#a second movie of them leaving n heading to san francisco

[midnaurs]

Butch martha. . .. martha in a tailor made suit. . .butch/femme martha and karen getting to be themselves after leaving Lancet

[buckybleu]

bro now i can't stop thinking about shangqi entering the avengers and reader is set to show Katy and Shangqi into their new headquarters but like reader doesn't know it's them. Until she like, sees them. Katy had kept in touch with reader from time to time but hadn't found a moment to say what happened to her over phone bc it felt more like a thing u say face to face. And she's so shocked and Shangqi was hoping to see her here and apologize for the millionth time but

Wait mid ask i was thinking did shangqi and Katy ever went to ta lo while reader and him were together?

Okay idk I'm just vibing.

So shangqi gets reader alone and Sexy ass Sam comes over and introduces himself with his hand on readers shoulders. Then he says goodbye after a weird talk, kisses reader on the forehead and Shangqi is like :o

Btw this is not a request I'm just like thinking. Thought u may like my thoughts KDJSKSKSKSK

I'm team Sam.

Pairing: Xu Shang-Chi x fem!reader

A/N: I know you said it wasn't a request, but I couldn't help it and let my fingers slip! Also I love your thoughts, don't worry hehe❤️ A little part 2 to Everlasting.

****

The elevator dings, alerting that you've reached your floor. You swipe your badge to enter the lab as a chorus of cheers abrupt. Some of your colleagues are huddled around a computer screen, intently watching whatever video is playing; ooo's and ahh's slipping past their lips.

"Do you know what's got them all riled up?" From where you're standing, you can only catch glimpses of what looks like action movie of sorts. Dr. Cho hands you a manilla folder, looks over and shrugs her shoulders.

"Not sure, something about a bus ride gone wrong in San Francisco or something."

San Francisco? You try to catch another peak of the video playing but Dr. Cho starts to talk about the upcoming gear improvements for the Avengers. You listen intently to what she's saying and tasking you, but the voice inside your head keeps telling you to call Katy. Something starts to rise from your throat.

"Y/N? Are you okay?"

You swallow the bitter taste in your mouth, nodding at your boss. "Yea, sorry. I-uh I had something on my mind. Sorry what were you saying, Bucky’s arm calibration?”

Dr. Cho presents the blue prints on her tablet as you start down the hallway. You don't know what this feeling is, but you definitely need to call Katy later.

****

"Wait, wait. Hold on, you're leaving? Where are you going?" You pace around your office, listening to Katy scatter around her room and shove clothes into a bag.

After recalibrating Bucky's arm, you rushed to your office to give Katy a call. Before you could even click on her contact, Sam had texted you a link to a video.

Baby, you have got to check this out. It's insane!!

Your heart nearly jumps out your chest upon seeing Shang-Chi fighting men on the bus. Especially the one that had a razor for a fist? What the hell was going on? It didn't help hearing Katy's scream.

"Shang-Chi and I are leaving on the next flight out to Macau. He's trying to find his sister."

"Macau? Sister?! Katy, are you sure you and I are talking about the same person?" At this point you don't know what to believe. From the years you've known Shang-Chi, he's never mention anything about a sister.

"Yea it has something to do with their pendants." Katy says nonchalantly as she continues packing, "Hey, do you happen to know what the weather's like in Macau?"

"Katy! Stop for one second! Macau? Why...what. Are you guys okay? Are you hurt?" You take a moment to catch your breath. First the bus video and now a rushed trip to Macau to find Shang-Chi's sister? Nothing is adding up or making sense.

"Look I promise, we'll explain everything when we get back." A car honks in the distance as Katy rushes out the door, "Shang-Chi's here, I gotta go! Talk to you soon!"

"Wait Katy. No, no, please what-" The line cuts off with the dial tone. You press the palm of your hands to your eyes, trying your best to suppress your frustrated tears. Shang-Chi and Katy were leaving to Macau and you had no idea if everything was okay. You don't hear the knock on your door or it opening as your inner turmoil slowly takes over.

You're startled by the hands gently gripping your shoulders.

"Hey, hey it's just me." Sam's warm voice soothes the panic in your chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He presses a kiss to your forehead, arms pulling you into his chest.

Sam chuckles as he tries to decipher your muffling. He pulls away and cups your face, eyes raising in concern. "What's going on, baby? Everything alright?"

You wipe the stray tears with your sleeves, giving Sam your best smile. "I'm good. Just some rushed news from Katy. And I'm just overthinking as usual."

"Hey whatever it is, I'm sure everything's fine. What's that thing you always say about her...she's a tornado and will-"

"Will push through an entire city, tearing up everything in her path." You chuckle, heart growing a bit more that Sam remembered such a miniscule detail.

"Exactly. I'm positive she'll give you a call in a bit. Hmm?" You nod your head and kiss his cheek. "Alright, it's lunch time and I brought my favorite girl her favorite food."

****

Katy didn't call you back and hasn't answered any of your texts or return your calls. You thought maybe she didn't have international data, but there had to be wifi in the hotel right? It's been nearly a week and nothing. At this point you're about to send Sam and Bucky to Macau to find your friends.

"Dr. Cho, have you seen Dr. Banner? Ms. Reeves's DNA resequencing results from MIT have come in. A novel mutation in the XRCC2 gene was identified." You scroll through your tablet making sure you have the correct data. "Oh, Sam and Bucky also need you to clear their injuries before-"

"Y/N." Dr. Cho's voice is gentle, chuckling at your rambling state, "You're overworking yourself again. Slow it down."

"Sorry Helen." You glance around the lab, not finding the man you're looking for. "Do you know if Dr. Banner is in his office?"

"He's in the conference room right now. Emergency meeting with Wong and Captain Danvers. Should be wrapping up soon-"

A frazzled Bruce Banner suddenly steps through the door, shrugging on his lab coat. "The circus just got bigger everyone."

You and Dr. Cho share confused expressions, not understanding Bruce's comment. As much as you want to question it, you know better than to involve yourself further in the world of the Avengers than you already are.

****

Katy finally decided to call you back. But nothing about the phone call soothed your worries. If anything, it made you even more confused. The only thing she reassured you was that both her and Shang-Chi were okay.

While she did tell you they found Xialing, Shang-Chi's sister, Katy left out some important details of the trip; including that they were at the Tower today.

Friday's voice chimes through your intercom, "Ms. Y/L/N, Dr. Banner has requested your presence in the main lab."

"Thank you Friday."

Your heels click as you make your way down the hall towards the elevator. You don't think it's anything out the ordinary, probably just a check-in with reports or someone's gear needing to be upgraded.

Ping

A text notification pops up on your phone; it's a text message from Katy. Swipe across the notification, eye nearly bulging out your head. It's a photo of Katy and Shang-Chi in front the Avengers Tower.

"What the fuck?" The elevator doors open and you rush out towards Bruce's office. The quicker you find out what Bruce needs, the quicker you can get an explanation from Katy and Shang-Chi.

You're too focused on your phone, furiously texting Katy, when you collide into someone's chest. Their coffee spills all over your blouse, staining the satin fabric.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry. I wasn-" For the past year you've done your best to move on from the events in San Francisco last Christmas. You've allowed yourself to heal and move on. You found a new love with your boyfriend, Sam Wilson. But seeing Shang-Chi in front of you for the first time in a year, you can feel an unsettling murmur in your heart. "Shang-Chi?"

He chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, funny seeing you here."

"Yea..." There's a pregnant pause and an uncomfortable silence.

"How's working at Stark Industries?"

"What are you doing here at the Tower?"

You both laugh, trying to ease the tension between the two of you. Luckily an excited Katy spots you and practically tackles you to the floor.

"Wow, look at you Ms. Stark Industries. Are you here to give us some cool gadgets for our missions?" You can't help but laugh at her comment, still confused of everything happening and why they're here.

"Gadgets? Why would you need Stark technology for a mission?" You glance over to Bruce who's sipping his coffee. "Hello? Anyone care to explain to what is going on?!"

Shang-Chi and Katy sheepishly step away. You're beyond irritated and just want answers.

Bruce clears his throat, "Y/N, meet the newest members of the Avengers. But it seems like you already know each other."

"Avengers? You mean...Katy...Shang-Chi..I- what?" Your eyes begin to blur, heading starting to feel dizzy. Your breaths are shallow before your line of vision suddenly goes dark.

****

"How long do you think she'll be out Doc?"

"She should be waking up soon."

Slowly, you start to open your eyes, adjusting to the bright lights in the room. As your vision clears, you see a worried Shang-Chi at the end of your bed. Dr. Cho is to your left making sure all your vitals are good.

"What happen?" You can feel a slight throbbing in your head. The only thing you remember was hyperventilating and blacking out. "What's going on?" The heart monitor suddenly spikes as you try to sit up, mind starting to piece everything back together.

"Hey Y/N, everything's okay. You were overwhelmed with the news and fainted. Let me get you some water and I'll catch you up." You nod at Dr. Cho's assuring words.

You take a deep breath, trying to relax. There's no doubt that Bruce or Helen have alerted Sam of the incident and would be wandering in soon. All you wanted right now was Sam next you, holding your hand.

"I'm sorry." Shang-Chi fiddles with his hands, unable to look at you.

"Shang-Chi, it's fine. Just a little accident. I was just overwhelmed with...well everything."

He finally looks at you, all the memories of before rushing back. "I mean, I'm sorry...for everything with us. I-I miss you. And I promise I wasn't planning to talk to you like this, but-"

Heavy foot steps echo in the hallway before a distressed Sam Wilson rushes to your bedside. He places the flowers and balloons on table and hastily presses kisses to your forehead.

"You okay baby? I was in the middle of training with Bucky when Friday alerted me." Sam cups your face as he check your face and body for any injuries. "Need me to get you anything?"

You smile, shaking your head 'no.' "Just need you."

Sam seals your smile with a peck.

Shang-Chi's heart drops at how tender and loving you gaze at Sam; a longing expression you once gave him. He swallows the lump in his throat, "I'll leave guys be. I'm glad you're feeling better Y/N."

You give Shang-Chi a small smile, thanking him. Sam shakes Shang-Chi hand, "It's nice to meet you man. Welcome to the team."

Shang-Chi quietly exits the med-bay, not before taking one last look at you. You're laughing at whatever joke Sam told you; you're genuinely happy. And that's all he's ever wanted for you. Even if it's not with him.

****

All errors and mistakes are mine!

A/N #2: Team Sam FTW 💖

[jrob64]

Things I’m Typing Thursday

Here’s a bit of what’s been appearing on my computer screen recently. This AU story is loosely based on the movie “San Andreas” and takes place in San Francisco during an earthquake. I don’t know yet if it will be a One-shot or an MC and I don’t have any idea when it will post, though I’m hoping it will be before the end of March. 

Special thanks to @motherkatereloyshipper​ who found the pic of Liam and made him look younger, and to @hookedmom​ who is combing through the rubble of my first draft to clean it up. 

*********

“Earthquake!” they heard someone yell. Killian raised his head to look at Liam, his eyes wide with fright. 

Liam’s protective instincts kicked in and he crawled over to throw his arm across Killian’s shoulders. “Stay down!” he shouted. 

The shaking lasted for nearly half a minute. For a few seconds afterwards, people were frozen in place, then they began jumping to their feet and running toward the exits. Liam and Killian slowly stood up, trying to get their bearings as they were pushed and jostled by the frantic people around them. 

“What should we do?” Killian asked, watching the chaos going on around him. 

“We need to go outside, I think,” Liam answered. “Get your stuff.” 

Killian nodded shakily and stumbled toward the seats where he had left his backpack and tour book. As he did, he noticed a girl who appeared to be about his age huddling beside the chairs. “Are you okay, lass?” he asked. 

“Y-yeah, I think so. Do you think it’s over?” 

Killian extended his hand to help her up. “I don’t know. Do you need help?” 

“N-no, I just need to t-text my boyfriend. He’ll come get me. Thank you,” she said, reaching into her purse to find her phone. 

“You’re welcome and good luck,” Killian told her, then grabbed his possessions and rejoined Liam. “Lead the way, brother.” 

Liam began steering them toward the steps beside the escalator which led to the street. Suddenly, they heard someone shouting, “There…there’s a girl trapped in a car on the second floor of the parking garage!” 

The brothers craned their necks to see Walsh addressing a security guard. “No! Emma!” Killian said, breaking into a run and dodging people, with Liam following closely behind. Just as they neared the spot where the two men were conversing, another rumble rattled the building, sending a light fixture above Walsh crashing to the floor, just inches away from him. He jumped backwards, staring at the shattered glass of the globe and bulbs, then turned and lurched away toward the escalator leading out of the building. 

“He…he’s leaving!” Killian cried. “Walsh! Walsh! Where are you going? You’ve got to help Emma!” The man paid him no heed as he shoved people out of his way, ignoring their protests and flying down the moving steps to escape. 

Killian turned toward Liam with pleading eyes. “We have to find her!” 

“Of course we do! Let’s go!” 

*********

I hope you’ll join me for this adventure! Please let me know if you’d like to be added to or taken off of my tag list. 

Tagging: @xsajx @hookedmom @kymbersmith-90 @kmomof4 @lassluna @pirateherokillian @teamhook @stahlop @elizabeethan @whimsicallyenchantedrose @resident-of-storybrooke @therooksshiningknight @jennjenn615 @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @killianswannn @stories-enchanted @eleveneitherway @withheartfulloflove @kday426 @lyssapup27 @swanlovato @djlbg @kristi555 @laschatzi @xarandomdreamx @lkles08 @wyntereyez @bubblegum1425 @xhookswenchx @yasbio2015 @tiganasummertree @winterbaby89 @wefoundloveunderthelight @hollyethecurious @let-it-raines @jonesfandomfanatic @searchingwardrobes @dreamingdreamsalways @oncechicagolove @andiirivera @vvbooklady1256 @gingerchangeling @everything-person @klynn-stormz @qualitycoffeethings @vampcoffeegyrl23 @enchanted-swans @cassy1511 @ohmakemeahercules @donteattheappleshook @bluewildcatfanatic @the-darkdragonfly @demisexualemmaswan @lavenderbudd @grimmswan @spartanguard @flslp87 @ultraluckycatnd @sarahpaq08 @thisonesatellite @captainswan21 @zaharadessert @mariakov81 @snowbellewells @xouatxcs @kiwistreetswan @batana54 @nadine200179 @probalicious17 @courtorderedcake @julesep3026 @jackieorioncat @whatthehell102082 @jarienn972 @sthonour @linda8084 @carpedzem @pirateprincesslena @daxx04 @winterbythesea @artistic-writer @cocohook38 @chrisilybrooke @pcrcabcth @captainswan4life85 @molly958 @kingofmyheart14 @badwolfreturns @itsfridaysomewhere @chamomileandmint @fallingforthecaptain  @onceratheart18 @strangestarlighttree @omgmarvelous @justanother-unluckysoul @mrs-potato-but-likes-tomato @anothersworld @deckerstarblanche @purplehawkcaptain @superchocovian @k-leemac @citygirlscowboy @laughterandbooks @sotangledupinit @apiratewhopines @huntressandlioness1 @cosette141  

[jayankles]

Not Going Anywhere

Pairing: Scott Lang x Reader

Word Count: 945

Summary: Y/N  thinks back on some hard time, Scott is there to remind her that he is right there.

Warnings: little bit of angst, Smut (fingering and riding)

Written for: @mcukinkbingo​

Square Filled: curtainfic

Every single one of your plans had been thrown out of the window as soon as he walked through the door. It was like nothing else mattered but each other. Scott had been in and out of prison, you knew his past and he knew of your terrible one. You hadn’t been the perfect goodie two shoes, Mary Sue, that you were deemed to be in high school. You had made mistakes in your life and you were happy to put them behind you, especially when you met Scott. 

You just wanted to move on with your life.

You wanted to leave San Francisco as soon as you were released. You were finally able to see your son after a year - a very long year - and the tears spilled over as soon as you laid eyes on your boy. He had grown so much since you had seen him and you just wanted to grab him and move but your world was turned upside down then right side up again when you saw him.

You smile fondly as you watch Cassie snuggle closer to Liam as they slept on the other side of the couch. Scott held you in his arms, and you hadn’t realised that you had been staring at your beautiful kids until Scott pressed his lips to your forehead then used his finger to tilt your head back, kissing your lips this time.

“They’re not going anywhere. Neither am I, neither are you.” Scott interjected your thoughts. They just looked so peaceful and there was always this nagging in the back of your mind that something bad was going to happen.

You snuggled deeper into his embrace, his scent overwhelming but simultaneously comforting. Settling down further into his warmth, your eyes closing as the movie continues rolling. You are rattled awake by a cold hand on your thigh, the hand that warms the higher it climbs.

A sharp intake of breath.

But Scott’s hand doesn’t stop there. It only travels higher, higher until he reaches his target. Scott smiles as he sees your tongue flick out to lick over your bottom lip before you bite down on it.

Fingers twisting in the fabric of the couch beneath you, you stop yourself from moaning aloud as Scott’s hand dips into your panties, your legs falling open to accommodate him. The pad of his middle finger rubs over your clit; you know better than to wake the kids, you needed this release. Scott’s fingers are quicker now, your empty cunt weeping and pulsing, waiting to be filled.

Scott smirks when his finger travels south, entering your core. His finger stretches you out enough to clench around the thick digit but then he adds another, then a third. You grab onto his thigh, nails digging in before gripping onto his sweatpants.

You use your free hand to cup Scott’s face, bringing it closer to yours so that you could kiss him once more. Lips melding against each other, you close what little distance there was between the two of you. You could never get enough of him and you didn’t want to wake the kids, you had to find the perfect balance between the two. 

Scott had quickened the pace of his fingers and you were so close to your release but you wanted more, you needed more. Awkwardly, you move yourself so that his fingers are no longer inside you and you are straddling his hips. You can feel him through his sweatpants, feel how big he is and you can’t wait to feel him inside you.

Shuffling under you, he lowers the sweatpants and his boxers along with them. Your lips never break their connection, only getting more sloppy yet passionate. You grip him in your hand, pumping him a few times before you slip your shorts and panties to the side and slide down on his cock, filling you right to the hilt. Slowly, you rise and fall from your place on his lap, gaining a steady speed. 

You rock against him, riding his cock so carefully that he hits all the sweet spots inside of you. You savor the moment right in front of you; the moment where you are with Scott, the moment where you are connected.

Scott swallows down your moans, pulling your body closer to him and thrusting his hips up into you. Your hips stutter as Scott’s thumb presses against your clit, the pressure he adds drives you completely crazy, your can’t help the small cry that leaves your lips, breaking you away from Scott’s mouth. Without a second thought, you look back and see Liam stir before he settles again. You did not want to have to explain what you and Scott were doing to a two - almost three - year old.

Scott wraps his free arm around your waist, controlling your hips to this new pace. His breathing becomes more laboured and more erratic, you can feel it ghosting over your neck and it makes your pussy clenches around his cock. He falters, hips stuttering before he grunts, spilling all of his seed inside your throbbing cunt. You are right behind him with your own orgasm, coming all over his cock, and he was right there fucking you through the aftershocks of the wave that came crashing down over you.

Body going lax, you collapse in your place over him. You smile as you feel Scott’s hand trace up and down the length of your back. He softens inside you but you make no attempt to move just yet. Just a few more moments with him before you had to remove yourself from his comforting embrace.

[jusvibbbin]

Act like a Human

Phlox x Reader

//For my friend yet again @the-sleepy-sheep​

//Read her work @starfleet-jelly

Life on the Enterprise was often full of excitement and adventure. But even out in the final frontier, there were mellow days. On one such day, you were heading towards sick bay to visit your resident Denobulan. It had been a few days since you had seen him, and from what you heard he’d barely left his work space. You often assisted with his animals, being the xenobiologist you were but he hadn’t called to see you in quite some time. Your curiosity was beyond peaked as you got closer to sickbay.

The doors swished open when you pressed the button, and the sound of waltz music drifted out into the corridor. You looked around and not seeing the doctor, you walked behind the wall built in the middle of the room. The music was coming from the console on the counter and as you rounded the corner, you were greeted with a spectacular sight.

The renowned Doctor Phlox was dancing. It looked like a traditional waltz, only he was completely alone. You only had a few seconds before he turned to face you and hastily shut off the music. You stifled your chuckle with a cough and walked back around the wall. After a moment Phlox appeared, looking more than a little embarrassed.

“Ahem, (Y/N), I would appreciate your utmost discretion with what you just saw,” Phlox said quickly.

You smiled at him saying, “Of course, doc. But why were you dancing?”

His eyes refused to meet yours as his hands fidgeted awkwardly. You waved your hand and started to walk out.

“That’s alright. I don’t want to pry into… whatever it is you’re doing.” You pressed the button to open the door and strolled out. This was far from over.

--

A couple days later you saw Phlox sitting with Hoshi in the mess hall. You grabbed your tray and took a seat at their table. Hoshi continued their conversation, barely giving you a wave as she prattled on about something. 

But the doctor looked immediately uncomfortable with your presence and started to eat faster so he could leave. There was a small pause in talking so you jumped in.

“Doctor, I would love to hear more about your experiment,” you said, a smirk on your face. Phlox’s eyes went wide and he was about to say something when the Captain’s voice interjected from above.

“All senior staff to the bridge.”

You heard Phlox mumble, “Saved by the bell,” and he and Hoshi took their leave. As they walked away, and you started to eat, you heard Hoshi question the doctor on his experiment. He shot a look back at you before they disappeared into the corridor.

--

You had messed with the doctor before. He was easy to joke around with and was often carefree when they were sometimes at his expense. But this time he really did seem offended when you poked fun at him. You felt bad.

So to make up for it, you snuck into the kitchen and made him one of your favorites: Tres Leches. It took about two hours but your hard work paid off. It looked delicious. You had finished pretty late but you knew Phlox would be up. 

You carefully walked to sickbay, thankful there were less people to run into than normal.

You walked into the mostly darkened room, the only light coming from a few of Phlox’s pet cages. You set the dessert on a table and looked around for the doctor. After a moment, he came out from where his private quarters were, jumping slightly when he saw you.

“(Y/N)! You scared me,” he chuckled as he walked over. His eyes fell on the Tres Leches and he looked at you confused.

You rubbed your arm and avoided his gaze.

“I just wanted to apologize for, sort of, bringing up what I saw the other day. I didn’t realize how important it was to you so I’m sorry.”

Phlox looked surprised and you felt more and more embarrassed.

“Well, enjoy!” you said, quickly turning and walking to the door.

You were halfway out when Phlox called to you.

“Wait, maybe you can help me with my… experiment.”

You turned back to him and he gave you a slightly more relaxed smile. You walked back over to him and he handed you a PADD with a list on it. You read it, occasionally looking up at him with confusion.

“What’s this for Phlox?”

He smiled sheepishly. “I’ve noticed that the crew here seem to be much more comfortable with my presence than some of my colleagues in San Francisco. I figured it would be good to learn some more human activities, customs and history.”

“And you want my help to check off this list?” you asked, smiling at some of the things he had written.

“If you wouldn’t mind. Some of them are a bit difficult to do alone,” he said, a small blush appearing on his face. At least it looked like he was blushing, you couldn’t be sure with alien physiology.

“I’d love to! What’s first?”

--

The next few days your off-duty hours were spent with the ship’s doctor. You cooked some authentic earth foods (pasta, burgers, pizza, you name it!) in your quarters, occasionally swiping from the kitchen. Once each meal was cooked, you watched some classic earth cinema. While Trip’s movie nights were fun, he didn’t really deviate from movies he enjoyed. So you compiled a list of movies that were beloved at the time of their release. Everything from the Matrix to Snow White, and Phlox liked almost all of them.

But the most fun you had was when you spent an evening trying on earth clothes from other eras. The 40s suits, the 70s hot pants, and the 90s denim on denim; all of it looked ridiculous on the hanger and on the two of you. The amount of laughter that echoed through your quarters was immeasurable.

You showed Phlox lots of weird earth sports and the odd things humans did in greeting, passing or in celebration. He found the high-five to be particularly strange, but by the end of the night you two had a secret handshake.

The list had gotten incredibly small and you soon found yourselves back to what started your odd little hangouts.

Dancing.

Phlox had told you that while the Denobulans had many lovers and were a tight-knit race, they did not usually show appreciation for one another with physical affection. The idea of dancing was completely foreign to him.

“Dancing is just, dancing,” you said. “I don’t know how else to think of it! You just kind of feel the music, you know?”

He looked at you, quite puzzled.

“I’ll show you,” you exclaimed as you looked through the computer to find a playlist of yours. Once you found a song with a fast enough beat, you began to dance. You weren’t good or bad, more so focused on the feel of it than the technicality. Phlox simply watched in fascination as you bumped along to the music.

When the song started to change to another one you said, “Try it!”

He looked a bit uncomfortable but he moved over to the open space you had made in sickbay and attempted to copy you. You laughed and he soon joined you, realizing how silly you both looked. After a couple songs you were both exhausted from dancing and laughing at one another.

The song changed once again, to something slower and softer. A waltz. You looked over at the Denobulan and smiled, offering your hand.

“How would you like to try it with a partner?”

You were surprised when he grabbed your hand and quickly pulled you flush against him, positioning both your hands to make the frame. He seemed to shock himself as well since he paused after doing so, looking at you, searching for some kind of objection. He found none.

Gently you both began to sway to the music, eyes never leaving each other. 

His box step was pretty good from all that practice and he was amused every time you stepped on his feet. The song ended all too quickly, but neither of you let go.

You put your hands on his chest and leaned your head against his neck. Phlox ran a hand gently up and down your back. His other hand came up to lift your chin.

“May I?” he asked gently.

You nodded and he quickly captured your lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer. After a moment he pulled away and you looked up at him, smiling. You touched his cheek softly, and he smiled at you.

“This is my favorite human custom,” he said as he kissed you again.

Tag List: @elen-aranel​ @livenerdyandprosper​

[lost-in-the-80s]

The Hotel - Halloween Special

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x Reader

Words: 4,859k

Summary: You and your boyfriend, Izzy decide to make a road trip, however, strange events end up leading you to a strange hotel on October, 31st. (kind of angst) 

A/N: Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I decided to make an Imagine with the Halloween theme. It is inspired by the song Hotel California by Eagles.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death, ghosts and paranormal events. It’s a horror fic, if you don’t like this theme, maybe this isn’t the right fic for you. 

Tag list: @roger-taylors-car​ @ladieswttda​ @teasid​ add yourself to my tag list :)

It was the fall of 1990, you and your boyfriend, Izzy were enjoying the last few months you had together before he went on another world tour with his band, Gun n Roses.

The two of you were in the living room of your shared apartment in L.A. You shared a cozy blanket while sitting on the couch, watching some romantic movie on the TV. Izzy didn’t really like this type of movie, but made an effort because he knew how much you liked them. 

You snuggled in his chest, pressing yourself even more on him, he chuckled a little and passed his fingers through your hair.

“We should do something.” He stated.

“Like what?”

“How about a road trip? We take the car and drive until Portland, then come back.”

“Portland? You mean, Oregon?”

“Yeah, Oregon. I was looking on the map and it has some beautiful locations there.”

“But how long will it take us?”

“It’s a 14-hour drive, we can make it in a week through the coast and then come back in another week, taking a different road.”

“Hmm, sounds nice! Let’s do it!” 

“How about we leave by the end of October? So I can have enough time to finish some stuff at the studio.”

“Sure, babe!”

And so October went by, Izzy finished some final touches at the studio, you rescheduled some appointments of yours, you two organized your bags, bought a map, a flashlight and some other travel essentials and checked the car with a mechanic. Everything was going as planned. 

You decided to leave on Monday, 22nd, because the roads would be less packed. So you both woke up, took shower, had a delicious breakfast and started your amazing trip.

You knew that the reason why Izzy wanted to leave town for a while, was because he was stressed. Axl was a perfectionist, while Izzy liked things to sound less rehearsed, for that reason the two of them have been bickering towards each other during all this album recording, and Izzy really needed some time away from all of this. 

The trip started just fine, you drove through the coast and you got amazed by how beautiful California’s coast was. All its colors, shapes and beaches getting a special place in your memory.

The first stop was Santa Barbara, you two enjoyed it’s beaches, becoming friends with a group of sourfists that taught Izzy how to surf. By night you went to a nice restaurant in front of the beach, delighting yourselves with cocktails and seafood.

Then you went to San Francisco, where you decided to stay for two days, visiting all its touristic places, like the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Pier 39 and the Coit Tower.

Moving on to Sonoma, you could savor some of the best wine you had had in your life and spend the night at a cozy cottage, reading a book and cuddling together in front of the fireplace. 

The last stop in California was the Redwood National Park. You got completely stunned by that place, admiring the magnitude of the world, as you looked so small beside those trees. 

Soon the greenish color of the sea turned bluer, the sunset became less orange and the mornings turned more grey, the sand turned to earth and the breeze became colder and you arrived in Oregon. 

You glimpsed the strength of the sea at the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor and Cape Sebastian State Scenic Corridor and admired the sunset at the Face Rock State Scenic Area. 

And finally, you got stunned with the Devil’s Punchbowl and spent a day relaxing at Neskowin Beach ending the week taking the most beautiful pictures at Cannon Beach, where you bought souvenirs for all your friends. 

Then you finally arrived in Portland, spending the weekend there, seeing all the touristic places and visiting museums. On Sunday night, Izzy took you to this fancy restaurant, you wore a beautiful blue dress he had asked you to bring along, while he put on a black shirt with a blazer.

You had just eaten delicious lamb meat with a glass of wonderful wine and were waiting for the dessert when he started talking.

“I’ve been thinking these past days, about the tour and stuff.”

You looked up at him and his eyes caught yours.

 “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’m sure it will be a long time and I didn’t really want to leave without doing something first.”

He touched your hand that was resting on top of the table.

“You’ve been with me for years now. You met me when having a big band and becoming famous were just dreams, you saw me in my best and in my worst and you never let go of me, even when I was being an asshole with you.”

He made a pause.

“I wake up happy every day, just because I know that I’ll see you when I open my eyes, and I can’t imagine my life without you. So I was wondering if…” He stopped and started to search for something in his blazer pockets, he took a small black box out of it and you gasped, covering your mouth as a huge smile appeared on your face. “If you would like to marry me, Y/N?”

Recovering a little from your surprise, you replied with teary eyes. “Yes, Izzy, I would love to!” 

He placed a small silver ring with a single diamond on top of it, on your ring finger and kissed the back of your hand, then he leaned a little on the table and pecked your lips.

“I love you!”

“I love you too, Izzy”

When Monday came by, you two fueled the car and started driving back home. stopping at some locations you haven’t been before.

You had the chance to drive a buggy at the Oregon Dunes, take lots of pictures at the Heceta Head Lighthouse and make a forest trail at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area before camping at Beverly Beach. Which, by the way, was a disaster, you forgot the repellent spray and the mosquitos had a nice dinner over with you and Izzy. 

Soon, day 31st arrived. You woke up in your tent with a single sunbeam illuminating the place, you felt Izzy’s arms holding you close to him and you took a moment to admire your engagement ring. 

You stretched up a little bit, which woke him up. He yawned and squeezed you harder, before speaking with a husky morning voice. 

“Good morning, beautiful!”

“Good morning, Iz!”

You turned around and kissed him quickly on the lips.

“Happy Halloween.”

“Today’s Halloween?” He frowned.

You just hummed in response. 

“All right, let’s get up then.” He pecked your lips one more time and let go of you, as he sat up. 

You got ready, packed your stuff and exited the tent, starting to walk towards the parking lot. 

You looked up to the sky and saw the grey color became prevalent.

“I think it’s gonna rain.” You said.

“Maybe if we have breakfast fast enough, we can get to California before it starts.”

You sat on the passenger seat, scrolling through the radio stations until you found one that pleased your ears.

After a few minutes driving, you stopped at a cafe, taking a table in front of the window and ordering pancakes with coffee.

“Where’s the next stop?” Izzy asked.

You took the map out of your purse and looked cautiously.

“Mount Shasta.”

“Hmm. I think we’ll get there for lunch.” He paused to take a sip of his coffee. “A friend of mine told me about a hotel there, I don’t remember the name, but it has Wale on it.”

“Nice. We should spend the night there!”

“We really should.”

You finished eating and started driving again. Izzy took the wheel while you gave him the directions. It was a little past ten when the rain started pouring, making Izzy drive slower, not trusting his car to stop fast enough if you needed it.

About 2 in the afternoon you got to Mount Shasta. It was still raining and the trail had been closed due to the bad weather.

Not having many more things to do, you both had lunch at a local restaurant and took pictures of yourselves at the mounting foot and other places you found interesting. You smiled as Izzy made a funny face for you to take a picture.

An old man started walking near you, and you asked him if he could take a picture of the two of you, which he happily complied. 

You went to Izzy’s side and rested your hand on his chest, while his hand circled your waist. You saw the flash and then Izzy kissed your forehead, the second flash hit your eyes and Izzy thanked the man, getting the camera back.

The day started to grow dark and you decided to head to the hotel, since it was about an hour away from the city.

The rain became stronger and the mist started to cover the road. You passed by the numerous trees that surrounded the road while listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In the distance, you saw a red light appear beside a big house. “There!” you shouted.

You were right, it was the hotel. You were both sure as you saw “Californian Wale” written on top of the house. There was just one problem, the red neon light in front of it said “No vacancy”, which meant you would have to keep on driving, during that weather, until you found somewhere else to stay. 

As the sunset and the night arrived, the weather got worse, thunder and lightning turning the night into a spectacle and you barely could see anything until it was really close to you. 

You were becoming hopeless, you thought you wouldn't be able to find anywhere to stay for the night.

By 7 in the night, Izzy didn't see a hole on the road, a loud sound broke in the darkness and you knew you had punctured the tire.

For a second Izzy lost control over the car and you ended up out of the road. 

"Fuck! Are you alright?"

"Yes." You let go of a breath you didn't realize you had caught.

"Where's the flashlight?"

You searched through the glove compartment until your hands touched the cold material. You handed him the object as he thanked you and exited the car.

After a few minutes, he came back. "Fuck!" He was dripping wet. "We don't have a spare wheel."

"What do you mean we don't have a spare wheel?"

"I mean we don't have a spare wheel, Y/N!" He replied to you as if he was talking to a toddler. 

"I thought you had checked the car out with the mechanic!"

"I did it! But we just checked the engine and shit, I didn't even think about the step!"

"Fuck! What do we do now?"

"I don't know." He leaned his head on the wheel while cursing.

Suddenly a car headlight lightened the road.

"Look!" 

Izzy lifted his head and you smashed the car's horn, making the driver stop his truck beside your car, turning on the alert lights. 

It was a squeak. You breathed out in relief.

"What happened?" He shouted through his window.

"We punctured the tire and don't have a spare wheel!"

"Alright, hold it!" He lined up his truck with your car and exited it.

"Wait inside." Was all Izzy said before exiting the car to help the driver hitch the car on the truck.

After a few minutes he came back and the car started to be pulled back on the road.

"He called us crazy for not having seen the weather forecast on the news. We're underneath a huge storm cloud." He chuckled.

"He said there's a small city not too far from here, he'll let us there."

"Good" You sighed.

After some minutes you saw the city's entrance, he wasn't joking when he said it was small. It had just one main street and all the houses looked old.

He left you and Izzy in front of a mechanic garage and refused to get the money Izzy offered him for having driven you there.

You entered the office of the garage, hand in hand, and a man in his 40s appeared behind the counter. He had a toothpick between his lips and looked like he hadn't taken shower in ages. 

"Hm, good night. We have a punctured tire." Izzy spoke up.

"I see, let's take a look."

He moved outside and looked at your tire. 

"Well, it's not that bad. I have a tire of this type here, I can fix it in 30 minutes or so."

"Good!"

"Do you have a car jack?"

"Yes, it's in the back."

"Go get it while I get the tire then."

Izzy moved towards the car and the man looked you up and down, making you feel a huge discomfort. 

You walked quickly to Izzy's side while the man walked back inside the office.

"I don't like this man." You whispered.

"Me neither, but we need to fix the car, baby." He put a lock of your hair behind your ear and closed the trunk. 

The man came back and you leaned against a wall while you watched them working on the car. 

"All done! It's 250 bucks." The man said, while he scratched his nose.

"250? Wow, that's way more than I had thought."

"I'm working at night, kid, my time it's not for free."

Izzy stared at him.

"I can take the tire off if you want." He said, leaning down. 

"No, it's fine." 

You both walked inside the office, while Izzy paid the man.

"Do you take a check?"

"I don't, usually." 

"I don't walk around with 250 bucks in my wallet, man." 

"Alright, I'll take your check then, but I want the date for tomorrow."

"Alright, man."

"Where are you guys going?"

"We're going to Los Angeles."

"It's a long road until Los Angeles, especially with this weather. If I were you, I would spend the night at a hotel… We have a good one, a little bit after the city. They serve a good soup at nights like this."

Izzy signed up for the check. "Thank you"

He grabbed your hand and you walked back to the car.

"What do you think? Should we check out this hotel?"

"I think it's a good idea. I'm soaked, we're hungry and it's raining cats and dogs outside." He turned on the car. "Plus, we don't know if we'll find somewhere else nearby."

You agreed. 

He drove until you saw a huge Victorian house with a sign saying "Hotel Hoffmann".

"I guess we're here."

He parked the car and you both exited, running in the rain until you got to the main door of the house.

You knocked repeatedly until an old woman opened the door for you. She had white hair and dark eyes and was dressed as if she still lived in the 50s.

"Come on in, kids." She gave you a creepy smile.

You gulped, grabbing Izzy's hand before entering the place.

"What a night huh?" She laughed a little. "Bill called saying you two would probably stop by."

"I'm sorry, but, who's Bill?" You asked.

"The man who fixed your car, darling."

"Oh"

"We still have some open rooms for you. Do you prefer it on the first or second floor?"

"Second, please" Izzy cleared his throat, the rain starting to make him feel sick.

"All right, I'll put you in room number 13." She looked through the multiple keys behind her, before putting the one with a locksmith with a big 13 written. 

"We'll be serving soup until nine at the main saloon." She put a leather-covered notebook on the desk. "In which name should I make the reservation?"

"Jeffrey Isbell." Izzy spoke before you could answer. 

She wrote his name down with a beautiful calligraphy before handing him the pen to sign. 

She handed you the keys to your room and said she would take you both there. Izzy interjected saying he would go grab your baggage in the car.

"Do you want help?"

"No, honey, it's okay." He left the room and an uncomfortable silence filled in. 

"It's been a long time since we last had a young couple like you."

You forced a smile, not really knowing what to say.

Izzy came back with the bags and she led you to your room. Once inside, Izzy locked the door.

You stopped for a moment to look at the room. It was big, the walls were painted in peach color and the furniture looked old.

"Finally some peace." He hugged you from behind, kissing the top of your head.

You turned around, hugging him back. "You need to take a shower, or you're gonna catch a cold."

"Hmm, and will you join me?" He asked suggestively.

"No, I'll go later, babe"

"Are you sure?"

You nodded your head and he walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. 

You took a long breath. Something was wrong. You couldn't quite put into words what, but your heart was clenched ever since you got in that town.

You took a seat at the bench underneath the window, looking at the dimly light garden. No cars were passing by, the only thing you distinguished outside was a dog running down the street.

"The rain is starting to stop." 

Izzy's voice made you jump a little, you hadn't realized he had left the bathroom, nor that you had been there for so long. 

You looked at him. "Why don't you take a shower and we go down to eat something?" He caressed your face and you instantly felt calmer.

He always had this power over you, no matter what was happening, you always felt safe and calm when Izzy was with you. 

"There's something wrong, Iz."

"What do you mean?" He sat in front of you.

"I don't know. I don't like this place, there's something wrong with the energy around here."

"I don't like this place too, but it's only for one night, tomorrow morning we get in the car and drive to the next destination ok?"

"Okay"

You stood up and walked towards the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower. Taking off your clothes you looked at yourself in the mirror before getting underneath the hot water, letting it warm your body.

Exiting the bathroom you put on a pair of jeans and a red sweatshirt and walked with Izzy to the main room. There was just a couple with a young daughter there. They stared at you until you sat down. 

Another old woman brought you two plates with soup and you started eating. The taste was horrible, but you were so hungry that you ate everything.

Back to your room, you guys were feeling so tired that decided to call it a night, Izzy removed his clothes and you put on his sweater, before climbing on bed with him. You adjusted the blankets and closed your eyes, allowing yourself to fall asleep.

A loud scream woke you up. You sat down on the bed and turned the night table light on, looking at the clock you saw it was 3 in the morning. 

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Izzy said getting up and putting his pants on.

The corridor light allowed you to see a shadow passing by the door.

"Turn the light off." Izzy murmured.

You did as he said and you saw the person take another direction.

After a few seconds you turn it on again, and a scream left your lips as you could swear you saw someone behind Izzy.

"Shh, it's okay." He climbed on the bed and cupped your face. "I'm here, nothing is gonna happen to you, ok?"

"Okay." You breathed slowly, trying to calm yourself.

Suddenly the bedroom windows opened and the cool breeze of the night invaded the room.

"Izzy…" you tugged on his arm.

"Let's get out of here." He grabbed your hand and dragged you out of the room.

The corridor was empty and you started to walk quickly towards the entry door. You turned left and were faced with a long corridor full of doors.

That's when you hear what looked like a child asking for help. Izzy started walking towards the sound and you pulled him back by the hand murmuring for him not to do so. 

"It's a child Y/N!"

He let go of your hand and moved towards the only room with an open door. You walked closely behind him. You saw a boy sitting on the floor crying as he asked for help again. 

Izzy entered the room, but before you could do the same the door closed behind him.

"IZZY!" 

"Y/N!" He yelled back, trying to open the door. 

"IZZY!!" You started to shove your fists against the door.

You heard a loud sound inside the room and Izzy saying: "Oh my God!" And you became hysterical.

You tried to open the door with all your force, shoving your fists and shoulders on the wood trying to take Izzy out of there.

"Y/N Leave!"

"I'm not leaving without you!!" You started to cry.

"Get on the fucking car and leave!!" 

Before you could reply the corridor lights started to flick and you saw someone approaching you. Turning your head to the left you saw a young man getting closer to you, illuminated by the moonlight. 

You were about to ask him for help when the lights flicked on again. He was tall and was dressed in 60s clothes, everything looked normal except for his white morbid eyes and his broken neck, his head slightly leaned to the side.

You screamed loudly this time as you started to walk back.

"Y/N!!" Izzy hit the door trying to open it.

You turned around and started running down the stairs, while still hearing Izzy calling for you. 

Running towards the main door you were stopped as a woman with a cut neck appeared in front of you.

"Where are you going, sweetie?"

You screamed again and turned left, getting in a corridor you haven't been before. 

She started to walk behind you and you saw an open room, getting inside and closing the door behind you. It was a library, with big windows. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

You heard a loud sound coming from the second floor and one of the windows breaking. 

You saw someone falling from it, and when you got closer to the glass you saw a white man with black hair and red leather pants. 

"Izzy!!" You yelled punching the glass, seeing his lifeless body laying on the grass.

Tears started to fall from your eyes as you heard the door of the Library opening.

"You are going to be with him soon, darling, don't worry."

It was the old lady.

You ran and passed through the second door of the room, ending up in another corridor.

You ran until you found two big doors separating the corridor. You opened them and were greeted with an indoor pool area. The ceiling was made of glass, just like most of the walls. You looked from one way to another but there were no other doors. You were stuck.

"It's useless to run." She reappeared behind you.

You turned around, facing her. "Please, just let me go!"

She said nothing, but took one step closer, making you take one step back. 

"Please, I didn't do anything! Just let me go!"

The couple from the dinner appeared beside her, alongside the boy with the broken neck and the bleeding woman, along with some other people you haven't seen before.

They all looked hurt in some sort of way and their eyes were white as if a cloud was hiding their true ones.

You kept walking backward as they kept walking towards you.

"Please, let me go!! Please!" Your crying was evident in your voice and you were starting to freak out.

"Please, don't hurt me!" You took one last step back and was involved in water. You fell in the pool. 

You were so scared that you forgot the pool was there, and most importantly, you forgot you didn't know how to swim.

You tried as hard as you could. Moving your legs and arms to try to get to the surface again, but it was useless. The more you moved, the deeper you got.

You opened your mouth to try to breathe but was greeted with water filling your lungs, making you choke.

You moved your hand to your neck as if the gesture would bring you some oxygen. You looked up and saw all those people circling the pool and then darkness overtook you.

You woke up gasping for air, touching your body to check you were ok. Sweat covered your forehead and most parts of your body and hot tears left your eyes.

You suddenly saw the lights turn on, realizing you were still in the hotel room. "Shh, it's okay." 

You pulled away when he touched you.

"It's okay. It's me!" You didn't look at him, so he touched your chin and lightly made you look in his direction. "It's me Y/N!"

You let go of a long breath and hugged him tightly. 

"It's ok, it was just a nightmare. You're ok!" 

"You were dead and I was dead and the pool…." You dragged on, sharing the first memories you had from your dream.

"Shh" He kissed the top of your head. "We're fine Y/N."

"She was following me…"

"As long as I'm here, no one will hurt you, okay?" He parted from you to look in your eyes. 

You nodded slowly.

Looking at the clock on your bedside table you saw it was 2:35 am.

"Let's get out of here, Izzy. Please!"

"But it's in the middle of the night, babe"

"Please, Izzy, please, let's get out of here!"

He saw how frightened you were. "Okay." He paused for a second. "Let's get dressed then."

You both got up and got dressed, throwing all your stuff back in your bags. You paused before exiting the room.

"Promise me that you will ignore anything you might hear!"

"What?"

"Promise me, Izzy!"

"Ok! I promise!" 

You grabbed his hand and dragged him down the corridor and down the stairs as fast as you could. 

Arriving at the reception you rang the bell on the table tirelessly until the old woman appeared. She was wearing a robe, but didn't look tired at all.

"What's the problem kids? Didn't like your room?"

"We want to check out!" You replied quickly. 

"Now? But it's still early!" She paused for a moment, trying to think about what to say. "Wouldn't you prefer to leave by morning?"

"No! We have to go now!"

"We serve a good breakfast here."

"I said we have to go now!" You were growing frustrated.

"Okay, but I'll have to demand the same price as if you had stayed until morning." 

"Ok! How much?"

"45 dollars."

You opened your purse, looking for your wallet, getting 50 bucks, and putting them on her desk.

She opened a drawer to get your change, but you rushed in saying she could keep it, before grabbing Izzy by the hand and leading him to the door. Trying to open it, you realized it was still locked.

"The door is locked, mam" Izzy spoke up.

"Oh, wait a minute, I'll get the keys. They might be somewhere here.” She entered a small room behind the reception and you started to stomp the ground anxiously.

"She's taking too long!"

"Calm down, Y/N!" He touched your shoulder, making you feel calmer, but you were still cautious.

"We're in a rush!" You shouted.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was not finding them." She walked calmly towards the door, using all her time to open it.

Once she finally opened, you stormed out of it, dragging Izzy with you.

"Where are the car keys?"

"Jesus! Relax, Y/N! They're here!" He took the keys out of his pant's pocket and opened the trunk of the car first.

You literally threw your bag inside and rushed to the driver's door. "I'm driving!" You extended your hand for him to put the keys on. 

"No way! You're too shaken to do so. You're gonna end up killing us."

"Fine, but be fast!" You gave in, rushing to the passenger door, seating fastly once Izzy unlocked the car.

Turning on the engine, he drove the car back to the street, driving out of the city.

"What time is it?"

He looked at his clock. "3 am"

You looked back just in time to see all the hotel lights turning on and strange people appearing at the windows.

A shiver ran down your spine as you sat still on your seat again, thanking that you were out of that place. 

[toomanyfandoms02]

The Photographer // Matthew Gray Gubler x Reader

So I made a one-shot based off of the picture down here!

Word count ~ 3.1k

Summary - y/n is a celebrity photographer, and Matthew's birthday is coming up. This calls for a birthday shoot.

Ever since I was in sixth grade, I dreamed of being a photographer. But back then, I was just taking candid pictures of my cat (Peanut Butter), and random flowers that my mom had graciously planted for me. I really never planned on taking nice, professional pictures of people.

But here I was.

I went to 'California College of Arts' in San Francisco for 4 years. After that, I had a bit of trouble getting myself out there. I had a decent following on my instagram. People liked the pictures of my dog, and the pictures of nature that I took on my many travels. But likes and follows don't get you money, at least not enough. So I switched my focus onto more interesting things.

Advertising yourself as a photographer wasn't an easy task. You had to be ruthless, and be willing to get rejected and not back down. So I did what any semi-sane person would do.

I messaged over 50 celebrities asking of they wanted to do a shoot with me. I sent them my prices, and what kinds of shoots I was willing to do. I didn't have much hope for it, but it was worth a try.

And that's where it began.

Out of all of the messages, Andrew Lincoln, AKA Rick from The Walking Dead messaged me back.

*Hello Miss y/l/n! I've actually seen quite a few of your nature shots and I have always wondered how your photos would turn out with people. I would love to be your Guinea Pig.*

He sent me days he was available and I did his shoot. After posting his pictures, my popularity shot from there.

That was a few years ago, I was now taking photos for multiple celebrities. I was ultimately known for my black and white shoots. I had, in fact, just gotten done with a shoot of A.J. Cook. She had requested *me* to take her pictures for an up and coming article that was being written about her. I, of course, gratefully said yes, being a huge fan of hers, along with the whole Criminal Minds cast.

I emailed her all of the pictures I had taken, edited and all, while simultaneously posting them on my instagram.

It was mere hours later before a notification popped up on my phone of an email that I could not believe. Theres no way that he was emailing me, right?

*You have an Email from Matthew Gray Gubler*

*Hi there! I saw your shoot on AJ's instagram and my birthday is coming up. My manager wants me to do a birthday shoot, and we both like your black and white style. I know it's not usually the kind of thing you, birthdays, do but I figured it was worth a shot, and I think you have some real talent. Let me know when you are free next. I am on a break so my schedule is relatively flexible.*

I could safely say that it was a good thing that I lived alone because I don't think I have ever screamed louder into a pillow. Matthew has been one of my favorite celebrities for the longest time. If we were going to be completely honest, once I started watching Criminal Minds, I immediately had a crush on him. This wasn't exactly the profession to be in if you were going to have a celebrity crush. I was often invited to red carpets and movie premiers, so I met quite a few stars. I never thought I would have to worry about slipping up on my professionalism.

Because I never thought I would even meet him.

My obvious answer to his request was yes. I would never *ever* miss an opportunity to have a photoshoot with someone so inspiring and meaningful to me. So I started writing an email back.

*Hi Matthew!*

Should I address him like that? Is that unprofessional?

*Hi Mr. Gubler*

Abso-fucking-lutely not.

*Hi Matthew!* We are gonna stick with that. *I don't know if this is too short of a notice, but I actually have a free spot tomorrow. (Of course if that doesn't work for you, I can figure something out for later, and try to fit it in before your birthday). I have a few ideas for props that I can send you? Let me know how I can help.*

I sent it and ran my hands through my hair, tossing my phone back onto my comforter. I had taken pictures of so many awesome celebrities:

• Selena Gomez

• Robert Downey Jr.

• Dylan O'Brien

• Grant Gustin

• Holland Roden

• Danai Gurira

But this was by far the coolest one, in my mind at least.

While waiting a little to anxiously for a reply, I decided I was going to make myself some lunch, Ramen. I set my phone on the counter as I boiled my noodles, peering over at the blank screen every few seconds (but really they felt like **minutes**).

Just as I was adding the flavour packet to the bowl my phone buzzed. I jumped slightly, spilling part of the packet out of the bowl.

"Damnit." I quickly wiped the salt into the trash can and snatched my phone, seeing another email.

*Tomorrow is actually perfect, and I would love to hear your recommendations on props, clothes, anything really. I'm going to leave my number on this email so we can have easier contact of that's okay with you.*

Wow, alright. I will now have Matthew Gray Gublers number in my phone. I made a contact for him.

**It's y/n, soooo for props. I figured I could bake you a cake! I took a few baking electives in college so I could make a really nice one and we can do something with it. I recommend you bring clothes you like to wear that are black and white. (Other colors work too, but it just looks and flows better if it's black and white). I will set the rest of the stuff up. I will be ready for you by 1 pm if that's okay.**

*You would bake me a cake?! That would be super cool thank you! I would love that. I will bring a few black and white outfits. Would it be weird if I brought a black and white Kimono?*

A chance to see Matthew in a kimono? Please yes.

**Oh my gosh please do. I would love to take pictures of you in an infamous kimono of yours.**

*Awesome! I will see you tomorrow at 1. Heres my managers info for you to sell the billing to.*

He attatched his managers email. I just sat at my kitchens island, smiling like a true dork at my phone.

**And here is my address, I run the studio at my house. What is your favorite cake and icing by the way? :)**

Was a smiley face unprofessional?

I need to chill out.

*Vanilla cake and chocolate frosting possibly? I will eat anything though probably. :)*

Now I was really smiling at my phone like a psycho idiot.

**Alrighty, see you tomorrow**

Since I didn't want to wake up too early tomorrow, I decided I was going to start the cake tonight. I had quite a few recipes held in my cabinets. I located my vanilla cake recipe and put my pre-made chocolate frosting on the counter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about an hour of preparing, making a cake from scratch, and putting it in the oven. The cake was finally done and cooled. I added black cocoa to the frosting to make it completely black and got out my white gel.

*You made it 3 decades :)*

Was scrawled in calligraphy on the top of the cylindrical cake. I added white drips down the sides and white multi shaped sprinkles to the bottom part.

I set it in my fridge and got ready for bed. I know it's going to be hard to sleep just thinking about tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My alarm woke me up at 10 am, never before this had I woke up with a smile on my face before 12.

I took a quick shower and dressed in a white and blue floral romper with my hair in a high ponytail. Now it was time to set up backgrounds for the shoot.

I had two stations downstairs where I took all my photos. I set the first one up very normal with a white background and a rustic black stool. The second one was set up with another white background but littered with black streamers and big *30* black and white speckled balloons strung at the top.

Once I was done with all that. It was nearing 1. I slipped the cake out of the fridge and slid it onto my island. I glanced up at the clock above my stove.

*12:49*

Since I just had a little bit of time, I went a put some simple makeup on. I usually don't wear makeup when taking pictures of people, but for obvious reasons, I was making an exception.

Just as I was leaving my bathroom I heard a knock at my door. I walked swiftly to my door and opened it shakily.

"Hi!" He held up the clothes that were hung lazily over his arm. He smiled that million dollar smile and I could have sworn he looked me up and down.

Wishful thinking I guess.

"Welcome!" I stepped out of the doorway, silently inviting him in. "If you wanna set your stuff down, those stairs to the right lead you down the the studio."

"Thanks." He scurried down the stairs as I grabbed the cake and followed him down. I set it on a table that I had down there, he peered over at it and immediately burst into fits of laughter.

"I knew you had a sense of humor, so why put something normal and boring on the cake." I laughed with him as he tried to catch his breath.

"This is so perfect." He laughed a little more. "Thank you, so much." I shrugged with a smile. I posed him in front of the streamers with the cake.

He made some silly faces and smiled like there was no tomorrow. Next I brought him to the more plain station, sitting him on the stool. I looked through the lenses of the camera and glared a bit.

"Hey can you put your left leg up on the second peg of the stool?" I asked, pointing to his leg.

"This one?" He put it on the third. I shook my head. "This one?" He moved it down the the fourth. He was smiling a sly smile, seemingly challenging me.

"Let me do it for you." I had to pose people often, but posing him was going to be a little harder for me, considering I found him painfully attractive.

I moved his leg up to the second one and patted it.

"Now leave it there, so I don't have to help you again." I giggled, walking back to my camera. Taking a picture of him leaning forward on the stool and smiling. I then made him laugh and got a good genuine one of him leaning back and laughing. After all that, I proposed that we eat some cake and took a break.

I cut him a slice and handed it to him with a smile.

"So, tell me about yourself." He said, eating a bite of his cake.

"Well, I have always enjoyed photography. I love all types of art, so I also draw and paint often. And I have a black cat upstairs. His name is-" and I stopped, blood rushing to my cheeks. He is most certainly going to ask me the name, and I do not want to tell him.

He stared at me expectantly. "What is his name?" He motioned me to go on.

"Uh," I laughed a little awkwardly, setting my hands in my lap and staring at them. "His name is Spencer. As in Spencer Reid..." I glanced up at him and saw a huge grin break out on his face.

"So you like Criminal Minds? I never would have guessed. You just don't seem the type."

"Well all my memorabilia is in my room, just so people don't think I'm weird for having quite a few framed and signed posters." I smiled up at him, pushing around the remaining cake crumbs on my plate.

"One, That's not weird, that's awesome. Two, can I please meet Spencer and take pictures with him in my kimono."

I don't think I have ever heard a better sentence in my entire life.

"Yes, absolutely! I'll go get him." I clunked up the stairs on my search to find Spencer. I went to his usual spot first, my bed. Luckily he was sitting there, licking his outstretched foot. "Hi baby! You are about to take pictures with the guy you are named after. He almost as cute as you!" I grabbed him from the bed an headed back downstairs. I walked in with the accidental impeccable timing to see Matthew in his barely tied kimono, showing off his chest. My eyes widened a bit and he tied it off fully.

"Is this the famous Spencer?! He is so cute!" He reached his arms out at Spencer. My little fluff ball curled up into him instantly, cuddling into his silky kimono.

We took many many pictures of Spencer and Matthew together. I think maybe my cat likes him more than he likes me now.

"Okay, last idea. How about we just take some more up close pictures of me feeding you some cake?" It came put as a question because I didn't know how comfortable he would be with it.

"Perfect!" I cut another slice of the cake and brought it over to him. We were both sitting on the floor.

"This might be a little awkward, okay?" I giggled as I leaned back to get his whole face in the shot. This proved to be very difficult as I was using my left hand to take the picture. I fed him the cake with the right as he looked at the camera with a more seductive look. I could have melted into the floor.

I decided to switch hands so I could take the photos better, but now my very uncoordinated hand was the one picking up the cake. As I went down to get another section of the cake for another angle of feeding this sculpture of a man, I instead dipped my thumb right into the deep black frosting.

"Shit, I'm so sorry hold on." As I went to stand up and grab a napkin to wipe my thumb off, Matthew grabbed my wrist lightly.

"Hold on, uh, I have an idea, before you do anything." I sat down with a confused look. "I saw someone do this in another shoot. But we totally don't have to do it. I just thought it would be a different idea." His words were more rushed than usual.

"I'm sure I've done weirder things for other shoots, don't worry. It's *your* shoot." I reassured him, though my head was swimming wondering what he was going to do.

"Ok. So. What I'm going to do is put your thumb in my mouth, and I'm basically gonna, uh, suck on it while kinda smiling?" He could barely get through the whole thing without laughing.

"Alright, weird request but I like it!" I giggled for what seemed like the 30th time today. "And to make you feel better, yes, I have done weirder."

"Thank God."

"So I am guessing you want me to do something like this with the rest of my hand, ya know, the part that's not in your mouth." I stated as I placed my hand on his cheek. He let a slow breath out, staring into my eyes.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Okay." I said with a shrug, grabbing my camera from the ground. He opened his mouth with an all too familiar wide grin as I placed my thumb in. His mouth closed around it and he smiled, just a little. I brought my camera to my face, capturing the moment that I would have forever in my mind and in a small frame on my bedroom wall, for sure.

I slipped my thumb from his mouth and watched as his face turned extremely red. To save him embarrassment, I immediately stood up and grabbed a napkin to wipe the rest of the frosting off.

"Can I see it?" He motioned to the camera. I nodded, sitting down right beside him, showing him the picture. It showed off a closer look at the rose tattoos I had near my wrists and the shiny watch that was gifted to me by my mom. "It turned out good! I really hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"Oh no! Of course not. Total opposite." As soon as I said that I regretted it.

"So that made you extremely comfortable?" A sly smile was making it's way onto his face.

"That's, that's not- You know what? Sure, yes." I chuckled. "You don't really make me uncomfortable at all to be honest. So no, you didn't make me uncomfortable."

"Well I'm glad." He smiled and we sat in silence for a moment.

"Well I guess that's it yeah?" He nodded. "Well this was fun. Thanks for being an excellent subject to take pictures of."

He gathered his stuff as we went back upstairs. Once at the door, Spencer came up to him, rubbing on his leg. He bent over to pet him.

"So, I'm not sure if you are single or not." I could feel the blood draining from my face. Was this really happening right now? "But I wanted to know if you wanted to go on a date?"

Yes, this was happening right now.

"Really?" I could tell I sounded extremely excited, but at this point, I didn't even care.

"Yeah, you are super laid back, funny, talented, and you aren't scared away by how weird I am." He laughed, "So yes?"

"I would absolutely love to."

"Great. I'll text you." He winked and waved as he closed the door, leaving.

My back went against the door. I couldn't keep in the squeal so I just embraced it and squealed my heart out, doing a little dance.

Which was quickly ended when I heard a knock at the door.

"I'm sorry, I want to get to know you better immediately." He let out a nervous chuckle. "Are you free for the rest of the day?" I was sure that my face was red as a tomato.

"Yes I am." He grabbed my hand, dragging me outside.

"Then let's go."

[honney-boy]

Wonder (Part 1)

Rudy Pankow x Oc!Reader

gif by → @riobeth​

Wonder Series Masterlist | Wonder Playlist

Chapter summary:  Rudy and Nevaeh meet in person for the first time and things aren’t awkward. Yougurt cups, bananas and ice blended in a cup and maple syrup.

Full Summary and Story Concept

Warning(s): language, shenanigans, jet laggness, social media zombies, teenage girls

Words: 5k+

A/N:  This is my first attempt at a Rudy fic. My first series too! But if this flops, let's pretend it never happened, okay? :) But If you guys want to read more, please do let me know. Your love and support is the encouragement I need. I got the concept from tik tok haha. Fair warning, I am handwriting out chapters with a pen and paper before converting it digitally, so updates with be spread out. THERE WILL BE GRAMMAR MISTAKES! I'm human, and Tumblr is my test run for this series. Anywho, hope you enjoy :)

taglist

One | “Social Zombies”

            In Nevaeh's opinion, airports were the worst. It wasn't due to the 38,000 feet in the air flying ride or the nothingness in the sky you see your whole flight; it was the people, the airports themselves, and the limited space.

Airports were much worse than flying - especially the San Francisco International Airport. Also known as SFO Airport. The few times, literally very few times, Nevaeh has been to the airport, she had poor experiences. Now, SFO Airport is definitely smaller than LAX and not as busy - it's a nightmare. You would think with a much smaller airport, there would be fewer crowds, but no, it's like a family reunion every day but with strangers. If you bump into the wrong person, your day on the off chance will get ruined.

Along with the busy crowds, there are many places to eat. From pizza to Italian to pie, your choices are endless. That's until half or more restaurants are closed or have long lines. Nevaeh never ate airport food, so she couldn't give her opinion on it. She'll leave that to the professional reviews. She wasn't at SFO Airport to judge the food or traffic flow, not even the staff's attitude - except she already gave a flight attendant a glare. The flight attendant took a bathroom break before their next flight and griped at Nevaeh because she used the last paper towel so they couldn't dry their hands. Air drying is a thing, and it works well, she thought to herself while leaving the restroom. She was not going to let one grumpy flight attendant ruin her great mood. She was going to meet someone who she hopes is special today.

Over the past two months, Nevaeh and this person had gotten to know each other well, virtually, that is. They met online, and Nevaeh lived in San Francisco while they lived in Alaska. Countless messages, facetime calls, photos, and videos were exchanged, and a bond was formed. Who would have thought that two people could meet through a video sharing social media app and hit it off? Most people start with dating apps, meet and get to know different people, but Nevaeh met them all because a video of hers popped up on their for you page.

Nevaeh created and shared a variety of things on the app. From cooking to creating and her little hobby of disco skating. She wanted to keep her followers and supporters entertained and herself; she didn’t want to be stuck, making the same content, so she did many things. Nevaeh thought maybe one of her disco skating, videography, or cooking videos drew them in, but it was one of her mini vlogs. In the video, she showed how she would scout places before spending the day getting footage for a short montage film or scenes for a movie she is working on. Not long after the discovery, they - he sent her a message asking about a more in-depth explanation of her process, and it went up from there.

Now, after all this time of them chatting back and forth, they get to meet. Nevaeh gets to meet him. 

Standing by the arrival gate, her eyes bouncing around the room at different things just to keep her mind centered and not all over the place. She wanted to pick at her nails, or hold her hands to her chest but she couldn’t hold them in place for long; she opted for playing with the white beaded bracelet he bought and sent to her in a box full of other things. It was so sweet of him; just thinking about the box she received makes her smile and her heart swell. Just last week she received a box full of thoughtful gifts. Inside were some of her favorite snacks, a movie she loved, one of his hoodies - it was the hoodie he wore the first time they facetimed. The hoodie was one of his favorites, but he had the urge to send it to her, he just wanted her to have it. And finally was the white beaded bracelet with a single aqua blue bead on it - he had the matching one with all aqua beads and one single black bead. She was having an uncreative and pretty shitty day until that box arrived on the front door step of her shared apartment.

“I wanted to surprise you, so I messaged Birdie asking her for your favorite snacks, I added the hoodie and got the two of us distance bracelets. You know, because we are long distance.” He told her later that day when they talked on the phone.

“Until you come here, or I go there,” she replied. She hasn’t stopped wearing the hoodies since and she has had the bracelet on since the moment she got it.

Nevaeh watched different people walk past her; none of them were him yet. The dirty blond mess he sported for hair shouldn't be that hard to miss, but the longer she searched, the more she doubted her assumption. 

It was another couple of minutes that went by, and she didn't see him, so she pulled her phone out to see if he had sent something. Maybe he has to catch a different flight, and he forgot to tell her, or perhaps he didn't want to meet after all. Her fingers type out a message to send, but a figure stands in front of her before she hits the send button. Nevaeh could see the shadow of their body from her peripheral vision, but she did not look up, hoping they would go away - but they didn't. Sending her message, the woman was preparing to turn away until she heard the stranger's phone go off. It's just a coincidence that their phone went off a couple of seconds after I sent a message. She said to herself, then she looked up and there he was. Dirty blond hair - a little long all over, but instead of it being in his face like it always is, it was pushed back and tucked underneath a red cap. His eyes were more lovely in person. The pair ranged from a light blue to gray, depending on the day. Today they were light blue. He sported stubble across his chin and cheeks with a blond mustache above his top lip. He wore nothing flashy, just a simple red ACDC sweatshirt, cargo shorts, and a pair of vans. He looked tired, but that didn't throw off the good vibes and smile he had going on. She couldn't help but smile back. He's here in the flesh. Rudy.

"Hi," he said light-heartedly, breaking the silence.

"Hi," she echoed; the smile on her face grew some more. "Wow, you're really here in the flesh."

He chuckled, and the sound woke up the butterflies in her stomach. "Yeah, I am. And you...the pictures and videos don't do enough justice for the actual thing." His eyes scan over her, noticing the navy blue Hilfiger sweatshirt he sent to her. Nevaeh couldn't help the dust of blush that appeared on her cheek.

“Talk about me, what about you? Who knew those Snapchat filters were hiding such a god-like person.”

“Oh, stop, you’re making me blush,” he joked while bashful. No matter online or in person, Nevaeh was still able to get him flushed; it was something he didn’t want to admit, not while he was flying blind with this.

Nevaeh smiled and had a tiny giggle; the full laugh was muffled by the hand she brought up to her mouth in an attempt to hold the sound back. He could watch her smile for a while. Is that weird? “How was your flight? I hope it wasn’t too horrible.”

“It wasn’t too bad,” he admitted. “Definitely long, but nothing a pair of earbuds, music, and a couple of movies couldn’t fix.” The two quickly began walking toward the direction of baggage claim. More of Rudy just following whichever direction Nevaeh was going. She did know the airport better anyway.

“Which movies did you watch?” she asked.

“Since I had six hours to waste - Joker, 1917 and Pride & Prejudice.”

“Oh, I see you listened to my suggestions; not surprised you watched Joker again,” Rudy shrugged his shoulders with a hum. “I’m surprised you didn’t watch the Harry Potter movies.”

Rudy rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Actually, I already watched them a couple of days ago,” Nevaeh hummed as if she were to say, ‘of course’ “You can judge me all you want. I won’t pay you any mind. Just the same as I did with the guy that had the aisle seat in my row. I guess other guys find it weird that a guy decided to watch a period drama on a flight.”

“He was just jealous he didn’t think of it first. Mr. Darcy’s pinning for Miss. Bennett and the film’s  overarching theme is too good not to watch.”

“That it is, who would want to miss the warnings heeded against trusting one’s first impression or prejudices?”

“Or the character arcs that grow throughout the storyline. I pity that aisle sitting man.”

“I do too,” Rudy agreed. “He missed out on a classic and had to get up to let the other person and me out to take a tinkle.” He did it again. He made her laugh genuinely. The conversation between them flowed. The small worry Nevaeh had earlier about the two of them not being able to continue the light-hearted and enjoyable nature they had over text had diminished. He seemed just the same - goofy, charismatic, charming, and caring - as he was over the phone the past month and a half. She, too, was still kind, compassionate, and sarcastic as before. Yet both of them had their own doubts about the thing they were doing; they didn’t know what it was or where it was headed, but they were willing to find out.

           In the car, Nevaeh drove the route she knew from the airport to her shared apartment. Rudy sat in the passenger seat; his gaze focused out the window, watching the San Francisco scenery appear, disappear and morph as they passed by the window. The radio played while they sat in a comfortable silence - it impressed her how easily they fell into it. Wasn't it common for an uncomfortable silence? Two people who just met for the first time should struggle in an attempt to make a conversation, but not them.

To Rudy, the comfortable silence was almost expected. Granted, he did expect one of them to talk the other's ear off - he's glad neither of them was. The six-hour flight took its effect on the man, but he wasn't going to let his fatigue ruin the time they had together. He'll rest later. Spend time with her now, sleep later.

The car rolled to a stop, a red light shined on the traffic light hanging in front of them. Rudy's eyes watch a girl across the street riding down the sidewalk on a skateboard. Her stance relaxed, feet planted in a way that helped her ride easily; she was experienced, probably skated regularly. Watching her skate triggered a longing in Rudy for his board back at home. He rides on concrete and in the snow, but he was missing snowboarding the most. It was beginning to be summer, so the temperatures in Alaska were warmer. To warm for snow but warm enough for the evergreen to take over. Now he was in California, the state that was sunny all the time. The state that thrived in the summer and its soil hardly ever to never had the chilled touch of snow. His longing grew more for the chilly weather and white flakes.

The woman sitting next to him took the next couple of seconds between the light change to look at him. Catching the moment of his gaze out the window of her jeep. "I know you're probably tired from your flight. I had some ideas about the things we could do, but we don't have to do anything today." She spoke and after, glanced at the traffic light only to see it was still red.

Rudy tore his gaze from the distant image of the skater and met Nevaeh's. "I am, but if you want to do something, we can. I'm more than happy to hang out." He said.

Trying to reason, she said, "I know, but you just got off a six-hour flight." 

"Nevaeh, it's fine. I'm not that burned out. Time zones are an hour apart, and seven am isn't that bad." she begins to give him a skeptical look. She heard his words but feels as if he was only saying that to make her happy. He sat by her, leaned back, and relaxed. His head sat lazily against the headrest, and the smile he was giving her was light but tiresome. She switched her gaze from him to the traffic light, which turned green, and she didn't know when. Nevaeh eased her foot off the brake and to the gas pedal. "Seriously, we can do something."

“Fine,” She says after a moment. “I won’t wear you out too much more.” Flicking her left turn signal on after checking her mirror, she merges into the lane beside her. “There’s somewhere I wanna take you - well, maybe two places, but we’re going to the apartment first.”

“Alright, sounds good to me.” Nevaeh drove them to the apartment she shared with her long term friend. Rudy followed behind her as she led the way; they only spent a few minutes there. After a short tour, a bathroom break, and dropping off a couple of suitcases later, Rudy and Nevaeh left the place. They began a walk along the San Francisco hills to the mysterious place Nevaeh had in mind.

“This place is somewhere I walk to every other day. It’s Birdie’s and my favorite place.” It was a short six to eight-minute walk. Nevaeh reassured him before briefly going into a conversation about the impressive things you see in the city. Just like Nevaeh told him, they both come up upon a corner shop with a couple of large windows to see inside and out, a brown exterior with outside tables with green umbrellas and foldable outdoor chairs. The corner shop was known as the Nasik Cafe. For a small cafe, the place was doing well. There were a handful of people inside sitting, chatting, or ordering and quite a few sitting outside.

“This place is pretty health-oriented, and like Starbucks, it has things you could make at home for free, but their stuff is great,” Nevaeh explained to the man.

"So you spend way too much on yogurt cups, fruit drinks, toast, and other food you can make at home?" She nods her head like it was evident at what he said. Rudy shook his head. "Couldn't you just spend ten dollars on a yogurt cup?"

"Oh my goodness, they don't have yogurt cups, Rudy." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Okay, so ten dollars for a banana blended with ice in a cup - still sounds ridiculous to me."

"I can't with you," She tilted her head back, but she wasn't annoyed. She found his witticism amusing. At this rate, Nevaeh should prepare to always smile all the time around him. "You should find a table out here, and I can grab us something - wait, do you want to sit out here?"

Rudy nodded, then began to scan the area but only briefly seeing a couple of empty tables. "Yeah, it's nice out, let's enjoy it. Out here is great."

"Great," she says, pleased. "I'll grab something; I wanna surprise you. I'll be back." Nevaeh turns to walk inside. The smell of strawberries, oranges, and granola invaded her nose. It wasn't a new smell to her, but a new one for the day. She would always smell fruit and granola wherever she would walk into Basik. Some days it smelt like bananas and chocolate, or honey, peanut butter, and coconut. The smells varied, but the most prominent one was the tropical smell. To her left at a table was a couple enjoying smoothies. Both cops were a little under half full. A person sat at another table, invested in their laptop. To her right, more people sat. Art adorns the walls as realism paintings along with abstract images. There was a line at the counter; no more than four people stood waiting. She took the time to look up at the big and wide wood board hanging from the ceiling. When Nevaeh told Rudy she wanted to surprise him with something, she knew what she was getting for the both of them. The colorful and fruitful acai bowls.

Nevaeh and her roommate Birdie loved acai bowls. Birdie was the one to introduce her friend to the fantastic bowls she grew to love. Now it was her turn to turn another friend onto them.

The line moved along smoothly and grew smaller by the minutes. Once Nevaeh got closer, her lips stretched into a grin as her eyes caught sight of the barista.

"Hi, what can I get you? Could I interest you in our new fall to-Vae! Hey." the blonde barista's mood brightened significantly when she realized she was taking Nevaeh's order. She leaned across the counter and grabbed hold of Nevaeh's hand, and laced their fingers together. "What are you doing here? I thought you had to pick up your friend." She said, then making finger quotations. The barista was her roommate, Birdie. Birdie was a full-time college student and full-time barista to get by. She was more than happy to talk to her friend now that she wasn't as busy - Nevaeh was the only person in line for now.

"I was - I did pick up my friend. No air quotes, we're friends."

"For now."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes at the blonde. "He's here with me, just outside." Birdie looked past Nevaeh and out the window in search of this guy. Nevaeh looked around for him, too; she didn't get to see where he chose to sit. "He's...the one with the red cap, right there." She pointed out once she spotted him. Birdie hummed and squinted her eyes to get a better look, which was difficult with the angle he sat at.

"He looks nice...from here," Birdie leaned back, so her fingers could let go of Nevaeh's and tap the terminal screen as she put her friend's usual order in. While Birdie did that, Nevaeh nodded in agreement but kept her gaze on him. "Lemme guess, the usual?"

"Kilauea; everything but-"

"No pollen and extra honey." Birdie finished with assuredness and not a drop of doubt in her answer. Her friend smiled, her eyes looking to Birdie with amazement.

"You know me too well."

"Well, you order the same thing almost every time."

"Touche," she couldn't argue with that. When it came to her acai bowl, she liked the Kilauea - made with mango juice, granola, berries, papaya, honey, and acai - the best. "And water, of course - make that two." She stepped back to look over the menu. Rudy wasn't familiar with the place, and he didn't know what they served, so Nevaeh wanted to get him something he hopefully liked. She decided to go with something not too fancy - directing her attention back to her barista friend. She went ahead and finished her order. "And...let me get the Islander acai bowl." That one was made with hemp mylk, granola, banana, berries, cocoa shavings, and honey.

Birdie rang up the rest of the order for Nevaeh. After catching a glimpse at the total, Nevaeh reached in the little card pocket of her wallet and grabbed her card. Unbeknownst to her, while she was getting her card, Birdie took her name tag and gave her friend her employee discount - she got it for half the price.

“I know you’re an independent woman and paying for the first date, the least I could do is give you a discount. Just don’t tell Daniel.” She winked, and Nevaeh gave her a thumbs up with one hand, and with the other, she made a zipping and locking motion over her mouth before throwing the key.

Outside, Rudy sat at the table he picked out for the two of them while waiting. While Nevaeh ran inside to get their order, he observed the small San Francisco scenery around him. California weather was sunshine with fluffy clouds. Just about everyone was either in shorts, a tank, and a cut-off shirt or any other summer clothing that provided them some comfort in the blazing sun. He dressed just right for the weather, though in Alaska, it was more on the chill side, causing him to wear a sweatshirt while he left. Now that he was basking in the California weather, he took off the warm sweatshirt and left it at Nevaeh’s apartment.

There were other people outside along with him. A group of girls sat a few feet away at a table in front of him, trying not to giggle as they attempted to make a video. At another table, there were two guys, perhaps brothers. They were eating something colorful from a bowl - it looked like yogurt to Rudy - and having a conversation with one another.

Rudy shook his head at the drastic difference between the two tables. Maybe it was just him, but it was amazing how much the world - more specifically America- was wrapped up in technology and social media. Sure the brothers at the one table had digital watches that told them the time and lit up, catching their attention with a vibrate when a text or notification went to their phone. But at least they could carry on a conversation without having their phone in their hands. On the other hand, those girls haven’t put their phones down longer than a few seconds. After those seconds, they tap away or show the other something they thought was worthy enough to gauge a reaction out of them.

Rudy wasn't one to judge. He didn't have much right to because while watching them and waiting for Nevaeh, he had the urge to pull out his phone. It was almost like a habit, but he chooses not to feed the temptation. He wanted to enjoy the day with Nevaeh; notice the burn on his skin from the sun, get to know her, have fun, pick up on little cues she has, and find out what he likes the most about her. And though it was kind of ironic that the two of them met through social media, he hopes Nevaeh is not one of those social zombies. Then this trip would be a waste of time and effort.

Ruby pulled his sunglasses down due to the sun starting to bother his eyes. Then he also wanted to cover his eyes and focus on something else while he waited. A minute later, Nevaeh walked out of the cafe's door backward with her back pushing the door open. In her hands, she had what she ordered; he wondered what she got. Rudy briskly stood up out of his seat to help her out.

"Hey, let me help you out," he walks around the table towards her, but she only nods him off.

"I got it, you sit."

"You have all the food and drinks in your hands; it's the least I can do." he stood off to the side, not interfering but reading despite what she said. He watches her struggle a bit and almost drops the stuff. Rudy immediately reached out, but Nevaeh had already saved herself and looked at him with a smile.

"I got it, Rudy. I was just pulling your leg." He picked up on the playfulness in her eyes, which made him pull his lips into a smile matching hers; her smile is definitely contagious.

“Alright, alright,” he raised his hands, backing away and then taking his seat. Nevaeh took her seat across from him, sat everything down before passing him the items she got him. “What’d you get us?”

“Well, I don’t know if you have had this before, but it’s my go-to thing to get here. It’s an acai bowl,” Nevaeh’s eyes caught his confused expression before he tried to cover it up with an understanding.  She laughed softly and explained further. “It’s like a smoothie bowl with other things in it.”

“Smoothie bowl…” he murmured more to himself, but she still heard it.

Shaking her head, she continued. “Acai palm is the main ingredient along with bananas and granola, but you can add other fruits or peanut butter and syrups. Or take things off.”

“Like maple syrup?” he asked, looking at the acai bowl she got him.

Her face begins to twist in disgust until she covers it with a shrug and looks down at her bowl, ready to dig in. “Uh, I guess if that’s what you want, then yeah.” She answered, and Rudy nodded his head and grabbed his spoon to take a taste. Before Nevaeh tasted her own, she watched Rudy, waiting for his reaction. He took a bite, letting the flavor invade his taste buds.

“Wow, this is good,” He says after swallowing. He glanced up, catching Nevaeh already looking at him. She quickly looked away and stirred her bowl.

“I’m glad you like it; it’s my second favorite one,” she peeked back up, and Rudy was still looking at her. Laughing softly to herself, then shaking her head, she takes a bite of her own, almost moaning at the taste. “I’m surprised you haven’t had one before.”

“ I have wanted to try one, but never really went with actually going out to get one.”

“Well, maybe now you will get them more often,” She says but stops herself before taking another bite. “Wait...you aren’t allergic to any fruit, are you? Or granola?”

He lifted a brow while getting another scoop. “Oh, only bananas,” He replies. Nevaeh watches him as he lifts the spoon to his mouth and takes another bite that includes bananas before she could reach across the table and stop him in time. “What?” he looked at her. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear, her mouth opening to say something but closed when nothing came out. “Is there something wrong?”

Nodding her head slowly, she sat down her spoon and reached for her phone in her pocket just in case. "You ate a banana, and you just told me you were allergic to them." Nevaeh wanted to yell at him for being so careless, but that would mean she was too for not asking before ordering something random for him. She pretended to remain calm but was internally panicking.

"I actually eat them all the time," he held back the smile easing its way into his features. "I eat them quite often. They're a great source of potassium and vitamin C."

"So you aren't allergic to bananas?" she noted, and Rudy shook his head. His mouth broke out into the smile he managed to hold back for a few seconds. Nevaeh relaxed a bit, her shoulders dropping as she was no longer tense. "You're an asshole, you know that, right?" Rudy gasped softly, a hand placed on his chest as he looked at her, offended at her comment.

"What, me, an asshole? That can't be right, I'm really nice," he said and made Nevaeh huffed. "What do you not believe me?"

The woman shrugged, the smile still on her face when she looked down at her food. "Well, you did play a mean joke just now; I thought I almost killed you." She reminded him and picked at her bowl.

"I wanted to see how caring you were, and you passed the test. Now you love me, don't you?"

"You wish," she said, taking a bite then pointing at him with her spoon. "We're going on a road trip together, let's see if I survive that, then I'll let you know if I like you enough to be your friend or jump out of a moving car because you're an annoying little shit."

Rudy raised his eyebrows, smirking at her now. "Me being an annoying little...alright. Let's make a deal," he starts; Nevaeh gestures for him to continue. "If you survive this road trip, meaning - if you have a great time - I get to take you to my home town in Alaska. Ah, ah. I'm not finished." he held his finger up to stop her from making a comment. She rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, attempting to hide a simple, but you could see the amusement on her face. "If you don't have a great time, I'll do whatever you want."

"So, If I understand right, If you win, you get to take me to Alaska - assuming I haven't been there already,"

“Wait, you’ve been to Alaska?” Nevaeh held her finger up, echoing his movements moments before.

“If you win, you take me to Alaska, and if I win, you do whatever I want, correct?”

“Yeah, as long as it’s not too inappropriate or impossible,” He says, already finished with his acai bowl, which Nevaeh didn’t remember seeing him eat the rest. It didn’t matter when he ate it, she didn’t care, but that was quick. Looking down at her own, she wasn’t more than halfway done. “So, so we have a deal?”

Nevaeh looked up from her food, meeting his ocean-like eyes. The pair were becoming more familiar over the past few weeks from countless photos and videos the two have shared over Snapchat. Messages over text and facetime calls. They got to know each other digitally, and now they have to learn more in person. 

“We have a deal.” She says, and Rudy sticks his hand out, which she gladly took. They shook hands. While doing so, Rudy thought of a million possibilities to get the woman across from him to a great time and not just so he could take her to Alaska, his home. He found her intriguing, and he wants to take the time to get to know her better and maybe have a solid standing friendship at the end of it all. If the cosmos had a say, perhaps something more would blossom.

➣ End Note:

So, I honestly don’t know how the next few or future chapters will go but hopefully they turn out well. Here are the Revaeh interactions we all needed and plenty more to come so just you wait. ;)

AGAIN IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE THE SERIES I WILL, JUST LET ME KNOW.

Wonder Taglist:

@Scooby6, @ifilwtmfc​, @rudypankowswife​, @themaddies-obx​

[If your username is bold and slashed out it means i can’t tag you. If you want to be added to the taglist add yourself here! If you no longer want to be on it let me know. :) ]

[onelovewonderwoman]

tater tots and chocolate shop (a.k.a. chen’s convenience store) || eddie brock x reader

listen listen... i know i’ve been gone for a long time and i legit have no excuse but i hope you guys enjoy this unedited excuse of a fic. thinking of doing a smut for this or something smut like for venom/eddie for my other smut blog tho. but we all know we can’t trust me when i say i’m releasing shit anymore smh

tags : @santa-feigh @i-just-wanna-run-hell @munalisax @spiduhgirl @hell-on-cheese-wheels @geeksareunique @violentlybarnes @imissyoualittlemoreeveryday @the-quackson-claxon @curly-haired-holland @courtneychicken @marvel_themed @heycreehere​ @min-amani​ @simonsbluee​ @delicately-important-trash​

words : 4133

warnings : not anything really, just that venom eats someone per usual if ya know what i’m saying... that came off sexual, as sexual as i am, that wasn’t what i meant, he really does just eat a guy sksksksk, also let’s just pretend that chen is single although i’m not sure

“this is venom in eddie’s head”

“this is eddie in his head”

masterlist

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

Eddie really didn’t expect anything new today - Which is something eerily weird for a man housing a deadly symbiote in his own body. Really, he never actually knew what to expect, but never anything out of ordinary; that is, his ordinary. Then again, he had gotten into the swing of things. Having scored a new job as a journalist, three months prior, spent his days at work, although that meant out and about the city of San Francisco. Then, he’d drop by Chen’s convenience store every couple of days to pick up the symbiote’s, Venom, favourite snacks (and now forcefully his too); tater tots and chocolate. For whatever reason, it made an impression on the creature, so Eddie rolled with it. 

The new thing Eddie didn’t expect, though, was the woman behind the counter. Usually, he would walk in and see Ms. Chen behind these counter, greet her as usual, sometimes even getting an earful from her about how “tense he looked” and how he should start meditating (although, that is why he loved the woman - she felt sort of like a concerning mother figure to him), pick up what he needed then pay and leave. Simple. 

Except this time, there was no Ms. Chen behind the counter. 

No, this was a young woman. Eddie thought she couldn’t be over twenty-two. Sure, the college textbooks in front of her behind the counter made it more likely, but she looked like she was practically still what anyone fairly older would call a girl in place of a woman albeit she was. 

Her head was down when he saw her through the glass doors of the store, holding a pink highlighter in her hand as she read through the open book in front of her, highlighting things ever so often. An earbud dangled from her left ear, the wire of the abandoned earbud bunching up at her front when she brought her arms around her to lean against the counter. 

She looked smart. It didn’t help Eddie that she was beautiful either. Sure, he sees beautiful women everywhere he goes every day in the city, but truth be told, the man became somewhat of a shut in since his break up with his ex-fiancé, Anne followed by the recent presence of Venom. 

Although this time, Eddie figured he wouldn’t be just passing her by like he does other women every day. No, she was new. Obviously, Chen wouldn’t just have her there for the day and leave it at that. Ms. Chen has been there every day since the damn store came to be. She was an employee now - One Eddie was probably going to have to see more often than he’d like to admit. 

Sighing, he opened the door and walked in, bell ringing as he did so. It did a good job at catching the girl’s attention, as her head shot up when it rang. 

He seemed to be the first customer in a while. Although he wouldn’t be surprised; it was fairly late into the night and Ms. Chen did recently expand the hours from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. - It was practically only ten minutes until closing. 

The girl gave Eddie a soft smile, welcoming, that he returned briefly, before she turned back to her textbook when she noticed the ease Eddie had walking through the store. It was easy to tell he was a regular. 

When he reached only the first shelf from the counter, he was unable to help himself and spoke indirectly, “So, you’re new?”

“Huh?” The girl looked over before seeing him turn his head to give her a slight smile and nod towards her, as if signalling to her, “Yes, I’m talking to you”.

Yanking her earbud out almost frantically, she stammered, feeling herself flush slightly in his gaze, “Oh yeah. Yeah, I’m… I’m new.” 

Eddie hummed. 

She continued before he had the chance to reply, “I’m assuming you’re a regular here? You know Ms. Chen?”

“Yeah,” Eddie chuckled and shook his head, thinking of the older woman, “Yeah, she’s a…”

“Character?”

The both of them let out small laughs of their own together before Eddie found himself turning back to the shelf and the girl back to her textbook, albeit both reluctantly. 

Once again, in true Eddie Brock fashion, Eddie found himself unable to stop and spoke once more, “So, not that I’m exactly complaining, but why exactly isn’t Chen here. I don’t think the woman’s ever missed a fuckin’ day.” 

She breathed a laugh before turning back to him with something bright in her eyes that Eddie felt he hadn’t seen in a long time, something refreshing, “I’m pretty sure she wanted to set aside a little time for who I think is the future Mr. Chen.”

“Wow,” Eddie feigned disappointment, “There goes my shot.”

A bright smile grew on the girl’s face, making Eddie’s heart start beating just a little bit faster as she went along, “There it goes.”

A small smile - a true, genuine small smile - found its way to Eddie’s face. She was cute, really cute. 

“Who is she and why does she make your heart beat fast?”

“Jesus,” Eddie jumped unnoticeably at Venom’s voice in his head, muttering to himself, “Shut up, you parasite.”

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and offense having heard his muttered words. “Excuse me?”

“Parasite!” Venom spoke in his head with anger. 

Eddie’s eyes widened before he took a few steps closer to the counter. “No! No. Not you.”

“O-” She looked him up and down for a split second with a frown; who was he talking to if not you, the only person in the store with him. “Okay.”

They stayed in silence for a few seconds, feeling the awkward tension get heavier with each passing by. Although, when Eddie saw the girl shift back into her leaning over the counter position from before to get back to her textbook, he pulled her away from it once more. 

“Look, I’m sorry,” Eddie spoke sincerely to the young woman, looking from her to somewhere in the store ever so often, “I guess I have this… thing where I… talk to myself. Sometimes I don’t even realize I do it. Could I just- I mean, do you think I could get your name?”

Her frown upturned into a soft smile once more. “Y/N.” 

She then proceeded to add, “I work three days a week here.”

Eddie’s gaze on her felt like the heat from one of those lights on a movie set, and it made her feel flush under it, “I mean, that’s just if you wanted to know. I’m gonna be here pretty often, so I don’t know-”

“Hey, Y/N, Y/N.” He cut her off with an endeared look on his face. “Don’t shit yourself, it’s good to know.”

“Okay,” Y/N laughed nervously as she watched Eddie move across the store once again to reach the desired shelf, “Good- Good to know. Tha-Thanks.”

Once he’d found his desired purchases, dollars over dollars of tater tots and chocolate for his “little buddy”, he took them up to the counter that Y/N sat behind. 

She spoke as she grabbed each product and scanned, eyes looking up from her actions to Eddie, “Hey, I never got your name.”

He chuckled nervously and spoke almost regretfully to the floor, “Yeah, it’s, ah, it’s Eddie.” He lifted his head to, although he didn’t intend to and it just ended up happening, gauge Y/N’s reaction - As if it would set off a bomb, especially after everything with the Life Foundation. 

“No way,” 

And there it goes. 

“I thought I’d recognized you from somewhere; you’re Eddie Brock, right?” Here comes the part Eddie was waiting for, the backlash of having dismantled the Life Foundation - people claiming what the foundation was accused of doing, what Carlton Drake was accused of doing, wasn’t actually real despite the photo evidence he’d provided. Although, when Eddie closed his eyes for a brief second to both calm himself and Venom, the symbiote probably feeling the way his nerves spiked and heart pumped faster, he opened then fairly quickly when he heard Y/N’s excited voice with what could even possibly be admiration, “You exposed the Life Foundation, right? That’s- That’s insane. It was crazy what they were doing, I still can’t believe it. I mean, I kinda can ‘cause I never exactly had a good feeling about that guy. Yeah, he was nice on camera and stuff, but it felt like he was a little too nice, if you know what I mean.”

She paused when she noticed Eddie was staring at her like she grew another head and looked to him nervously. “What?”

“Nothing.” Eddie pushes back a disbelieved laugh, staring at the girl with that same disbelief, except with something lighter that felt like a tiny spark of hope for him, which made him feel like he was getting way too far ahead of himself. “It’s just that, since it’s happened, not a lot of people have good things to say about it.”

Y/N shrugged before she grabbed a plastic bag and began placing the items into it, eyes on that now as opposed to on Eddie. “I think what you did was great. People are probably just still in their little bubbles trying to avoid any type of bad thing. It was only the poor being used during the human trials, so it’s none of their concern as far as it goes - Just like everything else. I read your papers now, they’re amazing.”

“Thanks.” Eddie smiled, practically mesmerized with this girl for reasons unfathomable to even him. 

After he handed her cash, she leaned over and handed him his bag. Taking it, he felt his fingers brush against hers, feeling adrenaline rush through his body at the mere contact…

Which alerted the symbiote. 

Knowing, Eddie turned away from Y/N, moving his head down as his eyes flashed an ominous grey, trying his damn hardest to keep Venom at bay. 

Beginning to walk out, he shouted, “Thanks, Y/N. See you.”

Y/N’s smile faltered at his sudden leave, only replying with a sigh after the bell chimed again and Eddie was no longer in the store, “No problem, Eddie.”

Outside, an argument was taking place inside Eddie Brock’s head with his symbiote. 

“She makes you heart beat fast like Annie.”

Shaking his head whilst he walked, Eddie thought to Venom, “No, she doesn’t.”

“Yes, she does.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Yes, she does.”

“No, she doesn’t!” Eddie practically shouted in the middle of the street, stopping his movement to see that he’d gained weird looks from others on the street with his outburst. Shaking his head once more, he went onto walking home again. 

“Look, I just met her-”

“We.”

“We! We just met her, and it doesn’t mean anything. She was pretty, and new, thought I was cool, and I haven’t gotten any for months now. We just got excited. That’s all. We’ll see her every once and a while, and that’s it. She’s a good girl, wouldn’t be surprised if she had a boyfriend.”

“We can eat him.”

“No-” Eddie cut himself off when he realized he spoke aloud again, frustrated with the symbiote’s quote on quote “solution”

Huffing he continued to speak with the symbiote, turning the corner and getting closer to his apartment building. 

“No, we cannot eat him. We don’t eat people, at least not good ones, and you know, there are a lot-”

“A lot of good people. Yes, yes, I know.”

“Exactly. So get over it. I will.”

———————————————

“So, Mondays and Wednesdays.” Eddie walked into Chen’s convenience store that Wednesday to be greeted with what he thought was possibly the most beautiful smile from Y/N. “You wanna let me in on what the third day of the week you work on?”

Y/N laughed, taking her earbud out and giving her full attention to Eddie, almost looking at his shyly and bit her lip, driving him insane in a way he didn’t expect from you. “I don’t know… Maybe you’ll have to figure that out for yourself, Ed.”

“Oh, it’s Ed now,” Eddie challenged with a smirk, walking past her to the first shelf. 

Her eyes followed, taking in his broad frame. “Mhm.” She nodded confidently. 

“Mhm,” Eddie mimicked her with a chuckle before nodding towards her textbooks. “What are you studying?”

“Uh,” Y/N looked down at her textbook, like she had forgotten what the textbooks were even for, eyes fluttering before she looked back up at the man. “Mostly English stuff.” Y/N shrugged and placed her elbow onto the counter, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. “I’m an English major - It’s my third year.”

Eddie gestured towards her, his front still facing the shelf and his side to her, his head still turned looking at her. “Any idea…”

Y/N snorted, voice straining as she told him, “Nope.”

Eddie turned away with a laugh when he saw her smile lazily at him. 

She sighed, “But,” Eddie’s attention turned back to her, “I am hoping to figure it out by the end. Granted I have this year and the next to figure it out, but here’s to hoping, right?”

“Yeah.” Eddie gave a weak smile. “Here’s to hoping.”

Y/N hummed then deciding to leave Eddie be, turning back to her textbook and putting an earbud into her left ear, as she always does. 

“Pussy.”

Eddie huffed, speaking underneath his breath, “Alright, you know what?”

Forgetting what he’d come to the store for, Eddie found himself marching up to the counter and planting himself in front of it, right where Y/N was seated behind. 

Obviously hearing his movement, Y/N looked up with her eyebrows furrowed and a confused smile on her lips. “Is everything alright, Eddie?”

“Let me take you to dinner,” Eddie said abruptly as to not chicken out, attempting to smile through all the nerves he was feeling in that moment, “Let me- Let me take you out on a date, sweetheart.”

Panic shot through his chest right through his heart when he saw Y/N’s confused smile falter into a frown and her face grow solemn. 

“I’m really flattered, Eddie.”

“Please, no but. Please, no but.”

“But,”

“And there it is.”

“I’m already seeing someone. I-” Y/N paused and looked at him almost regretfully, biting her lip with her eyes filled with sadness. “I’m really sorry, Eddie. You’re really cool and stuff, but-”

“No.” Eddie shook his head before giving a weak fake smile as he chuckled, attempting to not make it sound as bitter as he felt so he wouldn’t make the girl feel bad. “Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault. I should’ve asked-”

“No, it’s okay, really.” Y/N shook her head and attempted a smile to show him it was fine, really. 

“Maybe,” Eddie paused, looking around then back to Y/N, “Maybe I should go. I’ll just go. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you, okay?”

“Yeah,” Y/N eyebrows furrowed in concern before she called out as he began to walk away, “Didn’t you need to get some stuff?”

“Uh, no.” Eddie looked back briefly, then tucked his hands into his pockets before he opened the door with his shoulder and heard the bell chime as always. “Not today.”

As Y/N watched him walk away from the store through the glass, she couldn’t help the words that came out of her mouth despite a mother now walking in with her small child, “Fuck,”

——————————————————

Despite saying everything was fine, Eddie found himself not going back to the store for the next week, too, and as stupid as it sounds, scared to face Y/N after what had happened. He felt stupid; after everything, she was too good to be true - Way too good to be true. 

Although, ten days later, he found himself on his way to the convenience store on a Saturday night, half past eleven. 

Taking a deep breath before entered, he pulled the door opened and heard the damn bell again, catching, none other than, Y/N’s attention. Although, this time - This time, she saw him of course, but she didn’t take out the earbud always in her left ear, didn’t take her focus off her textbook and highlighter in hand to shoot Eddie the biggest, most beautiful smile. She didn’t give him any type of greeting. 

At first sight, Eddie would think that obviously she’s pissed. He probably made her feel bad about it, despite how he said it’s okay. Completely contradicted himself and made her feel like an ass.

As he got closer to the girl, though, he heard a sniffle she tried hard to cover. 

It sent a rush of rage through his body, and he had to try his hardest to fight against Venom’s want to make an appearance. 

“Stop it, you’ll scare her.”

“I will scare whoever did this to her. I’ll bite their head off-”

“No. Biting. Heads off. Right now, we’re focusing on her… We might be the ones who did this to her.”

Eddie then felt a flush of shame before Venom spoke to him once more. 

“You.”

“You? What do you mean you?”

“You did this to her. I had nothing to do with it.”

Eddie rolled his eyes subtly at the symbiote. 

“So now it’s just me, huh?”

The symbiote didn’t reply, and that when Eddie decided to walk closer to the counter and the upset girl behind. 

He spoke up, “Y/N?”

Eddie heard Y/N suck in a breath before shooting her head up to face him, quickly wiping away any tears that may be running down her beautiful face, and shooting him a weak smile in attempts to cover up she’d been crying. “Hey, Eddie,” She gave a forced chuckle, “Guess you figured out what the third day of the week I work is.”

Eddie stared at her, concern littered all over his face with a mix of anger, his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”

Her nose was running and she looked drained, her eyes faintly red rimmed from crying. 

“Nothing, Ed, I’m-” Y/N let out a shaky sigh. “I’m fine. It’s stupid, anyway.”

“Hey,” Eddie spoke softly to the girl, leaning himself as close as he could with the counter separating them, “I won’t think it’s stupid.”

Y/N shrugged before she let out a sad laugh, “It’s just the guy I was seeing.”

Eddie hummed, already knowing where this was going. Nonetheless, he let her continue. 

She crossed her arms in front of her, placing them onto the counter and leaning forward. Closer to Eddie. 

“I thought we made it clear we weren’t gonna see other people,” Y/N smiled sadly, her voice soft and light, weak, “But I guess it wasn’t clear to him. I, uh, I caught him with some girl, and I know it’s stupid ‘cause we’ve only been together a few months, but it just hurts-”

Eddie shook his head and stopped her, “It’s not stupid, Y/N. I promise you it’s not. That guy’s an asshole - Doesn’t even know what he’s missin’”

“Let’s bite his head off.”

Although Eddie chose to ignore him this time, he couldn’t help but consider the idea. 

Y/N gave a weak laugh, “Thanks, Eddie.”

“Any day.”

Y/N shook her head and looked at him regretfully, “Listen, Eddie, about the other day - I’m sorry. I really like you too, I just felt like an ass about it and wrong ‘cause I was already seeing somebody. I mean, but now I don’t feel so bad about it anymore, I guess. If you’d still want to, I’d like to take you out on a date to make up for, well, all that and the past ten days.”

“Got nothing to make up for, Y/N.” Eddie smiled softly at her as he reached over to grab her hand on the counter. “But yeah, I’d really like that.”

If Eddie Brock was a fourteen year old girl, he’d he felt his insides melt and butterflies in his stomach as you gave him the sweetest smile, but Venom would never let it go. 

The sweet moment was all too quickly interrupted. 

In came a hulking building of a man, angry and red faced. Red faced not cause he was angry, but ‘cause he was pretty fucking ugly if the three of them (mind Venom) do say so themselves.

The gun in his hand made it clear what his intentions were, and sent a jolt of protectiveness through Eddie’s body over Y/N and her safety.

The man’s voice was aggressive as he directed Y/N to put all the money in the bag, gun still at his side. She did what he said, obviously, her hands shaking unlike how Ms. Chen was usually more collected because she was unfortunately too used to it. Although, Eddie hadn’t moved when he told him to. 

“Move,” The man boomed, then expressed almost nonchalantly, “I can shoot her if you want, if that’ll make you fucking move.”

The man then proceeded to direct the gun towards Y/N’s head, making her breath hitch and stop her actions of shovelling the cash into the bag to stare at Eddie with eyes filled with frightened tears to mouth, “Move.”

This time, when all he could see was red, Eddie didn’t stop Venom. 

Surely, Eddie form became Venom’s; black covering Eddie body as they shifted. Venom stood huge and towering over everyone and everything. Tongue slid across sharp, menacing teeth as he smiled ominously at the man who now dropped his gun and looked like he was shitting bricks.

There was no speech this time like with the one guy who would continuously harass and rob Ms. Chen. No, this time, he simply grabbed onto the struggling man’s shirt, lifted him with ease to dangle him in the air before simply using him as his next meal. 

Y/N stood watching frozen, scared to make any type of movement, even breath, as to catch the attention of the terrifying creature in front of her that used to be Eddie. 

It didn’t seem to work for her though, because the creature’s head snapped around to her, making her let out a shriek and duck underneath the counter, not knowing what else to do other than cry and expect potential death coming her way. 

Although, that didn’t seem to happen. She heard the creature… talking; like he was arguing with himself. 

“No!” It said, “I want to meet her!”

She heard a final growl before she heard something else, something… slimy, then footsteps coming around the counter to where she hid underneath. Her whole body tensed as she awaited the huge creature, terrified. 

Before she knew it, she faced with not huge, inky black feet (?), but Eddie’s shoes. He crouched down for face her huddled form, arms wrapped around the legs that were right against her chest. 

“Hey,” Eddie said softly, bringing a hand to her arm and pretending he didn’t feel her flinch, “I’m sorry for scaring you. It’s okay. You can come up now.”

Y/N looked at him in disbelief before she spoke fearfully, “No, fuck you, it’s waiting for me.”

Eddie chuckled, genuinely, as his head fell to his chest for a brief second before he looked back up, into her beautiful, [eye colour] eyes. “Sweetheart, I promise, he’s not waiting for you. At least, not to eat you.”

“Okay.” Y/N nodded before exclaiming, “So then it’s to just kill me! He’s probably just full, that’s why. Ate a whole man.”

“Alright.” Eddie placed a hand on either side of Y/N’s face and directed her focus solely onto him. “I promise I’ll explain everything, okay? Just know you’re safe with me. You’re safe, you don’t have to worry.”

Y/N’s mouth opened and closed as she debated in her head, Eddie frightful of what decision she may come to. 

“Okay.”

“Yeah?” Eddie smiled. 

She rolled her eyes weakly in distress. “Yeah. Just- Just help me up now.”

Releasing her face, Eddie grabbed her hands and pulled her up with him, although the movement made lose her footing and bump herself into his chest. His arm wrapped itself her waist and there wasn’t anymore space between them, faces barely centimetres apart.

“Hey,” Y/N smiled cheekily at him, her arms wrapping around his torso. 

“Hey,” Was all Eddie said back impatiently before his hand reached up to cup her face and guide her lips onto his.

Here’s to hoping. Oh, and those damn tater tots and chocolate that gave him a reason to be there in the first place.

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Road Dogs: Metallica on Tour

Metallica‘s first ever gig took place at Radio City in Anaheim, California in March 1982. Their set list included primarily covers with only two original songs, “Hit the Lights” and “Fight Fire with Fire.” They did Savage’s ‘Let It Loose,’ Blitzkrieg’s ‘Blitzkrieg,’ Sweet Savage’s ‘Killing Time’ and four Diamond Head tracks. For diehard fans, this original lineup did not include Cliff Burton as of yet, but instead Ron McGovney. They eventually asked him to leave the group because the guitarist did not contribute anything of value. Another good reason came in the fact that Dave Mustaine fought with him repeatedly. James Hetfield would later say this about that show. “There were a lot of people there, maybe 200, because we had all my school friends and all Lars’ and Ron’s and Dave’s buddies. I was really nervous and a little uncomfortable without a guitar, and then during the first song Dave broke a string. It seemed to take him an eternity to change it and I was standing there really embarrassed. We were really disappointed afterwards. But there were never as many people at the following shows as there were at that first one.”

Metallica’s second and third show took place at the Whiskey a Gogo in Los Angeles. This venue would be where Hetfield and Lars Ulrich first heard future bassist Cliff Burton and his band Trauma. More recently, Ulrich revealed diary entries related to Metallica’s appearances there. "No sound check. Sound was awful. Played great myself, but the band as a whole sucked. Went down OK." The group opened for Saxon, who the drummer had met six months prior after sneaking backstage during one of their shows. After the concert, the monitor engineer asked Ulrich if he had ever heard of Diamondhead. “Of course, we have, we just played a bunch of their songs!" As it turned out, the crew member was only joking about Diamond Head. He would later go on to work for Metallica in the same position for 22 years.

On April 16, 1983 Metallica played its first show with new guitarist Kirk Hammett at the Showplace in Dover, New Jersey. They had begun recording their debut album Kill ‘Em All in Rochester, New York at that time. The set list included all original material that would land on that first album making up nine songs. Hammett had replaced Dave Mustaine, who held quite a bit of ill will towards him for years claiming in 1985 that Kirk ripped off all his guitar riffs, which got him noticed in the metal community. In defense of Hammett, he was simply trying not to make waves in his new group as Ulrich and Hetfield had definitely decided not to cut any contributions from Mustaine.

On March 5, 1983 Metallica played its first show with Cliff Burton at The Stone in San Francisco, who had replaced Ron McGovney. In 2018, a recording of the show came to light online, which you can listen to on YouTube. The lineup still included Dave Mustain as well taking place a month before the other band members would fire him. They performed 12 songs that night essentially previewing everything to be included on their debut album. At that time, James Hetfield was still struggling over whether he should sing lead. On the recording, you can tell why this became the case as his voice sounds incredibly scratchy with absolutely no technique whatsoever. The show also became memorable as a Cliff Burton debuted the future track, “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).”

Cliff Burton played his last show was Metallica in Stockholm, Sweden in September 1986 before his tragic passing. A few years ago, Metallica released a boxed set of rarities for their album, Master of Puppets, which included a recording of that final show. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett talked about their memories of that last concert with Cliff. Ulrich noted, “We played the show in Stockholm, and it went incredibly well. I think it may have been a rare case where we actually played an additional song that wasn’t on the set list, because the show was so good. That’s not something we did a lot then or now. So there was a good vibe.” Hammett would say this in the same interview, “It was significant because it was the first show where James played guitar again (Wrist Injury). He strapped on a guitar and was able to play the encore; I think it was “Blitzkrieg” or something. But I remember the five of us, including John Marshall, being really stoked James was back and playing and looking like was gonna make a pretty healthy recovery. I distinctly remember that show being good, and the feeling when we got offstage was really great and positive and forward-looking. Like, “Great, James is back in and it won’t be long ’til we’re back to our old selves again.”

In November 1986, Jason Newsted would play his first show with Metallica at the Country Club in Reseda, California. He did so in front of a sparse crowd because it had been a secret show for the group Metal Church. Newsted had played with the band for only a short time during rehearsals for the next album. James Hetfield introduced Newsted for the very first time in this way. “Welcome to the very, very secret Metallica gig that every fucker knows about! Here’s the new fucker right over here man, this is the guy… Jason Newsted, we fucking love him, man, so make him feel at home, alright? I want to have some fun tonight.” Their set list would consist of 14 songs from their first three album releases.

In the summer of 1992, Metallica decided to perform a few dates with Guns ‘N Roses. The hype for these shows represented the tour of the year, but the show in Montreal turned into a tragic affair. A pyrotechnic accident occurred as they performed “Fade To Black” causing second and third degree burns on half of singer James Hetfield's body. He recalled the incident, “I'm burnt – all my arm, my hand completely, down to the bone. The side of my face, hair's gone. Part of my back. ... I watched the skin just rising, things going wrong." Jason Newsted would remember that Hetfield looked like the Toxic Avenger from his vantage point. The group immediately cut the show short, so the singer could receive medical attention. He would later say that during the trip to the hospital a road crew member bumped his burnt hand leading him to punch the guy in his “nuts.” For fans still at the show, things only got worse as Guns ‘N Roses delayed getting on stage for two hours. Axl Rose probably only sang for 20 minutes before cutting his night short. GNR Had known what had happened to Hetfield, but they still phoned it in anyway. After that, 2000 people rioted in protest followed by several arrests. This night would lead to great animosity between the two groups for years continuing to this day, but it should be noted that Metallica acted professionally completing the tour with an injured Hetfield. Slash of Guns N’ Roses would later talk about the tour being a financial disaster for them. “Metallica was earning the exact same paycheck as we were every night but while they pocketed the whole thing, we were blowing 80 percent both on union dues for all of the overtime we cost ourselves going on late and on these stupid theme parties. It was just bad." Axl had spent extravagantly on backstage parties in an effort to impress members of Metallica.

In April 1999, Metallica recorded two performances on successive nights with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra led by Michael Kamen. The idea for such a concert had first come up when they worked with the composer on the Black Album song, “Nothing Else Matters.” He had approached them about such a collaboration, but never heard anything until years later receiving a phone call from Lars Ulrich. They filmed the live show at Berkeley Community Theater in San Francisco as Kamen had written additional material to supplement Metallica’s arrangements. The band also released two new songs specifically for the show, “No Leaf Clover” and “Human.” According to James Hetfield, This idea of combining heavy metal and classical music was originally an idea brought up by Cliff Burton, who had a strong background in both. One can see this throughout Metallica’s songwriting in their early years as the bassist relied on melody and instrumental qualities found in classical compositions like his favorite one, Johan Sebastian Bach. S&M would be released as a concert film and an album, with the latter reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart.

In 1991, Metallica would play a concert in Russia that has become the stuff of legends because 1.6 million people watched it in person. The highlight of the show came when they played “Enter Sandman” as one could see Russian military personnel rocking out just as hard as anybody else. One must note that they were not the only band there that day as other artists included the Black Crowes, Queensryche, Motley Crue, and AC/DC. The Monsters of Rock Festival would only occur this one year in what would become the former Soviet Union. Motley Crue had played one of the early versions of the festival in 1984, but ironically Metallica had surpassed them as a more popular headliner by this time.

In August 2020, Metallica became the first rock act to perform a pre-recorded concert for Encore Live’s drive-in series. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, live concerts were canceled all over the world, so artists like Blake Shelton and Garth Brooks participated in this drive-in movie concert experience. Tickets to view this at your local drive-in cost $115 for up to six people per car. The show took place at an undisclosed location near their home in San Rafael, California.

[strings-have-been-cut]

✩

The Ultimate Relationship Tag // accepting

See under the cut for the Regverse;;

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Reg

Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Neither

Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Data has physically attempted to leave on a few occasions in the middle of a disagreement, but only if he needs time to process or he believes he is putting Reg in danger.

Who trashes the house? Neither

Do either of them get physical? Nope

How often do they argue/disagree? Not very often at all. The few times it has happened, Data got too anxious almost immediately and could not hold his own argument.

Who is the first to apologise? Data - he usually apologizes right away and during the argument.

Sex:

Who is on top? Usually Reg, although they switch.

Who is on the bottom? Is this a trick question? Usually Data...although they switch.

Who has the strangest desires? Reg has a backlog of fantasies that he thinks about...and several that seem to pop up randomly in different situations. He's very creative.

Any kinks? Data enjoys being tied up.

Who’s dominant in bed? Reg

Is head ever in the equation? Yes, often.

If so, who is better at performing it? They're both enthusiastic, but Data has the advantage of not needing to breathe and not being able to choke, so...

Ever had sex in public? Yep

Who moans the most? Reg

Who leaves the most marks? If Data was human, Reg would have likely torn him to pieces by now.

Who screams the loudest? Reg.

Who is the more experienced of the two? Data, but it's not a positive.

Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Mmm...both. Both is good.

Rough or soft? It usually starts soft and ends rough. Or starts rough and ends rougher.

How long do they usually last? Not long, but Data can go forever, and Reg has a surprising amount of stamina.

Is protection used? Nope.

Does it ever get boring? Nope.

Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? The maintenance closet on the Enterprise? Or the beach.

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Yes, two. Rhea and Nikael.

If so, how many children do your muses want/have? Data brings up having a baby at the worst possible times every few years.

Who is the favorite parent? Reg.

Who is the authoritative parent? Data...unless it's Nik and he does that Look.

Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Data

Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Reg - he lives on that stuff himself.

Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? Both!

Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Both!

Who changes the diapers? Data, but Reg will if he needs to

Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Data, but Reg gets anxious if they cry, so he usually gets up anyway.

Who spends the most time with the children? They spend the same amount of time, most likely.

Who packs their lunch boxes? Data - he plans and packs them ahead of time.

Who gives their children ‘the talk’? Both, but they need a lot of support from Deanna. In the Nemesis verse, Reg does it by himself.

Who cleans up after the kids? Data cleans constantly. Nik cleans up after himself starting at age two.

Who worries the most? Reg

Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Reg

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Both, but Reg is a master at it

Who is the little spoon? Data

Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? Reg

Who struggles to keep their hands to themself? Reg

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? F o r e v e r

Who gives the most kisses? Reg

What is their favourite non-sexual activity? Probably cuddling. Or bathing together.

Where is their favourite place to cuddle? Bed. Or the bathtub.

Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? Reg

How often do they get time to themselves? Fairly often before Nik is born and then not as much.

Sleeping:

Who snores? If both do, who snores the loudest? Reg, and it's adorable

Do they share a bed or sleep separately? Share

If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? No matter how big the bed is, Reg is glued to Data, usually sprawled out on top of him.

Who talks in their sleep? Reg, and Data did not know what sleeptalking was the first few times. Alarming.

What do they wear to bed? Usually pajamas, at Reg's request, but sometimes nothing. Data prefers nothing - he does not see the point of PJs.

Are either of your muses insomniacs? Reg is not a good sleeper, and sometimes Data will sing him to sleep or drag him to bed and insist he try.

Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? Sometimes a hypo is needed, but Data prefer to simply bombard him with comfort.

Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? They tangle all up in a complicated manner, usually pressed all up.

Who wakes up with bed hair? Reg

Who wakes up first? Usually Data wakes with his internal chronometer and then spends a ridiculous amount of time trying to wake Reg up.

Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? Data for Reg

What is their favourite sleeping position? This one, with Data on the bottom is Reg's. This is Data's.

Who hogs the sheets? Reg

Do they set an alarm each night? Data has an internal clock that is never ever wrong. He is the alarm.

Can a television be found in their bedroom? There's a viewscreen. Sometimes they watch movies.

Who has nightmares? Reg, more often.

Who has ridiculous dreams? Data

Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Reg

Who makes the bed? Data

What time is bedtime? No set time, but they don't stay up tremendously late.

Any routines/rituals before bed? Once Rhea is activated, there is the 'bedtime' procedure. Bath, brush teeth, put on PJs, read story, sleep. She grows out of it quickly, but Nik continues this long after Reg and Data stop doing it with him.

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? REG BARCLAY

Work:

Who is the busiest? They are both very busy, but Reg is more chaotic and involved in dealing with it.

Who rakes in the highest income? Starfleet, baby.

Are any of your muses unemployed? Nope

Who takes the most sick days? Reg - Data doesn't get sick, but he tries to take off to take care of him when he is sick.

Who is more likely to turn up late to work? Reg has a tremendous amount of trouble getting out of bed in the morning...and then getting out of the shower.

Who sucks up to their boss? Data...and probably Reg too.

What are their jobs? They both work on the Enterprise - Data is second officer and Communications officer and Reg is a Systems Analyst. Reg later transfers to work for Starfleet Communications on the Pathfinder Project and then a professor of Engineering at Starfleet Academy. Data becomes a professor of Cybernetics at the Academy after transferring from the Enterprise.

Who stresses the most? Reg

Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? They enjoy them for the most part! Although they leave the Enterprise because there's just too much...trauma.

Are your muses financially stable? Starfleet, baby!

Home:

Who does the washing? Data

Who takes out the trash? Data

Who does the ironing? Data

Who does the cooking? Reg if there's real food, but the replicator usually.

Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? DATA

Who is messier? Reg

Who leaves the toilet roll empty? Reg

Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? Reg

Who forgets to flush the toilet? Reg is the only one who uses the toilet...

Who is the prankster around the house? Reg

Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? If they had a car, probably Reg

Who mows the lawn? If they had a lawn, probably Data

Who answers the telephone? Either Reg would make Data do it

Who does the vacuuming? Data

Who does the groceries? Both?

Who takes the longest to shower? Reg will never leave if he doesn't have a reason to

Who spends the most time in the bathroom? Reg has more of a reason to be in there

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? Nope

How many cars do they own? Zero

Do they own their home or do they rent? Provided by Starfleet

Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? On Earth, Coast. AU on the colony, countryside.

Do they live in the city or in the country? On Earth, city - San Francisco. AU on the colony, country.

Do they enjoy their surroundings? Depending on the point in the timeline, sure yes.

What’s their song? Their first Valentine's Day, Data sang 'Can't Keep My Eyes Off You' to Reg. He associates that song with him.

What do they do when they’re away from each other? Call each other. Data tries to keep busy with things so he does not worry or get too lonely. So many horrible, strange things have happened that he likes it better when they are together. The few weeks (or years depending on verse) when Data is on the Enterprise and Reg is on Earth are hell.

Where did they first meet? They worked together on the Enterprise. Data was second officer when Reg transferred from the Zhukov.

How did they first meet? Data often haunted Engineering because of his friendship with Geordi and his love of the work. He would often comment on things Reg was doing, as he did with most people on the ship, if they interested him. He also found Reg was the only one who was interested in his love of cats.

Who spends the most money when out shopping? Data - he likes to buy presents

Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Neither

Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? Reg, probably. It is not often Data trips. Data would just be concerned for his safety.

Any mental issues? They both have anxiety and difficulty managing their emotions.

Who’s terrified of bugs? Neither

Who kills the spiders around the house? Either

Their favourite place? In the house? The bath. In the universe? The bath. Although Risa was nice.

Who pays the bills? Neither

Do they have any fears for their future? They both fret over the fact that Data will not age and die naturally and Reg will. There are several conversations about Reg growing older.

Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? Data surprising Reg. He loves making a fancy date night at home.

Who uses up all of the hot water? Reg

Who’s the tallest? Reg

Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Both. It is rare they ever shower alone before the kids are around.

Who wanders around in their underwear? Data

Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Reg

What do they tease each other about? Reg teases Data about how absolutely clean and neat everything has to be, and Data teases Reg about how messy he is.

Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? They both have horrible fashion sense. Data wore exclusively uniforms before Reg taught him what 'comfortable' clothing was, and now they wear horrible geometric sweaters that they share.

Do they have mutual friends? Most of their friends are mutual friends.

Who crushed first? Data

Any alcohol or substance related problems? Nope

Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Reg has once or twice by accident. They both hated that.

Who swears the most? Reg on occasion and it turns Data on so fast

[cali-holland]

Heartbreak Weather, Part Four- T.H.

Pairing: Tom Holland X Horan!Reader

Prompt: It’s been a month, and you still don’t know what happened in San Francisco, but you know that you’re still in love with Tom. 

Word Count: 2700

Featured Songs (All by Niall Horan): Still  -   Arms of a Stranger  -  Cross Your Mind

Previous Parts: Teaser   One   Two   Three

Masterlist   Tom Holland Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

A/N: Strongly suggest listening to Still while reading this!

~~~

November 2019

It had been one month. And it was the worst month of your life.

You had tried nearly everything to move on from Tom, to have a new life. But no matter what, heartbreak weather was your forecast for the rest of your life.

You were back in London after spending two weeks with your parents in Mullingar. You had tried to go on dates with a couple different guys that you had recently met; they were great guys, but they weren’t Tom. You couldn’t bring yourself to attempt a second date with either one. It felt too wrong to be in the arms of a stranger.

Maybe it didn’t help that you still had Tom’s things in your apartment. He had a key, and you knew he could get in if he really wanted to, if he really wanted to get his things back. His toothbrush still stood beside yours on your bathroom counter; his razor was still sitting beside the sink; his clothes were still in your drawers; his large wool blanket was still on your couch; his stained apron still rested in your kitchen; his presence was in every room of your apartment. You couldn’t get away from him, and you weren’t exactly sure that you wanted to.

It was just another sad, lonely night for you. The rain poured down outside as you laid on your couch, watching a random Netflix tv show. You weren’t particularly interested in what was playing; your mind was too caught up on Tom. You suspected your problem may have been the fact that you were using his blanket to keep yourself warm, but you didn’t really want to find a new one. It was the first thing of his that he left at your place; it was just too comforting for you, both physically and mentally.

You and Tom had been dating for nearly three months when he first brought that grey, wool blanket over. You had a rough day at school, so when you called your boyfriend to vent about it, he showed up at your doorstep an hour later with the blanket in one hand and a grocery bag of sweets and popcorn in the other.

“I was thinking a movie night might cheer you up?” He smiled as he came inside, pressing a kiss against your forehead.

“Please.” You said.

“You pick the movie, I’ll make the popcorn.” Tom made his way into your apartment, setting the blanket down on the couch. He then went to your kitchen and began to make the popcorn in the microwave. 

“Can I pick a chick flick?” You asked, already eyeing ‘A Walk to Remember’.

“Anything you want, darling.” He replied. You set up the movie and Tom came back to the couch with a large bowl of popcorn. He placed the blanket over your laps and wrapped an arm around you.

As you sat there, leaning into his embrace, you began to feel a reassurance of your feelings for him- that was the moment you knew you were in love with him. He didn’t have to buy you candy and popcorn; he didn’t have to come over to see you today; he didn’t have to sit through one of the best, saddest romance movies out there; but he did.

“Tom,” You spoke up softly, drawing his attention away from the movie.

“Yes, darling?” He asked, a small smile on his lips as he looked down at you. Your heart fluttered at the sound of his nickname.

“I love you.” You confessed those three little words that had been resting on your tongue since you two first got together.

“I love you, too.” Tom leaned down to give you a sweet kiss.

“Are you just saying that because I said it first? I didn’t want to rush you-” You started to ramble, concerned about the timing of it all. After all, you two haven’t even celebrated your three month anniversary yet.

“I’ve wanted to tell you that for months now.” He said. He paused as he took a moment to register your worries, “I promise that I love you and you didn’t rush me into saying it. I promise to love you for the rest of my life.”

“I promise to love you for the rest of my life, too.” You replied, placing a hand on his cheek and kissing him again.

Ever since that day, Tom stayed at your place more and more often. He continued to leave different things, here and there. Half the time you assumed it was just an excuse for him to keep coming back. One thing’s for sure, though, you love that blanket and you love him.

Trying to distract yourself from your own memories of Tom, you pulled up your phone and began to mindlessly scroll through Instagram. It had been a couple days since you had checked your social media, and you paused as you saw that Tom had posted a video to his account. It was just a clip of him with Harrison’s guitar, playing a song. You didn’t need to turn on your volume to know which song he was playing, but you did anyway because if there was one thing you needed, it was to hear Tom play ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’.

Actually, there were two things you needed: to listen to Tom’s playing and to actually have Tom.

Before you had time to really think about your actions, you stood from your blanket cocoon and rushed to put on decent clothes for the weather outside. With your coat, rain boots, and purse, you hurried out of your apartment and began to drive over to Tom’s place.

“What am I doing?” You mumbled to yourself as you turned into his neighborhood.

“Just tell him you’re sorry.” You said and immediately shook your head, “No, no, this is stupid. He’ll never take me back.” You pulled onto his street with a heavy sigh.

“Wait, I still have time to leave.” You pondered the thought of turning around, saving yourself from this hopeless venture. You swore your heart stopped as you parked outside of his house. You listened to the rain pouring down outside and decided it had to be done- you were here and you would apologize.

You stepped out of your car and pulled up your hood. You made it halfway to his door before you stopped and began to think of what to say exactly. You were pulled from your thoughts at the sound of Tom’s voice.

“Y/N, what are you doing out here?” Tom asked, stepping outside. Though he kept his distance from you, you could tell that he had quickly thrown on his own coat and shoes because he was still in his pajamas.

“What really happened in San Francisco? I want honesty.” You spoke up, and immediately mentally chastised yourself. You wanted to apologize, not bring up old wounds. It was too late now though; you had asked the burning question. Now, you could only hear the rain hitting the ground as your tears rolled down your cheeks.

“You want honesty?” Tom stepped towards you until he was right in front you, his hands in his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm. You nodded, your eyes never leaving his.

“Nothing happened in San Francisco. Ellie was in the city, and she came to see Harry, not me.” He began, “Ever since I discovered she is the one that Eric cheated on you with, I haven’t spoken to her. I never cheated on you. I thought of you every second I was gone.” You watched as Tom’s eyes started to brim with tears.

“When you wouldn’t answer my calls, I flew out here to see you and yes, while I was in the air, I had Harrison come check on you. I had to make sure you were okay, that you were safe, and I’m sorry I had to send my best friend in my place. I hated not being able to instantly be there with you. But then Harrison told me you left and that you never wanted to see me again.

“I thought maybe, maybe you would change your mind about me, about us, if I went to you. So I did. I followed you out to Mullingar, and do you know how common of a name Horan is out there? I know I’ve been to your parents’ place before, but you always drove because you know I’m awful at directions. I felt like a Niall Horan stalker just trying to find you in Mullingar. I’m so lost without you, and nothing showed me that more than when I was in the Mullingar, completely alone and confused without you there with me.” Tom laughed lightly. His tears were freely falling now.

“I told you then that I love you, and I’ll tell you again now. I promised to love you for the rest of my life, and I fully intend to keep that promise because I do love you. So, if honesty is telling you the truth, then I’m still in love with you, Y/N. You left me in pieces back in Mullingar, don’t do that to me now.” He finished, his lips shaking in nerves.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” You said, falling into his arms. You cried into his chest as he wrapped his arms around you; you still fit perfectly into his arms. “I’m still in love with you too, Tom. I just got so scared that Ellie-”

“I would never do that. I would never hurt you.” He replied as you pulled away from the hug. He wiped away your tears and you wiped away his. He held your face tenderly in his hands, caressing your cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m sorry for not telling you about Ellie.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I screwed up. Take me back?” You asked, your voice falling just above a whisper. Tom nodded and leaned down to kiss you, ignoring the rain around you.

“I think we should go inside.” You laughed as he pulled away.

“Probably.” Tom grabbed your hand and led you inside. He took your coat and the two of you went to his room, so as to continue your alone time away from the other boys.

“I thought you were supposed to be off filming right now.” You inquired softly as you two cuddled in his bed, trying to regain some lost warmth from being out in the cold.

“I was, but I told my manager I needed some personal time off. I couldn’t bring myself to leave, in case you did come back. That’s why I left all of my stuff at your place.” Tom admitted. There was another comfortable silence before you spoke up again.

“How did you find the house in Mullingar?” You asked.

“Well, when I tried to find it from memory, I just got really confused. So I went to that pub that we went to for Saint Patrick’s Day and one of your school friends was there. I don’t remember which one, but he was with us for Saint Patrick’s Day, and he knew where your parents lived.”

“So you got lucky?”

“I got lucky, very lucky.” Tom replied. You watched as his smile faltered a bit. Searching of his own validation, he asked, “Do you want this, us together again? Tell me you want it.”

“I want it.” You answered, giving him a kiss. “We’ll be alright.” You watched as the sun began to peek out from behind the rain clouds, filtering into Tom’s room. You smiled softly, farewell to heartbreak weather.

~~~

Christmas 2019

“Darling, I’m here.” You heard Tom’s voice echo in your apartment from the front door.

“In the kitchen.” You called back out to him, as you pulled the small roast out of the oven.

As agreed upon last year, Tom wasn’t allowed to make the Christmas roast, but he did make a side dish. It was the Sunday before the holiday and your last night in town before you’d leave to spend the holidays in Ireland with your family.

“Smells wonderful.” Tom smiled, coming in with an opened box. He set it down on the counter and took out a bowl-shaped dish and a long, narrow dish.

“What’d you make?” You asked, greeting him with a kiss.

“Potatoes.” He replied, “They turned out better than the roast did last year, so I think I’ve improved.” 

“What else did you make?” Your hands reaching out for the surprise dish. Tom caught your hands in his and smirked.

“That’s a surprise.”

“Alright, if you say so.” You laughed. “Carve up the roast, I’ll get the salad.”

“You got it.” Tom replied as you grabbed the salad from the fridge. He cut up the small roast, serving it onto two plates, as you served the two side dishes onto the plates.

It was a small, make-shift Christmas dinner for the two of you; you both wanted to have an intimate night for the holiday without making so much food that you have leftovers for a week. After you two finished dinner, you went to the guest room to get out his gift, which you had been hiding in the one room that he doesn’t go into.

“Close your eyes.” You called from the hallway, where he couldn’t see you holding his unwrapped present.

“They’re closed.” He announced and you peaked around the corner to see him sitting on the couch, hand over his eyes.

“You better not be looking.” You said, coming into the room.

“I promise I’m not.” Tom laughed.

“Okay, you can open them.” You stated, once you had placed the gift in his lap. He removed his hand and a wide smile grew on his face. 

“You got me a guitar?” He asked, eyes wide in wonder as he traced the instrument delicately. You sat down beside him eagerly.

“Look at the bottom.” You smiled, proud of the gift. On the bottom of the guitar sat his initials with a small red heart beside it.

“I love it. I love you.” He leaned over to kiss you, mindful of the guitar in his lap.

“And now for my gift.” Tom announced, setting the guitar down and taking your hand. He brought you into the kitchen to the mystery dish. He unveiled the dish to reveal a yule log; it was slightly cracked, but it was endearing.

“You made a yule log?” You smiled. You turned to give him a kiss, but you let out a small gasp as Tom was kneeling on the floor.

“Now, I was going to put this,” Tom spoke as he pulled out a small ring box and opened it up to you. A beautiful diamond ring sitting right in the center of it, “on the yule log, but I figured you probably wouldn’t want to wear a chocolate covered ring. So that was all a distraction, and I’m sorry if the yule log is actually awful-”

“No, it’s so sweet.” You said, still fond of the gesture that he wanted to make this Christmas special.

“Well, that’s good because I’m really nervous and I actually didn’t fully prepare a speech, but the point is, Y/N Horan, I am so madly in love with you, and I want to be with the rest of my life. I know we’ve only been dating for a year-”

“Yes,” You cut him off again, “The answer will always be yes.”

“You haven’t let me ask yet.” Tom laughed. He took the ring out of the box and slipped on your finger, continuing to talk, “This is my official promise to love you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes.” You answered. He stood to his full height and pulled you in for a kiss.

As you listened to Tom play ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ on his new guitar while you ate a piece of the yule log, you knew you were finally completely free of heartbreak weather.

[fanfics-only-for-me]

Call of the Void (Part 2)

Word Count: 3208

How are the Titans going to handle the reluctant new stray Dick picked up and what exactly is she running from? 

 Rose doesn't exist and Jeremiah is dead. Everything in the show is the same up to when they find Rose on the telly. Imma just swap her with y/n cause I'm a narcissist. Y/N is 18 nearly 19.  Don't @ me cause i know this is hella shite. Readers bi but I’m not certain if she’s gonna be romantically involved with anyone yet.

Discovery 

Leaving the training area, Dick walked down the corridor towards the tech room.  He might have quelled Jason's rampant mind but his own was still trying to make sense of what he saw that morning.  It was a puzzle missing half the pieces,  he had an idea of the picture: he knew someone was injured and he knew where they were at some point during the night, but how they were injured and where they went next was still a mystery.

Dick entered the room, not bothering to close the door behind him and, using Bruce's definitely illegal system, found three different CCTV camera's from last night all capturing the stained spot on the pavement giving him multiple views of the scene.  Dick began watching the drunken night-life of San Francisco expecting to see perhaps a small fight between some drunks before a taxi was called to take them away to a nearby hospital.  It was the most plausible explanation.

As Dick was watching the footage, Rachel and Gar came into the room.

"Is this about whatever was by the car earlier?" asked Rachel looking up at the footage.

"What?" Gar asked Rachel confused, "What was by the car?"

"Blood." Dick answered not once breaking his focus from the monitors.

"Blood?" asked a confused Gar, "What happened?  Who's blood?"

"I don't know yet." replied Dick furrowing his brow as he watched the crowds of people thinning. 

The time stamp on the footage read 03:47:04, due to California's 2 am 'last call' law, only a few stragglers were still out as they waited for Taxis or swayed themselves home on foot. The untouched pavement was beginning to bother Dick, a feeling like when a horror movie goes silent before a cheap jumpscare leaving the audience aware of an imminent fright but the specifics of said 'fright' remain unknown.  He was waiting for the scare and every second the silence extended pushed him further to the edge of his seat.

"A bit of blood on a street doesn't really concern us," Jason commented as he sluggishly moved into the now crowded room cradling a bowl of cinnamon puffs to his chest.

"I never said it did, Jason." Dick replied, looking at him over his shoulder, "I'm only satisfying my own curiosity."

"Uh guys," Gar interrupted, gesturing towards the screen.

Turning back towards the monitors' Dick saw the figure on the ground, right where the stain was due to appear.  The time was stamped at 04:07:08.  By this time the streets were emptied leaving the slouched figure undisturbed.

"They just appeared." chimed Rachel.

"What do you mean?" Dick asked staring at the figure. 

The cameras weren't the best, extremely glitchy and unfocused not to mention the person's head was facing away from all three cameras.  Despite this, Dick could clearly tell this person was in pain; if them on their hands and knees weren't enough, tomorrows bloodstain would be.

"Like, out of thin air." Gar explained a bit too excitedly, "One second nothing then poof! Someones there."

"Shit, really?" Jason asked eagerly, everything's been stagnant since he got to the tower and if what Gar said was true, something interesting is finally happening and he'd be damned if he wasn't involved.

Dick, was watching the figure as though they'd vanish if he lost concentration, the talking of the kids became white noise as more questions plagued his mind.  He only checked the CCTV to fill in some missing pieces to the puzzle he gave himself, albeit he did get some new pieces; he found out the puzzle was much bigger than initially thought.  He was looking over the footage for anything that may give him a few more pieces.  Their clothes looked comfortable, although a bit too cold to wear outside.  A pair of white shorts with a loose t-shirt,  untamed hair, and no shoes.  It wasn't the absence of footwear that raised the red flags in Dick's mind, but the blood coating them which he mistook for socks at first glance.

It took about 20 seconds for the figure to move from their curled position.  They reached backwards with one hand as the other stayed planted in front of them, hand sliding in the small puddle near their feet as they pattered around in search of something before hitting and grasping the pole in an attempt to steady and lift themself up into a more kneeled position.  They looked around themself frantically for a while reminding Dick of a meerkat searching for predators.  As they leant on the pole, they finally faced one of the cameras briefly, barely a second but Dick caught it.  Dick had seen that same look on so many others; she was running from someone, a one-track mind to get away, but from what?  Despite the grainy quality, Dick guessed they had to be around Jason's age.  His mind was immediately drawn back to Rachel when they first met, back when he tried to distance himself from helping thus invertedly leaving her defenceless to those chasing her.  Maybe it's due to his hero complex, but he really couldn't resist a stray, especially a scared one.

"What the fuck's wrong with her legs?" Jason blurted out, finally getting a better look at the feet. 

Rachel, Gar, and Jason were now standing right by Dick at the computers all waiting to see what the injured stranger would do next.  About a minute after she appeared, she stopped looking around, another few seconds and she disappeared.  No smoke, no magical sparks: just gone.  It was silent for a bit in the room as they all tried to process what they just witnessed.  Dick began checking the other cameras in the area to see if he could find her again.  The screens were filled with multiple different views of the general area, a few minutes of silence and searching eyes and Rachel finally spotted her.

"There!" she shouted pointing to a screen showing a figure half lying on a dumpster barely holding themself up, the camera only just catching her half down an alleyway nearly 20 meters from the initial appearance spot.  The girl followed the same pattern of behaviour as before: a mini rest before looking around and disappearing once again.  

Dick was determined to find out where they turned up so as soon as she disappeared he brought up more CCTV footage.  This time around he didn't find her as easily, and it took him close to an hour to find her again.  Although it was an hour for him, only a few minutes past in the footage.  She was obviously trying to avoid the cameras and Dick had to rely on her slip-ups to catch her.  The girl was moving sporadically and would often cross her own path, he wasn't sure if it was a tactic to lose whoever she was running from or if she really had no idea where she was going.  While Dick stayed in the room searching the cities cameras, the younger three, with admittedly much shorter attention spans, would cycle in and out of the place, at one point Dick ordered them to go back to training.  By the time the footage was nearing 6 am, Dick had spent the entire day in front of the computers and, to his relief, it seemed to of paid off. 

The last sighting of her was near the pier close to the warehouses and if he was lucky she'd still be in one of them.  Judging by her clear exhaustion, it was plausible she hadn't moved yet.  Checking the time on his watch, Dick noted that the sun had long since set as it neared 10 pm.  He'd spent over 12 hours searching, he'd be damned to allow his efforts to result in nothing.  Dick swiftly left the room and headed to the exit passing the team in the living area as he did so.

"I'll be back." he told the three as the elevator doors closed behind him.

"Guess he found her then" muttered Gar staring at the closed door.

"Guess so" replied Rachel.

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Once Dick got to the pier he realised just how hard it would be to find her.  There had to be hundreds of different hiding spots in multiple different buildings, the search could take all night.  Thankfully the workers had gone home by this point but it wasn't them he was really worried about but whoever she was running from.  He did a survey of the area before entering any of the buildings, checking if she was hiding outside or if someone else was here also.  Satisfied that no one was outside, Dick pulled his hood up to avoid any cameras and entered the first building that night. 

He checked every nook and cranny of the first few buildings looking for any blood or even a body, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure he was still alone.  The fourth warehouse was where he struck gold.  He found a few more drops of blood, a lot less than at the coffee shop but blood none-the-less.  Natural he thought she might of disappeared again but after the neighbouring buildings proved fruitless, he returned.  There were no upper or lower floors and he already upturned everything inside yet this was his only lead.  The roof had poles and infrastructure to hold it up but nothing big enough to hide a person and everything else inside was either too small or locked tight.  

Heat signatures.  He should've checked for heat signatures.  He couldn't access it from the warehouse and he definitely wasn't going to head back to the tower to use it so he grabbed his phone and began dialling Gar.  Once he picked up, Dick got him to check for any heat signatures near him, he'd been teaching the group on how to use the system in case of situations like this thus it only took Gar a few minutes before Dick got the picture of the warehouse.  There was someone in here with him. 

Dick walked towards the other person, double-checking the image before he stood still.  In front of him were sealed storage containers.  He already searched this area and found nothing, the locks on the storage containers were old and rusted shut, definitely not used this year let alone this morning, and yet the orange dot said otherwise.  Then again, it would make sense if she could teleport through it.  Dick looked around searching for something to help get it open, finding nothing he realised he had to rely on his strength alone.  A few harsh kicks to the lock and he got it open.  Grabbing the handles of the container, Dick wrenched the doors open filling the warehouse with a metallic screech.  He found her.

As Dick looked at her curled figure a wave of worry overcame him, what if he was too late?  Stepping into the container and kneeling next to her figure, he searched for a pulse.  Only after finding one, albeit weak, did he take a moment to look at her: y/h/c hair, y/s/c skin, and bar her feet, healthy-looking.  The CCTV gave him an idea of her injury but looking at her now, he realised how serious it was.  She was leaving small puddles of blood all over the city and the fact she hadn't passed out sooner was a miracle.  The bottom of her t-shirt was ripped and wrapped around both her feet standing in for a bandage, it was tight enough to stop the bleeding.  The once light grey shirt was now died a deep red, slighting brown at places due it drying.  If she hadn't done this before passing out, there was no doubt she'd be dead now.  The body can only take so much blood loss before permanently shutting down, she wasn't dead but she was close to it.  He scooped her up as carefully as he could and slowly made his way out of the building. 

The strange girl lay limp in Dick's arms, undisturbed as she was slightly swayed with his every step.  Reaching his car, Dick slowly lowered her to lie down in the back not dissimilar to a parent lowering their sleeping child into their bed.  As he straightened up, he took one last look at her before rolling up his jacket and propping it under her calves in order to take the pressure off her feet.  Sliding into the drivers' side, he glanced once more at her still face in the rearview mirror and turned on the engine.

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Once Dick arrived at the Tower he delicately picked the girl up and headed inside.  Gar was pacing back and forth near the elevator door when Dick stepped out cradling the unconscious stranger.

"Dick!," he shouted once he noticed him enter, "You found her, what- wait is she okay?"

"Hopefully," Dick replied stepping past him and towards the med bay, "Grab my jacket, I left it in the car."

"Going," Gar said before disappearing inside the elevator.

Once he made it to the med bay, he placed her stomach down onto one of the beds, tilting her head to the side, and began rooting through the cupboards and drawers.  He took out some antiseptic and bandages and placed them near the bed.  Quickly washing and drying his hands, Dick pulled a chair next to the foot of the bed and began carefully unwrapping the dirty cloth filling the room with the strong scent of iron.  Once he removed the fabric from her left foot he took note of the deep, yet disturbingly precise slice along the back of her heel, taking some antiseptic, he began cleaning the wound.  Dick could see deep into her foot, and what caught his attention was the pale tendon cut clean in half and her still intact artery.  Whoever did this had medical training.  As he was finishing bandaging up the first wound, Gar came in with Dick's Jacket.  

"Put it on the counter," Dick told him before Gar could say anything, "And go grab two black foot braces from the closet behind you." 

As he finished wrapping up her first foot, Gar placed the braces onto an empty spot on the bed.  Hovering near Dick, Gar remained silent trying his best not to disturb him.  He was use to helping The Chief back at the Manor and thus instinctively fell back into the silent helper role, ready to do what the doctor asked.  Gar's eyes flickered between the girl's unconscious face and the way Dick meticulously worked on bandaging up her ankles.  He noticed the neatness of the wound and was certain it was expertly done, but by who and why?  As Dick was working away securing the final brace, Gar headed towards the Vital Sign Monitor in the corner of the room and began getting it ready.  

"You know how to do that?" Dick asked him.

"Yeah," Gar answered, "I've done it hundreds of times."

Dick stood up and flipped the girl onto her back conscious of her feet as he did so, before heading to another cupboard and getting some spare blankets.  

"Hook her up," Dick said gesturing to the machine, "And put a few more blankets on her, she's lost a lot of blood so she needs to be kept warm."

"Got it," Gar said wheeling the monitor closer to her.

"I'm going to make a call," continued Dick, "See if we can get her a surgeon to re-attach the tendons." 

Gar nodded in acknowledgement as he placed the finger probe on her index finger, his eye's glued to the monitor making sure it was working.  Grabbing the phone from out of his pocket, Dick left the room and walked out into the hallway already dialling the number of a surgeon that he's relied on before.  Gar continued setting up the machine, double and triple-checking making sure everything was working correctly.  Once it was all set up, Gar repositioned the girl, making sure the pressure was off her feat.  As he was pulled the blanket over her body he took note of the orange stain the antiseptic left on the bandages and the pungent distinct smell it had that filled the air, he reached out towards the spare blankets Dick took out and layered her up.  Gar wasn't the best at looking after patients but he wasn't a complete stranger to it.  He looked around the room for a bit and found a few foldable wheelchairs in an attached storage room.  Taking one out, he began opening it up, in case she might not know how, and wheeled in near the head of the bed in case she woke up. 

Gar felt extremely bad for the girl, he remembered her scared face on the CCTV cameras and now, seeing her in person, he only felt more sympathy.  There was something inherently disturbing in deliberately taking away someones ability to walk.  Something dehumanizing and upsetting.  He remembered The Chief and how adamant he was on being able to walk.  Sitting on the chair where Dick was previously, he gazed at the girl's face and began reminiscing his past, he thought of his family, his biological, his old ones at the manor, and his new one here in the Tower.  He wondered what everyone was doing, what his life would be like if his mum and dad chose to live somewhere else, and he wondered what his new 'Titans' family would lead to.  His mind was drawn back to the girl at this point, and he wondered what her family was like, where they were, and if they loved her.  Gar sat there for the next twenty minutes thinking about families and all the meanings that word held.

When Dick came into the room holding a pile of clothes, Gar's concentration broke.  Dick walked over to the bedside table and placed the pile down before turning to look at Gar taking in the reminiscent look on his face.

"A few people are coming over tomorrow to help her out," Dick told him walking around the bed towards him, "a quick surgery to re-connect the tendons.  She'll be fine." Dick placed a hand on Gar's shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile continued, "I'm glad you were here to help, I really appreciate it.  Now, get to sleep, it's late and you still have training tomorrow." he finished nodding towards the door.

Dick watched Gar leave the room before sitting down and looking at the sleeping figure.  He assumed she was an adult, albeit on the young side, and he didn't want to force her into anything, but, on the other hand, she was a meta-human, and people were definitely looking for her.  In his experience, nothing good happens when someone with powers falls into the wrong hands.  Hopefully, she'll choose to stay here, but if she doesn't... he doesn't know what he'll do.  Looking at the Vital Signs Monitor one last time, Dick stood up and headed towards the door.  He might as well get a few hours sleep, she won't be waking up anytime soon.    

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[whatsseobb]

More Than Meets The Eye (Crystal x Gigi Fanfic) - Chapter 1

AO3 Link [A/N: Hi! I'm starting another Crygi fic!! I am dedicating this first chapter to my DGFC girls for giving me this idea and for always encouraging me and the members to write... well more like bully than encourage but yeah. I love you all!!

I hope you enjoy this fic and tell me your thoughts!!]

Synopsis: 

Too bad that you couldn't see See the girl Crystal could be There is more that meets the eye I see the soul that is inside~

Based from Avril Lavigne's Sk8ter Boi but with different twists.

Chapter One – Reunion Party

 Present Day, 2020.

Music blasted from the speakers as a group of people assembled in the middle of the room, dancing and singing along as they watch a small band of performers on stage. They had drinks in their hands as they had their merriment in the center. On the other side of the room was the open bar where a pair of ladies in their late 20’s gathered. They were all dressed up, one wearing a long red sequined dress with a slit on the left exposing her smooth lower limb and the other wearing a short sparkly sleeveless black dress and her long blonde beach waves that reached down until her lower back. They were waiting for their drinks to be served when another pair came rushing to where they were.

“You’re here! I missed you so much!” Jan, the loudest of the bunch, who was wearing the sparkly black dress approached the group. She wrapped her arms around a taller girl named Widow, who was wearing a tan pantsuit with her black hair slicked back, who in return greeted the girls with a warm embrace. The ladies all gathered together at the bar, exchanging tight hugs as they were welcomed to the party. The sound of heels clacking onto the floor were all over as the girls moved from one place to another to greet their friends.

“Long time no see. It really has been awhile. How are you, Jackie?” The lady wearing the red dress stood in front of a delight who was wearing a yellow and brown retro-looking pantsuit, her dark hair tied up in a high ponytail, leaving her bangs hanging on her forehead.

Jackie hugged her back before muttering, “You are looking gorgeous, Ms. Heidi. Is this what happens when you become a successful movie actress?”

“I’m blessed and highly favoured, thank you very much.”

The girl sporting the short black dress glanced at the Persian delight with a small smile on her face. Their eyes met for a second as they exchanged a small hello. Their silence was broken when a loud entrance came walking to them.

“What do you all think of this snack, hoes?” A tall lady wrapped in a tight bubblegum pink dress, matching her long and pink straight hair -which she was infamous for back in their youth days- walked into the scene. She was accompanied by a shorter girl who put on a short lavender dress with bows on each sleeve matched with smaller bows wrapped around the bottom of her chest.

“Daegen and Lux! There you all are!” Jan squealed as she threw herself towards the two ladies who were walking towards them. The group welcomed the two before offering them a drink from the open bar. Giggles and chatters were all over the end of the room as the group of girlfriends came together.

It had been a long time since the girls were gathered in one place after they all graduated from high school and led separate yet successful lives. Most of them moved out of their small town and went to different states to study for their university. For Jan, the blonde-haired girl who was wearing a short black dress went to Boston to study theater. Heidi stayed in their hometown until she was discovered through a dance competition and went to Los Angeles to have a flourishing acting career. Widow went to Pennsylvania to finish her medical studies. Harvard was the destination for Jackie, who took up Law School. The shorter girl with the bow dress, Lux, went to San Francisco to study Fashion. Daegen moved to New Jersey and was signed in a record label. Another one also signed with a record label and had a successful career with her band. One girl went to UCLA to finish her Fine Arts degree while the other came with Jan to Boston to pursue Ballet.

“Where is everyone? Have you all seen Gigi? Jan, text Gigi. Tell her we are all here.” Widow took out her phone as well to ring the aforementioned girl who they believe was never late for these kinds of gatherings.

“She said her Uber was caught on traffic. She’ll be here in a few.” The blonde-haired girl replied before putting her phone inside her small purse. After getting their drinks, they all headed to a large table by the stage where they all had a great view of the band performing live. The band was composed of the dark-haired punk girl who served as their guitarist and vocalist, one playing the keyboard, a bassist and a drummer.

“Wow, look at our Daya. Who would believe she and her band would come this far? I heard they all had a fully-booked gig and tour.” Jackie commented as she walked around the table, quietly deciding which place to take, the one beside the blonde-haired girl or the empty seat beside the actress. She took the latter.  

“The real question is, who think Jake would really have the guts to come to this reunion after breaking all these stupid bitches’ hearts?” Daegen chimed in as she eyed the charming drummer sitting at the back part of the stage.

“I didn’t know you go by the name ‘stupid bitches’ now, Daegen.” Lux interrupted which earned loud oohs, ahhs, and finger snaps from the group as well as a middle finger from the pink-haired girl beside her.

They were all having their catch ups, asking how each other were and updates on their careers and lives when a tall girl entered the room. She gracefully walked towards the table near the stage, her long blonde hair tied on a low ponytail, exposing her sharp jaw and captivating face, her gray floral dress and knee-length tulle skirt floating and flowing weightlessly as she made her way to her friends. A deep plunging neckline exposed her fair-skinned chest which was matched by a deeper cut down her arched back caught the attention of some people around her. The group of girlfriends also noticed which made them stand up and run to their friend.

“Gigi, there you are!” Widow was the first one to notice her as she went and wrapped her in a tight embrace. The others stood up from their seats and went to where their friend was. They all led her to their table and she sat beside Jan.

“How have you been, girl? It’s been a while.” Jackie asked her friend, giving her a tiny smile. “You seem really busy these day.”

“I’ve been seeing your shows. Wow, you are as stunning as always. My producers want to contact you and your dance company so you can have an appearance on one of my upcoming movies. ” Heidi mentioned as she dug into her purse before handing Gigi a call card. She pursed her lips as she realized she spoiled a fact about her upcoming film but shrugged it off when she thought it was just her friends who knew.

“I love your show. Do you still design the dresses and costumes that you wear on your recitals? They are works of art. One time, I brought Crystal and Daya with me on your show in Chica-“ Lux received a slight elbow nudge under the table from Daegen which cut her sentence in the middle. The group noticed a shift on the ballerina’s face as a specific name was mentioned in their conversation. “What I mean is that your dresses are a masterpiece. Do you still make them? Maybe we can have a collaboration or something some other time.”

“Sure.” Gigi tried to ignore what was bothering her and focus on the group’s discussion but her mind kept going back to the name that accidentally slipped out of Lux’ tongue. Crystal. It had been a long while since she heard that name, or even came upon anything new about the girl she once knew. They were from the same group of friends and everyone was warm towards each other, except the two. They were once close until specific events happened that drifted the two apart.

“I’m going to the snack bar. Anything you want from there?” Jackie stood up and offered to help the group get some snacks.

“Get me some nachos, this snack needs some snack.” Daegen responded as she tucked her pink hair to her ear, looking at the nearby table which seated an attractive yet unfamiliar man whom she thought didn’t go to their school back then.

“I also want some nachos, Jackie. Thank you.” Heidi added which gained some surprised reactions and gasps from her friends. She rolled her eyes jokingly before she replied, “It’s cheat day today. Don’t you all worry about me. My manager won’t know.”

“Get me some fries too.” Lux replied while she looked down on her phone, scanning her Instagram stories.

“I’ll help you with that, I’m gonna go get some food for myself too.” Jan stood up from her chair, pulling her short dress neatly down her thighs. The silent girl beside her stood up as well, offering to help the two get some snacks for the table.

Gigi mindlessly followed the two girls as they walked towards the snack bar, her eyes wandering around the large hall as she looked for any familiar face. Or rather an unwanted face she expected to meet yet dreaded to see. Looks were shot towards their direction as some of their former classmate recognized the tall lady, gazing into her ever delicate beauty which she had ever since she was younger. As she continued to follow the two, she bumped on the corner of the snack bar which brought her back to her senses. Meanwhile, Jan and Jackie made their way to the snack bar in silence. They walked beside each other without saying a word.

“Let me help you with that.” As Jackie was getting some toppings for their nachos, the blonde-haired girl chimed in and took the plate from her. Their fingers slightly touched as the Persian girl handed the plate towards Jan, which made them look away shyly before she continued putting the toppings. They walked around the long snacks table and got some more food to put on their tray.

“How have you been doing, Jackie?” Jan tried to break the silence between the two of them as she quickly scanned her brain to find topics to talk with the other girl. “I heard you had a successful divorce case last month. How was it?”

“Oh, it was really difficult. I mean, most of the cases I handle are challenging and they are all stressing me out sometimes but I can get through it.”

“Of course you can, you’re really intelligent even back in high school. I always knew you would make it big.” Jan offered a warm smile towards Jackie’s direction which was reciprocated immediately. “How about… that guy you posted a year ago. How are the two of you? Going strong?”

“Who? Oh you mean Lucas? He is old news. We’ve been broken up for a few months now.” Jackie picked up a plate of fries and a few dips on the side and put it on their tray that Jan was holding.

“I’m sorry about that, Jackie.” Concern painted on Jan’s face as she looked at the dark-haired lady in front of her.

“No worries. You know me, I am much more focused on my career. Wait, how about you? Are you dating anyone?” The blonde-haired girl shook her head as she picked up another snack to put on their group’s table. The two made their way back to the table, Jan following behind Jackie. A little smile crept on her face which she tried her best to hide as she replayed their small talk back at the snacks table.

They returned back to their table and placed the plates of snack in front of their friend when Daegen asked, “Bitch, where’s Gigi? Did you seriously leave her by the snacks bar?”

The two panicked and scanned the room while they look for their quiet friend. The others were cackling alongside Gigi who went back to the table before the pair did. “I can’t believe they forgot about me. They were too busy in their own bubble.”  

Jan and Jackie’s stunned faces made the bunch laugh louder. As the blonde-haired girl went back to her seat beside Gigi, she hit her by the shoulder while pouting. “I hate you.”

The ballerina leaned in closer to Jan and whispered near her ear, “I love you. You were too busy flirting with Jackie, I don’t want to be a burden.” It earned her a small elbow nudge and a glare which made her giggle.

Daegen stood up from her seat and positioned her phone far enough from her to capture all of her friends in one frame. “Let’s take a picture!” They all tried to fit in one small screen, showing their happiest smile as they were once again gathered after long years of being apart. Suddenly, their lips turned into an O-shape as they noticed two additional people joining them in their photo session.

“The devil is here.” Daegen put down her phone as she ran towards the two figures on the opposite end of the table. The group cheered as they welcomed the new pair that joined them.

“Our star is here! Wow, girl, you are so cool back there on stage.” Lux declared as she put her hands on top of a very tall girl’s shoulder. She was wearing a white and black dress, the skirt cut in a disorganized way which perfectly matched her messy yet beautiful set of dark hair and dark makeup.  

“Daya! I didn’t expect you and your band could come. I thought you were all busy touring.” Jackie added as she put a whole nacho chip inside her mouth, indulging in the snacks they brought earlier.

“Of course I will always have time for all of you. Plus, the alumni committee booked us for a good price so who could pass the opportunity up?” Daya, the lead vocalist of the band let out a soft chuckle as she walked around the table to greet her girlfriends.

She was accompanied by a shorter girl, her striking sapphire blue hair cut right above her shoulder where a silver sparkly jacket hovered, her white ruffled blouse tucked in her black leather pants. Her friends’ eyes darted towards her which earned her some proud smile and smirks. “Let’s all give an applause to the always and forever not following the dress code, Miss Crystal Elizabeth.”

The bunch’s laughter echoed the area as they all welcomed their friends to the table. They scooted to the side to make some space for the last pair who completed their group. Daya sat down beside Daegen, putting a chair beside her to let Crystal sit down.

“Hello, hello. Oh you’re all so nice, it’s just me don’t worry. I’ll sign autographs later.” The sapphire-haired girl jokingly declared as she took a seat beside Daya. She greeted everyone on the table until her eyes landed on the person sitting across from her. The two locked eyes for a quick second before looking away back to their friends. Gigi fixed her shoulder and sat back up straight, turning to Jan and silently chatting with her. Meanwhile, Crystal focused her attention to the other members of the table, exchanging jokes and stories with them. Even though they tried their best to ignore each other, they still held a few glances across the table.

[headoverhiddles]

Universally Loathsome - Marilyn Manson x Reader

Synopsis: After his show at the Hard Rock in Orlando, you and your man put your complimentary Universal Studios park passes to good use. 

Notes: I wrote this because Universal Florida is my happy place, and I need a pick me up right now lol. Also, this takes place right after this concert, so Heaven Upside Down era. 

His lazy drawl fills the Hard Rock Cafe arena, as the strobes go crazy.

"I love you beautiful motherfuckers so much," he points to the crowd, to a response of deafening cheers, "Florida's where it all started for me, and... I almost got arrested for indecent exposure in Jacksonville, which is... pretty close to here." More cheering. "So if any willing gentlemen in the crowd would like to come up here... and let me put my dick in their mouth..." The cheers grow. "...History can repeat itself." He grins, stumbling around and leaning on the mic stand. "I wonder what would happen if I... oops," he pops the top button of his vest open. "Oh no, I can't believe I just showed you all my tits, ahh, I'm such a slut..."

The crowd is going absolutely insane, and he winks over to you suggestively. You watch your boyfriend, trying to hold in your giggles. He's in what he likes to call rascal mode tonight, you can tell. And good thing-- you two roped complimentary passes inside the theme park for the rest of the night to celebrate, so he can let out all this energy after the show. The regular park closes in a half an hour, horror nights too, with it being Halloween, but the extra hour is just for you two, paid for well no doubt.

After Mar's done and the strobes distract the audience enough for him to bound off stage, he runs into your open arms. After you hug your sweaty man, he picks you up, spinning you around and smiling like a big kid.

"Let's go play." 

"Shower first," you give him a stern look. He nods, resigning himself to the fact that he's really gross and covered in sticky glitter makeup.

You hang out backstage as he gets cleaned up, saying goodnight to some of the roadies. You check social media and search for this concert, as you do sometimes just for fun, and see people already sharing photos they'd taken of Marilyn screaming or wading into the crowd.

You snort to yourself, and save one that looks right up his nostril. Beautiful angle, and perfect for blackmail when he's being a dick.

"Let's do this."

You turn, and see him dressed in a hoodie that reminds you of the full body zip from his High End Of Low days.

"I know what you're thinking, and no, this is not the depression hoodie," he sticks a finger in your face and wags it. "I burned that a long time ago." You pretend to bite his finger, and take his arm.

Your bodyguards, who warily agreed to leave the two of you alone once you get into the park, lead you down, out the back door of the hotel venue, and through a citywalk shortcut to the front gates of Universal Studios Orlando.

"I haven't been here since I was a teenager," you grin, listening to the entrance music and sighing from the nostalgia. "This has always been my happy place."

"I've literally never been here," he tells you, "We go to the one back home in LA, but I've never been to this one myself. I used to live here but I only ever wreaked havoc on Disney with Twiggy."

"Oh, Universal was spared?"

"Until now, yeah. So you'll have to be my tour guide here." He takes his sunglasses from his face, hands them off, and turns to his guards. "Okay, that's fine, we're fine."

"Sir, we really think--"

"We talked to the park operators, and there's like... nobody here right now, we're both fine," Marilyn insists, "Bye." So, you two are left alone as you walk toward the gates.

Your passes are scanned by an older woman who doesn't seem to recognize Marilyn, since his name on the pass is Brian. For the best. To your left, towers one of your favourite rides.

"The Rip Ride Rockit," Marilyn reads the sign, "Ooh. Ooh, I wanna do this. Fuckin cool looking."

"Bri, you get sick on roller coasters."

"I'm too drunk to be sick, the drunk sick makes me not motion sick."

"Well, glad to hear your body has a system," you sigh, and he takes your hand as you two run toward the lit up ride.

"You get to pick your song as you ride," he muses, "Motherfuckers should have my songs on here."

Because he likes to stir shit up and see what he can get away with, Marilyn uses a VIP lanyard with his face on it to get into the express lane.

"Uh..." the young employee hesitates, frowning, "Sir, this is a meet and greet for that concert, not for--" Marilyn puts his hood down, and the guy's eyes widen. He waves you both through, starstruck. 

"Whoever said you shouldn't use your fame to get stuff... probably wasn't even famous," Marilyn says, pulling you up the steps.

"What's the hurry?" you laugh, trying to keep up, "You're just gonna throw up all over me anyway."

"It's a music ride, that's very exciting to me," he says. You can't deny you've missed this ride too, so you keep up.

You're the only two on the roller coaster train as you both pull the bar over from the side to strap yourselves in. The employee working comes over to check, and gives a thumbs up to the operator.

"Give me a handjob," he giggles.

"No! I'm gonna rip your dick off if we do that on this!"

"Nah, that'd happen like... on the Mummy." Apparently he remembers what the Mummy is like in the LA Universal park, and he's not wrong. "Uh. Uh," he starts to snap his fingers as the ride goes up, "Yeah. Hell yeah."

"What song?" you laugh.

"Stronger, by my boy Kanye."

"He's a dickhead, you know."

"So am I, doesn't make my music any less amazing."

You smirk. You'd picked Stronger as well, anyway. 

After the ride, Marilyn hangs onto you, a little bit woozy. "That was a mistake."

"I told you."

"I don't listen, I'm a child, you know this. I don’t like the rides, but the rides like me."

You two walk through the park, past the San Francisco area of the water in the middle.

"This is nice. Just walking."

"Yeah," he says. "It's nice not to vomit." You rest your head on his shoulder, giggling.

You two do a few more rides-- he has way too much fun in Men in Black shooting at everything, and Simpsons becomes a favourite, even if the only part he could keep his eyes open for was the funny queue playing the episodes. He even takes some dark, creepy pictures with the employees in Diagon Alley, posing in his new Slytherin scarf he bought.

"Can this be used for sexy purposes?" he asks one of them, holding up a wand. The girls giggle, and you roll your eyes.

"Um. Wouldn't recommend it," one responds.

"On the other hand..." the second one shrugs, "It's magic. You could just make it into something that could be used for sexy times."

"I like the way this one thinks," Marilyn smirks. "(y/n), I'm gonna use this in you."

"Like hell you are.”

“Please?”

“You can use it to spank me.” You lean in to whisper. “It’s too thin to put it in.” 

Marilyn buys the wand just to make up for the trouble he's causing the poor employees.

You head out of Harry Potter world, and circle back around to do ET.

"I wanna do the Mummy again. And what about those big ones across the citywalk thing? Spiderman, he's cool. I wanna do his ride." 

"That's the other park. If you wanna deal with your manager having a meltdown by requesting another day here tomorrow, that's your call." He immediately takes out his phone, and you huff, feeling sorry for the guy, always having to rearrange flights last minute. 

"Yeah, hey. It's me," Marilyn drawls into the phone, "I need another day here tomorrow. No, I'm just... I'm gonna be really hungover. Lots of vodka and drugs and stuff. Yeah. Amphetamines, got my face in a big... yeah, really bad, I won't be able to fly tomorrow." His eyes light up like a kid in a candy store as he sees the Halloween Horror Nights 2018 tribute store. "Gotta go, I'm snorting coke off (y/n)'s tits. Cancel my flight!"

You both run in, and get shirts from inside-- yours is a Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers one, and his is a Killer Klowns from Outer Space one, with a little clown in boxing gloves on it that says 'Shorty's Boxing Gym: Knocking Blocks Off Since '88." He poses for a picture of the new shirt in front of an old horror movie poster, hands in his jacket pockets and doing his signature sneer. He posts it on his Instagram, captioning it: 

Next motherfucker's gonna get my metal. Pic📷: @(y/handle) #justustwoclowns #wannatussle #truelove #wehatelovewelovehate #happyhalloween #universalorlando #shooterjennings.

You head inside the Egyptian crypt that leads to the Mummy, listening to Brendan Fraser's fake interview about the strange things going on on set. 

"I met him once," Marilyn tells you, "He was scared of me, he thought I was flirting with him."

"I can see how he would. You're just overly affectionate," you pat his arm.

"And high as fuck, but I wasn't flirting with him. He's too much of a pretty boy for me." 

"Yet you still wanna fuck Johnny," you tease him, and he grins, unable to refute that.

You finally get to the loading area after Marilyn stumbles over four posts in the dark queue. The lady there squeals. She's a different one than the one working earlier, and she's obviously a fan.

"Sorry for her," her coworker says, "She's a huge fan of your stuff."

"Nah, it's cool," Marilyn offers a smile.

"I was at the concert, which is why I'm working late," she explains hyperactively, "God, you were soooo amazing!" Marilyn thanks her. She waves at you as well. "By the way, I see your pictures together on insta at shows and premieres and stuff, you two make a really cute couple. Goth icons!" You smile at the girl, and thank her and her coworker for working late for you two. An obligatory selfie later, you and Marilyn get into the ride, and start heading through the darkness. You get to the part where Imohtep's face appears and fire blows beside you.

"You say god," he mutters. "I say Say10."

You get off the ride, and you nearly lose your shit when you see the ride photo. You fall to the floor, and Marilyn looks up at the screen in inquiry.

"Oh my god."

"We're buying it!"

"Absolutely fucking not. Look at my chin!"

"I love your chins, baby."

"I only mentioned one, but thanks."

You dash over to the counter, ordering the picture in the biggest size. It's gold. In it, you've got one hand up happily, the other looped with Marilyn's, and you look generally normal, other than your hair blowing a little from the force of the acceleration. His eyes are glinting yellow from light reflection, so he looks legitimately possessed; he's got his chin pressed down into his neck folds, and his mouth is halfway open, like he just remembered something he wanted to say. It's the most awful picture of him you've ever seen, so naturally, it's getting framed at the house next to his lovely prosthetic limb collection.

"Mm, makes me wanna fuck you," you lick your lips, "Give it to me, baby, I wanna look into those sexy yellow eyes while you destroy my pussy."

"You're fucked up."

You nearly collapse in laughter again.

Despite the terribly candid ride picture, Marilyn decides he likes the Mummy a bit more than the Simpsons, and after riding it four more times without fail, he's nauseous as all hell (as are you) and done in for the night.

You hold hands, heading to the gates. "Hey. Want to stop at Ben and Jerry's on the way out?" you ask.

"Nah," he drawls, hand moving down to your ass and giving it a spank, "You're the only thing I wanna lick tonight." Even motion sick and half-way to hungover, he's still in rascal mode.

A car comes to pick you up, and some press follow you to the car for a bit, taking photos and asking Marilyn for comments on the park and the show until Marilyn wraps his Slytherin scarf around his face. He gets into the car with you, and rolls the window up. The paparazzi obviously saw the Instagram post.

That makes you think...

Messing around on your phone as you're driven back to the hotel, you giggle. Marilyn keeps looking over, but he's currently too nauseous still to speak. You giggle again, and send off what you'd just done.

"Happy Halloween," you grin, punching his shoulder playfully.

He looks at his buzzing phone, and snorts. His bad Mummy picture and stylish posing Instagram picture are side by side, with your accompanying text: "Get you a man who can do both." 

[waitimcomingtoo]

In Case You Don’t Live Forever - Chapter Eleven

Pairing: Peter Parker x venom!reader

Warnings: mentions of self harm

Masterlist

Once you stepped off the elevator, you kept your eyes glued to the floor in case Peter took the stairs to meet you in the lobby. You looked up smacking into the back of some guy.

“Sorry.” You muttered.

“It’s all good.” He answered. You knew that voice. He turned around and your face lit up.

“Andy!” You exclaimed. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he pulled you into a tight hug. You lifted your legs off the floor and squeezed him as hard as you could. You needed a hug.

“Hello Miss New York City reporter. How’s the article coming?” Andy asked when he set you down.

“Forget my article, what are you doing here?” You asked him. You would’ve remembered him telling you he was going to visit.

“Well you’ve been so busy lately that we barely talk. I figured I’d come down and surprise you.” Andy said.

“Really? That’s so nice of you.” You gushed. You squeezed his arm gently and he gave you a fin smile. It was weird. It didn’t affect you like it used to. A gesture like this from Andy would usually keep you up for weeks wondering if it meant he wanted to get back together. He could usually pull you in with the slightest hint of wanting you back. This time, you didn’t feel the pull.

“You alright? Your eyes are glassy.” Andy asked after a few more moments of staring.

“Yeah. Just a fight with the boyfriend. You know how it is.” You shrugged and wiped your eyes with the backs of your hands. You had briefly forgotten about Peter.

“Boyfriend?” Andy asked. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. “I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend actually. We just broke up.” You blurted. Why would you tell him that? Yea you were mad at Peter, but you weren’t going to be mad forever.

“Oh really?” Andy perked up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“You know, I really would. Come on. I’ll show you my apartment.” You said as you nodded towards the elevators. Andy followed you and you made small talk on the way up.

You thankfully didn’t see Peter in the hallway and led Andy inside. Little did you know, Peter was out on patrol, looking for you.

“So what brings you to New York?” You asked. Surely he had other reasons than just visiting you.

“You know. I’ve missed it here. I missed the city, the shops, and you know…you.” Andy said sheepishly. You felt your heart glow a little at his words. He missed you. And embarrassingly enough, you hadn’t really missed him. Not since Peter started taking up all your time. You smiled shyly at him.

“I missed you to.” You said.

“No we didn’t.” Venom said telepathically. You shushed her and kept your eyes on Andy.

“So, have you finished up shop here? Can I expect you back in San Francisco soon?” Andy asked as he looked around your apartment. He noticed a lot of framed pictures of you and a certain brown eyed boy.

“Just about. I had my final interview today. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to head back just yet. I kinda like it here. I’ve set down roots.” You told him. By roots, you meant Peter. You were irrevocably in love with Peter Parker and you wanted to stay in New York to be with him, forever if you could. The longer Andy stayed, the more you wished to talk to Peter and fix things. Why did you always have to ruin things when they were good?

“Are you gonna come back for the wedding?” Andy asked, dragging his finger over a picture of you kissing Peters cheek at his graduation. You heard a hint of sadness in his voice.

“When is it again?” You asked. All plans about the wedding completely slipped your mind. It was funny, this conversation felt so foreign to you. Andy, San Francisco, the wedding. It wasn’t your life anymore. This was. Peter was.

“August 10th.” Andy reminded.

“Shoot. That’s Peters birthday.” You said apologetically.

“Is Peter the one you just broke up with?” Andy almost scoffed.

“Yea, but like, not forever. I still love him.” You said quietly. It felt weird talking about this with someone who was nearly your husband.

“Who is Peter anyway?” Andy asked abruptly, folding his arms in disdain.

“Peter is the best.” You gushed, picking up a photo of you and him lying on his bed and blowing some dust off the top. “He’s my neighbor across the hall. I don’t know. We just fell all the way in love. It was crazy. It was like I heard wedding bells every time he looked at me. He really understood me and I really understood him. And he makes me want to be a better me. He challenges me, but not in a pushy way, you know?”

“I know.” Andy said quietly.

“Yea. He keeps me on my knees.” You said. Your face turned a deep red. “I mean toes. He keeps me on my toes.” You corrected yourself. Andy’s jaw tightened.

“Sounds nice.” Andy said through gritted teeth. He was seething with jealousy.

“It is nice.” You agreed. “Or, it was. I need to talk to him and fix things. I love that boy with everything.” You said, mostly to yourself. Andy still heard it.

“What about me? Do you still love me?” Andy came up to you suddenly and put one hand on your cheek and the other on your hip. You were surprised by his question, and even more surprised by his actions. You gulped nervously and felt uneasy for the second time that day.

“I had to stop loving you the moment you took back my engagement ring and walked out the door.” You stated, almost angrily.

“You’re still upset about that? Come on, Y/n, that was a million years ago.” He whispered, brushing hair away from your forehead. You stubbornly reached up and pushed the hair back in place.

“Yea. I am.” You said, feeling slightly annoyed. “We were going to get married and then we didn’t speak for six months. So yea, I’m still upset.”

“Why?” He asked idiotically.

“Why?” You laughed awkwardly. You took a step back from him. Was he serious?

“Yea, why?” He shrugged.

“I’m upset because I needed you. I needed you and you weren’t there. And while I was swallowing bottles of pills and crying myself to sleep, you were off with some other girl, giving her the same ring you gave me.” You yelled. This time, you didn’t feel tears coming to your eyes. You only felt pure rage as all the things you wanted to say to Andy for the past year came tumbling out.

“I proposed to her because I loved her. I loved you too.” He defended, getting angry himself.

“You have to stop proposing to people!” You half laughed. “You proposed to me the second I graduated high school and you proposed to Dani less than a year after we broke up. Who does that? Does marriage mean anything to you?” You screamed.

“Yes.” He stated. You were in a full screaming match now.

“Does it? Because I don’t think it does. Have you ever read wedding vows, Andy? They promise lifelong commitment to one person. One. In sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. Well we went through a bad time. But were you committed to me? No.” You laughed sadly. “You left. You left the moment things got hard. What if we were already married when I cost you your job? Would you have divorced me? Or would you have been a man and realized that your relationship took precedent to your job? You lost me and your job on the same day and I swear, losing the job hurt you more.” You were in tears now. Not sad ones. Tears of liberation. “But what about me? I lost my job too! And you, all at once. But I didn’t give that job a second thought. But you, I spent over a year mourning you. Trying to replace you and get you out of my head. Trying to pick up the pieces you dropped. And you know what? I did it. I didn’t replace you though. I found someone better. I found Peter. And Peter doesn’t walk away when things get difficult. You know what Peter does? He runs towards them. And he makes sure the people around him are safe and protected. You didn’t protect me from anything Andy. You broke me when you left me. You took an already broken person and broke them even more. I was nothing but dust, and you didn’t even care.” Your voice cracked at the end.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal. What was I supposed to do? You cost me my job so it cost you our relationship. I’m trying to fix that now. Isn’t that enough?” He yelled back. He took a step closer to you with every word. You could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“Not that big of a deal? Andy, I tried to kill myself! I lost you, my job, my home, my career, everything! I had nothing and you knew that. You knew that!” You shouted desperately. “I was already such a broken person. You have to be patient with people like me. But you weren’t. You just took everything and left. You can’t fix anything. I already fixed myself. So no, it’s not enough. You are not enough for me. You need to leave.” You stated, pointing towards the door.

“Y/n, baby, hear me out.” Andy said. He swiftly pulled you into a kiss. You pushed him off and wiped your mouth in the back of your hand.

“You can’t do that. You cannot just kiss me whenever you want. And what about Dani?” You scolded him. Your heart broke for her. She didn’t deserve such an unfaithful man. He looked at you with sad eyes.

“You moving to New York made me realize how much I needed to see you everyday. I broke up with Dani when I realized I couldn’t live without you. It’s you that I want Y/n, not her. It’s always been you. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel anything when we kissed. Just try again and you’ll see.”

He tried to pull you into for another kiss but Venom came out and snapped at him like a dog, coming dangerously close to his face with her razor sharp teeth. Andy backed away immediately. Venom slinked back towards you and rested on your shoulder, staring Andy down.

“Back up.” Venom growled. Andy obeyed.

“You can’t just kiss me and think everything will be okay. This isn’t some romance movie. This is real life. I’m not going to be the girl who mopes around until the boy who broke her heart comes running back with flowers and a ring. I’m going to be the girl that picks herself back up and kicks his ass out the door. You need to leave. I mean it.” You pointed to the door again. Your hand was perfectly still. You had stood your ground and it felt good. Andy nodded solemnly and walked to your door.

“I’m sorry. If it’s worth anything at all, I’m sorry.” He said honestly, giving you one last look.

As soon as Andy opened the door, Peter knocked him out with one punch. You gasped in shock as Andy fell to the floor. You didn’t even realize Peter was in the hallway. You and Peter looked at Andy’s unconscious body and then up at each other. Without saying a word, you rushed towards each other and pulled each other into a passionate kiss.

“I heard every word. I’m so sorry that I doubted you. I love you and I just want to keep you safe.” Peter said against your lips.

“I love you too. I’m sorry I keep running away when things get hard. I promise, I’ll never run again. You have my word. I’m yours, Peter Parker. Until the earth starts to crumble and the heavens roll away.” You said. Peters eyes lit up in joy as he kissed you again.

Only, that didn’t happen. None of it happened. No matter how much you wanted it to. Andy opened the door and then left. You watched as he shut the door. You didn’t cry when he eft. No, you smiled. A big happy smile. Damn it felt good to be a bad ass bitch.

“Thanks babe. You really had my back. I love you.” You said to Venom once the door shut.

“I love you too but you’re a hypocrite.” Venom said back. You looked at her in confusion.

“What? No I’m not.” You defended.

“You told Andy that he just walked away when things got hard. Is that not what you did to Peter? Twice?” Venom asked. You felt embarrassed at your double standards.

“This is different.” You muttered.

“You’re right. It is different. The difference is you loved Andy but you’re in love with Peter. You have to fight for the people you love. You can’t just walk away.” Venom said, suddenly in a calming and understanding tone. You felt tears welling up in your eyes.

“Why not? It’s easier. Everyone I had to fight for, I lost the battle.” You said weakly. Tears ran down your cheeks in fast streams.

“That was before you met us. And we won’t let you lose again.” Venom said and nuzzled into your cheek. You wiped your tears and nuzzled her back. You two were quiet for a moment as she silently comforted you.

“Now go talk to him or we’ll eat your kidney.” Venom said suddenly. You felt your heart stop.

“You wouldn’t.” You said, daringly. You were a little scared she actually would.

You felt a sharp pain in your side that knocked you to your knees. You clutched your stomach as you doubled over in pain.

“Did you just eat my kidney?!” You screamed.

“We like to follow through.” Venom said simply.

“Venom!” You exclaimed.

“We’re kidding. We just bit it. Relax. But we will do it for real if you don’t talk to Peter.” Venom argued.

“So I have to talk to Peter or you’ll eat my kidney? Does that sound like a fair ultimatum?” You sassed.

“Yes. It sounds very fair to us.” Venom replied.

“But Peter didn’t believe in us.” You grumbled. Even you thought it sounded dumb at that point.

“Peter does believe in us. But he wants to keep us safe more than anything else. Do you know why that is?” Venom asked in a way that meant she already knew the answer.

“Why?” You asked coyly.

“Because his dumb ass loves your dumb ass. Not matter how many times you push him away, he will come back. Remember how we mate for life? I think he does too. And it’s us, Y/n. He wants to spend his life with us.” Venom answered. You knew she was right.

“Why would he want that? I don’t want to spend our life with me.” You scoffed.

“Might I imbue you with some alien knowledge?” Venom asked.

“Please do.” You said sarcastically.

“We love your dumb ass too. And we want to keep you safe just as much as Peter does. He had good intentions, Y/n. And we thrive off killing men with bad intentions. And if you apply that to PEMDAS, you can conceivably see that we belong with Peter.” Venom stated. You let out a short laugh. She was making sense…kind of.

“Fine. I’ll talk to Peter. Just, don’t eat my kidney okay?”

Meanwhile, Peter had stepped into an elevator with a man who looked incredible familiar. The man looked visible upset and distraught. He was about to get off the elevator when he noticed Peters face. Peter awkwardly stepped forward and pressed the key for the fourth floor. The man noticed it and smirked.

“You going to Y/n’s?” The man asked with a wicked look in his eyes. Peter looked at the man in astonishment.

“Yeah. Actually. How’d you know?” Peter asked the stranger. The man looked like he had an idea brewing behind his dark brown eyes.

“I just got back from there. You’re Peter right?” The man asked. Peter was shocked again. He was almost positive he had never met the man.

“Yea. I am.” Peter said wearily. How did this guy know you?

“I’m Andy. Y/n’s ex-fiancée.” Andy replied with a cocky smirk as he dropped the bomb on Peter. Peters heart fell. Why was he at Y/n’s apartment? Why was he in New York at all?

“Oh you’re Andy? The guy that broke Y/n’s heart and nearly drove her to suicide?” Peter asked in an innocent tone. He knew what he was doing and Andy seemed to sense it.

“Yea. That’s me.” Andy muttered, no longer feeling cocky. Peter smirked as they rode in silence for a moment.

“What brings you to New York? Y/n told me you moved to San Francisco.” Peter said, desperately wanting to know why Andy was anywhere near you. Peter knew you had forgiven Andy and befriended him, but that didn’t stop him from holding a vendetta against the guy. He broke your heart and he didn’t deserve to ever be in your presence.

“I came to visit her. She’s coming back to San Francisco soon but I missed her too much to wait.” Andy said, attempting to psych Peter out again. They both wanted you and didn’t want the other to have you.

“Right. For the wedding.” Peter said sharply.

“Oh, the weddings off. I actually came here to win Y/n back. And it went pretty well if I do say so myself. But she’s still coming back to San Francisco. Just not for the wedding. She’s moving back to be with me.” Andy lied. Peters heart completely stopped this time. His blood boiled in his body and he looked at Andy with a deadly glare, only just noticing the lipstick, your lipstick, on his lips. So it was true. He had kissed you and now you were moving back to San Francisco, thousands of miles away. Peter felt like there was no air left in the world. He couldn’t see straight at the thought of another man kissing, touching, loving his girl. Andy smirked at Peters reaction. Before Peter could say anything, the elevator doors opened. Peter got out and looked back at Andy with sad eyes. Andy gave him a wicked wave as the doors closed.

Peter slowly turned and walked back to his apartment. He looked at your door and felt tempted to knock. Even though you were the cause of his sadness, you were also the only one he wanted to comfort him. Peter decided against it and went inside.

At midnight, you swung to the top of the Oscorp building and landed in a crouched position. You wore your suit and tied your hair in a loose ponytail. You felt a mixture of nerves and excitement in your stomach. This wouldn’t be your first fight, but it would be your biggest. And the stakes were higher than your battle with Carlton Drake. You scanned the skyline but didn’t see Carnage anywhere.

You suddenly heard the sound of something slamming down on the pavement behind you.

“Venom! Are you ready to dance?” Carnage growled. You bared your teeth and took out your claws.

“Let’s do this, bitch.” You growled.

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