#and it maybe being to protect Jack or hell even at jack’s hand which would be even worse

[fandomfairyuniverse]

One thing I am quite scared about is that joke’s self worth was already in the Mariana Trench like my guy doesn’t value his life At All but NOW???

That combined with Jack from the beginning of the show saying that if joke wanted him to forgive him he should try dying…… yeah I’m terrified

[wandixx]

Prompt For Dc-x-Dp With M’gann and Danny M’gann didn't expect to be dealing with Random Lazurus Green Portals forming around mars, but since she's Nearby mars she gets to deal with it... and their's An Alien with snow white hair Fighting A Glowing Vampire who's raving about Fathers and mothers?? Danny Is in such a Mood, He's on mars, which is a plus, but He's Fighting Vlad On Another 'Join me! Let me remove Jack from this plain of Reality!' and Honestly The Portals are throwing him off, Just... Bad memories, And Then, becuase of fucking course Something else happened, Vlad Gets Decked in the face and sent flying. "hey, So im going to guess that The Vampire is The Evil one here?" The Green woman asked, while Looking at Danny. While Vlad is growling and about to Throw A Red Ecto-blast at M’gann Danny gets in the way with a shield and responds. "yeah, arch nemisis and all, how are you even out here? or breathing?" M’gann Just Shrugged and said, "Well Home is home and all." Before flying to go Deck the Vampire and all. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ hope this is enough for you to Work some magic and all. and as for some extra stuff you could use, maybe danny has a Space obsesion, and His Protective stuff is Becuase of the Type of spirit he is half of? And maybe An Ice core Could be fun to go with? Ghost prince territory? with danny not wanting to be ghost king just yet. ideas for ya to use.

It's such a cool concept! I didn’t fit Ghost Prince in, but I hope you'll like what I did

*****

Danny was going to strangle Vlad, all subtleties of ghost powers no withstanding. He needed the brutal power that just wasn't fully there even when using more offensive abilities, like ecto-blasts.

He had been having a good day. Okay, maybe not a good day, it's been a long time since he had an actually good one, but a decent day. One, that seemed to start out calm, with all of his typical rogues stuck in Zone recent enough they shouldn't get out today specifically. It was Saturday, so no school, and for once his homework wasn't swallowing him, so he had a bit of time to breathe. And prepare college applications, because his grades got to an appropriate level again and he actually got a shot in academic career. No chance for scholarship like Jazz, but he could go if he played his cards right.

And then, of course, Vlad had to come into his room to harass him again. This time with the added flair of a portal gun he made for some freaking reason.

This time Danny wasn't even trying to piss Vlad off, in the love of Ancients, he tried to ignore the other halfa even when he showed up in his room, raving about removing Jack Fenton from this plane of reality. Craving to deck the guy right then and there was enormous but Jazz was on him about controlling his ✨️displaced aggression✨️ and his anger in general, so he was trying to tune Vlad out. He carefully didn't even think about transforming into Phantom. Especially since both of his parents were safe, a few states away on some ghost hunting convention that Danny managed to skip by the power of ‘I can't take more days off school, sorry I messed up my attendance early in the year’.

Well, they would be, if Vlad, being the obsessed creep he was, didn't try to follow them with a portal gun.

Danny was still willing to ignore it all, because Vlad was a loser and chances that he made something so complicated work properly were only slightly above chances his parents had. And both of them were tripping hazards in hell.

But then Vlad started blasting around his room to egg him on and hit his Curiosity rover model.

Phantom tackled him before the bastard had time to smirk. They phased through the wall, because otherwise Vlad’s back would smash into Lego Saturn V and boy was not looking forward to even more damage. His white gloved hands pressed Plasmius against the cold floor. It looked promising. Over the years he got to a relatively similar level as Vlad with his fighting abilities so getting advantage so early could in theory mean it would be over soon and he would get back to his applications.

He forgot how to breathe for a moment when he was pushed through a portal. Some most instinctual part of him, deep in his core, fell to the mindless panic because He died this way! He died this way, was he able to survive it again?! Without thinking he lashed out, trying to scratch and bite and blast because he needed to get out, he needed to get away but danger was in front of him and he needed to get rid of the danger before he could escape to safety. And Vlad kept teasing him, like he didn't know fully well what portals did to Phantom, to Danny, like he wasn't breaking the most basic rules of the anarchist ghost society.

So Phantom kept trying to punch and kick and scream, trying to get away from green ovals that just kept appearing around them leading to who knows where.

Powerful blast to the chest sent him flying back, through the portal and down to the ground, which at some point became asphalt instead of wheat field. He was too frazzled to even try stopping his fall, just half heartedly tensed waiting for an impact.

It never came, because he was caught by static. Men in red (Flash he'd realize second too late, Flash) send him a concerned smile and asked about something but Plasmius was trying to duplicate, no doubt to overshadow actual hero and it wasn't the way Phantom wanted to be introduced to the Justice League so he jumped forward, sending both halfas through another portal.

It was easier this time, when he expected it but his hands were still shaking when he put them in fists. He could handle it though. He fought in much worse circumstances.

They spawned through a few more portals, almost threw worried looking Superman off the sky and barely not killed some of Aquaman's dolphins before something changed. Phantom didn't realize it at first, too focused on rapid fire from Plasmius and on the constant lookout for new portals, but something changed.

His next blast hit the target and left charcoal black burn and almost fire in its wake. It wasn't something that happened normally. It wasn't something that happened normally unless Danny's obsessions were being served. He wasn't protecting anyone but himself, which didn't fill the protection obsession, so that left…

Space.

Oh.

He was on Mars. Or well, a bit above.

It was mesmerizing. It was breathtaking. It was everything he wished for ever since he learned about other planets in kindergarten.

Sky was a pinkish red color that on Earth meant a beautiful clear sunset but here was just the middle of the day. He didn't see the sun itself, apparently lucky enough to have his back to it. It wouldn't be brighter than at home, obviously, but it was always nice to not be blinded when admiring the view.

The landscape below them seemed familiar. He probably saw it in some photo, but he couldn't remember which one. He couldn't help but try to remember. He wanted to know where was he, what he'd seen, what he'd touched, later when he was in his room, longing to get out here again.

In his almost trance he just about ignored the blast that flew past his ear like an annoying pest.

He had the name of this rock formation on the tip of his tongue! C'mon, brain, you could do it, you could remem-

Even he couldn't ignore the burning pain of the ecto blast straight to the shoulder.

“Listen to me, Little Badger!” Plasmius yelled before dodging ice javelin. Phantom made sure it evaporated before hitting the ground. He was not letting other planet become collateral damage in whatever mess Vlad wanted to stir this time.

He carefully didn't look around when they teleported next time, aware just enough to know they were still on Mars. It wasn't a good moment to sooth his neglected obsession.

Being mad that this was probably the only chance he got out there helped. It definitely reignited the absolute fury, before muted by the panic and then obsession trance.

Phantom wasn't sure what he was yelling back as Plasmius went on and on about killing Danny's dad and marrying his mom and adopting Danny and how ‘look Little Badger, you and I both see how much better off you'd be if you just joined me and let me teach you’. He just knew there was little other than obscenities, and it was paired with an array of blasts and ice and straight up punches when he got close, which was good enough.

Oh, how he wished he could strangle the pathetic vampire lookalike bastard.

Something green and indigo sent Plasmius crashing into the ground.

“Hey, so I'm going to guess that the vampire is The Evil one here?” Feminine voice asked in clear English. Danny took a moment to just stare, blinking rapidly to make sure he saw what he thought he saw.

Yup, that was certainly The Miss Martian, an alien heroine, whose action figure he displayed at the most honorable place of his room. The Miss Martian he tried to learn everything about when she debuted. The Miss Martian whose powers were so similar he used footage from her fights to learn himself. His biggest inspiration.

Dope.

Wait, she asked him a question, didn't she? It was not the time to be a fanboy, probably.

Yeah, no it was definitely not a time to be a fanboy, he decided, right when he threw a shield in front of her, because Vlad didn't take kindly to being interrupted. It really was the least he deserved.

“Yeah, arch nemesis and all that. If I may ask, what are you doing here, Miss Martian, ma'am? I thought you lived full time on Earth?”

“Well, home is home and all” she just said wistfully and telepathically threw a rock to Vlad's stomach, making it follow until it hit the mark, right before another stone hit him in the unprotected back.

And here Danny thought he got over his celebrity crush back when he was sixteen.

Good thing though, another person in the fight made his protection obsession rear back to life, the fact that she was an alien only helping as his space side zeroed on her too. It was useful to not get distracted by glimpses of the world around them.

Of course Vlad just duplicated to make the chances ‘equal’ once again, so the fight dragged on.

Miss Martian just kept being graceful like a supernova, beautiful and destructive.

Danny hoped he didn’t look as embarrassingly pathetic as he thought he did. What were the chances she didn’t see when he took the blast to the arm because he got distracted by pretty rocks?

Plasmius kept taunting, calling him Daniel because of course secret identities or prefered names don't matter when you have to harass the teenager.

Phantom decked him extra hard for that.

At least he didn’t try to use his portal gun again, too busy with fighting off both of them.

Kick, dodge blast, ice, shield for Miss Martian, ice because how dare he attack an alien, dodge, intangibility.

Was it or was it not a good idea to use Ghost Wail and be done with that.

“I've got an idea, cover for me for a minute, okay?”

“Sure” Did he sound too eager? He wanted to keep it cool at least outwardly, not mess up his first and perhaps last impression.

Wait, shit, Martians can read minds! Miss Martian probably already knows how big of a mess he was.

Shit, shit, shit.

Phantom dutifully shielded heroine as she levitated with her eyes closed, at the same time keeping constant assault on Vlad. It was getting exhausting. At least he could go home fast when the fight ended.

“Do you want me to make him indefinitely indisposed or is it too much for you?” Miss Martian suddenly asked. Danny froze for almost a minute before he choked out.

“What do you mean?”

“I can rip his mind apart, leave his body alive but useless without any thought to lead it, but I know some people find it uncomfortable even when it happens to villains”

For a moment, in the midst of fanboying, he forgot how terrifying set of powers she had.

“Please don't” After all, ghosts are their minds, and despite how despicable things Vlad did, no one deserved fate of completely not existing.

“Alright. Is enhancing his experience of pain okay with your moral code?”

“Yeah, I think”

“Done,” she said with a smile, and despite how terrifying he was of her just a few seconds ago, he had to admit, this smile was gorgeous.

After that, it took, like, three punches before Vlad bailed. Which was good.

What was less good, was the fact that the portal he used to escape closed before Danny could go through it. He just stared for a long moment, blinking quickly. He wanted to scream. Or cry. Or both. Both was good.

“So, Daniel…?”

Danny winced and looked back at Miss Martian.

“Danny. Or Phantom. Nobody calls me Daniel”

She nodded with a friendly smile. Good thing they were flying, because his knees got weak for a hot second.

“Alright. I'm M’gann”

“Should you tell me this?”

“I know your name,” she shrugged. “It's only fair that you know mine. It's not a name I use on Earth anyway”

“Um, sure, okay. It's nice to meet you M’gann” Was this too stiff? He had no idea how he was supposed to interact with heroes who just shared their identity. For no reason too, because c'mon, she didn't know him. Why would she do it?!

“Are you from Earth? You speak English”

“Yeah, USA, Illinois. That bastard teleported us around and of course left me stranded”

“It's your lucky day then, I was about to head back, I can take you with me”

There was no universe in which he wouldn’t agree.

[r0-boat]

Because I’m starving for the boy who clearly came out of a shoujo manga. The true beauty of Hades imho. Could I request some sweet and maybe spicy Foras headcanons? 🌸

Ooh YES!!

Foras headcanons

Nsfw&Sfw

Cw: stalking, dubcon.

Sfw

Foras is in unknown territory. It's just a flutter every time he sees you. You're so bright and lively that he shy is always so easily. But at the same time, it's that same bright and liveliness He wants to protect and cherish. He has never been in love before. And the fluttery feelings honestly scare him.

Balancing his love and loyalty for his king and his love for you is difficult... Especially when the two of you fight like angels and devils. He knows how much you don't like Levi but he'll still at least try to get you to have a better relationship. (He doesn't know the dynamic you two have) he can't help but selfishly fantasize about having both you and leviathan his arms. And he hates seeing two people he loves fight.

Foras wants you but never dared to act on those feelings; call it shyness. Or call it not wanting to give unwanted competition to his king. He avoids you when he's visible; when he's invisible, he's practically your new shadow. He passes off as an excuse, throwing his king under the bus. Telling you that Levi had ordered him to stalk you. (Something he would tell you if you actually catch him) which is half true. Yes, Levi wants him to follow you around everywhere you go to report back to him. But honestly, he's just as curious about you as Levi.

But will not fight you if You're the one initiates. In fact, he would prefer that; his heart would go wild if you pull on his ropes and pull them into a kiss. He doesn't care if he gets punished for this. He wants to feel your soft lips against his.

Touch starved. Extremely touched starved. Melting into your hand when you pat his head, touched starved. He wants more, but he doesn't want to ask.

He feels that little pain in his chest, poisonous jealousy when other devils get your attention. But, he had never acted out on those feelings before.

He would only do something if it protected you. Or if an angel attacked you and your all alone. He is the reason that water or snacks would magically appear if you say the your hungry or thirsty.

Nsfw

He can't say that he has claim over you, Even though it'd feel good too. He wants to claim you in more ways, claim the inside of his body in the most prime way. He touches himself every night dreaming to how you would feel. Every night, he would touch himself to you, wishing and wanting. He hates to admit it, but one time, he came into your room invisible and walked in on you, touching yourself. His breath was getting heavy and shaky, looking how your fingers and hands played with yourself. After a while of watching you, he gives in, sliding his hand into his pants to palm himself. Biting his lip to hold back his sounds.

His greatest fantasy is fucking you in front of Leviathan. Whether it be ordered to do so or not, it's something that he jacks off to constantly.

Despite being a devil, He's actually sort of innocent by devil standards. He has never had sex before.

Now that he is over you, his face is pink, and he is nervous; he wants to pleasure you. He wants to make you feel good. even though he's very nervous. At least he knows how you like to touch yourself.

Pull on his chains will you ride him; he'll go insane. Those things are just for decoration, so they might break, but he doesn't care. The sight was so hot he filled you up on the spot.

Closet pervert. Chivalrous knight of hell is a closet pervert! He has a virgin but at the same time he thinks about doing real nasty things to you you'll never know because of his straight face.

[josnhoes]

Monster au in twisted wonderland is cute and got me curious on how mating ritual will be when Jack, Silver and maybe Kalim be when they wanted to mate with local human who is confused as hell

Content warnings: none as far as I know

Kalim the kitsune is a being of wealth and power. He's used to things just being as he says it. He's Royalty after all. So when he just announced that you and him were going to be mates to the entire school you confused look and discomfort confused him. Which lead to you avoiding him.

He goes to Jamil, his best friend and servant had to have some sort of answer. Kalim just wasn't expecting the answer to be you have to win them over. He'd never really worked for anything. It came naturally or he bought it. But this sounded fun!

He has no doubt he can win you over. It starts with gifts, ranging from mundane to extravagant. Anything your eyes linger on is given to you. But his affection isn't all shown in a monetary fashion. He spends a lot of time with you too. From playing games, to carpet rides in the night sky, anything he thinks you'd find fun he takes you to do it. The only downside to being courted by Kalim is he wants to move *fast*. You'll have to sit him down and explain how humans court and to slow down; he'll do his best to match the speed you're comfortable with. Even if he whines about it later.

Jack the Gnoll is a bit calmer in how he approaches courting you. The shift from his normal behavior isn't super obvious. He always looked out for you like pack being his friend after all. He wants to ease you into the idea of a relationship with him. He understands everything here is so new and scary for someone as weak as you. No, that isn't an insult, you don't have any of the perks like claws, Fangs, talons, or scales to protect yourself with, not even magic. So objectively speaking, you are weak.

He starts by bringing you meals at lunch. Hearty healthy things that leave you full and warm. He wants to show he can be dependable as a provider. His gifts are practical, blankets, food, soaps for sensitive skin and hair, things you can use that will improve your quality of life.

He is also more protective. He won't mindlessly get into a fight, he'd *try* to intimidate someone away from you if he saw them as a threat first. Though if someone does something after you've said no like dragging you off, or pushing for something he will just throw hands.

He isn't so good with using his words during courting. As confident as his actions are vocalizing his feelings leaves him feeling far too vulnerable. Tell you his intent is the last resort, and he really hopes you just realize what he's doing.

Silver is a Vampire raised and turned by Lilia. His methods and knowledge of courting is a bit old fashioned. Vampires despite living through the changes of the world often find themselves stagnate in behaviors most comfortable to them.

He starts his courting by approaching you and simply asking your permission to begin courting you. Your answer will be respected no matter what. A no? Well he hopes to remain a close friend. Not ready for a relationship yet? Understandable, but when the time comes you are he hopes you'll seek him out. Yes? Well now he is just over the moon.

Vampires are rarely in a rush so the courting is slow paced. Late night walks, simple gifts like flowers and jewelry. He would bring you food but he hasn't eaten a solid food in centuries so he doesn't know what foods would be worthy of you.

He shows his trust in you by sleeping around you. He sleeps a lot yes but he only truly relaxes in his random naps near you. His heart almost stops again when you finally do the same to him.

Silver does his best to help you study too. He doesn't care if you graduate the collage or not but he knows you want to succeed so he does his best to help you achieve your goals.

It's very hard to be clueless of his intentions with how he is, it maybe old fashion but his love is soft. May anyone who harms you in any form pray for mercy from their diety because he has none.

[saturnneedsspace]

My whole world was flipped upside down the other day when I found out there was a lot of Sam haters in the spn fandom. I simply do not understand.

Yeah, sure, Sam did some messed up things. But so did every other character in the show.

He got addicted to demon blood because of Ruby and this alien feeling that was cast upon him because of John. His own father thought he was a monster, so you gotta know that's gonna do something to your self esteem and cause you to go out of your way to be accepted.

He traps himself in Hell with Lucifer to save his brother and the rest of the world, knowing how much trauma that will cause him. And when he got out, he didn't have a soul, which all the fault lies with Cas on that one. And when he got his soul back, he wasn't the same. The sheer trauma he had from being roomies with Lucifer was more than enough to drive any normal person insane, and he still endured silently for a long time, before he went so crazy he was forced to be put in a mental hospital. He physically could not sleep because Lucifer was taunting him so much. And the only way he ever got better was because Cas took all that trauma into himself.

Yeah, maybe Sam didn't look for Dean when he was in Purgatory, and instead spent his time with a woman instead, but he had no clue where Dean was. The last time he saw his brother, he stabbed Dick, and then him and Cas disappeared into thin air. There was no clues whatsoever to where he was. And all Dean ever wanted was for Sam to have a normal life, so after he presumes Dean dead, he does what he thinks his brother would have wanted for him.

He's angry at Dean for Gadreel, and rightfully so. His brother took away his choice in the matter by tricking him into saying yes. He was ready to die. He told Death to make sure he can't be resurrected. He wanted to die. And yes, obviously as a brother, you don't want your younger siblings to die. That's a given. But he took away Sam's choice in that and forced him to be possessed, which is where most of his trauma comes from. He was possessed by several, terrible people at one point, and it was literal torture for him. He watched helplessly as his own hands murdered and hurt many people, some of them being his own friends and family. And then it just gets worse when Gadreel forces him to kill Kevin later on.

Sam searches the ends of the Earth for Demon!Dean and even when he's told several times to stop going after him, he doesn't listen. He knows he was mistaken when he didn't look for Dean in Purgatory, so he fights to make up for it by searching for him now. Dean tries to kill him, tells him to go away, leave him be, and Sam doesn't. He does everything he can to cure him. And he does with the help of Cas. He never gave up, even long after Dean already did.

And Sam releasing Amara wasn't all his fault. Charlie, Cas, and (reluctanlty) Rowena agreed to help, too. They're all just as guilty as him. And as much as I hate saying that about Charlie, considering it got her killed, it's true. They all helped remove the mark. They all released Amara. It wasn't their intention, but they all wanted to save Dean from himself and from hurting others. They all knew how much it hurt him to not have control over his anger. They were all just trying to help and were prepared to face the consequences of that, no matter what they were, because it was for Dean and they all loved him. (This is excluding Rowena at this point obvi)

Sam is the only one who cares for Jack after he's born. Yes, Cas would've defended that kid with his life if he were still alive, but he wasn't. Only Sam and Dean were. And the first thing Dean does when he sees Jack is shoots him. Sam talks to him. Sam understands him. Sam was him. He relates to the kid in a way no one else probably could, and so he fights his brother about it. He fights to protect the misunderstood kid who's defined by the blood that runs through his veins, though he desperately tries to prove it's not who he is. People only say Dean and Cas were Jack's fathers. But Sam was Jack's first father, the first person to see him for who he truly was.

And then he shot God, getting himself injured in the process and ultimately helping them take Him down. He was a vital character through the series and sacrificed so much. He didn't deserve all that happened to him, and frankly, it makes me mad when people hate on him.

[manwiththemagic]

spn s1 ep2 "wendigo"

THATS RIGHTTTTT!! more notes for my lil rewatch thingy.. man I love this show 😭

i love the grimey lighting!! Like slay I can't see shit!!

You can almost always tell how lore based an episode will be based on what it starts with.. like it's starting with random men in woods + death so filler! A monster of the week kinda thing!!

Which also makes me wonder why when Sam and Dean were kids John would be on a hunt for weekssss. Like it can take Sam and Dean a couple of days man??

Why are these kids camping if they're just gonna be on their phones?? Most boomer writing ever. WHICH REMINDS ME DEAN IS GEN X BRO.. and jack is gen alpha😨

bro these guys are DUMB. *Friend screaming in woods* *mild concern*"uhhh brad? What's going on?" IDK A BEAR ATTACK?? GET UP FREAK.

a poca shell necklace?? makes sense. I'm glad these MFS are dying and being kidnapped.

ALSOOO wendigo?? Hannibal reference?? Jkjkjk... UNLESS? no jk..

dangit moving into emotional territory. GAHHHHH JESS ☹️. she deserved better tbh.

“i should have protected you.. should have told you the Truth..” BABY NOOOO!! you couldn't have known :(((

Oh shit it was a nightmare. Forgot he had those. Tbh Sam's visions were one of my favorite plots in the entire show!! up there with demon blood, creepifer, godstiel, hallucinations, and everything to do with Jack kline.

“another nightmare?” DAD DEAN WINCHESTER I TELL YA!!

“you want to drive for a bit?” he doesn't know how to help Sam so he's like "well driving my car makes ME happy sooooo—" and honestly? Good effort pal

“im fine” ARE YOU SAM? ARE YOU.

why are they acting like John will know what killed Jessica?? He doesn't know what killed Mary dude 💀 AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY HE'S MISSING. (it's because he's on the demons trail but still..)

"so black water ridge is ther—" “dude check out the size of this freaking bear!!” HELPPPP!! Dean stay on track man— HOLY SHIT THATS A BIG BEAR. NEVERRRRMINDDD.

sams side eyes LMAOOO. "Why is he talking about this bear??"

Ranger guy really just handed out private info to these random guys because they said they were some girls friends..

“why do we even need to talk to this girl???” Sam chill out 😭

“so maybe we can know what we're walking into before we walk into it???” LMAOOOO YOU TELL EM DEAN!!

Sam has had a complete character swap and I love it. He just wants to find John, and kill whatever killed Jess. And Dean is slightly tweaking bc Sam is acting SOOOO careless 😭

“since when are you all 'shoot first, ask questions later'??” “since now.” DEAN DON'T SMILE AT THAT. SAM IS NOT ACTING HEALTHY.. just because you act like that doesn't mean Sam should too lil bro 😭

WAIT HOLYSHITHOLYSHIT!!!!! ON THE FAKE ID DEAN SHOWS THE GIRL IT SAYS SAMUEL COLT!! LIKE THE LEGEND. THE MAKER OF THEEE COLT GUN. THE MAKER OF THE TRAP TO THE GATE OF HELL IN S2/3 GAVNS HOKY SHITTTT!! REFERENCE!!

why is it that whenever Dean is about to 'hit it' or yk pull a women he looks at Sam with a smug smile. Like.. "look Sammy. She thinks I'm cool. Yeaaaaa women love me im SOOOOO awesome! 😼" If you were so cool you wouldn't be desperate for your little brothers validation.

codependent siblings meet codependent siblings.

“our parents are gone. It's just me two brothers and me, we keep pretty close tabs on each other..” Literally kid Sam and Dean core.

So this girl is all like "yea guess I'll see you out in the woods then. I'm gonna find em. I have too" and deans all like "I know how you feel.." DO YOU? who actually cares about John bro..

Nerd Sam finds shadows on bad video. Dean is wayyy to proud of him dude😭 it's honestly kinda sweet.

STOP HARASSING SAD OLD PEOPLE 😭😭 last episode with the guy with a dead wife and kids, this episode with a guy who saw his parents murdered and got mauled by a "grizzly bear" LIKE LEAVE THEM ALONE BRO😭😭

holy shit that scar is so bad. I'd cry.

“its corporal..” "stfu nerd what does that even mean??" "Its—" "blah blah, which means we can kill it! It's corporal." HE JUST SAID THAT DEAN..

sams kinda right.. it's dangerous for this girl to go with you, but deans also right.. she's gonna go no matter what.

LMAO COOL IT ON THE SASS SAM. “finding dad's not enough?? Now we gotta babysit too??” HELPPPP

Dean why are you looking so OKSY WITH THIS. Sam is clearly not right in the head bro😭 all he's thinking is "Sam's acting all tough like me 😼 kinda being a dick but we don't know these people so idrc"

“and your hiking in biker boots and jeans?” “well honey I don't do shorts 😒💅” HES SO ICONIC!!

this Roy guy is dumb. Like they're (in your perspective) rangers, they know what they're doing chill out. Obviously they know how dangerous the woods are??

and another one bites the dust.. RIP RANDOOOOO

dean finally met his snarky match.. “say uhh.. those critters ever hunt you back?” *gets yanked still.* “whatcha doing Roy?” *Roy picks up stick and disables bear trap.* “watch your step ‘ranger’”

OH MY GOD THE BROWN JACKET!! I miss the old wardrobe sm. Sam reminds me of a deer, no wonder Crowley calls him moose.

“your not rangers. Who the hell are you?” SHE CLOCKED THEMMM!! they've gotten caught twice in 2 episodes. C'mon guys. Your 2-0. losing. Or is it 0-2? Idk sports reference.

HOWEVER DON'T HATE THE DUFFLE BAG LADY. that stays for all 15 seasons. I think 😡

“besides it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. ever..” HELP?? NOT A FLEX DUDE. you cannot convince me pre-series Dean had game. no way.

“what do you mean I didn't pack provisions?” THEN HE PULLS OUT A GIANT BAG OF M&M'S. ARE YOU FR??? HELSPSBSB

they are at the cords and... NOTHING. however there's no crickets so duh, obviously preds are around. Like animals not pedos. I CAN'T SPELL FAUCK

“you shouldnt go off by yourself..” “thats sweet. :)” ROY I LOVE YOU OLD MAN.

Also Ben (the kiddish brother of the girl) is listening to music in his earbuds the whole way and honestly? That's so real of him.

I love how Sam just follows dean around, ducking over his shoulder. It's kinda cute. I LOVE MY SONSS

I really don't remember much about the random man screaming but... yep they got their packs stolen. Tsk tsk tsk.

It's so obviously NOT A BEAR. bears don't commit kidnappings believe it or not!!

“so much for my gps and satellite phone :((” oh 2005, how I miss you.(I wasn't alive)

I really do like the old phones though tbh. No texting. (Even if there was, Dean probably couldn't figure it out back then)

“it wants to cut us off so we can't call for help..” “it? You mean someone. Some NUTJOB.” no Sam knows what he said Roy.

Sam dragging Dean away to speak in private omg. Dude I know these MFS are brothers, but they sneak around so much they act like a closeted gay couple. People on the road def thought that— HELL the entire bugs episode exists?? All the real estate agents were like "we sell to ALL types of people." And the second time they got hinted at being gay, Dean gave up and called Sam honey 💀💀

Finally they know what it is, even if Dean doesn't believe smarty pants sam.

sams right. These strangers?? Gotta go!!

“im trying to protect you.” “trying to protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight!” jokes on you HE DOESN'T HAVE A MOMMY!! hah! Take that!!

finally Dean talking to Sam. “no your not fine. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?” FINALLY.

“dads not here. Why are we still here?” valid point Sam! “this is why. (*Pulls out journal*)" NOOOOOOUHHHH. They treat it like it's the Bible. ITS NOT. “maybe dad wants us to take over where he left off. Saving people., hunting things. The family business.” dude. Sam is grieving over Jessica. Just let him grieve, kill the thing, and go back to law school 😭

“why doesn't dad just talk to us?” FR. I hate john.

Deans following orders, and Sam just wants to finish everything. It's kinda crazy how alike Sam and John are, but in different ways?? Idk.

Dean trying to comfort Sam but saying shit that doesn't help part 1!!

roy got nabbed. DUMBAHH

don't make Dean go into his backstory girl.. I know he looks like a pretty princess in leather but..

oh shit this IS an old show. They said 'Indian'. Which reminds me of in the bunker when Sam corrects Dean and says 'native American'. Idk if it's just because I was raised with hearing native American but calling them Indians is stupid. Like there can't be two?? And they just straight up AREN'T INDIAN?? but WTV..

ahhh yesssssssaaaa!! The cannibal lore of wendigos! reminds me of a certain gay phycologist? or uh.. wait what does he do.??? Physiatrist? WAIT—

okayyyy soooo fire? Cause wtfdym guns are useless?? damn when ARE guns useful.

why is Sam so smart. "Dawg the tracks? To obvious and clear it wants us to—"

HOLY SHIT ROY. we found him—yay???...

RUN BITCH RUNNNNNUUUUH

welp they lost Dean and Hailey.

No way the stupid product placement was actually important. Good job music kid!!

Also not part of the show but I found a pimple on my arm and YIKES the amount of puss— uh anyways..

*WARNING DO NOT ENTER* OMG let's go in here!!

like..

I mean yes they are probably in there but jesus.

okay now the boring plot.. blah blah save people, blah blah bad 2000's effects, blah blah.

Honestly the monster aspect of the monster show was kinda lacking in the first few episodes for me. I lLOVEEEE the monster stuff normally, don't get me wrong, but idk the action isn't peak rn, and we barely get to see the monster. :9

and Sam gets to drive baby!!! YIPPEE!!

[umbra-papilio]

Some notes on my au/Slenderbros headcanons

The Operator and Slenderman are two separate entities. They're both eldritch horrors, but the Operator is far more malevolent and nasty, going out of his way to torment people until they eventually break and "transform" into his proxies. Whereas Slender is just kinda vibing.

The Operator, Slenderman, Trenderman, Splendorman, and Offenderman are all part of the same "species," whatever the hell that may be, but are not brothers. The latter four collaborate with each other on occasion and won't correct you if you do mistakenly refer to them as "brothers," but they will be incredibly offended if you associate them with the Operator. They cannot stand him and the feeling is mutual.

The quartet, while still being powerful, are all far weaker than the Operator as well. The Operator feeds off of negative energy which he sows by stalking and torturing his victims - which can be adults or even children, he isn't picky - and reaps by either "proxifying" the strong ones or slaughtering and eating the weak ones. Viciously. This greatly disturbs and even disgusts them.

So they're not senseless killers by any means, but they're not exactly morally upstanding either (except for maybe Trender). Slender has an entire mansion dedicated to housing and protecting lone killers, monsters and poltergeists. The Human Realm and the Monster Realm are incompatible with each other in his eyes, and he wants to give them a place to call home now that they have "rejected their humanity." He won't outright harm them himself, but he absolutely won't hesitate to ban anyone who disturbs the peace. When it comes to outsiders, however, he can get... violent. He'll just scare off any curious human who gets too close without physically hurting them, but anyone with foul intentions will be disposed of immediately. There's a reason the SCP Foundation hasn't been able to lay a hand on him.

Trender is an odd case, an outcast even among his "brothers." He fully embraces his humanity and is infatuated with human culture and behavior. In fact, most of his time is spent in the Human Realm in a more, shall we say socially acceptable form. He loves his brothers dearly, but unfortunately due to their limited emotional capacity, the feeling cannot be fully returned, although Splendor tries, at least.

Speaking of which... Splendor is a guardian entity of sorts with the sole purpose of protecting children. He has a unique ability that essentially "blesses" any child he comes in contact with. If a deathly sick child is suddenly cured, or if a depressed child is somehow happy and smiley out of seemingly nowhere, you can safely bet that they have been visited by Splendor. On the flip side, he is the most brutal and violent out of the four, and won't think twice to tear apart anyone or anything who dares harm a child. That being said, he absolutely despises Laughing Jack and Mr. Widemouth, and is the reason why Candle Cove eventually went off the air, although how he managed to accomplish this is still unknown.

(Let me get one thing straight. This is a fandom built around horror, gore, and topics that generally make one uncomfortable. However, there are some lines I just won't cross, and SA is one of them. So, here's my version of Offender.)

Like Trender, Offender is also one who indulges in the luxuries of the Human Realm, but unlike the former, he never sticks around. He is, for lack of a better word, a "player." He lives for passion and debauchery, and sees no reason to waste his endless years cooped up in a mansion or babysitting children all day. Every night is filled with drinking, gambling, and sex with any woman who is interested, in some cases (well, many cases) more than one at once. In his opinion, women are the best thing humanity has to offer. He is not a predator, though. It's unknown how the unfortunate nickname was bestowed upon him, but he hates it with a passion. Why would he force himself on someone when their enthusiastic consent and eagerness for him is part of how fucking sexy they are? Anyways, don't think that makes him an saint. He'll still leave the second the sun begins to rise. Commitment isn't exactly his forte.

[sunny6677]

Spookytale

(An Undertale x Spooky Month crossover)

Chapter 2: Toriel.

Summary: After an incident involving the whole town getting hypnotized(besides Skid) and falling into a hole, all of them find themselves in a place that will change their life forever.

TWS: STREBER BEING A BIT OF A SASSY ASSHOLE, A BIT OF PROFANITY.

————

John and Jack had no idea what they were to do in this situation. They had almost been attacked by a sentient flower, a burst of fire summoned by some random humanoid goat creature had saved them, and now the local candy store clerk had fainted from pure shock of what he had witnessed. The first thing they had done though, upon instinct from being police officers, was to go ahead and check if Kevin's pulse was still running.

Of course, he had been okay. But they had come across many strange cases of people randomly passing out in their times of being officers that they always had an urge to make sure if someone was dead or not whenever they 'fainted'. And of course, it was also what was best to do in that type of situation.

But what they had not been expecting was.. for the ghost creature apparently named 'Toriel' to rush up along with them immediately a few seconds after Kevin had fainted. It merely stood behind them, but even so, even after they had done the usual procedure required for a fainted person(which was to lay them down, kneel by them, raise their legs and check their pulse. It would usually also include providing them with a source of air, but there was barely any air down in this mountain-like place.), the goat creature gently walked closer to Kevin and knelt down beside him. It had checked his pulse, and had asked if he was alright or if he was going to be alright.

John had to admit, the moment it knelt by him, his first instinct was to grab onto his gun(Jack had been about to do the same, though John ceased his hand from raising his pistol and aiming it at the creature). But.. something about this creature did not seem hostile, unlike the many other paranormal entities he and his partner had encountered. Even so, he still felt a sense of unease, especially after that flower creature had nearly hurt or maybe even killed them both.

What either of them had also not been expecting was for the sounds of rushing footsteps to be heard coming closer(after a sudden shout of Kevin's name was heard from a male voice) a few moments after Kevin had plummeted to the ground. A few seconds later, Strebers head poked through the doorframe, along with Ethan who was behind him. "Oh—Oh my god! Is he okay? Wha—" Streber had immediately asked, stepping foward. Then, Strebers eyes had laid upon 'Toriel', and he froze.

"What the hell is that?!" He shrieked, taking a step back with widened eyes and beads of sweat trickling down his face from the sheer anxiety of the sight. "Streber, don't get any closer.." Ethan had warned, pulling Streber back by his shoulder. "Of course I'm not gonna get any closer! I don't know what the hell that thing is!" Streber yelped in his usual sassy manner, though his face fell with guilt once he had said that to Ethan. John could have sworn he heard Streber mumble a quick unfinished apology to Ethan, though John found Toriel speaking before Streber could finish.

"Oh dear.. are you alright, human? You seem to be quite fearful of me.. fear not, I don't mean you any harm." The creature called Toriel had spoken, it's voice sounding feminine and almost soothing in a way. Like a mother soothing its child. It stood, gesturing with its gigantic paws as if to calm Streber's fear. For whatever reason, the creature did not appear offended or angered by Strebers rather sassy natured fear. "Ho—How do I know that?!" Streber raised his voice, getting in front of Ethan as if to protect him, "How do I know you're not gonna—"

"Stay calm, kid. Believe me, we're not gonna figure out anything if we keep yellin' at the top of our lungs like a bunch of rascals." John tried to say, standing up and gesturing with his hands as Jack lifted Kevin by his arms with an awkward expression on his face. Streber stood with his mouth agape for a moment, before yelping back, "How—How do you know that?! How the hell am I supposed to calm down when there's a literal monster right there?!"

Jack and John gave a stern look, and Ethan looked down at Streber with a somewhat disapproving expression.

Streber sighed, "Sorry, officer.. its just—"

"He doesn't know what's going on, officers. Frankly, I don't think any of us know what's going on.. we've been asking that ever since we got down here. Can you just tell us what happened so we have some idea of what's happening around here?" Ethan inquired, setting a hand on Strebers shoulder.

John sighed, "We will, we will. Will one of you go and tell the others to round up here?"

Streber was about to make a sassy remark, though one look from Ethan stopped him.

Of course, Ethan obliged, and Streber followed behind him as they both murmured unintelligible conversation to eachother, for it was muffled as they walked behind the wall.

Toriel had then suddenly questioned, "Erm.. this human will be alright, will they not? Do they need to be carried?" From what it seemed, it was referring to Kevin.

Jack paused, before saying with an unsure expression, "Uh, yeah.. he will be. What.. what are you?"

John was about to give a somewhat stern look, though it had only been out of fear of how the creature would react. Perhaps it was merely pretending to be nice so it could catch them off guard. Perhaps it was some strange abnormal paranormal entity which for some reason haunted this place.

"Oh.. do you not know? That is strange... I was sure all humans knew what monsters were." The creature inquired with an inquisitive tone.

"A... monster?" Jack repeated in an unsure voice.

"Ye.. Yes, I am a monster. This is the underground.. monsters live here. You.. you know what the underground is, do you not?" Toriel asked with a somewhat worried look in its eyes.

Neither of them knew how exactly to answer.

————

When everyone had entered the place in which John had requested for them all to round up in, Ethan and Streber had been standing in front of everyone. Of course, everyone who had not seen Toriel yet had a reaction that was expected. Collective gasps or comments were let out.

"What the hell is that?!" Roy would yell from somewhere in the group of people(to which Lila would reply, "Hey, language!"). Robert and Ross had been stunned into silence, though Robert tried asking what happened a few moments after, and he was unheard through the group of people in which he was stuck in. Jaune protectively held her son close, and as did Lila with her son. Susie pulled Pump closer, having an almost horrified expression on her face. But.. Skid and Pump didn't seem phased at all. In fact, they seemed amazed. Skid and Pump both had stars in their eyes, gasping in innocent astonishment with big fat grins plastered on their small faces which were hard to see due to their masks.

"Wow! It's a goat monster!" Pump would yell out in excitement. "Are you a ghost or something?!" Skid would question aloud with a child-like tone, seemingly curious and happy as per usual. Though Lila would shush him, telling him quietly to not speak to the creature of which she referred to as 'that thing'.

"Calm down, everyone. Everything's fine. But.. from what we can tell, this place ain't entirely safe." John announced, looking back at the green pit in the ground for a small moment, before setting his eyes back on everyone else in the group. "But.. this.. this creature here saved us." John grumbled softly, a little uncertain of his own words as he gestured to 'Toriel', who was much bigger than basically everyone else in the room. She had merely been at least 7 feet tall, or at the very least, a few inches taller than Jack had been.

"It.. what?" Roy uttered, seeming a bit stunned. Robert had asked, "A—Ar—Are you okay, man? What do you mean it saved you? What happened?" John tried to reply back in the softest voice he could muster toward his nephew, "It.. well.." He wasn't able to find the exact words.

"Oh dear... the underground sometimes has a bit of hostile monsters every now and then." Toriel spoke as some widened their eyes in slight surprise(seemingly shocked at the fact that it could apparently speak), "But worry not, I shall protect you all from any creature that may come and attempt harm on any of you."

Quiet murmurs spread among the group. Some facial expressions relaxed a little, though now some were mostly furrowing their brows or raising their brows. Some eyes widened as 'Toriel' spoke, most likely not hearing whatever it was saying. "You'll.. protect us?" Susie had asked, though she had not stopped holding Pump close. Pump had then yelled aloud, "Wow! We made a new friend already—" Susie promptly shushed him, her eyes widening.

Toriel let out what sounded like a soft chuckle, "Hehehe. Indeed, I will be your companion down here if you would all like me to." Toriel paused for a moment, before stepping foward, and saying, "I have not normally seen so many humans fall down here. Usually, it's just one who tends to fall down into this place."

"You mean.. people have fallen down here before?" Ethan inquired, tilting his head in curiosity. He seemed a bit more relaxed now, compared to everyone else. "Yes.. I'm afraid so. Sometimes, children will come up to this mountain despite the many warnings other humans will give them, and will fall down here regardless. But.. how on earth did all of you fall in a place like this? Normally, so many humans don't fall down here all at once." Toriel would question back, speaking in an almost kind tome of voice.

"Well.. that's hard to explain. Someone called 'Piper' returned and.." Jack barely managed to finish, turning back to look at the group of people standing before them. They had all stared on with raised brows or wide eyes, seemingly waiting for him to finish talking. After pausing, he simply muttered, "Nevermind.. but.. do you know any way out of here.... Toriel?" He spoke hesitantly, as if uncertain of that being Toriel's name despite it saying so.

"No.. I'm afraid that you all may be trapped down here." Toriel would say, looking down at the ground sadly. Collectively, some shouted "What?!" or said nothing at all, standing in shock as a few others murmured to the person standing beside them or near them. "Wh—What do you mean we're trapped down here?! Is there no way out?!" Lila shrieked.

"Oh dear.. I know you're all upset about your circumstances, humans. You have every right to be upset, I could not bare being told I was trapped somewhere which would not be my home after all." Toriel gently spoke, being somewhat inaudible among the murmurs of the group. "But fret not, I will not leave you all to stay here. I.. will find you all a place to stay. There might need to be some arrangements about where you all are going to be sleeping though.."

"You'll.. let us live here? Bu—But we.. we can't. We all have families and lives we need to get back to!" Lila would say, gesturing with her hands wildy as she spoke with her lips quivering. "Dear human.. I am afraid this may be the only way. I.. I can not let you all stay out here with no shelter or providence of care. It would not be right of me to do so." Toriel replied, having a sympathetic glisten inside of its shimmering red pupils.

The group went silent. What would become of them? Would other humans know about their vanishing? Would there be any investigations done? Perhaps other humans would come for them? Even so, the situation seemed so hopeless despite all of the possibilities of help arriving.. what were they to do in this creatures care? Why was this creature being.. so nice to them?

"Hmmm.. here. Why don't you all live with me for now? I have a home down here somewhere.. I'm afraid it'll be a little cramped, but it's probably the only place in The Ruins that you may be able to stay in for now." Toriel said, it's eyes wistful and half-lidded with a strong sense of motherly care.

Some were heard asking what 'The Ruins' was, but others would speak of what Toriel had suggested(Skid and Pump would shout in excitement though, to which Lila and Susie had shushed them both, though Roy was heard telling them both to shut up from a distance.). "Really? You'd let us all.. stay in your house?" Jack had questioned, raising a brow.

"Yes, of course.. I wouldn't want to leave you all out here without any sort of shelter. Hmmm.." Toriel took a few steps closer to Jack, and softly grabbed Kevin, which made Jack instinctively flinch in slight anxiety(though something about this creature was.. trust-worthy. He wasn't sure why.). But.. Toriel had simply scooped up Kevin in her arms, and began carrying him almost like a mother cradling an infant. "Why don't I carry this human while I guide you all through the catacombs? I'm sure it would be exhausting to carry someone else all the way to my home.. and I don't want you to perhaps pass out as well."

Jack did not speak for a moment, his eyes widening in soft surprise. A small smile formed on his lips, and he replied, "Re—Really? Heh.. thanks.. ma'am." He spoke uncertainly. "Yo—You.. don't mind being called that, right?"

Toriel softly laughed in return, "Not at all. Call me whatever you like, human."

The slightly goofy smile on Jack's face did not fade, a simple act of kindness making him feel a weird sense of.. euphoria. Obviously, he had met kind people in his life, though he never met someone as kind as this random creature before.

"Now then, come," Toriel spoke while glancing at everyone, "I will guide you all through the catacombs. This way." Toriel then began to slowly walk toward what looked to be a door hidden behind the light which once glowed upon the flower from earlier, while still carrying Kevin in her giant arms.

Soft murmurs were heard among the group for a split moment. Some were uncertain of the situation, and some were uncertain of whether to follow or not. But due to the seemingly nice monster who had walked before them, they reluctantly followed as told. "Woah! Do you think we're gonna live here forever, mom?" Skid grinned up at Lila. Lila spoke in return with a dim and saddened voice, "I.. I don't know, son." Absolutely, you could see she was beginning to lose hope of any escape. Pump said something similar to what Skid had said, though his had been directed at Susie, and he commented on how 'cool' the 'goat lady' looked. Susie gave no exact reply, seeming unsure of how to answer.

Roy and Robert stayed close beside eachother, making unintelligible worried conversation. Jaune followed behind Ross, murmuring forced comforts to her son who already knew there would be no escape out of this place. Ethan and Streber spoke with eachother, though Streber remarked, "Are we seriously just gonna follow that thing?! What if it's tricking us?!" It was clear that the impact of.. the incident had left a mark on his trust. "I don't know, dude. I guess we'll have to find out if it is or not.." Ethan replied softly, staring down at the floor as he walked, to which Streber had began to ask if he were okay.

John whispered to Jack, "Are we seriously gonna trust that thing, Jack? You know it could be tricking us.."

Jack replied in an equally whispered tone, "I don't know.. if it's tricking us, we might have to use our fists. My guns jammed, and I don't know if yours is either. Besides.. I'm sure it'll be fine. We're cops, we can handle this. We've handled a bunch of weirdos in red coats before, right? I'm sure we can handle this."

John sighed, "Yeah, but have we handled a humanoid goat monster before? We don't know what that thing has up its sleeves, Jack.. we gotta be more careful."

Jack paused, before saying, "Well.. I don't know, John. But.. I'm sure we'll figure it out. After all, I'm here, right? We have eachother, so we don't have to worry.."

John paused as well, before barely managing to muster a smile, replying, "Yeah.. I guess we do. Let's just hope nothing bad happens.. I dont wanna lose you now."

Jack laughed gently, "You won't."

As Toriel walked into the door, the group followed behind, beginning their journey.

////////////////////

SPENT TWO HOURS ON THIS TOO HOLY SHIT

[grounded-gryphon]

I'd Die (Again) for Y'all (Chapter 4)

Prev

Jason had been to the Watchtower before, but never as Red Hood. The Watchtower was for heroes and Red Hood wasn't welcome. Not unless he was sneaking around doing Batman's dirty work, anyway.

So much as he fucking hated to admit it, it was maybe a good thing he had Timmers on comms helping him find his way around. Not that he'd ever admit it to anyone. Especially B.

Actually, B would probably be pissed he'd involved Replacement in this little unofficial outing. Yeah, Jason was a-okay with Timmers whispering in his ear. More than. Wouldn't mind hearing it more--

Red Hood cut that line of thought off like a knife. He couldn't afford to get distracted, and he had no business thinking that way about Tim, ever.

His luck was with him for once, and the room they were keeping Phantom in (it wasn't actually a cell, wonder of wonders) wasn't hard to find. No guards, so B had cleared the way as promised. The door was locked, but the lock was a piddly thing. Cyborg was clearly in on B's shenanigans and putting in just enough effort to not make it obvious. Either that or he owed Timmers one hell of a favor.

Between what B told him and the video Red Robin had shown him, Hood was prepared for anything from Phantom being terrified into catatonia to needing to fight off a rabid weasel.

Somehow, it's always the things you don't expect.

~~~

Danny didn't know what was happening. Somehow, that was scarier than knowing he was going to die.

Well, no, it made perfect sense, actually. Danny was already dead, had been for six years. Sure, he'd managed to screw up dying, but he'd done it. He knew about dying. It might hurt -- it might hurt horribly. But sooner or later, it ended.

He'd panicked when he saw the GIW. Somewhere, he'd maybe hoped that if he fought back, the hero might just kill him rather than hand him over.

Instead, he was... here. Waiting for... whatever came next.

Which was... Which was the door opening and his ghost senses flaring to life for the first time since they'd locked the cuffs on him!

"No." The word burst from him. "No-no-no-no-no. You can't be here. They'll find you. They're HERE!"

He was on his knees -- tears falling like rain and freezing on his cheeks.

"Hey, it's--"

Danny stared up at the stranger. Halfa, his ghost sense said? No important. There wasn't /time./

"NO! Don't talk, run!" he begged, "They won't kill you. Don't you understand? Get out before it's too late!"

But the stranger didn't run. Didn't listen. They stepped into the fucking cell and closed the door behind them. If Danny wasn't trapped in these cuffs, he'd have grabbed the stranger and thrown them out himself. But he couldn't. He couldn't protect them. He couldn't--

"Look, we don't have time. I know you don't have any reason to trust me, and I have no clue who 'they' are. But I'm getting you out of here. Whoever you think is after me, you can tell me when we're safe, okay?"

"You don't understand," Danny whispered brokenly. "You can't save me. They can track me now but they don't know about you yet. If they discover you... you'll never be safe again."

The stranger crouched down in front of Danny, gleaming red helmet angled in a way that somehow conveyed seriousness or concern. Up close, it was obvious the guy was huge -- nearly as big as Jack had been. Danny wasn't a small man, but next to this guy, he felt tiny.

Physical presence aside -- and the guy had it in spades -- this close, Danny's ghost sense could read him a bit. Something about his core made him seem... not familiar, but still like Danny should recognize him. And Danny knew he'd never met, or even heard of, this other halfa. The strangeness of it was enough to momentarily break through Danny's panic.

"Who are you?" The guy tensed, and Danny didn't think he would answer.

"If I tell you, will you stop arguing and come with me?"

"I... alright. If it'll get you out of here faster, yes." Once he got a hold of some tools, Danny could get these cuffs off. And then he could ghost the guy. If he moved fast enough, he wouldn't lead the GIW to this other halfa.

"Aight. I go by Red Hood."

Danny felt his eyes go wide, ice tried to crackle around his core. "The avenger," he breathed. No wonder this man had seemed familiar. He was a legend. And he was here.

"What? I don't--" Red Hood, the avenger, had come to save Danny. For the first time since he saw Superman, Danny believed he might actually survive this.

The hero's confusion was obvious. Which wasn't surprising. If not one whiff of the man's being a halfa had slipped into the legends, then he had no connection with ghosts or the infinite realms at all... That was okay. That was for later.

But if Red Hood lived up to the legend at all -- then fighting together, they might actually have a chance.

Danny stood up. "Let's get out of here."

~~~

"Hood?" a voice whispered in his ear.

No one could blame Red Hood for having emotional whiplash. But he was okay. He was handling it. The pits being weird? Not a thing. They were the pits -- of course, they were weird. Just because this was a new type of weird didn't mean anything. Especially when he had bigger problems -- problems like convincing this guy to let Hood save his fucking life.

So when the dude agreed to leave in return for Hood's name?

Fuck, yeah, whatever. If it got them out of there, Red Hood would be happy about it.

"Hood!"

But it was the whiplash's fault. There wasn't any other reasonable explanation. Because in the middle of a life-and-death semi-authorized break out from the fucking Watchtower, when this guy learned Red Hood's name and stopped panicking on a fucking dime, looked at him like he was a real fucking hero…

When he was willing to trust Red-fucking-Hood to keep him safe from the real heroes (From Batman)…

And then he stood up, and for one moment, Jason was staring right at his crotch…

The dude wasn't a twink. Had looked incredibly average sitting on the floor, actually (for hero versions of average, anyway. Muscled but could clearly disappear in a crowd if not for the shitty fashion choices and glowing white hair). But when he stood, and Jason, still squatting, saw those hips at just the right height for grabbing and…

It was a moment, okay?

"Damn it, Jason, what's going on!" Replacement sounded frantic, and that shook Jason out of his shock. He never again wanted to hear Tim sound so scared.

"I'm okay, Timmers," he said into the comm as he stood to lead Phantom out the door. "We're on our way out."

***

Next

Hehe, yeah, so?

That thing with the poll?

I lied. (not really)

Half way through the poll's run my friend gave me an idea. So Danny isn't Danger Twink OR built like a brickhouse, but a secret third thing that's going to make both Jason and Tim drool.

(I don't think it's going to come up much, but Jason and I are both from northern New Jersey. Sometimes, he's going to sound like it, aight.)

Tag list:

@ailithnight @library-cat-in-the-window @paper-bag-boy @beepboopimaproblemchild @mygood-bitch99 @thewondersoflebanon @overtherose @kyrianclawraith @ghostpyre (original artist/prompt maker) @cursedchaosboys @serasvictoria02 @ever-changing-weirdo-3100 @that-tooth-stealing-fuck @phantom-dc @yukkikatsuki @skulld3mort-1fan @soupfilledboots @help-i-need-a-cool-username @fisticuffsatapplebees @kaitouhime @soren1830 @nottmuchtopost @why-must-i-be-like-this @screamingtofillthevoid @emergentpanda-blog @introvert-even-on-the-internet @charcoalstainedbones @starlightcat04 @ajrose1216 @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @pastalavistamf @lazy-bouqet

[adrianasunderworld]

Hey! Going off one of your earlier asks, how do you think the interaction with Leona would have played out if Yuu WAS fem presenting? Would he forgive her quickly? Ignore the mishap? Offer her a word of advice? I have fun thinking of how the story would play out!

Leona in that part we first meet him, is immediately pissed off about his tail being stepped on and being woken. He goes right into talking about how he can't sniff a spec of magic on Yuu and how stepping on his tail and waking him up is "gonna cost you a tooth."

If Yuu is at first glance is clearly a girl, Leona would not do all that. If he sniffs Yuu and comments on her lack of magic, it isn't so much to be mean as it is making an observation. And he sure as hell would not threaten her. He would likely just take the apology with a "just watch where you're stepping next time." And leave it at that. Maybe with a comment that she should be careful, an Herbivore like her is easy prey, until Ruggie comes and they leave.

I think the biggest difference when it comes to Leona and the story as a whole is how the player would perceive him and how he treats them. Because I've talked about this before, but Leona absolutely gives girls special treatment. Ruggie says in the Leonas robes vignette that he is always extra nice to girls, to which Leona denies. But we know better. If the Mc was written to be a girl rather than gender neutral, I think one of the biggest things is that Leona is one of that can be relied on for help. Like for example, when Ramshackle is taken by a Azul and Jack brings us to Savannaclaw, it's initially met by some resistance from Leona. If Yuu were a girl? He would agree off the bat with some berating about why we would sign that contract. This is still Leona we're talking about though, he's not going to pull out some out of left field Prince Charming act, that's not his thing. But by his standards? He would consistently be nice and maybe even protective. Because unlike the Savanna women, Yuu is probably not a super strong lion lady, she may need a hand once in a while.

I think Leona and Miss Yuu can be summed up as:

Some student: ugh, Leona is such an asshole! How can you always be around him?

Yuu: To you he's and asshole. he's always nice to me though.

[igotanidea]

Hello Devil : Matt Murdock x reader

request/ summary: what do you think about Matt/f!reader where they grew up together and were really close, but then Matt went to law school, but reader decided to study to become a journalist (or smt like that) in another city, so they kinda lost each other. Maybe reader wrote some articles about Daredevil and they met again in orphanage (like in the begging of the last season)

I changed the part about studying in another city but tried my best to stick with the rest I'm still taking tags.

masterlist

Warnings: angst, fluff, inuendo to smut, heartbreak, tears, indulging in the traumatic past, you name it.

„For God’s sake! Did you really think you could hide from everyone and pretend to be dead?”

“Sort of. Yes.”

“Unbelievable. Did you believe I wouldn’t track you down?”

“Honestly I was hoping you would give up.”

“You Murdock may be a hell of lawyer but on the other side of the room you are an idiot.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop it. Just … stop.” I shot him a glance and even though he could not see it I knew he knew what was my face expression.

We were currently sitting in the St. Agnes’ convent hospital, my dumbass of a friend being beaten up to shit, bleeding on the bed, plastered from his toes almost the head and I was just observing.

“Why, Matt? Why would you do that to… to Foggy, to Karen, to me? I mean, come on! Do you even realize how sick and worried we were?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that! I know you do not intend to make it better so your words mean nothing!”

He just groaned in pain and closed his eyes.  Honestly I didn’t give a damn on how much suffering he’s been though. He put this on himself the very second he choose that vigilante suit over everything else that mattered in his life.

I knew Matt since I could remember. Even before this fateful accident that left him blind. He was always a protector. In primary school he was willing to stand up to the bullies and tormentors, even if at the end he ended up with broken bones and bruises all over his body. Must have something to do with his father being a boxer. Speaking of parents, since my were always busy with work and life stuff I was practically raised in the Murdock household which lacked woman’s hand. Or rather girl’s hand back at the time. I was a quick learner and soon enough was taking care of both Matt and Jack, helping them clean their messes when needed and patch them up. Me and Matt were inseparable, even after he lost his eyesight. Since then life was not easy on him. Jack Murdock was murdered in cold blood and father Lantom took him under his wings. Raised him as catholic. That was probably the first difference between us, since I was never into religion. However, I was also not an ignorant or troublemaker. Lantom was really smart man and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him about, well, everything. Religion, life, economy, language. I suppose he had as much impact on me as on matt since thanks to him I got interested in literature and writing and when it came to choosing college and career path I decided to become a journalist. On the other hand, Matt wanted to be a lawyer. Given his big mouth and way to talk and twist words I wasn’t surprised.

“a lawyer, huh? That is ambitious.” I muttered. We were sitting on the park bench discussing how we imagine our future

“It just feels right you know, the way to protect the people.”

“Sounds like you Murdock. “

“And what about you? Journalism? I think you were always good at discovering the truth and hidden meanings.”

“Does that surprise you?” I grinned “we were raised together and you are not exactly a definition of open book.”

“Guess we both learned a lot from each other, right.”

“I can’t imagine you learning anything from me.”

“Don’t be modest. You showed me how to trust my guts. And how to control emotions. And how to think before acting..

“ Definitely failed at the last one” I took a sip of coffee and Matt smirked “maybe the law school will chasten that hot-headedness. Though I hope not. It’s who you are after all.”

“Thank you” he grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze “but now, that we are talking I need you to promise me something.”

“Shoot.”

“Promise me you won’t forget about me. That you will call and contact me and …. You know. I don’t want to lose you. You are my best friends.”

“I promise. You won’t get rid of me to easily.” I smiled laying my head on his shoulder

“ That was cliché, Ms. Reporter. If you want to succeed I suggest you start working on your stock of words.”

“Idiot!” I shoved him playfully.

5 years later we were both done with college. And about that promise….. I hoped it would work better but was counting for the worst, breaking contact included, so generally speaking it worked half-way. I called and occasionally came to visit, but it wasn’t as often as I wished. The last year was the hardest since I was a witness to some unexpected event. I scored an internship in New York Bulletin and took my job extremely seriously, trying my best to come up with the story that will make my career skyrocket. And then, almost like from-heaven-sent some vigilantes started coming to life. First, it was the Avengers. Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow. Personally my favorite of them was Hawkeye – the guy was just doing his job, staying quiet, not showing off. But that was also exactly the reason why the chances of writing a story on him were like zero. Stark was much more available and I made it my personal mission to reach for him. It took a lot of effort but in the end was definitely worth it. My boss , the chief editor was pleasantly surprised of my uptake on the story and at the age of 23 I was confided with my own column in the newspaper. That was also the moment when my phone started to ring. A lot of magazines wanted to recruit me but I refused all of them. My current job was my home and I had too much of a good relationship with my boss to ever leave him.

“Fuck!” I muttered as I hear the phone ring again “Not interested!” I throw to whoever was on the other side, believing him or her to be another HR caller.

“That’s unfortunate. Did the soda water rush into your head already?”

“Hello counsellor. I may not be good at law but don’t those words constitute a defamation? How do you call it ….” I searched for the right expression “slander?”

“Someone’s been studying the vocabulary.”

“Took your advice, Murdock.” I smiled through the phone

“Seemingly it payed off.”

“And you are calling me to brag? “

“I’m calling to congratulate you. This is big, you know it. And I’m proud of you.” Some incoherent words came from the distance “Foggy is too.”

“Well, thank you both.”

“My friend!” Foggy grabbed the phone from Matt “this calls for a celebration, don’t you think. My treat. Josie’s?”

“Where else? Beer and dirty, sticky floor is a perfect sing I did not become too conceited.”

“Great! Meet us there at 9. Works for you?”

“Sure thing, see you there guys.”  

***

“To your success, redactor. Next step will be the chief editor if you keep the pace” Foggy raised a glass and me and Matt joined him.

“You know what they say, counsellor, dream big.” I grinned and toasted “to our success. Now, if I ever get in trouble while investigating for an article I suppose my two best friends would get me out, right?”

“Anytime. And since you work on the superhero stuff it might be more then less often.”

“So, anything in particular on your agenda now?”

“I;m thinking about focusing locally, hell’s kitchen . After all we have our own hero/vigilante. The devil of hell’s kitchen?”

Matt nearly choked on his beer but I did not took notice of his unusual behavior and neither did Foggy. At least at first, since after a second it was necessary to pat him on the back to avoid a casualty.

“What is wrong with you?” Nelson asked his partner in confusion

“Down the wrong pipe, I guess. You know what, I’m suddenly very tired, I think I’m gonna head home, but you two stay and have fun.”

“Oh, come on Matt!” I whined “Don’t be a party breaker”

“Sorry, sweetheart. You have to forgive a blind man.”

“Do I? Do we? What do you think Foggy? Should we let him get away with this one?”

“Not a chance. We’re gonna get back at him the moment he least expects it.”

“You like to keep me hanging, don’t you?” he smirked and started to walk towards the exit

“Hey, Matt, do you need a walk home?”

“Thanks searcher, but I’ll be fine. Don’t want to more of a celebration spoiler.”

“What did he just call you?” Foggy was confused by the nickname Matt used

“Honestly I have no idea “ I took a sip of a beer “but knowing Matt, it’s gonna stuck for good, so I better get used to it. Searcher. It has a nice ring to it after all.”

“Maybe. But Matt’s sudden leaving was strange.. .”

“No, Nelson. I refuse to spend the rest of the night talking about his shitty behavior. I want to get drunk, do some karaoke and then get more drunk.”

“We have a reputation now, my friend. Should be wise about what we are doing.”

“Please, Foggy. Just this once?” I made puppy eyes on him and after a while of hesitation he let go.

“shit, you make me break so easily. Must be the pretty girl charm.”

“I’d prefer term smart girl charm.”

“Well then, you are certainly both.”

***Have to H

I’m not sure how we ended up a bit wasted on the streets of New York, heading towards my apartment, laughing like no one could see us and like there were no tomorrow when we will have to go to work and act like adults. Nelson was a gentleman after all and made sure I got home safe, even if it was a bit of challenge for him. That was highly appreciated. As soon as I came through the door I feel on the couch and instantly fell asleep.

Barely couple hours later the alarm in the phone went off making me jump off the bed. I groaned feeling tense and numb, realizing it was not Saturday but simple, boring Wednesday. “Time to sober up” I thought to myself shaking off the blanket…. Wait. The blanket? I was absolutely sure I did not cover myself last night. Or maybe I just couldn’t remember? Perchance it was just my mind playing tricks on me? Was I going crazy? Was that the influence on my superhero column? Before I started spinning, thankfully the phone started ringing and I was more than happy to see it was Matt.

“Hey there, Murdock.”

“Morning sunshine. How was your night? Did you got home safe? Did you sleep well?”

“Where does this concern of yours come from?”

“It’s not concern. More like … sense of duty….”

“Oh, I;m your duty now? That is funny. I clearly remember it being the other way round” I smirked and somehow knew he could sense that even through the phone “But seriously, the night was good, the sleep however a bit short.”

“Did you use your magic blanket?”

“Yes. I mean it’s actually a bit strange…”

“How so?”

“I can’t remember putting it out yet this morning I found it on me…”

“you know, the alcohol kills brain cells, maybe it’s already affecting you.

“Haha. Very funny . Have a nice day counsellor, meet you later?”

“Not tonight. I … I will be busy with some stuff.”

“Ok, then how about I bring you some Thai or Chinese?”

“Not tonight.” His voice was stern and cold and that left me a bit suspicious. Was he hiding something?

“Look Matt, if you are having any lady friend over it’s fine. You can just tell me. Now or later, when you ready.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow” he hung up on me.

Fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, no pressure on him. Give him the distance.

*** “I’m putting you on Daredevil story” Ellison entered my office unannounced. Guess that’s what you get being chief editor

“That’s not new” I frowned “you already gave me that topic before, so….”

“There are some rumors around town”

“What rumors?”

“Some people might or might not have notices strange movement on the pier.”

“Like … like outlaws? But if we got that he is surely gonna be there”

“You are a smart one, aren’t you? Go there, check it out. BUT. Figure it out during the daytime, you hear me? Can’t risk you getting hurt or kidnapped kid”

“Please do not call me that” I rolled my eyes at him “And I get more chances if ….”

“No. Daytime. That is an official order. Repeat after me. Day hours.”

“Ok, fine, fine! Day hours.”

“Good. Now you may go. It’s your work after all so bring me something good.”

Oh, I will bring you something better than just good.

I really liked Ellison, cross my heart. As much as I hated going against him, I was not the one to back up on a good story. Daytime was fine. But I never promised to stay away at night, right? So, like a good girl I checked the pier and since nothing interesting good came up I prepared for some more research. 5 years of a karate class and a self-defence course could finally be used to something good. When the dusk settled in I put on a hoodie, some comfy pants and light shoes that made almost zero sound and prepared for my mission. The rumors were true. As I was hiding behind the lorry I noticed some men dressed like ninjas (what else?) trafficking something. Or rather someone – some poor girls, my age or maybe even younger. Shit! How sick was that? “Should I take action” I started thinking but before I could act on that thought some silhouette came from the shadows and took those men down one by one, getting the girls to safety. Here he was. The Daredevil. It would be unwise to just come out now since anyone could be watching so I tried my best to follow him as he fled the scene. If what I heard about him was true his supersensing would not leave me unnoticed.

“What the hell are you doing here?”  how he managed to be behind me despite the fact that a second ago I saw him in front was a mystery “Do not… turn around. Eyes front. Answer my question.”

“ok, fine, Jeez. I’m no threat. Just a journalist. I’m writing about you. “

“and why would you do that?”

“I don’t know. To show people you are not bat-shit crazy vigilante? That you protect people and not hurt them? Living proof I just saw.” I shifted a bit but he was quick to grab my hand behind me and force my gaze up.

“Do not turn around, girl. This is dangerous for you. Let it go now. No more following me. No more tracing my steps, you hear me?” Why was there something oddly familiar about his scent and the way he was holding me? It was not a tough, firm grip but rather a gentle and comforting hold. Like he really was concerned about my safety. “This is your last and first warning. Now. Get out of here.”

Do you think I stopped after that? Well, you are right, I did not. I wrote that first article and then another and another. At some point they started to become boring and I knew I had to put on my suit once again and take action into the field.

As the night came I was standing on the street wondering who, where and why might be in trouble. The most dangerous place at the moment was the alleged lair of a drug dealer who was also doing in sex-trafficking. If Daredevil shall appear anywhere that would be it. Being a committed reporter I walked right there, not without a bit of a trembling but trying my best to be invincible. It almost worked. Almost being the key word here. I was just about to sneak a peek thought the window when a sudden pain grew at the back of my skull, my vision became blurry and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up I was in a small room with a couple more girls hunched in the corner. The terror and fright on their faces make me feel helpless and stupid for falling into such primitive trap. My hands were tied on the back and I could feel my right eye swelling and my lip bleeding. Not really much chances of doing anything, even given my karate knowledge.

“Oh, she’s awake.  This little one is pretty” one of the man grabbed my chin forcing me to look at his masked face “we will get a lot of money for her.”

“get your hands off me, you….” a slap on the face made me go quiet. Just play it smart

“You think I’m pretty?’ I tried to talk at him while also working on untying my hands

“I think you talk too much, vajze”

“Wait, you are Albanian?” another slap on the cheek and I knew I would end up with bruises tomorrow. On the good news my shaking made the ropes loosen a bit so now it was an easier way to free myself.

“You are also smart one, aren’t you? So tell me, goxha, how did you end up here?”

“You step away from the girl, now.”

“Took you long enough devil!’ I yelled as he started to fight. It did not took him long with all those flips, turns, jumping and throwing punches along with tripping up to knock all the opponents down.

“Are you insane?” he turned towards me, untying my hands, which at this point were absolutely numb “why do you never listen? I explicitly told you…..”

“Watch out!” I yelled as another opponent came right at him from behind. Without thinking I took a swing, turned and kicked him right into the chest causing the man to fall down with a groan. Daredevil just stood there with no face expression. At least on this part of face I could actually see.

“I explicitly told you to stop your actions.”

“Wow, that felt great” I exhaled deeply grinning like crazy “All this adrenaline rush! I love it! I need to do it more often!”

“What did you just say?”

“I;m gonna write one hell of a story on this one, trust me, it’s gonna be great!”

“Searcher!”

“What did you just say to me?” I turned to face him my eyes opening wide “No. no, no, no, no. “ I took a step back realizing what was happening. The devil of hell’s kitchen did not seem to bother my disbelief as making sure no one was around he slowly took of his mask.

“Are you kidding me?! Is this some sort of twisted joke?! What the hell, Matt?!”

“I’m sorry” he grabbed my hand gently and put it on his cheek “you wanted the truth about Daredevil. Well, here it is.”

“And what am I supposed to do with it now?!” I spit “Wait. Does Foggy know? Or Karen?” I already get the chance to meet their charming assistant.

“No. And it has to stay this way. Knowing who I am, who daredevil  is makes them a target.”

“And what about me? Doesn’t that make me a target as well.”

“No. You perfectly work on that on yourself”

“Matt!”

“shh. Keep your voice down. It’s not safe here. I’ll get you home and we’ll talk, ok?”

I wanted to refuse. I wanted to tell him to piss off and  leave me alone. I wanted to call him a liar, a hypocrite and a martyr, but I just couldn’t. The way he was looking at me with those sad eyes and puppy face, damn him! The way he put a hand on my shoulder and the small of my back as we entered his apartment. The aftershock was slowly starting to kick it and I fell into some sort of numbness.

“Tell me” I demanded the second he made me sit on the sofa and handed a cup of chamomile tea. I hate chamomile but at this point I didn’t even care .

And so he explained everything. How it all started at college. How he believed it was his calling to help people in need. To support them. To protect hell’s kitchen from bad guys. 

“You are insane, Matt. Wasn’t it enough for you watching your father beaten up every night and now you do the same?”

“Do not speak about my father like that!” he hissed

“I hold nothing more but respect for Jack Murdock. He practically raised me. Yes, some of his choices were stupid, but he was a good man.”

“And you think I’m not. “

“You have learnt nothing from his mistake that is all I’m saying. You are waging a one-man war against the world. How does that feel?”

“Like I’m doing something and not just pretend to.”

“What are you suggesting, Murdock?! That my job is worth shit?”

“Well you said that.”

“look who’s talking. What happened to I want to be a lawyer to help people? Does law do not feel enough anymore”

“It doesn’t! You knew that if you were more concerned about real-life events and not just your hero part!”

“Well apparently heroes are a real-life events since one of them is in fact sitting in front of me!” I panted and at his moment I realized we were both standing up panting heavily with all the anger. “You are bleeding” I shot a quick glance at his chest, completely bared since he got rid of the costume.

“So are you” he pointed towards my collarbone and took a step closer “let me patch it up” he whispered calming down a little.

“Don’t; you dare” I tried to push him away but he was faster and grabbed both of my wrist holding them tight against his chest. We looked straight at each other and it was impossible to say who made the first move, but suddenly there was no space between us as his lips closed on mine. Matt let go of my wrist, his hands closing around my back pulling me close, despair, pain, fear and relief eminent in every move of his mouth against mine. I was not the one to keep him away as I arched my back and tilted head to feel him with every inch of my body and deepen the kiss. Letting go of all the anger and feeling of betrayal. Being with him, here, knowing what and who he was it felt right. We started to move against each other, his palms going down to my waist and thighs, holding them from behind, lifting me up and locking my legs around his waist. At this point I was caged between the bathroom wall and his bare, broad, bruised chest and it was so hot. I never knew how much I wanted him and clearly he did wanted me too. I shifted a little bit just to tease him and that little hardness I felt against his pants and that made him groan. But not a good groan, rather pained one.

“Murdock?” I took all of my strength to pull away, whining internally at the loss of contact “ You good?”

“Yes. More than good, honestly’ he leaned to keep kissing me but I stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“As much as I would love to keep doing this” I muttered throwing my head back on the wall and the pulse on my exposed neck made him groan “You are lying again I won’t make out with a twister. You are hurt Murdock so let me patch you up, ok?” I yanked myself free leading him towards the coach. “Sit.”

“I like that demanding tone of yours.” He gasped

“ Do you now?” I smirked reaching towards the first aid kit and pushing him down. “good to know” I straddled his hips while sterilizing and dressing his wounds, also teasing him a little with trailing the smallest of kissed along his temple

“You are going to be the death of me sweetheart.”

“that is another lie I hear from you tonight” I frowned tentatively “and do you know what liars deserve?”

“Why don’t you show me?” he flipped both of us over so now he was on top, caressing my sides but this sudden move, instead of bringing the heat back made him wince again

“I’m gonna show you. I’m gonna tuck you to bed and made you get at least 8 hours of proper sleep”  I pulled him up and lead toward the bedroom tucking this idiot I feel for.

“Can you stay with me?” He asked, his eyes half closed “I need you close .I need to feel you.”

“Just this once.” I muttered sneaking under the cover next to him.

“Liar” he muttered as his hand sneaked around my waist pulling me close, another cradling my head and resting in on his chest so I could hear his steady heartbeat “you feel so warm….” It did not take long for us to fall asleep.

***

 After everything that happened I was not sure what we were. Friends? Enemies? Lovers? Frenemies? Maybe I should not put a label to it. After all we were both in a different state of mind, full of adrenaline when we kissed so maybe…

“What is on your mind?” Matt asked leaning down.

“What? Nothing. Everything. Work I guess”

“And you call me a liar. I can tell from your heartbeat you are holding something back. Hey” he gently grabbed my chin while caressing the cheek “tell me.”

“What are we Matt? I mean we kissed and if it was not for your injuries maybe it would be more but was that  what you wanted or was it just the blood rush? Are you playing around with me?”

“Is that what you think?”

“the problem is I don’t know what to think. I mean I know you as a man with quite a collection of a girls hearts and ….”

“It’s not like that anymore. Not with you. Took me quite a while to understand but I do now. I want you. I… I feel something more for you. You are my home. I want to be with you but only if you want the same….”

“Idiot” I pushed him playfully like back in the times when there was no daredevil and no adult trouble “I know you can tell it from my heartbeat.”

“But I want… no, I need you to say it. With words.”

“I do want you, Matt Murdock. More than anything. And I can deal with the other one if that’s what it takes.”

“good. Because I don’t know what I would do if you turned me down” he kissed me gently.

*** It was 3 years of us being together. The happiest and most turbulent time of my life. Some days were just perfect and some other were a perfect mess. Some nights were … hot and intimate but most were filled with loneliness, fear of Matt’s being gone and tending to all his wounds. I never complained. Honestly at some point I even asked him to train me a bit so I could join him in his night shift and he did. Or at least he tried since our workout ended up quite differently with me writhing under him and begging for more. Just not really more exercising. And he gave me all I wanted, more than once since after training you need a shower and then a rest in the bed. So I never really got a chance to truly join him in his actions. I loved him. It was hard to say this and truly none of us ever used this particular words but it’s something you feel and show rather than talk. At least that was what I was telling myself since it was strange that after so much time together we did not have enough guts. I was soon about to regret skipping that.

On one particular daredevil shift Matt was buried under a collapsed building. There was no chance he could have survived this and that was what everyone seemed to believe in. More than that, they tried to convince me that was what happened and it was better for me to let go, keep the memories but also stop leaving in the past and feeding on hope that in some magical way he might return. The brain was the rational part, judging and focusing on facts and possibilities and rational approach. He was gone. The heart was stupid and hoped and felt and ached and wished. Something inside me was telling me that something was off in this story, in his disappearing. So I took on my own little investigation. I traced every step, every single detail of that fateful night with Karen and Foggy getting really concerned about my health. I never cared. Finally I was able to reach father Lantom. I knew he could not lie if confronted with direct question.

“My child. It’s wonderful to see you. It’s been a while.”

“Is he here father?”

“And who may you be talking about?”

“Murdock.”

“My dear, the Murdock I knew was buried in the cementery….”

“Please, father…” I begged him “ give my anything, I need to see him”

Father Lantom looked at me closely, sighting deeply upon seeing my pale face, pinched figure and sad face. His good heart made him surrender.

“come with me. Silently. He will not be happy about it.”

“Oh father, if you think I care about this dumbass being happy after everything he did….”

“You do, my child. Matthew has not been himself lately, this accident may have left him a bit more vulnerable so you might want to have that in mind while talking to him. Right this way” he pointed toward the hospital room when one of the nuns were silently moving around

“Sister Maggie.” I nodded my head to greet her

“Well, well, if it isn’t little miss self-reliant herself. You grew up.”

“I guess that what happens to kids at times” I smiled “but I’m still self-reliant, just not so little”

“You came to see him. How did you find out?”

“Like I said – self-reliant, sister. May I?”

“Please” she moved and let me pass inside. What I saw utterly broke my heart. Matt was laying on the bed, dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, covered in bandages that couldn’t fully hide his bruises and fractures. From what Lantom mentioned something happened to his hearing and smell so he probably didn’t sense me coming inside.

“Searcher?” he asked faintly, his gazeless eyes moving around frantically.

“You idiot” I sat down on the side of his bed “I would beat you to a pulp if it wasn’t for your condition. What the hell were you thinking?! Why….?  I could not help the tears falling from  my eyes and down my cheeks. Despite having his sensed impaired he clearly knew something was happening as his hand started to move blindly, trying to find my hands and reach for my cheek to wipe them away. He tried but failed and I did not help him.

„For God’s sake! Did you really think you could hide from everyone and pretend to be dead?”

“Sort of. Yes.”

“Unbelievable. Did you believe I wouldn’t track you down?”

“Honestly I was hoping you would give up.”

“You Murdock may be a hell of lawyer but on the other side of the room you are an idiot.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop it. Just … stop.” I shot him a glance and even though he could not see it I knew he knew what was my face expression.  “Why, Matt? Why would you do that to… to Foggy, to Karen, to me? I mean, come on! Do you even realize how sick and worried we were?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that! I know you do not intend to make it better so your words mean nothing!”

“But I am. I thought it would be best for all of you to just stay away from me. The only thing I came up with was to distance myself.”

“I still don’t understand why you believed faking your own death was the best way for that. Do you even realize what I’ve been through?!”

“I actually do!”

“Stop lying to me! You have no idea how ….”

“I love you!” he yelled and that took me by surprise.

“What… what did you just say?” I felt like the whole power I had just left me and plumped further into the bed for balance. Matt took this opportunity to find my hand and slowly put it on his cheek.

“I love you.” He repeated. “like a crazy man. So yes, I know what you might have been through. Being away from you was the hardest decision I’ve ever made but I had to. I really, really had to” now the tears appeared inside his eyes and I fight the urge to kiss them away.

“You didn’t have to Mattie” I sighed, my voice breaking “you know I love you too, we would have figured it all out.”

“I can’t keep you safe.”

“And I don’t need that from you. I never did. I needed and still need you. Only and just that. Not Daredevil, no vigilante, no hero. You, you idiot.”

“I love you “ he whispered again “And I’m sorry for everything. Please don’t leave me….”

“Against my better judgement …. “ I slowly laid down on the bed next to him and he carefully moved to make place for me “I’m gonna stay” he put a hand on my waist pulling me in, mindful of all the injuries “but it doesn’t mean you are forgiven. I will make you work for that”

“I’ll take whatever you decide to put me through. Just stay” he whispered with face inches from mine.

“Well, I’m still here am I not.”

“I love you” he said once again almost like after finally saying it once he could not stop himself anymore.

***

“This poor girl don’t know  what she got herself into.” Sister Maggie said to a man next to her as she watched two young people reunite

“She does. She always knew. And she is good for him” father Lantom retorted

“Perhaps. But is he good for her?”

“In some ways we might not understand. But they belong together. Always did, even as kids.”

@somest1 @pinksirensong @moxkindagirl @stilldreaming666

[lexosaurus]

No Control

Happy holiday truce to @angry-blob! I saw the prompt for some feral ghost action and immediately latched onto it. Thanks for giving me such a good excuse to write feral danno and I hope you have/had a wonderful holiday season!

Happy 2022!

---

2021 Holiday Truce Characters: Danny, Poindexter, Sam, Tucker, Valerie Genre: Hurt/Comfort WC: 5395 [ao3 link]

---

Danny rubbed at his chest where his core pressed up against his skin. It was a cool presence that usually calmed him down, made him feel safe and protected. But since that morning, there had been an itch in his chest. A strange pressure. Something…not right.

It had all started with Skulker. The stubborn robot had decided to interrupt Danny’s walk to school with the usual shtick. 

“Today!” the floating tin can declared, flashing off his sleek equipment courtesy of Vlad. “Today is the day you will be mine, ghost child!”

Skulker himself hadn’t been the issue. No, he was an easy problem to take care of: shout a few insults, blast his suit to disrepair, and then intangibly stick a hand in, pluck out the blob inside, and suck him into the thermos. That was the usual routine, and like clockwork, Danny had managed to perform each task with uncanny precision.

And maybe it was that—the routine—that had distracted him. Maybe it was the derivative nature of their fights, combined with the ever-looming issue of the final warning bell that blinded Danny from his surroundings. 

Because just as he was congratulating himself on yet another job well done, a blast hit him knocking the wind from his stomach, followed by the sound of a dreaded “Good shot, Mads!” 

If it had been just Jack at the scene, Danny might have stuck around. But where his mother was involved, he wasted no time in turning invisible and getting the hell out of there. 

But not before he had caught a glimpse of the gleaming metal weapon in the morning light.  

And he recognized it. The weapon was his parents' latest creation, one that Maddie personally had designed, and Jack had built. Danny remembered Jack rambling on about the gun the other morning at breakfast, but he couldn’t remember what his dad had told him. And besides, other than a minuscule punch, the blast hadn’t seemed to do much of anything. It barely stung, and it seemed to offer no side effects in return. Hell, it hadn’t even left a mark on his skin. 

Another dud then, though not uncommon for Jack’s crude method of engineering.

But then…

His core gave another twinge of annoyance, and Danny crinkled his t-shirt under his fingers. He felt his brows pull in, and the letters on his notebook swam out of focus. 

Something was off.

Danny knew his parents. While Jack might run into a fight with an untested weapon, that wasn’t something that Maddie would do. Especially not with someone as high-profile as Phantom. It didn’t make sense. Why waste their perfect shot on a defunct weapon?

Which meant that the weapon likely wasn’t as defective as he had hoped it was. It worked, just not in the way that Danny thought it would.

So then what was it for? Why hadn’t it hurt him? Why was his core being so…

What was his core even annoyed about?

Something jabbed at his shoulder, and Danny jolted up, nearly phasing out of his seat and blasting the person behind him when his surroundings snapped into view.

Snickers erupted around them, and Danny glanced around to see the attention of every single one of his classmates directed toward him. 

“Fenturd fell asleep,” Dash sneered.

Danny faced Tucker, whose arm was still trained out in front of him. “Dude,” Tucker hissed, his eyes wide with warning.

A throat cleared in the front of the classroom, and Danny swiveled back around to see the disappointed face of Mr. Lancer locked on him. One hand held the book that Danny was supposed to be reading along with, and the other held an uncapped dry erase marker that had decorated the whiteboard significantly more since he had last looked.

“Mr. Fenton,” Mr. Lancer said. “Glad to see you’ve joined the class. Would you care to read the next passage?”

Danny felt his face heat up, and he looked down at the closed book on his desk. More giggles followed his attempt to not-so-obviously shuffle through his book in a lame effort to find the page that he was already supposed to be on.

Mr. Lancer gave a loud sigh. “Page sixty-seven, if you will. We’re on the second paragraph down.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Danny stammered.

His core gave another silent whine.

Danny tried to ignore it as he finally found the correct page in the book. Without paying attention to what he was reading, he began to speak. The words flowed out of him monotonously, like a robot instructed to recite the digits of pi. A few minutes passed, and Mr. Lancer told him to stop, prompting what Danny presumed was another discussion about the book.

One that he didn’t listen to, didn’t answer questions about, didn’t participate in.

Thankfully, it seemed that Mr. Lancer did actually have a heart—that or he just didn’t want to deal with Danny again—because the teacher did not call upon his presence for the remainder of the class. And when the passage of time allowed the bell to finally ring, Danny moved with a practiced flow, shoveling his books and pens into his bag and bolting out the door. He didn’t wait for Tucker, didn’t hear his friend calling his name, he just fled into the sea of unknown faces of students in the hall.

What was going on with him? Why did he feel so uncomfortable?

What the hell was in that ectoblast?

Too caught up in his head, Danny didn’t see the blur of yellow and orange clothing until he had already crashed into the person wearing said outfit, sending her books sprawling all over the floor.

Shit, Danny cursed, bending down to help pick up her fallen pencils. Of course, he managed to crash into the one person he was trying to avoid.

“Give me that,” Valerie snapped, snatching the pencils out of Danny’s hand.

He let go of the items and lifted his hands in the universal ‘don’t shoot’ gesture, keeping his eyes averted from her glare.

“Maybe watch it next time, ghost.”

Danny couldn’t help but scowl as he made to turn away. He had told her about his secret just a week ago to try to bridge the gap between them. And while Valerie was taking time to process this revelation, for now she had at least decided she wasn’t going to outright murder him anymore. While that was certainly an improvement from before, the downside was her new declaration that his human half was now the single worst person ever to exist. Her disdain for him in the classroom was palpable, even without Danny’s enhanced empath abilities, and so he had resolved on avoiding Valerie in school for the foreseeable future.

And speaking of the devil. “Wait,” she said.

Danny halted, just a few steps away from her.

“What’s going on with you?” 

There was no mistaking her tone for concern.

“Nothing,” Danny said.

“No, something’s up. You’re all out of sorts today. The hell is it?”

“I’m tired. Am I allowed to be tired? Or are halfas not allowed to sleep according to you?” 

Danny could feel Valerie’s mood darken. 

“So it is some freaky ghost thing.”

He rolled his eyes and turned to meet her glare. “It’s none of your business, Red.”

Judging by her deepening scowl, Valerie didn’t appreciate the friendly nickname. She stepped forward, jabbing her finger at Danny’s chest. “You may look human, but you and I both know that this is all a lie. Ghosts are dangerous, and it’s my job to protect this school. I won’t let you or any of your freaky weirdness put anyone here in danger.”

At the word ‘protect,’ Danny’s core cried out in dissent. He reflexively put a hand on his chest and repressed a shudder as his core sent a ripple of chills down his spine. “I can protect everyone just fine. Leave me alone, I have to get to class.”

She scoffed. “Whatever, ghost. I got my eye on you.”

“Congratulations, get in line,” Danny retorted, waving her off. He turned around and began his trek down the hall, not caring that he could feel her eyes watching him as he disappeared back into the crowd of students.

The next class period passed the same as the previous, with Danny not paying attention to the lesson and his core slowly growing more and more discontented with its current situation. What it truly wanted was slowly becoming more clear as the minutes ticked by, but Danny refused to acknowledge this. 

After all, he wasn’t the sort of ghost who had given into his obsession. Hell, he was part human, and that meant that half of him didn’t even have an obsession.

So then why was his core suddenly so loud? Why was it growing more and more demanding? Hadn’t he done enough that morning by sucking up Skulker into his thermos? 

Was this a byproduct of his parents’ weapon? Or was this just his ghost half going haywire?

Or was something…was something actually wrong? 

Were people in danger?

Danny glanced up, and he was in yet a different class with a different teacher, and with no memory of how he got here.

The teacher was droning on about a subject that Danny couldn’t decipher. Glancing behind him, he saw Wes’s suspicious green eyes piercing through his skull. But Danny paid him no mind. There was something else at stake, something far more considerable than Wes and his stupid conspiracy theories, or Valerie and her faux-concern, or…

Or what?

His core shot cold through him again, and Danny gasped. His eyes flew open (had they been shut?) to see a piece of paper on his desk. He couldn’t remember when he’d acquired the paper, what he was supposed to do with it, but that didn’t seem to matter. Because something was not right. Someone was in danger. 

He needed to…

What the…what the hell? 

Something was wrong. Something was really really wrong.

But he couldn’t tell what was wrong. It was like the bit of clarity that he had earlier had slipped from his grasp.

He looked up again, and the class was nearly empty. The bell had rung and he hadn’t even noticed. He bent down to put his stuff in his backpack, and when he rose, he was at his locker with his lunchbox in hand.

“Earth to Danny?” Sam’s voice sounded next to him.

He flinched, shifting to see Sam snapping her fingers next to his head.

Something’s not right.

What did he need to do?

“You coming to lunch or what?” Sam asked.

He couldn’t go to lunch, not while there were so many lives at stake (lives at stake?). What if he was distracted and everyone got hurt? He didn’t know when the danger would strike, just that it was coming, and he needed to be vigilant to protect the students when it hit.

But the human part of his brain managed to get a word out through gritted teeth. “Yeah. Course.”

His body propelled itself after Sam, who rambled on about some new plant in her garden. Danny couldn’t hear her though, not over the urging of his core to go outside, go the other way, go protect the people, they’re in danger, you need to do something, you need to save them, save them, protect them.

“So what’s going on with you?” Sam nudged him.

Danny snapped out of his thoughts. They were now at the lunch table. His lunch box sat before him, but he had made no move to open the bag. “Huh?”

“He’s been a space case all day,” Tucker lamented, stabbing a sad piece of lettuce with his fork. He brought it up to his eyesight before making a disgusted face at the food and flicking it off his fork. “Ugh, I’ll never forgive you for this, Sam.”

“Oh shut up, it’s good for you.” She turned back to Danny. “So? Ghosts keep you up last night or something?”

“No.”

“Okay, then what’s going on with you?” 

He opened his mouth to tell them about the weapon, but a surge from his core halted his speech. The weapon his mom fired at him that morning wasn’t the problem here. Why was he even thinking about it? The weapon was defective, it had done nothing, there was nothing to be said.

No, the problem was that everyone was in danger. 

“I don’t know,” Danny forced out.

Sam raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

“I just…” he trailed off. Before he could wander too far, he managed to bring his brain back into focus. “I just feel like something’s wrong.”

“Wrong how?” Sam asked.

“Like something bad is going to happen.”

Tucker leaned forward, grinning. “Ooh, new ghost power? You got precognition or something?”

“No…”

“Is it your ghost sense?” Sam asked.

“Not that either. It’s just…something’s wrong, guys. I think…I think I need to go. I need to go.” Danny stood up suddenly, speed walking toward the exit.

“Wait!” Sam grabbed his arm. “Danny, let’s talk this through first before you go off making a stupid decision.” 

Danny phased his arm out of her grip. “You don’t understand. I have to go.”

“Have to go where?” Tucker asked. He spread his arms out beside him. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but absolutely nothing is happening here right now. Not a ghost in sight. Well, other than you of course.”

A familiar cold pooled in Danny’s stomach, working its way up his throat and through his mouth, misting out in front of him.

Tucker sighed, putting down his fork. “Sorry, guys. I jinxed us.”

“Way to go, Tuck.” Sam dumped her food in the trash.

“I have to go,” Danny said, making for the exit.

“Wait up!” Sam shouted from behind.

But having Sam join this fight would only put her in danger, and Danny couldn’t risk that. He needed to protect her and Tucker. He couldn’t let them fight for him. 

He ran into the hallway, not turning back to see his friends. He needed to shake them, he couldn’t let them near him. They would be in danger.

Go now. Protect them.

“Danny, would you slow down?” Tucker yelled.

“No.” He threw open the door to the nearest janitor’s closet, transformed, turned invisible, and flew off.

There. That would work.

He let his core guide him to the danger, flying up to the second floor and around hallways in search of the ghost that dared to put his city in danger. It didn’t take long before Danny saw him, the black and white floating figure gazing at a poster on the wall.

“Sadie Hawkins dance,” the ghost read, his voice echoing around the empty hall. He turned around, shooting Danny a smile. “You’re going with that girl, right?”

Sam, Danny whispered in his head. He knew about Sam, which meant he could hurt her. “Don’t touch her,” Danny hissed, shooting forward.

Poindexter’s face morphed into confusion. “Sorry?”

Ectoplasm built up in his palms, and Danny raised his hands out in front of him. Around him, he could feel his aura flair. “Leave.”

“Phantom?” Poindexter lowered till his feet touched the ground.

“I need to protect them,” Danny said. “Amity is mine and I need to protect it.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Poindexter raised his arms in surrender. “I’m not doing any funny business, you know me. I just came to, what do they call it, hang out with you over a soda pop.”

“I won’t let you put anyone in danger.”

“Danger? What are you talking about?”

A small corner of his brain rang an alarm at this because it was Sidney. He was hardly a danger to his own shadow, let alone a building full of students.

But then the ever growing chill across his body flared louder, and Danny was once again filled with the cries of danger, danger.

“Phantom, snap out of it! What happened to you? You don’t need to protect anyone from me, I swear!”

In an instant, his core took over and the flickering flame of humanity in his mind was blown out, leaving only a tiny trail of smoke in its wake. He rose higher, his glare narrowing as he looked down on the frail ghost before him. The glowing in his palm grew to a blinding light, sending shadows cascading around the hallway.

And then he released it.

Poindexter shot back, narrowly missing the ectoblast. “Holy smokes, I’m not a bully!”

“Get out.”

Danny flew down, thrusting the ghost through the floor. Poindexter recovered quickly, shooting down the hallway. His eyes glowed and lockers warped around them, pens and pencils firing through the locker doors and into Danny’s face.

He threw up a green shield around him, letting the objects clatter harmlessly onto the floor. Danger, danger, his core screamed. Protect them. 

“I’m your ally, remember?”

But Phantom didn’t have allies. Other ghosts would just slow him down, they would just be more bodies he needed to be wary of, more people he needed to protect, more chance of ghosts taking what was his. 

Amity Park was his town, his people, his haunt.

“Where are your friends, halfa?” Poindexter asked. “The humans, where are they?”

Danny let his shield collapse before throwing more ectoblasts Poindexters way. One nailed his torso, and Sidney was thrown against the wall. 

“Don’t touch them,” Danny snarled.

“Danny!” voices cried out behind him, and Danny whipped around to see the frightened faces of Sam and Tucker as they stared open-jawed at him. 

Scared of who?

Of me?

“Danny, the fuck are you doing?” Sam yelled.

She was just angry because she didn’t understand. Because she was human. She couldn’t possibly see the bigger picture here, she didn’t get that she was in danger and he was here to protect her.

“Snap out of it, Danny!” Tucker yelled.

Him too, apparently. But that was okay because Phantom was here. He could save them all.

His core sent a spark of ice around his veins, and Danny felt the temperature of his aura plummet. Blue blended in with green, and from the murky reflection of the lockers, he watched as the luminous green on his eyes turned to bright blue.

He thrust a palm out before him, and white and blue shot from his hand, gluing Poindexter into place against the wall.

“Phantom, stop! I—I’ll go away, I promise! I didn’t know you were preoccupied, I’ll leave you alone!” Sidney begged.

"Let him go!"

But the pleading went in one ear and out the other. None of it mattered because Poindexter was a ghost and Danny had learned since he was a child not to trust ghosts. That ghosts were manipulative, they lied, they were obsessed—

Like you? a small voice cried out from the darkest corner of his mind.

Danny gripped his hair and backed into a locker. 

No, no. That wasn’t him. He wasn’t like that. 

He was good. He was helping. 

“Danny, stop! Can’t you see that he’s not hurting anyone?” Sam shouted. “Why are you doing this? What’s wrong with you?”

Nothing was wrong with him. He was fine, he was fine. He was helping, using his powers for good, using his abilities to save his friends.

So why weren’t they satisfied with this? Shouldn’t they crave his help?

Unless…unless…

“You’re better than this, Space Case.” 

Danny closed his eyes, sinking down onto the floor. His core was shrieking at him now to get up get uP GET UP AND FIGHT GO YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME—

Stop.

There it was again. That voice. It was so weak, but it was still there, it was there if Danny could just…if he could just reach it…just…

Sam’s voice knifed through his brain. “Don’t worry, Sidney. We’ll protect you.”

His core sent another shockwave through his body, and memories from that day flashed before his eyes in a slideshow. The unopened lunch box, his friends smiling before him, walking with them in the hallway, sitting in front of Tucker in English, the three of them goofing off during homeroom, strolling together to school that day as the morning chill kissed their skin, Skulker showing up, getting shot by Mom and Dad—

Danny gasped.

The weapon.

He was shot by the weapon. He had forgotten, what was its purpose again? What was it designed to do?

He thought back to the other morning at breakfast. He’d been on his phone browsing through Reddit, but then his dad had shown up, hadn’t he? With the weapon? 

What was it called…what was it called…

“Your mother designed it!” Jack beamed down at Danny, swiping a piece of his toast from his plate. “She’s always got the best ideas!”

Danny looked at it warily. Jack’s weapons were mostly harmless, but when Maddie was involved, those weapons primarily were filed under the ‘Do Not Engage’ category in Danny’s mind.

“What does it do?” he asked, trying not to seem too interested.

“This baby right here is called the Ecto-Reflector! It’s designed to starve a ghost’s core of the ambient ectoplasm around it by creating a barrier that reflects incoming ecto-particles in the air. Eventually, the ghost gets too weak and will cease to exist naturally. Pretty cool, right?”

Danny’s head fractured, and his eyes darted up. He was back in the hallway, with Sam and Tucker positioned in front of Sidney, ecto-bracelets and mini weapons at the ready. 

By some stroke of luck, Valerie had yet to join them.

Danny winced as his core tried to take over his logic and reasoning once again.

“Guys…” He groaned. He clawed at his chest with his hand. “It’s…ugh…”

“Danny?” Sam lowered her wrist-ray. 

“Get Jazz…new weapon…Jazz…” Danny shuddered and lowered his head. The air was nauseating around him. It was too hot, he couldn’t breathe. And his core was too cold. “Can’t hold out…”

“Right. Okay.” Sam dropped her bag on the floor and rifled through it.

“Uh, don’t mean to be the bringer of bad news here, but lunch is almost over,” Tucker said. “Hey Poindexter, you mind hanging in the thermos for a minute? Red Huntress will probably be here soon, and I don’t have anything that can get you out of this ice except the thermos.”

“If you must. Just get me out of here!”

Danny groaned again from the floor, fighting against the very instinct that insisted that he needed to get up, protect his friends, fight off anything that dared to hurt his city.

Not mine, he tried to argue. Not my city.

He tried to focus on that brief flickering warmth in his chest, what little remained next to the blizzard that was his core. It was slowly taking over, the panic slowly setting in, but it hadn’t fully pushed away his logic yet. There was still that small part of him tucked away, if he could just focus on that, block everything else out, just remember it’s the weapon, it’s not real, it’s just the weapon talking. 

You’re in danger.

No, I’m not.

Yes. You are. You need to get up. Get UP.

There’s no danger. I’m fine, I just need to stay here until Jazz arrives. Just wait a little longer, just hang on…

“Danny? You need to move. People are gonna see you.”

Danny shook his head, keeping his eyes shut tight. If he so much as breathed, he might snap.

“What’s going on here?” a new voice sounded from down the hall.

One that sent both a wave of relief and dread through his body.

“Phantom was hit by a weapon,” Tucker said. “It’s making him act weird.”

“I knew it,” Valerie said, her voice slightly muffled through her suit. “I knew something was wrong with his ghost side.”

“Do you mind helping us out here? We need to get him to the basement. Jazz is gonna meet us there with the ecto-dejecto.”

“Why the hell should I help you?”

An impatient sigh echoed off the lockers above Danny. “Fine, just let him get killed by his parents then. I’m sure the people of Amity Park will really love you when they learn that you could have saved him and chose not to.”

Danny felt someone roughly grip his arm. 

It took everything he had in him not to blast the hand to oblivion. 

“Careful!” Tucker yelled.

“Listen, do you want my help or not?” Valerie snapped.

“You’re gonna set him off again!”

“Well then maybe I should shoot him now if he’s clearly a danger to the whole fucking school!”

“It’s not his fault!”

“Shove off, Valerie,” Sam chimed in.

“Fine then, I’ll just let him rot,” Valerie shoved him back down. 

As soon as he hit the locker, his eyes snapped open and his vision turned pure green.

And the flame was smothered once again.

He couldn’t remember what happened at that point. There was yelling (was it him?), flashing lights (were they from his hands?), and colors swirled around him. Emotions whipped through his brain like a hurricane crossing over the Earth, ripping branches from trees and knocking over homes and buildings. 

He didn’t know if he was looking up or down, he didn’t know what he was doing. Flying? Fighting? Yelling? Cursing? 

All he knew was he needed to protect Amity Park. 

And then there was one last flash of light, and pain overtook his body.

His world was black.

--- 

Danny slowly blinked awake. He raised an arm to wipe the sleep from his eyes, but his arm ached in protest. Every muscle in his body hurt, and he couldn’t remember why.

And then it hit him. The weapon, his core, Sidney, Valerie.

Danny groaned, cringing at the memories as his brain filled in the gaps.

Was that really him? Had he truly done that?

“Fellas, he’s waking up!” a voice reverberated above him.

Danny heard the murmuring TV switch off, and footsteps scrambled over to him. 

“Danny? Can you hear me?” Sam asked.

He grunted in response.

“Oh thank god. You alright? How are you feeling?”

“Sam, give the guy a second here. He’s had a rough day,” Tucker chided.

“Force of habit. Sorry.”

“S’fine.” Danny yawned, lowering the hand from over his eyes. His vision blurred until the faces of Sam, Tucker, and Poindexter swam into focus. “Hey.”

“Welcome back to the land of the living.” Tucker hesitated, wincing. “Uh, sort of. You know what I mean.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” His throat burned. He wondered if he had used his ghostly wail, or if he was just hoarse from yelling too much. “What happened?”

“We were hoping you would be able to tell us that,” Sidney said. “You totally went wacko on us, buddy!”

“Jazz said it was that new weapon?” Sam supplied.

“Yeah.” Danny struggled upright, and gratefully took the bottled water offered by Tucker. He sucked down the cool liquid, reveling as it washed through his parched throat, and leaned back against his wall. Already, he felt far better.

“Valerie had to knock you out,” Sam explained. “We couldn’t get you to calm down after she dropped you. I don’t know how much you remember, but the plan was to bring you down to the basement so Jazz could give you the ecto-dejecto there away from prying eyes. But that didn’t exactly work. A fight broke out and Valerie managed to knock you out, but your core was still active enough that you didn’t revert back to human form in front of everyone. We snuck out during the chaos and brought you here where Jazz could give you the shot. According to your Dad, a direct shot of concentrated pure ectoplasm would be enough to counteract the weapon’s effect.”

Danny froze. “You told my parents?”

“No! God, no,” Sam said. “You know your dad, always thrilled to be asked questions by such ‘inquisitive young minds’ such as ourselves.” She grinned down at him. “Still, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too. Yeah, they nailed me with that gun this morning. I didn’t think it did anything, but then by the time I realized what was happening, I couldn’t focus anymore. I…lost control.” Danny’s head fell into his hands. “Shit. I completely lost control.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Still, screenshots of the events from that day played in Danny’s mind like a nightmare on loop.

“I did that. I can’t believe that was me.”

Danny felt the mattress sink in as his two friends sat down next to him.

But he couldn’t help but ramble on. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I never thought…I always assumed that because I was still human that—that my…obsession…this wouldn’t be an issue. I just assumed. I was an idiot.”

“It wasn’t you.” Sam gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Danny relished in the warmth of her gesture.

“It was me. I was convinced that you guys were in real danger. I really thought that I had some sort of duty to protect everyone from this danger that didn’t even exist.”

“Yeah, well. Shit happens,” Tucker said. “You feel okay now though?”

“Totally normal.”

“Well, we’ll just have to keep this in mind. Maybe break the weapon or something.”

Danny shook his head, dropping his hands down to his lap. “No use, my mom designed it which means there’s actually blueprints for this one. If we destroy it, they’ll just rebuild it again.”

“Ah,” Tucker said. “That sucks. Okay, you’ll have to start carrying ecto-dejecto on you now. Just in case.”

“Honestly, it’s crazy that you weren’t doing that to begin with,” Sam said.

Danny shrugged, not in the mood to be told off after an entire day of messing up so badly.

“The important thing is that we’re all alright,” Sidney piped up. “See? Nothing happened.”

But it could have happened. 

And Danny would have been to blame if anything had happened.

“Hey, snap out of it.” Sam waved her hand in front of Danny’s face.

Danny blinked, looking up at her. 

She smiled kindly, her eyes showing no judgment. Tucker sat just behind her, his legs crisscrossed on the mattress and his elbows propped on his knees. He too didn’t look angry or even scared at Danny.

And then there was Sidney, the accidental target of his madness, floating above the group with a bright aura as if nothing had ever happened.

None of them looked scared. None of them had run away when he’d awoken, hadn’t they?

And it hit Danny all at once how lucky he was. How amazing his friends were, and even his allies too. How forgiving they were to him when he’d acted so horribly before.

The door swung open, and Jazz’s face appeared in the doorway. “Danny!” She rushed over to the bed and flung her arms around him. “Thank god you’re okay!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Danny said, awkwardly patting her shoulder. “See? All good. Still breathing.”

Jazz broke off the hug, leaning back. Then, her relief morphed into annoyance. “Danny Fenton I cannot believe how irresponsible you were! You got hit by a weapon from Mom and you didn’t think to text any of us? You’re so lucky I had that ecto-dejecto on me or else you would have been royally screwed!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m sorry and will never do that again. Happy?” 

She studied him for a moment before relenting. “Fine, happy. But seriously, Danny. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” He looked up at Poindexter. “And, I’m sorry I hurt you, Sidney.” Danny reached out, offering his hand. “I didn’t mean to, but that’s still no excuse.”

Sidney smiled, accepting the handshake. “No worries, friend. All is forgiven.”

Danny finally let the last bit of tension melt from his shoulders, and he grinned. “Thanks. So, you wanna go for a flight or what?”

Sidney’s eyes brightened and he playfully flipped in the air. “Last one outside is a rotten egg!”

“You’re so on!”

---

Thanks for reading!

@phandomholidaytruce

[dragonmuse]

Can we get a list of the stories that Eddy tells about their snake tattoo? You mentioned that the story changes every time and I think Eddy would have some fun ones

(you got it! This isn't a quite ficlet, but its a little more than an asked answered, not sure if it should wind up over on AO3 or not)

A list of stories by the person they first told each one to, one of which is the truth:

Mom (17): None required.

Jack (18): "Ok, so look, snakes are kind of like dicks right? And I get this argument with this girl I'm doing about snake dicks and then it's all I can think about for like two weeks. What if I had a snake dick, right? How cool would that be. Then I just start thinking about snakes. Do snakes have dicks, probably not right? They got something weird going on down there, so I steal this book on snakes and it's got this wild picture and then obviously I got to remember this whole thing so I convinced this retired artist to do it while we're both drunk as skunks. Killer, right?"

Group of Hornigold's Boys (20): "I figure the snake was the one that got Eve to bite the apple. Maybe I'm the tree of knowledge. Go ahead and fucking try to get a piece of me and we'll see what happens."

Izzy (23): "I won a staring contest with a snake once. Then it wound it's way up my arm and I could've kept it as a pet, but what the fuck am I going to do with a snake? But I kept thinking about that, how cool it looked wrapped up around there. What if I let it live on me forever? Kind of like a protective thing. Armor."

Handful of Enthralled Bar Patrons (27): "So I take the machine out of this guy's hands and I tell him, 'I've got it, I'll do it' and I finished the tattoo myself. He's yelling at me the whole time that it's against health and safety, but he's still on the ground, high as giraffe pussy and I can still hear the other guy trying to break down the door. I get it done with seconds to spare, run out of there still bleeding and it's not until the next morning I even knew what I'd put on myself."

Scared Client (33): "Keep your eyes on me, there you go. Yeah, okay the blood is a lot, noses do that....you know what, follow the scales here, see? Count them. There you go. I do that too sometimes. Half the reason I got the damn thing. You just count those scales, let your eyes go around and around, until there's no room for anything else. We'll get out of here just fine. I've got you. Go on counting. Hey, cover your ears for me...yeah 31, 32, 33-" BANG

One-Night Stand (37): "Sometimes a snake is just a snake, but this one, as it happens, is to symbolizes my commitment to being a fucking asshole. The door is that way."

Izzy again (41): "Sometimes I think it just grew there on all it's own. Wouldn't that be a thing? You just wake up in the morning, inked and ready to hit the road. Maybe I've got a snake's soul and it bled right out of me one morning. No? Okay, fuck. Well what do you think we'll work? ---- Fuck, that's so boring though. ----- Yeah, yeah, fine, I'll say the Eden thing, you're right, ex-nun she'll go for it.---- I think the random appearance thing is more mysterious though---yeah I know the fucking point of the job, but it'd be funny as hell is my point."

Stede (45): "It's not a fun one. I-fuck, okay. I didn't know what the hell to do with myself right after Mom died. She'd been friendly with this guy that owned that tattoo place near us and I ran some errands for him for awhile. He didn't know how bad I had it or if he did, he much care. Just give me cash to do fetch and carry. One week he couldn't even do that, so he offered to pay me in service. I was starving, exhausted....but I wanted that to. My mom liked snakes. So. That was it. Found out from one of the other dudes that worked there that he'd had more than enough to pay me, just cheaped out on me for shits and giggles. I stole half the cash he had on hand and one of the machines. So. Like I said nothing fun. ---- I know it doesn't have to be but----oh, yeah okay, that feels good, thanks, love."

Alma and Charlie (47): "Don't get drunk and wander into tattoo parlors. Understood? Good, who wants ice cream?"

[holdmeclosertinytaron]

Chapter Five

A/N: Sorry I'm running a little behind! I hope you enjoy chapter five.

Warnings: Explicit language, consumption of alcohol

Word Count: 9.6k

Story Page / FAQs / ETTC chats.

Sat in the middle of the courtyard which itself sat at the very end of Cherry Lane, was a large, fifty-foot Christmas tree that was delicately decorated and covered in brightly coloured Christmas lights. Said Christmas lights had been chosen by the children at Rivercliffe Primary and had been hung by anyone who’d volunteered. 

Even though the four of them, Taron, Amelia, Harry and Luke, were still a little while away, they could begin to see the wondrous tree in all its glory and could distinctly hear the soft sounds of laughter filling the air. It made Amelia feel a certain way. It filled her with joy. 

Ever since she was a little girl, Amelia would go to Chester Christmas market and would be twitterpated with the multitude of glowing lights that lined the wooden huts and the sounds of people chatting and laughing. 

Throughout the entire walk from Taron’s cottage to the courtyard, Taron‘s hand resided on the small of Amelia’s back. She could feel the heat radiating from it through her thick black coat and it gave her a sense of calm. Knowing that Taron was close to her and wouldn’t let her wander away from him left her feeling protected. It was a small gesture but she greatly appreciated it. 

Luke and Harry had spent the walk watching the pair a few paces in front of them chatting and hadn’t missed the way that Amelia’s head would be thrown back when Taron  told her something funny. They enjoyed seeing their friend so blissfully happy without a care in the world. It made a nice change from the way that she would often feel insecure and nervous being literally anywhere. 

'Chestnuts!' Amelia gasped in delight when the smell of freshly roasted chestnuts first hit her. 

There was something so exuberantly bliss about the smell of roasting chestnuts. It was a sure fire way to know that you were really in the depths of winter. Roasted chestnuts smelled like the epitome of winter nights at Christmas markets with loved ones. They smelled like a warm hug in front of a wood burning fire wrapped up in blankets with hot chocolate. If you were to put a colour to the food it would sure as hell be warm oranges and browns. Purely golden. 

'Roasting on an open fire,' Taron replied in song, watching Amelia’s eyes light up as she smiled her biggest smile at him. It was the kind of smile that lit up her entire face. The kind of smile that warmed his heart and made the butterflies swarm. 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose,' he continued as he lifted his glove clad hand up to Amelia’s nose to bop it lightly. 

If they didn’t know differently, Amelia’s two friends would have thought that she and Taron were together and had been for a while. They continuously fell into easy conversation and would talk as though they’d known one another for years. Harry only felt a small twinge of jealousy at the way they seemed to be best friends but ultimately he was happy that Amelia was happy. 

When Amelia’s hat fell off her head after Taron had told a particularly bad joke that still made her fling her head back in laughter, he instantly squatted down to pick it up. After he shook it off to get rid of any twigs. The same thing happened numerous times on the walk and he’d gotten to the point where he wouldn’t let her put it back on herself. Whenever he bent down to pick it up, he turned Amelia around so that she was facing him and he would pop it on her head before tapping the bobble at the top so that he could hear her giggle. 

Her giggle was intoxicating, to say the least. Taron swore that he could listen to it on repeat 24/7. Maybe that was partly why he would do everything in his power to make her laugh when they were together. It didn’t matter what they were doing, he would say something silly or make a funny face regardless. There had been times where he’d done it at a completely inappropriate time and Amelia had to stifle all forms of laughs. 

'You know,' Luke started as he held onto Harry’s arm to stop himself from falling on the cobbles, 'I hope it doesn’t take those two as long as it took us to get together.' 

'What do you mean?' Harry asked in fake offence. 

'Gorgeous, it took us months to get together because you were being an idiot and taking your time to ask me out. And all I’m saying is that they need to not take months.' 

'In my defence, you’re way out of my league and I didn’t think you’d say yes. But I’ll make sure it won’t take them as long.' 

'Why are you two walking so far behind us?' Amelia spoke loudly as she turned around to see where her friends were. 

'Just admiring the view,' Harry winked playfully before falling into chuckles when Amelia flipped him off. 

When they got to the courtyard where the light switch on was going to take place, Taron finally moved his hand from the bottom of Amelia’s back, only to take her hand in his so that he could lead her through the crowd easier. He led the other three through until they were at the gate of the bed and breakfast. 

Autumn, Sada, Spencer, Connor, Noelani and Connor’s crush, Eli were all waiting. They were huddled together up until the moment where Taron got their attention. 

'What took you guys so bloody long?' Spencer asked exasperatedly. 

'Sorry, dinner took longer to cook than I was anticipating. But we’re here now.' 

'Yeah it’s a good job. Amelia, how are you?' Autumn asked as she pulled her new friend in for a hug.

Sada hugged her as well while Taron said hello to all of his friends separately. 

'For the three of you who don’t know, this is Amelia, her friend Harry and Harry’s boyfriend Luke. You three, this is Noelani, Connor and Eli.' Taron introduced the other three and Amelia automatically hugged Noelani. 

'Sada’s told me so much about you and you think the same way that I do.' The two girls laughed together before Amelia said hello to the other two who were standing there. 

'Taron, you need to go make the hot chocolate before I go in and make it myself.' The threat of Sada potentially making the hot chocolate kicked Taron into gear and he sped through the gate leaving everyone else behind. 

That was until he stopped dead and turned around quickly. 

'Amelia?' He spoke loudly so that he could be heard over the chatter of everyone else near them. 'Do you maybe want to come and help me make the hot chocolate?' 

Amelia nodded and followed Taron through to the inside of the building while Autumn, Sada, Spencer and Connor all stood staring at each other and blinking slowly. 

'Did anyone else see that or am I literally going delusional?' Autumn asked in disbelief. 

'What do you mean are you seeing things?' Obviously, Harry was confused. He didn’t know about Taron’s refusal to ever let anybody know about his hot chocolate recipe. 

'Never in the years that I’ve known Taron has he ever invited anyone into the kitchen to help with the hot chocolate. He refuses to ever let anyone know his secret recipe.' 

****** 

Despite Amelia having been staying in the bed and breakfast for two whole weeks, there hadn’t been a time that she’d seen the kitchen so she had no idea what to expect when Taron led her into it. His hand was once again resting on the bottom of Amelia’s back and he walked them to the coat rack where they both removed their outer layers and hung them up. 

'It’s a tad warmer in here than it is outside, isn’t it?' Taron chortled as he wiped his hands down his thighs before grabbing his apron from the hook. 

'Just a little bit,' Amelia replied with the same chortle. It was a rather grand contrast. Instead of being able to see her breath every time she breathed out, she could almost taste the heat that surrounded them. 

They were the only two in the kitchen so it was eerily quiet, with the only sound the low hum of the dishwasher that sat close to the sink. There was the lingering smell of the lamb dinner that Eli the cook made and Amelia swore that she could almost taste the mint sauce that some people had on their food. It was the perfect roast as far as Amelia could tell and she was only slightly sad that she’d missed it. Taron’s toad in the hole was just as nice as a roast would have been though. 

'You alright over there?' 

Taron’s voice startled Amelia. So much so that she spun around in fright with her hand on her heart. Looking at Taron being domestic in the kitchen endeared Amelia more than she could have ever imagined. The apron that he donned had a rainbow watercolour pattern all over it and just added to how endearing Taron  was. 

'Yeah,' Amelia replied wistfully as she walked over to him, letting the tips of her fingers glide along the solid metal of the work surface as she walked. 'Just kinda taking everything in.' 

'Everything okay? You’re kinda quiet. Do you maybe…want to talk about the Henry situation?' 

Amelia immediately shook her head and pulled the sleeves of her jumper over her hands to create makeshift paws. She didn’t want to talk about Henry at all. Let alone when she was with Taron who she liked a lot. 

'No thank you,' she finally spoke up quietly when she was standing beside him. Within minutes he’d gotten all of the ingredients he needed out of the various cupboards and was standing looking at them all, his bottom lip pulled between his thumb and index finger as he assessed everything carefully. 

'What are your plans for Christmas,' Amelia added quietly.

Instantly Taron ’s eyes appeared a tad more green as he smiled a dimpled smile at Amelia. Going home to his family was one of the only things keeping Taron going. His family and Amelia. 

'I go home on the 22nd and I’m going to walk into Santa’s bakery!' He exclaimed. Amelia laughed and he looked at her seriously. 'I’m not kidding. There’ll be mince pies, gingerbread houses, sugar cookies, chocolates, BOILED SWEETS! I won’t be able to bloody move.' 

'That sounds so fun though. We don’t go that extreme.' Amelia had, on numerous occasions in her life, begged her parents to do more baking around Christmas but they never had time. 'We have mince pies and that tends to be it.' 

'When do you leave?' Taron‘s question caught Amelia off guard and she stayed silent as she was beyond confused. 'I was going to suggest that maybe…you could come to mine before you go and we’ll make gingerbread houses?' 

'Really?' Taron smiled as he nodded. 'That sounds amazing. Thank you, Taron.' 

'You’re not even going to say that you wouldn’t want to put me out?' Taron joked to which Amelia playfully slapped his shoulder. 'It’s no problem though. I’ll go to Tesco and buy sweets.' 

'Sounds good. I go back on the 21st, by the way.' 

Taron nodded before continuing to stir the milk that was heating up on the stovetop. 'Do you have any other plans? Besides baking?' 

Taron nodded again. 'On Christmas Eve after we’ve prepared dinner for the next day and wrapped any last gifts we all sit in the living room and give one gift each. I can’t wait to give my mum her gift though.' 

'Really?' Amelia asked. 'What did you get her?' 

'The watch she‘s been eyeing up since May.' Taron started to add the hot chocolate powder to the heated milk. 'She won’t expect it either.' 

'That’s so sweet. Are you close to your mum?' 

'Yeah. She’s like my best friend, you know? I can’t wait to see her.' 

Amelia wouldn’t ever admit it but her heart almost burst at how loving Taron was and even though they rarely talked about their families, she could tell that family meant a lot to him.

'She’s lucky you have a son as amazing as you.' 

'Your mum’s lucky to have a daughter like you. What are your plans?' 

'It’s the same every year. We wake up and have breakfast together before preparing the Christmas dinner. Then we have a carol service at church before we go home and watch four Christmas films.' 

'Four? That’s a rather specific number.' 

'It starts with Love Actually, then we watch Get Santa followed by The Holiday and then we finish with A Christmas Carol before we all do our own thing before bed.' 

'Okay. I’ll allow that,' Taron winked as he turned around to start pouring the hot chocolate. 

'Oh, you’ll allow it, will you?' Amelia questioned with a grin. 

'Yeah. I’ll allow it.' He turned back around so that he was facing Amelia again and smiled at her just as wide as she was smiling at him. 

******

'Careful, it’s hot,' Taron warned as he handed Amelia the first cup of hot chocolate, topped with squirty cream and a crumbled Cadbury’s flake. 

Amelia guffawed as she pulled the drink up to her mouth. 'I’m 29, I think I can drink hot chocolate like a responsible, grown adult.' 

'You say that but you have squirty cream all over your nose,' Taron laughed quickly before rolling his lips into his mouth to stop himself. 'Here let me take a photo to show you.' 

He grabbed his phone from his back pocket and swiped to the camera, aiming it at Amelia’s face and letting it focus. What he thought was going to be a normal photo simply to show her the cream on her face turned into Amelia sticking her tongue out and scrunching her eyes closed. 

He chuckled lightly before pressing the little photo in the bottom right of his corner and showing his phone screen to Amelia who looked mortified when she saw herself. 

'Oh my fucking god. Why am I like this?' 

'Like what?' Taron asked without skipping a beat as he put his phone back into his pocket and took a step closer to the girl in front of him. 

Amelia was stuck in place when Taron’s eyes caught hers. They didn’t blink, and they didn’t look away. Not even when Taron lifted his thumb up to wipe the cream away from Amelia’s nose. Time stopped still around them as he cleaned his thumb on his apron before lifting his hand up once more to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. 

Her hands were clammy from the anticipation of what was about to happen and she feared that the tremendous beating of her heart could be heard by Taron. She was sure that the sound was ricocheting from the surfaces and appliances around them both. Never before had she been so nervous about something that she didn’t know what was about to happen.

'You’re so pretty, baby,' Taron whispered as he let his hand rest on Amelia’s jaw, his thumb moving from her cheek to the very side of her mouth and back again. 

He worried that Amelia would be able to feel how clammy his hands were getting from nerves. His heart rate had increased tenfold in only a few seconds. There he was, standing in front of a girl who was way out of his league with his hand cupping her jaw and their eyes locked. 

Amelia couldn’t feel how nervous he was for she was far too light headed from hearing Taron call her pretty. He’d called her Pretty Baby before, of course. Though that was always as a pet name. When he said it that evening when they were the only two people in the room, their entire worlds spinning around them as they were solely focussed on one another it was different. 

He said it slowly, quietly, as if he was scared. Amelia could hear the slight wobble to his voice as he said it and she could feel her cheeks heating up as she tried to fight a smile. Her eyes remained on Taron though. So much so that she could see clearly the darker green ring around his iris that was a stark contrast to the rest of it. His iris itself held different flecks of jade green with bits that looked almost yellow. They were the most gorgeous eyes Amelia had ever seen and she would happily stare into them for the rest of her life. 

'So pretty,' he repeated as he licked his lips quickly. 

Amelia watched as Taron finally let his eyes leave hers. But only to flick down to her lips before dragging back to her eyes. They were completely silent then, not even their breathing being heard. But then again, neither of them were sure that they were even breathing. Adrenaline coursed through them and left them feeling intoxicated. 

Intoxicated in one another. 

Before he could even think about what he was doing, Taron was pulling Amelia in a little closer. He tilted his head down a little bit and rested his forehead on Amelia's, taking a deep breath before tilting it down more so their lips were almost brushing. 

Amelia could feel Taron’s breath on her top lip and her breaths grew shaky. It was happening. It was finally happening. She was about to kiss Taron. 

'What the hell is going on in here?' Autumn exclaimed as she pushed the door to the kitchen open. 

Amelia pushed herself away from Taron as he was pushing himself away from her and she jogged over to the sink to busy herself by washing the dishes. Her heart was beating faster than it did when she went on the Oblivion rollercoaster at Alton Towers. She was running on adrenaline which she could tell with the way that her hands were shaking aggressively as she tried to clean up. 

'Did I just walk in on what I think I just walked in on?' Autumn asked as she stared at Taron. 

'No, you didn’t. Now can you get out?' Taron asked loudly as he let out a long breath. 

His heart was still pounding as he stood and looked between Autumn and Amelia. He was about to kiss Amelia. He really, really wanted to kiss her. But as per usual, when he got her full attention and she was focussed on him and only him, someone else came and ruined it. 

Autumn didn’t say anything else for she knew not to push Taron. When she was gone Amelia turned back around. She wiped her hands on the towel by the sink before taking a deep breath. 

'I’m sorry,' Taron spoke in defeat. 

'Don’t be,' Amelia replied as she walked over to the man who had her heart. 'We should maybe get outside though, yeah?' 

******

By the time Taron and Amelia got back outside, everyone had moved from their crowds where they mingled and were instead standing in a circle around the Christmas tree. Rather than the low hum of their chatter, all Amelia could hear was the sound of them singing some of her favourite Christmas carols. She turned to Taron and squeezed his hand gently as if to prove to herself that she wasn’t dreaming. 

It didn’t take them long to find their friends who weren’t too far away from where they’d been when they first got there. As they got close enough that they were seen, they unlinked their hands and moved to stand with everyone else. Taron grabbed the tops of Amelia’s arms gently and pulled her so that she rested against his front. To give her that little bit of extra warmth, he wrapped his coat around the both of them and held it at her tummy. 

Amelia turned around the best she could in her arms and closed her eyes in bliss. When she turned back around, Taron moved so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder. He swayed them in time with the songs being sung, only moving slowly so that Amelia wouldn’t spill her hot chocolate all over herself. 

'The First Noel, the Angels did say…was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay,' Taron  whispered, smiling to himself when he saw the goosebumps rise on her skin from the heat. 

'Born is the king of Israel,' Amelia sang quietly when it got to that part. She could feel Taron ’s breath tickling her ear. It felt nice in the incredibly bitter weather Rivercliffe was facing. 

At one point while they were singing and enjoying their surroundings, Taron had moved his head a little so that his cheek was resting against Amelia’s. He could feel every movement of her jaw when she sang, and she could feel every tiny hair that was growing along his perfectly chiselled jaw.  

Of course, they didn’t miss the looks they were getting from their friends. Even Spencer, who was the biggest fan of Amelia potentially ever, was looking at them both as if to ask how they weren’t together already. Taron started to roll his eyes every time that he saw someone look at them while Amelia would breathe a tiny laugh. 

'And you swear you’re not together?' Autumn asked dumbfoundedly. 

Taron nodded but pulled Amelia closer to his body. 'I swear.' 

When he moved his head back to rest properly on Amelia’s shoulder, he could feel her eyelashes fluttering against his cheek and it left him smiling that tiny bit more. There was something so natural in holding Amelia close to his body with their heads touching. He didn’t know why it felt natural but he wasn’t ever going to complain. 

Being in Rivercliffe with Taron, Harry, Luke and Taron ’s friends as they stood in front of one of the nicest decorated Christmas trees she’d ever seen and singing Christmas carols while cradling hot chocolate left Amelia feeling so unbelievably relaxed. If she could, she would stay in Rivercliffe forever. Though she’d want everyone with her like they were that night. 

In her month in Rivercliffe, Amelia had grown to love the tight-knit community and the thought of having to leave left her stomach clenching. She was fighting tears every time she thought about leaving. The thought of leaving not only the village, the people in the village but the thought of leaving Taron. 

Never before had Amelia started to fall for someone so fast. From the very second she laid her eyes on Taron  when he walked through the front door of the bed and breakfast, she knew that she was in for a ride. 

What she didn’t expect, however, was the kind of ride. In only a month she had become close friends with Taron, shared a bed with him when he was only wearing his boxers, had an argument that wasn’t really an argument, made up and started acting like a couple again. 

There hadn’t been many days where she didn’t message Harry to tell him about the things that she’d gotten up to or the things she’d noticed about Taron. She’d confided in her best friend so much about how worried she was that she was being ridiculously obvious in her feelings for him, or that she was being naive in thinking that he could ever be interested in her. Harry had, of course, assured her that anybody would fall in love with her and that she just had to let Taron realise it himself. 

The issue there was that Taron was also incredibly worried that he was being overly obvious in his feelings or was being naive in thinking that Amelia could ever be interested in him. They were both as bad as one another and had they known the other’s thoughts, it might not have taken them so long to get together. 

During O Come All Ye Faithful, Taron started to dance a little more dramatically simply in hopes of eliciting a giggle from Amelia. It was his favourite sound and he wanted to hear it forever. Whenever she was subconsciously comfortable enough where she would giggle without realising, Taron’s stomach did somersaults. Just as it did in the pub not too long before, the butterfly that normally sat on his stomach felt as though it was fluttering around. 

When Taron wiggled their hips a little too fast, Amelia lost grip on her cup and very nearly let it fall to the floor by her feet. Luckily for her, and her what would have been wet feet, she managed to get a grip of it again. She didn’t need to turn to Taron the entire way before she could see his lips rolled into his mouth in an embarrassed laugh. 

'I’m sorry,' he mouthed. He truly was sorry. The last thing he meant to do was make her drop her drink. 

He was nervous of her reaction up until the second he saw her lips start to curl. Soft giggles escaped her before she could even think about it. Those soft giggles filled Taron with an indescribable feeling. He felt so drawn to her when he heard her giggle, so blissfully unaware of his true feelings. 

'And I thought I was clumsy,' Amelia replied with a gentle smile when she’d calmed down. She could feel Taron move his hand so that it was resting over hers on her tummy and she felt so warm on the inside. 

Taron had a knack for making her tummy swarm with butterflies and her head cloud with adoration. She adored him. More than she ever thought possible. 

As they remained silent through the rest of the sing, they leaned into one another more and Amelia let her eyes close softly. She wanted to remember the moment forever, feel Taron’s hand resting above hers on her stomach, hear his breathing in her ear as they stood together, see his stubble whenever she turned to face him, taste his hot chocolate that was so special and smell…him. 

If she could be enveloped in Taron’s scent for the rest of her life she would die happy. He smelled fresh but musky, soft but manly, playful but serious. She could never pinpoint quite how he smelled because she only knew it as pure perfection. 

She was finally happy with someone. So happy that she didn’t care who saw or who found out. Amelia adored Taron. 

******

Autumn had been the very first person from the group to spot her, followed closely by Amelia. Her blonde hair swished behind her and her blinding smile made Amelia roll her eyes. Taron was too deep in a conversation with Harry to notice her at first and Amelia had to admit that she was slightly thankful. 

She liked the idea of Rosie seeing Taron’s arms wrapped tightly around her body with his head resting on hers despite it being turned so that he could talk to Harry. Amelia was never a jealous person, but she wanted to make Rosie jealous while also marking her territory. Not that she had any territory to mark, Taron wasn’t hers. 

It took mere seconds for Rosie to reach the group, her sickly sweet smile not one she was very happy to see. And that was before she’d even opened her mouth. 

'I wasn’t expecting you all to be here!' She smiled widely, reaching her hands out to start embracing all of her old friends. Her voice was just as shrill as it had been the first time Amelia saw her, and it still gave her chills. 

When her voice finally reached Taron, he didn’t tense up like Amelia expected him to. No, instead he peeled himself away from their embrace and walked around Amelia so that he could embrace the woman who Amelia could not stand. 

Their hug lasted seconds longer than Rosie’s hugs with her other friends. She hadn’t even hugged Autumn for as long as she had Taron. When Taron finally pulled away from the hug, Amelia heard herself sigh in relief. She quickly turned to Harry who had heard her and rolled her lips into her mouth to shush herself. 

'You know her?' Harry mouthed. 

Amelia nodded and was just about to reply when she felt Rosie’s hand on her arm. 'Amelia! It’s nice to see you again.' 

'It’s nice to see you too, Rosemary,' Amelia forced back. It wasn’t nice to see her again. So much so that she refused to call her by her real name. 

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed at the two girls as they hugged one another. It took him a few seconds to piece together who the girl was, but as soon as he saw the look of pure annoyance on Amelia’s face he knew who the girl was. Though he was sure that she was called Rosie and not Rosemary. Then it hit him, Amelia said the wrong name on purpose. And if Amelia called the girl by the wrong name, then he sure as hell was going to too. 

'It’s Rosie, silly,' she replied with a giggle, turning to hug Harry and Luke quickly despite having never met them before. 'It’s nice to meet you.' 

'You too,' Harry forced through gritted teeth and a fake smile. 

****** 

When the group had settled down and Taron moved to hug Amelia from behind again, Amelia had been annoyed. He’d invited the woman that caused a huge scene between them a mere few days prior to join them at the switch on. And to make matters worse, Rosie had eagerly taken him up on the offer with a, 'Thanks babe face,' and hugged his arm. 

Taron couldn’t understand why Amelia had brushed him off when he tried to hold her again and he kept nudging her to see if she was okay. When he asked the first time she told him that she was fine. He didn’t believe her. Gone was the softness from her voice. It had been replaced with a bitterness that he couldn’t put his finger on properly. 

As far as he could tell, there was nothing for Amelia to be upset about. He’d simply asked one of his oldest friends to join them while they enjoyed their evening. Even Amelia knew that she shouldn’t feel jealous because they were old friends but the sheer thought that something might have gone on between them was enough for her to feel sick to the stomach. 

'Everything okay, pretty baby?' Taron asked for what felt like the millionth time that evening. Apparently Amelia saying that she was fine once wasn’t enough to convince him. Then again, when she replied that she was fine, she took a step closer to Harry and moved to wrap her arms around his left arm. 'You seem off all of a sudden and I don’t like it.'

'Taron I said, I’m fine,' Amelia bit back through gritted teeth. She pushed herself away from Harry and walked towards Kaine, calling his name when she got close enough that he would hear her. 

Taron watched her walk away and fall into the awaiting arms of Kaine who held her close to his muscular body and rocked her gently. His hands rubbed up and down her back as he comforted her. Harry watched Taron watch Amelia and he knew instantly that there was a wave of jealousy rushing through Taron . 

‘Now you know what it’s like, dickhead’, he thought as he shook his head. 

It didn’t take long for Kaine to wrap his coat around Amelia, who was shivering profusely, as well as himself and Taron suddenly felt cold. Cold and empty. He should be the one hugging Amelia to his body with her arms around his middle under his coat, not Kaine. Taron should be the one kissing the top of Amelia’s head and comforting her when she feels like shit. 

But he didn’t know why she’d gone to Kaine and not him. She told him that she was fine and he couldn’t for the life of him think of what he’d done wrong to cause her to walk away from him completely. 

It took seeing Amelia so openly allowing someone else to show her affection for Taron to realise that maybe, just maybe, Amelia didn’t want to be with him at all. If she did then she would have hugged Taron again after Rosie got to the group, she’d have pushed herself into his front more like she did when he first wrapped his coat around her and she would have let him kiss the top of her head like he so wanted to. 

Watching Taron look jealous when he was the one that caused Amelia’s sudden outburst made Harry angry. There was no way that Taron didn’t know what he’d done wrong…surely. He had to talk Taron away from Rosie who stood with her arms around Taron’s arm. That was enough for Harry to have to take a deep breath to stop himself from having an outburst of his own. 

'Hey, Rosemary,' he started, knowing full well that he’d said the wrong name. Rosie didn’t even correct him, instead she turned to him with a smile. 'If you were wanting a hot chocolate then I’d go get one now. Luke went to get one and they’re running low.' 

Rosie nodded, squeezing Taron’s arm gently and smiling at him sweetly. 

'I’ll be right back,' she whispered and Taron only nodded. 

As soon as she was out of sight, Harry lifted his hand and smacked Taron around the head. 'You’re a wanker, you know that right?' 

Taron lifted his right hand to cradle the part of his head that Harry had smacked, frowning as he did. 'What was that for?' 

'You know what that was for,' Harry seethed. 

'No, I don’t. Why am I a wanker?' 

'You have her,' Harry spoke strongly as he flung his arm out and pointed to Amelia who was crying into Kaine’s chest, 'within your grasp and you choose miss leggy ‘babe face’ who doesn’t know her arse from her head? Honestly?' 

Luke took hold of Harry’s arm in an attempt to stop him from swinging at Taron. He knew that his boyfriend wasn’t a violent person but when it came to protecting someone he loved he could get irate. 

'Babe, calm down,' he whispered, eyeing him warningly. 

'What do you mean I have her within my grasp?' Taron quizzed, watching the way Kaine pushed Amelia back enough to look into her eyes to see how she was feeling. 'Every single time I manage to finally get her attention someone else, i.e., Kaine, comes and snatches it from me. I can’t fucking win.' 

'You really are even slacker than I thought, aren't you? How have you not realised that Kaine has a girlfriend? Amelia and Thalia were best mates in school. He likes Amelia…as a friend.'

'Oh,' Taron replied simply. His lips rolled into his mouth as he gulped and watched Kaine finally make Amelia giggle. He should have been making her giggle but he’d been so far up his own arse that he hadn’t seen her right there in front of him. 

He felt stupid. More than stupid, really. The entire time he’d known Amelia he thought that she was into someone else and she wasn’t. She was being friendly with her friend’s boyfriend. For weeks she had been in Rivercliffe and at any point Taron could have just not been a baby and asked her out on a date. But he hadn’t. And maybe…maybe he’d left it too late. 

Why would Amelia, someone who was way too good for him and could have anyone she wanted in the world, want to be with him when he’d been so blind? If he couldn’t see that Kaine was just a friend, how was he meant to protect her from the world? He couldn’t do that the way she needed him to. He was Taron, and she was Amelia. They were two completely different people who probably shouldn’t be together. 

'It’s about time you be a man and fucking grow a pair, mate. Because if you don’t then you’re going to miss out on what would have been the best thing to ever happen to you. Having her around feels like you’ve just won the lottery. She’d do anything for anyone and she’s there for you no matter what she’s going through.' 

'She wouldn’t want to settle for someone like me though,' Taron sighed, wishing that he didn’t have to witness Amelia in the arms of another man despite him not feeling good enough for her. 

'There is no way that I will come out of this alive because she made me promise to not tell you but, she’s texted me daily telling me how much she likes you,' Harry began, watching as Taron’s eyebrows furrowed and his thumb and index finger moved to worry his bottom lip. 

If Amelia was telling Harry that she liked Taron then maybe he still had a chance. But there were way too many people around for him to say anything then. He’d have to wait until they were on their own and there wasn’t any pressure from others. 

'We’ve had phone conversations that lasted hours where all she’s done is gush about the way you’d remembered what her favourite meal was and cooked it for her as a surprise. She told me that you had Kaine create a drink just for her in the pub and you called it Snookums. Never has a bad word left her mouth regarding you. Even when she wants to smack you for being so naive, she still manages to tell me how your hair fell perfectly.' 

Harry let his words sink in before continuing, 'I called her on her first day here to see how she was doing and there and then she said that she could see you in her future.' 

'Really?' Taron replied quickly, finally pulling his eyes away from Amelia and Kaine long enough to turn to Harry. 

Harry nodded, eyeing Rosie heading towards them with two hot chocolates. She smiled at the smaller group before handing Taron one of the drinks. 

'Really, Taron. Seriously, you need to go get her before it’s too late.' 

Harry enjoyed watching Rosie’s face drop as he spoke and Taron felt slightly uncomfortable. The girl he liked more than anything was in the arms of someone else and the woman he wished wasn’t there stood by him. 

'She wants to be with you so stop being a wanker and grow a pair, okay?'

****** 

'You have got to be fucking kidding me,' Amelia grumbled as she moved everything around on the desk trying to find her tea. The one thing that she wanted after a ridiculous night and she was completely out. She couldn’t even text Taron to see if he had any because she didn’t want to. 

'What’s up lovely?' Luke asked gently as he shrugged his coat from his shoulders and hung it up on the back of the door. 

'I’ve got no bloody tea left,' Amelia sighed as she spun around to face her friends. Spinning was a bad idea though. Especially after the mulled wine she drank while they were still out. She could feel herself grow dizzy and she had to hold onto the chair to keep herself upright. 

After Amelia finally joined the group again once she’d had a little cry to Kaine, she stood at the other side of Luke away from Taron. She wasn’t mad at him, per se, but seeing Rosie stood with him laughing at something he said pissed her off. She should’ve been the one to laugh at his lame jokes with her head thrown back. Not leggy, Rosie. 

In an attempt to keep herself distracted from the sickening sight at the other side of Harry, she asked him and Luke what their plans for Christmas were. She was excited to know that they were spending their first Christmas without going to their own families houses but were spending the whole day together. Even though she’d told Taron her own plans hours before, she was still willing to gush to her friends about her plans when they asked her. 

She seemed to have a constant stream of mulled wine and she didn’t truly know where it was all coming from so by the time she finally made it back to her room, she wasn’t able to walk in a straight line and couldn’t think properly. 

'I think you need water, not tea,' Harry piped up from the bed where he’d made himself comfortable. He had the two pizzas in front of him ready to devour when his boyfriend and best friend were ready. 'Or more alcohol!'

Trust Harry to be the one to suggest more of the devil’s juice when they were already buzzed. He was the biggest enabler Amelia had ever known and he could hold his alcohol so well that it took him four times as long to get drunk. 

'We are not having more alcohol,' Luke scolded, pouring three glasses of water and taking one to Harry. Passing Harry his, he climbed onto the bed next to him and cuddled into his side. 'Come and sit down with us, babe. Tell us what’s on your mind.' 

Everyone knew what was on Amelia’s mind. There was no denying it in the way that she expelled a long breath and trudged to the bed where she made herself comfortable in a mound of pillows. She didn’t know how the double bed was big enough for them all to be comfortable but she wasn’t going to question it. There was too much alcohol coursing through her body for her to do that. 

She sat with her friends but didn’t talk straight away. Harry knew that she was trying to process her thoughts so he left her to it, opening the boxes of pizza and drooling at the sight. To say that the three of them were in the quaintest little village in the middle of nowhere, the pizza place made the most amazing, authentic Italian pizzas. Amelia had ordered a takeaway pizza from there on numerous occasions and ate in her room. 

'What did you say to Taron?' she asked quietly and somewhat nervously as she picked up the first slice of capresé pizza. When she pulled it away from her face, the mozzarella created a long string that had her closing her eyes in bliss. 

'It’s not important what I said to Taron. What’s important is that you’re okay.' Harry should have known that the topic of conversation would fall to Taron. It always did. When she joined the group again she would steal glances at him and would be deflated if he wasn’t looking at her. 

'Might have called him a wanker though,' he added under his breath, biting into his own slice of pizza to try and hide his smile. 

'Harry!' Amelia screamed in reply, covering her mouth when she realised how loud she was being late at night. She couldn’t be too mad at Harry because she herself had called Taron a dickhead on their walk back to the bed and breakfast but she also wished that he hadn’t because she worried about how Taron  felt. 

'In my defence,' Harry mumbled around a mouthful of food, his finger in the air to add to his point. He swallowed before continuing to speak, 'He is the biggest wanker for not noticing what is right in front of him.' 

'What? An over-emotional, downright morngy bitch who doesn’t know how to grow a pair of balls and go after what she wants in life? Yeah she sounds like the perfect woman.' 

'No, a beautiful, smart, all-round incredible girl who is way too good for him so he should be thankful that you give him the time of day,' Harry replied quickly. He wouldn’t let his friend be self-deprecating. She was so much better than she gave herself credit for. 

Amelia didn’t know how to reply so she pulled her cheeks into her mouth so that her lips looked like a fish. Luke cackled loudly and Harry shook his head. The alcohol really had gone to her head. 

'You’re such a nightmare, Snookums.' 

The beef wellington that Taron had so kindly cooked for the four of them before the event definitely hadn’t been enough to line Amelia’s stomach properly so the mulled wine she had consumed affected her more than it normally would. 

She sat to the right of Harry on her bed with her hand on his knee and her chin on his shoulder. Luke looked at the pair with the biggest smile on her face, thankful that she got to witness such a lovely friendship first hand. 

'You know you’re my bestest ever friend, right?' Amelia slurred slightly. Harry could smell the alcohol on her breath as she breathed in his face and he chuckled to himself. 'Dunno how I ever got so lucky.' 

'What on bloody earth are you chatting?' Harry asked as he held her into his side. He used his free hand to pull his boyfriend into his other side, kissing the top of his forehead tenderly. 

'I mean it,' Amelia spoke strongly, pulling away from Harry so that she could look him in the eyes. 'You’re the most amazing person ever. You listen to my ramblings every single night, you drive hours just to surprise me when I’m having my little annual getaway because you missed me, you support me through all of my auditions and console me if I don’t get a part annnnnnd you chose the best boyfriend . Not many other people would appreciate their boyfriend having a girl as their best friend but Luke takes it in his stride. He lets me be the third member of your relationship.' 

'You’re like sister wives,' Harry guffawed as he threw his head back. 

'Minus the marriage and the kids and the houses and-' Luke piped up, shaking his head.

'Would you just shut up and acknowledge that you’re sister wives.' 

'Thanks for being my sister-wife, Luke,' Amelia smiled. 

'Thanks for being my sister-wife,' Luke winked. 

The three of them fell into a burst of soft laughter on the bed, the leftover pizzas still in front of them even though none of them were ready to eat any more of it. The tv played some random show that none of them knew but they found themselves watching it anyway. Some rich family was taking in a poor family to show how the other half lived and Amelia found herself growing angry. 

'These are the families who say that they would be willing to help anyone out but they buy this shit with no second thought. That other family works all year to afford a couple of gifts for their kids at Christmas.' 

'I’ve always told myself that I won’t be like that. My kids can earn their luxuries and they’ll know from a young age that they are incredibly lucky,' Harry added, squeezing Luke’s thigh gently as he did. 

'I did an online toy shop the other day and got them sent to my mum’s house. She’s going to wrap them and take them to a donation centre so that kids can have presents this year. Did it with some adult stuff too so that hopefully at least one family can have a good Christmas.' 

Amelia tried to help those less fortunate out whenever she could and that year she decided to do more. She knew how lucky she was and there were so many others who didn’t have what she had. So she made the effort to make someone’s Christmas that bit better. 

******

At midnight, Channel Four played a film that all three of them knew pretty well. 

'I was a baby!' Amelia gasped when her characters walked on screen. She was getting trained as Kingsmen and looked so young. 

'You did! How old were you there?' Luke asked. She’d filmed Kingsman before Luke even knew Amelia so he didn’t know the ins and outs. 

'20/21 I think. It’s been a good four years or so.' Harry’s eyes were glued to the screen, chuckling when Amelia picked her dog up to run. 

They sat in silence for a lot of the movie, neither of them having seen it in a while and forgetting some bits that happened. 

‘Beau looked fit in that scene,' Amelia mentioned, knowing that Harry would know what scene she was talking about. 

The character and Merlin were in the jet ready to enter Valentine’s ‘lair’ and Eggsy had just put on his custom suit. 

'I agree. But I’d have looked fitter. Because I’m the fittest man ever.’

'You are fit, yes. But Taron is so much fitter,' Amelia replied quickly. When Harry faked being offended she slapped his shoulder and giggled. 'Have you seen his muscles? I saw him in his boxers and like…I literally think I saw God.' 

'When the hell did you see him in his boxers?' Harry asked in complete shock. Amelia had missed that vital piece of information out in one of their conversations and he would be lying if he said he felt left out that she didn’t tell him. 

'When I stayed at his house for the night that time. I was on the sofa but got cold so I went to his room and he was there in his boxers and WOW!' Amelia reminisced as she pulled the blanket tighter around her body.

The age of the building meant that the rooms were slightly chilly on a night which led Amelia to burying herself in blankets when she was in bed. Harry and Luke being in the room didn’t stop her from getting cosy, piling blanket after blanket onto herself in an attempt to warm up even slightly. Even Harry–who was a human radiator–got chilly and had to wrap himself in a blanket.

'So you mean to tell me that he made you sleep on the sofa?' Luke asked. Hee didn’t peg Taron as the kind to make Amelia sleep on the sofa kind of guy. 

'No, no. I insisted that I would sleep on it because he had to go to work the next day and he only has the one bedroom. He was more than willing to share his bed though.' 

'Yeah he’ll let you share his bed when he’s just in his underwear but he won’t just fucking snog you will he? Asshole,' Harry muttered under his breath. 

****** 

Kingsman, which none of them had turned off, was still playing in the room. Luke was asleep on Harry’s shoulder whereas he and Amelia were still wide awake. They’d spent a while talking about auditions that they had done together and discussing potential auditions to do together. 

'Yeah, but what if-' 

Amelia was cut off with her phone buzzing on the bed next to her. She knew that if she picked it up she would forget what she was telling Harry but as soon as she saw his name she picked it up anyway. To hell with the consequences. 

From: Taron 

Hope you got back safe. Breakfast at the coffee shop tomorrow? X 

He hoped she got back safe but texted her nearly four hours after they’d left the switch on. And he wanted to meet her for breakfast despite ignoring her for over two hours while they were still out. The rational, sober Amelia would put her phone down and ignore the text messages, opting to reply in the morning when it was too late. The irrational, drunk Amelia, on the other hand, clicked the bar to reply and started to type. 

To: Taron :) 

T and Luke are going home tomorrow afternoon so I’m eating breakfast with them. 

From: Taron :) 

Another time? X 

To: Taron :) 

Another time x 

A kiss. She was mad at him but she ended the text with a kiss. Idiotic…the only word she would use to describe herself in that moment. 

'Who’re you texting at this time of night?' Harry asked playfully as he shifted carefully so that he could hold Luke to him better. 

Amelia wouldn’t reply to him, too busy berating herself for putting that stupid, tiny ‘x’ at the end of her text.  It was only a letter but Amelia wanted to be petty and not put any to him after he’d pissed her off. When she was still out and he was there she didn’t think that she was annoyed but she was. 

Why wouldn’t she be? She knew then that Harry had told him that she liked him and to shoot his shot but he didn’t. Talking to Amelia after that would have been way too easy. But talking to Rosie who would get super touchy-feely and would bat her eyelashes so much that she could lift off at any second? Yeah, that was the best thing to do. 

Harry got fed up of asking who she was texting, not that it mattered but it had clearly affected his friend, so he took her phone from her hands and read the texts, turning to her with a hard glare. 

'You’re having breakfast with him tomorrow! I don’t give a shit if we’re leaving,' he insisted as he started typing. 

Amelia stole her phone back before he could send anything, deleting what he’d typed and stuffing her phone between her boobs where she knew Harry wouldn’t go to get it. 

'I’m having breakfast with you two before you leave me,' she replied with a frown. If she thought for long enough she would cry knowing that her best friends wouldn’t be with her any more. She would have to face Rivercliffe, and Taron, on her own. 

'Invite Taron to join us. He’s trying, Ami.' 

'Wasn’t trying hard enough earlier though, was he?' 

'Don’t be like that!' Harry was exasperated. 'We were around so many other people then. I can understand why he didn’t do anything. Plus, Rosemary or whatever her name is was there and-' 

'Her name is Rosie and she can have him. He clearly likes her more anyway.' 

'You’re really starting to piss me off,' Harry sighed as he shifted. He’d shifted a little too much because Luke sat up and rubbed at her eyes. 

'What the hell are you two going on about now?' 

'Taron invited her out for breakfast and she said no because she planned to come with us. And she’s being pathetic saying that Rosie can have Taron because he likes her more and he wasn’t trying hard enough earlier and whatever shit.' 

Amelia rolled her eyes at Harry and scooted herself back so that she had her back against the cold wall. She pouted and sighed as she tried to talk herself out of her state. Alcohol was definitely a bad idea. It was a way for her to ignore Taron and Rosie being coy but it clouded her judgement so much. 

'Amelia, go for breakfast with him. Or if you don’t want to be alone with him, invite him to join the three of us in the pub.' 

'I’m scared,' Amelia replied after a little while. 

'Scared? Why?' 

Harry stayed quiet, realising that Amelia needed someone calm and unbiased to talk to her. He was definitely biassed to Taron joining them for breakfast and everyone in the room knew it. 

'Because what happens if something happens between us and we get these feelings that are too hard to ignore when I have to go home for Christmas? I can’t face more heartbreak.' 

A single tear fell down Amelia’s cheek and she did nothing to get rid of it. She was really going through all of the emotions that night and she felt like she needed a good cry. Though Harry didn’t know that, he looked at Luke in pure despair. 

'Amelia babe,' he spoke softly, reaching over his boyfriend to rest his hand on Amelia’s arm, 'You already have feelings for him. Whether something happens or not, those feelings are going to come out more when you have to go home. I know it’s hard.' 

'Do you like him?' Harry asks just as softly as Luke, breathing slowly and watching his best friend hurt without knowing how to help her. 

Amelia nodded quickly, finally looking up at her friends. Her eyes were filled with tears and her chest rose and fell irregularly. 

'Then you need to let him try,' Harry finished. 'There are ways around not being in the same place all of the time. You’re fortunate enough to be able to afford travel to come back whenever you want.' 

To: Taron :)  

Join the three of us for breakfast? In the pub. It’s on me x 

Amelia watched her phone screen as the three little dots appeared within seconds. If she didn’t know any better she’d have thought that Taron was sitting on their chat waiting for her to message. Or maybe he was going to send her a text when she sent one first. 

From: Taron :) 

You’re going to let me pay. But I’m there. What time? X

He was there. He wanted to spend time with her and her friends. Maybe he really was trying and maybe she needed to give him a chance. 

To: Taron

9:30? X 

From: Taron:) 

Perfect. Sleep well, pretty baby. x

[thesunicarusfellfor]

Hello!! Do you think you could do a part 2 of my request? An maybe a lil bit of angst with fluff where the reader comes to the mansion crying because someone hurt them?( Maybe techno or dream? Possibly jack manifold? 👀) Hopefully that's ok I just love the way you write it's so good plus it makes my day whever I read :D hopefully your day or evening is going good

<3

imhereforfan-fic : Omg can you do another yandere tubbo x reader x yandere ranboo romantic relationship please? Maybe where they get kidnapped by the dream team? Oh and adding on to my request can it also have some cuddling towards the end haha I’m touch starved and crap lol but can it a full length fic Okay okay okay. So. I'm so damn happy people loved this fic and I got two requests that I can easily add together. I hope neither of you minds too much having your requests mixed together ^^ I deadass wanna cry from how many positive reviews I've received from Too Sweet. ALSO. I'm a little wary of making romantic fics for characters Ranboo and Tubbo so I'm gonna play with the platonic marriage, just making it really fluffy and affectionate. PS: THIS ISNT AS FLUFFY AS I WANTED IT TO BE SOOOO OOOOPS. AAAAND. TOMMY ONLY TOOK ONE OF DREAM'S LIVES IN THE FINAL DISC WAR

LIKELY TO HAVE MANY ERRORS DUE TO BAD WIFI AND LACK OF SLEEP TW: Knives (+injuries that come from knives), kidnapping, taking of canon lives, Dream being power-hungry, minor panic attack, referenced strangulation.

Part One

Too Sweet (For This World) Yandere!C!Ranboo x F!Reader x Yandere!C!Tubbo Part 2

A few months had passed since you had moved into the mansion and some... How ended up involved in Ranboo and Tubbo's marriage, as well as being Michael's mother. At first, you were quite unsure about being a wife or a mother, but you saw how happy you had made the three boys and realized how happy they made you in return. In the beginning, neither of them wanted you leaving the mansion much without either of them, but then Ranboo started to notice small and minor declines in your physical and mental health. This caused him to panic and study your symptoms for a few days straight, to the point where you didn't see him once and you were genuinely scared he had lost his canon lives to the point where you kept checking your right wrist constantly for the message confirming Ranboo's death. But thankfully you never got it. When he had figured out what was causing your health to be less than absolutely perfect, he had spoken to Tubbo about letting you out of your room more often and getting you the sunlight you needed. It took a little bit to convince him, but once the goat hybrid learned that you could, or even would, become a lot sicker, he decided to allow you to go outside without them, as long as you stayed within Snowchester. You met a man the first few days you were out, who wore white glasses with blue and red lenses, and a headset with a mic, although he ran away from you the second you introduced yourself as Ranboo and Tubbo's (platonic) wife. Foolish had quickly become your friend around the same time though, which caused Tubbo and Ranboo to be a little unsure because of how he made you laugh and smile, but they noticed how you always kept him at arm's length with friendship and almost physically. Sure you didn't mind too much when he gave you a friendly side hug or pat on the head etc, but you were never really the one to initiate the contact unless you had to. Thankfully he didn't mind your awkwardness around strangers, trust issues, or lack of social exposure, so Ranboo and Tubbo didn't have to threaten a literal god. After saying goodbye to Michael for the day and putting him down for his nap, you got dressed into something more appropriate for travelling the snowy lands that Tubbo owned. Ranboo had to go to a Syndicate meeting, and Tubbo was working more on some buildings around Snowchester, saying something about prepping things to attack Dream who apparently escaped from prison? Not sure could've been rumoured or could be true? You had no clue honestly. You trusted Ranboo and Tubbo to protect you. The crackling of a few pine branches caused you to lift your eyes from the icy water below to turn your head. Walking out of the bushes were three men and one woman, pushing their way through the branches decorated with freshly fallen snow. One of the men was your crown-wearing platonic husband, although dressed up in an outfit you had never seen before, although not too far off from his normal get-up. Ranboo had a long black cape with golden edges and a high collar, held up together by a golden chain. His vest was now a deep royal purple with an eye of ender pin clasped on his tie, and his pants were half purple half black with golden designs sewn in. Beside him was a short female with shoulder-length pink hair and nicely done dark purple and black makeup. Her outfit consisted of a thick and warm lavender sweater with dark purple pants. On her hip was an enchanted netherite sword with a diamond-encrusted handle. You were quick to recognize her as Niki Nihachu, the baker who had lived in L'Manberg, but you hadn't heard much of her since the Pogtopia war. Off to the side, was a man you recognized easily as you had only seen him a few days ago when Ranboo invited him to see Michael, Philza Minecraft. His outfit wasn't too different from what he used to wear when he was a resident in the country, except for the black and gold cape and a black mask covering the bottom of his face. Then... The sight of the final male was the one to make you visibly react. A tall and buff male with a golden encrusted netherite

chest plate and a velvet red cape with gold accents as well. There was a rather majestic crown on top of his long braided pink hair and his dark eyes were narrowed behind a set of cracked glasses... His gaze pointing directly at you. Technoblade. Giving a shaky gasp, you stood up from your spot on the edge of the dock and turned to face the visitors. "Where's Tubbo," Techno growled softly, watching as you visibly trembled under his gaze. "Techno, mate. You're scarin' the hell outta her." Phil put his hand on his middle son's shoulder before stepping in front of him, blocking him from your gaze. "Hey, (Y/n), can you tell us where Tubbo is? We just have to ask him some things." "I'm here." An almost unfamiliar voice came from beside you before a hand was placed on your shoulder. When you looked over, you saw the goat hybrid with the coldest look you had seen him wear yet. "(Y/n), please, head into the mansion." Without another glance at the piglin hybrid, you quickly scurried towards the wooden mansion, faintly hearing the worried buzzing noises of your enderman husband in the distance before you slammed the large door shut. You almost ran towards your's or Michael's room in the basement, but then realized if any of them saw you heading down there, Michael's safety could be compromised. So, you quietly sat down in the living room and curled up on the couch, trying to keep your breathing stable as you fought to keep your mind off of the fact that the man who had almost killed you was standing a few feet outside the door of your home. You pinched your eyes shut and wrapped your arms around yourself, trying your best to simulate the hugs you would usually receive from your platonic husbands after a nightmare or a panic attack. ".../n)." "../n)!" "...(Y/n)!" With a terrified gasp, you flung your arms above your head to shield yourself from any oncoming attacker but only felt a gentle touch on your knee. It took a few seconds to muster up your courage, but you slowly brought your arms down and opened your eyes to come face to face with Tubbo, who immediately sat beside you and wrapped his arms around your shaking frame. After an hour or so with your face buried into Tubbo's shoulder, you felt another pair of arms wrap around you, causing you to look up and see Ranboo burying his face into your hair, "I'm so sorry... So sorry... I didn't think they would come to Snowchester..." You murmured a small, "it's okay," to him as you sat up a bit to return the hug for a few moments. Tubbo got up, murmuring something about going to get you a snack and a glass of water, knowing you must've been hungry or thirsty from panicking. After a few moments, Ranboo let go of you and briefly explained that Phil had given him some potions to help Michael adapt to the overworld, and he needed to give them to him. He rested his forehead against yours affectionately for a few seconds before turning towards the bookshelf and walking down the set of hidden stairs after opening the secret door. Once he shut it, you shuddered and rubbed your arms to get rid of the cold chill that had suddenly washed over you. Frowning slightly, you looked around for the source of the sudden cold, only to freeze as you saw the door cracked open, allowing the snow and cold wind to slip in. Ranboo wouldn't have left the door open... "Sorry kid." A deep and growly voice came from behind you, causing you to spin around and come face to face with Technoblade. The tall tusked male watched your expression go from confusion to horror in less than seconds, "It's nothing personal. Really. I just got a favour to pay off." A scream of terror escaped your lips before everything went black. "Hey, Michael!" Ranboo crouched down to greet the small zombie piglin child as he held a few potions of varying colours in his long arms, he set them and a thermos filled with a hot drink down on the table. "I got some new drinks for you to try today! Philza made them a little extra sweeter than last time." The small child squealed and made small tippy tap noises with his

hooves against the quartz flooring before he sat on the chair. He watched as his tall father sorted through the bottles carefully before uncorking one of the light red ones. Before he could pick up the small pipette, there was an almost unearthly shriek that came from the top of the stairs. "(Y/n)!" Ranboo screamed, unintentionally startling Michael, but that wasn't his main concern as he sprinted out the door then teleporting up the stairs and pushing the bookshelf door with his sword drawn and gleaming with enchantments. In his peripheral vision, he saw Tubbo dash out of the kitchen with his axe drawn and bloodlust in his eyes. Glancing around, the only thing the two men spotted was moonlight and snow spilling through the open door. Tubbo ran out without a second thought and screamed your name at the top of his lungs as he spun around, searching for any sort of sign that would give away your location. Ranboo decided to start looking around the mansion, even though part of him grasped that you wouldn't have screamed without reason. "She's gone..." Tubbo whispered, standing in the doorway, the moonlight creating a dark shadow over his wide eyes. "Footprints are leading to and away from the house, but they disappear on the docks..." Ranboo stayed still, a violent growling noise bubbling up in his throat before escaping past his lips as both his eyes turned purple. He threw his head back and took a breath to scream all his anger out, but froze upon hearing sad whimpering. He turned his head and saw Michael standing at the top of the hidden stairs, whimpering and shaking quite violently. There was part of Ranboo that refused to move, but his brain seemed to flick onto autopilot as he walked over to the child and picked him up. "Sorry... Michael... Something happened..." "Mama?" "...Mama... Won't be home for a while..." "Wake up!" A voice growled before something sharply came in contact with your cheek, shaking you awake. Your eyes shot open and came into contact with... A smiley face? "Aha... Sleeping Beauty graces us with her gaze. It's about damn time." A harsh grip landed on your jaw, making you realize there was a dull throbbing pain in your head. "Huh... Dre... Dream..?" You whispered, barely recognizing the white mask that helped destroy your home and turn it into nothing but a crater. "W-What?" His mask was lifted up enough to the point where you could see his mouth curved up into a sadistic smile. "You, my darling pawn, are just the piece I needed to make life easier for me... I just need to raise the stakes enough for them to be... Well... Stakes. I'm sure you understand." You went to move your hand to slap the gloved hand away from your face, only to give a small whine of pain as you felt a tight pinching on your wrists, making you realize that they were shackled together and likely chained to a wall. "What are you talking about you psychop- Ah!" He tightened his grip on your face to the point where you knew there would eventually be dark bruising. "I don't think you're in a position to be calling the king any names, pawn." Screams and shrieks of pain bounced off of the blank stone walls as the two people standing outside of the door put their heads down with their eyes closed. "You still sure he's doing the right thing, George? Are you still sure... He's the good guy in this story?" "You know better than to question him, Nick." "Don't call me that."

(Y/n) (L/n) was slain by Dream using Nightmare. Life: 2/3 (Y/n) (L/n) suffocated while trying to fend off Dream. Life: 1/3

"He just took two of an innocent woman's three lives. Just to use her as a hostage to make Tubbo hand over the nukes and to force Ranboo to follow his orders... He's a stranger, George. This isn't Dream anymore... Don't be stupid." Sapnap lowered his right arm that he read the messages off of and looked in the direction of his former best friend. The screams of agony were almost haunting as they echoed through Snowchester as silence fell down upon the entire Dream SMP. Shock slipped through the veins of everyone who read the message that appeared on their right wrists. - "I'm gonna kill him..." "I'm going to activate the nukes..." - "Techno... What did you do." "I owed him a favour. What he does after that is none of my business." - "...Isn't that Tubbo and Ranboo's wife?" "Yeah... She was my friend..." - "Tubbo's definitely not happy about this..." - "Ah... Atta girl..." Dream murmured in a mock soothing voice as he gently dragged his knife threateningly along your cheek. "Y'know... You would look better... With a smile." He leaned closer to you, the drawn-on eyes of his mask staring into your dull and tear-filled eyes as a stinging pain came from the corner of your lips. "Sh, sh, Relax... They're just shallow cuts, they won't even leave a scar. I'm not a monster." Time had passed quickly, but also excruciatingly slowly. You had no clue how long you had been down here, or how long you had been dead in between respawns. Dream just didn't seem to be leaving you alone. "Now..." He flipped the switchblade closed and threw it in his pocket before tremours shook the earth below and around you. "What the fUCK?!" He growled deeply before the door slammed open. "How did they even find this place!?" The door was blown off its hinges with a loud bang, causing Dream to duck out of the way of the flying piece of scrap. Light flooded into the room as you shut your eyes tightly, your ears ringing from the explosion. Once your eyes got a little bit adjusted, you opened them and saw five figures in the newly widened doorway. "Let's just say... It was an anonymous tip." "Sapnap?! You dare betray me?!" The black-haired male fell silent as he turned around and walked out, putting his hand on the shoulder of the tallest silhouette in the doorway as he walked by. Once you got completely used to the new light, you began to recognize the figures. Tommy, Tubbo, Foolish, and Ranboo. Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo immediately ran forward and started a barrage of attacks on the masked psychopath while Foolish ran over and began to work on the chains binding you to the chair. After getting them off of you, he silently picked you up as you turned your head to look at the blond, brunet and monochrome boys. Dream's mask got knocked off and was thrown across the room as he was pinned below a growling Ranboo, whose skin looked almost purely black from your angle. Tommy was off to the side, rummaging through Dream's equipment, he already got his revenge when Dream was put into prison, this was Ranboo and Tubbo's revenge now.

"̷̛̲̪͝Ỳ̵̧̖͒̉o̸̟̔̆û̶̩̟̍͊'̸̧̺̎̉ṟ̷̰͘ế̴͍̰̎ ̶̤͆̎̒g̶̭̋̇o̸͍̐͑i̸̼̟̾ņ̷͊̈́̈́ĝ̷̰̤̈́ ̵̘̉t̵͖͠ȯ̸͎ ̴͎̐̈́r̸̰͙̾̑͝e̸͚͌͑g̴̛̗̦͑ř̷̳̳̱e̵̲̿̕ṫ̶̨͓͗ ̷̢͊E̷̬̪͒͊͂V̷̟̒͝Ë̸̜R̷͐̄̏ͅ ̶̲̟̤͗͋t̴̝̎o̵̖̐ư̴̞̾̇c̶̡̙̐h̵̹̜̣̒͂̂į̴̙̤͠n̴̤̼̻̅̚ǧ̵̹̙̌͜ ̵̥̞̏m̶̱̳̦͗̌y̴̱̮͒̒̄ ̶̮̈͑͆f̸͉̽̄à̵̹͠m̵͕̓̅͋í̸͇̩͔̿l̷̰̫̳͗͑y̸̡͌̊́.̶͓̇͝"̸̡͆ ("You're going to regret EVER touching my family.") Ranboo hissed lowly before he and Tubbo began applying weight to the sword pressed against the speedrunner's chest. You shut your eyes tightly for a moment before you felt a bottle press into your hands, causing you to re-open your eyes to see Foolish trying to hand you a healing potion. You eagerly took a small sip from it, feeling the small slices on your cheeks form back together and the pain from the bruises around your neck vanishing completely.

Dream was slain by Ranboo and Tubbo using Ranord

There was a clattering noise before two sets of footsteps running in your direction. Slowly tilting your head in their direction, you saw Tubbo with dark bags under his eyes and Ranboo with plenty more scars on his cheeks from tears. You were pulled from Foolish's arms and brought down to sitting on Tubbo's and Ranboo's laps, their arms completely wrapped around you. The goat hybrid was nuzzled under your chin while the enderman's face was buried in your hair. "We should have come sooner..." "We shouldn't have even left you alone in the mansion..." "I'm sorry... I should have never left the manor..."

[theonewiththefanfics]

Don’t Worry, Darling (one-shot)

Synopsis: Falling in love with a co-star is something that can hurt, especially when it seems like they’re talking to other people behind your back, but falling in love with a co-star and being unable to help when they’re sick, is even worse.

Pairing: Harry Styles x fem!Reader

Genre: angst, fluff, SMUT 

Warnings: COVID-19, sickness, swearing, SMUT (fingering, m going down on f, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it))

Word count: 11 968 (yoikes)

Please note I’m not trying to make light of the pandemic or the virus and those impacted by it. It’s a very real and serious thing, which is why I decided to use it. Please stay safe and healthy, follow the local health guidelines and if you have the ability please get vaccinated. Let’s keep ourselves and one another safe, frens :)

When Y/N got the call she’d gotten the role of Jack’s ex-wife who’d disappeared in mysterious circumstances, she was over the moon. As a Marvel alumnus, she was excited to work with Florence, as she’d loved Midsommar, and knowing she was going to be one of the new faces carrying the next Marvel chapter, she wanted to get to know her. Having played Tony Stark’s adopted daughter since the age of six, she was very protective of the franchise but was excited to see where it’d go.

      Then Shia LaBeouf, Chris Pine as well with Dakota Johnson’s announcements coming soon after, Y/N got even more stoked, and with Olivia Wilde leading all of them, she was sure the movie would be a hit.

      Shia and Dakota had to drop out due to scheduling issues (which Y/N couldn’t lie – she was kind of happy Shia couldn’t do it), and that's where Harry Styles took over the role of Jack with Kiki Layne Dakota’s Margaret.

      Now, when Y/N had seen Harry’s picture next to the re-cast e-mail the whole production had been sent out, she might’ve had a little (a massive, like a ginormous) freak-out. As much as she’d grown up listening to classic rock, due to Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man, she’d been an avid One Direction fan. Like to the point, it might even seem a bit creepy. Y/N had sort of grown out of the obsessive phase of it all, but most definitely admired the solo albums they’d been able to produce, and when Dunkirk came out, she was excited to see Harry join the acting world, with the amount of talent he had.

      The first table read was sort of awkward, and definitely the weirdest one, given how a pandemic had started, and everyone was at their respective homes using Zoom. 

      Y/N and Florence had been the first to join the conversation about half an hour before the official beginning, and by the time everyone else did, they were crying from laughter and had to excuse themselves from their computers to collect whatever remaining composure they had. 

      “You two alright?” Oliva Wilde had raised her eyebrow, as the women re-joined, still chuckling. “Will we have to use body doubles for the scenes you two are in?”

      “No!

      “Nohooo!” both of them yelled through laughter. “We’ll be as professional as professionals are. Which is very professional.”

      Then Y/N made the mistake of glancing at Florence’s square, and the two busted out laughing again, spewing apologies in between, but no one seemed to really mind. In fact, it looked like they appreciated how casual and open everyone was being, hoping the set wouldn’t be stiff either when they moved onto filming.

      And for the two women, it wasn’t really. Actually, they grew closer than ever. The amount of time Florence spent in Y/N’s trailer was to the point that the two started to talk about just moving in together. After scouring the nearby apartments for rent, they settled on a three-bedroom apartment, as two-bedroom ones were non-existent. 

      When Harry grew closer to them as well, given how he spent quite some time with both women, they suggested he move in as well.

      “You know, what? I changed my mind. You’re taking away our closet, and I don't like that,” Y/N pouted, watching as Florence lifted a pile of her clothes and moved it to her room. “That’s not very ‘treat people with kindness’ of you.”

      All he did was flick a finger at her forehead, which Y/N swatted away with a smile. When he’d double-checked about moving in with them (which, mind you was the seventh time, and half his stuff was already there), the two women were ecstatic. They got along amazingly on set and basically having a sleepover with friends every night suited all of them quite well. 

      At that moment, Y/N was sitting on the edge of her bed, knitting while Harry painted all of their toes and Florence put on facemasks.

      “Wine!” Y/N suddenly exclaimed, almost knocking over the light blue nail polish bottle as she jumped up, throwing her needles back on the bed. “We need wine!”

      “Do not ruin my masterpiece!” Harry hollered after her, as she waddled away on her heels, toes separated by foam and hight up in the air. She even had to manoeuvre around the carpet to avoid any hairs and fibres that could get stuck inside the still wet lacquer.

      It took her a second to find a bottle all three of them could enjoy, given their tastes were so different – Y/N preferred sweet and red, and didn’t care if it was a three-dollar bottle from Target, Harry had a bit more of an expensive pallet, giving preference to something with a more of a lingering aftertaste and in the higher ranges of price point, while Florence liked rosé and white wines.  

      Taking two glasses in one hand and the bottle with a third glass between her fingers, she shuffled back to her room when she heard the two muttering something in low voices before Harry whispered harshly, “I’m not telling Y/N that!” 

      “Won’t me what?” Y/N’s question made him and Florence spring back where they’d been engaged in a heated conversation when she re-entered the room, putting the wine bottle and glasses on the nightstand.

      Florence waved her off, giving her a smile, she didn’t believe in. “Nothing. Now come on, Harry will do your fingernails now, and I think it’s about time the mask came off.”

      And that’s when Y/N’s heart dropped. She’d been in the industry long enough to know how fake people could be, how they could put on smiles so inviting and friendly while hiding their true intentions behind them. She just didn’t think two people she’d found so genuine and sweet would be like that.

      And the thing was – it wasn’t the first time she’d heard the two whispering like that and hushing up when they saw her enter the room or even come somewhere near to them. 

In the beginning, Y/N had chalked it up to the two being closer, given they had to spend more time together, so they knew one another better, but this time sort of solidified it wasn’t the fact the two were closer, it had to deal with Y/N specifically.

      So, she started to distance herself. She’d had enough users in her life to last her for the rest of it. Y/N excused herself from the movie nights they had on most Fridays, she no longer joined in on the cooking sessions and mostly spent time in her room, or on work calls.

      When she re-entered the flat, four weeks after their falling out, they watched as she nodded to them, and went inside her room, closing the door, much like she’d been doing for the past thirty days. 

      “Do you think she knows?” Harry asked, brows furrowed and bottom lip between his teeth as he hoped the doors would open, yet, obviously, they didn’t. 

      “Well, I haven’t told her, and unless you did, then I doubt it…”

      Harry stood up, running a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna talk to her.”

      “You think it’s a good idea?”

      “No, but if she’s upset maybe she needs to talk to someone.”

      “Or maybe she wants to be alone.”

      Harry bit his lip thinking over Florence’s words. When he was upset about something, he himself did like to kind of retreat and become a little bit of a recluse, to sort out his emotions before anyone else tried to jump in and help with it, but the thing was – Y/N’s distancing started the night when she’d walked in on the two of them arguing, and it’d been about the girl in question herself, so he shook his head. “I’ll just ask if she’s alright.”

      He took a deep breath and went to enter the room he hadn’t seen in almost a month. “Hey.” Harry poked his head through Y/N’s door, making her swirl around in her chair. She looked adorable to him. She’d changed into a big fluffy nightgown, the hood up, a headband pushing hair away from her face with a green facemask covering her skin. The domestic life flashed through Harry’s head like a freight train, as it was something he craved, but pushed it away. There was no daydreaming before figuring out what was in front of him in reality. “You okay?”

      “ 'M fine.” She shot him a quick smile. “Why? Did Olivia send something new for the script?”

      “Um, no, ‘s just you’ve been, I dunno – detached a bit?”

      “Look, Harry… I may be younger than you, but I’ve been in this industry longer than you or Florence.” Y/N stood and shrugged before crossing her arms. “And the thing is – I don’t care for shit like that. So, you two can gossip and whisper and talk whatever you want about me behind my back. Everyone else is doing that so, you’re not that special. But’ I’d prefer if you did it somewhere else besides my room, my space, and I’ll say this once, but very clearly – we’re not friends. I don’t need friends like you. We’ll be civil and we’ll do our jobs, but…” Harry’s heart broke at her eyes, seeing the pain in them as she nodded and made sure he understood where she stood. “We’re not friends.”

      She didn’t leave any room for argument. When Harry left, Y/N didn’t even look over her shoulder to see him exit.

      The next couple of mornings she didn’t see them leave nor come back, seeing as Y/N had the week off from filming, but the morning of the seventh day was awkward as hell, given how all of them had to go and get tested, and well, they had their allocated time slots one after the other. Usually, they’d take one car together, but this time, Y/N drove off on her own, while Harry and Florence carpooled on their own.

      The tests were always nerve-wracking. If one person went down, the whole production did for at least two weeks. And as much as she hated going in alone, she was glad no one was with her in the car, because as she stepped out, a certain notion swept over her that this would be a lot different than usual.

      A doctor dressed head to toe in protective gear motioned for her to sit down, as another processed her ID and work ID. Her leg was bouncing up and down the whole time, and he eyed her. If she could see his lips, she was sure they’d be pursed. “Anything wrong?” He handed her back the IDs before moving to the table where a set of large q-tips seemed to lay in sterile packs.

      Y/N sighed, biting her lip and nodded. “Woke up with a sore throat and a small cough appeared on my way here as well. I wiped and cleaned everything down at the apartment I’m staying at and wore gloves and a mask the whole time.”

      “Anything else?” the doctor asked, writing down each word as Y/N said. “The feeling of breaking bones, fever, muscle pain, eyes hurting when you look up, lost sense of smell or taste?”

      “No, nothing like that. Just a sore throat and a small cough.”

The doctor let out a large sigh, probably from having to wear a full-on hazmat suit. “Alright. Just for safety reasons, so we know who’s a potential contact person, who are you staying with?”

      “Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. We’re renting an apartment together.”

      “Do you know if they’ve had any symptoms?”

      “No,” Y/N shook her head honestly. “And I haven’t really interacted with them this past week, as they’ve been on set, and I didn’t have any scenes to film, and by the time they get back, I’m already asleep, and I’m still asleep when they leave so there’s been no direct contact. We have our own kitchenware, so there shouldn’t be any direct contact. I think.”

      That last bit was half-true, seeing as she hadn’t been asleep when they came back, but she might as well have been. The second Y/N heard the door click, she’d place her headphones on or leave the room, only glimpsing the two faces falling as she did that.

      The doctor clearing his throat and motioning for Y/N to open her mouth so he could take a swab and then to do the same for both her nostrils, was what brought her out of it. She was so used to it, it was like nothing at that point. “Okay. We’ll need you to stay in the car while the test is being run, and if it comes back positive, you’ll be placed in a separate flat, as to not endanger the rest.”

      Her ‘alright’ was barely audible. Fuck. It just felt like the universe was against her. First, the two people she’d gotten closest to were whispering behind her back and being fake to her face, now she might have a super contagious virus to which there was no medicine really, nor was there a vaccine, let alone the thought she’d have to miss filming for potentially more than two weeks.

      The thirty minutes of wait were agonizing, her leg bouncing up and down. Y/N’s eyes kept watching the line of cars slowly move forward through the tent and then settle behind hers. She knew Harry was about five cars away, and she was glad he wasn’t closer. They weren’t really allowed to get out of their vehicles while the tests were being run, and Y/N didn’t think she’d be able to not look back at him through her review mirror. 

      Two more minutes passed when finally, one of the med students in the full hazmat suit came up and knocked on her car window.

      “Miss Y/L/N?”

      “Yes?” 

      “ID please.” It was standard so that no med info got leaked. The only reason she had to rummage through her stuff was, because she’d bite the little plastic card in half if she didn’t throw it somewhere deep inside her bag.

      “So.” The man sighed, and he didn’t need to elaborate. Y/N understood, but still, he had to confirm it to her. “Your test came back positive for COVID-19. The production has been informed, and for safety reasons, everyone will have to self-isolate for two weeks.”

      Y/N’s head slammed against the back of the seat. “Fuck. Okay.”

      “Because so far, you’re the only positive case, you’ll be placed into quarantine. We’ll need the address you’re staying at, and if you need anything from your apartment, we can send someone over to grab a few things. You’ll have to follow the black SUV right there.” He pointed further down the lot where indeed a black SUV stood. “They’ll take you to where the quarantine apartments are. Is there anything immediate you’ll need?”

      “I – uh – I need my pills, my birth control that is. I take it every evening. Computer, chargers. That’s the most immediate I can think of. Maybe some food? I didn’t get the chance to eat breakfast.”

      Even through the mask, Y/N could see the man smile. “Well arrange that. In the meantime, here’s the number for the coordinators who’ll get you the rest of your things and deliver them to you.”

      “Thank you. I’ll call my assistant, and she’ll drive down to the apartment. She knows where everything is.”

      “Have you been in close contact with her?”

      “Just through the phone. She hasn’t been on set in almost a month, as I told her only to come when it’s an emergency… Guess this is it.” Y/N let out an awkward chuckle.

      And truly that was it. With one last motion as to where the SUV stood, she started back up the engine, reversed out of the spot and followed the car to where the ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ production had set up a few quarantine apartments, specifically for actors and crew, speed-dialling her assistant Anna and letting her know of the situation.

      “Shit, girl,” she’d cursed. “That sucks.”

      “Tell me about it.”

      “Okay,” Anna huffed. “Do you have a spare key for the apartment by any case or do I need to go down to the lot and ask Harry or Florence?”

      “Both of them will be at the apartment, given how everything’s shut down, so they should be able to open the door for you. Hopefully, if both of them are negative. If not, call me, I’ll tell you where we hide the spare. Thank you, Anna.”

      “Of course.”

      As Y/N pulled up behind the SUV, a man and a woman in face guards and masks stepped out. She ended the call and stepped out as well, pulling on a cloth face mask, an envelope in their hands, which they handed to her.

      “Your flat’s on the third floor, 367. When you have the list of things you need, forward them to us, and we’ll gather your things.”

      Y/N nodded and gave them a tight smile. “Thank you. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

      With a sigh, she took her bag and entered the complex. As much as she’d only had a small cough in the morning and a sore throat, walking up those flights of stairs made her winded more than it usually would. Maybe it was the knowledge she had a sickness, or maybe it was stress about missing work and putting everyone on lockdown, or maybe it was the combination of it all with her falling out with Harry and Florence on top.

      She placed the key in the lock and twisted, revealing a studio type apartment, and it was so bare it made her heart clench. As much as she felt awkward being around Florence and Harry, their flat was a bit messy, had little pieces of clothing thrown around, giant knitted blankets on the sofas, a candle always lit whenever someone was home. Harry’s shoes were typically all over the place while Y/N’s make up was scattered around everywhere. Literally. Florence and Harry had gotten back early one morning from a night shoot and found her looking under the sofas for one of her lash glues as she started to get ready for the day. They’d made that flat their home for the time being. This… this was nothing like that.

      She threw the keys on the small kitchen counter and shrugged off her jacket. They was going to be a long two weeks. At best.

 ***

       Back at their place, Florence and Harry were pacing around, having heard the news that someone was positive, and everything had to shut down for the time being, yet Y/N was nowhere to be seen when a knock at the door disrupted them.

      Harry was there and flinging it open in a matter of a second, only to be stopped by Anna instead of Y/N.

      “Hey.” His brows furrowed as she and two people all wearing masks and gloves entered. “What’s going on? Is Y/N alright?”

      Anna sighed, nodding her head for the two strangers to go towards the woman’s room. “She was the one who tested positive for the virus. Gave me a list of the things she’d need while in quarantine. We’re here to pick ‘em up and get them to her.”

      “And she’s not doing that here?”

      “Per the safety instructions, she’s been placed in a separate flat in self-isolation.”

      “She could’ve done that here. We’d be fine with it,” Florence butted in, arms crossed over her chest. “We’re more than willing to take care of her. She’ll need someone to help her.”

      “You both tested negative.” One of the people piped up, carrying a box of books and yarn. “I’m sorry, but she’ll have to quarantine separately until she’s no longer infected. She’s under the supervision of doctors, and she knows if an emergency happens, they’ll be there in ten minutes tops. I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be.”

      Harry sighed, nodding as the people exited their place, but before Anna could leave, he took hold of her bicep. “Hey, can you please tell her to call me? I just wanna talk.”

      “I uh – ” Anna furrowed her brows, showing Harry that Y/N hadn’t said anything to her about the falling out they’d had. “I’ll uh, yeah. I’ll do that.”

      With that he was left to close the door and just wait for… anything.

 ***

       In the two hours Y/N had spent in the apartment, she already felt like going insane, having been left alone with her thoughts, so how she was going to do another two weeks after finally getting back into the rhythm of work was beyond her. She didn’t have any of her knitting supplies, didn’t have any of her books (yet), and most likely there was no reason to look at her script anymore, as she’d made up her mind about a lot of things. 

      There was a knock at the door, and Y/N instantly had a mask on her face and gloves on her hands. She peeped through the peephole and when she saw boxes lined in the hallway, three people in masks and faceguards at least six feet away, only then did she open the door and give them a wave.

      “Everything should be here, but if you need anything else just pop me a message.” Anna then pointed at a bag that sat atop everything. “There are the most important things, so you don’t have to rummage through everything and a pizza is on the way while I do some grocery shopping for you. And umm, there’s a paper you need to sing that you know you need to be in self-isolation and that you understand what happens if you’re not.”

      Y/N hoped all of them understood she was smiling underneath the mask, grateful for having them help her out like that. “Thank you. So much.”

      She rushed inside found a pen and signed it, moving between the boxes to place the papers on the stairs so that they could be safely retrieved. With that, the two assigned people left, leaving Anna to say goodbye.

      “Call me.” She pointed at Y/N. “No matter what, even if you just wanna talk for five seconds.”

      “Will do.” Y/N nodded and gave her a thumbs up. “If I could, I’d hug you.”

      Anna sighed, cocking her head. “Same. And umm, Harry told me to ask you to call him.”

      “Yeah, uh thank you.” She knew he probably wanted to talk, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise, but it still made her stumble on her words. “Take care, Anna.”

      “You too.”

***

       The next two days Y/N spent worrying as to how to present her decisions to the cast and crew. She felt worse with every hour, and with that had come her thought process, but as much as everyone was going to be impacted by what she was going to do, Olivia would be the one dealing with it most, so later that night she hopped on a Zoom call with her director.

      “Hey, girl.” Olivia gave her a warm smile, and Y/N almost melted. God, she loved that woman. She was like the older sister she never had. “How are you doing?”

      “I’m alright. Feelin’ kind of woozy from time to time, throat’s killing me, and I’m fairly certain I’m getting abs from how much I’m coughing.” That made both of them chuckle before Y/N bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair. “Look,” she sighed, looking at Olivia. “The reason I called you is that umm… well, I think it’d be a lot more cost-effective for you to re-cast me. We’ve barely shot one scene with me. I’ll be out of commission for two weeks, as a minimum. It could get worse. And I’m definitely not going to be back before I get two negative consecutive tests.”

      Olivia shook her head, running down her hands over her face and then through her hair. “Y/N, I really don’t want to do this. There’s a reason we cast you. You’re amazing, and yours and Harry’s chemistry is off the charts. We’re all quarantining for two weeks, and I’m sure you’ll be fine in no time, back on set and killing it like you always do.”

      “You don’t know that.”

      “Of course, I do! Nothing’s gonna happen to you.”

      “All I’m saying it could take up to a month to get those two negative tests. By that point, you could’ve shot at least a fourth of my scenes. Olivia…” Y/N gave her a small, sad smile. “I know you know I’m right. I hate to pass on this, but I won’t hinder the production. If you want my input, I’ll help with the re-casting, if it takes the guilt away.”

      “I still feel like shit this is an option we even have to consider.”

      “’S not your fault. You didn’t get me sick. We should be happy it’s just me, not someone else or more than one person.”

            ***

      For two more days, it was radio silence from Y/N, and Harry and Florence were anxious messes. If they could distract themselves from the falling out while on set, then now, having to be cooped up inside the apartment with pretty much nothing to do, was so much worse, not to mention Y/N declined all of their calls and left their messages on read, leaving the only option for checking in either through Anna or what she decided to share on her social media, which wasn’t a lot. But the thing was, Harry knew his best bet was to call Y/N in the middle of the night. Disorientated and barely awake, she probably wouldn’t look at the caller ID once. And he was right.

      A bleary face appeared on his screen, eyes squinting as she tried to block out as much of the light as possible. “Hello?” Her voice was scratchy, and Harry’s heart clenched at just how much pain her throat must be in, let alone how she was feeling as a whole.

      “Hey, there, lovie.”

      It took her a second to comprehend the person who was speaking, and she’d be lying if she said hearing Harry’s voice didn’t bring her some sort of joy. “Hey, H. Are you alright? Why are you still up?”

      “I couldn’t sleep. Kept thinking about you.”

      Y/N hummed, rolling on her side, and immediately regretting it as the action elicited a coughing fit. “Yeah?” she asked hoarsely. “ ’Nd what about me?”

      ‘How shitty I feel about everything’, ‘I miss you’, ‘I’m so fucking terrified’, but instead he asked, “How are you doing?”

      “Alright,” Y/N croaked out before her body was racked with coughs once more. Harry’s own chest hurt just hearing them. “Fever’s finally down, so I’m getting some sort of sleep. Throat’s killing me though, and they’ve hooked me up to an IV. They’ll be coming in two hours or so to change the bag. How are you?” she asked quietly. “How’s Florence?”

      “She’s alright. Upset. Just like I am.”

      Y/N’s brows furrowed. “Why’re you upset?”

      “Are you kidding me? You’re sick, alone in quarantine and… and we can’t help you. I can’t help you.”

      A genuine chuckle escaped her. “Didn’t know you had a medical degree, Styles. Could be my personal nurse. Fetch me my water and shit.”

      “No, but at least I’d like to be there for you.”

      “Harry…” 

      “I like you,” he said after taking a deep breath, hoping that the break he’d heard in Y/N’s voice as she’d said his name wasn’t just because of the sickness, but because her heart thudded just as fast as his when he thought of them together, that her mind reeled with the possibilities of where their futures could take them and that whenever they touched, she could feel the electricity that ran through his fingertips, igniting his whole body. “That’s what Florence and I were whispering about all the time. Is that I’m madly crushing on you, and I couldn’t gather the courage to say it to you.”

      A strong coughing fit made her drop the phone on the bed and lean over, as she gasped for breath, and through it all, all Harry wanted was to be there. Fuck him possibly getting the virus, as long as he could make it easier for her in some way. 

      “ ’M sorry,” Y/N whispered, trying to keep her voice as low as possible as to not aggravate her throat. “Harry, I’m so sorry.”

      “Hey, there’s nothing to apologise. You’re sick, you can’t help –”

      “No,” she shook her head. “I’m sorry I assumed you and Florence were talking bad behind my back. I never should’ve done that. And this is not an excuse, I’m not trying to shift the blame from being in the wrong, but I like you too.” She gave him a shy grin that he thought was as bright as the sun. “I really like you too, Harry. I think that’s why it hurt so much to hear you two whispering ‘bout something. And thinking it was about me, and it was something bad, hurt even more, ‘cause I really connected with Flo, and I kinda, well I kind of fell for you. Hard.”

      “You did?” His tone was like he didn’t believe what his ears were hearing.

      “Yeah. A lot actually… I – I really like you, Harry.”

      He couldn’t explain how his heart expanded in his chest while simultaneously was being crushed by his inability to help, by the distance between them, while the hope that glimmered in his eyes at Y/N’s words made her heart break as much as his was, when he asked, “So you won’t resign?”

“Harry,” Y/N made her voice as tough as it could sound with her condition. “I told them to re-cast me not because of you. I’ve been on enough sets and worked with enough pricks, and still gotten the job done. Genuinely, this is not because of you or Florence. I just – I just don’t want to hold up production. You’ll all be out in what – twelve days or something? I’ll be here for at least twice that, if everything goes the way it’s going right now.”

      “I don’t want anyone else to play Larie. You are my Larie,” he muttered, which made Y/N smile, but in a true Y/N fashion she just wanted to make others feel better. 

      “You do know Jack murders Larie in the middle of the night.”

      Harry’s mouth opened like a fishes’ while Y/N’s mouth pulled up in a grin. “That’s – that’s not what I mean, and you know it!”

      Both of them were laughing now, all tension having evaporated. 

      “I know.” She bit on her lower lip. “But um… we’ve gotta be practical. I sent Olivia my resignation letter already, and she signed.”

      She saw Harry sigh and throw back his head at her words. 

      “ ’M sorry, Haz. I didn’t want to but –”

      “I know.” His smile was gentle, understanding. “You always put everyone before yourself. God, this just sucks major ass.”

      “Trust me,” Y/N started before being interrupted by another major coughing fit. “I –,” she took in a breath. “I know.”

      Her heart cracked seeing Harry’s face and his green eyes, the eyes she’d gotten lost in more times than she’d ever admitted being lined by tears. “I wish I could help you.”

      “But you are. Just by – by talking to me, by keeping my mind off things. You’re helping me more than you’ll ever know.”

      “When you get out, I’m taking you on a date.”

      Y/N couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on her face. For the first time in a while, she felt good, despite being sick. “Is that a threat, Styles?”

      “It’s a fucking promise.”

      That night she fell asleep listening to Harry talking, seeing as it became harder and harder for her to do so, so he just took over, telling her stories that lulled her to dreamland where he was there, and she could touch him. 

      The following days she also had calls with Florence and the rest of her cast to explain the situation, but she wasn’t doing much talking anymore, and one night they’d even seen her almost throw up from coughing so much, which broke everyone’s hearts. They were lucky the only Covid case before Y/N had been a light one, so witnessing just how brutal it could be, made everyone appreciate what they had, but at the same time, feel as helpless as ever.

      A week and a half in, that was when shit really hit the fan. Despite her feeling shitty the previous days, now Y/N woke up from the feeling as if she was drowning. She’d fallen asleep while talking with Harry on FaceTime, his features illuminated on her phone. At first, she thought it was just her dream still lingering and causing that effect, but when after a minute or so her lungs still remained on fire, she knew she had to dial the doctors.

      In five minutes’ time, an ambulance was at her door, and it was a miracle she’d been able to get out of bed to open it because the second she did, her whole body pretty much collapsed into the arms of one of the nurses. 

*** 

      “Come on,” Harry muttered into the phone, pulling on a pair of trousers as quickly as possible and a knitted sweater he took from the floor as he immediately tried to redial her, having heard the call drop. “Come on! Pick up, Y/N!” Her voicemail answered instead.

      “Damn it!”

      It took Harry seven minutes with the way he was driving to get to her assigned isolation place, only to be greeted by red and blue flashing lights, an ambulance right in front of the entrance, and it took Harry five seconds to feel his heart drop as a team of three doctors wheeled out a gurney on which lay Y/N, face covered in a mask, an IV stuck inside her arm while a huge plastic cover domed over her body.

      Without even thinking about himself or his safety, Harry jumped out of his car, rushing towards the ambulance.

      “Sir.” One of the doctors extended a palm towards him, keeping him back as Harry tried to get towards the inside of the car. “Sir, you can’t be here.”

      “Is that Y/N?” Harry felt like he was spinning out of control, and his mind was dizzy from not being able to take in a proper breath. “Is – is that Y/N?” 

      “Are you family?”

      “I –,” Harry so desperately wanted to say yes, to say he was her boyfriend at least, but he couldn’t lie. “No, I’m just her collegue – friend! I’m her friend. Is she alright?”

      “Okay, well is there anyone we can contact from her family?”

      Harry nodded, knowing that her mum and dad were on her emergency contact lists. “But her family is out of the country, and they won’t be able to fly out with all the restrictions in place.”

      “Alright.” The doctor sighed before looking back inside the car. In a way, Harry was happy he couldn’t see Y/N because he was sure if he did, he’d completely break down and crumble to the ground. “We’ll contact her parents, but if you could leave us your number as an emergency contact on place that’d be a lot of help.”

      “Okay, uh…” Harry took in a deep breath, held it for five seconds and then let it out before reciting the number he used while in the USA and his permanent UK number as well, so he could be reachable anywhere and at any point in day or night, no matter the time. 

      “Well keep you up to date.”

      And with that, the ambulance doors shut, and they rushed away, the vailing of sirens echoing in the dark night, leaving Harry with a hand in his hair, tears streaming down his cheeks and without a clue as to what to do.

***

      In the end, Harry had gone back to his car and cried for what felt like ages, but instead, it was just twenty minutes. He pulled himself together but was still shaking as he made his way back to the flat where Florence basically ripped open the door. Seeing his face told her everything she needed to know.

      “She’ll be alright,” the woman muttered as she soothed Harry by rubbing a palm up and down his back, letting him hide his face in her shoulder. “It’s Y/N. She’d pull through an atomic bomb.”

      They spent the rest of the night and the following day on the couch, glued to Harry’s phone waiting for any sort of updates. From time to time a text message came from the hospital letting them know what procedures were being done on Y/N, that her parents have been informed, and if necessary, they’d allowed Harry to be the main contact person because of his proximity to their daughter.

      Three days later and the quarantine for the rest of the cast and crew ended, yet when they returned to the set, everyone was in low spirits. Especially, Harry – he was miserable. Every moment spent not reciting lines or acting was occupied with the thoughts of Y/N, how she was doing, was she improving, was she still breathing, how he wanted to just ditch everything and run to her, to help in whatever way he could.

      “This sucks,” Florence grumbled, arms crossed over her chest as they took a break while re-setting already in for the fifth day of filming, eight since Y/N’d been in the hospital. “Can’t believe they won’t allow a phone in with her.”

      “It’s the same policy for everyone, but trust me,” Harry sighed and looked up at the bright blue sunny sky above. “The number of times I got out of my bed in the middle of the night and had the car keys in hand is ridiculous. And the number of times I’ve thought about breaking into that hospital is even more concerning.”     

      Florence let out a small chuckle and nudged his shoulder. “I’d cover for you if you did. As long as she doesn’t have to be there alone.” She hung her head, blond strands falling down to curtain her face. “Can’t imagine how scared she must be.”

      Harry just sighed. There really wasn’t anything he could say. 

      Something vibrated in his pocket, but he no longer furrowed his brows when unknown numbers called, knowing it was from the hospital. It was nerve-wracking though to pick up the call each time because he had to mentally prepare himself for the possibility of bad news, even though he always hoped for good ones. 

      “Yes, hi. Hello. I – oh,” he put a hand over his mouth and sagged down onto a chair. “Oh, thank god, thank you, doctor. Yeah. Yes, I’ll let her know, and someone will be there to open the flat. Thank you again. For everything.”

      He took away the phone from his ear and stared at the ground for a minute before leaping up and hugging Florence, laughter escaping his mouth.

      “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong, it’s the opposite. Y/N’s out of the hospital.”

      “Oh thank god!” Her hands flew to hug him back.

      “She’ll have to stay in self-isolation until the two negative tests and will be monitored by the doctors, but she’s out.”

        Immediately he was dialling her, and Harry had never been as happy for the invention of a video call, because when he saw Y/N’s face light up the screen, as tired as she looked, it was the most beautiful sight that graced his eyes.

      “Hey, lovie.” His voice was soft and low as if anything louder would worsen her state.

      Her ‘hey’ was barely audible, but he heard it, and it made the weight of a boulder drop off his shoulders.

      “I’m so – I mean we all are so happy you’re back home.”

      Y/N smiled, shaking her head. “I’m happy too,” she whispered. “I missed you. Missed everyone, but most of all I missed you.”

      Harry was happy they were separated by a screen because if she was anywhere in a five-mile radius, he was sure she would be able to hear his heart beat out of his ribcage at her words. “How are you feeling?”

      “ ‘M alright,” Y/N tried to let him know. “Very tired.”

      “Then get back to sleep, lovie.”

      Y/N shook her head. “Wanna talk to you.”

      “I’ll keep talking,” Harry promised. “Like we did before, okay.”

      “Okay…”

      And so, he did. He kept talking as Y/N listened, and he watched as her eyes slowly closed before she drifted off to sleep. Even though Harry had to go back to filming, he didn’t dare end the call. He’d never end the call. 

***

      It took a month and a half for Y/N to get those two consecutive negative tests, to feel somewhat human again and when she did, she probably garnered at least seven speeding tickets with how fast she was driving down to the set.

      It was the most inconspicuous outfit she could scramble together, consisting of a hoodie and baseball cap, as she watched Harry as Jack lean down to peck the actress’s lips, then step into the vintage car and rev out in the driveway, while a dishevelled Florence started the scene from the side, eyes racking over Jack’s first wife, who was dressed the exact same way, hair styled like hers and even nails painted the same, her character putting all the puzzle pieces together. 

      “And cut!” Olivia yelled across the lot, nudging Y/N’s side and giving her a smirk. “He’s gonna freak. You’re all he’s been talking about on set. We almost had to put a ban on you as a topic,” she muttered that part so only the woman could hear while telling everyone to re-set, so they could do the scene from another angle, but not before asking the three actors to come and look at the monitors so they could understand how to move in order to keep the continuity.

      Y/N moved to the side, ducking her head down as Harry, Florence and Mandy, the actress that took over her role, all leaned closer to watch the monitors. Y/N had to bite on her lip to keep the grin away, as all of them analysed their movements and the scene, nodding along to what Olivia was saying.

      “Y/L/N, what do you think?” Olivia asked, grinning. 

      Y/N stepped forward a bit, seeing all of their shocked faces through her peripheral, as she pointed to the screen, lifting her head so that everyone could see her face fully. “I think it’s great, you might want to step to the side a bit more, Harry, when –” but she was unable to finish the sentence as he swooped her in his arms, lifting her basically off the ground, and burying his face in her neck.

      “Watch the hair! Daniele will have a fit if you ruin her masterpiece!” Y/N laughed, holding one of her hands on the base of his neck, the other tightly wrapped around his shoulders, but he just shook his head, and she could feel tears splash her skin.

      “Fuck the hair!” He let out a small chuckle, and she could hear the lump in his throat. “I’ve missed you so much. I was so scared.”

      “Same,” Y/N whispered. “Missed you like crazy. And your stupid, unfunny dad jokes.”

      “ ‘M hilarious, lovie, what are you talking about?”

      He finally set her down but didn’t let go of her waist, and she smiled cupping his cheeks. “A true comedian, that’s what you are.”

      “I know. Why’dya think I got that SNL slot?”

      But his eyes, as he gazed into hers once more glassed over.

      “Hey,” Y/N cooed wiping away the tears running down his cheeks. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry, cause then I’ll cry, and we’re both gonna be crying messes, and then these guys will have to deal with that.”

      Harry sighed, leaning into her touch. “Happy tears, lovie. All happy tears.”

      The two looked at one another as if there was no one else in the universe. And for the two of them, there really wasn’t. Neither had to say what was on their minds, they already knew.

      His face was inching closer to Y/N’s, and heart started to beat erratically, not that Harry minded, as his palm rested in the middle of her back. In fact, his own heart mimicked the rhythm, but it stuttered when someone behind him cleared their throat and interrupted their moment.

      Y/N hid her face in Harry’s chest as he sighed at Olivia’s raised eyebrow. 

      “You’ll be able to smooch as much as you want, but we need him in hair and make-up.”

      “Oli-“

      “Now,” she let out a small laugh. “Before Daniele removes my head from my shoulders.”

      “Go,” Y/N patted his side. “I’ll still be here.”

      “Is that a threat?”

      She grinned up at him. “A fucking promise.”

      Harry dashed away like lightning, hoping that the quicker he was done, the sooner he could have Y/N back in his arms even if it was for a second, but her attention was taken by a woman with long blond curls, a flowing green slip on her figure; her steps unsure as was the wave she gave her, but Y/N’s heart melted at the sight of her.

      “Hey, Flo,” she whispered and brought the girl in a bone-crushing hug, holding onto her, trying to convey how much she regretted her words and actions, especially because they were unwarranted.

      “I’m so sorry,” Y/N said, and she nodded.

      “Me too.”

      Y/N shook her head. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

      “And I should’ve made sure Harry pulled his head out of his ass.”

      That made both of them laugh, and it was nice to do it not only without having to cough up her insides, but to do it with someone she’d connected with and had become great friends with.

      “He did that. I just hope if he wants to make another move, it won’t take me dying to push him to.”

      Florence pointed at her, a serious look on her face. “I’ll kill him with my bare hands if he does.”

      A small noise of someone clearing their throat from behind Y/N took both of their attentions for them to go onto the actress who’d been cast as her replacement, the woman coming forward and extending her hand for a handshake with a nervous smile. “Hi. I’m Mandy.”

      “ ‘S very nice to meet you.” Y/N tried to give off as open and accepting of a vibe as much as possible, because she genuinely wanted Mandy to feel respected and that she wasn’t a threat. “Before you think anything if you’re worried about me taking the role, don’t. It’s all yours, so don’t worry about that. I just stopped by ‘cause I hadn’t seen anyone in almost two months. Never thought I’d say this, but fuck did I missed people.”

      Mandy shook her head, her smile a lot lighter and brighter now. “I – uh thank you for that actually. I’m a huge fan of yours, and well, can only try and live up to what you would’ve portrayed.”

      “Well, I’m sure you’ll absolutely kill it, and I can’t wait for the movie.”

      It was great to see Mandy’s shoulders drop in relief. “Would it be too much if I asked for advice on the role?”

      “No,” Y/N laughed. “But I would say that you should make this role your own. It is yours. You are Larie now. And Harry’s Jack. Make it yours.”

      As she said that, she turned to watch Harry who was practically bouncing on his feet, green eyes flitting back to where she was standing, and when their gazes met, neither could help the smiles blooming on their faces.

       “You know he messed up a scene once and said your name?”    

      Y/N’s brows furrowed as she looked over at Mandy. “What do you mean ‘said my name’?”

      “It was a kissing scene. The wedding bit, actually. As Jack and Larie recited their vows, and he leans down to kiss her, he was supposed to say, ‘I’ll love you Larie, until the very end’. He said your name instead.”

      That hit Y/N more than a semi-truck wheeling a ton of bricks would. Yes, she knew Harry liked her, and he knew she liked him, but love was a big word, and for him to admit that, whether it was a flub or not, was even bigger.

      Harry was a private person. While he openly talked about what he felt, he guarded heart at the same time, much like Y/N did. But she had to wait until Olivia yelled cut for the day, and had to watch him make a mad dash for hair and make-up before running to the dressing trailer as he didn’t want to miss out on a second he could spend with her. Even as they walked up to their shared flat and he opened the door, his fingers stayed intertwined with hers.

      “How does it feel to be back?”

      “Kinda shitty, honestly,” Y/N laughed throwing the keys to the table and shrugging out of the jacket and taking off the cap, Harry immediately helping her and putting it on one of the racks. “I’ll have to move out, now that I’m not part of the movie.”

      “Why? ‘S not like the production is paying our rent, we’re doing it out of our own pocket.”

      “Yes, but now that I don’t have a job, I kinda need to look for one.”

      “And what says that you can’t live here while you do that?”

      “I –,” Y/N’s brows furrowed. “I mean nothing, really… I just… kinda thought because I’m not part of the movie anymore it’d be safer if I found my own place. But um… I think I have something else I’d like to talk about. Mandy,” Y/N dragged out her name a bit, a sly smirk appearing on her face, “told me you had a flub on set.”

      Harry’s heart was pounding underneath her palm where she’d grabbed onto the lapels of his dress shirt, so he couldn’t run away. 

“I’ve uh,” he let out a nervous laugh. “I’ve had a couple of flubs on set. Who hasn’t?”

      “I don’t doubt that. But she said you misspoke a name.”

      She made him look into her eyes and wouldn’t dare let their gaze break. “You said my name during the wedding scene. You said Y/N. Not Larie.”

      Harry looked like a cross between a deer in headlights and a fish out of the water, eyes wide with his mouth opening and closing, no sound coming out, which made Y/N worry a bit.

      She placed a palm against his cheek. “Harry? You alright?”

      “I – I meant it.” He let out a deep sigh and leaned down to press his forehead to hers. “And when I thought back on it, I don’t remember seeing her face or Larie’s face. It was yours. And the lips I was kissing belonged to you too. I was holding your hand, and you were holding mine. And I know it’s way too quick, for a wedding -”

      “Unless you threaten me with it –”

      “I –,” Harry stuttered before laughing, all tension evaporating from his body. “No, that I don’t want to be a threat. That will be a question asked with love and hopefully an answer given to it the same way.”

      Y/N nudged his nose with hers. “Well, we’ll see. I mean if you don’t kiss me what makes you th–,” 

      But she didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence before his lips were on hers, pressing with such gentleness, it made her weak at the knees, and she would’ve crumbled if Harry’s arms handn’t woven around her middle, fingers pressing into the sides, the pressure increasing with each second their mouths were connected. 

      Harry’s hand drifted up Y/N’s back and settled on her neck as if he could pull her any closer, her own palms slipping over his stomach, pecks and grabbing onto his jaw, fingers lightly scratching at the stubble that’d grown throughout the day. He had to shave every morning for the role of Jack, but each evening she’d see a small, darkened shadow across his skin, and Y/N would be lying that when she’d realised her attraction to him, she hadn’t thought about how delicious it would feel to have it leave small burn marks on the inside of her thighs. 

      Unconsciously, she clenched her thighs, trying to create some sort of friction which became more and more unbearable as she felt Harry moan into her mouth, tongue sweeping against her lower lip, asking for permission without words, which Y/N granted without a second to spare. 

      It was heavenly to have him so close to her. She did wonder if the sensation was intensified by the fact, she hadn’t been able to touch anyone properly for almost two months, but that thought vanished when his fingers skimmed underneath her hoodie, brushing against her heated skin. No. It was because it was Harry.

       “I –,” he was breathless as he pulled away, but Y/N didn’t let him get too far, her lips attaching themselves to his neck, making him groan in pleasure. “I don’t want to push this too far.”

      Her brows scrunched up, as she took a look at him. “What do you mean? If you think I don’t want this, then let me be perfectly clear – I do. A lot.”

      Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so fucking glad you do, but… Y/N you just got out of the hospital, where you were on a ventilator. I don’t want to make anything worse.”

      “Not your choice to make.” A devious smile appeared on her face, as she stepped a few feet away and lifted her hoodie over her head, making Harry inhale sharply. “So here are your two options.” Her hands went behind her back, unclasping her bra and letting it slowly drop to the floor, the green eyes that hadn’t left her now wide as saucers. “Number one.” She toed off her boots and popped open the button of her jeans. “We can stop this, obviously, just say the word, and I get to my room, start packing and looking for a new place. We can have some dinner and just chill. Or number two.” Y/N hooked her jeans behind her thumbs and slowly dragged them down her legs, revealing more and more of herself to Harry. “We can go inside your room and make up for the lost time. In every position imaginable, for as long as you want. But.” Y/N’s eyes glimmered with mischief as she made her way to Harry’s room. “I don’t think you wanna take the first option.”

      Harry ran a hand through his hair, turning it from the meticulously gelled hairstyle into a mop of messy strands. “You know you’re making it really hard for me to be a gentleman.”

      Y/N swayed her hips a bit more as she took another step closer to his room, the door meeting her back, and one of her hands went to the doorknob, pressing down on it. “Well, a gentleman doesn’t kiss before the first date, and definitely not like that.”

      He stood there, hands on his hips, eyes not leaving her body, as she cocked her head. “So, what’s it gonna be?”

      They were ten torturous seconds for both, hearts beating out of their chests, but it only took three steps for Harry to cross the hallway, his hand sneaking behind Y/N’s back and pressing down on the doorknob as well, revealing the inside of his room. It was messy, much like her own, but it wouldn’t take too much to rip all off the tossed around bedding leaving a whole bed to themselves. 

      “You. Are. The. Devil.”

      Her smile was nothing short of wicked. “I mean you can listen to the angel on your shoulder.”

      “I’d rather listen to you.”

      Together they stepped inside, and Y/N nodded. “Making good choices already.”

      “Can’t get on your bad side, can I now?”

      “I mean you can.” Her legs hit the back of his bed and she fell down on it, Harry leaning over, resting his elbows next to her head. “But bad boys get punished.”

      His nose skimmed over hers. Now he was the one smiling like a devil. “I’ll hold you to your word. For future reference, that is.”

      That kiss was nothing like their first. This was messy, and passionate, all tongue and teeth, hands grabbing everywhere possible to get the other unclothed. Or at least that’s what Y/N was trying to do, seeing as she was pretty much naked already, and Harry was the one still wearing too much.

      Her hands pretty much ripped open the shirt. It one of his expensive Gucci ones, she was quite certain of it, but it didn’t seem like he cared, as he shrugged it off, throwing it to land somewhere on the floor.

      Y/N sighed into his mouth as her hands were now freely allowed to run over his chest, over the ink embedded into his skin, over taut muscles that relaxed under her touch, and dig into his sides in an attempt to leave her own marks on him, much like he was going to do to her. 

      “Think you can take your pants off? It’s only fair.” Y/N muttered into his mouth and his own travelled down to her cheek, then neck and to her chest.

      “You mean my trousers?”

      Her lips quirked up and she shrugged her shoulders. “No, in this case, I meant pants the British way.”

      “And if I’m going commando?”

      Y/N pressed her hand against his chest and pushed him away from her. “You had nothing underneath all day on set?”

      “No! I wouldn’t subject the dressing department to that. But underneath this.” He looked down at his jeans and smiled at her. “I do have nothing.”

      “Well then? Get on with it!”

      Both of them were giggling, as Y/N tried to unbuckle Harry’s belt, his own fingers mixing with hers as he went for the zipper and the button. He nudged his head towards her. “Your socks and pants come off as well. Or we’ll be unevenly matched.”

      Y/N lifted her eyebrow, as she went for her own remaining pieces of clothing. “No socks during sex?”

      “No, what kind of a weirdo do you think I am?”

      “And if my feet get cold?” She threw them away somewhere.

      “We have a blanket.”

      As Harry removed his jeans and his own socks, Y/N slipped off the dampened piece of clothing that’d been on her, now both of them completely naked. 

      “Alright.” He leaned over her again, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and pulling them chest to chest. “Happy now?”

      Y/N deeply kissed him. “Very. But I think we can make each other even happier.”

      “Agreed,” Harry hummed. “Wanna get a taste first.” He attached his lips to her collarbones sucking a bruise there. “Can I?”

      She groaned at the feeling, knowing there be a pleasant ache that accompanied mark. “You can. Don’t have to, if you don’t want. No need to do this for me.”

      “And if it’s for me?” Harry was moving lower and lower with each word, wet tongue flicking against a perked bud, and making Y/N gasp. “What if I wanna feel you cum on my tongue, and what if I wanna do something I’ve dreamed about for months now?”

      His hands were kneading her breasts, mouth having left a trail of kisses down the middle of her stomach as it was moving towards where an ache that’d been left untreated made itself more and more prominent. 

“Then please, please, please do something, Harry.”

      “With pleasure.”

      Luckily for Y/N, she didn’t have to beg any more, as his mouth attached itself to where she wanted him most, tongue sweeping past her lower lips and licking up a broad, steady stripe.

      One of her hands went to fist into her hair and the other into Harry’s. “Shit,” she moaned. “Fuck, that feels good.”

      “Guide me.” He licked a circle around her clit. “Tell me how you like it.”

      “Mhgm, fuck, okay,” Y/N breathed out. “I – I mean you’re doing great on your own.” Her chest was heaving as if she was running a marathon, and Harry shifted her legs so that they lay over his shoulders. “But umm, like if you lick around my clit, but like really press down li – oh, fuuuuck, just like that.”

      The coil in her stomach tightened with each pass he did, just like Y/N had instructed, small tight circles just how she did with her fingers, only what took her sometimes half an hour, Harry managed to do in less than ten minutes, to have her toes curling and hands grasping anywhere they could find purchase to just keep onto something real.

      The vibrations from Harry humming sent shivers straight to her core. “What else, lovie? What else, do you like?”

      “If – if –,” Y/N panted, “if you suck on it, but like – fuck – shit! If you kinda keep a seal around my clit, that fuck! Yes!”

      The way Harry was eating her out was almost sensational, but what made it even better wasn’t that he just decided to do something and assumed, she’d like it, he asked, he wanted to learn and discover what made her tick and turn, or in this case – cum. 

      “Harry, ‘m close,” Y/N warned him, feeling the warmth slowly start to spread all throughout her body. 

      “I’ll get you there.”

      He let his lips go for a moment before slipping two of his fingers so that they pinched her clit and moved them slowly but tightly up and down it, while his tongue went to slip inside her hole, and that did it for her.

      With a gasp of air, Y/N’s eyes rolled to be back of her head, hips lifting up as euphoria exploded through her veins. Her mind went completely dizzy, and she was quite sure some drool also dribbled down the side of her mouth because she’d lost all ability to function.

      “ -o me, love,” Y/N heard as if through a fog, and then felt two soothing palms running up and down her legs. “Come back, love. There you go.”

      A drunken smile bloomed on her face, and she ran a hand down it, the same hand that’d grabbed Harry’s hair like a vice. “Fuck. You’re good, you know what you’re doing.”

      “Well, I’m certainly glad you enjoyed yourself because I thoroughly enjoyed myself.”

      She watched as he straightened out to sit on his knees, her legs still over his shoulders, cock slapping against his stomach, and when she looked down there was a wet patch on his side of the sheets, a sly grin morphing on her face. “You liked eating me out so much you came yourself?”

      “What can I say – bringing pleasure, gives me pleasure. And your cunt’s probably the sweetest I’ve ever eaten. But… do you think you’re ready for me?” Harry asked, kissing the inside of Y/N’s thighs and watching as she vigorously nodded her head, but he just smirked. “I think I need to test it out. Just to make sure.”

       “Harry,” Y/N whined as she felt his fingers skim the apex of her thighs, teasing her. 

      “Don’t wanna hurt you.”

      With that, he used one of his hands to open up her lips, his thumb pressing down on her already sensitive clit, eliciting a gasp before he allowed two fingers to skim her entrance and then slipped in.

      “Still so tight,” he said, watching as Y/N sighed and her mouth fell open, his fingers curling in a come-hither motion. “Told you needed to check if you were ready. What kind of a gentleman would I be now, if I didn’t make sure you could take it?”

      Y/N gritted her teeth. “I can take you.”

      “Don’t doubt it.” Harry left kisses along her leg, as he continued on with his movements, noting how her hips slowly started to grind down on his palm, so he pushed his fingers in deeper so that the heel of his hand could rest against her clit, making the pleasure intensify. “But I’d never forgive myself if I hurt you when all I wanna do is give you pleasure. And you weren’t stretched out enough. Not yet at least.”

      “Oh, god, Harry,” Y/N groaned, one arm thrown over her eyes as his fingers hit just the right spot.

      “That’s it? Right there?”

      “Yes, right there,” she moaned. “Just. Fuck! Just don’t stop, please, don’t stop.”

      “Gonna cum again?”

      “Yes, just – just curl your fingers and twist them a bit more.”

      And much like the first time, a couple more times was all it took. Her orgasm was even more powerful than the previous and fully knocked her breath out of her lungs. Her legs fell open around his shoulders, stomach and chest spasming from the intensity. 

      Gentle fingers skimmed up and down Y/N’s arms and featherlight kisses fluttered over her breasts, then chest, neck and finally were peppered across her cheeks.

      “Kinda spaced out on me there. You alright? Not too much?”

      “ ’M – I’m good. But I’m pretty sure you’ve killed me.”

      Harry chuckled, and Y/N leaned her head to the side so she could press a kiss against the closest of the swallow tattoos. “Hopefully not. I still wanna take you out on that date.”

      Her eyes landed on Harry’s left hand’s ring finger, where a golden band still laid. 

      “Oh, yeah.” He lifted the digits, still covered in her cum before pushing them past his lips and licking them clean. “Forgot to remove it. Hope the prop guys don’t kill me.”

      She hated how his eyes sparkled, absolutely knowing what that sight did to her, how it made her stomach flutter and heart thunder against her ribs. Y/N was sure with the force it was pounding, they’d crack. 

      “Well, if they don’t, I will.” She pulled him down, nails raking on his skin, dragging to rest on his ass as they bit into it. “Now get inside me.”

      “Condom.”

      “No, ‘m on the pill.”

      “I’m clean, I swear, but it’s still not a hundred per cent safe.”

      Y/N shook her head. “I’ll buy the morning-after pill. Just need you inside.”

      “You sure?” Harry placed a strand of hair behind her ear. 

      “Yeah. I mean I’m clean, and uh… I just wanna feel you.”

      He’d cum once already, and Harry would be dammed if he did it again before having the chance to know how heaven feels like. As gently as possible, he took himself, giving a few strokes before nudging the tip against Y/N’s clit, her sharp inhale stalling him until she nodded. 

      Her nails dug into his biceps, as he finally slipped inside her, making both of them moan at the feeling. Even with all of the stretching out he’d done with his fingers, and the two orgasms he’d drawn from her, the slickness helping everything to be easy and smooth, Y/N still felt a little sting.

      Harry’s head dropped to Y/N’s shoulders and even from under him, she could feel his thighs and stomach shaking, as he tried to hold his composure and give her a little bit of time to adjust.

      A couple of deep breaths later, she tapped his ribs. “You can move now.”

      “ ‘ya sure?”

      “Mhm,” Y/N nodded her head and pecked his lips reassuringly. “Please.”

      His dishevelled and sweaty hair shook as he nodded and slowly drew back his hips so that just the tip of his cock remained in her before gliding back inside. The sight alone was more than enough to make both of them explode, but they wanted to last longer than thirty seconds, especially for their first time together. There’d be quickies for later, now they wanted to have a proper shag.

      Bit by bit, Harry’s pace quickened, pearls of sweat gliding down his skin and dampening the sheets below them, much like it was with Y/N. Her leg slid up to rest around his hips, giving him a better angle and more leverage for him to strike the right spot, as he pushed her knee to rest against her chest, Y/N’s head falling back to the pillow.

      Her insides were shaking from the pleasure, and it was like an invisible force was pushing down on her chest, as she struggled for a proper breath. “Harry,” she dragged out his name, the word turning into a high-pitched whine.

      “I know,” he responded in the same breathless voice. He could feel her tighten around him and wasn’t sure just how much longer he’d be able to keep up the pace. “Touch yourself ‘f me, lovie. C’mon, use those fingers.”

      Y/N did as she was told. It didn’t give her that butterfly feeling like it’d happened when they’d been Harry’s, but it did make her cum faster, and the sensation of her gushing around his cock made him lose all self-control and he spilled inside.

      It wasn’t enough for Y/N, but she guessed she needed to settle for it. She knew that nothing really ever touched in the universe, that the closest atoms ever come to touching one another is when their wave packets overlap, much like she and Harry were now overlapping, his body lying on top of hers, skin sweaty and frame trembling as he came down from his own high.

      “I uh,” Y/N cleared her throat, finger tracing the outline of one of the butterfly in the middle of Harry’s chest. “When the people came to get my stuff, I umm, asked them to take your rainbow cardigan. Wanted something that smelled like you, so I didn’t feel so alone. Was the first thing I put on when I got out of my hospital gown.”

      She felt his body rumble with laughter and a kiss being pressed to her forehead. “I know. Saw Anna stash it inside the suitcase. I uh, I was the one who also put in one of my sweaters. Know how cold you always get.”

      She hid her smile against his collarbones. “Thank you. For thinking of me.”

      “ 'M always thinking of you… Will you knit me one though?”

      Y/N raised her eyebrow. “Knit you one?”

      “Yes. I know you knit –“

      “Everyone knits nowadays.”

      Harry drew himself back a bit, and she pushed away the matted down strands from his forehead, wiping away the sweat from underneath his green eyes as well. “Yes, but the point is – there’ll be a million other Gucci shirts and sweaters and cardigans. But I’d like to have one-of-a-kind made by you. So, I have something to sleep next to when you’re not next to me.”

      Y/N ran a finger along his jawline, biting away her grin. “It’ll probably have mistakes. I’m not that good at it. ‘M not a professional.”

      “Exactly.” Harry tilted her head up with a finger and their eyes met. “Which is why it’ll be perfect.”

      “The arms will most likely be different lengths in the end.”

      “Don’t worry, darling.” He pecked her lips before hugging her and not letting go. “It’s flawless for me.”

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