#and also figure I may as well try and stop taking sleeping meds again

[jemmo]

ive just been lying in bed, thinking about the eighth sense, this whole morning, trying to figure out and put together my thoughts and my conclusion is I just can’t do it. bc everything i read, all the dream theories and hallucination theories and meds and alcohol and when does it stop being real, I just can’t figure out in my head what I do actually believe. bc that’s not far-fetched, I know it. I mean look at that sequence in blueming where dawon has that whole imaginary sequence with his parents and siwon. that was all very clearly a dream sequence, like with the context of the scene prior and how people interacted, I could tell it wasn’t real right away. this, i just don’t know. bc I believe very easily that this is something jaewon would do. after the conversation with his therapist and his night of drinking and what taehyung brought up, how angry it made him, Jihyun’s words of comfort and then what happened in the morning, the camera breaking, his father. all of that is reason enough for jaewon to snap and do something spur of the moment and kind of crazy but actually seek out that escape and relief he needs. his emotions are so heightened, this isn’t just something he can just cover with a mask and get on with, he needs release. and jihyun’s words are a lifeline that he clings onto hoping their genuine.

i love that scene where jihyun is bringing up the logical things about having no clothes and not preparing to stay over and jaewon just reiterates that line. you said when I’m having a hard time, i can contact you. he is so used to being nice to everyone and never wanted to cause a fuss or upset or disagree. He doesn’t want to be a burden, but the way he then says that, kind of pathetic and kind of desperate and kind of defensive yet he states it so clearly. Bc so often when someone may they go about their trip and decide what to do next, sleeping on the beach only to then get a hotel room, surfing then sleeping together then surfing again. it’s all very erratic bc i think that’s how jaewon feels and is acting, and jihyun is just along for the ride. idk how to judge how jihyun feels in all of this bc if we take everything at face value it kind of is a lot to take in and to then be intimate while jaewon is in this headspace feels fast and not smart, but then again jihyun doesn’t have to be smart. he has been shown to want to do crazy stuff, to try things, to get out of that country bumpkin bubble and when he loves and cares for jaewon, i don’t think anything he does on this trip either is out of the realm of possibility. and I think that plays very well into the ending. they are both being kind of reckless, especially jihyun bc it’s established he can’t swim, or at least can’t swim wellc, so an accident could easily happen, and no matter how bad the accident is, it’ll be horrific to jaewon. a person he cares for getting into an accident with him in the sea, it’s a perfect, horrid mirror, and for him it’ll only reaffirm what he already believes. idk what that thing is yet, whether it’s arbitrary ‘bad things happen around him’, or he’s irresponsible or can’t trust himself to do something or powerlessness that he can’t do anything or feeling inadequate bc he can’t help, nevertheless he puts all the burden of the accident on him. After all, he was the only person there. He was the only person that could’ve done something, could’ve changed the outcome and he didn’t, or more likely, wouldn’t.

But with these kinds of accidents, what jaewon needs to see is that that burden is not his to bare, at least not alone. so many other things and factors lead to things happening, and ultimately an accident can be just that; an accident, something he can do nothing about and has to deal with grief but not guilt.

All this is to say, I do ultimately think this happens. Choppy cutting and dreamy looking camera work is all something that yes while you can analyze it for meaning, is also an artistic choice and can be read a number of different ways, one of them being that jaewon does see this time with jihyun as a dream. it’s closed off and private and secluded and quiet and he’s with someone he loves, he can see that as perfect, as dream-like, and then that final scene is a sudden, terrifying change that is amplified to him. and I think it actually happened bc I think it needs to happen for the story. the most natural progression of this plot is for an accident to happen and for jaewon to distance himself because of it. And it bodes well that this is happening at the end of ep 6 and not ep 8, bc nowthe aftermath and and the repercussions of this and an eventual reconciliation can be given the time it needs and deserves. this isn’t just about a thing getting between jaewon and hugging only for them to overcome it and be together as happens in many other shows. if anything, the relationship is secondary, it’ can now only be a result of jaewon making progress mentally in whatever form that will take.

[whimsyprinx]

so it’s currently 4:50am

[fernweh-writes]

Can I request the slashers with a reader with really watery eyes and whenever he/she/they blink it looks like their crying but their not and cause of that they constantly need water to drink? I have to deal with this when the pollens really bad where I live and I swear I'd be rich if i gain a dollar eachtime someone asks if I'm ok

Allergies are the worst as it is I can’t imagine having to deal with my eyes watering 24/7. Sorry this took so long to get to!

-Fern🌿

S/O With Bad Allergies

Michael Myers

Michael has a pretty good immune system and has never dealt with bad allergies. Guess he just got lucky. So seeing your eyes water so much just because of the pollen kind of freaks him out.

At first, he genuinely thought that you were crying. His first thought was that he was fixing to have to quickly take care of a new victim, assuming that someone has messed with you.

After you catch him staring though you quickly figure that he’s worried. You’ll have to reassure him multiple times that it’s just your allergies and that he won’t have to hunt anyone down today.

Still doesn’t believe that you aren’t crying until it continues over the course of a few days. Then he figures that it’s best to not let you get dehydrated. It may seem like Michael is never around but you’ll be finding glasses of water all over the house. It’s his way of reminding you to drink water.

Bo Sinclair

When Bo first catches you dabbing at your eyes with a tissue, of course his first thought is that you’re crying. His first instinct is to turn and run. Bo does care about you but he doesn’t handle crying people very well and all he can think about at that moment is making a getaway.

Sadly, you catch him before he can bolt. “Hey, Bo, do we have any more tissues? My allergies are killing me and my eyes won’t stop leaking.”

You have no clue how relived he is that your eyes are just watering from allergies and you’re not bawling. He can handle allergies better than he can crying, so don’t worry, Bo to the rescue!

When he brings you a box of tissues he also makes sure to bring you a bottle of water. Although his thoughts are less about you getting dehydrated from your eyes watering and more of just knowing that it’s good to drink water when you’re sick.

Vincent Sinclair

I still believe that Vincent has a lot of medical knowledge. So when he catches you wiping away at your eyes even though you’re not sobbing or sniffling he puts two and two together pretty quickly.

Because of this, he’s also pretty well at handling the situation. He’ll quickly return with allergy meds, a box of tissues, and of course water. Louisiana is already hot, he can’t have you getting dehydrated because of your allergies.

He keeps his brothers from giving you weird looks and asking questions as well. Vincent knows he hates being stared at and wouldn’t want his brothers to make you feel the same way. Besides, even if you were crying it’s none of their business.

Your his so it’s job to worry over you and take care of you not his brothers. Expect him to keep you close to him until you recover a little bit. He may be just a little bit possessive over you.

Brahms Heelshire

You freak him out a little bit when he first witnesses the symptoms of your allergies. Brahms has lived a very sheltered life and hasn’t been exposed to anyone being very sick so it’s something new for him.

When you reassure him that you’re not crying it’s just your allergies he’s just even more confused honestly. You’re really telling him plants made you cry? Brahms may be smart when it comes to literature and history but he’s hopeless with anything science related.

Still he does his best to help you out. He’ll be more lenient with the rule following and the schedule. Brahms might even be sweet enough to let you sleep in and rest some.

He’ll be easily frustrated by the fact you’re not taking care of him like normal though. Because of this you can still expect the occasional tantrum, however, luckily for you, it’s not directed at you and it’s Brahms not knowing how to deal with his frustration.

Thomas Hewitt

When he sees you and thinks you’re crying he freaks out. Immediately begins wondering what happened. Did you get hurt? Are you injured? Did Hoyt or Monty do something to you?

After explaining to him that you’re just dealing with really bad allergies he immediately takes you to Luda Mae. She always takes care of everyone when they’re sick, so surely she’ll know how to help you.

She’ll give you tea and send you up to bed to get some rest. Sends Thomas to keep an eye on you and makes sure he gets you to drink plenty of water. It’s already easy to get dehydrated in the Texas weather, much less with your eyes watering like crazy.

Thomas will stay by your side the entire time to make sure that you’re okay, fetching you anything you need or want. He’s worried sick about you and just wants you to feel better and not look so sad and miserable.

Billy Loomis

He’s scared of emotions and while he can play the part of very concerned boy next door type of boyfriend he really wants nothing more than to get the hell away before you notice him.

Even once you explain to him that no you’re not crying, he’s still not going to be much help. If you needed him to murder fight someone for you, then he could help. But a really bad case of allergies? Sorry, you’re on your own.

Still, if you insist of going somewhere he’s watching over you like a hawk. Billy will deter anyone from asking you if you’re okay, knowing that you hate being confronted about crying when really your eyes just won’t stop watering.

Still, he’s not stupid and pretty much forces you to drink water. It’s the closest thing you’re going to get to affection from him during this. He’s trying his best okay.

Stu Macher

Stu was most likely rambling on about who knows what when he looks up and you’re wiping away at all the tears on your face. The best response he can think of is a very uninterested, “what are you crying about?”

Much like Billy he’s not much help besides making sure you drink plenty of water.

He’s also more likely to make fun of you that anyone else. Billy keeps people from asking questions or making fun while Stu is the one asking questions and bullying you. He loves you but he’s not going to pass up the chance to pick on you.

Of course, he’ll stop if you tell him that it bother you but if you don’t speak up he’ll go on and on. If someone else tries to make fun of you though, then he just might start a fight. He can make fun of you, anyone else just has a death wish.

Asa Emory

Again, doesn’t do emotions. Asa doesn’t see himself as an emotional person and doesn’t do good at comforting others or dealing with their emotions. So when he sees what he thinks to be crying he’s going to try his hardest to sneak away.

Asa can be very awkward when it comes to trying to take care of you. He’s not sure what to do considering having a relationship with anyone is very foreign to him.

Still, you’re his responsibility and it’s his job to take care of you so he’ll do his best. Asa sends you constant reminders throughout the day to drink water so that you don’t get dehydrated. It’s best if you listen, cause even if he isn’t home all day, he’ll know. Asa always knows.

Jesse Cromeans

As soon as Jesse spots you he rushes over to figure out what’s wrong. Scooping you up into his arms, he’ll be checking over you to make sure you’re not injured.

Once you explain to him that it’s just your allergies he’s still going to be a big mother hen about the whole ordeal. Have you drank water? You can’t get dehydrated! You haven’t taken your allergy meds? He’ll stand over you to make sure that you take them.

He’s very protective so if he feels the need to he’ll have his medical team check in on you to make sure that it is just your allergies. Jesse just hates seeing you be miserable and will do anything in his power to help you.

[helloalycia]

my patient’s neighbour [one] // wanda maximoff

summary: whilst caring for a new patient of yours, you definitely didn't expect to fall for her cute neighbour, Wanda Maximoff

warning/s: very minor mentions of injuries and death

author's note: okay so firstly, buckle in, folks, this is gonna be like 6 parts long lol. Also, I google translated all the Russian bits so i apologise if they are incorrect! okay, you may enjoy now :)

part two | part three | part four | part five | part six | part seven | masterlist | wattpad

"38... 38... 38..."

I scanned the doors to the many apartments in the hall, hoping to find the one that belonged to my newest patient – Anna Pivec. As a nurse, I was always given new patients to visit and tend to until they no longer needed it or chose not to have me around. I'd just been assigned a new patient, Anna, and was excited to meet her.

"38!" I said to myself, spotting the door at the end of the hallway. I knocked on before waiting patiently, hoping she wasn't sleeping or anything. It wasn't too early – 10AM – and she knew I was coming, so finger's crossed.

The door opened to reveal a short, old lady with grey hair and a cane in her hand. I smiled kindly, meeting her cloudy gaze.

"You must be the one my granddaughter is paying to look after me because she can't do it herself," the woman spoke before I could introduce myself. Stepping to the side, she motioned with her cane. "Come on in."

My smile dropped at her abruptness. "I, er, yeah, I guess that's me." As I walked in, I said, "My name is Y/N Y/L/N. The nurse from–"

"Yeah, I know where you're from," she cut me off, closing the door and heading further into her apartment. "They sent me a brochure, milaya."

I followed after her, surprised at how quick she was for an old lady with back and heart problems. She was leading me into the open plan living-room and kitchen.

"I'm sorry – milaya? What does that mean?" I asked politely, hoping I didn't come across as rude.

She waved her hand dismissively, mumbling something to herself in what I think was Russian. Her profile did say she was from Sokovia, so maybe that was it.

"Okay, erm, well, as I said," I changed the subject, figuring she wouldn't give me an answer, "I'm Y/N. I'll be here five times a week and basically be doing anything you need me to do. Of course, I only want you to be comfortable in your own home, so if you ever feel anything but, please let me know."

She hummed in acknowledgement before motioning for me to follow her. I set my bag on the kitchen counter before sitting on the couch as she did so on the recliner. She sighed with content as the pain on her back was eased from taking a seat.

"Tell me about yourself," she said gently.

I smiled with amusement. "That's usually what I ask my patients."

"Do forgive me, milaya," she said, and I made a mental note to bring a Russian-English dictionary with me tomorrow, "but you're a stranger in my home. I'd prefer to know about you before I let you take care of me."

I nodded, slightly impressed. Her profile didn't do her justice. Usually, the elderly I cared for were quick to allow me to do my thing, never really questioning who I was or what my intentions were. I was starting to get the impression that Anna was a strong, stubborn woman in a little old lady's body – definitely not one to mess around with.

"Okay, well, I'm a nurse," I began with the basics, and from there, went into a long ramble about my job, how I got into it, what it consisted of...

Anna was full of questions, taking the time to get to know me and I her. Once I had told her everything I could think to, she told me about her life. How she lived in Sokovia up until she was thirty-five years old and had to flee with her husband and daughter because of the war. She gushed about the both of them, a twinkle in her eye as she recalled their livelihoods like they were still alive. Her husband had unfortunately passed many years ago due to liver problems – "All that drinking, milaya! Us Sokovians are a force to be reckoned with!" – and her daughter had passed in a car accident not long after.

It was a tragic tale, but she didn't let it bring her down. In fact, she seemed grateful to have lived it and I couldn't help but smile as she shared it with me.

I noticed she would speak short phrases in Russian mid-conversation, without realising, which didn't make it easier for me to understand, but I couldn't bring it in myself to interrupt her to ask what they meant because she said it with such sincerity that I figured it reminded her of her home.

After our conversation, I made her lunch and gave her her medication before watching some TV with her and pretty much talking to her once again. She was quite an interesting woman, different to my usual patients, and I was enjoying our time together. After spending the day there, I wished her a good night before leaving.

When I returned the next morning, I let myself in with the key Anna gave me and called out a good morning.

"In here!" an unfamiliar female voice called out.

I furrowed my brows as I took off my jacket and headed into the living-area. Anna was sat in her recliner as usual, but she had a guest sat on her couch. A young woman, possibly my age, with long dark hair and a friendly smile on her lips was sat comfortably; she had a cup of tea in her hands and her legs pulled up on the couch like she lived there.

The stranger and Anna exchanged words in Russian briefly before the former stood up, about to introduce herself.

"Oh, are you her granddaughter?" I asked, putting two and two together. It was the only explanation I could think of for how comfortable she was and the fact that she was also Sokovian (I assumed, anyway).

The girl laughed, her green eyes sparkling as she shook her head. Putting out her hand, she said, "I'm Wanda Maximoff. Anna's neighbour."

Slightly embarrassed by my mistake, I smiled awkwardly and shook her hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have– I just thought because you were speaking Russian that–"

"It's fine, no harm no foul," she put me at ease quickly, before taking her seat again. "I've lived next door to Anna for about a year now. Sometimes I keep her company on my days off."

I set my bag on the floor before taking a seat on the couch, leaving a gap between Wanda and I.

"That's nice," I said with a smile before looking to Anna. "How are you feeling this morning, Mrs Pivec?"

She sighed, waving her hand dismissively, before saying something to Wanda in Russian who was listening intently. Nodding her head, Wanda looked to me with amusement.

"What did she say?" I asked, quirking a brow.

"She said she told you to stop calling her Mrs Pivec yesterday," Wanda translated, trying not to laugh.

"Just call me Anna, Y/N," Anna added with a nod. "And I'm fine. Just had breakfast with Wanda here."

"Breakfast," I repeated slowly. "How long ago was that? Just gotta make sure you get your meds."

"Shoot, am I doing your job?" Wanda asked, slightly panicked.

"No, no, you're not." I laughed at the way she scrunched her nose. "I mean, it would help if I could have breakfast with Miss– Anna, so I know when she has her medication. But it's all good."

"Are you sure? I can leave if I'm in the way," Wanda said with a frown.

"No need," I reassured her. "If Anna doesn't mind your presence, it's all good. I'm just here to look after her, clean up, make sure she eats, has her meds."

Wanda looked to Anna, who seemed unbothered by her presence.

"She can stay," Anna said with a shrug. "Makes it feel less like I'm a pet."

I opened my mouth to say something, possibly make her feel better, but I wasn't sure what to say.

"Don't mind her," Wanda reassured, giving Anna a knowing look before shooting me an easygoing smile. "She tends to speak her mind exactly as it is. No filter whatsoever. And very stubborn. You may have noticed."

I cracked a smile, feeling better knowing that it wasn't just me who noticed Anna's unique personality traits.

"Hey, that stubbornness and lack of filter is exactly how I beat my husband and his friends in every poker game back home," Anna said with a playful smirk.

Wanda and I chuckled, before the brunette leaned on the couch comfortably and looked to me.

"We finished breakfast, maybe, ten minutes ago? I made us eggs and toast," she answered my question from earlier.

I hummed before getting up with my bag and heading to the kitchen. Setting my bag on the counter, I grabbed my diary and also Anna's medication from its place on the kitchen counter.

"I'll give you your medicine now, Anna," I told her, already grabbing a glass of water for her.

"Thank you, milaya," she called back, and I spun around, immediately going to get my Russian-English dictionary from my bag. "Wait, I know what that is!" I flicked through the pages and scanned it eagerly. "Milaya... milaya... milaya! Okay, it means... sweetie."

"Sweetie," Wanda said at the same time, and I looked up to see her watching me from behind her cup of tea, trying not to laugh again.

"I guess another perk of your presence is being the translator," I said sheepishly, realising just how eager I was a second ago. "Anna likes to speak Russian a lot, which I'm fine with of course, but..." I waved the dictionary in the air.

"It's funny watching tvoye lichiko, milaya," Anna said with that same mischievous smirk on her face.

I looked down to my dictionary, struggling to pinpoint a single word in her sentence that I could search. It was overwhelming, the words going in one ear and out the other.

"She said it's funny watching your little face, sweetie," Wanda translated upon seeing my frozen state.

I relaxed my shoulders. "Thanks." Then I realised what she said. "Hey!"

Anna laughed as Wanda grinned, and I was suddenly glad she was here. I grabbed Anna's meds with a glass of water before giving them to her. After making sure she swallowed them properly, I put the glass to the side and took a seat on the couch again.

"So, you said you visited Anna on your days off?" I asked Wanda, intrigued by why a neighbour would be so interested in another. It wasn't very common in today's day and age.

"She's almost always here," Anna answered before Wanda could speak. I looked to her as she continued with a grateful smile. "Helps me with everything. Groceries, cleaning, my medication."

"So basically me but unpaid," I joked, and Anna laughed.

"Exactly," she agreed, and I looked to Wanda to see her blushing, eyes avoiding mine.

"That's really sweet," I said gently, earning her attention. "You're a really good neighbour, Wanda."

Wanda ran a hand through her hair. "It's nothing. If anything, I enjoy being here. Anna reminds me of Sokovia and my family and, well, home."

"Oh, so you're Sokovian, too?"

She nodded before smiling playfully. "Did the accent not give it away?"

I hid a smile. "I didn't want to assume. I mean, you could've been Czech. Slovakian. Basically anything else."

"Okay, I'll give you that," she gave in, tilting her head to the side, smile widening.

It was then that I learnt her smile was extremely contagious.

Same as yesterday, my plan was to stay the day with Anna, though this time Wanda also kept her company (and me, too). After lunch, I left the two of them to watch some TV as I excused myself to change Anna's bedsheets in her room, ready for bed tonight.

As I was doing so, I heard the door open and glanced over my shoulder to see Wanda entering the room. I gave her a smile before continuing to replace the pillowcase.

"Here, I can help," she offered, and didn't give me chance to decline as she grabbed the pillow on the other side of the bed and began to change its case.

"You sure? You know it's my job, right?" I teased, looking up at her over the bed between us.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm aware. Just thought I'd make it a bit easier for you."

I chuckled. "Well, I appreciate it... how is Anna?"

"Dozed off," Wanda quipped with an expectant nod. "Same time every day. Like clockwork."

"Huh." I thought back to yesterday and how she ended up taking a nap after lunch, too. "Noted. Thanks."

Wanda smiled before putting the pillowcase on the pillow and puffing it with her hands. I did the same, content with its appearance, before moving to the duvet. Wordlessly, Wanda grabbed one end and began to help me put it on, which I appreciated. The duvet was bigger than I was and definitely a two-person job.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I spoke out of the blue as we were putting on the duvet cover.

"Go for it," she said encouragingly, glancing sideways.

"Of course, you don't have to answer, but I thought I'd ask since I'm going to be looking after Anna for a while," I gave a little disclaimer, before saying, "She makes a lot of snide remarks about her granddaughter. Do they not get along?"

Wanda sighed quietly. "Her granddaughter doesn't really visit her here. She rarely calls."

"Her daughter's kid?"

"The only one," Wanda confirmed. "She keeps her distance, ever since her mum – Anna's daughter – passed. She just pays for, well, you."

I frowned. "That's sad."

"Yeah," Wanda agreed, breathing out.

The two of us spread the duvet over the double bed before I looked to her with a small smile.

"At least she has you," I pointed out. "It's nice you give up your free time to spend it with her."

"Like I said, it's good for me, too," she reminded me, returning the smile.

"So what do you do when you're not here keeping her company?" I asked curiously, moving to Anna's bedside to clear it up a little.

Wanda hid her smile behind a look of confusion. "Do you not– don't you recognise me?"

I quirked a brow, pausing my actions. "Am I supposed to?"

She snickered, shaking her head, eyes falling to the bed with mild disbelief. "I mean, I guess not. I'm–" She chuckled, looking to my confused face. "I'm one of the Avengers."

I studied her, her words not quite settling in. But when they did, I realised I actually recognised her and she was one of the Avengers.

"Oh my God!" I blurted, the penny finally dropping. "The one with the weird red energy powers! I mean– not weird but– the magic!"

She stifled laughter, nodding her head. Just like her smile, her laughter was contagious, too.

"Yeah, that's me," she confirmed.

I made a weird motion with my free hand, like I'd seen her do on TV when saving the day. "Does Anna know about your y'know?"

Wanda crossed her arms, raising a brow and watching me with a humoured gaze. "Is that supposed to be my powers?"

I stopped making the motion and felt my neck heating up. "I– yeah."

Laughter spilled from her lips yet again, automatically making me smile. I didn't mind that I'd made a fool of myself all of a sudden.

"Anna knows, yes," Wanda said with a bright smile. "She actually recognised me straight away. Much quicker than you. And she's eighty."

Waving my hand to distract from my flushed cheeks, I said, "Pfft, she probably confused you with someone else and played along when you told her who you were."

"Yeah, I'm sure that was it, ty milyy maneken," she retorted with her piercing gaze.

"No fair, my dictionary is in the other room," I said with a pout, and she only laughed even more.

"Guess you'll never know," she teased with a smirk, making me roll my eyes to distract from the way it made me feel when she stared at me like that.

It was much later on when I learnt that she had called me 'a cute dummy'. And that was the beautiful start to Wanda and I's introduction into each other's lives.

—

From then onwards, about eighty percent of the time I would go to care for Anna, Wanda was present, too and I didn't mind one bit. Not only did she keep Anna company, but she made my job a lot easier whilst keeping me company as well.

I was beginning to look forward to seeing her whenever I would open the door. Whether she was cleaning something up, playing board games with Anna or simply having a tidy up around the apartment, she'd always stop what she was doing and help me with whatever was in my hands as she greeted me at the door. It was adorable. She was adorable.

The few times she wasn't present because of work only made me miss her, the apartment feeling emptier than usual. Even Anna agreed, the two of us making up for the lack of the Sokovian girl's presence by distracting ourselves with other activities.

I was convinced Anna was warming up to me as she freely let me care for her without resistance. Obviously, she wouldn't be Anna if she didn't throw funny remarks my way or speak to me in Russian, knowing I didn't understand her, but it was tolerable. And I was liking her, too; she was easily becoming one of the best patients I cared for. There was just so much personality to her that I couldn't help but smile whenever I spoke to her.

One time, I was helping Anna out at her place when Wanda wasn't present. I was leading her into her bed when I decided now was a better time than ever to ask her about her birthday on Sunday, which I knew was then because of her file.

"So, I'll be seeing you in two days next," I told her as I pulled the duvet over her. "And a little birdie told me it's your birthday then. Eighty-one, Anna! That's amazing!"

She smiled but seemed embarrassed that I knew.

"Tell me what you want and I can make it happen," I said promisingly, smiling down at her.

She waved her hand. "I don't want anything, milaya (sweetie). Your presence is enough."

I chuckled. "As sweet as that is, I know everybody wants something for their birthday. Now please, Anna. What can I do to make the day a bit more special?"

She pondered my question momentarily and I waited for her to speak, hoping it was something doable.

"I would love to have a traditional Sokovian meal," she said reluctantly. "It's been a long time."

I breathed out quietly, patting her hand gently. "I can do that, Anna. Don't you worry."

She smiled genuinely, before shooing me away. "Okay, enough sappiness, ty mozhesh' uyti seychas (you can leave now)."

I laughed, standing up and dusting my pants off. I only knew what that phrase meant because she said it almost every time before my shift ended and I left for the day. I knew she didn't mean it as harshly as it sounded.

"I'm going, I'm going," I said, already heading to the door. "I'll see you Sunday, birthday girl."

She groaned quietly, making me grin, before I double checked everything was okay in the living-area and grabbed my stuff to leave.

As easy of a request that it was, I knew absolutely nothing about cooking a traditional Sokovian meal. But I knew of one person who did and instantly headed to Wanda's apartment next door to see if she was home.

With a quick knock, I waited patiently. I wasn't sure if she was even home since she hadn't visited Anna today and she usually did so if she was. When I was beginning to think she wasn't, I told myself I could Google a recipe and put something together, but then the door opened and revealed a tired-looking Wanda.

"Y/N," she said with surprise, but a friendly smile was on her lips nonetheless.

"Hey, I'm so sorry to disturb you this late, but I wanted to ask– wait, what happened to your face?" I stopped speaking and lost my own smile when I noticed the faint scratches and bruises dusting her skin.

"Oh, it's nothing–" she started, raising her hand, fingers wavering over her head, but I cut her off.

"Shit, Wanda, what happened?" I reached out, taking her hand in mine and studying the cast that was around her wrist. Concerned frown on my lips, I glanced up at her. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine, Y/N," she tried to reassure, but I couldn't help it as my worry got the better of me and I studied the cuts on her cheek. "I just came back from a mission. Minor injuries. Honestly."

I let go of her hand, realising I was still holding it, and nodded slightly. "Right..." Realising she must have been exhausted, I awkwardly stepped back and shook my head with realisation. "Sorry, I should go. I didn't mean to bot–"

"You were saying something," she interrupted, nodding encouragingly. "You wanted to ask me something. What is it?"

I paused, nodding. Admittedly, I was still worried about the bruises on her forehead. I knew she was an Avenger and this was probably the norm for her, but to me, it looked like she'd just got mugged. And the irregularity of that worried me.

"Yeah, I was saying," I finally found my words, trying to ignore the way her tired eyes peered at me hopefully. "It's Anna's birthday on Sunday and she wants to have a traditional Sokovian meal to celebrate. The only problem is, I don't know what that is." Wanda cracked a smile as I continued. "Do you, maybe, have a recipe I could use?"

"Of course," she said before motioning for me to follow her. "Come on in."

I followed after her, closing the door behind me, and stopped at the kitchen counter patiently. As she searched for a notebook in her drawer, I subtly glanced around, taking in the inside of Wanda's apartment. I'd never actually been in it before, but the minimal décor was very her. She didn't have many knickknacks and everything on display served a purpose.

"There's some recipes in here," she said, grabbing my attention. She slid the notebook across the counter and leaned forward with a smile. "Take your pick."

I flicked through it briefly, smiling at the notebook filled with recipes, all in Wanda's neat, cursive handwriting.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, looking up and catching her staring.

She perked up, clearing her throat as she nodded in response before looking the other way. Cute.

"Are you working on Sunday?" I asked with a raised brow, before rolling my eyes playfully. "What am I saying? Of course you're not. Not with that wrist."

She chuckled, still avoiding my eyes. "I'm not."

"Well, why don't you come over for her birthday? You can help me cook her a meal. Or rather, I can help you cook it since I'll probably screw it up."

Finally meeting my eyes, she smiled with amusement. "Are you sure?"

I gave her a knowing look, ignoring the butterflies swirling in my stomach as she held my gaze with her intense dark eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Anna will love to celebrate with you. And..." I pursed my lips, taking a leap of faith and adding, "and I'd love it, too."

Wanda let out a quiet laugh. "You would, would you?"

I straightened up, smile widening. "Yeah, I would."

She tilted her head, studying me with a curious smile. "Well then, I clearly can't say no."

Something stirred in my chest the longer she watched me and I oddly liked it. It was obvious that Wanda was a beautiful girl with a heart of gold, but I guess I hadn't really acknowledged that I may have had feelings for her until now. And I didn't mind one bit.

"Great," I finally found my words, nodding slightly. "I'll see you Sunday."

She mirrored my expression, saying, "See you Sunday," and I knew I couldn't wait until then.

[marvelouslytrekking]

26: “ I’m dying. ” with Bones??

Promise Me

Summary: You catch an unknown alien disease that is spreading through your body rapidly without much hope. Word Count: 1231 Warning: Mention of disease, mention of death, no medical knowledge or reasoning whatsoever. It's fiction just go with it. A/N: Listen I almost went with something just cute and fun and light but then this came to mind so this is what you get. Think of it as payback for that Din fic! Hope everyone enjoys some angst!

It started as just a light cough, really nothing that was even bothering you. You were working on some old parts in engineering and assumed that you had just inhaled too much of the dust, really nothing to worry about.

However, the coughing only seems to get worse, and you soon found it hard to even breathe. You thought maybe trying to take a sip of water would help but it only caused a coughing fit that you couldn’t seem to stop. Luckily another engineer heard the commission when you fell over as you tried to catch your breath.

Before you knew it a med team was in front of you offering oxygen through a mask. It seemed to help a little, giving you the chance to calm your breathing down, but it still felt as though your throat was almost fully closed.

As you were rushed into Medbay you saw Leonard out of the corner of your eye, you could see the tension in his body. Protocol didn’t allow him to treat you, but you had full faith in Dr. M’Benga.

“We’re gonna have to put you under, it’ll help to relax your throat and lungs.” He calmly informed you as you continued to cough. You were soon injected with a hypo and immediately felt the effects.

You woke up feeling worse than you ever had in your life, like a truck had run you over and then backed up and ran you over again. Maybe even just an entire starship hitting you would feel better than this.

“Hey you’re awake!” You heard the relief in Leonard’s voice. “How’d you feel?”

“Like death personified”

“You’re well enough to be your dramatic self I see.” He chucked, but you didn’t miss the concern and worry that was laced in his voice.

“What’s wrong with me?” You asked, hesitantly.

“You seemed to have picked up an alien virus, we’re not sure exactly what it is.” He told you as gently as he could.

“Why am I not quarantined then?” You asked, concerned for the rest of the crew.

“We already determined it isn’t contagious. You seemed to have got it right from the source.” He assured you.

“But I haven’t been on any away missions lately.”

“We know. M’Benga thinks it has just been dormant in your system for a while, and something must have triggered it. We have no idea where you got it from.” He told you, you could tell that it was definitely bad news.

You wanted to continue to ask him more questions but you also knew that he technically wasn’t even your doctor and M’Benga would be in shortly so you only nodded in response.

“Do you mind if I step out? I need to check on some of the tests that they ran, I just didn’t want to leave your side,” Len asked you softly. You chuckled, you were sure he hadn’t known what to do with himself, between wanting to never leave you but also wanting to work, you’re sure he had been antsy.

“Go, I will be here when you’re done.” You told him, ushering him away.

It wasn’t long after that M’Benga had came in to check on you. “Good to see you awake,” He smiled as you saw you slightly prompt up on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone ran me over with a shuttle.” You told him truthfully, though it didn’t cause him to laugh as you had expected.

“I am assuming Leonard told you a little about what’s going on.” He asked you.

“Yes, said I contracted an alien virus and that you don’t know where I got it from.” You relayed back to him what you knew.

“Yes, that’s true.” He nodded, “What I am sure he left out was how bad it truly is. As your doctor I think it’s only fair if you know the whole truth.”

“Okay,” You nodded, not sure what to say. You had known it was bad, Leonard’s body language had given it away, but that only caused you more unease.

“The virus is attacking your organs, and it is moving rapidly. We are working on slowing down it’s trajectory while we figure out how to stop it and then we can work on reversing any damage, but I have to be honest it is moving much quicker than we had hoped.” He told you with a solomon voice.

“How long,” You asked, trying to keep your voice calm.

“I’m afraid only a few days until you won’t be able to function, or be alert, and then after that only a few more days at most.” He informed you, “I am so sorry, but know that we are doing everything in our power to get this figured out. It is all hands on deck until we get you back on your feet.”

You nodded, not sure you would be able to speak if you tried. You were trying to wrap your head around only having a few days left. While you were left to process a lot of information M’Benga ran a few tests and did everything he could to make sure you were comfortable.

The next few hours of your day were spent with many visitors, you could tell everyone was trying to avoid the obvious that this may be the last time you see them, but it was still on everyones, including yours mind.

You were relieved when Leonard finally made his way back in the room. He had poked his head in a few times to see you but not long since you had had so many other visitors.

“You must be exhausted.” Leonard pointed out as you tried to keep your eyes open.

“Very,” You admitted, “Can you come lay with me?”

“I don’t think we’ll both fit comfortably,”

“I don’t care. I just want you close.” You told him. The idea that you may only have one more day with Leonard was dawning on you.

“Okay,” He sighed, carefully crawling into the bed with you. He made sure that he wasn’t hurting you and you in turn curled into him as much as you could.

“I um, Leonard, I think we need to talk about the next few days.” You break the comfortable silence.

“What do you mean?” He asked as he ran his fingers gently along your arm.

“I just, I want you to know how much I love you, but I also need you not to blame yourself and I need you to promise me you wont shut everyone out. I need to know that you’ll be okay.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leonard said defiantly.

“Leonard. I am dying.” You sighed, “I just need to know you’ll be okay.”

“No one is dying on my watch.”

“Len,”

“No, if I can bring Jim back from that much radiation then, the hell if I can’t cure an alien disease.” Leonard said, his hold tightly on you ever so slightly.

“But if you can’t. I need you to promise me you won’t blame yourself.” You told him, “Please just promise me that.”

“It won’t come to that.” He said desperately.

“Promise me anyway.”

“Okay, I promise, love.” Once you heard those magic words, you were able to let yourself drift off to sleep in his arms for what was possibly the last time.

[thebookreader12345]

Memory Lane

Pairing: Adam Ruzek x reader

Summary: Y/N gets severely injured on the job, and throughout her time in and out of consciousness, she recalls the memories that she's shared with Adam throughout the years

Requested: No

Warnings: slight swearing, mentions of getting shot

Word Count: 1,718 Words

One minute, I was fine. The next, I was on the ground, clutching at my shirt which was stained dark red with blood. It wasn't supposed to go down like this. It was a simple exchange, money for drugs, but everything went sideways when a patrol car intercepted the meeting. That was especially bad news for Adam and I seeing as neither of us had on bullet proof vests.

"Y/N!" Adam shouted and hooked his arms under my armpits before dragging me behind our car. Gunfire echoed around us, but the only thing I was trying to focus on was Adam. "5021 Ida. I need an ambo to the south block of Union. We're in the abandoned lot near the factories. My partner's been shot."

"Copy that 5021 Ida. An ambulance is 3 minutes out," the dispatcher replied.

"Adam," I murmur.

"No, Y/N, don't talk," Adam ordered and pressed his hands onto my wound, which caused me to wince. "Save your strength. Everything's gonna be okay."

"I've been shot in the stomach and I'm lying in a pool of blood," I whisper and clutch Adam's arm. "It's not cool to lie to me when I'm dying."

"Hey, you are not going to die on me. Not here, not now, now ever," Adam said. I nodded as my vision started to blur slightly, and I began to lose my strength. My grip on Adam's forearm loosened and my hand fell slack to the side, hitting the rocky gravel pavement. I could feel my conscious fading away, and it took everything in my power to keep my eyes the slightest bit open. Adam noticed my sudden silence, and when he realized that my eyes were staring to close, his face was flooded with worry. "Keep your eyes open, darling. The ambulance is almost here. You can do it."

I wanted to be strong for Adam, but it was getting hard to stay awake. My brain was begging me to close my eyes and get some rest, and I fought the urge to lose consciousness for as long as I could, but that didn't last forever. I felt my eyes flutter shut, the last thing I saw being Adam's distressed face. It was weird though, being unconscious. Everything was black, and there was no light in sight. That's when the black disappeared though, and suddenly, I was reliving the time Adam and I first met.

Flashback

"Here are the papers you requested Trudy. All 26 of them," I declare and place the stack of papers on the front desk.

"I'm impressed," Trudy confessed. "I didn't think you'd get it done in time."

"Hey, we may be short in the bullpen, but that doesn't mean I can't get my own work done quickly," I say.

"Speaking of being short on people, Al's brining in the new recruit now," Trudy spoke and nodded behind me. I turned around just as Al bounded up the front steps with our new rookie trailing a few steps behind him.

"Hey, Al," I greet my co-worker. "Who's this?"

"Y/N, this is Adam Ruzek. He's going to be our newest team member. And Adam, this is Y/N L/N," Al introduced. "She's one of the members of Intelligence."

"It's nice to meet you," Adam admitted.

"Yeah. You too," I reply.

"So, are you gonna be my partner?" Adam questioned.

I laughed softly. "Sorry, but I'm partnered up with Antonio. You're stuck with Al."

"Oh. Al was telling me about you on the ride over so I just figured..." Adam trailed off, a slight blush rising to his cheeks.

"He's cute. I like him," I tell Al.

Al chuckled. "I figured you would."

"Well, Adam, it was nice meeting you, but I've gotta get back upstairs and finish some more paperwork. Al, would you mind buzzing me up? My print hasn't been working lately," I explain.

"Sure. Ruzek, I need you to stay here and fill out some paperwork with Sergeant Platt. She can let you up when you're done," Al said.

"Got it. Again, it was nice meeting you, Y/N," Adam voiced.

Flashback Ends

When I slightly regained consciousness, my eyes cracked open the tiniest bit, just enough for me to know that I was in an ambulance. I could hear the sirens echoing on the street outside and feel the bounce of the wheels as they drove on the concrete road. I could also feel Adam squeezing my hand as a paramedic tended to my wound. But all of that disappeared in a matter of seconds as I slipped away for the second time that afternoon. This time, I was brought back to our first kiss.

Flashback

"No way! That never happened," I object and laugh.

"Yes it did. I swear. My dad walked in on me and my girlfriend at the time making out," Adam claimed.

"That must've been so embarrassing. I would've hid from my parents for a month if that happened to me," I say.

"Yeah, well, I was a teenager, and they provided me food and shelter, so I couldn't exactly avoid them," Adam joked.

"Well, this is me," I murmur and gesture to the apartment building a few yards up. Adam nodded and pulled to the curb, parking his car to let me out. Just before I could exit the car, Adam stopped me.

"Let me walk you up," Adam spoke and climbed out of the car. I shook my head, a small smile playing on my lips, and exited the car. I slung my purse over my shoulder and joined Adam on the sidewalk, and together, the two of us walked up the stairs of my apartment complex and stopped at the front door.

"I had fun tonight," I confess and turn to face Adam. "We should do this again sometime."

Adam nodded. "Definitely. But uh, before I go, there's one more thing I have to do." And with that, Adam leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled against his lips and moved my hands up to cup his cheeks, which caused him to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me closer. I could taste the faintest bit of beer on his lips, and it went surprisingly well with the wine flavor that was still occupying my tongue. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, and I was a bit upset when we pulled away from each other. "I couldn't leave without giving you a goodnight kiss," Adam admitted. "Goodnight, Y/N."

"Night, Adam," I reply.

Flashback Ends

This time, when I came to, I was being wheeled into the ER at Chicago Med. I had an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth to help me breathe, but that didn't help much with my labored breathing. Through my squinted eyes, I could make out a few people hovering above me, but I couldn't seem to hear what they were saying. Along with Adam and the paramedics, I saw Dr. Rhodes, who was wheeling my stretcher in the direction of the elevators. I didn't stay conscious for long, and when I drifted off, I was seeing another memory.

Flashback

"Y/N, can we just talk? Please," Adam pleaded. I ignored his pleas from where I was seated on the floor against the bathroom door, and leaned my head back against the wood. Tears fell from my eyes and slid down my cheeks, but I didn't even bother wiping them away. "Y/N? Come on. Let me in."

"I don't want to talk to you right now," I murmur.

"Y/N I..." Adam trailed off for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, okay? I know that it was reckless of me to jump in front of that bullet but-"

"You could've been killed, Adam," I interject.

"But I wasn't," Adam countered. "And I'm not even hurt. The vest stopped the bullet. I'm okay."

"I get that, but what if you weren't?" I propose. "What if the vest didn't protect you? What if you had been seriously hurt? I can't live without you, Adam."

Adam sighed from where he was standing on the other side of the door. "You will never have to live without me. I'm never gonna leave you, Y/N. I love you so much."

My breath got caught in my throat at Adam's words. We had never said 'I love you' to each other before. I sniffled and stood up, using the back of my hand to wipe away the tears that had remained on my cheeks, and then I opened the door. Adam was standing a few feet away from the door, and he looked up when I exited the bathroom. I took a few steps forward and hugged him tightly, burying my face into his shoulder.

"I love you too," I breathe out.

Flashback End

My eyes opened slowly, and I cringed at the brightness of the room, closing my eyes again. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes again, blinking a few times to get used to the light. A small groan slipped past my lips as I tried to move to a more comfortable position, and that alerted Adam, who was sleeping in a chair next to my bed, that I was awake. He rubbed his eyes and sat up straighter, his hand automatically gravitating to mine.

"Hey," Adam muttered, his voice laced with sleepiness. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I hurt everywhere," I reply. "But I think I'll be okay."

"You uh, you had me worried for a bit," Adam confessed and squeezed my hand softly.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon," I admit. "But I do plan on taking every measure to make sure I don't get shot ever again. It hurts like hell."

Adam chuckled. "I will do everything in my power to keep you out of harm's way."

"You know what else you can do? Get me a cup of Jell-O from the cafeteria," I tell him.

"Deal," Adam said and stood up. "But I'm also gonna grab Dr. Rhodes on my way back so that he can check up on you."

"You're the best boyfriend ever," I exclaim. "I love you."

"I love you too," Adam responded and leaned down to peck my lips.

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

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13​ @anotherfan07

[seeker-of-stories19]

Found this article about things Ian did wrong in Shameless and I’m not saying he’s perfect but this didn’t even make sense so I’m fixing it. (Part 1)

20/20

Okay so you’re saying it’s messed up that a fifteen year old was sleeping with his married boss? No it’s messed up that a married adult man is having sex with his fifteen year old employee, consensual or not he’s the adult in the situation. Also Ian did think it was wrong and opted out of their weekend together when he was presented with the presence of Kash’s family life. And I’d like to just add that while this was a bad decision He didn’t exactly have many options as far as expressing his sexuality, throughout the show it is clear that the southside isn’t exactly excepting.

19/20

Seriously? You’re not obligated to come out to someone just because you care about each other, sexual and romantic preferences are personal to some people and it’s not something you’re required to share. Not to mention there are plenty of reasons Ian may not have come out to his family, maybe he was scared or maybe he wasn’t ready but that’s his decision it has nothing to do with Lip.

18/20

Mandy reacted well because she’s a good person and she wanted her best friend and her brother, two people she cares about, to be happy. That doesn’t seem weird to me? I mean really it’s not her job to dictate who either of them can date and she doesn’t which is a sign that they have a genuine friendship. Not to mention Ian didn’t tell her because Mickey wanted it to be private which again is his decision.

17/20

First of all I don’t think Ian was indecisive I think it was awkward to tell your gay boss you’ve been sleeping with that you’re not interested in a relationship while he’s trying to impregnate his wife. Also one again Ian is being blamed for something that could be better pinned on either other character, Mickey shouldn’t have antagonized Kash and Kash obviously shouldn’t have shot Mickey because he was jealous (it’s not like he could’ve thought they’d be together forever.) Finally Ian really wouldn’t have helped either of them by going to the cops. Kash was engaging in an illegal affair with a teenager and Mickey probably would have been killed by his father who is a known homophobe if the truth got out.

16/20

Yeah an insane homophobic ex con thinks you got his daughter pregnant when you’re actually sleeping with his son and he was the one who impregnated his own daughter, why would you try to protect the people you care about and save your own life? Also Mandy and Mickey would be pretty relieved that their dad was locked up a while longer.

15/20

Why would Ian tell Jimmy? It’s not like they’re incredibly close and as far as the fact that Ned is married he shouldn’t be dating a teenager. Now I’m not saying this was rational or ethical behavior but I do think that Ian behaves in some questionable ways romantically throughout the beginning of the series but he never had a good role model in this department and he’s really just a kid who makes some stupid decisions and figures it out later on. Finally I’d like to point out that Ian had never had the opportunity to be in a relationship where the other person isn’t ashamed or afraid of being with him and he even confirms that this is why he’s with Ned when Mickey asks, which in my opinion is more sad than anything else.

14/20

He didn’t get tired of waiting to enlist he watched his boyfriend get raped by a Russian prostitute while they were both held at gunpoint and then watched him as he was forced to marry her since she was pregnant with his child. As for the rest of it, being bipolar is hardly something you could blame on Ian.

13/20

Seriously? For starters they didn’t know he was bipolar because he wasn’t there and they weren’t looking for him, even later in the season no one other than Mickey expressed more than basic concern over his behavior. I’d also like to point out that he’s spent his entire childhood watching Monica struggle with this disease. He knows what it does to people so of course he wouldn’t except it instantly. Even under normal circumstances denial in these type of life changing circumstances is normal. As for the rest of it he did care about his family enough to take his meds even though they made him feel so horrible he eventually stopped. And his relationship with Mickey was so sex based for so long that not being able to perform sexually only made him feel more insecure about a disease that he’s already watched ruin his family’s life. As a bonus I’d just like to throw in that all these criticisms are based on the effects of a mental illness he has no control over.

12/20

One again this behavior was caused by a mental illness he didn’t have any control over, and as hard as it was to watch Mickey be so heartbroken they persevered like they always do. Also, you can understand why Ian would feel babied or crazy by Mickey’s sudden careful and loving behavior, he’s not in the right mindset to accept the genuine change in his long time partner as anything other than a response to his bipolar disorder.

11/20

Honestly I’m getting sick of making the same point over and over again. He’s mentally ill, he isn’t thinking clearly, he’s afraid and in denial, and he doesn’t have control over any of it. Seriously the judgement against him for having a mental disease in this article is infuriating. Not to mention the fact that both Ian and Yevgeny are alright which I count as a win considering the circumstances.

Hopefully you enjoyed this or at least found it interesting even if you didn’t agree on the whole thing. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts as I put a lot of time into thinking about these points. Part 2 will be posted soon and will be a continuation of this because I hit the 10 image max. I obviously don’t own the article and it is posted at the bottom to give full credit to the writer. I only own my opinions.

Part 1/2

[ace-din-djarin]

*peaks over counter* could I possibly have....some Luke whump with Din being protective? *Ducks back under counter*

@ameliajessicawilliamspond

Hi!! Sorry for the delay... I hope this fill meets your expectations!! It's so fun to write Luke whump, tbh. Poor bby. I went a little nuts with it, like always...

-------

When they finally found themselves cornered, Grogu cowering in Din’s arms and Din weaponless, ready to defend the child to the death-- it wasn’t much of a choice for Luke to step forward and surrender himself, and let them take him. They descended on him like the birds on Tatooine that would wait for a creature to be close to death, and then swoop down for the kill. The troopers dragged him forward, away from Din and Grogu, and the last thing he saw before they hit him with a stunner was the look on Grogu’s face. The last thing he felt was Din’s fury and fear, roaring from him through the force like wildfire, before it cut off abruptly along with the rest of Luke’s awareness.

He had no way of knowing whether what they were doing to him was what they would have done to Grogu, or if they were devising new and even more cruel methods just for him. He found it didn’t matter much. If what they had planned for Grogu was even a sliver of what they did to him, it was worth it. Even if they hadn’t been planning to hurt or experiment on the child at all— and he doubted that— but even if they hadn’t, just keeping Grogu from feeling alone and scared, the way he had way back when Moff Gideon had kidnapped him and held him on that huge star destroyer, it was worth it. It was all worth Luke’s sacrifice.

The cruel med droids, stripped of all personality and wielding scalpels and hypos full of unknown substances; the cold-eyed officers and scientists who wouldn’t come near unless Luke was trussed up, force suppression cuffs on his wrists and a double dose of suppressant drugs burning in his veins; the troopers who stood, silent and unmoving, at the door to his cell, two inside and two out, watching him, never giving him a moment alone, even when he screamed and retched and shook… All of it was worth keeping Grogu safe. Keeping Din safe. Their family, their small clan, it was what mattered. Nothing else.

In the dark of the night, when he lay on the cold durasteel bench of his cell under the eyes of two stormtroopers, blasters held across their chests in warning, Luke felt that perhaps this was penance as well as sacrifice. He stared at the troopers, the white of their armor gleaming dully in the dim lights overhead, and considered just how many of their brethren he had murdered. There were those who had been aboard the Death Star, of course — by far his worst, most heinous act — but there were also those who had fallen by his blade, or his blaster, or by Rebel plots he helped to fabricate. He reached out, in the small gaps of time when the suppressants started to wear off and circumnavigating the cuffs was bearable, and felt the troopers’ small threads of light brush against his mind, considering just how many other threads he had snipped. Surely enough to weave hundreds of miles of fabric, within the Force. So many beings— and in the Force, it did not matter their affiliation or creed, they lived just the same— whose lives he had cut short.

The officers who presided over the scientists’ experiments definitely knew who Luke was. They watched with stiff shoulders, with hands fisted in rage... but they hesitated, and they didn’t look him in the eye. Din had told Luke about Gideon, how he had tried to kill himself when he realized Luke was there on his star destroyer, and he supposed these officers viewed him in much the same way. A power both feared and respected, something strange and monstrous, a dark cloaked figure that flitted through Imperial nightmares. A truly fitting form for Darth Vader’s son.

Time passed in hazy, half-acknowledged spurts. The artificial light of the cruiser’s cell block never shut off, and the trooper’s schedules seemed to be random; he watched them with as much awareness as he could muster, but never seemed to be able to latch on to a system that would tell him how long each day was. Even their experiments and interrogation seemed to be done at random intervals. Sometimes he would go what felt like days with only the two troopers for company, and at others he was shaken awake in the middle of sleep and dragged off hours after their last session.

It was during one of these sessions-- woozy from drugs, from lack of sleep and food, from the constant blank nothingness the cuffs forced on him-- that something changed. Luke was strapped to a table, doing his best to ignore the scientist speaking into a voice recorder by his side, not thinking about what they were planning, when the room shook violently around them, his stomach rolling with the movement.

The officer standing at Luke’s head looked up, frowning. “What…?”

He was cut off by another shudder and a distant boom that reverberated down the cold steel hallways outside their room. The officer’s eyes, from what Luke could see, were wide-- he was worried.

“Keep going,” he snapped at the scientist, and stalked out of Luke’s view. He heard the door whoosh open and closed again, and they were alone.

Luke had long since stopped trying to fight the straps that held him down, but now he couldn’t help but thrash against them and hope that somehow they were looser today than usual, somehow he could pull himself free…

“Stop that!” the scientist snapped, even as the room shook yet again and a tool rolled off his tray of instruments and clattered to the ground. He lacked the fear that the officer had shown; he was brutally efficient, continuing to measure out a hypo full of an unknown substance, holding it up to the light with calm, unconcerned eyes. He grasped Luke’s arm and injected the hypo as the sounds of explosions outside got closer, and the sound of booted feet running on durasteel echoed louder and louder down the hallway. He turned and looked Luke in the eye, as he had never done before, just as whatever he had injected started to burn.

“You killed so many, Skywalker.” He said, still calm and collected, but now with eyes that shone with fury, “It’s only fair, don’t you think, that we get to strike back?”

Fire was in his veins, under his skin, burning him from the inside out.

Luke screamed.

______

The scream that echoed down the hall froze Din in his tracks.

He felt, rather than heard, Leia stumble to a stop behind him. He could hear only that scream-- unending, agonized, and horrifically familiar. It sent ice down his spine and through his heart, and he felt himself running again before he really realized it, sprinting flat out towards that voice, Leia on his heels.

He skidded a bit when the ship shook with another explosion-- Boba, Fennec, and Axe were having a bit too much fun with the explosives, but as long as Bo-Katan and Koska were still able to keep the ship flying, Din couldn’t find it in himself to care much. The door opened with a quick blaster shot to the keypad, and he and Leia ran in and stumbled to a stop as one. Horror welled up in his throat.

Luke was strapped down to a table, thick bands around his forehead, arms, and legs, and his hands were bound in front of him in what looked like force-suppression cuffs. He was screaming, thrashing against his bonds, eyes open and tracking some unseen terror. A man stood over him, arms crossed and an expression of sick satisfaction on his face as he watched Luke writhe. He turned to face Din and Leia with no sign of fear.

Leia raised her blaster and stepped forward, face twisted in a snarl. “What have you done to him?”

The man-- a scientist, judging by his clothing and the room, which held instruments and tools that turned Din’s stomach to contemplate-- looked at Leia with cool, calm eyes.

“Only what he deserved.” Behind him, Luke gasped something that may have been a “No!”

Din snarled and before Leia could react, lunged towards the man and punched him full in the face. He howled, hands flying to his nose, and Din hit him again, and again, until he sagged in his grip, unconscious, and Din dropped him to the floor. He stepped over him and reached out to cup Luke’s face in his hands, watching him breathe through clenched teeth, whines and moans of pain slipping through. He didn’t seem to see Din, but he seemed to register something; he turned his face towards where Din stood, even as his eyes rolled in their sockets.

“He shot him with something-- it’s probably causing him pain,” Leia said, holding up a spent hypo-syringe, face grim. “I’ll see if I can find what this was; maybe we can figure out how to help it.”

She turned towards a cabinet along the wall that held all sorts of horrible things, chemicals and liquids that seemed distinctly menacing. Din looked down at the cuffs around Luke’s wrists. It was so wrong, seeing him cuffed and bound like this, and he couldn’t stand it. He pulled the Darksaber from his belt and thumbed the activator.

Leia whirled at the sound of the blade extending, and barked “Wait!” just a second too late-- the Darksaber cut the connection between the cuffs, and a wave of energy exploded outward. Din dropped.

There was a presence all around him… slimy, oily, uncomfortable darkness, brushing up against him, making him shudder even as he walked calmly next to a hulk of a man in black armor…. Rage filled his thoughts as he struck out with his blade, struck the figure that taunted him, that threatened his sister…. His blade sliced through his father’s wrist, a mirror of his own maiming…. He tossed his saber aside, facing the Emperor, watching rage twist that horrible white mask of a face…. And then, pain, everywhere, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but writhe underneath it, couldn’t get away…. And his father looked on, watched as he died….

Din gasped as he was wrenched out of the vision, sitting up from where he had fallen onto the floor, staring up at Leia, who was slumped slightly over Luke, hands on his wrists. When Din pulled himself to standing, he saw that she had managed to get another pair of cuffs around them. She seemed to sense his disapproval, and shook her head, eyes never leaving Luke’s face.

“He’s too out of it to shield, right now, and he’s too powerful to have the cuffs off while he’s unaware. I’m guessing you saw what I saw?”

Din nodded slowly, and she sighed, reaching out to brush trembling fingers across Luke’s cheek, doing nothing to smooth out the agonized expression he still wore.

“He’s told you about our… our father? About the Emperor?”

“That--” Din’s voice cracked, and he tried again. “That was a memory.”

“I believe so. I wasn’t there-- I was leading the fight on Endor with Han and Chewie. But he told me afterwards. And I would know Palpatine’s face anywhere.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked back up, steel in the set of her jaw. “Let’s get him out of here.”

They made quick works of the straps, and it was worryingly easy to lift Luke into his arms. He still struggled against whatever he saw and whatever he felt, but Din held him fast to his chest as they hurried back down the shining steel hallway and towards where they had entered. He could hear the sounds of blaster fire as they got closer, and Leia moved to block the two of them, blaster in hand. Din shifted Luke in his arms, tucking him a little closer so that he could reach his vambrace, and primed his whistling birds. He sent a quick, silent prayer of thanks to the Manda that he had found the Armorer again as he felt them rise and click into place.

They hurtled around the corner, Leia already firing at a stormtrooper who was grappling with Boba, and he whirled around as the trooper dropped. Din’s whistling birds flew, and five other troopers around the room-- one about to slam Axe into the ground, another huddled around a corner taking shots at Fennec-- fell with howls of pain.

“Djarin! Princess! You found him?”

Boba seemed to notice Luke writhing in Din’s arms as he said it, and he cursed even as he ducked a shot from another trooper. “Get him to the ship! We’re nearly done here. I’ll comm Kryze, we’ll meet you there.”

He clapped Din on the shoulder as he passed, and Din nodded his thanks, hurrying after Leia.

The Falcon was waiting for them, and Din quickly laid Luke on one of the tiny bunks, stuffing a blanket along the edge of the wall so that Luke, if he thrashed too much, wouldn’t hurt himself.

Leia slid down the wall opposite, coming to rest with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

“I’m never letting him out of my sight again,” she groused, looking up at Din through her hands, flinching when Luke groaned again. Her eyes were so weary, it hurt Din to look at them. He looked down at Luke from where he sat at the edge of the bed, and brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes, watching him flinch and gasp.

“I… he told me about the Emperor, and what happened on the second Death Star. But I never guessed it was that bad... “ Leia trailed off. They sat together for a few long minutes, the only thing filling the silence of the ship the sound of Luke’s pain. He seemed to be tiring-- he hadn’t screamed for a while now, and his thrashing had quieted some. Din prayed that it was just the drugs wearing off, and not exhaustion forcing him under.

“I’m going to go get ready to take off as soon as the rest of them are back,” Leia said, rising to her feet and brushing soft fingers across Luke’s cheek once more. Din felt himself slumping a little as she left, closing the door behind her, and he reached up and released the seals on his helmet.

“You’ll be okay,” he whispered to Luke. He gathered Luke into his arms and kissed his forehead, ready to wait out the rest of this nightmare along with him.

————

Now with part two here!

[germvity]

RISES THE MOON

leon s kennedy x reader // 2 // the home away from home

leon regenerated before you, and he started looking for you in the tree line. eventually catching sight of you, the two of you made eye contact, but you didn't come to the campsite. instead, you ran off in another direction, and leon had to follow you into the fog.

genre: angst, attempted fluff

tags: leon tries to help you, touch starved reader, cuddling, nightmares, jill may be ooc- idk how to write her in this situation tbh 😭

warnings: nightmares, ptsd themes, mentions of bullying, violence and death

---

leon peeked into the small shack you inhabited in the woods. you had decorated it how you like and was quite cozy. you seemed busy, digging through your belongings that you kept in a chest. gently, the blonde knocks on your doorframe and you jump with a gasp, spinning around to see your fellow survivor. "sorry, i didn't mean to scare you." leon smiles sheepishly. "did anyone see you?!" you ask desperately, worry filling your eyes. "no, they were busy at the campsite." the cop furrows his brows, shuffling from foot to foot. "can i come in?" leon asks, keeping his voice soft. "i guess.." you mumble, remembering how desperate he was to help you. "nice place." his comment makes you a little flustered, and you look away bashfully. "thanks." you reply, sitting back down and continuing to sort supplies into med-kits and toolboxes.

leon sits behind you and crosses his legs, watching you carefully, something that made you grow nervous. "you have so much stuff." the blonde chuckles, hoping to ease your anxiety. "yeah... i used to hoard stuff for the other survivors before everything went bad." you shrug, "i see. perhaps we could help each other then." leon smiles, grabbing one of your med-kits to help. you let out a soft oh, glancing at the blonde on your right to carefully watch him. "hm?" he looks back at you and you fluster more, looking away. leon laughs a little, continuing to organise the kit how you were doing it. "you don't have to be so shy. i don't understand what's going on here yet, but i can keep you safe." leon says softly, glancing over at you again as he zips up the med kit. your lack of response makes the man nervous, and he gently rests his hand on your arm, hating how you flinch.

"i'll keep you safe, no matter what happens here. i'll help you and anyone else if they need it." leon's smile stumps you and you feel like crying. "you shouldn't even be here... if they find us then god knows what they'll do.." you whisper, putting your supplies away. "if who finds you?" leon asks, rubbing your arm softly. "them! all of them... anyone out there." you shudder, pulling your arm away as you move away slightly. "hey.. no one will hurt you, okay? i'll keep you safe. it's my duty, you have my word." he smiles sadly, pulling you against his chest to hug you. your breath catches in your throat, and you tense up. "it's okay. i'm gonna keep you safe." leon assures you, coddling your much smaller, malnourished form against his chest. you whimper softly, tears welling up in your eyes as you try to wiggle away from his burning touch. "it's okay.." leon soothes you, his fingers wiping away any tears.

eventually, you relax, clinging to his police vest with a few soft sobs. "is it really this bad?" leon whispers, his heart hurting for you. "yes..!" you cry, letting him hold you tightly. "hey, i have an idea." leon admits, and you hum softly, wet face staring up at him. "i can be your bodyguard so to speak, and my friend jill can keep you safe if i'm ever away." he smiles, seemingly happy with his suggestion. "i don't want anyone else getting hurt though.." letting out a small breath, you let his calloused, warm hand rest on your cheek, wiping away any tears. "we'll keep you safe and we have professional training in self defence. you shouldn't worry your pretty head." leon smiles at you, and you can't help but circle your arms around his waist to hold him closer. "thank you..." you whisper over and over again, a mantra that makes leon feel saddened for you.

"get some rest, you look like you need it." leon hushes your grateful rambling, and you fall silent as you huddle impossibly closer yet your eyes glance up at him for confirmation. "go on, i'll be here when you wake up. i'll keep you safe." the blonde assures you, and moves with you so he could bundle you up in your actually comfy cot. when the cop goes to sit down somewhere else, you sit up suddenly and catch his wrist. "don't go..." you beg, trying to pull him back to you. "please... please don't go..!" leon acts quickly as your breathing picks up. "okay, okay. i'll sit with you instead of on the floor." the officer smiles, heading back towards your bed.

when leon sits down, you can't help but try to press yourself under his arm so he would cuddle you. laughing at your attempt to slip under his arm like a needy kitten, leon wraps his arm around you securely. "you don't need my permission for this, y'know?" leon smiles, finding cute how you warmed up to his affection, however he couldn't help but also worry at your naivety to any positive touches. the officer felt like he had to protect you from any harms way, that he should hide you from the horrors of this world. but alas, all of it was out of his control and that was infuriating. "get some sleep." you hear leon whisper as he pulls your half asleep form up onto his lap and cuddles you against his chest. only humming in response, you eventually drift off and leon lets out a small sigh. "i'll keep you safe. i have to... it's my job!" leon speaks, despite knowing you can't technically hear him. "i have to make sure nothing happens to you whether it kills me or not. you're too precious." the blonde continues to monologue, before his own tiredness from a days worth of trials starts to get to him and he drifts off as well.

leon's brows furrow at the small noises that wake him up. he raises his head, neck aching from slouching over in and resting his head on you subconsciously. "y/n..?" he mumbles, becoming more awake when he realises your discomfort. you shuffle in his lap, distressed noises still falling from your lips. "hey, hey hey! it's okay, it's alright." leon shakes your shoulder softly, trying to be gentle with you. "y/n!" he calls a bit louder, finally jerking you awake with a startled inhale. you yelp and fall away from him, scrambling back with a wild look in your upset eyes. "don't hurt me! please don't hurt me!" you beg, keeping your hazy, tear-filled, sleepy eyes locked onto the figure in front of you. "hey, it's just me! it's leon, remember?" leon responds with a soft voice, slowly approaching you as if you were a wild animal. "leon..?" you whimper, blinking a few times and realising that it was in fact the blonde who looked deathly worried.

the man stretches out his arms for you, and you quickly rush for his comfort. you almost knock the poor cop over as you wrap your arms around his torso tightly. "it's okay, i've got you." leon lets out a small breath, rubbing your back as you cry against his uniform. "make it go away..! just make it all stop!" you cry loudly, hands gripping the back of the bullet proof vest leon adorned. "you're safe with me, i promise." leon offers instead, and you continue to shake with each desperate sob. "you poor thing... i'm not going to let anything get you anymore." leon sounds more sure of himself as you slowly calm in his warm embrace.

"please don't leave me alone." you whimper, feeling tired from crying. "i'm not going anywhere, okay? i'll stay with you for as long as i can." the blonde smiled, his fingers coming up to gently brush over your damp cheek. "i'm making it my duty to protect you whilst we try to figure a way out, okay? i'll keep you safe." you let out a sigh at his words. "thank you..." you whisper and the blonde laughs. "you shouldn't be thanking me." leon smiles, raising your head by your chin with his forefinger and thumb so he could look at you properly. you can't help but glance at his lips as he smiles at you, the air becoming more thick woth tension.

"there you are! jesus what the hell's happening in here?" a new, female voice that you didn't recognise chimed in, and the two of you jumped away from each other. "jill! thank god, are you alright?" leon smiles at the woman, and you follow him when he gets up to greet her. "i'm fine. who's this?" jill smiles at you softly. the aura around her was strong yet oddly comforting to you. "this is y/n. i'm going to be protecting them." leon declares to his friend. jill rolls her eyes. "he has quite the hero complex, doesn't he?" she jokes, whispering loudly as if leon couldn't hear her. you don't really respond, shuffling behind your new friend. "jill..." leon sighs, "don't worry, she's also here to help." you look at leon with uncertainty, and he smiles at you.

"sorry, didn't mean to be overbearing. i don't really know what else to do right now as it seems you're quite stressed. i'm jill valentine." the pretty woman extends her hand for you to shake, but you fully hide behind leon at her gesture. "be careful, they show signs of ptsd." leon scolds, and you feel a sense of comfort wash over your heavy mind. "oh! sorry... i'm still yet to find out what's going on here." jill laughs sheepishly, retracting her hand. "y/n, it's okay. jill's trustworthy." leon soothes you by taking his hand in yours, slowly coaxing you out to greet the woman.

"hello." jill smiles, now keeping her actions and tone soft to ensure she won't scare you. "hi..." you mumble, grabbing leon's wrist with your other hand for any sense of security. leon smiles, and looks back at jill. "jeez, they've really warmed up to you, huh?" jill jokes, and you're quick to jump to leon's defence. "he helps me!" you snap, but shrink back once you realise your outburst. leon rubs the back of your hand with his thumb comfortingly, and you relax slightly, but not fully. "it's alright. i didn't mean anything by it." jill raises her hands in faux surrender. "sorry..." leon says for you, as you seemed to have regressed to silence. "it's completely fine. nothing i haven't seen or dealt with before. i've got thick skin." jill smiles at you, and you feel your lungs deflate with relief that she isn't mad at you.

"come sit down, jill. we'll explain." leon gestures to the cot as you rest your head on his bicep. "sure." jill shrugs, following the two of you in, and settling down on the other end of the makeshift bed. when leon sits with his back against the wall, you curl up into his side, still uncertain of jill's company as the blonde speaks to her about what he's gathered so far.

[skellebonez]

Because you are a fantastic writer, and because I simply adore what you write, how about a continuation to the "Wukong is once again being an idiot and lying to everyone" prompt? And this is an open prompt! You can take this and go absolutely bonkers with it!

THE POWER YOU HAVE GIVEN ME SHALL NOT GO UNDERUTILIZED. This is a follow up to these two previous fills and I am just going off about what I think would be an interesting way to continue into season 3 at this point.

Warning: UH... Sun Wukong is not doing too great. Mild descriptions of his hidden injuries, Wukong is still immortal but what he hid would be very bad for people who are not.

"He's burning up," Pigsy said with a hiss as he pulled his hand away from Wukong's forehead. "Why is he burning up? What even happened to him!? He didn't look like this an hours ago, ain't he immortal-"

"Yeah, but not invincible," MK interrupted with a shake in his voice, watching as Sandy checked on his mentor's newly revealed injuries. "Not entirely anymore. He-he'll probably be fine! No, he will be fine, but he's-shit." He took in a shaky breath, trying to stand on legs that had long since fallen asleep in their awkward position holding his mentor's head off the hard floor. "I'll explain later, we need to see how bad he is now!"

He jumped, feeling a soft touch against his shoulder. Mei had knelt beside him at some point and it wasn't until she reached over to brush her thumb against his cheek that he realized he had started crying at some point.

The chef looked at him with an odd expression at MK's revelations, almost looking like he wanted to say something in anger before shaking his head and standing instead.

"You're right," he said as he turned to Sandy. He didn't need to ask the largest of the group anything, watching as he carefully scooped the Monkey King into his arms and headed off into what they had designated as "the med bay" with Tang following close by. "But you're gonna tell us exactly what that you mean by 'not entirely invincible' on the way, no more of this waitin to talk business! And we're going to walk there calmly."

MK couldn't find it in himself to argue.

~

"Well, shit," Pigsy sighed after MK rushed through the conversation he had shared with his mentor, pinching the bridge of his snout with a sigh. "That's... bad. That explains a whole lot about a lot of stuff, like how he managed to get himself caught on New Years, at least... You're sure he's still immortal?"

"Yeah," MK nodded, leaning into the grip Mei had on his shoulder as they walked. "Yeah, he made it a point to insist he still couldn't die."

"That's... good, right?" Mei offered with a chuckle, her usual exuberance seeming shaken up after seeing the state of the immortal monkey. "That means he'll get better!"

They paused at the entrance to the med bay, really more a spare bedroom they had stocked all the medical supplies Sandy apparently hoarded into, and MK gulped. He thought over Wukong's words, trying to find any piece he could to pick it apart. See exactly what, if anything, may have been just more half truths... he didn't want to believe he was still hiding things, not after that display of dropping the glamor. But MK himself had claimed he would explain everything to the others before... and lied still... and he was more like Sun Wukong than he first realized.

"I-I think so," he finally settled on an answer as they walked in, Sandy's back being the first sight they were greeted with. He could see the bottom half of Wukong's legs and feet, and Tang standing on the opposite side of the bed, as they were doing... something. "He said I was half invincible so... maybe he's still half himself? But he said they'd 'probably heal eventually' so..."

"Maybe he just meant they wouldn't scar!" Mei offered with a smile, moving to grip MK's hand. "Come on... we can't stop thinking about the good outcomes now..."

He turned, looking at his best friend. Her smile was off, uncertain, dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. None of them had slept well the last two nights. But her eyes, despite the uncertainty they shared with her smile, were as bright and hopeful as ever.

"Yeah..." MK said with a small smile.

"As much as we'd appreciate the help," Tang said suddenly, moving from behind the bed to stand before them. He had removed his scarf and robe, something that looked bizarre and wrong outside of seeing him in his sleep wear, and instead wore a simple tank top and his regular pants. He had gloves on... already spotted in red. "This room is a little cramped with all five of us and a bed."

"I'll go make us food," Pigsy said immediately, laying a hand on MK's back as he addressed Tang. "We don't gotta eat it when it's finished it's just... gonna be ready for when you're done, ok?"

MK couldn't help but smile a bit. Pigsy didn't just make food and let it sit, not normally. The only other time he could ever remember him doing that was after... DBK. After they volunteered to help clean up the city from the damage his possession caused. He'd made pots and pots of noodles and soup and plates of side dishes and buns and just kept them warm for when anyone came by to eat them. He stayed in his shop, waiting and handing out what he could.

He never once complained about the excess from the last batches, offering them for free to the first few customers the next day if they wanted it.

"Thanks, Pigsy," Tang said with a tired smile. "I think everyone is going to appreciate that."

"I'll finish the ship upkeep Sandy and I were doing," Mei offered, smiling at Sandy when he looked over his shoulder. "I've got a pretty good handle on the specifics by now."

"I trust you," Sandy said with a smile, the first thing he had said the entire time he'd joined them in the kitchen, and turned back to what he was doing.

There was an awkward silence as Tang started grabbing supplies from a cabinet to deposit on a nearby table and Pigsy and Mei turned to MK.

"I'm staying," he said firmly, but nothing could hide the shaking in his hands. "Just... I have to know how bad he is."

"OK," Pigsy said, and they made their way out before Mei turned back inside.

"When he wakes up? Give him one of these for me," she said before making a face and leaving in the opposite direction.

There was just enough of a chuckle that escaped him that MK thought he would be able to do that.

"Are you sure you want to see this?" Tang asked, far softer in tone than he had been before. "Sandy and I were already taking stock of his injuries and... MK, they're not good."

"Yeah, I'm sure," he insisted, taking in a calming breath. "I need to know exactly how angry I need to be at him."

His father figure didn't laugh, but there was amusement in his eyes as he returned back to where he was. "Alright, then you're going to need to help by handing me everything I ask for."

They settled into silence after that, and MK watched and Tang and Sandy worked to check on the unconscious immortal in the bed.

They had stripped off his robe, leaving him only in the pants he wore underneath it. He looked... he looked much worse without it on.

In addition to his eye (which seemed to have been the only hidden injury to have already healed as much as it may have) and the tear in his ear (which seemed to have at least been partly treated by himself already) his torso was littered with little cuts and scrapes. Sandy had rolled up the legs on his pants, one remaining upright and MK could see the slight swell of his knee from some kind of internal injury (probably muscular). His tail and arms were also similarly injured, one nasty gash in particular close to the end of the tail that had gotten almost as much treatment as his ear.

But on his side... there was sloppy bandaging slowly growing redder.

"Sandy, help me get this off him," Tang said, holding out his hand. "Scissors, please."

MK jolted, getting what Tang requested from the pile of stuff, watching as he carefully cut away the wrapping.

Tang winced as he finally lifted the dressing from Wukong's side, but did his model best to look as impassive as possible. There was a sizeable gash on it, large enough that Tang's entire hand barely covered it lengthwise, that had poorly treated with the lopsided gauze and bandages (probably stolen from this very room after he allowed them to treat his visible injuries). Blood had seeped through it, all fresh, and it was most likely reopened upon his fall. It looked... wrong. Not the way it should. The fur around it had been either ripped out or had fallen out and the skin was inflamed and angry.

"... no wonder he's burning up, this is becoming infected," he said evenly, detected, leaning over to look at the supplies he took from the medicine cabinet. "Sandy, I'm going to need your help moving him. MK?" He turned to the young man, face softening as he saw how pale his face had gotten at the revelations before him. "MK, I heard what you were telling Mei and Pigsy earlier. Mei's probably right, he'll be ok. OK?"

MK wanted to believe he had been, he'd been so honest after he told him to stop lying, but... but he still couldn't help but worry his mentor was still hiding more. And he felt so guilty thinking that. But he shook his head, dispelling the thoughts in his head.

"OK... what do you need?"

"Let's start with antiseptic. We need to clean this as quickly as possible."

~

It took longer than MK had hoped. And Sun Wukong had only barely stirred the entire time. Whether it was from the infectious fever or from exhaustion from using his remaining powers while sick he didn't know, but the most of a reaction they got him from was a sharp gasp and a twitch while cleaning the worst of his wounds.

Aside from that... nothing. He remained still, even as Sandy moved him without any effort and guided Tang through the medical stuff he wasn't sure how to handle.

MK knew Tang had some first aid training but this was much more than he expected him to pull off... he supposed he was learning a lot.

After a while Tang didn't need Sandy's help to move him anymore and the massive man shot MK an apologetic look before leaving. MK assumed he had left to wash up, and he did, but he eventually returned completely cleaned up with a hot cup of tea. It was the same flavor as the one he never got to finish during his conversation earlier.

He ruffled MK's hair after the young man gratefully took it, making Wukong more comfortable on Tang's instruction and pulling the covers over everything but one arm before saying something about needing to give Mei some tea as well, before leaving the three of them alone again. MK thought that, maybe, the sight of the Monkey King as he was was somehow making him... uncomfortable. No, not uncomfortable.

Sad.

He didn't say anything.

"He looked... almost fine when he saved me..." MK said after a long sip of his tea and a long silence of watching Tang handle everything else on his own, trying to squeeze his cup. Just like when he had tried before, it stayed firm. "He wasn't hurt then, not by LBD, so... he'd been keeping up those illusions since before he came. How long was he hurt?"

"There isn't really a way for us to know," Tang admitted, wrapping the fresh gauze around the king's arm as carefully as he could manage. It wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't careful, Wukong didn’t stir a bit. "It could have been hours... could have been days. With how quickly his eye healed vs his gash it's hard to tell. But my guess would be hours, given when you... when..." He trailed off, a shudder running through him. "He was actively giving you his powers, yeah? Maybe... he was giving you some of his healing abilities. Or maybe something else hurt his eye long before everything else. We just don't know."

"I think that was from Macaque," MK said with a wince, knowing he was going to have to explain more about who Macaque was eventually. "He said LBD has him under her control and he has the same injury on the opposite eye."

Tang froze for a half a second, the shine of the overhead lights on his glasses keeping Mk from seeing just what kind of expression he had. But he simply nodded, finishing up his work.

"We'll just... have to hope he'll be able to give us some better information when he wakes up," Tang said with a shrug as he removed his gloves. "This is all probably a mystery even to him... I'm going to wash up... will you be alright alone?"

"Yeah."

That was a lie, but he felt at least this one was warranted.

Because even if he wouldn't be fine he didn't want to leave.

~

It was nearly 11 hours before Sun Wukong opened his eyes again, though he didn't realize that at the time.

The morning sunlight was just barely shining through the window to the med bay, and he wondered for a moment why one of his eyes seemed to ache at the light and a tear rolled down his cheek from the strain at trying to see.

Then he remembered that he couldn't see out of it anymore. And the conversation with MK. And... passing out. In the kitchen.

This was definitely not the kitchen floor, which was bad. What he was laying on was soft and had something else laying on top of him. Which meant he had been moved to a bed.

Which meant he had been unconscious for more than a minute, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

He tried to move his left arm to cover his eye, but found something... holding it down. And with a little effort he moved his head, looking over to the side.

MK was slouched over on a chair, nearly face down on the blanket that covered him and holding his hand. In his other hand there was a comic book of some kind, horribly bent by his own face.

He had dark circles, much darker than he had the night before, under his eyes and there was a dried wetness on his cheeks that made Wukong's chest hurt at the sight.

He'd messed up... again. He shouldn't have held up the illusion, not for that long. He should have let it fall the moment they hit the drone and been honest instead of insisting that he go on his new Journey to the West on his own. Or at least let it fall the next day, when they questioned why he was so tired. So quiet. Why he was so still and wasn't running around the ship like they expected (the pulled muscle in his knee, which he very much noticed was tightly compressed by either a sleeve or a wrap, being the main culprit along side... that injury).

He sighed, doing his best to remove his hand from his student's carefully before gently resting it on his head and ruffling the hair there.

"...'m sorry, MK," He said tiredly. "No more secrets, I promise."

"You better mean that promise you asshole."

Wukong yelped and jumped, yelping again when it sent a jolt of pain down his side. "YOu're AwAKe!?"

MK sat up, almost smiling at the way his mentor sounded but holding it back. "Yeah... I kinda passed out after a while, but I woke up like... an hour ago? I've just been trying to get as much rest as I can, even if I'm not actually sleeping."

"That's... good," Wukong said with a nod, the way MK described the time frame feeling familiar. "So you saw... everything?"

"Everything."

"Well, shit."

"That's exactly what Pigsy said when I told him what happened," Mk said with a chuckle, reading over to grab a packet of some kind and a glass of water. "Tang gave me very specific instructions to make you take all of this. Or else."

"Or else... what?" Wukong chanced, raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno, I always took the medicine he gives me with that threat so I never got to find out," MK shrugged. "Pigsy says it's not worth finding out."

"I'll take his word for it," Wukong said with a sigh. It was probably best to take whatever it was regardless of threats, he could feel his fever still and he did not want to keep having to fight that off. So he took the medicine, a mixture of pills and some kind of powder MK mixed into his drink that made it taste oddly way too sweet and sour at the same time, and sighed as he closed his eyes again for a moment.

They sat in silence for only a minute before he spoke again.

"Your friends... did all this?" He gestured to himself, reaching up to feel the odd dressing on his ear.

"Tang and Sandy did," MK explained, and went on to tell him what happened. How they treated him. How Pigsy had food waiting for him now that he was awake. How MK stayed by his side just in case.

"Oh, and Mei wanted me to give you this," MK said before pausing, glowering at him in a way that looked odd on his student's face but probably would have looked horrifying on Mei.

"Oh... I made her that mad huh?"

"I think everyone is kinda angry at you to some degree," MK admitted before holding his mentor's hand again. "But... mostly we were worried. You're my mentor, and a part of our little group now. That's what we do. Worry about each other."

Sun Wukong felt another tear slip out of his injured eye, but not from strain.

It had been so long since anyone... worried about him.

He didn't know how much he missed knowing he was cared about like that.

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Being Peter Parker’s Little Sister Would Include

Even as a young boy Peter knew to protect you with his life

He hated seeing you upset

So, he always made sure you were happy

Sure, he was the kind of brother that would tease you to no end

But he was also the kind who would hold you when you cried

He’d help you while you studied

Always gave you first pick

And he made sure you’d never feel a lack of love or acceptance

Him along with Uncle Ben and Aunt May made sure your childhood was a happy one

You were lucky enough to be so young that you don’t remember your parents

But you felt guilty for it

That you couldn’t remember the people who gave you life

So, you were always asking to hear stories about them

You and Ben would be curled up on the couch while he told you about your mother and father

You and May would bake and cook and clean together, always trying out new things and forcing the boys to eat it

Even though your life didn’t have such a good start

It was perfect

Until one day

A burglar broke into the house and held you at gun point, telling Ben he’d shoot you if they didn’t show him whatever was in the house

Your uncle Ben tried to reach for you but you heard a shot by your ear

Even though you shut your eyes you still saw the bullet hit Ben and felt his blood on your face and heard his body hit the ground

May and you saying your goodbyes to him, crying on the floor, covered in his blood

When Peter came home you were wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the edge of the ambulance where they were loading Uncle Ben

The next few days passing by in a blur

Crying in Peter’s arms while he tried to stay strong for you

One day after crying your heart out you managed to fall asleep in Peter’s bed

Seeing your face, he just broke down apologizing for doing this

You met Spiderman a few days after the funeral, at Uncle Ben’s grave

“I’m so sorry, if I had stopped the burglar before then this wouldn’t have happened to you. I promise I will find him and make him pay.”

“It was.... horrific. I saw it with my own eyes. That someone wouldn’t need to blink before taking someone’s life. That someone lacked so much humanity that they broke into a home and killed someone’s family. He’s a monster.”

“I’ll make him pay for what he did to your family.”

“If you kill somebody then you’re no better than he was. Don’t blame yourself, Spiderman, Uncle Ben wouldn’t have wanted it. Blame yourself for a very short time, but in turn, remember it forever. Don’t forget about him.”

“I promise.”

Just as Peter was about to leave, you spoke up again

“Uncle Ben always used to say that there wasn’t a point in becoming a new you if you forgot who you were.”

Suddenly Peter felt extremely nervous and sweaty and you turned to him with a small smile

“I’ll get my life together, I have my aunt and my brother, but I won’t forget who I used to be with Uncle Ben. You should do the same.”

He smiled awkwardly under the mask but you obviously didn’t see it before leaving without another word

You watched him shoot a web and swing away, chuckling

“Come back home safe tonight, Peter.”

Things get better after that

The man who killed Uncle Ben was caught and turned over to the police

And you begin to start paying attention to Peter’s alter ego

Being quick to accept his half-baked excuses and even giving better reasons to Aunt May

Sometimes you wonder just how stupid Peter thinks you are though because he expects you to believe these excuses of his

Always coming to the rescue when he forgets to do something because he was so busy

When he left Aunt May and you waiting at a restaurant for him, you conveniently remembered how he had a school project right when you saw Spiderman swing by the window, trying to catch a few criminals

When he forgot to bring Uncle Ben’s cake home, you picked it up saying that you took the reminder off his phone because you were planning to choose the best looking one

When you saw Harry waiting at the library for him, you told him that Peter got sick so he went home early

Keeping the first aid kit always stocked should Peter need anything

Teaching him to sew but telling him it was part of a home ec exercise so he could learn how to stitch up his own suit

Always silently looking after Peter

Whenever the three of you see a news report about him and Aunt May says that he’s awesome

You chuckling and saying

“Behind every amazing man there’s an equally amazing woman.”

Peter totally agreeing and then being nice to the two of you for the rest of the day

Things take a turn however when an Osborn gone crazy trying to get his hands on Peter finally turned his head to see you

And in his twisted goblin brain, he finally gets an idea

Peter’s DNA is too difficult to get his hands on because he has super powers and has been mutated because of the spider bite

But yours?

Blank slate free for him to manipulate

And you couldn’t fight back

It was all too easy to pluck you right out of their hands and bring you to his lair

Peter goes crazy trying to find you

Begging Nick, nearly in tears to help him find you

And Nick is actually kind of worried because he’s never seen Peter this way

Dispatches as many troops as he can afford trying to look for you

And as per Spiderman’s daily routine, he begins blaming himself

If you got hurt because he wasn’t there to protect you again, he’d never forgive himself

When they find you, you’re in a stasis chamber, nearly dead

There were vials of blood all over the place, and you looked severely malnourished

Peter definitely cried when he saw you

The team trying to comfort him, trying to get him to eat something while you’re in the med bay but him not moving

Although one day they notice something weird

Your heart rate suddenly spiked for some reason and you began tensing and struggling in the bed

Peter tried to get you to relax and immediately called a doctor

When they tried injecting you with a tranquilizer however your body was covered with a blue slime before slamming the doctor against the wall

It wasn’t difficult to figure out

You had been infected by a symbiote

It wasn’t long after that you woke up

Peter and Aunt May cried when you opened your eyes

They told you that Spiderman and his team saved you and even though you wanted to meet the team something told you that Peter was reluctant to get back in the suit

So, you continued to pretend you had no idea of his alter ego

Even though regular coma patients have to go through physiotherapy to get back their physical strength

You never had to do anything of the sort

They S.H.I.E.LD. doctors assume it’s because of the symbiote

You noticed how closed off Peter became and one day sat him down

“What’s going on with you?”

“I don’t deserve to be in this family.”

“What?! How can you say that?!”

“All I do is bring bad luck and people end up getting hurt because of me!”

“It wasn’t your fault Peter. How could you have known that the Goblin would have taken me.”

“It is my fault. Because of me, Uncle Ben was killed and because of me, you could have been too. I bring misfortune to everyone I ever loved.”

You see the way his face falls and your heart breaks

To see him blame himself this way and hate himself

To see him questioning his identity

The reason he became Spiderman was to make sure no innocent ever got hurt but because he was Spiderman his baby sister nearly died

So, you gently took his hand in yours

“I already told you, didn’t I? Blame yourself for a short time. But remember it forever.”

His eyes widened, remembering what you told Spiderman nearly a year ago

“You knew?”

“I’ve always known. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you, Peter. You risk yourself every day to protect other people.”

“And I couldn’t even protect you.”

“I’m okay now. I know how you must feel but I hate seeing you like this. Uncle Ben would’ve hated it too. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m responsible for keeping my family safe.”

You didn’t know how to help him

You knew he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and that it was difficult to live a life like this

‘With great power comes great responsibility’

But sometimes things are out of your control

So, you don’t say anything else and just pull him into your arms

The way he did when Uncle Ben had passed

And gently rubbed his back

“I love you, bro.”

And he just breaks down in your arms, apologizing for everything and you just held him tight and trying to calm him down

And in the middle of his crying he managed to stutter out an ‘I love you too.’

And then the two of you become the Spider Siblings

Dance Parties on the ceiling and swinging around town in the morning because you both slept in and now you’re late

Swining races that he claims to let you win

Talking about life while hanging from the side of a building

Going to Uncle Ben’s grave to keep him updated and tell him not to worry because now there are 2 superheroes there to protect Aunt May

Him training you and being extra hard on you during training because he wants you to be better than him

But also becoming sugary sweet after training and offering to piggyback you home because you’re so tired

Will let you take naps in the corner of the training room while he trains

Hates it when you get along with Sam

Also gets super stressed out when you’re on the field and tries to double the amount of people he fights so you don’t have to

But he knows you can hold your own

And gets really proud when you do but won’t tell you

Always makes sure you’re eating well and sleeping well

Now if you ever brought a boy home you never know what to expect

Sometimes he just teases you to no end 

Or he completely freaks out and goes totally papa bear over you

In conclusion

Peter Parker as a big brother isn’t the type to be completely like a guardian

He has a lot of things going on in his life so he ends up relying on you a lot

But you wouldn’t trade him for the world

[thisaccisdead]

montreal - roman hurt/comfort

pairing: this was written to all be platonic prinxiety, but can definitely be interpreted romantically !

warnings: unconventional self harm, non-graphic descriptions of wounds/injury

summary: a post-POF roman hurt/comfort fic in january 2021? yes <3

word count: 3.2k

notes: large portions of this were salvaged from one (1) night last summer at 4am when i was having a . time. the rest has been mainly recently written before i go to bed, with some extra bits added during my history classes B)) also shout out to [REDACTED]. u may not read this but if u do, i hope u know who u are & ilu

Virgil had been trying to calm himself down for the better part of an hour, as soon as they got back from the wedding fiasco; and he was doing a relatively okay job. Considering the circumstances, at least. Or so he thought, when he registered a spike in Thomas’s anxiety. This only served to make Virgil more anxious, because he had thought he had been doing well—until, he realized it wasn’t anxiety, not exactly, not fully—and it wasn’t coming from him.

Once he'd figured that out, it wasn't hard to trace the feeling to the imagination. He paused at the door. If this was where the strongest negative emotions were coming from, he already knew which side this was about. And could he really be surprised? Roman had wanted that callback for so long. Even at the court case, even when Roman gave Thomas his sentence, Virgil knew it killed him. And Virgil didn't do anything. Because he was so fucking scared of Thomas being bad, or of Janus winning, or something, and now whatever was going on was his fault, and--

And now was not the time for these thoughts. He breathed in. He opened the door.

Immediately, he was coughing out soot, heat burned his cheeks, his eyes blurred with protective tears forming against the smoke. It was hard to see, let alone process, what was happening. Then, he caught sight of the Dragon Witch. And he caught sight of—

“Roman!” Virgil choked on the yell, coughing again.

Obviously Roman couldn’t hear him from the distance, especially considering the brutal roar of the creature. Adrenaline kicked in, and as Virgil began to sprint towards the prince, he took in the entirety of the scene with alarm. Roman was...fighting, sure, except that Virgil had seen him fight before, and this... wasn’t right. Roman bested manticore-chimeras like it was a breeze, he HAD bested the Dragon Witch herself in every form she took, “just for training.” He always moved like he was in a ballet, not a battle, like it was more for show than challenge, and now...

Virgil watched Roman fall to a hard swish of the creature’s tail, and stay there. He almost expected the Dragon Witch to take mercy, or at least, to accept an early victory. But he watched her rear back, raise a taloned hand, the magma-red in her throat glowing brighter and brighter—just as Virgil got close enough to let fight win over flight.

Virgil crashed into Roman; they rolled just far enough that the swipe of claws only ripped the edge of Virgil’s jacket.

Immediate danger out of the way, Virgil clenched his eyes tight, trying to do it how Logan taught him. He found something that didn’t make sense--the grass. The grass was dry, therefore it should have been burning, but it wasn’t. He took that foothold to dispel all the fantastical elements of the scene, Dragon Witch and all her carnage blinking from existence. The new calm of the scene was jarring.

That just left a great big field, Virgil, and one absolute dumbass.

"What the fuck, Princey?!"

Virgil’s voice was distorted with stress, and Roman stared up at him wide-eyed, unsure—even terrified in a way that hurt. Virgil quickly pushed himself up so he wasn't pinning the other. Roman tried to copy this movement, only to groan, start coughing, and fall back again.

“Shit, I—“ Virgil looked at his hands and found red on them, looked at Roman and saw the color painting his chest. “I thought I dispelled all the imaginary stuff, why—?“

“Left brain sides can only dispel so much of what right brain sides feel,” Roman said, voice rough and thin and upsettingly casual, “Since they feel so real to me, you can’t get rid of them.”

“They feel…? Christ, ok, you need a medical kit, uhm—“ Virgil closed his eyes again; he was notoriously shitty at summoning things, and he had to concentrate for this—

“That’s ok; I’ve got it,” Roman said, letting out a quiet hiss as he propped himself up on one arm, and summoned the medical kit with the other, “You can go now.”

Virgil gaped at him in disbelief. When Roman attempted to stand up, and Virgil could no longer deny he wasn’t joking, he exclaimed, “Like Hell am I going, idiot!”

Roman just stared at him, and Virgil cursed under his breath. “Ok ok, let’s just... we should do this in the bathroom, uhm—“

Virgil awkwardly clambered over to Roman again, taking his hand, so he could blink them over together. He knew it would probably be more comfortable for Roman to sink in and out, but considering Virgil wasn’t practiced at that, he wasn’t going to risk screwing it up.

They apparated into the bathtub, and Virgil scrambled up, taking the med kit from Roman's hands.

Ok, ok, now Virgil just had to remember that one time Logan lectured them all on “Side Safety.” He took a shaky breath and washed his hands quickly, before turning back to Roman. He allowed himself to fully assess the prince this time and… Jesus. He was slumped against the back of the tub, having given up his attempts at composure while he thought Virgil wasn’t looking. His litany of scrapes, cuts, bruising, his shallow breathing, and--most of all--the wet, red patch slowly growing on his shirt, sparked renewed panic in Virgil.

“Ok, fuck, ok--let’s do this,” Virgil said, mostly to himself, as he knelt down by Roman to undo his already tattered shirt and take a wet towel to his chest. He had to suck in a breath at the sight of the jagged wound, a nauseous feeling catching up to him.

“You’ve already done a lot, you know,” Roman insisted. “You can--”

“If you tell me to go, Princey, I swear I’ll make these wounds worse myself,” he said, not meaning it in the slightest, which he would assume Roman knew--but the way Roman flinched and shut his mouth told a different story. “Shit, I didn’t mean that. Of course I didn’t mean that!”

Roman glanced away, and Virgil reached to cup his cheek, an instinct he didn’t know he had. Luckily, he caught himself in time to retract his hand. They both avoided eye contact for a second; Virgil cleared his throat; and he reached for the bottle of hydrogen peroxide before pausing. He vaguely recalled Logan mentioning how strong alcohols would only cause more harm, and they should just stick to mild soap instead. He gave the cut a longer look-over—it was certainly not a pretty sight, but probably not as bad as it looked. It was large, but not too deep. Plus, as sides, it would heal itself without needing anything like stitches or professional medical work. The past scars littering Roman’s body were proof of that. Actually--had he always had this many scars? Virgil squinted. How often did he do this?

Virgil finished cleansing and bandaging the wound to the best of his ability, with little talk beyond the occasional, soft “sorry” at Roman’s winces. When he had finished, he gave Roman his hoodie (an action the Prince was too tired to take much notice of), since summoning a new shirt seemed like a waste of whatever energy he had left.

“Ok, Princey, all done. Uhm, are you—how, how are you?” Virgil mentally kicked himself.

A small, bitter smile tugged at Roman’s lips for just a moment. He opened his mouth and then closed it, and finally shrugged. “Thank you for your help.”

It hurt, Virgil realized. Roman’s quiet voice, where near-shouting was his usual speech. His unkempt hair sticking to his forehead, where it was usually styled to be very lightly and intentionally ruffled. The bags beneath his eyes where there was usually concealer. All of it hurt.

Virgil sucked in a breath. “Look, I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, but I hope you know there’s absolutely no way I’m leaving yet.”

“Virgil,” Roman almost said it as a whine, which was closer to his usual style, so Virgil considered it progress.

“Roman,” Virgil deadpanned back.

Roman huffed. “Maybe I need space to really explore my feelings, and you’re actually being a terrible friend right now,” he argued.

“Uh-huh, well being a terrible friend is always my favorite, so,” Virgil leaned down, fumbling slightly as he picked Roman up bridal style, “We’re gonna get you to bed, and you can explore your feelings by sleeping.”

“Great, now you’re damsel-in-distressing me,” Roman said sarcastically, but he leaned his head into Virgil’s chest as he did so, which kind of ruined his point.

“Yeah, yeah. Act more like Megara next time, and maybe it’ll be different.”

•••

Roman groaned upon waking up. His whole body ached, but mainly it was focused around a sharper pain in his chest. He let his eyes flutter open, only to find Virgil staring at him from his desk.

“Ah,” Roman uttered, a jumble of memories from the past few hours returning. They felt foggy and mildly icky, but mainly the pain in them was the numb kind of pain, the tired kind. Really, it was indistinguishable from the dull ache of his bruises and cuts.

“Yeah,” Virgil said, as though he understood, even though he couldn’t possibly. “Uh, wanna talk about it?”

It was clear Virgil felt awkward asking the question. It was unclear whether that was due to his tendency to be embarrassed by everything he said, or—far more likely—that he wanted to stop babying a stupid prince, and just go about his business.

Roman sat up, suppressing a wince as best he could. “Do you want to hear about it?”

“Of course I do.” Virgil said it without an ounce of hesitation. Roman’s breath caught.

“Oh.” Roman shifted slightly over, and Virgil took a seat by him on the bed. “Okay. Uhm. I don’t know, I just—I messed up.” What else was new?

“...What did you mess up?” Virgil asked, with an inkling of suspicion, like he knew what this was about. But it wasn’t that; it wasn’t the callback—that was over and done and dead. Roman had created so many fantasies, so many crazy scenarios where they could somehow still make it in that stupid movie, and it had always filled him with hope or crushing pain or something, but as of this afternoon? He didn’t even care. It didn’t matter.

So, Roman ignored the question, and instead commented, “Janus got accepted.”

“What the fuck.”

Roman observed Virgil’s stricken expression like an unsettling kind of mirror of himself when—

My name is Janus.

“Yeah,” Roman sighed, “I didn’t take it so well either.”

Virgil looked at him for a long moment, seeming to go through several series of emotions, before he was able to ask, “...What happened?”

Roman inhaled sharply. “I was wrong about being wrong about the wedding. Patton was also wrong; Janus was right, and then Patton was right because he wasn’t a total asshole to Janus, and I’m evil; Thomas hates me; whatever, you get it.”

He thought he would break down, saying it, but he felt oddly… fine. He sat, staring at the same spot as he was before, absentmindedly annoyed at the way his bandages itched. The normalcy of the situation almost made it worse. This sucked. This wasn’t even bad.This was the worst he had ever felt.

“Oook,” Virgil said, clearly not knowing where to start, “I—you—what do you mean: Thomas hates you?”

“Thought that one was self-explanatory.”

“He can’t hate you,” Virgil said with a laughable amount of conviction. “You’re still his… y’know.. goals. Desires. Hopes. Whatever. Just because this one didn’t go… perfectly, doesn’t mean you won’t keep—“ he struggled to find the phrasing for a moment— “...fighting, uh, valiantly for Thomas’s dreams!” he attempted at the encouragement with a weak smile.

Roman just shook his head. “No. I don’t know what he wants.”

Virgil’s smile dropped into confusion. “But… you are his wants.”

“That’s kind of the problem.”

Virgil seemed at a loss, and Roman felt like an asshole. Here he was trying to help him, and Roman couldn’t even be bothered to put on a smile to dismiss him from the duty.

“Please go,” Roman attempted weakly when he couldn’t find a more convincing argument in himself. He was meant to be an actor, but he knew he couldn’t hide the fact that he wanted him to stay, of course he did, so badly. He hoped Virgil would just quit with the chivalry and go despite that.

Virgil sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit, I'm going about this all wrong.”

Roman knew it probably wasn’t really him Virgil was mad at, but it was hard not to shrink away anyway.

“Look, Roman—“ Virgil turned to him, looked at him seriously, took his hands in his— “To be honest? I don’t care what happened. I don’t care who was right or wrong—I mean, we all know I’ve been in the wrong more than my fair share. It doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

Roman didn’t miss the ambiguity of the end statement. “But… look, you don’t get it. When you mess up, you’re still you. You’re still...,” Roman gestured vaguely, which upset his bandages, and when he looked down at himself, he took note of the black/purple hoodie he was wearing. He melted slightly. This was exactly the point he was trying to make, “You’re still... y’know. Important.”

“Wh—? Of course you’re important, Ro. You’re creativity—“

“Thomas has two of those.”

Virgil looked at him like he was stupid. “Right, as if you’re anything like Remus.”

Roman’s lip quivered at that, and he had to look away, which was so stupid. And suddenly he felt all of the embarrassment at once—of this situation, of everything that had happened before, of the way he was about to cry, in front of Virgil, after he said that, which must look so—

“Roman?”

A hand was on his cheek, softly turning his face towards Virgil’s, though Roman still refused to meet his eyes.

Virgil cursed to himself under his breath. “Shit, this is exactly what I was trying not to say.” He sighed, and Roman hesitantly looked up at him. “Look. Even if you weren’t creativity, if you weren’t hopes or dreams or any of it—if you were a completely pointless side, which you aren’t, but if you were—I wouldn’t care. What I care about is that you’re... Roman. That you bother me until I sing Disney with you, that when you put your heart into something, you do it to a stupid amount, that you make Thomas take trashy buzzfeed soulmate quizzes when he’s stressed, and that you fucking try so hard for everything, even when I’m being a little bitch about it,” he paused. With the hand on Roman’s cheek, he traced the line of a scar down his jaw. It was one of the ones Roman usually made sure to put an illusion over, he noted offhandedly. “I care, because you’re my best friend.”

“Don’t say that,” Roman choked out. He couldn’t handle it if it was a lie, and part of him couldn’t manage hearing it as anything but exactly that. “Just—just—“

“Oh, Princey..”

Virgil held him as he broke. Roman didn’t know how long they sat like that as he let everything wash over him for a final time, let it all truly sink in at long last. He took heaving, messy sobs, no doubt ruining Virgil’s shirt in the process—he was quiet, though. He shook silently, save a couple choked breaths, in the other’s arms--that was a habit he had taught himself long ago.

When Roman had tired himself out, when all that was left was the pain in chest, (which was also suddenly duller—he was healing fast, even for a side—) he pulled back from the embrace. Virgil didn’t move by much, kept them so their fingers were laced together, as they sat staring at each other.

“Uhm. Thanks,” Roman gave a shaky smile, “You really—uh... I... I said some stupid stuff, huh?”

Virgil hesitated before he spoke, as if he knew he shouldn’t ask this right now, but needed to anyway. “...Roman, why’d you go to the Imagination?”

Roman felt ice stab at his chest upon the question. He didn’t want to do this. They had already talked about so much that he shouldn’t have gotten into; this was meant to be the part where they either parted or watched a stupid movie. And this, out of everything, was the conversation he most needed to avoid.

“Uh—I mean, to let off steam?” Roman gave a laugh as best he could. “Obviously, it didn’t go to plan—“

“Didn’t it?”

Roman’s face fell immediately. He struggled to come up with an answer, and even if he had had one, he didn’t think the sound would come out. This was enough of an answer in itself

“Shit,” Virgil breathed. Roman couldn’t help but be mildly annoyed by his surprise—clearly he had already known, he didn’t have to make it a big deal now.

“I… Princey—Roman…” Virgil looked him up and down, and Roman wanted to curl up and hide. “...how many times?”

“Not many,” Roman mumbled. Virgil must have known he was pushing the subject too far, because he just frowned and said,

“OK. I mean...it’s not OK, obviously, but you already know that, I just—“ he sighed. “Just… can you talk to me? Instead? Please? When you feel like… that.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Roman responded hastily, wanting an out from this topic.

Virgil gave him a look. “I’m serious. I mean—look, you don’t even have to talk about it if you don’t want. Just, come to me first, yeah?”

Roman’s face burned; he was embarrassed; he wanted to shrug this whole thing off, or roll his eyes, or maybe scream in annoyance. But the rational part of him knew Virgil was right. “OK,” he agreed softly, “...Thanks. For everything.”

Virgil looked surprised, and then flustered, and then waved off the earnest reply. “I mean, it wasn’t--I didn’t--it’s not like I did anything really--”

“You did.”

Virgil’s face softened. “Yeah, well... you’d’ve done the same for me. You... have done the same for me.”

Roman smiled gently at him. “By the way, Virge--” He hesitated. He was about to sound like a real dumbass if Virgil had only been saying this stuff for comfort’s sake. But making a fool of himself was becoming a theme for him anyway, so he continued, “You’re my best friend too.”

I love you.

In the same beats Roman thought it, Virgil squeezed his hand lightly 3 times. A breath passed between them. An understanding. That Roman couldn’t say it out loud, and Virgil wouldn’t.

Instead, Virgil fell back across the bed, bringing Roman with him in the motion. Roman let out a startled gasp and elbowed him lightly. “Hey! I’m injured, that could have been a fatal impact for me!” he whined.

Virgil snorted. “Yeah, yeah, OK. So, do you wanna watch a stupid movie, or what?”

[unknownwriting]

Congrats on nearing the end of your school term 🎉 I still got a couple more weeks to go myself, haha… :')

May I request Thatch with a fem. s/o?

S/o overheard Blackbeard's plan to kill Thatch and tried to warn him about it, but Thatch just waved it off as her being paranoid, overly stressed or had a nightmare. Which is understandable given that he known Teach longer than he had known her. So s/o decided to play along with that she was just overthinking, and instead opt to keep an eye out on Teach. The night of the supposed incident, Thatch had his back turned to the approaching attack, unaware, until s/o leapt out from the shadows and took the hit for him. Thatch turned around just in time to see s/o fall to the ground, and standing not too far away was Teach, holding a bloodied blade. Having lost the much needed element of surprise, Teach stood with a growing look of nervousness.

What's Thatch going to do in this scenario? …with your knowledge that Teach is absolutely going to lose, and the plot won't head down the way it's supposed to. *cough* Marineford *cough*

Also, is it alright if I request for two alternate endings: one where s/o dies, and another where s/o barely made it through after a few days spent in critical condition and comatose?

♡ Summary- fem! s/o tries her best to stop the assassination of Thatch however she finds it doesn’t go how she plans

♡ Character- Thatch

♡ Warnings- angst, major character death, blood

♡ Damn, you really choose angst. Are you ok?? 😭 but hear me out of Thatch never dies then marineford never happens and that makes me happy :)) so I can so get behind this. Also this is longer than I thought but I hope you enjoy it 💕

Unedited

- you knew about the whole thing, the devil fruit they found, the plan that Teach had and just what he would do to get it. You knew about it all. And it scared you. It scared you so much. The fact that Teach’s greed is so strong that he would kill his crew mate, his family

- for a while you just kept it to yourself, although you heard about it you didn’t know much about it or the context behind it. And you didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so for a while you just kept it to yourself until you had solid proof. But that didn’t seem to work.

- as time went on, nightmares slowly began to appear. And they didn’t stop. It was almost every night you would wake up in cold sweat, gasping for air and at the verge of tears. You couldn’t even be in the same room as Teach you always had to leave. It’s just gotten to the point where you had to tell someone, anyone. So you thought it would be best to go to the one whose in the biggest danger: Thatch.

- you and Thatch have been dating for a while now, so thought that when you had told him what your over heard that he would take your word for you. You haven’t done anything to lose his trust the only part you really had to worry about was the fact that he had known Teach longer but you went to tell him anyways only to have you immediately shoo away the thought.

- you didn’t even get to explain yourself at all before Thatch had shot you down. He didn’t even take the time to listen to you anymore. When you tried to get him to at least listen, he just continued to push you away claiming you were paranoid, not sleeping well and that you just didn’t like Teach.

- At least you had you answer now: if you can’t tell your boyfriend then there’s no way you can tell anyone else and you figured that was gonna be the case. You were new to the crew so of course everyone was gonna take Teach’s side. He was there the longest. But now that you have your answer, it was up to you to protect Thatch and anyone else.

- of course you couldn’t do anything until you learned more about it, so you spent a few nights spying around trying to figure out what exactly Teach was planning. It took a while but luckily he had a big mouth and you were able to figure out when it would happen. And so you made sure to prepare.

- now during this whole thing, both you and Thatch had began to distance yourself from each other. And y’all had your reasons. You really weren’t to upset that he had called you paranoid or anything you just need time to prepare and collect your thought. but Thatch on the other hand was upset that you would accuse him family of something like that. So although the was still mad gonna take a few days and calm down before he confronted you.

- but when he decided too, it was already to late. On the night Teach was gonna attack and you ready. Thatch on the other hand was ready to confront you and ask you about your suspicion, but when he was making your way to your fav room on the ship, Teach was quick to spring into action. Attacking Thatch in one quick movement. However, you were quicker.

- you meant to just block his attack with one of your own, however with the weird way he was swinging it was hard to counter it. So instead of clashing swords, you ended up taking the stab right into your chest. Thatch finally learn that you were right, and as soon as he heard you fall to the floor his world had shattered. He didn’t even pay any mind to Teach, who stood there panicked and frustrated, Thatch just needed to make sure you were ok first.

1st ending- s/o dies

- the guilt had already began to consume Thatch as he saw you lay on the floor soaked in your own blood and barely breathing. He just felt empty. His love of his life was just laying on the floor

- Thatch just feel speechless. He couldn’t muster a word or even a grunt. The only thing he could do was fall to the ground and crawl over to you. His emotions were a mess, he wanted to scream and cry yet her couldn’t. He was to shocked to do anything. The only thing he could do instead of looking at his lover is look at the guilty: Blackbeard

- his whole world has crashing down around him as he placed his hand on his lovers slowing heartbeat. He couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t cry, scream or even react. You were dying and all because of Thatch’s stubbornness. The only time that he was able to react was when you reached your bloody hand up to his cheek, grabbing his attention, and giving a weak smile as if to say, ‘at least your safe’

- that’s when his ear piercing scream echoed through the ship. Now grabbing everyone’s attention but none of that matter. He didn’t care if the next island heard him, none of that matter anymore now that your dead. His lover was dead due to his stubbornness.

- after the others had come to get you and Thatch and arrest Blackbeard, Thatch can’t remember what happened much after that and it didn’t matter. With you gone everything was so different. Nothing felt the same anymore.

- it didn’t take long of Thatch to fall into a deep depression. He did just watch his lover die right in front of him and the one who killed her was someone he called family. It was all his fault and there’s no changing that. If he had just listen to you none of thing would’ve happen.

2nd Ending- s/o survives but is badly injured

- once you were stabbed it was a good thing you landed with a heavy impact bc that sound was able to alert some of the others that were up and near y’all at the time. Thatch on the other hand just froze, as soon as you crashed to the floor he followed in suit frozen. Luckily the others were quick to see what happen and quick to jump into action when they saw your body covered in blood.

- Marco the first to be informed about any of this, so he could began treating you right away. They all carried you to the med bay and began to do all they could to save you. And while they were doing all this Thatch just ended up following like a mindless robot. He was still in shock with it all. He was fully aware what was going on his mind just didn’t process.

- it wasn’t until Marco had approach him did Thatch had finally processed it all and within a span of 5 seconds he was on the floor crying, screaming, cursing at himself. He was blind, way to blind. He couldn’t even see that you were trying to save him. And all bc of that you were forced into a coma nobody knows when you’ll wake up from

- at least you were still alive and Blackbeard was captured. Although Thatch still hate how he can’t see your smile or hear your laugh or feel your warmth close to him, at least you were alive. And with the Thatch was with you every second of the day, not even looking away from you.

- As if to make up for his blindness, Thatch is there to take care of you when your unconscious. Although Thatch really hated this, he was happy that you ha saved him even when he pushed you away you cotuined to protect him. It just proves how lucky he is to have you and to show how much he appreciates you, he’ll sit here and say till you wake up. No matter how long it would take. At that Thatch has to do it wait, wait till he gets to see your smile and feel your love again.

[xchoco-mixturex]

Hcs of the dorks:

This may have some implied tenkuu shinpan spoilers just in case

Okay so we know already how he is in canonverse and he doesnt kill the bugs but traps them. Excepct cockroachs maybe cuz ew. At first he tried to capture it and free it outside....but it started flying and he killed it. Kuon was shocked. He apologized.

They have money = they can afford as many pets they (COUGHSYUUCOUGHS) want. If not they put a shelter. Kuon has to stop her bf from bringing strays at home. She suggested Yuu to fosters. He foster fails.

She got used to nap on his lap. He got used to that. So when she says she is sleepy and doesnt nap on his lap he is staring at her like a betrayed cat. "...?" "Oh i didnt wanted to bother your lap! Hehe! I should sleep on the bed" *BETRAYAL*

You know the teaser and shy dynamic? AT first Yuu teases (mostly on her height), Kuon shies out...Over the years it goes the other way arround.

He falls asleep after her. Always. Its 3 am and she is up? So is he. He doesnt fall asleep. He makes sure she is indeed there. (If you know you know *sips angst tea*)

She tends to snuggle against him, he is warm and he is huge, his hugs are comfy. When she does that, thanks to Yuris silly comment, Yuu imagines a koala. (A Ku-ala bear.)

Usually Yuu tended to compliment her using animals as examples. Rika told him that he is a hypocrite by calling him a nerd when he himself is one and calls his gf by pet names (LITERALLY). No worries he started using normal compliments

"The heck is this?" "Affection?" "...Do it again."

"Oh you will arrive late from work? Kuon dont worry is a kitchen whats the worst it can happen?" *is a tech kitchen* "...Honey im buying take-out--You want chinese food?"

Shebis cold? Jacket. No,no, he doesnt care if it is as big as a poncho, JACKET! She doesnt want her to be cold. More cold? He...embraces her with an arm--yes is an embrace not a hug-- no he doesnt care if it has been 5 years with her IT IS NOT A HUG (in public)

Softer side in private. Quite soft. He can open himself. And also be a more visible dork.

Have i said he is a cat? He is a cat. Can be independent from her he wont die but like that doesnt mean he is not affectionate.

Both have each others back. No he is not affraid to twist your arm if you try to harm her. He will do it...with no effort. Also she can ruin your life if you also hurt him-- she a fucking socialite.

FRIENDS NIIIGHT! "Lets tease them a bit, as his siblings...as a treat." //they get bonked.

He make sure she has the best memories he can provide her. He is not perfect, he knows that very well but makes sure she is happy. I mean, her smiled saved him. (If you know you know.)

Ah yes he discoved he has a crush last and he is a total mess trying to figure out whats next.

Naturally cool? Yes. Tries to be cool to impress crush? FUCKING FAILS. She finds it cute. He DOES NOT, HE CANT BE NOT COOL-!

Cat. One moment he is busy reading a book on the couch next to her, the next moment he flops on her lap.

Thats all for now

Busy in med school now. Byeee~♡

[whentherewerebicycles]

my scruffy girl 😭 with some fluffy legs for jamila

sleep update: I slept nine hours last night and feel a little groggy but otherwise pretty good. new sleep med continues to be amazing at helping me fall asleep quickly and naturally—I take it 45-60 min before bedtime and by the time bedtime rolls around I physically can’t keep my eyes open anymore and am dozing off reading. I’m not sure it’s the best at helping me sleep deeply through the night but I’ve figured out some strategies for helping with that… I leave the closet light on so the dogs can get on and off the bed without waking me and then I wear an eye mask so the light doesn’t bother me. not a perfect solution but far fewer nighttime sleep interruptions! I do sometimes get morning-after groggy hangovers so I may try halving the dose for a week to see if that helps. but idk man even if sleep isn’t perfect it’s such an incredible weight off my shoulders to know that I’ll be able to fall asleep without any problems every night. I don’t think I realized how much anxiety and dread I’d built up around lying down and spending hours trying to fall asleep!! so I’ll take it I can absolutely live with the parts that aren’t perfect.

mmkay might as well also do some health-related thinking aloud. I’ve really slipped back into some unhealthy eating habits the last six months or so (although still so much better than before 2019!!) and I’d like to do a bit of a reset there. I think I might start rereading how not to die as a plant-based refresher and then, huge sigh, I do think I need to set aside some time on sundays to do all of my meal prep for the week. I want to eat more vegetables and I want to start bulk-preparing rice and grains so it’s easy to make quick meals during the week. but I think to do that I need to actually sit down and do some research on easy vegetarian meals that can be thrown together quickly on weeknights. and I also need to invest in some good heavy duty Tupperware… I feel like I am constantly buying Tupperware and I have NO idea where it all disappears to??

and then exercise… I’m good about walking about an hour every day but I’ve totally stopped running or skating and I only bike very casually around my neighborhood. weirdly I think it’s easier for me to exercise in the summer because my walk leaves me sooo sweaty and gross that I have to shower again anyway, so it’s mentally easier to just be like well ok I’ll walk and then tack on a run or a skate. but I think I might again sit down and do some actual planning around how I want to scale up activity. I’d like to do it VERY gradually, like building in a 10 min run at the end of a walk or building in a 20 min bike ride once a week in the mornings or something. I might also explore ways to attach it to writing out of the house, which is another habit I’d like to build… like maybe I bike somewhere 15 min away, write on my phone or iPad for a while, and then bike home. and agh I know I need to start building in light strength training sigh I’ve been saying that for years but throwing my back out a couple months back really drove home for me how weak my core and upper body are. idk I just gotta think about it. my parents are super into Pilates these days so maybe that’s an option to explore.

bleurgh okay what does the day hold! it’s really nice out right now but will be kinda hot later, so this would be an ideal time to get up and do something outside. my spring break writing project is going okay… I think the concept is working but I’m definitely out of the new project honeymoon phase and into the frustrating ‘aghh why is writing SO HARD’ phase. mmm okay. I will scroll for 10 min, then get up to shower so I can’t just lie in bed all day. then I will WRITE OUTSIDE and maybe leave my phone somewhere so I’m not distracted by mindless scrolling.

[ray-ray-writings]

hi 👉👈 so uhm.. i was wondering if you could write something where the reader is dating wilbur and is really close to the rest of the sbi too and one day the reader gets sick and they just take care of the reader and tell them how much they mean to sbi and wilbur is just super protective since they are sick because .. i’m a sucker for fluff 😣

(I wrote this as a drabble and I really hope that was okay haha) 

TW: Vomiting and getting sick

Ever since you and Wilbur had begun dating, you had been a part of his family. Phil obviously loved you at the first meeting and adopted you. You were just so sweet and wanted to make a good impression so bad, the memory of you trying to help make dinner makes Phil smile and laugh to this day. Tommy was the next one to accept you, it took him a few more meetings but once you stood up for him when Wilbur called him an annoying brat by saying, “Oh he’s fine Wilbur, he’s not annoying. He’s just Tommy! Leave him be” Tommy loved you like another sibling. Techno took a bit longer than everyone just because he sometimes has a hard time warming up to people. He finally warms up to you once you ask him a question about Greek Mythology and you just listened intently while Techno rambled about it, even after he had already answered your question. The point of this rambling from me is that you are well loved in the SBI family, you spend a lot of time with Wilbur and his family, and the boys would do anything for you.

So one day, you come over to the Minecraft household to spend the night with your boyfriend and his family. You’re immediately welcomed by the sound of footsteps thundering from above with Tommy’s screaming to pair with it. You catch a glimpse of Phil in the kitchen and make your way there first. “Hello Phil,” You greet him, setting your bag down on a chair at the table before moving to hug him. Philza turns around from the counter and lets out a relieved sigh and smiles at the sight of you. He quickly wraps you in a warm hug, “Thank god you’re here” he breaths out causing you to laugh. “Wilbur and Tommy causing trouble?” Another loud scream from upstairs answers my question. “Something like that” he laughs out. “You want me to go stop it?” “Please” and so you two let go from the hug, you pick up your bag and make your way upstairs. The screaming of the boys only gets louder as you walk down the hall. Surprisingly, the arguing suddenly makes your head begin to hurt which is weird, because this has never happened before. But nevertheless, you push open Wilbur’s door with an eyebrow raised, “What’s going on here?” You ask. The arguing immediately stops as both heads snap to you. The tension between them seems to melt as you enter the room. “Hey baby” Wilbur greets, walking over to you, pressing a small kiss to your forehead then to your lips. “Hey boys” you greet back, “What’s going on?” And both of them explode into words, both trying to explain what happened. But again, the arguing makes your head pound causing you to wince. The two immediately notice and stop, “You okay baby?” Wilbur asks, a concerned look on his face. You clear your throat and nod. “Yeah, just a headache. I’m fine. But if you could stop arguing I would appreciate it.” And so the two of them do stop and you all move on with your evening. 

You guys go back down and had dinner with everyone, you guys then watch a movie and then you and Wilbur head off to bed. All throughout the night though, you slowly begin to feel bad. Like a sick bad. The headache never goes away, but you force a smile through it. After you eat dinner, your stomach begins to churn and you begin feeling a bit nauseous and just a few other little things that make you feel unwell. That being said, you do your best to ignore it and continue on with your night as normal. The boys do notice but because you don’t say anything they figure that it will be okay. You and Wilbur climb into bed that night and Wilbur pulls you close to his chest. “You feeling okay babe?” He finally asks once he notices the way that you flinch when he pulls you in. “Yeah,” you croak, clearing your throat before trying again, “Yeah. I think I may have eaten too fast tonight. I should be fine by morning” 

You were not fine by morning. 

When your eyes opened that morning, you immediately knew that you were sick. The churning of your stomach that began last night raged even harder now and you could feel the bile rising in the back of your throat. You quickly threw Wilbur’s arm off of you as well as the blankets before bolting for the door, down the hallway, and into the bathroom. Your knees hit the ground in front of the toilet harshly as you ripped the toilet lid open before vomiting into the toilet. Tears formed in your eyes as your stomach emptied itself into the porcelain toilet. After you were done, you reach up and flush the toilet before resting your cheek against the cool rim. “What’s the matter?” Wilbur’s panicked voice calls from the doorway, “You got out of bed and ran so fast I didn’t have time to process. Are you okay?” He questions walking into the bathroom. You don’t move your face from the toilet as you stare at him pathetically, “I think I’m sick,” you whimper. Wilbur lets out a small coo and shuts the door behind him before walking to you. He kneels down beside you, “Can I touch you?” he asks gently. You give him a small nod as you pull your cheek from the toilet seat and onto his shoulder and his hand is instantly on you, running up and down your back carefully. “What do you need?” He asks, his brow furrowed in worry. You give a small shrug, because you honestly don’t know. “Are you going to throw up again?” Again a small shrug. Wilbur opens his mouth to ask another question, but a small, careful knock on the bathroom door interrupts him. “Is everything okay in there?” Philza’s soft voice calls from the other side. “Yeah… Y/N’s sick” Wilbur called in response. There’s a slight pause before he responds again, “Can I come in?” Wilbur looks to you for your response, but again you just shrug, “Yeah.” The door slowly opens and Philza walks into the bathroom with a concerned look on his face. He walks in all the way, also shutting the door behind him, and walks over to you, gently pulling you from Wilbur’s side and resting the back of his hand on your forehead. “Oh sweetheart, you’re burning up… Let’s get you back in bed huh?” You whimper and nod slowly at his words. “Wilbur would you…” Wilbur nods and pulls away from you and before you can whine at the loss of contact, you’re back in Wilbur’s arms, this time being carried. Philza opens the bathroom door and Wilbur carries you back to his room. Wilbur puts you back in his bed and tucks you into the covers again. After he’s done, Philza walks into the room with a bucket, some meds, a glass of water, and a cool rag. Philza sets everything down on the nightstand. He hands you the meds and helps you take them with the glass of water. “Small sips. We don’t want to upset your stomach” Philza chides softly as you try to gulp down the water. You listen to him and only take a few more sips before he pulls the water away and sets it back on the nightstand. Philza then puts the rag on your forehead and puts the bucket on the floor next to you. “Bucket on the floor in case you need to throw up again. Are you okay for now?” Philza asks, a soft hand running through your hair. You let out a little hum as your eyes flutter closed, “Yeah… I’m good, thanks dad” you mumble out. You don’t see it but Philza’s face breaks out into a huge soft grin. “Alright. Well I’ll go tell Tommy and Techno to keep their noise level down… Mostly Tommy.” Phil says with a laugh, “But then I’ll make some chicken noodle soup for you when you wake up, okay?” Again you let out a small hum in confirmation. You feel the other side of the bed dip down as you hear Phil’s footsteps leave the room. Arms wrap around your body and Wilbur pulls you close to his chest, his lips tilting down and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “You’re gonna get sick” you whine, trying to turn around in his arms and get away from him, but his grip remains tight. “So be it then. I just wanna hold my baby, to make them feel better.” He murmurs, pressing another kiss to your forehead and pulling you impossibly closer. This time you don’t fight him and you relax in his arms and fall asleep. 

When you wake up, you feel a little bit better, still sick but better. You’re also still in Wilbur’s arms, but someone else is in the room. You manage to roll yourself over onto your back and in the doorway you find Tommy standing there with his arms crossed just staring at you. “Were you watching us sleep?” You ask blearily, your voice cracking a little bit. Tommy’s face blushes a bright red at getting caught, “No!” He tries to defend himself, “You were just… Just sleeping in my line of vision… Yeah that’s it. I wasn’t in here because I was worried about you at all, not at all.” He rambles, revealing everything. You can’t help but melt a little. “It’s okay Tommy. I’m okay. ‘M just a little sick” you tell him, slowly adjusting yourself so you could sit up and grab the glass of water off of the nightstand and taking a few small sips before setting it back down. Tommy has a little pout on his face, “I don’t want you to be sick.” Tommy says quietly. You can’t help but let out a little laugh, “Neither do I kiddo, but it’s just the way it is right now.” Tommy is quiet for a moment before he asks, “Is there something I can do?” Again, you melt because you very very rarely see this side of Tommy. “Yeah, could you let your dad know I’m awake. I could really use some chicken noodle soup and crackers right now” Tommy gives you a small nod and turns and runs out of the room. You’re startled out of your trance by Wilbur shifting next to you and wrapping his arms around you again, “You’ve done it. You’ve tamed the brat” Wilbur mumbles out, burying his face into your side. You can’t help but roll your eyes, but you let one of your hands move and rest in his hair to play with it. “Shush,” you mutter down at him. He doesn’t say anything else, but the smirk on his face says it all. 

A small knock on the door sounds. You don’t get to answer before the door swings open and Wilbur’s pink headed brother is there with a package of crackers and some more pills in his hands. “Hey Tech” you greet causing Wilbur’s face to poke out of your side. Techno walks into the room and over to the bed. “Hey Y/N. How you feeling?” he asks, setting the crackers down on the nightstand. “Better, but my body is still achy and my head hurts a bit.” You admit. Techno lets out a small hum as he grabs the glass of water and hands you the glass and some more meds, “Dad told me to tell you to take these. It’s the same thing as you took before you went to sleep, it’s been enough time for more…” You give him a nod, taking the meds before handing him the glass again. He sets it down on the stand before opening the package of crackers and handing you a few. “Here, you can eat these while you wait for soup. Just don’t eat them too fast” “Thanks Tech” you murmur, taking the crackers and slowly begin nibbling on them. Techno just stands there for a while, watching you eat them. Normally you would be a little intimidated by it, but because of what had just happened with Tommy moments ago, you knew he just wanted to make sure you were alright. After you ate the first two crackers, you decided to strike up a conversation, not wanting to sit there in silence. As you talked, Philza and Tommy appeared in the room with five bowls of soup, Philza carrying three and Tommy carrying two. The two quickly passed a bowl to the three of you that were sitting on the bed. The five of you ate the chicken noodle soup together. The warm soup made you feel a bit better, your stomach a bit wholer… That didn’t make any sense oh well. As you ate, you couldn’t help but look around at the room. Your heart swelled with joy as you looked at the family that had practically adopted you. They had all dropped what they were doing that day to take care of you and you couldn’t be more grateful.