#and leave to disappear again... adios

[maximpotato]

moon and star

[twohearts-hs]

Defying The Odds: 17 - Michael Scofield x Reader Series

Words in Total: 5.9k

Pairings: Michael Scofield x Reader: afab x reader

Synopsis: Y/N was a victim of the mob since the age of fifteen, however, falling in love with the wrong guy and having an argument got her 25 years in prison for murder. She had a plan to get out in faith of her husband until she met Michael Scofield, who, despite his plan, fell in love with her. Now she has the mob and Michael Scofield's escape to worry about.

Warnings: Swearing, Prison, Intimacy, Murder, etc. you know the deal...

A/N: this is a complete series of ~105k words. Based on Season 1 & 2.

Hope you enjoy :)

Masterlist

It was back to running. Michael and Y/N were off on foot through the trees and grasses. She had no idea where they were going, but she had faith Michael and where they were going. Sucre took the money, but Michael told her there was a plan. Once again, she just had to trust him.

            Police sirens were heard in the distance as they kept running. Michael had the police radio that he stole from the officer. However, soon enough there was a purring of a motorcycle in the distance which meant Sucre was there.

            Michael slowed down and Y/N did too as they saw Sucre in the distance, kneeling over his motorcycle, bag on his back. Instantly, he turned around, gun cocked.

            “’Adios, amigos’, huh?” Michael whispered.

            “What, too much?” Sucre asked.

            “You were great,” Michael smirked.

            Laughter happened between the two of them as Sucre complained how heavy the backpack was.

            “We did it, mamacita,” Sucre said, nodding to the bag as he looked at her.

            Y/N stared at them, arms crossed over her chest as she looked at Michael. “M, can we talk?” she asked. Sucre looked between them before patting Michael’s shoulder and disappearing into the bush, leaving them alone.

            Y/N took a deep breath, her heart pounding. She was doing biting her tongue, done waiting for answers.

            “What’s wrong?” Michael asked, coming up to her, hand brushing her arm but she pulled away. “Is this about what the officer said when I walked in and you were upset–“

            “–No,” she interrupted.

            “What’s wrong then?” he said, chuckling a little.

            She shook her head in disbelief. “Every time we do something – every time we pull off a plan or make a move – you leave me out of the loop. You’re always doing something behind my back, and I’m always the last to know.”

            He frowned, looking at her, genuinely confused. “I’m trying to keep you safe–“

            “–Safe?” Y/N voice cracked, and she stepped closer, her frustration bubbling to the surface. “By keeping me in the dark? By making me feel like I’m just tagging along, not part of the plan? Michael, we’re supposed to be a team.”

            “We are a team,” he said softly, but she could hear the automatic response in his voice. Like he didn’t fully believe himself.

            “No, we aren’t,” she shot back, shaking her head. “You don’t trust me. Not really. You keep me in the shadows, and it’s starting to feel like I’m just…here. Along for the ride. I’m starting to feel a little used,” she whispered the last part. “I love you, Michael. But I need to feel like we’re in this. I need to know that you trust me.”

            He held her gaze, his blue eyes searching hers for something. “I do trust you–“

            “I have a life back at the mob,” she whispered lowly. “I can go back to it. I can apologise to Sebastian, I can be his dotting wife–“

            “–Stop,” he barked, holding a hand up. “Stop talking. You are not going back there.”

            “Then act like you trust me!” she screamed, her frustration finally boiling over. “Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t feel like you do.”

            Michael exhaled, his face hardening with resolve. “The less you know,” he said quietly, taking a step towards her, “the safer you’ll be.”

            Y/N blinked, staring at him in disbelief. “That’s bullshit, Michael. You think by keeping me in the dark, you’re protecting me? You think that if I don’t know what’s going on, I’m magically safe from all this? Well, I escaped with you. I have twenty-five years on my sentence unless Sebastian clears it. I will have another dime for the escape. I am not safe. I am running from the mob on top of that. I know things that can get both of us killed,” she threatened.

            “I’ve already lost too many people,” he muttered, his voice low, eyes dropping to the ground as though the weight of his guilt pressed too heavily on his shoulders. “I can’t risk losing you too. I fucking love you.”

            She felt her heart clench at his words, but she couldn’t let that excuse slip. Not this time. “You’re going to lose me anyway,” she whispered, stepping closer to him, “if you keep pushing me away like this. You think you’re making me safe; you’re just shutting me out. That’s not how a relationship works, Michael. I don’t know your track record with how many girlfriends you’ve had or how they ended, but I know relationships, and you need to be honest. The good, the bad, the impossible.”

            She was not just anyone to him. She was his everything.

            After a long pause, he sighed. “I just want to keep you safe.”

            “I know.”

            “Guys,” Sucre said from afar, “I don’t mean to interrupt your discussion, but…the money…” Michael looked up to see Sucre holding books. “It’s gone.”

            Michael looked at the bag as Sucre pulled out magazines.

            “Where the hell is the money?” Sucre repeated.  

            Michael fell to his knees, grasping the ground as the magazines sat around them.

            “We can’t go back,” Michael muttered.  

            “You said it, without the money, we’re screwed,” Sucre responded, his voice worried. “We can’t…”

            “Just let me think,” Michael whispered. Sucre tried to talk again, but Michael got up. “Just let me think. Just let me think.”

            “Maybe it’s still back at the house,” Sucre tried.

            “T-Bag,” Y/N muttered and Michael turned to look at her. “He must have switched the bags.” Michael kicked the bag as he ran a hand through his hair.

            “What do we do now?” Sucre asked.

            “We still got the five grand we took when we pocketed the money. It’s not gonna be 5 million, but might be enough to get us where we’re going.” Y/N was about open her mouth when Michael said, “I’m not taking your murder money, Y/N. The mob would be after us”

Y/N closed her mouth knowing not to go there.

            “All units be advised. Escaped convicts from Fox River have been positively ID’d at 1131 Monterey Lane. We have dogs being dispatched to the location. I want every road in or out of town blocked off. I don’t care if it’s on wheels, rails or hooves. I want it stopped and searched.”

            The three of them started to walk in the woods. Sucre pushed his motorcycle as they walked. Michael grabbed onto Y/N’s hand, thumb swiping over the back of her hand and squeezing it.

            A police car sped by alarms on blast and Y/N could see it through the trees. Once again, police were after them.

            “We’re never gonna get out of here on the roads. We need to find another way,” Michael said as his eyes darted around to see another way out. However, they continued to walk.

            “We got to lose the bike,” Michael said eventually as they neared a river.

            “Ah-uh. No way,” Sucre responded.

            “The roads are sealed. It’s the only way out of here.”

            “I can’t bro. I promised Petey–“

            “–You’re not getting that thing across the river,” Michael interrupted. “And every minute we spend trying is a minute we don’t have, ok? I’m sorry. We gotta move.”

            Sucre put the bike down before they began to cross the water. However, Sucre fell in and he was stuck. Michael tried everything in his power to get Sucre out of the water. Y/N stood outside, on the edge watching as Michael told her to stay there.

            Bickering occurred between the two of them as they figured out how to get Sucre out from the log. Y/N paced on land as she looked at them. Sucre was begging for Michael to let him go, but that was not an option. The water was getting higher as the minutes went.

            “Michael!” Y/N called, and he turned back. “Rope.”

            Michael looked at the rope that was near the water than to the motorcycle. His intelligence got the best of him as he tied the rope up to the tree then to the motorcycle.

            “Michael, what are you doing?” Y/N asked as he worked on getting Sucre out.

            “Y/N, I don’t have time for questions. This is life or death. Trust me,” he muttered back getting on the motorcycle.

            Y/N closed her eyes, knowing exactly what he was doing. What a fucking idiot!

            Michael got back into the water after jumping off the motorcycle. He went to look for Sucre and he appeared, emerging from the water with haste.

            “We got to go. Y/N get in,” Michael called.

            Then they were back to running.

-

Michael changed and so did Y/N. Then they got to a car dealership where Michael and Y/N walked around looking for a car. His hand was on her lower back as he leaned in to talk to her, whispering sweet things before going back to looking at the cars.

            Michael filled Y/N in everything on the way to the dealership. The plan with Lincoln and how he was getting LJ before meeting him at Bolshoi Booze.

            “Hey!” a car salesman came by and the two of them turned around. “What are you in the market for?”

            “Four wheels and a gas pedal,” Michael responded, fixing his hat before putting his hands on his hips.

            Sucre was making a call to Petey at the payphone while Michael and Y/N made a deal. The dealer said he would get the keys since Michael agreed to take a car.

            “I got a couple of stops to make. First is this place called Blanding. Then we’ll meet up with Lincoln in a couple of days,” Michael told Sucre.

            “I can’t go,” Sucre responded. “She said no, papi. Maricruz, Maricruz told that son of a… She told him no. Can you believe that?” Sucre gleamed, all smiley.

            Y/N smiled alongside Michael her hand coming to his lower back as she rubbed it.

            “That’s great,” he mused.

            A round of laughter came from Sucre as he smiled wide, full of pearls showing. “I know! Now, I just…”

            Michael reached out for him. “No, go on. Get your girl. I got mine. You need yours.” Michael’s hand wrapped around Y/N’s waist, pulling her close.

            “What about Panama?” Sucre asked.

            “Some other time. Panama’s not going to go anywhere. This is in case you run into trouble down the road,” Michael told him, handing him the coordinates and time of when they were leaving for Panama.

            “In the river, I told you to leave me behind,” Sucre mumbled.

            “Yeah, well, I tried, but then I got tangled up in the rope so…” Sucre chuckled before giving Michael a hug.

            Sucre looked at Y/N and smiled as she brought him in a hug. “He’s a good one. Stick with him.”

            “I know,” she mumbled, looking up at Michael’s towering figure. “I know. I’m lucky.”

            The car dealer came by, handing a pair of keys to Michael who then said, that they needed another car.

 -

The sun was casting a warm, golden glow across the empty highway as Michael and Y/N sped down the road towards their next adventure. The windows were slightly cracked, letting in a gentle breeze that tousled Y/N’s hair as she leaned back against the passenger seat, watching the world blur past them. There was a comfortable, easy silence between them, the kind that comes from spending so much time together and knowing each other so well.

            Michael’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel in rhythm to the quiet music playing on the radio, and Y/N stole a glance at him, a soft smile tugging at her lips. His jaw was relaxed, his eyes focused on the road ahead, but there was a lightness about him, something she hadn’t seen in a while. She leaned over, resting her hand on his arm and squeezing it. He glanced over.

            “Hey,” she said, her voice teasing. “You look like you’re in a good mood.”

            Michael glanced at her with a small smirk, his blue eyes glinting in the fading sunlight. “We are finally getting some alone time,” he muttered, voice low and suggestive. “Never have been alone with you before.”

            “We were alone in the showers,” she stated. 

            “That doesn’t count. It was gross and I was on high alert, plus T-Bag saw you naked,” he responded with a chuckle.

            “Oh, ew, don’t remind me,” Y/N groaned, grimacing.

            “Seriously, I am excited to have you alone,” he stated, smirking as he looked over. “Really excited.”

            Y/N laughed, the sound filling the car. “Oh, so that’s what this is about, huh? You’re just counting down the miles until you can see me naked again,” she mused.

            He grinned, shrugging playfully. “Can you blame me?” His hand moved from the wheel for just a second to rest on her thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’ve waited long enough, don’t you think.”

            She felt a blush creep up her cheeks but quickly masked it with a teasing smile. “I mean you’ve spent a lot of time with me the past few weeks. You sure you’re not sick of me yet?”

            “Sick of you?” Michael glanced over, his smile widening. “Sweet thing, I can never get sick of you.”  

            The nickname she hasn’t heard in a while. It brought a giggle as she shifted in her seat, coming close and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I am pretty high maintenance.”

            “I’ve been handling you just fine,” Michael said, eyes flicking to hers with a playful gleam. “Besides, I think I deserve a little…reward after everything we’ve been through.”          

            “Reward?” Y/N gasped, dramatically clutching her chest. “What am I, a prize now?”

            Michael chuckled, his gaze softening as it lingered on her for a moment longer before turning back to the road. “You know what I mean.”

            She let out a light laugh, feeling the warmth of the moment settle between them. “Ok, fine. Maybe I am looking forward to a hotel room and a little privacy. A shower does sounds delightful. A shower with you sounds just wonderful.” Her tone dropped flirtatiously as she leaned closer, her fingers brushing the back of his neck. “I can just imagine seeing you naked, wet…the way your muscles flex and that tattoo shines as your fingers touch graze me in every crevice and your cock works magic. An orgasm does sound marvellous,” she whispered, lips coming to his ear.

            “Oh God, Y/N,” Michael muttered, chuckling as he went red. She noticed the way his grip on the steering wheel shifted slightly. “You’re making it really hard to focus on driving right now,” he muttered, shooting her a sideways glance that sent a thrill down her spine.

            “Well, you’re the one who brought up the hotel room,” she teased, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms with a playful smirk. “Not my fault you can’t handle a little flirtation.”

            Michael let out a breathless laugh, shaking his head. “Trust me, I can handle it. But you’re not making it easy.”

            Y/N’s heart fluttered at the way he was looking at her, the unspoken promise hanging in the air between them. She bit her lip, her own excitement bubbling up. “Before all this, what did you do in your free time?” she asked.

            Michael looked over. “What kind of question is that?”

            “I am getting to know you, Michael Scofield,” she retorted with a chuckle. “You know I like reading and writing. What do you like?”

            “Engineering,” he responded.

            “Besides that,” she chuckled.

            His brows furrowed as he took a moment to think. “I did not have a lot of time between working a full time job and being the older brother to my older brother…”

            “Did you have girlfriends?” she asked.

            He looked over, seeing she was dead serious. “College, but not since then. I never really had time to have a relationship, and I am not one to sleep around.”

            She nodded. “I never slept around either,” she said.

            “It was just Sebastian?” he asked.

            “Since I was eighteen.”

            Michael looked over. “You were upset when we had the hostage situation. What did the officer say to you?” he asked, weary of her emotions and feelings.

            “I told you before, I was pregnant once,” she said to Michael, looking away and to the window. “A year ago. When I lost her, Sebastian and I fell apart. I blamed him.”

            “Blamed him?” he asked.

            She sighed. “He got me into a situation with a enemy, where I got quite injured and I lost the baby. Car accident, completely set up by this man,” she responded.

            “By Sebastian?” he asked.

            “By his enemy. He needed to hurt Sebastian and what was better than his pregnant wife. Because of that, I threatened to leave the mob and expose it to the government,” she told him, still looking away, “which got me here. He gave evidence to the police. Finger prints, video footages, the weapon… He needed to control me and that was through giving me up but really, he ruined our relationship. I was ready to leave a year ago.”

            Michael nodded, hand reaching out to grab hers to hold. He squeezed it. Y/N sighed, her gaze fixed out the window, watching the world blur by as Michael's fingers tightened around hers. The road stretched ahead, seemingly endless, but in the car, there was a weight in the air. The unspoken emotions, the shared pain of their pasts hanging between them.

            Michael's grip on the steering wheel tightened for a moment before he spoke, his voice soft. "I'm sorry, Y/N. For everything you had to go through. For what Sebastian put you through. You deserved so much better."

            Y/N glanced over at him, seeing the concern etched in his features. It wasn't just about the baby or Sebastian anymore—it was about everything. The choices they made, the paths they took that led them to this moment, together yet carrying so much baggage.

            "I didn't think I'd ever be free from it," she whispered. "But you... you've helped me see that there's more to life than the mob, than the violence. And for that, I'm grateful."

Michael gave her a small smile, his hand squeezing hers once again. "We all have our demons, Y/N. But we don't have to face them alone."

            She leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "I'm glad I'm not alone anymore."

The mood lightened slightly, and Michael, in a bid to lift her spirits, gave her a teasing smirk. "So... about that hotel room?"

            Y/N chuckled, the tension between them slowly dissipating. "I think we deserve that privacy after everything, don't you?"

            Michael grinned. "Oh, definitely. No T-Bag. No one else. Just us." He leaned closer for a moment, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Finally."

            She felt the flutter of excitement in her chest again, and she couldn't help but grin. "I can't wait to have you all to myself," she teased, her tone playful and filled with anticipation.

Their laughter filled the car as they continued down the road, the promise of something new—something better—waiting for them on the horizon.

-

Michael pulled the car up to the small, dingy motel on the edge of town, gravel crunching beneath the tires as they came to a stop. Y/N shifted in her seat, glancing over at him as he put the car in park.

            “I’ll be quick,” Michael assured, his hand resting briefly on hers. “I need to do this at the gardens. You’ll be safe here. Just relax, take a shower, have a nap and I’ll be back soon. Call me if you need anything,” he told her handing her a phone.

            Y/N nodded, though there was a slight knot forming in her stomach. The last few days had been nothing but a blur of close calls, plans changing at the last minute and the constant feeling of being on the run. They hadn’t had a moment of real peace. Still, she trusted him, and she wasn’t going to argue.

            “Alright,” she said softly, leaning over to give him a quick kiss before grabbing the key and stepping out of the car. “Don’t take long. Love you, ok?”

            “I won’t. Love you back,” he promised, offering her one last smile before pulling away, the car disappearing down the long stretch road.

            Y/N walked towards the motel room, a slight chill creeping up her spine as she unlocked the door. The room was small and sparsely furnished – a bed, a TV, a small table with two chairs and a bathroom in the corner. It wasn’t anything special, but it was a break from the chaos outside.

            After locking the door behind her, she slipped out of her clothes and headed straight for the bathroom. The hot water cascaded over her, and for a moment, it felt like all the tension washed away. She lathered her hair, closing her eyes and relishing in the warmth. She just wished she could shave. However, that’s a problem for another day.

            It wasn’t until she stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her body and her wet hair dripping, that she heard a soft shuffling sound near the door. Y/N’s heart skipped a beat, and she froze. Quickly, she moved to peek out of the bathroom, her eyes scanning the small space. Nothing seemed out of place – until she saw an envelope that had been slipped under the door.

            Her brows furrowed in confusion as she approached the envelop, the towel still wrapped tightly around her. She picked it up, fingers trembling slightly as she tore it open. Inside was a small golden key with a strange symbol engraved on it. Beneath the key, however, was something even stranger – a handwritten note with a number scrawled across it.

            What the hell?

            Her pulse quickened, and she immediately grabbed the burner phone that Michael had given her earlier. She punched in the number, her mind racing as the phone rang once…twice…until someone picked up.

            “Hello?” a familiar voice answered.

            Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. “Dad?”

            There was a brief pause on the other end. "Y/N, I don’t have much time. Listen, I’ve learned something, something important."

            “Frank?” Y/N’s voice wavered. It had been so long since she heard from him—her father, Frank Tancredi, the man who had been absent for most of her life.

            “I need you to know that Lincoln Burrows... he’s innocent. They framed him. All of it... it’s a setup.”

            “What? Wait, what are you talking about?” Y/N pressed, her mind reeling.

            “And whatever you do,” Frank continued urgently, his voice strained, “don’t trust Paul Kellerman. He’s dangerous. He’s not on your side.”

            Y/N’s stomach dropped at the mention of Kellerman. They had crossed paths with him before. “How do you know this?”

            “I’ve been doing my own digging... and I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m so sorry for everything—for not being there, for letting you get involved with the mob... It’s my fault.”

            She could hear the regret in his voice, but she didn’t want to hear his apologies. Not now. Not after everything. “This isn’t the time for that, Frank. I don’t need your guilt.”

            “Y/N, please—”

            But she cut him off, her voice firm. “I don’t want your apologies. I need the truth.”

There was silence on the other end before Frank’s voice softened. “Be careful. I don’t know who you can trust anymore.”

            She hung up without another word, her hands trembling slightly as she stared down at the phone. Her mind raced, trying to piece everything together—Lincoln, Kellerman, her father’s sudden reappearance.

            The door to the motel room suddenly swung open, and Michael stepped in, his face serious as he closed the door behind him. Y/N was still dressed in a towel, her hair wet, but he paid no attention to that.

            “Plans have changed,” he said immediately. “We can’t stay here tonight. We need to move.”

            Y/N blinked, still reeling from the phone call. “What? Michael, we just got here–“

            “–I know, but we don’t have time. Something came up,” Michael replied, already gathering her clothes on the bed and handing them to her. “Get dressed.”

            Frustration bubbled up inside her. “Michael, can we just stay the night I mean, we haven’t had a second to breathe–“

            “–Y/N, we can’t,” he said firmly, stressing the words as his eyes met hers.

            She could see the seriousness in his expression, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating. “Michael, come on, please just take a shower at least. We’ve been running for so long and I love you, but you need a shower.”

            He paused, seeming to consider it for a moment before finally nodding. “Fine. Five minutes,” he muttered, taking his hat off and throwing his shirt onto the bed. She watched as he walked to the shower, undoing his pants. Her eyes narrowed on his back muscles and how they flex with that tattoo.

            As he disappears into the bathroom, Y/N collapsed on the bed, her mind still spinning from the phone call. A part of her wanted to tell Michael everything – about the key, the call from her father – but another part of her knew it would only complicate things further.

            The sound of the shower running brought her back to the present, and she couldn’t help but smile despite everything. When Michael emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, towel slung low on his hips, droplets of water still clinging to his skin, Y/N felt a blush creep up her neck.

            Michael caught her gaze and smirked. “You’re staring.”

            She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “You just…look good,” she mumbled.

            He looked over, seeing her figure as she stood up with the towel. “You aren’t dress, go dress,” he muttered as he grabbed his things off the bed. Y/N dropped the towel and he turned, seeing her there naked. “Y/N, we need to go,” he said slowly but his eyes wandered down her body.

            “Five minutes…let me just,” she whispered, walking up and wrapping an arm around his neck as she brushed her lips against his. His hand found her waist as their lips connected. Slowly his fingers danced along her skin, dragging up before cupping her breast as their lips fought passionately.                          

            “Y/N,” he mumbled against her lips.

            “Shhh,” she whispered.

            “We need to go,” he mumbled, pulling away and dropping his hands.

            Y/N dropped her shoulders and her posture, before raising a brow. “So much for being alone,” she muttered, grabbing her clothes and pulling them on.

            “Soon,” he muttered, coming around and wrapping his arms around her. “Soon, you’ll be mine,” he whispered, kissing her cheek.

            Her excitement faded but was replaced by the gnawing tension in her chest. She grabbed her things, the phone and key and placed them in her pocket before following Michael.

            Michael and Y/N sat in a little diner in the city in the booth by the window. She was across from him as she ordered a cup of coffee and Michael got a water. His eyes looked at her.

            “You look frazzled,” he muttered.

            Y/N looked at him and saw his concerned eyes, but she couldn’t tell him about her father. “I really thought I was going to get laid today,” she mumbled, taking a sip of her coffee then grimacing. “This isn’t good coffee,” she whispered.

            Michael nodded, mumbling his apologies.

            “Turn the sound up on the tube, Jenny,” a customer said from the bar.

            “Sure, Hank,” the waitress replied before returning the news.

            “Do you have any thoughts of the death of David Apolskis?” the TV said and instantly Michael and Y/N’s heads turned to the TV to see it.

            There he was the agent from earlier…from the cemetery and the elevator getting LJ…he was there on the news.

            “It was unfortunate,” the agent spoke as microphones were shoved in his face.

            “Oh, David,” Michael muttered and she reached for his hand.

            “Tests show that he was shot at a close range, was there any chance to subdue him?” a reporter questioned.

            “Let me remind you that despite his age, David ‘Tweener’ Apolskis was a fugitive who made a move for my weapon…I did not want to have to kill him, sometimes things happen that are just out of control,” the agent spoke as he looked directly into the camera.

            This didn’t sound right, not to Y/N. This sounded like a cover story of the truth. Tweener would have never gone for his gun.

            “That good old boy’s hunting them all down, ain’t he?” the customer said.

            The reporter talked about a hard drive that belonged to Michael that he used to plan his escape and his getaway that the agent now had a hold of. It made sense…everything was planned on that tattoo and it was on the hard drive. The agent’s name was Alexander Mahone and Y/N knew he meant trouble.

            “He’s tracking us down, Michael,” Y/N muttered and he looked over at her. “He has the tattoo.”

            “He knew where I was today,” he responded. “We need to go to the library and find out about this man.”

            Y/N nodded in agreement.

-

 Y/N leaned against the booth of the library as Michael sat down. Slowly, he got all the information of Alexander Mahone as Y/N glanced over his shoulder. Michael printed off everything on this Mahone guy. Then he made himself a fake FBI badge and printed off other information about Mahone’s ex wife.

            Then they headed to a thrift shop where Michael bought a suit and Y/N got new clothes to wear that actually fit her and a sports bra that she desperately needed.

            Then they made their way to Colorado as Michael had a plan and that was to do with Pam, Mahone’s ex wife.

-

Michael pulled up to the house where Pam Mahone lived, he parked the car and turned to Y/N. He was wearing the dark suit and glasses on his nose.

            “I like these,” she muttered, nudging towards the glasses.

            Michael chuckled. “They aren’t as cute as your reading ones.”

            “Which are back in the prison,” she muttered back. Her hand came up to cup his cheek as she leaned into him for a kiss. Their lips met briefly before pulling away. “I also like the stubble…so manly.”

            “Manly?” he scoffed.

            “I don’t know,” she whispered, rubbing her hand along his cheek before brushing over his lips. “I like it though.”

            Michael grinned, shaking his head. “I got to go,” he responded.

            “Will this work?” she questioned.

            “It has to,” he responded, before kissing her lips again. “I will see you soon. Stay here. Don’t leave.”

            Y/N nodded as she watched him leave.

            The afternoon sun filtered through the car’s windshield, casting a soft, warm hue on the dashboard. Y/N sat in the passenger seat, her fingers tapping absentmindedly on the dash. Michael had been gone for what felt like forever, posing as an FBI agent to talk to Pam Mahone. Every second that ticked by made her more anxious, her mind wandering back to the strange phone call from earlier in the day. The key. The number. Her father’s voice was desperate and urgent. It gnawed at her, leaving her uneasy.

            She sighed heavily, leaning back in the seat and flipping through the radio. Some old rock song was playing, but it did nothing to ease the tension coiling in her gut. Her eyes flickered toward the door of the house Michael had entered, but there was no sign of him.

            The song faded, and the news report began. At first, she barely registered it, her mind stuck in the loop of her father’s voice. Then the words on the radio cut through the haze, making her freeze.

            “Breaking news from Illinois. Governor Frank Tancredi has been found dead in what authorities are calling an apparent suicide. Governor Tancredi, a key figure in state politics, was discovered in his home late afternoon. Sources say a note was left behind, but the contents have not yet been disclosed. Authorities are continuing to investigate, but early reports suggest that the Governor may have taken his own life. Stay tuned for further updates…”

            Y/N’s heart stopped. The entire world seemed to go silent except for the pounding of her pulse in her ears.

            Her father was dead. Suicide.

            “No,” she whispered, shaking her head, her voice barely audible. “No…that’s not true.”

            The words on the adio repeated themselves in her head, looping over and over, refusing to make sense. Her father was dead. Suicide? Frank Tancredi? No. That wasn’t possible.

            Then, as if a floodgate had opened, the memory of their last phone call slammed into her. His voice, shaking as he apologised, telling her to stay away from Kellerman. Who was Kellerman? The way he’d rushed through his words, the panic underneath his tone. She hadn’t thought much of it, but now, it was all too clear.

            He was warning her.

            Then it hit her…Sebastian. Sebastian was behind this. She was sure of it. Kellerman had to be one of Sebastian’s men.

            But, the key?

            Whatever her father had been trying to tell her, the key held part of the answer. It was important…And now she was probably holding the very thing that got him killed.

            The car door suddenly opened, and Michael slid into the driver’s seat. His eyes immediately locked onto her, his sharp gaze picking up on something in her expression.

            “You ok, Y/N?” his voice was soft, concerned, but she could see tension in his shoulders.

            She forced a smile, voice steady. “Was worried about you.”

            He nodded. “Oscar Shales never go away from Mahone,” he stated as he took the glasses off and threw them behind him. “He killed him and buried him in the yard…then he asked his wife to move out because it haunts him.”

            Y/N looked at him and nodded. “Holy shit.”

            “I need to call this agent,” Michael said as he pulled out Pam’s phone. Y/N nodded.

            Michael made the phone call to Mahone, mocking him, taunting him and proving that Michael had the upper hand. He explained what he knew about Shales, what Mahone did to the body. Then Michael glanced over to Y/N and saw her. He loved her with every fibre in him.

            “I’m giving you a chance…Back off,” Michael spat. “Let me and my family disapper, and in return, I’ll keep your little secret,” Michael said. “How does that sound?”

            Then Y/N heard what Mahone said over the phone, “Like a dead man talking.”

            A shiver went up her spine.

            “I know it’s not how you wanted this to play out, but sometimes things happen that are just…out of your control,” Michael belittled. “This is one of those times,” Michael explained, voice low and unwavering. “Take care of yourself.”

            Michael ended the phone call and looked over at Y/N. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it before pulling the car out. New Mexico was next.

-

Here you go!

Hope you enjoy :)

I had so much fun writing this.

Much love,

Ava <3

-

Taglist:

(let me know if you want to be tagged)

@enha-stars @wonuskie @believeinthefireflies95 @esposadomd @peachmartini @rougegenshin @lindsayjoy444 @fearlessswxft

[ghastlybin]

Twice Sana soulmate AU WHEN? (please)

How about at 4AM on a Sunday morning, yeah? Also, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REQUEST! <3333 ily :))

Pairing: Sana x GN Reader

FT: Jihyo (my love)

Word count: 1.4k

Genre/contents: Soulmate! AU, Fluff... I hope.

Note: I had fun writing this although I do wish I was better at fluffy topics lol there was an attempt! I hope you like it though and uhhh please be honest if it sucks, but in a constructive criticism type of way pls... Also I love Sana so thank you again! And y'all know I'm whipped for Jihyo. If there are typos, ignore them- I will come back later, only some much I can function at 4 AM. Goodnight/ morning btw! Adios, for now.

Y’all ever have a gif give you butterflies?

Living the same day would be great if you weren’t already living the same day.

You wake up, get yourself ready for the day, leave the house, walk to your job, work until you’re exhausted and then you go home and end the day where you started— In your bed.

It was the way you tripped on the curb after crossing the street to the other side. Not once, not twice, but ten total times.

Embarrassingly enough, every time, you just thought you were clumsy. That tripping at that same curb would be an everyday occurrence until you switch up your routine.

You’d have thought after the third time, you’d at least be more careful.

But with you accidentally sleeping in and rushing to get to work on time, it always slipped your mind.

“Welcome! Anything I can do for you?”

The words that were now ingrained in your mind and wired in your program, greeting customers as they came and left. It was the same customers every time. And again, you hadn’t noticed until after the fourth loop. Maybe it was because interactions with each customer went by quickly or just that there had been so many people coming and going that they became a blur in your memory.

You were finally in your loop. The only problem was, you’ve been in this loop ten times and your eleventh started in an hour.

You had one hour left and still haven’t found out who your soulmate was. You even calculated how many people you’ve interacted with and who were mere bystanders.

You figured your soulmate would be relatively easy to find, acknowledging the fact that they too would be stuck in the same loop until you two found each other.

Just look for the other person also frantically trying to interact with everyone they came across, trying to get out of the loop.

It wasn’t that easy. Not when every single person you’ve come across showcased any changes in their behavior.

“Welcome. Anything I can do for you?”

And like a broken record, you were back at your job, the loop repeating for the eleventh time.

∞

Her name was Sana.

And like you, she noticed the loop too.

It was at the mark of the third loop when she realized she finally got close enough to her soulmate to trigger what was called, ‘The Looping Event’.

It was something most dreamed of no matter what types of hell they had to go through just to find their soulmates in the midst of crowds.

Some were lucky, finding their soulmates during the second loop. Some were still in their loops.

Sana always wondered how someone could tell whether someone was in a loop. According to sources, the soulmates will disappear for however long it takes them to find each other while other sources say time freezes until the loop completes.

Then again, how would you be able to tell if time is frozen?

Sana was on a walk around the time the loop started. The one time she took a different route than usual for her morning walk. She wondered what would happen if her usual route hadn’t been blocked off by construction work.

By the start of the eleventh loop, she began to think she was placed inside of a loop by mistake. A freak accident that could very much be possible.

Then again, no one really knew the science behind the whole soulmates loop phenomenon. Sana’s walks turned into runs, rushing to interact with anyone she came across, wanting nothing more than to get back to her life and possibly start one with her soulmate— Wherever they were hiding.

Not once did it occur to her to start checking the shops she ran past.

Not once did it occur to you to just leave your job and look outside at the woman running and frantically interacting with those who remained outside.

It took eleven loops before it crossed your mind.

Eleven loops before Sana decided to enter every shop she came across.

By the end of loop eleven, neither of you found each other, commencing loop twelve.

∞

You and Sana woke up the morning of loop twelve at around the same time.

While Sana continued to go on her walk, so did you, skipping work entirely. You were in a loop, after all. What will they do? Fire you?

You would most likely wake up with your job again on the morning of loop thirteen anyway.

Sana ignored the people she previously interacted with. She even ignored the stores she entered that turned up to be futile.

You walked down the street, missing the curb this time and avoiding tripping over it.

“Ha… Eat shit.” You spoke too soon, bumping into a stop sign while you were looking at the curb as you made that remark. You cursed yourself for letting your guard down just to talk to a curb that would most likely trip you again.

“You know what they say about paying attention to stop signs, right?”

You squinted, rubbing the part of your shoulder that came crashing against the stop sign. A woman you haven’t come across was standing before you, and the excitement bubbled inside of you.

Please be my soulmate.

She formed a smile full of amusement, holding out her hand. “I’m Jihyo.”

“Ah… I’m Y/N.” You shook her hand, yet nothing seemed to change. “Are you my soulmate?”

Jihyo let out an awkward laugh, the tilt of her head and furrowing of her eyebrows told you all you needed to know.

“Soulmate? No. I was just looking for my friend but then I saw you talking to the curb and now you probably have a bruise on your shoulder.” Jihyo sucked her teeth followed by the soft shaking of her head.

You began to laugh hysterically, on the verge of crying when Jihyo turned around, hearing the sound of another woman’s voice. You calmed yourself down long enough to see if this other woman was your soulmate or someone you already came across.

“Sana! There you are. What happened to walking together?” Jihyo crossed her arms as the woman panted, doing a double-take when she saw you standing with Jihyo.

Then it happened. The end of the loop.

∞

In the blink of an eye, you were back in your bed without any recollection of how you got back home. The first thing you did was checking the date and time.

You were now twelve days in the future, finally caught up with everyone.

Sana. The woman you made eye contact with after meeting Jihyo.

You immediately ran outside, jumping over the curb and avoiding the stop sign successfully as you ran past your workplace and down the sidewalk Sana met up with Jihyo— And you, on.

Down the sidewalk, you saw the distant figure of Sana, who was running towards you as well. Both of you seemingly had the same idea first thing that morning.

Coming to an abrupt stop, you both looked at each other, feeling as if you’ve known each other for years. The similar feeling other found soulmates have felt.

“Sana?” You breathed out, catching your breath. Sana beamed, throwing her arms around you despite barely meeting.

“Y/N? Took you long enough!” Sana chuckled with excitement.

“Did Jihyo tell you my name?” You asked, surprised that she already knew your name despite telling Jihyo before Sana joined.

“How do you know Jihyo?” Sana asked, releasing you from the hold she had you in. You struggled to respond, unsure how to explain yourself. But Sana laughed, lightly slapping your arm.

“I’m joking! She said we met twelve days ago… But she doesn’t believe the loop actually happened.”

“Then how are we twelve days in the future?” You were confused, to say the least. The concept of the ‘Looping Event phenomenon’ was confusing.

Sana sheepishly laughed, shrugging. “Crazy, isn’t it?”

You allowed yourself to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Hey, could be worse,” You massaged the part of your shoulder where you hit on the stop sign during the loop. “We could be one of those soulmates that are still stuck in the loop.”

Sana gave you a horrified look, “I don’t think I could handle a loop that long.”

You reached for her hand with a smile, accompanying her on a walk down the street.

“Are you ready for the start of forever, Sana?”

“Hasn’t it already started?”

[ashicyde]

I absolutely loved your tracer x femreader and i wanted to request one bc she deserves more love. Tracer and reader are on a mission and reader has to have her leg amputated, then her helping reader re-learn how to walk?

—Step by Step—

・Tracer x Female Reader・

Fluff

>>Overwatch Masterlist<<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you ready, love?" Lena asked you with a grin, her pulse guns in her hands.

"I'm as ready as you are." You state, holding your preferred weapon. Lena quickly kisses your cheek before heading to the dropship doors.

"Let's do this!" She yelled blinking off to the battlefield while you run into a different direction. Your job is to get behind them to take them by surprise while the others were fighting. This was an unstable place, and bomb is supposed to go off soon.

As you were running around to get behind the enemies you collided with someone. You look to see Reaper. The both of you started shooting, but you quickly got behind cover to shoot.

Your shots overwhelmed him, hitting him in his side and shoulders. Before you could land the final blow you were grabbed from behind and pinned to the wall.

"You really thought you could get behind us that easily, amiga?" Sombra questioned before shooting your left leg.

You cried out in pain and tried to fight back, but it was no use. You felt the pain in your leg multiply greatly, and it felt limp. When Sombra pulled away you dropped to the ground, landing on your knees.

You then felt a cold metal touch your forehead.

"Any last words?–" Sombra questioned before Reaper spoke.

"Sombra, the bomb is going off in half a minute, we need to go. Leave the agent." He grunted sternly pulling her away as he walked.

"Ah, fine." Sombra sighed and looked to you. "¡Adios amiga!" Sombra said with a smirk before translocating away, Reaper also disappearing.

You began to try and crawl away, not getting far in the limited time you head before the bomb went off. Thankfully the blast radius of where you were wasn't horrible, but the building still crumbled, falling apart. You kept moving before suddenly feeling a crushing weight on your body, making you cry out in pain.

You couldn't move your left leg anymore, just feeling excruciating pain and pressure on your body. You shakily tried your comms, trying to reach out to your team.

"Requesting assistance... I've been shot in the leg and my body is crushed..." You shakily cried in pain through comms. Not a moment later you hear Lena.

"Love!? Shit! We've got your location, we're on our way! Hang on!" Lena reassured, and you could hear Angela and Ana guiding them to you in the background. A couple minutes later, you hear footsteps and feel hands grabbing your face.

"You're going to be okay love! You're going to be okay...!" Lena softly cried, trying to reassure you as Genji and Pharah try to lift the rubble off of you. Angela and Ana were off to the side.

...

Now you're laying in bed months after the mission... Your left leg had to be amputated, though you were able to get a pretty good mechanical prosthetic leg. You had to let your body heal first, and even then it took a while before the mechanical leg was made.

You were taken out of your thoughts by Lena when she kissed you cheek and spoke.

"Love..." She softly muttered, looking at you with warmth.

"Hm...?" You hummed out, looking to her.

"You ready to try walking again...?" She asked softly, being more gentle since the mission.

"... Yeah." You softly murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lena nodded and moved in front of you. She gently took your hands, waiting for you to get up on your own. She never wanted to force you during this, she wanted you to do things on your own time.

You carefully got up, holding Lena's hand as you did. You then carefully wrapped your arm around her, a brace for you incase you were unsteady (which you were).

"Alright, slow and steady." Lena said softly, an arm around your waist. "I'll step when you step."

You nodded in reply while carefully taking steps, and in turn, Lena stepped with you. You didn't walk far, only going to the overwatch headquarters kitchen. (In this everyone lives in headquarters.)

While in the hallway you were able to walk a little faster, getting close to normal pace. Lena smiled happily seeing you do so well. You saw Reinhardt and Winston in the kitchen talking, but when they saw you they grinned and complimented you on how well you were doing with walking. You sat down at a seat by the island in the kitchen, Lena sitting next to you.

"I see you're doing better friend!" Reinhardt yelled like normal, which made you smile and nod.

"I'm getting there, slowly but surely." You replied, grabbing the glass of water Winston had got you.

"You're doing great love." Lena said softly, gently kissing your cheek. "Soon you'll be walking like nothin happened." She reassured.

"I know, thank you..." You said softly, looking at Lena before gently kissing her.

"Don't thank me love, it's no problem." Lena said as she gently kissed back.

[morguevampire]

(Un) Fortunate Encounters - Chapter 4

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

Masterlist for this fic

summary:  With your body needing rest you fall into a sort of routine at the Baron's mansion. Which doesn't mean you trust him. It's mostly a back and forth between the two of you.

warnings/tags: fluff, smut, angst, mentions of kidnapping, mentions of torture, drinking, mild alcoholism, dark themes, slow build romance, not really Stockholm syndrome but that’s up for interpretation 

chapter: 4/?

word count: 2.121k

pairings: Helmut Zemo x fem!Reader

author’s note: Hey yo, 

there ya go. Chapter 4! 

Honestly not sure about this chapter but let's just blame it on uni being stressful and my brain being fried. I really tried my best, going over it a few times but at last I figured I'd post it because I was afraid that if I didn't keep up the regular updates I would just abandon this story. 

Let me know what you think! I promise to do better for the next one! Comments, kudos etc. are welcome, as well as feedback :) 

Adios

You can also find this work on https://archiveofourown.org/works/43158162/chapters/108965257

It’s almost midday when you wake up the next morning. Your exhaustion completely took over you and you find yourself surprised at having slept soundly through the night. It takes you another good hour of contemplating your life and the current situation until you finally crawl out of the comfort of the warm bed and into the bathroom to freshen up.

Your dreamless slumber and general fatigue didn’t necessarily leave you with much capacity to mull over whether you wanted to accept the invitation of staying with a murderer or strike out on your own and most likely get killed by other murderers but really, perhaps unconsciously you had already made up your mind.

As you head down the stairs towards the living room you find the house quiet and unoccupied. You decide to explore the space, perhaps finding Zemo in the dining room or wherever all the other paths of the mansion led to.

Carefully, almost as if you were an intruder you make your way through the dining room, where just the evening before you had dinner with a god forsaken terrorist. Another door leads into the modern kitchen, fully equipped with appliances you could only afford to dream of and a big island with stools on one side. One wall was lined with full glass, overlooking a lush forest which made you conclude that the house was most likely in the middle of nowhere. You stand in front of the windows, memorized by the scenery when Oeznik quietly enters the room, startling you as he interrupts your daydreaming.

“Would you like a cup of coffee, Miss Y/N?”

You accept eagerly, realizing you haven’t had your coffee fix in almost three days. Oeznik informs you that the Baron was out on an errand. He disappears shortly after handing you your cup and you decide to sit down in the living room once again, staring out of the windows there or roaming through the shelves of books while enjoying your freshly brewed coffee.

You were almost finished when you heard the front door open and close, expecting the Baron to appear shortly after.

“Good morning. I thought I’d get some of your belongings from your apartment so you’d feel more comfortable.”

You stare at the two duffle bags that he hauled onto the couch.

“So, you just assumed I would stay?”

“Aren’t you?”

His condescending tone once again annoying you,´; you challenge him, even though he is right. His whole demeanor oozes arrogance and a know-all attitude which pisses you off, not just on him but on humans in general.

You’re almost too proud to answer him, his face once again wearing a slight smirk.

Most likely with too much force and looking clumsier than you intended it to be, you snatch the two duffle bags and simply mumble a hasty “thanks” before storming off towards your room once again, leaving the Baron to huff out a quiet laugh at your temperament.

In your room you go through the duffle bags. They’re filled to the brim with clothes, surprisingly a lot of your favorites. Toiletries are also neatly packed, which makes you cringe a bit at the thought of this man going through your bathroom. You’re sort of at a loss when you discover your nowadays not so stuffed little plush duck in there. It’s a little greyish thing, used to be white but that was a long time ago, its head not really upright anymore. It’s usually hosted on your bed and you haven’t stopped sleeping with it since you were about five years old. You were oddly sentimental over this thing, holding it in your arms now. It gave you a sort of safety to know you had it with you.

You sort through the rest of the stuff, happy with having a bit of your life back but also unsure as the amount gave you a feeling you’d be staying for longer than you initially hoped.

The only thing that’s really missing in the bags is your phone, or your notebook. You suppose it’s because of the very obvious reason that technical devices would mean communications to the police or the outside world which most likely don’t overlap with the Baron’s plans for you. It still makes you frustrated.

Once you descend the stairs again you find the man who just an hour ago went through your private belongings sitting on the kitchen island, a laptop in front of him.

“I want my phone.”

He looks at you somewhat surprised that you would even dare to ask such a stupid question.

“Not possible.” He scoffs. “At least for now.”

You roll your eyes, once again annoyed and already regretting your decision to even come down here.

When you inquire about the duration of your more or less forced stay, or the progress in his strategy to get his enemies off your back he gives you cryptic, monotone answers. None the wiser and feeling defeated you sit down on one of the high barstools furthest away from him. Once again absently staring out of the window. Out of the corner of your eye you see him shuffling around the kitchen but you completely zoom out and don’t really take in anything he’s saying until a plate with food on it is placed in front of you.

“You should eat.” Is all he says before picking up his laptop, leaving you alone once more.

********

A few uneventful days fly by. In a weird, twisted sort of way your life found a routine. With your body still being in the healing process you spent most of your days sleeping, or dozing in your room. You couldn’t remember the last time in your life you actually had the time to just do nothing. No distractions, no guilty feelings about being unproductive. Even if you wanted to, there was nothing to do. The times you did wander downstairs to pass over the time, you usually found yourself drawn to the book shelves in the living room. Browsing through the titles and mostly being too afraid to touch vintage looking ones.

You were never a crazy reader, but you did go through your phases and always wished for more time for the activity. Often work or general adult-duties kept you from it and the forced technology detox helped you appreciate books more.

The Baron wasn’t around too much. Usually in the morning or rather midday Oeznik would offer coffee and breakfast to you and quickly disappeared out of sight once you sat down on the kitchen counter, staring out at the woods. You’d encounter Zemo randomly throughout the day, never saying too much and mostly trying to be out of his way as much as possible. Your trust in him was still uncertain and he didn’t seem to try to make much of an effort in gaining it. The only consonant was your shared dinner, usually something hearty, the two of you on the large dining table. It felt awkward, the only conversation usually being him checking up on your general wellbeing and health condition.

He’d always seem so unbothered by the tension in the room, while you were constantly in flight mode. Even though he had more or less shown you hospitality, always been polite and tried to stay out of your business, he still made you uncomfortable. He seemed so sure of everything, his position, your position while not really giving you any answers to your questions, yet still underneath concerned about you. You couldn’t figure him out.  

You were relieved once these dinners would end and you could go curl up in bed once again – just to have a deep dreamless sleep.

It surprised you how easy sleep came to you, considering you were usually an overthinker with insomniac tendencies whenever your mind was occupied with personal struggles.

You should have seen it coming, there was only so many hours of rest your injured body would need before your unconscious mind decided to plague you with nightmares.

It comes on the fourth night at the mansion.

You jolt up chocking. Your lungs desperately grasping for air. It takes you a moment to realize where you are. The room, your room. Your head isn’t underwater. You aren’t back in the warehouse. You’re safe now, he said.

You drag your forearm across the top of your head, realizing just how much you sweated. Still not fully awake and back to reality you slump back down, breathing hard and trying to control your emotions. You’ve been rescued, your wounds are healing, the bruises are fading, you’re safe. But you’re also still locked up. Forced to stay in a safe house of a man who killed innocent lives. 

You toss and turn for an hour or so, slipping in and out of consciousness, that feeling of fear, torture and pain always coming back. The clock on the little bedside table reads 3:38 a.m. when you decide to give up. You wouldn’t fall back asleep anytime soon and the room suddenly feels too claustrophobic, the chocking feeling in your throat becoming more intense as the minutes tick by.

You decide to head downstairs into the living area, selecting the book you started to read days prior. Only it didn’t quite manage to distract you from the night’s terrors.

Curled up under a cashmere blanket on the big leather couch your body was still tense and you couldn’t concentrate on any of the words in the book. You don’t know how much time has passed when a low voice interrupts your blank staring at the letters.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

The Baron entered, a steaming cup of tea in his hand, heading towards you.

You only shake your head, feeling uncomfortable in being called out.

He doesn’t ask you, just holds the steaming cup of what you smelled to be chamomile tea in front of you. Hesitantly you take it from him, not trusting his intentions.

It seems as if he’s giving you space to talk on your own, even though he sits down right next to you, close enough to make your body tense up again.

After a few sips in heavy silence you slowly begin to speak.

“Why are you up?”

He was still dressed in his street wear. Black trousers and a gray knitted sweater.

“Insomnia.” He answers with a shrug, turning his head to look in your direction, focusing his brown eyes on you and pursing his lips before he continues. “Let me guess… nightmares?”

You nod.

“It’s the natural reaction of your brain and body to all the horrors you’ve experienced in the past week.”

A nod again, this time faintly annoyed at his smart talking and prying into your personal matters.

“I am sorry for your pain. This might not help, but I do empathize with what you’re going through. I have had my fair share of nightmares and PTSD.”

“We’re not the same.”

You mumble and break eye contact, not being able to take his soft, pitying look anymore. You don’t want his empathy and you certainly don’t want to empathize with him. If he wants to open up about his past or his struggles he should see a therapist, not load it onto the woman he kidnapped.

You fumble around with the handle of the tea cup for a bit, wishing to just be on your own again.

“What are you reading?”

You show him the cover of the book. Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

“Can’t really concentrate on the words though.”

“Would you like me to read to you?”

You most likely don’t hide your surprise well but he only chuckles and motions for you to had him the book, still lying open in your lab. You do and not soon after find yourself half lain down on your spot, feet curled up and eyes fluttering shut as Zemo’s low, accented voice carried you into a solidary life in the woods.

You’re not sure at what point you fell asleep but as you drift in and out of a calm slumber his voice is always there, a consonant that your unconsciousness latches onto for distraction. A guide into a numb sleep.

********

You awake in your bed the next morning. Hazily trying to remember if you’ve only dreamed of the Baron reading to you and trying to figure out how you ended up in your room. It must have really happened as you faintly remember being pulled out of sleep for a second as he lifted you in his arm and carried you upstairs, brushing the hair out of your face softly, before leaving your room, letting your tired mind rest.

And you felt safe. And cared for.

[happilyperfectinternet]

Mercy's Secret

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's only 5 seconds left before overtime. The music is amping up and getting more intense. Everyone is trying to build ult charge, and through it all, Mercy finds herself desperately flying from ally to ally, trying to stay alive. She used her ult in the last fight, so she has to hope her teammates can come in clutch and secure the game win. As she ducks behind cover to stay hidden from enemy fire, she suddenly feels weak, and she can't use any of her abilities.

"Oh no..." she thinks to herself and the sudden realization hits home like a truck. She's been hacked. Sombra is behind her, now shooting her in the back. She yells out for her teammates and makes a mad dash for the point, trying to break line of sight with Sombra. She's almost there. So close she can taste it. Just as she rounds the corner, the last drop of HP leaves her body and she falls in the fight. Defeated...

"Ugh!!! Come on.." Mercy huffs impatiently as she waits to respawn. "Geez, who is playing me? A 10 year old?" She's been at this all day, and its been rough. Loss after loss, every game has had death numbers approaching 15 or more, and shes been battle Mercy in every other game the past 2 hours. Its exhausting to go through the same thing again and again. Its stressful. And she looks forward to those wonderful gaps when the game is down for maintenance. Its the only time she gets to relax.

She finally respawns and stars heading back towards the fight. Her team is doing their best with just Lucio for healing but she knows they won't hold out forever being down a player. She knows she has to be back in the team fight to help keep everyone alive. She knows she has to be there to rez one of her teammates if they die, which could dramatically swing the momentum back to her team and win the game. She had to get back as fast as she can. She is only 20 feet out of spawn when she hears a voice come from behind her. "Oh my God..." she thought.

"Hola. Been here all along." The voice said. Mercy spun around as fast as she could, whipping out her pistol and shooting at her attacker. Sombra and Mercy exchanged fire as they both jumped and danced around, trying to dodge each others fire while trying to also land their own. The duel only lasted a few seconds. Mercy found herself down to her last 5 HP, only to look up and see Sombra right in her face.

"Adios!" Sombra said as she landed a melee right to Mercy's face and sent her back to spawn, right outside spawn. Mercy grunted with frustration. she could only watch her teammates fight in the distance, the kill feed trading red and blue kills as overtime ticked on. She began to fear the worst as she closed her eyes, dqydreaming about a well deserved break from all the fighting. Especially the flankers... especially Sombra.

Suddenly, she's jolted back to reality as the loud, booming voice of Athena declares defeat for her team. She looks up at the big, red letters towering over her and sighs. Another loss to add to an abysmal total for the day. At least she could relax now. She could finally take a breath and be happy because it was officially her favorite time of all.

The game disconnected from the servers. The networks went offline. All the players... disappeared.

"Finally!! Oh, my aching back.." she groaned as she walked out of spawn and into the world behind the code. Similar to the world of Wreck it Ralph, everyone lived their own lives and had their own houses. They didnt get the chance to be home very often, since they were part of an online game, constantly online, but it was amazing when they got some time to unwind.

Mercy walked down the hall to the women's locker room. She dropped her staff off at her locker and walked over to the sinks, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked tired, bags under her eyes and coukd almost see the knots in her shoulders from the full day of games.

"Ugh, I look like trash. I need a shower and some sleep." She said to herself, turning on the water and splashing her face with it.

"Woooohoooo!! Good games today, everyone!" Tracer came bounding into the room, chipper as always and the first person to make sure everyone was okay after a long day. Mercy sighed very softly, not wanting to show her fatigue and worry Tracer. After all, she was the doctor tending to everyone else's needs. She did the worrying, no need for others to worry about her. She straightened up and gave Tracer a warm smile as she walked by.

"Thank you, Lena. You had quite a good stretch of games today. I saw you doing your best to carry your teammates." She said. Tracer beamed back at at Mercy and blinked over to hug her.

"Thanks, love! I know it was kinda rough out there for you today, though. Are you okay, Angela?"

Mercy smiles and hugged her friend back, bufore putting her hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"Of course, Lena. Just another day in the field. I'm alright. I promise." She said with a smile. Tracer smiled back and walked away, leaving mercy behind. She rubbed her neck a little with her hand as she walked back to her locker, undoing her Valkyrie suit, she stepped out of it, before hanging it up in her locker. As she stood there, in nothing more than her athletic shorts and sports bra she work under her suit, Mercy heard a voice come from behind her.

"Tsk tsk tsk. What happened out there? You need to stop leaving yourself so vulnerable. It almost makes it too easy." Sombra teased. She had been the last one to dispatch of Mercy, which snowballed the fight and lead to the defeat. Mercy just huffed as she put her pants.

"Well, that's what happens when you have someone playing support that doesn't normally do it. You find players make silly mistakes." Mercy replied, trying to be her normal self despite being over Sombra's sarcastic quips. "You played very well. Congratulations, Olivia." Sombra sneered a little at Mercy's reply.

"Aye, do you have to use my real name. You know i hate that. That part of me is dead. Long ago." She said.

Mercy smirked back at her, wordlessly letting her know she was just messing with her. Sombra just puffed. As Mercy was just about to put her top on, Sombra placed her hand on Mercy's shoulder.

"Relaaaaax. Don't be so uptight all the time. I'm only kidding." She said. As she was pulling away, he drug her claw like nails down Mercy's back and side. Mercy immediately jumps and a tiny squeal escaped from Mercy's mouth. She immedately pulled her shirt the rest of the way on and covered her mouth with her hand. Sombra paused for a second and looked at Mercy. She was standing very still. Her hand over her mouth. Her face, ears, and neck beginning to turn red from her building blush. After a second or two, Sombra smirked and put her hands behind her back, slowly starting to walk around Mercy.

"Weeeell now, what do we have here? Angela, I didnt know you were ticklish." Sombra teased. Mercy looked around to see that luckily for her, nocone else had seemed to notice what had just happened. She was always the motherly type in the game. Strong, proud, and always composed. So to be seen like this now, blushy and flustered, she shuddered at the thought. Especially when you consider the secret she carried with her about tickling. But right now, she had to recompose quickly. Mercy cleared her through, and brushed her hair back into place.

"Y-yes. I am. Most people are. Theres nothing unique about that." Mercy replied, trying to present the same air of confidence she always does. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Sombra, still pacing around, look back into her eyes with a hint of mischief that Mercy did NOT want to combat here in front of everyone.

"Oh, I'm not saying its unique." Sombra replied, walking behind her and speaking under her breath. "I just think your reaction to it was... interesting." Mercy shuddered slightly again. She had to get out of here quickly. She grabbed her staff, stuffed it in locker, and closed the door quickly. "I need to go. I have things to do before the game comes back online. Have a good day, Som... Olivia." She said before walking away quickly and leaving the building.

Sombra watched her leave, still with a mischievious grin on her face. The way Mercy acted when asked about her ticklishness was intriging. It was obvious it flustered her, made her feel some kind of way. Yhere was something about it that she wasn't telling. something she was hiding. And that was something Sombra just couldn't let pass by without doing a little digging. "What are you hiding, Chica? I'm gonna figure out what it is." Sombra thought to herself, before grabbing her own stuff and folowing Mercy out the door.

End of Part 1

[foggyfanfic]

Love and Fury

Chapter Preview: They whiled away the hours making soap while Bruno tried to convince himself that no, he wasn’t stalling, he was just so caught up in enjoying his Very Good Friend’s company that he’d forgotten that he came here to ask her on a date.

Ch1 Prev Next Master List

Chapter 24 Do or Die

On a list of things Bruno didn’t want to do, the only thing that superseded putting himself out there, was finding out what Pepa had planned to “help” him if he didn’t ask Leandra out by Sunday. 

So here he was, on Saturday, making the trek up to Leandra’s house. Well, making the trek up to Leandra’s house again; he’d already gotten to the edge of her property, chickened out, gone half way back to town, then remembered the sharp grin on Pepa’s face as her and Rosalie disappeared into Pepa’s room, and climbed back up the mountain. Twice.

Now he was sweaty, and thirsty, and his feet ached, and he was beginning to think that maybe he should just settle down here, on the side of the road. He could start a new life for himself, a life collecting dew from the leaves and fruit from the trees, far away from sisters, or visions, or mothers who were beginning to hint at grandchildren. It would be peaceful, serene. Right up until Leandra found him on her way to the market and would inevitably want to know why he was sitting on the side of the road sucking on a leaf.

Bruno reached the edge of her property once again and stopped, then started to pace at the edge of the property line. Dios help him, he couldn’t do this. What was he thinking? That he’d just walk up and ask her on a date? Like a person? Bruno wasn’t a person! Well, he was a person, sure, most people are persons, but he wasn’t a person person. He didn’t do people things like have happy relationships. He played with magic sand and reminded actual people that they were going to grow old and that eventually everything they know and love would die.

Mind made up, Bruno turned around. He couldn’t do this.

“Hey Bruno!”

He froze mid step. Bruno gulped and slowly turned his head until he could see the hill that overlooked the pasture, and therefore the rest of the property. Leandra was standing on it with Leche.

How long had she been standing there?

“H-Hola,” he called back.

“Meet me at the back gate to the garden,” she yelled, hands cupped around her mouth.

Bruno shakily held up a thumb, aching feet moving beneath him without his say so, until he was standing at the gate. Leche came bounding up a minute later, Leandra bursting through the trees as Bruno knelt down to pet the old dog. She was smiling brightly, cheeks pleasantly rosy from her short jog down the hill and a leaf caught in her hair.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” she said, and she said it like one would announce their delight at a surprise gift, or a rainbow. Somehow it just made him more nervous, it was entirely possible she wouldn’t be this excited to see him ever again.

“I-I wanted to-, that is I thought we might-, you might-, would you mind if we um-. I’m so sorry. Adios.”

“Whoa.” Leandra caught his arm before he could run away like he wanted to, “You alright Bruno? Is something wrong?”

“No, no, I mean yes, and no,” he said, hands gesturing back and forth. She frowned, cocking her head to the side like a confused puppy. Eventually he muttered, “Yes I am alright, no nothing’s wrong.”

“Uh-huh,” she drew the two sounds out until each communicated their own question, then she began tugging him towards her cottage, “how about you come in and have something to drink, it's muggy out here and you’re wearing wool.”

Bruno looked down at his usual ruana, which was indeed wool, and very warm. He would have taken it off, but at this point he had sweated through his beige linen shirt and he really didn’t want her seeing that. Honestly, if Leandra could just somehow be completely blind to everything about him for the rest of the day, that would be great. He glanced over his shoulder at the path back to town and thought about making a run for it.

But a cold drink sounded really nice. And he was really hot.

Leandra pushed her back door open and pulled him through into the cool shade of her kitchen. She pulled out a chair and ordered him to sit in it then fetched him a glass of water. When he chugged it she immediately poured him a second. It was all he could do not to chug that one too.

Maybe walking up and down a mountain in the middle of the afternoon during the height of summer hadn’t been a great idea. Pepa was still keeping the sun at bay so he hadn’t noticed how hot he was getting until he had left the humidity behind.

Snacks appeared on the table in short order then Leandra sat next to him, pulling her chair out so she was pointed at him and her shoulder was pointed at the table. Leche laid down in between them.

“So, what brings you up to my humble abode, and in the midst of either a panic attack or heat stroke, is it Pepa? I bet it’s Pepa. Whatever she’s scheming she’s roped Rosalie in too, even I’m getting nervous,” Leandra chattered cheerfully, as unbothered as ever that he was an awkward disaster who frequently failed to string together a coherent sentence. Maybe he should skip asking her on a date and just ask her to marry him. 

Bruno knocked on the wooden table, then risked speaking, “I-I noticed, they’re down in Casita right now, as we speak. Plotting away.”

“Oof,” Leandra grimaced and sucked air in through her teeth, “stay as long as you need. Actually, maybe we should start talking about ways to fake your death, Rosalie is not a merciful plotter.”

“She isn’t?”

“Nuh-uh. Not even a little. She’s downright vicious when she wants to be, you'll never see her coming, and never prove to anybody it was she who put the salt in your teacher's tea.”

Bruno raised an eyebrow.

"I may or may not have helped Rosalie frame certain unpleasant individuals for harmless pranks in school," Leandra grinned, "I'll say it again, Rosalie is vicious."

Bruno groaned and put his head on the table, “So is Pepa.”

“It’s ok Bruno, you can live here now, I’ll cover for you. And if they ever come looking, you can pretend to be one of the goats.”

Bruno let out a miserable goat noise and Leandra giggled. It was all he could do not to sigh dreamily at the sound.

“I think your papa might have some questions about the oddly man-shaped goat you found,” Bruno lifted his head to give her a wry smile.

“He’d look the other way for you, he likes you, always has,” Leandra waved the concern off.

Bruno sat up straight, “Probably because we haven’t spoken that much since I was twelve.”

“Or, maybe, because my papa isn’t a total idiot and he knows a good man when he sees one,” Leandra prodded his ankle with her toe, “not everybody in this village is a total jerk you know.”

“Hm,” Bruno wanted to point out that not liking the bearer of bad news didn’t make somebody a jerk, but he had a feeling Leandra wouldn’t agree, so he changed the subject, “how’s your day been?”

“Good, better now that you’re here, of course,” she grabbed some sliced mango off the table and paused to have a bite, then said, “Papa and his apprentice are practicing herding with Lobo on the peak and I’ve spent most of the day helping them out. I was just coming down to check on the cheese and soaps, move along whatever needs moving along.”

“Your papa seems to spend a lot of time herding,” Bruno pointed out, “Do goats always need this much attention?”

“Not really, sort of, but no,” she shrugged, tilting her head back and forth, “I mean it’s like your rats, they always need something, right? Only, we need a lot more goats to keep things running around here than you have rats, and our livelihood depends on them being well fed and healthy and all that. So Papa always spends a lot of time with them, but usually he’s just sitting and reading or something, he’s only been doing so much actual herding lately because he’s training up both Lobo and his apprentice.”

“So, do you always spend so much time… alone?”

She shrugged, “I guess? I’m not normally alone on the property this much, he’s usually just out in the pasture, or the barn. But since I’m old enough to handle all of the cheese making and market trading myself, I do that while he handles all the goat stuff, and the maintenance around here. And then we have a few meals together.”

Bruno nodded to show he was listening, but took the time to let his next question percolate before he asked it, “Does he know? A-about Cicero?”

“Um, sort of,” Leandra fiddled with her skirt, “he doesn’t know exactly what Cicero did, or that I’m keeping him distracted while we figure out how to catch him. Papa just knows that I don’t want to be left alone with the guy. That’s why he officially retired Leche, really, so he could guard me full time.”

Leche lifted his head when he heard his name, and she leaned down to scratch him behind his ear.

“You uh, you should probably tell him,” Bruno pointed out, “if anything bad happens to you…”

“I know,” Leandra sighed, propping her cheek on her hand, and her elbow on the table, “it’s just… I don’t even know how to start that conversation, and I don’t want him putting everything on hold to protect me. I won’t be here to help out forever, y’know? I’m going to get married eventually and when I do, Papa needs to have everything ready to run without me.”

Bruno gulped, nodding again, but this time to cover his reaction to her mentioning marriage. Unfortunately his mouth didn’t get the memo and he croaked out, “Married?”

“Sí,” she cocked her head, watching him carefully, she hadn’t meant to bring up marriage, but her concern for what her Pá would do once she was married was ever present, “I’m at that age, you know. Honestly, I’d probably be married by now if it wasn’t for… um, the whole kids thing.”

Leandra ate another mango, trying to think of a way to change the subject without making it super obvious that she was changing the subject. It’d probably be best if she brought the conversation back to her Pá.

“The kids thing?” Bruno leaned towards her, unintentionally cutting off her evasive maneuvers. She examined his face and tried to judge what he was thinking. He seemed pretty interested in the topic.

“I… you know how I’m adopted?”

“Sí.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to pay it forward, so to speak. There’s always kids who need a good home, even here in paradise, I want to provide that home,” she tucked her hair behind her ear, a part of her wanted to avoid looking at Bruno, they weren’t even dating yet and she was kind of, sort of already starting The Kids Conversation.

For his part, Bruno suddenly realized for the first time in his life that adopting a kid was an option. He didn’t have to curse his children to a life as Bruno Madrigal’s spawn, he could take in a kid that would come pre-attached with their own identity in the eyes of the village. People might feel bad for the kid, for being stuck with the least favorite Madrigal, but that was better than them hating his kids outright.

Much, much better.

Why hadn’t he thought of this before? He’d always figured he would just steal some of Pepa’s and Julieta’s kids, but he could actually have some of his own.

“Adoption,” he said, quietly.

“Yeah, I know, it’s kind of a hard sell,” she sighed, leaning on the table, “but it’s non-negotiable for me. I have yet to meet anyone who I want to marry more than I want to adopt. Anyone who wants to marry me would have to get onboard with that.”

Bruno nodded faintly, “Uh-huh.”

He could be a father, without ruining his childrens’ life. 

Wait, could he be a father? He’d always written the very idea of fatherhood off as a bad idea, would he make a good father? What were dad’s like? How do you be a good one?

“Bruno? You good? You look like your mind is a thousand miles away?”

Dios, she hadn’t freaked him out, right?

“What even is a dad?” Bruno blurted, gesturing so sharply and suddenly that Leandra jumped.

“Oh, wow, ok. Um, what?” Leandra shook her head.

“Sorry, sorry. I just… you mentioned adoption and I had this whole e-epiphany thing, because I don’t want people to hate my kids, right? B-but you’re adopted and people don’t hate you, so that would work, but that means being a father and I don’t even know what fathers do.”

Leandra nodded slowly, even though she only sort of got what he was saying. He was clearly still consumed by whatever thoughts he was thinking. She latched on to the part she understood.

“I figure fathers probably do all the same stuff mothers do, or I mean, I’ve always figured that mothers do the things my Pá has done for me. I don’t remember my birth family, mother included, but a kid doesn’t stop needing hugs and vegetables just because they only have one parent, right?”

Bruno blinked at her, finally coming out of the fog of newfound hope and anxiety, “Hugs and vegetables?”

“Sí. Everything a kid needs falls into two categories. ‘Hugs’ is all the stuff like a lap to sit on, a shoulder to cry on, stories at bedtime; and, ‘vegetables’ are all the not fun stuff that kids need, medicine, lectures, rules, chores. If you can give a kid those things, you can be a parent.”

Bruno raised an eyebrow, “You really think it’s that easy?”

“Easy? No. Hell no. I’ve given Julio enough baths to know that the vegetables part can be downright heart breaking. Dios, the hugs part can be pretty hard too, Julio’s first cold was a nightmare, and he was absolutely miserable, crying his head off the whole time. Rosalie was exhausted, and unbelievably stressed, but she still comforted him as best as she could. Parenting is hard. Simple. I think it’s that simple.”

“What about if the kid wants to do something bad for them? A-and by telling them no, you hurt their feelings?”

“Vegetables. Exercise can be unpleasant, it’s still good for us.”

“What if the kid does something bad?”

“Vegetables again. I didn’t always understand why it was bad to make fun of other people’s appearance, but Papá made me write apology letters any time I was mean, and now I understand that everybody is deserving of compassion and respect.”

“What if the kid goes through something awful? What if they, they, I don’t know, lose a limb?”

“Hugs. It’ll be hard, but they’ll need your comfort and support.”

Bruno tried to think of something else, something that could complicate this world view, but he found that she was right. Any parenting challenge he could think of either required “hugs” or “vegetables”.

“See,” she grinned as his silence stretched on, “the most complicated part of parenting is figuring out when to give hugs and when to give vegetables. Once you know that, it’s all very simple.”

“That still sounds pretty complicated,” he shook his head.

“Complicated? Or difficult?”

He drummed his fingers on the table a few times before answering, “Well, it can be both.”

“Sure, but it doesn’t have to be,” Leandra said, her eyes flickering from his face down to the snacks on the table, “like opening up to somebody and telling them how you feel, it’s not complicated, it’s just hard.”

Bruno laughed ruefully, nodding as his own eyes were drawn down to the table as well. He couldn’t argue with that.

They sat in contemplative silence for a few minutes. Leandra nibbled on another mango slice and debated asking Bruno if he wanted to go on a date when this whole mess with Cicero was cleaned up. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

Bruno knocked on the wooden table, accidentally drawing her attention. He grinned sheepishly, and opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and grimaced down at his knees.

They were silent for a little while longer, but now Leandra was aware of the fact that Bruno was uncomfortable.

“You wanna help me with the cheese?” she asked, brightly as she could. Bruno looked startled, then he smiled gently and nodded, standing without a word.

She packed up the snacks and led him down to the basement where various batches of cheese were in various stages of production. Leandra filled the silence, explaining how goat milk became cheese curds which became goat cheese so that Bruno could coast through the conversation for a little while. His attention came and went, his thoughts still plaguing him with mysterious anxieties, but she didn’t mind. She wasn’t chattering at him because she felt he was in dire need of a cheese themed education.

After an hour or so, whatever was bothering Bruno seemed to settle and he asked her to show him how she made soap next. He paid attention this time, knowing that this was something she genuinely enjoyed.

“Will you keep making soap when you’re married?” he asked.

“I’d like to, if I can. I guess it depends on who I marry.”

Bruno bit his lip. He wasn’t sure if his sudden conviction that him and Leandra would be perfect together was based in fact, or hope. Still, he found himself wondering if he could convince Casita to give her a work room to make soap in.

They whiled away the hours making soap while Bruno tried to convince himself that no, he wasn’t stalling, he was just so caught up in enjoying his Very Good Friend’s company that he’d forgotten that he came here to ask her on a date. 

She asked him if he wanted to stay for dinner so he did, and then helped her with the dishes.

Before he knew it the sun was setting outside, Bruno looked wistfully into the twilight pressing in at the window. The day was just about over, if he went home now, he’d have to deal with whatever scheme Pepa and Rosalie cooked up. If only the sun had chosen to hang around a little longer, or maybe forever.

“Bruno?” Leandra pulled his attention away from the window, “You good?”

“Yeah I just,” it was now or never, “I uh… I-I wanted, well I kind of have to- oh! Not have to, have to, I do want to, but I also have to, you know what I mean? No. No, you don’t, because I haven’t yet. Right. Alright. I’m going to do it, I’m just going to take a deep breath and go for it.”

Leandra watched somewhat nervously as Bruno took a few deep breaths, then a few more. He squeezed his eyes shut, opened his mouth, shouted “Meirda!” then promptly fell to his knees clutching his head.

She rushed over to him, gently taking him by the shoulders and calling his name. He looked up at her and instantly grimaced, eyes screwing shut just as soon as she’d caught the glimmer of a green glow. He groaned, fingers fisting in his hair as his weight slowly shifted onto her hands. She pried one of his hands from his hair so she could throw his arm over her shoulder and half carry him to her couch. As soon as he recognized that he was being placed on a soft horizontal surface, Bruno all but collapsed into the cushions.

“Is there anything I can do?” Leandra whispered to him urgently.

He just shook his head, then groaned again.

Leandra stood over him, fiddling with her skirt and nibbling on her lip. She’d only ever seen him have an involuntary vision once before, it had been preceded by a migraine that left him drained, so Bruno had been relieved to get it over with more than anything else. This one looked so much worse, and she had to consciously root her feet to the ground to keep them from carrying her to the doctor’s house. After a moment of fretting it occurred to her that he would likely have a migraine when this sudden vision was over. Relief and purpose flooded her as she rushed around her cottage, extinguishing lights and preparing a cold rag for his head. 

She put the kettle on the stove and dug out some ginger tea. It wasn’t as fresh as Julieta’s had been, her and Pa didn’t really go through dry goods that fast. Hopefully it would still settle his stomach enough for him to take a painkiller. Leandra checked on him, then ran back to pull the kettle off just as it started whistling. She poured him a cup of tea, then frowned at her pot bellied stove and wondered if she should extinguish the flame.

Pepa had been holding off the sun for the entire week, and the cottage had been chilled by the combination of low hanging clouds, and high reaching fog. It made the days comfortably cool, but the nights a tad too cold. She had been planning to let the fire burn through the wood that was in there so that the heat would linger until morning, but now she second guessed herself. Would Bruno be more uncomfortable in a slightly too chilly cottage? Or a slightly too warm cottage? 

She took a step towards the stove to extinguish the flame, then paused and shook her head, frowning at herself. She didn't need to act immediately, in fact extinguishing the flame before she knew what Bruno needed might just increase his discomfort. She would just ask him when the vision had passed.

Leandra placed the tea and a bottle of painkiller on the little side table next to the couch, then knelt by Bruno’s head and began gently petting his hair.

“Is this ok?” she whispered.

“Si,” Bruno’s voice was strained, but sure.

Leandra waited patiently until he stopped groaning, sighing in noisy relief. She handed him the tea and a pain killer and had retrieved the cold rag from the ice box by the time he’d swallowed the pill and laid back down.

She pressed it to his forehead and he immediately muttered, “Oh bless you woman, marry me.”

“Let’s at least go to dinner first,” Leandra said, careful not to skip a beat, just in case Bruno was even a little bit serious.

Bruno, who had been completely serious when the words came out of his mouth, but mortified in the nano-second before she responded, groaned as all of his thoughts crashed together and ricocheted off his aching skull. He would be considering all the implications of that exchange later, when he wasn’t tempted to amputate his own head.

As it was he couldn’t even process the vision he’d just had without something behind his eyes pounding in a way he was pretty sure eyes weren’t supposed to pound. The vision also went into the Worry About Later box.

“Reina, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Take that coat stand by the door and knock me out with it.”

“Anything that doesn’t involve smacking you with a coat stand.”

“That pot, then.”

“Ok, anything that doesn’t involve any sort of violence against you.”

He huffed, grumbling something about his hour of need, but otherwise settled into silence. She asked him if he’d be more comfortable in a warm or cool room, then sat by his hip when he answered warm. With nothing else to do to help him, she settled for holding his hand and rubbing her thumb against his knuckles.

“I guess I should go home,” Bruno eventually muttered, when the migraine had faded enough he thought he might be able to stand without puking.

“In this condition? No way,” Leandra just barely kept her voice down, “Nuh-uh Señor Coat Stand, the only place you’re going is bed. My Pa is spending the night out with his apprentice, you can take his bed.”

“Oh, I-I don’t know,” Bruno shook his head, then decided that was a bad idea, “what if he decides to come back?”

“Not likely, he’s camped out above the cloud line,” Leandra patted his hand and stood, “this house has been getting too chilly at night for his bad knee. You’d have to pay him to sleep here before those clouds go away. Let me just put some fresh linens down.”

“You don’t have to do that, I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You’re not a bother, you’re a trusted friend who’d do the same for me.”

“Really, I-I can just sleep here,” Bruno insisted, “I don’t really want to get up if I don’t have to.”

“Then why did you say you should go home?”

“Because I should.”

“Ay, Bruno,” she sighed, “I’ll grab you some pillows. And a blanket.”

“Gracias,” he called after her, as loud as he dared. His thoughts threatened to fill the empty space she had left behind, but he banished them by instead counting the zigzags on the living room rug.

Later, he reminded himself, later he could obsess over what it meant when a woman responded to an impromptu marriage proposal by inviting you to dinner, but for now he would count his zigzags and try not to exacerbate his migraine.

Leandra returned and gave him the pillows, then placed the blanket over his bare feet, quietly asking if there was anything else she could do. Bruno bit his tongue to keep from asking her to massage his temples again. 

“Don’t suppose you can make my brain shut up long enough for me to go to sleep?” he said, dryly.

Then to his horror and great pleasure she sat next to his shoulder and began rubbing the tension out of his brow. He choked back both a protest and a second marriage proposal. 

“Hmm, a mindless distraction,” she thought for a minute, unaware of his panic/relief, “oh, I know, how much do you know about the stars?”

“Not much,” he rasped out, pulling the blanket up over his waist, just in case he reacted in the same way he had last time. Granted, while a migraine is never all that fun, the last one he had was a walk in the park next to this one. As much as he enjoyed her attention, and as ready as he was to sell her his immortal soul if she actually managed to make the pain go away, he doubted he was capable of getting “excited” right now.

Leandra, for her part, was conflicted over whether she should put the rag back in the ice box to cool it back down, or stay to massage his head. If only this had happened at Casita, she could have teamed up with Julieta to help him feel better. Once again, she figured the solution here was to just ask.

“By the way, would you like me to pop that back into the ice box for a little?”

“Please don’t ask me to make hard decisions,” Bruno said, miserably.

“Hard…? How is that a hard decision?”

Instead of giving a verbal answer he just gestured at her hands and grunted.

Leandra resisted the urge to giggle, “Alright, last time you put it on your eyes, does that mean your eyes hurt too?”

“Si.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to fall asleep with your eyes hurting the way they do now?”

“...no.”

“Bien, into the ice box it goes.”

Bruno just grunted again, groaning a little when her hands stopped.

She whisked the rag away and tossed it into the ice box, as well as a second, that way he wouldn’t have to wait if he needed another. When Leandra sat back down she continued rubbing his temples while she told him everything she knew about the stars; every stray bit of astronomy she’d picked up, every legend she’d heard, every navigation trick she knew, and a few of the stories she’d made up with Rosalie, Felípe, and Agustín when they’d gone camping as children. 

When the rag came back out of the ice box and she placed it over his eyes, Bruno sighed and began to actually relax into the couch cushions.

At some point, she grew tired of sitting up and ended up laying next to him on the couch, with him tucked under her chin. The second rag ended up laying against the base of his skull, while she idly pet his hair. As Bruno drifted off, he leaned on her until he was lying half on top of her.

Once Bruno was snoring steadily against her shoulder, Leandra swore to herself that she would get up and go to her own bed any minute now. But she’d always found snoring to be kind of soothing, her Papa snored like a thunder cloud and could be heard through out the house. Leandra was used to falling asleep to the rhythmic sound of somebody else breathing. She had missed that whenever he was out of the house.

Regardless, she would have to get up and go to bed eventually.

Just give her a minute.

A/N: I think Bruno adopting is an under utilized concept in the fandom. He seems like he would really enjoy being a father, not to mention he is almost definitely some flavor of queer, so adoption seems like a very realistic path for him to take. That said, I still had to come up with a reason for why he didn't adopt in canon, since Jared Bush has implied that the kids were already in the picture when Bruno started isolating himself in earnest. He has recently confirmed there is a Reason Bruno is single, but you don't necessarily need to be in a relationship to adopt. Fortunately, I've discovered that a lot of people just don't think about adoption, so it's not out of pocket to assume that there was a time in Bruno's life between being the golden child and being the town curse when he would have happily adopted, but it just didn't occur to him to do so.

[russilton]

Everyone is talking about the Red Bull AU (which I too am also very excited about), but I think we need to show a bit of appreciation for the Fuck Boy AU. Dude… I actually can’t wait to read it 😅😅😅

*presses a firm kiss to your forehead platonically*

You, I like you, and you will be DELIGHTED to hear I wrote another 5k of it the other day. It was all porn. I spent 4 hours straight typing about fingering. It is getting close to finished now and I’m hoping to have it with you all soon!

An actual snippet below the cut to tide everyone over, and because I can. It’s not quite full NSFW but it’s spicy and suggestive.

———

Before he can bolt, George reaches for his wrist to squeeze it, ignoring the fine sheen of sweat covering them both as his fingers land on Lewis’ pulse point. Lewis knows stopping him will look even more suspicious, so he just stands there, trying to slow his heart rate before he finally makes eye contact with him. The sight alone makes him want to groan, but he settles for biting the inside of his own cheek. The man in front of him now is a far cry from the boy he’d been sitting in a press interview with that morning. Just like Lewis, he’s practically shiny with sweat, damp hair pushed out of his face and making him look older. His eyes are blown wide, and his face is flushed a gorgeous pink that his lips mirror. He wonders what he must look like in comparison, and hopes for the sake of public safety it isn’t similar.

They can’t do much more than stare at each other for a moment before George seems to come back to his senses a second earlier than he does. He opens his mouth and seems to stumble over the start of a few different sentences before huffing and finally ending up with

“I think we both need a drink”

“I think you’re right” George nods tightly, and tells Lewis to head back to where he’d found him earlier, turning to disappear into the crowd before Lewis can see if their dancing had been as effective on George as it had been on himself.

When he gets back to the booths from earlier; they’re all occupied already, and Lewis glances around trying to find a seat while he adjusts himself subtly. Eventually he finds an empty leather bench not far away, and settles onto it, keeping an eye out for George so he can gesture him over.

As he sits there waiting, sweat cooling and going tacky on his skin, the reality of the situation hits him. He’d just spent half an hour grinding on the ass of a guy he’d sworn he wouldn’t touch and every second of it felt perfect. He should leave, get up and go back to his hotel room. He’s hard as nails but there’s no time for him to find someone else like he’d planned, he’ll just have to be satisfied with his own hand and whatever far too expensive liquor he can find in the mini bar. He needs to do something to stop himself now or he’s going to end up making a mistake he can’t come back from.

“Hey, there you are, no booths?” He’s out of time, George is already back, standing in front of him with a glass in each hand. The drinks in them are violently colourful, even under the dim, coloured bar lights, one looks almost teal, and the other white and blue. George hands the teal one to him with a grin. Lewis takes a short sip through the straw and is punched with a hit of citrus and strong alcohol

“What the hell is in these?” He laughs, as George sips his with a smirk

“Don’t recognize the colours?”

“Are- are they serving team inspired cocktails?!”

“Yes, yes they are. I believe yours is actually called an ‘adios, Mouther fucker’ and has about 5 kinds of spirits in it-“

“Oh my god-“

“And mine is a blue russian”

“So it’s just cream, vodka and blue-“

“Yup”

They both lapse into giggles then, tension gone. Lewis manages another sip before he puts the drink down, if he drinks it any faster he knows he’ll throw up. George seems to be taking a similar approach, gently stirring the drink with his straw while he eyes Lewis. He feels hot all over again and tries to deflect, still far too hard for this.

“Wait, Williams? Celebrating your new drive early then?” He teases, pointing to the drink.

“Why not? They didn’t have any F2 drinks and technically this one’s mine… questionable as it may be”’

“Are you talking about the drink or the seat?” George snorts at his teasing comment, moving to put his drink on the side table next to Lewis’. Then George steps back in front of him and levels Lewis with a look he can’t quite make out in the low light.

“The drink. Williams isn’t a bad seat… but could think of better ones”’

He barely has a second to process, going to ask George what he means, but the words die on his tongue as George moves forward, quick as lightning to sit in his lap. Unsurprisingly, he moves as smooth as he dances, sliding to straddle Lewis’ thighs and rest his weight there before Lewis can stop him. He does manage to prevent him from getting too close, hands flying back up to his slim hips again to hold George still before he can get an unwelcome introduction to Lewis’ increasingly interested erection.

Most of George's height is in his legs, so sitting like this their faces end up far too close, Lewis only has to tilt his head up a little to look up into George’s eyes. His pupils are dilated, but he’s staring at Lewis steady and determined, like he’s testing one of the Mercedes’ cars again, not sitting in their driver's lap.

He wants to say so many things, but they all clog in his throat as he stares back. George is a perfect weight across his thighs, comfortingly heavy and real, but light enough Lewis is fairly sure he could lift him without much effort. And isn’t that a thought, being able to haul George around however he wants. He’s not helping himself calm down but it’s hard to escape the want when he can’t tune George out.

As if he knows Lewis is thinking about him, George leans forward a little, tapping Lewis’ cheek with two fingers to get his attention. When Lewis meets his eye properly, he smiles, settling more firmly now he’s reasonably sure Lewis isn’t going to throw him off.

“Hey, get out of your head for once will you? If you really, truly want me to go, I’ll go.”

He looks almost nervous as he says the last part, like he’s worried Lewis will reject him. Doesn’t George know what effect he has on Lewis, how much more often Lewis has fallen into bed with strangers just to get the thought of George's pretty lips off his mind?

“George…I never wanted you to go, you know that right?”

“How would I know that? I haven’t ever been able to figure out what you want. One minute you’re looking at me like you want to bend me over the nearest table, then the next you won’t even look at me. I- blimey, Lewis, I never understood why you avoided me.”

“George, I avoided you because I’m so much older than you. You should be off getting wasted with other drivers your age, celebrating your win, man”

“Why? I’m an adult, I want you, I always wanted you, maybe this is how I want to celebrate?”

“George, you’re only 20-“

“Old enough to drink, old enough to smoke, and old enough to risk my life and body every week in an F1 car, just like you do” George sounds so sure, so confident, and he’s right after all. Lewis’ will is slowly wearing away.

“If you’re not interested, that's fine. But if you’re withholding on moral grounds, why.”

Because Toto would kill him. Because he knows what tabloids would say if anyone found out. Because Lewis got his F1 seat the same year George first climbed into a kart.

He’s trying to think of something, anything to say to George that won’t sound like a deflection, when George leans back. He twists like he’s going to move away, saying something about how he’ll leave Lewis alone now, and Lewis can’t do it anymore. He can’t keep pretending that this isn't exactly what he wants.

So he gives in to baser instincts, grips Georges hips tight and hauls him deeper into his lap, so George can feel just how much Lewis wants him. It knocks a shocked grunt out of the younger man, but George recovers fast, wrapping his arms around Lewis’ neck and ducking his head there. Lewis is glad for once, to be making George gasp, not the other way around. He turns his head, just enough to get his lips up next to George’s ear so he can make absolutely sure he hears the answer to his next question

“George, are you absolutely sure-“

“I’m not asking you to marry me, Lewis. I just want you to Fuck. Me.”

The directness knocks a groan out of him, and he retaliates by slipping his hands round to cup George's ass. His jeans might as well be a second skin with how well they sculpt to his body, so he squeezes tight with one hand, and let the other two fingers slip down under his belt, feeling along hot skin till George bucks into his grip.

He leans back into the cool leather of the back rest so he can take the man straddling his lap in fully. He feels confident, powerful, now that he’s given up on holding back from what he really wants. George is flushed and his breath looks like it’s picking up with excitement. His shirt is damp and disheveled, near see through, a combination of the bright UV of the overhead lights and thin fabric making it so he can just make out the dark shape of Georges nipples. It’s all too easy to let a hand slide around his hip and up under the linen, stroking his waist teasingly.

“I think that can be arranged” He says it just loud enough that George should be able to hear it even as the club around them starts to pulse again, music beginning to pick up. Clearly he hears it just fine though, because he stares at Lewis, eyes wide, mouth dropping open slightly. Lewis can’t stop himself, he leans up again, getting his face just a few centimetres from George’s, close enough to be sharing breaths.

“I think it’s time we get out of here, huh?” He murmurs, earning a breathy laugh from George.

“Your place or mine?”

———

A note for anyone who read to the end, both the adios motherfucker and blue Russian are real drinks. I had to google them, because I do not drink at all, I cannot vouch if they are good or not, but the adios motherfucker will probably fuck you up real good.

[crybabykiko]

Curaçao

Satoru Gojo x Mirrors (f!reader)

WC: 1.5k

Contents/Warnings: sex under the influence (alcohol), meaningless hookup, Gojo calling reader 'toots' because he can, Gojo is a male thot and enemy of the state but reader is just as bad tbh, pull out method best method, kinda unsanitary hookup (lol bar bathroom), oh and idk how we got to thumb in ass level but we did so that's in there.

A/N: Gojo has toots privileges and that is all I will say.

masterlist

Bars like this aren’t your usual scene.

You figure you’d fare much better in one tonight though, after all, the advertised “Ladies Night” had seen its fair turnout of fresh blood. And the drinks were pretty stiff, so even if you did strike out it wouldn't be in vain if the space between your eyes was fuzzy and your heart was comfortably numb. Absentmindedly stirring at your amf, you hadn’t noticed him sitting next to you until he spoke.

“I’ll have what she's having.”

The voice was a little higher than what you were expecting, but still velvety enough to hold your attention. He slid a card across the table, looking at you through small framed circle lenses.

What kind of douche wears sunglasses in a bar… that’s already dark?

You kept your eyes trained ahead, sneaking small glances at him from your peripheral. But he seemed fixated on you. His eyes never left your frame, not even when the bartender slid him his drink. He sucked the cocktail down, staring daggers through you as he finished it in one go. Where he went after that was unknown. He sort of disappeared into the void of everyone that was out on the dance floor. It wasn’t much of an interaction, but there was something that stirred you enough to know that it wasn’t the end.

3 shots of liquid courage later, and here you were, sucking the curaçao stains off the lips of a beautiful stranger. His hands lazily roamed your body, one hooking a leg up and around his waist. If you had any reservations about what was happening, he wouldn’t have been able to tell- the heat rising on your cheeks and between your legs were the most open invitation you could be giving him.

Quickly, his hands found their way underneath your dress, fingers just barely tapping at your sex as he fumbled with the hems of fabric that blocked him from your folds. Your eyes began to screw shut as his mouth found the sweet spot of your neck, teeth sinking into your soft, perfumed skin.

“We-haaa-sh- We shouldn’t…” you moaned. “N-not here…”

“Then let’s go somewhere more private,” he suggested. You looked at him again, confusion clouding your face both at his suggestion and the fact that you couldn’t see his eyes.

“C’mon then,” he chirped after a second, taking your hand and heading toward the back of the bar.

“I know a place.”

You could taste the anticipation that coated his tongue as your mouths worked in tandem. Pushing you backwards, you both stumbled into the dimly lit bathroom, Gojo making sure to lock the door behind you- but never leaving you un-kissed. This had to be ‘the place.’ It was literally a dirty bathroom, but it would do. It was hard to see, let alone breathe or orient yourself, stopping for a quick second near the sinks to stare at him longingly.  You could finally get a good look at him, sliding his glasses up and over his head. His face was clearly flushed, but beautiful. His eyes were just as blue as the adios you had at the bar, but even more intense when they were framed by white blond hair and long, delicate eyelashes of the same color.

Taking a quick second for pleasantries, he indulged you with a name- Satoru. Satoru Gojo. Good enough for you, Satoru was easily moanable and to be quite honest, it didn’t matter what his name was as long as you were able to score. You could tell he felt the same, so it would be a very even match, one that could be impossible to leave you disappointed.

You clutched the sink as he yanked your head back, positioning you perfectly to look at just how fucked you were- literally and figuratively. Your dress was hiked just above your hips, fully exposing what little was there to be left to the imagination. Foregoing underwear for the night was a pretty good idea, you were already glistening from the alcohol, and he couldn’t wait to feel you.

“Look alive, sunshine,” he teased, lowering his head just behind your ears. You felt him slide the head of his cock between your folds, arching your back in an effort to feel more. He happily obliged, slowly sliding the head in and past the first ring of soft, warm muscle inside you. He whispered into your ear, voice low and dripping with intoxicated innuendos.

“You’re not gonna want to miss a second of this.”

You threw your head back at the feeling of his cock gently stretching your walls. You muffled your wince at the size with a moan, the twisted look of your reflection in front of you seemingly egging him on as a sinister smile slowly spread on his face. At first it was slow, making sure he could feel every inch of himself entering you as you adjusted to the pleasure of fullness. You could only manage a few half sobs, eyes locked into his gaze through the mirror as your mouth lolled open to say words that would never be able to come out.

“Is this what you wanted?” His voice filled your ears, hips snapping against the flesh of your ass as he took you. Keeping a fistful of your hair, it seemed like Gojo was gripping onto it for dear life as he thrusted, craning your neck to meet his face.

“Harder, please- harder,” you squeaked.

He was barely tapping at your sweet spot, and he knew it was driving you crazy. You could barely keep your body standing, it was going limp as your knees buckled. Through glassy, hooded eyes, you could see him in the reflection of the mirror in front of you, fixating on how much finesse he was using to pull you apart from the inside. His hands seemed to engulf your waist every time he buried himself deeper into you. You swiveled your hips around a few times, trying your hardest to feel something more, only to earn a pointed smack to your ass and a hurried ‘aht- ah’ from Satoru.

“Not yet, toots,” he chided.

“I haven’t even gotten to the best part.”

A lewd chortle came from his throat as he aimed his lips to spit directly onto your asshole, watching it slide its way down the crack as he traced the trail with his thumb. Bringing the wetness up again, he teased you there before plunging his thumb inside, sending you lurching forward with a splintered cry of pleasure.

“There it is,” he chuckled, beginning to pick up the pace as he dragged himself in and out of your cunt, a sloshing sound building up inside your walls. His thumb twisted from side to side with each pump, further adding to the tension building in your chest and abdomen. You could barely string your words together, the only thing coming out was mangled please and chants for more. You were too close, you could feel it coming. So could he.

He finally let your hair go, head immediately falling forward and almost knocking against the sink, the head rush sending tingles down to your core as you clenched around his cock- vision whiting out. Your body started to ripple through with a numbing euphoria as he tightened his grip around your hips. Your moans culminated into a fever pitch as he hit your sweet spot once more, a vulgar squelch coming from between your legs as you gushed on top of his cock, your essence spilling over his abdomen. He followed suit, quickly pulling out in time to get his hot, white spurts of cum on your thighs, praising you all the while coming down.

It took a second for you both to stabilize, him helping you to stand and readjust your dress while also tucking his shirt back into his jeans and fixing his now disheveled icy locks in the mirror he just watched himself absolutely ruin you in. You took some time to fix your makeup before retreating to a stall to actually clean yourself up a bit more.

When you returned, he was gone- but not far away. He waited for you outside the door, watching the coast and making sure it was good for both of you to go. Stepping outside of the bar, the air was particularly cooling against your skin. The adrenaline of your encounter still reverberated in your chest as you reached your arm out to hail a cab back to your place- only to be stopped by a loud whistle and the screeching of tires. Looking back behind you- it was him.

As the cab stopped, he held the door open, ushering you inside. Your legs felt like jello still, so you were grateful for the support. He shut the door for you as you rolled down the window to get a few more breaths of fresh air. He leaned in a bit, stopping just inside the cab’s frame.

“Get home safe,” he purred.

There is still time to play the game here. if your url is bolded and stricken please dm one of us to get you on the next fic!

Taglist: @dazeddazai @tetsurousharlot @ladybitsnpieces @lmaoihavenoidea@bootyy-bakeryy @morallygreyish @kyouto @thetempleofnyx @yuvtas @queer-naruto @damnitcrowley @xo-lynx @sheerxradiance@sweetcroissantoperatorherring @the-wiener-soldier1@kalesugar@fantasycantasy @xowrae @sarcastickaigan @otakuann @babygirls-fav @callmelovergirl @Ruemensukuna @kamberry-juice @vixemi @lazyafgurl

[morizoras-cave]

Don’t Apologize (Request)

Sebastian Stan x gn!teen!co-star!reader, Anthony Mackie x gn!teen!co-star!reader

Genre: angst, fluff

Request Description: Hi🖐 Can I please request a cast x teen reader and there in an interview and she's quite shy and doesnt talk much and the interviewer knows that so they ask her all the questions but she cant and she starts to cry so the cast get angry or something. I love your writing♥️

Warnings: language, anxiety

(A/N): so sorry i didnt do this like i usually do my cast x readers, i only chose seb and anthony for this. i hope its still alright. and im back to requests again, although it’s been fun doing some of my own work (and also work with loz, that beautiful bastard) for a while :)

“See you later, Bryan.. If you know what I mean!” Anthony yelled after the last interviewer, as he shuffled out the room with his list of unanswered. You and Sebastian were cackling, wiping your tears. You’d lost track of how many interviews you’d had to sit through of Anthony talking about his ‘round brown’. 

“Oh my god, how many of these do we have left?” Sebastian asked, calming down finally, and running a hand through his hair. 

“Why? You have something you want to tell me?” Anthony joked accusingly, looking from Sebastian to you. You shook your head silently, hoping to not be dragged into one of their never ending discussions. 

“Don’t- Don’t drag me into your shit, Mackie,” you mumbled. A wheeze escaped Anthony at your shy mumble. “Why couldn’t they just have paired me with Elizabeth again?”

Before Anthony could begin joking and making you and Sebastian laugh again, another interviewer walked in. She looked uptight and collected, wearing professional clothing and holding rather official looking papers. 

“Hello, I’m Yolanda,” she greeted Sebastian with a toothpaste-smile, and shook his hand firmly, before doing the same to you and Anthony. She was intimidating, not casual or approachable, but someone who had their shit together. 

She seemed interested in you right from the start. In her first few questions, she’d always look directly at you while asking. Her sharp gaze was anxiety inducing, even more so than all the other interviewers. Sebastian and Anthony ended up answering for you though, knowing that you were shy and uncomfortable with people. Yolanda didn’t seem satisfied with this though.

“Y/n,” now she was addressing you directly, spitting your name from her mouth like poison, “would you say that this movie is in line with you and your coworkers’ character arcs?” 

You were sure you could answer it. Well, if you were at home, talking to your pillow. Right there you could feel your heart beating painfully against your ribcage. Both of the men on either side of you definitely heard the way your breathing picked up.

“Uh. Well. Yeah, to a- to a degree. Some of them,” you choked out. Pathetically, you realized you were blinking away tears. No one had noticed yet, thank goodness. What a stupid thing to cry about, you thought. 

“Do you think it aligns with the comics’ character arcs? Do you think it’s good to diverge from the original story?” She asked intensely, eyes still boring into yours. You kept your gaze at the floor sheepishly, picking at your nails. 

Sebastian looked down at your hands in your lap, and quickly grabbed one in his hold, preventing you from picking your fingers. 

“Um.. Well, I think- I think that there are a lot of, you know, um, storylines and arcs in the, uh, the comics, so staying canon could mean a- a lot of things,” when you finished your sentence, you breathed out in relief. Your entire torso seemed inhabited by a wild, unresting anxiety, tingling and aching. 

A single tear slid down your face, and you quickly rushed the hand that was not in Sebastian’s to wipe it away. This definitely did not go unnoticed. You immediately felt Sebastian squeeze your hand and Anthony putting his arm around you protectively. 

“What the damn hell, lady? You’re stressing them out!” Anthony boomed, gesturing wildly with his free hand. You looked up and saw Sebastian’s jaw clenched and brows furrowed. Anthony had a similar expression, you discovered when you turned to him, a frown prominent on his features, and intense eyes. 

“What’s your problem?” Sebastian yelled. The woman seemed taken aback, mouth agape and on her chest like she couldn’t believe that they thought this was her fault. 

“It’s not my fault they started crying!” she said. Her voice shook quietly, clenching her hands around the bottom of the chair she sat on. 

“Yeah, it is your fault!” Anthony said. Meanwhile, you sat there uncomfortably, shaking. She was right, you thought, it was your fault for being such a baby, she was just doing her job. 

“I’m- I’m sorry, it’s not your fault-” you begun, finally raising your head to meet the woman’s eyes. Her gaze made you tremble. She was bristling. 

“No, Y/n, don’t apologize. It is her fault.” Sebastian cut you off, squeezing your hand once more, encasing it in his two. Anthony nodded angrily. 

“Alright, I think it’s best if you leave.” Another woman, whom you recognized as Anthony’s publicist, came racing into the interview. She put her hands on her hips, and nodded towards the door sassily. 

The interviewer huffed, and gave you another furious look. “You’ll hear of this on my blog. The world will know!” Then she got up and away, stomping all the way out. You breathed a sigh of relief, the moment the door closed behind her. 

“Are you okay?” Sebastian immediately turned to you, searching your eyes again. His heart broke at the way you trembled. You nodded. 

“Man, that woman was an asshole!” Anthony, too, could feel the way you shook under his arm on your shoulders. “That was not your fault, she was just a dick!” 

“Agreed!” Sebastian scoffed, hands still holding yours. 

Anthony’s publicist studied you three for a moment, furrowing her brows and chewing her lips. Then she looked at the filming crew, and the back at you three. “How about we say we’re done for today?” 

You all looked up, “Really?”

“I’ll handle the marvel dudes. You guys just take the rest of the day off,” she smiled warmly at you, a caring look in her eyes. A grin stretched on your face. Anthony and Sebastian exchanged glances when they saw your face, smiling.

“Back to the hotel then!” Sebastian grunted as you all stood up. You left and drove back to the hotel, and when you got there you ate sandwiches and chips. After that the three of you played Mario Kart together (something you’d taught them, and they’d absolutely fallen in love with it). 

“Fuck you, Stan!” Anthony spat, doing a flip over Sebastian’s kart and getting into 3rd place. You giggled from your place on 1st. 

“Oh fuck, don’t do this, Mackie, don’t do this!”

“Adios, Amigo!” Anthony cackled, disappearing far in front of Sebastian. The latter threw his head back in defeat. The round ended, you crossing the finish line on first, Anthony on second and Sebastian on fourth. 

“That was a shitty round, I demand a rematch,” he said, sipping his water. Anthony scoffed and shook his head. You did too. 

“Hey, by the way, N/n?” Anthony was looking at you from his place beside you on the couch. You nodded questioningly. “You know that wasn’t your fault, right? What happened back there with that lady?” 

You grew quiet, heat rising to your cheeks. Sebastian had a look on his face. You guessed they had talked together, that they would bring it up with you again. 

“Because it wasn’t. It’s not your fault you feel this way. It was that lady who should have been more mindful of you and how you feel. She was clearly trying to take advantage of your timidness to make you spoil something,” Sebastian continued. He still seemed angry, actually, clenching his hand. 

“So don’t apologize for that stuff, alright? That ain’t on you,” Anthony patted your back. You looked at him and then Sebastian with a smile, and then nodded sheepishly. 

“Alright, yeah. I guess you’re right,” you said softly.

“Of course we’re right!” Anthony was (unsurprisingly) immediately back to normal, “now back to the game, kiddos. Sebastian wants a rematch, he’ll get one.”

And then you played Mario Kart together for an unspecified number of hours, the thought of that asshole interviewer long gone. You felt right at home, at number one in Mario Kart and number one in their hearts. 

___________________________

Tag List:

@hera-the-writer @marvel-madness @40srogcrs @whatthefuckimbisexual @snarky–starky @garbage-potato @lozzypoz321 @allthecreativeonesaretaken @missamericana713 @rororo06 @shady80smusicsingercolor @ireadfanficforfun @deephideoutmilkshake @rae-is-typing @sophs-library @herecomesthewriterwitch @alicedanganh @eviemarvel @idk123906

[l-wannabe-l]

Short Circuit

Chapter 1: First Impressions

During the events of T2 John's half-sister, Aria catches the attention of the T-1000. Having failed a second time Skynet starts targeting the people who will one day fight beside John.

T-1000/Austin x OC

This first chapter will follow the movie but it will start diverging soon. I'm still new to fanfic writing so feel free to leave a comment.

It was gone.

Not in my closet or my drawers or under the bed.

It was gone.

The little money maker that I made and the little brat took it. I grab my cardigan and make my way out into the hallway. He's probably made it to the mall already (and he didn't even think to invite me), spending money that's not his. I mean it's not mine either but that's not the part I'm upset about. Knowing the way he drives on his bike I'll be lucky if the atm card is still working when I get it back. As I looked for my keys, they were RIGHT HERE I SWEAR, the doorbell rings. Seeing as it's not my house I don't go to answer. I hear the door open accompanied by a tired sigh.

Todd must've gotten it.

"Are you the legal guardian of John Connor?'

That's never a good question. I take a peek around the corner to glance at the man at the door. The first thing I notice is that he's wearing a police uniform. Yup, not good.

"That's right, officer. What's he done now?" A very valid question that the officer ignores as he seems to scan the house, pausing briefly as he spots me before turning his attention back to Todd.

"Could I speak with him please?"

"Could if he were here. Took off on his bike this morning so he could be anywhere." Todd answers with a shrug, clearly not giving two shits as Janelle joins him at the door.

"Do you have a photograph of John?"

"Yeah sure, hold on." She turns to grab her wallet and sees me hiding behind the corner. She looks at me expectedly probably thinking I know what's going on. I just shake my head. Like I would tell her even if I did know.

"You gonna tell me what this is about?" Todd tries asking again as Janelle rejoins them, handing off the picture.

"Just need to ask him a few questions. He's a good-looking boy. Do you mind if I keep this picture?" He asks as he studies the image.

"No, go on. There was a guy here this morning looking for him too." Janelle offers. This gets the officer's attention as I see him still and look back up. This surprises me too as I wasn't here in the morning and my foster parents apparently didn't think to tell me about some stranger looking for my little brother.

"Yeah, a big guy on a bike. That got something to do with this?" Todd adds. Dear God John, who are you getting involved with? The officer pauses for a moment before responding.

"No. I wouldn't worry about him. Thanks for your cooperation." He takes one last glance up in my direction. Our eyes meet. Only for a second before he's gone. But it's long enough to send a chill down my spine. Police officer or not that man is dangerous and he's heading straight for John. When John fails to answer his phone, that I got him by the way, I hurry to find my keys and make my way outside. The cop had left. He'll have to ask around to find John which should buy me some time.

It's a bit of a distance to get to the mall and the traffic of a Saturday afternoon doesn't help but I make it. I head towards the arcade on the second floor but have to backtrack around a corner when I spot the officer from earlier talking to some kids.

Christ, he works fast. This man really takes his job seriously.

The kids seem not to know anything as the man continues on and out of sight… in the direction of the arcade. DAMN IT. I hurry after hoping he'd walk past it which he does. I slow down to look through the windows hoping to catch a glimpse of John.

"Excuse me, have you seen…"

Stopped by the entrance I turn to look at the speaker realizing too late my mistake as I'm face to face with the very man I was avoiding. Because of the close proximity, I notice he's tall, and with a square jaw, bright blue eyes, and soft-looking light brown hair, he's handsome too. This is bad for me, because tall and handsome have gotten me in trouble before and I will not let it do so again. But he's staring, obviously recognizing me from not even an hour ago, so I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

"Lo siento señor no hablo ingles."

His brow furrowed in confusion which I take as my cue to leave. So with an "Adios!" I duck into the arcade, send a quick thank you to my high school Spanish classes, and hide behind the first big machine I find. From there I see him enter the arcade looking left and right, scanning as he did earlier, before turning to a pair of girls by a pinball machine. I turn away to go find John eventually finding him playing Afterburner.

"JOHN!"

"AAHH!"

"A cop is looking for you, what did you do?" He spares me a glance before returning to his game.

"... Is this because I took the card machine? Listen Aria, I'm sorry but mine broke."

"I am pissed about that but no."

"Is it cause I didn't invite you? In my defense, you weren't home."

"John..." I begin when Tim, John's buddy, slides up to us.

"John, hey there's this cop scoping for you, check it out." That got his attention, and let me be upset for a second as he takes a look around Tim and the machine to see the officer questioning another kid who points in our direction. John grabs his backpack, I grab John and we both head towards the employee door briefly looking back to see the officer pushing kids aside to catch up. I open the door and push John ahead of me, both of us running.

"So you'll listen to Tim but not to me?"

"Tim never messed with me about surprise police inspections." Ever since we were young mom drilled into us that the police were bad news and, like the caring and protective big sister that I am, I decided to add to this training. Suffice to say John tends to double guess me now and then.

"That's fair." Turning the corner we surprise a worker who yells at us and who we ignore as we push through the exit doors. That's when we turn to see a large man in a leather jacket and sunglasses and I freeze up as he opens the box to pull out a shotgun the roses he was carrying crushed beneath him as he advances. John pulls me back the way we came, the man following as we try the other doors.

Locked.

Trapped.

I chance a glance back to see he’s caught up with us. Another look forward reveals the officer appearing through the doorway, with a glare almost as menacing as the gun. I hear a click and a look back shows the shotgun has been leveled at us.

“Get down.”

What?

"ARIA!"

Lucky for me John has the good sense to listen to the man as he ducks down pulling me with him. I cover him as gunshots ring above us. I look up to see the officer blasted back a few inches, silver wounds appearing where red ones should be. The man in leather grabs us, spinning to cover us as the cop starts emptying his clip at us. I hear the poor employee from earlier scream in pain as he gets caught in the crossfire.

John and I scream, fear gripping us.

The bullet fire pauses for a moment giving our (definitely not) human shield the opportunity to bust open the door to our left and push us in. He turns away just in time for the officer to finish reloading but is undeterred by the bullets finding a home in his torso as he continues his march forward. He levels his own gun, shotgun shells flying as he blasts one after another pushing the smaller man back until he falls and our savior is allowed to reload. As he does so the silver gaps fill in and the man rises from where he lay grabbing the gun and catching the bigger man off guard as he tries and fails to gain back control. So instead he moves to grab the cop but is instead thrown into one wall then another. Cement and plaster alike collapsing in their struggle until they both disappear through a wall.

Despite the obvious difference in size, the larger man is the one being thrown around like a ragdoll which spells bad news for us. So I grab John again, pulling him behind me as I head towards the door that leads to a staircase. We head down until we reach ground level, the parking lot, we run over to John’s bike, an old thing that was mine before I handed it down when I got a new one. Trying to start it up now I remember why I upgraded.

“John, your bike is a hunk of junk!”

“It was your bike first! Just start it already!” The engine finally starts running just as the doors burst open. The cop racing after us on foot as we speed off.

[minniemixe]

Beauty And The Beast

Gangster AU

Stray Kids Fanfic

Chan x Reader

Other Appearances: GOT7 BTS

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: Angst, Blood, Death, Voilence, Language, Smut, Homosexuality, Making out

Beauty and the Beast Masterlist

Chapter 8

"Maybe she just went out by herself and she didn't want anyone to worry that's why she didn't tell anyone" Bree tried to reason 

"Bree’s got a point, she tends to get secretive sometimes, especially when something is bothering her” Nay spoke 

“She’s not gonna cause trouble is she?” Minho asked 

“Uuhhh-” Nay avoided everyone’s gaze 

“Okay. I’m gonna follow her, Seungmin, track her phone” Chan said getting up from the couch 

“Nope, that’s not happening, she’s gonna be fine. She hates being tailed. I’ll call her for you, maybe she’ll tell me where she is” Nay said, putting a hand on his shoulder

“What makes you think she won’t lie to you as well?” Changbin asked

“We’re past the stage of lying to each other” she simply replied dialing Moon’s number

“Whatever you say” Changbin mumbled in response

“Don’t tell her you’re here and please put it on speaker” Chan told 

“Sure” Nay replied doing as told 

“Hello?” Moon spoke through the speaker

“Hey girl, you down for some fun, I’m coming to your place in a while” Nay replied 

“Ple-uuhhm can you excuse me for a minute, I need to take this, uhh I’ll have the lasagna” Moon told someone 

“Sure” a male voice replied. Everyone looking at Nay wide eyed, she just shrugged having recognized the voice

“Hey you there?” Nay asked 

“Uh yeah, sorry. Nay you can’t go there, I’m not home, and I told them I’m out with you” Moon said 

“But where are you right now? And who’s with you?” She asked, wanting Moon to say it so that any misunderstanding created could be cleared 

“I’m with dad, he wanted to see me. I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want them to worry” Moon answered 

“Oh. Are you sure you’ll be fine?” Nay questioned  

“Yeah of course, we’re in public so it’s gonna be fine. Hopefully” she replied

“I get you, but are you sure you should’ve lied to them? What if someone sees you? How will you explain that” Nay spoke 

“I know, I know. It’s just that I’ve put them through enough already and I really don’t want them worrying. I’ll tell them the truth when I get back, but please don’t go there. The last thing I want right now is my phone blowing up while I’m here with him. He seems really disturbed, I’m worried if something happened to mom'' Moon sighed.

“I understand, I’ll visit tomorrow then. Tell me if something happens, please” 

“Sure Nay. Thanks again. Bye” Moon said

“Bye” Nay said disconnecting the call

“I guess now you know why she lied” Nay said looking at the group 

“I wish she’d trust us more” El sighed 

“She does. She just tends to be slow at opening up, give her some time” Nay smiled 

“I’m guessing we can’t tell her you visited” Jisung said 

“That would be correct. I think I should take my leave, I have other errands to run as well...so adios” Nay waved 

“Hey before you go, can you help me with something?” Seungmin asked 

“Yeah sure, shoot” she said taking the empty seat beside Changbin 

“What do you know about Andre?” he asked 

“Who’s Andre?” Felix asked 

“You know about Andre?” Nay asked

“Yeah she told us about him”Jisung added 

“Who’s ‘us’ because clearly I don’t know who this Andre guy is” Felix spoke 

“I’ll tell you about him later. Nay?” Seungmin spoke looking at the girl expectantly

“I don’t know a lot. Just that he was crazy rich and could get away with anything and everything. Come to think of it, no one knew much about him. He was a transfer student, he didn’t even complete his highschool, he left a week after the incident and basically disappeared into thin air after that” she explained 

“And no one heard anything from him after that?” Hyunjin asked 

“None that I know off. But why the sudden interest?” she asked curiously 

“Let’s just say he resurfaced after all these years and contacted Moon, even showed up at her parents house” Chan interrupted 

“WHAT?!?!” Nay exclaimed 

“Please kill him the next time he shows up anywhere near my girl or so help me I will-OH GOD THE AUDACITY OF THIS SCUMBAG” she continued 

“That’s the plan” Jisung said 

“Good”

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   “Hey” Moon greeted her father outside the restaurant

“Hello” he nodded “let’s go inside” he gestured opening the door for her 

“How are you?” her father asked as the two took a seat 

“I’ve been good, still alive” she chuckled trying to lighten the tense mood 

“Are you happy?” he questioned

“I-” Moon trailed off mistaking her father’s question as sarcasm

“I’m not taunting, I’m genuinely asking, are you happy with them?” he smiled at her 

“I am” she returned the smile feeling a little relaxed than before

“Then that’s all that matters”. Moon was taken back by the response, she could sense something was off. She and her father had shared such moments before, those moments being the only thing holding together the relationship they shared. But him being like this was new, she could see the vulnerability on his face, something he had never shown before. He had always put on a strong front for others. Seeing him like this, she wanted to feel sympathy towards him but she couldn't, knowing this was just the past repeating itself and suddenly she felt empty.

“Is everything alright?” she asked 

“Is me being nice that out of the ordinary?” the older man laughed 

“No, it’s not that” she chuckled before continuing “I can see that something is bothering you”

“I know it’s way overdue but, I’m sorry. I wish I had listened to you that time, maybe things could’ve been different now” he sighed 

“I’m guessing mom told you” she pursed her lips

“She did, why didn’t you try harder? I’m not saying it’s your fault but you should’ve stood up for yourself, you should’ve been more stubborn and said it, hell even screamed it out loud if that’s what it took for us to listen” 

“I wanted to but I was afraid and young. I did get stubborn, just not how I should’ve. I guess now that I’m older I can see that there are so many things I could’ve done differently, but what’s the point now anyway, there’s no changing it”

“I can’t imagine how it felt not being able to ask your own father for help. All I wanted was to protect my daughters, shape them into something the world couldn’t hurt, instead I went hard on them to the point it broke them” he spoke, guilt evident in his voice. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to accept his apology but she couldn't bring herself to. Deep down she knew sooner or later it'll be back to how it always is. 

“I wanna shout at you, I want to blame you for everything, I want to hate you, I want to resent you for the rest of my life, but I can’t, I can’t because you’re my father, I can’t because even though you broke me, you shaped me into the woman I am today. I’m not saying your ways were right, but I guess you achieved what you wanted, the world can’t hurt me” Moon spoke her mind even though she didn't believe him because at the end of the day she knew if things didn't go his way he'd take it out on her.

“But at what cost, I lost what I wanted to protect” he said 

“I can't disagree with you. But there’s still time. We’re still here. I know you regret your actions. But you’re not solely to blame, it works both ways, there were problems on both sides. We were young and naive, you were hotheaded, with clash of interest things never went as they should’ve” she played along 

“Will you forgive me? I might not deserve it but do you think there’s still a place for me in your heart?” he asked 

“Do you know why I never hated you?” she asked dodging the topic 

“No”

“Because you stayed. And not just that, you stayed and took our responsibility, I can’t imagine how scary it must be to raise another human, yet you stayed, you had your ways but you still protected us. There was a girl in my class, she lived with her grandmother, she would tell stories of how her father left when she was 6 after her mother passed away. How she was abandoned and had to grow up with her grandmother. That’s when I realized, you had the choice, if you wanted, you could’ve left, but you didn’t, you stayed and that’s why I can never hate you. I felt bitter towards you for so long but I never hated you” Moon explained 

“The two most important days in my life are when you sisters were born. Watching the two of you grow up were the happiest days of my life. I was so caught up in shaping you both I didn’t realize I ruined it all”

“I know you had your reasons, but your ways weren’t right. However, what’s right is that you realized, and that you’re owning up to your mistakes. We’re all humans, we make mistakes, but I’m glad your pride didn’t let you ruin it any further. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m willing to take that chance. Let’s put the past aside and start anew. I’m not saying I’ll forget everything that happened, but I’ll try to set it aside and start a new chapter” Moon asked 

“Thank you, for giving me another chance, I know I haven’t been the best father and I’m sorry about that” her father replied heavily 

“What’s done is done, we can’t go on weeping about it ruining our future. I know we can’t forget it either but, let's focus on the present more than the past. And I'm not saying I forgive you, just that I'm willing to try again. Maybe someday I will but right now I can't. I deserve at least that much” she said

"I understand but I'm glad you're willing to give me another chance". Moon sighed, this wasn't the first chance she had given him, it was always the same thing, he'd apologise, she'd accept his apology. Maybe it was because deep down she was desperate to have a father, or maybe for the sake of her mother, she always ended up giving him a chance, despite being let down every time. 

"We can't go on like this forever, we'll have to come to an agreement at some point" she told 

“You’re being surprisingly mature” he chuckled trying to lighten the atmosphere

“Well I’ve had some good influences” she replied 

“About that, I wanted to ask you something” he suddenly got serious again 

“Yeah of course” she said 

“It’s about-let’s order first” he said waving a waiter over

“What do you want to have?” he asked 

“Umm I’ll have-” she started, skimming through the menu, when her phone went off

“Hello?” she picked up

“Hey girl, you down for some fun, I’m coming to your place in a while” Nay said through the phone

“Ple-uuhhm can you excuse me for a minute, I need to take this, uhh and I’ll have the lasagna” Moon told her father

“Sure” he replied as she went away to attend the call 

“Sorry, so what did you wanna say?” she asked returning to her seat

“Have you been having trouble with someone lately?” he asked 

“No, not really, at least none that I know of. Why?” she asked curiously

“Someone’s been following your mom and I for a few days now. She hasn’t noticed anything yet but I think it could be something dangerous and I wanted to confirm with you. Do you know who it could be?” he asked 

“I think I know who it could be, but I can’t be a hundred percent sure, I have a few hunches, I’ll have to check. Why don’t you both lay low for a while, or actually, the next time you go out and see someone following you, send me your location, I’ll come and please stay in touch, I’ll look into it” she said voice shaky 

“Sunshine, don’t get worked up, we can handle ourselves, I only told you so that it doesn’t turn into a mess” he said, the nickname making her smile as she hadn’t heard it in a long time but at the same time it made her internally grimace. 

“Okay, I guess, the best way to deal with it is calmly” she smiled

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

Chan entered his room tired from a little training session with Changbin and Bree. After showering he was about to crash into his bed when he saw Anna sleeping soundly cuddled in his blankets. Smiling softly at her he slowly climbed in next to her, as if sensing her brother’s presence she grabbed his arm and cuddled it back to sleep. Chuckling he whispered “Night night Nessa, the nightmares aren’t gonna bother you anymore”, ruffling her hair, he lied down beside her and closed his eyes, smiling at the fond memory slowly drifting off to sleep.

10 years ago  

(Chan-16 || Anessa-10)

“Nessa, are you okay?” Chan asked Anessa who was standing at his bedroom door, cheeks tear stained

“Nightmare, they took dad away they killed you and the-th-they..” she started crying 

“Shh it’s okay I’m here, I’m here” he soothed his sister, hugging her small body

“Can I sleep in your room tonight, mum and dad are out right now, the baby was crying so they took him for a drive” she asked 

“Mmhmm yeah, and you know the baby has a name right?” he chuckled

“I’m sleepy” she rubbed her eyes pouting at her brother 

“C’mon you big baby” he said, grabbing her sister's hand and guiding her to the bed, tucking her in and sliding in beside her.

“Is grandpa going to come again?” Anna asked 

“No Nessa you don’t have to worry, he’s not gonna hurt us” Chan replied turning towards his sister

“But what if he does, what if he hurts us” the younger girl asked eyes tearing up

“Then dad will protect us, like he always does, and this time I will too, so don’t worry and go to sleep” he said smiling gently at his sister

“I’m hungry” Anessa sat up

“You can’t be serious right now, we’re gonna be grounded until graduation if mom and dad find out we’re awake this late on a school night” Chan sighed

“Pleasee, we’ll go to sleep before they come back” she whined pulling on to her brother’s arm

“The things I do for you” he said getting up

“Yay!!” Anessa jumped up her mood lighting up, following her brother out the room

“Can I have cookies and Milk?” she asked, taking a seat on the counter “I’m not stuffing you with sugar at 1 am.” he said, taking out the pot and filling it with water.

“Simple Ramen will do” Chan said busy with his task 

“Do you know why grandpa came to Australia in the first place” she asked 

“Nessa you know that’s adult business, you don’t need to worry about it, one day you’ll know, right now just focus on your studies” her brother said 

“You sound like dad” she said sticking her tongue out at him 

“Good, I wanna be like him” he replied with a proud smile on his face

“Big and strong?” 

“Yeah so I can protect you guys just like him” he said putting two bowls of Ramen on the counter top

“And I’ll help you” the ten year old jumped enthusiastically 

“Sure sure, right now finish your food and head to bed before mom and dad return” he said ruffling her hair. As the two were cleaning up the dishes when they heard the car pulling up outside

“I swear if we get caught, I’m never helping you with your homework again” Chan exclaimed. Quickly putting the dishes back in their place, the two sprinted upstairs to Chan’s bedroom. They heard their parents’ footsteps getting closer as they got in the bed. “We better not get caught.” Chan said, quickly turning on his side and pretended to sleep, his sister doing the same. The door opened a minute later, their mother checking on the two before closing the door back. They released a sigh, exchanging looks and erupting into tiny giggles. 

“Are you okay now?” Chan asked 

“Yes, a little bit” she replied trying not to cry 

“Why? Is something bothering you?” he asked, wiping away her tears

“I’m afraid the nightmares will come back” she replied 

“Nessa it’s gonna be alright, I’m right here, I’ll fight away all your nightmares” he smiled at her 

“You promise” she questioned raising her pinky finger

“Yes I promise” he said, intertwining his pinky with hers. Smiling at her brother, she got comfortable and closed her eyes trying to sleep. Moments later she grabbed Chan's arm, snuggling closer to him already asleep. Chan chuckled at the sight and caressed her head “Night night Nessa, the nightmares aren’t gonna bother you anymore”.

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

“I need help” Moon barged into Seungmin’s room

“Jesus woman, it’s basic human decency to knock on someone’s door before entering” the boy spoke 

“Yeah yeah later, I got more pressing matters at hand right now” Moon said 

“Is the world on fire?” Seungmin asked sarcastically

“Worse” Moon said taking a seat next to him on his bed and opened her laptop

“Uh-huh, and what’s that? You haven’t gotten your period and want me to get you a pregnancy test?” 

“For the love of Go- the fuck you high on?”

“You’re the one who said worse than the world being on fire” he defended

“And that’s the worst you could come up with?” she deadpanned 

“I don’t know, but I think given your current situation a child would be worse than the world being on fire” he said it so seriously Moon almost threw hands 

“What eve- why would I come to you if I was pregn- Jesus Christ Min, I’m starting to think you’re actually high” 

“Soooo? You needed help with something?” he dragged his sentence

“Uh yeah, so my mom is being followed and I think it’s Andre, I need to confirm it” Moon explained 

“Okay, now that I think about it, pregnancy would be better” Seungmin laughed 

“Bitch what the fuck? What’s with you and pregnancy, did you get someone preg- wait is Liv-” 

“ARE YOU CRAZY” He cut Moon off

“What’s the noise about?” Minho entered the room 

“Moon’s pregnant” Seungmin pointed at the said girl, horror written all over her face

“CHRISTOPHER!!!!” Minho ran calling for the leader

“I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU” Moon screamed at Seungmin and sprinted after Minho

“Minho WAIT!” She called out running after him

“I HAVE AN SOMETHING TO TELL YOU ALL” Minho screamed on top of his lungs reaching the living room where everyone were messing around with each other

“NO HE DOESN’T” Moon came running after

“Too late. MOON’S PREGNANT” he announced before Moon could stop him

Everyone went quiet, turning to look at Chan, who was in total shock and confusion.

“I am not pregnant okay, Seungmin is the one who g-mmhhhmmppphhhh” Seungmin covered Moon’s mouth before she could complete her sentence

“Hahahah it’s just a joke, Nothing serious” Seungmin fake laughed narrowing her eyes at Moon who was glaring at him 

“First off, I can’t be pregnant, and second WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?” she pointed at the two culprits

“I was just kidding, no one is pregnant, Minho is just being Minho, I was just MESSING around with Moon” Seungmin said emphasizing on the “messing” while looking at Moon, practically glaring at her

“Someone care to explain what’s actually going on?” El asked 

“I just wanted” - “She said it's worse than” - “But he went off about” - “I asked if she was” - “He told Minho I was” - “No one is pregnant” both Moon and Seungmin spoke at the same time making absolutely no sense 

“Go back to kindergarten, both of you” Bree said pointing at the two

“But she’s the one” - “But he’s the one” they began once again

“Alright, go to sleep both of you, that’s enough drugs for today” Changbin spoke done with both

“But I’m not even high” Moon whined 

“As if I am” Seungmin defended 

“Well then at least act sober” Chan complained 

“Why is no one scolding Minho, he’s the one who started the entire mess” Moon asked pointing to the said man, who was chilling beside Jisung 

“Yeah” Seungmin agreed

“This again” Bree scolded 

“OKay okay, enough scolding, can we please get back to the matter at hand” Moon asked getting serious 

“What happened?” Chan asked concerned 

“So here’s the thing, you guys already know I went to see my dad yesterday” Moon started 

“How did yo-” Felix started 

“I talked to Nay. Anyways, I found out that my parents are being followed, my mom hasn’t noticed yet but my dad did. I have a very strong feeling it’s Andre, but I can’t be a hundred percent sure and that’s why I need help” Moon explained 

“But what does that have anything to do with you being pregnant?” Liv laughed 

“Please not this again” Moon whined, causing everyone to laugh 

“Right, enough chit chat, how can we be of assistance?” Hyunjin asked

“Well first I need to know why he is following my parents. And how he was able to fin- wait a second” Moon’s face contorted 

“What?” Jisung asked

“Andre said he knew Mark was in a gang. Back then I didn’t believe him because it sounded absurd, but as it turns out he wasn’t wrong. Before he disappeared, he came to me, he told me he drugged me because he needed to get me out of the school and it was the only way. He said that there was going to be some sort of gang meetup, I don’t remember everything he said as he used to talk a lot of bulshit. But it kind of makes sense, especially since he also knew that Chan was a Gang leader. The only way he could've known all this is if he too is involved in this side of business. Has he been keeping tabs on me since day one? Is that why he was able to find me so easily, how he got away with assaulting me in the first place, disappeared into thin air without a trace. How could I have missed it?” she finished, basically questioning herself towards the end  

“Do you want to go back to your parents? Keep an eye out while we look into it?” Chan asked concerned 

“As much as I want to, I can’t, it could alert Andre and that could be worse, although he might already know, considering I met up with dad” Moon replied growing more worried 

“What do you suggest? Should we have someone tail your parents too?” Minho questioned

“Well first I’ll have to talk to Mark, ask him what he knows, and about exactly what happened that day, how long he has been in a gang for and if there really was a meetup of sorts on that day. If it turns out to be true then I’ll ask him to look into the gangs he has been involved in, see if we can find out anything. And you guys should also look into the gangs you’ve had interactions with too, because if Andre knew that Chan was the leader, chances are he has had interaction with you guys in the past. I asked dad to tell me if he sees something suspicious again, so it’s fine for now” Moon explained

“Possibilities are that if he is from one the gangs we were involved with, he’s either from a very large influential one and at a higher rank at that too, or he’s a new member we haven’t interacted with, which is why we have never seen him nor heard his name” Chan explained 

“It’s probably the former considering how easily he was able to track Moon down” Liv told

“Well whatever it is, we’ll find out soon. I’ll call Mark and see if I can meet up with him today” Moon said 

“Do you want someone to go with you?” Bree asked 

“No, I’ll be fine. Thank you.” she replied 

“I don’t know, I don’t trust him after what happened” Chan said skeptical

“It’s alright, I’ve known him my entire life, he would never hurt me, trust me” Moon reassured

“If you say so, but if anything happens le-” Chan started 

“Chan, don’t worry, I’ll come back I promise” Moon smiled at which Chan relaxed 

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

“Alright, see you then, can’t wait” Mark said on the other line before hanging up. Moon put her phone down and started changing, getting ready to go out. She went into Chan’s office to get his car keys when he stopped her “Are you sure about this? Going alone? I can accompany you, I don’t mind” He spoke 

“Chan, what's wrong?” she asked intertwining their fingers 

“I just want you to be safe and I’m not completely okay about you going alone because of what happened that night” he said looking at their hands 

“That’s not it is it” she raised her brow, lips curling into a smile upon realizing what the actual issue was

“What do you mean, of course that’s it” he said avoiding eye contact 

“You’re jealous, aren’t you? Oh my Gosh you’re jealous” Moon said letting out a laugh 

“No I’m not, I just worrie- fine I’m jealous but it’s because you used to like him and now you’re-” Moon cut him off with a peck on his lips 

“Idiot, that was such a long time ago. You don’t have to worry about it. I mean, come on, who doesn’t have crushes in High school” She laughed 

“I know, I know, it’s just that like you said, you’ve known him your entire life, he’s really close to you and I don’t know you like he knows you and that makes me feel insecure” He finished, voice getting lower at the end 

“Aww is the big bad wolf scared?” Moon cooed

“Bad move baby girl, you don’t wanna challenge the wolf” Chan said in a low voice, pushing her into the wall, faces close, noses almost touching, she could feel his hot breath, her heart beating fast as she swallowed loudly 

“I’ll always come back to you Chan” she whispered looking into his eyes 

“Good” he exhaled before connecting their lips, kissing her fiercely. Hands tightening on her waist, tongues tangled in a mess, breaths laboured and heavy, the two got lost in each other. 

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

“So how have you been lately?” Mark asked as the two sat on the park bench behind the trees, hidden from public eyes, drinking smoothies. 

“Better than the last time you saw me” she shrugged

“You say that but you don’t look like it” he said 

“Yeah well shit happened” “What kind of shit”

“Andre came back” Moons sighed burying her head in her hands 

“WHAT?!” he explained 

“You heard me fine the first time” Moon said 

“Yeah I know, I mean, what happened? Where were you? What did he say? Did he do something? I swear to God I’ll rip him to shreds if he-” 

“How? Do you know where he is? How will you find him?” Moon cut him which shut him up 

“I’ll do so-”

“There’ s no point in making empty promises right now, just help me out here” Moon cut him off again

“Of course, anything you need” Mark asked “I need you to tell me what happened 5 years ago, or what was going to happen if things went differently then they did” Moon questioned

“What do you mean?” he answered confused 

“A few days before Andre disappeared, he came to see me. He told me that you were in a gang. He said some sort of trade was going to happen and that he wanted to get me out apparently for safety reasons. At that time I thought he was bullshitting me as usual. But then when I met him again, he knew about Chris. I was with mom  and he went on saying how Chris was a gang leader and everything. It really pissed me off. But later on when I thought about it, he was technically right about you being in a gang, at that time, I just didn’t know. So tell me Mark, was what Andre said about that day true?” Moon explained 

“I can’t tell you the details, but yes, it’s true. My gang was going to make a trade with another gang that day. I don’t know how Andre knew but it’s true” he confirmed 

“Could it have been his gang?” she asked 

“I don’t think so, we used to and still have frequent trades with that gang and I’ve never heard of Andre, we even met the boss a few times so I don’t think it was his gang” 

“Can you look into it, maybe there is something you’re missing. I need to find him as soon as I can, he’s been following my parents around, and I don’t want them hurt. I never want them to be involved with this” Moon said 

“Of Course. I’ll look into it and don’t worry about aunt and uncle, I’ll keep an eye on them too” he said ruffling her hair 

“Thanks. Please let me know if you find anything” Moon said, getting up ready to leave.  

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find something” he smiled at her.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“What’s on your mind?” Hyunjin asked Moon who was staring blankly at the ceiling 

“It’s a mess. Too many thoughts. I’m having a headache” she replied rubbing her face

“Well let's take this one thing at a time, how did it go with Mark?” Hyunjin questioned

“It went fine, apparently Andre was right. Mark didn’t go into details and I don’t know, something doesn’t feel right” she sighed 

“Like what?” 

“That’s the thing, I don’t know, my head is all over the place, I can’t seem to put my finger on it” she answered closing her eyes

“Do you think Andre was involved with the meet up or was just someone who knew about it?” Hyunjin asked 

“I have absolutely no idea, Mark said that whoever they were supposed to meet aren’t related to Andre” she sighed 

“Is he a hundred percent sure?” 

“If he was involved with them, Mark would’ve known and probably would’ve killed him the first chance he got” Moon replied 

“Maybe not directly, that’s why Mark has no idea.” 

“What do you mean?” Moon got up, facing him now 

“Like maybe someone from the sidelines, just there to observe, not participate or anything. Just like we did for that Russian Gang, the other gang wasn’t aware of our presence, we were just there as a precaution, incase things went sideways” Hyunjin explained 

“That makes sense” she whispered 

“Okay next question, how did Andre know about Chan but none of you have any idea who he is nor have you ever seen him” Moon said

“My first thought would’ve been that he went by a different name that’s why we never heard of him, but Chan saw him and didn’t recognize him so I’m just as lost as you” Hyunjin replied 

“Gosh this is so frustrating” Moon groaned pulling on her hair

“Hey hey, getting worked up is just going to slow us down. And I know staying calm is beyond possible, but we have to try”

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll stay sane if this goes on” she sighed 

“Bold of you to assume you’re sane” Hyunjin chuckled

“Fuck off” Moon smiled 

“How about Seungmin, did he get anywhere?” he asked 

“Nope, he has no idea” the girl replied 

“I don’t know why but I’m getting a feeling that this guy has been right in front of us the whole time and has managed to dodge us every time” Hyunjin spoke, lost in thought

“Okay but that makes sense though” Moon suddenly sat up, facing the taller male 

“How come?” he raised a brow 

“Think about it, he’s always been a step ahead, during the football practice, on the sports day, reappearing and finding me without issue, knowing who Chan is, if you think about it, I really don’t think any of it is a coincidence, he knew exactly what he was doing, from day one” she explained 

“Yeah but it doesn’t make sense that he knew Chan, unless he or his gang is directly involved with us, he can’t know Chan, at least not what he looks like” 

“What do you mean? Isn’t this gang well known in the world of Mafia?” Moon asked, confused 

“Not after the death of Chan’s grandfather. Back then, it was one of the most feared gang, even the name was different back then, but ever since Chan took over, things have been different” he explained 

“Does that mean Andre or his gang has been involved with you guys in the past? But again if it was, you guys would’ve known him”. Suddenly Hyunjin’s eyes went wide, as if he realized something important. 

“I think I know who Andre is” Moon’s expression mirrored Hyunjin’s as sson as those words left his mouth

[hacked-by-jake]

Could you please do prompts number 4 and 56 with Richy x MC? Pretty please :') I would love to see this pairing written in your style

The dog was totally cute

A/n: Hello dear @ephemeral-sorrow and thank you for your request. I find Richy x MC is a cute pairing. It’s not very special. I hope you like it. Have fun.♡

Prompts: “You are so dramatic. I was gone for five minutes.” and “You might be my favorite person I’ve ever met.”

Words: 1k

"I saw the scratch on your car, Sir. If you buy this cloth for polishing varnish, they can easily remove the scratch with a few minutes of work" you suggest to the customer and put on your most beautiful smile.

"I mean, your car is so beautiful, it really hurts in your heart to see this scratch, and luckily this is only superficial. that goes away easily", you look regretfully at his car.

In addition, it is much cheaper to remove it now instead of having to remove the rust in a few months"

"Do you really think so? Is the scratch obvious? I had to dodge another driver a few months ago, and I scrubbed on a bush. The branches have scratched the paint" uncertainly he looks at his car.

"If I may be honest, it is obvious. And after all, the car is a very important and faithful companion of man, right? This should always be well maintained".

"You know what? You’re right, I’ll add that to that"

You try not to smile with happiness  while you give him the receipt after he pays.

In this moment, Richy comes through the gate into the garage.

Impressed he observes you as you hand over the package with the cloth to the customer and then say goodbye.

After Richy also gave him his hand, he makes his way to his car.

He murmurs "adios" before he draws his attention from the customer to you.

You turn your attention also to Richy and look proud.

When the customer leaves the driveway, Richy claps in his hands.

"Did you really sell him anything else?" he asks impressed.

"Yep, just a little bit, but he took it" you are happy and show up behind the cash register.

"You know, MC, You might be my favorite person I’ve ever met." Grinning, he puts an arm around your shoulder as you make your way to the common room.

"That’s exactly why you’re here! You are a genius" he is looking forward to while he fills two cups with coffee and then puts one in front of you on the table.

"It was actually quite simple, I don’t know if this rag really does any good, but it worked" you giggle.

"But now to something else, Richy, where have you been? I was worried, you can’t just disappear. If the customer had not come to get his car, I would have immediately sent a search party".

Richy rolls his eyes and sighs, "You are so dramatic, I was gone for five minutes."

Annoyed you look at him, "I am not dramatic but realistic! If you suddenly disappear, I have to reckon with that the man without a face was here and took you with him".

"I’m here love, everything’s fine," he mutters, sitting down on the chair next to you. You turn in his direction and reach for his hand to make sure he’s really there.

"Where have you been, Richy? This is really not funny"

He sighs again, "I’m honest, but please don’t be mad, I saw something, and I thought there was someone.. When I almost reached the beginning of the forest, suddenly a dog came running out of the forest. He was friendly and I stroked him, then he just ran away again and I thought nothing of it and came back”

Without understanding, your mouth opens, "Okay point one: You can’t just run into the forest again. Its too dangerous, please Richy. Point two: A stranger’s dog can be dangerous Richy, you have to be more careful, you are sometimes really, too recklessly -"

"Too Reckless? YOU are telling me, I'm too recklessly?" a little smile lies on his lips.

"And point three: A stranger dog? And far and wide no owner? That doesn’t sound good"

"Well, if you put it that way... But he was totally cute," his look turns into a kind of skepticism, but then he puts a hand to his chest to signal that the dog was really cute.

"Richy, if the man with no face is around close here, we’re not safe here, What if he suddenly stands in the repair shop? We can’t keep working"

"Oh no no no, I can’t do that. The few customers who come are essential for survival"

You close your eyes and nod with understanding. That really wouldn’t work, they would lose the garage and then there would be a lot of trouble. And so intimidated by the man without a face? Never!

"We start to keep the main gate closed, okay? Then the workshop is no longer open and freely accessible. At least you can only enter through the side door" the mechanic suggests and you agree.

"I’ll buy a doorbell. If the door is opened, we notice it immediately", you add.

"A very good idea, and I’m sorry again that I just left, I won’t do it again."

"Promise?" you ask softly and lean over to him.

"Yes I promise, MC" he also leans on to you.

He puts his lips lightly on yours and you smile in the kiss.

As always, his lips are soft and gentle. It smells of its pleasant perfume and a touch of engine oil.

"AHA, I knew it!  Richy is not just 'nice' he is really 'nice nice' for you"

Immediately you two drive apart and and stare at Jessy standing in the door with a box in her hand.

Your cheeks turn red and Richy looks like a cute puppy that got caught doing stupid things.

The redhead grins broadly and giggles, "Don’t worry, I’m fine with this," she winks.

"Oh, and Richy, Mr Jackson standing outside, he has a crack in the windshield. And you, MC, here I have everything  we need, for the plan 'Save Roger’s garage'"

"You’re the best Jessy" are you excited while Richy jumps up and walks into the shop to serve Mr Jackson.

You’ve been working here for three weeks now, and you thought about,

why your friend’s business is not going well anymore.

And then you made a decision,

Rogers Garage gets a glow up.

--

🌹

[hawkeish]

Omg Handers flower shop + Person one: “It’s beautiful.” Person two, looking at person one: “Yeah, it is.”

so I was meant to save this for the dwc, but have the funnest/crackest thing I’ve written in a while, for the day that’s in it. I might make this my canon for a laugh. happy Valentine’s day everyone!

fhanders, Red Hawke walks into a florist, 1.1k, violence/death mention

“You’re still open? Thank the fucking Maker--”

“Excuse me—are you bleeding—”

“Oh, don’t mind that. Nose might be fucked, might not. I’ll take a bouquet! White lilies, white chrysanthemums. Or is that too much white? Hey, why not throw in some gladioli—”

“Are you—those are funeral flowers, ma’am—”

“Wonderful! It’ll really send the message that if he so much as tries to fuck with me again, he’ll be six feet under and I’ll be cackling as I throw the first shovel of dirt onto his coffin. Do you have one of those cards that says ‘I’m sorry for your loss’? No worries if not. I just thought it would be a nice touch.”

Anders usually has a lot to say. It’s usually about why a policy of radical leftism is the only way to create a fairer and more equal society, but still. He can be good at small-talk when the time comes, or when he’s serving one of the regular older ladies who like to spill all the scandalous gossip from their weekly book group as they pick out suitable memorial flowers for their most recently deceased enemy.

For once, though, Anders finds that words are escaping him.

“Uh, yeah.” Despite his better judgement, he automatically gestures to the wall of cards to the right of the shop. A small part of him wants to say something like this is my lovely, nice, serene place of work, why in Andraste’s name have you come in to bleed all over it? But the almost-qualified doctor in him—and the very large part of him that’s thinking what in the ever-loving fuck—just says: “Are you sure your nose is OK?”

“Huh, this?” Scanning the rows of demure sympathy messages, the woman prods it, then winces. More blood glugs from a nostril. “It’ll be grand.”

It will not be grand. Even from behind the counter, with a jungle’s worth of monstera leaves between him and this new customer, Anders can see that her nose is very much broken. “Listen, I’m in medical school, I can take a look—”

“Thanks but no thanks, pretty boy,” the woman breaks in, not even glancing back at him. Plucking a card from the rack, she flips it open. “Gone, but not forgotten,” she intones, with a mock-severity that almost makes Anders laugh. “A bit gauche? Hm. See, I’m on a time limit. Need to get these to my brother before he sets off for Ms. Meredith’s School for Good Little Templars later this evening. Appreciate the offer, though.”

Brother. Brother? Anders almost drops the chrysanthemum in his hand. “These are for your—”

The woman turns and looks him dead in the eye. “You heard me.”

Anders opens his mouth to speak, lets out a breath, thinks better of it, and closes his mouth again.

“Yeah.” Wandering back towards him with a card in hand, the woman grins; the dried blood on her upper lip cracks. “Better not to ask. Anyway, what’s the damage? And are you going to do your job, or…?”

With one hand, she waves at him as he stands there doing admittedly nothing aside from holding a single stem and gawking at her, then waves at the buckets around them, bursting with flowers. With her other, she starts pulling shite—utter, absolute shite—from the pockets of her denim jacket and slaps it down on the counter between them. Old subway ticket stubs. Random coins. A lipstick with no cap. What looks like a rusted nipple bar, but Anders hopes is an earring that’s fallen out. An unused condom. Somehow, an already-smoked cigarette. Then, a card decorated with a colourful, cartoonish picture of a chihuahua wearing a sombrero and the word “¡Adios!”, beneath which is scrawled YOU FUCKING DONKEY.

For a long moment, there’s silence. Halfway through putting together her monstrosity of a bouquet as fast as his hands can work, Anders stares down at the card, then drags his gaze up to meet hers. Drumming her fingertips against the counter as she fishes something else from her pocket with her spare hand, she’s smiling the smile of someone who just watched a small child fall over. She’s pretty, Anders notices, against his will and better judgement. Pretty in the way that a bird of prey looks, before it tears your eyes out with its beak.

Finally, he manages something, frowning down at what must be her backup card. “So you’re telling me ‘adios, you fucking donkey’ was your first choice, but ‘gone, but not forgotten’ feels too gauche—”

“Will ten quid do?” She interrupts. She’s stopped drumming; instead, she’s holding something out towards him. A creased note, tucked between two fingers like you’d hold a smoke. “And a woman needs options. Who knows how I’ll be feeling when I get home? Still murderous, I imagine. But maybe I’ll fancy a laugh as I make a washing line out of his innards!”

She’s not attractive, Anders is telling himself, as he suddenly wonders why he finds her extremely attractive. Washing line, Anders is telling himself, as he pulls the silver bow on the bouquet tight. Innards. “I—we don’t work on a bartering service—”

“Delightful!” The woman grins, a shark-smile that’s all gleaming teeth, then starts to shove her belongings back into her pockets. “Ten quid it is! Oh, and you can even keep this as a token of my appreciation. You’ve been so helpful. Are they done?”

All alone on the counter sits the condom.

Maker, if this is how she flirts—

Anders feels a flush creep up his neck, bloom across his cheeks, but tries to ignore it, forcing the customer service smile back on. Taking the money from her, careful not to actually touch her, he takes a final look at the bouquet before handing it over. Somehow, it’s one of his best: perfectly arranged, smelling as though it was perfumed by Andraste herself, each flower blooming just so.

“Good choices,” he says mechanically, like he does with any other customer. Because this is any other customer. Normal. Fine. Not a woman he doesn’t want to find attractive, standing before him with an extremely broken nose, making threats of murder so casually that it’s as though she’s remarking upon the weather. Anders clears his throat. “They’re beautiful.”

“Yeah,” the woman replies. “They are.”

Anders looks up from the flowers.

Head cocked to the side, the woman’s staring straight at him, with eyes as blue as the Waking Sea. He gets the feeling that she has been for a while.

And then she takes the flowers and the bell on the door chimes and she’s disappeared into the evening like some kind of spectre, and Anders is left staring at a ten sovereign note and a condom that may or may not have expired, wondering why in Andraste’s blessed memory he wishes he’d asked her for her name.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 7 - Memories

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, was it a memory?, 2.6k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

“Don’t look down ‘cuz we’re still rising up right now...and even if we hit the ground...we’ll still fly, keep dreaming like we’ll live forever but live it like it’s now or never…”

Willie bobbed along as the song played from the tinny radio speaker outside the bodega. Sheldon was curled on his lap, purring contentedly as Willie pet him absentmindedly.

“You gonna take any chamoy candy, amigo?” Escobar asked, peeking his head out the door.

Willie shook his head.

“Not tonight.”

As Escobar disappeared again, Willie kept nodding to the beat of the song. It wasn’t exactly like being at a concert, but he had been happily surprised to hear the local station playing their songs - they’d been repeating them, in fact. By now he’d been able to assign faces to the voices singing different parts, and hearing Alex’s come through in the harmonies and the occasional solo was comforting.

“We ain’t searching for tomorrow…’cuz we got all we need today…”

The lines were strangely fitting. If Willie could’ve chosen how to spend his last day on Earth, he knew he would’ve spent it just like he had yesterday without question. If only that could make the Alex-sized hole hurt a little less than it had today.

“Can we turn it back to my station now?” Escobar called out. “We’ve heard the same songs, like, four times.”

“It’s Alex’s band, though,” Willie contested. The radio was already playing rancheras. As he stood up, Sheldon leapt off of his lap and went to eat more food.

“Que tiene este muchacho, anyway?” Escobar asked. “You knew him for, like, five seconds and he didn’t leave you a number.”

There was no way to properly express in words the feeling he got about Alex. Their interactions weren’t based on words, even when they had spoken.

“You don’t have to get it, Escobar,” he said, grabbing his board and helmet from leaning against the counter. He hadn't let himself hope it would magically last forever, but the memory was worth it. “I’ll see you later.”

“Adios,” the man said, sweeping up the store and singing along to his music. “Una piedra en el camino...me enseño que mi destino...era rodar y rodar…”

Shaking his head and smiling, Willie kicked off into the late night. He’d spent all morning cleaning hotel rooms, and he tried to remember which number had been the one for Alex and his band, but he never figured it out. The rest of the day, he’d run errands for Caleb and let the one memory he had regained play on loop in his mind. There was nothing that specifically indicated that the man in the truck was his dad, but he simply knew it was. They had the same squint when they smiled.

He hadn’t bothered telling Caleb about it. It would’ve been irrelevant, since he’d apparently been in the foster care system for quite some time. Those were some of the important details he’d gotten from him, but Caleb was rather stingy about the rest - he’d said it was so Willie could live unbiased and make himself into whoever he wanted. It didn’t feel that way, though. Eventually Willie had stopped trying to weasel things out of him and accepted that he might never regain his memories. Of course, it was different now that he knew they could return.

The wind in his hair was nice, but lacked something he couldn’t put a finger on. As he came upon a large home, he skated onto the driveway around the back. He was headed past the pool in the backyard toward his shed and was surprised by a sudden voice from the water.

“William, I’ve asked you so many times not to skate around the pool,” Caleb said, wading over from where he had been doing some laps. Slowing to a stop and picking his board up, Willie gave him an apologetic nod, continuing toward the shed.

“Wait,” he heard from behind. Turning, he saw Caleb climb out of the pool and move toward him.

“You’ve been running around all day, so I’m sure you want some rest. I’ve just been worried about where you go when it’s so late. That’s two nights in a row. Is there anything you need to tell me?”

Put on the spot, everything went blank in his mind. What was there to worry about? Did he know about Sheldon? Even if he did, it wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong keeping the cat at the bodega.

“Not anything to tell,” he replied, trying to mask the strange guilt that had arisen. “Just been skating around.”

Caleb looked down at him, and Willie could never tell what was making those gears turn in his head. He knew he was just looking out for him, but sometimes he just wanted not to give some kind of report at the end of the day like he was doing business.

“I just think about what would happen if you were out there and something were to hurt you,” Caleb told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Or someone. Wouldn’t want another accident.”

Willie nodded solemnly. Caleb’s tone was serious, but for the first time he just felt that it was...insincere. His stomach flipped at the thought and he drove it down into the depths of his mind. That was an awful thing to think about the person who literally provided everything for him, especially when he wasn’t blood-related.

“I’m being careful, I promise,” he said, not meeting the man’s eyes.

“I’ll take your word,” Caleb said. He let go of Willie’s shoulder and strolled back toward the pool.

Walking to the shed, Willie shut the door behind him and confusion swept over his whole being. His dad’s face rose to the front of his mind again. If only he knew more about him to compare the two men, then he could understand why he felt so strangely about Caleb. Looking around the shed, he wondered if an answer could be found.

It was big enough for his bed, some shelves and a desk, with a small closet and bathroom. Apparently he had been living in there instead of the house even before his accident. In his first memory of seeing it, it was the bare necessities and nothing else. While Willie still wasn’t much to keep lots of clutter, he had dozens of sketches that he’d put up on the walls to make it feel more at home. It was quiet and thankfully Caleb didn’t bother him too often in there.

Sitting at the desk, he picked up a pencil and opened to a blank page in his sketchbook. Slowly shaping out a face, he tried his best to remember the details as clearly as he could. Willie wanted it to be as close to reality as possible, even though it wasn’t his usual drawing style. That way if his memory slipped, he could have something to keep him steady. So far the best thing about it was the eyes, but it wasn’t hard because all he had to do was check his own face in the mirror every once in a while. The smile was a little more crooked and wrinkly, and it took several attempts, but he was determined to get it right. He knew it was probably a good idea to get some sleep, since he had a full day of work in the morning, but this was more important.

Hours into the drawing, making sure everything was as close as he could get, Willie looked down at the portrait of his dad, steering wheel in hand, happy as could be. It was a really nice image, and if this were the only way he would ever remember him, Willie was glad it was happy. Checking the time, it was a little past three in the morning. He’d probably hate himself later for staying up so late, but it didn’t make him any less proud of his work. Aside from preserving his memory, it had been a great artistic challenge.

Finally climbing into bed, Willie tried to focus on something else. He brought Alex’s eyes to the forefront of his mind and let himself get lost in the soft crashing of the waves again. It had been rhythmic, which was so fitting for Alex. Allowing the rhythm to repeat continuously, he eventually nodded off to sleep.

Sirens blared and red and blue lights surrounded his vision. Willie was lying on the pavement, not moving and fading in and out of lucidity. The pain in his head was overwhelming. For a few moments, he stayed that way, watching the lights flash indefinitely. Slowly, he watched as all the lights and sirens pulled away, and above his face, the front bumper of a car came in view. A man that he couldn’t see clearly appeared, moving backwards, going from the side of the car to kneeling over Willie’s motionless body in a panic.

After a few moments, the man went back to the car in the same backwards fashion, and Willie’s body lifted in the air. His vision tumbled and he made contact with the car a few times, and when his head hit the pain vanished. Strangely, he landed perfectly on his board and it was like watching the city in reverse. Aware this was a dream, he felt so puzzled by the whole thing. This was a part of the city he could’ve sworn he’d never been through before. Willie had his corners that he’d memorized, but Vegas was big enough to confuse him still.

The backwards skating seemed to be endless, until finally he was running back into Caleb’s home. Caleb was yelling, and Willie couldn’t make out what he was saying at all. Then suddenly they were at a social worker’s office, and Willie looked down at a file with his picture on it. He couldn’t make out anything it said, but he simply sat there as Caleb and the social worker blabbed in backwards gibberish.

The scene changed again, and Willie found himself sitting in the shed, crying. He was repeating a name but it made no sense. A deep loneliness filled his entire body and a strange force seemed to try to compress him into as small a space as possible. The tears and the shaking only intensified, ringing loudly in his ears. Everything was miserable, overwhelming, and he just kept crying out into the dark.

Willie opened his eyes and sat up in his bed. Looking around his room, there was too little light to make out any shapes, and after blinking his eyes he found they were wet. Huddling his knees into his chest, he just sat there in his confusion and fear, breathing in and out. Had those been memories? It was so hard to tell, especially since watching everything in reverse had been so trippy. If they had been, he wondered if they were warped in any fashion. Who would have their memories return through a dream in reverse, anway? The frustrating thing about amnesia was that it had very few absolutes and every case was different.

A pit of anger grew in his chest. Willie felt like some higher power was having fun at his expense. The tears that fell were more from quiet fury than pain. Glancing over at his desk, he saw the drawing of his dad smiling back at him again. Unfolding himself and laying down on his side, Willie stared at the picture and let the tears run until either his eyes dried up or he fell asleep again, whichever came first.

Loud banging on his door was what woke him up. Rising groggily from his bed, he opened the door to find Quetzal, one of the girls from the diner.

“You just woke up?” she was saying. “Come on, Willie, Caleb doesn’t know I rushed over here to get you, you better hurry up.”

Sighing wordlessly, Willie pulled on some clothes, followed Quetzal to her car and clambered inside.

“You’ve been off the past couple of days, you okay?”

Willie took in a deep breath and tried to blink himself more awake as they drove to the diner.

“Just in a funk, that’s all,” he breathed. “Thanks for coming to get me, though.”

“Let’s just pray we don’t get caught.”

“We won’t get caught, he’s doing some kind of new deal today. I heard him on the phone a while ago about some record label he was thinking of buying.”

“A record label? How many businesses does the guy own now, like five?”

“I stopped keeping track. Anyway, Dolores is probably managing today.”

“Oh, thank God,” she sighed. “You had me so worried when you didn’t show up on time. I was ready to get fired for leaving during my shift. At least we don’t have to worry about it now.”

Willie didn’t respond. He knew Quetzal was one of those people who would go out on a limb for anyone, but it still surprised him when she did it for him. He never felt deserving. As they parked at the diner and hurried out of the car, he shook his head. It wasn’t always successful but he always hoped it worked like an Etch-A-Sketch, to get rid of the many things cluttering up his brain.

That was it. Enter the kitchen, punch in, grab an apron, and he was in his corner by the dishwasher again. He ignored the eyes of everyone else who clearly wanted to express their upset by his tardiness.  He was there now, right? Heaven forbid. Willie’s mind, of course, only remained cleared from the shaking for a few minutes. As he got into the groove of spraying and moving things into the industrial trays, he tried to remember more details of the dream, but most had been forgotten. All that was left were sirens and lights.

He’d walked back home at the end of his long shift, since he hadn’t taken his board like usual in the morning. That also meant he couldn’t go to the bodega for lunch, and he desperately needed to check on Sheldon. Willie had peeked into the house and called to see if Caleb was home at all. His own voice echoed back followed by silence. Taking that as a confirmation the man was still busy, he gathered his board and helmet and made his way out to the street.

The wind wasn’t its usual soothing sensation against his face. Willie knew he was tired, but was disappointed to feel that the one thing that felt most freeing to him wasn’t doing its job. It should’ve been enough to lose his thoughts to the sound of the low roll from the wheels, only interrupted by the gentle clacks here and there. There was too much noise inside of him. Suddenly, he understood why Alex had chosen to play drums.

Sheldon was already pattering toward him as he came through the doorway. Scooping the cat into his arms, he held him close and stroked his fur in an attempt to find some comfort. When he started purring, Willie made a little sigh of relief.

“Busy day?” Escobar asked as he organized a shelf.

Willie only nodded. Sheldon was rubbing his head against his face, and it did more to soothe him than the wind.

“Sorry I didn’t come for lunch,” he apologized. “I haven’t been doing my part for Sheldon and I owe you.”

“I would like it if you could be around more,’ Escobar said. “But he’s a pretty good cat, so it isn’t too much, amigo.”

Nodding again, Willie finally heard the music playing in the background. Was it…?

“I thought you were tired of their songs,” he commented.

Escobar shrugged.

“Eh, I had an idea you wanted to listen to them. And they’re not all too bad.”

A surprised giggle came from Willie’s throat, and he smiled for probably the first time that day. He went to give Sheldon some food and let his mind replace the red and blue lights with soft green eyes.

[lamortexiii]

Cryptic Mystic: In the End

To bounce off of the previous blog posting, I thought it would be fun to just hop right on into the topic of what happens after we die. After all, we just finished talking about souls and a bit of astral projection last time. From transcending to another place/dimension to reincarnation, there truly is a lot to cover when you start diving into the many beliefs and ideas that surround death and mortality/immortality. But what differentiates the scientific facts from myths and stories of olden days? For those who believe in one defined means to an end for us all, how do you know for a fact that what you believe is true? Have you ever questioned what is life after death? Hell, is there a life after death? Or maybe… it’s something else… something so obscure that our tiny human brains are nowhere near possessing the capabilities to understand it. In the end, readers can decide for themselves what is more likely to be true, or maybe… the answer to this cryptic question has been right in front of us all along? Maybe it is a combination of what we know but do not yet understand. Let’s talk shop, shall we?

Death. Happy for some, a time of joy and celebration for others, but likely a time of sadness and grief for most. Some welcome death with open arms, while yet others fear their mortality. The numerous speculations on what happens after we die is overwhelming. There are far too many ideas and beliefs that people hold in this regard. I’ll briefly cover a few of the more popular beliefs as to not make this blog super lengthy - because, ya know, your attention span and whatnot. 

Scientifically, there are two types of death: clinical death and brain death. Clinical death is characterized by major organ failure (e.g. heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) until the body is completely rendered of functioning and the individual is officially pronounced dead. In brain death, solely the brain stops functioning, but the other organs within the body continue to work within their normal capacities. Creepy fun fact for you: the heart can beat for up to 30 minutes on its own after all brain cells have died. Once the heart stops it’s adios amigo. The remaining major organs that were barely hanging on have now lost blood flow, and life has ended. More creepy death fun facts: the gastrointestinal tract can live on its own for up to 3 days, and the complete decomposition of a body takes roughly 30 years! Crazy science stuff. 

Now let’s take a look at some common beliefs and speculations of what happens when/after we die. Again, I want to remind you, readers, that in my eyes there is no right or wrong answer here. I am a firm believer in everyone having their own beliefs and respect all of them regardless of how obscure some naysayers may think that they are. I enjoy hearing stories from followers that help to further broaden my thought processes. If you ever have an interesting story or want to chime in with your thoughts please feel free to leave a comment here or shoot on over to Instagram and we can rap about it. 

The belief that we transcend to another realm/dimension has been around for thousands of years and has been studied for decades. There is a lot to uncover here between recent scientific discoveries and human belief. Many people believe that many other dimensions exist, however, scientific exploration hasn’t fully found the golden answer to if and what these other dimensions may contain if they do indeed exist. We know that Earth has at least three dimensions: space—length, width, and depth—and one dimension of time. Modern physics posits that there is at least a fourth dimension of space, but that we can’t experience it. Maybe we can? Maybe we do but just haven’t put a label on it? Maybe the odd phenomena that happen across the world that people describe as being ghosts, aliens, and other paranormal activities are actually from the next dimension or another. There has been speculation that extraterrestrials come from another dimension through a portal that is already here on Earth rather than from the sky (outer space). 

Give me an R! Give me an E! Hell, this word is too long and I’m not going to put you through reading a silly cheer for 5 minutes. Reincarnation - yet another commonly held belief of what happens when we die. For those of you who may have never heard of reincarnation, here is the quick and dirty version of the definition. Reincarnation posits that when we die our spirit/soul/whatever you want to call it, moves on to a new host. This host could be a human baby that is born the very second that you die OR you could possibly find yourself reincarnated as an animal, tree, flower, or any other living thing that you can find on Earth. Interesting concept indeed.

My favorite belief, that we go to Heaven or somewhere similar, is one that is believed by millions of people across the world. Wouldn’t it be nice to die and go to another world/place where nothing can do you harm, and just live out the rest of your existence in peace? Well, if you can believe it then it may just happen that way - or maybe not. I am fairly certain I have mentioned this in previous blogs, but religion can be thought of as a coping mechanism for that which we do not know or understand; the human way of putting a label on something to make ourselves feel better or like we are a part of something divine and much greater than us. Which, in all actuality, we very well may be a part of something divine and much greater than us, however, it is my personal opinion that we honestly have no fucking clue about the extent to which that is. 

Now, this next one I threw in here because I personally found it to be interesting. In 2017 I was having a conversation with a friend about mystical things such as portals, extraterrestrials, etc. My friend informed me of a research video on YouTube about a company called CERN. He described this Swiss company as having built a circular-shaped machine that when you throw something into its core it disappears. However, other items have come through this machine and into the room from… wherever the other side is? Basically, these people have created a portal and no one knows about it. You’re welcome for the information. Within this research video, the guy who was describing all of this stuff went on to talk about how China had gifted the statue that sits in front of the CERN building. This particular statue is reported to represent the end of time and hell on Earth. There is a whole mythical background story about this statue - you need to check it out. The irony between the statue and this machine they made is uncanny. It made my jaw drop. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I haven’t been able to find the YouTube video again, so I am not sure if it got taken down because the guy exposed something that was supposed to be secret, or maybe I just suck at YouTube searches. Either way, I encourage you to do some digging on this one, because this type of information could potentially support the whole soul/spirit transcending into another realm/dimension belief. I am not a physicist, so I could be explaining this all wrong. You’ll just have to check out their website for yourself and see what it’s all about. → home.cern

There is also the belief that when we die nothing happens. We are dead and it is the end of who we once were. This belief is often held by Atheists and some Satanists if we’re using labels. However, many people believe this who aren’t subscribed to a religion or don’t want to necessarily put a label on who they are/what they believe. This is the grim reality of our existence. Maybe it all means… nothing… Now isn’t that depressing. 

Then there are near-death experiences, which brings a whole different perspective into the mix. People all over the world have encountered near-death experiences. Many report shockingly similar experiences and stories. Some say they see a white light and follow it to a place of peace. I have heard people say that while they were legally deceased they found themself in a field of flowers or floating within the cosmos. A common theme found within these individuals is that once they have had their near-death experience, they aren’t afraid of death anymore - they welcome it with open arms. One woman on a documentary that I watched even went as far as to say that she didn’t want to come back from where she was and was disappointed when she was revived. These experiences could possibly support the theory of transcending to other dimensions or that there is a “heaven.” I can’t explain it, but I still find the information interesting to ponder upon. 

Our mortality is evident, but what really happens when we die? These are just a short collection of ideas and beliefs that have been around for ages, however, there are many more to consider I’m sure. What do you think? Or should I say: what do you want to believe? Ultimately it’s your choice. Whatever brings you peace, serves you well, and is the right answer for you is what I advise you to turn to. This flesh and blood will decay for each of us one day - it’s inevitable. It is for this very reason why I say live life to the fullest. Regret nothing. Do what best serves you. Do what makes you happy. Take chances. Above all else - be the best version of yourself that makes you happy.

Cryptic Mystic Blog by PsychVVitch

www.LaMorteXiii.com