “but I’m not sure it’s ever sounded quite as special falling from anyone else’s lips as it does falling from yours.”

Further down the beach, another wave crashes against the shore, and the colours of the sunset fade away slowly. People pack up their picnic baskets and head home, and seagulls attack their leftovers, but none of that matters, because right now, Spencer’s world is Derek Morgan.

Penelope Garcia deserves a medal.

(Yes, I've used that "yeah I guess I'm a genius" sequence in way too many fics, leave me ALONE. )

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[kaunis-sielu]

Schoolyard

You’d first met him in second grade. Your dad was a high ranking military man and so your family moved around quite a bit. He had been rowdy but he’d always been nice to you.

You’d become close friends with him and his little group of friends, going to the school for kids whose parents were government officials gave you all kind of a weird perspective of the world. One that was from a more political perspective since many of the kids in your school will end up being involved in the government somehow.

You’d been so close that you’d even had a mock wedding, his best friend knew all the wording for a Nordic wedding and all through middle school he’d joked about being your husband. Even after you’d left Asguard you’d occasionally get emails from him that always started “To my Wifey” but you don’t see him again.

It wasn’t even until you had moved to a new boarding school that you’d even realized who he was. Your new roommate Jane had seen a photo of your friends and had promptly freaked out. She couldn’t believe that you knew Prince Thor, the hottest actual prince in the world.

You’d stayed in touch over the years, through high school and graduation but once college hit you both kind of drifted. You got busy with getting your MD and he, well you suppose that he got busy with learning to run a country.

You know he hasn’t married yet, Jane keeps you updated on that. There have been a few women he’s been spotted with but none seem to actually be dating him or even in the running. Jane always teases you about Thor still being your husband, you still have the little mood ring that he’d given you.

You’ve got about an hour before Jane comes for your monthly pizza night. So you order pizzas and change out of your work clothes into a pair of sweats and an old college tee shirt. Girls night is about being comfy and watching Disney movies so you’re able to catch up without missing anything in the movies.

Jane has her own key so she just lets herself in when she arrives.

“Hey Dummy. When’s the food gonna be here?”

“That’s rich you calling me a dummy. I’m the only real doctor in the apartment.” You fire back and you hear Jane laugh loudly from the living room. “But in all honesty I think it’ll be here in the next ten minutes or so. Pick a movie.”

“Wine first!” She yells and you come out of your room with your hair up and glasses on. Jane is also in a pair of sweatpants but her shirt is one that you’d made her a couple years ago.

“How has your month been?”

“Good, busy. We may have found a new star!”

“What! Jane that’s amazing congratulations!”

“We just have to track it for a bit longer to see if it repeats what it did last year and some other boring shit.” You laugh as she passes you a glass of wine, “How about you?”

“One of my patients came back cancer free the other day!”

“Oh yay!” There’s a knock at the door and Jane sets down her glass before bounding toward it, cash in hand. “Pizza!” She cries just before flinging open the door. She stands in the doorway gawking and you laugh.

“Dude what are you doing? You look like a psycho.”

“Not pizza.” Jane manages to say and you start toward the door eyeing the baseball bat propped against the wall.

“No, not pizza. Had I known you were waiting I would’ve brought some with.” The male voice in the hallway says. It’s accented and familiar but that doesn’t really help you.

“Jane you’re freaking me out.” You tell her scooping up the bat on your way to the door. “Who is at the..door?” You blink up at the large blonde man in the doorway. “Thor?”

“That’s Crown Prince Thor.” A man grumbles from behind him. Thor waves the man off and you understand why Jane is acting so weird now.

“Hi, I’m sorry I should’ve called but I didn’t have your number so that would’ve been hard.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I needed to talk to you about some things.” He looks good, his hair is short and he’s got scruffy beard going on that isn’t quite a full beard but not a five o’clock shadow. He’s got a dark blue peacoat on but those bright blue eyes are the only thing that haven’t changed. “Can I take you out tomorrow night? To dinner somewhere?”

“Oh, um that would be fine. Seven?”

“Excellent, it’s a date. We will come pick you up.”

“We?”

“Oh, Volstagg and me.” He gestures to the man standing in the hallway behind him. “Odin insists now that I have a bodyguard.” He says with an eye roll, this is so reminiscent of your childhood that you can’t help but smile. “Sorry for interrupting your night.”

“It’s okay, it was nice to see you.” The pizza guy comes up and Thor pulls out his wallet and pays before you can stop him. “Thor you don’t have to.”

“I know.” He says with a wide smile before passing you the box. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Right here at 7.”

“Sounds good.”

“Could I get your number just in case anything changes?”

“Oh, yea sure.” He pulls his phone from his coat pocket and hands it to you. You punch in your number and hand it back, “Let me know who you are when you text okay?”

“Okay. Bye.” He and Volstagg leave then and after you shut the door Jane looks at you and whispers,

“What the fuck?” Then she yells, “What the actual fuck! You have a date with a fucking prince.”

“Oh my god Jane could you chill please?”

“No!” She cries, “forget pizza and a movie we need to find you a dress! I have more fancy dresses than you. We should go to my apartment! You always looked so pretty in that black swoop neck one that I have, or maybe a blue one so it can match his eyes. Have you ever seen eyes that blue.” As she rambles you head to the couch with the pizza then place it on the coffee table. You grab both wine glasses from the kitchen counter and bring them to the coffee table too.

“I am going to sit here, watch a movie, drink wine and eat pizza. You can do whatever the fuck you want.”

“But-but-you have a date with a Prince.”

“It’s not a date.”

“He literally said it was a date!” She protests.

“Turning the movie on now.” You tell her and she lets out a long groan. “Besides I have the black dress here.”

“Oh. Okay.” She sits down on the couch and reaches for a piece of pizza.

You’re actually able to get Jane to focus on something other than meeting with Thor tomorrow. You do wonder what he might need to talk to you about that was so urgent that he needed to come here unannounced, and after so much time.

When the movie is over you watch one more before Jane decides to head home. She hasn’t mentioned your ‘date’ since you’d started the second movie. But when she turns on you at the doorway you know she hasn’t forgotten.

“I want every. Single. Detail.”

“Okay okay, every detail.”

“No, no, every single detail.” She repeats emphasizing the single and you laugh.

“Copy that. I mean who knows I might have to sign a NDA.”

“Ooh, scandalous.” She teases with a raised eyebrow and you shake your head at her.

“You’re such a nerd.”

“Takes one to know one.” She calls as she heads down the hallway.

“Let me know when you’re home!” You call back and she gives you a little wave of acknowledgement.

Now that she’s gone though you’ve got plenty of time to think. What was it he needed to talk to you about? Why couldn’t it wait? Why didn’t you get his number too? You don’t even know how nice you need to dress because you don’t know where you’re going.

You get ready for bed, washing your face and brushing your teeth. You lay in bed for a while, you and Thor had always gotten along well. Now that you knew he was the Crown Prince of Asguard things might be a little, weird, but he’d seemed normal enough other than the bodyguard. Like he wasn’t putting on airs or being all posh, if you didn’t know he was the Crown Prince you’d have thought he was just some hot dude. Which, he is, those damn ocean blue eyes could convince you to do just about anything when you were kids.

Probably still could.

Tag list:

@abschaffer2 @dsakita @dramadreamer14 @thesassmisstress @eralen @andahugaroundtheneck @loving-life-my-way @thefridgeismybestie @killcomet @dumblani @im-just-another-monster @mywinterwolf @scuzmunkie @biskwitmamaw @geeksareunique @paintballkid711 @lumar014 @also-fangirlinsweden @connie326 @inkedaztec @valsworldofcreativity

[thatsgay-writes]

Day 16

PREVIOUS

"Here they are, the brave young women whose tale of struggle and survival has gripped the nation." The host says as she sends the camera a smile. "The unsinkable nine, as we have come to know them. Ladies, you must have dreamed of coming home for so long. Now that you're here, what do you wanna do most?" She questions as she turns towards you and your friends. "Honestly, smoke about a hundred cigs, you know? Like, really rip through a carton or two." Dot starts as she leans forwards on the couch. The host gives her a slightly awkward smile, "Okay. How about the rest of you?"

"I don't know; Maybe hit up the OG for a never-ending pasta bowl and just... I don't know... Get back to our real lives." Toni says next followed by Nora. "I'd like to read the Odyssey again, rather than, like, live it." She jokes awkwardly, causing some of the girls to laugh in response. "Leah, what about you?" "Oh, um, I just wanna reconnect with certain people... People who may have been worried and-or felt like we had unfinished business. And if that person is watching right now, I just wanna say that I did not not miss you every day." You cringe at Leah's little monologue, still not feeling 100% about her after her fight with Shelby.

"My turn, Brooke, and I've got a nice, straight answer for you. I'm going to fuck the rowdiest guy with the biggest dick as soon as I fucking can." Fatin says, causing everyone to pause the fantasy you all shared and look at Fatin. Fatin turned to look at you, since you were at the end of the couch, and you couldn't contain your laugh. "Holy shit!" You belt out as you roll onto your side, "I don't think you can say that." You tell her after you finally catch your breathe. Fatin rolls her eyes, "Okay, make it more media-friendly. I am going to fornicate with the healthiest penis I can find ASAP." You let out a laugh at her newly formed answer.

After that, Dot changed her answer and Fatin got on Leah for her "emo shit show" answer and how Romeo's would be in everyone's DM's, before they finally started cheering over the fact that there was a chance to return home. "We're going home, bitches!" Martha yells as she holds up the bottle of vodka, causing all the other girls to cheer. You go to celebrate with them but notice how Shelby stays silent and slowly pulls away from the group. You watch her go, debating if you should follow her, as Toni helps you stand. Her face holds a large smile that slowly falls as she notices how distracted you are and that Shelby was walking away.

Ever since kissing Shelby, Toni had been confused on her feelings between the both of you. She had loved you for years but Shelby just had something so attracting about her. Unknown to her, you were having the same thoughts. "I'll, um... I'll be right back." You say as you pat Toni's hands that were still holding your own after helping you up. Toni just nods her head as you hop away after Shelby.

---

"You don't seem very excited..." You try and joke as you hop around the rock Shelby was sitting on, closing your mouth as soon as you see how sad she looks. You fidget nervously for a few seconds as Shelby doesn't respond to your presence. You let out a deep breathe before sitting down next to Shelby on the rock. "Are you okay?" You ask as you slowly reach out your hand to grabs hers. You move slowly so she has enough time to pull away but she doesn't. When you tangle your fingers with Shelby's, she finally reacts some and turns her head to look at you. She opens and closes her mouth a few times wanting to say something, but ultimately ends up closing it and shaking her head. You let out a sigh but nod your head. You lean forwards and cup one of her cheeks, giving her a quick kiss on the other one. Your face gains a small smile as you notice Shelby blush, "I'll leave you to your thoughts... If you ever need someone to vent to or a shoulder to lean on I'll be here." You tell her as you slowly stand up and start hopping back towards to other girls, missing how Shelby stared after you longingly.

---

As you get closer to the other girls, you smile as you hear them all laughing and joking around. "Oh, Martha, you're gonna be trippin motherfucking balls dude." You hear Fatin say as you finally reach the group and collapse next to Toni. Hopping around was not fun and you were going to need to find a walking stick or something soon. "And she won't be alone." Rachel says as she holds her hand out towards Fatin. Taking what looks to be a bag of gummy bears? You nudge Toni with your shoulder and send her a questioning look. "Martha ate edibles." She whispered to you before turning back to the group and reaching for the bag. You covered your mouth in shock and laughed at the fact that Martha, sweet and innocent Martha, ate edibles. "You want one y/n?" Toni asks as she holds one out towards you. You think about it for a second. Your doctors back at home would probably advise you not to get high but you had been feeling fine the past few days. "Why not." You answer as you take the gummy bear from Toni and pop it into your mouth.

---

"Marcus!?" You hear Martha yell out for the 5th time as almost everyone laid on the beach, high out of their minds. The only ones not laying down were Fatin, who looked like she was meditating, Shelby, who still hadn't returned from the rock, and you, who had taken a seat on Toni's back and kept tracing out random letters and shapes on her back. "I'm so fucking blissed out. Not even from the gummies, just from the thought that in 48 hours I can have an orgasm." Was the first thing Fatin had said in an hour, causing you to giggle and almost fall off of Toni's back. Unlike Toni, who always got more relaxed when she was high, you got more giggly, enthusiastic, and talkative. You being high rivaled Shelby's whole "Who wants to play an ice breaker?" persona.

"Wait? You haven't like self-induced?" Leah asks, seriously but still with a playful tone. "No, I can't do it with my hands actually. I have this weird cello-vibrato PTSD. It's a whole thing." Fatin responds, breezing over the subject. "So your electric toothbrush hasn't seen any action?" Dot asks causing you to laugh more and add on, "I mean we all kind of assumed." You send a wink Fatin's way before turning your attention back to Toni's back, effectively spacing out on the conversation.

When you do focus back onto everyone, it's from Toni tapping your thigh to get you to get up. "Huh?" "C'mon we're gonna go play in the water." Instead of standing up and hopping your way towards the ocean, you just roll of Toni's back and lay on your back in the sand. "I'm good... I think I'm just gonna lie here." Toni gives you a questioning look but you just push her thigh towards the water. "I'll be fineeeee, go have funnnnn." Toni rolls her eyes as you purposefully draw out words and follows the rest of the girls into the water.

You could hear the girls from where you laid, all of them letting out screams and laughs of joy. You would have joined but hopping around on one leg isn't fun and tired you out pretty quickly. You rolled onto your side once the sun felt too hot on your face and you noticed that Shelby hadn't joined in on the fun either. You contemplated going up to her and trying to talk to her or give her more space, but went with the first choice. If she had rejoined the group than maybe she would want some company now.

---

"Not a fan of the water?" You ask as you let yourself collapse next to Shelby, taking note how she now had the bottle of vodka and it had a less in it than it did before. "I... Um..." Shelby stuttered out as she purposefully did not make eye contact with you. "It's fine." You say with a shrug and lay on your side. "No need to talk, just relax." You say as you suddenly get hype fixated on making shapes and letters on her back. Missing the way she tensed up before finally relaxing. You spaced out again from what was going on, a common thing that happened when you were high.

---

The rest of the day blew by as everyone did their own thing. Nora and Rachel went off talked somewhere, you noticed that Toni and Shelby got into a argument, and you just chilled around with Fatin, Dot, and Leah, while Martha decided to adventure into the woods. "Guys! Guys! Guess what I just saw!?" Martha yells as she runs over the hill and back towards the group. "I just saw Marcus and he's alive!" She yells out, out of breath, causing everyone to laugh at how ridiculous she sounded. "No, guys, I'm being serious!" Martha defends and grabs the nearest person to her, Dot, and starts dragging her along. "C'mon, he's in the woods." Dot turns to give the group and exasperated look but you all decide to follow along.

You had your arm wrapped around Toni as you all journeyed through the woods. You had tried to get out of going, but Martha wanted everyone to go with her. "You're just saying that he, like, fucking pinocchio'd?" Dot asks, having not stopped laughing or joking about the situation since you all headed into the woods. "Yes. That is exactly what I am saying." Martha says in relief, missing that fact that Dot was still making fun of her. "He turned into a real boy." She finishes as you and Toni see Marcus... Who is still as fake as he was the day he was found. "I don't know, he kinda looks the same to me." Toni says as you release her arm so she can pick up Marcus. "Hey! My leg!" You say excitedly as you notice it laying under Marcus. When Fatin goes to kiss Marcus, you kiss your leg. It was all fun and games until Leah had to mention the fact that Marcus and your leg had been swept away but suddenly ended up in the middle of the forest. You had thought the same thing but hoped to just ignore that fact. "Leah. We're mellow. We're leaving."

---

"Oh Shelby, you love America so much. USA! USA!" Martha cheers, trying to get Shelby to join her but the other girl is completely zoned out. "Is she okay?" You and Toni ask at the same time. Both of you sharing an awkward look with each other, neither of you had told the other about your own kiss with Shelby. Luckily, Fatin isn't stuck in an unknown love triangle and walks over to Shelby. You all watch as Shelby starts to brush her hair, it seems to stay tangled no matter what she does. Until the brush gets stuck in her hair. Fatin attempts to help her but Shelby goes into full freak out mode. "It's all ruined." She says as she grabs the scissors out of Fatin's bag. Fatin attempts to stop her but Shelby was inconsolable.

"I don't' fucking want it! I don't want it!"

NEXT

[holykillercake]

Strawberry and Cigarretes

pairing: Sanji x Reader

word count: 2.6k

highlight: ¨Everything hurt, and for the first time, you wished to forget what the ocean sounded like.¨ 

warnings: slight angst

notes: This was a request from @vemuabhi​! <3 Very special because it was my first ever request! I wanted to doge the obvious path (which I almost took) and do something that didn´t involve Whole Cake Island, so maybe it is not the biggest angst (hats off to Mr. Oda cause he is Father angst) but I did my very best! I hope you all enjoy and Happy Birthday, Sanji-kun! <3

𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕔���𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤, 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕠𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤!

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you´d find a shell laying on the sand? And you would pick it up and put it on your ear, hoping to listen to the ocean? It´d always make a smile grow on your face before you tossed it aside and jumped into the water.

That time was different. When you heard the ocean share its endless secrets and tell its adventurous stories, you just wanted to sit there all day and listen. 

This specific event happened a couple of months after you joined the Strawhats. Chopper had borrowed you his stethoscope cause you thought it was cool, and in the middle of thousands of things you´ve already heard in your life, good and bad, the heartbeat was something that you were oblivious to. 

Some would think that asking to hear someone else´s heartbeat was weird, but inside the Thousand Sunny... well, those guys put ¨weird¨ on another level, and you would have to work your ass off to surpass that. 

Chopper got all blushed when you leaned closer to his tiny and furry torso, Usopp told you stories about a war he once won but had to have his heart replaced by a lion´s, Franky said that if you wanted to see a heart he could simply pull it out for you, Brook invested on the same ¨Oh, I don´t have a heart. Yohohoho¨ joke, Zoro let you listen to his wrist, Nami and Robin almost had you sinking into their generous breasts, and Sanji... you left him for last because you didn´t know how to ask him. So you just tiptoed quietly inside the kitchen, sneaked behind him, and tried to listen to his heart through his back. You feared that your nose would start bleeding if he faced you while you were doing it. 

That was exactly what he did, by the way. He poured more water into the stew he was cooking and turned around, putting out his cigarette so ashes wouldn´t fall on you. Immediately you began to sweat, your breath quickened, and hold the stethoscope with a steady hand became a herculean task. 

His lean fingers moved to the collar of his blue shirt and started to unbutton a few, enough for you to have better access. At that point, you believed that the reason why you weren´t bleeding yet was that you were slowly having a stroke, and Sanji´s action was God´s gift to you for being a good person while alive. 

Then he didn´t do anything else, just put both hands in his pockets and waited while you listened to every single bubble popping inside his chest like you were afraid to miss one. In the end, he tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and went back to his stew.

But that was all about it. The following months were just like any other, the crew kept acting as weird as their minds allowed, and you kept shutting whatever your stupid heart was yelling at you. Although... if you could be honest for one moment, deep down you were hurt. 

Maybe you scared or crept him away with your childish curiosity. Maybe he had noticed your feelings for him and got disgusted. Well, not disgusted, he probably didn´t like you the same way and didn´t know how to tell you, so keeping words to a minimum was his way to go. 

He stopped singing and twirling around you, he´d rather call your name respectfully; when you shared the night watches, he just remained quiet by your side, answering briefly to your questions or comments; he even stopped trying to sneak into your baths or make suggestive comments - which you didn´t love before, but you know, you only miss something when it's gone. 

The whole crew had noticed the change in both of your behaviors, but they too were not sure how to address it. Whenever someone asked something about it you would say ¨Really? I didn´t notice anything.¨. Either too proud to confront him or too afraid of the truth. 

~

¨Oi, you ok?¨ Zoro asked, breaking into your personal bubble of sadness. 

You knew it was Zoro because you two were taking the night watch, but you didn´t expect him to show interest or concern about your upset state. 

The night was chilly, so you were sitting on Sunny´s grass, arms around your knees, holding them close to your chest to keep the warmth. 

¨Why do you care?¨ you answered bitterly, but he didn´t mind since he was the king of freaking Bitter Land. 

¨I don´t. But I´ll go crazy if I hear you sigh one more time.¨ he sat close to you, not too close, just enough for you to listen to each other.

A chuckle left your mouth involuntarily, you never expected his grouchy temper would come in handy in times like this. Then your frowned expression came back, and you let out another sigh. 

Before you realized Zoro had pushed you with his Sandai Kitetsu scabbard, making you fall to your side with a squeak. 

¨I told you.¨

You sat again, taking some grass off your leg ¨Yeah. Can´t deny it.¨

¨Yeah, you´ve been doing that a lot lately.¨ 

He didn´t look like he was teasing you, his eyes focusing on the line where the sky met the ocean, where the stars disappeared and became blurry white brushes on the water. 

¨I... I don´t-¨

¨I think you can do better than the stupid cook.¨he kept his usual tone ¨ But I guess we don´t get to choose these things.¨ 

You were taken aback by his words, and despite you trying to fight your lips from trembling and tears from falling, it was useless. You had been crushing these feelings inside you for too long, and it killed you the more you ignored it. 

The swordsman wasn´t saying those things because he loved you or anything like that, but because the entire crew - except for Luffy - had already noticed and began acting weird about it. And despite being the captain´s duty to solve any problem or an uncomfortable situation, your captain was a bit too oblivious, so he had to step in. 

Besides, his nakama was getting hurt. He didn´t care about the ero cook. 

¨If you want me to beat him up... just let me know.¨ 

He said it to cheer you up - not that he didn´t mean, he´d do it for much less - but nothing seemed worth smiling for now. You just bit your lip in order to avoid an embarrassing whining, since you were unable to stop the painful tears from rolling down your cheeks. 

Everything hurt, and for the first time, you wished to forget what the ocean sounded like.

¨W-What should I do?¨

¨That´s not my problem to solve, Y/N.¨ he stood up beside you ¨But sometimes, when I have a difficult problem that I can´t solve my way...¨ his gaze still locked with the horizon ¨... I think about what my captain would do.¨ he left without any further words, leaving you not only sad but confused as well. 

You slept on it for the next couple of days, still not understanding what he meant. Maybe he just wanted to leave the conversation and said whatever came to mind. But even that didn´t fit right. If he didn´t want to be stuck in an uncomfortable conversation, he wouldn´t have started one. 

So you took as a personal mission to observe your captain until you learned how to think like him, hoping that figuring that out would solve your problem. 

You had joined the crew as a historian, the person responsible for writing down every adventure meticulously, every tiny detail of every battle, and every glorious victory along the Strawhats journey. So in one dusk, when you were in charge of the night watch with Robin and the moon was full and bright, you took your journals and began rolling through the pages, looking for a pattern, something that anticipated every major decision of your captain.

You even borrowed old diaries from the time you were not part of their crew. The stories lacked details, but they served to paint a picture. Basically:

Luffy insults an ugly lady, saves a kid, eats something, finds Zoro, beats the crap out of a crazy marine, saves the day, gets his first crewmate. 

Luffy gets eaten by a bird, then vomited in a town, finds Nami, eats something, is put in a cage, beat the crap out of some pirates, saves the day.

 Luffy wants a new ship, meets Usopp, eats something, gets thrown from a cliff, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets Going Merry and a liar. 

Luffy wants a cook, explodes a restaurant, becomes a waiter, eats something, meets Sanji, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets a cook. 

Luffy eats something, finds the fishmen, goes for a walk, is thrown in the water, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets a navigator.

Luffy wants a doctor, eats everything, fights some crazy ass bunnies, climbs a mountain, meets Chopper, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets a doctor. 

Luffy eats something, wants to fix Going Merry, meets Franky, loses Robin, beats the crap out of some world government agents, saves the day, gets an archeologist, a shipwright, and Thousand Sunny. 

Luffy hears a ghoulish singing, finds a speaking skeleton in a busted ship, has his shadow stolen, beats the crap out of some Warlord of the Sea, gets a musician.

When you finished the last journal, the weight of your body pushed you to the floor, and you laid on your back for a couple of minutes, overwhelmed by the amount of information in your head.

¨I know what to do...¨ you took a deep breath ¨... I´m gonna eat something.¨

You mumbled something to Robin, telling her that you´d be back in a few minutes, and wandered to the kitchen. 

As soon as you entered the room a sweet and comforting aroma like whipped cream and strawberries invaded your senses, making your head turn to the counter immediately. 

¨Y/N-chan...¨ the cook said.

You opened and closed your mouth a couple of times, looked at him, and then to your feet, your fingers fidgeting as a sign of your anxious state. 

¨D-Didn't know you were awake.¨ you marched to the table and helped yourself with some sugar cookies.

¨Oh... It won´t take much longer...¨ you heard his muffled voice somewhere in the back of your mind, all you could hear was the blood pumping in your ears ¨... cake because today is my birthday and I thought we...¨ your vision was focused on the cookie jar, crushing the granular biscuit with your fingertips ¨...and I...I didn´t know if-¨

¨What would Luffy do?¨ you whispered to yourself.

¨W-What?¨ 

¨What would Luffy do?¨ 

The question wasn´t for him, it was for you. You felt something growing inside your chest, like the blood that pumped in your heart was boiling and burning, giving you the strength and courage you needed. 

¨I have been trying to find answers to a lot of things, you know?¨ you stood up to face the cook, palms spread on the table, ¨I ... do you hate me, Sanji?¨ 

He stopped what he was doing and let the knife rest on the cutting board. When his gaze found yours, there was no way back. That is what Luffy would do. He´d eat something, do whatever came to his mind, and deal with the consequences. No need to go back. 

¨Y/N-chan... why do you...¨

¨I mean, I ask this because...¨ you clenched your hands, cursing yourself for feeling the need to cry ¨I can´t take this anymore, Sanji! If I did something to offend you or if I said something...¨ your voice was broken and weak, and you were a mess of tears and sobs ¨You don´t have to love me back, that´s not what I am saying, but... I can´t stand-¨

¨Y/N-chan... why do you think I hate you?¨ he wiped his hands with a towel and made his way towards you, slowly.

¨Oh, come on, Sanji... You treat me differently, you´re cold and distant, you don´t say a word to me even when we share night shifts! If you don´t hate me, then this must be a sick game you´re playing.¨ your legs felt wobbly, and you sat back in the chair, not being able to face him anymore.  The courage and strenght you had minutes ago was gone.

You just watched him get closer and kneel in front of you, his cold fingers gently brushing away the hot tears on your cheeks. 

¨I could never hate you, Y/N.¨ he said softly ¨I am sorry I made you feel like this, I am sorry I made you cry...¨ his fingers touched your trembling lips. 

¨Then why...¨

¨I didn´t want to scare you away like I always do, Y/N... I know I can be too much sometimes, with the nose bleeding and everything. But that´s how I am, and I didn´t want you to think of me as an idiot... so I prefer being silent, then say something stupid and... ¨ 

¨You don´t have to say this. I don´t need pity talk...¨you spoke as more tears fell, giving him a chance to take his statement back.

¨I have to, Y/N. But not because of pity talk.¨ he gently pressed his forehead against yours, like bunnies do when they apologize. 

¨Then why?¨ 

¨Because I love you, Y/N.¨ the blonde closed the space left between the two of you, kissing you passionately. 

He helped you get up without breaking the kiss and leaned you against the kitchen table, his hands holding your body close while yours ran through his golden hair. His mouth tasted like strawberries and cigarettes, a flavor to which you could easily get addicted. 

You parted the kiss just enough to get some oxygen, your noses were touching, and you could feel his heavy breathing against your skin. 

¨I didn´t know today is your birthday...¨ you whispered, afraid that this was a dream and you´d wake up alone again. 

¨Yeah, I was hoping to get a Happy Birthday from you, you know.¨ he chuckled.

¨I think you´ll be getting more than that.¨

You stared into each other´s eyes for a moment before he pulled you to a hug. When you leaned against his warm chest you heard it again, the same babble of the ocean, only this time you smiled, knowing that it wanted to listen to your stories and secrets as well. 

¨Sanji?¨

¨Hm?¨

¨Happy Birthday... I love you.¨

¨I love you too, Y/N.¨ he kissed you again.

¨Please, don´t have sex on the dinner table.¨ you jumped when Robin spoke.

 When you turned, you saw all your crewmates dressed in pajamas and messy hair staring back at you with sparkly sleepy eyes. You spot Zoro back in the crowd, you smiled and gave him a silent ¨Thank you.¨. You couldn´t help but wonder how the guy who manages to gets lost walking down a straight path was able to guide some sense into you. 

In any way, you´ve found it. Inside of his chest, inside of his heart was the All Blue you heard so much of. Maybe that was the thing with it, and why only a few people found it. Everyone assumes that it is a place, where the four Blues meet, but it´s easy to forget that when you´re a pirate the ocean becomes the essence of who you are.

Little did you know that Sanji had found his All Blue too.

[todoscript]

Syndicate — [ 1 ]

Parts | one ; two ; three

Genre | Mafia AU / Anti-Villain AU.

Pairing(s) | MafiaBosses!TodoBakuDeku x Fem!Reader

Rating | Mature

Words | 5.2k+

Summary | Being the lover of, not one, but three influential young men, who are the leaders of the most wanted crime syndicate in Japan, it is no surprise that other eyes are watching you beyond the three’s own.

Warnings | Violence. Cursing/crude language. Guns. Mafia talk/“negotiating”. Lots of fighting. Reader is inspired by the femme fatale archetype. Polyamorous relationship. Characters are aged-up. Sexual undertones/implied sexual content. Possessiveness. Heavily self-indulgent. Written in 3rd POV. Shouto’s “codename” is Mercury (b/c the planet is both half-hot and half-cold lol).

Author’s Notes | Hello all! This is the first ever fanfic I’ve posted on tumblr! Sorry, the idea was lingering in my head until I suddenly felt the burst of energy to start writing this out of nowhere in the dead of 3AM. I’ve written fanfiction before but I’ve never published anything for tumblr so this is exciting.

The air is still, nearly silent apart from the nocturnal creatures that scurry and prowl through alleys, navigating over the dewy darkness between the seams. The moon graces the gloom of the night with its luster across desolated areas in Japan. Business hours have longed past as services are halted until the next coming day. Civilians are nowhere to be found, tucked away in their homes with their lights flickered off.

What remains alive in Japan during this hour is the wind cast through the streets, the scamper of animals in the nocturne, and a low hum of an ebony vehicle driven down roads of street lights.

“Whatever the fuck Overhaul wants better be worth my fucking time, Deku,” hisses a peeved Katsuki Bakugou, leaning against the window of their sleek automobile and looking highly uninterested during the ride. Izuku Midoriya, the young man with the head of unruly verdant hair, nods his head. His expression is mild at his friend’s usual discontented tone.

“Kai Chisaki—the head boss of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza—wants to negotiate with us, Kacchan. Surely it would be advantageous for us to hear him out. If anything we’ll manage to at least squeak some intel from him to reference for later on.” A glint rises in the male’s eyes.

“‘Some intel’ ain’t enough. If they’re gonna drag all three of us out here, then it better be for something good, or else I might have to let off some explosions to satisfy my boredom.” Bakugou’s quirk begins to pop and crack around his palms at the idea of letting loose.

Shouto Todoroki—the third of the trio—sighs exasperatingly at his fellow inflamed mafia boss, running his hand through his red and white tresses.

“Bakugou, I’d advise against it. Knowing the location we’re heading to, your explosions would only cause a ruckus in the area that’d get the annoying heroes involved. I’ve had enough dealing with those fools as it is and we also don’t need the men in blue following after our trail.”

“Shut up Icy-Hot! If this ‘negotiation’ isn’t beneficial to us, I’ll find my own way to make them pay for wasting our damn time!” Bakugou yells.

These three young men—Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, and Shouto Todoroki—are known as the bosses of one of Japan’s most powerful organized crime syndicates.

Notorious, ruthless, and authoritative, these three, despite their youth, have secured a name for themselves within the underground crime world. Aside from their tenacity and skill, the strength of each of their quirks played a large factor in their rise among the rivaling crime groups. They easily snuffed out the weak competition without so much as a sweat, and working under them are other strong combatants, each of them possessing their own unique and powerful quirks.

With everything at their disposal, the Yuuei mafia group quickly obtained a vast, large territory within the capital of Japan—the epicenter of where all the shady deals and disputes occur.

“We didn’t even bring Angel Face with us. What a drag.” Bakugou gruffs. He leans back in his seat, arms crossed, and cushioned behind his head as the lamps flicker past them, the dim lights splayed across the endless road.

“Letting ____ rest was the least we could do after her successful infiltration at the political officials gala,” the middle of the three states matter-a-factly.

“Especially after the rounds she endured even after her mission,” Todoroki adds, vividly remembering the gala dress cascading down her skin and clinging to her body that night, as well as their antics that ensued afterward.

He recalls the beautiful, red formal gown she wore for the occasion, the material hugging her figure perfectly and accentuating her curves in all the right places. God, he prayed that something within him wouldn’t stir at the thought of it again.

They all remembered it quite clearly. It made their fingers itch the very evening of the event, yearning to touch all the dips and arcs that sculpted her body. Her hair, styled up and tied with a matching silk red ribbon, kept the skin of her neck bare and begging to be marked while gold lined her wrists and collar bones. To say she was a goddess that night would be an understatement. The three could barely keep their hands off her before she even left the mansion, let alone attend the gala. But once her mission was complete, she arrived home to be thoroughly loved and lusted, with three young and hungry men indulging in all the divine fruits this celestial being had to offer to them.

The girl they speak of is not only their right-hand woman but also the three’s beloved paramour. Since their journey into coming to power, ____ has been with them through thick and thin and has become an influential asset in attaining their position.

Beautiful, yet dangerous, she proved to be an incredibly powerful fighter in many forms of combat in combination with her quirk, along with having a gift for deception that allowed her to climb her way to the top of the pack. Naturally, the trio found themselves drawn to her, not just for her strength and beauty, but also her passion and ability to mend the spirits of those around her. If it weren’t her, the Yuuei mafia group would not be as intact and well-oiled as it is today.

“Besides, we have some of our best following in the car behind us in case anything suspicious happens,” Midoriya gestures to the similar-looking sleek and dark-tinted car trailing behind their own.

“I very much doubt we need them, but it’s best not to worry Angel too much while she’s resting,” Todoroki murmurs, crossing his legs.

A few more turns and they’ve eventually entered the area of a vacant warehouse located on the edge of Japan near the shore.

The moment their vehicle is directed to a stop, the three bosses exit. Bakugou vehemently slams his door, eyeing the building with a vexing glare.

“Let’s get this shit show over with. This better be good.”

The warehouse is eerily quiet in the dead of the night and smells of salt from the ocean behind it. Spotting them walking to the entrance, the watchmen of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza hastily open the doors enclosing the warehouse. The hinges bear an uncomfortable creaking sound that jars through the silence.

“Oh, he’s here! He’s here! My cute little Izuku is here!” hollers a shrill voice belonging to an all-too-energetic head of messy, bunned-up blonde hair. The said boy blinks twice at her enthusiasm as they approach the lone wooden table situated in the center of the warehouse.

Uh, do I know her? He ponders for a second before dismissing the thought.

A pale man with gloved hands and shaggy auburn hair holds a hand out to halt the girl behind him. “Calm down Toga, we haven’t spoken of negotiations yet, so I need you to be quiet.”

Toga pouts, nearly grasping a silver blade at her side but stills herself for now. In the meantime, she opts to fidget with the tubular machine wrapped around her body.

The three look up to view a small group illuminated by the light fixed above the wooden table. Their eyes swiftly count seven or eight of them surrounding that area, including the ringleader, and likely more hidden somewhere in the darkness around them. After all, any fine and experienced villainous group would know better than to invite the bosses of the most dangerous crime syndicate without being thoroughly prepared for a possible scuffle to occur.

However, for now, they all advance with the notion to talk first before unleashing quirks and violence (well most of them anyway).

“Welcome, welcome. I see you made it to this place without much trouble; you’re right on time,” Overhaul greets the three young men mildly, “Deku, Ground Zero, and Mercury.”

Midoriya walks forward as the center of their entourage to return the cordial greeting. “Yes, it’s nice to finally meet you, Kai Chisaki of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza. Otherwise known as Overhaul.”

“Ah, so you know of me and my cause. It seems our reputation precedes us.”

“Of course. The Shie Hassaikai yakuza has long been in business in the crime world…” Midoriya muses, “Though they’ve wrung out past their former glory. Having since been pushed back into the underground after the rise of heroes.”

Bakugou smirks, close to letting out a snicker at the backhanded comment.

It’s true. While the Shie Hassaikai were one of the main criminal groups running the yakuza underground, that all soon fell and crumbled as the surge of heroes came into society. It was only after the former boss’ grandson, Kai Chisaki, came into power and took leadership that their name grew back into prominence once again, albeit little by little.

“Why you little–” A man donning a long white raincoat and plague doctor mask swiftly appears with a pistol pointed in Midoriya’s direction, none too amused by the remark. However, he’s cut off by a wall of ice erected at Midoriya’s side.

“Watch where you point those toys you little rat,” Todoroki sneers, and the tone of his voice nearly exposes chills to the air.

“Calm down, Chrono. We’re the ones that invited them as guests, thus we need to treat them like so.”

The white-haired subordinate withdraws at the words of his leader, retracting the gun back into the pocket of his coat.

“I apologize, he’s simply on edge over the fact we have some pretty powerful people at our doorstep. You’ll have to excuse him.”

“It’s quite all–”

“Did we come here to talk, or did we come here to fight?” Bakugou barges through, shoving past Midoriya with no restraint.

“I thought this was a fucking negotiation, not an apology fess. If one of your dogs is so edgy, I’d be happy to give him a good thrashing to satiate him if you want,” his raised hand sparks and flickers in the dark, “If not then get to it, Overhaul,” he threatens. Midoriya sighs.

“I think we’re simply all… piqued as to why this meeting was demanded out of nowhere and scheduled for the dead of the night no less, but I’m sure you have some important matters to discuss with us right, Overhaul?” Midoriya reasons, a sly grin on his lips.

“Right, let's get to it shall we?” Approaching closer to the table separating them, Overhaul continues, “First off, I must congratulate you on successfully infiltrating that gala the other night. Not many crime organizations can sneak into a party of that caliber. Especially when it’s so heavily guarded and kept secretive to all suspicious eyes of the dark,” he commends, digging a hand into the pocket of his jacket.

The three exchange quick, wary glances from the corner of their eyes that the opposite party misses.

“You were there?” Todoroki questions bluntly in which Overhaul hums in response.

“Hm, yes. But for different reasons, I’m sure. You see, I’ve been… examining little details of the Yuuei mafia group recently. It fascinates me how well-oiled and efficient you are at running your organization, so I began to ponder: ‘How do they do it?’ Little did I know, the answer all became more than clear to me from what I saw at that gala,” the auburn-haired man drawls, finally plucking out a photo from his pocket and sliding it across the wood under the light.

The moment the three recognized the image, their eyes widened, soon shifting into visages of sheer hostility at the next statement pronounced.

“This girl here? I want her.”

Within the confines of the paper is ____, dressed in the red gown she wore the very night of the gala, a masquerade mask over her features with the purpose to obscure herself in the throng.

The three before Overhaul seethe vessels of wrath.

“What did you just say? Do you even know what you’re asking of us?” Todoroki feels icy and heated atmospheres form on his opposing left and right sides upon hearing Overhaul’s words, sensing the tension rising around his fellow partners as well.

“The girl, I must say, does excellent work at her job. She’s skilled and tactical, having infiltrated many influential organizations and assassinated several powerful faces getting in the way of your mafia group. Such precision, efficiency, and beauty makes her the perfect woman, wouldn’t you agree?” He picks up the picture, bringing it up next to him.

Given the deadly pressure in the air, the next words he utters might be the final nail in his coffin.

“Well, I want you to hand her over to me.”

The nail is hit. There’s a lingering silence before hell nearly breaks loose and the next motions could deliver his soul down the River of Styx.

Fueled by blood-boiling anger and annoyance, Bakugou charges forward to land an explosive hit on the yakuza boss. “LIKE HELL WE WOULD, YA FUCKING BASTARD!” He’s thwarted by a yellow barrier emerging to shield the leader from the attack, courtesy of a henchman at his left side. The blonde jumps back, his hands still crackling and his rage not dissipating anytime soon. “Don’t go spewing a bunch of shit outta your mouth!”

“Now… let’s be rational or you’ll start getting dirt everywhere...” Overhaul dusts off his shoulder before resuming the conversation nonchalantly, “Of course I’ll provide you with compensation. I wouldn’t be so naive as to expect to be given something so valuable without offering payment after all.”

With a snap of his fingers a large, bulky man promptly lays a silver briefcase on the table. The locks click open to reveal wads of cash layering the case to the brim, enough to flabbergast and entice any common citizen in Japan.

“If this amount isn’t enough, I have another briefcase with—”

A jolting sound of the wooden table and metal briefcase breaking beneath Midoriya’s foot is enough to diminish the rest of Overhaul’s remark, signifying their blunt answer to his offer.

“What a waste of a night it’s been. Presenting money to us in hopes that we’d simply hand over our beloved like she’s some prostitute for sale? You're more of a fool than I took you for, Kai Chisaki,” Each word that rolls off Midoriya’s tongue is laced with venom. Such malice is enough to paralyze those who hear it, as if it would be the last statement they’ll ever listen to before hitting the concrete dead.

Reasoning with the trio any further is equivalent to bargaining with the god of the underworld, offering nothing but your knees on the floor and a sad pleading voice, only to be whisked back to the deepest, darkest chambers of hell.

Overhaul simply pauses before following with a long, testy sigh.

“A no then? Alright. Toga.”

The bun-headed blonde pounces forward at the command almost instantaneously, knife in her grasp and ready to swing. Midoriya moves to the side with ease, evading the blade as well as dodging a puncture from a needle. His agility is manifested in green electric currents of aura.

“Ooh, I finally get to cut up and obtain cute Izuku’s yummy blood!” She grins psychotically, keeping both eyes trained on the green-haired boy. “Heehee, I’ve been waiting for this day! Ever since I saw that photo of you all bruised up in a fight, I had to have you all to myself! I just love a man all red and bloodied!” Toga exclaims in utter glee, giggling like a schoolgirl meeting her celebrity idol.

Midoriya grimaces, nearly shivering at her excitement over announcing her neurotic confession to him. Her contorted facade is not earning her any points either. Taking notice of the wary expression that crosses his brows, Toga grins wider.

“It’s OK, even if you don’t like me now, you’ll definitely like me when I get a drop of that girl’s blood and transform into her! We’ll look so much alike, you’ll have heart-eyes for me too!” Her features curve into a look of pure hysteric that leaves Midoriya speechless, so much so it takes a loud blast hurled past him to finally bring his senses back to the conflict.

“Move it, Deku!” Bakugou’s attacks are relentless and powerful, but Toga’s nimbleness prevents her from getting hit.

“Deku, Ground Zero, back up,” Todoroki raises his left hand, the corresponding side flaring with heat before quickly igniting into bright hot flames enough to cover his entire arm. “You lot have some nerve to call us and arrange this abhorrent deal under the guise of a ‘negotiation.’ I’ll incinerate you all for even thinking you could take her from us.”

His quirk is unleashed in a flurry of fire that’s launched toward his enemies.

“Dabi,” Overhaul signals and a lanky man with patched, burnt scars and skin held together by staples and stitches steps forward, triggering his blue blazes to combat the red-orange ones. The infernos collide into a firestorm that soon scatters and disperses due to a power struggle.

“Tch,” Todoroki narrows his brows, annoyed.

“Hm, the brat’s not all talk after all,” Dabi’s expression remains stoic while his hand hovers in front of him, still swallowed by his azure flames. Wordlessly he releases his blazes once more only to be countered by Todoroki’s wall of ice diminishing the onslaught of fire.

On their end, Midoriya and Bakugou are in pursuit of the head honcho Overhaul himself, while attempting to throw blows at Toga along the way.

Now enveloped in energy that increases his strength and dexterity tenfold, it isn’t long until the green-haired young man catches up to crafty Toga’s momentum. With a grunt, Midoriya kicks forward, swinging his foot into the girl’s direction with tremendous force that’s too quick for her to avoid.

Toga braces herself for the impact but the attack never meets. Instead, a yellow shield materializes in front of her to take the blow, a crack now evident on the surface of the saffron safeguard. “Oooh! Izuku’s really out for blood! How thrilling!” she squeals, licking her lips.

“It’s that fucking barrier bastard again! Move over, I’ll kill him!” yells a pissed Bakugou who jumps over Midoriya’s head, running across the top of the manifested barrier. From there, he spots his offender.

Gritting his teeth, he dashes off the shield before it can disappear and uses it to propel himself forward. His palms glow and envelope themselves with heat as he holds them outward.

“Rappa! I can’t conduct another shield so quickly, get him!” Tengai, the one with the barrier quirk, hastens his partner. Rappa zealously swoops in front of him with iron-knuckle gloves ready.

“Oh no, you don’t! Try and fucking dodge this!” Bakugou brings his hands forward while still in midair, “Stun Grenade!” A radiant, gleaming light emits from his palms, effectively blinding all those within his vicinity.

Rappa and Tengai have no choice but to cover their eyes from the intensity of the light, leaving them wide open to strike!

Without hesitation, the ash-blonde creates two more explosions to launch himself forward, spinning in the air and gathering momentum before firing his attack encased in an explosive tornado.

“Howitzer Impact!!”

In an instance, a flash exudes in a fiery burst of nuclear reaction, which releases violent discharges of kinetic energy towards his enemies. The attack hits home, covering a chuck of the area with debris and rubble, and producing a hole on the right side of the warehouse.

Tengai and Rappa are incapacitated.

“Kac— Ground Zero, you went all out didn’t you…” Midoriya mutters while holding Toga down despite all her fidgeting. In a last-ditch effort, the girl draws out the spare knife tucked away in her utility belt, however the young man on top of her knocks it away before she can react any further.

“Toga, am I correct? I suggest you stand down, or I may have to break something to make you cooperate.” Midoriya’s warning exudes a menacing tone, in contrast to his former courteous character and the gentle features adorning his face. Yet Toga does not seem fazed by this.

“Heehee, you’re so cute when you make threats like that…” she giggles, shifting her head ever so slightly to catch glimpses of the male’s appearance. He’s quite disheveled down to his wrinkled suit, unbuttoned collar, sweat glistening on his forehead, and what’s this?

Toga peeks at a single crimson line split on the skin of his cheek with dilated pupils.

“Even though you were so fast, I at least managed to graze you just a teeny-tiny bit! That scarlet cut looks so nice on you, Izuku, aw how I wish I can give you more!” She prattles on and on, beaming over every utterance spoken past her lips. “I did say red is the best color on you, after all!”

Midoriya’s eyes narrow at her behavior, fists clenched and apt to deliver a silencing blow.

“Although… blue wouldn’t look half bad either.”

Unable to express confusion at her remark, he soon perceives a blast of cerulean blue flames aimed and released in his direction, forcing him to jump up to dodge the attack. Toga makes her escape after the fire diffuses, withdrawing next to Dabi. The patched man continues his onslaught on Todoroki and Midoriya.

“They’ve managed to defeat our spear and shield, and nearly took out Toga,” Overhaul’s stance is methodical and calculating, overseeing the fight from the back lines of his unit with a gloved hand beneath his chin. “I suppose it’s time to use that,” he declares.

Chrono briefly glances at him before reaching for a gun in the pocket of his coat—a different weapon from the pistol he pointed at Midoriya earlier. In a container held behind him, he produces a peculiarly shaped bullet, one that takes on the form of a cartridge with a hypodermic needle sticking out on one end.

“Dabi, when these bullets hit, that will be your chance to burn them all away,” orders the auburn-haired man. He raises an arm to prep for the signal as Chrono readies the gun wielded in his hand, positioning his target onto the spiky blonde mafia boss.

“Ha! You think a pathetic little gun is going to stop me?!” While Bakugou exudes confidence and arrogance, his dual-haired comrade is not as keen about the situation at hand.

Why would those fools try to use such a primitive method of fighting at this point? They saw how useless that gun was earlier… ponders Todoroki in the heat of battle, Unless…

“Ground Zero! Be careful! There’s something fishy about that weapon they’re using!” he warns, making the blonde’s expression fix into an irritated glare.

“Shut up Icy-Hot; I know what I’m doing! Why don’t you pay attention to patchwork over there before you get another scar!” Bakugou quips back, eyes never leaving Overhaul. “I’m gonna make this washout yakuza leader regret ever giving us a call to this useless negotiation.”

The man is impassive at the blonde’s threats, lips remaining in a fine line underneath his mask. His arm stays raised next to him for Chrono to acknowledge.

At once, Bakugou’s body launches back into action like a jet engine propelling a rocket. His movements gather more and more sweat to strengthen himself for another devastating assault.

“Pesky thing won’t stop moving…” mutters Chrono, hand continually shifting aim at Bakugou’s unpredictable tumbling. “I’ll just make you sit still!”

On command, arrow-shaped hair pierces through the fabric of his hood and extends straight to Bakugou. His quirk’s versatility and quick instincts allow him to evade the attack to the left with ease. However, it seems Chrono was waiting for that very moment as the blonde is now within his gun’s line of sight.

Overhaul draws his hand down, giving Chrono the signal to finally pull the trigger. A crack of a sonic boom resonates within the single millisecond it is shot. The dart is fired.

The gunshot rings throughout the space of the warehouse. Todoroki and Midoriya can barely register the shot in time to yell out to Bakugou, whose head turns toward the capsule’s velocity in almost slow motion.

Crap..! he curses, unable to move away to escape the bullet in time and preparing to embrace the shot.

However, it never makes its mark.

“Boss! Watch out!”

A gruff voice suddenly makes its debut within the fray, taking everyone by surprise as the newcomer throws himself in front of Bakugou, hardened arms crossed.

“What the—!”

Chrono watches in despair. The bullet ricochets right off the rock-like body of a man with spiked tufts of crimson red hair.

“What the hell? Red Riot?!” sputters a bewildered Bakugou at Kirishima’s abrupt entrance.

“D-Dammit!” Chrono tries to fire again to rectify his failure, but his attempt is in vain. Something muscly wraps around his arm tightly, tossing him away.

“Froppy!” Midoriya calls out to the girl as she retracts her froggy tongue, currently clung to the wall, and camouflaged into her surroundings. She reveals herself into the battle with a small “ribbit.”

“While you guys were inside, a bunch of their goons started surrounding our cars. We knew something shady was up, especially when we heard explosions coming from inside, so we busted our way in here right past them!” Kirishima explains, now standing back-to-back against Bakugou, “Seems like you’re fighting a battle too!”

“I see, so they planned on ambushing all of us if we didn’t comply with their deal,” says Todoroki. He fires more flames in their direction. “How pathetic. They were woefully unprepared.”

“Agreed! Ambushing is no way to fight! Real men would come at us head-on!” Kirishima emphasizes his fierceness through clanking his hardened fists against each other, jagged edges sparking.

“Red Riot! Froppy!” exclaims Midoriya, “Where are the others?”

Asui ribbits before answering, “They’re handling the rest of the—”

“L-Leader..! Leader!” a frantic voice shouts from the entrance of the warehouse, where a ragged up Shie Hassaikai henchman tries to pry inside.

“T-The girl..! She isn’t h-here, she isn’t— GAH!”

His message is interrupted. A menacing shadowy figure looms over the goon like a monster hiding within the dark and throws him back to the struggle outside, proceeding to rampage across the battlefield. Desperate cries leak out but to no avail.

Overhaul discerns the sputtered message:

The girl he so desired was not with them to begin with.

To his dismay, this fight was pointless. If what he sought could not be forcibly taken right then and there, then there is no reason to continue the battle. There was no prize to be won by the end of it all.

Now, he must adjust his plans due to the unfavorable news. How tragic.

At the thought of having lost time, energy, and resources, the yakuza leader pinches the bridge of his nose, utterly furious. There’s a pause in which Overhaul seethes an aura of killing intent over this frustration.

But it eventually simmers and subsides. What happens now cannot be changed, no matter how enraged he is. So he must take logical steps to preserve and remedy the repercussions, which to him was simple:

“We’re withdrawing.”

“What?” Dabi looks at him incredulously, “After all this?”

“Yes, they've taken down our spear and shield, and have wiped out the majority of the soldiers. If what we want isn’t here, then there is no point in staying,” Overhaul’s husky tone bears weight and authority at every word.

“Nemoto, grab Chrono from wherever he was thrown.”

“Yes, Overhaul. What about Rappa and Tengai?”

The auburn-haired man doesn’t so much as spare a glance toward his two defeated subordinates lying on the ground, “Leave them. They’re expendable to me.”

Nemoto nods, going to gather a knocked out Chrono thrown across the warehouse and now lying unconscious atop broken wooden crates.

Midoriya’s fists clenched tightly at the scene, realizing what the yakuza’s next plan of action was going to be.

“They’re trying to escape!”

“Oh, the fuck they are. I won’t let a single one of you bastards leave!” Bakugou bursts into the air, propelled by the explosions from his palms in hot pursuit, with Midoriya catching up thanks to his heightened speeds.

“Sorry boys, party’s over!” Toga intercepts the two using twin knives flung in their direction, catching them off guard. Dabi follows the diversion by gathering a massive amount of flames into his hands before swiftly releasing the kindled energy to erect a blue wall of fire throughout his surroundings.

“Bye Izuku~!” a feminine voice shrills from behind the fiery wall, becoming the last words they hear as they wait for the flames to dissipate, ultimately revealing that their enemies had already fled.

“Those fuckers couldn’t have gone far,” Bakugou doesn’t relent, poised on finding them and having them pay the full consequences of their actions. Midoriya grasps his shoulder, stopping him.

“Let them go, Kacchan. Considering the location they decided for this meeting, they likely fled by boat. We have no way of following them at the moment.”

Todoroki agrees, adding on, “Besides, there are more important things to worry about right now,” he casts his gaze to the wooden table Midoriya had broken prior to the fight transpiring. “For one, they’re after ____ and are willing to go to any lengths to get her. We need to head back to the mansion to make sure she’s safe.” There’s slight urgency evident in his tone. Despite their tenacity, the idea of having their beloved wrenched away is enough to render them even a little bit fearful. Had she been present in the conflict, there’s no telling what could have happened.

“And two,” Todoroki walks off to another site of the warehouse, picking up something dropped on the floor, “we need to figure out what this is.” In his hand, he holds the small capsule bullet that is now slightly dented thanks to the impact against Kirishima’s hardened skin.

The other two examine the capsule briefly until Bakugou decides to take it from Todoroki’s fingers for closer inspection. If Overhaul was so keen on using a gun to do away with them all, despite how inferior it was, then this must be no ordinary bullet.

The three decide to contain the item for further examination for now as they, Kirishima, and Asui make their way outside again. There, bodies of Shie Hassaikai thugs littered the floor after having been thoroughly beaten into submission. Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Kaminari lean against the cars casually but remain attentive after the fight.

“It was quite an ill-planned move to dare to attack us in the night,” Tokoyami’s eyes closed in thought at the havoc he wreaked thanks to the amplified powers of his quirk. Kaminari snickers and boasts with an electric snap of his fingers, “Yakuza didn’t know what hit them, the mafia always stays on top.”

“Excellent work everyone, it seems the henchmen were of no trouble to you,” Midoriya commends the squad, “Now, we must leave before the police arrive on the scene to assess the damage.”

Their six combatants all nod at the order, about to gather back in their vehicle until Bakugou huffs with a final statement before they make their getaway.

“Know that the next time we see those Shie Hassaikai bastards, we will take them down,” He narrows his eyes at the ocean, the moon still hanging above the sky and basking the waters in moonlight,

“without hesitation.”

Ending Notes | Whew.. thanks for reading! For the next part I was considering writing it in 2nd POV since the reader will actually be physically present during the events of the story now, but I’m not sure yet. Please let me know your thoughts and follow if you’re interested in this series <3

[vicious-vixxxen]

Mermaid!Kirishima X Male Reader

((Lost the original ask who prompted this, but here’s a little Mermaid!Kirishima to start the prompts off here! Thank you again for being the first to send in an ask, I appreciate it so much! And such a fun and interesting one to kick things off with, so manly! <3))

You’d almost fallen asleep. Again. Jesus Christ. Groaning, you stretched your limbs out as far as they’d reach- stifling a cry as your joints popped, and you became a puddle against the wooden dock you were laid across. The soft plap-plap of the waves beneath you very nearly lulling you under once again. Opening your eyes finally, you raised your arm to block out the harsh mid afternoon rays, and to check your watch for the time. Nearly four. He was late. “Where the hell are you, sharkboy,” You grumbled, sitting up, and stretching your arms out for a second time, stretching them for all they were worth, before slumping over and scrubbing at your tired eyes. Wincing slightly at the soft burn of your palms against your cheeks. Fuck. No sunblock. Of course. You’d be confused with a lobster by the time you went home and scooped up in a net for dinner if you didn’t apply any. Chancing a glance around the open ocean around you, spotting hues of blue after hues of blue- but no red- you sighed, tugging off your sweat soaked tank top- shoving it into your bag with the rest of your things, before retrieving your sunblock, and squirting a liberal amount into the palm of your hand. Slapping them together afterwards to smear it around, before hiking a leg up to begin applying it. The soft scent of coconut filled the air around the dock, and mixed with the salty scent of the seafoam below the dock, it reminded you of Kirishima. How enamored he’d been the first time he spotted you out here, doing just as you were now. The scent, the sight. Long tanned legs, short board shorts, no top. He’d been drooling, it was a whole adorable thing. Of course, you absolutely flipped your shit the first time you saw him. He wasn’t exactly the most subtle creature to catch a glimpse of, especially when he reared up to apologize- fins fanning out, causing you to nearly have a heart attack. You knew of mer-people, of course, but no one had seen any in these parts in decades. You certainly hadn’t. Not in your lifetime. First time for anything, though, you supposed. He’d wandered too far from his pod, and gotten curious of the handsome human male spread out like a buffet on the docks. If there was one thing to be said about Eijiro, it was that he was too curious for his own damn good. Something that both endeared you, and frustrated the fuck out of you. You hardly noticed, so caught up in your thoughts of the creature, the sound of the water breaking- the soft creak of the dock straining beneath the merman's grip as he hoisted himself up quietly, laying flat on his stomach just a few feet away. Eyes wide as saucers, red irises glinting mischievously as he tried to stick to his plan. Thwarted only by all the bare expanse of skin you were showing off. Tan, and soft looking. Soft to the touch, too, Kirishima thought suddenly, mouth too full of saliva as he recalled the feel of your skin beneath his webbed fingers. Shaking himself from his awed stupor, Kirishina grinned- all sharp teeth, as he shimmied across the dock, long tail swishing excitedly beneath the water, where it hung low from the dock. Already aware of his tardiness, Kirishima wasted no time lunging for you when he was close enough- laughing boisterously as you shrieked, and began swatting blindly at him. “You asshole! How many times have I told you /NOT/ to do that?” Y/N Shouted, initial panic already seeping away, as he was rolled over beneath Kirishima- the merman's soggy red spikes haloed by the sun’s rays, making him look….positively angelic. The fucking heathen. “You’re an absolute menace to both land and sea society Kirishima- no, no don’t fucking kiss me, I’m mad at you. Take your fishy kisses somewhere else, they will not be accepted here!” Y/N continued to shout, laughing suddenly as Kirishima nuzzled and raked his teeth along the soft expanse of your neck, webbed fingers digging just this side of rough into your sides, to elicit a fit from you. “L-Lemme g-go you smelly s-sardine! Ah-ahah! S-shit, i’m gonna p-piss myself if you don’t-ah!- stop! Kiri, please, mercy, mercy!” You cried, tears in your eyes as Eijiro wrapped your legs around his broad hips- shifting his scales downwards, as to not scrape you. Cradling you in his arms, his elbows against the dock, to shift you both upwards just a bit. Toothy grin as bright as ever as he gave in, and finally looked at you. Kirishima swore he could look at you forever. Your bright, twinkling E/C eyes, the soft, sun bleached tips of your hair. The curve of your nose. The curve of your /lips/. Especially the curve of your lips. “You can’t just show up late and expect me to be all hugs and kisses, that’s not fair,” You pouted, despite the smile you couldn’t help forming on your face. Ankles hooked just at the small of Kirishima’s back, where waist met scales. One hand splayed across the creatures back, the other finding its way deep in the crop of damp hair atop his head. Fingernails digging gently into the base, in that sweet spot that always had Kiri mewling if you scratched long enough. “Mm, i’m sorry, baby shark,” Kiri cooed, snickering at the eye roll he could practically sense, as he dipped his face back down against your neck, and kissed. “-It was my turn to lead the roundup for dinner. You know how long it takes to completely swarm a school of flounder? Little bastards shoot off in different directions. So yummy,” he paused, nipping at your earlobe, causing you to tense, “-but so difficult to catch. Like, but also kind of unlike, another little fish I know.” “A man of a thousand sweet talks.” You were already putty in the merman's hands, and you both knew it. Didn’t mean you had to advertise it. “I am sorry, baby shark. I tried to hurry, but you know how Denki can be. He gets a little zapped if he exerts himself too much on the hunt. We all gotta get him back to the cove in one piece after that, and he’s such a squirmer, so...ya know,” Kirishima shrugged, arms tightening just barely around your middle, as he leaned back, smile less predatory, and more sincere now, as he pressed your foreheads together gently. “Apology accepted...I guess,” You mumbled finally, breaking the creature's gaze, only to flick your gaze down to his plump, bitten lips. One drop of saltwater still clinging to his cupid's bow. “I missed you, dude,” Kiri whispered finally, blush painting his pale face, as he pressed chaste kisses to your cheeks, and chin. Peppering them all over afterwards as you began to giggle. “Missed you too,” You sighed, closing your eyes, and angling your head to catch Kirishima’s lips in a soft kiss. Just a press of them together, no real urgency. You had the rest of the evening, and long after sunset to spend together. There’d be plenty of time for rough, heated kisses below the docks. When you lost your trunks, and Kiri started losing control of the sharpness of his scales. Leaving small pricks and scrapes over your inner thighs, from how you’d going to his hips. Only to have the merman lay you out on the dock under the stars, and kiss them all better. Webbed hands spread wide over your stomach, your hips. Trailing down your thighs, up, and around… “Whoa now,” Kirishima whistled, pulling back to glance down between you, and you huffed. “Don’t get cocky, asshole. I haven’t seen you in almost a week, give me a break.” Hooking your chin over the merman's shoulder, you rolled your eyes once more at Kirishima’s little giggles. Mesmerized by the expanse of muscle in his back. Gaze trailing down between Kirishima’s shoulder blades. Down the small of his back, where his hips dipped first inwards, then back out. Hips filling out below his scales, bright red at the tips, and a deep obsidian at the base, where they met his flesh. Similar to the hair atop his head. Unhooking one of your feet, you ran your toes down along the soft, slippery surface of his tail, as far as you could go, before bringing it back up. Noting the shiver down Kirishima’s spine, and grinning. “Never gets old, does it?” “No, nope. Absolutely not. You make my tail feel like it’s gonna shake right off,” Kirishima groaned, planting his plans on either side of you now, caging you in as you rested back against the dock. “Should probably get that checked out by a doctor.” “Asshole.” “See if I give you the gummy worms in my backpack now.” “....did I mention how much I love you yet?” “That’s what I thought, seaweed brain.” You laughed, flinching back with a frown as Kirishima nipped at the air in front of your face playfully- reaching back for your brag, to draw out the large bag of gummy worms you’d already opened, when waiting for the merman to arrive. Grabbing one out of the pack, and holding it up between two fingers for Kirishima to slurp up. Humming contentedly as he chewed, and you simply smiled. “Love you,” You whispered, feeding him another- watching as he slowed in his chewing, before gulping audibly, and leaning down close. “Love you too. Beautiful boy.” ((Thank you again to the wonderful prompter who asked for this, I had a blast writing it!))

[bitchassbucky]

.eps (explicit)

Word Count: 2k

Warning/s: dark!bucky x dark!reader, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, blood mention, gore and dismemberment/beheading, murder, toxic/abusive relationship dynamics, sedation/drugging/use of sedative, stockholm syndrome-ish, one very special character reveal

A/N: i told y'all there's more <3 the special character treat is for @sarge-barnes-sir mwah!

this is queued shdhhsh gonna fix the links in the mornin’

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS ABOVE, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS VERSION, GO AND CHECK OUT THE NON-EXPLICIT VERSION.

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Safeness, comfortability, warmth are all but a false sense of reality.

When a prey takes down its walls, the predator moves in. Camouflaged in familiar colors, in words that you’re used to hearing, in praises, in lies. Most predators use the mask of the night to move in darkness—unyielding and calculated. Come morning, there will be only one left alive, tainted with victory and bloodshed.

You and Bucky have been engaging in a dance for two—a battle of who’s willing to take the leap of faith and unleash hell upon the other.

Stifled smiles and pursed lips.

The air is filled with unsaid irritants, little things that ticked away like bombs.

There was no time for pleading, no time for mercy, no rest for the wicked.

Did you still love each other?

How far are you willing to go to keep up with his… complacency?

Bucky’s mundane life already taking a toll on you. The endless nightmares of him feeling you. The swirling vision of Bucky being with you every waking—and sleeping—moment: it grates your soul to shreds.

“We’ll be together forever, right?”

“Yes, darling.”

“What about the day after forever?”

“That too, honey.”

Where was the man you loved so deeply? The man that broke his morals just to be with you?

Was he under this hull of a Yes Man? A poor little thing that says ‘yes’ to everything like a puppy.

The man you held so dearly now slipping away, chipping his humanity, shedding the once-human.

“Would you marry me tomorrow if I asked you?”

“Of course, baby, why wouldn’t I?”

“Would you kill for me?”

“I’m meant to do the same for you.”

It’s irritating how Bucky gave up too quickly. Too fast, moving too fast. The gazelle let the lion tear its neck as it lay there, unmoving, letting the blood seep into its hide.

When you first met Bucky, it was your own fairytale unfolding before your eyes. Kismet, reality, forgiveness from above. He was soft and shy, passionate, lively.

Far from what you expected from a man his age—you blame Steve for forcing you into his narrative before. That all men are out to get you. They will hurt you. They will use you and leave you for good. But Bucky? Bucky came in like a knight. He saved you from the carcass of your past. He saved you from the sins that you prayed and knelt for.

Bucky taught you how to love.

Bucky taught you how to live for yourself.

Bucky taught you that being alone doesn’t mean you have to be lonely.

“It was an unspoken little thing, wasn’t it?”

“What thing, baby?”

“Our love.”

“Yes, honey, it was.”

He worships you.

He worships you like a fucking God and you hate it.

Suffocating, too suffocating. You dove straight for the water and now you’re drowning.

Do you still love each other? The question hangs in the air, heavy with its weight, light as a feather.

It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault.

So you stand there with a syringe half-filled with a horse sedative. It’s a concern how easy it is to waltz into a pet store and pick up a general anesthetic. You make a mental note to look at it later.

Bucky’s body slumps forward, his forehead meeting the edge of the table with a dull thud. If the overdose doesn’t kill him, the weeping crack in his head will.

Holy fuck, humans bleed a lot. And fast. Good thing you already have that clear tarp taped down. Even with the hush money stuffed down your throat, it would take a good nick to regrout the kitchen.

“What is that for, honey?”

“I’m painting the cabinets.”

“Okay, darling.”

So you let him bleed, surprised that the liquid is redder than what you thought it would be. A soft gurgling noise came from Bucky, the last of air escaping his dead body. You stood there, syringe in hand, as you thought how to dispose of a six-foot-tall man without arousing suspicion.

Not that he’ll be missed anyway: the local news and the internet already branded him as a psycho and you as a victim. You were both victims in this fairytale. They reported his case as “skipped the town like the sicko he is.” So, no—no one’s going to look for him.

The sun was high up in the sky and there was a dead body in your kitchen.

A butcher and a surgeon walks into a bar for a drink. “What do you do for a living?” Said the butcher, “I save lives! What about you?” The doctor answers. “I save animals from dying slowly. We’re basically the same. You’re just very clean.” You see, the butcher comes into the bar covered in blood, reeking of death. The surgeon, on the other hand, wears his white coat with pride even though he’s surrounded by death every passing second.

Today was the day you learned that you have the tools of a butcher and the precision of a surgeon. Unlike before.

You carefully take Bucky’s fingers off of his left hand, leaving a skin flap on the edge of the last knuckle for you to stitch close later. Four promises. Four goddamn promises and he broke all of them.

It was his fault that he’s dead. He made you do this.

Starting with his left shoulder, you jab the knife between the bone and the soft flesh of his armpit, bringing the blade downwards. The sickening smell of blood swirled along with the image of muscle and fat being sliced made you gag.

Does the brain know that it’s seeing something it shouldn’t?

A rational part of you wanted to look away but the time is ticking, it’ll be much harder once rigor mortis sets in an hour.

You swing the knife down, cracking the bone once, and then again, and again, and again until the shoulder bone splinters and dislocates itself from the rest of Bucky’s torso. You had to switch knives and blades and a fucking bone saw to get through the rest of his limbs, leaving only his chest, head, and stomach untouched. After taping up and packing the arms and the legs, you work on putting the rest of Bucky into a nondescript suitcase.

The only problem being his head getting into the way of things.

Wanting to preserve even a shred of his dignity, you left his face untouched. Well, save from the crack in his skull.

You begrudgingly take a hefty chef’s knife and start cutting through the jugular vein, only stopping when the blade hits the spinal cord by his nape. The serrated blade of the bone saw sits on your blood-soaked gloves, scrape-scrape-scraping until it snaps into two.

The human head weighs around 10 pounds, kinda like a bowling ball.

An opaque black garbage bag containing Bucky’s head looks nothing suspicious as you put it inside a backpack—into a firepit you go.

His limbs—arms and legs alike—are going deep into the ocean, forgotten and to be used as fish food.

The limbless torso will be finding its home in a deep hole in the middle of a densely wooded area, far from the city.

But you’re not quite sure what to do with the mason jar of teeth though; the clinking noises of it remind you of the seashells you used to collect when you were a kid. Maybe you’ll stash it away with the torso.

Placing the bags into the trunk of a rental, you begin your journey to the end of your fairytale.

The drive to and from the places was tiring, to say the least. The internet connection of the diners was spotty at best. Locals were overly friendly with the city folks who came passing through their towns. The roads reek of roadkill and manure from the farm animals that were left to roam for fresh grass.

At least you get to come home in a spotless apartment, alone once again.

But not lonely.

Your space is yours again. No trace of anyone anywhere. Immaculately yours.

—

Humans are social creatures.

No one can truly be alone, especially in today’s world where we’re connected to everyone—whether we liked it or not.

Leaving your wretched job behind was an easy feat to do. No one can say no to the victim of such a vile crime. That’s all they saw you: a helpless little thing. So off you went; saying half-assed goodbyes and sending emails of courage and hope and fucking resilience.

Your resignation meant that the company’s free of any dirt from you, Bucky’s disappearance quickly becoming a joke and a rumor blending in one.

They let you leave: in your bank account a fat check ensuring that you’d shut up about the scandal for months until you can’t feed yourself no more. So you packed your bags and jet off without looking back. You never liked that apartment anyway.

Nevertheless, you found yourself looking into another dead-end job in one of the towns you stopped over before. It’s a charming place like time froze in their plaza while the rest of the world went on. You found a small studio apartment in a street tuckered away from the main avenue, you settled there as days became nights and nights turned into days.

You woke up one morning craving a healthy serving of coffee and pancakes, luckily the town’s local diner wasn’t far from your new home.

The coffee was too hot, the pancakes were amazing, fluffy, and just right. You’re sitting in a sunny booth, the warmth doing its wonders.

“Hi, can I get today’s paper, please?” Your voice is sweet as you call your server, giving her a quick smile.

A pair of Raybans adorn your face, unconsciously hiding behind its darkened glasses. The waitress gives you a thick stack of newspapers, refilling your cup with black coffee.

Upon opening the paper, you ignore the town’s headlines and went straight for the job postings. The door jingled open as patrons come in and go, waving to familiar faces.

Job Vacancy Announcements

Secretary to the Town Sheriff

You skimmed over the rest of the details, only noting the address of the office. The job looks quite lucrative for someone who would only take messages and organize files for the sheriff.

Looking over the job posting again, you read over the words walk-ins only. That shouldn’t be hard enough.

The diner looked deserted save from the man sitting behind your booth. Leaning over and tapping his shoulder, you put on a polite smile, “Hi, sorry, do you know how to get to the sheriff’s office from here?”

“Hello, darling.” The man croons in an accent, he looks over to you, “join me in my booth, will ‘ya?”

You’re in no position to reject his proposal, you’re the one who needed an answer.

Taking your coffee cup, you slide into his booth, “hi.”

“Just the face I wanted to see.” Clean-shaven, a hint of mint and smoke, and something woody; a worn leather jacket and white button-up shirt hugging his soft frame. “Some folks over on the apartment complex were talkin’ about a city girl wanting to rent a studio all by herself. That happen to be you?”

You look over to him, trying to understand how that small of news spread like a wildfire, “yeah. I moved in a week ago.”

He leans over, smiling sweetly as he unabashedly lets his eyes roam your features, “What’s a city girl like you doin’ in a place like this? I hope we ain’t too boring for you, gal.”

Chatty—he’s way too chatty.

“Just wanted a change of pace, really. Away from the bustle of the city.” You rustle the paper, clearing your throat to get back on the matter on hand, “so the sheriff’s office? Is it too far from here?”

“What business are ‘ya bringing into the office?”

“A job, actually. Says here that they’re looking for a secretary.” You might as well tell him everything, he seems too chatty to be dismissed over and over again.

“Well, darlin’, today’s your lucky day. No need to drive down the old road.” He reaches down to his seat, pulling up a brown hat, “Hi, I’m Sheriff Bodecker. Now, to whom do I owe the pleasure?”

You bite back a giggle, you’ve always wanted to be involved with the law.

[plainlo-inthemorning]

A Loki TVA/Lokane fic. Rating T.

Previously: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (of 6)

Shine a Light, part 5

He is aware that the love of his life is digging her fingers into his arm and saying his name.

He is aware of Stark standing to his other side, visor off, speaking to someone on the phone. His voice is hard.

But most of all, Loki is aware that all their lives were just changed by a great big terrifying rip in the seam of reality.

Neither Jane nor the Avenger could possibly be completely sure of what they saw. Loki, as much as he desperately wants to, harbors little doubt.

The man he held in a death-grip only minutes ago and who just now disappeared through a doorway conjured out of thin air was somehow … himself.

Another him. Just as the man had said.

After witnessing from afar the double kiss Jane, Loki, who was coming back from a swim, had been more than ready to skip past introductions and just sever the intruder’s head from his body.

But as soon as he had laid hands on him, a torrent of images had flooded his mind – chaotic, confused images that seemed to span past, present, future and beyond.

The shock had made him lessen his grip and the double had used his (his!) magic to throw him off.

With some distance between them and Stark suddenly there as well, Loki had tried to let his rage quell the dizzying realization. Unsuccessfully.

He is still shaking, clutching a dagger in each hand. He drew them instinctively as the other made for the door.

He should have caught him!

“Loki! What did he say?!”

“What?” His thoughts are racing in too many directions to hear her.

“The … man, what was he saying to you?!”

Jane is looking up at him with those beautiful brown eyes, worry and urgency all over her delicate features. Though not fear, Loki notes. His ever-brave wife. Both her hands are now clamped around his wrist.

That thing kissed her.

The daggers disappear and Loki wraps both arms around the mother of his unborn child, almost crushing her to his chest while still staring at the spot where the double vanished.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, love”, he murmurs. He suspects things are very much not okay.

So does Jane, of course.

“Loki, was it … oof, not so tight … “

She wriggles against him, and he remembers his amor. And her condition. He immediately relaxes his arms a bit while letting the leather and metal melt back into the clothes he wore before: Black jeans and a fitted, dusty green t-shirt (his “rockstar outfit”, Jane had called it, when Loki first started switching up his human wardrobe some years ago now). Drops of saltwater still cling to the ends of his slightly curly raven locks.

“Tony! Jane, Loki! What on Earth was that?”

Pepper jumps out of the car parked in front of the house and runs towards them. She must have seen everything as she drove down the road following her flying husband.

“The verdict’s still out, Peps”. Tony nods at Loki. “You wanna chip in here? I just called the boy-scout at headquarters and told him to be on guard for one of the magician’s interns playing a prank”.

Loki shakes his head slowly.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think Stephen had anything to do with this”.

“You’re right, I didn’t”.

All four of them turn around to see the sorcerer step out of a swirling ring of light, his cape billowing around him. The mahogany floor and paneled walls of his Manhattan mansion are briefly visible behind him before the portal closes with a hiss of little sparks.

Strange is wearing an even sterner expression than usual which only adds to Loki’s growing sense of dread.

Tony, however, groans loudly.

“Dude, really? Couldn’t you at least have let us have dinner before party crashing? Not shaming your bachelor lifestyle or anything, but this was couples’ night!”

“Tony!” Pepper hits her husband on the arm.

Strange ignores him.

“I’m afraid the arrival of your surprise visitor indicates that a set of … unfortunate events have been set in motion”.

As always, his voice is as even as if he was reading the weather forecast, but by now Loki has learned to differentiate the (very) subtle nuances between scorn and sincerity. Strange places his hands behind his back and regards them coolly. “I’ve had Wong reach out to Doctor Banner and director Fury. They should be here shortly. Stark, you may want to-”.

Tony narrows his eyes, lip twitching.

“Hey, Bleeker Street, you know I have low tolerance for you showing up and barking orders without giving two f**** for context. How did you even know that something was going down here? By all means, don’t keep us in suspense until the cavalry gets here”.

Strange doesn’t answer, but the way his eyes dart to Jane sends needles through Loki’s heart.

“Let’s go sit down, shall we?” With one eyebrow raised, Strange puts on a suave smile and gestures towards the house. The effect is a little startling.

Jane ducks out from under Loki’s arms. “Jane, don’t you want to-“. She brushes him off.

“Yes, good idea, Stephen. Let’s go sit down”. She motions for Strange to follow. “Welcome to our home. I was actually making drinks before, but I think I need to add a bit more kick to them…”

Her voice is oddly calm, and Loki fights the urge to grab her and magic them both far, far away, not caring that she would be furious with him for making decisions on her behalf.

He’s brought back to the present by an even odder sound as Strange actually chuckles.

Loki is not sure he’s ever heard it before. Then again, it’s not that he really knows Strange when it comes down to it. Like Tony, Loki finds the wizard exceedingly arrogant.

Pepper is the first to follow Jane and Strange across the lawn while Loki and Tony hang back.

“Real ladies’ man when he wants to. Who would have thought”. The billionaire superhero scoffs. His suit has folded itself off and into a briefcase next to his feet.

“Tony-“

“Uh oh. First name basis. So this really is an emergency”.

Loki faces his friend. Often in the past years, as they’ve grown steadily closer outside of “work”, he has secretly marveled at how long they’ve come since someone threw someone else off a building after being called a diva.

And attacking a city with an alien army.

Jane always insisted the two “hotheads” (her word) had a lot in common when not trying to murder one another (be it with weapons or sarcastic commentary), and Loki has to admit she was right. The metal man is fiercely intelligent, and Loki has been enjoying the quick-witted snark between them infinitely more than he ever valued the company of Thor’s band of gullible warrior groupies on Asgard.

“Well?”. Tony is regarding him with eyebrows raised, expectant. “Give me your take on this cause I’m starting to put together some rather outlandish theories myself here that I’m kinda hoping you’ll thwart ASAP”.

Loki draws in a deep breath.

“That thing with Banner at the tower two years ago-“

“Fuck!” Tony exhales, exasperated. “I knew you were gonna say that”. He squints into the distance towards the ocean, his mouth a tight line. It’s a rare day that Tony Stark is caught under a clear blue sky without sunglasses but for once he doesn’t seem to notice.

Loki takes a step closer to him and lowers his voice so they won’t alert the others just yet.

“I told you then and you didn’t want to listen! Everything about Bruce’s story was off. I know he didn’t remember much after Steve took him down, but you all pretty much accused me of trying to get back at him for, well, you know what, and I kept telling you I thought someone had gotten to him! Now-“

Loki searches for the words. It’s beyond absurd.

“That man was a version of me, Tony. I have no idea how, but I felt it. I saw into his mind. It was filled with images from my past and then … other, recent memories. Dark ones. He came from nowhere. Literally. It didn’t feel like a place. I tried to discard it as a trick, you saw that, but…” Loki runs his hand through his moist hair. “Stephen obviously felt something tear open too. And that is not a good sign”.

He has Tony’s full attention.

“Tear open? Could this other you be associated with your old boss? With Thanos?”

Loki winces.

“No, I don’t think he’s involved”, he says sharply. “But I can’t be sure …”

Tony catches his tone pats his shoulder. “Okay, okay. Shake it off. Didn’t mean to suggest anything. Let’s say he’s not. I’d much prefer that, at least until the wizard presents us with an even uglier imminent threat to the universe. Which, judging by the fact that he’s even here, willingly sipping cocktails in your kitchen as we speak, he probably will”.

Tony throws his hands up with a dramatic air.

“And here I thought the most challenging part of this weekend would be to convince you two to come see Hamilton with us in the city next week!”

“Who’s-“

“Never mind. Did you get a look at that gadget your guy was holding? Boy, he looked like an office slave who’d slept under his desk for a month before getting fired, didn’t he? Were you ever into accounting yourself by any chance?”

Loki shuts his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. Immediately he sees the image of the double kissing Jane, his arms wrapped firmly around her supple body. Rage rushes right back through him and his eyes snap open.

“Stark - I can’t. But yes, I did notice the device. It looked like a phone”.

“Yeah, somehow I don’t think it was the new iPhone”.

Tony shakes his head.

“The two of us and we didn’t take him down. Fury’s gonna have our badges”.

//

The director of SHIELD and Bruce Banner arrive barely 15 minutes later through a portal in the middle of the meadow-like lawn, following Wong and both looking grim and out of place as they weave around patches of wildflowers to reach the porch.

“Gentlemen, I trust you’re well”. Loki greets the trio with an only vaguely sarcastic nod as he holds open the screen doors to them, like a good host. Despite what some may still think, he can behave.

He could have just used magic of course, but he figures Banner is freaked enough as it is just by being here. The scientist hasn’t spoken more than five words to him since 2014 and at least three of them were expletives.

Once inside the small living room, Bruce goes to stand by the window and busies himself polishing his glasses with a little too much vigor than seems warranted.

He avoids Loki’s eyes but looks up and smiles wearily as Jane comes over to say hello.

Fury leans against the doorframe to the hallway and crosses his arms, face a closed book, and, by the sound of it, Tony is going through the cabinets in the kitchen trying to find something to spice up Jane’s pre-dinner cocktails.

Pepper is talking to Strange and Wong on the blue IKEA couch (assembled by magic after the attempt to go at it “as a team” turned into a shouting match), and Loki is about to politely ask Strange to please spit it out right this minute, when Jane is next to him, taking his hand.

“We need to talk. Now”.

Her voice is low and steady but her eyes insisting. She squeezes his fingers.

He squeezes back. “Come”.

Loki looks to Fury but he’s focused on Strange who’s listening very closely to something Wong’s saying.

Not letting go of Jane’s hand, he turns towards the kitchen. In the doorway they pass Tony who’s now holding what appears to be a glass of scotch. He must have given up on the gin and tonics.

“Hey, where are you two going? Forget about playing hosts okay, let’s just get started with part two of the evening’s entertainment”.

“In a minute”.

Jane pushes past him, ignoring Tony’s look and dragging Loki with her.

She closes the door behind them.

“Okay, so…” Jane looks around nervously in the small kitchen with the rustic white fronts and old brass handles. She loves that kitchen. They haven’t changed a thing since moving in. Loki reaches for her, but she takes a step back. “Jane, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have gotten there faster. Did he …“

“I need you tell me exactly what he said to you”.

She is absentmindedly opening and closing her fists in the way she does when that brilliant astrophysicist mind of hers is working out an intricate problem in the lab.

Or, Loki knows, when she’s about to deliver him bad news.

He clears his throat. “He said he was me. And that something big was happening”. There. “And then he said he was sorry”.

Jane studies his face.

“That he was sorry? For what?”

“He didn’t say. He stepped through the door”.

Jane is quiet and now it’s Loki’s turn to try and read her expression.

“What did he say to you? I assume he pretended to be me …?”

Jane holds up a hand and bites her lip. Loki swallows.

“Loki, when we were staying at the flat in London, after we defeated Malekith…”

“What?” Loki furrows his brow in confusion. “Why are we-“

“The poison from the monster’s blade, it had you slipping in and out of consciousness for days. You were so feverish…”

“Yes, I know. I was there”. Loki’s blood is slowly turning very cold, but he musters a smile. “And you were amazing, love. Although some might say you took adv-“

Jane interrupts him in the middle of his blossoming smirk. A slight blush appears on her own cheeks.

“Yes, um, it’s not about that day”. She gives him a stern look. “The other day, later, when Thor left after you two went and had your, um, talk … there’s something I need to tell you …”

The door to the living room opens behind them.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, Doctor Foster, I would very much like to hear this too”.

Stephen Strange steps into the kitchen. The door closes behind him.

Part 6

[creativeashproductions]

In the Beginning // Alive!Luke Patterson

Summary: Reggie (Rhodes)’s older sister is the epitome of cool in his, and his friends, eyes with her in a band. Pushed by a hazel eyed brunette with a huge crush on the eldest Rhodes teen the boys decide to start a band. While at first the band is for Luke’s dream of landing you he finds his passion with music.

Warning: Swearing, angst, fluff, dad!Luke

Words: 4.1k

A/N: I couldn’t resist writing another alive!Luke fic with Luke crushing on his band mate’s sister. Ugh, just imagine Luke suggesting a band to impress his crush only to fall in love with music instead.  For my fics it will be Alex Mitchell and Reggie Rhodes until JATP reveals their canon names. 

Masterlist

Los Angeles, 1992

The guitar case was a familiar heaviness as you walked into the home for the first time in months after a practice. You ached from the long travel, and all you wanted was your bed. The yawn came first, then the startled yell at the living room.

Four pairs of eyes met the girl standing in the entryway, surprised at a sleepover with her brother and his full friends. Eyebrows coming together you shook your head wondering why they had come here instead of the typical Patterson home.

“Hey!” Fourteen-year-old Reggie beamed towards his older sister excited she was back from her weekend band practice. Your eyes blinked at his usual upbeat personality before switching to the brown eyes from Bobby, too shy to full meet yours.

Spread around the living room watching a movie was Reggie’s best friends; the socially awkward Alex, the shy Bobby, and the Patterson boy Luke. The young typically spent their time at Luke’s place, so seeing them in your home was strange.

“Reg, what’s up?” You asked crouching to untie your shoes confused at the sharp audible gasp coming from Luke. Standing straight up, you saw Luke awkwardly looking away with bright red cheeks.

“How was practice?” Reggie inquired with the smile he got from your mom and his dark hair from your dad.

Reggie usually wasn’t interested in your band leading you to wonder what the hell was going on with them. Being sixteen you didn’t socialize with Reggie’s friends, thanks to the two year age gap, but you were happy he had good friends. Well, less than two years between you and Luke.

“It was good. Since when are you interested in Crimson Queen?” You questioned moving more into the room with the four young teens, “You haven’t even touched your bass in years.”

One eyebrow raised you individually looked at the boys in the room all with sheets of paper around them. From a distance, you couldn’t tell what was on them, but it couldn’t be homework. They all attended the same high school while you had done correspondence with the band and a tutor.

“Luke’s parents got him a guitar,” Reggie spoke gesturing to the decent brand new acoustic guitar on the floor beside the Patterson. Luke’s hazel eyes widening as you came closer to the group.

Your hand picking up the guitar to look it over finding it was decent for a beginner, but it was definitely not tuned. The sheer sound made you wince.

“So, you guys want to be a band?” You questioned sitting on the floor beside Luke. The boy shifting nervously, you weren’t blind that he got shy around girls, “Do you guys even play instruments?”

“I got the bass, Bobby can play rhythm guitar, Alex plays dru-“

“I wouldn’t call it proper drumming. It’s just something my therapist suggested with my anxiety and frustrations.” Alex raised his hand leading to everyone in the room looking at the tall male, recently had a growth spurt, with the backward black hat.

“And Luke will learn guitar as well.” You added, looking at the quiet, “How well can you play?”

“I don’t even know how to properly tune it,” Luke admitted playing with his fingers adorned with a ring.

Luke had chosen a cutoff shirt in an attempt to gain your attention to his arms he hoped had gotten more muscled. He had a massive crush on you but with the guys your own age he had step up; he started working out. He actually enjoyed it, but he’d enjoy it more if you were checking him out.

“You’ll need a place to practice.” You mumbled glancing out the window at the ocean waves thinking. The house was on the prime real estate edge of the beach all thanks to your well off parents; Dad, a doctor and Mom, an interior designer.

Your fingers tapped on the ripped blue jeans you had chosen that day with the flannel shirt opened over the black AC/DC t-shirt. You started standing up, grabbing Luke’s hand to pull him up as well; the boy’s cheeks grew pinker, and his heart fluttered.

“What?” Luke spluttered, staring at his hand, caught in yours in sheer awe.

“You’ll need a place to practice.” You answered, dropping is head to reach in your pocket for your key chain.

The key chain had a few keys on it: one for home, one for your car, one for the band van for gigs, one for the garage, and lastly one for the house the garage belonged to. The boys piled into the car, apprehensive for where you were taking them. The only sound was the radio playing local greatest hits, your foot slammed on the brake at the house of your bassist.

“Well Marty, this song has blown up on the charts. New band Crimson-“

“Holy shit.” You breathed staring at the radio. Your door opened as you sprinted down to the steps that led to the garage. The footsteps of the boys following.

The garage was open already with your band members lounging around the space filled with instruments and amps. Their heads swivelling as you frantic turned the radio on.

“Come on.” You mumbled, turning the radio station to the right one, “Guys listen!”

“-Crimson Queen is an LA-based band making waves in the LA Nightlife and hit the top ten with their newest song Sorry Now.” The radio host spoke, “If you haven’t heard the song before, this is the band’s new single.”

The song was blasted from the radio leading to the four girls screaming the song out dancing around the room. Euphoria was the only way you could call the feeling rising in the bodies of the girls in the place. The room burst into more screams as your drummer. Faith switched the radio station.

“Today history was made, Crimson Queen is an all-female rock band fronted by Y/N Rhodes. They started as a hobby at fifteen, but a year later at sixteen they’ve made waves.” A hit radio station, the second one so far, was talking about your band. Holy shit.

“Lucy, this band is going places. My daughter is seven years old, and she’s telling me this band is the talk of her school. I can’t tell how much Lucy listens to their demo.”

Your eyes saw Reggie having a meltdown of excitement for older sister and her band, and you were so unbelievably happy you should care the moment. You rushed over to Reggie to pull him into a hug.

“Girls…and boys.” Mrs Taylor spoke furrowing her brows at the young boys in the garage her daughter had begged to use for the band. Shaking her head, the middle-aged woman turned her attention to her daughter.

“Hey, Ma.” Dawn, your bassist, spoke spreading her pink painted lips to her perfectly straight teeth too hyped up on energy, “What’s up?”

“First congratulations on the single. Secondly, we’re gonna need to get a personal line for the band because our phone is blowing up.”

A sharp gasp from Dawn before the three of the four girls rushed to the house of the Taylor’s. You hung back to look at your brother and his band.

“So? What do you think?” You inquired with the group, “This idea of yours has to be one hundred percent what you want. It won’t be easy in LA, it will come with hardships, and Reggie Mom and Dad won’t let you drop out.”

The four boys nodded their heads because the excitement they saw in your big break was something they wanted. To be able to connect with people cemented their decision.

“Feel free to hang around.” You suggested glancing around the garage that started it all, “I’ll be back in a bit.”

The Orpheum, Los Angeles, 1995

The crowd screamed as Crimson Queen, the song that started this road played with the girl crouching to grasp the hand of fans. At the beat of the chorus, you stood up eating up the energy of the last show of the tour. You went jumped on the drum riser rocking on the guitar as Faith did her magic.

Dawn on her bass made her way to rock with your rhythm guitarist Sara sharing grins with you still feeling the euphoria of this success. As the song came to an end, your entire band went to the front of the stage.

“We’d like to thank our fans for the last nine months of our world tour. We started this band in LA in 1991, so we thought it fit to end our tour at The Orpheum.” You spoke to the crowd, feeding off the energy as the concert came to an end.

The road crew would load your instruments up in the van to take home after months of travelling. You were so excited to see Reggie, who would be seventeen now, having celebrated his birthday while you had been in Europe. Too excited were shocked as Reggie backstage.

“Reggie!” You exclaimed tugging the teen into your arms, leaning back to take him in, “Damn you grew!”

Reggie grinned not giving a shit you were coated in sweat from performing your setlist, but your eyes went over his shoulder. Standing close and just as excited was Reggie’s friends. Alex was taller, Bobby looked more confident, and Luke could meet your eyes. Luke also had changed, no longer baby faced.

“Sunset Curve.” You spoke, stepping back to look them over, “I haven’t seen you guys in months, how did you change so much!”

“That’s what happens when you go on tour for almost a year.” Luke teased tugging you into his arms for a tight hug.

It was odd seeing Luke taller and more muscled than when you left for tour, and the confidence was honestly hot. You had seen Luke as anything other than your brother’s friend, who tended to stare a little too long.

“You played the fucking Orpheum!” Alex screamed, holding your shoulders with a wrinkled nose at the damp red thin flannel shirt. The girls wandered up behind you each with a grin at the guys.

“Well if it isn’t Sunset Swerve,” Sara spoke swinging her arm over your shoulder with a teasing smirk plastered on her face. Her blonde hair swept up in a bun high on her head from a recent shower.

“Sunset Curve!” The male quartet snapped at the name before they fell back into a happy demeanour. Luke and you both staring at each other with a pink-hued face.

Faith was quieter in the group leaning closer to your band to whisper in your ear, “Jay scored us some drinks. But MJ got us into a party.” Faith’s textured hair tickling your neck.

Grins split the three girls at the suggestion each excited for the party with fellow musicians and plus ones. Sure, the parties had drugs and alcohol, but they were fun and part of the scene. Half of you wanted to go, but the other wanted to spend time with your brother.

“I’ll think I’ll pass.” You spoke up to the girls motioning to the guys, “I’ll head back with them. Meet you at the house later?”

Your black vans moving backwards as you moved to be closer to be flush against Reggie’s side grinning as he bumped his hip against you. Sara, Faith and Dawn each raising an eyebrow at your response since you often dragged them to parties.

“Orrr…we could each take one of them.” Faith cajoled mocha skin gleaming in the light with her hands, tugging her hair into a thick braid.

“You want me to take my seventeen-year-old brother and his friends-“

“-I’m like two weeks from being eighteen-” Luke cut into the conversation buzzing at the possible date, but not date, with the girl he had been crushing on for years. He was pretty sure he was in love with you at this point; he did date a little, but nothing stuck.

“-To a party in Hollywood.” You finished pinning your gaze on the three girls ahead each with mischievous grins. Your cheeks puffed as you breathed out, thinking of the positives and negatives.

Bobby was bouncing on his heels with Reggie leaving Alex shifting uncomfortably in his place. His partially relaxed when Luke squeezed his forearm through the distressed black jean jacket that bought his outfit together. Luke himself was apprehensive on your decision because either way, he got to spend time with you.

“Come on.” Dawn implored, pulling out the big guns with her ocean blue eyes widening into the puppy gaze that did you in each time. Her curtain of short dyed pink hair framing her heart-shaped face.

“I’m going to pass this time. Do some shots for me! Not tequila though, that was a huge mistake.” Faith’s grin widened at having you carry you out of the house in the early morning after a wicked party.

“Did you ever find your tho-“

“Faith!” You hissed turning a bright red at her revelation that you definitely didn’t want Reggie to know. The atmosphere turned awkward as everyone realized what the sentence would end with.

Okay so maybe you had hooked up with a few people over the last three years but nothing permanent. It was fun, drunk fun, but still fun and nothing had gone wrong. Your eyes avoided looking at Luke for a reason you couldn’t decipher.

“I’ll see you later.” You spoke motioning for the guys to follow you to the dressing room you had settled in early in the day. The corner of your lips quirked at the awe on each of the boys’ faces.

“I’m in the dressing where bands become legends.” Reggie gasped circling the room with wide-eyed interest. Alex was interested in the band posters on the walls from previous performers.

Luke, however, was more interested in your curves covered by your sweaty stage clothing that stuck to your form. His Adam’s apple gulped as you grabbed your shower bag moving towards the connected bathroom.

“I’ll grab a shower, and we can head out.” You supplied, “I’ll just need to stop at Rudy’s office for our portion of the concert.”

The guys mumbled a response finding a place to wait without hushed conversations of when they would get to play. Luke’s eyes found yours at the low call of his name from the bathroom; a crack opened he walked over.

“Do you have a sweater?” You mumbled at the taller teen with widening eyes as he realized that you were naked behind the door.

Luke stumbled over his feet, retrieving the black pullover Crimson Queen merch he had had for months now. He had saved up money to buy the merch to support the band. The door closed as you tugged the sweater in the bathroom momentarily before walking out.

“Thanks Lu. I forget to pack a shirt.” Luke awed as your nose scrunched up adorably to the amusement of his friends, “So, do you wanna hit the beach? Or maybe give me a concert in the garage?”

Luke intertwined his fingers in yours as he tugged you out of the room with your bag in hand. His heart fluttered as you held on to his hand even in the little office of the Orpheum’s management for the thick envelope of money.

“Thanks, Rudy!” You called over your shoulder at the short, stout man going over the financials and upcoming performances.

The smell of Sunset Boulevard brought a smile remembering the first time you performed and the small group that had waited outside. The first night of autographs and recognition.

“So, Reg how’s my car?” You questioned the teen who impishly grinned tugging the key chain from his black jeans. You had given him the keys when you revealed Crimson Queen had a world tour.

“Right there.” Reggie pointed leading the group of five to the car that would take them to the garage. Reggie drove with Alex in the passenger while you were crammed between Bobby and Luke; Luke was delighted in your warmth against his side.

While your band members partied, you got a first-row seating to Sunset Curve’s talent in the garage where you had started out. It was amazing to see how much they had accomplished in the three years since they started.

The sudden knock on the door had you flailing off the couch onto the floor with a sheet of paper stuck to your cheek. Your spine cracked as you sat up glancing at your watch, finding it was after midnight, only an hour of sleep after inspiration for a new song.

The door was knocked on once more and coming close the sound of crying could be heard, and you wondered if it was Luke. He had been over a few days in the night following a fight with his parents and needed to crash; helped you were giving dating a chance after his well-rehearsed speech.

Imagine your shock when it was Reggie sobbing, “Reggie.”

“C-can I stay here?” Reggie whimpered cuddling himself into the leather jacket he received at Christmas from you. You had inside in your arms in moments, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Are they fighting again?” You murmured to your younger brother content to hold him as he cried. Bringing him to the living room, you held him as he cried humming under your breath the first song you ever let him see.

“Yeah. The music doesn’t work anymore.” Reggie murmured leaning back to wipe his tears off, “Sorry for crashing. I can go stay with-“

“Here. Reginald, you can always stay here.” You soothed the seventeen-year-old boy with sad eyes and a sombre look. His sad eyes shattered your heart, knowing he had suffered the fighting for months alone, “This house is empty Reg. You can move in here.”

His lip quirked up, “Can we play country music?”

“And eat breakfast at night.” You teased him grinning as his lips pulled up into his trademark grin, “The guys can come over whenever they want. I’d actually prefer they know they can stay here, they deserve a safe place to stay.”

You knew that Alex endured living with his parents, who had gone out of their way to avoid him after he came out. Luke couch surfed at your old house, never at Alex’s home; after coming out, Alex didn’t feel comfortable bringing anyone over.

“Good, because they’re outside.” Reggie sheepishly admitted raising his thumbs-up, “Go thinking ahead!”

Snorting the human version of a golden retriever you opened the front door to the house finding two guys in strange positions. Alex was inspecting the light fixture, and Luke was leaning against the wall with his elbow, foot across the other.

“You guys need lessons in the art of pretending you weren’t eavesdropping.” The sigh fell stepping aside for the two to enter the home—each carrying a backpack and small duffle bag for wherever they would have crashed.

The male trio got comfortable in the living room curiously glancing at the mess of papers, sticky notes and pencils. While with good intentions, they didn’t follow boundaries well, even for Alex.

“Whatcha working on?” Luke inquired, leaning closer to a sheet of paper. His pout coming over his face when you quickly tidied up the papers.

“Nothing. I fell asleep on the couch. The label wants new songs.” You groaned rubbing your eyes, “I got inspired last night. Oh! Hey, I took a message for you guys.”

Jogging to your office studio for the band you quickly grabbed the envelope along with the note that you had been given.

“So, Rudy called me, and I had a meeting with him.” You started sitting on the coffee table in front of the trio. The trio leaned forward.

“Rudy?” Luke questioned, pursing his lips together at the male name. While you and Luke were dating it wasn’t official, he was just really nervous with his dream girl liking him back.

“He’s the management for a venue. He asked if our band was available for a concert, but we collectively decided to focus on songs and recording, which you can’t tell anyone about, but he’s in dire need. So, I might have given him something. Specifically a demo of yours and knowing your home situations I gave my information.”

“Okay…so?” Alex questioned, leaning forward. His eyes growing wide as you pushed the envelope in his hand.

Alex quickly opened the cream envelope finding inside a paper along with a mock-up promo poster with Sunset Curve. The squeal was shocking from the teenager as he read the letter and note out loud.

Y/N,

I gave the demo a listen, and we usually wouldn’t do this, but Crimson Queen has been gracious with us. Always mentioning where the band got its start and closing the tour here. To repay the favour, we would formally like to invite Sunset Curve to perform. In the envelope is a mock-up poster as an option for the promo. Get the Sunset Curve’s people to get in touch. I can get the word out to some friends from some labels to come for a listen. Get in touch as soon as possible.

Manager of The Orpheum in Los Angeles,

Rudy West.

 “The Orpheum?” Luke screamed, yanking the paper from Alex to re-read it in complete shock, “We don’t have people!”

“But Crimson does.” You smirked, “On a temporary basis Crimson Queen formally offer our manager’s help.”

In his excitement, Luke lunged to pull you into a kiss freezing the room in shock.

“He got the girl.” Alex breathed elbowing Reggie in the side who’s mouth was open at his best friend kissing Reggie’s older sister. The older sister who was the driving force behind Luke wanting to form a band to impress her, “We need to tell Bobby!”

1995 was the best year for Luke Patterson. He got the girl, his band made it, his parents finally saw his dream was worth it.

The sound of music hypnotized the woman as she wandered down the hall to the open door of the large home. Nothing too over the top like Bobby’s mansion, but it was a nice size in a gated area. Your neighbours being Reggie on one side and Alex on the other side with his partner Willie; Willie had skated into Alex and into a love story pretty much.

Resting against the door edge of the designated home studio you saw Luke had moved a rocking recliner in. Softly playing in the room was a soft acoustic song recorded months previous as a surprise for you.

“When are the lessons starting?” You questioned bringing Luke’s attention to your soft smile and the love in your eyes. Luke’s grin widened glancing down at the miniature version of his love-filled eyes.

“Given her legendary parents, I think at two.” Luke chuckled shuffling the baby to the crook of his arm shifting, so you could curl into his side as well. Both eyes gazing at the little baby you had welcomed what felt like yesterday.

Stevie could fall asleep only to the lullaby her father had created during the pregnancy, and he had written. Stevie had Luke’s eyes, and so far her blonde hair had yet to darken so the question of if she’d take after your hair or his hair was unanswered.

“Hey sweetheart.” You whispered to your daughter falling asleep to the sound of her father’s voice in the room. An adorable yawn pulled from her little body as she nestled into Luke’s arms.

“She’s so gorgeous.” Luke breathed tears welling up as he could understand the reasoning behind his parents’ opinions in his teens. He truly felt terrible at hurting his mom now that he felt the love for his child.

“We did good Patterson.” You murmured back to the man who had held your heart since you were nineteen and back from tour. Your finger tracing Steve’s soft cheek, “I think she has your mom’s mouth.”

Luke’s lips lingered on your cheek heart full of love for his family with you and his little girl. He had known since his eleventh birthday he would marry you even if you were a year older. A year that made the difference when he was months older than his friends, so the year felt like two for you. At eighteen when was tentatively dating you, he knew he would marry you. He never anticipated the sheer amount of adoration for the little girl he would have at twenty-one.

God, he loved his life. He made up with his parents, his best friends, had the girl of his dreams, the most beautiful daughter and it all thanks to music. Can you see why he lives and breathes music?

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[pocfansmatter]

Wishing For You

Sailor Gally x Mermaid reader

Summary: A sailor named Gally stumbles across an injured mermaid. She then agrees to grant him a wish for his help. 

Y/N was an absolute idiot. How she managed to get herself caught in that net she doesn’t know, okay she does, but it’s too embarrassing to even think about fully. The fact that she got distracted by an actual dolphin is such a childish mistake she never wants to think about it again. Knowing dolphins it probably led her into the net on purpose. So Y/N has been caught in nets before, she’s got out of them many times, that’s not her problem. Her problem is instead of the fishermen waiting to catch more fish in their net by leaving it in the ocean for a little while longer like most do, they started to pull the net to the surface as soon as they felt her stuck in it. That threw her off a bit, caused her to take a little longer to get free, she didn’t break surface of course but she got close enough to where they made her figure out and shot at her once they noticed she got free of the net. The harpoon sailed effortlessly through the water and caught her side. The long spear stuck but she used her claws to cut the shaft, the arrow however was jammed beneath the skin of her stomach and she’d be stupid to try to get it out here where there’s a chance she could get caught. Ignoring the pain she swims straight down, deeper into the ocean, far away from the boat trying to capture her. She ignores the pain as she examines her surroundings. She needs to figure out a plan and fast. She was bleeding so it won’t be long until she attracts predators. Although she could normally handle her own pretty well she was injured and she knew in her weakened state she wouldn’t survive a fight. She had a fleeting thought about racing home, but if something followed her there she could put the colony at risk. She knew they could win a fight but if she gave away their location they would be upset they had to move again. She couldn’t risk it. In a true act of desperation she heads straight to shore. She knew nothing big enough to take her down would be in that shallow of water. Her only worry was hiding from humans. She just needed time to think and take out the arrow so she could heal properly.

She swam as fast as she could to where she knew shore to be. She could feel herself growing tired the closer she got. Her version started to get spotty and she could feel her body getting weaker. Just a little bit more. She encouraged herself and pushes onward. She doesn’t give herself time to rest or even look around. She can’t take that chance. Finally she notices the bottom of the ocean getting closer, signifying she was near shore. She uses the last of her stretch to swim that much faster. Finally she breaks the surface and see the sky is dark, it’s night meaning she is least likely to run into humans at this time, she rushes to the sand. Until she using the top half of her body to crawl, unable to use her tail this close. Finally she stops and one hand goes to her wound and feels the arrow sticking out of her abdomen. Before she can gather the strength to pull it out she decides to take an actual rest for a moment, just a moment. The rest of her vision goes black and she doesn’t even try to fight the sleep that overcomes her.

Gally walked along the shore to clear his head. The guys were getting on his last nerves and he just needed some space. He walks for about 30 minutes one way, far from the dock and people. He sits on the beach and just looks out into the dark waters he can see the reflection of the moon in the ocean. He scans the area and freezes when he sees a lump on the beach. He can only make out a dark mass, the light of the moon not bright enough to help him see the shadow. He slowly makes his way closer thinking a manatee washed onto shore or something. Once he gets close enough to see a little better he can see it’s actually a girl, he can only see the top half of her body, the bottom half is submerged in the sea. Gally rushes closer and collapses onto the sand beside her. His hand goes to her neck and he sigh in relief when he feels a pulse. He notices her breathing is shaky like she’s having trouble but other than that she doesn’t move. He examines her and sees the problem, the tip of a harpoon is sticking out of her side.

“Jesus, who the hell throws a harpoon at a woman?” He whispers to himself. Thinking quickly he wonders if he should carry her to the town or if it would be faster to run to get help himself and rush back with a doctor. The thought pops into his head that this probably wasn’t an accident and if he leaves her here there is a real chance whoever did this to her might find her and finish what they started. That decides it and he gets to his feet and hooks his arms under her armpits to drag her out of the water fully. He doesn’t get far though because what he finds shocks the hell out of him. He falls flat onto his ass and uses his feet to push himself far away from the thing as fast as possible. The moment wakes her and she slowly starts to stir. What Gally thought was a young woman was actually anything but, her waist cuts off into a tail, an actual fishtail. The scales shimmer in the moonlight and reflect a glittery purple and the end fin was a lilac. Gally wondered for a moment if he was asleep, dead, or had gone batshit crazy. There was no way he was seeing an actual mermaid on the beach. Just then the girl opens her eyes and he can’t help but scream. Just then the creature face transforms; her cheekbones become sharper, her eyes go completely white making her pupils disappear, and she opens her mouth to reveal sharps fanglike teeth and it hisses loudly. Gally freezes and he gets the weirdest flashback to when he was a child and he was playing outside. When he was 7 he found a cat stuck under a fence, when he got close she hissed menacingly and swapped her claws at him. She scratched him pretty good and he bled out but he just waited until she calmed down enough for him to aid her. When he freed her she ran away. This creature reminded him of that cat, she was terrifying and could probably rip his head off with her teeth alone, but she was injured and scared, that’s where the hostility comes from.

Gally holds his hands palms up facing her to show he wasn’t trying to do anything funny. She has her sight trained on him.

“It’s okay, I’m just trying to help.” He doesn’t even know if she even understands him but he keeps his voice low and steady like an adult would talk to a skittish child. “It’s okay, your injured, I think I can help, I’m not gonna hurt you, it’s okay. I know you’re scared, I know you’re hurt, I know you want to get back in the water, so let me help you.” In the middle of his speech he slowly sits up and gets to his knees. By the end he slowly scoots towards her.

Her tail was still planted on the sand but her top half had twisted back towards him and her hands were planted on the sand. He knew with her injury it had to be painful but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He understood but notices she doesn’t move as he gets closer. Her face stays the same, never going back to the calm regular face it was when she was sleeping except her eyes squint. He slides to the side of her so she can turn her body back forward and be in less pain. Once he has her facing back towards the sea and her body isn’t twisted painfully he stops again. A quick glance shows he’s right beside her tail but doesn’t move her hands from their upturned unthreatening position. He glances at the arrow again and tries to figure out how to get it out.

“I just want to help,” he reassures and she watches him, her mouth now shut but still just as intimidating. “Can you understand me?” He asks softly and waits. She continues to study him for a moment before nodding once and he fights back a gasp of surprise.

“Okay, we got to get that out of you,” he nods towards the weapon lodged in her side. “if you know any specific way I can help you I would like to know them now because my only plan is to pull it out, press down, and pray you don’t bleed out.” She stares at him for a moment and he still doesn’t move waiting for some kind of sign from the siren.

“Seaweed,” she says softly, her voice is small and smooth and it takes everything in him not to fall in his ass in shock that an actual mermaid can speak and said something to him.

“Seaweed?”

“I need a long piece of seaweed to wrap around me… it’ll help me heal.” It takes her a while to get the sentence out like it takes too much energy to talk. Gally nods and looks around the beach to try to find what she needs. A few feet into the water he notices a stack of rocks and knows there is a fair share of seaweed stuck on them. He stands and notices her tense beside him.

“Shit,” Gally says softly to himself. “Okay, this is probably going to hurt but please don’t bite my head off, okay?” She studies him in silence for a moment before nodding once. He slowly grabs the end of the arrowhead that is above her skin. She teases at the moment and he stays still for a moment. “Okay, now take a deep breath and I’ll pull on 3, okay?” She nods once. He takes a breath with her and starts to count. He only says 1 before pulling the arrow straight out as fast as he can. He hears a loud screech near his ear and he scurries out of the way from the sound.

“I’ll be right back,” he informs her before rushing towards the boulders. Before he hits the water he kicks off his shoes and slides his shirt over his head he decides to keep his pants on. He quickly gets in and it doesn’t take long for the water to hit the middle of his chest. He reaches the nearest rock and hauls himself up before scanning the area. It takes him a minute but he finds a few long pieces of seaweed wedged between rocks. He doesn’t know how much he needs but figures better safe than sorry. After he grabs threes long pieces he jumps back into the water and as fast as he can gets to shore. With his other hand he grabs his shirt and shoes and runs back towards her. He slows down as to not startle her again and drops to his knees quickly. He notices that her face went back to normal like how she looked while she was asleep. He tosses his shirt and shoes to the side not bothering to put either back on before holding his hand towards her and waits for her instructions. She takes the seaweed while managing not to touch him. She stares down at the wound and studies it for a moment. “Unless you have powers I don’t know about our only option is to pull it out.” She meets his eyes for a moment and y/e/c burns into his soul before she jerkily nods.

He nods back and slowly scoots closer to her. Once he was right beside her he can see the arrow is serrated making it harder and more painful to get out. 

“You lied!” She screeches and he sees her face back to the terrifying face it was earlier.

“I know I’m sorry, I was trying to catch you off guard so you didn’t tense up.” He explains quickly and he looks down at the bloody arrow before dropping it and going to her side again. She calms down again and her face goes back while she grabs the seaweed. He holds it against her wound and she wraps it around her waist and ties the end. After she lays flat on the beach and takes a few deep breaths to calm down and Gally sits silently next to her waiting for his heartrate to go back to normal. Her eyes are closed now and he’s terrified to break the silence. After what feels like an eternity she opens her eyes again and turns to look at him.

“Can you… help me get into the water… not too deep just to feel the water… it’ll help me heal.” She speaks slowly and takes deep breaths between pauses. Gally nods before standing and trying to figure out how to move her to the water with the least amount of pain. He decides dragging her again is not a good idea.

“I’m going to pick you up,” he explains and she nods and he slowly carries her bridal style to the ocean.

“Stop here,” she orders and he slowly lowers her to the water. It’s not too deep but enough to keep her wet and his feet to be submerged. She stays seated and they fall back into silence again. He waits a few minutes just watching her staring down at her seaweed wrapped stomach.

“How- so how did this happen?” Gally finally asks and she whips her head up to glare at him, it scares him a little bit but not too much since her face doesn’t change again.

“Humans,” she spits the word like an insult. “I got caught in a net and when I freed myself they shot the harpoon at me.”

“Did they see you… like what you are?” He clarifies.

“I don’t know, I don’t think so, you humans confuse us a lot with others…” he nods remembering how not too long ago before he walked up to her he thought she was a manatee.

“So wha- what do I call you?” He wasn’t sure what exactly her species was referred as. He wasn’t sure if mermaid or siren were interchangeable. His only knowledge was horror stories exchanged among sailors on ships to scare the newbies. Even though he’s been working on the sea for 5 years he never had stories of his own. Hell he wasn’t even sure he believed in mermaids until this moment right now.

“We greet each other differently,” she says and he waits for her to explain but she never does. Instead she reaches for the seaweed and pulls it off. Gally is surprised to see her wound gone, only a light pink scratch remains but Gally can tell it will be gone in no time. She bends her tail to pull herself deeper into the oceans and Gally watches her unsure what to do. She gets to waist deep water for him but she’s laying down so only her head bops above the water.

“Y/N, that’s what you can call me,” she answers and he can feel his cheeks warm embarrassed.

“Y/N,” Gally tries the name and smiles kindly. “Well I’m Gally ma’am,” he introduces himself before holding out his hand; she looks at his hand in confusion. “Uh, you’re supposed to grab it and shake it up and down,” he explains while reaching for her hand. She watches him and once her grasps it he moves it slowly up and down. Her hand feels smooth but at first but when he moves a bit he can feel it snag like his hand is stuck. “It’s how humans greet each other,” he explains and she whispers his name softly to test it out and Gally ignores the shiver going down his spine.

“Thank you for your aid sailor Gally,” she says and he furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “I’m a siren, we can smell sailors from miles away,” she explains and her eyes flash all white for a moment before going back. “For helping me, I will grant you one wish, anything you desire is yours.” She explains and Gally sits there stunned for a moment trying to figure out what his wish would be. His mind was drawing a blank, the only thing he could think at the moment is he wanted to know more about Y/N, not just her species but her specifically.

“I don’t know…” he admits, “Can I take a day to think about it?” He asks and she studies him for a moment. She’s trying to figure out if it’s a trap or not.

“Fine, meet me here tomorrow night,” she says and he nods.

“What time?” He asks and she studies him before a moment before flashing her sharp teeth in a horrifying smile and turning her body and diving into the sea depths and disappearing. Gally sits stunned for a moment wondering what time he should come back tomorrow or if she was ever coming back, did he just lose out on a wish?

“You know you can’t return,” a fellow mermaid named Brenda warned.

____

Y/N explained to the colony what had happened to her and meeting the sailor.

“I offered him a wish in exchange for his help,” she explained.

“He could set up a trap for you when you return,” another explains.

“Don’t you think he would’ve attacked while I was injured if he wanted to do me harm? I can handle a human now that I am fully healed.”

“You give humans too much faith,” Brenda argues.

“I owe him a wish, that’s it.”

Y/N waits to the moon is high above the ocean before going to meet sailor Gally. It doesn’t take her long to swim to the same area but she takes a while to swim around the area before breaking the surface just to make sure he didn’t try to set up a trap. She spots the piles of rocks that Gally found the seaweed the night before and swims to it to use it as a shield to scope out the area before exposing herself. Her head lifts above and scans the area. She sees Gally laying on the beach staring at the stars and she takes a moment to just watch him, making sure no one else is with him.

_____

Gally decides his best bet is to go to the beach the same time he went yesterday and wait. He figures it would be empty by that time anyway like it was yesterday. He leaves the house and claims he’s going for walk. He leaves with only his jacket and a small blanket to rest on while he waits, he doesn’t know how long he’ll be there. Once he gets to the same spot he met Y/N he unfolds his blanket and sits as close as the water as he could get without hitting the tide. He slips his shoes and socks off again and scans the ocean waiting.

After she deems it safe she swims near shore and reveals herself. Gally doesn’t notice as his attention is still on the night sky.

“You’re back,” Gally greets.

“Sailor Gally,” she calls out and he quickly sits up to see her swimming.

He stands and walks closer and she gets closer as well.

“You sound surprised,” Gally chuckles and shrugs before pulling off his shoes and rolling up his pant legs before sitting down.

“You helped me, I owe you a debt, don’t you remember?”

Y/N pulls herself onto shore and lays on her stomach but remains in the water.

“I… I wasn’t sure you were going to come back,” he admits

“Of course I do…” Y/N lays her head on her folded arms and looks up at the sailor, studying him.

“Well, did you think of your wish?”

“No, I’m still trying to figure out what I want,” Gally looks down and his cheeks tint red.

“You don’t know what you want? That’s rare for a human,” she explains.

“Well what would you recommend I wish for?”

“I don’t know, humans usually wish for money, power, love, trivial things like that.”

“Love is a trivial thing?” Gally raises one eyebrow high as he questions Y/N.

“It’s freeing… the thought that I’m constantly in motion and not tied down to any one piece of land is comforting. I didn’t really start because I WANTED to be a sailor or work with water, I was 18 with no family and needed a job. Then I fell in love with it. It’s easy to get lost in the ocean, on land people can focus on you too much…” Y/N stares at him in thought for a moment.

“I wouldn’t know,” Y/N admits as her tail waves back and forth with the movement of the ocean. “Why do you work with water?” She starts with.

Gally looks out into the ocean for a bit and thinks of how to word his thoughts.

“How about your own boat and crew?” She reasons. “A lot of sailors would kill for that…” Gally shakes his head as soon as she suggests it.

“No, I have no desire to be in charge of a crew. If you asked me a couple years back maybe but now I know it’s not for me.”

“What’s it like living on land?” She questions instead of trying to dissect what he said. Gally shrugs and sighs.

“I’m not here much but I share a house with the crew and all they want to do is drink and talk about the local women. It’s… suffocating. It’s like you’re in competition with everyone around you. On the ship we all have a job and place but on land it’s like you have to outdo the person next to you.”

“When do you go out again?”

“We set sail again in another 2 months,” he answers.

“I can make someone fall in love with you,” she offers and stares ahead at the sand.

“Nah, if I get into a relationship I want it to be authentic and real, not magic.” He explains.

“You’re a difficult man Sailor Gally,” Y/N smirks showing a bit of fangs and Gally chuckles in response.

“Now you sound like my captain… How does this all work? Like your magic, where does it come from?”

“Everyone is born Sailor Gally,” Y/N smiles.

“Magic has always been there, there’s no explanation I have, it’s like your voice, it’s a part of you that you’re born with and just use. It’s just something my body is born with, same as my tail and hands.”

“Were you… born?”

“No… I mean…” Gally takes a deep breath and tries a different approach. “I’ve heard stories that some mermaids are women who fell overboard and drowned but were saved by a kiss and changed into mermaids themselves… Is that true?” Gally looks into Y/N eyes and waits for her answer.

“It is possible to be changed that way… they rarely FALL though,” she spits the word and a little bit of a hiss comes out. “Usually they are thrown overboard by other humans. Do humans really believe women aren’t allowed on ships because it’ll wreck?” Gally takes a deep breath and slowly exhales it.

“There are some sailors who believe women don’t belong on the ocean and that having one as a crew member is bad luck… yes. I don’t know if I fully believe it but my crew has never thrown ANYONE overboard since I’ve worked it.”

“Do you work with women on your crew?”

“…no…” he admits and she studies him a moment.

“So it means at least your captain believes it…”

“How did you become a mermaid?” Gally dares to ask.

“Do you need more time think of a wish?” She counters instead of answering.

“Yes…”

“Then I’ll leave you for now, tomorrow I’ll be back. Hopefully you have a better idea of what you want. Farewell Sailor Gally,” She flashes her sharp teeth again and shoves her body deeper into the water before disappearing again.

Gally stared at the still waters for a moment before standing and gathering his things again. He had been here for about 3 hours. Tomorrow he at least had a better idea of what time to come.

“You’re going to see that sailor again aren’t you?” She accuses.

____

Y/N prepares to meet Gally when she’s stopped again by Brenda.

“He still has a wish to make,” Y/N swims around her.

“He’s keeping you coming back to give himself time to set a trap.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“This can only end badly.” She warns before Y/N swims far enough away to not hear her anymore.

Just like before Y/N scans the area before revealing herself to Gally.

“Y/N,” he greets before walking barefoot to the edge of the water like the night before.

“Sailor Gally, hello,” she answer backs.

He sits down and she rolls onto her front and stares up at him.

“You don’t know what you want do you?” She asks and Gally stares at her in silence for a moment before shaking his head. “Eventually you’re going to have to give me an answer, I can’t come back forever…”

“Why not?” He challenges and his eyes shine.

“I’m not supposed to hang around humans too much,” the mermaid stares ahead and the statement hangs in the air.

“I wou- I have no reason to hurt you…”

“Humans tend to find reasons to hurt us.” Y/N made unwavering eye contact with him; Gally breaks it first and looks down.

“How old are you?” He asks.

“I can’t remember, over 200,” she answers and Gally’s eyes widen.

“Years old?!”

“Yes, we age differently than you…”

“Yeah I can tell…” he chuckles surprised.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 23,” he admits.

“You’re young,” he chuckles.

“So what do you do in the ocean?” He asks.

“You’re a curious young human aren’t you?” he gives a hearty laugh.

“What do you do on land?”

“Mostly wish I was back on the water… I read a lot. I like to be by myself, it’s hard to get some alone time on a ship with a bunch of other guys. So on land I take advantage of that.”

“Read?” Y/N’s lips move oddly around the word.

“Do you know what a book is?” Gally tries not to sound judgmental in his question, he genuinely wants to know more about the being. Y/N shakes her head no and Gally takes a moment to try and think of how to explain it. “Books are stories that you can hold, reading them is how you find out what they are saying…” Y/N nods and processes what he says.

“We gather and one of the mermaid’s tells a story and we all listen, usually it’s the oldest.” Gally nods.

“Books are like telling stories to yourself that someone else has created. The act is called reading.”

“Can you show me these books?”

“Yes… do you want me to read to you?”

“Yes, please, I want to know what human stories are like.”

“Okay, I’ll bring one tomorrow,” Neither of them pointed out that they never agreed for her to come back or that he still hadn’t decided on his wish yet.

The next night Gally grabs a copy of Alice and Wonderland and a lantern so he could see.

"Heading out again?" his crew mate Tim asks.

“Yeah… you know me, can’t stay trapped with you all too long…” Tim doesn’t say anything else so Gally gives him a nod before leaving.

It doesn’t take long for Gally to get to their spot, he doesn’t question when he started to think of it as their spot but he tries not to think too hard about it. He rolls his pants up and brings the blanket as close to the water as he could get before sitting the lantern down and lighting it with a match.

“What’s that?” Y/N startles Gally but he catches himself quickly.

“It’s a lantern, it helps me see in the dark,” he explains while getting himself situated.

“Your eyes don’t do that?” Y/N tilts her head in confusion.

“No, human’s need light to see, sometimes moonlight is enough, sometimes it’s not.” Gally chuckles and Y/N pulls herself as high up the beach as she can go to be closer to the sailor.

“Why are you so far?” only the tip of her tail is touching the tide by the time she’s close enough to him.

“The lantern and book can’t get wet,” he explains and she reaches for the lantern but he catches her wrist before she gets too close and closes the glass door to block the air from the flame. “You can’t touch fire, it hurts.”

“Fire,” she tests the word. “Why do you use it if it hurts you?”

“Your teeth can hurt you but you must use them,” he points out and she ponders his statement for a bit. “It helps us see, and cook, it also gives us warmth.”

“Cook? What is cook?”

“It’s what humans must do to our food to eat it.”

“You call it cook? We call it clean.” Gally gives a small smile at her mix up.

“We clean our food too, that’s not what it means though… It’s hard to explain. We burn the food so it’s not raw… It makes it warmer and tastes better to us,” she makes a face, “also if we eat an animal or fish after it’s just been killed we could possibly get sick and might die.”

“So you get hurt from fire and sick from food, I’m starting to question all the stories I’ve heard about the terrifying predators called humans…” Gally throws his head back and lets out a bark of a laugh at that. When he calms down he finds Y/N smiling, not enough to show teeth though.

“Are you going to show me this… book of yours now?”

Gally picks up the Alice in Wonderland and hands it to the siren. She turns it around and feels the cover before he reaches over and opens it so she can peek inside. She pulls it away a bit and stares at the letters trying to make sense of the symbols before closing it again and staring at the picture on the front and handing it back.

“Tell me the story,” she orders and Gally gets more comfortable.

“It’s long; I can’t tell it all in one night.” He explains and she nods once before he starts into it.

The next night Gally once again grabs his book and lantern, they got through a good chunk of Alice but didn’t finish. Gally had to cut the meeting short after 4 hours. Y/N protested but Gally explained he needs sleep. She let him go with a promise to return. The time to set sail was getting closer and Gally actually had to work during the day preparing for their next voyage.

“Off again?” Tim stops Gally before he leaves his room.

“Yep, just a stroll and a read before bed,” Gally explains as Tim narrows his eyes.

“Well don’t stay out too late, and stay safe.” He calls as Gally is already walking away.

Gally closed the book but kept his finger as a marker, looking up to show the mermaid she had his full attention.

___

"I have a question,"

"What's a rabbit?" Gally blinked realizing they made it a good chunk into the book without her knowing what a rabbit was.

"It's... an animal on land, it's fluffy and has big feet so it hops a lot. Anymore questions well we're talking?"

"What else do you have questions about?"

"Yes what's 'hops' mean?"

Gally laughs before getting up and hopping to show her what exactly it meant.

"What is a hat?"

"Still don't know your wish Sailor Gally?" Y/N smirks knowing the answer.

They spent hours talking about land versus water. Gally learned about more about fish than he ever learned as a sailor.

It was near sunrise when they finally parted.

"Not yet sorry..." Gally smiles back and she pushes herself back into the ocean fully before diving down and disappearing for the night.

Off to the side, out of sight of both Gally and Y/N, Tim sat having followed Gally and watched his interaction with a mermaid all night. The first hour he was convinced he was dreaming but now he knew for sure that his fellow sailor was interacting with a siren. Once he seen them start to part Tim got up and rushed to beat Gally back to the house to not raise suspicion.

Once back at the house Tim racked his brain trying to figure out his next move. Gally was literally flirting with danger. The fact that sirens were real was still shocking to him, this was life changing. People would travel days to see a real life mermaid. Tim thought back to the freak's tent at the circus. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that trapping the siren would be no easy feat, he would need the help of the whole crew for this. How would he convince him of the truth though?___

"Do you have a mate?" Gally chocked on the strawberry he was eating. Instead of reading like normal they decided to have a picnic. Y/N was curious about human food so Gally brought her different fruits.

"By mate you mean?"

"A perfect match... a partner for always... Do humans not have them? I know you can fall in love..."

"Yes we have them I just... was surprised by your question."

"Ok... well do you have one?"

"Uh no... it's hard being with someone when most your time is spent on a ship. Human women usually like guys who are around or who are of a higher class or someone they could relate to..."

"Do you usually have a hard time relating to other humans?" Y/N grabs a grape while she waits for his answer and chews it slowly making a sour face at the sweetness that Gally smiles at.

"Yeah, I just, I've always been alone so you kind of get used to it..."

"I understand... sometimes I leave to go alone for long periods of time. It's not smart for a mermaid though, we can die or get caught alone. It's best we stay in groups."

"Were you alone when you got stabbed with the spear?"

"Yes, I was just taking a swim alone, I shouldn't have been so close to the surface but I wanted a closer look at the moon." Gally looks up at the night sky and nods.

"It is beautiful," Gally agrees.

Once again out of sight of the mythical creature and sailor, Tim and another crew mate Mark sat in astonishment at the interaction.

"I don't believe it," Mark says in shock.

"You see it with your own two eyes. that's why I brought you here. As proof for everyone else.

"Do you think Gally is going to trap it?"

"No... look at them? Eating fruit on the beach? it's almost... romantic."

"He's not just going to let us take it..." Mark points out.

"He doesn't have to let us do anything! Once we convince the Captain to trap it, it's him against us. He's out-maned. I just needed you as my witness. Do you know how much money we could make? How famous we could be?"

"Come on, lets go back to the house and talk to Cap before Gally is finished with his date."____When Gally returns right before sunup he's surprised to see his captain an older man by the name of Janson sitting at the dining room table waiting for him.

"Captain?"

"Sailor Gally, I was waiting up to tell you the news..." Janson looks intently into the younger man's eyes for a moment before finishing his sentence. "We're setting sail tomorrow morning, you have a day to get yourself in order... say your goodbyes and such." "I have no one to say goodbye to Cap," Gally reminds him but the Captain just smiles.

"Of course... Most of us don't..."

"May I ask why we are leaving so soon? I thought we had at least another couple weeks?"

“Do you want to know how I became a mermaid?” Gally was shocked by Y/N’s question.

"Job came up, real money making opportunity, I'd be stupid to pass it up..." He smiles and Gally gets an uneasy feeling before nodding and walking to his room.

_____

The air is tense, both the human and mermaid were upset by the fact that this would be there last meeting for who knows how long. Gally would be shipping out tomorrow before the sun was even up.

“Yes,” he said quickly.

“A long time ago, before you were born, even before your parent’s parents were born I lived in a town far from here. The townspeople were scared because of things these little girls were doing. To keep themselves out of trouble they tried to blame others. It didn’t take long for things to get out of hand,” she pauses to take a deep breath and it comes out shaky before she continues her story. “The townspeople accused me of being,” her nose scrunches up a bit a she looks a little lost. “a witch… They ran this… trial… they threw me far into the ocean with a rope tied to my stomach.” She chuckles a bit but Gally doesn’t find anything funny about it. “I didn’t know how to swim then… They were supposed to pull me back but they weren’t quick enough. Before everything went black a mermaid swam towards me. Her name’s Brenda but I didn’t know it then. Do you know what a mermaid’s kiss is?”

“I think so…”

“When a mermaid kisses a human, they can turn into a mermaid. We don’t do it as much anymore, humans can’t be trusted as much as they used to. It’s only used on human’s that are drowning. I don’t really remember my first life… just my death, in bits and pieces, Brenda filled in the rest.”

By the end of her story Gally felt tears in his eyes. He mourned Y/N's past life and their death. He can't imagine how scared Y/N must have been in their final moments but he was glad they were at least still with him.

They spent the rest of their night in silence, a comforting one where they watched the stars and moon and listened to the ocean crash against the sand. Gally was done ignoring the romance of it all but knowing he loved Y/N doesn't change anything. The sun starts to show itself but they didn't rush to part like always, instead they watched it rise until the danger of Y/N being spotted was too much. As she starts to push herself into the ocean she asks again "Do you know what you want to wish for yet?"

"We're not really asking kid," Captain Janson explains kneeling in front of Gally.

"Yes..." Gally didn't finish the sentence however and Y/N didn't pry just smiles and fully submerges herself into the water. They had an unspoken understanding it seems. Gally walks back to the house and wonders if he'll see her while on the ship but given how little privacy he has aboard and the fact that Y/N isn't that reckless he knows that probably won't happen. He'll just have to wait until they dock again. The energy in the house is weird when he returns but not too different from the normal sail off days so he ignores it. No one blinks twice at Gally coming in when most of them were waking up. It's pretty normal for seamen to spend all night out the day before they leave again. They'll just assume he was at the pub or spent the night with his best gal, they don't need to know his best gal wasn't human. He packs what little clothes he has and walks beside his crew to the dock where their ship sat. Gally felt unease being around his crew but chalks it up to the fact that for the first time in his life he had something worth sticking around for, he wonders briefly if this is what others meant when they said they wished to go home. Gally wasn't the smartest man but he knew that him and Y/N would never fully work. They were from two different worlds, literally. However he wants her as long as he can have her, if that means secret meetings under the moonlight where they spend hours talking that was fine by him.

_____

"I'm not doing it." Gally was exhausted, he should have known something was wrong when everyone was acting so strange around him, plus the shipping out early but he had no idea they knew about Y/N.

"Sorry Captain," he stares at the floor and remains quiet again.

"Come on Gally, there's other fish in the sea," The other crew mates laugh at the joke. "Just let us catch her and you can find yourself a nice octopus to settle down with..."

"Shut up Tim."

"That creature can hurt you, they rip the flesh off of sailor's bones for a snack, they lure good men to their death for breakfast-"

"If she's so dangerous why do you think catching her is a good idea?" Gally spits blood out of his mouth directly onto the Captain's boot in a weak attempt at defiance and gets a backhanded slap for his actions.

"That thing could get us a lot of money. You may never have to work hard again. Come on, orphan like you, no family, no ties, you could set up roots, clean up, get some female attention that actually has two legs." The crew chuckles again.

"There's no amount of money in this world that will make me help you catch her." Captain Janson looks down in frustration and stands up before punching Gally straight in his jaw, once, twice, a third time before Tim stops him and pulls him back. Gally lets his head hang in defeat.

Away from the crowd Tim whispers his idea to the Captain.

"He's not gonna give it up... but maybe, their bond is a two way street..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he won't say where the siren is and maybe the siren feels the same way... Maybe it won't let him die..."

The Captain thinks the statement over for a second before looking back at Gally. He was stubborn as a mule. They beat him bloody and he still hadn't given them any information. Clearly going to get the creature wasn't an option but maybe, just maybe they could get the creature to come to them. 

“I wish Y/N was here,” he thinks as the water gets darker around him further from the light he sinks. His lungs start to burn screaming for air. They don’t understand what’s going on, they think he’s holding his breath for the fun of it. Things start to get hazy when he sees a back mass heading full speed to him. 

______

“Oh great a shark,” he’d laugh if he could.

He fights to keep his eyes open, he’s getting light headed. The creature comes closer into view and he finally sees it’s not a shark but Y/N. Gally immediately believes it to be a hallucination conjured by his brain to comfort him in his final moments. She grabs his face with both hands.

“Gally,” he can hear her voice so clearly in his head, like she is really speaking to him, just like it would sound on the beach. “Please hold on, I’m here now,” she reaches behind him and suddenly his arms are free, she must of slashed them with her claws. She grabs one of his hands and shoots upward swimming as fast as she can. The water sloshing around them makes it harder for Gally to see and without air he’s already fighting not to pass out anyway. Gally has enough sense to remember the crew awaiting to trap his friend and he uses his last little bit of energy to thrash around and tug on her hold on him until they stop. When Y/N stops swimming and comes face-to-face with him again he notices the water is lighter again, like they are closer to the surface.

"I hope they don't see us." He could feel Y/N confusion but she doesn't try and pull him to the surface again.

He wishes he could tell her it’s okay, that he’s sorry, that he’ll miss her, but he can’t speak. He closes his eyes when she grabs his cheeks again and can feel himself falling into unconsciousness. Right before he slips completely under he feels a softness touch his lips

“I love you Y/N” he thinks before everything goes black.

His eyes open and he feels different… weightless. Gally is confused, “is this heaven?” he thinks, before a movement catches his eyes. Y/N is in front of him and touching his cheeks again.

“Gally,” her voice is soft. He knows now it is heaven. “This isn’t heaven…” she explains and he blinks, his eyes feel different. He looks around. He still looks like he’s in the water. That’s impossible, he’s dead, he has to be. Is heaven in the ocean? Or is his heaven with Y/N and because she’s a mermaid he’s in the ocean. “Gally!” He looks up at her.

“How are you speaking without opening your mouth?”

“I need to explain somethings. Gally you aren’t dead… I- do you remember the story of how I became a mermaid?” Gally thinks back to the conversation they had on the beach before and nods. “You’re a mermaid… I kissed you.” Her eyebrows furrow and her lips are downward. “I’m sorry…”

Before she could overthink too much he grabs her face and smashes his lips to hers. Their first kiss he didn’t get to enjoy it because he was on the cusp of death. Her body pulls closer and molds against his and she wraps her arms around his waist as she kisses back. It’s when her arms touch his hips he realizes a change. He pulls back and looks down. His tail is a yellow with a gold shimmer and the fins are black.

“I have a tail!” He hears a giggle as he swishes it through the water. “Wait how do we talk… can you read all my thoughts?” He looks back up at Y/N and she shakes her head fondly.

“Above the water we can talk like you did before. Down hear I can’t hear your thoughts… It’ll take you some time but you’ll learn the difference between communicating and thinking. Basically if you look at another mermaid and talk to them in your mind they’ll hear it. Don’t direct thoughts at another mermaid don’t look at them or picture yourself talking to them or they’ll hear it. For a while you should only look at me if you’re trying to talk to me until you get used to it.”

“I’ll probably offend other mermaids for a bit…”

“No, you won’t meet others for a while. I have to keep you from the others until you learn how to be a mermaid…”

“Are… are they upset about me?” Gally’s voice comes through worried.

“No… it’s just the rules whenever a human is changed. I’ll explain more later.”

"Wait, where are we? Are we still where you found me?" Gally becomes frantic and Y/N has to grab his cheeks to stop him from literally swimming in circles.

"Calm down, we are far away from the surface and away from the ship, what happened?"

"My crew turned on me, they found out about you somehow. I think one of them followed me to the beach one night. They wanted to trap you but I refused, that's why they threw me over. I think they were hoping you'd save me."

"I did save you," she corrects.

"I know but I think I sunk too deep if you broke the surface they would've caught you," Y/N gets this soft look on her face, almost fond.

"That's why you fought me when I tried pulling you to air," it wasn't a question but Gally nodded anyway.

"Gally you spent your last human moments protecting me?" She squeezes his cheeks which she was still cradling while he explained what happened and smashes her lips to his for a third time.

The merman melts into it and moves similar to how he would move his legs he manages to wrap his tail around hers and she giggles against his lips before pulling apart, Gally chases her lips and she allows a few a few more pecks before placing a clawed finger on them to stop him.

"I love you Sailor Gally," she smiles softly and if he still could he would be blushing.

"I wished for you, you know?" He says instead knowing she already heard his confession earlier.

"I know..."

[fromcainwithlove]

this is because i chatted with @thepavementsings about pregnant yuki and then she talked about what cravings he would have and i spiraled.

so: pregnant driver cravings for half the grid

lewis: not just meat, fast food meat. he’s so mad about it all the time. he’s going through impossible burgers at a rate previously unknown to man. makes seb stop at panda express and get the plant based orange chicken. sometimes they’re grilling outside the grocer and he just stands with his eyes closed and inhales as hard as he can.

seb: käsespätzle, exactly how his mom made it. lewis tries to bring home mac and cheese and seb loses it. that’s not even cheese, it’s POWDERED CHEESE FOOD. lewis has to call his mom and endure 20 minutes of overbearing german mother interrogation before she’ll tell him the secret ingredient.

charles: literally the most impossible things to find. it’s the middle of january, he wants a peach freshly picked from the orchard, still sun-warmed and juicy. accuses pierre of not loving him when he brings home an apricot.

pierre: doesn’t crave anything, has awful aversions instead. there’s an entire month where the sight and smell of noodles makes him want to puke?? charles has to eat dinner in the bathroom with the fan on more than once.

yuki: cereal. literally prowling the aisles, belly pushing into the cart handle, just trying to find something frosted with a ton of sugar. buys a family size box of lucky charms and eats all of the marshmallows.

daniel: shellfish, which he thinks is great because it’s not too unhealthy right? max dutifully buys him fresh shrimp and clams like three times a week and it’s fine it’s great he doesn’t mind the house smelling like the bottom of the ocean 24/7 he doesn’t mind watching daniel slurp down a dozen oysters at 6 am this is love hahaha

max: let’s be real, it’s ice cream. mostly dense chocolate flavors but he’ll go for something with caramel in it too. he eats half a pint every day weeks 20-22 and then the obgyn mentions that he’s put on a little more weight than they’d like in the second trimester and he cries. they have to find a new doctor and daniel is not allowed within 100 feet of the building for a year.

lando: anything salty. so many packets of crisps the inside of his mouth is abraded and sore. george calls him out on twitch like, did you just salt your pizza?? lando refuses to be shamed, just rubs his belly and says she gets what she wants.

alex: the spiciest stuff on earth. his mom is constantly slapping his hands away from sauces and telling him that he’s gonna make the baby come too soon, but he can’t taste anything unless it’s at an 11. the baby’s born with a little red birthmark on his shoulder and she’s like I TOLD YOU ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN

valtteri: warm drinks with cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves. hot apple cider, spiced chocolate, decaf coffee drinks. valtteri is doing the whole pregnant goddess thing, skin glowing, cheeks pink, never has a day of sickness, takes all the multivitamins. tells pierre to drink ginger tea when he’s nauseous which is like 6 solid weeks and pierre wants to choke him but then he tries the tea and it does actually help.

and i’m very tired so that’s all i’ve got but i would love to hear thoughts on more drivers/different ideas!

[libraryofloveletters]

in a matter of seconds, the world crumbled

Summery: The thought of not being able to tell Eddie how he felt never crossed his mind until that moment, the moment the world crumbled

 post-coda of 4x13 in which things take a turn for the worse.

Warnings: blood, hospitals, medical inaccuracies, injuries, death.

A/N: Thought I'd try my hand at breaking your hearts. Do forgive the medical inaccuracies, I don’t know medical terminology for shit. Also for my beloved Logan because I told her I was making it sad @mrs-dr-reid

[AO3 LINK]

---

The warmth of the blood splattered across his face caused his own blood to run cold.

The gaping hole in his shoulder as he stood across from him, the two of them frozen in time.

Everything happened so fast.

Buck didn’t have a chance to register what had happened. One minute he and Eddie were talking and the next he was on the floor. Buck and Eddie were both in shock. The blood soaked through his uniform, Buck couldn’t bring himself to move - everything in him was screaming to run toward Eddie but physically couldn’t.

If it weren’t for Captain Metha, Buck would be right next to Eddie with a bullet in him too.

The next 5 minutes were a blur.

Buck was beside the truck on the floor, his eyes glued to Eddie.

Eddie was slipping and he was slipping fast.

“Shots fired! Firefighter is down, I repeat, firefighter is down!”

“Eddie,” he mumbled. “His name is Eddie.” Buck says to himself.

All Buck wanted to do was run towards Eddie, to help him like Eddie had helped him when he was pinned under the truck not so long ago but he couldn’t.

Eddie’s breaths were slow and heavy, it seemed like it hurt him to breathe. The blood trickled across the concrete, the pool of blood becoming bigger by the second.

Eddie’s eyes found Buck’s.

The honey brown eyes that Buck loved so much were filled with fear yet were so empty at the same time.

It was almost as if Eddie knew no one would be able to come help him before he bled out- of course he knew, it was his job to know how to assess the situation and how much time someone had.

The ocean blue eyes that Eddie could stare into forever would be the last thing he saw.

Buck’s heart broke every second little by little, watching as Eddie’s eyes began to shut and how his hand shifted slightly, reaching towards him.

The moment Eddie’s eyes shut was the moment Buck went into overdrive. He pulled himself up. Buck could care less if there was a sniper somewhere.

Eddie needed him- he needed Eddie.

He dropped to his knees beside him, rolling Eddie onto his back. There was a patch of red against his face beside he had passed out face down in the pool of blood - the sight of him made Buck sick to his stomach.

“Eddie,” Buck patted his face, “Come on, wake up.” he calls and pulls the uniform shirt open. The hole was in his shoulder, his skin stained red.

Buck pulled him up towards him to feel behind his shoulder, trying to feel if there was an exit wound and there was - now it made sense as to why he bled out so fast.

It was just Eddie and Buck in the middle of the road. The truck parked to one side and the ambulances still in their spots. Buck holding and pressing on both sides of the wound would only do so much for Eddie.

He wasn’t a medic, he was trying his best and Buck's best was all Eddie had then because no one was coming.

No one moved an inch. Everyone was still hunkered down behind the trucks and the ambulances.

But then again, no one else loved Eddie the way Buck did.

“Eddie, come on.” Buck patted his face, the blood from his face smudging against the clean skin. “Eddie wake up, please” His voice broke at the end.

Maybe his best wasn’t enough.

He was getting in his head. He couldn’t do that, now wasn’t the time.

“Why are you all standing around?!” The change from sadness to anger was a quick one.

He knew Eddie wouldn't make it if he didn’t get some actual medical care. Then and only then did someone come running towards him. He didn’t know him but he was one of the paramedics on scene from before. The paramedic took over, Buck shifted to the other side of Eddie. His hand now stained red from the blood but he grabbed Eddie’s hand anyways.

Even if he wasn’t conscious, he needed him to know that he was there, that he had his back.

He watched as they loaded him onto the stretcher, moved him into the ambulance and he was there right by his side on the ride to the hospital.

The heavy feeling settling in his stomach, he was going to be sick. He didn’t feel like this when he found Maddie after Doug. He knew Maddie was gonna be okay although she was hurt but Eddie- he had lost so much blood, his skin was pale and the heart rate much slower than it should be.

Glancing down at his hand, Buck’s thumb rubbed gently over Eddie’s hand. He hadn’t let go except for when they lifted him onto the stretcher.

“Is that normal ?” eyes glued to the monitor, shifting down to the million and one wires attached to Eddie right now.

“He’s lost a lot of blood, his heart is just pumping slower than it would because of the lack of blood.”

In some way, Eddie looked peaceful.

Almost too peaceful.

The ambulance came to a stop, the doors opened and they began pulling the stretcher out. Buck follows them as they tell the doctor what happened.

The stretcher rolls into the surgery prep corridor, through the doors and Buck follows them in but no one seemed to notice that he wasn’t supposed to be there.

“Sir?” a nurse finally noticed him by the door as they removed the rest of the blood soaked clothes from Eddie.

“Sir?” they call once more, a hand gently touching his arm bringing him back to reality.

He turns, “you can’t be in here. We’ll take you to the waiting room.”

“No, no it’s- I know where it is.” he steps back from the room slowly just as they begin rolling the stretcher towards the OR.

There’s a phone ringing but Buck’s eyes are glued to Eddie. Soon enough he realizes it’s his phone.

There are splotches of red on the case from the splatters of blood that were everywhere. Everything on him was covered in blood.

“Hello ?”

“Buck, did you take the car?” Bobby’s voice rang through the phone.

“What?”

“You know, red one, says battalion 7 on the side ?” a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Oh uh- yeah sorry. I have to go get it” Buck had completely forgotten about the car, all his focus was on Eddie.

“Go get it? Where are you ?” Bobby’s voice is filled with concern and confusion.

“Hospital” he mumbles.

“Why?”

“Ed- Eddie was,” he let out a breath, “Eddie was shot. I um- I have to get the car, I’ll call you back.”

“No, Buck. Buck, listen to me- stay where you are. We’re on our way. Forget about the car.”

Before he could protest, Bobby hung up.

---

The waiting room was quiet, there was an older couple in there waiting for their grandbaby to arrive is what he deduced from their conversation.

“Buck?” Bobby called, he was first to step into the waiting room. Hen, Chimney and Maddie were following behind him.

Buck stood and turned to face them. The blood still splattered across his face, the red protruding against the white of the shirt. None of them knew that Buck was with Eddie, except for Chim but they hadn’t realized how close Eddie Buck must have been.

“Where is he?” Bobby asks, taking a seat beside the chair Buck was sitting in.

“Surgery, the nurse just came by and said it’ll be a little longer.”

Maddie pushes past Chimney, her arms open waiting for her little brother who on cue, falls into her arms. She held him as he sniffled, holding back the tears.

“It’s okay Buck, he’ll be okay.” Her hands lift his head from her shoulder, cupping his face. Her eyes studied him, his eyes red aside from the splatters- he had been crying before they showed up.

She knew her brother, she had taken care of him all her life.

“I know,” she gives him a sympathetic smile before Buck’s head falls back against her shoulder.

Maddie was there, she was holding him and Chimney was sitting across from them. “Where’s Jee?”

“With Mr and Mrs. Lee. Where’s Christopher ?”

“Chris.. Oh my god. Maddie, I-”

“Hey, it’s okay. I can call Carla and ask her to stay with him for the night”

“No, he’s-” Buck sniffled, “he’s with Eddie's grandmother. I- I don’t want to worry her”

“Let Carla pick him up, she can stay with him if she isn’t busy, okay ? If she is, I’ll go stay with him.”

“You’d do that ?” He asks, not that he was surprised because that’s who Maddie was- always helping someone but because she knew.

Maddie had always known Buck loved Eddie, more than in a friend way. Which friend helps the oher raise their kid ? Babysit him, have sleepovers, would go to the end of the earth for ? Not to mention when Buck told her about the first visit after the tsmanui with the whole “there’s nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you.”

They were in love with each other, they just haven't realized it yet or maybe they did, they just didn’t know what to say yet.

“You should be the one that’s here when he wakes up”

---

Over the next few hours, the waiting room thinned out. Chimney and Maddie left first, stopping to pick up Jee Yun from the Lees on the way home. Athena had a shift and she offered to call in and stay but Bobby said he’d call her with updates.

Bobby and Hen were the last 2 with Buck. Hen left shortly after Athena, she promised the kids to be home for dinner and said she’d be back in the morning to see Eddie.

And now it was just Bobby and Buck.

“Come on, let’s get you a clean shirt. If you're going to be the first one to see him when he gets out of surgery, a non-blood covered shirt would be nice.” He gets up, waiting for Buck to join him.

Bobby pulls Buck along with him to the gift shop in an attempt to find a shirt for him. Buck was following him around like a lost puppy, mopping as he went along. Bobby pulled a shirt from the rack. It was a bright pink shirt with bold bubble letters that read ‘it’s a girl!’ on it. Buck’s brows furrowed before shaking his head. Bobby let out a small chuckle before putting it back on the rack.

“One minute we were standing there, having a conversation and the next he was on the ground. I couldn’t do anything, I didn’t move, I couldn’t- I didn’t help him.” his voice breaking at the end of the sentence, his head tilted back looking up at the ceiling in hopes of getting rid of the tears now welling up in his eyes.

Not that Bobby hadn’t seen him emotional or crying but he felt like he needed to hold himself together because the little voice in the back of his head kept saying ‘that’s what Eddie would do.’

“Hey,” Bobby’s hand reaches out, holding Buck’s shoulder. “You did- you were the first one over there. You were by his side the whole way.”

He sniffles, the back of his hand coming up to wipe the falling tears away from his face. “I know but i just feel like I didn’t do enough, maybe if I reacted faster, if I just-”

“Hey, he’s alive Buck, because you reacted. So don’t, not even for a second, blame yourself for not getting over to him faster”

Buck nodded, he had always been grateful for Bobby and his guidance.

Bobby tossed a shirt at Buck, a blue one with the hospital logo - something for him to change into. Bobby stepped away when he got a call, Buck changed into the clean shirt. The two of them headed back towards the waiting room.

“I’ll be back in about an hour, I've got to take Harry to Michael and I’ll come right back. Will you be okay ?” Bobby’s hand rested on Buck’s shoulder once more. “Yeah, I’ll be here. Tell him I said hi”

There he was, alone in the hospital waiting room. He had never actually been in there off duty. He had always been on the other side of the doors, he was the one they were usually waiting for but not today.

Today he sat alone in the room, the terribly uncomfortable chair poking his side, the blinding effect of the white hospital lights.

There were so many things he wanted to say to Eddie. All things he had said before but it was his way of hoping that if he wished hard enough, Eddie would wake up and he would be able to tell him.

“You’re an amazing father.”

“One of the best firefighters i have ever met.”

“My best friend”

“The one I’m in love with.”

The realization of the fact that he was in love with Eddie hit him when he saw Eddie fall to the ground. Somewhere in him had always known but it hit him then and there. All the unsaid feelings and subtle moments of touches shared between them bubbled up the surface.

“Diaz ?” the doctor called, looking around to see if anyone was there. Buck stood, his hands wiping on his jeans.

“Yeah? Is he okay ?”

“There were some complications. The loss of blood was severe, we were able to stable him before removing the bullet which then revealed another bleeder. He crashed twice.” the doctor let out a sigh, the room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. He was bracing himself for bad news.

“We weren’t able to save him. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

The words rang through his head. He stood there, looking at the doctor- frozen once again.

Buck was sick to his stomach, the urge to puke was masked by the urge to cry and scream. There were so many emotions, he didn;t know how to feel or what to do.

All he knew was that Eddie wasn’t coming back.

His best friend.

The man he thought was the love of his life.

The thought of not being able to tell Eddie how he felt never crossed his mind until that moment.

He’d never get a chance to tell him he loves- loved him.

That was the moment the world crumbled.