#and crank looks so done with his backseat driver

[alienoresimagines]

*During the Regensburg mission*

Bucky : How are the stragglers looking down there ?

Crank : *closes his eyes in annoyance*

Crank : Bucky, I swear, if you ask one more time how Buck is doing, I'm kicking you middair out of my plane and into his so you can look for yourself.

Bucky, with hope in his eyes : You'd do that for me ? 🥺

[rottenpumpkin13]

Wait! Have you done a Road-trip shenanigans bit with the Firsts + Zack and Cloud yet?? If not, please I gotta know the crazy details.

How do they fair with everyone taking turns driving? Who nearly kills them all? Who is bringing what snacks? Do they get lost? Who goes insane first? Boredom songs? Fights in the backseat? Please I need this 💀

The Road Trip From Hell

• Genesis made the dumbass decision to buy a car—a vehicle he will never in his life use because the traffic in Midgar is ASS. It's this nice, red convertible that he now has to drive from Banora all the way back to the city.

• He convinces Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack and Cloud to come along with him on a road trip (they were all nearby on a mission). Angeal doesn't trust Genesis' ability to drive, Sephiroth does NOT see the appeal of spending 14 hours in a car with Genesis, Cloud has raging motion sickness, and Zack saw someone flip Genesis off on the road once and Genesis immediately retaliated with a fire ball, so he's scared.

Genesis: Fine. But if I crash the car and perish you will ALL be unable to live with yourselves.

*Sephiroth silently crosses his fingers*

• After much back to back and and a lot of dramatics from Genesis' end, the boys agree.

• They start off pretty good!! They're having sing-alongs, stopping at the side of the road to take fun pictures, eating unhealthy food at those road-stop diners, and generally having a good time.

• And then hour 3/14 rolls by and they are sick of each other.

Zack: Are we there yet?

*Angeal whips around immediately*

Angeal: Look at me, Fair, LOOK AT ME. This is the first and last time you ask this, got that? If you ask one more time, I'm going to shave your head and make you eat your own hair. Understood?

Zack: 0_0

• Genesis can't drive anymore and asks Angeal to take over. He switches over the the passenger seat and mans the playlist, forcing the entire car to listen to his cringey pop music.

Cloud: Can you change the song? This music sucks.

Sephiroth: I second that.

Genesis: Oh, does this bother you? *cranks the music up louder*

Cloud: On three.

Sephiroth: Got that.

Cloud: One, two—

• Sephiroth and Cloud lunge forward at the same time, using four hands to pin Genesis in place and strangle him. Zack is screaming and trying to pull them back, Genesis is choking and Angeal is dangerously close to driving the car off road—intentionally.

• By hour 5, everyone has fallen asleep except for Zack. Angeal made Genesis sit in the back with Sephiroth and Cloud while Zack sits up front.

Zack: I'm having fun!

Angeal: That's great.

Zack: When are we going to start the trip though?

Angeal: What do you mean?

*Zack pulls out a map on his tablet*

Zack: Well, according to this map, we've just been going in circles for 5 hours.

• Angeal wakes up Genesis to punch him in the face.

• Zack takes over the wheel now and has Cloud sit up front while they play I-Spy.

Zack: I spy something prickly and green.

Cloud: A tree?

Zack: Nice!

Cloud: Okay, uhhh...I spy something tall and silver.

Zack: Sephiroth!

Cloud: No. Sephiroth's not here.

Zack: Oh.

Zack:

Zack: WHAT!?

• Zack stops the car because Sephiroth is indeed missing. It turns out they left him back at their last stop, so they have to turn back around again to go pick him up.

• Sephiroth is indeed back at the restaurant, and he's PISSED. He makes Zack get out of the driver seat and insists they do this the "hard way"

• Sephiroth is driving now and makes everyone sit in complete silence while he finally gets them on the right track. Several hours later, Cloud shyly raises his hand.

Sephiroth: Speak.

Cloud: I have to go to the bathroom.

Sephiroth: Hold it.

Cloud: But what if—

Sephiroth: Hold it.

Cloud: But—

Sephiroth: HOLD IT STRIFE.

• Cloud holds it.

Genesis: This is ridiculous. It's my car. Get out, I'm driving again!

• Sephiroth gives up the wheel without much of a fight, but now Genesis is back in the driver's seat and Zack is antsy again. He sits in the passengers seat and decides to be a backseat driver.

Zack: You're going too fast!

Genesis: Oh, please, I'm going slow. You should see what this car can really do—HEY! THAT GUY JUST CUT ME OFF!

• Zack starts praying (loudly). Genesis is pissed beyond calming down, and decides to floor it and chase after the guy.

• Everyone is screaming, Zack is praying and crying, Angeal is trying to reason with Genesis, Cloud is swearing every curse word in the dictionary, Sephiroth...is asleep.

• When Genesis finally does stop, Angeal makes Genesis pull over. Him, Cloud and Zack get out of the car. Genesis makes a run for it, screaming down the road.

• Sephiroth awakes a few moments later, looks out the window, and sees everyone jumping Genesis. He looks around, then picks up the tablet with the map.

Sephiroth: Wow. I wonder how long it'll take them to realize that we went 120 miles in the wrong direction.

-

@salternateunreality has a ASGZC road trip shenanigans series on her blog if you want more of this :)

[thornsnvultures]

eddie munson x plus size!reader

a little drabble about going on a road trip with eddie, steve & robin based on this ask i got yesterday

cw: past body image issues, implied past eating disorder

-----

"Please don't eat that," Steve blanches at the hot dog in your hands. "Those things are terrible for you."

"Don't judge my choice of food. This road trip just started and I didn't have breakfast," you huff and roll your eyes.

"I'm just looking out for you," Steve holds his hands up, backing out of your way so you can grab napkins and a few ketchup packets.

"I'll be fine, Steven. I've had worse things in my mouth."

Steve snorts out a laugh and crosses his arms. "Yeah, you've been with Munson for, what, a year now?"

"Rude," Eddie gasps, dramatically raising the heart shaped sunglasses he's wearing to the top of his head. He's loaded up with chips in one arm and a liter of soda in the other.

"Hey, babe. Any of that for me?"

"You can have whatever you like, sweetheart," Eddie says with a wink. He pushes around Steve to press a kiss to your cheek, making his way to the register.

"I'm just saying," Steve presses, following you following Eddie, "you don't know what kinda mystery meat is in that thing. Or how long it was on that roller for."

"Well good news for you, Steve," you smile at him, handing the dog to the cashier to get rung up. "You don't have to eat it."

Steve throws up his arms and walks out. He heads to where Robin's waiting for the three of you in the van, already done filling the tank.

"Don't let him bother you, baby," Eddie wraps his arm around you as you walk out together. His big bag of snacks and drinks are slung over his shoulder. Steve didn't bother you, and you tell Eddie as much.

"He's just looking out for me. He can't help it."

The sun is really beating down today, you can't wait to get back on the road with the windows down.

"I don't like him shaming you for what you eat," he whispers, the usual lightness in his voice replaced with concern. You feel Eddie bristle like a cat puffing his fur out. The posturing is cute but unnecessary.

"I'm fine, Eddie. And I appreciate you wanting to defend my honor, good sir," you smile and kiss his cheek and his hackles lower.

Eddie bows as he opens the van door for you and you laugh. He helps you climb in and kisses your hand before he lets you go.

"Get a move on, nerds!" Robin calls from the backseat. Eddie hands you the snacks and jogs around to the other side of the van.

You might've let Steve's comment bother you before, let his worry settle in your mind like an insult to your weight, your appetite. But you know better, you know Steve's worried about your health and keeling over from a tainted dog. He's not your mother, worrying over calories. He's your friend and a damn good one.

You pull out your hot dog and eat, finally, after a morning of packing and stressing that you'd forget something. Eddie smiles at you from the driver's seat, cranking up the tunes. Steve and Robin argue in the back but the open windows muffle them slightly and you settle. You're with friends, you're going to have a good summer, and you're not going to let anything stop you.

[shih-coulda-had-it]

6 kink nanahiko!

6. car sex || wc: ~700 || continuation of this ficlet! (so, a fuller entry into the nana lives!AU... hm)

//

“What happened to not having sex inside the car?��� Sorahiko demands, as Nana takes advantage of Float to leave the driver’s seat and hover over him in the passenger’s, pinning him with one hand while reaching down to crank the lever with the other. He lets out a startled huff when the chair--previously lowered--forces him to sit upright.

Nana hadn’t had many opinions about the construction of the supercar, but she was very insistent about two things: a roomy footwell for long legs, and the capability to polarize the windows.

“You looked like you were having a good time,” she says breezily. There is a click as Sorahiko releases the seatbelt lock, and Nana withdraws her hand before it snags on the retracting line. She shrugs off her jacket and slings it to the backseat.

“Your eyes weren’t on the road?”

“I’m a great multitasker.” For example, first Nana unzips the upper half of her top, and then while Sorahiko struggles to piece together a good response, she seizes the waistband of his underwear and yanks it down to join his jeans where they’ve been left at mid-thigh. 

“You are a romantic,” Sorahiko says, unfairly, because he draws her in for a kiss, cupping her face with both hands. It is soft for the occasion, sweet and chaste despite Nana’s intentions to make the supercar a site of raunchy memories. Nana feels herself melt into it and valiantly keeps to her plan.

She’s Floating and the windows are polarized. Nana grasps Sorahiko’s thin wrists, breaks the kiss but keeps her mouth near his ears, and as she guides his hands to her own jeans, she whispers, “Help me take ‘em off.”

He acknowledges the order with a groaned, “Yes,” and deftly unbuckles the belt, undoes the button and the zipper. Her jeans and underwear are dragged down. They make it past her knees, but Nana’s forgotten to unlace her boots. Shit. 

Ah, it’s fine. The position Nana has in mind works without her being able to kick Sorahiko’s ass.

“You Floatin’ for this?” he asks.

“One second.” Nana spins around. She tucks her legs in and point her boots to the footwell, braces her hands at the ceiling and the safety handle, fits herself against Sorahiko. His erection is very present against her rear; Sorahiko clutches everything but Nana and hisses a curse. “Should I re-tie my hair?”

“It’s in my mouth,” he reports miserably. “I’ll do it.”

And he does. From the half up-do, Sorahiko tugs the band free and collects her long hair into one unbroken stream. He sweeps it up into a low ponytail, then kisses the sensitive space behind her ear to signal a job well done. She shivers. She drops Float and sits heavily in his lap, eliciting a louder, clearer, “Holy fuck--”

“This is cozy,” she says, smug. Nana snatches one white-knuckled hand and flattens it against her abdomen. She slides it down, down, until Sorahiko’s touching the core of her blind. 

“You forgot the condom,” Sorahiko rasps. “You’re gonna ride me and put me away wet?”

“Hey, we’ve got several hours before Toshinori’s plane lands. We can ventilate the car and get a quick shower before parking in Narita.”

He grinds the heel of his palm against her clit, tests her readiness to take him without fingering. They haven’t had time or space to have full penetrative sex for a bit, but Nana’s dreamed about fucking Sorahiko in this car since the Commission’s techs entrusted her with the key. She whines out loud when he sinks two inside, straightaway, and his other hand gropes at her chest, holding Nana closer.

“Yeah,” she breathes, bearing down on the fingers, breasts heaving against the restraint. “Yeah, Sorahiko, that’s exactly it. Come on. Give it to me.”

“How are you this wet,” he says. He sounds dazed with the wanting. “You weren’t even the one touching yourself for the past fifteen minutes.” (Yeah, so she probably broke a speeding law getting to this secluded parking point, but they’re off the expressway. When Sorahiko tells her to hurry the fuck up, Nana puts her foot on the gas pedal. Sue her.)

“Multitasking,” Nana answers, and she laughs when he grumbles.

[lux-veritatis]

"Guess we'll find out in a minute." The moment the light illuminates the confines of the floorboard, Kurtis picks up right where he'd left off, using the different colors of the bundled cables to determine which of the three they needed. From there, a couple of the individual wires are narrowed down even further, again using the colors of the insulation wrapped around them.

Even with his experience (sometimes legal, sometimes illicit), there's a distinct possibility that he's doing this all wrong. Without time or opportunity to consult the owner's manual, there's no definitive way of knowing whether or not the coloring means what he thinks (and hopes) it means— and there's little to no room for mistakes with something like this. A car fire would undoubtedly be a distraction, just not the kind they need right now.

From behind her cover, Thompson watches impatiently as Richard attempts to fit his luggage into the Mitsubishi's trunk, the man rearranging this and that before trying it another way while occasionally leaning to the side to comfort Charlie. He knows Charlie is a big dog and needs all the backseat he can get.

Thompson would mime banging her head against the car in front of her if she wasn't afraid of setting off a possible alarm.

During all this, small, thankfully inconspicuous lights along the Chevrolet's dashboard come to life, supplying a backlight for the radio and various gauges. Unfortunately, at the same time, the radio itself also comes on, the volume cranked and blaring some song. It's not what he would have expected from a car like this, but all right. Kurtis is working double-time now and doesn't bother fumbling for the off button because the ignition has started simultaneously.

Startled by all the sudden noise, Richard had paused, hand on the trunk he'd been about to close, staring at the old Chevrolet. Thompson had done much the same, only she wasn't about to stay idle for long. Raising her gun, she all but breaks out into a sprint, trying to make leaving her cover look as natural as possible (and not as suspicious as it really was).

"Police— stop!"

There are only a couple more steps now (finally) and one last thing to address before that. There's no use in being quiet now, so Kurtis asks over the music, "You're good to drive, yeah?" After all, his new mystery friend has ended up in the driver's seat.

The shrill barks sent Merris further toward the floor; somehow, in her fear-laden imagination, she envisioned that Thompson somehow managed to find a dog to help track them down. However, as time passed and the situation became more apparent, it was a ridiculous summation.

The voice, in actuality, belonged to Richard, an older gentleman in apartment 7C and his dog Charlie. They only spoke once or twice at the community mailbox, but a pleasant man. Charlie was always a good boy and even made her consider owning one someday. A better time and place, maybe.

With the extinguished beam in response to their arrival, Merris realized just how afraid she was for their safety suddenly. What was stopping Thompson from going after them instead? What separated them from anyone else anyway? Her mind was racing and it was sending her stomach in knots. She wanted them to leave, drive somewhere before Thompson were to even formulate such a thought.

The sound of the car's security system being disarmed, followed shortly with the device being thrust into her hand startled the female, a brief expression of disorientation and confusion before her thoughts could focus on what the other was requesting. Light.. light! The timely intrusion would only last so long, and along with it their opportunity to escape before the Officer was on top of them.

Fighting her pronounced trembling, Merris moved from where she was currently hiding and angled herself just low enough to give the man what he required.

"Speakin' luck.. migh' jus' b'changin', pr'vidin' th'damn thin' ev'n start..!"

[alpacaparkaseok]

Upcoming Fic Alert!

→ Pairing: getaway driver!Jimin x reader

→ warnings/tags/genre: SFW, Jimin is a getaway driver because why not, reader is a gem, fluff, humor, hint of angst, e2l, pickpocketing, annoyed minivan, shameless flirting, Jimin gets rejected lol, kinda a mafia au I guess?

→ a/n: here’s a preview for the next summer request I’m working on! Thanks guys for all the fun suggestions/requests! @dulce-pjm​, this one is yours! I’ve never done an au like this before, so let me know if this sounds fun! As always, I appreciate and love hearing from you, you offer so much motivation!

--

“Right, right!” Namjoon barks from the passenger seat, sitting low and clutching a suspicious looking package close to his chest. “Jimin, I said turn ri-”

Reaching forward and cranking the music a little louder, Jimin effectively drowns out Namjoon’s angry shouts as AC/DC’s “TNT” blasts through the car. There’s a  small gap in cars passing through the intersection, the green light turning yellow. 

“JIMIN!” Namjoon screeches as the light turns red and cars begin to move. Jimin smiles wickedly, looking like a kid in a candy store as he floors it, throwing the car to the left and narrowly missing a FedEx truck that blares its horn at him. 

Namjoon peels his face off of the passenger side window with no shortage of disgust, glaring over at a still-smiling Jimin. He opens his mouth to speak, however no words come out as Jimin maneuvers onto a side street and turns into a parking garage. 

“Where-” Namjoon begins, but Jimin simply leans over the console and unbuckles Namjoon’s seatbelt. 

“Take that elevator,” he points to a gleaming silver elevator less than fifteen feet away, “up to the fifth floor. Mr. Bianchi is waiting.”

Namjoon gulps audibly, making Jimin chuckle under his breath. “I- I didn’t know that he was here.”

“That’s the point, Namjoon.” Jimin goes the extra mile, reaching across the dumbstruck passenger and pushing his door open. “Out you go. Been a pleasure.”

Namjoon still clings to the package, offering Jimin a nervous looking nod of his head before stepping out of the car. 

“Oh, and Namjoon?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Wipe your drool off of my window. It’s not a good look for me.”

Namjoon’s face is flushed a deep red as he sees the spit lingering on the passenger side window, no doubt a result of the crazy left turn just a couple minutes prior. Once it’s been wiped with his pristine suit jacket, Namjoon silently turns and heads to the elevator. 

The second he inside and out of sight, Jimin lets out a long sigh, rolling his neck. He whistles a merry tune as he pulls the car into a stall alongside a sleek black Mercedes, which will serve as his discreet car for now. Police will come snooping sooner or later for a bright red Ferrari. They’ll find it, abandoned in the parking garage with no trace of Park Jimin. 

Although they may be interested to find Kim Namjoon’s wallet inside the console. 

Jimin laughs to himself as he throws the wallet inside, remembering how Namjoon was none the wiser as Jimin slipped his wallet from his pocket in the act of unbuckling his seatbelt. No, he was too scared by the idea of Mr. Bianchi to notice that Jimin was the real threat. 

Locking the Ferrari after double checking that he’s left no trace to his own identity, Jimin slips into the Mercedes and starts it up. Grinning at the sleek interior, he rolls out, heading toward the exit. 

He slows to a stop at the toll booth, rolling down his window and grabbing the pay ticket. 

“Ticket, please.”

A soft voice speaks to him, making Jimin blink. He’s so accustomed to the deep and rough tones typically associated with his line of work, he’d nearly forgotten what normal people sound like. 

“Sir?”

Jimin starts, clearing his throat and offering a small smile. “Oh, right. Here you go,” he mumbles, passing his ticket along to the girl in the booth. 

You’re pretty, Jimin notices. Not in the usual, once-over kind of pretty. Here, in the strange lighting of the parking garage, your hair falls into your face as you scan his ticket and purse your lips a little as you wait for another ticket to be printed off. 

You’re...

“Aren’t you too pretty to be working down here?” Jimin drawls, leaning out of the window just enough for you to see him clearly. He knows he looks good; clad in a dark suit that matches the interior of his car. His hair is light, freshly dyed and perfectly styled. A little wind-blown, but surely nice still. 

You hardly glance his way, though. Instead you’re grabbing a pen and circling something on the new ticket. 

“That’ll be $24.73. Are you paying with cash or card?”

“I-” Jimin coughs, the words quite literally getting stuck in his throat. “Excuse me?” He manages, mouth falling open at your response. Did you just ignore him?

“Cash or card, sir.” You reply, finally turning in your stool enough to face him fully. When Jimin can’t seem to form a response, you lean forward with a twinkle of amusement. “Take your time, I’ve got all day. The people behind you, though...”

The way you give a pointed look behind his car has Jimin jolting a bit, afraid that the police are on his tail. Instead he notices a minivan behind him, waiting to get out. The mother at the wheel looks absolutely exhausted, resting her head against the window as her child screams in the backseat. 

“Oh, ha...here, card, please.”

He all but throws his card at you, toes curling in excitement when his fingertips brush up against yours. 

What has gotten into him?

Did he or did he not just assist in pulling off a major heist?

“Would you like a receipt?”

“...no?”

A smile tugs at the corner of your lips, and Jimin finds himself leaning a little further out of the car at the sight. 

“You sure about that?”

Jimin completely bypasses your teasing though, taking his card back and staring up at you with furrowed brows. “Did you really not hear what I said earlier?” 

Now it’s you leaning out of the window, and Jimin finds himself holding his breath as you give him a long look. Mirth sparkles in your eyes, and a hint of something else. Something harder. 

“You really think I’m too pretty to be working down here?” You ask innocently. Jimin hates the way his stomach flips at the way you’re gazing down at him. 

He attempts to put on his best smolder, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, most definitely.”

Your grin is so at odds with the innocent look you had just a moment before. With a perfectly manicured finger, you motion for him to come closer. Jimin complies before he even realizes it, frowning at the way his body has quickly betrayed him. He’s practically hanging out of the window now, hanging on to your every word.

“I’m too pretty for you, too.” Then, with a flourish, you punch the button that lifts the barrier. “Have a nice day, sir.”

You give him a cheery wave, and Jimin has half a mind to get out of the car right then and there, but he’s caught between asking you to marry him or demanding free parking passes for your belligerent attitude. 

You notice his predicament, grinning when Jimin jumps a little as the minivan behind him honks their horn. He groans, settling down and shooting you a glare. 

“I believe that’s your cue, Mr. Park,” you croon, sending him off with a wink. 

It’s only when Jimin has made it several blocks and nearly combusted with annoyance at his rejection that he realizes with a sudden chill that something about that whole interaction wasn’t quite right. 

He never told you his name.

--

m.list

this was just a lil preview for an upcoming project/request! thoughts?? I wanna know what your guys’ thoughts are on this kind of au!! I’m excited for this to come out soon!

[come-on-shitty-boys]

Haikyuu But I Tell You What Car They Drive Because I’m So Head Empty - Captain Edition

Daichi:

he drives an old pick up truck 

THAT HE FIXED UP HIMSELF

none of you can tell me that that isn’t insanely attractive

he definitely put in like bass-boosting speakers don’t ask why just accept.

the windows definitely are the old like crank-style windows but i KNOW that he’ll reach over and roll your window down for you because he’s a gentleman

please it has so many issues like the passenger door is a pain in the ass to open from the inside

not that it matters because he’s going to come open the door for you anyway 🥰

drives with one hand at the top of the steering wheel and he likes for you to sit in the middle so he can put his arm around your shoulder 🥰

Oikawa:

oikawa oozes class?? so he definitely has a Cadillac

oooh with those tan leather seats???

mhmmm 🥰

does  ✨the thing✨ where he puts his hand on your seat to reverse, but when he’s done, he’ll kinda touch your arm or shoulder as he moves his hand back to the wheel??

idk why but he drives like a grandma.  HE’S SO SLOW PLEASE TOORU DRIVE FASTER

He’s the kind of bitch who keeps his front seats super neat and tidy but the back??? 

d i s a s t e r

his backpack, his volleyball bag, water bottles, his jackets, a couple pairs of shoes, everything just strewn in his backseat

you will never see him with more than one passenger for this reason

never knows if it’s his right away.  he’s constantly waiting at stop signs, just sitting there, because he has no idea if it’s his turn.  oikawa will go out of his way to use a stop light just so he doesn’t have to deal with that stress.

Kuroo:

it’s just best if you don’t ask about this one?? because i don’t know either but- 

kuroo drives a prius

idk i just think it’s really funny to think about 6′2 kuroo tetsurou driving a P R I U S and his legs like barely fit and his hair is constantly brushing against the ceiling

no one fucking eats his car. don’t you fucking dare even think about opening those fruit snacks. you can have water and that’s literally it.

has a trashcan in his backseat

he’s also obnoxiously prepared for every situation??? like he has things you would never imagine needing all in the trunk of his car.  

kuroo has some kind of superiority complex because he drives a prius like bro shut up we get it.  you’re ✨economical✨

THE MAN KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT CARS

N O T H I N G

he thought oil changes were suggestions until he nearly blew his motor.

kuroo is only book smart.  i’m sorry to tell you all that he has no car knowledge.

Bokuto:

BOKUTO DRIVES A J E E P ONE OF THE ONES WITH THE CLOTH TOPS

in the summer the doors and top are always off

please think about bokuto with sunglasses and a backwards baseball cap just driving, scream-singing every single song on his playlist

bokuto always gets aux privileges because his music taste is so good

he likes when you lean across the console to play with his hair 🥺

such a chaotic driver?? but also?? really good.

he frequently drives with his knees? like he’ll just get tired of holding the wheel so he’s just steering with his knees

takes corners way too fast.  you have no idea how he hasn’t rolled his vehicle yet.

awwwww you guys will drive out to the middle of nowhere and sit up on those top beams and share snacks and just hang 🥺

bokuto is so precious B Y E

Ushijima:

he’s another one with a pick-up truck

i think his is in a little better condition than daichi’s?? but not by much

probably shares his truck with his dad or it was definitely a hand-me-down.

the heat doesn’t work oop so ushijima keeps blankets behind the seat for whenever he drives you around.  

but also because he likes to take you out for food, you’ll go find a nice open field, and he lays out blankets in the tailgate for the two of you

does most, if not all, of his own work.  he will never take his car to get serviced because he knows how to do it all himself.  and you can bet your ass that he’s taking care of your car too.

oh your check engine light is on?? pop the hood 😤 ushijima is ON IT.  Flat tire? bring it on over.  he’s got an air compressor.  he can fill that up for you. stranded on the side of the road with a dead battery? he is on his way and he has ✨ jumper cables ✨

Kita:

please i don’t know w h y but i think kita would look so precious driving around in a mom car like this 😭😭

he has one of those little mesh nets in the trunk so his groceries don’t roll around everywhere

he also has a trash can in his car, but it’s filled with drink cups and snack wrappers because he drives the younger team members around a lot and the miyas are just always eating in his car???

it’s very organized?? like he knows where all of his important documents are.  his console has like these little organizers inside with lots of little emergency things like hair ties and bobby pins for you, some nail files, pens, a pad of paper, extra batteries, portable phone chargers.  kita is PREPARED

he’s a pretty strict driver just because he knows that it’s dangerous and needs his full attention.  so you’re not going to catch his taking his hands off the wheel to put one on your thigh or anything.

his car always smells really good.  idk it smells very homey?? if that makes any sense 😭

Daishou:

daishou is another one that seems really classy to me so he drives a luxury car like a bmw

BUT HE’S A REALLY SHITTY DRIVER

OH HE IS SO BAD

literally please never let him drive.  if the two of you want to go somewhere, you need to drive.  you can take his car, he doesn’t care, but please for the love of god, you drive.

he’s no other reason than he can get carried away in his conversation with you and he’ll get a little negligent?  or sometimes he’ll be trying to back out and he’ll turn the wheel the wrong way.  

Daishou has never gotten into a bad wreck or anything.  just small little fender benders every now and then.  he’s hit a few mailboxes trying to back out of your driveway and he accidentally rear-ended someone once but it’s never been life-threatening

his insurance is so fucking high 😭 it’s already out of this world because he drives a luxury car, but then he gets into wrecks

He’ll try to hold your hand while he’s driving. You need to tell him no.  You need to put his hand back on the wheel and make sure he pays attention to where he’s going.  Please.  It is for everyone’s safety. 

{Taglist: @moncymonce​ @nicka-nell​ @celosiiaa​ @lovinnoya​ @kuronekomama​ and @madison-2018​ because she sat and screamed about this with me for HOURS}

[apocalypseornaw]

Always be Yours-9

Word Count: 4,901

Story Summary: Follows Dean and the reader through season 9 into season 10

Chapter Summary: With no other choice Crowley is enlisted to free Sam of the angel's grasp

Warnings: cursing, fights, blood,death the usual

When Cas made it to the bunker you weren’t sure if Dean had even told him everything that had happened. When he walked into the library where you and Dean were currently gathering what weapons you’d need it confirmed he in fact had no idea what all had gone down when he asked “What happened?”

You stopped mid movement and cut your eyes at Dean who took a deep breath before saying “We need to catch you up on a lot Cas” you saw the look of confusion on Cas’ face so you motioned to the chairs “Let’s sit down” Cas took a seat so you sat next to him and Dean sat across the table. Dean’s eyes were cast downward and you could only imagine what he was saying to himself in that movement, the horror that was his own mind working against him half the time. You could only guess that little voice inside of his head telling him he wasn’t good enough. You hated that little voice and would give anything to make Dean never listen to it again.

“I made a mistake Cas” he started but you quickly cut in “We made the mistake Dean..We” Cas looked between the two of you so you elaborated “After the trials, when Sam collapsed Dean called me. By the time I got to their sides Sam was dying and Dean had already put a call out to any angel for help. I came in to Dean being attacked and the angel who introduced himself as Ezekiel intervening. He was hurt in the fall so he couldn’t heal Sam..Cas honey we had a lot of pissed off angels coming down on our asses looking for you so we had to make a quick decision. Let Sam die or let the angel in” 

“Whoever the angel was he..he hijacked Sam then he killed Kevin and took the angel tablet” you added not meeting Dean’s eyes. “Sammy was dying and he said it was the only way. I believed him and now Sam’s gone..Kevin’s” his voice trailed off at the end so you looked up towards Cas as he said “Dean I’m sorry” “Sorry doesn’t pay the bills, does it?” Dean replied and you let out a harsh breath as he pushed away from the table and stood turning his back to you and Cas before adding “It sure as hell ain’t gonna bring Kevin back..We got to find the son of a bitch”

Cas looked at you to ask “If the angel possessing Sam isn’t Ezekiel than who is it?” “A dead man walking” Dean replied, turning back around. “You’re gonna destroy him? You kill an angel it’s vessel dies too” Cas asked. Your entire body felt like it’d been dipped into ice. There had to be a different way. You couldn't kill the angel not while he was inside of Sam and you wouldn’t let anyone else. “There’s got to be a different way” you met Dean’s eyes as you said it. You refused to give up on him or Sam. It wasn’t in you.

He walked back over to the table and leaned down before saying “Sweetheart if we don’t end it and that halo burns him out..god damn I was so stupid” You looked to Cas silently begging him for help. He stood up as he said “You were stupid for the right reasons” “Yeah like that matters” Dean argued so you stood up next to Cas and said “It does” “Sometimes that’s all that matters” Cas added.

You nodded then said “Cas, Sam is strong if he knew somehow that an angel was possessing him he could fight couldn’t he?” “He could cast the angel out” he agreed. 

Dean shook his head at both of you “Maybe but he’s in the dark. How the hell would we clue him in?” You could see a thought occur to Cas before he asked Dean “Do you remember Alfie?”

You looked towards Dean as he said “The kid angel, yeah why?” “Before he died he told me the demons were able to dig into his mind, access his coding. We might be able to do that here. Might be able to bypass the angel and talk directly to Sam” “You think that would work?” you asked hopeful and Cas shrugged “I don’t know but I think we owe it to Sam to try, don't you?” 

At an actual plan being formed Dean nodded slowly “Well where do we start?” “Do you still have Crowley locked up here?” Cas questioned so you nodded “He’s in the armory locked up tight” “Then we should start there”

------

You watched Dean draw a syringe of blood out his own arm. Once he was through you held a rag out to wipe the blood away. “Thanks” you nodded checking to ensure it’d stopped bleeding. He laid his hand over yours when you started to pull away “I mean for a lot more than that”

You walked into the armory behind Cas after Dean turned the light on. Crowley blinked a time or two then smiled “Hello boys” when he spotted you he added “And hello sweets” Cas stepped back over to block you from his vision and you half smiled at the protectiveness. Dean pulled the syringe out his pocket “Ok, here’s the deal. You’re gonna tell us how to hack an angel and I’m gonna give you some of the good stuff. Human blood, fresh from the tap.Word is you’re jonesing for it” Crowley shook his head “Please. I’ll pass”

“What do you want then?” Cas asked. Crowley looked between the three of you then said “Well for starters a massage between the sitting and the shackles a body gets a little stiff” “Yeah I ain’t rubbing you and Y/N damn sure isn’t” Dean quickly shut him down but he replied “Didn’t want you or sweets. Get Kevin, his tiny fists can really work wonders” “Kevin’s dead” you bit out and actually saw Crowley’s face fall just slightly “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that”

Cas pushed you towards Dean before walking over to the table “Don’t pretend you care, you tried to kill him” Crowley was undeterred “I told him this was gonna happen. I was the only person who tried to warn him. I told him to run” “From what?” you asked  and Crowley cut his eyes at you “From your boyfriend sweets” You saw that haunted look pass through Dean’s eyes again as Crowley looked his way “How many times am I gonna have to say this? People in your general vicinity don’t have much in the way of a life-span” Cas threw a look your way and you knew he was thinking along the same lines as you were but there was no time for that now considering Crowley continued “Now I can’t teach you how to crack open an angel. It’s more art than science. But I can do it for you. All I ask in return is a little field trip, dying for some fresh air” then held up his hands and added “Chains on naturally”

“No,” Dean said, then turned to walk out grabbing your hand but stopped when Crowley said “No? Of course not because if I’m plan a I’m sure you have a totally viable much better plan b. That’s why your angel and your girl is still paying any attention to me” 

Dean stopped and motioned Cas over. You stepped to the side to let Cas get close enough to you both. “You can’t be considering this” he said but you knew Dean was. Hell you were if it got Sam back. “With the chains on he can’t do anything” Dean tried but Cas did have a point when he argued “It’s Crowley. He can always do something” “Looks like we need a tie breaker. Sweets you want to vote or you want to go grab moose” You shot a glare at him and he smiled “Unless of course you can’t. That explains why you’re all here and why you and squirrel are up for letting me out. The poor giant baby’s in trouble again isn’t he” You wanted nothing more than to knock that damn smirk off his face but you felt Cas grab your arm as if he knew so you remained in place while Dean walked towards Crowley “Are you done?”

“Depends, do we have a deal?” Crowley asked and Dean looked back to you and Cas. You sighed and nodded so he told Crowley yeah. “Excellent, when do we leave?” “Want to take the jeep?” you asked and he shook his head “I don’t want him in your jeep” Cas spoke up and said “I have a vehicle. It stopped a few miles from here inexplicably” Dean nodded “Ok” then looked at Crowley “We’ll be back to grab you”

------

A few questions about how the car was acting before it died confirmed it probably just ran out of gas so you grabbed the spare can from the garage while Dean grabbed Crowley and the bag of weapons.

You walked next to Cas because him and Dean had Crowley between them. You had silver bullets in your gun and an angel blade in your jacket along with all the supplies Dean had despite the fact that the four of you walking down the road was probably a little strange looking to any passerby you made it to the tan lincoln without issue.

Crowley looked at the car then back at Cas “Really? Are you a pimp?” you rolled your eyes at him “There’s nothing wrong with your car Cas” Cas smiled at you “Thank you Y/N. I like it” Dean walked to the open driver’s window and tried the ignition “Yeah it’s out of gas” he moved to put the gas in the car and you noticed Cas once again put himself between you and Crowley. “Riddle me this boy wonder why do you need the wheels?” Crowley asked looking around him at you as he spoke.

Cas took a half step towards him “When you betray us, I’ll be the one to carve your heart out” you felt your eyes widen at that. “Cas, what a flirt” Crowley smiled and you shook your head. Jesus angels and demons were so far from what you’d originally thought hunting was. Dean stood up after the car had gas in it “Alright, let’s go”

“Shotgun” Crowley called out but Dean pointed his finger at him “No, you’re in the back” You shrugged but Dean added “Cas, ride back there with him. I don’t want him that close to Y/N”

You watched the two of them climb in the backseat then cut your eyes at Dean before climbing in. “Watch the leg” Cas growled to which Crowley grumbled “You’re on my side!” “CHILDREN! COOL IT!” you hollered and they both stopped. Crowley grinned “Or what sweets?” you narrowed your eyes at him “I care about Cas but you? I’ll gladly stab you in the face” his grin only got bigger at that “I see just why squirrel likes you”

Dean glared at Crowley in the mirror then cranked the car up. When the music started you had the mental image of Cas listening to the station and it was amusing. You saw Dean cut his eyes at you and if it wasn’t for the angel and demon in the backseat you probably would’ve reached for his hand but instead you simply assured him “I’m good”

------

Crowley gave Dean the directions to Waldroff Financial. When he parked and all of you climbed out the car Cas quickly put himself between you and Crowley again. You followed the three of them across the parking lot and into the building. “Your source is here?” Dean asked Crowley who replied “And she can track anything, even our little lost Samantha” Dean pulled you over to sit next to him while the four of you waited. His hand came to rest on your knee which you’d found was more of a comfort thing to him than anything while Crowley explained that the building you were currently in was a front for an N.S.A. listening post. “What are the listening for?” Cas asked and Crowley shrugged “Everything, The U.S. government is quite the voyeur these days so I planted one of my best and let her go to work” 

A security guard walked over and addressed Crowley “Mr Crowley she’ll see you now” all of you stood but he shook his head “Just Mr Crowley” before Crowley walked off Cas reminded him “I’ll be listening to every word you say”

You sat back down to wait this time between Cas and Dean. A few minutes passed then Dean checked his watch and asked Cas “Hear anything?”  “No” Cas replied so you guessed “The room’s warded isn’t it?” he nodded. “Awesome, that’s frickin awesome” Dean grumbled, rubbing your knee slightly. You put your hand over his to stop any further movements and he glanced up at your face so you mouthed “Breathe baby” he nodded slowly turning his hand to lace his fingers with yours. You used your free hand to touch Cas’ arm “Just give him a few minutes. If he acts up I’ll hand you the blade to carve his heart out”

------

Twenty long minutes passed before Crowley walked back down the stairs. All of you stood to meet him and he held out a photo of baby from a traffic cam “Your phallus on wheels just ran a red light in Somerset Pennsylvania ten minutes ago”  “Let’s go” you urged and Crowley nodded towards you “What sweets said”

------

When you made it to Somerset Dean cut his eyes at you as he parked “If I asked you to stay here?” “I’d tell you to bite me and not mean it sexually” you replied and he sighed “Thought so”

You followed him and Cas down the road to where baby was parked and ran a hand along her side as you walked past her. You knew the drill, stay out the way mainly because they were worried this angel may pinpoint you as a bargaining chip not only for the two of them but for Sam as well.

You followed Dean into the door and nudged his arm then pointed to what was clearly blood. The two of you followed it into the living room to find a body with his throat slashed then heard water running from the kitchen. He reached one hand to be able to touch you as both of you followed the sound. 

The angel wearing Sam’s face stood at the sink with his back towards you washing his hands. He turned the water off before saying “Dean, you and Y/N should not have come here” then turned to face the two of you.  “You killed our friend then took Sam and you think I’m gonna let that stand?” “I allowed you to live, I allowed her to live” The angel replied motioning towards you Dean shrugged “Mistake letting me live” 

The angel flung you both backwards and you landed in a heap but as he walked towards the two of you Cas walked in behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, when he turned Cas hit him once and he went down. “Damn” you breathed as Dean helped you to your feet. You glanced down at Sam’s still then back to Dean “What now?” “We get him up and get somewhere to hack his ass” you picked up the discarded angel blades you and Dean dropped then looked from him to Cas “Well I’ll leave carrying the giant to the two of you”

------

You drove Cas’ car while Dean loaded the angel wearing Sam, Cas and Crowley into baby. You followed him a few miles out of town until he pulled off at a warehouse near the water so you parked behind him then climbed out and walked up beside the impala. Cas glanced your way when Crowley questioned “Why couldn’t I ride with sweets?” and said “Because Dean nor I want you alone with her” you shot Cas a small smile then watched as he helped Dean carry Sam’s still form inside.

You followed them inside and stood back while they went about chaining Sam’s form down to a chair. Cas reached a hand out so you gladly let him push you behind him. He had grace back flowing through him so even with clipped wings he was in a lot better shape than you were to face an angel.

Cas had already done an initial check of Sam’s injuries so when the angel started stirring Dean walked into his line of vision “Welcome to the party pal” then nodded to Cas “How we looking?” you glanced towards Cas for the answer and let out a relieved breath when the answer was “Most of Sam’s internal burns have healed. I should be able to fix the rest” he looked from Dean to you before addressing the angel in Sam “What’s your name? I thought I knew every angel in heaven, but I’ve never seen you”

The angel glared at the three of you and it made a shiver of horror run up your spine at just how little he sounded like Sam in that moment “Why would I tell you anything?” Dean took a step towards the angel as he said “Well I don’t give a damn who you are. You need to get out now!” “And if I don’t?” the angel challenged to which Crowley actually spoke up and said “Then you and I will have a lovely little playdate”

The angel set his eyes on you when he said “Even bound I can rip this body apart. Tell them Castiel.” “You do, you die” Dean growled but the angel was undeterred “You want this to end? Go ahead and put a blade through your brother’s heart” you felt your chest clench at that very thought and at the look on Dean’s face. You cared too much about both brothers to see that happen, if it came down to it you wouldn’t let Dean.

The angel looked up at Dean “If it makes you feel better, I have Sam locked away in a dream. As far as he knows you, him and Y/N are working a case right now. Something with ghouls and cheerleaders” Dean turned away from him and caught your eye for just a moment before asking him “Why are you doing this? We fought together and I trusted you. You saved Sam and Y/N. I thought you were one of the good guys!”  When that actually seemed to affect the angel that made you curious. It seemed to hurt him when Dean said he thought he was one of the good guys. “I am doing what I have to do” he argued so you shrugged “So are we” 

You nodded to Dean so he looked to Crowley who slowly stood up and grabbed one of the large needles that were laid out onto the table. “So am I” he repeated before digging the first needle into Sam’s skull. The scream the angel let out was pure pain. Cas turned his head away but Dean looked straight on, you knew he was punishing himself for the fact that he still blamed himself for what the angel did. You swallowed hard to keep the bile down that was threatening to come up your throat. Possessed or not that was your best friend in that chair and seeing Dean in pain on top of that? It was almost too much for you to bear.

------

By the time Crowley got the third needle in you couldn’t handle it anymore. You stood from where you’d been sitting “Dean, I’m sorry baby but I can’t” and quickly walked out the room they were in. You felt too hot, like your jacket was choking you despite the cool night. You couldn’t help none of them like this, damn you felt weak.

You sat there on the damp floor trying to catch your breath before you heard footsteps.You didn’t have to glance up to know it was Dean and Cas. You glanced up and Dean shook his head “I couldn’t do it anymore either” 

“It’s not Sam but it’s still Sam” Cas reasoned and you nodded from where you sat. You flinched every time the angel screamed. Cas held a hand out so you let him pull you up to your feet. You glanced at Dean then asked Cas “How are you doing?” 

Cas looked confused for a second as he looked between both of you “You want to talk about me? Now?” “I want to talk about anything that’s not a demon sticking needles into my brother’s brain and I know Y/N feels the same” when Dean’s voice cracked you reached for his arm and he pulled you into his side before he begged “Please humor us Cas, how ya doing?” 

“Um, I’m ok” Cas finally said so you pulled away from Dean and pulled him into a hug. He seemed shocked for a moment then hugged you back. When you pulled away you explained “That’s for not protecting you better when you were human. Cas you’re my family you mean just as much to me as they do”  “Yeah man I’m sorry for kicking you out of the bunker, for not telling you about Sam” Dean added.

Cas simply said “You thought his life was at stake” “Yeah I got played” Dean replied so Cas reminded him “I thought I was saving heaven, I got played too” Dean scoffed “So you’re saying we’re both dumbasses” “You both wanted to trust someone. Someone who portrayed themselves as something they weren’t. Not dumb or ass” you cut in and they both gave you a small smile before Crowley called out “Laverne! Shirley! Sweets! All three of you get in here!”

------

You followed Dean and Cas back into the room. What Crowley wanted to show was that he’d dug around enough to get the angel’s true identity. Gadreel. The angel who had let Lucifer into the garden and doomed all of mankind. 

Cas rightfully had some built up anger at Gadreel but Dean pulled him back and reminded him to chill. Cas shoved his hand off but let your hand remain. “I will for Sam” you nodded a thank you before pulling your hand away.

------

With no other option you stood next to Dean and watched as Crowley’s smoke form left his vessel and flowed into Sam. Cas couldn’t get in without permission so since Sam wouldn't be fast to trust Crowley Dean told him the go word which was poughkeepsie. It meant drop everything and run. It was a system they’d come up with in their early twenties and had worked thus far.

Your eyes were on Sam’s body imagining the fight going on inside his head. You felt Dean’s hand on your lower back and leaned into his touch for comfort. You didn’t want to give voice to the thought inside your head and a part of you was relieved when Cas was the one to say “If this doesn’t work” “It’ll work” Dean cut him off before leaving a light kiss on your temple then walked across the room.

You took a deep breath while you watched Sam’s face for any indication as to what was happening.

------

“Dean!” you called his name a half second before the blinding white light of Gadreel’s essence flowing out of Sam lit up the room. Cas moved to shield your eyes from the light so you turned into his arm. Crowley’s smoke formed followed, flowing back into his vessel. “Sam!” you called moving to help Dean unchain him while Cas worked the remove the needles left behind.

“Sam are you ok?” Cas asked and you could see the confusion on Sam’s face but a vehicle pulling up broke any sort of relief that moment gave. Cas walked over to a window then glanced back “It’s Abaddon!” “Go. The back door. I’ll handle this” Crowley told Dean with a nod.

“Thanks Boris. Don’t die” you muttered while Cas and Dean supported Sam between them. You got in front of them with an angel blade in hand as a precaution. 

------

All of you got far enough away that you could stop for Cas to heal the holes in Sam’s head left by the needles. You stood back watching with your stomach in knots. Would he hate Dean for it? Would he hate you?

After Cas had healed Sam Dean walked over to join the two of them. Cas took a few steps away but you stayed where you were, close enough to hear and intervene if need be but not interfere if unneeded.

“Ok, let me hear it” Dean stated. Sam shrugged “What do you want me to say? That I’m pissed?” Dean nodded so he admitted “Ok, I am. I’m pissed. You lied to me. You got Y/N to lie to me” “He didn’t get me to do anything Sam! I agreed to lie because we didn’t have a choice at the time” you cut in but Sam wouldn’t even look your way before scoffing softly “I was ready to die! “We weren’t ready to let you” you argued and there were tears in Sam’s eyes when he did look your way “So my brother and best friend tricked me into being possessed by some psycho angel?” “He saved your life” Dean spoke and Sam shook his head “I was willing to die..and now Kevin” he trailed off and you felt your heart twist.

“No. That is not on you. Kevin’s blood is on my hands” Dean argued and you started to open your mouth but he shook his head and added “That ain’t ever getting clean” god why did he always have to take the world on his shoulder. “It’s on neither of you! It’s on Gadreel! He killed Kevin!” you stated not backing down from either of them.

“I’m going after Gadreel alone” Dean said after a moment and Sam cut his eyes at you before asking “What does that mean?” Dean tilted his head “Sammy, Y/N...People who get close to me get killed or worse. I can’t lose either of you”

“Go. I’m not going to stop you” Sam told him and you swallowed your words to let the brothers have a moment. Dean stepped away from Sam but stopped when Sam said “But don’t go thinking that’s the problem cause it’s not” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Dean questioned but Sam wouldn’t elaborate “Just go!”

You’d never felt more torn than standing between the two of them, watching one walk away and one stand in place. “Sam” you started but he nodded once “Go with him. He needs you more than I do right now” “Do you hate me?” you whispered and he shook his head “Never” you stepped close enough to press a kiss to his cheek then hurried to catch up to Dean before he climbed into baby.

------

When you grabbed Dean’s arm he froze and looked down at your hand “Y/N what are you doing?” you met his eyes and said “Either I go with you now or I go home and get my jeep and track you. Sam has Cas to help him, I’m not leaving you alone not now anyways” you could see the muscle clenching in his jaw and expected him to argue but he took a deep breath then said “I meant that I can’t lose you sweetheart if something happened to you because of me..” he trailed off but you didn’t need him to finish the thought to know what he meant. “Well then it’s a good thing I’ll be at your side. I know if I die next to you that you did everything you could to keep me alive”

“Get in then” he finally said so you looked back at Sam and Cas before walking around to climb into the passenger seat. You weren’t choosing him over Sam you were just making the choice that felt the most right at the moment and letting Dean drive away alone? You couldn’t do that.

Tags: @facadeformyrealblog @akshi8278

[set-phasers-to-whump]

feel the heat

prompt: overheating

whumpee: nick burkhardt

fandom: grimm

hi! welcome to my first fic for @summer-of-whump! i’m super excited to be doing this event and finally getting back into writing lmao. shit has been crazy but now i get to relax and beat up my faves :) hope you enjoy this one!

“It’s gonna be a hot one out there today, Portland,” announces the DJ on the car radio. “Temperatures are expected to rise into the high nineties and possibly even break 100, so stay cool if you can.”

Hank casts a glance at Nick, who even today is wearing his usual long-shirt-long-pants outfit. “You’re gonna melt, man,” he warns, making the turn that’ll lead them to their latest crime scene - a body at the top of Mt. Tabor Park, stabbed to death and discovered by a jogger early that morning. 

Nick shrugs. “I’ll roll up my sleeves if it’s really that hot.” Privately, though, he has no intention of exposing his arms today. They’re covered in some fairly scary-looking and difficult-to-explain marks, courtesy of a run-in with, of all things, an unusually angry and confrontational Eisbiber. He’ll sacrifice a little discomfort in exchange for no one wondering what the hell kind of animal he’d gotten into a confrontation with.

They arrive at the park, climbing out of the car and into the sweltering midday heat. It’s a bit of a walk up the hill to their murder scene, and by the time they arrive Nick is already feeling the effects of his ill-chosen clothes. But there’s nothing that can be done about it now, so he pushes the discomfort aside and approaches the body. 

‘Stabbed to death’ seems somehow like an understatement in this particular case. The body is absolutely covered in stab wounds, each one at least two inches long and the majority of them fairly deep. Someone had certainly been angry, or had wanted to be really sure that this person was dead. 

“Damn,” Hank says, which sums up Nick’s feelings on the matter quite well. He takes a step closer to the body, then looks up suddenly as something catches his attention. It’s a person, he realizes, trying very hard to sneak away from the area unnoticed. But they must sense his attention, because all of a sudden they start running. Naturally, so does Nick.

Hank’s eye catches the movement at the same instant that Nick takes off running down the other side of the hill. Someone is racing off through the trees, dressed all in black and obviously fleeing something, presumably the police presence at the scene of the murder they committed. He starts running as well, and although Nick has a couple seconds and his Grimm-ness to his advantage, Hank catches up to him after no more than a minute, panting, with his hands braced on his knees. He’s definitely regretting his choice of clothes right now, Hank thinks, scanning the scenery around them for any signs of their possible killer. 

“Lost them,” Nick voices Hank’s thoughts as he straightens up. He gives Hank a rueful sort of half-smile and then takes a look at the hill they’ve just run down. He really wishes that they didn’t have to climb back up it. He feels sort of...odd. Weirdly dizzy, and way too tired for the fairly small amount of running he’s just done. That’s probably not good, he thinks, and then starts the unavoidable walk back up. 

Hank walks beside Nick, who is walking at a slower pace than normal. He wonders why in the hell Nick doesn’t roll up his sleeves, or at the very least undo the top button of his Henley. Hank himself is hot and more than a little uncomfortable in his t-shirt and lightweight pants, and he can only imagine how much more uncomfortable Nick must be. Maybe it’s a Grimm thing, he figures. Maybe Nick is less sensitive to extreme temperatures, or something.

Nick so desperately wishes that Grimms were resistant to the heat. But if anything, it feels like he’s more susceptible to it. The air is like a thick blanket wrapped way too tightly around his body, slowly suffocating him, cutting off the air to his lungs and making him feel like he might just collapse at any second. He imagines his choice of clothes today is also not helping, but his arms feel too weak to reach up and undo a button, and the sleeves are a non-starter regardless. At least they’re almost to the top of the hill…

Nick and Hank step back into the main part of their crime scene just as the techs are packing up. Wu waves them over from where he’s standing next to a bench, looking at something in his notebook. “We’re just about done here, unless you guys noticed anything else while you were running away?”

Hank waits for Nick to tell Wu about the person they’d seen fleeing, but after a second it becomes clear that Nick must be expecting Hank to speak, so he says, “we saw someone running off down the hill. We followed them, but they got away. I didn’t get a good look - just that they were dressed all in black. Did you get a better look?” He turns to Nick with the question. 

Nick shakes his head once, then immediately stops when the world starts spinning. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, pushing down a sudden, intense wave of dizziness and nausea. Something is wrong, he thinks, but he has no idea what it is. 

“Nick? You good?”

Nick opens his eyes at Wu’s question. “Yeah,” he manages to say. He thinks he should probably elaborate a little, but he really doesn’t have the energy. 

“O...kay,” Wu says, glancing between Nick and Hank like he’s maybe missed something. Hank, for his part, is looking at Nick, who is looking a little bit off. His face is pale, his eyes are unfocused, and he generally looks kind of miserable. But before he can ask Nick whether he’s really okay, Wu is continuing. 

“If that’s all you guys saw, I’ll let the Captain know. I don’t know how much we’ll be able to do with ‘running figure, dressed all in black,’ but it’s something.” He pauses for a second, wipes a hand across his forehead. “They must be crazy, wearing head-to-toe black in this heat. Now, I think I’m gonna retreat to the air conditioning in my patrol car, if you don’t mind.”

With that, Wu heads off, meandering down the path to where his car is parked. 

“Let’s follow him,” Hank says, starting off after Wu. “Some air conditioning sounds pretty damn good to me right now.”

Nick tries to follow him, but his legs feel like they’ve suddenly turned into lead. “Hank,” he says, reaching out a hand to try and tap Hank’s retreating shoulder. 

He misses wildly, obviously, but Hank turns around anyway. “You okay?”

Talking feels like the most difficult task in the world, but after a moment of intense concentration, Nick is able to string a few words together. “I feel…” 

How does he feel again? Oh. Right.

“Really bad.”

His knees choose that exact moment to buckle, and fortunately Hank has also chosen that moment to hurry back over to Nick. He catches him before he hits the ground, then wraps an arm around Nick to keep him standing. 

This close, he knows something isn’t right. Nick is shaking, and far sweatier than he should be, even considering his warm clothes and recent physical activity. Hank puts a hand to the side of his neck and feels Nick’s pulse, which is absolutely racing beneath his fingers. His skin is strangely cold to the touch. Heat exhaustion.

“We need to cool you down,” Hank says firmly, moving his arm to wrap around Nick’s waist as he begins walking towards the car. 

“Wha’s happening?” Nick mumbles, his feet dragging along the ground. He tries to make them move, but they refuse. He feels so bad. 

“You have heat exhaustion, and if we don’t cool you down, you’re going to have to go to the hospital. This turns into heatstroke and it can kill you,” Hank says, reaching into his pocket with the hand that’s not currently preventing Nick from faceplanting into the ground and grabbing his keys. 

Nick catches the words “exhaustion,” “cool,” and “hospital,” and immediately uses what little strength he currently possesses to try and pull away from Hank. “No hospital,” he says pleadingly. He hates the hospital.

“You won’t have to go to the hospital as long as you cool off,” Hank repeats. He pushes the unlock button on the keys. “We’re almost to the car, and then you can sit down and we’ll turn on the air conditioning and get you some water.”

“‘Kay,” Nick agrees, again having heard approximately half of Hank’s words but getting the general sense of what they mean, which essentially boils down to no hospital, which is more than good enough for him. 

They reach the car at long last, and Hank carefully leans Nick against the side of it as he opens the passenger door. He guides Nick inside and closes him in, then circles around the front of the car and gets into the driver’s seat, wincing at the stagnant heat trapped in the car. He quickly turns on the engine and cranks the air conditioning on full blast, slamming his door. That done, he leans into the backseat, searching for the water bottle that he knows he’d left in there the other day. He finds it underneath the seats and pulls it free triumphantly, then hands it to Nick. 

“It’s gonna be warm, but it’s better than nothing. Drink it all,” he instructs. 

Nick doesn’t say anything, but his shaking hands twist off the cap, and he drinks the whole bottle. It is unpleasantly warm, as Hank had warned, but it feels like the best thing in the entire world anyway. He actually starts to feel a little bit better, and cautiously opens his eyes. 

And promptly shuts them when the world starts spinning again. ‘A little bit better’ from ‘really bad’ is still pretty bad, evidently. 

“Try putting your head down,” Hank says, gently prying the empty bottle from Nick’s hands. “It might help with the dizziness.”

Nick complies, resting his head between his knees and trying to take a few deep breaths. He feels Hank reach across him and buckle his seatbelt, and then they’re moving, and he’s suddenly very glad that he’s already in the anti-dizziness position. 

“Where we going?” he asks quietly, when he feels somewhat like he can speak.

“My place,” Hank says. It had seemed like the easiest option. It’s closer to the park than Nick and Juliette’s, and certainly closer than the precinct or Monroe and Rosalee’s. He answers the question he’s sure Nick would be asking if he felt up to it. “I texted Wu and told him. He said he’d let Renard know that we’d both be taking off early today.”

Ordinarily, Nick would argue against this decision, try to insist that he is fine and fully capable of going back to work. But honestly, he feels so far from fine right now, and the thought of lying down on Hank’s couch with the fan going and a nice cold glass of water sounds like heaven. So just this once, he doesn’t fight it. He lets Hank take care of him.

thanks for reading this! i hope you enjoyed :) i did a lot of research on temperatures and heat exhaustion and whatnot for this and had a good time lol. also i feel the need to say idk if we ever know where hank lives so the part ab him living closer to the park is just made up on my part. 

[yjhgvf]

So… I was planning to write the (gijinka) ‘Menadora Family Campout Fic’ (The AI!Pickle AU Pickle Family Campout Episode), but literally the first scene, the replacement for the scene where Pickle falls off a cliff and Blaze saves him and then they leave for the campout, which took like 2-3 minutes in the actual episode, ended up being, *checks google doc* 3.5k fucking words. So since I write too goddamn much, and my writing is kinda shit anyways, have the first scene of the fic that I may or may not continue writing.

~~~

It was a warm summer day on the outskirts of Axle City, more specifically in the forests near the city. The perfect day to play a game of basketball, or maybe do a bit of friendly racing, or, in the case of one individual and his computerized companion stopped on the side of the road in an area between the forest and a canyon, do some camping.

“Are you sure we have to check the supplies again?” A large, old-school computer monitor with a surprisingly crystal clear display was sat on a flat rock. The image on the computer was of a majorelle blue head with generally straight but at the same time curved bangs and hair as well as simple vivid cerulean eyes on a space colored dark blue background. The head had a face that displayed annoyance with a hint of anger.

“Pickle, I need to make sure we have everything we need for the campout. I don’t want to disappoint my family.” A foot or two away from the computer monitor was a dark cornflower blue haired, definitely white male with antenna headphones and a somewhat dirty lab coat. His hair was almost block-like, covering one almost black colored eye with almost straight ends, while the other eye was miraculously uncovered due to two laurel green barrettes pushing the hair aside. The male was rooting through a knapsack, taking out various items and placing them beside him.

“But Crusher, you’re taking forever!” Pickle’s face changed from annoyance to impatience. “By the time you’re done checking over our stuff for the 4th time since we’ve left, it’ll probably already be nighttime.” He earned himself a glare from Crusher, who had practically emptied the knapsack. He turned towards the monitor.

“This won’t take too long, just as long as you cooperate. Now could you please pull up the list.” Crusher half snapped. Pickle let out a huff and his head disappeared from the screen, being replaced by a list of various items.

“Alright. We have a flashlight, my sleeping bag, bug spray,” Pickle crossed off items on the list as Crusher put the items back in his knapsack, “sunscreen, multi-tool, axe, duct tape.”

“What is this, a kidnapping?”

“Shut up, Pickle. Matches, water bottle, books, poncho, generator, hand cranked radio.”

“This isn’t the apocalypse, Crusher.”

“Pickle. Compass, binoculars, phone charger, charcoal, trash bags, and roasting sticks. Am I forgetting anything?”

“The marshmallows!” Pickle exclaimed as the list was eradicated from the screen and his head once again came up.

“Right. We have those in the truck. Thank you.” Crusher lifted up the knapsack, slightly stumbling from the weight of it, and walked over to his truck, opening the back door and placing it in the back seat. He shut the back door and then immediately opened the passenger door before making his way to Pickle. He picked up the monitor, stumbling quite a bit from the weight of a literal fucking computer monitor, and slowly carryed it over to the truck.

“Careful you don’t drop me! I don’t really want to experience breakage again.”

“This monitor is surprisingly durable. It survived Libra throwing it down three flights of stairs.”

“Libra? As in the constellation? How did a group of stars manage to do that?”

“No, Pickle. Libra as in my cousin. You’ll meet her when we get to the campsite.” Crusher explained as he carefully placed the monitor in the passenger seat and put the seatbelt around it. He shut the door and got in on the driver’s side, starting up the truck and putting it in reverse.

“Alright, Pickle. Now that we’re sure that we have everything, we can have a smooth ride to the campground. It seems you did a good parking job too. I’ll just back up so we have more room to get out, then we’ll be on our way.” Crusher was about to lightly step on the gas. Pickle’s face lit up (metaphorically, not literally).

“I almost forgot to tell you! I parked the truck almost right next to the cliff so you’d already have room to get out fine! If you were to reverse, we’d fall straight off the cliff!” Pickle excitedly exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, you WHA-” Crusher had stepped on the gas. Luckily, before the truck rolled off the cliff, Crusher quickly slammed on the brakes and put the truck in park. The truck didn’t have much time to react, but luckily stopped just in time, not without jostling the passengers inside.

…

Nah, I’m just kidding. Crusher didn’t have enough time to react and the truck went straight off the cliff.

Crusher’s life flashed before his eyes as he screamed and held on for dear life. The truck roughly rolled down the canyon, never granting mercy towards the human driving it or the AI in the passenger seat. Not that Pickle was really bothered. Pickle was more or less having the time of his life as he felt as if he was on a roller coaster, if the roller coaster was one of those roller coasters GrayStillPlays builds in RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.

The truck roughly, but finally, came to a stop at the bottom of the cliff. By now, the airbags had deployed, keeping Crusher safe from any major injuries. The knapsack was open and it’s contents had spilled on the backseat floor, but Crusher didn’t care at the moment. All he was focusing on was regaining his composure and keeping himself from panicking. The truck was filled with silence.

“I told you we’d fall off the cliff.” Pickle said after a minute or two had passed.

“YEAH, THAT WAS WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO DRIVE!” Crusher screamed at him.

“No. I told you before you pressed on the gas. You had time to react.”

“NO I FUCKING DIDN’T!”

“But… I would have had time to react…”

“I’M NOT AN AI PROGRAM, I CAN’T JUST…” Crusher paused and let out a sigh. It was no use trying to argue with Pickle, as the AI would most likely need a thorough explanation in order to understand. “You know what, forget it. We have more important things to worry about. Like if the tru-”

“LIKE IF THE MARSHMALLOWS ARE OK!” Pickle shouted in horror.

“No! Like if the truck’s ok!” Crusher countered as he fumbled to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the truck. He backed up from the truck in order to take a look at it. The truck had dents all over it, with the biggest one directly on the front of the truck, where the engine was.

“Fucking great.” Crusher mumbled. He ran some thoughts in his head as he went to the passenger side to take Pickle out of the truck.

He didn’t want to get back in and drive the truck, as it was too dangerous and most likely a bomb at this point. It was also too dangerous to use his magnokinesis, as he didn’t have any ideas on a machine to get them out of the canyon, and even if he did, he still didn’t want to take the risk of driving the truck-bomb to the machine just for a simpler way of getting it out. He could find a way out of the canyon on foot and then come back to drive the truck there, or perhaps he could have his map app on his phone find a way out.

It was now that he wished Pickle had all the features he normally had in the lab. The old-school computer monitor, as durable as it was (that’s why it was ideal for travel), didn’t allow for all the fancy features Pickle had in the lab on the main computer, such as a pathfinding program and DuckDuckGo. Crusher could barely fit the main computer parts in the monitor and had to compact all the parts majorly so that they all fit and still kept room open in case he had to put an extra part in there for emergencies. He sadly had to sacrifice DuckDuckGo for Bing in order to accomplish that, and he promised DuckDuckGo that when he was able to compact Pickle’s parts to allow more room in the monitor, he’d add it first.

By now, Crusher had placed Pickle on the canyon floor. As expected, the monitor had little to no damage. It’d take a lot more than a truck falling off a maybe 250 ft cliff in order to put a dent in the monitor. Crusher really got his money’s worth out of the monitor, because who knew $20 would get you such a sturdy piece of technology. He walked back over to the truck and opened the back door to take a look at how much had fallen out of the knapsack. A large portion of the items had fallen out, but a majority of them were undamaged from the looks of it. The only damage he could observe at the moment was the glass on the compass being shattered, the axe severing the duct tape, and the marshmallows being squished.

“Are the marshmallows ok?!” Pickle shouted from where he was, not being able to see the inside of the truck.

“Depends. Do you like squished marshmallows?” Crusher replied sarcastically as he began to pick up the fallen contents and place them back into the knapsack.

“What?! Damn it! I was looking forward to eating those!” Pickle’s face snapped from fading neutrality to anger. Crusher rolled his eyes.

“You can’t even eat, Pickle. Besides, we need to focus on getting out of here. I might have to call a tow truck as soon as I get the knapsack all packed up again.” Crusher grumbled as he continued to carefully pack the items, examining each one he picked up for damage. He unfortunately found that the can of bug spray had gotten a crack and was slowly, but annoyingly leaking. He would have used the duct tape to fix it, but the duct tape was busy making out with the axe inside it, so he couldn’t. Frustrated, he threw the can at the offending canyon he’d rolled down not even 15 minutes ago at this point.

“Oh oh oh! I can call a tow truck for you!” Pickle exclaimed, a little too excited to help, as his face quickly changed from anger to happiness. Crusher briefly turned towards him and gave an approving nod before going back to repacking. Pickle paused for some time, turning up his volume as loud as it could go. And then…

“TOW TRUCK!!! WE NEED A TOW TRUCK!!!” Crusher practically had a heart attack from Pickle’s screaming, and proceeded to whip his head around with murder written in his expression.

“Why would you DO that?!” Crusher angrily questioned. Pickle gave a neutral expression.

“I was calling a tow truck. Just like I said I would.”

“Do you really think anyone will hear your screaming?!”

“You clearly did, so someone might!”

“Pickle, that’s because I’m right ne-” Crusher was cut off by the loud sound of a horn. A familiar horn at that. Where had he heard that horn before? Oh wait. No. No fucking way did he of all people hear Pickle’s obnoxious and idiotic screaming for help. Crusher couldn’t believe it, but as he looked up, he saw a large, gray and red shadow pass over them from one side of the canyon, emitting a sharp flash of bright red midair before landing gracefully on the other side.

“It’s Blaze!” Pickle happily shouted, representing both canyon dwellers’ thoughts. Crusher dropped the knapsack on the ground in shock. He quickly picked up the binoculars, conveniently the final item he needed to put back in, from off the floor of the back seat and ran beside Pickle, putting them to his eyes and focusing on the higher up truck. The truck wasn’t Blaze’s normal monster truck, but was instead a tow truck. Crusher lowered the binoculars in disbelief.

“Did he just turn his truck into a tow truck?” Crusher was familiar with Blaze’s transforming vehicle. He had seen Blaze use it multiple times in order to combat his cheats. And as annoying as it was, Crusher was bewildered by the fact that Blaze would use his transformation superpowers to save him of all people. Actually, it wasn’t bewildering. Crusher was saved by Blaze multiple times, and those transforming capabilities were used on all of those occasions. Crusher really wanted to know how Blaze was able to freely alter the shape of his vehicle to fit the needs of any situation, but wasn’t the time to wonder that. He saw Blaze get out of his truck and run to the edge of the cliff. He assumed Blaze was looking at him and Pickle, so he waved up to him. Blaze waved back from where he was and went towards his truck, grabbing the tow hook and returning to the edge of the cliff.

“What’s he doing?” Pickle asked as they both watched in intrigue.

“Perhaps finding a way to get down to us.” Crusher responded, once again raising the binoculars to his eyes in order to check out Blaze. Blaze had attached the tow hook to a harness he had and was quickly, but carefully, moving down the cliff.

“Crusher, we should bring the truck closer to Blaze for when he gets down! The cable is most likely not long enough!” Pickle pointed out.

“I can’t drive it closer. The engine might be leaking and the car could explode.” Crusher told him, shaking his head as he pulled the binoculars down. Meanwhile, Blaze got to the bottom of the cliff. He removed the tow hook from his harness and moved towards the duo, but suddenly stopped a quarter of the way there when the cable ran out of length, as Pickle predicted. Crusher winced as he looked towards the truck, then back at Blaze, unsure of what to do as he thought.

“What if you put the truck in neutral, and then pushed it?” Pickle asked. Crusher thought about it for a bit, and then his eyes widened in realization.

“That...might actually work!” Crusher exclaimed, running back to the truck, flinging open the driver’s side door, turning on the engine, and shifting the gear into neutral. Immediately, he felt the car roll forward, and quickly shut the door and went to the totalled front, finding two good places to put his hands and pushing. He was meant with resistance at first, but he was able to start slowly moving it towards Blaze. Pickle watched in excitement.

“Go, Crusher! You can do it!” He cheered. Whether it was encouragement from Pickle’s cheers or leftover adrenaline from being in a car crash, Crusher began to push harder on the truck, causing the truck to move faster as it reached Blaze.

“You’re good, Crusher!” Blaze shouted as the truck was finally close enough for him to hook the tow hook on. Crusher stopped pushing and caught his breath as he walked over to the side of the truck, leaning against it. Blaze also walked over to the side where Crusher was, giving him a friendly smile before taking a look at the truck.

“Wow. Your truck’s really banged up. What happened?” Blaze questioned as he took in all the damage Crusher’s truck had sustained.

“Long story short, I’m never trusting Pickle to park anything again. You know, you never realize how big cliffs are until you fall down one.” Crusher explained. Blaze slightly winced at the explanation.

“Well, AJ and I are here to get your truck out! We now just need to find a way to get you and Pickle out.”

“Leave that to me. It’s safer to build something now that I don’t have the truck to worry about.” Crusher responded. Blaze gave a nod and turned to AJ on top of the cliff, giving him a signal to wind up the cable. Crusher turned around and walked back over to where Pickle and the knapsack were, putting the knapsack on as he lifted up Pickle.

“Wow! That was amazing! You were really strong!” Pickle exclaimed as Crusher walked back over to Blaze and AJ pulling the truck out of the canyon.

“Yep. Now we just need to get out. And luckily it’s safe enough to make an easy way out. Any suggestions?”

“Hmmm.” Pickle closed his eyes in thought. “How about…”

“We don’t have all day, Pickle. We need to get to the campgrounds.”

“Be patient, I’m thinking! Oh oh! An elevator! Like a really simple elevator!”

“Alright. I think I can do that.” Crusher switched to holding Pickle in only one hand. He closed his eyes and focused, stretching out a hand towards the edge of the canyon. The antennas on his headphones gave off sparks of lightning and pieces of scrap metal flew out from underneath his lab coat. Pickle watched in amazement as the pieces assembled a medium sized platform elevator (with handrails of course) stretching to the top of the canyon. Crusher opened his eyes and lowered his hand as the sparks stopped coming out from the antennas.

“Wow! That’s cool, Crusher!” Blaze shouted as he came over to where they were. AJ seemed to be having no trouble bringing the truck up, so Crusher assumed that Blaze just needed a ride up. Crusher stepped on the left side of the elevator platform, motioning for Blaze to get on the right side. Blaze gracefully got onto the right side and looked expectantly at Crusher.

“Hang on tight, because we’re going up!” Crusher exclaimed as he pointed upwards. As if on command, the elevator began to rise towards the top of the canyon. Blaze and Pickle gasped in amazement as they saw the view.

“Woah! This looks beautiful!” Blaze exclaimed.

“The canyon does look much better when slowly rising than quickly falling. Pickle analyzed, earning him another glare from Crusher. Soon enough, the three reached the top. Blaze and Crusher stepped off the elevator, the latter raising his free hand and snapping his fingers twice, causing the elevator to split apart back into scrap metal that returned itself back to it’s compartment under Crusher’s lab coat. The truck was already on solid not canyon ground, and AJ got out of the tow truck that retrieved it, running over to Blaze and exchanging a high five.

“Thanks for the help, I guess.” Crusher said. Pickled nodded in agreement.

“No problem you guys.” AJ replied, giving a thumbs up. “Your car’s looking rough though. We’ll have to take it to Gabby’s Garage as soon as possible.” He said, concerned.

“Where were you two even heading anyways?” Blaze questioned, focusing his eyes on Crusher’s knapsack and binoculars.

“We’re going camping with Crusher’s family!” Pickle told them, happiness spread across his face.

“Or at least we were.” Crusher introjected, focused on the totalled truck they were planning on driving. “Now that we don’t have any way to get there… I’m not sure what to do.” Blaze and AJ looked at each other for a few moments and nodded.

“We can drive you guys there! Maybe we can even stay for a bit before taking your car to Gabby’s.” Blaze offered.

“Really?! You’d do that?!” Pickled asked, his face lighting up even more with happiness. Crusher meanwhile quirked an eyebrow.

“Of course! We’re happy to take you guys there!” AJ replied. Pickle looked up at Crusher, non verbally asking for his opinion. This prompted Blaze and AJ to also look at Crusher expectantly. Crusher was silent for a few seconds.

“Fine. I can give you guys the directions and you can take us to the campsite.” Crusher hesitantly responded. A ‘yay’ came from Pickle as excited thumbs ups came from Blaze and AJ.

The four of them went to the tow truck, with Blaze getting in the driver’s seat, AJ getting in the passenger’s seat, and Crusher and Pickle getting in the back. Crusher buckled in Pickle’s monitor, then handed AJ the directions to tell Blaze, and finally relaxed. He’d actually be able to see part of his family after so long, especially his siblings. He was excited, but also nervous to see them face to face after a year. He didn’t really engage much with his family due to being busy. The only member he regularly interacted with was his grammy, and even then, he didn’t see her too often. Would they accept him as if he’s always been there? Would they even remember him? Would they think he’s just some weirdo with a computer for a best friend?

Crusher felt those questions along with many more plague his brain, but as Blaze started to drive towards the campsite, Crusher decided not to let the questions bother him. After all, his siblings hating him for being gone wouldn’t be the worst thing to ever happen to him. No, that spot now belonged to Pickle’s driving. He’s going to have to install a driving program into that monitor now. Which means more time for DuckDuckGo to wait.

~~~

[imnotwolverine]

Driving Home For Christmas

Henry Cavill x OC drabble

Word count: 1.123 

Disclaimer: Fluff

Author’s note: I LOVE CHRISTMAS, mkay? This fic is part of (@toomanystoriessolittletime) Steph’s Christmas Writing Challenge #22 ‘Driving Home For Christmas by Chris Rea’. So here goes. I wish you merry days my darlings! 

Song: Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas

(Link to my Masterlist)

--

‘Driving home for Christmas..yea.’ 

Henry’s fingers drummed on the back of the driver’s seat, his father seemingly immune to his son’s antics as he steered the car through the early December dark.

‘WELL I’M MOVING DOWN THAT LINE!’  

‘Henry!’ I admonished, swatting my hand at his bicep as he offered me one of his shit eating grins, his cheeks dimpling in delight. 

‘What’s that love?’ He turned a little in the small corner of the backseat, his knee touching mine - he was far too big for the backseat and yet he had refused to take the front seat, preferring to get reacquainted during the short drive home. 

I shook my head and laughed. ‘You're such a nerd.’ 

'A nerd? Well at least let me have..sexy nerd! Brave nerd! Saving the maiden from..-’ 

‘The horrible airport. Yes-yes. Thank you.’ I playfully sulked, mouth pouting at the boy who was no longer a boy. I could still see that familiar twinkle in his sky blue eyes, a sole remainder of the chubby boy I had befriended so many years ago. Friends then. Near strangers now. Though thankfully, by some strange twist of fate, he happened to be arriving on that same airport where I got stuck - the bus not arriving, the cabs all taken; he had indeed kind of saved me after one miserable day of delay after delay. 

Henry. Ever the silver lining in my life.

‘Everything okay back there?’ Colin, Henry’s father asked, his eyes peering at us through the rearview mirror.

‘Yes, Mr. Cavill. Thank you so much again for taking me. I mean..I don’t want to be a..’

‘OH please! Darling! Can’t have you walking all the way home now, can we?’ The old Cavill chuckled, then waved at a passerby car. Everyone seemed to know everyone on this island that once had been my home.

‘So.’ Henry shifted in his seat, face melting into a more serious expression. ‘I haven’t seen you back here in..forever.’

‘Likewise..Superman.’ I teased before slowly nodding my head in agreement, lips sucking in as I tended to do when in thought. ‘Last time was like what..LA …4 years ago?’

‘Yep.’ He nodded his head as well, eyes searching my face as I quickly turned my attention to the buttons of my coat; there was something about his gaze that made my cold cheeks grow hot. 

‘So eh..Are you still with that pretty blonde? What’s her name again?’ I swiftly offered him a curious glance. 

‘Nope.’ He sighed. ‘Superman’s not very good at finding a suitable lady for his..’ He used his fingers to quote: ‘super lifestyle.’

‘You’ll find one!’ Colin intervened, to which Henry rolled his eyes.

‘Dad...Come on. I’m 38. Let’s be honest..’

Colin, however, didn’t agree to the sentiment, his finger moving over the volume button to turn it up loud.

So I sing for you

Though you can't hear me

I laughed heartily as his father started to belt the song aloud like his son had done moments earlier, the sorrows of an exhausting day quickly forgotten as I too joined in, wishing to lift Henry’s spirit as he always had mine.

When I get trough

And feel you near me

Henry chuckled softly and gave me a theatrical look of exasperation, eyes rolling in their sockets.

Driving home for Christmas

With a thousand memories

‘That’s true though.’ Henry agreed, before joining in too, his warm laugh back on his dimpling cheeks as the three of us sang along with Rea’s warm jazzy voice.

Far too soon the car halted before my parents home, a slow drizzle somewhat dampening the mood of what should be a magical Christmas. In fact. I wasn’t very much looking forward to this Christmas. I loved my parents, my family. But they were a handful. And I just wanted things to be easy going, like..the Cavill’s Christmases always seemed to be. With a sigh I pushed open the car door, and much to my surprise, Henry did the same.

Without question Henry followed me up to the door step, eyes slightly squinting into the tiny raindrops that danced in the porch light.

‘So much for the Christmas mood.’ I sniffled, nose scrunching as our faces and hair slowly got soaked.

Henry hesitated as we both settled on the door mat, his large frame turning towards me as if he wished to say something, only to let out a cloudy breath before he offered me another grin. 

‘You think that funny, hmm?’ I poked his chest again, though this time he caught my hand, pulling me ever so slightly closer as my breath hitched. Once more his lips slightly parted, as if he wished to speak. But no words came. And then I saw it. Behind the facade of that far too handsome man, blue eyes shining in the low light of the rainy porch-perch, there still was Henry. Shy Henry. My heart ached for shy Henry. He was my weak spot. Always had been. Though, Henry didn’t seem to recognise my calm appreciation, his eyes darting from my parents’ front door to his dad’s car.

‘Eh..’ He cleared his throat, still not finding any words - I smiled inwardly. Yes, he was still a bit of a nerd. 

‘Do you want to have my new number? I think you still have my old one.’ I finally said, eyebrow rising.

It was as if Christmas came early for Henry - albeit just a few hours early. His whole face lit up as his gaze shot back at me, lips parting but this time in giddy joy.

‘Y-yes. Eh.’ He smiled, quickly moving both hands to his pockets to find his phone. I mimicked him and with the awkward fumble of cold, gloved fingers on rainy phone screens, we exchanged our new numbers.

—

‘Who was that?’ My mother tried to keep her tone casual as a knowing eyebrow raised, her hand turning a wooden spoon through some doughy mixture in a mixing bowl.

‘Oh..eh..Henry. We used to be friends in lower school.’

‘Ah..’ Her smile grew. Her red painted lips opened again to continue her questions, but I quickly brushed passed her to greet the others. And my mom? She laughed - OH kids….

—

The warm interior of the car welcomed Henry back and with a relieved sigh he sank into the seat next to his dad, that same darn song somehow STILL playing. With a comical twist of the button, Colin cranked up the volume again.

So I sing for you

Though you can't hear me

When I get trough

Oh and feel you near me

‘DAD.’ Henry rolled his eyes. ‘UGh..Just..drive.’

And though slightly embarrassed by his dad seeing just how little “game” his son really had, Henry couldn’t help but smile - driving home for Christmas was suddenly not so bad after all.

--

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[kieraswriting]

Coffin Chapter Eighteen

Masterpost

“Sir, Liam Hart’s house has been attacked by vampires.”

“I assume he has it handled?”

“No, sir. We have some video, but as far as I know everyone that was living there is dead.”

“Oh? I’m surprised. Do we know where the vampires went?”

“No, sir. But I do have the video. We are working on identifying them.”

“Well done. Once you’re done send out an alert. I want them shot on sight.”

“Yes, sir.”

•^*^••

Roman turned his head for a second when he heard the whimper.

“Please… Please no! I-I didn’t…” came Virgil’s weak voice.

Roman had to watch the road. He wished now he wasn’t the one driving. “Is he ok, Pat?”

“No.” Patton said bitterly. Then his voice came again, a bit more normal. “He’s having nightmares. But if we wake him up he’ll be hurting even worse.”

Patton was in the backseat, cradling Virgil’s head and shoulders so that he could lay down. Roman could barely look at Virgil. He had no idea how Patton was managing it.

A stream of broken pleas fell from Virgil’s lips, interspersed with sounds so pitiful they pierced Roman’s heart.

“Shh, Virgil, I’ve got you now. It’ll be ok,” Patton soothed.

Roman spared another glance backward. Patton was running his fingers through Virgil’s hair, and his face was wet and shiny from tears.

Roman leaned a bit heavier on the gas pedal, wanting to get to their destination as quickly as possible, though he knew that even with speeding it would be several hours.

It was maybe an hour later that Roman heard a sharp gasp, and rapid breathing, that quickly became hyperventilating.

“Virgil, it’s ok, I’m here. I’ve got you now. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

The breathing slowed down gradually, becoming ragged in the way breathing does when someone’s trying not to cry.

“Oh, Virgil, baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry!” Patton started crying.

And then they were both crying. Virgil’s crying was interspersed with gasps and pained noises, and Patton’s with teary reassurances.

Roman didn’t know what to do. He pulled out his phone and called Logan.

“Roman? I’m sure you know I’m very busy right now.”

“I know, I know. But Virgil’s awake.”

The sigh of relief was plain through the phone.

“He’s in a lot of pain and I don’t know what to do.”

“Ok. Try feeding him. Vampires heal quickly just after they’ve eaten.”

“Ok.”

There was some muffled talking that Roman couldn’t make out. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call again as soon as I can.”

Logan hung up.

“Patton, Logan said to feed him. It’ll help him heal.”

“O-ok,” Patton said shakily. “Ow! No, no, Virgil, it’s ok, I’m fine. I’m sorry. It’s ok. Please, just get better.”

Roman again cursed that he was the driver. He knew it was better for Patton to be back there than for him, but he still wanted to be there!

It was a good two hours later that he pulled over, needing gas and to use the bathroom.

•^*^••

Patton also would’ve liked to go inside, but he was not going to leave Virgil alone, and by the time Roman got back Virgil had drifted into a kind of semi-sleep. Patton just could not justify waking him up.

His wrist ached a bit, and it was still bleeding a little. For some reason it wasn’t healing up very quickly this time. Patton wouldn’t have minded except that seeing the blood was turning his stomach.

He ran his hand gently through Virgil’s hair, trying to give what little comfort he could.

Roman cranked the car. “You doing ok?”

Patton nodded. “Yeah. It’s, uh, it’s been a long day. A really, really long day.”

“How—“ Roman started driving. “How soon did it, start?”

Patton swallowed heavily. “Pretty soon.” He looked out the car window at the setting sun. It had been late last night, or maybe early in the morning, when his dad had started banging on their door. His day had felt stretched into a week, and he couldn’t bear to imagine what it had been like for Virgil.

“Oh,” Roman said, the same heaviness sitting in Patton’s stomach apparent in his voice.

Patton nodded, and tears started slipping down his face again. Surely he’d run out soon. There was no way he could cry this much. And it didn’t do any good! He could cry all he wanted but it wouldn’t help Virgil!

But that thought just made the tears come faster.

•^*^••

“There’s the last of them,” Logan said. “Unless you want me to drop you off somewhere.”

“Nah,” Remus said, leaned back crookedly over the seat, completely unbuckled. “I think I’ll go with Dee Dee and Thomas.”

Logan nodded. “That would make sense, if it’s really what you want to do.”

“Eh.”

It didn’t take them long to meet up with the other car, though Remus was almost disturbingly quiet during the ride.

Thomas traded with Logan, and Dee went with him and Remus. Logan got into the backseat of the car Emile was driving, and Remy was in the passenger seat.

“We’ll contact you in a week,” Logan said, and was met with a firm nod from Thomas.

Logan still didn’t like this plan. While it might keep them safe, it also weakened them in case of attack, and there was nothing they could do in terms of helping any other vampires. But it did keep them safe, probably. So it was their best bet. At least until someone came up with anything better.

•^*^••

There was almost certainly an ambush both at their house and at the farmhouse. There was no way to return to get anything.

Thomas just drove. He didn’t know where they’d be staying that night, aside from the car, but he couldn’t chance being anywhere near Liam’s house. Probably not even in the same state. Hopefully crossing state lines would be enough. Hopefully. But it might well not be.

As it turned out, Remus wasn’t the absolute worst person to have in the backseat. He kept talking almost constantly, usually about things that Thomas hoped didn’t relate to vampires. Dee scoffed and rolled his eyes at every other sentence, but Thomas caught a hint of an amused smile more than once.

•^*^••

It hurt.

It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

It hurt .

Everything hurt.

Virgil was constantly holding back whimpers and other sounds. He didn’t want them to know. They could see him, but silver never looked as bad as it felt.

Even after he’d eaten, and could just barely distinguish the itch of healing within the sea of pain, it still hurt.

His one anchor was Patton’s hand carding softly through his hair. The only thing on his whole body that didn’t hurt.

And then the car stopped again. Virgil was hazily slipping in and out of a semi-sleep. He didn’t catch the words Patton and Roman were saying, until they tried to lift him.

Virgil let out a pained yell. His arm flailed, reaching for Patton.

“Shh, shh, it’s ok, Virgil. We need you to be quiet, ok?”

“Can’t,” Virgil choked out.

“Ok, ok. Um.”

“Here, let me, Pat. You get the other end.”

“No! Please.” Virgil started crying and pleading with them to not pick him up. It hurt. It hurt so bad!

“I’m sorry, Virgil, I’m so sorry,” Roman said, and then put a hand over his mouth. “Now, Pat.”

They lifted, and Virgil screamed against Roman’s hand.

They carried him inside somewhere, and laid him on a bed.

“There, it’s done. I’m sorry, Virgil. I am. I’m truly sorry.” Roman left a thousand apologies before the exhaustion took over the pain, and Virgil slipped again.

•^*^••

They were in a tourist town.

“Why would you pick this place?” Logan asked, when he realized that Remy was turning in to a driveway.

“Because everyone’s a stranger here babe,” Remy said quickly. “Now I’ll hop out and work my magic, you two don’t watch.”

He took off his sunglasses and slipped them on Emile, and then got out of the car. Emile immediately turned up the music.

It was a while before Remy came back out, and was followed by a small family with heaps of bags, who piled into their car and drove away.

“What is it that you tell them?” Logan asked.

Remy flashed a smile, “They've won a cruise! I am here to personally give them the address and they have to leave right away for a ninety day cruise in the Bahamas!”

“Isn’t that… needlessly cruel?” Logan asked. “They have to drive a long way for nothing, and then they’re left with no house, and less money.”

“Who said it’s nothing?” Remy said with a wink, taking his sunglasses back.

“He really does own a cruise ship somewhere,” Emile explained. “It’s not the Bahamas, but it’s pretty nice. The ship is called Remy too.”

“Have you been on it?” Logan asked.

Emile nodded. “It was a long time ago, but yeah. That’s where I met him. I actually bought my ticket, though.”

Logan nodded slowly, though, to be honest, this just raised more questions.

•^*^••

“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing,” Thomas said.

“Are you kidding? It’s perfect!” Remus was out of the car and running around like a hyperactive child.

“I don’t know what you see in it,” Dee muttered, putting the seats all the way back.

Thomas just sighed. Sleeping in his car at a state rest stop wasn’t his idea of comfortable, but it was empty, and thus probably safe. And he still had Dee. And Remus, but Remus was more a wild card than a comfort.

There were bathrooms, and a vending machine for ‘breakfast’ in the morning. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

•^*^••

Patton didn’t sleep. He almost didn’t dare touch Virgil, for fear of hurting him. He sat on the edge of the bed, gently running his fingers through Virgil’s hair, and keeping a damp washcloth for his forehead. The poor boy was hot with fever, which Patton had hoped vampires couldn’t get, but apparently they could.

“Well, silver is poison to them,” Roman had murmured. “It burns, but too much will kill them. I just hope we got him in time.”

Patton couldn’t think about what if they were too late. They had him now. Surely that was enough. They were doing everything they could. Surely. Surely he’d get better.

[deathnotesecretexchange]

Title: Gift Exchange

From: @anakien

To: @user-null

Prompt: Mello & Near gift exchange without the other knowing

Word Count: ~3,800 words

A/N: Hi! I hope you enjoy this! :)

Mello will never admit it, but he's always liked Christmas.

He has fuzzy memories from being a kid, long before he was ever brought to Wammy's. On Christmas Eve, he attended church services with his mother. He remembers kneeling with her in the pews, clutching her rosary, and listening to her sing.

He can't picture her face anymore, but he remembers her there.

Christmas at Wammy's is different. Wammy's is always lighter, somehow. The place is decorated, all lights and trees and little ugly snowflake decorations up on the walls. Roger takes a carload to the nearest church for the Christmas Eve service, though Mello no longer goes. The chefs bake more, laying out plates of cookies and other spiced holiday desserts. And though all of the kids are too intelligent to truly believe in Santa, Watari's and L's Santa traps are kind of fun (though, as always, it's only a test for the successor path).

But Mello's favorite part of Christmas might be the gift exchange they do every year. Some of the older kids started it several years ago, X, Y, and Z, but every year the tradition continues.

This year, Linda begged and begged until the others let her organize the exchange. They pile into one of the empty classrooms after dinner, the others buzzing with excitement. Even Matt looks relatively excited, his GameBoy ever-present but sitting paused in his lap.

Even that little twit Near is around, sitting quietly in the corner. He meets Near's gaze and holds it for a moment. Near doesn't look happy really, but there's still something akin to excitement in his gaze.

Mello doesn't let that curb his good mood, his own excitement still bubbling in his belly. He turns away, back to Matt, and shoves him to go put their names in the hat.

Linda yells at everyone to settle down, hands on her hips. She trots around the room, waving the hat under everyone's nose.

Matt draws his slip first, and then Mello grabs his, under Linda's watchful eyes.

He leans back and peers at it. Linda, the slip reads. He snorts. Easy. All he has to do is get her art supplies.

He watches her flounce off to the next person, and Matt groans as soon as she's out of earshot.

"Damn. I wanted her," he says. He pushes his goggles up to the top of his head and sighs.

Mello smirks. He is no stranger to Matt's not-so-secret crush. He briefly flashes Matt his little slip of paper, and Matt's eyes grow wide.

"Switch with me."

Mello cackles. "No way. She's easy to buy for."

"Mello," Matt says pleadingly. He's practically begging, and Mello relishes in this newfound control. "Come on, man. Let's switch."

"What'll you give me?"

"A month's supply of chocolate."

"You were going to give me that anyway. That's my Christmas gift."

"Two months!"

"Six. And next time Roger gets on my ass, you cover for me."

Matt sighs and looks longingly over in Linda's direction. "Three months, but I'll do the Roger thing."

"Deal." Mello sticks out his hand, Matt shakes it, and they exchange slips.

Only that's when Mello realizes he never found out who exactly Matt had. He unfolds Matt's slip to see Near written in tiny letters.

"Hell no," he says immediately, trying to shove the slip back into Matt's hands.

Matt gives him wide eyes. "Come on, we shook on it."

Mello grits his teeth. He turns around, scouting for Near. Nowhere in sight; he must've left as soon as he got his paper.

"I hate that little sheep," he sneers.

Matt looks genuinely, legitimately disappointed, and Mello's resolve starts to falter.

"I'm a good fucking friend," Mello grumbles finally.

Matt's face lights up, and he slaps Mello on the shoulder, grinning.

They leave the room, and Mello fights the irritation that lingers.

------

One week before Christmas, Roger rounds up all the kids who want to physically buy their gifts to head to the closest department store.

He and Matt climb into one of the vans, followed in by Sura and Hermine. Both girls chatter away in the front row, smiling at Matt but ignoring Mello.

Mello scowls and looks out the other window. He can practically feel Matt's silent gloating, though he stays quiet as he pulls out his GameBoy.

"Got room for two more?" A new voice says. Mello turns, and Linda grins at them. Near stands next to her, looking as impassive as ever.

Matt lights up and immediately scrambles out of the back seat, making room for Linda.

"Come here," Sura says to Linda, beckoning her over. Linda gives Matt an apologetic smile and scoots into the middle row next to Hermine.

Near stands expectantly, looking up at Matt.

"We got room," Matt says to Near. Matt looks disappointed, but Near obviously doesn't care. Mello averts his eyes as both turn towards him, angling his body as close to the side as possible.

Mello stiffens as Near climbs in next to him. He remains still, holding his breath, even as Near straps in and ignores him. Matt climbs in next, sending Mello a silent expression that's a mix of amused and apologetic.

Near suddenly leans even more into Mello's space, digging into his pants pocket, and Mello chokes for a moment. Out Near pulls a small wooden toy and then moves back into his own space. He murmurs a small apology, obviously waiting on Mello to yell at him.

Instead, Mello could only focus on how warm he was, and on how soft his hair was against his cheek.

"Watch it," Mello mutters, but without any venom. It's also a beat too late, and Matt is staring at him with an eyebrow raised. He snorts on the other side of the van, trying belatedly to turn it into a cough. Mello glares over Near's head, feeling his cheeks heat in embarrassment.

Their staring match is interrupted as Roger climbs in the driver's seat, craning around to count them. He sighs, visibly exhausted, at seeing Near next to Mello.

"Mello, am I going to have to separate you two?"

One of the girls giggles, and Mello's cheeks flush even more.

"You don't have to worry about me," he says irritably. "Tell the sheep to stick to his seat."

"I'll be okay," Near says, not even looking up at Roger.

Roger sighs again, but turns around, cranks the engine, and they're on their way.

The girls chat amiably. Matt sticks to his GameBoy, occasionally leaning over to say something to Linda, and Near fiddles with his toy. Mello gets bored of ignoring everyone after about ten minutes and turns to watch Near.

He's playing with one of those wooden block puzzles, where the goal is to get one brightly red piece to slide neatly out of the entrance. He watches Near fiddle with it for longer than expected, until Near finally clears an open line and frees the piece.

Near huffs a little, pleased. Suddenly, he turns to Mello and holds the puzzle up. "Want to try?"

Mello cocks his head and reaches out to snag the toy. "I'm only doing this because I'm bored," he says, "not because I think your stupid toy is cool or anything."

Near jerks the puzzle back, but before Mello can say something angrily, he mixes up the pieces on the block, setting it up for Mello to have a fresh start. He holds it back towards Mello, who grabs it silently.

"It's more fun when it's a challenge," Near says simply.

Mello doesn't know what to say, so instead he turns his attention back down to the block and begins. Near stays quiet, simply watching.

It's kind of fun. Mello will never actually admit it, but it scratches the itch for challenge in his mind.

And damn, Near mixed the pieces up well.

He finishes the puzzle, sliding out the little red piece, just as the van pulls into the store parking lot. Grinning, he looks sideways at Near and holds up the piece.

"Got it," he says, radiating satisfaction.

The corners of Near's mouth tilt up, and he gently takes the piece and toy back from Mello. "On the ride back, you can attempt to complete it faster than me."

Mello snorts. His chest feels warm. "Yeah, right. I definitely beat that faster than you!"

Near's eyes are bright. "Perhaps with a little more practice."

Mello opens his mouth to shoot back another comment, but Near doesn't wait to hear it, already slipping out of the backseat and heading towards the store without looking back.

Mello sits for a moment, an odd feeling in his chest that only occurred when Near smiled at him. He brushes it off and climbs out after him. Matt, waiting just outside the van door, steadies his arm as he trips out.

"Well," Matt says, amused, "that was new."

"What?"

"Oh, you know. Just you sitting next to Near and not trying to kill him for once."

Mello scoffs. "Shut up."

"It's a Christmas miracle!"

Mello shoves him.

———

The store is ridiculously crowded. There's still another week left until Christmas, but people are already out in swarm.

He and Matt split up at the sight of the crowd of people. Mello heads straight back for the toy section, pushing and shoving his way through. Luckily, the puzzles aren't really picked over, and he picks out a 1,000 piece puzzle with some picturesque mountain landscape on it.

Well, that was easy.

Roger gave them an hour to shop. It's barely been fifteen minutes. Groaning, he trudges off in the direction of the craft aisle, in search of Matt.

Said friend is found squatting on the floor, looking between two identical green paints.

"I'm done," Mello says. "Come on."

Matt waves him off. "Go check out." He holds the tubes up towards the light. "I have to pick the best shade."

Mello rolls his eyes. "Those are literally the same color."

Matt shushes him and squints even more at the paint.

Mello huffs and turns to head out. As he leaves, the white paint catches his eye. Near's voice echoes in his head, "It's more fun when it's a challenge." He grabs a tube and heads to check out.

———

For the ride home, Near gets into the other van. Mello doesn't know why this actually bothers him.

———

Only a couple of days before Christmas, Mello actually gets started on Near's gift. It's painstaking - painting each piece white, front and back.

Matt ribs him a little about it and snags a picture of him sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, legs kicked up in the air and tongue peeking out. Mello threatens to break his camera, but Matt laughs and hides it away. Pretty soon, it's all forgotten as he has to get back to painting.

When he's finally finished, it looks pretty damn great, if he says so himself. He's never been one for puzzles, so he doesn't bother to put it together by himself. He somehow cons Matt into doing it with him, and when it's finished, both of them stare at it.

"I think Near'll like it," Matt says, stretching out the crick in his neck, "but you could never pay me to do that again."

"It needs something else," Mello says, squinting down at it.

Matt shrugs. "I think the white looks good."

Mello doesn't disagree, but it sticks in the back of his mind until he sees Linda the next day. She's an artist; she'll be a better judge of style than Matt, who wears that same ugly vest and goggles everyday.

He waves her over. "Come look at this for me."

She looks confused, but follows him back to his and Matt's room. He points out the puzzle.

"Oh! That looks good. For Near, right?"

"It needs something else," he says bluntly, "but I don't know what."

She hums. "What about his name? Or initial?"

Mello considers it. "Can we make it small? The white - he says he likes a challenge."

She looks at him, amused. "Oh, so you've talked to him some more?"

"Shut up. Can you sketch an N or not?"

She grins and grabs a pencil off of Matt's desk. In the top left corner, she draws the N, stylized in the same font that L does his.

"What about this? You can paint it," she says, leaning back on her feet when she's done. "I have black paint you can borrow to fill it in."

"Thanks." It was exactly what he had in mind. She drops the paint off and he spends the evening doing delicate, small strokes so each line is straight.

He leaves it out to dry. Even Matt grudgingly admits it looks better than before.

There's still a couple more days until Christmas, but Mello can't help but be excited, even though the gift is for Near of all people. He thinks about the weird way he felt the other day when Near smiled at him. It probably is just excitement for the idea, no big deal.

———

The gift exchange takes place on Christmas evening, after dinner. Mello's been antsy all day, but he only started to get a little nervous once the meal was over. He's pretty sure Near will like the puzzle. After all, it's practically custom-built for the little twit. Still, his stomach twists uncomfortably as he watches Near from across the dining hall.

As if knowing Mello's thinking about him, Near looks up and catches his gaze. Mello immediately looks down at his food. He forces himself to look away for the rest of dinner, though he can still feel Near's eyes on him every now and then.

Everyone meets back up in the living area fifteen minutes after dinner. It's enough time to go back and grab the gift. He'd wrapped it the day before, so all he has to do is pick it up and head back with Matt. Matt has Linda's gift tucked under one of his arms, and his GameBoy under the other.

There's already a crowd of people waiting and chatting loudly. Matt and Mello sit with some of the other guys. Mello keeps one eye on the door, waiting for Near to walk in. As more and more people file in, Near still doesn't show. He shifts, antsy.

"Dude, relax," Matt says. "He'll show."

"I'll be pissed if I put in all this work for nothing," Mello grumbles.

Matt rolls his eyes. "Sure. That'll be why you're upset."

Before Mello can spit something back, Near walks in, just as composed as ever. He holds a small brown box in his hands, a deck of cards resting on top.

Matt nudges him. "What did I say?"

"Shut up."

"Everyone, quiet!" Linda stands up, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Is anyone not here? I think everyone's here. We're about to get started! I'll read off the names. If you have that person, bring them their gift. Easy?"

The room buzzes, and she flaps a hand to get everyone to be quiet.

"Okay, first off... Ronan?"

There's not a whole lot of students, but the exchanges still seem to drag. Mello occasionally throws peeks towards Near, who doesn't even look like he's paying attention. Instead, he's building a tower with his cards.

Linda calls her own name at some point and looks ridiculously excited over her new paints. Matt practically glows all the way back to his seat, which only grows more intense as he opens Hermine's gift for him - some brand new game for his console.

"Near!"

Near looks up expectantly when his name is called. Mello slowly gets to his feet at Matt's prodding, feeling the eyes of every other kid in the room. He hears some of them whisper as he walks by - after all, his and Near's rivalry has always been the subject of much gossip.

"How did Mello get him-"

"Poor Near, I bet-"

Mello ignores them and comes to a stop in front of Near. He holds out the gift. "Here," he says, gruffly. "Merry Christmas."

Near looks up at him, wide-eyed for only a moment before he composes his expression into something more neutral. He takes the box and scoots away from his cards.

Mello cringes inwardly, looking down at his sloppy wrapping. Near doesn't seem to care, though. He just calmly unwraps the puzzle box, displaying the mountain landscape.

"Thank you, Mello," he says.

Mello swallows and gestures lamely. "Open it. It's uh, not the mountains."

Near tilts his head at that, but he does as Mello says and opens the box. The pieces are all mixed inside, but Near holds up one of the ones with the black initial on it.

Mello is well aware that everyone's eyes are still on him. He sweats a little. "It's an all-white puzzle. Except for your initial. I, uh, painted everything on it." He clears his throat. "You said it's more fun with a challenge."

Near's face is devoid of all emotion, but his eyes are bright. "Thank you."

That's as much recognition as he's going to get, so he nods and turns back around. As soon as his back is turned, he hears the telltale sound of all the pieces hitting the floor. When he gets back to his seat, Near is already hard at work on his puzzle.

Matt looks at him, smug. "Better than a baby puzzle, huh?"

"Shut up."

Near looks up and meets Mello's gaze. He smiles, softly. Mello lets one side of his mouth tilt up.

Linda calls the rest of the names. Mello waits impatiently for his own name to be called.

"And last but not least, Mello!"

Much to his surprise, Near is the one who stands up and walks over to him. Mello takes the box Near hands him and tears it open, no regard for the neat wrapping. Inside is a stack of chocolate bars, twelve in total. He lifts one up and flips it over to see that dark chocolate content is 82.5%.

"This is my favorite chocolate," he says, a little shocked. "How the hell did you know that? I never can find it in stores. L special orders it for me for my birthday."

Near looks satisfied and doesn't answer his question. "It would be a year's supply for anyone but you," he says dryly.

Mello smirks. Near walks back to his spot, and Mello immediately tears into the first bar. The room titters.

Linda stands back up. "I think we're done! Thanks for participating, everybody. See you next Christmas!"

The room gets loud again as people start to trickle out. One of the other guys leans over to poke at Mello, smirking and taunting him about how he and Near got each other's names.

"What, you think I planned that?" Mello scoffs. "Yeah, right."

Matt jabs at him with his foot, already plugging his new game into his GameBoy. Linda comes by to speak to Matt, and Mello ducks away because he really doesn't want to see Matt's sappy expressions. Instead, he drifts closer to Near, until he squats down beside him. Near doesn't look up from the puzzle.

"Did you know I had you?"

"No," Near says. "Nor did I suspect you knew I had you." He tries to snap a piece into place, but it doesn't fit. He grimaces slightly.

Mello preens.

"It took me four hours to put it together," Mello says. He conveniently leaves out the fact that Matt was helping him. "Beat me. I dare you."

"You don't want me to take my time, enjoy my present?" Near's voice is too innocent for Mello to believe him.

"Smartass. Sounds like something someone would say when they know they can't beat my time."

The corners of Near's mouth tilt up into a smile, though he still doesn't look up. "Merry Christmas, Mello."

Mello snaps off another piece of his chocolate. Damn, that's the good shit. "Near." With that, he turns and leaves him to it.

———

The next morning, Mello walks through the living area on the way to the dining hall. In the corner, in Near's spot, the puzzle lays finished. A piece of paper rests on top, and he bends down to pick it up.

Six hours. - N

Mello can't help it. He laughs. "Merry Christmas, Near. Guess I'm still better than you, after all."

———

A/N: I slightly changed up Near’s classic all-white puzzle for this fic. In the show, you see Near working on it in the episode where Roger tells them that L died. But it actually has an L on it, not an N! But I thought it would be cute to have Mello spend so much time working on it for him out of spite (though, it’s not spite, it’s more of a crush, even if he’s not aware of it yet). Either way, I hope you enjoyed this! :)

[rpsocsandcanonohmy]

Hunter’s Instincts

This is part of an ongoing story that can be read on AO3 here. This story is part of a larger ongoing series that can be read here. It’s not necessary but I would reccomend reading the beginning of the story for context purposes. This chapter is being published here for Whumptober 2021 @whumptober-archive

Day 7: My Spidey Senses are Tingling

--

“Got the coffee.” Hoyt entered the motel room and set out everyone’s orders in the few spare spaces on the table. “How’s it going?”

“Still haven’t found anything,” Sam murmured. “I’ve looked through just about every record in the digital archive. There are a few things that are close to it but not exact.”

“Can’t find anything in Dad’s journal either,” Dean said, closing the journal with a huff. “Maybe this isn’t even a case. Maybe some fucked up person did this and we’re wasting our time.”

“Aww, don’t say that. We barely started.” Hoyt took a look over Sam’s shoulder. “Do you think maybe the symbol we have is a kind of variant or combination of some other symbols?”

“It’s certainly possible,” Sam said. “That kind of thing doesn’t happen too often though. And I’m not sure what that would mean if it was. I mean, most of these symbols are attached to some kind of spell or ritual and there are some pretty powerful ones in here. If we’re looking at a combination...it could spell big trouble. Trouble we might not be able to handle.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Hoyt gently gripped his shoulder. “If half the stories I’ve heard are true, you’re more than capable of handling whatever this is.”

Dean glared at Hoyt even as he let go of Sam’s shoulder and picked up one of the books to do his own research. Whatever Sam said about them needing help, he didn’t trust this guy. What were the odds they just randomly ran into one of Walker’s friends a mere few days after the shit at the ranch? A friend with a history of hunting no less? How did that make sense? Dean wasn’t one to “throw shade” as the kids say, but if Hoyt was really Cordell’s friend, he would’ve been told about hunting way before he met Sam and Dean. And how much did they really know about Hoyt? Why was Sam just okay with him being in their space and bringing them coffee and being all touchy feely? Why the fuck was Sam getting that smiley look on his face? All Hoyt did was touch his shoulder and tell him there was some small hope. 

He hated it here.

“So,” he said, probably a little louder than necessary. “How much hunting experience do you have, Hoyt?”

Hoyt shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t call myself an expert but I know enough to not get myself killed. Dad used to take me out, back when he could tell me what to do anyway."

Figures. He didn't even respect the craft. Why was he even here? He probably just showed up because he was bored. Didn't he have other things to do? Like rob a bank? He was about to ask their new “companion” just that when Sam let out a whoop of victory.

“I found it!”

Hoyt grinned. “I told you you could do it.”

Any elation Dean might’ve felt at whatever Sam’s discovery disappeared after that. Of course Sammy could do it. He didn’t need some lowlife cheering him on and giving him encouragement; that’s what Dean was for. Idiot. He maintained his Unpleased Glare while Sam rattled off facts about the symbol and what it meant. He wasn’t listening to the rambling; he didn’t need to. He could just ask Sam about it later. Whenever he stopped being focused on Hoty and his stupidly proud-looking smile and twinkling eyes that were wandering places!!! that they should not be wandering!!!! when Sammy was talking!!!!

Rude bitch.

---------

“Does he have to come with us?”

Sam groaned. “For the last time, Dean, yes. We need Hoyt as backup because we don’t entirely know what we’re walking into and it’s going to be a challenge.” Dean had been acting like a petulant child all day about Hoyt and it was really starting to grate on his nerves. “What’s your problem with him anyway?”

“Who says I have a problem with him?”

“Literally fucking verything you’ve said and done with him since we ran into him at the house.” He loved Dean but the drama queen act was a bit much. “Look, whatever you feel about him is gonna have to take a backseat right now. We have a demon running around looking to complete a very powerful spell that’s gonna cause a lot of panic and put a lot of people in danger. Hoyt can help. Just...be professional?”

“I am professional. Do you know a more professional and experienced hunter than me?” Dean said incredulously. “No. The answer is, no, you don’t.”

Sure, Mr. Dead-Guy-Robe-and-Hot-Dog-Underwear. “Well, act like it, okay? He’s just trying to help.”

Sam glanced out of his window and caught Hoyt waving at them. He waved back and watched as Hoyt sped ahead of them, weaving in between the traffic. He couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped when Dean growled.

“Fuckin’ show off,” he muttered. He smacked Sam’s arm. “You wanna talk about being unprofessional? He’s showin’ off how fast his janky truck is. How the fuck is that professional?”

Sam shook his head. “Just drive, Dean.”

“I’m just saying, he should be waiting for his superiors. That’s professionalism.” Dean then turned on the heavy rock station and cranked the volume so Sam couldn’t respond.

How professional.

-------

Hoyt got out of his truck and paused, looking around the area. The space was empty but the air felt charged, like something was just waiting in the shadows. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up and he could practically feel the goosebumps forming. He reached into the backseat and grabbed the shotgun with salt rounds that he borrowed from the brothers Winchester and made sure it was ready to shoot.

He just had that feeling. That same feeling that always kicked in when the monster was near. Werewolf, vamp, demon, whatever, it never mattered. His dad called it a natural Hunter's instinct, It’ll save your life one day, son.

Whatever. He followed that instinct right out of the life and into the military with his best friend twenty years ago. Now here he was, for some fucking reason, ignoring that instinct and waiting for his new companions to join him. If his spidey sense was right, they might be in for more trouble than they thought. That was never a good thing.

Where the hell were Sam and Dean? He wasn’t too far ahead of them and he knew Dean was a good driver. They should be here by now, shouldn’t they? Maybe he was being paranoid but being here alone seemed like a very, very bad idea.

As if on cue, a spirit flickered to life in front of him, wild eyes and a bloody smile just for him. “A strong candidate for the big finale. Mistress will be pleased.” Then it glowed and he felt a crushing force on his chest, causing him to black out.

Good ol’ Hunter’s instinct. Never fails….

[pastelninjaimagines]

head canons on modern au akatsuki (except tobi and zetsu) going on a roadtrip + camping and the chaos that ensures?

So I know you said no Tobi…but I can’t bring myself to leave out best boi Obito, so I hope including Obito (not the Tobi personality) is cool - mod tina

The Roadtrip

Nagato has no clue how Deidara, Kisame and Hidan were able to convince him to approve the camping trip, but his pounding headache that began not even 10 minutes into the road trip with them all piled into the van tells him that he was out of his mind

Kisame and Kakuzu were tasked with packing up the car, with Sasori occasionally butting in to rearrange their work. They had to pile in all the camping gear, some of it getting tied to the roof of the car. Anyone’s bags that weren’t brought out by 8:30 am sharp weren’t allowed to be in the car bc it’s hard enough to fit everyone in plus “a bunch of junk,” as Sasori put it. 

Kakuzu drives. No ifs ands or buts. If he doesn’t drive then no one is going anywhere, he’ll ensure it. He’s the ultra grumpy old man, and as far as he’s concerned, the only responsible driver (sure, Sasori and Itachi could potentially be responsible enough to drive - but Itachi’s nearsighted and not the greatest long distance driver, and Sasori has major road rage, he will either drive them into a ditch or run someone else off the road). They leave right at nine, not a minute later. So, “if your ass isn’t in a seat, your ass gets left.” Kakuzu states too that he isn’t pulling off the road every thirty minutes for someone to take a piss, so they better be prepared to either hold it or whatever, bc he isn’t stopping until he deems it necessary to stop (aka to fill up on gas - or to pull up to McDonalds drive through and order 1 cup of black coffee)  

Konan designates herself as navigator, bc again, she’s responsible - more so than the other “candidates” and won’t get sidetracked. Kaukzu also respects her enough to actually follow the directions she gives him. She’s a calm presence in the passenger seat. She won’t set off Kakuzu’s hairline anger, and she’s in a good position to cool everyone off if the back of the car gets too rowdy. Occasionally she’ll turn around and try to have a quiet conversation with Nagato, or she’s lowering the volume on the stereo that Deidara continuously tries to crank up. If there’s a quiet moment, she likes to sit back and close her eyes or gaze out at the scenery, appreciating the landscape as it whirls by

Sasori sits behind Kakuzu and every once in a while tries to play backseat driver by making very offhanded comments consisting of: “Shouldn’t you have turned there?” “Could’ve gotten there by now if I drove.” “Do you even know where you’re going?” “Can you drive? You’re not even going the speed limit.” If he’s not nagging, he’s listening to his own music, airods in. He’s not listening to the trash Deidara is playing from the stereo longer than absolutely necessary, it’s enough that they have to sit next to each other in the cramped car - bc of course they do. Deidara’s constantly chattering or fiddling with the radio, the self-proclaimed dj for the trip. He’s turning around to have loud, boisterous conversations with Hidan or he and Obito are playing card games. Obito seems to have brought an endless supply of card games, so either he or Deidara are playing or he and Nagato are. Obito and Nagato have deemed themselves as “keepers of the snacks” and occasionally give whatever preferred snack is requested, sometimes they deny whoever’s asking (aka Deidara or Hidan) if that said member is making too much noise

Kakuzu requested that Hidan was as far away from him as possible, so he’s sitting in the back row, now Kisame and Itachi’s problem. Hidan just babbles constantly about nonsense. So if Deidara doesn’t turn around to keep him occupied, he’s talking Kisame’s ear off. Itachi ignores him, and everyone else (or at least tries to) by reading a book. And when it simply gets too noisy for him to concentrate, he pulls out his thermos with hot tea he made that morning to sip on and stares out the window, hoping the monotony of the scenery lulls him to sleep at one point. 

Do they get a flat? Of course they do. And do Kakuzu and Sasori get into a loud argument about who’s fault is it that they god a flat? Duh. They argue while Kisame very calmly changes the flat tire and gets the car all ready to go again. Once they get on the road again, everyone’s a bit calmer and quieter, and its smooth sailing from there until they arrive at their destination

Camping 

Putting up their camp sight is chaotic order in the best of ways. It all gets done, but there’s a lot of shouting and confusion in the process thanks to either some of them being lazy, too loud, or both. Would anyone be surprised to know that Kisame does most of the work with putting things together. If anyone needs help putting up their tent, he does it for them kindly and with a smile. He starts the fire pit, gathering a ring of stones and tasks others to find good firewood, etc. They set themselves up with all of their tents in a circle. The first day of them at the camp sight is really just organizing and trying not to kill each other. Most are actually excited, being all together out in the wilderness, away from the modern technology and others’ intrusions. It’s peaceful for most of them, and by the time the daylight is starting to fade, they’ve all gathered around the campfire that’s blazing big and bright. Nagato and Konan offered to prepare their first meal, some canned foods, heated up on their cast fire pots. As darkness descends over the camp and all that’s left for light is their fire, they begin to trade spooky stories. They all go around telling whatever scary stories they have, and then vote on who’s was the best/scariest. They vote Sasori’s mainly for his delivery which was very unsettling and creepy

The next morning they make a quick breakfast and go out to do whatever activities strike their interest. Kisame and Itachi go out hiking, and go up high into the mountains until they find a lake where Kisame can do some fishing. Itachi likes to sit against a tree trunk overlooking a cliff and read, taking in the beautiful scenery that stretches out below. Deidara, Hidan and Obito decided that they would go canoeing. They went down to the big, winding river and set off, racing each other around bends to see who could go the fastest. it was all going well until they hit the rapids unassumingly, and they all got swept away until it was over, Hidan actually got tipped overboard and had to get himself out of the canoe while underwater. They had to go a few miles downstream to retrieve the abandoned canoe and make their way back, all laughing about the unexpected detour. Sasori goes off by himself on a hike, discovering a cave and explores the deep, damp darkness of it for a while, but goes back to camp with some sticks he’s collected and starts widdling the sticks into figures of woodland animals. Kakuzu stays at the camp sight, no one knows really what he does all day, but he says he has to stay to “safe guard my belongings.” Konan and Nagato go off hiking too along the river, until Nagato gets too tired from the sun and has to rest, so they find a nice spot just to relax before heading back to camp. 

Kisame and Itachi are the last to return to camp as the afternoon grows very late, but they return with some fish that Kisame offers to grill up for that night’s meal. They opt out of telling ghost stories around the campfire to instead enjoy the board games that Obito brought. They play until everyone gets tired and goes to bed or decides that while they’re too tired to play, they can always go star gazing, and look up at all the brilliant little lights in the sky, so much more clear out in the wilderness than in civilization. 

The next day, everyone does again whatever activities that they didn’t get a chance to partake in, but Sasori mentions to Itachi and Kakuzu that he found a cave that could easily be set up to scare a certain gullible blond and an overly religious albino. That night, Itachi convinces Kisame to be the friendly face to lead Deidara and Hidan to the cave. hyping it up that they should see the underwater lake that it leads to, however he doesn’t go in with them. Sasori orchestrated that the flashlight Deidara was using would malfunction, by replacing one of the batteries with a corroded one. Konan dressed up as a ghost girl to float around with “blood” on her face, while Itachi and Kakuzu generated eerie sounds coming form deeper within the cave. The pair ran out screaming on the sight of Konan’s “dead body” lying bloody on the cave floor, and Sasori snapped a picture of their shocked faces when they emerged in from the mouth of the cave. Deidara and Hidan were not amused in the slightest once they realized they’d been tricked. 

When they decide that they’ve had enough of camping and that it’s time to head back into society, they pack up, making sure to clean up all of their trash and try to make their clearing look as untouched as they had found it, piling all of their belongings back into the van with themselves as well. Kakuzu warns that anyone not in the van when he gets the engine started is left behind, and he’s not turning around to pick up their sorry ass. 

[brian-roger-deaky-and-fred]

All The Places (Roger Taylor x Reader)

Summary: Roger always had a thing for Brian’s younger sister but when she ran away from home, He thought he’d lost his chance. Two years later, when he randomly runs into her in a bar, it seems he was wrong. 

Warnings: Angst (Happy Ending), Cursing, Kissing, Mention of Blood/Hospitals, Slight Violence, Roger Catches a Man trying to Drug the Reader’s Drink at a Bar.

A/N: This one’s a little intense! Be careful! I hope you love it, though! Sorry about the long wait! This can be read with (Gwil!Brian and Ben!Rog) or (Brian and Rog). Deaky fic coming soon. I LOVE to hear your feedback. 

***

***

It’d been two years since that night. 

Two years since Roger recognized the soggy girl toeing down the freezing sidewalk in the rain. He had been on his way home from Brian’s.

He grabbed the crank on his car door, quickly rolling down the window. 

"Y/N!" She didn't stop. Roger slowed his car as he approached her, calling out for her again. "Y/N! Y/N May!" She stopped, turning over her shoulder to see Roger studying her from his driver's seat, concern in his eyes. Slowly, her face crumpled at the sight of him. Tears welled in her eyes and a sob racked her body.  Roger's chest ached. Immediately, he put the car in park and stepped out, pulling her under his arm into a short hug. 

"Hey...shhh shh. It's alright, love. Come on. Come with me. We'll get you cleaned up." He spun the temperature dial in the dash, turning up the heat for her as he grabbed a thin blanket from his backseat and wrapped it around her shoulders. "There you are, love." Y/N brushed her thumb under her eyes, hoping to rid her cheeks of any runny trails of makeup and give a weak attempt at sparing herself some dignity. The ride was quiet. Roger didn't say much. He had a feeling she might not want to talk about it. His heart ached for her. He'd been at Brian's place when she'd left. "Where're you off to looking like that?" Brian had teased, raising his eyebrows at the sight of his sister with her makeup and hair done up. "A date!" She boasted proudly, trying to hide her grin. Roger's lips quirked up into an amused smile. "With who?" Brian pried as he fiddled with the knobs on his guitar. "Robbie Williams." She mumbled coyly, blushing at the thought. Brian rolled his eyes, "He's a prick!" "Not to me! Besides, he's more of a gentlemen than you! Maybe if you acted more like Robbie, you'd have found yourself a date for tonight, too, instead of staying in with dad and working on the Special-" "I do have a date for tonight, thank you! Big plans, too! Mom and Dad are going to that dinner party, so Chrissy and I'll have the house all to ourselves-" "Ok! Ok! I get it! Gross!" Y/N groaned as she applied her lipgloss expertly in Brian's bedroom mirror. She did look lovely, Roger had thought as he admired the soft H/C waves that rested around her shoulders. She had done something different with it. It looked nice. Not that you could tell now that she was soaked to the bone in freezing rain water. "I-I'm sorry, Rog." "What? No-" "I'm serious. You have better things to do than to drive around your best friends stupid little sis-" "That's enough of that, now." He frowned, meeting her gaze as he stopped at a red light. He took her hand, gently. "Hey..." She met his eyes, tears welling in her own." 's ok, sweetheart. I promise." She nodded weakly as Roger put on his turn signal. The blonde swallowed thickly. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Y/N shook her head, pulling the blanket tighter around her. Roger's muscles relaxed a bit. "Good." There was a long silence. "He had another girl there already when I showed up. Said he'd forgotten." Roger cursed under his breath. Y/N swallowed the knot forming in her throat, nodding. "Bri was right." She mumbled. "He is a prick." Roger fought for words, "I'm glad it didn't work out." Y/N's brow furrowed in confusion. "You deserve better."

*

"Here we are, love." Roger sighed, pulling into his driveway. Y/N frowned. "I didn't think it'd be a good idea to drop you back off at home yet. Not with Brian and Chris-" "Oh god. I'm so sorry, Roger." "No! No! It's fine! Really! Come on. I'll make you a cuppa. Get you some dry clothes..." She saw him glance around the living room nervously when they walked through the front door. Deep in her stomach, she knew he was worried that his dad would be home. He relaxed intantly when he saw the house was dark. "My room's that one, there." Roger gestured down the hall with a smile. Feel free to shower off if you want. Wear anything you'd like." His room was nice, covered in band posters and photos...his drumset perfectly assembled in the corner. It was surprisingly tidy, spare a few empty beer cans sitting on his dresser. * Roger tended to the kettle as he held the reciever to his cheek with his shoulder. He groaned as the voicemail box beeped. "Brian, it's Rog. Y/N’s date...it didn't go as planned. I found her walking home in the rain. I didn't want to ruin any thing for you and Chris, so I went ahead and took her to my place. I'll get her home. Just tell me when you two are...finished." He smirked a little as he poured a mug of tea, spooning a sugar cube into it before hanging up the line. He turned around, hearing timid footsteps behind him. Her face was clean of whatever makeup was left, and she had taken her hair down, combing through the wet locks with her fingers. She wore a sweater of his, one far too big on her, and some bunchy plaid pajama pants. Somehow, Roger found himself thinking her even prettier than she was before. "Here you are, sweetheart." He set a mug down on the counter beside her. "You find everything alright?" He gave her a kind smile, "Yeah...I hung the towels back up in the bathroom. I hope it's alright that I used them..." Roger giggled a little. As if he'd ever expect to refrain from drying off, "Of course, love." He frowned a little as he glanced at her, noticing a shiver running down her spine. "Here. Let's go sit on the couch and I'll get you a blanket or something to wrap up in." Her eyes were grateful as she cautiously trailed behind him. He opened a small coat closet near the door, pulling a little woven blanket from inside. It was much like the one in the backseat of his car. Grabbing it's edges, he shook it out a bit, wrapping it snug around her shoulders. Her lip quivered as she gave him a watery smile. He returned it, mussing her hair playfully and pecking her on the forehead. He turned to close the closet door but, she stopped him. "Rog..." His clear blue eyes met hers, his brows raised expectantly. Words left her. She stuttered a bit, searching for any sort of thanks she could find. Finally, she opted instead to take a step foward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and giving him the world's biggest hug. He froze for a second, muscles tensing at the sudden movement before instantly relaxing under her touch. He sighed happily, snaking his arms to hold her around the middle. Roger didn't know how long they stayed there, his hand travelling steadily up and down her back. To be completely honest, he didn't have many intentions on moving. That was, until he felt a gentle sob rattle through her. "Hey..." He pulled back, cradling her face in his hands as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Gently, he guided her to the couch, sitting her down. She swallowed thickly, sniffling. "You're just so nice to me, Rog. Sometimes boys are so mean but you've always just been so kind with me and I-" He hushed her, soothingly, and chuckled a little, "You're crying because I'm nice to you?" The girl gave a watery laugh, rubbing her tear stained eyes as Roger tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry." She mumbled with light chuckle. "Don't know what's gotten into me." "Don't apologize, darling. You've had a long night." He gave a sad smile. "And for the record, there are loads of nice boys out there. Just not in London." He teased. She laughed, sighing a little as Roger leaned back against a couch cushion. She did the same. For a while, it was quiet. A pleasant, friendly sort of quiet. Roger stared at a photo on his mantle place. It was of Clare on the trip she taken to America. She stood in front of the Grand Canyon, smiling widley. The slopes of red rock looked as if they'd been painted by the wind itself. "Y/N?" "Hm?" "What do you think the most beautiful place in the world is?" She hummed, her brow creasing in thought, "I'll tell you when I see them all." Roger laughed, "See them all?" "Yeah." She grinned, "I'm going to see every place there is before I die. Not leaving a thing uncovered." Roger smiled, "You think you'll ever visit the Grand Canyon?" Her eyes lit up, "Of course! I'll get a raft and float right through the middle of it." Roger laughed sweetly, "Promise you'll send me a post card?" "I promise." She said earnestly, meeting his eyes. He smiled warmly. "You could just come with me..." She hummed, eyebrows raising. "You'd let me come along?" "Yes, of course!" He chuckled, admiring the excitement in her voice. "You don't want to bring me along. I'll hog the radio." Y/N smirked, holding out her palm. "You like Hendrix?" He giggled, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. "Hendrix it is." "I'm glad we've come to an agreement then." The corner of his mouth crept up, and he kept her hand in his, holding it in his lap. The room was quiet again as his thumb grazed over her knuckles. "You're really something, you know?" He hummed quietly. She bit her lip a little, "I'd say the same about you." He beamed, turning his head to meet her eyes. They were much closer than he'd realized. She could feel the heat of his breath against her skin. His eyes flitted down to her lips, then back to hers. She'd have missed it if she'd blinked. It happened before she'd even realized she'd been considering it. His lips were soft, and he tasted of chamomile tea and honey. Roger froze, his head spinning at the feeling of her lips on his. Y/Ns stomach sunk at his lack if response. She almost pulled away. But that's when she felt him kiss her back. His hand was warm as he held her cheek, moving closer to her as he deepened the kiss. His hand trailed to her thigh, and he gave it a little squeeze as he pulled her up into his lap. She was soft and her skin smelled good...still warm from the shower. Hungrily, Roger wrappped an arm around her, laying her back against the couch as his lips found her neck. She gave a little whimper as his teeth grazed his throat. Suddenly, alarm bells went off in Roger's head. He was feeling up Brian May's little sister. Roger pulled back, swallowing thickly and shaking his head a little. He went pale.Y/N looked bewildered and embarrassed, her body left cold against Roger's living room couch. Her cheeks flushing pink. "D-Did I do something wrong?" She stumbled, concern in her eyes. The blonde's brows furrowed, "Can't do this. You're my best friends little sister." "Roger, I'm eighteen. I can make my own decisio-" "Yeah, and I'm twenty four." She swallowed thickly, glancing up at Roger through her eyelashes. Embarrassed, she pushed down the hem of her sweater, scooting away from him, sheepishly. "I'm sorry." She whispered, standing from the couch. There was a long silence. "Rog, I-" His jaw clenched a little. "I think it's time I take you home." * It'd been two years since Roger had spoken to her. She'd run off from home only a few months after they'd talked. Brian had shown up to class that morning with dark circles under his eyes, fear in his stomach as he tried to explain to Roger that his sister had disappeared in the night. She'd left a note stuck to her bathroom mirror with scotch tape.  Packed up her suitcase and everything. She called a week later, over the moon as she babbled to a relieved Brian about the way Paris looked at night. She didn't come home after that, no matter how many times her older brother asked. She rang him every once in a while...less and less the longer she was away. Once every two months or so...but she'd never tell him where she was. Time sped along. Brian got engaged. He had no address to send her a wedding invitation, and opted to leave her a voicemail instead. Rog had never seen Brian's face light up so bright as when he saw her there in the pews. He nearly cried. She'd grown so much since that day he'd sat with her on his couch.  She was beautiful. Roger had wanted to talk to her so desperately, but she was gone as soon as she'd hugged Brian and his bride, offering them both her congratulations. 

* 

The sharp liquid burnt the back of Roger's tounge as he took another shot. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, before remembering he needed to use American money to break even with the bartender. He'd come to the bar on his own tonight, having fought with Brian about something stupid earlied that morning. Fred and Deaky had both gone to dinner with their spouses. Roger didn't mind. There was something he quite liked about being on his own, sometimes. He rarely got away from the other three. Especially on tour. 

He glanced around the dimmly lit room, eyes landing on a cluster of men hanging around a video game machine in the corner. It wasn't until a moment later he realized what had caught their attention. A girl stood with them, her makeup heavy and dramatic underneath the bar lights. Her outfit left very little to the imagination. Something about her made Roger stir. He'd seen her before. He was sure of it. He tried to study her closer, his eyes widening in realization as she laughed at one of the men's jokes. Y/N. It was Y/N May. He almost couldn't tell it was her beneath those false lashes. Roger swallowed thickly, watching from a far as she winked at one of the men, biting her lip playfully. The drummer's stomach churned. He could just barely hear one of them making some awful comment about her ass. Roger's hand tightened around his bottle. Just as he was about to force himself to tear his gaze away, he noticed the man by the bathroom door, slightly removed from the group. He was adding a small amount of something into the shot glass in his hand. A drink Roger was sure was intended to go to Y/N. Roger shot up from his chair the moment he realized what was happening, swinging elbows to cut through the crowd. "Hey!" He called out angrily as the man took a step towards her. She smiled at the man, flirtily. Roger called her name, but the room was too loud. Roger could see him say something to her. She laughed, taking the glass in her hand. Roger called out to her again, to no avail as he desperately pushing people out of his way. He reached her just as she downed the glass, smacking it out of her hand. The glass shattered against the floor. Only a third of the shot was left. Roger's stomach dropped. He met her wide eyes, confusion evident in her expression. "Rog?" "Oh my god, N/N-" He took her arms in his hands before moving them to cradle her face with them. That was, until he was shoved to the ground. "That's not yours to touch, buddy." The man spat. Roger groaned, his palms stinging as shards of the broken shot glass  cut into them. Shakily, he stood. The man took Y/N's arm roughly, tugging her towards the bathroom. "Hey!" Roger shouted. The man glared at him. "Put her down." "Rog, I-" Roger gave Y/N a look. Somehow, she knew to stay back. "And who're you to tell me I can't play with my whore?" "Don't you ever fucking call her that agai-" A fist met his cheekbone with a sickening crack. Roger stumbled, leaning against a table as he tried to find his bearings through the throbbing of his cheek. "I'll call her whatever the fuck I want." Roger looked to Y/N, his cheek and temple already starting to bruise. The man grabbed her hand, yanking her towards the bathroom again. She saw the look in Roger’s eyes, watching as he glanced to the half empty drinks littering the table. He looked back at her. In an instant, she understood his plan.  She nodded ever so slightly.  In one swift motion, Roger grabbed an abandoned shot of whiskey from the table and threw it into the man's open eyes. He cried out, hands flying to his face. Roger grabbed Y/N's wrist at the speed of light, quickly guiding her through the crowd and out the door before she could even catch her breath. Roger didn't stop once they were out the door. "Rog! Rog, wait!" She followed him to the sidewalk, watching him with a furrowed brow as he hailed a cab. "We've got to move quick sweetheart. I'm sorry." The driver pulled into the parking lot. "What on earth are you-" "He put something in your drink, love. I saw him. I tried to stop it but by the time I got to you it was too late." Her eyes went wide with shock, "He drugged me?" She whimpered, fear registering on her face. "Hey, everything's going to be ok, darling. I promise. I'm gonna take care of you."

She hugged him so tightly he felt like he might cry. 

He hugged her back even tighter.   * The ten minute drive to the hospital was quiet. She was beginning to get sleepy as the drug made it's way into her blood stream, but she was able to walk inside with him. The nurses gave her a little bed to lay in as soon as she checked in. Roger held her hand as they took blood. * Sleep it off. Drink lots of water. Come back if you experience anything weird. That's all the advice they had given her. Roger tried to calm himself down as he guided her into the elevator and up to his hotel room. He helped her take off her makeup, gingerly running a warm washcloth over her cheeks and eyes. She mumbled semi coherently to him. Little weak hums of "thank you" and "Rog..." He even heard her say something about Brian. He was careful as he helped her lay down in his bed, tucking her under the sheets as she took his hand with a feather light touch. "Hold me." Roger's heart sunk, "You want me to hold you?" "Please Rog. Don't leave me. Please. I don't want to be alone again-"   "Shh it's alright, darling. I'm right here. Not going anywhere, dove." The blonde kicked off his shoes, pulling back the covers as he slid into bed, gathering her loosely in his arms. Y/Ns eyes began to droop as Roger tucked some hair behind her ear, "There's my pretty girl."  He smiled warmly at her. She smiled back, weakly. With shaking hands, she brought a hand to his face, running her thumb along his jaw. Roger kissed her palm."R-Rog..." She whimpered, tears in her eyes. His brow creased,  "What's wrong, love?" "I'm scared to fall asleep." A twinge of pain shot through his chest, "I've got you, I promise. There's no need to be afraid, sweetheart." "I'm..." Her words slurred as the drug weighed down her eyelids. "I'm afraid...when I wake u-up...You'll be gone." "Oh, darling, I'd never leave you." Her head lulled back against his chest as she began to give into sleep,"I'll be right here. Not going anywhere." He took her limp hand in his, pressing his lips to her knuckles as her last touches of consciousness drifted away. When he was sure she was out, he laid her gently on his bed, tucking the blanket tighter around her and planting a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep tight, N/N." * It took what felt like forever for Brian to answer his phone and for every empty tone, Roger felt his heart beat faster. What if calling his best friend was a mistake? This wasn't a bad date or trouble at school. Y/N was... just thinking about it made him sick. She was too sweet for this. The fourth phone call was the one Brian finally decided to answer. "What?!" his voice was hoarse from sleep and full of anger. Roger only then remembered the argument they'd had that morning. Glancing quickly to the side, Brian made sure his wife was still asleep before quietly making his way out of the room. Roger's voice was weak. "I've got your baby sister fast asleep in my bed right now." Brian stopped dead. His mind felt both like it was empty yet working overtime. "What the hell are you talking about?" "I went to a bar tonight. Y/N was there. Some asshole drugged her bloody drink." "This isn't a funny, Rog..." Brian was tired and his sister had been a sore subject ever since she walked out of their lives years prior. "Why the fuck would I joke about this?!" Suddenly, the two friends felt seventeen all over again. "Jesus Rog, is she ok? Did you take her in?" "Of course I bloody took her in. It was some sort of Anxiety drug. Makes you sleepy and weakens your muscles. They told her to sleep it off and drink as much water as she could. I took her back to my hotel room. Made sure she's alright...gave her a bed." "Where are you staying?" Brian mumbled, searching through a drawer for something to write with. He had to get to his sister. He needed to make sure she was okay with his own two eyes. For the past two years he had made himself sick worrying over her, lying awake at night hoping she was happy. Knowing she had been drugged and was okay only because Roger just so happened to be there, shattered all the images and dreams for her he had created in his head. "I don't know if it's a good idea for you to drive over here yet, Bri. She's a little overwhelmed...she seemed embarrassed." "Rog, I haven't seen her in two years." Brian's voice cracked as he started crying. Why was this so goddamn hard? He should know by now that seeing her wouldn't be easy. At least she was safe with someone he knew. It still hurt to hear what Roger had to say "I know mate. I know how much you miss her and want to see her but, please... Just trust me on this. She needs some space. I swear I'll get her to you. I'll bring her home to you and you can hug her and be the big brother you couldn't before. But right now, she isn't ready for it. If we scare her, we may never see her again." Fighting off his own tears, Roger swallowed the lump in his throat, "If you come, she'll run and you'll never see your baby sister again. Please, I am begging you, let me bring her to you." * Y/N took slow sips of the water, knowing Roger wasn't about to let her get away with drinking any less than half the glass. She could feel her eyes getting watery but refused to let any tears fall. She had spent enough years crying over stupid things in front of Roger and she wasn't going to let it happen again. The room was silent for a moment when she finally set the glass on the beside table. Roger's eyes studied his hand where she held it in his own, running her thumbs over the small cuts on his palm. She met his eyes, guilt in her expression as she ever so tenderly brushed a strand of blonde hair from his face, fingertips grazing his bruised cheek. Swallowed thickly, she smiled sadly as her eyes once again welled with tears. "You cut you hair." She mumbled hoarsely, tucking a lock of it behind his ear. He smiled at her, A real smile, and brushed a tear from her cheek, "I did." His too blue eyes met hers. "D'you like it?" "I love it." She whispered, grinning. " 's been ages since you've had it so short." Roger laughed quietly, "Didn't know how you'd feel...I remember you used to like to try and plait it while I slept." She laughed too, sniffing a little, "You were such a heavy sleeper." He shrugged, "Not really...There were lots of times when I woke up. I just didn't stop you." She frowned a little, "Why not?" "I liked it when you played with my hair. Always did." The air was thick as he met her eyes again. "I don't know if you'll have much hair left to plait now between us all. The others have gone shorter too." Her eyes widened a bit, "Even Deaky?" The blonde nodded. "But not Brian..." He giggled, "No, never Brian." She gave a watery smile at the mention of her big brother, eyes falling to her lap."You miss him." Her gaze met his again and she nodded weakly. "He misses you too." Roger swallowed thickly. There was a long silence. "He's gonna be a dad soon, Y/N."

The girls eyes widened, a tear rolling down her cheek. "R-Really!?" She grinned, sniffling. "Chrissy's-" Roger chuckled, his own eyes brimming with tears, "Yeah...A little boy." A sob racked her body, joy on every one of her features. "You'll be a good aunt." Roger smiled, wiping her tears. "Absolutely, perfect. You'll spoil that little boy rotten." Y/N giggled, and Roger's heart jumped to his throat, "There's that laugh...Missed that laugh." He admired her as he dried her happy tears. "Missed you. So much." "I wanted to call you. I tried." She mumbled, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I could never bring myself to do it. Didn't ever want you to see me like this." She exhaled stiffly. Roger's throat tightened. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded, "Anything." Roger bit his lip, "That man at the bar..." He didn't have to finish the sentence. They were quiet for a long time. "I went to every place there is, Rog. I walked out on Mom and Dad and Brian...They all begged me to come back. Dad never thought I could do it...live on my own. I wanted to prove him wrong. I ate at soup kitchens. Worked three jobs...but the money's run out. And I don't...I don't have anything else. There's nothing else I can do. I have no choice, anymore. It's this or starve." "Come home." Roger whispered devastatedly. "Just come home, N/N. They forgave you the moment you left. The moment you walked out the door all they ever wanted was for you to come back. That hasn't changed-" "Rog-" Y/N took a shakey breath. There was a long silence. "Come 'ere." Roger crawled up into the bed, tucking himself in next to her and holding out his arms. Y/N gladly sank into his embrace. "You know, I always wondered if you ever made it to the Grand Canyon." "Could never bring myself to do it without you." "Really?" "Really."

(Part 2 Coming Soon) ***