#and i imagine that kevin has relaxed a little over the course of the years which is why he would *occasionally* join in on matt and neil’s

[daisyvisions]

[2:36AM] Wrapped Around Your Finger (k.s)

Warnings: Smut (18+, minors DNI),  jealous / possessive sunwoo, established relationship, shower sex, fingering, teasing, mentions of drinking, pet name (babe) Word count: 0.9K

A/N: After an eternity, I finally got to write for this ask that was sent in over a year ago 😭 tried my best to follow the request (though I feel like it’s not huhu) but enjoy nonetheless! Proofread once. Tagging @deoboyznet @snowflakewhispers @winterchimez @aimeecarreros

Sunwoo was seething the entire night. If you looked closely, you might even spot the steam coming out of his ears.

As much as he enjoyed seeing you have fun and drink to your heart's content, the one thing he didn’t appreciate was how out of control you could get with too much alcohol in your system.

From spilling a little too much information about your sex life with him to standing on a table and twerking your ass off with Kevin for everyone to see, he was slowly losing his own self-control.

Of course, he would never change the way you are, no matter how crazy you could get when it came to drinking. But seeing you dancing like that made him incredibly horny but also upset at the same time.

The way you swayed your hips to the rhythm of the music, the way you would flirtatiously look in his direction and call his attention with just your eyes alone, it was enough to get his cock stirring beneath his jeans. He wanted to whisk you away from everyone and just have you all to himself.

But the very image of you like this, especially when others can see you and probably have the same reaction as he did, that was making his jaw clench. If he had to take a shot for every whistle made at you or a pair of eyes that would gawk in your direction, he’d be shitfaced by now.

Only he can look at you like that and think about you in the most lustful ways possible, no one else.

He was starting to get incredibly possessive, even almost got up from his seat to drag you out of the bar. But he held back as much as he could because this was the most relaxed and happy he has seen you in a while, and he didn’t want to take that away from you tonight. You’d been so stressed out with work and just trying to balance everything in your life that this was the only time you got to let loose and not think about anything.

So instead of whisking you away right now, he decided to just wait until you were ready to call it a night or one of the boys would signal him that you’ve had enough. Either way, he just couldn’t wait to get home and remind you that he was the only one that could love you in ways that no other guy could.

The whole ride home you couldn’t stop talking about everything that had happened, you were practically yapping Sunwoo’s ear off, but he didn’t mind it at all. Well, to be honest, he wasn’t really listening to half of the things you were saying because he was too distracted with thinking of what he wanted to do with you later.

“And apparently Kevin and Juyeon were flirting with the same person and didn’t know about it! I mean, how could that even happen? They must’ve at least known something was off.” You told Sunwoo as he was helping you out of your outfit.

“Yeah? And what else?” Sunwoo responds nonchalantly as you both enter the shower.

“Mmm… Oh! You wanna know what Changmin told me too?” You turn around and start lathering shampoo in your hair.

“What did he say?” His fingers gently rub your scalp.

“He said that if we didn’t meet that time, he would’ve totally gone for me. Even said you cock-blocked him and all.” You chuckle, not paying attention to the weight of your words.

“Is that so?” Sunwoo can feel his blood boiling, telling Changmin to never say shit like that, especially to you. He quickly shakes off the feeling by grabbing the body wash and lathering it in his hands before soaping your body.

“Yeah! Can you imagine if that- if that….” Your speech starts to slur as you feel Sunwoo’s hands caressing your naked waist. You suddenly become quiet when his hands start inching their way to your chest, his body getting closer to yours as he starts to palm your breasts slowly.

“Mmm…” You lean your back against his chest as he continues to touch you, moaning when his fingers ghost your hardened nipples.

“What’s the matter babe?” Sunwoo leans forward to kiss your shoulder, his hands now moving down as he slips a digit between your folds.

“Sunwoo-” You beg as he starts circling your clit with the pad of his finger, his other hand on your hip as he pulls you closer. You instantly feel his erection pressed up against your ass, making your core throb as you try to keep yourself upright.

You cling onto his arms as he rubs you faster, trying to grind your ass against his manhood. But his grip on you tightens, making you whine from trying to feel him from behind.

“So desperate now, are we?” He tuts as he inserts two fingers inside your sopping cunt without warning. He pumps his fingers in and out of you so fast you don’t even have the time to react but just moan loudly.

“Sunwoo please-” You beg as you try to grab a hold of his hair.

“Please what?” He curls his fingers, hitting that spot that has your walls clenching around his digits.

“Ple- put it in, please. Been wanting your cock the whole night.”

“Yeah? Been thinking about me balls deep inside you?” He smirks, satisfied to know that you were all worked up without him even touching you earlier. You nod in response.

“Good, because only I can make you feel like this. Only I can give you what you want.” He bites your earlobe as he smacks your ass. “Understand?”

“Uh huh-” You turn your head and kiss him desperately. “Only you.”

“That’s my girl.”

[kim-ruzek]

Messy, chaotic perfection

Summary: Family isn't just who is blood, but who is in your corner, who makes you feel loved and cared for, who is safe and who is home.

Season 8 au, goes off if Kim never miscarried, Burzek are together, and season eight still went somewhat how it did.

Warnings: mentions of canon events (shooting, foster situations).

Word Count: 3.5k

Read on AO3

Notes: This is a Feel Better fic for the amazing, incredible and so, so strong and brave Cíara (@fighterkimburgess ). Cíara I love you, you deserve the world, and you deserve to know that I (and all of us in this fandom) have your back and wish you all the best in your life ♥️

Life can be unpredictable, events that you never expect to happen can occur and feel like that was always meant to happen all along. This is a lesson Kim has learnt over and over throughout her life, but one she’s only finally beginning to fully understand it, that it’s always going to happen in ways you don’t expect.

Like today.

Today, when she woke up, Kim thought she’d have a tiring day at work with all the racists that Kevin, and by extension them since Kevin is their family, is having to deal with but that it would be relatively drama free and she and her boyfriend—which is a word, that no matter how juvenile it sounds, makes her feel all giggly inside at—would come home and have a nice relaxing evening with their daughter.

She didn’t expect Patrol to not show up when they called and she definitely did not expect Adam to get shot. But that is life, as Kim has kept learning recently.

“Careful, let me grab the door.” Kim quickly darts in front of a very impatient and unfussed Adam, moving so she can unlock and open their front door before he can. Adam sighs.

“Kim, I’m not an invalid.” He grumbles and she flashes him a glare before she opens up the door.

“Adam, you were shot.” She holds up her hand. “And no I don’t care if it’s was in the vest. You were shot and you were lying there and I thought you were dead. And now you’ve got a bruise on your chest and Will said that you have to take it easy—it could affect your lungs if you overwork yourself.”

Kim already knows that she’s probably going to spend the next few weeks seeing Adam lying there on the grass whenever she shuts her eyes. Just like she knows that Adam gets why she’s being so fussy, even if he’s being his typical bad patient self.

“I can still open doors. You know I like opening our door for you,” At that, Kim turns away from the door, facing Adam. She closes what little distance they had between them, resting her hands gently on his chest.

“I know, but you’re injured. Let me look after you. And—we’ve only just found our way back together again, I don’t want to loose you, and I don’t want our daughter to loose you.” Adam’s eyes soften and he gently kisses her forehead.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m just stubborn.”

If this had happened years ago, this probably would’ve ended up making an even bigger dent in their relationship, and god knows if they’d be able to communicate—and truly understand each other back then. But they’re not those young people now, they’ve grown and learnt so much, and are completely dedicated to making this work.

Especially because they’re parents.

“Hey, Ally!” Adam is immediately greeting their six month old as soon as they enter the flat, Kim not far behind, the two parents cooing over her instantly.

“Can you hold her?” Trudy gives Adam a wary eye, holding the child she, without hesitation, claimed as her granddaughter. Normally they’d have their nanny here, taking care of Ally, but given that Adam was shot and had to be looked over, Trudy had relieved their nanny instead, just in case they arrived home later than usual.

“You’re as bad as Kim, of course I can,” Adam grumbles again, mostly with good humour. Still, Trudy glances at Kim just to double check, who nods and then Trudy is helping to pass the girl to her father. Usually, Adam would scoop the girl out of her arms with ease, but—showing that he is taking Will seriously, or at least their daughter’s safety seriously—he had hesitated, waited for Trudy to help.

“You should sit down, I’ll get dinner on.” Kim tells him. She then looks at Trudy. “Are you staying or going home? You’re welcome, of course.”

“I’ll leave the three of you be. Randall has his shift in the morning.” Trudy kisses her granddaughter good-bye—leaning down to do so, Ally babbling in Adam’s arms on the sofa—and then it’s just the three of them.

If you had told her a year and a half ago that this would be her life, Kim would struggle to belief you. Adam and her felt like history, something that never had the timing it deserved and that they’d only be relegated to friends with benefits.

And being a Mom? That was so far out from the cards Kim was dealt, she didn’t think it would happen for quite a few years, and even then, it felt like a impossible and distant thought.

But she has both. A relationship with Adam that is strong and decent and a proper, communicating relationship and the beautiful daughter who made it possible.

At first, Adam and her were determined to be co parents only. More her than him, if she was honest, but he understood her side.

But then Kim hit her second trimester and with it her renewed sex drive and inability to keep her hands off him and platonic co parents got more and more unbelievable—especially as they moved in together.

The reasons why they decided to just be platonic still hung over their head, however, and so they had to have a serious conversation—several, in fact—about their relationship and what it would look like and be like. They both knew that with a child in the mix, they had to be committed and determined because their baby would be impacted.

Kim did have worries about it, about if they could keep communicating and not fall back on old habits, but by the time Ally came along, their relationship had only grown stronger. The new-born stage is a tough time for parents, and they had their moments, but that only brought them even more closer and Kim now no longer has any of those worries.

Domestic bliss is something she’s always wanted to have, alongside a fulfilling job, and there’s days Kim can’t quite believe that she’s found it.

Her life isn’t perfect, no life is. And there’s tensions at work, and with their best friend going through some horrific stuff, life doesn’t feel easy. But they have each other, and they have Ally, and Kim keeps feeling like she’s reached as close to perfection as she could have.

When she was younger, Kim imagined that having perfection would be calm, would be peaceful. And maybe for others it is, but it’s not for her. There’s always some madness in her life; she’s a cop, after all. And she’s learned to appreciate the short peaceful moments that she gets. But sometimes, sometimes life is just quiet.

It had been a few weeks of quiet that Kim had realised her life hadn’t had any madness in it. Her and Adam were just going about their routine, day in, day out, watching as Ally continued to grow and marvel them and she realised that.

And then she knew instantly that the madness was coming.

It came the next day.

Adam and her had just picked up their morning coffee from a coffee shop. It had been a while since they could, usually having to make do with the district coffee—having a baby means time is precious and money is dear—but they did this morning, the two of them in a good mood and having a ridiculous conversation about boats.

And then there was a lost six year old girl walking through the road.

Everything got a lot more busy after that, as they tracked down her family and worked out what had happened.

Being a Mom has definitely changed Kim, and she had to go into a corner—Adam joining her, wrapping his arms around her—and have a little cry in the locker room. All she could think about her daughter, her Ally, loosing her family like that and it activated the still distantly present hormones leftover from her pregnancy.

And it made her more determined to help the little girl, Makayla, especially when the girl had apparently bonded to her. Kim was told that she was the best person to talk to her, and even though she’s a mother, she had doubted her abilities. There’s a difference between her baby who’s just learning to talk and move about to a traumatized six year old but the doubts were misplaced, Kim managing to get that connection.

Makayla had wanted her to come to the safe house with her, which Kim did. Luckily Adam was by Trudy’s desk and he gave her nod, telling her that Ally and him will be okay. Still, Kim was glad that she’s already had a night away from her daughter so that she could go with Makayla, so that she didn’t have to let down this vulnerable girl who needed her just as much.

The safe house had turned out to not be so safe, and Kim’s mama bear instincts—as Adam has affectionately coined—kicked in and she instantly said she’ll be taking Makayla home, no questions.

Of course, she had glanced at Adam, silently checking with him. Adam had nodded again.

“Ally’s already with her grandparents so yes, Makayla will be staying with us.” Adam had immediately supported her, his voice just as firm and decided. Kim had already worked out Ally was with Trudy and Mouch, as he was there and they are their emergency babysitters but she felt so lucky to have a partner who was willing to not have the night with his daughter for what she wants.

Seeing Adam interact with Makayla that night had made Kim’s insides twist, and she wonders if they might end up accidentally conceiving a second baby soon with how his paternalism stirred feelings inside her.

It left her feeling sadder than Kim would’ve thought to say goodbye to Makayla after everything was sorted, an emptiness in her heart. The girl had made an impact on her and it felt wrong to end the story there.

That night, Kim had hugged Ally close to her, Adam arm wrapped around her as he cuddled up to them.

“I think I want another,” Kim had said, and Adam choked. She had laughed, then, careful not to wake the sleeping baby on her chest.

“Not now or anytime soon. One baby is enough at one time. But in the future. This—us—being a family, it feels right and as perfect as our family is, I want it to be bigger.” She had explained. She’d have been nervous, but this is Adam, possibly the only person she knows whole heartedly that she can be herself, no judgement.

“Darlin’, nothing would make me happier.” He had kissed her temple firmly then, lacing their hands together and Kim got that feeling of perfect domestic bliss again.

“I’d say let’s have another right now but, yeah, one baby is enough. Although we could practice?” He then joked and Kim rolled her eyes at him.

It isn’t that long after that they’re at social services and Kim spots that precious six year old who, if Kim is honest with herself, hadn’t left her thoughts since, every few days Kim wondering if she’s okay, if she’s settling and adjusting and if the cousin Cathy would need to call her.

“Kim!” Makayla immediately runs to her, hugging her and Kim’s heart twists and constricts, warming at the gesture but breaking that she’s here.

They’re in the middle of a turbulent case, a case that plagues Kim, but her mind is still spilt, focused on worrying about Makayla.

“Where were you?” Adam asks her when she gets back from Cathy’s. Kim knows that she should’ve told him before, that going off alone like this when in a relationship and a parent isn’t how she should be behaving but as the couple’s therapist they went to say said, sometimes Kim can have tunnel vision. It’s something she’s working on, but sometimes she reverts back, like when a six year old needs her.

“I went to see Makayla’s Cathy.” Kim then tells him, and she tells him all about it.

“What if I take her in?” The words fall out Kim’s mouth before she can really process them. It’s nothing she should say, not just for the reasons Makayla’s social worker lists. But because Kim isn’t an I anymore. She’s in a relationship and she’s a mother. This isn’t just her life, but she can’t get Makayla—or the bond they have—out of her head.

After the conversation with her social worker, Kim sees Kevin. She wonders if she should ask him about this, about his siblings and that decision, knowing that he’ll have value to add to the conversation, especially as a black man. But she stops herself, knowing that she’s getting that tunnel vision again, that she needs to discuss this with Adam before she spirals too fast.

“I want to foster Makayla.” It isn’t the most tactful conversation, or the best place for it. But Kim’s mind is in overdrive and all she can think about is how she could feel at six, feeling like only Nicole loved her, and about that precious girl, and her own daughter.

“Us. I want us to foster Makayla.” Kim quickly amends, because they’re a team. Everything they do, they do together. They’re entwined and interlinked and the only way to make the relationship successful is by accepting and respecting that.

It’s a long conversation. It’s really not the time or place but that’s something that just doesn’t matter as much as talking. Kim tells Adam all about why she does, and he talks about how he feels. That he gets it, that he would want to give her a home just as much but has she thought this through.

They work out if they want it to only be temporary, how they’ll do it with Ally, if they’re ready and if they’re only doing this because they’re adapting to being parents, parents who often felt unloved as a child.

And they grab Kevin, adding him to the discussion, getting his two cents.

And then they come to a decision—that they should take Makayla home and they’re jumping into action. Kim calling the social worker, Adam arranging for Ally to be at her grandparents for the night as they get Makayla settled.

Everything picks up after that, quiet days rarely a thing even more than before.

They get Makayla into school, sets up their home so it feels more like hers, they get her into therapy and family therapy. They introduce her to Kevin, knowing he will have to play an important role in their foster daughter’s life.

Makayla adores Ally from the first time they meet, treating her with such care and love and Ally immediately bonds to her. It fills Kim with such joy and affection, and makes her heart feel so, so soft.

Kim was worried that them having Ally already would make Makayla feel like an add on, but it has the opposite affect, making her feel more like part of the family—two weeks in, Makayla tells Kim that she always wanted a little sister, and Kim’s happy that she may not have been able to save Makayla’s family, but at least she could do something.

It’s not smooth sailing. It’s tough and it’s work. Nights were hell, Makayla waking up screaming and rousing Ally, but it gets better, especially after they get Makayla trouble dolls. It’s an adjustment, for sure, but it’s fulfilling.

For Adam too, who’s taken to calling Makayla his lil darlin’ and all three of them his girls. Kim already knew he is a great dad, but seeing him dress up and play with Makayla, and being so calm and loving through her trauma just reaffirms that over and over, making Kim feel so happy that she gave them another chance.

Makayla is family long before the adoption going through.

Mack is one of the first words Ally says, reaching for her sister as she did so. Kim—and Adam, as they discussed it later—will never forget the utterly joyful grin that had spread across Makayla’s face at that.

“Ally said my name!” Makayla had exclaimed to them happily, and proceeded to tell everyone she saw over the next week, her excitement and joy never waning.

Trudy and Mouch immediately accept Makayla as another grandchild and the rest of the family treats Makayla like she belongs. Kim never had any doubts, but it warmed her heart to see how much Makayla clearly loved and was taken by it—and how it made her feel so much more settled, knowing she’s gained so much family even after loosing so much.

Sylvie takes it upon herself to be her honorary godmother and Makayla quickly learns that Sylvie is one of the best to play princesses with. Stella comes with Sylvie one day and Makayla is immediately enamoured by her, and soon Stella decides Makayla needs two godmothers.

The Atwaters are an essential part of their family, as they help Makayla keep that connection to her black culture, helping to make sure her identity doesn’t get lost and that she doesn’t feel like she has to pick sides between her old and new life.

Makayla and Uncle Kev have a day every month, just them, doing whatever they want. It’s not even about doing anything relating to their shared skin tone, but just a routine to establish that Kevin is there for her.

Jordan takes to Makayla quickly, as well, finding her cute and endearing. He tells them that she reminds him of Vinessa at that age, and quickly starts calling her his little cousin—another thing that Kim knows helps makes her feel like part of the family.

Makayla loves her ‘big cousin', Jordan often teaching her age appropriate jokes and helping her play harmless pranks. He also teaches her some dance moves, and laughs with her when she tries to teach Adam them, who fails spectacularly.

Jordan loves Ally as well, having seen Kim as part of his family for years but Kim knows that they’ll never have the bond that Jordan and Makayla have, and it’s something that makes her feel warm and fuzzy inside—that Makayla with have things that’s just hers, that she won’t ever feel like she’s in her little sister’s shadow. It’s important, Kim thinks, and she’s glad of it. Makayla is no less her daughter than Ally and deserves to never feel like she is.

Makayla is family before she is legally, before she’s adopted into a family who barely has any blood in common anyway. But the day the adoption goes through is a joyous day for all of them.

“I love you.” Makayla has said it to them before, and more to Ally. But that day she says it and it’s louder than a shy whisper but firm and sure and Kim can’t help getting teary eyed as they hug her, assuring their daughter that they love her too, so much.

“Thank you for wanting to be my mom and dad.” Makayla says that night, so earnestly and Kim tears up again, Adam too. And nothing has ever felt so right. Kim knows she’ll never replace her mom, and she doesn’t want to, and she knows that Makayla might not ever call them mom and dad but they are and Makayla sees them as that and it feels so right.

“We’ve got two daughters.” Kim giggles against Adam’s chest that night, when everyone is asleep.

“That we do. And we got to skip the baby stage so we could get our two daughters straight away,” Adam replies, referencing their conversation from the night Makayla went home with Cathy. Kim laughs again, cuddling against her fiancé—as of a week ago.

Life is unpredictable. It’s messy and chaotic and full of madness, and Kim’s learnt and accepted that. And life is wonderful and amazing, and not despite of that, but because of that.

Two years ago, Kim would not see herself like this. In bed with Adam, her fiancé, their two daughters sleeping and feeling like she’s got the most perfect life. And it’s all because life is unpredictable.

Kim used to think that perfect meant calmness. And then she thought that can’t be her life, because she’s choose a mad and crazy life, a life not designed to be calm. But as she lies in bed that night, Adam cuddling her, Kim knows that’s wrong.

Life does mean calmness, but not because her life is quiet and calm, but because it’s messy and chaotic. It’s messy and chaotic and it’s hers. She has all what she ever wanted, fulfilled in all areas, and it doesn’t matter if it’s unpredictable because that’s the beauty of it.

There’s such a peace and calmness inside of her, an ease that has been brought on only by the messy, imperfection and unplanned events of her life—and that’s what makes everything feel perfect; perfect within the chaos.

[unforth]

Ko-Fi Commission for Diminuel

@diminuel here you go love! <3 (sorry it’s not Naga Dean, I got it written before I saw your reply)

Fandom: Supernatural

Ship: Destiel

Rating: Explicit

Tags: A/B/O dynamics, canon adjacent, omega bottom Cas, alpha top Dean, mutual pining and idiots kinda sorta using their words, heat, mentions of Dean/Kevin (in a platonic “alpha helping an omega friend through a heat” way.)

Word count: 1,646 words.

Read on AO3 or read more...(ugh Tumblr is being impossible about formatting sorry it ate all the italics, sigh...you’re probably better off just reading it on AO3)

“Where is he?” Dean demanded, slamming open the door of bunker library and storming into the room. 

Startled, Sam jumped up from his chair, hand reaching for a pistol he didn’t actually have at his side when they were at the Bunker, and then relaxed. “Who, Cas? How did you kn--?”

“No, I mean the fucking Easter Bunny - of course I mean Cas!” Anger and arousal and anger about the arousal simmered beneath Dean’s skin. “And he’s been lighting my phone up with texts like you wouldn’t believe.” This was all wrong. “I didn’t even know he knew how to use the goddamn camera on his phone, much less how to send me a dick pic.” Cas didn’t - couldn’t - want Dean. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Oh, um.” Swallowing, Sam looked away, cheeks flushing. “Maybe you should, uh...I mean, he’s in his room. I thought you two…”

Dean glared, eyes narrowing. “We...what?” 

Come on, Sammy, I dare you to say you legit thought we were a couple, when you know better. He’s a fucking angel, and I’m a fucking mess, and he’d never…

“Nothing! I...look, Dean, I’m not involved. I offered, but he said it had to be you, so...go.”

...I’d never…

“What had to be me?!”

...that’s a total lie, I would if there was even a prayer that he’d want…

“Just go,” ordered Sam, gesturing toward the door and dropping back into his chair to hunch over whatever esoteric nonsense he was reading today.

...but he never would.

Grumbling, Dean obeyed, leaving the library and navigating the tunnels of the Bunker. His nose tickled, an unfamiliar scent permeating the air, and he tried to place it. It smelled a little like Charlie, with the soothing aspect of her betaness easing Dean’s tension even when he didn’t want his tension eased. It smelled a little like Kevin, especially that one annoying time he’d gone into heat, spicy and clinging and inescapable. It didn’t smell like Cas, who never smelled like anything. Jimmy had been an omega, Dean thought, but if Cas had a presentation type, Dean had never caught a whiff of it.

It smelled good, tempting, taunting. An itch teased down Dean’s spine, a whisper of desire thickening his dick.

It smelled wrong, like it didn’t belong, like Dean shouldn’t be following it.

Except he had to check on Cas.

Except the scent intensified the closer he drew to Cas’ room.

Except that Dean didn’t think he could stop himself pursuing the source of that enticing aroma if his life fucking depended on it.

Finally, he stood before Cas’ door. The mystery aroma suffused the air, and the explicit selfies Cas had sent him suggested intriguing possibilities, and Dean stood there, paralyzed.

If he added all the pieces up, it was hard to imagine anything other than that, somehow, Cas was an omega and had gone into heat.

And, if that was the case...the last thing Dean should be doing was knocking on that door.

Cas did not want Dean...but apparently, when he was in heat, maybe he did. Dean would never be that alpha. He would never--

“Dean?” Cas’ shout, frantic and deep and raspy and fucking sex incarnate, was barely muffled by the door. “Dean, you came! Please...oh, please…”

“Yeah,” Dean replied, heart aching. “I’m here.” He should walk away. “But I can’t…”

“I know,” Cas moaned, the scent intensifying. “...I know, I know, you don’t want...I mean...but…” The air was awash with musk and a heavy scent like a thick fog descending, and Dean’s erection stiffened. “...but just this once...please…”

Catching a lip between his teeth, Dean furious debated in his head as Cas continued to beg. On the one hand, Dean was never one to take advantage of an omega in heat. On the other hand, there was a world of difference between scenting a stranger and getting a dumbass alpha boner, and helping a friend through a difficult time. When Kevin had been desperate, Dean had offered himself up, after all...consent was a bitch in cases like those but friends were friends, and working it out after the fact was a time honored tradition...if Dean went in and helped Cas, it wouldn’t be any different.

“...Dean, I’m begging...I need you so badly...need you...only you…”

Right. Not a bit of difference. Nope. Not like Kevin really is just a friend, whereas Cas is…

“...I’ll do anything…”

...is everything...

“...I’m so hot…”

...is nothing...nothing to me...we’re nothing to each other…there’s nothing between us...

“I can’t,” Dean muttered, hoping like hell Cas could hear him, hoping like hell Cas couldn’t hear him and might stop babbling enticingly long enough for Dean to escape. “Cas...look...I get you feel all...some kinda way...right now...but you don’t actually…” Dean laid an arm over the door, leaned his forehead against it, and took a deep breath despite himself. “...you don’t actually want me…” 

Fuck, Cas smelled amazing.

“I do!” said Cas frantically. “I do, please - I need you.” He sounded like he was sobbing, and Dean’s heart could have broken - he wanted to help so badly, wanted to believe Cas so, so badly. 

But...

“...you don’t…”

...he couldn’t.

“I’ll show you!”

Surprised, Dean took a step back from the door and blinked as if the dull gray would tell him what the fuck Cas meant.

Naw, don’t need X-Ray vision to know what he means. He’s horny, and of course between Sam and I’d pick me, I’m hung, and Sam’s a little bitch. When I open this door, he’ll be on his bed, presenting a slick hole, and if my willpower doesn’t snap it’ll be a fucking miracle.

“Please!”

And even knowing all that, Dean couldn’t resist the desperate catch in Cas’ voice.

Fuck, but Dean was gonna hate himself when this was over.

Fuck, but I already hate myself…

With a resigned sigh, Dean pushed the door open and stared.

He’d been partially right - Cas was on the bed presenting a slick hole.

The wings were a surprise, though.

And Cas’ scent was fucking insane, powerful, unearthly, drawing Dean into the room like a siren’s call. He’d heard some nonsense about how a true mate might smell and had never believed a lick of it, and he didn’t believe it now, no matter how amazing Cas smelled, no matter how drawn to him Dean felt - this had to be some bizarre angel mojo, no “meant to be” involved, for all that Cas moaned like a damn pornstar when the first gust of Dean’s scent swept before him into the room. There was no fucking way this was Jimmy’s humanity at work. This was pure angel grace insanity, complete with black feathers, and Dean wanted...Dean needed…

“Bedside table!” Cas gasped, craning his neck to look back at Dean. His eyes were wide, his pupils blown, his cheeks coated with sweat and tears.

Who’d’a thought Cas would have protection next to the bed...good thinking though, I’m about 2.3 seconds from sinking in balls deep, and--

Dean tugged the drawer open.

There weren’t any condoms in the drawer.

There was a book with a leather cover and all the hallmarks of being a journal. 

“Read it - please read it - and then help me, if you still want to - I’ll understand if you don’t - but I need...need...and it can only be you, it has to be you, has to be…” Cas’ supplications dissolved into sobs as, confused, Dean withdrew the book and leafed through the pages…

...Dean, it said on one page...my mortal love, it said on another...anything for him, it said on yet another...doesn’t want me, on another page...here for him no matter what, on another...don’t need more than this, on another...but I want him, on another...page upon page of devotion and care written in Cas’ unmistakable neat handwriting.

Impossible.

The book dropped from Dean’s numbed fingers.

He can’t want me.

He can’t think I don’t want him.

“Dean!”

He couldn’t possibly…

Slowly, Dean turned toward the bed. Cas panted desperately, rocking back against nothing, eyes fixed on Dean...no, fixed on the bulge in Dean’s pants, his gaze was definitely directed down with the look of a starving man...and Dean stared.

...why would he…

“...need you…” Cas whimpered pathetically.

...but he does.

Certain this must be a dream, Dean crossed the scant steps separating them, fumbling hands undoing his belt on the first step, letting his pants drop on the second, stepping out of them on the third and fourth, and then he was beside the bed, and Cas was displayed before him like a banquet, and Dean’s cock was so hard it ached, and the scent of angel heat made him dizzy, and there was nothing, nothing between them except years of devotion and uncountable words of near-confessions that never said everything and desperation and pining and need and devotion…

...there was nothing between them, not a shred of cloth, not a single inhibition, not a hint of uncertainty.

Dean climbed onto the bed.

Though...they would have a fuckton to talk about once Cas’ heat was over.

Or it’s a dream, and I’ll wake up...either way, awkward feels talks can wait...hell, they can wait forever if I’m lucky...and Cas needs me now.

“Don’t worry,” murmured Dean as he pushed forward and the head of his dick breached that perfect, tight pucker for the first time. “I’ll take care of you.”

Everything could wait until Cas was sated - until Dean had been the alpha that Cas deserved.

“I know you will,” Cas whispered, rocking back against him. “You always do...always...always…”

Yes, Cas...always...always here for you...always your alpha...always your Dean…

...always yours.

[babybatscreationsv2]

A King on a Leash ch8

Marvel | Starker

Tony Stark is a powerful man with a beautiful husband and a loyal crime family, but it looks like he didn’t keep his husband on a short enough leash. After turning Peter lose on a Cuban gang leader, Peter’s life is  in danger. The real trouble is that Tony now realizes that Peter is the  only thing in this world that he cares about and he never meant for that  to happen.

Sequel to A Doll on a String

Rating: Explicit

Full Fic

A Doll on a String

Warnings under the cut*

Warnings: torture, murder, mafia au, graphic description of a panic attack, orgasm denial, possessive behavior, jealousy

Fists, a knife, a flambe torch, and two hours later and Tony had everything he needed. He sent Natasha off to find Bucky. Together they would gather up their teams and corner this cousin of Suarez's. Ricardo, but everyone calls him 'Chili'. How intimidating. They dumped the body off a pier, then Tony noticed the time. Shit. He was going to be late to pick up Peter.

"Hap," he said through the phone. "You available to pick Peter up today?"

"Sorry, Boss, I'm across town. You can't make it?"

"Fuck. I'll have his guards drive him home."

"Sorry, Tony. Wish I could make it. Want me to call and make some threats before they pick him up?"

"No," he sighed. "I'm sure I can manage. Thanks anyway, Hap."

"No problem, Boss."

Tony ended the call and dialed Kevin, the head of Peter's guards when Happy wasn’t around. He would already be parked in front of the building to make sure it was safe.

"You're bringing Peter home, today. Make sure he comes straight home and don't you-"

"Boss?"

Tony clenched his jaw at being interrupted. Better be fucking important. "What is it?"

"You telling me this ain't your car the other Mr. Stark just got into?" the fear in his voice was icy.

His own heart was shot through with the same icy fear. "Tail them. Wherever they go. Call me when they stop."

He hung up and called Peter, hands clammy. Could Ricardo have gotten to him this fast? His man said he was in Jersey today, but he could have made the drive in the time it took to get it out of him. It could have been a distraction. Could have been a trap. Peter could be dead already.

"Tony?" Peter answered. Tony sighed, instantly soothed. He didn't sound scared or stressed or otherwise in trouble. He was okay.

"Baby where are you?"

"You didn't get my texts?"

Tony checked his phone. As he looked, four messages arrived in series. He sighed. Stupid warehouse reception. Sometimes it knocked out his signal.

"Sorry, baby. Tell me where you are."

"I'm just going to dinner with some friends. Sorry if I scared you."

Tony relaxed into his seat. He's okay. He's alive. His own heart still raced. "It's okay, sweetheart, I'm not mad."

"That's an awful lot of pet names for not being mad."

Tony took a deep breath. "Next time, make sure I got your message before you leave. Please?"

"Of course. I love you, Tony. Go enjoy an evening to yourself, okay? I'll be home late."

"Sure, angel. Have fun. Tell your friends I said 'hi'."

"Will do." Peter kissed him through the phone. "See you at home."

"Love you, Peter."

"Love you, Tony."

The call ended. Tony sighed and stared out the window. He didn't like the cold, anxious, feeling of being without Peter. 'Enjoy an evening to yourself', yeah right. He sat and fiddled with the ring on his finger. Then ice shot through his heart.

Friends?

Friends. Plural. Peter has two best friends: Gwen and MJ. They hate each other. Sure, he goes out with the girls he dances with every now and then, but he doesn't call them friends. He calls them 'the girls'. MJ has a girlfriend. He could be going out with them together, but MJ wouldn't have met him at the performance hall because she hates Gwen. Even if she had she couldn't afford a car that would be confused with one of Tony's. What friends?

His first instinct was to call him back and ask, but no. He didn't want Peter to think he was being overbearing. He deserves his own space. Fuck, it was killing him, though. Like a blessing from God, Kevin called.

"Boss?"

"Where is he, Kev?"

Poor Kevin sounded like he might throw up. "He's at that Italian place you guys like and he's with friends."

"Which friends?"

"Uh," he paused. "The blonde girl and a guy. I've never seen him before."

There was a guy that he danced with, but he and Peter never got along so they don't hang out. He would have remembered if Peter had made amends with him. "Describe him."

"Expensive looking suit, short brown hair, maybe an inch or two taller than Mr. Stark. Looked around the same age. Couldn't see much of his face from here, but he was clean-shaven."

Harry Osborn.

"Call in the second car. I want men inside. I'll call Leonardo and let him know you're with me."

"Yes, sir."

It hurt. It genuinely fucking hurt. And it was stupid. Why did he feel like Peter was cheating on him? Of course he would want to see an old friend. Harry had been gone for years, they would want to catch up. At least Gwen was with them. She was very straight laced, she wouldn't let Peter run off with him- What the fuck was he even thinking? Of course Peter wouldn't. He took a deep breath but it didn't stop the panic. He couldn't breathe. The car was suffocating him. He climbed out and nearly fell onto the sidewalk.

His driver got out and came around the side.

"You alright, Boss?"

"Fine-" he choked. "Just need a minute. Wait in the car."

He looked unsure, but he did what he was told.

Tony's mind spun with thoughts that didn't quite connect and weren't entirely coherent.

Should start going to his practices with him... Should tell him he's not allowed to dance anymore. What if he leaves? What if he doesn't come home? I should kill Harry Osborn. What if I caught them together? What if Peter wants him? What if he's better than me? What if he's better for Peter than me? I should go to the restaurant. I should call Peter. I should go home. Why can't I breathe?

Tony sat down on the curb and put his head between his knees. He didn't want to imagine what he looked like, a Mafia Boss, a capital 'B' Boss, sitting on the ground like a kid at a Macy's parade. Cue the fucking confetti and tootsie rolls.

His phone rang. It was Peter. He answered without thinking, then realized his throat was thick and he probably sounded like he was crying. Was he crying?

"What the fuck, Tony? I can't go to dinner without a babysitter?"

Tony gulped down air. The sound of his voice, even venomous and angry, helped to soothe him. "No, baby, you can't." His voice came out thick and gravelly and probably sounded more angry than upset.

"And why not?" He could just see him, hiding in the bathroom so no one would here them argue. A hand on his hip and the other clutched around his phone. Teeth clenched and hair disheveled where he ran a frustrated hand through it.

"Because you're mine," Tony said, a little smile on his lips.

He heard Peter sigh. "I know I'm in trouble and all, but can't your men wait outside?"

"You need all the protection you can get, angel. I won't let anything happen to you." Or anyone, he thought.

A pause, then another sigh. "Fine. You're right. Sorry, I overreacted."

"It's okay. I'm glad you called."

"Are you okay?"

Tony stood up and brushed himself off. He looked at the people passing him by as if they were the ones who were strange. "I will be when this is over."

There was a pause. "Should I cancel dinner?" He sounded so upset. Tony couldn't take something from him if it really meant that much. Though, he couldn't say that it didn't feel good to be reminded that he could. If he walked into that restaurant and dragged Peter out no one would stop him. Hell, Peter would blush and make excuses but he wouldn't argue. Not in public. Not when it could tarnish Tony's image.

"No, angel. Enjoy your dinner." And think of me, he thought. Remember the guards I sent to protect you. Remember that I'm always just a call away.

"You sure?"

"Of course. Be safe. Don't go anywhere alone." Just come home. Just ditch him and come home.

"I'll be careful. You be careful, too."

"I love you, Peter." More than anything. Anything at all.

"Love you, Tony." Why? What's worth loving when I'm weak like this?

On shaking legs, Tony got back in the car. Cold and pale, he cleared his throat. Then he barked at the driver to take him home.

Peter wasn’t late, but it felt like it. Especially since Tony had spent a good while on the bathroom floor throwing up into the toilet. He had showered and brushed his teeth and he prayed Peter didn't smell the vomit on him. He was relaxing by an artificial fire, forcing himself to read a book, when Peter came in. He was all smiles, walking on air. He floated across the room to give Tony a kiss.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Nothing." He let Peter take the book from his hands and set it aside. Then he sat straddling his lap. "There's my angel." He brushed Peter's hair from his forehead. He had to get himself under control. He'd been completely sick until Peter got home. He felt like he'd been holding his breath up until the moment Peter's weight settled in his lap. He closed his eyes and breathed him.

"Did you miss me?" Peter cooed, angel sweet. He smelled like fresh Italian herbs and restaurant hand soap.

Tony shrugged. "Should I?"

Peter gave him a coy smile. "I know what missed me." He slipped down to the floor and pushed apart Tony's legs. His skinny fingers trailed over his crotch. A slave to his husband, the man that was supposed to be his plaything and not the other way around, Tony's cock started to thicken at the touch. He let his legs spread wider, let his head fall back as Peter's hot little mouth made a wet spot on the front of his pants. He could feel the heat, the tease of suction through too many layers. After suffering so many bad feelings throughout the day, the promise of pleasure made him hungry.

"Don't tease, sweetheart."

Peter looked up at him with a mischievous smile on his face. He continued to suck on the fabric, moaning like it was his cock, like he could taste it through the material. Tony stared, his expression dark. He reached slowly down to unbuckle his belt and pulled it off. Peter sat still and waited watching as he took out his cock.

Tony admired the way he licked his bottom lip as be eyed the belt in his hands before he eyed Tony's cock. He looked up, asking for permission.

"Get your mouth on it. No hands."

Without a question, Peter bent and took his cock into his mouth. Tony finally felt some of the days tension leave him. He let Peter get him hard and wet, then he used the belt to pulled Peter in, letting it curve against the back of his head, and pulled him down until his tongue reached his balls. He pulled down with the belt and thrust his hips forward, burying as deeply as he could in his throat. His head fell back against the chair. Peter wretched, body trembling between his legs. Tony let him up before he could puke up his dinner. He looked down at Peter to see his eyes glassy and his mouth open and dripping with spit.

"What a good little toy you are. Gonna be my fleshlight, baby?"

Peter moaned. "Yes, daddy." Fuck, that look on his face, cock stupid and perfect. Ready to do anything he asked.

"That's a good boy."

He got his mouth back on Tony's cock and Tony used the belt to guide him. He kept his mouth open wide and let Tony have what he wanted, appearing more fuck hole than man.

"You're daddy's perfect little slut aren't you?"

Peter gurgled on his cock, unable to answer.

"Should keep you tied to the bed. Use you whenever I want." Never let you leave. He liked the sound of that.

Peter was so good, so patient, and obedient. Tony's treatment of his throat was brutal, tortuous, yet he sat with his hands in lap. Tears ran down his cheeks and spit down his chin. Daddy's good obedient pet. Perfect and beautiful and all his. All his.

He let Peter go and sat stroking himself, watching him gasp. Once he recovered enough, he sat up, mouth open waiting for his cum. Tony painted him with it, coating his face in sticky white, hardly any ended up in his waiting mouth. And Peter sat, still and patient until Tony wiped the cum from his eyes. Then he blinked up at him, licking his lips.

"Can I cum, daddy?"

Tony thought a moment. "No," he decided. He could spend tomorrow hard and thinking about Tony and not thinking about Osborn and Tony would feel a little better about his dinner outing.

"Clean your face and strip for me."

"Yes, sir." Peter wiped cum from his cheeks and licked his fingers clean. Tony scooped some off his forehead when he missed it. Peter happily suckled his fingers, humming and closing his eyes. Like having any part of Tony inside him was bliss. Then he stood and stripped out of his clothes. Tony looked at his cock, fully hard and needy.

"Come sit with me, angel."

Peter sat down on his lap, happy when Tony gave him a deep kiss. Then slowly started to kiss down his neck. His fingers teased his bare thigh. He brushed them over his hard cock, adoring the way his cock jumped under his touch. "Tell me about your dinner. Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah," he began, notably breathless. "Harry was back in town so- so Gwen and I took him out." He stuttered as Tony sucked on his neck. He grinned against the fresh bruises he made.

"That sounds nice," he said.

He wrapped a hand around his cock and slowly stroked him. Peter licked his swollen lips.

"It was fun. I missed Harry. I missed you, too, of course. I'm not used to having dinner without you."

Tony sucked another mark into his skin, increasing the pressure until Peter whined and his hands touched his chest. Then he thought, just one more, and sucked another mark just above his Adam's apple.

"What's gotten into you?" Peter asked, breathless and clinging to his chest.

"Nothing." Tony threaded his fingers through his hair and kissed him again. He licked away the taste of cum from his mouth until he could taste Peter underneath. His Peter.

[gallavictorious]

Would you be able to write a lil fic from Kev's POV of Yev's christening party? I just know Kev would find Mickey's "guess what we've been doing, daddy" monologue hilarious. And maybe Kev notices Ian and Mickey being super soft after and realizes they're actually really good for each other?

An incensed roar; a table tossed aside; the sound of glass smashing, and of fists against flesh. Kevin Ball takes a deep breath and closes his eyes and reaches for nirvana. Or for enlightment. Or whatever. He isn't really clear on that whole bit. But he's calm, he's cool, breathing slowly, this is all good, shit was the noise of someone's neck snapping, no, no, he didn't hear that, it's peace, love, all that crap, he's so relaxed –

Shit, this is hard.

Fortunately, someone must have called the police and the police must have been nearby because it's just minutes before the cops storm in to haul off both Terry and Mick. The amount of damage done to the bar is still pretty impressive, Kev sees when he finally opens his eyes with a sigh of relief, but that's okay; the Milkoviches are usually surprisingly good about actually paying for that stuff. It's one of the reasons Kev doesn't mind them hosting their parties here, in spite of said parties ending in brawls as often as they don't.

The other reason is that they'd probably burn the bar down if he tried to refuse them.

Kev looks up from the sad remaints of a chair to catch sight of Ian slipping out the door, after the cops and their captives. There's this look on his bloodied face, something fierce and determined and grimly triumphant, and Kev can't help but frown, suddenly a little uneasy.

Thing is, maybe he should have seen it earlier. He knows he's not the brightest tool in the shed; he's okay with that. He's got V to do the sharp thinking, and besides, Kevin Ball ain't stupid about people. He notices things, and looking back, there's been all these little hints, shit Mickey's said and done in the past few months, and there's that thing he heard from a grumpy Lip about Mickey staying over at the Gallagher house ever since Ian came home. And okay, maybe he'd found that a bit weird, but Kev's been little busy lately by small things like becoming a father, so maybe he hasn't had too much time to worry about where his business partner might be putting his head down, okay. A man can only have so many things on his mind at once. Three maybe. He thinks he's read that somewhere. Or V told him.

But yeah, maybe he should have seen it earlier, but he hadn't. Doesn't get it until he sees them having a clearly heated but quiet conversation over by the side of the bar just before Terry shows up; then something finally clicks. Not quite into a certainty, but into enough of one that he's compelled to slide Ian a shot when Mickey runs off to greet his dad, and isn't exactly shocked when Mickey turns the music off to make his declaration.

Good for you, Mickey, Kev has just enough time to think before Terry charges at his son like a deranged bull and all hell breaks loose. Not that Kev paid any attention to that, because he's a conscienctious objector now; he doesn't only not do violence, he doesn't even see violence.

Now that calm's been restored to the bar, everyone but the most persistent drunks has gone outside to watch the arrest unfold, so Kev follows suit. It's freezing cold, the way only Chicago in winter can be, but he doubts either Terry or Mickey can feel the chill; they're still straining to get at each other, struggling against the police holding them down, and screaming blue murder.

”Get out of my house, you pole-smoking queer!” Terry bellows, but whatever hold he once had over his son must have broken because Mickey doesn't even hesitate, and there's a wild sort of glee in his voice as he calls: ”Fuck you, don't worry about it! I've been staying at Ian's since you've been in the can, bitch! Guess what we've been doin', daddy! We've been fuckin'! And I take it! He gives it to me good and hard and I fuckin' like it.”

That's more than Kev ever wanted to know about Mickey's sex life, really, but he still can't help but grin as Mickey humps the car, giving emphasis to his words. ”Fuck you, I suck his dick and I fuckin' love it.”

Mickey's always been an expressive bastard, unafraid to speak his mind. Kev finds it both hilarious and worthy of respect, though upon reflection maybe there's a few things Mickey has actually been afraid to speak of, after all. Until now, at least.

Good for you, Mickey, he thinks, again.

The cops take Terry away; the guests filter back inside. The place is a mess and the object of the celebration has long since been whisked away by his mother but that's no reason to break up a party on the South Side, so Kev alternates wiping up blood with serving beer after beer after shot of cheap liquor. Everyone seems to be in high spirits; nothing like a good old-fashioned brawl to get the blood pumping on a cold winter's night, and the story of Mickey Milkovich coming out to the whole bar at his own son's baptism party is a good enough story to last a few retellings.

Ian and Mickey are nowhere to be seen, Kev notes, and again there's that sense of unexpected unease, of worry.  He remembers Ian's face covered in blood, the hard look there transforming him from the earnest kid Kev's known since he was in elementary school and into someone he's not sure he knows at all. Ian's scrappy, like all the Gallaghers; bit of a punk at times, and way into that Army crap of course, but at heart he's always been gentle. Hardworking, and caring, and soft in the way none of his siblings were; a good kid, for all that he's gotten himself in a bit of trouble lately, though Kev's not entirely caught up on that.

And now Ian's gone and gotten himself involved with Mickey Milkovich, who is about as far from a good kid as it's possible to get.

That's not to say that Kev doesn't like Mickey. The guy's funny, he has some good ideas and great initiative; he makes things happen, like that whole rub-and-tug business (okay, so maybe there's been a few misunderstandings about how they're to split the money and whatever, but apart from that, Kev's got no complaints about having Mickey for a partner). He also pays for his beer and isn't a bad drunk, both things a bartender knows how to appreciate. So yeah, Kev likes Mickey just fine... but he's not sure he likes him just fine as Ian's boyfriend.

Truth is, while Kev's not scared of Mickey – c'mon – he's not not scared of him either. Sure Mickey's about half his size, but he's ruthless and kind of crazy and has access to fuck know how many guns (that he actually knows how to use, unlike Kev), not to mention a whole bunch of brothers and cousins and whatever he can call upon. He's a criminal, the real kind, and it's probably only a matter of time before he follows his father and his brothers into big boy jail. Kev doesn't judge – you do what you need to get by, and it's bad practise for a barkeep to look down at his patrons anyway – but he can't help but wonder what it'll mean for a kid like Ian to get caught up in all that hardcore Milkovich madness.

For one, he's not sure gentleness can survive it very long, and he'd hate to see Ian lose that kind heart of his; hate to see him freeze and harden. He'd hate to see him give up on his dreams too, though maybe it's too late for that already, 'cause of what happened with the Army and that helicopter...

It occurs to Kev that Ian ran away just after Mickey married Svetlana.

Oh, shit. This must have been going on for years. Gallaghers have always been attracted to trouble, Kev supposes. He tries to stay out of it, for the most part. Live and let live – and let V be the one to make the off-hand judgemental comments or give it to someone straight if need be. Sure, Kev's been there to throw some advice Lip's way when Lip's been particularly stubborn about something or someone, but there's no way he's getting involved in this. Word got back to Mickey that Kev had tried to meddle in his love life, no talk of peace and love and overflowing plates of cabbage would save him from a bullet to the head, and his kids are not gonna grow up without a father.

It'll probably be fine anyway. Not like he begrudges Mickey a bit of happiness, and Ian's a tough kid. He can take care of himself.

It'll be fine.

Kev keeps telling himself that as he starts shooing the last remaining guests out.

---

He catches sight of them just a little later, when he's finally done getting the priest – half a bottle of vodka and two hookers in on his road to heaven on Earth – out the door, and is taking out the trash.

They're laughing. Through the blood and broken teeth, they're laughing. Ian winces with it, clearly in pain, and Kev considers heading over to ask if they're okay, if they need, well he's not sure, an ice pack or someone to walk them home or something.

He imagines Mickey reacting to that latter suggestion and reminds himself of his decision not to leave his daughters fatherless.

Ian and Mickey has stopped laughing, stopped talking, now (and if Kev had been an introspective kind of guy he might have paused to wonder at how easy it is to think of them like that, as one unit, as a couple, Ian and Mickey). Mickey's head is sagging slightly; Ian's looking at him with an intensity Kev can pretty much feel, even from twenty feet away and with Ian's back turned toward him. He knows he should go inside and leave them to whatever it is they've got going here, but he can't quite look away, his concern mingling with curiosity.

As he watches, Ian rises. He walks over to Mickey and slings an arm around his shoulder in half a hug, before softly running his fingers through the other boy's hair and bending down to press a brief kiss to the top of his head. There's nothing sexual about it; it's affection and comfort, offered easily.

Offered gently.

Mickey doesn't shy away from the touch. He leans into the hug; there's a faint smile on his lips as Ian pulls away, and it comes to Kev then that maybe it won't be Mickey's ruthlessness that tempers Ian's gentleness, but the other way around. Maybe Ian saw something underneath all that sneer and swagger that no one else could see, but was always there.

Maybe it really will be fine. Kev thinks maybe he believes it now.

---

A/N: Thank you for the prompt, nonnie! <3

I'm very happy you clearly specified 'lil' because yes, this I can do! Tiny little things I can mostly make happen! Might take me a while, but still. :) It was very interesting and rather more challenging that I had expected to try to get into Kev's head during these moments (though it gave me an excuse to rewatch all of Kev and Mickey's scenes in season 4, which was a delight!). I hope it's somewhere in the vincinity of what you envisioned, even if it didn't really get into why Ian and Mickey would be really good for each other; I think that's a realization that comes to Kev bit by bit over the years. Would love to see some scenes with him and Mickey in season 11.

This ficlet incidentally got me thinking about how the people of the South Side would distinguish between 'regular' people who don't mind breaking the law when given the opportunity and 'real' criminals who makes a living by actively doing so. Seems like it'd be a fine line at times...

Oh, and I do know that tools in the shed tend to be sharp rather than bright, but think that Kev is the sort to mix up expressions (and I feel the need to point this out since I'm not confident enough in my English to trust that this kind of thing will come across as intentional :p).

[lettersinscarlet]

New Year’s Kiss (Colby Brock Imagine)

Hey! As promised, here’s my fic. It’s been crazy this week but I seriously have been trying to finish this and tonight I finally did. Anyway, I’m accepting requests for Sam, Jake, and Colby as well as Stefan and Damon. So let me know what you think of this one and I’m so sorry it took so long to get out. Enjoy!

——————————————————————————

Your POV

“You ready for tonight?” Tara asked as she leaned closer to her mirror to put on some makeup.

“Of course! I’m super excited for a New Year’s party with my friends,” you answered as you checked your hair in the same mirror. “Do I look good?”

Tara turned around to look at you. “Yeah! You totally look like good bait for a New Year’s kiss,” she joked. You rolled your eyes at her as you started on your makeup.

“Yeah right,” you sighed.

“Oh come on! It’s not that big of a deal anyway,” she said, examining her eyeliner closely.

“Easy for you to say! You have Jake,” you shot back. “Maybe I’ll get a kiss from Sam’s Chucky doll.”

Tara just laughed as she continued to get ready for the party.

Sam was having a New Year’s party at his apartment. Colby, Sam, Kat, Tara, Jake, Mike, Kevin, Aryia, Reggie, Cassie, you, and some others were going to be there. You were pretty excited; you didn’t typically go to New Year’s parties, but this year was different.

You finished getting ready with Tara and then you went to drive over to Sam’s apartment.

“You ready?” she asked you.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” you replied with a laugh.

You guys walked in and everyone was talking and laughing and having fun. Jake saw you guys walk in and he came over and kissed Tara.

“Save it for midnight,” she winked at him. You sighed and you went off into the party.

Colby POV

Colby had seen the two of you walk in and he thought you looked stunning. Of course, he wouldn’t say anything to you. He thought that you didn’t like him as much as he liked you, so why would he risk that?

Secretly, he was hoping that he could be your New Year’s kiss, but he didn’t have much faith that you would pick him. Just in case, he drew a smiley face on his hand.

When he saw you walk off from Jake and Tara, he got up and made his way over to you.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” he said when he cough up to you.

“Hey Colby! Happy New Year!” you greeted him.

“Yeah, Happy New Year!” he replied. “What are you doing for New Year’s tomorrow?”

“Probably going to attempt to cook something,” you chuckled and he did, too. “What are you doing?”

“I haven’t really figured that out yet,” he said.

“Do you know if Sam has any fireworks?” you asked.

“No, why?”

“Oh I was just wondering. My family would shoot fireworks on New Year’s. Sometimes, it would be a little wild, but it was always pretty fun,” you said, remembering some of those close-calls you’ve had with some fireworks.

“That sounds like it was pretty fun,” he laughed. “I’ll have to go see.”

He chatted with you for a few more minutes before he made his way to go find Sam.

“Hey, brother!” he shouted when he got close. “Do we have any fireworks?”

“No,” Sam answered after he thought about it for a moment.

“Why don’t we go get some?” Colby suggested.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Come on! It could be fun. We could all go and get some and then see what happens.”

Sam debated this for a moment before he shook his head. “This is going to go down in flames, but let’s do it,” he said. Colby cheered before he stood up on a table.

“Hey everybody!” he yelled, grabbing the room’s attention. “Let’s go get some fireworks!” he cheered. There were shouts from the crowd in support of the idea.

“All of us?” he heard somebody ask.

“I’m sure we can all fit in the elevator,” somebody else suggested.

“Alright let’s go!” Colby yelled, hopping down from the table and heading towards the door.

Your POV

Everybody was outside of the elevator, wondering what the maximum capacity on the elevator was. After it was discovered, Colby whipped out his phone and everyone started adding their weight.

“It’s going to be close,” Colby said, showing you the numbers on the phone, “but I think it’ll be alright.”

“Are you sure? I mean, some people could use the stairs or just wait for the elevator...”

“Come on, we’ll be fine!” Colby replied, grabbing your hand and pulling you into the elevator. There were already a few people in there and to be honest, you were a little anxious. You were already a little nervous about elevators but the fact there were going to be so many people in there that you got a little anxious. But it was going to be fine, you guys were headed down. You wouldn’t get stuck, right?

The final people squeezed their way into the elevator and the door gently closed behind them. You took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as you waited for the elevator to start to go down. It slowly started and you felt slightly relieved. Colby spun you around to face him.

“See? Everything is o-“

A jolt stopped him mid sentence and you felt the elevator stop. There was a simultaneous groan through the crowd and your eyes got wide. Colby saw your face and he started to try and reassure you.

“Hey! It’s gonna be alright. We’re going to be fine. Someone press the button thing!” Colby yelled over your shoulder. Someone did what he said and Colby turned back to look at you. You started breathing in and out, trying not to feel the walls closing in on you.

Gently, Colby grabbed your hands and started rubbing circles with his thumbs. You made ey contact with him and he looked at you.

“Listen, these things aren’t made to be air tight. There’s vents and stuff all over to keep oxygen circling through. Firefighters are trained about how to get people out of the elevator, so we’re gonna be fine. It just might take a little while is all,” he whispered so that only you could hear. “Did you want me to hug you or do you want more space?” he asked quietly. You just nodded and he pulled you in for a hug, gently rubbing your back.

You didn’t try and focus on how many people were with you, you just tried to focus on you and Colby. His arms were around you, and you had plenty of space to be comfortable. You took in his little facts about the vents and you knew that you would have enough air until the fire fighters came.

You sort of melted into Colby’s hug, feeling the comfortable warmth from his arms around you. You actually began to relax.

Soon enough, the firefighters cracked open the door, and a small bit of calmness washed over you. It took them a minute to fully open the doors. When the did, everyone started pushing to get out. Colby gently pulled you back, waiting until everyone finished running out so you could calmly walk out. You smiled against him for a moment, feeling comfort in his arms. You were slightly reluctant to let go, but you were glad to be out of elevator.

“(Y/N), you should go get checked out by the EMT,” Colby advised you when you walked outside. “Just to make sure you’re okay,” he quickly added.

“Okay,” you whispered to him. You went and they cleared you for being okay. “All good,” you informed him when you were done.

“Good,” he smiled. As your group started walking to go get fireworks, Colby stayed near you and he wanted you to ride in his car on the way to the store, which you gladly did.

Colby POV

After you guys got more than was probably necessary, you had all headed back to Sam’s apartment to wait for the ball to drop. Midnight was getting closer, and everyone was excited. Colby was just glad that he got to be closer to you, and he was starting to think that maybe he might tell you about his feelings.

Sam caught him staring at you as you were getting something to drink.

“Alright, loverboy,” Sam joked as he nudged him. Colby turned around, looking confused.

“What do you mean?” Colby asked.

“Don’t act like I haven’t seen the way you’ve been around her all night,” Sam said with a grin. “It’s pretty obvious how you feel about her.”

“Her? You mean (Y/N)?” Colby questioned. He was getting nervous. He didn’t want anyone to know, because he knew that if he told Sam, Sam would tell Kat, and Kat would tell you. He wanted to tell you himself and be able to keep your relationship a secret if that’s what you wanted.

“Yeah, I mean (Y/N). Who else would I mean?” Sam answered.

“Oh no, I don’t like her like that,” Colby lied, hoping to pull it off. “I could never see myself with her. Could you imagine that? Me? And her? No way,” Colby tried. Maybe he exaggerated a little, but he couldn’t risk Sam knowing.

“Oh. I didn’t know you were that repulsed by me,” you said quietly. Colby turned around and he saw you standing behind him. He knew he was screwed. “I’m just gonna go now,” you announced, turning and walking out.

“(Y/N), wait!” Colby called after you, but you weren’t listening to him. Colby turned and looked terrified. Sam was confused. “I didn’t want you to find out because I was planning to tell her! I know it doesn’t make much sense now but- ugh, I’ve got to go get her,” Colby said. He turned and ran out the door, trying to follow you and hoping you hadn’t left yet.

Your POV

You walked down the stairs because someone would be stupid to think you would risk going in that elevator again. Not again.

When you made it out the door you stopped as the cold January air hit your face. You were trying your hardest not to cry, you didn’t want to do that until you got home. You forgot that you had rode with Tara over here, and you didn’t want to text her to leave. You would have to call an Uber and you didn’t want to look like some girl who got stood up for prom.

You couldn’t believe it. You knew that it was too good to be true that Colby might actually like you back. The whole thing in the elevator and how close you two had been the whole night; you thought that maybe you had a shot, maybe you had a chance. But of course, he was almost disgusted at the thought of being with you. Your vision was starting to get blurred and you took a deep breath to calm down.

“(Y/N)!” you heard from behind you and you almost didn’t want to turn around, but you did. “(Y/N) just let me-“

“Stop,” you said, and Colby fell silent. “I really shouldn’t be upset, it’s not like you had to like me back or anything. I just thought with the whole night and all the time we spent-“ your throat was getting tight so you stopped for a second to breathe, “but I guess you were just being a good friend. I just didn’t think you’d be that grossed out by the-“

“I’m not I swear!” Colby interjected. You looked at him and he was looking earnestly at you. “I’m really not. I just didn’t want Sam to know because he would tell Kat and she would tell you, but I wanted to be the one to tell you. I really like you,” he said, walking closer to you. “I really, really like you. And that stuff wasn’t just me being a good friend. I like you, so much. I was just worried that you wouldn’t like me, and I screwed it up,” he sighed, looking down. Now he was close enough to you that you could see that he had a couple tears, too. “I’m really sorry, but please, don’t go away thinking I’m grossed out of the thought of us,” he whispered. He looked up at you and you wiped away a tear, smearing your makeup slightly.

“Us?” you asked quietly, stepping even closer to him.

“Yeah, us,” he repeated. You were close enough that you could hear each other’s breathing. You locked eyes and his were sparkling with hope and excitement. You leaned up and kissed him, slowly at first but he deepened it. Your heart was fluttering in your chest and suddenly you weren’t cold anymore.

You broke away when you needed air but he still kept close to you.

“Please, will you be my New Year’s kiss?” he asked with a smile.

“If It’s anything like that, then of course,” you smirked. He chuckled and you grabbed his hand and went back inside.

When it was midnight, you guys shared a kiss just as magical as the first one was. It was a great way for you to start off your new year.

Somehow, Sam had found a spot so you guys could shoot off the fireworks. Colby made sure that the two of you were a safe distance away and he stood behind you and wrapped you in his arms as you watched as Jake almost got exploded and Corey attempting to through snapping pops at Sam. Colby chuckled softly to you.

“I can’t wait to see what this year has for us,” Colby whispered to you.

“Yeah, for us,” you echoed. You leaned back into his arms and stared up as something burst in the air. You smiled contently wishing this moment could last forever.

———

Taglist:

@sp00kybrock @yikes-xander @daddydobrock @trapbrock-local @thenameisbabe @far-to-many-bands @lyssaholic @wacky-webber-458 @colbysbaby @katiaw2 @brocks-girl @chesterbenningtonaremylife @frickin-bats

[lemonietrinket]

Himawari ||| Kevin x Reader

Summary: Kevin is a ray of sunshine, and so are you. This time, Kevin has something to say to you. Genre: Fluff, as per usual Word Count: 1750 Theme Song: Man in a Movie - Day6; Spark - JBJ95 AN: Kevin Woo, an underrated ball of soft. Another request from @idont-knowabrian​ because they have good ideas. Thanks for reading!

Kevin took a deep breath.

It wasn’t like him, usually, to be so nervous. He’d been on so many stages, in so many recording studios, before so many important people, he reckoned he’d abandoned the idea of being nervous way back in his debut years.

And yet here he was, at your front door, freshly painted citrine by your own hand, cold dispelled by a smart but thick jacket, and  ever so slightly shivering,

Ah yes, that was the day he first met you. Walking past the terraced houses on his way to work, he’d glanced to his right and seen you coating the door in a very diligent fashion. Once he’d passed your door several times, greeting you with a wave and a shy smile every morning, and after you’d worked up the courage to ask if he really was who you thought he was, did he find out why you insisted on painting it in such a primary shade.

“To fulfil a childhood dream of mine.” You had shrugged. “I always wanted to live in a house with a big front window and a yellow door. Not that it originated from any great tragedy! I just... you know. Really like the colour yellow.”

You’d gone on to explain how you had finally had the chance to control the environment that surrounded you, after a youth characterised by restrictive policies that now as an adult you had escaped from. He would never admit it, out of politeness and slight shame on his own behalf, but he was more focused on your face at that very moment. He could still picture how your eyes flickered to the side, how you frowned and scrunched your nose at your own words, at the very moment your lips twitched into a smile, sheepish but no less relaxed. 

The memory did little to calm his nerves, merely lending a hand to his heart’s fluttering.  But it was no use now, as the very door opened to reveal you.

He was 90% sure his heart stopped.

“Kevin! Hi!” you exclaimed, face glowing in the dim streetlight behind. “You’re actually right on time. Not even a minute late!"

His eyes swept over the visage before him. You, in a mustard wool blouse, tucked into a deep moss-green skirt that billowed in the breeze at your ankles. Your eyes glittering in the twilight—a pool he wanted to sink into and also avoid for his own heart’s safety—outwitting the moon in a knowing gaze aimed only at him - a concept that almost stole his words - standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway, hands clasped behind his back.

“You must be some kind of miracle,” you stated, voice touched with wistfulness.

He coughed, being very abruptly dragged from his thoughts. “What? Me? No! No, not...” He shook his head, playing it off with a laugh.

“What? Always here perfectly on time, always looking as dashing as you always do, it’s not a preposterous proposition, you know!” 

He shook his head, tipping his head away from the playful glint in your eyes, and letting his hands do the talking for him. 

You gasped, even though you saw the gift coming from a million miles away. Even if those million miles was only the couple of metres of your front path.

“Oh Kevin...!” You took the bouquet into your hands, eyes mottling with tears that you couldn’t quite contain, that matched the polka-dotted ribbon of pastel blue that neatly held the piece together.

The sunflower petals, smooth and radiant, were no match for you, Kevin decided. But as you cradled the bouquet close to your chest and stared up at him, lips—kissed by the sunshine itself—wavering in joy, he felt his heart swell to the point he felt as if it could burst.

“I hoped you’d like them,” he mentioned.

“I love them, Kevin, thank you so much!”

You sighed, peering down at the soft plumes. “Let me get a vase and water for them real quick—I won’t be long!”

And you disappeared from his sight.

What was he to do with himself? All tongue-tied and very nearly misty-eyed for you, a child of the sun. You’d been dating for a while, and what he’d planned wasn’t something to get this worked up about, surely.

But for you, he could barely contain the emotions that flooded from his soul. Feelings could no longer be caged by his ribs. They already struggled to contain the rapid march of his heartbeat.

He forced himself to take a deep breath, ironing out the tremors and his blending fears with it. He straightened his jacket, an undefeatable smile playing upon his lips. How luck had been on his side for him to even have the opportunity to meet you.

“Ready to go?” you suddenly enquired, reappearing in his vision and hanging from the door as much as you hung off his words—not that he was quite aware of that.

“If you are, then of course!”

“Great!” You locked your door with a grin, swinging your keys into your satchel, before coming to his side happily. You looped your arm around his, pulling your coat’s collar up to your chin to keep out the windchill while sending him the glimmering smile he adored so dearly. “Where to, fair knight?”

“Oh, um...” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, there is this small late-night vintage cafe I thought you’d feel at home in. We could go there first, and then the park after?”

“Sounds like a quest.” You nodded. “Let’s go!”

.

~ ~ ~

.

Your laugh fluttered in the breeze, blissful and very near misty in the shadows the lamps and stars could not banish. Skirt flowing, you span, arms wide as if to welcome.

“And then she went round and round like this!”

Kevin could barely hold back his laughter, feeling tears well in his eyes at your performance. He didn’t care if people questioned as they passed. In fact, he barely noticed them. Why would he, when the most important person was skipping along the cobblestone a few feet ahead of him?  “Why would she do that?!”

“I don’t know!” you feverishly giggled. “Wouldn’t you in that scenario?”

“No!”

“Well, she’d say ‘that’s your loss’!” 

As you wound around the paving, you drifted back to his side, arms clutching at his sleeve as you stumbled, dizzied.

“I shouldn’t have given you that much sugar,” he chuckled,.

You twisted your face in an exaggerated scowl. “Why ever not?”

Kevin felt his mouth continue without the accompaniment of his brain. “Ah well,” he guffawed, “it’s dangerous for me, you know.”

You played along with a hum. “How so?”

He felt the mild horror of his rational mind press him to change tact, but his words just continued to... spill.

“Well, you’re already too sweet for me to handle, and now? It’s just... too much for... my...”

“Heart?” you finished, expression twisted in an amused grimace at the cheese.

“Yes, I...” he broke down to breathy laughter, “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what the was at all—”

“Kevin, it’s fine, don’t worry,” you linked arms once again, “it’s just, unexpected of you.”

He gazed down at you, edging you to continue without another word passing his lips. Just in case whatever hysteria enraptured him the first time infected him again and he said something even worse. 

“I pegged you as the sweet type, but not the cheesy,” you placed a finger to the corner of your mouth, “however, I suppose on the Sweet & Cheesy Venn Diagram, there is instinctively an overlap.”

Bemusedly, he gushed, “What?”

“What?” you echoed, confused by his outcry. “Do you not understand me?”

“No,” he admitted. He immediately looked back to you, searching your face for any signs of offence taken. He found only mild excitement, as you awaited his continuation.  “No, I don’t think I do. But I feel I prefer it that way. You’re so... unique? Your energy is different from other people—friends and coworkers, I mean. I don’t know how to explain it but... things are so much more different with you here. I don’t think I could ever be without you.”

The two of you drew to a stop beneath a lampost. High above, the wind grasped a spider web and swung it into a waltz.

“Do you mean that?” you murmured, voice no higher than a mid-summer zephyr.

He, who’d continued to walk a couple of paces even though it had left you slightly behind, turned back to face you, as well as the anxieties that had lasted all evening.  “Yes. Of course. Without a doubt,” he insisted.

You stepped forward until the lamplight illuminated only you. Crested with a halo, your hands slowly wringing one another at your chest, you were lost for words.

Your silence only prompted him further, as he bit the bullet.

“Y/N, you’re the brightest piece of light in my life, sometimes you shine so brightly I could confuse you with the sun. And, I love you.”

You were stunned, to say the least. You had seen it coming but, not for another couple of weeks, you’d assumed.

But here he was, a few feet away, ever so barely shaking out of subtle fear, but his shoulders brazened, a determined expression painting his soft features that you cared for so dearly, with his eyes glistening in the auburn light and nearly flooding with sincerity.

You made the rest of the distance in a few steps, refusing to tear your eyes away, even if it would be for the entire world’s sake.

Once you reached him, you reached up to cup his cheeks, smoothing his nerves and drawing him closer to your level, before melding your lips with his.

Feeling the one thing he’d dreamt of ever since the first time he’d worked up the courage to utter words to you wash over him, he very nearly froze.

However, he managed to hold himself together—though only just—and relished in the brush your sweet lips against his own. He threaded his hands through your hair, to barely rest on either side of your jaw. His touch was so light you could almost imagine it missing, not that you ever would even dream of doing so.

Melting further into the kiss, you knotted your hands behind his neck, just as he let his hands fall to the small of your back, and the two souls drawn together by luck finally combined.

~~~

AN: I know how to em-dash on my Chromebook now and I am so happy oh my jesuuuusss Also, zephyr is a great word that should come back into common use

Masterlist

[spockuhurashipper]

“A Risk Worth Taking” - Chapter 9 - Voight/OC

Sorry it has taken so long for this chapter. Got stuck on it. Please let me know if you enjoy.

Also, here is the dress I imagined Layla wearing in this chapter. https://www.memorandum.com/30-dresses-in-30-days/wedding-guest-black-tie/

Previous chapters are on my tumblr page and the whole story is at FF.Net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13185182/1/A-Risk-Worth-Taking-Voight-OC)

Chapter 9

Layla was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard a knock at her door the following Saturday night. Hank was right on time to pick her up for the mayor’s party.

“Just a second!” Layla called out, checking her lipstick in the mirror one more time while putting on her earrings and hurrying to get the door.

Hank stood on the other side, looking more handsome than ever. He was wearing a classic black suit, white shirt and black tie. The suit was tailored to perfection.

Before Layla could speak, Hank took a step inside and gestured to her dress.

“You look…”

Hank’s eyes took in the floor-length emerald green dress she was wearing. It complimented her auburn hair perfectly and the thin satin fell gracefully over her curves.

“...absolutely incredible.” He finished, lifting his eyes to meet hers.

Layla, feeling self-conscience, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You think so? I feel a little out of my comfort zone.”

Hank stepped forward and kissed her softly. “Trust me, I’ll be the luckiest guy there tonight.”

Layla smiled up at him and then laughed.

“What?” Hank asked, confused by her expression.

Layla reached up and wiped her thumb across his lips. “You’ve got some lipstick...”

Hank nodded and watched her as she wiped it away for him. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she was.

“Okay, let me just grab my purse and we can go.” Layla told him.

As Hank watched her cut off the lights and grab her keys, he found himself wondering how he’d been lucky enough to meet this woman. She made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years. But most importantly, now that she was in his life, he felt a hope - a hope that helped him get out of bed every morning - something that had been becoming more and more difficult since Al’s death.

“Ready,” Layla told Hank and locked up her apartment before they headed downstairs to his SUV.

-----

When they pulled up to the event, Layla was surprised at the scale of the party. Men and women were pouring into the building in their finest clothes and jewelry. You could already hear jazz standards being played loudly inside.

Layla felt a little nervous about the night. Officially being Hank Voight’s date, she assumed there were probably a lot of people with opinions about that. Plus, she didn’t exactly fit in with the rich and influential crowd.

Hank came to stand beside her in front of the building after getting the valet ticket, and extended his arm to her.

“Ready?” He asked.

Hank smiled at her and just like that, all her nerves vanished. Wrapping her hands around his arm, she nodded and they went inside.

They immediately spotted the rest of the team at a large banquet table and went to join them.

As they approached the table, Antonio let out a whistle. “Wow. Layla, you look great.”

Hank pulled out her chair and Layla sat down.

“Yeah, you sure you’re here with the right guy?” Jay asked, sitting up and straightening his tie, as if he was volunteering for the job, a smirk on his lips.

Layla glanced over at Hank, who was busy grabbing them two glasses of champagne from the tray of a waiter walking past, and smiled.

“Absolutely.”

Jay nodded in defeat as Hank handed her a glass and sat down beside her.

“Okay,” Kevin said, leaning in towards the center of the table like he had a secret.

“Let me tell y'all what this fool did when we went to question Latoya the other day.” He nodded towards Adam.

“Kev, no. Come on, man.” Adam complained. Kevin was struggling to hold back his laughter.

Layla turned to Hank and asked, “Who’s Latoya?”

“She’s a hooker that Adam’s trying to turn into a C.I.” Hank told her, an amused expression on his face.

Layla raised an eyebrow and turned back to the story, interested to see where this was going.

As Kevin continued the story, Layla sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, taking a sip of champagne. When she did, the split in her dress fell to the side, exposing her well-toned upper thigh. Though the dress appeared to be conservative, this was the part that made it sexy. Or that’s what the boutique owner had told Layla, at least.

Layla felt a thrill of excitement when Hank leaned in, his lips almost touching her ear, and whispered, huskily, “Honey, you’re killing me.”

Layla watched as Hank lifted his gaze from her leg to her eyes. For a moment, it felt like they were the only two in the room. For a moment, Layla imagined his hand running up her thigh. Hank imagined more than that.

They were pulled back to the present when the table erupted into laughter, Adam’s face red as a beat.

“Look man, I didn’t know she had so many places she could hide the cash!” Adam said, putting his hands up in surrender.

The group enjoyed each other’s company for about half an hour before the mayor got on stage to officially welcome everyone and give a speech about his new gun control initiative.

After that, the party was in full swing. Hank, along with the rest of Intelligence, had been instructed to work the room by their deputy commissioner. The mayor wanted his campaign contributors to see how involved the Chicago PD was with his cause.

Over the next hour, Layla was introduced to so many people that they became a blur. A few seemed to genuinely be Hank’s friends, but the rest he simply talked to out of obligation.

Many couples who approached them to talk were Hank’s age. While the men talked, some of the wives would cast Layla judging looks. Hank, of course, noticed this early on and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry about them.”

Layla smiled at him. “It doesn’t bother me,” she assured him, pressing herself closer to his side and rubbing her hand across his back.

As they continued their rounds, Layla spotted Kim across the room and they smiled at each other. The two women hadn’t had a chance lately to catch up so they had plans for brunch and pedicures the following day. Layla had also invited Trudy but she wasn’t sure yet if she was going to come.

When a man approached them and Hank hugged him fondly, Layla turned her attention back to him.

“Layla, this is Jamal Tyson.”

“Nice to meet you.” Layla smiled, shaking his hand.

“Jamal and I worked together when he was a rookie on the

cyber crimes unit,” Hank told Layla, smiling when her expression changed from bored to interested. “Now he’s running a Fortune 500 IT company.”

Jamal looked embarrassed. “Yeah, that seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it?” Jamal asked Hank, who laughed and said, “You’re telling me.”

“Hank taught me a lot,” Jamal told Layla. “Helped me out of jam or two, if I recall.” The two men nodded at each other in recollection.

“So what do you do, Layla?” Jamal asked.

When Layla explained her role at the department, Jamal started asking her a million questions. Hank couldn’t follow most of it but he did enjoy the way Layla’s face lit up as they talked. He regretted that he hadn’t asked her more about her job earlier, and vowed to do so in the future.

“That’s amazing.” Jamal said. “Things sure have changed from when I was with the department.”

“Well look,” Jamal slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and handed Layla a business card, “if you ever want to see what’s available outside the department, please call me. I’m always looking for new talent.”

Then turning to Hank, Jamal said, “I never pictured you with a computer geek, Hank.”

Hank smiled and looked at Layla affectionately, “Things change, Jamal.”

Jamal smiled. “That they do. Listen, it was great to see you. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

Hank agreed and the two men hugged.

“It was nice to meet you, Layla.” Jamal said, shaking her hand before he made his way across the room.

“I like him.” Layla said, turning to Hank now that they were alone.

Hank turned to her and smiled, an expression of contentment on his face.

“You’ve been incredible tonight.” He told her.

“Just don’t quiz me on anyone’s names cause I got nothing. Except Jamal.”

Hank nodded, amused.

Almost everyone was on the dance floor at this point, the night becoming more relaxed.

Layla thought it was strange when Hank checked his watch before asking, “Would you like to dance?”

She smiled at him suspiciously but took his hand, allowing him to lead her out onto the dancefloor. They ended up next to Antonio and Kim, who were laughing more than they were dancing.

Shortly after they stepped onto the dance floor, the recognizable opening rift of “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton poured out over the speaker system. The song was very different from what the DJ had been playing all night and many guests picked their heads up to look around.

Layla did too, confused, before her gaze landed on Hank’s face. He was smiling.

“Did you do this?” She asked, impressed.

Hank just shrugged and Layla felt her chest tighten with happiness. She couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across her face.

As they danced, Layla leaned in and whispered, “If you’re trying to get lucky tonight, Sergeant, your odds are looking really good.”

Hank raised his eyebrows in surprise and cleared his throat.

“What are you to whispering about?” Antonio asked, where he and Kim were still dancing a few feet away.

“Mind your own business, Dawson.” Hank told him.

When the song ended, Hank said, “I’m going to go to the bar and get us some real drinks. I’ll meet you back at the table in five.”

Before Hank could leave, Layla snaked her hand up his chest and pulled on his tie, bringing his face closer to hers. She kissed him once, smiled devilishly, then let him go.

Back at the table, Layla found herself alone. The rest of the team was still either on the dance floor or socializing.

Taking a moment to check her phone, Layla smiled when she saw a text from Cindy. It included a picture of a drawing from her niece, Annabelle. Cindy captioned it “A Portrait of Aunt Layla.”  It was just a bunch of squiggly crayon lines but it made Layla’s heart full.

Sensing someone approaching and, figuring it was Hank, Layla started talking before she looked up. “You have got to see this picture Annabelle drew, it is…”

Layla stopped once she looked up and realized it wasn’t Hank, but her boss, Jerry, who’d approached her.

“Oh. Jerry. Hi. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Hi Layla. Yeah, my cousin is an alderman who is pretty close with the mayor so…”

He said it with such ego that it made Layla want to roll her eyes. She resisted.

“So I see you’re here with Hank Voight.” Jerry stated. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” Layla said, wondering why it was any of his business.

“Hmm.�� Jerry nodded, processing that. “So what is it you hope to gain by sleeping with the head of the Intelligence Unit? You want their ever-vacant IT spot? I think you have to be a cop for that but you never know… maybe you’re more talented than I imagine.” Jerry raised his eyebrows suggestively and looked her up and down, slowly.

Layla’s mouth fell open. For a moment, she couldn’t form words.

“Excuse me?” She asked.

“Well, I mean, I’ve asked you out a dozen times and you don’t want anything to do with me. I’m the one with connections.” Jerry gestured towards the mayor. “Voight is a dinosaur. So you must be after something.”

Layla stood up, getting angrier by the second and stepped closer to Jerry.

“I am not trying to sleep my way into anything. I like Hank.”

“Besides,” Layla said, looking Jerry up and down, “you never had a chance.”

At her words, Jerry looked like he’d been slapped and didn’t say anything for a moment. Layla’s heart was racing and she tried to still her shaking hands.

“Everything okay here?” Hank’s voice said as he approached them, coming to stand beside Layla. He had seen them from across the room and could tell something wasn’t right.

“Ah, here he is now. Hank Voight.” Jerry tried to regain his composure. “The man who got me kicked out of cyber crimes.”

Voight rolled his tongue and turned his head to one side. “Jerry. You not being able to keep it in your pants got you kicked off cyber crimes. I was just solving my case.”

Jerry nodded, clearly not agreeing with Hank’s version of the story.

Hank, tired of this prick, took a step forward, angling himself between Jerry and Layla.

“Jerry. Why don’t you walk away before this goes in a direction you’re not going to like.”

Jerry smirked, satisfied that he’d gotten a rise out of them both.

“Some things never change, Voight.” Then turning to Layla, he said, “See you Monday.”

As Jerry walked away, Layla let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“What happened?” Hank asked her, concern clouding his expression. Layla put her hands on his arms and he could feel them shaking.

“He said I was trying to sleep my way into Intelligence’s IT spot or something like that. Then he…”

Hank started to turn and go after Jerry, her words starting a fire of rage in his chest. But before he could follow him, Layla grabbed his arm.

“Hank, please… Don’t.”

Hank hesitated, but when he looked back and saw the apprehension in Layla’s eyes, his anger deflated.

“He said if I wanted to get ahead I shouldn’t have turned him down because he’s the one with connections.”

Hank scoffed.

“Should I be worried?” Layla asked him, feeling very unsettled.

Hank’s face hardened, pissed that Jerry had her feeling this way.

“Look, I’ll take care of it…”

“No. Hank, I’ve only been at this job for two months. I really like it. Maybe I can just file a complaint with HR and he’ll step back.”

Hank didn’t think so but he could see she didn’t want his help.

“Okay. Maybe. But if he does anything,” Hank put his hands on her shoulders and tilted his head down to make direct eye contact with Layla, “and I mean anything out of the way, you call me ASAP, you understand?”

Layla bit her lip and nodded, hoping that never happened.

“You want to get out of here?” Hank asked, sensing that Layla was done with the whole party scene.

“Yes, please.”

-------

Hank drove back to Layla’s apartment. Like the first night they’d kissed, the ride was mostly silent, but this time there was a peaceful feeling between them. Hank held her hand on the console between them as he drove.

When they got there, Hank walked her to the door. He’d ditched his jacket and tie as soon as they’d left the party, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his dress shirt and partly rolling up his sleeves.

He hesitated when she unlocked the door and started to go in. It was after midnight and he figured she’d want to call it a night, especially after what happened with Jerry.

Layla turned back when she realized he didn’t follow her in and walked over to where he stood in the doorway.

She stood close to him for a second, just looking into his eyes before her hands made their way to his chest. “Aren’t you coming inside, Sargeant?”

The playfulness he loved about her was back.

Deciding to play into the role, since she seemed to like calling him Sargeant when she was feeling flirty, Hank said, “Is there a crime you need to report, m’am?”

Layla threw her head back and laughed as they made their way further into the living room, delighted that he was playing along.

“Yes.” She said, walking towards another room and looking back at him over her shoulder.

“It’s a crime that I’m still wearing this dress, don’t you think?”

She winked at him before entering the bedroom and leaving his sight.

Hank stood there for a minute, an impressed grin on his face, before following her into the bedroom.

That night, Hank and Layla made love for the first time.

What started out as playful seduction turned into something tender and beautiful. They both felt a piece of themselves return that had been missing for a long time.

For the first time since Jake’s death, Layla felt whole. She felt comforted. She felt loved.

Hank kissed her tenderly as she climaxed, muffling her cries with his lips as she rode the wave of pleasure. Her urgent cries turned into satisfied whispers as she said his name over and over, her hands roaming his back and his sides. Hank came soon after.

As he laid beside her catching his breath, Layla rolled onto her side and trailed her fingers across his chest. They laid in bed like that, trading gentle kisses and whispers, until Layla fell asleep in Hank’s arms.

---

to be continued

[deancasbigbang]

Title: Take Care of You Author: WaywardAF67 Artist: Pimentogirl Rating: Explicit Pairings: Dean/Castiel Sam/Original Female Character Wordcount: 37000 Warnings/Tags: Canon Divergent, Fluff, Soulmates, retired hunters, smut, masturbation, vacation, feelings discovery Posting: 11/2/2018

Summary:

After their first attempt at closing the gates of Hell failed, Sam and Dean moved on. With Kevin gone, all hope seemed to be lost, until Rowena found a spell that locked up Hell for good. Along the way, they met a feisty witch name Kori. Sam was instantly smitten.

Cas was called back to Heaven, leaving Dean wondering what life could be now that Hell was locked up tight. Though he isn’t gone long, Cas returns from Heaven both human and in search of his soulmate. Dean is shocked to learn soulmates even exist.

With the idea of retirement sounding more appealing, Dean decides to test the waters by planning a vacation. The four pack their bags, deciding to spend a well earned and long overdue relaxing week at the lake. It’s the rest Dean has always dreamed of, so why isn’t it as easy as he imagined?

Dean struggles with Cas’ decisions and ultimately makes a few choices of his own. Never ones to let destiny decide their fate Team Free Will take matters into their own hands. They seize the future they all deserve even if it’s not the future they ever saw coming.

Dean felt like a little kid walking down the dock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been swimming in fresh open water. He teased Cas about needing floaties, but was not-so-secretly worried that his friend might really need them. Cas being human for one day had already been stressful for Dean. He imagined as long as the former angel was around, Dean would spend most of his time fussing over him. Cas had a tendency to say he knew how to do things, when he did not, in fact, know how to do them. He was too worried about burdening Sam or Dean to open up about the things he couldn’t do. Pretending to know how to make oatmeal and burning it was one thing, a lesson learned. But jumping into a lake without knowing how to stay afloat and risking his life was something completely different.

“Dean, I already told you, I know how to swim,” Cas assured him once they were halfway down the dock.

Dean froze, causing Cas to sidestep to avoid running into him. “I thought you couldn’t read minds?” “I can’t,” Cas laughed. “I just know you well enough to know you are worrying unnecessarily.” Cad beamed at him before dropping his towel and popping open the lid of the sunscreen, pouring a generous amount in his palm.

“Fine, drown for all I care.” Dean gave Cas a cheeky wink before dropping his towel and running the remainder of the dock, cannonballing into the water once he reached the edge.

Cas laughed out loud at Dean’s antics. He rubbed the cream carelessly across his body and face. He was giggling before he shot down the dock, jumping in just close enough to make sure he splashed Dean in the face.

Dean coughed and spit out the water that got in his mouth from Cas’ version of a cannonball. He was thoroughly grossed out and plotting his revenge when he noticed Cas hadn’t surfaced. He instantly started to panic, thinking Cas really didn’t know how to swim. He was frantically looking around, but the water was too murky to see through.

He felt something wrap around his ankle and before he had time to figure out what was happening, he was pulled under. Fear clenched around his heart as he remembered the ghost from the haunted lake so many years before.

Of fucking course! We would have to vacation at a haunted lake. I’m never going to escape this shit. I just want a normal fucking life.

Dean hadn’t been pulled under very far, and only moments passed before broke the surface. Dean was slightly disoriented, but when he heard chuckling to his left, it dawned on him Cas was what pulled him under. He was so relieved that the lake wasn’t haunted and holding Cas hostage, that he actually laughed along with Cas. He was still laughing when he paddled his way towards Cas, feral look in his eyes. Cas was going to pay.

[eene-fangirl]

okay. how about starting at the first time they’ve met, next they’re beginning to really like each other as they grow up? then in the high school years, they would start to hangout almost everyday since they have feelings for each other? and when on a saturday night, they were in eddy’s house, they admitted their feelings for each other then they would hugs and kiss each other.

“Can you believe this sky?” Eddy marveled as he and Edd sat on the mattress of the waterbed inside the Retro van. “I never noticed how the stars made so many pictures,” Eddy chuckled turning to Edd who was comfortable sitting beside him. “Do they like to rearrange themselves?”

Ed laughed that cute giggle, making Eddy smile. “No, Eddy, they’re just constellations. You should research each term.”

“Yeah, but that requires brain work!” Eddy moaned playfully jabbing Edd in the side.

Edd retaliated. Eddy jumped, gasping in alarm. They then took part in a war of ticklish jabs until they were both laughing. Finally, they relaxed again in peace.

“So, date night for Ed and May,” Eddy started. 

“They’ve been waiting months for the new Godzilla movie to come out. I actually thought they would have camped out overnight in the parking lot at the movie theater.”  

Eddy burst out laughing, kicking his legs in the air. “Imagine them roastin’ hot dogs over a fire!”

Edd smiled. But then grew silent, staring at the stars. “I’m so delighted that Ed found someone. May is so good 

Eddy nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Ed’s happy.”

“Honestly, I never expected Ed to be the first of us to settle down.”

“He ain’t married yet, sockhead!”

Edd nodded. “Of course not., But, Eddy, don’t you agree that he’s happier. I admit that he’s been sad since their foster parents took them in. May has really made a difference. 

“Yeah.” Eddy silently chuckled to himself. “Arguably, I thought you’d be first.”

“Edd blinked, shocked. “Me?”

“Yeah, you’re the romantic one of us!”

Now he blushed. “Really?”

“You know more about love then me!”

“Oh Eddy, I’m surprised that you don’t have any… girls infatuated over you. You do… um, have an edge, you’re talented and polite, and -”

“Are you sure you’re describing me, Double D?” Eddy asked, skeptically.

“Eddy, I am being honest when I say that you are someone to be admired,” Edd then frowned. “Why would anyone want to be in a relationship with me?”

Now Eddy was shocked, stuttering his words. “Double D, what are you saying? You’re the smartest guy in the whole world! You’re compassionate, and you invent the wildest machines! You need more credit!”

Edd’s lip trembled, little tears appearing. “Oh Eddy, I wish Mother and Father would appreciate me like you and Ed do.”

“So do I.”

Taking a deep and long sigh, Edd’s whole demeanor changed to anger. “They’ve never been proud of me. Ever! No family time, or vacation, or nothing! And whenever they are around it’s nothing but insults or saying I’d be better of if-if…”

“If you weren’t friends with Ed and me?” Eddy finished his sentence.

Guilty, Edd nodded. “But, that’s isn’t true.”

“Well, you would,” Edd confessed.

“What?”

“I agree with them.”

“Why?”

“Ed and I have slowed you down! And don’t keep it a secret that the principal told you that you could have skipped a grade last year!” Eddy confronted, sitting himself up to face Edd better.

Edd’s eyes widened. He was never good at covering a lie. “You knew?”

“Yeah, Kevin was in the office and he told me. And I told Ed. We were sure that you were going to go ahead with it, but then you didn’t. We’re still surprised. Why didn’t yah! You had the greatest chance to get out of school earlier, go to college, and finally escape those so-called parents of yours!”

A tear crawled down Edd’s cheek. “Um, I couldn’t…”

“Why?”

“It’s too complicated!”

Eddy gave him a ‘be serious’ expression. “We’re the Eds. Nothing is complicated!”

“Okay!” Edd admitted in defeat ready to take out strands of his hair. “I-I didn’t want to leave you and Ed! E-Especially… you…”

Silence.

“M-Me?”

Edd nodded. He was ready to pull his hat over his eyes.

“Why do you mean?”

Edd sat up, going to open the door to the retro van. “Perhaps we should call it a night…”

Eddy grabbed Edd’s shoulder. “Not until you explain what you mean!”

“I don’t know how to explain it, Eddy! Even I am confused!”

“Then maybe if you explain it, I’ll understand, and then I can help you understand!”

Taking another deep breath to calm his nerves, Edd sat back into the comfortable mattress. “Eddy… I’ve had these feelings.”

“Yeah,” Eddy said, egging him to continue.

“Since a year ago, or maybe more, I always feel my heart… swell, and pound and my cheeks would flush! I even feel sick to my stomach if you touched my arm, or hugged me! Oh, I’ve researched many books and well, I believe I’m homosexual!”

“You mean you’re gay?” Eddy corrected him.

“Well, they have the same meaning,” Edd said.

“That’s what I prefer to call it!”

“Yes, Eddy…” Edd stopped himself. “Hold on, what do you mean?:

Eddy hesitated, wiping a nervous hand through his hair, messing it up in the process. “Well, ya know…”

“What do I know?” Edd asked placing his hands on his hips.

“You know!”

“No, Eddy, I don’t know! Now, please, talk to me!”

“I think I’m gay for you!”

Silence.

“You…” Edd began.

“Yeah.”

And then he pointed towards himself, at his own heart. “… With me?”

Eddy nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Just then Edd caught sight of the moon. It looked so beautiful. Eddy noticed it, too. 

“How long?” Edd asked.

“Year, or two,” Eddy answered with a shrug.

“I thought you had feelings for Nazz!”

Eddy just looked at his friend as if he were crazy. “Double D, you’re smart, but I have never met someone so aloof!”

“Well, I always see you with Nazz!”

“Never meant that we were together! Yeah, we used to have a fling, but it didn’t work out!”

“Why?” Edd asked, curiously.

Eddy averted his eyes, clearing his throat. “’Cause I like someone else.”

“WHO?”

“YOU!”

Silence.

“M-Me?”

“Do you need brain surgery?!” Eddy yelled ready to shake some sense into Edd. “I-I li-lo… oh, damn it! I’m mad about you, sockhead! Like Ed is for May! Head over heels! Is that how you feel?”

Edd was still in awe from the confession, feeling his heart pound and ready to vomit.  “Y-Yes.”

They were quiet, staring at each other, trying to comprehend everything.

“What does this mean?” Edd wondered aloud.

“Well, I was hopin’ you could answer that one,” Eddy replied, averting his gaze, staring up at the bright shine from the moon.

Sitting in silence, Edd and Eddy stared at the starlit sky. Nothing changed. The sky never changed. The life it held on the ground continued to change every day.

Just then, Eddy felt something sweaty, but soft, hook around his hand. “It was Edd’s. Glancing over at him, Eddy’s heart skipped a beat the moment Edd looked at him with that sweet, nervous smile which stretched from ear to ear. 

“We’ll learn together, Eddy,” Edd said to him.

Eddy smiled, trying to mask his own nervous countenance. “Well, that’s good to hear.”

“Shall we depart?” Edd asked.

Eddy shook his head. “Nah, let’s stay here a little longer.”

[spnjediavenger]

Chapter 5: Man, Myth, Legend? Girl, Warrior, White Wolf

Disclaimers: I do not own Supernatural, any of its characters, or the lines from the episode I use in this.

Time frame: set mid S5

Warnings: SEASON 5 SPOILERS, MAJOR FEELS

Notes: Big thanks to @sarimaposthumous for proof reading my fic as always!

Not gonna lie, i got UBER emotional writing this XDDD

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! And much love to those who have liked and/or reposted!!! <3

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

To say that Elliana was overwhelmed would be a drastic understatement. Since her less-than-perfect reunion with Sam and Dean, she and the boys had a mini catch-up session covering the following:

·      Sam and Dean ended up on a path before meeting Ellie that led to Lucifer, the freaking devil, being set free from a cage in hell (the boys thought it best to keep Elliana out of that mess until it became necessary)

·      Gabriel was trying to get them to play their roles as vessels for Lucifer and the archangel Michael so they could fight

·      The boys, along with Bobby, Cas, and two other hunters, Ellen and Jo tried to kill Lucifer but they failed and Ellen and Jo died in the process

o   This ended in Lucifer setting the four horsemen free, bringing the coming of the Biblical apocalypse

Along with this information, you could only imagine how the now 14-year old took to fighting one of said horsemen, coming across real-life zombies in Bobby’s hometown, the boys dying, dealing with a false prophet, and meeting the boys’ half-brother only to see him be abducted by angels.

Not well.

Not that she let it show much, but Ellie was definitely freaking out on the inside. If a teenager fighting plain old monsters was normal – this was abnormal for her; like a whole new level.

Given this fact – it was understandable that there hasn’t been a chance to slow down lately; hence the arrival at another motel.

Elysian fields.

It was dark and it was pouring rain like no one’s business, so Sam, Dean, and Elliana (Anaya sticking close by her side) ran into the building, trying and failing to shield themselves from the downpour.

Once inside, the trio took a moment to catch their breath, shake the water from their hair, and froze at the motel’s appearance. Their jaws slightly dropped at the higher-end furniture and décor, not used to places that nice.

“Nice digs for once,” Dean commented, looking around.

Sam could only nod his head in agreement, still a bit stunned from the shower outside.

Sam and Ellie stood together as Dean was checking in. Anaya let out a low growl at Elliana’s side as the hotel worker leaned forward a bit, examining Dean. He pointed out a small cut on Dean’s neck and handed him a tissue; Anaya kept her eyes locked onto the man and stepped a little closer to Ellie.

Ellie took the behavior into consideration and also eyed the man. He noticed this and simply smiled over at her.

“Beautiful dog. Siberian Husky, yes?” he said pleasantly.

Ellie narrowed her eyes a bit and nodded, also finding herself wary.

Dean finished signing paperwork and looked back to the receptionist. “You wouldn’t happen to have a coffee shop, would ya?”

“Buffet,” the man said. “All you can eat.” He leans in a bit an continues, “best pie in the tri-state area.”

Dean adopts a bit of a wonderstruck expression and smiles. “You don’t say.”

The group looks around the corner where the man had pointed and was indeed met with one amazing buffet layout. Ellie grabbed Dean’s arm before he could run in.

“Can I have one of the room keys?” she asked, eyes scoping out the place before resting on the boys again.

“Why don’t you grab something to eat first? You ok?” Sam was quick to jump in with the ‘worried older brother’ face.

“Yeah,” she said. “I just want to relax a bit before digging in,” she said, not wanting to ruin Dean’s eagerness yet.

Sam sighed but Dean handed her the key. “Stay out of trouble, then,” he said, smirking lightly. “We’ll be up soon.”

As Ellie and Anaya passed the front counter, Anaya leaned into Elliana once more and pricked her ears, lowly growling again as she looked to the receptionist.

Soon, they made it to the room and Ellie couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Compared to every place else she had stayed, this was like a 5-star hotel. She closed and locked the door behind her and jumped onto one of the beds, allowing herself to enjoy something for a moment. Anaya jumped up and lied next to her reluctantly, still wary of things.

Curled up next to her dog on a plush bed, it didn’t take long for Elliana to fall asleep.

“Who are you? Are you an angel?”

“I’m more of a…guardian if you will. Technically, sure, I’m an angel; but more of a rogue. Just someone that heard your prayer and came to help. Speaking of which – not to put a damper on the already dampened mood, but I need you to go pack your normal and your hunting things and we need to go because that demon will come back for you.”

“Wait – how did you know I hunt?”

“Guardian,” the figure said, shrugging a bit. “Now, things, go, no pressure but we should kinda hurry.”

 “Ok, Ellie, you’re doin’ great, kid. We’re gonna stop here for a bit,” Gabriel says, sitting down on a bench with the girl. “I can’t stick around much longer. I have a lot of things to attend to,” the archangel explained. “There’s a motel not far from here. You go in and tell them your parents dropped you off and told you to check in-“

“Like in Home Alone 2 when Kevin checks into the Plaza Hotel?” Elliana said a bit excitedly, despite the things she just witnessed.

Gabriel chuckled a bit. He knew there was a reason he answered this prayer.

“Exactly,” he said, a small smile on his face. “Avoid the workers as best you can but leave the moment you wake up. Don’t give them a chance to ask questions or see much of your face if you can help it. You’re young and they’ll find out something’s up and probably call the police or social services or something.

“You’re young. You shouldn’t have to live like this but you do. But I’ve watched over you for a couple months and know you can handle it.”

Elliana was scared, of course; but she knew this was coming for a while. And she was determined to make it work.

So the girl nodded her head at the man and he smiled again.

“Now, I won’t be there every second with you, but if you really need me – just pray for me, ok? And take this with you.”

Gabriel handed the girl a small necklace. She took it and laid it over one of her hands and examined it. It had a silver chain with a silver crescent moon, a circular pendent with a white wolf hanging in its center.

“Wolves are strong and tough and smart. Just like you. I believe in you, White Wolf.”

Elliana smiled and looked up at him. “Thank you, Gabriel.”

 Elliana was woken by Sam gently shaking her shoulder. She had only been out for maybe an hour while the guys were downstairs and they found her asleep when they came up.

Dean, like Ellie, was in awe of the room but Sam looked as uncertain as Ellie had felt earlier.

“Isn’t this place kind of in the middle of nowhere?” he asked.

“Yeah?” Dean replied, trying not to care.

“So what’s a 4-star hotel doing on a no-star highway?”

“And as much as I hate to admit it too, Sam has a point. And not only that, but Anaya was acting on-edge in the lobby with the receptionist. She’s only ever like that for a reaso-“

Ellie is cut off by the couple in the room next to them being particularly loud with their activities. Dean starts to smirk before Anaya lets out a bark before the wall between the two rooms is pushed in with a bang.

The trio goes to check out the room to find it trashed, and Dean catches a glimpse of an engagement ring on the floor. They all look at each other, eyebrows raised, when Dean suggests they do some digging.

“Ellie, Sammy and I are gonna head downstairs to see what the bellhop creep knows about this. Why don’t you and Anaya sniff around the room a bit then head back to ours? We’ll meet you back up here in a little bit.”

Elliana nodded and they split ways.

She turned back to Anaya and drew two fingers out towards the room; “Search, Anaya,” she commanded lightly before taking a look at things as well.

Upon finding nothing of significance, Ellie and Anaya returned to her and the boys’ room. She waited a little while before texting Sam to see if they found anything. After a few minutes, Ellie started getting suspicious, as the boys usually responded to her almost right away (well, Sam did anyway).

“Come on, Anaya,” Ellie said, opening the door but stopping in her tracks when she was met with the receptionist. “What are you doing here?” Ellie said, a challenging tone in her voice..

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s best if you stay up here.”

“Where are Sam and Dean?” Ellie challenged again. Anaya stalked over to the two, lowering her ears and snarling at the man before her. He looked at her with a certain look in his eyes that made Elliana want to shoot him. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you. She’s fought werewolves and vampires and other monsters like you. She won’t hesitate to fight you too. And neither will I,” Elliana threatened, pulling a knife from her jacket.

The man flicked a wrist and sent Elliana and Anaya flying back a few feet onto the floor and he shut the door, warding the room to keep them inside.

“Hey!” Ellie yelled, running forward to grab the doorknob, pounding on the door when it wouldn’t open. She pulled out her phone and tried texting and calling Sam and Dean but she no longer had service. And unknown to her, the boys were downstairs being used as bargaining chips to a room full of deities.

           Ellie rakes her hands through her hair and turns around, only to let out a surprised scream when she sees a figure sitting on the couch across the room. Out of instinct, she throws her knife at it but it’s stopped in the air just inches from the figure’s face.

           “Jeez. A ‘nice to see you’ would’ve been better, I think,” a cheeky voice said. Elliana finally focused to find Gabriel closing her knife and tossing it on the ground as he stood up and walked over to her. He smiled and opened his arms expectantly but was instead met with a fist to the cheek.

           A shout of pain was let out but not by the archangel.

           Gabriel looked down with a raised eyebrow at Ellie, who was bent over, fist pulled into her chest.

           “Ok, 1: you know that does pretty much nothing; and 2: what was that for?!” the archangel said, extremely confused at the moment.

           “What the hell, Gabriel?!” Ellie yelled, standing up now but still clutching her hand. “Why would you take Sam and Dean and not even say anything to me?! You knew I was with them! You didn’t think it right to even give me an explanation when I left?! I thought they abandoned me, you jerk!! I was hurt!”

           Ellie looked angrily at Gabriel, but had tears in her eyes remembering how bad she felt thinking Sam and Dean had left her. Gabriel saw this in her eyes and sighed, feeling a little guilt start welling up in his chest.

           “Ok, E – I really am sorry. I was stupid and didn’t think about how taking them would affect you. And I know this isn’t an excuse but I had to figure some things out once they left and I got side tracked from you. Now, I admit I still don’t like those idiots,” this earned a glare from Ellie, prompting Gabriel to hold a finger up for her to be patient. “But, I know they’ve taken good care of you and should have remembered that. Can my ladybird forgive me?” Gabriel took Ellie’s hands and, though he was serious in what he said, gave her his best puppy-dog eyes that would rival Sam’s.

             “Come on, kiddo,” Gabriel begged the teenager, who had her back to him.

           Elliana had just finished a hunt; it was just a simple salt ‘n burn but one of the victims had ended up in the hospital. Because I was too late, she though sadly. Gabriel had ‘the talk’ with her about how you can’t save or keep everyone completely safe. And she understood that. At least that’s what she said. But the girl still beat herself up over it.

           So here was Gabriel, an archangel for Chuck’s sake, begging a teenage hunter to ‘turn that frown upside down’ (yes, he actually said that).

           Gabriel sighed and appeared in front of Elliana, taking her hands in his, making her look at him.

           “Come on, little wolf. I know you know you can’t blame yourself. And think about it – if you hadn’t been there, that person could have died. But you were. And they didn’t.” Gabriel saw the corners of her lips tug a bit. “So, please don’t be so hard on yourself. For me. Pwease?” he added with a childish voice, pushing his bottom lip out and giving her puppy-dog eyes. Ellie giggled as he did this, making the archangel give a triumphant smile and gave his little wolf a kiss on the head.

             Elliana, of course, couldn’t help but smile a bit at that (it was a curse that she almost always gave into that look, and even more of a curse that Gabriel knew it). She sighed a bit, looking over at Anaya, who was wagging her tail enthusiastically at the archangel, and looked back up.

           “I guess so,” she said with a small smirk.

           Gabriel chuckled a bit and hugged her. “That’s my girl.” He bent down to greet the overly excited dog next to Ellie, turns out she had a soft spot for the archangel too, then stood up to look at Elliana seriously again. “Ok, down to the reason I’m here. You guys have driven into a big trap, as I’m sure you’ve already deduced. Your boys down there? They’re currently in the hands of a bunch of gods who want to use them as game pieces in the Lucifer’s-apocalypse-and-Michael-wants-to-fight-him game. Now, before you freak out,” he continued, raising a finger again when Ellie’s face dropped in shock. “Give me two secs to save their butts and I’ll be back.”

           With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel vanished.

           Elliana looked over to Anaya, eyes wide and jaw slightly dropped. What the heck is happening? She thought.

           Not a minute later, Sam and Dean appeared on the other side of the room, both looking thoroughly confused.

           “Ok, what the – holy crap!” Dean said, looking at Sam.

           “Guys!” Ellie called, running to hug them both.

           They hug her back and Sam looks at Dean. “By the way, next time I say let’s keep driving, uh…let’s keep driving,” he said.

           “Ok, yeah. Next time,” Dean snarked.

           “Alright, guys, enough,” Elliana huffed, getting their attention. “You can have your dumb brother fight later,” she continued, earning a double bitch face from the Winchesters. “We’re in kind of a big situation right now and we need to figure out what to do next. So what’s our play?”

           “Well, there’s gods in the ballroom and a bunch of people in the kitchen freezer,” Sam filled Ellie in.

           “Alright so…I-I…I don’t know,” Dean started, wracking his brain for what to take care of first. “I guess we grab those poor saps outta the freezer, bust ‘em out? Gank a few freaks along the way if we’re lucky?”

           “And when are you ever lucky?” Gabriel’s voice cut in.

           The trio looked over to see him sitting on the couch again, amusement in his eyes.

           “Ok, you know what? Bite me,” Dean snapped. “You know, I should’ve known. This had your stink on it all from the jump.”

           “Dean-“

           “You think I’m behind this? Please. I’m the Costner to your Houston. I’m here to save your ass,” Gabriel defended himself, though keeping his usual humored façade.

           The guys looked at him confused.

           “You want to pull us out of the fire?” Dean said, still the only one to speak.

           “Bingo. Those gods are either gonna dust you or use you as bait. Either way – you’re uber-boned.”

           “Wow, ‘cause a couple of months ago, you were telling us that we need to ‘play our roles’. You were uber-boning us.”

           “Ohhhh, the end is still nigh,” Gabriel said, tilting his head pointedly. “Michael and Lucifer are still gonna dance the lambada,” he continued, dancing between the brothers a bit. “But not tonight. Not here.”

           “And why do you care?”

           “I don’t care…but…me and Kali, we uh…had a thing,” Gabriel forced out a bit awkwardly, but composed himself as he continued, “Chick was all hands.”

           Sam and Dean threw him a look.

           “What can I say? I’m sentimental. And I’m here for this one too,” Gabriel added, pointing over to Elliana.

           Now both guys narrowed their eyes in confusion.

           “Ellie?” Dean said.

           “Elliana, you know Gabriel?” Sam asked, finally speaking.

           Ellie’s cheeks burned just the slightest bit from the sudden attention. “He uh…he was the one that saved me from the demon.”

           “Him?” Dean said incredulously, pointing at the archangel.

           “Yeah, poke fun all you want,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t expect the Winchesters to credit him with anything of the sort. “If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve let you guys down already.”

           Sam, Dean, and even Ellie rolled their eyes at his remark. But they continued talking, trying to form a plan to escape, and to try and free the people stuck in the freezer as well. Gabriel was going to try and break the blood spell on the boys while Sam, Dean, and Ellie would let the guests out. Before they temporarily parted, Gabriel snapped Anaya into the Impala to keep her safe because he said ‘one of the gods downstairs wouldn’t give a passing thought to eat her in front of you’ – that was more than enough of a reason for Ellie.

           The group snuck downstairs into the kitchen; Sam began to pick the lock on the freezer while Dean and Elliana tried and failed to stop the men that came in to stop them. So once again, the Winchesters (with Elliana now) found themselves surrounded by the deities.

           Soon enough, Gabriel was brought in by Kali.

“Well well well,” she said, looking vaguely betrayed as she stared down at him. “Looks like the trickster has tricked us.”

“Kali…don’t…” Gabriel said, lightly pleading with her.

“You’re mine now.” The goddess of destruction sat herself on Gabriel’s lap. “You have something I want.” She ran her hand down his chest, moving it into his jacket to pull out his angel blade. “An archangel’s blade…from the archangel…Gabriel.”

Elliana’s eyes widened and Dean had to put a hand on her shoulder, silently communicating to her not to do anything drastic just yet.

“Ok! Ok! So I got wings. Like kotex,” Gabriel said in a ‘who cares’ tone. “But it doesn’t make me any less right about Lucifer.”

Kali now stood, looking down at him again.

“He’s lying. He’s a spy.”

“I’m not a spy. I’m a runaway,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m trying to save you. I know my brother, Kali. He should scare the living crap out of you. You can’t beat him. I’ve skipped ahead – seen how this story ends-“

“Your story,” Kali corrects him. “Not ours. Westerners, I swear” she shakes her head. “The sheer arrogance. You think you’re the only ones on earth? You pillage and you butcher in your God’s name. You’re not the only village. And He’s not the only god. And now you think you can just rip the planet apart? You’re wrong,” she continued, voice breaking. “There are billions of us. And we were here first. If anyone gets to end this world…it’s me.” Kali leaned down and caressed Gabriel’s face. “I’m sorry.” She slid the angel blade through Gabriel’s abdomen, causing light to stream from his mouth and eyes.

“Nooo! Gabriel!!” Ellie shouted, jumping up from her chair, only to be pulled back by Sam. “No!” she cried, fighting against the younger Winchester, who only held her tighter. She eventually stopped fighting but stared at Gabriel’s body as tears streamed down her face.

“This is crazy,” one of the room’s occupants commented.

Kali simply stood there, also staring at the dead archangel. “They can die,” she said in finality. “We can kill Lucifer.”

Discussion continued and Dean stood up, bargaining with the deities. Sam bypassed the shock at Dean’s actions to quietly comfort the girl in his arms. Elliana felt like her heart was ripped to shreds; as if that blade went through her heart instead of Gabriel’s. That angel meant the world to her.

Once Dean was able to convince the deities to allow him to set the hotel’s other inhabitants free, he walked over to Sam and Ellie, telling them to follow him. Ellie reluctantly followed the brothers to the kitchen.

As Dean was ushering everyone out of the hotel quickly, a hushed voice called his name from the Impala. He looks over and his eyes go wide as he sees Gabriel ducking in the backseat, motioning for him to get over there.

  “Ellie, I really wish you’d wait in the car. I know you want to stay with us, but this is headed in a much different direction than we thought, ok? Lucifer is going to be here. And we don’t want you getting caught in any crossfire,” Sam said, looking desperately into Elliana’s eyes.

“Sam, please,” she whispered, eyes still holding tears from earlier. “I just lost Gabe…I won’t lose you guys too; I can help you.”

  “Well good luck with that. Me? I’m blowing Jonestown. Those lemmings in there wanna run off a cliff, that’s their business,” Gabriel said in his conversation with Dean, sold on wanting to leave this whole situation.

“I see right through you, you know that? The smart-ass shell, the whole ‘I could give a crap’ thing? Believe me, it takes on to know one,” Dean said, narrowing his eyes at the archangel.

“That so?” he replied, tilting his head as he nonchalantly pet the dog sitting in the back seat with him.

  “Not that I doubt you, because I don’t – but are you sure you can handle this?” Sam asked, searching the girl’s eyes in front of him as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Ellie sighed and looked down. “No,” she whispered, then looked up at Sam. “But I couldn’t handle that demon either.”

  “Yes. And maybe those freaks in there aren’t your blood but they’re your family.”

“They just stabbed me in the friggin’ heart!”

“Maybe. But you still give a crap about them, don’t you?” Dean continued, knowing he was starting to hit close to home.

“Dean.”

“They’re gonna die in there without you.”

“I can’t kill my brother,” Gabriel said, defeated.

“Can’t or won’t?” Dean challenged. Gabriel cast his eyes to the side, remaining silent. “That’s what I thought.” Dean went to open the car door but turned back to the archangel. “Elliana is in there too, ya know. And she’ll die without you too. Me and Sammy may never get it, but the kid loves you. And I can tell you care about her too,” Dean continued, trying one last time.

Gabriel felt a tug at his heart; he had been hoping Dean wouldn’t mention Ellie for this very reason.

At Gabriel’s continued silence, Dean sighed and got out of the car.

Dean rejoined Sam, Ellie and the others in the hotel. Most of the deities fanned out, leaving Kali and Baldur in the ballroom with the trio. Like Sam, Dean had tried to convince Elliana to wait in the car, only to receive a sad chuckle.

“You don’t get it, do you? I’m with you guys. Through everything. I’m in this mess by my own choosing and I’m not letting you do it without me,” she told him, raising an eyebrow with a light smile. Her smile faded soon as she continued, “And I want to do it for Gabe too…”

Dean was about to tell her Gabriel was still alive when the lights began to flicker violently.

“What’s going on?” Baldur said, glancing around the room.

“It’s him,” Sam said, unconsciously pulling Elliana closer.

“How?” Kali asked, not expecting Lucifer until they removed the enochian symbols from Sam’s ribs.

“Does it matter?” Dean spoke up. “Shazzam us outta here, would ya?”

“We can’t,” Baldur said, fear lacing his voice the smallest bit.

“Of course you can’t,” a voice instantly grabbed everyone’s attention. Their heads all snapped up to the figure standing in the open doorway. “You didn’t say ‘mother, may I?’”

Lucifer lightly smirked as he took account of who stood in the room before him, of course stopping on the Winchesters.

“Sam, Dean. Good to see you again. And who’s this with you?” Lucifer asked, tilting his head in curiosity as he looked at Elliana. “New travel buddy? I’m Lucifer - though I’m assuming you already knew that,” he continued, talking directly to her now. “What’s your name?”

“Go to hell,” Ellie said coldly, not showing the slightest bit of intimidation.

“Oh, I just got out of there, sweetheart,” he easily countered.

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” she spat, taking a challenging step forward. Sam and Dean pulled her back, causing Lucifer to smirk.

“I like her,” he said to the boys. “Feisty.”

Kali muttered to Baldur, who had started walking towards Lucifer with a dominant gait. The boys took a few slow steps backwards with Elliana as the deity gave a short, angered monologue to Lucifer, ending with him consequently ripping Baldur’s heart out.

As Lucifer threw his body to the ground, Kali became enraged and threw a fire attack at him. At the growing physical conflict, the boys and Ellie jumped behind one of the overturned tables in the room to duck in cover.

“You guys ok?” Sam asked his brother and Ellie.

“Not really,” Gabriel’s voice replied before either got the chance. All three looked behind Dean to face him – Dean being shocked Gabriel came back and Sam and Ellie shocked that he’s alive. “Better late then never huh?”

“Gabriel?“ Elliana said, tears welling up in her eyes again. “What- you…you were-“

“It’s ok, E. I’m here. Hang tight ok?” Gabriel turns to Dean, handing him a DVD. “Guard this with your life.”

Gabriel went to stand up, but Elliana moved around Dean and quickly grabbed his arm. “Gabe, no. You’re not doing this by yourself,” she said, voice shaking.

The archangel let out a quick sigh; he was hoping to make this a quick exchange to avoid a conversation like this, but of course had no such luck. “This is the only way for you guys to escape. It’ll be ok-“

“No!” Ellie said again in a harsh whisper. “I’m not leaving you here!”

Gabriel fought back the sting in his eyes and he looked over at the brothers. “Please,” he said. “When it’s time, make her leave,” he continued, staring at them determinedly, though his own voice shook a little. “You make her leave.”

They nodded a bit sadly and held a struggling Ellie when she went to grab Gabriel again.

The archangel gently took her face in his hands and planted a kiss on her forehead, making her freeze in her struggles. “I love you, little wolf.”

Gabriel got up and struck a hand out, throwing Lucifer across the room, into the far wall before he could stomp on Kali.

“Luci, I’m home,” Gabriel said as he stepped into view. “Not this time,” he stopped Lucifer’s advance, holding up his angel blade as he helped Kali up. “Guys! Get her out of here,” he called to Sam and Dean over his shoulder.

The boys walked over and did as he said. They and Elliana headed towards the door, Gabriel standing in front of them protectively as he kept a hard stare on Lucifer. As they neared the exit, Ellie stepped out to Gabriel again.

“Gabe, please, please come with us,” she begged quietly.

“Guys,” Gabriel said again, unable to keep his voice from quivering and tears from stinging his eyes.

Sam took Elliana’s arm but she pushed him away, running back for the archangel so Dean moved up, grabbed her, and threw the girl over his shoulder, leading the rest of the group out of the room.

“Gabe, no! Nooo!! Gabriel!!” Ellie screamed hoarsely as she tried to free herself from Dean.

Gabriel closed his eyes and twitched his neck to get his head back in the game and confront his brother.  Though he supposed it wouldn’t make too much of a difference. This was a fight he knew he wasn’t going to walk away from.

Sam, Dean, Ellie, and Kali got outside and to the car – the goddess in the front seat with Dean, and Sam in the back with Anaya and Ellie once Dean set her down. The girl made one last, albeit weak attempt to go back to the hotel, but Sam pulled her into his side.

Elliana stared out the Impala’s window for as long as she could, hoping for any sign that things would work out for the better, but was only met with a bright white light flashing from the ballroom windows, forcing a sad cry from Ellie. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth and she squeezed her eyes shut. Dean looked in the rearview mirror at Sam, both boys hurting to see her like this.

“Come here,” Sam whispered, pulling Ellie into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. Soft cries and whimpers escaped Ellie as she clutched onto Sam as if he was her lifeline. Sam quietly shushed Elliana, one hand rubbing calming circles on her back, the other gently cradling her head. He had helped her at least slow her breathing, but tears still flowed from her eyes and a soft cry escaped her lips every now and again.

All the emotions had been eating away at her energy and she started becoming tired. As her eyelids drooped, her head slowly fell against Sam’s shoulder. And everything she had felt before was amplified now, since she knew Gabriel definitely wasn’t coming back this time.

Chapter 5.5 ->

[artificialqueens]

Exercise in folly 2.0 - Chapter 2.1 (Craquaria) - SamWhity

Title: Exercise in Folly 2.0

Summary: Monét looked at her with disbelief, before sighing: “Giovanni never saw the damn video. He dodged the whole thing like a pro because he was trying to be your friend”. “He’s my friend”. Cracker’s answer came without any hesitation, so natural and passionate that the other queen smiled softly. “Cracks…” Summary of the chapter: Maxwell tries again and receives an unexpected answer. Giovanni sulks and Kevin and Nicola are the best friends we all should wish for. Author’s note: Even though Aquaria and Jordan Stawecki seem to be friendly with eachother again, I decided to have them still un-reconciled for the time being. Everything you will read about this moment in time and the so-called drama should be furthermore considered purely fictional and nothing that is portrayed here has any legitimacy.

Chapter one

You keep me up at night To my messages, you do not reply You know I still like you the most The best of the best and the worst of the worst Well, you can never know The places that I go I still like you the most You’ll always be my favorite ghost

(Florence + The Machine, Big God)

Even though he deeply enjoyed touring with others queens, Maxwell Heller couldn’t help himself from sighing contently while putting down his luggage in the entrance of his apartment.

“Home sweet home”, he mumbled with a smile, before closing the door behind him.

“Coffee?”, Kathelyn asked while making her way to the kitchen.

“Of course”, the man answered, then he picked up one suitcase and started unpacking the gifts and fanarts he received on the road.

Just as he started reading a very long letter, his phone vibrated.

Monét X-Change, 2:34 pm: Got home safe?

Monét X-Change, 2:34 pm: We’re having dinner at mine, with Dustin and Yuhua. You coming?

Monét X-Change, 2:35 pm: I’ll ask Giovanni as well, but only the Lord knows what is up with that twink nowadays…

Monét X-Change, 2:35 pm: You coming, right?

Monét X-Change, 2:36 pm: Come on Cracks, answer already!

Maxwell chuckled, clearly amused by his friend’s lack of patience, before typing a short answer.

Miz Cracker, 2:37 pm: All right, all right. I’ll be there.

Monét X-Change, 2:38 pm: Perfect! Bring Kathelyn with you, it will be fun!

“What are you laughing at?”, his best friend asked, while handing him a mug full of steaming coffee.

“Kevin is being ridiculous as usual”, he explained, before taking a sip of the beverage and wincing in pain “Shit! That was really hot!”.

Kathelyn rolled her eyes, before going to her bedroom and starting to unpack.

“I’ll see a couple of friends tonight, don’t wait for me”, she said, while folding a shirt.

Maxwell nodded, then he added: “I’ll be at Kevin’s for dinner, don’t worry”.

The scoff he received as an answer was followed by a quick: “Well now I’m worried. Don’t get into any trouble, Mister”.

The look she received as an answer was enough to make her giggle.

“I love you too”, she conceded with a soft smile, then she closed the door behind her.

Kathelyn, 2:43 pm: I’m serious. We don’t have enough money to pay bail yet.

Kathelyn, 2:43 pm: Can you imagine? Okay, Kathelyn, time for slob.

Kathelyn, 2:44 pm: You have to admit that it was pretty funny.

Kathelyn, 2:44 pm: Right?

Kathelyn, 2:44 pm: RIGHT?!

Maxwell, 2:45 pm: I was waiting for you to finish your little piece…

Kathelyn, 2:45 pm: Don’t be so salty… :P

Maxwell, 2:46 pm: I will call in intervention, if you don’t stop

Maxwell, 2:47 pm: I’ve warned you

Kathelyn, 2:47 pm: You’re no fun…

After a couple of minutes, Maxwell’s phone vibrated once again, making him snort.

Kathelyn, 2:52 pm: You have to admit it. It’s time for slob was HILARIOUS.

***

Nicola, 2:43 pm: I just received the upteenth video of “Viva Las Vegas”. Please send help.

Giovanni Palandrani, barely awake but already in a weird mood, chuckled at his phone. With a little smile on his lips, he typed an answer.

Giovanni, 2:44 pm: Oh, poor you. Do you want me to send you “New York, New York”, just to switch it up a little bit?

The answer he got made him giggle stupidly.

Nicola, 2:45 pm: Do not even dare, kid! Otherwise I will personally ask Gaga to strike you from her beloved list of the most loyal fans!

Nicola, 2:45 pm: Where has the respect for the elders gone?

Nicola, 2:46 pm: Not that I’m old.

Nicola, 2:46 pm: Because I am certainly not old, understood?

Giovanni’s smile grew bigger. He quickly replied, before making his way to the balcony of the hotel room.

Giovanni, 2:47 pm: I would never imply you are old. I will just state that Shaquida was still going to daycare, while you were already driving one of those ugly tanks you like so much.

Giovanni, 2:48 pm: To quote Bob the Drag Queen, Nicola Formichetti is so old, he would probably die the moment he decided to act his age.

He did not receive any kind of answer for a couple of minutes and the lack of response made him worry he took it too far. Why was he always taking it too far?

“Goddamn it, Giovanni”, he murmured, before typing quickly.

Giovanni, 2:51 pm: It was totally inappropriate, I am so sorry! I should have just shut up.

Giovanni, 2:51 pm: Sorry, I am just in a weird mood. I am so so sorry…

Giovanni, 2:52 pm: I understand if you’re mad now but please know I really did not mean it in a disrespectful way.

The answer he got made him snort his water and sigh with relief at the same time.

Nicola, 2:54 pm: RELAX, I was just busy. I know how to roll with the punches kid… ;)

“You bastard”, he whispered, before answering.

Giovanni, 2:55 pm: Busy recording yourself playing the piano? Charming… :P

Nicola, 2:55 pm: Can we please go back to the apology? I liked you way better when you were sincerely apologizing…

Giovanni started laughing, before realising someone knocked at his hotel door.

“It’s open”, he said.

One of the hotel’s butlers was standing in front of the door, looking at him composedly, his hands hidden behind his back.

“The car will be here in less than forty minutes, sir”, he announced, before handing him a bouquet of flowers and adding: “Someone left this for you at the counter, today”.

The young man thanked him, before closing the door behind him and starting to gather his suitcases. He could do it even without Jordan, he thought to himself.

He put the bouquet on top of his carry-on, before picking the card and reading it out loud.

“To Aquaria. Thanks for the most amazing show I could possibly wish for. You are one of the best performers I had the pleasure to witness and I can’t wait to see you again, slaying on stage. Xoxo”

The boy smiled, before taking a picture of the sweet gift and uploading it to his Instastories with the caption “Blessed” and a smiling kitty.

In that exact moment, his phone vibrated again.

Monét X-Change, 3:04 pm: We’re having dinner at mine today! You’re in right?

He smiled, excited at the idea of seeing Kevin, before realizing he could not possibly make it to New York on time and sighing.

Aquaria, 3:04 pm: I wish! I’ll be back later tonight :(

Aquaria, 3:05 pm: You can feed me leftovers for brunch tomorrow, if you’re free. :D

Monét X-Change 3:05 pm: Lunch at mine and it’s a date. ;)

Aquaria, 3:06 pm: Now that took a turn…

Monét X-Change, 3:06 pm: You bitch!!!

Monét X-Change, 3:06 pm: You only wish…

A quick glance at his watch made him realize his ride would have arrived in a couple of minutes. He put his bags on the trolley he got from the reception and made his way to the elevator.

“You can make it, see?”, he murmured to himself, trying to avoid thinking about the whole drama around Jordan and his sudden interest in Los Angeles.

Once in the elevator, he found another text.

Miz Cracker, 3:12 pm: Are you coming to Monét’s?

He quickly left the message on read, before going back to the other one and trying to come up with a silly if not funny answer.

Aquaria, 3:12 pm: Last time I checked, I already gave to charity. Like a ton. Maybe next year you’ll be luckier ;)

“Weak”, he murmured to himself, before exiting the elevator and waiting for the car in the lobby of the hotel.

His phone vibrated again.

Miz Cracker, 3:14 pm: Are you purposefully ignoring me?

Miz Cracker, 3:14 pm: If you do not feel like talking it’s fine, just stop leaving me on read.

Miz Cracker, 3:15 pm: For real, Giovanni.

With a sigh, Giovanni locked the screen and saw the car approaching. He exited the building, put his sunglasses on and smiled at the driver, who then proceeded to load the suitcases in the trunk. He sat in the back-seat and put on his headphones, trying to come up with an answer for Cracker as well. Nothing. His phone vibrated once again.

Monét X-Change, 3:22 pm: You little sly bitch…

Monét X-Change, 3:22 pm: Have you talked to Cracks, btw?

Monét X-Change, 3:23 pm: And don’t you even dare to play dumb. You know better.

“Shit”, Giovanni murmured, before biting his lower lip and typing a couple of words.

Aquaria, 3:24 pm: I don’t know what to say.

Monét X-Change, 3:25 pm: Kid… just tell him how you felt while watching that video.

Aquaria, 3:25 pm: It’s not that.

Aquaria, 3:25 pm: It’s a lot more than that and I do not know how to react. And fucking everything around me is crumbling…

Monét X-Change, 3:26 pm: I heard about Jordan. I’m sorry, baby.

Aquaria, 3:26 pm: Can we please not talk about it now? I don’t really feel like crying in a taxi…

Monét X-Change, 3:27 pm: Of course, baby. Of course. I will see you tomorrow okay? Come at around one and we’ll have a kiki.

Aquaria, 3:27 pm: Thank you, Kevin. :*

“We’re here”, the driver pulled over, before exiting and starting to look for a cart to put Giovanni’s luggage on.

The young man exited the car as well, then took his bag and thanked the driver with a polite smile.

“Keep the change”, he said, while handing him some cash.

He quickly entered the airport and deposited his suitcases, before heading to the lounge and helping himself with a glass of juice.With a sigh, he took his phone out of his bag and tried to come up with a reply for Maxwell.

Nothing. Again.

The screen lit up for a quick second.

Nicola, 3:51 pm: Already at the airport? How are you feeling?

He bit his lower lip, before answering.

Giovanni, 3:52 pm: Honestly? I don’t know… I have so many things on my mind and I can’t stop thinking about other things and all this thinking is making me crazy.

“Way to go, Giovanni. You really have a way with words”, he sneered, after reading the message once again.

Nicola, 3:52 pm: Care to untuck? (See what I did there?)

Giovanni smiled at the attempt at making him laugh, before typing further.

Aquaria, 3:53 pm: I do not know where to begin, honestly… there is so much going on and I have so little control over how things are going…

Nicola, 3:54 pm: I will take an educated guess and say it has little to do with the lack of creativity in your current work, right?

Nicola, 3:54 pm: And before you start, your work is still fucking incredible.

Nicola, 3:55 pm: But I’ve known you long enough, kid…

The young man sighed, before answering.

Giovanni, 3:56 pm: I am in a weird place, right now. After all this drama about Jordan and people assuming I treated him like a fucking slave, I had to sit and watch that video. And it stung more than I could ever predict.

Giovanni quickly realized he was close to tears and decided to put his sunglasses back on, just to prevent a scene.

The other man’s answer was concise.

Nicola, 3:58 pm: Tell him

Nicola, 3:58 pm: Tell him that it hurt and maybe you can sort this shit out

Giovanni, 3:59 pm: Maybe

Nicola, 4:00 pm: Listen, I’ll be in NYC tomorrow afternoon. Sushi at mine?

Giovanni smiled: the care that man had for him was something he was incredibly grateful for, even if he could not quite figure out why the older one was caring so much. He quickly typed an answer.

Giovanni, 4:01 pm: I could use some sushi for dinner tomorrow, actually

Nicola, 4:01 pm: Then it’s a date! Let’s say at 9 PM?

Giovanni, 4:02 pm: That sounds perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Nicola, 4:03 pm: See you tomorrow, kid. Be safe xoxo

When his flight was announced, the young man got up quickly and made his way towards the gate. Once seated, he closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

***

“Guess who’s back in da house!”.

Kevin welcomed him with a solid hug and a warm smile. Maxwell entered the apartment, hung is coat and made his way to the kitchen, where Yuhua and Dustin were chatting sipping on some cheap wine.

“Hi guys”, he smiled and took a couple of steps forward to hug the both of them.

Yuhua hugged him back, with a big smile.

“How have you been, girl?”, the queen asked, before making space for Dustin to hug him too.

Max hugged the friend back, before answering: “Good. Busy but I can’t complain”.

They quickly sat at the table, waiting for the food to be delivered.

“Has someone heard from Giovanni?”, Dustin asked, while sipping on his glass of wine.

Kevin raised his glass, nodding.

“I did. He’s not home until later tonight”, he explained, then he added: “I will meet with him tomorrow, to see how he’s doing and stuff”.

Yuhua raised an eyebrow.

“Stuff?”.

In that exact moment, Maxwell chocked on his glass of soda and started coughing, causing Dustin to laugh manically.

“You bitch!”, Kevin laughed, patting his best friend on the back in order to prevent him from choking any further, “I want to see how he’s doing, what he’s up to and this kind of things. I also have yet to give him my Christmas present”, he said with a proud smile.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted the conversation and the host stood up to go take the food and pay.

“I’ll be right back, ladies”.

After a couple of minutes, they were sitting in front of a plethora of boxes and paper bags full of Thai food.

“You really went all out”, Yuhua looked at the food with disbelief, before adding: “Are you sure you don’t need anything from us?”.

Kevin pinched his friend, before opening a container and smiling at the sight of the steaming hot curry inside it.

“I just thought it would be nice to spend time all together again”, he said before pausing and adding: “Well, without Giovanni… but you know what I mean”.

The others nodded, before starting to eat.

***

Finally in his apartment, Giovanni left the suitcases in the hallway and sighed.

“Home sweet home”, he murmured, before switching the light on and deciding he might as well turn the heating on and warm up the rooms a little bit.

His phone vibrated, making him jump.

Jordan, 00:17 am: In February I will be gone.

Jordan, 00:17 am: Just letting you know.

The young man bit his lower lip, before typing a quick answer.

Giovanni, 00:18 am: Thank you for letting me know.

He put his phone back in his pocket, then he went to his room and opened a drawer, taking out a small plastic bag. He rolled himself a joint and went to smoke it on the balcony, trying to clear his head.

“Shit”, he murmured, before closing his eyes and sighing.

He did not know what to do, let alone how to react to Jordan’s antics any more. After the whole fiasco in London, he had absolutely no idea how to go further without ruining their friendship. When the management stepped in, he had no other options than to fire him and the expression in his eyes was one of defiance and cockiness he had never seen before.

“As if you would survive a day without me”, Jordan sneered, before collecting his jacket and leaving the room.

Giovanni took his phone out of his jacket, hoping Nicola would be awake and willing to listen to him vent.

Aquaria, 00:23 am: I am currently sitting on the staircase outside and all I can think about is how many friendships I’ve fucked up. It’s making me slowly insane and paranoid and so unsure of myself it is almost disgusting. I don’t recognise this part of me and it scares me, I don’t know how to react to Maxwell’s messages or to Jordan’s rage and it is making me go crazy.

He sent the message without checking the name of the receiver. Needless to say, just because karma and faith every once in a while love to play tricks on people, he sent it to Maxwell instead without realizing the mistake he made.

He locked the screen, finished his joint and headed to the bathroom to have a shower, blissfully unaware of what just happened.

***

Maxwell’s phone vibrated, making the man jump slightly.

“Everything allright, Cracks?”, Kevin asked, before looking at him quizzically.

The other man nodded.

“It’s just my phone, Kathelyn must have gotten home or something”, he replied, before taking his phone out of his pocket.

The message he got was definitely not from Kathelyn.

Aquaria, 00:23 am: I am currently sitting on the staircase outside and all I can think about is how many friendships I’ve fucked up. It’s making me slowly insane and paranoid and so unsure of myself it is almost disgusting. I don’t recognise this part of me and it scares me, I don’t know how to react to Maxwell’s messages or to Jordan’s rage and it is making me go crazy.

Needless to say, the man barely managed to whisper a confused: “What…?”, before signalling to his best friend to join him on the balcony.

Once the door behind them was closed, much to Yuhua and Dustin’s disappointment, the younger man was presented with the other one’s phone.

“What is happening, Max?”, he then asked.

“Read it”, Maxwell said, sighing.

Kevin read everything twice, before looking at his friend with concern in his eyes.

“I reckon it wasn’t for me either”, he then commented, trying to lighten up the mood and failing miserably at it.

Max sat on the floor, before closing his eyes and murmuring: “What should I do?”.

The other one shrugged, before joining him on the floor and giving him his phone back.

“Well, now at least you know he’s not mad or something…”, he murmured, trying to sound comforting, “I’ll see him tomorrow and maybe I can try…”.

“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea”, the other one interrupted him, “I don’t want him to feel trapped or some shit”.

Kevin nodded.

“Yeah, it makes sense”, he mumbled, before getting up: “Let’s go and see what the others are doing. I will keep you posted tomorrow, okay?”.

Maxwell nodded, then he got up as well and squeezed his friend’s hand.

“Thank you”.

[johnny-and-dora]

as long as you come back home

"What?” He asks softly, like he's staring straight through her. “Nothing. I just...I never thought I’d have to get used to being apart from you.” “Me too. I guess I thought whenever I missed you, you were always going to be just the other side of my desk.”

or, the one where jake and amy talk about jake volunteering to stay with kevin in the safe house. (pre 5x12) read on ao3

Amy stirs gently from her sleep, her head still a little cloudy from another disorientating, half-waking dream. Her nights have been restless for the past few days, ever since Murphy called in Holt’s favour – and a slow, sleepy blink at her trusted alarm clock along with the moonlight pouring through the crack in the curtains tells her it’s the dead of night. 

She groans into her pillow, wishing herself back to sleep with every fibre of willpower she has left, but the tightness in her chest tells her there’s no use. The respite of the morning, knowing that Kevin is safe and well – and the sweet relief of highly caffeinated drinks – is still hours away.

She shifts a little in bed as her ears finally tune in to the familiar, light buzz of muted dialogue coming from the TV screen in the living room, and her brows furrow in hazy uncertainty. She rolls over to find the bed empty beside her and lets her stomach drop for a second before rational thought kicks in.

Slowly, movements laced with lethargy, she gets up, careful not to trip over one of Jake’s dirty laundry mountains (“C’mon, Ames, you love museums. Just think of them as art installations.”) Amy fumbles for her dressing gown and pads softly out of their bedroom like she’s still in a dream, drawn to the light of the TV screen like a moth – albeit a sleepy, still confused moth concerned for her fiancé’s wellbeing.

Wow, delirium-induced, moth related similes at two in the morning. Amy really needs to get some sleep.

“Jake?” She says in barely a whisper once she sees him slumped on the couch, and he turns his head to face her, hand nervously rubbing at the back of his neck. It’s still dark, despite the glow of the TV, and she didn’t think to reach for her old lady glasses so he’s slightly blurry – but he’s hers, and he’s home.

As she blinks he gives her a soft, warm smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes, the one where she can tell that he’s happy to see her but something’s quietly gnawing at him and he doesn’t quite know how to stop it.

(It’s a smile she, a little sadly, recognises – although whenever something was bothering him when they were first partners, she could never get anything out of him but sex tape jokes and terrible flirting. Luckily now she’s much better at getting him to open up without having to punch him first.)

(Not for the first time, she warms at the idea of telling a fresh faced, newly transferred Amy Santiago that someday she’d be engaged to marry the biggest pain in the ass in the precinct.)

“Did I wake you?” He whispers quietly, and she shakes her head. “No no, it’s fine. Are you okay?” “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Me neither.” She moves towards him then, curling up next to him on the couch, head resting lazily against his chest. She feels the tension in his shoulders relax a little once she’s there and squeezes his hand tenderly.

In the secret language they’ve unconsciously created over the past eight years they’ve known each other, it means I’m here if you need me. They’ve done it in the deafening quiet of emergency rooms and before the nerve-racking tension of raids and after countless tragedies and during seemingly impossible problems, again and again, since before they were dating, since before they were even really friends.

Neither of them acknowledges it, but it’s a constant. A comfort, though they wouldn’t dare admit it back then. Another tiny declaration of love they make every day.

They stay like that for a while, silent apart from distant sounding sirens on the TV, breathing slow, heavy and rhythmic. The air feels weighted with a thousand what-if’s they’re both terrified to say out loud because it might make it true. Amy tries to focus on whatever old rerun of Serve and Protect that’s showing in the small hours, but her eyelids keep drooping and she can’t get her mind off Holt and Kevin, imagining the worst over and over again.

Over the rolling credits, Jake takes a deep, unusually shaky breath, eyes still fixed on the screen, hand still firmly in her grip - and Amy prepares for the worst.

“I think I have to volunteer to watch over Kevin in the safe house.” “Well, yeah. We all promised to help out-“ She says cautiously, stomach casually plummeting when he finally glances down at her and confirms her suspicions. “You know that’s not what I mean. I mean, just me.”

“Jake-“ She begins, but it comes out all wrong, like an exasperated, desperate sigh - and whatever argument was on her lips gets caught in her throat, so she just looks at him, and he smiles sadly.

“I know. But it’s my fault that Murphy is even after Kevin, and that Holt even made the deal with him in the first place. I have to make things right.” She tries to keep it together, hates knowing that he’s unfairly put that burden on his shoulders and she can’t carry it for him.

“You would be gone for months. Again.” “I would miss you like crazy – but it...it wouldn’t be like last time.”

“It feels like you only just came back to me.” She says, voice impossibly small, face half-buried in his grey T-shirt, mainly so she can avoid his gaze. She hates how vulnerable and how clingy she sounds, and knows really that she can’t stop him, but that doesn’t change the weight casually building in her chest at the threat of him leaving again.

“I know, Ames, and I’m sorry. I hate leaving you, so much you don’t even know - but I have to go. I owe Holt so much, and it’s not even about that. I just know I have to do the right thing. I can't just sit here when I know Kevin's in danger.”

And she knows, Amy knows that it’s not going to be like last time. She knows it’s not even going to come close to the hell that they’ve endured, crawled through, survived and come out the other side – more to the point, she knows he’s doing the right thing, keeping Kevin safe.

If their roles were reversed, if any of the squad and those they loved were in the same kind of danger, she would do the exact same thing.

She knows him well enough that he would be pacing around their apartment every night for a month, doing that adorable nervous thing with his hands when they almost fizzle with energy he can’t dissipate, hating for anyone else but him to be helping out. She knows that he feels responsible for it, for all of it, and nothing she or anyone can say will change his mind. She knows, because his stupid, damn stubbornness one of the reasons she fell in love with him.

His moral compass is relatively new, but she loves that too. She loves every part, every single piece, every inch of him, including the part that’s desperate to leave. And she wants to be angry, she wants to scream, to beg him to stay - but how can she? So she breathes, exhales long and heavy.

“I know you can't." She says, after a while. He raises an eyebrow, and Amy sighs again, desperate yet firm.

"Just...come home soon – and be safe, and come back all in one piece, otherwise I’ll kill you. We have a wedding to plan.” They exchange, sad, longing yet soft smiles, another million things she could say between them, but she doesn’t need to - he already knows.

He kisses the top of her head and she squeezes his hand, twice this time. I love you.

“I love you too. And I’ll call and text, and you can visit, and I swear, I’ll be home before you even know I was gone.”

He won’t be, of course. He’ll be gone for far too long, two months too long, and it’ll be hell on earth. But he’ll also come back to her, just like every single time she has before. They’ve gone up against far worse monsters than Murphy - six months of swampy witness protection hell, eight weeks of orange jumpsuits and willing to risk lives, risk careers, risk everything just for the chance to hear each other’s voice, to find a scrap of normality again.

And so help her God, when they catch Murphy, and they will, she’ll let every criminal in New York walk free before she lets Jake Peralta out of her sight again.

As if he can hear her, he laughs a little, in the cute familiar small way he exhales out of her nose she’s going to miss along with everything else, and she feels the rise and fall of his chest against hers like they’re one being intricately tangled together. She turns her head up to look at him, unable to stop at least a small smile from softening her face.

"What?” He asks softly, like he's staring straight through her. “Nothing. I just...I never thought I’d have to get used to being apart from you.” “Me too. I guess I thought whenever I missed you, you were always going to be just the other side of my desk.” That makes her smile, and she buries her head in his chest again. "I know. But I'm always going to be here." She says, poking where she can feel his heart steadily beating under his shirt, and he laughs.

"Damn, Santiago. Didn't know you could be so cheesy." "It's your fault for making me watch all those stupid rom-com movies." "C'mon, you love them! I swear you tear up every time." Amy sticks her tongue at him in childish retaliation and he laughs again, pulling her closer, and for a moment everything is right in the universe again.

She’s still heavy with the thought of being apart again, heavier and heavier at ever having to let him go - but the weight she’s carrying around - it’s different to last time. It’s lighter, and she’s full of just enough hope – and, for once when it comes to Jake, rational thought - to keep her afloat. This won’t last forever.

There’s a promise in intricate glinting silver that’s wrapped around her left ring finger that makes sure of that, and a quiet, determined, hardened resolve she didn’t have last time.

She draws a long, heavy breath, finally starting to drift off, diving into the last dregs of hope for a good night’s sleep, no longer restless with his arms wrapped protectively around her.

(And it’s two seemingly everlasting months later, when his hands are in her hair and hers on his waist and they’re both laughing, giddy as their lips brush and their foreheads touch and he’s really, properly actually here, he’s home, when she finally breathes out.)

[anna-justice]

Lost or Found - 8

Summary: As Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam and Kevin start their junior year in the wake of a tragic summer, the past year of their lives comes back to haunt them. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, this is for you! *UPSTEAD/BURZEK High School AU

...

8 - Falling ...

For the past 24 hours, Jay had been replaying the events at the playground back in his head and after every rerun he came to the same conclusion: he was an absolute dumbass.

He didn’t even understand what had happened, Hailey said the word “hospital,” and all he could see was red. He was so angry, no, he was furious. He just snapped, which looking back was the exact same thing that Hailey said her dad had done.

The whole situation was unfair, he was already on edge from the week he had, his girlfriend was dead and now he finds out that his best friend had moved to Chicago to get away from her abusive father. The man should be rotting in jail, but instead he was home with his wife, with Hailey’s mom. What the hell was wrong with her? If Jay knew where they lived he would personally put the son of a bitch in the hospital, he should know how it feels.

As much as he wanted to punch a wall or someone else, he knew how empty his threats were. When Hailey jumped away from him last night she was scared, scared of him. She had just told them all about possibly the worst night of her life and he reacted selfishly, he let anger consume him and now, she was afraid of him. And he deserved it.

He thought back to the night she was attacked, how she hyperventilated and refused to go to the hospital. It all made sense now, she hated hospitals because of what her dad did to her. She was remembering that night the whole time. He was there for her that night and he’d be damned if he wasn’t there for her now.

…

Hailey sat on the couch next to her aunt, they were spending some quality time together before she went back to school the next day. Trudy had waited up for her niece the night before, so when she came home visibly upset, she knew something was up.

Obviously Hailey couldn’t tell her what really happened, even though her aunt knew about what happened with her father she didn’t know about why she had to tell her friends. So, she made up some story about them spending the night grieving Erin without watchful eyes and that it was really hard for her. Naturally her aunt bought it and declared Sunday a girls day since Randall was on shift.

They were nearing the end of it, and it had truly been a girls day. She hadn’t heard from anyone but Kim since last night and it was refreshing. She was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in her lap. She was able to pretend that the world wasn’t still turning and that everything was okay. She was just a normal teenage girl watching Saved by the Bell reruns with her favorite aunt.

She hadn’t spoken to Jay since she ran away from him, and she wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t mad, she couldn’t be, he was right. She wasn’t okay, it wasn’t okay that her mom was still with her dad, she should have told the police. He was right about all of it, but she wasn’t sure if it was her pride or her fear of breaking down again that was keeping her from telling him that. And if she wasn’t speaking to him, then she didn’t have to deal with it, at least not now. The doorbell rang, popping their bubble. Trudy threw her blanket off, “I’ll get it.”

“If it’s Jay, tell him I’m asleep.” Hailey calls after her, she rolls her eyes.

Trudy swings the door open and is shocked at the sight of the disheveled boy in front of her. “Jay.” She says a little too loud, attempting to alert Hailey. “What are you doing here?”

Jay took a breath, stuffing his fidgety hands in his pockets. “Can I talk to Hailey?”

Trudy frowned, “I’m sorry, she’s been asleep for hours.” She felt bad for lying, but if Hailey was as upset with him as he looked, she probably didn’t need this tonight.

Jay nodded, “Oh, okay. Tell her I stopped by? It’s important.”

“Of course.” Trudy said, “Goodnight Jay.”

Jay was left standing on the porch alone in the late summer heat. He had every intention of going home, but he couldn’t get his feet to move.

Trudy was barely back to the living room when the doorbell rang again. “Well we sure are popular tonight.” She said, making her way towards the door yet again.

When she opened it, Jay was still there. “She’s not asleep is she?” He asked.

Trudy sighed and stepped back, “Come in.” When Hailey heard those words she froze, that was the last thing that she was supposed to do! “I’ll give you two a minute.” She said, ascending the stairs.

Hailey suddenly felt very small under Jay’s intense gaze, he kept himself planted in the doorway, leaning against the wall. “Hey.”

“Hi,” She said quietly, shifting in her seat.

Jay took a few steps towards her. “Can we talk?” His voice was gentle, like if he spoke too loud he would break her. Hailey nodded, setting her empty pint of ice cream on the coffee table. Jay sat down at the opposite end of the couch from her. “I am so sorry.” He said, his voice dripping in sincerity. “I was way out of line last night.”

Hailey held his gaze, briefly thinking that the four foot distance between them was too much. “You were.” She said and Jay stiffened. Hailey took it as an opportunity to scoot a little closer to him. “But you were right.”

Jay let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “No, I wasn’t.” He said, shifting near her. “It wasn’t my place to judge you or your mom like that.”

Hailey nodded, blinking back tears. “Thank you, that means a lot.”

Jay places a hand over hers, “You mean a lot Hailey, to me.” Hailey felt her heart lurch in her chest at his forwardness. It was no secret that she was attracted to him, she had been for a while, but not just that, he meant a lot to her too. He had become her rock through all of this and now she was sure she was his. Jay chuckled nervously, “You can say something anytime you want.”

Hailey cracked a smile before wrapping her arms around him. She thought back to the night before and she thought that showing him she wasn’t afraid of him was better than just telling him. Jay relaxed into the hug, letting his arms sneak around her waist. There was nothing quite like the feeling he felt in his stomach as they sat there.

As much as me missed her, it never felt like that with Erin. He loved her, but he was never in love with her. Not that he was in love with Hailey, she had become his best friend, his partner in crime or in solving crimes to be more realistic. Either way, he couldn’t imagine his life without her anymore and after everything that’s happened he hoped he wouldn’t have to.

The realization hit him like a semi truck, Erin was dead, she was murdered at only 16 years old. No one was promised a tomorrow, so why wait for some sort of sense of security or for the right time. It wasn’t worth it, not when someone could be ripped away from you in a second.

Jay pulled away and Hailey came very close to pulling him back to her. His gaze locked on hers and he reached to push a piece of blonde hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. Her breath caught in her throat when his eyes left hers and glanced at her lips. When the green orbs met her blue ones again she was practically puddy in his hand.

Jay leaned in a little, it didn’t matter that Erin was gone or that he was moving too fast. He just wanted her, so he kissed her. It was soft and slow and gentle, not pressure to become more, just a sweet, delicate kiss that left Hailey’s head spinning. Her eyes remained closed for several moments as he pulled away, opening to find Jay beaming at her. She blushed and looked down at her hands, it wasn’t their first kiss, but the other one wasn’t even worth being compared.

“Why did you do that?” She asked in a quiet voice.

“I wanted to.” Jay said, feigning confidence but quickly panicking. “Is that okay? I’m sor--”

“Jay,” She said, intertwining their hands again. “It’s definitely okay.”

...

The next day Jay sat at a table with Kevin and Adam in the shop. The three of them had purposely taken the class together. “So, you and Hailey seemed okay last block.” Kevin said.

“I think we’re more than okay.” Jay said grinning.

Adam looked up from his design of a birdhouse and gasped. “Oh no, I know that face. What did you do?”

Jay chuckled and his smile got bigger. “I kissed her last night.”

“You did what?” Adam yelled, earning a glare from their teacher. He sank into his seat, lowering his voice. “You did what?”

“I kissed her.” Jay said again.

“My man.” Kevin said, giving Jay a fist bump.

Adam let out an exasperated sigh. “Are you crazy? After everything that is going on right now, you kissed her? That’s a pretty big bomb to drop.”

“You got Kim out of all this, why don’t I get a chance with Hailey?” Jay asked and Kevin groaned, he didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of whatever this was.

“Well to start, Kim isn’t my recently deceased girlfriend's ex-nemesis.” Adam snapped back.

Jay raised his voice a bit, “What do you mean Adam?”

“You know what I’m talking about, Erin hated Hailey.”

“Guys--”

“I don’t see what that has to do with any of this.” Jay whisper yelled.”

“Jay, calm down.” Kevin said, “Adam, explain yourself. Please.”

Adam sighed, “You are one of my best friends and I watched you get hurt over and over again when you were with Erin.” Jaw unclenched his jaw, seeing that his friend had the best intentions. “Hailey is awesome, but she comes with some serious baggage.There is nothing wrong with that, but, after the few months you’ve had, I’m not sure that diving headfirst into a relationship is the best idea right now. With anyone, but especially Hailey, she is important to you right?” Jay nodded, “So wait until you can treat her right, until you can treat each other right.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Adm was right. He couldn’t use Hailey as a distraction or a silver lining anymore, she was a person, his person and nothing was worth risking that.

“Yeah man, I got it.” Jay turned to face the front of the class, letting his mind race. He could have Hailey when this was all over, but until then, the only thing he cared about was keeping her alive.

[wematch]

Close Calls

Andrew is injured at the beginning of a game by a former Raven. When Neil arrives at the hospital three hours later, some of the Foxes are already waiting for him. But none of them are quite expecting the secret Neil reveals when he gets there.

You can also read it on [AO3]

As always a big thank you to @velvetnoodle for being such an amazing beta!

[Part 1] [Part 2]

When breakfast gets delivered by the nurses, Andrew eyes his plate and turns his attention to Neil currently sitting by his side. “Go away,” Andrew tells him. “Go eat something and then come back."

“I'm fi—” Neil starts.

“You haven’t left this room since you arrived last night,” Andrew interrupts him, pointing his plastic spoon at Neil. “Go now, before I stab you.”

Neil eyes the spoon and snorts. “With that?”

Andrew ignores his question and chooses instead to glare at Neil until he gets up. “Bring me something from the vending machine,” Andrew tells him when Neil reaches the door.

Neil nods once to indicate that he heard, he doesn’t ask what Andrew wants him to bring, but he'll make sure to find him some type of chocolate. “I'll see what I can find,” Neil says, bringing two fingers to his forehead in a mocking salute before he exits.

When Neil steps into the corridor he finds the others still in the same spot as earlier, as soon as they notice him Allison stands up. “I'm going to have a conversation with Neil,” she informs the others while looking at Neil with a fierce smile.

Neil takes a deep breath; he’s not surprised by this outcome, he suspected that he would be cornered for some answers soon so he just wants to get it over with. “I'm just going to grab some food,” Neil informs her once she stops at his side.

“Look at that, you finally started to take better care of yourself,” she says.

“Andrew kicked me out of the room until I eat so…” Neil trails off as they start to walk into the corridor to take the stairs to the main floor, but regrets it as soon as he sees her grinning.

“And I keep getting more and more surprised by your monster everyday,” she comments.

In a flash Neil starts to feel anger building up on him, so he starts to jog down the stairs to try and calm himself but it doesn’t quite work. And once she meets up with him at the end he can no longer restrain himself, he was never good at keeping his mouth shut. “I've told you plenty of times before to stop calling him that.”

She passes him and opens the door to the main area, then she holds the door for him and gives him a devilish smile. “Oh, I know. I just do it to piss you off.”

“Fuck off, Allison, I really don't need your shit today,” Neil spits as he passes her to scan the place in search of some source of food. Once he spots a vending machine nearby he starts to walk in it's direction.

She sighs and trails after him, and once they reach the machine she casually leans against it, looking at her perfectly manicured hands. “Fine, let's talk about something else.” She pauses as Neil starts to put money into the machine. She sees him eyeing the products and then press the buttons for a sandwich to get out. “How about you tell me how you got married.”

“How about we talk about something else?” Neil asks back as he grabs the sandwich and puts more money into the machine. “What are you even doing in here?”

“Don't ask stupid questions; I'm here for you.”

Family, Neil thinks as Allison's hand squeezes his arm for a second. She didn't have to come here - especially because she and Andrew don't really talk to each other - but she came anyway to give Neil support. “Thanks,” he tells her, not knowing how to better express himself on how much her being here actually means to him.

“And this isn’t what I was thinking when you said you came to grab some food,” she says looking disapprovingly to the plain sandwich. ”There’s a coffee shop near the hospital entrance.”

“This is fine,” Neil murmurs as they both watch the chocolate drop. He simply doesn’t want to take too long to get back to Andrew.

“Come on, I need some details.”

Neil grabs the chocolate and gives her an unimpressed look. But he’s met with Allison’s intense expression and gives in. “Fine, what do you want to know?”

Allison starts to smile again by having Neil giving in. “Who proposed?” she asks when they start to walk back.

“I guess you can say Andrew,” Neil answers, “he just asked me what I thought about it, and two weeks later we signed the papers."

Allison stays quiet until they reach the stairs. “Why?” She asks him and grabs his arm to stop him from continuing to climb the stairs. “Look, I'm happy for you but I didn't imagine Andrew, or you for that matter, as the type to get married."

“Me neither, but...” Neil takes a deep breath. “Remember that accident I had almost two years ago, that I stayed in the ICU for a few days and no one knew how I was because I had no family, so no one was allowed to see me?” Allison nods and Neil continues, “Andrew was pissed because of it, we both were. So last year we talked about it and decided to get married so that things like that wouldn't happen again.”

Alison stays quiet for a few moments processing that information. Then a tentative smile returns to her face. “I'm happy for you, you know?” She squeezes his arm for a second before letting him go. “I might not understand Andrew, but I know that he cares about you, and I know how important he is to you.”

Neil grins at her and opens his sandwich. They walk back the rest of the way in comfortable silence and he barely registers the taste of the food in his mouth as he eats. Once they reach the others, Allison returns to her chair and starts typing on her phone, most likely informing Renee about what he just told her, and Neil takes the seat next to Matt.

“How are you holding up?” Matt asks.

Neil shrugs. “Fine,” he tells him and eats the last bite of his sandwich.

They all share a look of annoyance at his standard answer and Dan clears her throat. “Wymack wants to know where your phone is.”

“Oh, in my car?” Neil answers thinking that in the rush to get to Andrew he must have left it there. “I'm assuming you already gave him an update?”

“Of course.”

“Kevin sent me a text, so he already knows Andrew is gonna be fine,” Nicky starts, “and I sent one to Aaron as well,” he pauses, and shifts from leaning against Erik to share a look with Matt. “Oh, and Kevin also asked me to deliver a message.”

“What did he say?” Neil asks even though he can already guess what it is.

“He said for you not to do anything stupid,” Nicky tells him with a grin.

“And I agree with him,” Matt says seriously.

“I won't,” Neil answers and clenches his fists. It’s situations like this that make him want to call his uncle and ask for a favor. But he won’t do it; a favor like that would could cost him a great deal, and Andrew would kill him once he found out about it. ”I'll wait until I find him on the court to kick his ass,” he adds, and grins at Dan’s hum of approval.

“How lucky was it that he made Andrew pass out with that hit that threw him to the wall?” Nicky comments.

“He would have taken care of that asshole in a second if it wasn’t for that.” Matt says with a grin.

“Yeah,” Neil agrees, the images of what happened in the match replaying in his head once again. Andrew doesn’t take shit like that from anyone, they all know it. So whatever happens to the former Raven is deserved, it’s Andrew that worries him at the moment. Neil decides it’s time to go back to him so he stands and clears his throat. “I should get back to Andrew now.”

“Yeah go ahead; visiting hours start in about an hour so we’ll join you soon," Nicky says.

Neil nods, and starts to walk away in the direction of Andrew’s bedroom. Once he enters, Andrew’s eyes immediately open to stare back at him. He was obviously tired and tried to rest while Neil wasn’t in the room. Neil knows better than to say anything about it - he knows that if Andrew needs the rest he’ll go back to sleep once he sees that it’s only Neil entering, but Andrew starts to adjust himself so he’s properly sitting on the bed, and once Neil is close enough to Andrew he gives him the Kit Kat.

Andrew doesn't waste a second before he’s opening the package. “Are they done with the questions?” he asks once he swallows the first bite.

“Have you met them?” Neil sighs and sits in the chair next to the bed. “They sent Allison to do the early interrogation as usual,” he says, studying Andrew while he eats. Of course he had thrown Neil outside so that the others could have enough time question him.

“Oh I’m sure she must be loving this since it will provide them great betting opportunities,” Andrew tells him with a blank expression. Neil still doesn’t like when the others make bets about them, but since he knows that Andrew is probably right, so he chooses not to comment.

Once Andrew finishes devouring the chocolate, Neil takes a deep breath before speaking. “I was watching the game yesterday.”

“Of course you were.”

Neil clenches his fists before he continues. “And I saw the whole attack.”

“Your point?” Andrew asks him.

“It looked pretty bad Andrew; you scared the shit out of me,” Neil admits, and gets up to be closer, he puts his hands in the bed for support and stares at Andrew to let those words - the truth - sink in. Once he sees Andrew’s shoulders relaxing, Neil adds. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“Your entire existence has been a problem since I first met you,” Andrew says matter-of-factly.

Neil notices the little twitch on his mouth and rolls his eyes, deciding not to comment. He brings one hand to slowly run over his face and when he looks to the side he finds Andrew already studying him. “Your close calls are getting old,” Neil tells him, sounding tired, still thinking of last night.

“Oh really?” Andrew starts, not looking impressed. “Stop mimicking what I tell you.”

“Why? Don’t like what you hear?” Neil replies mockingly.

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Come a little closer,” Andrew says, ”and I will.”

Neil leans towards him and stops when his lips are only an inch away from Andrew’s. He closes his eyes and not a moment later he feels Andrew’s lips crash against his. Neil hums his approval and lets Andrew deepen the kiss. He lets himself forget where they are and why, and focuses purely on Andrew kissing him like his life depended on it.

When Andrew ends the kiss, his hand comes to rest on Neil's neck to ground him, to steady him, like he has done countless times before. “You're an idiot.”

Neil starts to smile when he brings his hand to Andrew's hair, he lets his fingers hold onto it and then he brings their foreheads together. The closeness calms him. “Yet, you still keep me around,” he points out.

“No one likes a smart mouth,” Andrew replies, he grabs Neil by the chin when he sees him opening his mouth to answer back. “No, no, just shut up for now,” Andrew tells him in a low tone, while looking him in the eyes, and after a few moments of studying Neil he begins to frown. “Try to rest until the others get here; you look like shit.”

Neil rolls his eyes. “Thanks,” he says and goes back to sit on the chair once again. “I can clearly see now why I keep you around,” he adds sarcastically, and then he glances at Andrew, amused.

He knows, however, that Andrew is right. He’s exhausted, and it won’t be long before the others join them, so he lets his head rest on the bed like he did during the night.

“Just keep that mouth of yours close for now so we can both rest,” Andrew tells him, and after a moment Neil feels Andrew's hand slowly going through his hair.

Neil lets himself relax, closing his eyes and concentrating on the familiar touch of Andrew, and on the soft sound of his breathing to reassure him that Andrew is right here with him. And that with a little bit of time he’s going to be alright.

[kitandkanoodle]

one night will remind you

A Guardians of the Galaxy AU where everything is basically the same, except Gamora was rescued and raised by Ravagers, and Peter Quill was captured by Thanos and raised as a weapon.

Basically, part two of a role reversal AU that no one asked for and literally no one but me wanted.

read it here on AO3!

“What a load of bullshit,” Gamora hisses, stomping over dried twigs and dead leaves. They snap and crunch satisfyingly under her boots, but frustration still simmers low in her gut. “Can you believe the nerve of him? Trying to traipse back into your life, trying to be your father? I don’t trust it for a second.”

Peter lets out a noncommittal sound as he follows behind her, and Gamora whirls around to face him, hands braced against her hips. She waits as he ducks beneath a low hanging branch, his movements graceful and almost entirely silent.

“This has all the hallmarks of a trap, you know.” She gestures sharply to the distant glow of their campfire, the warm light a beacon in the dark forest. There, the rest of the team sits with that strange, silent girl and that bizarre man, with his easy smiles and infuriating swagger – different from Peter as night from day.

If the man calling himself Ego hadn’t known so much about Terra, if he hadn’t dropped the name, “Meredith Quill,” like a live grenade, none of the Guardians would have ever believed he and Peter could possibly be related.

(“I hired a Ravager to collect you from Earth,” Ego had told them as they gathered around the fire. Gamora had bristled, recognition rankling at the back of her mind. Ego hardly noticed, focused as he was on Peter, who stared wordlessly into the fire. “I barely remember his name now, but whoever it was, Thanos beat him there. I never imagined you could have survived.”

Peter had only hummed in response.)

Gamora finds Ego familiar and slimy in a way that makes her skin crawl; he seems so much like the type of person she would run into at clubs and bars, smarmy charm and barbed praise. A “pick-up artist,” as Peter once put it. She wishes her ship hadn’t been wrecked so they could coat the bastard in their cosmic dust. Here and now, she says, “The Ravagers, the Kree Purists, and now, the Sovereign. Hell, any one of our old enemies. How can we know he’s not working with them?”

Peter breathes out a sigh, glancing off toward their camp. He looks strangely small, for once, slightly hunched in his favorite dark red coat. (In two months’ time as a Guardian of the Galaxy, the coat had been the first of Peter’s few indulgent purchase – and even then, it had taken Gamora nearly an hour to convince Peter that the universe wouldn’t end if he allowed himself to buy one frivolous thing.)

He murmurs, “I know, but...”

And Gamora freezes.

She creeps forward, ducking down to catch his eye. The moonlight falling through the canopy catches on the silver lines cutting across his brow and the bridge of his nose. Beneath those scars, she sees uncertainty and reluctance on his face, but she spots something else in the dark, too; something too complicated to name.

“You can’t be serious,” she says dully. When he stays silent, Gamora lets out a slightly affronted noise, rocking back. “You want to go with him?”

He pulls a hand down his face, turning to wander a few steps away as he thinks. Gamora scoffs in disbelief, crossing her arms as she waits. In the quiet, the whisper of a breeze rustles the leaves and branches around them, and the noise is near thunderous. The distant cooing of some woodland creature almost makes her jump out of her skin. She thinks she hears the echo of Drax’s booming laughter, but it tapers off before she can be sure.

Something writhes and snaps in her chest – irritation, anger, panic, she isn’t sure what. Today has been awful, with Rocket stealing those damn batteries and the Sovereign nearly shooting them out of the sky, but this? This, on top of it all? This arrogant, condescending old man, who bragged about his accomplishments and victories as if they were hardly worth the breath to tell the tale, trying to take Peter from them and their stupid little family?

The thought strikes her like a slap across the face, and she’s grateful that Peter’s back is to her. He doesn’t see the way her expression twists with hurt before she can compose herself.

The Ravagers had never been family for Gamora – not in the way the Guardians have been. They had provided her shelter after the destruction of her world, had taken her in when no one else would, but they were a far cry from what she had enjoyed as a child. The Ravagers had trained her, had honed her skills, had taught her how to lie and steal and negotiate, occasionally utilizing the business end of a blaster, but they were never close. They were brutal and reckless, if effective, but Gamora had always maintained a morality that the Ravagers could never destroy.

Gamora had always wanted to do the right thing. The Ravagers, on the other hand, did not.

(She thinks briefly of Nebula, a fellow Ravager in Aleta’s faction, only a year or two her junior, and her stomach twists with guilt. They were close as children, but after a few years, Gamora outshone her, started earning the higher-paying jobs and more of Aleta’s favor.

It almost feels silly to wonder what Nebula must think of her, now that Gamora has left her behind.)

Peter turns to face her, eyebrows knitting together, jaw set. “Do you remember the stories I told you? About that famous actor from Earth on the show with the talking car.”

Gamora frowns, taking a second to remember which actor he means. Peter has mentioned the few he could recall, and the foreign names blurred together in her mind. They sat together often in the belly of her M-ship, whenever the others were asleep or ashore, passing a bottle of liquor between them. He would patiently sit with her as she needled him for stories of his home world.

Peter had been older than Gamora had been when Thanos slaughtered their people, and Peter remembered far more of his home than Gamora did of hers. She found something cathartic in Peter’s stories and retellings – a reminder that Thanos didn’t take everything from both of them – and she guarded his childhood memories with the same ferocity she used to guard her own. On those nights alone, she would wait him out until he would sigh and ask, “What do you want to know?”

She would grin with triumph, settling in and leaning forward with an overblown eagerness that sometimes made Peter reluctantly smile. She would ask about the famous figures on Terra – the women he found attractive as a child, like the woman named Milano, or the men he admired for their bravery and skill, like the one called Kevin Bacon.

And sometimes, should would ask him to sing for her, whatever he could remember, which often resulted in little snippets of songs, or half-remembered choruses and tunes. He would make her swear never to tell the others if she valued keeping all of her limbs, and sometimes, if he were feeling generous, he would take requests.

“Sing me the one about the woman and the sailor,” was Gamora’s most frequent demand. It was clearly his favorite and the one he remembered best.

Given this context, though, she thinks she has an idea, and slowly, she asks, “Zardu Hasselfrau?”

Peter takes a breath to speak, but then he stops and blinks at her. Then, his face pinches in a way that Gamora would never tell him is endearing. “Wait. Who?”

“Zardu Hasselfrau?” she repeats impatiently. “The one who fought crime?”

It takes a few seconds, but at last, Peter’s eyebrows rise in recognition. “David Hasselhoff,” he corrects.

Gamora nods slowly, accepting the correction but not entirely understanding the point of this digression. She frowns, and her lips part to ask, Why did the car talk again? but Peter raises a hand to interrupt her, offering an apologetic look alongside it.

“What I’m trying to say is...” Peter’s brow furrows after he trails off, and Gamora can see the way he carefully selects his words. Patience has never been her strong suit, but she dredges it up well enough where Peter’s involved. “What I didn’t tell you was— when I was young, I... used to pretend David Hasselhoff was my father.”

Gamora blinks, this time, arms dropping to her side. Then, with a slightly disbelieving laugh, she asks, “You what?”

“I pretended David Hasselhoff was my father,” Peter repeats, far more sheepishly. He shifts his weight from one leg to the other, head bowed, and even in the dim light, Gamora thinks she sees the faint hint of a color rising in his cheeks. He takes a moment to collect himself before he continues, “Whenever there were school outings or father-son events, I always felt... ashamed. My mother would try to involve herself where she could, but I was young and foolish and felt—different. Secluded. I never wanted to seem odd, so I would try to convince the other children that my father was out of town, filming or touring with his band.”

The thought of it is charming, Gamora has to admit, and a small, unbidden smile curls her lips. These days, Peter rarely lies, from what she’s seen. She’s watched him adopt roles for the sake of a job – she witnessed it firsthand on Xandar, in fact, as he charmed her into dropping her guard outside of the Broker’s shop – but aside from that, he was always honest with her. Guarded, of course, but candid and sincere when he allowed himself to be.

“Did they ever believe you?”

It’s not often that Peter laughs, but he does so now – quiet and barely there. Gamora relaxes slightly with it.

“No,” he says, his expression softening, turning slightly sad and pensive, “never, but it didn’t stop me from trying. My teacher would send me home with notes for my mother. ‘I’m concerned about Peter’s frequent fibbing. Please discuss with him the consequences of persistent lying.’ I even had this little magazine clipping of him, too. I would keep it in my backpack and show it off like it was some department store portrait, and sometimes, I would— I would imagine what it would be like, if he were my father.”

He laughs again, rueful this time, and he draws a hand down his face. Gamora can only watch for a few long moments, speechless, before he finally lifts his head to catch her gaze. “It’s pitiful, I know, but I just... For the longest time, I... I wanted that, Gamora. Someone to play catch with. Someone to go fishing with. Someone who would teach me how to tie a necktie or how to use a hammer or how to fix a leaking sink. I wanted... I just wanted a dad.”

Gamora can’t remember the last time he’s spoken like this, aside from when she was half-drunk at a bar or on the ship. Sometimes, in those moments, he would sigh with far too much patience and tell her stories about his mother. Sometimes, he would recite the plot of a half-remembered film he had seen. Sometimes, he would hum her parts of songs, voice hesitant and careful, imperfect and lovely. And sometimes, he would offer little snippets like these, vulnerable and soft, when he thought she was too far gone to remember.

And she thinks of her own father, what little she can remember of him, who had loved her with his entire being. He was so proud of her, in all things she did, like the clumsy way she would wield a practice sword or mimic his forms and exercises. He would marvel over how quickly she was growing, would tell her how much he was looking forward to seeing the beautiful young woman and formidable warrior she would soon become.

She would give anything to have that again.

She takes a deep breath and releases it between her lips. She tries to dredge up a sense of calm, even if something bristles and snaps in her, reminds her that trust must be earned, not freely given. “And you think this man might be him? Your Hasselhoff?”

The corner of his mouth twitches upward, and he shrugs with one shoulder. “I won’t know until I give it a shot, right?”

She sees again that odd, complicated emotion flit across his face, only this time, she recognizes it for what it is. Hope flickers in his eyes, something brittle and faint but there, nonetheless. It looks so foreign on Peter’s face, when usually he’s so grim, so impassive, and worry starts to percolate in Gamora’s gut.

“Peter...”

Before she can finish her warning, Peter closes the distance so quickly and silently that she hardly realizes he’s moved. He reaches across what little space remains between them, grasping her hand with both of his. “I’m not saying we go into this blind,” he says. Gamora hears a wistful note in his voice, tentative and hesitant, and her stomach twists with it. “I don’t trust this man any more than you do. I’m just saying, I would like to... try. Just for a few days.”

Gamora still hates the idea, and hates even more the idea of Peter setting himself up for what’s sure to be disappointment. She’s dealt with Ego’s type before – cocksure and self-aggrandizing and selfish – but she grudgingly admits that even she could see something sincere in his gaze, some quiet note of affection and awe whenever he set his eyes on Peter.

Apparently, Gamora is silent for too long, because Peter starts to pull away. “I can go alone. You all can stay and repair the ship while I—”

“Absolutely not,” Gamora says, and her voice is far more severe than she intends. Both of her hands wrap securely around his to keep him in place. “If you’re going, we’re going.” She pauses thoughtfully, and amends, “Actually, Rocket should stay and fix the ship, seeing as how it’s entirely his fault it’s broken.”

Peter exhales sharply with familiar exasperation, though his annoyance is belied when another rare smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, earnest and grateful. And as it does every time she witnesses one of those smiles, Gamora’s chest tightens, the breath rushing out of her lungs. She likes that smile, she’s come to realize over the weeks the team has been together; it’s become a personal mission to coax more of them from him, and she knows it’s not her imagination that he allows himself to smile more, these days.

At last, she feels herself relenting, shoulders dropping a little as she lets out another breath. His hands are warm against hers, solid and calloused. “And if it doesn’t work? If it turns out he’s trying to trick us?”

Peter shrugs again. “We’ll kill him.”

Like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Gamora presses her lips together, swallowing down a laugh, and she slowly glances down at their joined hands. Apparently, Peter only seems to realize what he’s done once she draws attention to it. This time, Gamora is more comfortable about letting him slowly pull back, even if he does so self-consciously, and he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Fine,” Gamora says after a few breaths, and she rubs at her brow, pretending not to notice the way his expression brightens with relief. “Fine, but I want it on record that I don’t like this.”