#and i never know how safe texts are since they were still monitoring her phone after she was 18

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

Love how me and my cousin don't really know how to talk to each other so we just play 8ball pool over facebook

[whitenoisewrites]

True Pacifist part 5. Huge apologies for the massive gap. Stuff just kept happening. First it was uni assessments, then family stuff, then a bunch of general life things, and it all just piled up. Combined with how big a project this has turned into, I just couldn't find the time or energy for quite a while. I've been chipping away at it where and when I can though, and I've finally got another chunk ready.

As always, big shoutouts to @karmaspidr. Don't forget to check out the Official Guidebook on Ao3, and the Official Desert Sanctuary Blog, full of dialogues, interactions, hypotheticals, and other supplementary materials. And perhaps the occasional meme, for flavour.

Now then. Last time, we managed to convince Clover to let us out of Sanctuary. We made our way back to Hotland, where Dr. Alphys' Lab awaits...

-------

Even in the dark, it's obvious the Lab is a mess. You still can't interact/examine things in the dark, but the bowls and notes are strewn about the desk rather than being stacked on it. The surveillance monitor is off. The dog food bag is still present. Alphys will emerge from the "bathroom" and turn the lights on as normal, but her overworld sprites no longer smile, and some stains are visible on her lab coat. Her talk sprites also rarely smile, even nervously. Most of Alphys' dialogue will have a neutral or downcast/depressed expression.

On Alphys seeing us in the lab:

"Oh. It's... it's you."

...

"You're trying to get through to see the king, right? Don't worry, I couldn't stop you if I tried. And I know better than to try."

...

"Hotland's pretty dangerous though. I would've thought you'd rather stay in Sanctuary with the rebels. But then I got the call from her. I have to keep you safe. Make sure you get to New Home in one piece."

...

"It's stupid, honestly. What do they expect me to do for you that they couldn't do better?"

...

"You probably guessed by now, but I'm Dr. Alphys, King ASGORE's Royal Scientist. And no, I won't tell you why I'm helping the rebels."

Alphys: "Just know that if anything happens to you, I'm done for. So, no need to worry about me screwing you over. No more than I already have, anyway."

Alphys: "What's with that look? Surely you know what I mean. I created Mettaton. I made him famous. Famous enough to get filthy rich. Rich enough to hire his own mercenaries. Mercenaries that will stop at nothing to get a human SOUL for him. Mercenaries that were starting to get sick of trying to break into Sanctuary. Mercenaries that now have a much easier target. You. Every awful thing that's about to happen to you is all my fault."

...

Alphys: "I'll still try to help you, of course. But when I fail... you'll get hurt. You might even die. Especially if Mettaton decides to come after you himself. And he'll have plenty of chances. The elevators are almost always under heavy guard nowadays. Which means you'll have to take the long way. And since I can't be seen with you, we need some other way for me to try and guide you. You have a phone, right?"

*You show Alphys your phone.

Alphys: "What the... where did you even get that? I haven't seen that model in ages. Here, let me see if I can..."

(Alphys upgrades your phone)

Alphys: "There. You should be able to send and receive texts, and access your Storage Box remotely. I gave you access to mine too, just in case you need more space. I never use it anyway. I did have to make you an UnderNet account though. And... I had to add myself to your friends list too. Sorry. It's the only way to lend you my Storage Box like that. Don't worry, you can just remove me when you're done with it."

(Ping!)

Alphys: "...that's the UnderNet alert tone. But, I didn't send you anything yet..."

*You check your phone.

*METTATON has sent you a Mortal Enemy Request.

Alphys: "No... how did he...? Unless... oh. Oh, no!"

(The lights turn off.)

"OHHHH, YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES, TO A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE OF..."

(The lights turn on, revealing Mettaton's Quiz Show setup.)

Mettaton: "METTA-TRIVIA! THE UNDERGROUND'S NUMBER 1 QUIZ SHOW! I'M YOUR HOST, METTATON! COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM THE HOTLAND LAB WITH THE EVER-ELUSIVE DR. ALPHYS, AND TONIGHT'S CONTESTANT... THE NEW HUMAN!"

(Applause)

Mettaton: "BUT BEFORE WE BEGIN, A BIG SHOUT-OUT TO THE GOOD DOCTOR! IF SHE HADN'T FRIENDED THE HUMAN ON THE UNDERNET, I MIGHT NEVER HAVE FOUND THEM! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP, DARLING!"

Alphys: "B-but-"

Mettaton: "NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW! THE RULES ARE SIMPLE, LITTLE HUMAN. ANSWER CORRECTLY..."

(Dramatic pause...)

Mettaton: "OR YOU DIE!"

*Mettaton attacks!

Unlike canon, getting zapped enough times will kill you. Getting zapped removes 1/4 of your max HP, rather than 1/2 your current HP.

Alphys is still present in the battle, but only helps you from Question 4 onwards. Her gesture when you answer right is also changed from a thumbs up to wiping her brow in relief.

-Question 1 (the prize) is unchanged.

-Question 2 (the King's name) has "Asgore Dreamer" as option D. The correct answer is still option C, "Asgore Dreemurr."

-Question 3 (what robots are made of) has "Steel & Steam" as option C. The right answer is still B, "Metal & Magic."

-Questions 4-6 (trains, flies, "memory game") are unchanged.

-Question 7 (smooch a ghost) is replaced:

Mettaton: "LET'S TALK POLITICS!"

"Q: Who is the leader of Sanctuary?"

A- Mayor Ketsukane: (Wrong) "DON'T FEEL BAD, EVERYONE FALLS FOR THAT ONE! I THINK EVEN SHE'S STARTED TO BELIEVE IT!"

B- Sheriff North Star: (Wrong) "PFFT, DOESN'T HE WISH!?"

C- Ambassador Clover: (Correct) "MY, YOU ARE A SAVVY ONE, AREN'T YOU? YOU'D MAKE A FINE AMBASSADOR YOURSELF, IF YOU WEREN'T ABOUT TO DIE!"

D- Captain Undyne: (Wrong) "EXCUSE YOU? I'M THE ONE WHO TELLS THE JOKES AROUND HERE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

-Question 8 (letters in the name) is unchanged.

-Question 9:

Mettaton: "GET READY, HUMAN! HERE COMES THE LAST QUESTION! GET THIS ONE RIGHT, AND YOU'LL WIN THE MOST FABULOUS PRIZE OF ALL... A FEW MORE PRECIOUS MOMENTS OF LIFE!"

"Q: In the dating simulation video game, 'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie', what is Mew Mew's favourite food?"

All four answers are incorrect. When you pick one (or run out of time), Mettaton zaps you down to 1HP.

Mettaton: "OH, NO! OUR POOR CONTESTANT TRAGICALLY STUMBLES AT THE LAST HURDLE! YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO SURVIVING! BUT NOW, YOUR SOUL IS AS GOOD AS-"

Alphys: "That's cheating!"

Mettaton: "OH? LOOKS LIKE OUR SPECIAL GUEST HAS A COMPLAINT! WELL, THAT WON'T DO AT ALL! WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM, DOCTOR?"

Alphys: "None of the options were the right answer! Mew Mew's favourite food is snail ice cream! Ever since the fourth chapter of the first VN! You can't just have a quiz show that's impossible to win! It's... it's not fair!"

Mettaton: "...HMM. ACTUALLY, YOU HAVE A POINT THERE."

Alphys: "I-I do?"

Mettaton: "OF COURSE! AFTER ALL, HOW DO YOU INJECT DRAMA AND TENSION WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THE STORY WILL END? WHAT WE NEED... IS A TWIST! HUMAN, HOW ABOUT A NEW FINAL QUESTION? ONE THAT OUR FRIEND HERE CAN VERIFY IS FAIR?"

-Question 10:

"Q: Who does Alphys have a crush on?"

Alphys: "You... you wouldn't!"

Mettaton: "WHAT'S WRONG, DARLING? THIS ONE'S FAIR AND SQUARE, NO TRICKS! AND AS PROMISED, IF THEY GET IT RIGHT, I'LL LET THEM GO... FOR NOW. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? GO ON, HUMAN. GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!"

A- Undyne: "IT'S A CLASSIC TALE, ISN'T IT? AS ROMANTIC AS IT IS TRAGIC. THE SMART, SHY SCHOLAR, DREAMING OF THE STRONG, STRAPPING SOLDIER. BUT ALAS, BOTH ARE TOO DEDICATED TO THEIR WORK FOR SUCH FRIVOLITY. UNDYNE IS ALWAYS BUSY PLOTTING THE REBELS' DOWNFALL, AND ALPHYS IS BUSY WITH... WHATEVER IT IS SHE DOES WHEN SHE'S SHUT UP IN HERE ALL DAY. WILL OUR POOR, NERDY HEROINE EVER MUSTER THE CONFIDENCE TO CONFESS? OR WILL SHE FOREVER PINE FOR A LOVE SHE CANNOT HAVE? OH, THE INJUSTICE OF IT ALL!"

B- Asgore: "ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS. YOU REALLY SHOULD KNOW BETTER. WORKPLACE ROMANCES NEVER WORK OUT. STILL, I CAN'T REALLY BLAME YOU. HAVE YOU SEEN OUR KING YET, HUMAN? THAT LUSTROUS GOLDEN MANE. THAT BOOMING YET VELVETY-SMOOTH VOICE. THE POWER, THE PRESENCE, THE BOD! WHO WOULDN'T BE INFATUATED? WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO IMPRESS A MAN LIKE THAT? WHO WOULDN'T OUTFIT THEIR ENTERTAINMENT ROBOT WITH ANTI-HUMAN WEAPONRY IN THE HOPES OF CATCHING HIS EYE?"

C- North Star: "WAIT, WHAT? BUT HE'S... OH. OH, ALPHYS, HONEY, NO! OOOOOHHH MY, WHAT A SCANDAL! THE ROYAL SCIENTIST AND THE RENEGADE SHERIFF?! TALK ABOUT STAR-CROSSED LOVERS!"

Rather than blushing and covering her face like for Undyne or Asgore, Alphys will simply look shocked.

Alphys: "N-no! That's not, I-I mean, I would never! Not after-"

Mettaton: "OH, DO RELAX, DEAR, I'M JUST TEASING. IT'S NOT A CRIME TO FIND ONE OF THE REBELS ATTRACTIVE. DESPITE UNDYNE'S BEST EFFORTS. AND HE DOES HAVE A CERTAIN RUGGED CHARM ABOUT HIM, DOESN'T HE? EVEN BEFORE YOU GET TO JUST HOW GOOD WITH HIS HANDS HE MUST BE. ALL THOSE GUN TRICKS AND ALL THAT SHARPSHOOTING MUST MAKE FOR A VERY... DEFT TOUCH, DON'T YOU THINK?"

D- Mew Mew: "HERE'S A FUN METTA-TRIVIA TIDBIT! DR. ALPHYS TAUGHT HERSELF ROBOTICS BY REPAIRING AND REFURBISHING A LIMITED-EDITION LIFE-SIZE MEW-MEW ANIMATRONIC DOLL SHE FOUND AT THE DUMP! THAT'S RIGHT, METTATON FANS! YOUR BELOVED IDOL WOULDN'T EXIST WITHOUT OUR ROYAL SCIENTIST'S UNHEALTHY OBSESSION WITH EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE CATGIRL ANIME. OH, EXCUSE ME, 'MULTIMEDIA DOCU-DRAMA ABOUT THE HYPOTHETICAL PROPERTIES OF HUMAN-MONSTER HYBRIDS AND FUSIONS.' HOW COULD I FORGET."

All four answers are correct (or at least, Mettaton believes so. Alphys doesn't actually have a crush on Starlo, but her shocked reaction made him think she did). No matter what you pick:

Mettaton: "WELL, LOOKS LIKE THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE. CONGRATULATIONS, CONTESTANT! YOU WIN! YOU GET TO LIVE ON, AND FROLIC FREELY THROUGH HOTLAND. UNTIL YOU FALL INTO MY NEXT DEVIOUS TRAP, OF COURSE. FAREWELL FOR NOW, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! BUT STAY TUNED, WE'VE GOT PLENTY MORE DRAMA, ROMANCE, AND BLOODSHED, COMING RIGHT UP! ONLY ON MTT-TV!"

(Mettaton retreats.)

*You won! You got 0 EXP and 0 gold.

After Mettaton leaves, Alphys approaches you.

Alphys: "Are you alright? Here. I'm not the best healer, but hopefully..."

(She restores your HP)

Alphys: "I-is that better? If you're still hurt, you can grab something from the fridge. You should probably do that either way, actually. You'll probably need it."

...

Alphys: "I'm sorry. I... I wasn't thinking. I forgot Mettaton was on my friends list. So when I added you so I could share my Dimensional Box with you, he must've realised you must be near me. And since I hardly ever leave the lab anymore..."

...

Alphys: "You should probably go. He usually keeps his word, but if you take too long getting to whatever he's setting up for you, he'll get impatient. And he gets... nasty when he's impatient."

...

Alphys: "Listen, I don't-"

*Ring, ring...

Alphys: "...oh. That'll be... sorry, I need to take this. Head out whenever you're ready. I'll be in touch."

Alphys goes to the "bathroom," leaving the player to explore the lab.

With the lights on, you're able to examine and interact with things properly. If you return to the main entrance, the surveillance monitor will now be on. Rather than a live feed of you, the monitor shows Undyne's house.

*Looks like some kind of security monitor. The default setting seems to be a feed of Undyne's house.

The upper floor is mostly the same, albeit somewhat messier. The work table is not dusty, since Alphys has secretly been at work on projects for the rebels. There are also more letters on the nightstand.

*Read one of the letters?

-No:

*It's none of your business anyway.

-Yes:

*You find an open envelope from "C. Goldbell." You take out the letter...

*...it's complete nonsense. Just random jumbled letters. You put everything back where it was.

If you try to interact with the "bathroom" door:

*You can hear Alphys on the other side. You can't make out what she's saying, but she sounds upset.

Leaving the lab to the east, you'll occasionally see CORE enemies interspersed with the normal Hotland encounters. These are Mettaton's mercenaries. In the interest of game balance, they always appear alone, and deal slightly less damage when found in Hotland than in the CORE.

Alphys will text you directly rather than posting Undernet updates. Her messages will also generally be more serious in tone. Alphys will also call you less often, with most of her phonecalls being replaced with texts.

Aside from the new enemies and the tone shift, early Hotland proceeds mostly normally. Though rather than pretend to hack the laser blocking the west ship puzzle, she'll just tell you she has the access required to turn it off.

The cooking show is also mostly the same, although Alphys' phonecall to Mettaton is distinctly more tense, considering he's actually trying to kill you this time. When you go over to grab the SOUL substitute, you're actually able to grab it:

*You found a can of SOUL substitute.

Bringing it back to Mettaton:

Mettaton: "..."

Mettaton: "WHAT? WHY DIDN'T IT... ER, I MEAN, SPLENDID, DARLING! THANK YOU SO MUCH! NOW WE CAN GET STARTED ON THE CAKE! JUST BE AWARE, SOMETIMES IN THE KITCHEN..."

(Mettaton brings out a mixing bowl from under the counter, and brandishes a whisk menacingly.)

Mettaton: "...THINGS CAN GET A BIT MESSY."

*Chef Mettaton blocks the way!

The "fight" is relatively simple. Mettaton is still in his invincible box form, and ACTing has no effect. You just need to survive a barrage of ingredient and cookware themed attacks for a few turns until the cake is complete.

-For the first three turns, Mettaton will dump ingredients from above the bullet board into a giant mixing bowl below it. You need to navigate through the gaps, similar to the jetpack minigame from the normal game.

-On turns 4 and 5, the bullet board becomes extremely narrow, only allowing you to move left and right. Mettaton mixes the ingredients with a whisk, the handle of which pokes up into the bullet board repeatedly as it moves back and forth. You need to time your movements to get past the whisk when it's not poking up. The movement pattern on turn 5 is faster and more erratic.

-On turn 6, Mettaton puts the batter in the oven, which begins belching flames at you. Through turns 6, 7 and 8, the patterns gradually get denser as the heat cranks up.

-On turn 9, the oven dings, and the completed cake drops into the bullet board, potentially hitting and damaging you if you're under it.

Once it's done, Mettaton will Spare you, ending the battle.

Mettaton: "AND VOILA! A DELICIOUS, 100% VEGAN, HUMAN-SOUL FLAVOURED CAKE! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND TO MY LOVELY ASSISTANT! THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE FOR NOW! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!"

Mettaton speeds off. After he leaves, Alphys calls to check on you.

Alphys: "Are you alright? Thank goodness I managed to disable the booby trap on that can of SOUL-substitute in time. It was a close thing... take a minute to breathe, then keep moving."

Alphys: "Just ahead, there's a cliffside where you should be able to see a huge facility out in the lava flow. That's the CORE, the main power plant for the entire underground. Inside is an express elevator right up to Asgore's castle. That's where you need to get to. Good luck."

*Click*

-------

God, that chapter beat the crap out of me. Just a heads up, the rest of Hotland will probably be quite a bit less detailed. I wanna try and wrap this up sometime before I keel over from old age lmao. Anyway, hopefully there won't be quite as big a gap between this part and the next. Take care for now.

Desert Sanctuary AU

Post Undertale Yellow True Pacifist. Clover decides to NOT sacrifice himself. Doing so would risk bringing humanity a set closer to extinction and there is also no real guarantee it would help anyone. And Asgore still needs to pay for his crimes.

He and the others return to the Wild East. After some discussion, the Wild East declares independence from the rest of the Underground and announces that any human within their borders is under their protection.

Roles

Clover: Unofficial Leader and Human Ambassador

He's at the head of all diplomatic meetings between the Wild East and the Larger Underground. Wants both peace and justice. Is trying to prove humanity isn't bad but is constantly battling his own anger. Still plans to free the five souls. LV 3, 0 EXP

Ceroba: Official Leader

After the Wild East declared its independence, it was made into a Democracy. Ceroba is the current Mayor of the town. Had the Steamworks repurposed to help the residents of the Wild East. Still wants answers about Kanakoe.

Starlo: Head of Law Enforcement and Defence.

Takes his new role very seriously but still goes by North Star. Human-hating extremists from the Larger Underground have sneaked into the Wild East to either sabotage them or steal Clover's soul. Caught the first unlucky bastard trying to kill Clover in his sleep. Doesn't want to risk that happening again.

Martlet: Scout and Mole.

Not an official resident of the Wild East. Still works for the Royal Guard but only to gather intel and have the best possible chance to find a human before someone else and bring them to the Wild East. Unsure if this is the best course of action.

[paullahotes]

Incalescent- Chapter Seven

Pairing: Paul Lahote x Fem!OC

Summary: Em just wants to be loved and have a family for once in her life. But nothing has ever gone right in her life before so why should it now?

Word Count: 5.8k

Warnings: violence, blood, confrontation, angst, vampires with red eyes and terrible fathers

A/N: Listen, I don’t think I’m a good writer so this could be terrible! Let me know what you guys think of it!

There was no arguing when I woke up in Emily and Sam’s living room that I would be staying with them until it was decided that I was safe enough to go home. My nose was healed and I was in fresh clothes. My book bag was on the floor beside the couch which indicated someone went back to the Cullen’s to get it from Edward's car for me. Emily was the only one in the house but I could hear a couple of wolves outside in the woods, keeping watch. The look on Emily’s dared me to argue with her about it. Her lips pressed into a line and creases lined her forehead as she put her foot down and insisted that she had already made up the guest room.

“Paul and I are done letting you have a choice. We will not let you get hurt anymore and I know you think the wolves cannot protect you but they can. I don’t give a damn about your father at this point, hell even I could kill him with my bare hands right now…” Emily ranted on for a half hour before Sam came home and made her go easy on me. I waited, practically holding my breath for Paul to show up for dinner but he never did. Emily, Sam, and I sat quietly at the table eating the delicious food Emily had made.

Sam laid out the detailed plans for monitoring Bella’s house. They were already doing shifts around the reservation to keep their people safe and the added shifts at Bella’s stretched them thinner than ever before. Emily looked worried as she stared up at Sam while he helped her with the dishes. He looked so exhausted that he could pass out at any minute. His light snoring sounded from their shared room not too long later only for him to leave after only two hours of sleep. 

That night I lay in bed with the blankets off to the side unable to sleep. Between the nap earlier and everything going on with my dad, Paul, and the Cullen’s, sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. Plus, I could hear Emily’s labored breathing from her room and the angry tossing and turning she had been doing ever since Sam left for his shift at Bella’s. He wouldn’t be back for a whole day because after Bella’s he would be leading a shift around the reservation. 

Even though I knew I should still keep my distance from Paul I couldn’t help but take my phone out and text him. I tried to sound casual but I needed to know how he was doing and if anything was happening that I should be made aware of. My brain told me that I didn’t need to see him but my heart was begging for me to ask him to come to see me when he had time. So sent that in a text to him as well. I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I saw his face even if he was upset with how I had been lately. Deep down I knew he understood, he always understood whether he liked it or not. 

My phone lit up after a few moments causing my heart to skip a beat as I thought about being able to see Paul or at least talk with him for a few minutes. His message was brief, telling me he was fine and there was no news to report. Short and to the point. There was no emotion and that I knew was warranted. A follow-up message came a few minutes later that said ‘if you want to see me I am patrolling the beach for the next hour’. I needed no encouragement as I scrambled to get clothes on and rush out the door.

It was a surprisingly clear night. Millions of stars shined above my head and the half moon was perched in the middle of the sky. My run to the beach was short but I was able to hear the quiet rustle of the trees around me and the little critters that scurried around inside and around them. I didn’t have to have enhanced vampire vision to see Paul in his wolf form walking along the beach. He was so big as a wolf that I would bet astronauts could see him walking along the beach, illuminated in the moonlight, all the way in space. 

His head turned toward me as I stopped running to slow down as I reached the sandy part of the beach. The waves were crashing on the shore and against the cliffs in a calming way. If it were safe I would be able to fall asleep right here on the beach with Paul, enjoying the calming effects. 

Paul didn’t bother running into the woods to phase back into himself or change, instead, he just did it right in front of me as I got closer to him. Heat rose to my cheeks as I tried to look away in time. Realizing how badly I wanted to look made my cheeks burn worse and I practically rolled my eyes at how silly I felt.

“You look exhausted, Em,” was the first thing out of Paul’s mouth as he walked over to me and cupped my face to make me look at him. I could say the same thing as his eyes were practically ringed like a raccoon. 

“Oh you know, just my life being extremely taxing,” my tone joking and hopefully nonchalant. The conversation ended there as Paul scooped me up, a habit that he had picked up lately, one that I wanted to complain about but I knew that I really liked it. He walked us over to the same log we sat against during our first time on this beach together. The memory of our first kiss played in my head, making my heart start to race. If we weren’t so out in the open I could be convinced to recreate it but the fear that my father would see it haunted me.

Paul’s warm body wrapped itself around me as I sat between his legs with his arms caging my head against his bare chest. We sat like this for a while, our breathing eventually matching. 

“Are you doing anything Friday night that would prevent you from coming to a bonfire?” Paul asked out of nowhere. I tilted my head so I could look up at his face. He turned to look down at me, the moonlight outlining his perfect jawline and nose curve. My lips parted as I tried to give him an answer but when he looked perfect like he did right now I found thinking of anything else hard. A small smirk made its way onto his lips, making my eyes glue themselves to them.

“I, uh, think I am free. However, I have a project to work on with Bella. But we should be done sometime during the week,” the thought of having to even see Bella again made me upset. No doubt Edward would want to be there and with everything up in the air about my father's involvement with Victoria things were bound to be awkward. 

“Bella will be coming as well, the Cullen’s need a day to go and hunt. There will be no conflict for you and I would really like it if you came. They will be telling the tribes legends and there is a lot you need to hear,” the last part of his words came out stern. The look he gave me begged me not to make an excuse not to go. What harm could come from a bonfire anyway?

“Do I get to watch you eat twenty-three hot dogs?” I teased, scrunching my nose up in fake disgust. His chest rumbled with laughter against my cheek.

“If you’re lucky I’ll save you a couple,” the laughter made our faces get incredibly close, lips almost touching, our noses brushing. Paul’s eyes got soft as he looked down at me waiting for me to make a move.

“How about you walk me back to Emily’s and you can come into my room for a little bit? No one will be able to see us in there,” I murmured getting closer, practically begging him to kiss me. The electricity between us right now made it almost impossible for me to think about what my father or his friend might be seeing. If I wasn’t careful I would be full-on making out with Paul in the middle of this beach within seconds. My restraint was wearing thin as Paul let out a groan, his eyes closing.

“You’ll let me kiss you if I come in?” he whispered his lips fully against mine now. I nodded, reluctantly pulling my face away from him. In seconds he had me on my feet, yanking me alongside him back to Emily’s house. Behind the closed door of the guest room that I was currently inhabiting, Paul and I fell into a comfortable place that I hoped remained private. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Emily had heard me bring Paul in that night. She didn’t leave out any details the next morning at breakfast with Leah and Sam either. I had to sit across from her as she detailed every giggle, every whispered conversation, and her admiration of the fact that “Paul left to go back to patrol before any real funny business happened.” 

“Huh, I only ever left after the funny business,” Same joked, kissing Emily chastely on the cheek. Leah pretended to be sick from her end of the table, while I rolled my eyes and pushed my eggs around my plate. They were all so sure they could protect me from my father that they had no problem openly talking about Paul and me over breakfast. 

Paul was probably getting sick of how hot and cold I was being with him. He had texted me the next day about the time we had spent together and I had ignored him. There had been a knot in my stomach ever since waking up that morning, a bad feeling I couldn’t shake. Ignoring Paul made the knot worse but in a different way. The guilt of continuously hurting him was eating at me. 

The last few days had gone by slowly, each day of school dragging on longer than the last. Teachers had stopped calling on me. While my answers weren’t rude they weren’t the sort of things they had been looking for. Every day after school I had gone to Bella’s house to work on our project. Edward had decided it was best for him to stay out of the house while I was there but still be within hearing distance. 

Last night a storm had blown through unexpectedly and Edward practically broke Bella’s door down thinking I had done it. He walked in to me sipping some hot chocolate Bella had made for us, a peace offering for Edward being so overbearing. Charlie, Bella’s father had grown to love me quickly, sat in the living room mumbling about how Edward couldn’t leave Bella alone with anyone. An irritated look crossed Edward's face as we both picked up what Charlie was saying. I could tell that the two of them still didn’t like me or at the very least did not trust me but Bella was trying her best. 

“Everyone seems to be fine having me around except for Bella and your family,” I muttered lowly, too low for Bella to hear but high enough for Edward to hear and clench his jaw. 

“They clearly have no instinct for survival,” he hissed back through clenched teeth. Bella was writing something down, none the wiser to our little spat happening. Charlie came into the kitchen to put away his dishes. They sat in the sink untouched as he turned and assessed the room. Edward and I were glaring at each other while Bella continued working, not minding anything.

“Do I sense a little tension?” Charlie asked, looking at me with hope in his eyes. Maybe he was hoping that my distaste for Edward would drive a wedge between him and Bella. Charlie had no idea that Bella disliked me as well, he was completely in the dark about everything. It made me sad to think about it. Since getting to know him, I knew he was a great guy just trying his best at being a dad. Something I had never seen from my father. 

“Oh no, my dazzling personality has been hard for Edward to digest,” I joked, making Charlie smirk and Edward's frown deepen. “He’s just jealous that I swooped into town and now everyone seems to be mesmerized by me and not him.”

“You know what,” Charlie began, wiping a tear from his eyes and letting his laughter die down. “You can come around here any time, I like you!”

“I like you too, Charlie!” I beamed back at him. He shook his head at Edward as he left the room, still chuckling to himself.

Edward’s mood never ceased. Bella and I tried to finish the project quickly but our teacher seemed to have it out for her and Edward and had given us the most complicated project. Even with an outline assigned and sections getting done methodically it took hours. There would unfortunately be another night of work to be done.

Tonight was clear, not a single cloud in the sky. The sun was shining brighter than I had ever seen it since moving to Forks. My mood was much the same. My mind was filled with thoughts of seeing Paul at the bonfire tonight. We had kept our distance since the night we spent in the guest room of Emily’s, seeing each other in passing during meals. A part of me wished we hadn’t been keeping our distance. I knew he would love to hear about the little exchange I had had with Edward, I could practically see the smirk popping up on Paul’s face. The same small smile would play at the corner of his mouth if we made eye contact but quickly turn into a look of nervousness. 

We had finally finished our project when Edward showed up, choosing to stay inside the safety of his car with windows tinted so no one could see him sparkling. As we packed into the car and started to drive to the treaty line where Jacob was going to pick us up clouds began to filter in. Nothing suggesting a storm but enough to make my happy mood falter. 

There had not been a whisper from my father since the night in the woods. I knew better than to think he didn’t know the wolves had come to help me. He probably even knew about me and Paul at the beach. There had been no sign of him for the wolves either. The silence from him was louder than if he had contacted me. It had been eating at me, in the back of my mind, since that night. Each day spent with the pack or with Bella seemed to bring the fear of him to the forefront of my mind. The good mood I had been in earlier with the sun out was completely gone. 

“Maybe they’ll cancel the bonfire if it starts to storm, it’s not looking good out there,” Edward murmured to Bella. She hummed in response, staring back at Edward with complete adoration in her eyes. 

Did part of me hope the bonfire was canceled? If I did have the powers the Cullen’s seemed to think I had maybe I could force my hand and make the bonfire canceled. The thought brought a pang of sadness to my stomach as I remembered how excited Paul was for me to hear the tribe's history finally. I had already hurt Paul enough over the short time that I had known him and even if I did have the ludicrous powers I would never sabotage tonight.

The exchange at the treaty line was awkward at best. Both Edward and Jacob overdid it with their displays of affection which led me to walk away instead of taking a ride into the reservation with Jacob. He probably wanted to be alone with Bella anyway. Within a few minutes, I found myself at the beach sitting with Leah and her girlfriend. Iris. Paul and the rest of the pack were down the beach kicking around a soccer ball, laughing heartily. With one final kick from Paul, a goal was scored making him shout with happiness and beat at his chest with one hand, gloating. 

“Actually, I am named after a goddess,” Iris announced, breaking me out of my thoughts. Whatever she and Leah had been discussing was lost on me. Leah smiled and beamed up at Iris. The sun was peaking out again, making Iris's dark brown skin shine with golden flecks under its rays. If I couldn’t hear the blood pumping through her veins, I might mistake her for a vampire with how sparkly she was. They made a gorgeous couple. 

“Makes sense, since you are of ethereal beauty,” Leah murmured against Iris’s lips. They giggled into the kiss, becoming so intimate that I turned my entire body away. They were sitting against the log that Paul and I frequented when we came to the beach. My cheeks flushed when I looked over to where Paul had been, realizing he was making his way over to me. His eyes were fixed on my face, a small smirk on his lips. 

“I think that log has magical powers that make people want to kiss,” he commented loudly as if he had read my mind. Leah and Iris laughed from behind me as I had to avert my eyes from Paul. I pretended to admire the sunset as he plopped himself next to me. 

“Do you agree, Em?” Leah asked in a taunting tone. Paul nudged me with his arm and wagged his eyebrows when I looked back at him.

“Mmm, I don’t think so. I’ve never kissed anyone worthwhile on the log,” I joked shrugging my shoulders and making myself look sad. Paul scoffed at my answer and dramatically pouted his bottom lip while Leah let out a bark of a laugh. I couldn’t help the giggle that erupted from my mouth, it bubbled up even through my hand that I slapped over my lips to try and stifle it. 

“You’ll be sorry later when you’re practically begging me to kiss you and I won’t,” Paul whispered in my ear, having gotten closer to me when I was distracted with trying to stop laughing. I stared up at him, trying to come back with a remark that would wipe the smug look off his face but the sun was hitting him just right. A battle raged in my brain as I tried to decide whether I liked him better in the sun or the moonlight. Both had their advantages. 

While Paul and I stared at each other, Sam called Leah and Iris over to play soccer with them since Paul had ditched. There were quiet words exchanged about Paul and I being distracted but neither of us acknowledged them. Eventually, I looked away and leaned into Paul, and watched the sunset. Beautiful golden rays blazed across the water in front of us. The waves usually crashed harder on the beach but their current momentum was slow and calming. 

“You gonna fall asleep on me, Princess?” Paul asked quietly, bringing a hand up to my chin to tilt my head back to him. I shrugged slowly, my eyes feeling heavy. The truth was, I had been about to fall asleep but the appearance of my favorite nickname woke me up. 

“Mmm, your heart sped up. Do you like being called Princess, Princess?” he asked, leaning down so his lips were almost touching mine. His breath fanned over my face making my lips twitch, wanting to lean forward and breach the small space left between us. 

“Maybe,” I whispered to him, almost losing the last shred of resolve I had in me. His eyes hardened as he looked at me, waiting for me to make the move. When I didn’t move he licked his lips. We were still so close that his tongue brushed against my bottom lip, the lip that was currently trembling with exertion as it took everything in me to not lean forward. 

“You’re so fucking frustrating sometimes,” his voice was different than it had been before. What was once a whisper had turned into something deeper, huskier. He sounded like he had just woken up and ran a marathon at the same time. His chest was heaving against my back, the bare skin giving off waves of heat that I could feel through my hoodie and shirt. 

“You’re the one teasing me out in the open where anyone could see,” his mood immediately changed with my words but he didn’t move away. Instead, he cupped my face and smashed his lips against mine. The fire that had lit up his eyes was now not a thought in my mind. His arms maneuvered me to where we were now chest to chest with him leaning over me as I braced my back against the log. 

“I don’t give a damn who sees. If anyone wants to try and stop it, I dare them,” his brief speech was over quickly and he was back to kissing me. This time his lips were softer against mine, more loving. Both of his hands were gently cupping my face, thumbs caressing my cheeks. My entire body felt hot, my chest now heaving almost worse than Paul's had been before the kiss. Everything felt too good to be real.

“So Princess, do you like name or what,” Paul chuckled from behind me. I blinked rapidly trying to figure out how he got back into the position we had been in before kissing. My cheeks burned as I realized I had fantasized about the whole thing. Paul’s chest rumbled behind me. “I’m going to take your red face and fast heartbeat as a yes, Princess.”

“Yeah, I like it,” I mumbled back, letting him believe that that was why my face was red and my heart was practically bursting from my chest. The sun had almost completely set during my little daydream and everyone was packing up from the beach, heading to wherever the bonfire was going to take place. 

“We should get going, I don’t want to miss the food,” my feet never even had the chance to hit the ground as Paul swung me up into his arms and began carrying me through the woods toward wherever the bonfire was happening. 

This was something I had never had the privilege of experiencing. Everyone was gathered around a huge fire, laughing, and sharing hoards of food. Paul ended up only eating half the amount of hot dogs he had boasted about, a nervous look on his face. At first, he had said his stomach didn’t feel right but between me and the entire pack yelling at him to eat, me in a softer voice than everyone, he ate a few hot dogs and some sides. 

“Why do you look so worried?” I asked thickly, through a bite of my second hot dog. He shrugged and told me not to worry. Leah was just now making her way back from dropping her girlfriend off, clearly, she was not in the know of the supernatural yet. Bella and Jacob had arrived just before her, getting heckled by Seth who followed him around like a lost puppy. 

Despite the fire raging in front of me, a chill ran through my body. Paul noticed and went from sitting in front of me to sitting under me with his arms wrapped around my torso. Something hung in the air between us that made my nerves light up. Paul never seemed to worry about everything. He was always the most secure person in the room. Everything he said or did was with finality and sureness. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again, quietly. We stared into each other's eyes for a minute before he kissed the tip of my nose and smiled at me.

“More than okay, Princess,” he assured me. A silence ran through the group and I noticed a man in a wheelchair making his way toward the head of the circle, next to Sam. Emily sat with them a pad of paper and pen in hand like she was ready to take notes on what we were about to hear. Paul sat up stiffer and his arms tightened around my waist. 

“There has always been magic in blood,” the man in the wheelchair began. He went into great detail about the first Spirit Warrior, Taha Aki, in their tribe. It was fascinating to hear their history with so much attention to detail. To my knowledge, there was no history for vampires like there was for wolves. 

You could tell in the way this man spoke that although he himself was not able to transform into a wolf, he held great pride for his tribe and the wolves among it. He talked in a deep voice that captivated me as he described how his people went from Spirit Warriors to shapeshifters and how this magic helped them keep their tribe safe from the Cold Ones. This was the most history I had heard about vampires and even that was scarce.

The story of the Cold Ones made me feel sick. Their people were innocent when the vampire couple came to their land and killed their women and Taha Aki’s only son. This made me understand the need for a treaty in place with the Cullen’s and the distaste some of the pack held for me when I first arrived. Hearing that they were fully capable of killing vampires in their wolf forms made me feel better as well. 

“Told you,” Paul whispered, mockingly in my ear as we listened to the description of the wolves tearing apart the vampires with their sharp teeth. Taha Aki’s third and true wife helped as well, sacrificing herself to distract the female vampire when she came for revenge of her mate. The use of the term ‘true wife’ made me wonder what made her, his third wife, finally be the one to be true.

“What does it mean when they say the third wife is the true wife?” A girl spoke up across the fire, taking the question directly from my brain. She was sitting next to Jared, who looked down at her with so much love pouring out of his look that I felt embarrassed looking at them. 

“The magic in our blood not only turns us into fierce wolf warriors but sometimes also shows us who our true partners are. We call it imprinting or finding our soulmates,” the man explained. I sucked in a breath as he described what it was. Paul took one hand from around my waist and began to rub lightly on my back. The man began to speak again, “I have never experienced this magic myself but I have heard it described. Once the magic in the blood is activated and you see her for the first time it is as if gravity does not exist anymore and your soulmate is the one holding you to this earth.”

“The connection is immediate, impossible to withstand. The second you lay eyes on your soulmate it is a relief and painful when you are not around them. Emily has told me it feels the same for her, though not as intense as it has been for me,” Sam explained further. Emily went to squeeze his hand as they smiled, lovingly at each other. The girl who asked the question looked back at Jared and they too shared the same look that Emily and Sam did. 

Was this the reason Paul was nervous? I could feel his eyes on me, practically burning a hole into the back of my head so I turned and looked at him. He was staring at me, eyes apologetic. I didn’t know where to begin so I settled for chewing on my bottom lip as we looked at each other. The hand that was rubbing my back came to cup my chin, thumb pulling my lip from between my teeth.

“Do you understand now?” Paul asked me in a hushed tone. This was not something I wanted to discuss with an audience that had hearing just as good, if not better, than my own enhanced hearing. I nodded at him, tears beginning to prick the surface of my eyes. Was it odd for me to cry right now? The back of Paul’s pointer finger was gently wiping the tears from my eyes before I could think too much of it. 

As the information sank in, I laid my head in the crook of Paul’s neck. He stayed silent, breathing even, as he stroked my hair to try and comfort me. The stories were over and everyone went back to chatting or laughing hysterically, goofing around the fire. A few people left, including Jacob and Bella, a reason was said but I wasn’t paying attention.

My mind was conjuring up images of the future and what it could look like. I was an unaging, vampire. The reality was I was going to live forever but how long did Paul have? This was something that had been in the back of my mind since meeting him and the rest of my friends. One day they would all be gone and if Paul was really my soulmate, like the magic in his blood said, then I would never find happiness after him.

“How about we get out of here?” Paul suggested, giving a small kiss to the top of my head. “My dad is out of town for the weekend with some friends if you wanted to crash at my place. We have the stuff to discuss, I think it would be best in private.”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” I replied to him, not daring to look up at him. The thought of him dying and me living on was gutting me as we spoke. The thought gnawed at my insides and we walked hand-in-hand to his house. The night air was fresh as I continuously inhaled deeply trying to ground myself. The hand that Paul held began to clam up, to the point where I knew that he knew I wasn’t doing well.

“Em,” his voice startled me. He sounded worried from beside me and that’s when I realized the wind had picked up around us. The once starry night was now pitch black and foreboding. Thunder crashed in the distance, the sky illuminating periodically with lightning.

I couldn’t feel Paul’s hand in mine anymore. The dark sky seemed to bleed into every place I tried to look. Panic coursed through me as I tried to look around for Paul. Where was he? He had just been standing next to me, trees surrounding us. Now I stood in pitch black. The only reprieve from the dark was bolts of lightning shooting across the sky, getting closer to me.

 “EM!” Paul shouted directly into my face. He sounded so scared and the thought that I was scaring him made me blink, trying to get my vision back. After a second I felt his hands gripping my shoulders, shaking me. Blink. Blink. Blink. His face was suddenly there in front of mine. 

“Paul,” my voice barely came out, as I tried and begged my mind to cooperate with me.

“Em, I need you to calm down. Whatever it is, I will help you. I will fix it,” he pleaded with me. His eyes darted to the side, lighting striking only a couple of feet away from us. “Please, Em, I think you’re making the storm happen. It’s getting closer to us. Please, try and take a breath.”

“The lightning?” that didn’t make sense to me. Nothing was making sense. Goosebumps were erupting all over my body. A cold sweat beading on my forehead and the back of my neck. Paul was going to die. My friends were all going to die. Whether it be at the hands of my father or the hands of old age. My mind couldn’t focus on anything else. 

“Princess, please,” Paul pleaded again but it was useless. My vision went black as I felt my body start to give way and slump to the ground. 

______________________________________________________________________________

“You agree with us then?” Edward hissed from somewhere near me. I could barely hear them, my eyes refusing to open. My body felt drained but I was warm despite having been caught in a storm with Paul.

“I never wanted to press it with her because I don’t know how vampire abilities work or how she’s only half of one…” Paul began, sounding lost. His voice was laced with worry, each word coming out more hoarse than the last. 

“She’s not a threat, Edward,” Carlisle was here too. I couldn’t say where that was but I never imagined Paul interacting with them. Something bad must have happened to get them talking. My heart started pounding in my chest as my father popped into my mind. It was easy to assume that he could be the reason I was so worn down I couldn’t even open my eyes and the reason Paul was interacting with vampires when he hates them.

“Her werewolf boyfriend just told us he thinks she can control the weather, including lightning and you’re telling me she’s NOT a threat?” Edward sounded almost hysterical as he spoke. He was pacing around the room, the light thud of his footsteps sounding loudly in my ears. 

“I don’t think she knows she has the powers. From what Paul has told us about her dad and that situation it confirms when she told us, that she knows the bare minimum about this life,” Carlisle’s voice was quiet, reassuring, and clipped at the end, making it clear to Edward how he felt about this. 

“We’re supposed to trust a wolf?” Edward scoffed, his tone made me want to smack him across the room but my body still was not cooperating with my brain.

Carlisle sighed, “you can read his thoughts, so you know what he’s saying is the truth. You also know about how serious an imprint bond is which means she would have told him everything she knows, whether she intended to or not.”

“Of course,” Edward sighed, defeated. His footsteps grew fainter with each this of his feet on the ground. Carlisle began to speak again, something about having a full vampire power but being only half a vampire taking more energy out of me, but I didn’t hear the specifics as I drifted off to sleep, again.

[primofate]

Headcanon

I’m also a big fan of My Hero Academia, so I hope you don’t mind if I post some of that here!

Scenario: An accident happens, he’s your emergency contact

Warning: Angst. Swearing. Injury. Hospitalization. Tears. Slight comfort. not proofread.

Characters: gn!reader x Deku, Todoroki

Want more? Here’s the masterlist:

https://primofate.tumblr.com/masterlist

Pro-hero Deku

“A-are you sure? I’m really sorry about this,”

Is probably the most apologetic that work called just as you were both walking back home. 

Keeps on thinking he might make it in time if he took you into his arms, ran to your front doorstep and then ran to work.

“Izu-kun, it’s fine, nothing’s gunna happen, I’ll text you when I’m home safe, I promise.” you say to him (and how wrong you were)

It wasn’t a villain. It was just a drunk driver swerving down the street, hitting the road railings and ramming straight into you. 

Deku keeps on checking his phone in the middle of his meeting to see if you’ve messaged him, as you promised.

When his meeting ends and there was still no message from you, he gets quite antsy.

“...Should I call them? But what if they’re just busy? No... they would’ve stuck to their promise... They never break their promises...”

Starts blowing up your phone on his way home, and when he doesn’t get an answer he starts panicking big time, biting his thumb. 

Sighs, it’s nearly 1 am. Contemplates going back to your place just to knock on your door when he gets a call from an unknown number.

“Hello? Is this... Midoriya-san? This is calling from Koyuki General Hospital, you’re listed as one of the emergency contacts for Y/N-san... Hello...? Hello?”

“Coming! I’m coming!” He had scrambled up as soon as he heard it was the hospital, fumbled with getting dressed and was running full speed, trying to flag down a taxi. Decides to use his quirk instead. “Are they okay? Please tell me they’re okay,” He pants into the phone, barely even hearing what the nurse had said.

“Well...” the nurse hesitates, and instead says “We’ll talk about their condition when you arrive,”

Curses under his breath and keeps on berating himself for not walking you back home. 

Nurse says that you’ve got several broken bones and that they’ve given you the meds to ease the pain. You’re gunna have to stay in the hospital for a while.

When finally allowed to go into your room, buries his head on the hospital bed sheet and silently cries frustrated tears at your mangled form.

What the hell kind of hero is he if he can’t even take care of his most precious one?

Of course when you wake up you reassure him it was an accident, and those happen. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re in so much pain though.

“You’re gunna have to serve me while I’m bedridden!” It was just a joke, but the serious look on his face tells you that he’s gunna be there every single day. Whether you like it or not.

Pro-hero Shoto

Is in the middle of a meeting. You just saw each other this morning, he dropped you off work and you went separate ways.

Does not expect a call from the hospital at all, so when his phone rings he ignores it for a bit, since he’s in the meeting.

10 minutes later there’s another call from the same number, he looks at his phone suspiciously, finally stands to excuse himself from the meeting and picks it up.

“Hello? Is this Todoroki-san?” the nurse on the other line definitely recognizes his name.

“Yes, speaking...” he’s baffled. Doesn’t know yet he’s talking to a nurse and wonders why her tone was so formal.

“This is calling from Koyuki General Hospital, you’re listed as the emergency contact for Y/N-san, is that correct?” 

“Emergency...Contact...” he says the words out loud to try and internalize it better and it hits him like a ton of bricks. Something happened to you.

He’s outta there. Fuck the meeting.

He is confused as all hell, just this morning you were energetic and even said you’d see him tonight.

“What’s wrong? Are they okay?” phone in between his shoulder and face, fumbles with his car keys, drops it on the floor, picks it up, tries to start the engine.

“We’re still monitoring their condition, we’ll tell you more when you’re free to visit them,” 

“What do you mean--” subtly getting anxious, specially by the way the nurse is dodging questions about you. “I’m coming right now,”

Arrives tense and stressed out. 

Nurse explains you tripped and fell down a flight of stairs at work. Nothing’s broken, just a sprained ankle but you hit your head pretty hard and they’re doing scans on it. Possible memory loss. 

Runs a hand through his two-toned hair, closing his eyes with a sigh. Head injuries could be a real pain.

Paces while waiting to be allowed in. When he is, you’re obviously out cold. 

Is looking at you with his arms crossed on his chest, face twisted into a rare image of worry. The nurse said you might not wake up till tomorrow.

So, no matter how much he wants to stay by your side his logical side takes over and he knows he can’t just abandon the magazine and television interviews he had scheduled for today.

“...Please call me as soon as she wakes up,” He tells the nurse. “I want to be informed, even if it’s in the middle of the night,”

“...But we don’t allow visitors in the middle of the night, sir...and we’d rather she took a rest,”

“...Then please tell them to call me, it’s just a small request,” Is not a pushy person but he ain’t gunna give up on the opportunity to hear that you’re safe.

Nurse sees the serious look on his face and agrees to it hesitantly.

Call came in at 2:32 am. Not that he was sleeping. He couldn’t. Had just been staring at his phone.

“Shoto-kun? It’s me,” He had’t realized his whole body had been stressed and tensed for the WHOLE day and only relaxes when he hears your voice.

AND YOU REMEMBER HIM. Thank God.

“How are you feeling?”  “Mm... tired. Really bad headache too. Ah, the nurse says I can’t stay on the phone for too long,”

You can’t see it but there’s a semi-pout on his lips, promises to see you at the earliest time he’s allowed to come over.

Brings all your favourite snacks and drinks and spoils you silly until you’re discharged.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 25: Fighting Alone (Grounded)

AO3

Prev

Marinette was exhausted. Adrien’s father had sent him out of Paris for a week for some fashion show that he couldn’t be bothered to go to in person. Instead, he had Natalie with Adrien. Since Marinette herself wasn’t in Paris, she usually wouldn’t mind Adrien’s week-long trip. Except, she wasn’t in Paris. And now, neither was Chat Noir. Which means for nearly a week, she’d been sneaking out of her dad’s house at random times to do patrols in Paris. Luckily, there hadn’t been any akuma attacks. She knew her dad would be beyond angry if she was the only one to show up for an attack. And if he knew that she knew about Adrien’s absence ahead of time and didn’t ask any of her family to help? She’d been in big trouble. Even more if he knew she’d been not only going on patrol in Gotham under his supervision, but also in Paris. Getting next to no sleep. So yeah, she was ready for a nap. Just as her eyes are about to close, the shrill akuma alarm screams from her phone. Groaning, she sits up. 

“Marinette, you’re exhausted.” Tikki admonishes her, her tiny arms crossed. 

“Tikki, I have to do this. I’m sorry, and I promise I’ll sleep when we get home.” Marinette says, giving her friend a pleading look. Tikki huffs, letting her little arms drop. 

“Fine, but when we get back you are going to talk to your father and stay home from patrol tonight.” She says. Marinette frowns, but quickly agrees. It never went well arguing with the goddess of creation. 

“Tikki, spots on!” She says, letting the warmth of her transformation flow over her. She glances at Kaalki. “Ready?” She asks. The Kwami nods and Marinette combines the transformations, quickly opening a portal and dropping into Paris. She could do this. 

---

The sudden blaring of the akuma alarm breaks Bruce from his thoughts. He raises an eyebrow and quickly pulls up the newsfeed of the attack, letting it play in the background as he continues working. 

“Ladybug has just arrived on scene! No direct confirmation on the akuma’s powers yet. We just have to hope it’s a weak one today folks as it appears speculation is correct and Chat Noir is not currently in Paris.” The reporter says, making him snap his attention to the video. His jaw tenses and his phone starts ringing and flooding with text messages. No doubt the boys were also watching the video. He answers the phone as he swiftly walks towards the elevator. Work could wait. Right now he needed to get home and take the Zeta tubes to Paris. 

“Hello.” He says, not even bothering to look at the caller id. 

“How many of us are going to Paris?” Dick asks. Bruce frowns. 

“I will be going alone.” He says. Dick snorts. Bruce hits the button for the garage, shifting impatiently in the small space. He could’ve taken the stairs, but he had a reputation to uphold. He couldn’t sprint down the stairs like he could as Batman. People would talk. 

“Yeah right, B. There’s no way you’re gonna get Jay and Little D to agree to that. You know the three have been attached at the hip lately.” Dick reminds him. 

“Will you please monitor the tubes until I get there? I don’t want your brothers rushing off and doing something stupid.” He says. 

“Sure can, B.” Dick says. Bruce hangs up the phone and stares at the number indicating the floor the elevator is on. The second it switches to ‘B’, he’s prepared and storms through the door, not slowing until he’s in the car. He pulls up the news feed immediately, pushing down on the gas as he drives through the city. 

“It’s been confirmed that the current akuma has a sword and appears to be skilled with the weapon. Ladybug herself has urged citizens to remain in their homes until this battle is over.” The reporter says. Bruce curses under his breath and pushes the gas pedal down even more. Almost there. Almost there. The car alerts him to a phone call and he answers. 

“Father, why have you locked us out of the Zeta tubes?” Damian demands, his voice harsh. “The akuma has a sword, Marinette is not skilled with a sword yet.” 

“Damian, I don’t want you or Jason going to Paris. I already told Dick that I’m the only one going.” Bruce explains, pulling the car over at the front of the manor and switching the call to his cellphone as he rushes into the house. 

“Yeah B, that’s what Dick said before we tied him up. But how the hell did you lock us out of the tubes? Even Timmy can’t figure it out.” Jason says, and Bruce freezes. She wouldn’t. She…. she couldn’t, right? 

“Jason, untie Dick and have him put in my alternative password.” Bruce orders, rushing through the manor to get to the entrance of the cave. If his suspicions were right, his daughter had managed to shut down the Zeta tube in the Batcave. And maybe even halted any attempts to enter Paris. 

“Still not working, B.” Tim’s frustrated voice comes through the phone. Damnit. Bruce storms into the cave, slipping only a domino mask on. Protocol be damned, his daughter was in danger. He hangs up the phone as he storms in, walking past his sons and straight to the tube. He quickly changes the destination to the watch tower and steps through, ignoring his son’s protests. Once at the tower, he tries Paris. And then he tries again. How the hell had she managed that? He quickly returns to the Batcave, looking at his sons with a tense face. 

“Somehow, your sister has cut off the Zeta tubes’ ability to go to Paris.” He says with a clenched jaw. 

“Why the hell would she do that?” Jason asks, looking both angry and hurt. 

“Does she not trust us?” Dick asks, frowning. Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose, trying hard not to yell. He wasn’t mad at his sons. They hadn’t done anything. His youngest daughter, on the other hand. 

“I’m sure she does. But I’m also sure that this is her idiotic way of keepin all of us safe. Even if it’s a danger to her.” Bruce says, glancing at the giant computer screen where the battle was playing out live. The boys had muted it, and Bruce was glad. Glad that he didn’t have to listen to the reporter constantly mentioning that this was dangerous and that Ladybug was alone. She didn’t have to be alone. But she was, and he had no way to help her. 

---

Damian Wayne is not one to give up. He had been trained by the best of the best his entire life, and he refused to back down from a fight. Especially one where his sister was so obviously unqualified. His thoughts rush through his head as he attempts to find a different path, a different way to go and assist his sister. He nods slightly as it comes to him. This could work. 

“I will be upstairs, if you need me.” He informs his family, ignoring the questioning. They would only slow him down. He remains in his uniform though, no need to cause panic while he goes through with his plan. Once he is out of the cave, he calls out: “Jon? I require your assistance.” He walks outside the manor and stands just outside the front door, waiting for his acquaintance- friend- to arrive. 

“What’s up?” Jon asks, hovering slightly above the ground. 

“We are needed in Paris and the Zeta tubes are down. Care to join me?” Damian asks, and Jon grins. 

“Let’s go!” He says excitedly, grabbing Damian and flying away from Gotham. Damian briefly wonders if he should have told his Father his plan. After all, he had his own friend- acquaintance- with the ability to fly. Hmm. He doesn’t bother thinking on the subject long as the Eiffel tower comes into view. He scans the ground quickly, looking for the tell-tale red and black of his sister’s uniform. 

“Have you spotted Ladybug?” He asks Jon. He had shown Jon videos of previous battles, in case he ever needed assistance to find Ladybug rather than Ladybird. 

“Found her! Wanna drop in?” Jon asks. Damian nods and Jon flies over, the two landing right behind Ladybug. She whirls around, a shocked look on her face. 

“Really, Robin?” She snaps. Finally able to look at her up close, instead of through a screen, he is able to see the exhaustion on her face. And how worn down she looks. 

“You blocked the others from assisting. I had no such trouble. Now, let's finish this.” He says, pulling out his katana and shifting his position. She could be angry at him later, right now they had a job to do. 

---

“-and reckless, and totally irresponsible and-” Damian cuts off her ranting. 

“Are we still discussing my actions, or yours?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow. Marinette glares at her little brother, dropping down to sit on her bed, slouching her shoulders. She was tired. 

“There’s a reason I blocked the Zeta tubes from going to Paris during attacks, Damian.” She sighs, running a hand over her face. She cared about her brothers and her father and Cass. She really did. But while she loved them, Paris was her fight. She needed to get through the battles alone. Or with Adrien.

“No matter the reason, it was still reckless. And Father-” Damian starts, but is cut off. 

“Is very angry.” Her dad says, and Marinette winces. She turns towards her door, smiling awkwardly at her dad. 

“Hey, Dad, uh, fancy seeing you here.” She says, laughing awkwardly. 

“How long has Adrien been away?” He asks. 

“Only a week.” 

“And you have been patrolling both Gotham and Paris during that time, correct?” He asks, and she sighs. 

“Yes.” 

“I see. How much have you slept this week?” He asks. She opens her mouth to respond when Tikki zips out. 

“Twelve hours. Total.” She rats her out, and Marinette huffs at the Kwami. Traitor, she thinks, but doesn’t say it. 

“You also messed with the Zeta tubes.” He says and she purses her lips. 

“Paris is my fight, Dad.” Marinette says, standing by her decision. 

“You made it nearly impossible for any of us to help you. What would have happened if this had been another akuma that killed you? Marinette, no one would have been there to take the earrings. No one to cast the cure. You would have stayed dead, Marinette. And we would have been stuck here watching it happen, unable to protect you.” Her dad lectures her, and she can tell by the tension in his shoulders that he’s mad. Really mad. More than the Batmobile incident or the sneaking off to the Watchtower. Really, really mad. 

“But-” She starts, almost glad when he cuts her off as she didn’t really have a good comeback for him. 

“You are grounded. You have to take one of us with you to Paris when there’s an attack until Adrien returns. And you’re benched on patrol here. If you insist on patrolling in Paris while Adrien is away, you will also take one of us with you. Do I make myself clear?” He asks, and she wants to argue. She’s a hero, she knows the risks. She knows that she could handle that akuma alone and if she couldn’t, she would have brought in a temporary hero. She would’ve been fine. But then she looks at the tension in his shoulders and remembers the time that her whole family watched her die. On tv. Remembers that her dad has had to go through the death of a child too many times, even if they’d all come back (and formed the aptly named chaos trio), he’d still had to watch them die. So she decides she’ll accept the punishment, will go along with the new guidelines. If only to give her dad a little peace of mind.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[soldierswar]

Kobik - Chapter I

Bucky x Reader

(Fluff, Angst)

Plot: You and Bucky's relationship is anything but ordinary. Something that you've been used to since day one. But one day when Bucky brings home an unexpected little guest with superpowers, you reluctantly find yourself thrusted into something close to parenthood much sooner than you had ever expected to be.

Notes: I've been obsessed with Kobik and Bucky's father/daughter relationship with her since I read the Thunderbolts comics. Enjoy protective dad!Bucky.

        *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

           “I’ve got to change that ring tone,” was your first thought after your atrociously loud phone woke you up in the middle of your mid-day nap. But you always felt the need to keep it off silent when Bucky was away from you for emergency use.

           You groggily propped yourself up and picked up the phone.

           “Everything okay?”

           “Let me guess. You just woke up?”

           There were no signs of real distress in his voice. So why the hell was he calling instead of texting?

           “Mmmmm,” you groaned.

           You being an investigative journalist had just finished working on an important writing piece that took over a month and a half to write. A piece that involved multiple trips across the ocean for in-person research. So you were pretty exhausted nowadays.

           “What’s up?” you asked mid-yawn.

           “Y/N…I need you to meet me somewhere as soon as possible. At…our spot.”

           Now you began to get worried.

You and Bucky had a special secluded spot in a nearby building that had been abandoned halfway through its being built years ago. It was safe to assume that it was just another private abandoned project after the blip that was never followed up on. So you and Bucky deemed it your secret place to go to if you needed to talk about something urgent where nobody could hear or see you.

           “Are you in some kind of trouble? Do we need a lawy—”

           “No, Y/N. It doesn’t have anything to do about me…for the most part.”

           “For the most part?”

           You could suddenly hear Sam’s voice echoing in the background again.

           “How worried do I need to be, Barnes?”  

           He hesitated.

Those pauses always made you incredibly anxious, and he knew that.

           “Are you safe? Are we safe?”  

           Another pause as he swallowed nervously.

           “James?”

           “I wouldn’t have called for you to come if I didn’t think that we’d be safe.”

           You shook your head. And although he couldn’t see it, he knew you enough to know that that was exactly what you were doing.

           “You trust me?”

           “Would I have married you if I didn’t?” you sighed lightheartedly.

           “I can be there in 30, okay?”

           And before you could hang up he said those three words that almost never faltered in making you smile, even in the worst of time.

           “I love you.”

…

           Despite the fact that he said that there was nothing really to be truly worried about, you couldn’t help but feel a pulsing anxiety surge through your body. In the years that you had been together, you never really had to use your spot for any type of unexpected emergency.

           You stumbled your way to the building being careful to not fall over the chunks of broken concrete protruding from the dirt before making your way to the door that was almost completely broken off minus two feet of it from the bottom still hinged to the door frame.

           “Hey,” said a familiar voice.

You turned around to see your husband’s beautiful face. You hadn’t seen Bucky in almost a week, so when he wrapped you in his arms you had no choice but to feel nothing but comfort and warmth. But after a two-second tender moment, you snapped out of it.

           “James,” you said.

“What is this about? Why am I here?”

           Before he could say anything, you could hear  Sam’s voice in another area of the house. It sounded almost as though he were giving orders to someone. Which was then followed by the echoes of a little childlike voice…

           You shook your head and reasoned that you were either hearing things, or things were about to get really weird.

           “Bucky,” you said raising your voice and crossing your arms.

           “How bad can it be?”

           Suddenly the only sound in the house was the sound of little footsteps sprinting towards you followed by Sam’s voice.

           “Kobi—”

           And right before your eyes, there was a little girl. A little girl that couldn’t have been older than 4 or 5 years old. She was incredibly pale and had blonde – No, white hair in two high pigtails. But the strangest thing about her was her inhumanly glowing blue eyes.

           “Everything okay Buckaroo?” she asked seeming concerned about him.

           “Shit,” Sam said under his breath as Bucky gave him a death stare.

           “Kobik,” Bucky scolded lightly, crossing his arms.

           “I told you not to come out until I said –”

           “I know,” she said as her little face and shoulders fell.

           “But someone seemed mad at you. Are you okay?”

           She turned her gaze over to you and gave you a once-over as if she were scanning you to see if you were a stranger and potential threat to your own husband.

           Sam finally joined you guys looking somewhat embarrassed.

           “Sorry, I couldn’t stop her.”  

           Now you were staring at Sam giving him the “What the hell is going on?” look.

           He didn’t seem like he wanted to be the one to answer.

Great, now you had two men who didn’t want to answer any questions about the strangest looking child that you had ever seen.  

           “Kobik,” Bucky said.

           “This is my wife, Y/N.”

           Her intense stare immediately softened, which eventually evolved into a big smile, and waved at you.

           “Hi!”

           You were awestruck, and couldn’t even answer. You just turned your stunned gaze away from her and back on to Bucky.

           “Bucky…” you said under your breath.

“I’m gonna ask you again. Why am I here?”

…

           Bucky took you outside next to a pile of large concrete rocks to sit on which you were grateful for because you were feeling pretty dizzy, and even felt a little sick.

Who was she? Did he have a kid that he decided to never tell you about? Did he feel the need to take her for some reason? Those were all logical thoughts that any rational human could think up for this type of situation. Right? And also, why did the poor thing look like…the way that she did?

           But when you finally did get Bucky to talk, everything came out of his mouth exceeded anything that you could ever imagine. In fact, for a moment of time if felt as though you were watching Bucky say a bunch of nonsensical sentences pre-exploding brain aneurism.

           But the longer he continued to speak, you realized that he was serious. This wasn’t some type of psychiatric meltdown or a sick joke.

           You shook your head as he reached over to put a comforting hand on your upper arm.

           “I know it sounds crazy, Y/N but—”

           “Crazy? No,” you shuddered, pulling away.

           “Crazy would be telling me that, I don’t know, you had some kind of accident child with someone during our marriage and you’re just bringing her over to tell me for the first time.”

           He opened his mouth to say something but you shoved your index finger in his face to continue.

           “Crazy would be telling me that you found a literal child with superpowers and you just decided to take her to see what she’ll do. But you’re meaning to tell me that it’s not even a human?”

           “Y/N—”

“You’re meaning to tell me,” you said pointing to the door.

           “That I’m supposed to believe that some extremely powerful force of ‘cosmic energy’ formed itself into a little girl, and you decided to make the impulsive decision of just taking it with you?”  

           “It’s not like that, Y/N,” he replied.

           “I’ve known about her for a little over a year now.”

           You couldn’t lie, that shocked you a little bit.

           “A year?”

           “Listen,” he said.

           “A year and a half ago were investigating a situation in Norway. One thing led to another and we ended up in an underground science lab with two scientists observing some type of glowing anomaly in the shape of a cube that they were carefully monitoring and studying. Sam and I made it our responsibility to keep this hidden and make sure it stays hidden.”  

           “So what does this have to do with—”

           He stopped you from finishing your sentence.

           “Two months later they call us to fly over and it seems that overnight this glowing anomaly somehow formed itself into this little girl that calls herself Kobik.”

           If you didn’t trust him as much as you did, you would be calling bullshit at this point. You didn’t even know that these kinds of things were humanly possible. Granted, you also didn’t think it humanly possible for a bunch of aliens to pretty much destroy New York, or for another batch of aliens to come down and somehow make half of the earth’s—No, the universe’s population disappear. So you continued to listen.

           “A few days ago we get a notice that the lab’s been breached, and by the time we got there, the two scientists are dead. When we get there to check out the scene we find that the five grown men that broke in were also dead. And a minute later we found Kobik shaking all alone in a corner.”  

           Your heart broke for her for a split second. But then you let his words sink in before realizing...

           “Wait,” you said

           “You said the intruders were dead.”

           He nodded.

           “Who killed…”

           He knew that you knew that answer.

           “She had to defend herself,” he shrugged.

           “And how did she do that, Bucky? She’s tiny.”

           And that’s when you realized that there was even more to the story.

           “Once she took form, they made it their focus to study the extent of her powers along with her behaviors. She talks, plays, and overall acts like a child of the age that she took form in…But in the wrong hands she could be used and abused into being a powerful weapon.”

           “So why did you take it?” You asked.

“It obviously can defend itself.”

           He didn’t seem thrilled about you talking about it like it was an inanimate object.

           “We don’t know if it was a fluke or not. She may not know how to properly defend herself and won’t get so lucky the next time. Next thing you know she could end up in the wrong hands. And she was scared, Y/N. I…We couldn’t just leave her.”

           You stressfully ran your fingers against your scalp through your hair.  

           “So what now?” you asked.

“She’s going to just stay here? In this abandoned half build house?”  

“No.”  

“…So is Sam going to keep her somewhere?”

The longer he stared at you the dizzier you started getting, understanding what he was actually asking.

“Y/N,” he said softly.

“I’m the only one she trusts.”

His last words fell into the background as you suddenly leaned over and threw up the entirety of your lunch…maybe even breakfast.

He held your hair back until you finally stopped.

“Bucky, you’re not saying,” you croaked while wiping your mouth.

“Tell me you’re not saying that you want to take her in.”

“Y/N, she’s scared. And I’m the only one she trusts to be around.”

You shot up and involuntarily started shaking your head.

No. This was not happening. He was not bringing a lethal science experiment into our house.

The world began to spin again as you probably got up too quickly, but you were good at playing it off. Why couldn’t he just be normal and bring an abandoned puppy home or something?

Regardless, there was no way that this could happen. There was no way that you could let this happen. You didn’t know who was going to invade your house to try to come to collect it. Much worse, you didn’t know how dangerous this thing was. What it could do to either of you when you least expected. What if it…she got startled in the middle of the night and activated some type of lasers in her eyes and cut you in half?

So you said what you needed to say.  

“No.”    

“Y/N,” he replied sympathetically.

“I know that this may be a lot so suddenly but—”

“No!” you said again putting your foot down.

“We can’t…Not right now. It’s not a good time”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Damn it.

“This isn’t some abandoned puppy that you found across the road, James! You brought home this radioactive weapon that people, might I add, bad people are looking for. And they’re not even the ones that I’m scared of!”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“After all that just came out of your mouth in the past 15 minutes, you really just had the nerve to tell me that I’m the one that’s not making any sense?” you exclaimed.

“What doesn’t make any sense is that your excuse is that this isn’t the right time. What do you mean by it’s not the right time, Y/N?”

“We…I have a lot of serious shit going on right now, okay?”

“I thought you were taking time off of work,” he pointed out.

“I am, okay? It’s just…”  

You paused, you didn’t know what to say or even how to say it.

“Is there something that I need to know? What does timing have to do with anything?”

“I…well…” you stuttered.

“Spit it out, Y/N.”

You sighed in defeat. You didn’t have a choice now.

“Because damnit, Bucky!” you shouted, startling yourself by how loud you were. But there was no stopping now.

“I’m pregnant.”

[blueknightdg]

Consideration and Generosity

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

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noire, DCU

Characters: Marinette, Damian

----------

She sat on a park bench that day; the weather was hot yet, cloudy.

Despite the uncomfortable sweat clinging to her being and the buzzing noise of her surroundings, she smiled happily. She would do anything for inspiration, even endure the blistering feeling of the sun.

Soon enough it has been hours since she began to sketch and draw designs for clothing she wishes to make true.

She feels her head is off, so she takes a break to answer a text from her mother.

----------

(Mom) Marinette, are you still at the park? It's been five hours.

(Me) Yep! Just taking a break.

(Mom) Just now? It's really hot outside, have you eaten? What about water?

(Me) Don't worry! I'm fine! I stayed in the shade the whole time.

(Mom) Okay, but I want a picture of you eating.

(Me) Okay, I will. I love you!

(Mom) I love you too.

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

Marinette, packs her sketch books and other materials a way in her bag. She stands up, only to tip over onto someone walking past her.

"Hey, you-"

The person stops to keep her from falling all the way down.

"Uh... I'm sorry, I guess I should have taken a break earlier."

She tries to break a way from the strangers grip. They let her go easily. They began to walk a little further a way with a eye in her direction. She sits down again to collect herself. She takes a few breaths and thinks about how to get up without falling and embarrassing herself.

"I wish I packed a water bottle or something, I knew it was hot but I thought I would be fine....", she thought to herself.

She checked her bag in case she just forgot. Lo and behold there was a water bottle in one of the outside pockets.

"Huh....? That's strange, I was sure I......oh well.", she shrugged it off as her forgetting.

Feeling a little better, she carefully stood up. Having not fallen, she smiled and picked up her full bag. She walks in the direction of a small restaurant to eat, since she wouldn't make it home before hunger got to her.

She walked like she wasn't being followed. Casual and slow, she took in the buildings a round her. The same as her memories told her, but still just as beautiful.

Once she got to an empty table, she sat her bag down in front of her. The waitress walks up to her with a smile.

"Hello! Here is the menu, please take your time. Though I do suggest today's special! Mushroom soup with broccoli, carrots, and rice."

"Thank you."

"No problem!"

The waitress leaves her be and she focuses on the menu. It seems that this restaurant is all about healthy living.

She hums to herself as she thinks of her order. However, everything sounded wonderful and she couldn't decide. Then she heard a waitress bring someone's order of a tofu and veggie stuffed bell peppers with a side salad. So she looked over to see the meal and found that it looked delicious. She also saw they ordered tomato juice.

Looking at the menu one more time, she located the meal, drink and picked out a dessert on her own.

As soon as she put her menu down, the waitress came up to her with her pen and notepad out.

"Ready to order?"

"Yes, I would like the Tofu and Veggie stuffed Bell peppers with a side salad, tomato juice, and the vanilla, soy bean ice cream."

"Would you like a topping?"

"Yes, let's see....oh! The coconut sprinkles and strawberry drizzle."

"To repeat: Tofu, veggie stuff bell peppers, side salad, tomato juice, vanilla soy bean ice cream with coconut sprinkles and strawberry drizzle?"

"Yes."

"Okay, we will right on it!"

Marinette took out her phone as she waited. She texted her mom, that she was at a restaurant nearby. Her mom reminded her to send a picture of her eating.

A few minutes later and her food was brought to her.

"Thank you so much!"

"It's no problem, dear, tell me if you need anything!"

The waitress leaves to let her eat. She sends a picture of her food to her mom, who responded with the words 'smile and heart'.

--------

Change perspective

--------

His day was normal. He woke up and dealt with the hooligans that plagued his life. He was currently in Paris as a part of a stake out group. His family dispersed during day to do individual actives. His father wanted him near by, but he argued that he didn't need to be monitored.

His father conceded by saying he must practice being considerate of other people and to update him on how it is going and if he needs help. He was more than reluctant to agree. Regardless, he did.

He didn't like the loose nature of his apparel for the day, but had no chouce due to the heat.

Though by no means is his clothing loose in comparison to others definition. He prefers to be dignified at all times.

Most of the day, he had nothing report to his father that was particularly considerate until he notice the ragged look of a girl a round his age. She looked dehydrated and ill. He scoffs at her lack of self preservation until he notice she was immersed in some kind of sketching. He also remembered his has to be 'considerate' today so he will say she was lost to passion. After all, this is Paris, the city known for passion.

He watches her as she unconsciously squints and makes a grim expression at times. She sways ever so slightly.

In his observations, she stopped her work to look at her phone. Her condition is not well. He walks a little closer with a water bottle he bought. The moment he walked next to her and she stood, he stabilized her and slipped the water bottle in her bag as she spoke, trying to clear her head. She was drenched in sweat.

"Father better be grateful, I am being more than generous with being 'considerate', disgusting.", he thought with distain.

He hurried a way from her only to stop a short distance a way to watch her more and to sanitize his hands; to rid himself of the horrid feeling of her sweat.

The girl swayed less than before, but after updating his father of what happened, he was ordered to tail her. What if she collapsed? His efforts would have been in vain if that was so.

He was slightly frustrated and her slow pace did nothing to help. He only felt a bit better at her choice of eatery. He saw that she was heading for a Healthy Living Restaurant and went a head of her to sit down. He typed to his father that the girl was trying to decide what to eat. He was instructed to do what he thought best if he were to interfere at all. So he picked the most sensible option for her condition, in return, she followed and added something to her order.

He ate quietly and finished before her. He then left a large tip; the service was quick, the food palatable, atmosphere was pleasant and he doubted the girl had much on her. Enough to pay perhaps, but she would then be left with nothing else.

She seemed to be middle class, and the middle class does not make much little wealth, to him at least. Sure, her clothing was quite good with quality, but her manners weren't all that remarkable and nothing else about her was either.

Polite, is what she was. Quiet, unnoticeable, and polite.

To him, she was a foolish girl that dreamed too much and did little for her own well-being. Truly the epitome of moronic whelps.

After he left the restaurant, he watched from a distance. Through the window, he saw her tempt to pay, only to be denied. He smirked, perhaps he should visit this particular restaurant again and maybe even invest a bit?

He felt his phone buzz, his father typed, wanting to be updating on the status of the girl. It became apparent that some of the hooligans are now aware of his sudden punish- mission. Yes, this is a mission.

Protecting such weak plebeians is the duty of his father and him, also the unsightly hooligans- not well in his opinion- but he shall add them this once.

"Father is surely proud of how 'considerate' and 'generous' I am.", he believes, "Excessively so."

------

The day ends with Marinette safely returning home and the still mysterious young man facing his mismatched family.

The young man remained considerate as he ignored the jeers of the hooligans until he realized, he didn't have to any more and retorted as though his words came from the high heavens.

---------

The next time he checked in on the young lady, he had some knowledge of her background he shouldn't and decided to continue to see to it that she is well taken care.

"It's called being an arrogant, egotistical xsshxle with a God complex. She doesn't need your 'consideration', she is not a charity case!"

One loud problem claimed as he tuned him out.

---------

The young man did visit the restaurant once more and she was there. She would visit often and order the same thing as he had the first time. There were times she ordered something else and he would try things she experimented with, minus the meat.

She ordered meat less and less the more she came to the restaurant, he noticed. He had no clue why, since she obviously had no problem eating it.

He didn't order sweets as often as she did, but he would on occasion, get something with a little bit of sweetness to it; like the dried fruit sandwich with any type of sauce it can come with. The sandwich had fresh, and air dried fruit. There would be other ingredients and such to change the flavor of the sandwich, making it a popular item on the menu.

------

Change Perspective

--------

She felt like she has seen the same guy a lot over the past two months and is slightly worried. After some thought to it and the more she believed she was over thinking it and that it was pure coincidence. She did know, however, he had good taste in food and art. Plus that animals are so cute!! He couldn't be all bad if animals liked him.

She would walk a little closer and sometimes walk a little farther from him and since he never moved, she felt better. It really was a coincidence to her knowledge.

Eventually, she would would stop seeing him. He was a tourist, so of course he would leave at some point. Still, she was a little sad.

Oh well, school is starting soon, maybe she'll make friends to fill the loneliness her pretend friend left her.

She liked to pretend this stranger was her friends and that they hung out, since she saw him in most places that she was. She saw him at the restaurant and sometimes the park and rarely he would be at the museum. Technically he wasn't everywhere and not as frequent as she made it seem like he was, but if was often enough to remember him.

"You should have talked to him, get his number."

"But then he might have thought I was hitting on him! I just wanted a friend..."

"Sweetie, look on bright side! Either you can cherish memories that made you happy or you can forget him and move on. You don't know what life has in-store for you, it could be fun!"

"Thank you, mom. You too dad, I will see what happens."

"On that note, want help me frost some cakes?"

"Yes!!!"

-----

The end.

[sturchling]

Gilded Poppy VS Hawkmoth

This is another part to the idea that I saw and talked about with @anastasian-dreamer and @musicfeedsmysoul12 . I just had to write it out! Find the first story here! The Gilded Poppy helping take down Hawkmoth. There will be some spoilers for the final episode of the first season of Jett’s route, so keep that in mind if you still haven’t read it. I hope you all like it!

The Gilded Poppy had never really paid Hawkmoth any mind. Sure he was a pain when his akumas interrupted their heists. But sometimes the chaos worked to their advantage as well. So they never really saw a point in worrying about it. Sure, they always made sure that Tom, Sabine, Marinette, and the bakery were fine after each attack, but that was about as involved as they got with the situation. That was until Hawkmoth came after one of their own. 

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

Jett couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He felt almost numb. One of his best mates, Jock was laid out on the floor in front of him. Dead. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings at all. So it was a good thing that the rest of the Poppy was heard the ticking sound, and pulled him out of the building before the bomb went off. Now, as he stood on the street, watching the building before him burn and a crowd gathered around, Jett didn’t know what to think. Then he saw him at the edge of the crowd. Hugo Vansittart standing there, staring at Jett. Jett instantly saw red. He knew that Hugo did this and he was going to make him pay dearly for it. From the corner of his eye, he saw a dark butterfly fly towards his poppy pin. Then suddenly a strange feeling came over Jett, like his rage was increased ten fold. And a soothing voice spoke in his head. That is the last thing he remembered.

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

Jett had been turned into Judgement, a justice based akuma that used an attack he called truth bomb. Anyone hit with his bombs confessed to any crimes they may have committed. For most people hit during this akuma attack, it was small stuff like jay walking, or littering. But Jett made sure to hit Hugo who confessed, during the live TV coverage of this akuma, to killing Jock and making the building explode. The other members of the Poppy made sure to avoid Jett. They wanted to help their friend, but if they got hit they would reveal they were members of the Poppy and that couldn’t happen. Ladybug soon had Jett deakumatized and Hugo was arrested immediately, along with some other citizens who had admitted to more serious crimes. Now Jett and the rest of the Poppy were angry for a whole new reason. How dare Hawkmoth come after one of them. They were fine leaving him to Ladybug, until now. An attack on one of them was an attack on them all, and no one messed with the Gilded Poppy and got away with it.

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

That said, the Poppy knew they would need help. They knew they needed to contact Ladybug. So, they left a burner phone at the top of the Eiffel Tower, where she and Chat Noir often met during patrol. They also set up a camera pointed at the platform, so they would know when the two heroes arrived. As soon as the two heroes arrived on scene, the phone lit up with a new text message. The two heroes were confused, but looked at the phone thinking someone had lost it and maybe they could return it to its owner. But when they read the message they knew it was for them. Hi Ladybug and Chat Noir. We are the Gilded Poppy. We wish to help eliminate Hawkmoth as a threat. He has become quite a pest to us. Our only condition is that if we meet, you do not tell anyone who we are. If this is agreeable to you, meet us here same time tomorrow. -Thief Lord

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

Marinette was freaking out. She had been able to keep her composure while she talked with Chat Noir and they had agreed to at least hear the group out. But now that she is alone, she was panicking. That manner of speech from the text reminded her of someone. It reminded her of the way Nikolai spoke. And now that she thought about it, she remembered Nikolai, Remy, Vivienne, Jett, Leon, and Zoe all wearing the same pin. A golden poppy pin. Oh my god. They are the Gilded Poppy. I am friends with the Gilded Poppy. It didn’t bother Marinette, but it was certainly shocking. But she couldn’t be sure, maybe she was overthinking again. She wouldn’t be sure until she met with them tomorrow. 

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

Marinette was freaking out internally again. She and Chat Noir had just arrived at the Eiffel Tower when she heard Nikolai’s voice from behind her. “I assume since you are here, you agree to our terms and won’t turn us into the police?” Marinette did her best to curb her panic, and slip into her Ladybug personality. “Yes, we won’t turn you in. Come out here.” And then, standing before her, were all her friends. She had been right. They were the Gilded Poppy. For their part, the Gilded Poppy was also surprised. Sure they knew the two heroes were young, but they didn’t realize how young until now. They couldn’t be older than Marinette. But they pushed that aside, they had work to do.

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

Marinette quickly took charge of the meeting and brought the thieves up to speed on everything. That the source of Hawkmoth’s power was his miraculous and how once they took that from him, he wouldn’t be a threat anymore. The Poppy felt comfortable. This was right up their alley. Stealing some fancy jewelry was nothing new to them. It would be weird to return the jewels to Ladybug and not sell them, but the Poppy understood that it was too dangerous for that to happen. For the next few weeks, the Poppy put all their resources to trying to get any clues towards who Hawkmoth could be. They also continued to meet with either Ladybug or Chat Noir every other day or so to go over any information they may have found. It was one night, during one of these meetings, that Marinette made a mistake.

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

They had just finished up going over all their information. They were getting close to a suspect and the Poppy was sure they would have a name for Ladybug in the next week. As she turned to leave, Ladybug called over her shoulder “Thanks guys! See you at the bakery tomorrow.” Marinette froze as she realized what she just said. She hoped maybe they would just brush it off, but of course, the Poppy caught exactly what she had said. And it only took them about two seconds to realize what that meant. They had always thought Ladybug looked like Marinette, but convinced themselves that it was just a coincidence. But how else could they explain that comment. Remy stepped closer to Marinette, who still stood frozen on the edge of the platform in a panic. “Marinette? Is that you?” All of the Poppy was just staring at her and Marinette didn’t see a way out. So she just detransformed.

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

Needless to say, there was a lot of explaining to do that night. Marinette told them everything that had happened since she received her miraculous and all her adventures as Ladybug. The Poppy was horrified to learn that this girl that they viewed as a little sister had been fighting Hawkmoth without much help. And their rage toward Hawkmoth was renewed all over again. Now this monster had gone after another one of them. He had been making Marinette’s life hard for years now. And it was going to end soon. 

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

By the end of the week, The Poppy had used all their Underbelly resources and found a name as a suspect for Hawkmoth. Gabriel Agreste. He was the only person in Paris that had the resources and time to be Hawkmoth. They immediately told Marinette through the burner phone they had been using and the group of thieves met with Paris’ heroes. Chat Noir seemed hesitant to consider Gabriel as a suspect, but did eventually agree that it couldn’t hurt to check into the lead. Since the heroes couldn’t exactly be breaking into a random civilian’s home, it was decided that the Poppy would break into the manor that night and search for the two missing miraculous. With a description of the two jewels from Ladybug, Nikolai, Remy, Vivienne, and Jett quietly broke into the mansion and searched the place top to bottom for the jewels or any proof that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Zoe remained at the hotel, monitoring all the security systems for the mansion as well as the camera feeds from the cameras being worn by Nikolai and Vivienne. Ladybug and Chat Noir were with her, watching the camera feeds. Leon was outside, ready to speed everyone away from the mansion at a moments notice. 

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

When the group went into Gabriel’s office, they found the hidden safe in the wall, and inside that was the Peacock miraculous. Vivienne grabbed it and put the jewel in her pocket, before continuing to feel along the wall for any other secrets. Meanwhile, Chat Noir watched in horror as Vivienne pulled the miraculous out of the safe. This at the least confirms his father is involved somehow. Then the group accidently hit the right buttons to open the secret elevator up to Hawkmoth’s lair. When the cameras being worn by Nikolai and Vivienne showed the room with all the akuma butterflies flying around, it was clear that Gabriel Agreste must be Hawkmoth. Finally, Nikolai silently entered Gabriel’s bedroom. And there, resting on his nightstand was the butterfly miraculous. Nikolai snatched it and quickly left the room, as quietly as he came. 

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

The Poppy returned to the hotel and gave the two miraculous to Ladybug. Ladybug called the police as soon as she had the miraculous. She told them that some concerned citizens had told her that they thought Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. She also told them that after some investigation it was proven to be true and she had recovered the missing miraculous, making it safe for them to go arrest Gabriel. When the police arrived, they found Gabriel tearing the mansion apart, looking for his miraculous. He was arrested just in time for the morning news. Soon rumors started that the other members of the Agreste household were involved as well. Adrien, feeling he had no other choice at the time, had already revealed himself to Ladybug and accidently in front of the Poppy as well the night they recovered the miraculous. Marinette also revealed herself to him. So, knowing that Adrien wasn’t involved, Ladybug publicly announced that she had cleared Adrien of any wrong doing and that he had no idea what his father had been doing. Adrien ended up living with the Dupain-Chengs, being unofficially adopted until a more permanent situation was decided on.

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

Once everything had calmed down, Remy and Jett started joking that Marinette and Adrien should join them on a heist. Or at least, it had started as joking. Soon, the rest of the Poppy had joined in and they were completely serious. Jett would often wrap his arms around their shoulders, saying “Come on you two! You could do some amazing things for a heist. Think of the possibilities!” Of course they both immediately denied it. After all, Paris’ heroes couldn’t be involved in crime. But then Nikolai said that they could just steal back a stolen painting from another thief and return it to its rightful owners. The Poppy didn’t care about keeping whatever they stole, they just wanted to go on a heisting adventure with the two kids they viewed as their siblings. When he heard the suggestion, Adrien was excited and begged Marinette to agree. Eventually Marinette relented. The combined force of the Poppy begging and Adrien’s puppy dog eyes was too much.

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

They worked a small heist with the Poppy to steal back a painting that had been stolen from the Louvre many years ago. It didn’t take long to retrieve the painting and Ladybug and Chat Noir made sure it was returned, anonymously so as not to raise any questions about how they recovered the painting. Soon after the heist was completed, it was time for the Poppy to leave Paris for their next heist. The thieves came by the bakery to say goodbye to Tom, Sabine, Marinette, and Adrien. They never thought these four people would become so important to them, but now they couldn’t imagine their lives without them. After saying goodbye to the group and seeing them off, Marinette and Adrien went back up to Marinette’s room. When they opened the door, they saw something shining on Marinette’s desk. Sitting on her desk were two golden pins. Two golden poppy pins. The two teens smiled wide as they picked up the pins and fixed them to their shirts, happily waiting for the day they would see their friends, the Poppy, again.

[spacedikut]

(nearly) lost love ; spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid (criminal minds) x f!reader

summary: “hi idk if you’re taking requests but if you are i’d love to read something where the reader ends up getting hurt somehow (maybe by an unsub) and is in the hospital and spencer is super worried about her and maybe confesses his feelings for her bc he thought he was gonna lose her?? idk just something super fluffy with a little angst if you’re up for it” 2890 words

a/n: im gon na be honest idk how to write angst so i just went where the story took me????

masterlist

Spencer was proudly stood in front of his geological profile in the Austin precinct when the frantic call was made over the comms.

“Agent down! I repeat, Agent down! We need a medic!”

It was Morgan’s booming voice, firm and commanding, and Spencer first felt relief knowing at least Morgan was safe. But fear follows, prickling through his entire body when, oh no, someone on his team has been injured.

Morgan kept his comm connected. Spencer could hear all the chaos on the other end – he picked up that JJ was counting bodies, there was at least four medics requested, and, the most gut-wrenching for Spencer, was listening to Morgan repeat variations of, “Stay with me Y/N. Don’t close your eyes – listen to me, baby, stay with me, Y/N!”

You. You were the agent down.

You, who, less than two hours ago, laughed at your own joke so hard you couldn’t get it out. You, who made plans with him to go shopping for Halloween decorations that weekend (which Spencer was way too excited about, by the way). You.

You, who Spencer recently realised he’s in love with.

Why does he feel like this is his fault? He knows, logically, it isn’t – the obvious reason is because Spencer wasn’t there (which, a little voice in the back of his head says well maybe if you were there this wouldn’t have happened…) and it’s likely that this is entirely the ubsub’s fault. He attacked and you were the unlucky target.

But the history of Spencer’s love life shows there is a definite risk to being associated with him.

Is this the world’s way of telling him he shouldn’t love you? He shouldn’t tell you he loves you?

Was the big speech Derek gave him, the month they spent building Spencer’s confidence up, all for nothing? Because Spencer’s cursed?

This isn’t about you, Spencer, he thinks, angry at himself. God, you’re hurt, injuries still unknown, and he’s floundering because he’s convinced himself he’s cursed.

“Reid? You there?”

It’s Morgan, still talking through the comm, and it knocks Spencer out of his head. “Y-yeah, I’m here. Y/N? Is it Y/N? Is she okay?”

Morgan’s voice is calm and collected, as always, “Hey, kid, chill. She’s with a medic on the way to the hospital. You wanna-“

“I’ll meet you there.”

Spencer dashes out of the room.

+++

When he arrives, Hotch and JJ are waiting for him at the entrance. JJ expected Spencer to be worried, a little agitated, but she didn’t expect him to look so dishevelled and distressed. His hair, usually so well-kempt, sticks up in all directions. He abandoned his jacket and satchel at the station, obviously in a rush, and now his shoelace is untied and it’s giving JJ anxiety.

“Reid,” Hotch greets.

“How-“

“She’s fine, she’s okay,” JJ immediately says. Spencer has always said JJ knows exactly how to soothe him. “A nasty knock to the head, but she’s been taken care of and she’s resting now.”

Spencer’s whole body sighs in relief.

He sounds fragile when he asks, “Can I see her?”

JJ gives a small, bittersweet smile, then gestures for Spencer to follow her. He stays close, basically standing on her heels, the entire way to your room, where Emily is leaving.

He struts straight in, acknowledging no one, intent on seeing you and seeing you only.

You lie there, lifeless. All he can hear is the haunting sound of the heart monitor, combined with your chest minimally moving up and down being the only signs you’re alive. You’ve lost all your usual colour – Spencer recalls JJ mumbling something about you losing a lot of blood – and the whole sight makes his stomach lurch.

He walks in, and walks right back out.

Everyone shares looks of bewilderment. He did a complete 180, hardly sparing you a glance, and ran straight into the hospital’s bathroom where the team hears the distinct sound of retching.

Derek sighs and follows him. Their gazes meet: Spencer’s head barely lifting from the toilet bowl, Derek shutting and locking the bathroom door with pitying eyes.

“I’m sorry-“ Spencer starts.

“Don’t apologise. How you feeling?”

He groans in response, leaning against the wall. He begs himself to not think about all the germs and diseases that are probably infesting his body as they speak – his heart stings too much in his chest for that.

Spencer swallows the stone in his throat, grimacing at the remnants of bile, “Seeing her like that..”

“I know.”

“I never thought I’d see her like that. I’ve never wanted to see her like that and-and.. I couldn’t be there to protect her and help her-“

“None of this is your fault, Reid. It’s not your fault, or her fault, or anyone’s fault except the guy that did this. And he’s dead. And she’ll be fine. Please,” Derek warns, “Don’t guilt yourself into mayhem. I know you, and I know her, and all she wants is for you to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up. If not, or if she finds out you’re beating yourself up over this, she’ll kill you, man. With her bare hands.”

Derek’s smirking at the end of his speech because he’s right and Spencer knows it too. And Spencer can’t refrain from grinning a little at the thought of you, just gaining consciousness, and leaping from your bed to smack some sense into him.

You’re incredible. Which both pains him and makes him fall for you harder.

When Spencer rises and starts swirling his mouth out with water, Derek gives him a firm pat on the shoulder and leaves, Spencer not far behind.

This time, he won’t run out of the room like a weakling. Because it’s you and you need him to be there for you.

It’s what you’d do for him. And before that thought can go any further, he’s taking a deep breath and opening the door.

You’re still resting, looking exactly the same as when he first saw you, and his stomach jumps into his throat again – it pains him to see you like this.

But Penelope is leaning over you, fingers brushing your hair back with the trademarked tenderness that is Penelope Garcia. You’ve always called her your Fairy Godmother, your guardian angel, the true love of your life.

Maybe you’d rather see her when you first wake up.

So he stays back, lingering by the entrance of the room, until Rossi nudges him and he stumbles to the top of your bed. Right by your face, your oh-so-gorgeous but bruised face, and Spencer stares.

He can’t explain how glad he is that you’re okay. You’re here, a little beaten up, but he knows that in a couple days, maximum a week, you’ll be back in the bullpen with your quirks and nudges and warmth that is so you and he’ll never let anything come near you again.

(He knows he can’t actually do that. You wouldn’t let him. But he still thinks it, because he loves you and he’ll do anything for you)

The team silently agrees that Spencer will be the one to stay with you. At least until you wake up.

(Why? You might ask. Because you drunkenly told the girls that you’re convinced the closest thing to heaven on Earth would be waking up and Spencer Reid being the first thing you see every day. Ever since, they’ve committed themselves to trying to set you two up)

Spencer sleeps next to your bed, cramped in the uncomfortable and tiny chair, until about seven am. Then he recites some books in his head, just to pass the time. Then Penelope calls.

“I’m on my way with baked goods, Doctor. Would you like me to pick something up for you and the sleeping beauty?”

Spencer goes to decline, before looking at you, “I think Y/N would appreciate a burger. Maybe two.”

Garcia hums down the line, “You know, she’s always been full of good ideas. I’ll buy too many burgers then be on my way. Kisses!” Then hangs up.

In the meantime, Spencer scrolls through your conversation on his phone. He’d never been one for texting, or technology (notoriously), but you always send him things you think he’d like – maybe an article (he’s read every single one you’ve sent, even the one about the monkey using a frog to masturbate), a picture of a cute dog (this one looks like you, spence!!!!!!), and anything else that catches your eye.

For example, a comprehensive list of way too many “why did the chicken cross the road?” jokes.

They’re your kryptonite. Even after you explained the joke to Spencer, in depth, he still doesn’t quite understand the appeal. But you love them.

So he reads them to you.

He knows you can’t hear him. Being asleep is obviously very different to being in a coma, where people have claimed to be able to hear the people around them, but it passes the time and eases him a little. Cause he also knows that if you were awake you’d be chortling away, happy as can be. And that’s how you should always be.

Happy.

Spencer hopes he makes you happy.

Damn, he loves you.

Damn.

He has to tell you he loves you.

It feels like this need, this obligation – if he doesn’t tell you when you wake up then when will he tell you? The next time you’re injured?

The thought sends him reeling.

No matter the outcome, you need to know. He needs to tell you.

“Why did the rooster cross the road?” He reads aloud, “To cockadoodle dooo something.”

He’s cheesing at his screen, at the audacity and stupidity of these jokes. But they’re sweet, just like you, and they take everyone prisoner when it comes to making people smile.

“That was a good one.” You heh.

Your voice is croaky after not being used in hours, but it’s still the same dreamy voice Spencer loves to hear.

You’re awake. And already smiling, which is one hell of a win in Spencer’s book.

“Good morning.” He whispers.

“It’s morning?” You ask, moving your head slowly to see outside your window. “At least I got a full night’s sleep for once.”

“Should you really be joking in your condition?” Spencer teases, leaning to fluff your pillow when you wince.

You exhale deeply, “And what is my condition, exactly?”

“You look as sexy as ever, buttercup.”

Garcia’s grinning from the doorway, Derek the same from behind her, two bags of food in her hands.

You’re ecstatic when you say, “Penny!” Trying to hide the pain when she hugs you. You’re too happy to see her to turn down her love.

She dishes out the burgers and, as expected, you ask if there’s another in there for you. You chomp happily, despite the dull ache still present, chatting jovially with the three of them.

Penelope gets caught up in telling you about the most recent documentary she saw. When he notices, Derek nods towards the door, making Spencer furrow his eyebrows in confusion. What does he want?

Derek does it again and Spencer gets it. He lifts from his seat the same time Derek does, saying nothing until they’re out of the room and the door has shut behind them.

“I’m gonna make Penelope leave-“ Derek begins, and Spencer stutters.

“What? Why? Is everything okay?”

Derek chuckles at Spencer’s reaction, “Kid, everything’s fine. You just gotta tell her.”

Spencer doesn’t even try to pretend he doesn’t know what Derek’s referring to. He peeks through your door’s window, staring directly at you as you giggle at something Penelope says.

“Do I?” He ponders. “It could-“

“Nope. We’re not doing that “it could ruin everything” spiel. You’re an adult, she’s an adult, and adults don’t play around with feelings like this. Tell. Her.” Derek’s got both hands on Spencer’s shoulders, grip tightening and loosening sporadically as he talks. He looks like a football coach giving a pep talk before the big game, and Spencer feels invigorated.

“Alright.” Spencer nods once, “Let’s do this.”

“I will remove Penelope Garcia from the premises.”

They nod at eachother and move back into your room.

+++

When Penelope is pulled from your room by Derek, stumbling and muttering and stuttering, all you do is blink in confusion.

“What’s going on there?” You say, speaking out of the side of your mouth, as if you’re sharing a secret.

Spencer doesn’t answer. You turn to look at him, another question on your tongue, but the words die when you see his facial expression.

It’s so tender. So soft, and gentle, the littlest of smiles on his lips as his cheeks darken.

“If I tell you something really dramatic right now, do you think you could handle that?”

Your head tilts, brows furrowed, looking far too endearing with your bandaged head.

He clears his throat, “I just-just need to make sure it won’t overwhelm you.”

You don’t know what to expect, but you agree anyway. Is this why Derek and Penelope left?

“I vomited when I saw you in bed. In this bed. In hospital.” He begins.

“Oh, thanks, Spence,” You tease.

“No- no. Hear me out!” He gives a little laugh, hands coming up in defence. “I don’t have a script, and statistically, both men and women speak around sixteen-thousand words a day – I want these ones to be special. Because you’re special.”

You’re still visibly confused. You clasp your hands together in your lap, “I’m listening. You have my full attention.”

Having your full attention is terrifying and electrifying at the same time. Spencer wants you to know that.

“You make me feel things, you know.” He reveals, “Things I’ve only ever read about, fantasised about – you know… things.”

This is going terribly. For a man who’s read the dictionary more times than he cares to count (he does care to count – twenty two times), he is very much struggling to explain himself to you.

Deep breath. From the start.

“It’s alright, Spence,” You console, hand resting on his closed ones. “Take your time.”

He does. He takes a few more breaths. “I don’t know where to start so- so bear with me.”

“Always.”

Why do you have to make his heart race like that?

“What?”

Oh. He said that out loud.

Well. Might as well repeat it.

“I said,” Louder this time, “Why do you have to make my heart race like that?”

“I’m sorry?”

“No. No- I like it. I like you, that’s what I’m trying to say. Maybe not like since Derek told me we’re not in high school, kid,” He lowers his voice to impersonate Derek, “But the l word is scary, especially when I don’t know how you’re gonna react. But whatever you say, however you react, we’ll be okay. I know we will. I just need you to know how you make me feel and how-how good I think I’d treat you, I guess.”

It feels like your silence goes on forever. Then you quietly ask, “And how do I make you feel, Spence?”

“Like I’ve never felt before. I meant it when I said you make me feel things I’ve only read about – you’re so easy to love, you know that? Infuriatingly so. And you’re so open – I think that’s what drew me in at first. You knew nothing about Doctor Who, but you heard I was asking around for someone to go with me to that convention and you said you were available if I wanted you and I… I had to practice how to ask you in the mirror for three days straight. Of course I want you, Y/N. I think I always have.”

His voice is timid when he asks, afraid of what the answer might be.

“Do you think you want me too?”

“Are you crazy?!” You cry out.

The volume makes Spencer jump. Then he registers what you said and slumps, rejection seeping in.

“Spencer-“ You say, exasperated, “You’re the most incredible person I know. I tell you all the time cause I mean it.” You give a short laugh, “How could you even think that I wouldn’t feel the exact same? I’m kind of obsessed with you, Spence.”

The shock on his face melts into pure joy. Is this really happening? You..

“I want you an embarrassing amount, Spencer Reid. I always have and I always will.”

He doesn’t know what overcomes him, but he leaps forward and smashes your lips together. It’s messy and a little clunky, teeth hitting together and mouths unable to stop grinning, but it’s perfect. Everything you could’ve asked for in your first kiss with Spencer.

It’s perfect. He’s perfect.

And he thinks the exact same of you.

He pulls back, heart racing and entire body burning, strong hands cradling your head. It doesn’t take a profiler to realise the two of you, foreheads leaning against eachother, are the happiest you’ve been in a long time.

“You taste like burger.” Spencer breathes, soft and low.

You giggle. “You taste like coffee and burger.”

His lips quirk, raising an eyebrow, “You like it?”

You hum, rubbing your nose against his, “I like it a whole lot. I like you a whole lot.”

Spencer kisses you again.

And again.

“Glad to know we’re on the same page.”

[path-of-my-childhood]

‘Willow’ Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto Didn’t Know Taylor Swift Had a New Album, Either

By: Claire Shaffer for Rolling Stone Date: December 14th 2020

When award-winning cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto started working on the video for “Willow” with Taylor Swift in November, he didn’t know that it was a part of her new surprise album, Evermore.

“I thought maybe it was a video for the previous album. I didn’t even know what the song was at our first meeting.”

Prieto wasn’t the only one in the dark about the new record; Swift dropped Evermore last week with a very similar rollout to her previous LP Folklore, complete with a self-directed music video released at midnight along with the album: “Willow.” The video serves as a narrative continuation of the story in the “Cardigan” music video — which Prieto also worked on — featuring a ton of visual references to tracks from Folklore.

As with the “Cardigan” video, Swift, Prieto and the production team not only had to keep the shoot under wraps, but also find innovative ways to film the project under Covid-19 safety protocols without endangering the lives of the crew. Prieto spoke to Rolling Stone about the production this time around, and how the team brought Swift’s witchy vision for “Willow” to life.

How did the “Willow” shoot differ from “Cardigan”? It looks like you guys were able to have other actors on set this time around, but how did that change the safety measures you had to follow?

It was still very, very strict. A big part of it was the whole testing protocols, which we also did last time. But when we were doing this video, we knew more [about the virus], and the safety guidelines were more specific. We followed the same ones the DGA has done, that my union Local 600 has done, SAG — they’ve all put in place these protocols that we did follow, and were very careful about it.

For instance, in the scene with the choreography around the tree and the clearing, you know, with a sort of dance around these magical orbs, there was a limit on how many actors and dancers we could have there. That was created by visual effects, actually — they added in more dancers. I think the actual number was 10 dancers when we were filming, and they all have masks on, actually. We can’t see their faces, and that’s partly because they have masks.

There’s only really one moment, in the cabin, where she’s in close contact with [another actor], with the man that she’s been missing at all these different moments. But, of course, both were tested, and they’d only take off their masks in the moment where we’re actually shooting. Everyone else would always wear masks on. And similar to last time, anybody who was in the immediate vicinity of the scene had to have a red wristband — it was all color-coded, in terms of who could be close to the scene and the actors. And certainly, it was very important to have not only a mask, but a face shield whenever we were anywhere close to Taylor or any of the other actors or dancers.

I still used the remote camera on a crane, so there wasn’t even a camera operator close to anybody. We were still following all the guidelines very closely, but now, it felt more relaxed in the sense that we have more information. We could just follow all these protocols. And we knew that we’d be safe because it was all pretty strict.

You mentioned last time that communication could sometimes be difficult on the “Cardigan” set because everyone had to kind of yell at each other or point to things since they couldn’t get in close proximity. Was Taylor able to be more hands-on in her directing this time around, like she was while you were shooting the music video for “The Man?”

That was still was the case — especially when you have a mask and a face shield, and you’re six feet away, you have to be a little louder to be heard. So we did maintain that protocol. But she was still very involved. I would stay at my monitor at the DIT [digital imaging technician] station, because it was the best image, but everyone would all be kind of looking at it from a distance, from six feet away.

But there was one moment that was unforgettable. And she actually has mentioned it, which was, just as we were starting to film on November 7th, we got the news of the election result. We were both looking at the monitor at the DIT station, and she got a text alert or something like that. Obviously, at that moment, we were all working on the video, but in the back of our minds we’re all like, OK, what’s gonna happen? And she was the only one who could actually look at her phone, because in fact, everybody had to relinquish their phones in the beginning so that nobody would take photos of anything, except for a few people like myself, who could sometimes use our phone to take a photograph as reference. And I was only using it very, very sporadically for that sort of thing.

So Taylor ended up being the messenger for the election results on set.

Exactly. So, she’s next to me — six feet away, but she was next to me. And she got this text, and she showed it to me. So I learned of the result from her at that moment, and what I told her was, “I will never forget this moment,” both because it’s such a historically important moment and because she was the one who showed me this information, you know. That was pretty special. Yeah. I felt like celebrating and doing a little dance, but I didn’t — we’re professionals and we’re working and also, I wanted to be respectful of anybody who had voted differently. But it was a very incredible moment, and just the beginning of a three-day shoot that turned out to be an adventure.

This video makes so many references to songs on Folklore and older songs from Taylor’s discography, both obvious and hidden. How did she lay out her vision to you?

The first meeting was talking about the story and the ideas. I still didn’t know the song, but the first thing was figuring out that it’s a continuation of the previous one we did together. At that moment, she was still kind of developing her ideas and trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen — for example, the ending wasn’t quite clear yet. She knew that she wanted to finish again in the cabin and that [the man] would be there, right. But during that meeting, we decided to have them both leave the cabin. That was an idea that came to us as we were talking as a team.

And then we went back and forth — at first she thought it should be night outside because it’s always been night, and then she changed her mind and said it should be daytime, so we were like, OK, what does it look like out there? Is it just the limbo? And then Ethan Tobin, our production designer, said it should be this sort of autumn forest. She was very much appreciative of that and really listened to everybody’s ideas.

There was also discussion about that moment in the clearing, about whether it should be a bonfire or not. First of all, with production, we would have had to shoot it outside and that would have been very complicated. But also she felt that, even with special effects, it was not a good thing to show with all the wildfires going on in California. So she came up with the concept of some type of orbs, something more magical, and Ethan Tobin came up with a bunch of different reference photos for that. That was the way we developed these concepts — even with the willow tree, Ethan sent some images and ideas, and one of them had these magenta leaves on the ground, which was weird and magical. Taylor and I loved that. It was that kind of back-and-forth in the pre-production phase, before we even heard the music.

It’s amazing how you were able to pull this off under such complicated circumstances — communicating back-and-forth over Zoom, and then with the actual video shoot itself.

It’s pretty tricky to get such a complicated and really technically challenging shoot off the ground, but we planned it all beforehand. Ethan Tobin was working with his art director Simon Morgan on designing the sets over Zoom. So, it was all overhead plans, and then you have to go to the set and map it out. For that clearing scene, for instance, Simon Morgan and myself, and my gaffer Manny Tapia and my key grip Donald Reynolds, we went to the soundstage first and taped the space in the center where the magic orbs would be. And then we measured the distance to the background with the blue screen, and taped where all the trees would be, and then figured out where all the lighting would be for there and the carnival set — everything had to be very, very precise, and the distance had to all be worked out. It really helped when we were actually shooting, because it went very smoothly. So, that’s how we made it.

[rjhpandapaws]

Bad to Work With

Ch 3: Things to (Never) Learn from Hindsight

//Going to preface this with the fact that I didn’t mean to write angst, it was supposed to be fluff

Gavin wasn’t one to learn from his mistakes. A considerable feat considering the sheer number of mistakes he’d made just in recent history. He would suffer the consequences and come out on the other side only to make the exact same mistake or one that was worse. Hindsight wasn’t something he benefitted from. He looked back on most of his mistakes with the knowledge that it would only be a matter of time before he did it again. Up until recently he wasn’t a victim of situational regret. This was one of the few times he wished he could go back and undo something. Not so much the night itself, that wasn’t what he had come to regret; but the elevator ride. If he had managed to keep his mouth shut for once in his life he wouldn’t be staring down yet another coffee cup adorned with a sticky note. It was a different cafe this time, they always were. It seemed like whenever Gavin left his desk there would be a coffee waiting for him when he got back. This was the first one he had ever gotten that was waiting from before he’d arrived.

It wasn’t even that it was bad coffee. These niche cafes Richard was finding had amazing drinks. Gavin had even gone to some of them on the weekends. The thing of it was that he had a system despite the fact that his desk looked like a bomb had gone off. Richard didn’t know what the system was and he would set the cups in whatever open space was available and then leave. On the few occasions Gavin didn’t notice them in time they wound up getting knocked over. When they fell it was either onto the other papers or into his computer terminal. The papers were usually salvageable; but he was pretty sure Silas was ready to murder him. He probably had it plotted out and everything. Gavin sighed quietly and picked up the foam cup. There was no logo on this one, so he found it safe to assume it was from one of the newer cafes in the area. The sticky note on the other hand was short and simple. Gavin would have even dared to call it sweet if it were from anyone other than Ricard. He stuck his note to his monitor like had with all the others and settled in at his desk for another long day.

The issue was Gavin was almost endeared by it. He hadn’t been in a romantic relationship since high school, and no one had ever tried like this. Not for him anyway. It was making what was left of his resolve wear thin. Richard had learned exactly one thing about him and ran with it. The level of emotion to it all was what had Gavin on edge. He didn’t do feelings because he wasn’t good with them. It was less draining to just have a night with someone and then go their separate ways. He’d never had to resist his own wants like this. He avoided repeats for a reason, he wasn’t about to change that. He wouldn’t let things get beyond coffee. Except, as he waited for his computer to boot up he texted Richard.

Me: Thanks for the pick me up. Coffee Supplier: Of course, I’ve been meaning to try out that cafe for a while. Me: It’s pretty good Coffee Supplier: Definitely. Coffee Supplier: Have a good day Gavin. Me: Thanks, you too

It was the first time he had actually messaged Richard. He had saved his number to be polite, but never planned to actually use it. He hadn’t expected to have a normal conversation. It was nice in a way.

That’s where it should have stopped, would have stopped if Gavin had been stronger. The short text conversations became just as routine as the coffee and sticky notes. They didn’t really talk about anything meaningful, and made a point not to talk about work. It was almost like talking with Tina; if there wasn’t that unspoken something hanging over them. The temptation lingered, as it always did. The easiest excuse to use was that Richard was his superior. The truth of it was that Gavin was scared. The last time he had loved someone he wound up burned with his heart in pieces on the floor. He’d been younger and dumber then, but he still wasn’t sure this was a risk he was willing to take again. So it stayed small. Limited to brief conversations at work, notes passed through coffee, and text messages when they had the time. He stopped keeping the notes on his monitor after Hank had asked about them. They had their own desk drawer now. If he kept these things compartmentalized he could pretend that he wasn’t slowly being pulled in.  Gavin was short sighted, so at the time it had seemed like a full proof plan. Out of sight out of mind, that sort of thing. Even though he knew ignoring his problems only made them worse. Just this once he hoped it would work.

It turned into a bad week. The kind when he was just praying to make it to Friday. He made plans with Tina to meet up at Eden on Friday night. He just wanted to have a night to let go for a while. Be someone else. Monday was fine, but Tuesday marked the start of everything going wrong. It started with his computer crashing; it wasn’t coffee related for once, and things kind of stock piled from there. The heat went out in his apartment complex, and then his car decided to finally die on him. He had ignored the Check Engine Light for too long. He was at the point that if anything else went wrong this week he was going to fucking lose it. Friday, thankfully enough, was his half day. He wasn’t in the office long enough for things to go wrong. He worked through the morning and pulled a disappearing act the moment the chance arose. He planned to sleep for a while before meeting up with Tina at Eden and then leaving with a stranger. He had things he wanted to forget, and blue eyed problems to ignore. Eden was packed, like it always was on Fridays. Business types and the lucky public who could manage the cover charge were all out to get relief from their weekly boredom, and Gavin was right in the middle of it. Dancing with strangers and accepting any drinks that were offered to him. Anything to take his mind off of his problems. Especially the blue eyed one that had been haunting him recently.

He was in the sweet spot. Just past too drunk to give a shit, but not absolutely wasted yet. Which also meant that he was just beyond sober enough to recognize the steel blue eyes of the person he was dancing with. That they were the same eyes he was drinking to drown out. All he was concerned with was how well they fit. In any other circumstance the fact that this felt so familiar would have been cause for alarm. He was a little more sober by the time they managed to stumble out to a cab. Not enough to care, but enough to confirm that yes, this was something he wanted to do. Gavin was more caught up in the moment than he was concerned with the mild prickle of familiarity in the way this man said his name. He chalked up the ease with which he was unraveled to desperation. Anyone could be an expert in Undoing Gavin Reed if he was desperate enough for an escape. Tonight happened to be one of those nights and every red flag was excused and brushed aside in favor of chasing the pleasure. They were a problem for Sober Gavin. He would have the rest of the weekend to deal with them.

Consciousness came back to him slowly, like it always did after a night of drinking. He was rested and contentedly sore in ways that meant he had followed somebody home. Whoever his companion had been, they weren’t one for cuddling. He rolled over and found himself alone. It was slow to sink in that this particular room was a little too familiar. Once the thought made it through the haze of his hangover Gavin cursed under his breath. His memories of the club were hit and miss at best, he remembered dancing with strangers and drinking more than he probably should have. There were stern blue eyes sprinkled into them here and there. Gavin had done a repeat. That moment of clarity was accompanied to the door of the room quietly opening. From the look on Richard’s face he clearly wasn’t expecting Gavin to be awake yet, “Oh. Good morning.” “Hey.” He replied groggily as he sat up. There was a stretch of uncomfortable silence as Richard set Gavin’s now clean clothes on the bed. He gave him a onceover before retreating from the room like the devil himself was on his heals. It made Gavin feel sick to his stomach. He had definitely fucked up this time.

He got dressed slowly and tried to figure out what to do. Apologize was the obvious answer. But for which thing? All of them? The list of things he hadn’t done wrong was probably shorter at this point. When he finally gathered the courage to leave Richard’s room he was met with the strong smell of coffee. This was the moment of truth. “Your friend Tina says you owe her fifty bucks.” Richard said without looking at him, “And if you ever leave without talking to her again she’ll take your coffee money.” Gavin flinched, “Sorry you had to deal with her. Sorry for everything really. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” “Which ‘this’?” He asked as he turned around with two mugs of coffee and held one out to Gavin, “Sleeping with me again, or being so drunk that you didn’t notice who you were with?” “All of it.” He admitted and held the mug with both of his hands like the warmth would protect him from his mistakes, “From the first time till now. For the text messages. Everything.” “Did you even mean any of it?” There was an emotion to Richard’s voice that Gavin didn’t want to dwell on. He was being given an out, and he wasn’t about to pass it up.

If he were a better person he would have been honest. Instead, he set the mug down and reached for his phone. “No.” He said as he stood. He didn’t look at Richard as he walked to the door, “It’s been fun though.” When the apartment door clicked shut behind him there was an air of finality to it. Another mistake he wouldn’t learn from. There was no coffee on his desk on Monday morning. Things were finally back to normal, so he didn’t understand why it felt so empty.

[keilemlucent]

lavender latte: v

(T (for now!))

hawks | takami keigo x reader

ao3

chapter 1   ||   chapter 2  ||   chapter 3   ||  chapter 4   ||  chapter 6  || 

word count: ~4k

coming to terms now, are we?

warnings: descriptions of medical settings, discussion of surgery and injury but nothing graphic, god fluff, nasty big fluff

——

wow. halfway through y’all. thank you to each and every ONE of you who have given this story a chance. enjoy some fluff and get ready for next week 👀 once again, beta-ed by the wuv @keiqos !!

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Exhaustion had long since clawed a hole in your skull. 

It was one of the many forms of malefactum that came from your fucking quirk, damn it to hell. The days following any sort of intense overstimulation episode of yours were always hellish. Constant fatigue, burning migraines, dry eyes, and confusion always waited for you by the time you rolled out whatever pushed you over the edge.

The villain attack was probably the worst episode you’d had, ever. 

The entire trip to the hospital had been sort of a nightmare. There were so many people that needed treatment after the attack, so many of them worse off than yourself. You were lucky enough to get into a dark hospital room fairly quickly, allowing some of your symptoms to dull. 

You were just coherent and aware enough to deal with everyone you needed to, paperwork and legalities of your visit sorted. You even managed to send a few texts to your parents and work groupchat to confirm that you were safe. 

After a myriad of late-night tests and exams, it was confirmed that the next morning, you’d have a procedure to mend your leg.

...

Fixing the internal damage to your leg caused by the tearing of the glass was a fairly quick affair, according to your kind-smiled surgeon.

“I know it seemed abrupt, to do it so quickly,” The surgeon stuffed her hands in the pocket of her scrubs. “But, we’ve flown in extra medical personnel to help deal with injuries from the attack and well, you’re an easy fix.”

You smiled, the best you could, groggy with the anesthetic, “I’m glad it isn’t too bad.”

“Nope! Not at all,” She laughed, far too pleasant for all the chaos just outside your dimly lit hospital room. “We’ll keep you here tonight, and you should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon. You’ll need to keep weight off of that leg for about three weeks. We’ll have a follow-up appointment then, and make sure you’re healing alright. Sound good?”

You nodded, some tension releasing from your chest.

The procedure left you with a heavy plastic boot, clasped up to your knee. Not to mention your body ached with fatigue. 

Most of the rest of that day was spent spinning in and out of sleep, only waking for basic checks and a delivery of flowers you received from the teashop’s owners complete with a passive-aggressive reminder that ‘this had nothing to do with us, you can’t sue <3.’

 Your constant company was Hawks’s scarlet feather. As you moved through the bends of your quirk and post-surgical recovery, you held onto it like a lifeline. With each stroke of the soft filaments, your heart rate monitor would beep slower and slower towards a relaxed rhythm. 

It made you think of him, and how he felt with your quirk activated. 

Despite how shitty the circumstances were, really feeling Keigo with your quirk was heavenly. Feeling him in general, physically was a fucking blessing. You spent a lot of time that night and first day at the hospital fantasizing about how the beat of his heart felt like amber drops on your tongue and orange-bound warmth in your chest.

You wanted more of it.

 Keigo stayed around to help deal with the mess, for once in his career. It was weird for him to spend the following day after the attack helping out on the scene. It was even weirder for the other Pros around that were aware of his reputation of simply not doing that.

It was out of character for him.

But, then again, Keigo hadn’t ever spent as much time at someplace he enjoyed like the teashop. Hell, the whole street. He’d patrolled plenty of areas for long stretches of time, but he’d never grown attached.

You were, obviously, a big part of that.

Seeing you hurt left him frazzled and fucked, and staying behind to help pick up the mess and provide aid made him feel a hell of a lot better. Sure, it was different, having local Pros look to him for guidance when he had to purely rely on his training from the Commission as opposed to his professional experience. He did well, he knew, especially based on the way the scene calmed even when he simply flew around.

Keigo had the power to bring people ease, even if he struggled with it himself. 

The idea made him think back to you, undoubtedly still in pain, but more than likely entirely fine. He ignored the urge to text you anxiously as he was still parsing over the very sweet interaction the two of you had, even if it was in such a bad circumstance. 

Your sweetness at the end was his constant reminder that you would be okay. 

The implication and Keigo’s knowledge post- ‘the miel incident,’ as he was calling it, was obvious, and god, he wanted to fucking drown in it. The thought of having you so close that he could hear your heartbeat and feel the drum of your voice against your chest made him weak. 

He was so fucking weak for you.

It was distracting, as it always was. It seemed fairly unavoidable especially as anxiety chewed at him. The one thing that lulled him was the far off feeling of the feather he had tucked in your hand. It had to be close to you still, the beat of your heart sending him shudders if he focused on it hard enough.

It became too much, thinking of you.

As his feathers swept piles of rubble, he pulled out his phone, the sun beginning to sink in the evening sky. 

 You had spent most of your recovery time in and out of consciousness, enjoying the time to rest and sleep. 

A short buzz from your phone forced you into a half-wakeful state. You reached to the table next to the hospital bed, grappling for your phone.

 [birdboy]: hey r u alive, 

[birdboy]: how r u feeling

[birdboy]: speak 2 me

 You cracked a sleepy smile. 

 [you]: alive, tired, surgery-ied. 

 You took a quick snap of your booted, propped up foot.

 [you]: getting discharged tomorrow babyyyy

[birdboy]: oh fuck what happened?

[birdboy]: u sure ur good

 The feather against your collarbone twitched, filaments waving. You thought little of it.

 [you]: i tore some shit in my leg

[you]: and yes, just tired as fuck and want to be home

[you]: hospitals SUCK

[birdboy]: true, true

[birdboy]: would u... 

[birdboy]: like a visit perhaps?

[you]: u sure??

[you]: i know ur busy and i dont wanna use up ur freetime

 There was a pause in Keigo’s nearly instant responses.

 [birdboy]: dove.

 Your breath stuttered in your chest. That was newer; you only remembered it vaguely from the . It felt far more intimate than just ‘angel,’ and it made you shiver as you read it.

 [birdboy]: busy schedule??

[birdboy]: i’ll make the time angel

[birdboy]: i’d love to come visit u

 You couldn’t help the smitten expression that burst across your face.

 [you]: and i’d love to see you

 You wished you could’ve continued the conversation, but your night nurse knocked to offer you pain medication and sedatives and you couldn’t say no to more rest. Your mind and body needed it. 

As quickly as it was administered, you were out again. 

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 You were exhausted. Still. 

When you heard voices just outside of your door, you couldn’t help cracking open your dry eyes. It seemed far too early for them to collect your vitals. The room was still dark, large windows only showing a trace of the dawn’s light stretching from the east.

Your sleep-addled mind stretched to listen:

“Thank you so much for the autograph! My son is such a huge fan of yours.”

“Oh, really! Tell him I say hi! I really adore my fans.”

Giggling.

“Is she a fan?”

“Sort of, more of a friend of mine.”

 He... said it again.

 A shaft of light sprayed into the room, your quirk firing at the sudden intrusion. You groan, pawing at your eye with your fist, the feather held between your fingers blocking some of the light.

Even with your diminished vision and tired mind, you still caught it when he laughed at your reaction, stepping into the room.

Honey, softness, cream and heat that made your chest thrum like embers.

“H-Hawks?” Your voice was still itchy with sleep. 

“That’s me.” His laugh rolled over you as your quirk receded, palms thrumming with the silkenness of his voice, “It’s good to see you, dove.”

“S’nice to see you too,” Your chest thrummed with his words and you couldn’t restrain the smile that spread across your face, “‘Ya know, you woke me up, just now.”

Hawks gave you a little chuckle, moseying his way to a chair nearby the bed and window, “Sorry about that. I had to sneak in here before official visiting hours so I didn’t cause a ‘scene’.”

You snorted. 

“You, causing a scene?” You asked, raising your eyebrows at him, “Hawks? Never. Not once.”

He stifled a laugh, dragging the thinly-padded chair closer to the bed and leaning back into it, “Glad to see you’re in good spirits, considering you’re still here and all.”

“From what I can tell, it could be a lot worse, especially compared to other people that were there,” The end of your sentence turned sullen, your expression darkening. 

Hawks let out a little sigh, “It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure. But, you’re safe, and most folks are safe. Bright side.”

“Bright side.” You repeated, softer, looking up from the plain sheets to meet his gaze. 

You took him in, quickly. 

He looked a bit worse for wear, the exhaustion from the days before still visible on his features. The dark circles under his eyes almost looked worse, perhaps uncovered and deeper since the attack. His wings weren’t even visible from your angle, plucked too short and sparse to be of much use. 

But, Hawks was, undoubtedly, still stunning. 

It was almost distracting, how unavoidable mentally eating him up was. You’d felt what he was like during the attack and that had apparently broken some mental dam for you. Holding back just how much you liked him seemed futile, at least mentally. 

You would let yourself be honest, at least with yourself, as a treat. 

What probably also pushed you over the edge was the fact that he wasn’t in his hero uniform, for once. You’d only ever seen him in his tan and black get up before. Seeing him casually dressed was shocking and very hot.

Hawks wore a simple black long sleeve with a long, wool jacket over it, black jeans, nothing seemingly extravagant except for the nicer looking chunky sneakers he wore and the fat gold watch on his wrist. It was all designer, knowing his paycheck. Without all of his normal regalia, you could better see that his pierced ears carried some light yellow stones that played off his eyes.

His feathery golden waves were messy, falling over his forehead and temples. The curves and angles of his jaw looked accented by the rising dawn light that was just beginning to filter into the room. There was the smallest quirk in his plump lips, but it hardly detracted from how stunning he was. 

He was remarkably gorgeous, naturally, and you let yourself think about it freely.

 Keigo felt a bit bad, seeing you in your state. 

He tried to be subtle, looking you up and down, heart-thumping his chest as the feather in your hand-picked up your own pulse. It had sped up when he entered the room, even more so when you started to beam at him despite your state.

You looked like a bit of a mess, and with anyone else, Keigo might’ve indulged himself in being a little bit of sarcastic shit about it, but he didn’t with you. It didn’t seem right. 

Your booted foot was propped up, a hospital gown askew over your collarbones under some thin blankets you were nested underneath. Your dark circles could’ve been worse, but your eyes were shining and alert, all directed on him it made him ache all over in the best way.

 The feather twitched in your hand, your gaze darting to it. Heat spread across your cheeks. 

“Oh, uh, shit,” You stretched your arm to pass the feather back to him. “Here’s this back. Sorry, I’ve kinda been holding on to it... a lot.”

“It’s alright, that’s why I gave it to you,” Hawks assured you, the feather whisking from your hand on its own and back to the downy stubs that Hawks had left. “Just a little reminder that good ol’ Number Two is looking out for you.”

You hardly needed a reminder. Thoughts of Hawks had been filling your head since it had stopped from swirling from your quirk. The thought of him leaving a bit of him with you only warmed your insides. 

“How could I ever forget?” You leaned back into your pillows, releasing a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “Thank you, Hawks.”

Hawks blinked at you, reaching down to rustle something down by his feet, “For?”

“You know, saving my ass.”

“That’s my job, angel.”

“Still. You thank me every time I make you your drinks, right?” You shrugged at his wide-eyed expression. “Same principle. Except, your life isn’t on the line when I make you lattes.”

“Oh, angel,” Hawks drawled and deflected. “That is a false statement. I rely on those. They’re my lifeblood.”

A little realization dawned on you.

You gave him a sad little smile, rubbing your own knuckles for some semblance of comfort, “It’s gonna be a while until I can provide anything life-giving, then.”

The teashop was destroyed and who knew how long I’d be until they reopened. Not to mention that your leg was post opt and you couldn’t exactly work on it. 

Practicality aside, what saddened you most was that Hawks didn’t have much of a reason to see you without the shop. 

As much as you had feared it at the beginning of your friendship, you had gotten comfortable with Hawks’s presence in the shop and in your life. 

Too comfortable, and now it was biting you in the ass.

Thorns stabbed in your chest.

 Keigo noticed your slow-falling expression and frowned, “What’s on your mind?”

 “It’s nothing, just, uh...” You shook your head, blinking up at him,

Your voice cut off as your gaze refused to settle on him, Keigo clearly seeing your discomfort. 

“Without the teashop, you know...” Then, with that honesty that scared him, you finally met his eyes, gripping the sheets of your hospital bed, “I’m gonna miss seeing you.”

The principle made Keigo’s mind swirl.

You missing him.

His thoughts slipped back to ‘the miel incident’, and your mutual feelings that you very obviously didn’t fucking know about. If you did, he was sure you’d know that he would be missing you a lot without your normal interactions. 

This certainly wasn’t the setting to tell you, you were still stuck with an IV and probably somewhat traumatized by the event, even if you seemed in good spirits.

But, he could help assuage your fears. Subtly. Let himself use his honed arts to comfort rather than connive. 

“Dove, it’s alright,” He gave the softest smile he could, shreds of real vulnerability in it coaxed out by you without you even being aware of it. “Just because the teashop isn’t around right now doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you.”

The stunned expression on your face would’ve been cute if it didn’t make Keigo’s heart stutter painfully in his chest.

 “You... You do?” Your voice was so soft, you surprised yourself.

Hawks was a busy, busy man. Why the fuck would he bother with you? There was no cute coffee shop aesthetic in your foreseeable future. Maybe some decent drinks, but you wouldn’t be very mobile. You had some supplies and gear to make teas and some drinks at your apartment, but nothing as expansive as was destroyed at the shop. If it was flirty banter keeping him near, there were certainly other people he could go to for some natural chemistry, right?

He doesn’t need you.

Why the fuck would he bother with you, outside of what you could offer him?

“Dove,” Hawks’s voice shook you from your thoughts. “I’m here right now, aren’t I?”

“Uh,” You stuttered, mind catching up to the very obvious conclusion that, yes, Hawks does like having you around. “I guess, yeah.”

He frowned, leaning back in his chair as one of his smaller feathers whisked to your forehead, patting it a few times, “(Y/N), I like spending time with you. I care about you.”

Oh.

That was a little more vulnerability and truth than either of you expected.

Your eyes darted up to meet his, seeing a hint of unbearable fear before it was wiped away.

 You didn’t know it, but it was just you that pushed that fear off Keigo’s face.

He forced his shaking hands to be still, mouth drying after saying words that he wasn’t sure he was ready to say yet. God, they were true, but were they okay? For him, or you?

And then you gave him the gooiest, biggest smile you’d ever graced him with, “I care about you too, Hawks. Thank you.”

 It made both of your guts turn to mush.

In a stunned moment of silence, both of your breaths stuck in each of your throats. Neither of you could tear your gazes away from each other.

You both tightened your grip on your respective fabrics, your heart rate monitor beeping faster as you swallowed. 

Hawks opened his mouth, inhaling, but he was quickly interrupted by a knock on the door. A head poked in, the same nurse as before.

“Hey, sweetheart, we need to take your vitals quick,” She came in, waving to Hawks gleefully.

Hawks’s softened eyes were gone, you realized. Torn away from the moment and now speaking comfortably with the nurse as she checked what she needed to.

Your hands shook.

 Keigo noticed it, too, his own trembling as well. 

 The idle chat between Hawks and the nurse fell on your ears, though you didn’t process any of it. You were far too busy mentally coming to terms with the fact that Hawks cared about you. And, based on his tone and that familiar (but usually hidden) adoration in his eyes, it was a bit deeper than you expected and knew how to swallow.

You took a slow breath as the nurse left, Hawks waving with a wide smile plastered on his face.

When the door shut once more, there was a lull of silence that settled over the room. More early morning sunlight was beginning to slant into the room, throwing gold over the otherwise drab and lifeless greys and whites of the room.

The intense mood had been thoroughly interrupted by the nurse, but perhaps it was a hidden blessing. 

Both of you were terrified, but so deeply yearning. You both were a bit too raw. 

Maybe it would be better to let the fear fade, just a bit more. 

 “Oh, shit, I nearly forgot,” Hawks reached down next to him, pulling out a bag you hadn’t realized he had brought him. He set it on the edge of the bed. “I got you something.”

“Hawks.” You groaned, shaking your head and running your hands down your face. “You need to stop being so nice.”

“Can’t do that, (Y/N). I’ll be as nice as I want,” You could see that his grin was shit-eating through the space between your fingers. “Besides, you haven’t even looked at it yet.”

You took the bag into your lap, noticing the ruffles of tissue paper that puffed from the top. 

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” You told him, albeit still pulling the paper from the top to reveal a small, wrapped, fluffy object.

Hawks hummed, leaning forward to set his elbows on his knees, “You’re right. I didn’t have to. But, I wanted to.”

As carefully as you could, somewhat suspicious, you peeled back to the paper. 

Your eyes widened.

It was a plushie, round and soft with a filling that made it feel like a marshmallow in your arms. The design was familiar, a character from one of your favorite cartoons, but you’d never talked about it with Hawks.

“I figured you could use a little pick me up after all this,” Hawks tilted his head and winked. “Did I get the character right?”

Your mouth fell open, blinking, “How did you... know? That I liked this one?” 

“The little pins on your apron,” Hawks tapped his chest. “I figured you must be pretty fond of this one, since you had a couple of buttons for them, right?”

You wanted to give you a coherent, thankful statement to Hawks. Really, you did. Instead, you stared down at the doughy, round-eyed plushie. Maybe a few overwhelmed tears gathered in your eyes, which you promptly sucked down and shook your head.

“Thank you, really,” You rubbed at your eyes with the back of your hand. “But, fuck, Hawks—”

 For a moment, Keigo thought you were upset with him. Based on the slight contorting of your face, and the wetness in your eyes, his heart seized up. His fingers twitched from where they cupped his chin, wanting to shoot out and comfort you somehow. 

However, Keigo stayed put as you turned back towards him, plushie carefully gathered in your arms and hugged snugly and perfectly to your chest.

“You gotta stop being so fucking nice,” You sighed, pressing your face into the soft fabric of the gift. Your words were muffled, but Keigo heard each one perfectly. “I’m gonna start getting ideas, you know.”

Sure, Keigo could’ve pushed some of your buttons and fluffed himself up for some fun, flirty banter that would be undoubtedly lovely, but it wasn’t the time. You’d had a very long and tiring few days, and Keigo could see and imagine that you were in all sorts of disrepair.

Keigo stood slowly, moving just next to your bed where you turned your head upwards to look at him. Carefully, he placed a worn hand on your shoulder, feeling the small bit of bare skin exposed by the thin gown.

“Don’t worry about that right now, dove, okay?” Keigo let his voice go soft, quiet, and gentle as he could make it. Without thinking, he squeezed your shoulder, rubbing his thumb just under your collarbone.

It was too much, maybe. But neither of you would complain.

Keigo could see and feel the way you relaxed, eyes going half-lidded and leaning into his touch, even putting the slightest amount of your weight into it. 

It was probably the most precious and sweet gesture he’d ever experienced. 

He made it his goal to make more like it. 

(Anything to see you so instantly mushy.)

 “I saw a coffee machine when I was coming in,” Hawks voice was a hum, hand on your shoulder not moving. You didn’t want it to. The heat pressing against your skin made you melt. “Want me to grab us some? I know I need it.”

You managed to giggle, craning your neck to fully look up at Hawks. You swore you could see the slightest quiver in his bottom lip.

“I’d love some.”

“You sure you can stomach shitty coffee?” The thumb rubbed over your collarbone, Keigo’s pretty eyes searching your face, portraying far more than your words. “That’s my territory, angel.”

“I guess I’ll stoop to your taste,” You gave him a smirk like sweet lightning and tentatively, carefully, reached your hand up to wrap around his own, squeezing. “I take my coffee black.”

 ||||||||||||||||||||||

taglist: @thepandapopo @sinclairsamess

[doc-pickles]

anywhere i want (just not home)

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace

And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves

You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same

For the love of my life, the inspiration behind TS week, the wind in my sails… Happy later birthday @odd-birds-and-booksellers I hope you enjoy this

Always, Your Computer Wife,

Nina

+

We gather here, we line up

Weepin' in a sunlit room, and

If I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes too

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe

All the hell you gave me?

The pain in her cheek is still stinging as she struggles to open her eyes. There’s the faintest hint of sunlight filtering through the large window of her bedroom, a new day just beginning only hours after she’d finally been left alone long enough to find some peace.

The bed next to her is cold and empty, Paul having left for work while she was still crying and groaning in pain. He hadn’t spared her a second glance as he’d gotten dressed for the day, stepping over the puddle of blood that had collected on the floor where she’d laid for hours as he kicked her mercilessly, hurling harsh blows and leering insults as she’d tried to protect herself.

She pulls herself up and drags her barely conscious body to the shower, rinsing off the dried blood and sweat as she tends to the wounds she can see. She already knows she has at least one bruised rib and a sprained ankle, but she can’t do much about it now. For now all she can do is rinse off, lay in bed and hope that tonight doesn’t bring more of the same.

+

Jo bolts upright in bed, hand pressed to her chest as she attempts to slow her breathing down. The dream echoes in the back of her head, the painful memories replaying themselves in vivid technicolor right before her eyes.

She knows why they’re haunting her again, knows that he’s looking for her right now and that he won’t stop until he’s found her. Paul has made that much clear with his texts and letters, little signs to make it clear that they’re not done yet.

A hand closes over hers and she almost jumps before she remembers where she is. Jo squeezes Alex’s hand back, letting him pull her back down and into his embrace. As soon as his arms circle around her she can feel her body begin to calm down.

“It’s not even 2 AM, try and get some sleep, you need it,” Alex’s voice in her ears convinces her to close her eyes, even if sleep is far off the feeling of him so close helps to relax her. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you

'Til my dying day

It’s later that same day when Jo receives another text, the ping stopping her during rounds and prompting her to make a flimsy excuse to Meredith as she rushes to the nearest bathroom.

Can’t wait to see you soon, both of you.

The text lingers in her mind as her breakfast reappears, tears flowing as she tries to drown out the overwhelming noise in her mind. Paul didn’t make empty threats, that’s one thing she knew for sure. The texts she was receiving were just the tip of the iceberg for whatever he had in store for her.

“Jo? You in here?”

She can barely respond to Alex in between crying and being sick, her body overwhelmed as she tries to keep herself calm. Jo can hear Alex saying something incomprehensible as she begins to hyperventilate, his voice growing further away as her breathing became more ragged.

The last thing Jo registers before everything goes black is Alex holding her against his chest, his fingers threading through her hair in an attempt to calm her as his heartbeat echoed unsteadily in her ears.

When she comes back around Jo’s not shocked to find herself laying in a hospital bed, an IV and monitoring wires hooked up to her pale skin. Before she has a chance to overthink anything though Alex is in front of her, his hands running down her cheeks and wiping away the tears she hadn’t realized had collected there.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped you,” Alex’s voice is soft as she meets his eyes, his gaze causing her to melt into another round of tears. “Oh Jo, it’s okay.”

“It’s not! He’s going to kill me, he already knows where I am and this time he’s going to make sure I don’t survive,” Jo chokes the words out, her fingers ghosting over her protruding stomach. “Alex, he's not going to leave me alone until both of us are dead. I can’t put our baby at risk like that.”

The thought almost makes her sick again, her daughter kicking against her hand as she draws in a deep breath. Of all the wild and unexpected things her and Alex had been through, their daughter was by far her favorite. Even with a few weeks left until she arrived Jo already felt a fierce instinct to protect the little girl growing in her womb.

“I’m not going to let him get anywhere near the two of you, I promise,” Alex brushes back a few strands of hair lingering on her forehead, pressing a kiss to the cool skin as he settles into the bed next to her. “You’re safe with me Jo, both of you are.”

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace

Jo wants to believe Alex, she really does. Since her breakdown over Paul’s threats he had been by her side whenever he could. His presence was comforting but it did little to calm the raging mental battle she was fighting inside her head.

Now though, as she stares down at her daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms, she knows that she made the right decision. She just hopes Alex agrees with her.

“She's perfect, you did so good,” Alex had repeated the words over and over since Isla had made her appearance almost six hours ago, but they still prompt a smile on Jo’s face. “I love you two so much.”

“I love you, we both do,” Jo leans up and captures his lips with her own, lingering a little longer than she normally would as Alex’s fingers trace her cheek delicately. “Would you do me a big favor? I left my robe at home and it’s freezing in here. Could you go home real quick and grab it?”

Alex nods, a grin on his face as he stands from the chair at her bedside and gathers his keys and wallet. Jo watches him intently, memorizing every movement and expression that makes him exactly the man she fell in love with. He leans down to press one more kiss to her forehead then Isla’s before promising to be back soon.

As the door to her hospital room shuts, Jo looks down at her daughter, tears splashing onto the newborn's cheeks as her mother watches her, “Your daddy loves you very much, don’t you ever forget that.”

And you're the hero flying around, saving face

“Alex, are you coming to work today? It’s been a week,” Meredith’s voice rings out from the doorway of the loft, but Alex can’t bring himself to answer her. She’d been by everyday since he’d come home, her voice prodding at him the only sound in the loft.

He’d gone home to get Jo’s robe like she’d asked, finally finding it tucked away at the very back of the closet instead of hanging in the bathroom like it usually was. On his way back to her room, he’d stopped in the hospital gift shop and grabbed the fluffiest pink and white teddy bear sitting in the window. He had told the cashier that his daughter had just been born and showed off the photo of Jo and Isla that was already his phone lock screen.

And then he’d gone upstairs, the missing robe and teddy bear tumbling from his hands as he found an empty bed and bassinet, Jo and Isla’s bags gone from the room that they’d occupied not even an hour before when he’d left. He’d asked every nurse and doctor on shift but no one had an answer for him. When he finally made it back to the room, he saw the note hastily scribbled across a spare piece of paper, his knees giving way as he read the words printed in Jo’s recognizable script.

I couldn’t let him find us, I’m so sorry. Please don’t worry, we’re safe.

Love you always.

J & I

He’d sat on the floor of the hospital room until Meredith had come to collect him at the bidding of the nurses on the floor. She’d given him a sympathetic look and held him as he cried, only letting his guard down for his closest friend.

The reality hadn’t truly sunk in until he came home later that night to an empty loft filled with baby gear and the scent of Jo lingering on every surface. He’d screamed then, throwing pillows and couch cushions and anything he could find in an attempt to get some of his emotions out in the open.

It hadn’t helped though, the sadness he’d felt morphing into feelings of anger and helplessness. Alex knew that Jo was acting out of desperation, doing what she truly thought was right, and he couldn’t be mad at her for that. No, his anger was directed at the man that had pushed her to that point, had scared her and haunted her every move so horribly that she’d fled Seattle with their newborn daughter in tow.

As he ignores Meredith for yet another day, Alex let his mind wander to Jo and Isla for a moment. He knows Jo would never run with their daughter if she didn’t have a plan to keep her safe, but just the knowledge that they were out there without him broke his heart.

And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed

Look at how my tears ricochet

His fingers press down the collar of the light blue button up once more before sliding the black suit jacket over it. He examines himself in the mirror of the hotel room one last time before turning to leave. He’d only been to Seattle once before for a medical conference, but this trip held a much more important air to it.

Brooke, his Brooke, was close. Closer than she’d ever been before and he couldn’t wait to see her again. He was delighted when he’d found her again, even more so when he found out that she was a doctor giving him the perfect opportunity to drop in on her. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when he saw her.

We gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean

Some to throw, some to make a diamond ring

When Alex finally makes it back to work he’s met with an abundance of pitying looks and unhelpful comments. He knows most of his coworkers have good intentions but he’s in the verge of screaming at the next person who interacts with him. All he wants to do is work and try and forget that his daughter and the love of his life aren’t waiting for him at home like they should be.

“Alex! I have someone I want you to meet,” Arizona’s bubbly voice almost makes Alex roll his eyes, the blonde not doing much to improve his demeanor since he was in no mood to meet anyone new. “This is Doctor Paul Stadler, he’s an expert on laparoscopic surgery techniques which is always helpful when we have tiny humans to save.”

Alex can feel his blood run cold as he turns towards Arizona and the man standing next to her. Whatever picture he had painted in his head fades as he stares at the man in front of him. Despite his bright grin Alex knows exactly what Paul is capable of, what he had done and threatened to do to Jo.

“While I’d love to meet your whole team Doctor Robbins, I’m not here on business today. I’m looking for Doctor Wilson actually.”

“Oh,” Arizona’s face falls, gaze turning to Alex as his jaw tightens. “Actually she’s-“

“She’s gone, she left,” Alex’s voice has an edge that makes even him flinch at how harsh and cold it is.

Paul eyes Alex for a moment, looking him over before speaking again, “That’s unfortunate. Would you happen to know where she is? I’d love to speak with her.”

“Well get in line then because I've been waiting for her to come home for the past three weeks,” Alex slams the iPad in his hands onto the counter of the nurses station, eyes ablaze as he stares Paul down. “You harassed her for months on end and scared her so much that she ran away with our daughter hours after giving birth.”

Paul attempts to conceal the smirk on his face but fails, causing Alex to step towards him with clenched fists. Arizona steps between the two men, fixing Alex with a hard stare.

“Back up Alex. I know that you’re upset about Jo but-“

“But nothing! He’s the reason my girlfriend and daughter are gone!”

“Okay why don’t you take the rest of the day off,” Arizona’s hands squeezing his shoulders finally breaks Alex’s gaze away from Paul whose face has broken into a full on shit eating grin. Arizona and Alex exchange a look and he can tell she’s holding back her anger now as well. “Alex, go home.”

How can I when they’re not there?

The question echoes in his mind the whole drive back to the loft, Alex’s heart constricting as he sat on the edge of his and Jo’s bed. The loft was still empty, sounds still echoing off the walls as he sat alone. His mind brings up the image of Jo and Isla sitting in their hospital room as he walked away, not knowing that was the last time he’d see them.

He leans forward, reaching into his dresser and rummages around his sock drawer for a minute before pulling out a velvet box. When Jo had told him she was pregnant he’d immediately gone out and bought the ring. Not because of Isla, but because starting a family with Jo was all the confirmation he needed that she was it for him. Now the box sat collecting dust in his drawer, it’s future uncertain as he wondered exactly where Jo was.

You know I didn't want to have to haunt you

But what a ghostly scene

“And this is your daddy and your Auntie Meredith. They love you so much,” despite knowing that the infant couldn’t understand what she said or even clearly see the photo she had pulled up on her phone, Jo made sure that Isla knew about all of the people they loved in Seattle. “Your daddy misses you so much, baby girl. I’m sorry I took you away from him, I know that makes me a crappy mom.”

“You’re not a crappy mom,” Jo looks from Isla to the man sitting next to her, his hand settling on her shoulder as he fixes her with a knowing look. “You did what you had to do.”

“Some days it doesn’t feel like that,” Jo sighs, her head falling to his shoulder as she fights back tears. “I took her from her dad! I took her away from the only family she’ll ever have, Link. And why? Because I’m scared?”

Link pulls back from Jo, meeting her eyes as he speaks, “You had every reason to run, you know that. I’ve seen what he’s capable of, I wouldn’t want to worry about that all the time if I were you. Especially with a newborn, I get it. So don’t feel too bad for yourself, I think you made the right choice.”

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace

'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave

“Jo?”

The lights in the loft are off but Jo’s car is parked out front. When he switches the lights on Alex sees Jo shoving clothes into a tote bag, tear stains tracking down her cheeks.

“Jo what are you doing?”

"I'm going to Stephanie’s for a few nights, just until I can figure things out.”

Jo’s voice is nervous and she's talking a mile a minute. She still hasn't looked up at Alex but he can see the bright red hives cropping up on her neck already.

"I'm sorry it was an accident but I’m going to

fix it. It's my fault, I'll fix it!”

"What are you talking about,” despite the fact that he's spoken up more than once Jo seems to be in a world of her own.

“Don't worry about it, you don't need more stress,” Jo’s hands are shaking as she closes the bag she's holding. "It's still early, it'll be an easy fix. I'm going to fix it, I have an appointment scheduled."

It clicks for Alex then just exactly what Jo is talking about. He sinks to his knees next to her tilting her chin up so she’ll finally look at him.

“Are you pregnant?”

"I'm sorry, I missed my birth control it was an accident," Jo’s tone is frantic now as more tears begin to fall. "I have an appointment, I'm going to fix it-“

"Jo slow down, I'm not mad so stop apologizing,” Alex wiped at the tears that had collected on Jo’s cheeks. "You don't want our baby?”

Jo blinked up at Alex as if nothing he was saying was making sense to her.

“What's actually the matter Jo? Why were you so scared to tell me?"

“I… I'm married."

“What?"

“I'm married to a guy who nearly beat me to death. And when I got pregnant I thought he'd

be happy and maybe he'd let up, instead he yelled and screamed and then he,” Jo pauses, eyes downcast as she looks down at her hands. “When he was done with me for the night I wasn't pregnant anymore.

“He wouldn't let me get birth control though so the next time I just solved the problem quietly. And when it happened a third time I ran. I ran and changed my name and never turned back,” Jo finally looks up and meets Alex’s gaze, eyes watery still as he watches her. “I had a miscarraige that time, probably because of how banged up I was. But it got me out of there. So when I started having the same symptoms again I freaked out.”

“Oh Jo…”

“Alex, I’m terrified of my past and of losing you and losing this baby… I’ve already lost far too much. I don’t want to lose any more.”

“You’re not going to lose me. I’m all in with you even if it means we never get married. You and this baby mean everything to me. That is if you want it.”

“Of course I do, I want this more than anything. I want kids with you, I really do but…”

“Okay then we’ll do it.”

“Really? You dont think I’m too damaged or crazy?”

“Yes Jo, I want all of that,” Alex pulled Jo into his lap, placing a hand over her stomach as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you and you’re just about the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed

Look at how my tears ricochet

The room is spinning when she pries her eyes open, dried blood making the task difficult. She tries to sit up, but the pain radiating from her stomach keeps her down. She knows if she moves she’ll make it worse, but her body is in pain and she can’t lay in this position much longer.

As soon as she makes a move, the pain is back. She thinks it’s his foot that’s making contact with her ribs now, digging into her back as her body curls in on itself.

“Stop! Please!”

The cries are useless, they always are, but she hopes that maybe they’ll convince him to end her suffering sooner or throw the next punch a little softer.

“Please stop! Stop!”

Her shoulders are shaking as she blinks her eyes open again, a pair of blue eyes staring down at her in concern.

“It was just a nightmare, you’re okay and you’re safe,” Link’s words help to steady her heartbeat a little, her eyes moving to Isla who's peacefully sleeping in his arms. “I woke you up because I just turned the news on. Take a look.”

“Former Harvard University professor Paul Stadler was arrested early yesterday morning on charges of battery and assault against his girlfriend, who is still being treated for her injuries at Massachusetts General Hospital. Since his arrest, three more women have come forward with allegations against Stadler ranging from ongoing harassment to physical violence and sexual assault. Boston PD is asking any other victims to contact them at this time.”

Jo stares blankly at the television in front of her, eyes welling with tears as the news footage continues to roll. She wasn’t alone and she was so close to being free from Paul’s hold on her.

“You have to go to Boston, your testimony could put him away,” Link’s voice snaps her out of her reverie, eyes moving from the television to him. “Jo, he’s going to prison. You can finally be free.”

The hope that had ignited her heart just moments earlier was crushed as she played through the possibilities before her. What if she testified and Paul wasn’t put in prison? What if he continued to harass her? What if he hurt Isla? Or Alex?

“I can’t. I can’t face him again… There's too much on the line,” Jo looks away from Link, her tears finally falling. “I have too much to lose.”

“And you’ll be stuck right here if you don’t do anything!”

“At least I’ll be safe then.”

“And what about Alex? You’re okay never seeing him again? Never letting Isla see him?”

Jo stands suddenly, facing Link with an angry expression, “You don’t get to make the calls here Link! I appreciate everything you’ve done for us but I can’t risk everything when there’s not a guarantee that it’ll end up well.”

Jo storms out of the room then, complex emotions overwhelming her as she sinks into her bed. She wishes things were easier, were more black and white instead of the fuzzy grey she’d become so accustomed to. But they aren’t, they never would be with Paul and now she’d dragged Alex and Isla and even Link into the pools of grey she’d spent so long trying to avoid.

And I can go anywhere I want

Anywhere I want, just not home

Alex watched his phone ring for a moment, debating on picking up at all. He doesn’t recognize the number and he doesn’t know anyone from California. But he still clicks the green accept button, hoping whoever it was wasn’t going to waste his time.

“Hello?”

“Hi, I’m so glad you picked up.”

Alex freezes, stares at his phone for a moment, then brings it back up to his ear, “Jo? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” there’s a long pause and Alex almost thinks she’s hung up before she begins to cry. “I’m so sorry Alex. I’m so sorry we left you. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I know, I get why you left. I hate it but I understand,” a sigh leaves him as he rests his head against the wall next to him, tears forming in his eyes as well, “Are you okay?”

“Yes we’re both fine, I wouldn’t have left if I didn’t have somewhere safe to run to,” Jo sucks in a breath, as if her next words are taking everything out of her. “Paul is going to prison.”

“I know, I saw. Are you going to testify?”

“I don’t know. I want to but… There's too much at risk. I don’t want him to hurt you or Isla.”

Just the sound of his daughter's name tugs at Alex’s heart, the tears that had been welling in his eyes spilling onto his cheeks.

“If you don’t go you’re going to be living in fear for the rest of your life. But if you do, you can get closure. And you can save more people from getting hurt by Paul.”

She lets his words sink in for a moment before he hears her voice again, “I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too, you and Isla both,” Alex can hear shuffling in the background, a deep voice and then a small cry.

“I have to go, Alex.”

“Wait Jo-”

“I love you. We both do.”

“I love you too.”

The line goes dead then and Alex can’t help the sob that breaks from his chest. He misses Jo, misses Isla, misses the feeling of wholeness that came to him when he would climb into bed with Jo at the end of every day.

And you can aim for my heart, go for blood

But you would still miss me in your bones

Alex doesn't know what drives him to fly to Boston, but he feels a small sense of relief when he sees Paul Stadler in the defendant's seat. A sick feeling makes itself at home in the pit of his stomach as he watches half a dozen women testify to the horrors that Paul had put them through, detailing the ways he had tormented them. Jo had never gone into detail to him but if what she went through was even half as bad as what he was hearing then he understood why she had gone to such extremes to hide from Paul.

He watches as the final woman testifies and finds her seat again, the courtroom silent except for the prosecuting attorneys whispering among themselves. Finally, one of the lawyers stands and addresses the courtroom, “Your honor, we’d like to call our final witness. The prosecution calls Brooke Elizabeth Stadler, now Josephine Alice Wilson, to the stand.”

Alex feels the air leave his lungs as he watches Jo approach the bench. Her hair is shorter and a dirty blonde color but she’s still the same woman he knows so well. The dark blue dress she’s wearing sways lightly as she takes the stand, stating her name and swearing in before she begins to give her testimony. Jo explains how she and Paul met, how they married, and then she goes into the abuse she endured. Alex listens to the detailed accounts she gives, accompanied by the numerous hospital reports.

“And then one day I got sick of it and I ran. I knew Paul would find me though so I fled the state and changed my name. I started a new life and I have a beautiful daughter,” Jo finally meets Alex’s gaze and he gets the overwhelming urge to wrap her up in his arms and hold her close. “But Paul found me again and he was threatening me so as soon as my daughter was born I ran again. I left behind my new life, the only place I’ve ever felt safe because I knew he would find me again and I couldn’t risk him hurting my daughter.”

The air in the courtroom is thick as Jo’s words sink in. Alex knows he’s not the only one who’s been affected by her testimony and the words of everyone that went before her. The prosecutor thanks Jo, the defending attorney waiving their right to question her. As she steps down from the stand she meets Alex’s gaze for a moment before turning away and going back to her seat.

And I still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky)

And when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)

“Jurors, have you come to a decision?”

“We have your honor,” there’s a tense silence in the courtroom as the decision is handed off to the judge. “We find the defendant Paul Stadler guilty on all charges.” A breath of relief leaves Alex as he turns to look at Jo. There’s tears streaming down her face and the slightest hint of a smile as she looks at him. Before he can get up and go to her though she's surrounded by the other women who had testified, all of them crying in relief.

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace

And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves

She sees him about fifty feet in front of her, his back to her as he stands almost perfectly still. She watches him for a moment, his slumped shoulders and overall defeated attitude and for a moment she feels guilty for what she’s put him through in the past three months. Before she can dwell on the feeling for too long Alex is turning towards her, looking over her with that same sad expression he’d been wearing in the courtroom.

There’s a moment where all Jo and Alex do is stare at each other before she finds herself rushing forward and launching herself into his embrace. His arms are holding her tightly, refusing to let go even as she begins to cry into his chest.

This moment, the feeling of being in Alex’s arms again, is all Jo has wanted since she’d left Seattle.

You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same

“Alex, I’m so-”

“Stop, you don't need to apologize to me,” Alex pulls back from Jo, one hand coming to cup her cheek. “I get it, I understand where you’re coming from. I know why you ran so don’t ever think of apologizing to me. I’m just glad that you’re safe.”

A fresh round of tears springs to Jo’s eyes as she looks up at Alex, “I don’t deserve you. I’ve put you through so much.” Alex blinks down at Jo, not believing what he’s hearing. Their relationship had never been one sided, they’d both supported each through tough situations and had come out stronger at the end. In his eyes this was nothing more than another speed bump.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want you back Jo. I love you and all of this? None of it changes how I feel about you,” Alex leans down and presses a gentle kiss to Jo’s lips. “I love you and I’m glad you’re back in my arms.”

And you're cursing my name, wishing I stayed

“Hey! I just heard the verdict!”

Jo turns at the sound of Link’s voice, a wide smile spreading across her face as her best friend comes into view. It’s not so much the blonde man’s presence that makes her grin as it is the infant in his arms. Isla is wide eyed as she looks at Jo, the three month old blinking up at her mother with a sense of wonder.

“Hi baby girl, I have someone who’s very excited to see you,” Jo eagerly takes her daughter from Link before turning and looking at Alex. “Isla say hi to daddy, he missed you sooo much.”

The look on Alex’s face as he takes Isla from Jo’s arms is priceless, tears welling in his eyes as he lets out a watery laugh. The little girl snuggles comfortably into his arms, as if she had done it a hundred times before and Jo can’t help her own tears as they leak onto her cheeks.

“You three get together, I think this moment needs to be remembered.” Alex and Jo both heed Link’s instruction and wipe their tears away to boast wide grins. The photo of the three of them squeezed together after a grueling ordeal graces their family mantle for years to come. Even when there are dozens of other family photos, pictures from Alex and Jo’s wedding, and the birth of their second daughter, the photo of Jo, Alex, and Isla standing in front of the courthouse in Boston remains the centerpiece of their living room as a reminder of the sacrifices they all made to keep their family together.

Look at how my tears ricochet

[thepatricktreestump]

whatever you say - peter parker imagine

A/N: I don’t normally write nsfw spidey things but my fingers just wouldn’t stop typing so please do forgive me… not any actual smut, just lots of flirting and implications of sexual favors

               It was strange, but for some reason, you found complete comfort in the simplicity that was Peter Parker. He lived in a small apartment with his Aunt May in Forest Hills, went to Midtown High, and at first glance, seemed like your typical teenage boy. May worked as an ER nurse and Peter kept up on his studies, proving to be a straight A student who succeeded not only in school, but in extracurriculars and academic teams as well. He liked science and math, he was really good at building robots, and he thoroughly enjoyed memorizing equations. When he wasn’t acing his tests, he spent his free time building LEGOs and watching Star Wars in his apartment or walking through town and debating between eating pizza or sub sandwiches. He had a messy bedroom cluttered with dirty laundry, an assortment of different computer parts, and countless science textbooks and academic journals. Three months ago, when you first started dating Peter Parker, this is the boy you thought you knew.

               Your life, however, felt like the complete opposite. Being the daughter of Tony Stark, your day to day was far from simple. You lived in Stark Tower with Tony, cooped up on a floor with everything you could ever want or need, a master bedroom with a flat screen television, personal jacuzzi, walk in closet, arcade- you name it, Tony had it. School proved to be a breeze, and you had your MIT valedictorian of a father to thank for that, leaving you plenty of time for your own sort of extracurriculars. Rather than hang out at school and build lousy robots with Peter Parker, you’d much rather go to the lab and work on some high tech AI coding, super suit dynamics, or machine prototypes with your dad and the other avengers. He often urged you not to get too involved for your own safety, but you found yourself growing close with Bruce and Sam, bonding over your shared love for innovation. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t take after your father.

               However, months passed, and the more time you spent with Peter Parker, the more you caught onto the fact that his life might not have been as normal as you initially thought it was. He kept disappearing randomly, ghosting you on planned dates, or not showing up at school. At first you thought he was just nervous, or maybe he didn’t really like you, but upon further investigation, it was evident. His life was just as crazy as yours. Although you thought it was weird that he never bothered telling you he was Spider-Man, and even weirder he didn’t inform you that he previously knew your dad, you almost liked the fact that you could share your secret world of superhero knowledge with him. You found yourselves relating to each other by joking about Steve’s old fashioned manners or Natasha’s resting bitch face. Although, other times also through confiding secret fears or discussing worst possible outcomes.

               Tonight was one of the latter, you and Peter talking on the phone despite the time reading two in the morning, him trying to ease your anxiety. “It’s just been a couple days and Tony’s still not back yet…” you sighed, shrouded by your blankets, the soft glow of your phone illuminating the dark room. “He’s with Sam and he’s probably going to be just fine, but I’m still scared. And I know, I know. I’m not supposed have knowledge about those affiliated with the mission or his location, but sometimes I just can’t help but worry.”

               “It must be hard,” Peter hummed in sympathy. “I’m sorry you have to go through that. May feels the same way about me.”

               You paused for a moment. “I know it’s a horrible thing to think, and I’m probably just psyching myself out but-” your voice caught, shaking your head, closing your eyes. “Sometimes I wonder what if one day he just doesn’t come back.”

               “Hey,” Peter hushed. “Try not to think about that, okay? He’s Iron Man, y/n, he’s fought alien monsters and literal gods, he should be just fine. Mr. Stark never goes down without a fight, he’ll be back. I’m sure of it.”

               “I just can’t sleep not knowing,” you confessed, feeling sorry for dragging Peter into your own personal troubles. “I don’t know, I’m sorry… I’m probably keeping you up, and you have a calc test tomorrow-”

               “No, no, don’t apologize, you’re okay,” your sweet boyfriend insisted. He paused, listening to your heavy breathing. “Do you want me to come over?”

               “W-what?” you asked, confused.

               “I know it’s late but if it would make you feel better, I can come over,” Peter offered. “I’ll just come to your window and you can let me in that way. I can keep you company, you can talk to me, or we can watch a movie to get your mind off things, I don’t know. Only if you want to.”

               “You’d do that for me?” you wondered, growing soft at his words.

               “I just don’t want you to be sad,” he explained. “And I know it’s hard with your dad being gone and all, and sure Pepper’s there, but I know you’ve never really been that close with her, and I just- I don’t know. I feel like you’re lonely, and I want to help.”

               “Yeah, thank you,” you gave a soft smile. “I mean, if you want to, I wouldn’t fight you on it.”

               “Just be sure to disarm FRIDAY before I come,” he reminded. “I don’t need your dad putting bars on your windows the next time I try to visit you like this.”

               “Oh right!” you suddenly came to the realization. “Smart. I’ll go do that now.”

               “Cool, I’ll see you in a few. Don’t miss me too much,” he teased.

“Hey, be safe! No texting and swinging!” you reminded playfully as you hung up and instantly got to work, shedding your sheets and grabbing your laptop, sliding back into bed and working out some coding.

               Just as Tony had previously set up a baby monitor protocol on Peter’s suit, he had likewise set up parental controls through FRIDAY on all of your tower floor. You learned this when you tried to sneak out to a party Tony specifically forbid you from going to, and when you finally reached the elevator doors, FRIDAY locked you inside and you had to wait for Tony to come and get you. Since then, you’d been smart enough to disarm the system anytime you left your room after curfew or got into any other business Tony would obviously disapprove of. Spider-Man sneaking through your window at two in the morning to give you comfort cuddles? Probably something your father would disapprove of.

               Peter tapped twice and waved, you rolling your eyes and laughing, motioning for him to come in before he slid up the glass of your window and crawled through, brushing off his suit and tugging off his mask, smiling once he clearly saw you sitting in bed, wearing one of his hoodies, grinning back at him.

“Hey Spidey,” you beamed, watching as he walked over towards your bed, kissing you softly. He tasted sweet, like candy, and you melted into the kiss, grabbing the back of his head and staying there for a moment before pulling away. He gave the best kisses.

               “Heard someone needed some cheering up,” he whispered, tossing his mask on your night stand as you made grabby hands begging him to crawl into bed with you. He chuckled, giving in and situating himself underneath your covers awkwardly. You laughed alongside him, tugging him closer, pulling the sheets up over both of you, initially wincing at how cold his suit was when you went to wrap your arms around him.

               “You’re freezing, Peter,” you hissed and he chuckled, rolling his eyes.

               “It was windy outside, alright?” he sighed. “Come warm me up.”

               “Well come closer, doofus,” you chuckled. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to him, your head resting against his shoulder, arm draped over his chest, fingers playing with locks of his hair. Your voice grew to a soft whisper. “Thanks for coming, baby.”

               “Anything for you, love,” he insisted, his hand rubbing soft circles on the small of your back. The room grew quiet, his hands trailing up and down your back, your fingers brushing through his messy brown locks, both of you simply enjoying each other’s company. At some point you both fell asleep, soft snores dissipating throughout the room, holding each other.

                In the morning, Peter begrudgingly convinced himself he had to get up and get ready for school, kissing you on the forehead and reassuring he’d see you at lunch later that day. You groaned yourself, realizing you should probably get up and resume FRIDAY’s commands before Pepper or Happy got suspicious as to why she wasn’t giving them any updates on your morning status. You took a shower and threw on some clothes, getting ready for the school day, smiling once you saw Peter waiting for you by your locker, a Starbucks cup in his hand.

               “What’s this?” you couldn’t help but laugh in surprise.

               “Well I know you were sad last night and again, I just wanted to cheer you up,” he shrugged, and you found it adorable that you had been dating for going on four months now and he still got flustered being around you. “I know you like the pink one with the strawberries and the coconuts, but they were out, so I got you a peach lemonade instead, I hope that’s okay-”

               “It’s wonderful, Peter,” you insisted, taking a sip and smiling fondly at your boyfriend. “Thank you. For everything. Really.”

               “Damn Peter, you’re buying y/n Starbucks now?” Ned approached both of you. “You never buy me Starbucks.”

               “I’m not dating you, Ned,” Peter narrowed his eyes, laughing.

               “You don’t have to kiss me to buy me a cold brew,” Ned sighed.

               “Anyways,” you rolled your eyes at the two boys quarreling. “You ready for that calculus exam?”

               “I studied all night,” Ned smiled. “I’ve got this one down. How about you, Parker? I bet you were up late last night studying too, huh?”

               “Up late last night,” you agreed. “I don’t know about studying though.”

               Ned’s eyes went wide and both you and Peter laughed, the bell ringing and all of you walking to your classes. As they day went by, you started to find your mind lingering back to your dad. As much of an asshole as he was sometimes, and as overbearing and overprotective as he could get, you really did love him and care about him. Others would probably call you lame, but you really did see Tony as one of your best friends. He helped you build amazing inventions, supported you in all your academic endeavors, and did his best to look out for you. Whenever he was gone on missions for longer than a week, you always started to get worried as far as whether or not he would come back.

               Peter could sense your anxiety, trying to lighten your mood with jokes or place a hand on your shoulder as a sign of affection. Afterschool he approached you, clutching onto the straps of his backpack, seeming nervous. “I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough day. I was thinking we could take your mind off of things and you could spend the night at my place tonight?” he offered.

               “Really?” your eyes lit up, thinking how you would love more than anything to get out and do something tonight. Nothing was worse than staying at home and wallowing in your feelings.

“Yeah,” he gave a soft smile, thinking about how adorable you looked when you got excited. “Aunt May is working night shift so maybe, if it’s cool with you, we can grab a pizza, play some video games, and then watch a movie?”

               “Of course,” he insisted. “And we can stop somewhere on the way home to grab some snacks too.”

               “I’ll give Pepper a call and ask if I can stay over tonight, I’ll probably just say I’m with Gwen or something,” you grinned. “She’ll say yes, she usually lets me have free rein whenever Tony’s out of town.”

               “Awesome,” Peter beamed.

               Sure enough, you found the two of you hours later on the floor of his bedroom, eyes fixated on a television screen, playing Mario Kart and chowing down on some pepperoni pizza and cherry slushies. It was practically a ritual for you to hang out with Peter on weekends. As long as he didn’t have an academic decathlon the next morning, Aunt May let you stay as late as you wanted on Fridays. Saturdays you spent fooling around in the lab working on suit modifications, recalibrating certain machinery, or working on new projects. Sundays were official lazy days, both of you usually sleeping in and meeting up midday to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie, usually wrapping up with finishing your weekend homework over facetime. However, on the weekends in which Tony or May were out of the house, the two of you liked to have sleepovers. Usually at Peter’s for the sake of having to navigate FRIDAY’s complicated algorithms.

               It wasn’t like anything particularly steamy happened between the two of you. You had been only dating for a handful of months now, and you were both in high school. Sure, you and Peter liked to cuddle a lot, and hold hands, and play with each other’s hair, but that was simply just affection. And of course, you loved kissing each other, especially when nobody else was around to make fun of you or scold you. Sometimes you found yourself getting into make out sessions, pressed up against each other and finding it hard to catch your breath, hearts racing and desperately clinging onto each other.

Occasionally it would heat up a little bit more than that, some grinding and groping and moaning, and a handful of times Peter’s taken his shirt off, but that was about it. You hadn’t even really reached second base with him yet. And you weren’t complaining, you were glad you were taking things slow. But at this point, you were ready. It just felt like it was time. But you knew this was Peter’s first serious relationship, and you didn’t want to put any pressure on him or rush him into things, so you were complacent with playing Mario Kart and eating pizza in the meantime.

               “I am sooo going to kick your ass,” you warned Peter, pressing down hard on your Wii remote and hitting him with a red shell as your character zoomed past him on the race track, and he simply just laughed.

               “Yeah? Wait till I break out Rainbow Road,” he insisted.

               “Are you actually Satan or do you just hate me?” you narrowed your eyes. “There is no way I’m playing that shit, I think I’d rather forfeit.”

               “It’s all about strategy and focus,” he argued, knocking Luigi out from second place, tailing right behind you, eyes glued to the screen.

               “Strategy? You sound like Ned,” you snorted, drifting a curve and heading towards a shortcut. “That racetrack is nothing but a holographic highway of death.”

               “If we had it your way, we would be playing Moo Moo Meadows on an endless loop,” Peter teased and you gasped playfully.

               “What? It has fun music and I like looking at the cows,” you whined and he laughed, passing you at the last minute and scoring first place, making your jaw drop. “What the hell? How?”

               “What can I say? You’re dating a winner, baby,” he grinned and you rolled your eyes, shaking your head and taking another bite of your pizza.

               “I’m dating a jackass,” you joked. “You can’t let me win just once? Come on, be nice.”

               “I used to do that, and you made fun of me for it,” he pointed out. “Remember the first week we started dating?”

               “You literally used to go in reverse until I caught up with you,” you replied flatly. “It was ridiculous, Peter. It’s not like you made it subtle that I happened to suck at the game or anything.”

               “I just didn’t want you to feel bad,” he reassured, and you chuckled, taking a sip of your slurpee and sighing, leaning your head on his shoulder.

               “So another round or are we going to move onto Smash Bros?” you raised an eyebrow.

               “Up to you,” he shrugged, taking a bite of his pizza as well.

               “How about we play another round of Mario Kart,” you suggested. “But whoever wins gets a prize.”

               “Like what?” he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the mischievous grin on your face, doubtful.

               “I don’t know, a hoodie or something,” you perused innocently and he let out a breathy laugh.

               “You’ve already stolen all of mine, so I’m not sure I’d have another one to give you quite honestly,” he admitted and you smiled, mind wandering elsewhere.

               “What about…” you pouted your lips, trying to think up something good. “What about if I win, I get to do anything I want to you? And if you win, you get to do anything you want to me. All within reasonable boundaries of course.”

               “Woah,” Peter’s eyes widened. “Is this the part when you tell me you actually work for Hydra and you gut me like a fish or something?”

               “Pshh no that’s ridiculous,” you shook your head.

               “What do you mean ‘do whatever you want to me?’ Huh?” he inquired, mischievously raising an eyebrow. “This seems oddly torture-like.”

               “It’s not going to be torturing,” you stared at him, unamused. “I could never hurt you.”

               “Then what could you possibly want to do to me?” he sighed, looking at you, entertained with your shenanigans, taking a sip of his cherry slushie.

               “I dunno,” you shrugged, stirring your straw in your cup a couple times before casually telling him your suggestion. “Suck your dick I guess.”

               He instantly spat out his slurpee, eyes widening, shocked. “E-excuse me, what?”

               “I said if I win, I’d probably suck your dick I guess,” you shrugged again and he blinked at you, entire face flushed red, stuttering and stunned all at the same time. Your lips curled up in a small smile, thinking of how much you loved to see him like this, a literal blushing virgin. He was adorable, really.

               “Well gosh, I uh…” he looked down at the red icee he had spat all over his t-shirt and then up at you, still at a loss for words. “You don’t really have to beat me at Mario Kart to get my permission to do that, you know.”

               “Yeah, but this way makes it a lot more fun, yes?” you smirked and he swallowed awkwardly, absolutely frazzled.

               “S-sure, I guess you’re right there,” he nodded slowly, still staring blankly at the slushie stains. “How do you know I’m not going to just let you win?”

               “Because…” you drew out, looking at him, still smirking. “If you win, then you get to do whatever you want to me.”

               He paused, turning towards you, breath hitching. “Anything?”

               “Well again, no torture or killing or whatever but-” you clarified and he laughed, rolling his eyes.

               “Yeah, of course, but uh…” he got lost staring at you again and you couldn’t help but wonder what he could possibly be thinking of. “Shit, I’m in.”

               “Really?” you bit down on your lower lip, almost too excited for this bet.

               “Definitely,” he nodded, feeling a bit more confident. “Just give me a second.” He slipped off his t-shirt and you watched intently, noting how built and lean he was. There were certain perks to dating Spider-Man, and it was moments when your boyfriend was sitting in front of you shirtless like this that you were ever most grateful for them.

               “Well shit, Parker,” you laughed to yourself and he stared at you, confused.

               “What? My shirt had slushie all over it,” he insisted and you looked at him, narrowing your eyes.

               “Uh huh…”

               “No for real!”

               “Totally not trying to tease me or anything over here.”

               “Oh whatever! Just start the game.”

               “Give me a second,” you insisted, reaching down and deciding to take it one step further, slipping off your own sweatshirt and revealing your bra underneath, looking at him, anticipating his reaction. Seeing him like this, you wanted to take a picture and capture it forever. He looked breathless, staring at you, his eyes dark and fixated, his lips parted, mesmerized. You couldn’t help but smile. “See something you like, Spidey?”

               “Yeah,” his eyes flickered up to yours, still blushing. “You.”

               Grinning, you leaned over to kiss him, then pulled away, picking up your Wii remote and selecting your favorite racetrack. “Good luck,” you winked.

“Good luck yourself,” he laughed. “Seeing as the only time you ever beat me in Mario Kart is when my controller dies, I think you’re the one who’s going to need it.”

“Fine, to hell with luck,” you rolled your eyes as the countdown started. “Maximum effort.”

               Both of you pressed down hard, zooming through the track, eyes fixated on the screen, cursing and screaming and hooting and hollering as you gained power ups and got knocked off the road by each other. By far, the most intense game of Mario Kart you’ve ever played in your life. Each round you seemed to egg each other on more and more, and although you clearly knew how this was going to end, you couldn’t help but at least try your very best. First place trophy spinning on the screen, Peter’s tongue ran over his lower lip, glancing over at you as nervousness flowered in your chest. What did he have in mind?

               “I don’t think either of us saw that coming,” he stated sarcastically and you looked at him incredulously.

               “Alright then Peter Parker,” you hummed lightheartedly, shutting off the television and setting your controller down, sighing as you leaned back and rest your weight upon your backwards palms. “What do you have planned for me?”

               “Well…” he looked at you shyly, almost hesitant, and you began to grow even more curious. “I know you said ‘anything I wanted’ or whatever, but I want to make this enjoyable for you too, and that sure you’re okay with everything I’m doing.”

               “By all means, don’t stop for me,” you insisted, small smile tugging on the edge of your lips. “If you say or do anything I don’t like, I’ll speak up. Don’t worry.” He hummed softly in acknowledgment, nodding as he looked towards the floor, still nervous, then cleared his throat.

               “I think seeing as your intentions were to seduce me, I guess I have no choice but to go along with the theme,” he rolled his eyes playfully, slowly gaining confidence and crawling closer to you, making your heart beat twice as fast. He kissed you on the lips, soft and sweet and slow, and then pulled away, lowering his face so that his mouth was barely brushing up against your ear, his voice lowering to a whisper. The entire mood of the room shifted, into something more serious. “So, I think you should lay on the bed for me.”

               “Whatever you say,” you smiled sweetly, trying to hide your nervousness and doing as told, getting up and making your way to his bed, laying down on your back, watching as he stood at the end, looking you up and down, licking his lips. You could tell something inside of him changed. He didn’t seem so timid anymore, afraid to suggest something or speak up. His shoulders rolled back, his feet planted solid in the ground, his entire stance exuding confidence. It was different, dominant and alluring, and you couldn’t help but be captivated by it. He was entrancing like this, dark eyes gazing over your body, shirtless, hands dipping down into the waistband of his jeans, brows furrowed, pondering what to do with you.

               “Hands up. Against the bedframe,” he ordered, and you looked at him, trying to analyze what he had in mind as you tentatively did as instructed, positioning your arms above you, against the wooden frame. In what seemed like an instant, he suddenly flicked his wrists outward, webs springing from his fingers and you gasped as the sticky substance pinned your hands above you, a mess of webs fixating them to the wooden plank. You eyes widened and then narrowed.

               “Didn’t know Spidey was into bondage,” you bit down on your lower lip, aroused by his dominance and playfulness all the same.

               “Didn’t know you could be so naughty,” he quipped back and you blushed, trying to look away, shy.

               “Nuh uh, none of that,” he argued with a chuckle, crawling on top of you and raising your face to look at him with one of his hands, making your eyes meet. “If I do recall correctly, you were offering to suck me off a moment earlier. Seemed pretty eager too.”

               “Still am if that’s what you fancy, Peter,” you suggested, eyes twinkling with a glint of naughtiness, but he just shook his head, smiling.

               “I think I have other plans for you tonight,” he insisted, kissing you again this time, but rougher, his tongue sliding in between your lips and up against your own, then retreating to have his teeth catch your lower lip, dragging it between them before he pulled away, devilish smirk on his face.

               “Mind filling me in on the agenda?” you asked with a breathy voice, fluttering your eyelids and parting your lips, bucking your hips up to meet his.

               “It involves your pants off, and my head between your legs, and you moaning my name,” his eyes flickered up to meet yours. “And then me fucking you into this bed until those moans turn into screams.”

               “Holy fuck,” you whispered, eyes glazed over, staring at him, practically speechless.

               “Sound good to you, sweetheart?” he hummed, fingers tracing over your stomach, playing with the hem of your waistband.

               “Shit…” you laughed to yourself quietly, eyes still fixated on him, feeling unbelievably flustered. “I think I ought to up the ante on Mario Kart wins a whole lot more from now on.”

[char-lotta]

Forget me not (Part 2/3)

Pairing: Jake x MC

Words: 2,8 k

Summary: Forgetting is hard, but forgiving is harder.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3

A/N: See the ending (spoilers)

Forget me not, part two

It had been two days since you had figured out her plan of going to Duskwood. You had tried to follow up on her, spying on her friend’s phones, but oh boy, she was smart. There was absolutely nothing suspicious on the message and call logs and they wouldn’t give away her location. You had logged on the traffic camera near Jessy’s, but it showed only her getting out of her apartment and going in, and occasionally Richy with her. Cleo’s door could be seen partly on CCTV of bakery shop near her, and you could confirm yourself that she wasn’t there either. One by one, you ruled out everyone she knew in Duskwood, even that disgusting fuckboy Phil, who seemed to have two girlfriends at the time. You couldn’t resist and sent an image of Phil and the blonde girl to the third wheel via anonymous text and entertain yourself looking the rage-filled texts for a while. MC’s phone was still turned off and hadn’t been on since her departure. She wasn’t on motel’s guest lists, but you had your doubts about using aliases, so you checked on the CCTV on motel’s parking lot. Nothing. Like the earth had swallowed her.

You stared numb on your screen. You had turned every stone to find her and now you had to just admit it, you had no idea where she was and why she had left. That was actually none of your business, you had to remind yourself, but how could you keep her safe in the future if you didn’t know her whereabouts?There was only one option and you knew it. Few clicks later and you received a now familiar message:

Thank you for booking your trip to Duskwood from us!

You decided early on that you would avoid meeting her directly with all costs. You just had to see her in your own eyes that she was alright and figure out some data so you could keep track on her later. You packed lightly, just your laptop and some clothes and left your safehouse with a doubt in your mind. You had this terrible feeling that something bad was about to happen and you didn’t have a clue, what it could be.

The train left on time and you looked out of the window in the darkness. It would be middle of the night when you arrived, and you hoped that the night would cover you for unwanted attention that your arrival could rise. You checked on your phone once again and saw that she was still offline. You scrolled your ridiculous short lists of conversations; MC, Lilly and Hannah and all of them were from months ago. You wondered if you should send a text to Lilly and Hannah but terminated it quickly. This mess didn’t need any more participants that it already had.“The Duskwood Express will arrive on platform 2 – “

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

You tossed your backpack on the comfy looking bed and looked around you. This motel room was too familiar from the time you had searched Hannah and it brought some painful memories to you. You remembered all those texts with MC in this room, how it had brightened your mood instantly when you had opened the messaging app and saw MC’s enthusiastic texts about the investigation. She had teased and pushed your buttons many times with those cheeky messages of hers, and you would do anything to get back of those times, where it was almost carefree. She, or anyone else had had no idea, that you had stayed in Duskwood all that time, monitoring closely everything that happened.

You allowed your mind return of that one night, when you met MC first time after Hannah had been found and you had instantly clicked with her, to the point where you completed each other’s sentences at first night so easily, that you thought that you had knew her long time. When she laughed and it had sounded like little birds in the spring, and it reminded you of a small, happy river with easy flow. When she made you laugh with her and it was the easiest thing you had ever done, felt like a different life now and was a fade memory now. You had touched her gently and her skin was so soft that your fingers slide like a good dream on the back of hers. When she kissed you and you forgot everything else in the world and drowned in those lips like a leaf in the open sea. Your sweaty bodies together naked on the bed, exploring all places and surfaces on your bodies. Sound of her moaning and calling your name, over and over again and it was the sweetest thing what your ears had heard. You inside of her.

You couldn’t breathe and opening a window felt the most logical thing to do. Spring breeze welcomed your face and you tried to calm down from the emotional rollercoaster you had spent your last 15 minutes on. You suddenly felt very tired, like you hadn’t slept on months, which were kind of true. Exhaustion overtook you, and you turned off the light, drifting to a world with full of nightmares.When you woke up, it was still dark and you had to think for a while, where the hell you were. Recalls from last night came like a car accident – quickly and violent, and you had to close your eyes again to get rid of the absolute horror what flooded you.

It took few minutes until you calmed down and turned the light on. Still groggy from the sleep, you brushed your teeth and made coffee in the small kitchenette. You had a feeling that you would need a lot of coffee to survive for the day.

You made logical assumptions that she would be with her friends, why else she would had come here? Jessy was her best friend, but she was close to Lilly and Hannah too, so you divided your screen with three tracking programs and one by one, the CCTV near them opened in the screen.

Now you waited them to woke up and start their day.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The GPS tracker on Lilly’s phone showed her to be heading to downtown. You followed her steps via your monitor and pulled every single camera on that route to see what she was up to. She was alone and clearly in a good mood. Small smile crept up on your lips when you watched her, you were glad that she was doing okay.

She arrived on the local Tesco and after a while, she came out with a bag of groceries. You waited her return to her apartment, but she took a left turn from the road, which was new. Interested, you zoomed in with the camera and saw her going in a building near the town square. You waited for several minutes, but she didn’t come out and then you knew it.

You had found her.

You had your confirmation in hour later when they both came out from the building. They were laughing together, and you could see from afar, that MC was teasing Lilly about something, since she looked joyful and Lilly rather morbid. You recognized her mood quite well. You looked MC like you were enchanted, forget to breath and all you could see was her. She had cut her hair shorter; it was above her shoulders now and all slightly curly, and you actually liked it. She could also shave her whole head, and you would still like it. She was wearing a loose cardigan and jeans and those red shoes, which you had teased her as belonging to Dorothy from Oz. She looked happy and safe.

And that was all that mattered.

You allowed yourself to look at her for a minute and then you turned the screen off. Your work here was done; now you knew where she lived and could see her on street cameras, and you would find her new phone number based on address easily. You packed your things and booked a ticket for evening train, so you could leave Duskwood for good. When all the errands were done and train was leaving in a few hours, you laid on your back on the bed and looked your phone. One thought had invaded your head and you couldn’t get rid of it.

But why had she moved to Duskwood?

You tried to be reasonable, she had friends here. But she had had friends too in the city she previously lived and a decent job, why would she leave those? Her parents were long gone but she had said that her friend had been her family for years now. Her actions didn’t make any sense now, like they often didn’t. Like you had said to her in the early beginning, that she was so mysterious and intriguing, and she was proving your point efficiently here. There must be a reason, why she would leave her previous life behind. You took your phone in your hands and looked it suspiciously. You checked that Lilly was now alone in her home. After a few minutes’ serious consideration, you opened the messages and typed.

Jake: Hello, Lilly.

She answered quickly, like she always did.

Lilly: Oh no, no, no

You weren’t surprised for her answer, since you knew that they probably had talked about you a lot with MC. And she was the one, who didn’t have great things to say about your actions, so you doubted that she anything positive to say about you.

Jake: I need to ask you a favor.

Lilly: No.

Jake: Tell me, why did MC move to Duskwood?

You decided to get straight to the point, since circling the matter wasn’t going to get you anywhere. You saw her typing instantly and then erasing it. You had to wait a quite long time that she composed a whole message, and it wasn’t enjoyable to read.

Lilly: Why on earth do you think you had right to know? Why are you so intrusive about this, since you dumped her? She’s trying to manage that you left her and honestly Jake, I thought you were better.

You read those lines and felt offended, she was being unreasonable. She didn’t even know why you had left MC, but people broke up every day and usually their families were supportive.

Jake: I am sorry to hear that. But she does have friends, and you all have shown me your friendliness towards her many times before. She will overcome this.

Lilly: How do you overcome something that she will never be able to forget?

Jake: She will forget me.

You saw her writing again and composing a message for a long time. You felt frustrated and started to regret approaching Lilly, since this was going nowhere.

Lilly: I can not say anything else to you or tell the reasons why she is here, but you should have listened her when she said she needed to talk. All I am saying that you need to talk to her yourself if you want answers. And trust me, you definitely want to hear them.

Now you were just confused, why Lilly couldn’t tell you what you were asking for? You tried to ask her again, but she just stayed offline and that was probably intentional. You looked the time and noticed your train would leave in half an hour and the next train would leave tomorrow.

You knew that you couldn’t go without an answer and you wouldn’t get them at the safehouse from her. Frustrated, you threw your backpack on the floor and left the motel room.

It was raining so much that you had trouble at seeing in front of you. You arrived her buildings door quicker than you had thought, and half of the trip were forgotten in your mess of thoughts. You had absolutely no plan how to deal with this situation since you didn’t want to be seen but she lived on the second floor. There was light coming from the window, which means she was still awake. You wondered could you climb up to her balcony, when you heard way too familiar noise behind your back.

“If you are thinking about spying me without my consent, think again”, she said coldly. You turned around and saw her standing right in front of you. “Lilly told me that you might pay me a visit”, she continued.

There was nothing coming out of your mouth, not even a simple “hello”. You realized that you had made a terrible mistake and nothing, absolutely nothing, had gone according to your lousy plan. All you could do, was to stare her.

“Yeah, I didn’t think that you would had anything to say either”, she sneered, and you felt a sting in your heart when she talked like that to you. “You’re satisfied when everyone plays by your rules, but tables have turned, my love.”

My love. Not ever those two words had said so bitter tone and never would you thought that you wouldn’t want to hear her say them to you. You stared her plainly and tried to figure a way out of this situation. Talking to her would be a great mistake, and you didn’t know if you two were being watched.

“What makes you think I would like you to play by my rules?” You rudely asked. You hated to talk to her like this, but you couldn’t allow her to get hopes up in vain. This situation was so bizarre and this hostile character of hers felt as stranger to you. The next thing you were going to say, would be just plain evil.

“As I recall, I didn’t want you to be part of my life anymore.”

She looked hurt and tears had filled her eyes. You felt guilt instantly rushing in on you and felt ashamed. Your purpose here wasn’t to hurt her more, but everything you did and said just made things worse.

“I am sorry, MC” you said in a raspy voice. “I will go now, and we will never meet again. I should have not come.” The rain poured harder than ever, and you started to get cold and could see that she was shivering too. Somewhere afar you could hear thunderstorm approaching and you wanted her to get in before she would catch a cold.

“Go home, MC”, you said and felt exhausted again. She looked so fragile when looking at you and all you wanted was to pull her close to you and keep her warm. She only had her cardigan as protecting her from the rain and the wind. You let your eyes wander on her; she was so vivid when you saw her in your own eyes without the screen in between. The new haircut was now wet, and you followed the raindrops on her skin to her neck and cleavage. Her hands were crossed tightly on her front and you remembered those long fingers caressing your back, writing letters while you were guessing what she was trying to type.

Then you saw it; first you thought the lightning had done it tricks to you and you squinted your eyes, trying to see it again. She moved her right hand to tuck hair strand behind her ear and then you just knew that you had fucked up. Fucked up really good this time.

Everything stopped; you couldn’t see the darkness anymore or feel cold, clock didn’t move, and sense of rush flooded in your veins, tingling all your fingers and toes. Adrenalin came like a shockwave and almost knocked you over. You tried to say something, but the words got lost in the way. You opened your mouth, trying to form questions but nothing came out. With quick steps you walked to her and got a tight grip from her cardigan and tried to pull it open.

“What the fuck, Jake” she flinched and tried to take a few steps back while pushing you away, but your hands didn’t ease on her, keeping her on place. “Let go of me!”

In normal situation you would had let go on her instantly when she asked. But now you didn’t care, you had to see it thoroughly in your own eyes. You ripped her cardigans buttons open and there it was. Something heavy sank in your stomach and you felt panic arising inside of you; your sight begun to look a place to escape, and you wanted so badly this to be dream. But no matter how hard you tried to wake up, it was still there, under the ridiculous looking flowery shirt.

A bump.

You looked her bewildered. I swear to you God, if you ever have existed, it is a great time to do some favors. But nothing happened, the rain, the wind and she were still there, just a few inches away from you. You could feel her hot breath in your skin, and it felt like a getting third-degree burn. She saw from your face that you knew and sighted heavily.

“Well, I tried to tell you. I really did.”

And the world went black in your eyes.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! I'm usually very reserved towards the pregnancies in fanfiction, I don't know why. But this idea came to me and I couldn't get rid of it so here we are. I'm trying to keep Jake and MC on character still, let me know what do you think. :)

[demxters]

When There Was Me and You-Part 1

jj maybank x reader 

summary: When the reader finally awakens from a coma, JJ Maybank’s world gets turned upside down.

word count: 3.7k 

warnings: swearing, mentions of a car accident (?), descriptions of a panic attack 

series masterlist  

my masterlist  

a/n: i’m so excited to share this with you all! i worked on this all night so i hope you guys enjoy! i’m not sure how long this series will be yet, but i hope to get the next part out soon! 

(not my gif) 

***

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

JJ felt like he was in purgatory. The constant beeping of the heart monitor was currently the only thing giving him hope. It’s been three weeks, 504 hours, 30,240 minutes, and 1,814,400 seconds (he may or may not have begged Pope to do the math) since he’s last heard your voice. His sweaty hand was firmly grasping yours, afraid that if he let go you would slip away. JJ didn’t dare go further than the hospital cafeteria while you were there. The Pogues and your parents had to practically drag him out of there every other day to get him to shower, get a change of clothes, and eat some food. And every time he left, he made sure that whoever was watching you promised to call him for even the slightest change in your state. Because the hospital only allowed one overnight patient to stay with you, your parents were kind enough to give that privilege to JJ. 

“JJ, it’s my turn to take over,” Kie’s voice breaks the unbearable silence. 

He lets out a shaky breath. He goes through this routine every time he has to leave your room, even if it was just to use the restroom. He squeezed your hand, and silently counted to 10 in his head. 

10… 

He places a kiss to your palm. 

9…

Then one on your wrist. 

8… 

Another in your hair, 

7… 

On your forehead,

6… 

The apples of your cheeks, 

5… 

Your chin, 

4… 

The spot behind your ear that you loved so much, 

3… 

And finally your lips. 

2… 

1… 

JJ’s lips leave yours, his tears falling onto your cheeks. He wipes them away and leans his forehead against yours. “I’ll be back before you know it, my love,” he whispers. “I love you.” He turns to face Kiara who’s patiently waiting by the door. “If anything changes, anything at all-” 

“I know, I know. Call you right away,” Kie says. 

JJ nods, walking past Kiara and giving her a hug. He buries his head into her neck and mumbles, “Thank you for being here.” 

At this Kiara feels her eyes begin to water, her heart aching for her two best friends. “Of course,” she whispers to him. 

JJ lets Kiara go and gives you one last look before walking out of the room and into the dimly lit hallway. On his way down the hall, he sees your parents sitting a little ways outside your hospital room with their heads pressed together as they spoke in hushed whispers. 

Your mom notices JJ walking their way and nudges your father who looks up from the catalog in his lap. “JJ,” your mom says, with a small smile. 

“Mrs. Y/L/N, Mr. Y/L/N,” he greets back with a small nod, shoving his hands into the pocket of his shorts, stopping in front of them. 

Your dad stands up and shows the catalog that was in his lap to JJ. “We’re thinking of ordering Y/N a bouquet. Which one do you think she’ll like best? Y/M/N thinks that she’ll like the lilies, but I completely disagree. I think she’ll like roses.”

JJ doesn’t even have to look down at the catalog to know which flowers to get you.“Sunflowers,” he states. “You should get her sunflowers.” 

“That’s an excellent choice JJ,” your mom says. “Are you heading out?” 

“Only for a little while,” JJ says. “Just for a quick shower and a change of clothes. I’ll be back before the nurse’s rounds.” 

Your dad sits down, clearing his throat. “JJ, thank you for being here for us, for her.” 

At your father’s words JJ feels the need to cry once again. He harshly swallows the lump in his throat. He can only bring himself to nod before walking away to his bike in the parking lot. 

As JJ rode home, he couldn’t help but think about the last time he spoke to you. If only he hadn’t let you go. If only he had begged you to stay. But he didn’t. And he has to live with knowing that what happened to you was all his fault. 

_____ 

“JJ, I have to go,” you say with a laugh as the blonde haired boy pulls you back into his chest. 

“Noooo,” he whines. “Just stay with me tonight, please.” He places an arm around your waist and uses his other hand to keep you firm against his chest. 

“You know how my mom gets,” you say with a sigh. You slightly push back on his hand, his grip loosening a bit, and rest your chin on his chest looking up at him. “I promise, tomorrow it’ll be just you and me out on The Pogue. No John B constantly pestering us to keep the PDA to a minimum, no Kie and Pope bickering, and no Sarah constantly bugging us about reapplying sunscreen. Just us.” You give him a quick peck on his chin then move your lips to his. 

JJ immediately reciprocates the action, his lips moving with the familiar rhythm of yours in a kiss that you have both shared a thousand times before. Barely pulling away, JJ mumbles against your lips, “Fine. But promise me you’ll text me when you get home.” He gives you a stern look, one similar to a parent scolding their child. 

“Of course I will.” You knew JJ would be on your ass about it if you didn’t. You unwrap your arms from around his neck and quickly give him one last kiss on his lips. You laugh as he leans forward trying to capture your lips with his once more. You walk backwards towards the front door of the Chateau and blow him a kiss, exaggerating the noise when your palm hits your lips. “I love you!” you say with as much enthusiasm as you can muster. 

“And I love you, baby!” JJ responds back with a laugh, pretending to catch your kiss and stuffing it in his pocket. He watches you go, with the biggest smile on his face, wondering how the hell he got so lucky to have someone like you to love him in his life. 

_____

JJ walks into the Chateau like a man on a mission. The longest he’s ever spent away from the hospital since you were admitted was thirty minutes, and he plans to keep it that way. 

“Hey.” JJ hears John B’s voice say the second he pulls the door to the Chateau open. “How is she?” 

JJ sighs, running a hand through his hair. “The same.” He harshly tugs at the roots of his hair. “The doctor said the wounds on her ribs are healing fine and that he’s confident she’ll wake up within the next week or so.” 

“But you think it’s bullshit,” John B responds before taking a sip from his beer. 

“I don’t know what I think anymore man,” JJ says, his voice wavering. “All I know is that I want her to wake up. I just want everything to go back to the way it was.” JJ’s voice breaks towards the end of his sentence, tears openly streaming down his face, unable to keep it all in anymore. He’s been breaking down more and more as each day passed with your absence. 

“JJ-” John B starts. 

JJ doesn’t give him the opportunity to finish. “I need to go shower.” 

_____ 

JJ fell asleep in the guest room waiting for your text when it happened. The first time his phone rang, he ignored it thinking it was spam. The second time it rang, he declined the call without even opening his eyes. The third time it rang, he forced himself to open his eyes, slightly squinting from the brightness of his screen. The second he read the caller id he knew something was wrong. Your mother never called JJ. The only reason why she had his number was to help him plan your surprise birthday party last year. A sick feeling fills his stomach as he answers the phone. 

“Mrs. Y/L/N?” 

“Oh, thank god,” your mother lets out a sigh of relief. “JJ, it’s Y/N.” 

JJ feels his heart rate quicken in fear. “What’s wrong?” he frantically asks. “Is everything alright?” 

He hears your mother let out a choked sob before she responds. “She got into an accident on the way home,” she releases a shaky breath before continuing. “Some drunk idiot was on the road and…” She trails off letting out another sob. “And he hit her head on. When the paramedics got to the scene, Y/N was unconscious. She’s in the ER right now but we haven’t had any news about her condition.” 

JJ can barely process the words coming from your mother’s mouth. It’s as if his body began moving on autopilot as he tells your mom that he’ll be there as soon as he can. As JJ pulls on his boots, he accidentally knocks into the dresser behind him causing various objects that were sitting on top of it to topple off. “Fuck!” JJ lets out in frustration. 

Hearing the ruckus from the other room, John B is awakened from his slumber and stumbles down the hallway and to JJ’s room. “JJ? What the hell is going on? It’s nearly one in the morning,” John B says with a groan, leaning on the doorframe. 

“It’s Y/N, man. Sh-She got into an accident and she’s at the hospital and-shit!” He says as his foot got caught in one of his loose articles of clothing that was scattered on the floor. 

John B is suddenly wide awake when he hears that you’re in the hospital. He swiftly turns around running back to his room and grabs his car keys off his dresser. 

JJ nearly bumps into John B on his way out of his room and questions, “What are you doing?” 

“Coming with you, of course. You know you can’t drive in this state right?” John B knew just how reckless JJ could be and with your life at stake he knew JJ wasn’t in the right headspace to drive. 

JJ just frantically nods, quickly making his way to John B’s van. Sitting in the passenger’s seat as John B makes his way towards the hospital, JJ couldn’t help but wonder if this was all his fault. If only he had driven you home then maybe you wouldn’t be in the hospital right now. Maybe it would’ve been him who got hit head on instead, and you’d be safe on the passenger’s side. If only he had not taken no for an answer then you’d still be here, safe in his arms where you belonged. 

“Dude, she’s going to be ok,” John B says, feeling the anxiety reeking off of JJ in waves. He noticed that JJ hadn’t stopped bobbing his leg up and down ever since he sat down in the car. 

JJ doesn’t say anything. He just stares out the window, hoping that everything’s going to be ok. 

_____

A series of knocks coming from outside the bathroom snaps JJ out of his thoughts. 

“JJ!” he hears John B hollar. “JJ hurry your ass up! She’s awake!” 

JJ shuts off the water, standing rigidly still for a moment. 

“She’s awake,” John B says, slightly softer. “Y/N’s awake.” 

JJ is out of the shower and changed in record time. He steps out of the bathroom with his hair still dripping, droplets of water visible on his dark blue t-shirt. “Damn it!” JJ says, running out of the Chateau, John B hot on his trail. “I said I’d be there. I promised her I’d be there when she woke up!” He slams his hand into the passenger side door of the van.

“Hey!” John B scolds, standing face to face with JJ. “Calm down, man. What matters right now is that she’s awake. Now get in the van.” 

JJ practically throws himself into the passenger’s seat, his heart racing at the thought of seeing you conscious again. To finally see your y/e/c eyes staring into his and to just be in your presence once more…

_____

“Where is she?” JJ shouts, walking into the ER. He sees your mom standing by the front desk with her arms tightly wrapped around herself. “Mrs. Y/L/N,” he says with a quieter tone. 

Your mom looks up from where she was staring at the floor to meet JJ’s stare. She lets out another sob before walking over to him and engulfing him in a hug, squeezing him tight. 

JJ hesitantly reciprocates the hug. When your mother finally pulls away JJ asks again, “Where is she? Is she ok?” 

She swallows down another sob. “She’s with the doctors right now. There’s no news on her current state. Why don’t you come with me to the waiting room? Y/D/N is there waiting for word on her condition,” your mother says putting a hand on JJ’s back and leading him to the waiting room. 

Your father looks up at the sound of the approaching footsteps and gives JJ a slight nod when he walks into the room. 

“Any news?” your mother asks, sitting in the seat next to your father. 

“No, not a word.” 

JJ settles himself a couple chairs down from your parents. He’s not sure if he leaves the space for them or for himself. The silence is deafening, leaving JJ with nothing but his thoughts to run a mile a minute. You were going to be ok, he tried to convince himself. You had to be. His girl was a fighter and you would get through this. JJ rested his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands as he held in the tears that threatened to spill. He couldn’t lose you. Not when you were the only thing he loved more than anything in this world. You were his rock, his anchor. You kept him from spiraling out of control. Whenever he found himself acting impulsively, you always crossed his mind. He always tried to think about the consequences and how it would affect you. And though there were times he couldn’t help himself, you were always there to take care of him, to keep him safe, to love him. Without you, everything would fall apart. He would fall apart. 

The sound of two knocks on the waiting room door catches JJ and your parents attention, causing the three of you to stand up. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N?” the doctor says, stepping into the room. 

“That’s us,” your father answers, stepping forward with your mother. 

JJ silently stands to the side, listening to the whole ordeal. 

“I’m Dr. Kavanaugh,” he introduces himself, giving them a hand to shake. He then turns to JJ, with his hand still extended. “And you are?”

“He’s Y/N’s boyfriend,” your mother answers for him. 

“Ah, nice to meet you,” Dr. Kavanaugh replies, still waiting for JJ to shake his hand. 

JJ reluctantly takes his hand, giving it a firm squeeze. 

“So, what’s the news Doc?” your father asks. “Will she be ok?” 

Dr. Kavanaugh looks to your father before giving his reply. “The good news is, her condition is stable. Other than the bruises on her ribs and the cuts on her face, her body’s in good shape.” 

“Oh, thank god,” your mother says as your father wraps an arm around her shoulders.

“So what’s the bad news then?” JJ abruptly asks. He doesn’t mean for it to come out so harsh, he was just tired of the doctor taking his sweet time to tell them what’s wrong. “You said that was the good news, so what’s the bad?” 

Dr. Kavanaugh turns to JJ before letting out a sigh and looking back to your parents. “The bad news is, she’s currently in a comatose state.” He pauses before continuing. “We don’t know how long she’s going to be like that or when she’s going to wake up. The best thing we can do for now is watch over her and look for any signs of complications.”

A coma. The love of his life was in a coma. It felt like the walls were closing in on him as JJ suddenly began hyperventilating. He was lightheaded and unable to comprehend what was going on around him. He pushed his way past your parents and the doctor ignoring their calls for him to come back. He stumbles down the hallway, leaning against the wall for support. The only thing that was running through his head was the thought of you being in a coma. That they didn’t know when you were going to wake up, or if you ever were. JJ feels himself crash into another body and almost falls to the floor, but the person hoists him up by his elbows. 

“Woah, JJ, you good?” John B’s voice sounds like it’s miles away. 

“I think he’s having a panic attack,” another voice says. Female. JJ identifies. The voice is female. 

John B moves JJ to one of the chairs that are lined up in the hallway and steps aside so Kiara can bring JJ back to reality. 

Kiara crouches down in front of JJ, holding onto his knees to keep herself steady. “Hey, JJ, can you hear me?” 

JJ slightly nods, his mouth too dry for him to respond.

“Good,” Kie’s voice soothes. “Now I need you to breathe with me ok? Can you do that?”

JJ nods again, beginning to follow Kiara’s instructions to breathe in and out. 

“That’s it, there you go,” Kiara says. She waits for a moment, letting JJ regain his senses come back to them. “You don’t need to talk now. Just let us know whenever you're ready.” 

JJ blinks a couple of times before finally being able to see clearly again. He sees Kiara crouched in front of him with a reassuring smile while Pope, John B, and Sarah stand behind her with looks of concern on their faces. JJ swallows, before telling them the news. He chokes up as he begins to tell them what happened, starting from when you left the Chateau, to the accident, and finishing at where you are now. 

Pope takes off his hat, putting his hands behind his head as he tilts his head back trying to stop the tears that are threatening to fall. Kiara lets out a small gasp as she starts to cry. Sarah buries her face into John B’s neck, sobs shaking her form. And John B just stares blankly at the wall, trying to stay strong for the rest of them. But JJ doesn’t miss the small tear that escapes from his right eye. 

At the sight of all his friends breaking down in front of him, he begins to break down too, his sobs becoming loud gasps for air. JJ buries his face in his hands and whispers, “It’s all my fault,” over and over again. 

Kiara is the first to move, capturing JJ in a tight hug as the others are close to follow. The five friends hold each other, sobbing for their best friend and the uncertainty that’s to come. 

_____ 

John B dropped JJ off in front of the hospital so he could go in first while he looked for a parking spot. 

JJ walked through the hospital dodging other patients, visitors, and nurses as best as he could as he made his way to your room. He could see Kiara standing outside of your hospital room with a faint smile on her lips. 

The door to your room was open and he could hear your faint voice talking to your parents and the doctor. God, how he missed your voice. JJ makes his way inside the room to see you sitting up and sipping some water out of a straw. “Y/N?” he whispers, his voice slightly shaking at the thought of you being awake again. He takes in your appearance thinking you look as beautiful as someone possible could from coming straight out of a coma. There’s a slight tinge of pink on your cheeks that have been pale for the past few days and your hair looks like it’s been groomed, probably by your mother. He takes another tentative step into the room, unable to help the smile that comes across his face. “Y/N,” he states this time. 

“JJ-” your mother starts, but he cuts her off.

JJ’s eyes well up with tears as he makes his way to the foot of your bed. “Thank fuck your ok,” he says with a small laugh getting a look of disapproval from Dr. Kavanaugh. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I know I promised I’d be here but I had to run to John B’s to shower.” He pauses and smiles at you again. “God, I missed you.” A look that JJ can’t decipher crosses over your face. He thought you’d be at least a little more excited to see him. 

You look to the doctor, then to your mom, as she nods and encourages you to speak. “Thank you. That’s so sweet of you to be here but…” you trail off trying to gather your thoughts. “I’m sorry, I don’t quite know who you are.” 

Your mother looks down at her lap, while your father puts a hand on JJ’s shoulder whispering to him, “JJ, come on, I need to speak with you outside.”

JJ shrugs your father’s hand off his shoulder and steps away from him. This had to be some kind of sick joke. “Very funny guys,” JJ says with a dry laugh, turning from your parents, to the doctor and then back to you. “Y/N, if this is your way of getting back at me for all the pranks I used to play on you then it worked. You got me good. Now come on, drop the act.” He desperately looks at you as the look of confusion on your face only grows. 

“JJ,” your father whispers to him again. 

“No,” JJ whispers. “No, this can’t be happening.” 

You push a strand of hair that fell in your face behind your ear before looking at JJ once more. “I’m really sorry,” you say softly. “But should I know you?”

JJ felt a sharp pain in his chest at your words. Those five goddamn words that broke his heart.

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