#and shout-asks Law what he's doing. as if it's not obvious that he's about to get murdered

[thewnchstrs]

Jus in Bello

Pairing: Winchester!Sister(OC)

Summary: Sam, Dean and Ellie break into Bela's apartment in order to get the Colt back, but she has tipped off Agent Henriksen to their whereabouts

Disclaimers: blood, death, gunshots, ANGST!!!!!!!

Word Count: 8.5k

A/N: this very well may be one of my favorite parts so far!!!! I hope you love it!!

S E R I E S   M A S T E R L I S T

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Monument, Colorado

The search for Bela took us across the country from where we were in Florida. The three of us filed into the small studio apartment Bobby was sure she was staying in, guns drawn. I closed the door behind us, scanning the area for any sign of her. When we knew the coast was clear, we began the search for the Colt. I dropped to my stomach beside the bed, pushing away lone socks and pairs of shoes, pulling out a cardboard box. I rifled through it, only coming up with fake badges. Sam was going through the drawers of the tv stand while Dean was opening each of the dresser drawers.

"Any sign of it?" I asked, looking up to Sam and Dean as I shoved the box back under the bed.

Sam slammed shut an empty safe. "Nothing. Are you sure this is Bela’s room?"

Dean turned to us, a blonde wig in one hand and a red one in the other. "I’d say so."

The landline on the unmade bed began to ring. We looked to each other, unsure whether or not to answer it considering we did just break in. I stood from the floor, slowly lifting the phone off the stand and brought the receiver to my ear. “Hello?”

"Ellie?” Bela’s voice came through the other end. I rolled my eyes. “Sweetie, are you there?"

I clenched my jaw, "Where are you?"

"Two states away by now."

"Where?"

I could tell she was smirking as she spoke, "Where’s our usual quippy banter? I miss it."

"I want it back, Bela…now,” I said, gripping the phone. Our life was so much easier before she sauntered into it. Dean ran an annoyed hand through his hair as Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance at the situation.

"Your little pistol, you mean? Sorry, I can’t at the moment."

"You understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?"

"What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?"

The answer seemed obvious to me: "Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder."

"You know nothing about me."

"I know I’m gonna stop you."

"Tough words for someone who can’t even find me."

I smirked, "Oh, I’ll find you. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down."

"That’s where you’re wrong. You’re about to be quite occupied.” I furrowed my eyebrows. “Did you really think I wouldn’t take precautions?"

Before I could ask any questions, the door to the apartment was swiftly kicked down as six armed officers in bullet proof vests and guns blazing swarmed around us. "Hands in the air! Drop your weapons!”

I dropped the phone and my gun onto the bed, our hands flying into the air. I shook my head, "That bitch.”

“Down on the ground, now!” They shouted. Sam, Dean and I dropped to our knees as two officers flanked each of us and pushed us flat to the floor. One kept their guns trained at our backs while the other yanked our wrists behind us, securing them tightly with handcuffs.

"Sam, Dean, and Ellie Winchester, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” one of the officers recited. I winced at the pressure of the cuffs. Another pair of feet came into the room. His shoes were black, polished so neatly I could almost see my reflection in them. “You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you."

Sam, Dean and I glanced upward to the FBI agent hovering over us. He looked familiar. I wracked my brain for where I knew him from. It didn’t take long to realize that this was the same agent who’d responded to the bank robbery in Milwaukee last year, where the shapeshifters were wearing our skin. The same one that was hell-bent on putting us away forever.

"Hi guys,” Agent Henriksen greeted. “It’s been a while."

The three of us glanced at each other. We are so incredibly fucked.

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

Agent Henriksen’s POV

"So did you get them?" The Sheriff asked immediately as I came through the small station.

"Where is everyone? I asked for all your men,” I said. He was lucky we caught them off guard, because if the Winchesters had gotten away again, the Sheriff’s head would be on a stick.

"And you got them. They went with you on the raid."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, "Six men? That’s all?"

"Everyone I could drum up with an hour’s notice. We’re a small town, Agent Henriksen."

I shook my head, moving past him toward the row of cells just around the corner. The biggest one was being occupied by a disheveled man asleep on a cot. The Sheriff and one of his officers followed close behind. I pointed to the man in the cell, "What’s he in for?"

"Drunk and disorderly."

I held out my hand, "Keys. Now."

The officer behind the Sheriff immediately gave them up. The Sheriff’s eyes widened as I entered the cell, "What are you doing?"

I grabbed the man by the back of his tattered jacket, pulling him to his feet, "It is your lucky night, sir. You're free to go."

"What the hell are you doing?" The Sheriff asked incredulously as I walked the man out the back door. "Agent Henriksen, you can’t just release my prisoners...Agent Henriksen!"

I whipped around, startling him, "Look, I get it…you’re Mayberry P.D."

He narrowed his eyes, "Excuse me?"

"And this isn’t how I’d do it if I had my choice. But a tip’s a tip and we had to move fast."

"Look, Agent, this ain’t my first rodeo-"

"No," I stopped him right there. There was nothing this small-town sheriff has seen that could even come close to these monsters. "You’ve never been to a rodeo like this before. You have any idea who we’re about to bring in here?"

"Yeah, a couple of fugitives."

"The most dangerous criminals you’ve ever laid your eyes on,” I corrected, making the Sheriff's face twitch slightly. “Think Hannibal Lecter and his half-wit little siblings. Do you know what these guys do for kicks? Dig up graves and mutilate corpses. They’re not just killers, Sheriff. They’re Satan-worshipping, nutbag killers. So work with me here. I’ll get them out of your hair and on their way to Supermax and you’ll be home in enough time to watch the farm report."

The Sheriff’s jaw twitched as he spoke through gritted teeth, "However we can help."

I nodded once, motioning to the six officers that helped arrest the Winchesters. "Those men of yours…post them at the exits."

"Yes sir,” the Sheriff said, begrudgingly.

I clicked on the walkie on my chest, "Reidy?"

"Yeah, Vic?"

"Bring them in. We’re as ready as we’re gonna be."

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

Ellie’s POV

The double doors to the Sheriff’s station parted as Sam, Dean and I shuffled forward, doing the best we could not to trip over the chains wrapped tightly around our ankles. I tried to keep up with their longer strides, the chain connecting us clinking loudly against the linoleum floor. As we rounded the corner, we were faced with a row of cubicles, two officers, the Sheriff, Agent Henriksen, and a secretary who watched us.

"Why all the sourpusses?" Dean remarked. I glanced at the secretary who wouldn’t meet our gaze. The plaque on her desk read Nancy Fitzgerald. She reached for the rosary next to her. One of the officers pushed us forward. "Hey! Watch the merchandise!”

Sam looked to the secretary as we passed her desk, “We’re not the ones you should be scared of, Nancy."

The officers led us around another corner where a large cell door was open. We shuffled inside, turning as the door slammed shut behind us. We all turned in three separate directions, forgetting the chain connected us when it suddenly ran out slack. We lurched forward. I caught myself against the cell bars, looking over my shoulder, “Oh, this is gonna piss me off.”

"Alright, alright. Sit?" Dean suggested. We all came to the singular bed, twisting around each other in an attempt to untangle ourselves but it was no use. We flopped down onto the thin cot, sighing. "How we gonna Houdini out of this one?"

"Good question,” Sam said, rubbing at the raw skin around his wrists from the cuffs.

I leaned against the cinderblock wall behind me, trying to get some air after having been shoulder to shoulder with Sam and Dean for the hour ride over here. I glanced out of the cell where I could hear Henriksen on the phone. I narrowed my eyes as I strained to listen. “He’s saying something about a helicopter.”

Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, they’re not taking any chances this time.”

It didn’t take long before Henriksen found his way to our cell, resting his hands around the bars. We watched him in silence. "You know what I’m trying to decide?"

"I don’t know. What? Whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?" Dean quipped.

Henriksen ignored him. "What to have for dinner tonight. Steak or lobster, what the hell, surf and turf. I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you three in chains…"

"You kinky son of a bitch. We don’t swing that way,” Dean smirked. "You know, I wouldn’t bust out the melted butter just yet. Couldn’t catch us at the bank, couldn’t keep us in that jail..."

Henriksen nodded, "You’re right. Screwed up. I underestimated you. I didn’t count on you being that smart…but now I’m ready."

"Yeah, ready to lose us again?" Sam asked, glaring at the agent.

"Ready like a court order to keep you in a Supermaximum prison in Nevada 'til trial. Ready like isolation in a soundproof, windowless cell, so small that, between you and me…is probably unconstitutional,” he threatened. I had a feeling he wasn’t bluffing. “How’s that for ready? Take a good look at one another because you three will never see each other again.”

I could tell Dean was nervous although he would never show it outright. Henriksen clicked his tongue, "Aw. Where’s that smug smile, Dean? I wanna see it."

I scoffed, shaking my head. I couldn’t believe this was happening. "You got the wrong people."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You fight monsters. Sorry, Ellie. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place. That’s all. That’s reality."

I sat up, bearing my eyes into his skull. Sam and Dean straightened up, too. I clenched my fists, feeling them cut into the metal of the cuffs. "Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth?"

"Well, guess what? Life sucks, get a helmet ‘cause everybody’s got a sob story. But not everybody becomes a killer,” he said. The whirring sound of helicopter blades filled the room. We looked up to the small window at the top of the cell. Henriksen smirked. “And now I have three less to worry about…Mm. It’s surf and turf time."

Henriksen sauntered away from the cell, laughing. I almost expected him to start skipping. I blew out a breath, letting my head hang before looking to the two of them.

“Either of you bring your parachutes? Because that’s the only way I think we’re getting out of this one.” I stood from the cot, crossing the length of the small cell, feeling the restraint of the chains on my ankles. “What’s the plan?”

Sam shook his head, “I’ve got nothing.”

I ran my tongue over the edge of my teeth. “Only a few months left and I’ll be spending them in prison. Hey, but maybe I’ll be able to skip out on the electric chair.”

Sam and Dean glanced sideways at each other. I narrowed my eyes at them when footsteps rounded the corner. The door leading out to the office space was shut behind them, followed by a deep voice, "Sam, Dean, and Ellie Winchester.” The man stopped in front of the cell, hands on his hips as he surveyed us. “I’m Deputy Director Steven Groves. This is a pleasure."

"Well, glad one of us feels that way,” Dean muttered.

"I’ve been waiting a long time for you three to come out of the woodwork.” Then, Groves pulled a gun seemingly out of nowhere and slid it through the bars of the cell and fired round after round. I felt the first bullet before I saw it, pain exploding up my thigh as I dropped to the cell floor, scurrying backward away from the gun. I nearly screamed in pain as my ankle caught on the tension of the chain and forced the bottom half of my leg away from the bullet in my thigh. Blood seeped through my fingers as I held the wound. Sam and Dean were instantly on their feet, yanking Groves’ arm into the cell in an attempt to disarm him. The rounds continued to fire off, hitting the cinderblock behind us. I ducked my head as chunks of the wall exploded.

Through the commotion I could hear Sam start reciting an exorcism, making Groves’ head thrash back and forth. I moved my arm away from my face, watching as the agent’s eyes pooled to black. "Sorry, kids. I've gotta cut this short. It’s gonna be a long night."

The black smoke flew from the man’s mouth and up out of the building through the air vents above us. I struggled to my feet, pulling myself up with the support of the bars. The agent dropped to the ground on his back. Our luck was increasingly getting worse when the Sheriff and Henriksen burst through the sliding door, guns drawn and yelling at Sam, "Alright, put the gun down!"

"Wait. Okay. Wait!” Sam said frantically, holding the gun out on flat palms.

"He shot him!" The sheriff shouted, pointing his gun at Sam.

"He didn’t shoot him,“ Dean shouted back, eyes wild as he looked from the cops to Sam.

"Get on your knees, now!" Henriksen yelled.

Sam dropped the gun to the ground, passing it under the cell door as we dropped to our knees. My leg screamed in pain around the bullet still lodged inside. Without my hand to hold the wound it bled freely, coating my jeans and dripping onto the cement floor in a puddle. We put our hands in the air. I felt my blood roll in rivulets down my palm to my arm and under the sleeve of my jacket.

“Okay, okay, okay. Don’t shoot. Please. Look. Here. Here,” Sam said quickly. “We didn’t shoot him. Check the body. There’s no blood. We did not kill him!”

Henriksen’s partner, Agent Reidy kneeled down next to Groves’ body, looking for any visible gunshot wounds but of course, there weren’t any. "Vic, there’s no bullet wound."

"He’s probably been dead for months,” Dean said, glancing back at me and down to the blood pluming over my jeans.

"What did you do to him?" Henriksen demanded.

"We didn’t do anything.”

"Talk or I shoot."

"You won’t believe us,” I said, feeling dizzy already. I held onto the bar next to me. "He was possessed."

Henriksen scoffed, still holding his gun out at us. "Possessed? Right. Fire up the chopper! We’re taking them out of here now."

"Yeah! Do that!" Dean shouted.

Reidy brought his walkie to his mouth, "Bill? Bill, are you there?"

Only static came through the walkie. Reidy stood from where he was beside Groves and left the room. Henriksen and the Sheriff kept their weapons on us until Reidy’s voice came over the walkie again, "They’re dead. I think they’re all dead-” An ear-splitting explosion came from outside, a flash of orange light filled the room.

“What the hell was that?!” Henriksen yelled, dropping his gun as he tried to get hold of his partner. “Reidy? Reidy?!"

In an instant, Henriksen and the Sheriff ran from the room and chaos erupted. Sam and Dean rose to their feet. Sam came quickly around to me, helping me to my feet and to the bed. I sat back against the wall, huffing as I heaved my leg up. Dean shed his jacket and slid it under my thigh, bringing it up to tie just above the wound. He crossed the sleeves, glanced at me in apology before quickly tightening it around my thigh. More blood spilled out, warming the rest of my skin. I groaned, banging my head against the wall behind me.

“Sorry,” Dean apologized as he knotted the sleeves again. A makeshift tourniquet. The dim lights above us flickered before completely blinking out, swimming us in darkness.

“That can’t be good,” Sam said. Whatever was trying to get in wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Shouting continued out in the front of the station. They were all in full panic mode until Henriksen shouted something at them, instantly quieting the room.

"What’s the plan?” A voice said suddenly, appearing at the cell door. Henriksen. “Kill everyone in the station, bust you three out?"

Dean looked over his shoulder at him, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about your psycho friends. I’m talking about a blood bath!"

"Okay, I promise you – whoever’s out there? They're not here to help us."

"Look, you gotta believe us. Everyone here is in terrible danger,” Sam tried. "Why don’t you let us out of here so we can save your asses?"

"From what?” Henriksen asked but stopped himself, shaking his head in frustration. “You gonna say 'demons'? Don’t you dare say 'demons'. Let me tell you something. You should be a lot more scared of me."

We watched as Henriksen rounded the corner again. Sam turned back to me, “How’s the leg?”

"It’s awesome,” I said through gritted teeth. “Any bright ideas?"

Dean looked around the cell as if an answer were hidden somewhere around our heads when he paused, nodding across the cell toward a figure who was seemingly spying on us. It was Nancy, the secretary.

Sam stood from the bed, gesturing toward her, "Hey, please. Please. We need your help. It’s Nancy, right?” The woman nodded. She had to be in her mid twenties but looked like a scared child. “Nancy, my sister’s been shot. She’s…she’s bleeding really bad. You think maybe you could get us a towel? Please?”

Nancy hesitated, not moving from behind the wall. Dean stood beside Sam, lowering his voice into a softer tone, “Look at us. We’re not the bad guys. I swear."

Nancy contemplated it before turning away. I sighed, "Nice try." I looked back down at my leg, using part of Dean’s jacket to press down on it, soaking up the blood. When I looked back up, Nancy had reappeared, towel in hand.

Sam stepped forward as Nancy took a tentative step toward him. His hands were held up non-threateningly. "Thank you."

Nancy came closer, smiling softly as she slowly passed the towel through the bars. Sam quickly grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her body against the cell. She screamed, an officer sprinting in behind her, shotgun at the ready.

"Let her go! Let her go!"

Sam quickly let go of her. I sat up straighter, watching with wide eyes. The officer looked behind at Nancy who had rushed toward the exit, "You okay, Nance?” She nodded quickly. The officer looked back at Sam, the shotgun still trained on him. “Try something again, get shot. And not in the leg."

The officer backed out of the room, taking Nancy with him. Dean slapped Sam on the arm. "What the hell was that?" Sam turned to us, holding up Nancy’s beaded rosary.

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

It felt like hours as we sat in our cell, waiting for something to happen so Henriksen would have no choice but to let us out.

"We’re like sitting ducks in here,” Sam muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, I know,” Dean said. “Would it kill these cops to bring us a snack?!"

I turned the towel over to a dry spot, worried about how much blood I was losing. "How many you figure are out there?"

"Don’t know. But however many there are, they could be possessing anyone. Anyone could just walk right in,” Sam pointed out.

"It's kind of wild, right? I mean it’s like they’re coming for us. They’ve never done that before. It’s like we got a contract on us,” Dean said before smirking at us. “Think it’s because we’re so awesome? I think it’s ‘cause we’re so awesome."

He continued to smile at us but dropped it as Sam and I stared back, unamused. The sound of footsteps made us turn to the hallway where the Sheriff came to a stop outside the cell, unclipping a key ring from his belt. "Well, howdy there, Sheriff."

He ignored Dean as he unlocked the cell, sliding the door open. The three of us stood. "Uh, Sheriff?"

"It’s time to go, kids."

"Um…you know what? We’re – we're just comfy right here. But thank you,” I said. We took a step back as the Sheriff came deeper into the cell.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Henriksen shouted.

The Sheriff turned to him, "We’re not just gonna sit around here and wait to die. We’re gonna make a run for it."

"It’s safer here."

"There’s a SWAT facility in Boulder."

"We’re not going anywhere!”

"The hell we’re not-"

Henriksen raised his gun and blew the Sheriffs head off, making him crumple to the floor. Sam and Dean tackled Henriksen, effectively knocking the gun from his hands. Sam grabbed him under one arm and Dean grabbed the other, dropping him to the ground in front of the toilet in the corner of the cell. I quickly scooped the fallen gun into my hand as the rest of the officers, and Nancy, crowded into the room.

"Stay back!" I shouted at them, gun aimed at the group. They all came to a halt. I looked over my shoulder to where Sam was reciting an exorcism, shoving Henriksen’s head deeper into the water we had blessed with Nancy's rosary.

Henriksen’s head came up from the water, sizzling as the demon inside him screamed. I frantically looked back to the group in front of me who looked horrified. "Hurry up!"

"It’s too late,” the demon inside Henriksen said. His eyes were pools of black. “I already called them. They’re coming."

Dean shoved his head back into the water as Sam recited the exorcism even faster. I gripped the gun, watching the officers ahead of me when Henriksen’s head flew backwards and the black smoke escaped his mouth. Nancy and the officers ducked low as they watched the smoke disappear through the air vents, just like the demon inside Groves had. Finally, Henriksen fell sideways onto the floor and all was quiet again. Sam and Dean fell backwards onto the floor, panting. It’s not easy trying to keep a demon that still for so long.

“Is he…is he dead?" Nancy whispered. It was the first we’d heard from her.

It didn’t take long before Henriksen began coughing, sitting straight up and looking around the room at us. "Henriksen! Is that you in there?"

Henriksen pulled himself onto the cot, his face soaked. He looked like he was in shock. He looked down at the man on the cell floor. "I…I shot the Sheriff."

"But you didn't shoot the deputy,” Dean cracked, unable to hide his smile. Sam and I shot him a look.

"Five minutes ago, I was fine, and then…"

"Let me guess,” I said. Henriksen’s eyes flicked to mine. “Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat? You were possessed."

He looked like he was weighing whether or not to believe me. "Possessed, like…possessed?"

"That’s what it feels like. Now you know,” I said, reluctantly handing him his gun back. I rested back against the bars.

"I owe the biggest ‘I told you so’ ever,” Dean said.

Henriksen didn’t look like putting up a fight. He looked to one of the officers behind him. "Officer Amici. Keys.” Officer Amici handed them over and Henriksen made quick work of freeing us. "Alright, so how do we survive?"

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

While Sam spray-painted devil’s traps in front of every door in the station and Dean looked over a map of the building, I sat pant-less in a cubicle with my leg propped up on a chair as I dug around for the bullet in my leg. Officer Amici offered to pin up a blanket to give me some privacy to which I gratefully accepted. I bit down on one of the new towels Nancy brought me until my tweezers found the hard metal. I squeezed my eyes shut, my hands trembling as I pulled it free, holding it up under the moonlight. I panted, dropping it into the trashcan next to me.

“Everything okay in there?” Sam called from the other side of the blanket.

I immediately got started on my stitches so I didn’t lose anymore blood. I spit the towel out of my mouth and onto the floor. “Almost done.”

I heard Henriksen and Amici return from the back of the station. I peeked around the blanket, watching as they dropped armfuls of guns onto the table.

"Well, that’s nice. It’s not gonna do much good,” Dean said.

Amici furrowed his brows, gesturing to the weapons. “We got an arsenal here."

"You don’t poke a bear with BB gun. That’s just gonna make them mad."

Henriksen put his hands on his hips. "What do you need?"

"Salt. Lots and lots of salt,” Dean said. There was a beat of silence.

"Salt?"

"What, is there an echo in here?"

"There’s road salt in the storeroom,” Nancy said this time.

"Perfect. Perfect. We need salt at every window and every door."

I could hear two sets of feet leaving the room. I squinted in the dark, piercing the needle through my skin again. One stitch left. I quickly finished the last suture, tying the end of it into a knot. I let out a shaky breath, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my arm. I pulled my jeans back on, wincing as the denim dragged across the fresh stitches.

I pulled the blanket down, limping to the table where Dean was standing next to Nancy, the two of them examining the blueprint of the building in front of them.

"Hey," Dean said, looking to me. He glanced down at my leg. "How you holding up?"

"Better," I said truthfully. I handed Nancy back the blanket and first aid kit. "You doing okay, Nancy?"

She tore her eyes from my bloody hands and looked up at me, nodding. "I'm okay. When I was little, I would come home from the church and start to talk about the Devil. And my parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?"

I smiled softly at this. Behind me, Amici and Henriksen came back into the room, bags of salt in hand.

"Hey, where's my car?" Dean asked Amici.

"Impound lot out back," he said before pausing. "Wait. You’re not going out there?"

"Yeah, I gotta get something out of my trunk."

"Your funeral," Amici said.

I grabbed Dean by his arm. "Be careful."

Dean nodded once as I watched him jog toward the back of the station toward the impound lot. I grabbed one of the large bags of salt, helping Amici, Henriksen, and Nancy salt every door in window in the place.

As we finished up, I came to a stop beside Sam who stood from the devil's trap he had just finished spraying on the floor. "Do you think it'll be enough?"

Sam looked unsure. "It'll have to be."

The ground beneath our feet suddenly began to rumble, the streetlights outside flickering wildly. The back door Dean had left through just minutes ago was thrown open. He ran through it, full duffle bag slung over his shoulder, shouting, "They’re coming! Hurry!"

We all congregated into the offices. We could see the plume of black demonic smoke encircling the police station, blocking out every inch of light from the outside. The rumbling continued, shaking the floor beneath our feet. Tables were shaking, files and papers flying off of surfaces, coffee mugs shattering on the floor, and then suddenly, it was over. The smoke rolled away from the windows, the shaking stopped. My eyes darted over the windows, knowing that was just the beginning.

"Everybody okay?" Sam called out.

Henriksen slowly stood. “Define ‘okay’.”

Dean rifled through his duffle bag, pulling out a ziplock that contained necklaces made from dollar store yarn and an anti-possession amulet hanging off of it. He passed them out to Amici, Nancy and Henriksen. "Alright, everybody needs to put these on. They’ll keep you from being possessed."

"What about you guys?" Nancy asked as she slid hers over her head.

Sam and Dean pulled down the collars of their shirts to reveal the symbol we'd had tattooed. I rolled my eyes, pulling my collar down, too.

"Smart," Henriksen said. "How long you had those?"

I let go of my shirt. "Not long enough."

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

I'd never felt more useless than sitting inside that station with no solid plan on how we were going to get these people to safety.

"Hey, that’s Jenna Rubner," Nancy said as she looked out the window to the growing group of demons outside. The woman stepped forward, her eyes black as coal.

"That’s not Jenna anymore," I said. It was important for her to know that upfront.

Nancy looked to me, "That’s where all that black demon smoke went?"

"Looks like."

There was a beat of silence before Henriksen spoke. He and Dean were sitting around a table, filling shotgun shells with the rock salt and loading them into the guns. "Shotgun shells full of salt."

"Whatever works," Dean said, pumping the gun.

"Fighting off monsters with condiments," Henriksen mumbled under his breath. "So. Turns out demons are real."

"FYI, ghosts are real too. So are werewolves, vampires, changelings, evil clowns that eat people," Sam listed.

Henriksen, to his own credit, was taking this news remarkably well. "Okay then."

"If it makes you feel better, Bigfoot’s a hoax."

"It doesn’t," he said. "How many demons?"

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Total? No clue. A lot."

Another beat of silence passed. Henriksen placed the shotgun on the bench beside him. "You know what my job is?"

"You mean besides locking up the good guys? I have no idea," I said.

"My job is boring, it’s frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe you can save...a few people. Maybe. That’s the payoff. I’ve been busting my ass for fifteen years to nail a handful of guys and all this while, there’s something off in the corner so big. So yeah… sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my damn life."

Dean watched him. "You didn't know."

"Now I do," Henriksen countered. "What’s out there? Can you guys beat it? Can you win?"

I wish I could confidently say we could. I looked to Sam, and then to Dean. "Honestly? I think the world’s gonna end bloody. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight. We do have choices. I choose to go down swingin’."

Henriksen nodded, "Plus you got nothing to go home to but each other."

Dean shrugged, "Yeah. What about you? You rockin’ the white picket fence?"

"Mmm-hmm. Empty apartment, string of angry ex-wives. I’m right where you are."

Dean raised his eyebrows at the irony of it all. "Imagine that."

The sound of shattering glass made the four of us look up toward one of the back offices. We raced toward the sound, rounding into the room. The window was shattered from the outside, glass littering the floor. But, that wasn't the only thing. I limped in behind them, side-stepping Sam. Henriksen held up his shotgun. "How do we kill her?"

"We don’t," Sam said, pushing Henriksen's gun down.

Henriksen looked at him, confused, "She’s a demon."

"She’s here to help us."

Ruby stood to her full height, her chest rising and falling heavily. Glass littered her hair, her face was bleeding. I glanced at the window, noticing the broken salt line. I groaned, looking to Dean who was just as annoyed to see Ruby as I was. We couldn't seem to shake her.

"Are you gonna let me out?" She asked Sam, referring to the devil's trap she had landed in. Sam leaned down, using the blade of his knife to scratch a line through the paint.

"And they say chivalry’s dead," she said as she brushed the glass from her hair and stepped out of the circle. "Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here." She brushed past us as she left the room, leaning against one of the desks.

"How many are out there?" Dean asked as we all followed her.

"Thirty at least. That’s so far."

"Oh, good. Thirty. Thirty hit men all gunning for us," I said. "Who sent them?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes, turning to look at Sam. "You didn’t tell them?" Dean and I furrowed our eyebrows, throwing Sam a questioning look. "Oh, I’m surprised."

"Tell us what?" Dean pressed, looking a Sam who was definitely guilty of something.

"Oh, don't act like he's the only one keeping secrets, Dean," Ruby scolded. I looked to Dean this time who clenched his jaw. My eyes bounced between him and Sam, suddenly feeling like an outsider.

"There’s a big new up and comer," Ruby said. "Real pied piper."

"Who is he?"

"Not he. Her," Ruby corrected. "Her name is Lilith, and she really, really wants Sam’s intestines on a stick. ‘Cause she sees him as competition."

I looked to Sam who hadn't said a word. "You knew about this?" I threw a look over my shoulder to Dean. "And what the hell are you not telling us?"

It was a momentary glance, one that I may have missed if I hadn't been paying attention. Dean's eyes flicked to Sam's before quickly coming back to mine. I looked over my shoulder to Sam. I realized it wasn't what Dean hadn't told Sam and I, it's what they were both keeping from me.

"How about the three of you talk about this later," Ruby said. My eyes lingered on the two of them. "We’ll need the Colt. Where’s the Colt?"

I tore my eyes from Dean's. "It got stolen."

Ruby stood up from the desk, a stunned look on her face. "I’m sorry. I must have blood in my ear. I thought I just heard you say that you were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands!" She scoffed. "Fantastic. This is just peachy…"

"Ruby…"

"Shut up!" She yelled at Sam. She took two deep breaths. When she spoke again, her voice was much lower. "Fine. Since I don’t see that there’s another option...there’s one other way I know how to get you out of here alive."

"What’s that?" Dean asked.

"I know a spell. It’ll vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius. Myself included. So, you let the Colt out of your sight and now I have to die. So next time, be more careful," she scolded. "How’s that for a dying wish?"

"What do we need to do?" Dean asked. I couldn't keep my mind from racing as I looked at him or Sam. I wanted to pry them for the truth but knew it wasn't the time.

Ruby leaned back against the desk again. "Aww…you can’t do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue."

Dean raised his arms, "I got virtue."

"Nice try. You’re not a virgin."

Dean chuckled humorlessly, "Nobody’s a virgin." Ruby's eyes slowly made her way behind Dean to where Nancy stood against the wall, her arms crossed tight over her chest. Dean followed her gaze and wrinkled his eyebrows. "No. No way. You’re kidding me, r–. You’re…"

"What? It’s a choice, okay?" Nancy said defensively, not meeting anyone's surprised looks.

Dean raised his eyebrows in genuine shock. "So, y-you’ve never…not even once? I mean not even – Wow."

"So, this spell," Nancy started, changing the subject. "What can I do?"

Ruby sauntered toward her. "You can hold still...while I cut your heart out of your chest."

"What?-" Nancy breathed out.

"Are you crazy?" I said, eyes wide.

"I’m offering a solution."

"You’re offering to kill somebody!”

Ruby turned to me, "And what do you think’s gonna happen to this girl when the demons get in?"

"We’re gonna protect her. That’s what," Henriksen chimed in.

"Excuse me," Nancy said in a quite voice.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Very noble."

"Ex– excuse me."

"You’re all gonna die! Look. This is the only way."

Dean shook his head, "There’s no way that you’re gonna—"

"Would everybody please shut up?!" Nancy shouted, the room falling into silence. "All the people out there…will it save them?"

"It’ll blow the demons out of their bodies. So if their bodies are okay...yeah," Ruby confirmed.

Nancy thought about it for only a second, "I’ll do it."

"Hell no," Henriksen interjected.

"All my friends are out there."

"We don't sacrifice people! We do that, we’re no better than them," Henriksen said. I glanced over my shoulder at him. I never thought I'd see the day where we saw eye to eye.

"We don’t have a choice," Ruby countered.

"Yeah, well, your choice is not a choice," I said.

Ruby looked across the room to the one person who hadn't spoken up yet. "Sam, you know I’m right."

"Sam?" I said, turning to him, ready for him to jump in at any second to save this girl from an unnecessarily gruesome end. However, Sam remained silent as if he were actually contemplating it. Anger and confusion boiled in my chest. "What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her!"

"It’s my decision," Nancy said.

Ruby smirked. "Damn straight, cherry pie."

"Stop! Stop! Nobody kill any virgins," Dean shouted. "Sam, I need to talk to you."

I followed behind them, limping quickly to keep up. Dean turned in the hallway, looking at him. "Please tell me you’re not actually considering this. We’re talking about holding down a girl and cutting out her heart."

"And we’re also talking about thirty people out there, Dean. Innocent people who are all gonna die, along with everyone in here."

I couldn't push away the memory of Yellow-Eyes' words in my head. What if what you brought back is not 100%, pure, Sam? "It doesn’t mean that we throw away the rule book and stop acting like humans! I’m not gonna let that demon kill some nice, sweet, innocent girl, who hasn’t even been laid." My chest was rising and falling quickly. "I mean, look, if that’s how you win wars, then I don’t want to win."

Sam looked to Dean as if for help to win this non-existent argument. Dean continued to watch Sam. "She's right. Nobody else, except those demons outside, are dying tonight."

Sam clenched his jaw. "Then what? What do we do?"

I opened and closed my mouth. It was a plan I hadn't exactly completely thought through, but it was the only one I kept coming back to. "I got a plan. I’m not saying it's a good one. I’m not even saying that it’ll work. But it sure as hell beats killing a virgin."

"What’s the plan?" Dean asked.

I wasn't sure if it was my deal hanging over my head, or the desperation to not have to rip out a girl's heart. I knew the plan was reckless, yet I couldn't find it in me to care. "Open the doors, let them all in, and we fight."

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

"Get the equipment to work?" Dean asked as Sam came back into the room after he'd set up our quickly thrown together trap.

"Yeah."

"So?" I prodded.

"So this is insane," Sam muttered under his breath.

"You win 'understatement of the year'," Ruby said.

"Look, I get it, you think—"

"I don’t think…I know it’s not gonna work," she retorted, cutting Dean off. "So long, Winchesters."

Sam watched her. "So you’re just gonna leave?"

Ruby turned back abruptly. "Hey. I was gonna kill myself to help you win. I’m not gonna stand here and watch you lose. And I’m disappointed because I tried. I really did, but clearly I bet on the wrong horse." I glanced at Sam who was watching her with regret. "Do you mind letting me out?"

Sam followed Ruby as he led her to the front doors, breaking the salt line and scratching the devil's trap open. I looked to the rest of the group, nodding to them. It was time.

We took to our designated locations, strapped with rounds of rock salt. I stood in front of the double doors leading out to the impound lot, waiting for the signal.

"All set?" I heard Dean call out.

"Yeah!" Sam called, followed by Amici and Henriksen.

"Ready!" I called. I leaned down, using my blade to scratch a line out of the trap before using my foot to wipe the salt line away. I swung the doors open, throwing down the door stop. I sighed, glancing around the currently empty back alley. "Let’s do this."

I stepped back, my hands gripping the shotgun. It felt like forever before the first shot rang out through the station and then they kept on coming. I looked over my shoulder and when I looked back, two were already swarming the door ahead of me. I shot at both of them, knocking them backward and onto the ground. I forgot how goddamn fast demons were.

Another one sprinted into the hallway, I stumbled backward, shooting that one down too. Two more followed suit and then a whole herd of them. My heart sank, hearing the chaos already ensuing in the station behind me. We’re outnumbered, horribly outnumbered. I was able to shoot three of them down when my gun suddenly jammed. My eyes widened as the swarm of them got larger as they ran inside. One demon caught my eye, a burly man who ran straight at me, knocking the wind out of me as he tackled me to the floor. I gasped as he brought the shotgun up under my neck, pressing down hard and cutting off my airways. I groaned, trying to push against him but he was so much stronger than I was. I thought for sure he was going to kill me right there when a loud shot rang out and the man's body fell limp over me. I quickly pushed the demon off of me, coughing as I struggled to my feet. I looked at the end of the hall where Nancy stood, shotgun shaking in her hands.

"Thanks," I panted. She was obviously shaken. I took the gun from her. She was supposed to be outside, salting the doors to make sure no demon could escape. I lead her out to the alley, shoving the salt into her hands. "Trust me, it's safer out here. Go!"

She nodded quickly as I shut the door on her. Demons were now freely flowing into the station through the back door. From the looks of it, it seemed like none of us were able to control the flow of them. I ran as fast as I could toward the middle of the station where numerous fights had broken out. Dean had just blown away a demon coming straight for Henriksen, Amici shot down one rounding the corner from the cells. Sam was in a headlock of one. I quickly raised the gun, pumping the demon full of rock salt straight to the head. Sam stumbled forward, scooping up his gun and began shooting at surrounding targets.

I turned in a circle, shooting as many of them as I could. I felt at my chest where my strap of extra ammo was attached. I had been so mindlessly shooting before realizing I was completely out as a demon slid to a stop in front of me, smirking. I threw the gun aside, pulling out my holy water. I flung it at him, making his skin sizzle. It wouldn't kill him, but it would buy me some time. I looked around, realizing the rest of them were in the same boat I was.

The room suddenly became eerily quiet. I looked to my right where Sam and Dean stood. We were surrounded by demons. One of them in the back, the one Nancy had identified as once being Jenna Rupbner, stood. The demons parted, letting her through as she stopped in front of us. Quickly, she raised her hand, sending Sam, Dean and I flying through the air and connecting harshly with the brick wall behind us with a loud thud. The pressure on my chest holding me to the wall felt like it was going to break every bone in my body. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. I swore I could hear the brick crack behind me.

"Henriksen, now!" Dean shouted. Instantly, Sam's voice came over the station's loudspeakers. He was reciting an exorcism.

The demons instantly looked up in horror, grabbing at their ears as they screamed in pain as the tape continued. We watched as they scrambled, running to any window or door in an attempt to escape but it was no use. As the taped neared its end, black smoke filled the small station and one by one, the bodies fell to the floor. Still being pinned to the wall, we had no choice but to watch as the dark smoke cloud spun quickly above us, brief flashes of purple light like lightening filled the room. Suddenly, the smoke became orange, bursting in a ball of light as the tape ended. I turned my face away as best I could, only opening my eyes when the room fell into silence. Instantly, Sam, Dean and I dropped to the floor in a heap. I groaned, wincing at the pain. We slowly climbed to our feet as Henriksen came into the room, beat up, but alive.

Then, the electricity whirred back to life, illuminating the people on the ground that'd been possessed. They slowly began to stir, sitting upright. I let out a breath of relief.

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

Nancy and Amici led the civilians outside to where an ambulance was parked, its red lights flashing. Henriksen came up to us, handing in his shotgun. "I better call in. Hell of a story I won’t be telling."

"So what are you gonna tell them?" Sam asked.

"The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes."

Dean laughed lightly. "Good luck with that. Not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?"

"I’m gonna kill you," Henriksen said. My eyebrows shot up. "Sam, Dean, and Ellie Winchester were in the chopper when it caught on fire. Nothing left. Can’t even identify them with dental records. Rest in peace, guys."

Agent Henriksen held out his hand for each of us to shake. I took it in mine. "Thank you."

He nodded once. "Now get out of here."

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

While my body was ready to drop dead on my mattress, my mind was doing cartwheels as we entered the motel room. We'd barely set our things down before I turned to them, arms crossed. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Ellie," Dean began, shaking his head as he let his duffle bag drop to the floor at his feet.

"No," I dismissed quickly. Sam was sat at the end of our bed, watching us. "Now I don't know what the hell is going on here, with- with Sam keeping secrets between him and Ruby and- and both of you keeping secrets from me." I paused, my heart pounded. "I knew something was off. What the fuck is going on?"

A moment of silence passed before Dean spared a glance at Sam, a look I couldn’t quite place when suddenly, the scattered pieces of my brain clicked together in horrifying realization. My stomach plummeted into my shoes.

“What did you do?” I breathed out, narrowing my eyes at Dean. It was in the way he couldn’t meet my gaze, the way he opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to say, did I find my answer.

I took another step toward him, anger, fear and pain bubbling in my chest as I suddenly reached out and pushed him backwards by his chest, unable to contain the gravity of the situation. “What did you do!?”

Dean stumbled back a few steps. Now he was finally looking me in the eyes. “It was my turn to do the saving for once.”

I recoiled at his words. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Demons weren’t too happy with me when they found out what I did…killing Yellow Eyes,” he said, his words intended to lighten the mood but his tone was strained. “I…I got you out of your deal, Ellie.”

I slowly began shaking my head in disbelief as my worst fears were confirmed. I felt tears welling up behind my eyes. “How could you?”

“What do you mean-”

“It’s supposed to be me,” I said, pointing to the middle of my chest. “I did this to save Sam not for someone else to take my place!”

“I did this to save you.”

“Maybe I didn’t want you to!” I shot back, my chest rising and falling quickly. But it was a lie. I didn’t want to die, but not if it meant someone else was going in my place and especially if it was him or Sam. I felt like I was spinning out of control, unable to grab onto anything.

I looked to Sam who was sitting quietly on the bed, his hands in his lap. I narrowed my eyes at him. Suddenly, every private conversation, every sideways glance between the two of them came rushing back. “Did you know about this?” He remained quiet. I knew the answer right then, but I wanted to hear it from him. “Did you know!?”

Sam looked up at me guiltily, “We were trying to protect you.”

I nodded in disbelief. I ran my hands through my hair, turning away from the two of them, willing my tears to stay at bay and failing miserably.

“I’m not sorry, Ellie,” Dean said. I turned back to him, willing my chin to stop trembling at the sight of my brother who had proven time and time again that he’d do absolutely anything for me. That didn’t change even now, in the face of death. “I couldn’t let you go…I couldn’t do it.”

“And now what?” I whispered. “What am I supposed to do without you?”

Dean’s eyes softened. He opened his mouth just as the door to the motel swung open followed by Ruby. "Turn on the news."

"Now is not the time, Ruby," Sam said. I quickly wiped my tears off my cheeks.

"You need to see this," she said, concern lacing her voice in a way I never heard before. I looked to her. She nodded toward the small tv set in the corner of the room. Sam hesitated before he reached behind him, grabbing the remote off the side table and switched it on. Immediately, the local news channel popped up.

BREAKING NEWS flashed across the screen. The reporter was standing in front of what looked like the scorched remains of a building. "The community is still reeling from the tragedy that happened just a few hours ago. Authorities believe a gas main ruptured causing the massive explosion that ripped apart the police station and claimed the lives of everyone inside." I turned toward the tv, realizing the crumbled building was the police station. My heart sank. "Among the deceased, at least six police officers and staff, including Sheriff Melvin Dodd, deputy Phil Amici, and secretary Nancy Fitzgerald as well as three FBI agents, identified as Steven Groves, Calvin Reidy, and Victor Henriksen."

Their pictures flashed across the screen. "Three fugitives in custody were also killed. We’ll continue to follow the story here at the scene, but for now, back to you, Jim." My grip tightened on my folded arms as Ruby clicked the TV off.

"Must have happened right after we left," Dean said.

"Considering the size of the blast," Ruby began, throwing each of us a small velvet pouch. "My money’s on Lilith."

I caught it before it could hit my chest. "What’s in these?"

"Something that’ll protect you. Throw Lilith off your trail…for the time being, at least."

"Thanks-" Sam began when Ruby cut him off.

"Don’t thank me. Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin, plus a half a dozen other people." She turned to me. "So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan? It was the one with the body count." I clenched my jaw, feeling a lump forming at the base of my throat again. “Do you know how to run a battle? You strike fast and you don’t leave any survivors. So no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time…we go with my plan."

Ruby gave us one last look before she turned and left the motel room, slamming the door shut behind her.

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

FOREVER TAG LIST

@spnbaby-67​​​​ / @luciferslucille​​ / @anti-social-club​​ / @search-bar​​ / @mellorine-paprika / @thepocketshoelace / @jaremish / @the-salty-asian / @robynannemackenzie-blog / @mersuperwholocked-lowlife / @caswinchester2000​ / @damnedimpala​ / @lauren-novak / @adeanmon / @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce / @defenderrosetyler / @resanoona​​ / @nyotamalfoy / @ykta-m​​

EPISODE REWRITE TAG LIST

@strangedeerconnoisseur / @artemisandromedaathena-blog​​ / @elite4cekalyma / @dragon-master-kai​​ / @bxrbiewrites​

WINCHESTER SISTER TAG LIST

@bunnyandy12​​ / @breereadsthings​​ / @slytherinrising​​ / @stressedoutkitten​​ / @dragon-master-kai​​ / @anniemayvampire / @starfly-nicole

*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SUPERNATURAL OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

[badninken]

The Rescue Trafalgar Law operation has begun! I'm sure the Straw Hats will be swift and efficient as usual <3

He was only defeated because he dropped his hat somewhere. He's pretty much powerless without it. #LawFacts

[hopelesswrites]

Music Boyfriend part 1

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Part 1 / 2 / 3

Summary: Eddie is an anonymous frontman of Corroded Coffin and meets his long-time pen-crush while on the run from the law.

Notes: This is HEAVILY inspired by movie Dinner in America, I was obsessed with the dynamic and felt it fit Eddie and Reader so well. general plot similarities but not a complete retelling of the movie.

Eddies POV

Sweat dripped down the nape of Eddie Munsons neck, chest raising and falling at a rapid rate, his hooded reflection an image of fierce rage as he attempted to calm down his heart and mind after the show. It was the biggest crowd they had played for. At least 100 sweaty bodies mashed together screaming his lyrics. Eddie was in a euphoric state the whole set, Corroded Coffin was finally making it in the scene, people were actually taking them seriously.

“Great show tonight dude” Gareth the bands drummer spoke as he walked past smacking his palm against the skin of Eddies exposed back.

“Owners talking about getting us back next weekend”

Eddies heartbeat was still pounding in his ears when he roughly ripped off the black ski mask from his head, damp curls sprawling out from their confinement.

Shouting could be heard from outside before the door to the small green room slammed open. “They’re looking for you man” Jeff ran in. Eddie could hear the police outside the door, their voices getting closer.

“Quick get out of here and lay low, whatever you did this time they’ll forget in a few days”

Eddie cursed before haphazardly putting his mask back on and shrugging his leather jacket on his shoulders before entering the cold night air.

The cops were looking for Eddie, and with the mask on he was no longer Eddie, he was Vandal, Van for short, but he made a run for it just to be safe.

Eddie knew back at the bar his band will be getting interrogated right now. But their story was always the same “we don’t know no Eddie; the lead singers name is Van”

He liked to keep his real identity a secret on stage. It was easier due to all the trouble he gets up to during the day and he just preferred the anonymity of it, he could be anyone once that hood came on.

Down the street now Eddie slowed to a brisk walk, pulling out his pack of cigarettes and lighting one, taking a long drag once he finally got a breath. He smiled at the irony of that, thinking of ways he could incorporate that into a lyric, connect it back to the bands rebellious non conformity message.

After a few more minutes of walking Eddie made it to the nearest service station, pulling his hood off and stuffing it in his jacket pocket before entering. He beelined straight to the confectionary section ripping off a chocolate bar and stomping down the aisle for a packet of chips. At the counter he watched the bored clerk perk up at the sight of him, adjusting her shirt to show off more cleavage.

“What can I do for you” she asked in the most flirtatious voice she could

“Uh, cheapest bottle of bourbon please” Eddie answered giving the girl a wink before she turned around to grab the bottle.

“What time do you get off?” Eddie leaned his elbows on the counter so his eyes were in line with her chest, noticing the way she pushed her chest out more and stood with her hand on her hip.

“I’m here all night, but it’s pretty dead, I can lock the door” She replied seductively. Eddie considered his options. Try to go home to his uncle who likely already received a visit from the cops, or hole up here with a pretty lady until the authorities cool off for the night.

The answer was obvious.

-

Eddie was rudely awoken by the zip of his leather jacket hitting him in his eye socket. Groaning he stretched in the plastic chair he had curled up on, flinching when he pinched a nerve in his back. Uncle Waynes couch would have been a better option.

“You have to leave now my supervisors going to be here” A voice spoke above him.

Eddie squinted open one eye to see a dishevelled version of the girl he met last night. On the floor to his right was an empty bottle of that bourbon and a plastic cup with the remnants of his last few cigarettes.

“Get me another packet of Marlboros would ya” Eddie resumed his stretch, rubbing the eye that he could already feel a small bruise forming around.

He heard movement and a small box hit him in the chest.

“Out! Now!”

Eddie scrambled to his feet shrugging on his jacket realising he still had no shirt underneath.

“Can I pinch a shirt?” Eddie asked the girl frantically cleaning up the back room they spent the night in.

“They’re next to the drink fridge, hurry” she answered, uninterested in Eddies company by now.

Eddie walked out the back entrance of the service station clad in a shirt saying, “Warning, Choking Hazard” with an arrow pointed downward, he chuckled to himself, pleased with his selection before lighting up another cigarette and making his way in town. He was starving and could use a greasy cheeseburger to soak up some of the alcohol still swirling through his system.

If he was lucky, the police had forgotten about Mr Wheelers stolen car and Mrs Norris’s once perfectly manicured lawn (he didn’t see the pot hole, he was trying not to pop Mr Wheelers tyre obviously).

Down the main strip of Hawkins Eddie kept his head down trying not to draw any attention. He was on 80% of these peoples hit list, been done dirty by Eddie one way or another. This was why he was so eager to blow up with the band and get the hell out of this shit hole. He approached the record store, interested in this week’s new releases. Him and the band had been trying to get Corroded Coffins album in store for months. Keith the asshole kept saying they weren’t selling amateur garage band shit, so Eddie deeply despised the place.

Like a magnet Eddie found his way to the metal section, browsing the albums he already knew and loved when one cover up the back caught his eye. It was Corroded Coffin, he had hand drawn that cover himself, he recognised the charcoal smudge scanned onto the left edge of every album they printed. It cost him a fortune, only two existed in vinyl format and 50 cassettes, all the copies they hand out at shows now are hand scratched mixtape style covers. This was one of those 50 official cassettes.

“Its limited edition, hence, the markup” A soft voice spoke from behind Eddie. He turned his head and scowled at the girl stood behind him. She was twiddling with a sticker that read ‘SALE’ a crooked name badge on a too big shirt with ‘Hawkins Records’ printed on the opposite side.

“Yeah, I know its limited edition, its one of 50” Eddie spat back protectively. Who was this girl telling him about his own band?

“Its one of my own copies. I bought two because I’m such a fan and wanted a backup but Keiths been pushing back their request to sell in the store, so I sacrificed my spare to put out, they deserve to be in stores, have you heard of them?” The girl rambled, seemingly forgetting her own surroundings once she had started talking.

“Of course, I’ve heard of them” Eddie grumbled putting the album back. “Better question is how have you heard of them”

Eddie turned fully now to look at the girl. She was nothing like the people who come to his shows, she radiated too much of a cautious, anxious energy. She looked uncomfortable in her own skin and ashamed of her own actions, but Eddie was no psychoanalyst, he couldn’t make those kinds of conclusions. She looked up at him but a little to the left, never making eye contact and she had a twitch in her leg that looked a little like Gareth tapping a kick drum.

“My friend Jack showed me their album, he works here Monday to Thursday, he’s really into metal”

Eddie looked her up and down as he tried to work this girl out, she was fucking weird, and that was saying something coming from him, the towns resident freak.

“Did you know the bands lead vocalist Vandal wears a mask?” Her leg began to twitch more as she continued to talk about Eddie, to Eddie.

“He stays anonymous when he performs, I find it so hot no one knows who he really is” Her twitching turned into a small bounce and Eddie stepped back away from her.

“Oi! Nutcase, stop harassing the customers, get back to work!” Keith yelled from the front of the store, shutting down this girl’s excitement. This didn’t sit well with Eddie at all.

“Does he always talk to you like that?”

The girl looked down at her shoes nervously. “Yeah, he does”

Eddie grunted, “He’s an asshole, you know that?” The girl only nodded back.

Her submission to the asshole up the front only enraged Eddie more. “Hey! Keith!” He shouted across the store, stomping up to the counter.

“Find someone else to pick on” He growled before planting one hard punch to Keith’s face, definitely breaking his nose. Other customers in the store looked up, curious about the commotion.

“And treat your staff better”

Keith groaned in pain, “She’s fucking useless man, what the fuck”

Something in Eddie felt protective over this girl, and he wasn’t sure why. She was a fan obviously and a part of him felt indebted to her for her devotion to his art, whether she knew it or not.

“Come on” Eddie grunted, pulling the strange girl by her arm and out of the store. He knew it wouldn’t be too long before Keith calls the police and they’re hot on his trail again.

“Where are we going?” She asked still being dragged by Eddie.

“To your place”

Surprisingly it didn’t take any convincing at all for this girl to lead Eddie in the direction of her house, taking backstreets to avoid attention. Eddie added this to her list of traits that made her a freak, who the hell takes a guy like Eddie home after that?

“Hey, stop” Eddie interrupts once they were far enough away, he thought they’d be safe from authorities. “Fuck this shit” he said ripping off the name badge from her uniform. “You don’t need that shithole” The girl looked at Eddie now, analysing him.

“Am I fired?”

The question baffled him, how does he answer that. Did he just get her fired?

“Like I said, you don’t need that shithole” He punctuated, motioning for her to continue walking, he was still fucking starving.

-

She led him up to a plain white house, perfect coverup assuming Keith doesn’t talk. Inside, it was as plain at the exterior, perfect picture of boring suburbia. Eddie couldn’t help comparing it to somewhere they’d send him to torture him.

“My Dads on a trip and my Moms at work, no one will find you here” The girl said, practically reading Eddies mind.

She walked him through and into the kitchen offering him a glass of water, which Eddie rejected as he pushed her out of the way to scan her fridge.

“Where’s the beer?”

The strange girl shrugged, “Dad doesn’t like beer”

“Is there any booze in this house?” He asked, already getting irritated.

“Well, dads got a special bottle of whiskey he saves for Christmas each year in his study, he says its vintage”

“Perfect” Eddie answered, “Go get it”

He continued to rummage through the fridge, pulling out bread, turkey meat and cranberry jelly. The girl stayed put, not answering Eddie. “Is there a problem?”

“Its Dads special Whiskey, he only drinks it on Christmas”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Whatever”

Once his sandwich was made Eddie began to look around the house, looking for anything valuable he could snatch on his way out tomorrow. “What’s your deal then?” Eddie called from a gallery wall near the front entrance, viewing a series of boring family photos, this family didn’t even go on vacation, every photo looked like a Macys photoshoot.

“What do you mean?” She asked sneaking up next to Eddie, causing him to jump and hold his chest.

“Fucking creepy, don’t do that” He hissed before composing himself, “I mean, what do you do besides work at the record store, did you go to college? Actually, how old are you?”

“I’m 20, I did one year at college, but mom thought I’d be better working and getting some life experience and going back later when I gained a bit more confidence”

Eddie noted the way she spoke to the wall rather than to Eddie, so he turned to face her directly, encouraging her to do the same.

“You think you’re getting life experience getting yelled at by Keith?”

“Not really”

Eddie crossed his arms, “what do you want to be doing then?”

The girl took a moment to consider her next words, biting her lip in thought. “Follow me” She led him up a flight of stairs and into a bedroom with the most contradicting aesthetic Eddie had ever seen. Her bed was cutely decorated with girly blankets, a pile of stuffed animals in the corner. Cascading over the bed was a frilly canopy covered in fairly lights. To the opposite wall was a white traditional vanity with a pretty jewellery box decorated with glittery stickers, and various lip glosses and juvenile makeup products. The walls however were covered in aggressive Metal band posters. Eddie spotted a concert advertisement poster they had put up around town for one of Corroded Coffins gigs. She had a stack of cassettes beside her bed that Eddie imagined didn’t contain a single Madonna album.

“I want to start a band” She spoke quickly, rummaging through a cardboard box of letters, papers and various craft equipment.

“I don’t have anyone to join the band, but I’ve been writing songs” She pulls out one envelope generously decorated in stickers. “I sometimes send the love songs to Vandal from Corroded Coffin” she explains turning around to show Eddie the letter she had, addressed to his uncles PO box.

Eddies stomach dropped, face void of any blood as he stared at the familiar envelope connecting the dots between this girl and the girl he’d been fantasizing about for over a year now.

This was fucking bad.

[moonydustx]

response to this request @i0fty I loved your request (I have a thing for writing hurt/comfort and angst). I really hope you like it. I wrote it as f!reader, but I can adjust it if I want

warnings: F!Reader is attacked, mention of celestial dragons, Law and she have feelings for each other and it's obvious, Law saves F!Reader

one piece masterlist

----

As soon as you set foot on that island, you knew there was something strange, something that sent a chill down your spine. It would be a short break to stock up on some emergency supplies and head towards the next island, which was larger and would have more interesting information for your crew.

Even so, some crewmates and your captain, Law, disembarked next to you.

"So, do you need a lot of things?" Law tried to make conversation, seeing you take a small map out of your pocket and point to something he could barely understand.

"I needed some lemongrass herbs. I saw they sell them here, but they are expensive, however, given the climate of this island I think I can find some in this green area." You explained, seeing him nod and hand you a few more berris.

"Don't go far, it might not be safe. If you can find something to buy, buy it" he insisted, seeing you look around, apparently suspicious. "What it was?"

"Do you feel something strange in the air?" you asked and saw him repeat your gesture of checking the surrounding environment.

"Some residents seem a little scared." Shachi who had also disembarked scored.

"It could be our imagination, as well as some confusion that happened. Which would be a great attraction for the marine." Law explained as you walked behind him. "Be careful and don't get into any kind of trouble."

"Yes captain." even in uncoordinated unison, you responded together.

"And you, what are you going to explore?" you asked Law as the others scattered. "Not that there's much to do."

"Do you remember that old book about spirit hunters that you mentioned? I saw that there might be a copy around here."

"Bullshit! Are you going to buy it?" Law laughed lightly, almost imperceptibly when he saw your excitement.

"Just don't tell Bepo, he'll say I have favoritism in the crew." the captain pointed out. "If you finish early, meet me at the bookstore. It should be easy to find, I don't think there are many around here."

The promise of meeting him later made you excited. Your relationship with the captain was something different from your relationship with others - you shared games, reading and conversations until late at night. Sometimes, it was as if the two of you were in a little world of your own.

You even tried to use the money provided by Law but, in addition to being insufficient, the little shop had strange looks from all sides. The feeling on that island was of being spied on with every step taken, with every interaction.

Moving away from the small shopping center and without even entering the small forest that almost annexes the city, you found some bushes that you needed. It was simple to harvest them and tie them in a way to transport them without losing any leaves.

Before you could stand up and continue your journey to the bookstore, you felt something against your neck, but you were able to dodge it and roll to the other side. Finally standing up, she could see two men staring at you.

"I'm sorry, lady, but we have orders to take you." one of them warned and you bent down to reach the knife you had used to harvest, unfortunately not fast enough to feel something burn in your hand.

"What the fuck… You know what? I'm going to kill you" you left things aside and went out to fight them.

Even using everything you knew about fighting, trying to use all the blows that came to your mind, you still ended up getting hit more times, some of the blows you barely understood where they were coming from.

"What do you want with me?!" you shouted once again, being ignored.

The metallic taste on your lips indicated that the attack you suffered had been much stronger than you expected. Both the desire to fight and the fear itself caused your adrenaline to skyrocket, leaving you alert to any movement from the two men.

"You should save your efforts." one of them emphasized, the handcuffs on his hands made an annoying noise as they clashed together. "They will need you at full strength."

"And it's not like you're going to win alone." the other completed, stretching out the whip and hitting your arm squarely.

The sensation was something like an unexpected burn, but it wouldn't stop you from fighting, from returning to where you really belonged. Standing up, you advanced towards the shorter man, landing a few punches, enough for him to stagger a little and give you space to escape.

At least that's what you thought until you felt someone pull you back and the click of the handcuffs awakened your despair. No, you couldn't let yourself get carried away like that. How would your friends be? Would they ever see you serving as a doormat for one of those damned celestials?

"This is an aggressive one, just like they asked for." the man pressed his body to yours, in order to speak in your ear. "The guys up there, the big celestial dragons will like a piece like you. They'll hunt you, they'll hurt you and I'll get rich."

No matter how much you struggled, his grip grew even stronger against your body, while the other man got closer to try to cover your face. Perhaps desperation had prevented you from noticing some things around you, awareness hit you completely when the aggressive grip around your body became a gentle, almost protective touch. His voice hit you before your own perception.

"It's ok, I'm here now." Law let his hands run down your arms and he advanced towards the other man.

In another situation, Law would have fun tearing those bodies into pieces and watching them try to reorganize themselves. But this time it was different.

They had messed with one of his crew members, an intelligent aspiring doctor, who would know how to use any and all plants to her advantage, who was great at playing chess and had read a good part of Sora's stories - even if the last ones were by his invitation. She was the girl who laughed at anything while dying of shyness when someone pointed out an adjective to her. She was the girl he dreamed of getting some attention, but her scared eyes indicated that those bastards had hurt her and he couldn't let that go.

The first man - who Law hadn't changed places to reach you - soon fell to the ground, clearly unconscious.

"Where's the other one?" your voice was exasperated, as your eyes tried to hunt the other guy through some trees.

"Shachi and Penguin already took care of him." Law pointed out while looking for keys to the handcuff.

"W-we need ... W-we need to check!" the way your voice sounded urgent alerted Law, forcing him to get closer to you. "He can get help, they have whips and…"

"Hey!" He tried to call you, not having much success. When his hands found your face, Law saw you flinch. "Look at me, Shachi and Penguin already took care of this… Look at me!" he pulled your face back, seeing you want to dodge.

"But… T-they had whips... and handcuffs and they were going to t-take me to the c-celestial dragons." the words stumbled as they left your lips.

"They won't, I would never let them." Law insisted, seeing you nod, even though he knew the words wouldn't truly reach you.

"Let's go back to Polar Tang, what do you think?" he suggested and saw you nod practically in slow motion and remain silent.

As quickly as Law had transported you back to the submarine, the thoughts were faster than you could express.

It was difficult to process some things, you still had a hard time accepting that there were people who felt so superior to others that they chose random people to be hunted. You had heard of it, but you always thought of it as something far away from you, that it was just a scary story that would stay far away.

But there you were, feeling your wounds being cleaned by careful hands, extremely contrary to what you had felt just now.

"Please…" Law's voice came out almost like a sigh. "I need you to say something."

"What do you need?" Your eyes watched as Law left the tweezers with the cotton on the small tray next to him.

"You're too immersed in your own mind and I can tell you that's not a good thing." he explained and saw you rambling again, it was clear that something was wrong. "Please don't think just talk to me."

"I thought everything was lost, you know?" you began, feeling your eyes sting with tears. "I've never felt so scared."

"I told you, I would never let that happen." Law didn't hesitate as he ran his hand over your face, brushing away some tears that insisted on coming out. "And I promise this won't happen again."

"You're the captain, you have more things to worry about." a weak, almost inaudible laugh came out of you. "Do I really matter that much?"

"Much more than you think." he pointed out and saw you smile shyly. "I was in the bookstore and I started hearing some comments about missing people. They all had some kind of similarity to you… I know they are in different ways, but I felt scared like I haven't felt in a long time."

"What does that mean?"

"That I'm going to finish stitching up those wounds, I'm going to make you something to eat and after that, you won't be out of my sight anymore." he explained.

Even though you felt a slight discomfort in the wounds on your arm, you allowed your face to lean against his chest, your arms to wrap around him in a simple hug. His face lowered itself to the top of your head and a "I promise to always be here" was whispered in your embrace.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Christmas Shana! May I ask for some Merlin and Arthur? Maybe the time travel Ygraine one, or something else entirely 🎁🎄🎅🏻

Queen Ygraine is cursed to die during childbirth and the baby is stolen from his very crib that same night.

Uther rages. The grief and the fury of losing them both leave him a broken man and a broken king. The grounds of Camelot turn to mud with all the blood he's spilled and the air turns grey and harsh from the burnings. He sends knights to every corner of his kingdom, but his son remains missing, not even a body to be found.

Tristan and Agravaine de Bois send letters, blaming Uther for their sister and nephew's death and proclaiming they are subjects of Uther's no more. It's a blip in torrent of grief - Uther can't even pretend to mourn the loss of his brothers in law in the face of that of his wife and son.

"I still think we should have killed him," Tristan says, watching the servants pack up the contents of their manor with a scowl.

"He would have killed you and then I'd be stuck doing this alone," Agravaine replies, a blond, blue eyed infant in his arms. "So our revenge will have to wait."

"Alone?" Nimueh scoffs. "Thanks. Is this not revenge enough?"

Tristan softens, reaching out to brush the back of his index finger against Arthur's chubby cheek. "He's not revenge. He's our nephew."

Agravaine briefly tightens his hold on the babe before relaxing. "Where are we going? I suppose Mercia is the obvious choice."

"That old man won't be able to help gloating to Uther and we don't want him giving us a second glance," Tristan says. "Cendred's kingdom is a better choice, I think. That's our where our grandfather's castle is anyway."

The two of them plus a sorceress should be more than compelling enough additions to his court for Cendred to relinquish it back to them. Or at least turn a blind eye when they take it back themselves.

~

Merlin is fourteen and standing by his mother's side, keeping his head down and not moving or thinking or looking or anything as the lords come to collect taxes.

No matter what they say, no matter what they do, he's not to move.

There's cries of pain from the smith as one of the lords kicks him down, shouting at him for how little they have. He's the most educated man in the village, he's the one that keeps track. He's the one that warns them how short they are.

They are especially short this year.

There's the sound of sword being unsheathed and Merlin resists the urge to bury his head in his mother's shoulder. He's not suppsosed to move.

"Oh, for goddess's sake," a new, young voice says. He doesn't sound that much older than Merlin. "This is a waste of time. If you cut off his head, will gold coins fall out?"

"We're here to collect taxes!" he insists.

The young lord scoffs. "And if we were sent to squeeze blood from a stone, how long would you spend with your hands pressing into bedrock? Look at them!"

"We can't just let them get away with it," he argues. "If you're father hears about this-"

"He'll hear about it because I'll tell him myself," he says, annoyed. "We could take everything they have and we'll still lose money when they starve to death and we have to send people to bury the bodies or risk disease settling in. The wages for those soldiers will cost far more than everything this little village has to offer."

"They're on our land, they pay the tax!"

The young lord's voice goes hard. "I think you'll see that they're on my father's land and it's ultimately his responsibility to collect taxes for the king. Which means this is decision, not yours."

"Yes, and he decided that-"

"Well I'm deciding differently and he can yell at me about it then!" he snaps. "Put your sword away before I draw mine."

There's a tense, heavy silence. Then there's the sound of a sword going back in its sheathe and, "Yes, Lord de Bois."

Lord de Bois sighs and then raises his voice so his voice carries travels to everyone standing there, to the whole village standing there and waiting. "I'll return within the week. If there's any sort of bookkeeping you have, gather it for me."

"Y-yes, my lord," the blacksmith stutters.

There's the sound of footsteps then hooves.

He lifts his head and only sees the back of the young Lord de Bois's blond head.

Merlin wonders if when he returns, he'll be allowed to look.

[merbear25]

based off the hcs where their s/o was an inch taller than them: how about kid, killer n law w an s/o thats SIGNIFICANTLY taller them, like 2 or more ft taller ?

Ayo~ I loved thinking about this and can't deny that you chose some good options for me to have a bit more fun with. I hope you like what I've written for you. 💜💜

Original ask

CW: SFW, gn!reader, headcanons, some fluff, some humor

With a s/o who’s much taller (Kid, Killer, Law)

Kid

He was not used to feeling so, well, small. Even when he faced enemies that were monstrously bigger, he thought nothing of it.

Perhaps it had to do with the way you peered down at him with that silly love sick look upon your face. 

He huffed at you when you gave him that look, turning away in wild blush. 

“Don’t give me that!” which was always followed by you asking, “What am I doing?” as you leaned down. His flustered expression had him stomping off, while mumbling, “I’m not that short,” to himself, despite you never mentioning his height.

If you had long hair, letting it fall in a way that framed him would make his heart beat so fast it was as if it was going to pop out of his chest. There was an undeniable beauty to you which caught him off guard at times.

Giving him pet names that related to his height in ANY way was going to make him pout and grumble. 

He’d shout at you, defending his height, which wasn’t short enough for you to be giving him so many nicknames. Nuh-uh. And he made sure you knew that through the yipping and barking he gave you in protest.

Killer

There wasn’t anything that he didn’t adore about you. In fact, he kind of liked how tall you were.

He felt as if he was “fun-sized” as you put it, which he couldn’t help laughing at. Seeing as you favored teasing him, he eventually started calling you “king-sized” to continue the trend of candy inspired pet names.

All teasing was done with an understanding that it wasn’t meant to be taken personally. He poked fun at you just as much as you did him. Light-hearted retorts and comically dramatic reactions, of which he wasn’t the best actor. However, you weren’t either and that made it that much more fun.

It wasn’t often that he took notice of the height difference. Of course, it was obvious, but to him you were just you. Plus, he liked looking up at you in order to see your beauty catching the rays of the sun before anything else did.

Being physically affectionate would make him melt. He adored being held by you, letting himself curl up in your arms.

If you were ever self-conscious about your height, he would never fail to lift your spirits by showering you with compliments and helping you realize the uniqueness it brought you.

Law

The difference in height didn’t matter to him, and he especially didn’t care about the jokes you made. Not. In. The. Slightest. Because he was very secure in his height. Mmhm.

He found you breathtaking and your height only amplified your show stopping beauty. That being said, you being as tall as you were could be quite annoying.

There were plenty of things he had no issue getting himself. “I’m perfectly capable!” He shouted in a flustered spat. You left him to it, not wanting to bother him further. Afterwards, 9 times out of 10 he realized he actually needed your help but was too embarrassed to ask for it now.

There were undeniable advantages though. If you went to a concert together, you could offer him a better view. He’d refuse the offer, denying that he needed it…but as the concert continued, he’d let you pick him up. 

Any teasing following this would make him pout in the corner and would undoubtedly lead to him giving you the cold shoulder.

His insistent moping around always came off as a bit over dramatic. You had to be the one to speak up first, otherwise it would go on forever.

He might not admit it, but he actually enjoyed it when you wrapped your arms around him from behind—it made him feel secure. Giving him an embrace like this would melt that iced shoulder he had towards you.

[boo-b1tchcraft]

Fullmetal Alchemist Headcannons:

a few headcannons i’ve been thinking of lately, mostly post-series, lots of royai of course hehe

I feel like a lot of the FMA characters are hard of hearing just because of the amount of explosions and gunshots they have to listen to constantly. I like to imagine Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye eventually being able to settle down and live a happy domestic life while keeping their careers idc. So if they lived together they’d have to try not to shout across the home at one another to talk.

Post-series Izumi and Sig insist on having Ed and Al over for dinner with their families at least once a month when they’re not off too far away.

When their kids get older Ed encourages them to be like Winry. He knows he’s smart but he knows that she’s a different kind of smart. He hopes they’ll pick up her talents in order to help people like she does. That doesn’t mean he’s entirely against having a bunch of mini Edwards running around lol.

When Al first met Mustang and Hawkeye, he kind of just assumed they were married or something, the way they flowed together. He was a little disappointed to know that they weren’t but he understood why, with fraternization laws and everything. Al’s a bit of a romantic.

I saw @doctormichaelaquinn on here say that Ed knows the Colonel and Lieutenant had feelings for each other but just assumed Roy Mustang was too dumb to do anything about it and I feel like that’s accurate lol.

Of course Roy and Riza trusted Ed and Al enough to tell them, or rather soft launch when they finally made it official. I’d imagine Riza would invite them over for a visit when they’re in the area. Roy Mustang would be over at her place because of course he would. The boys would come over and kinda just be like “General?”. But of course they know that Hawkeye and Mustang are hardly ever apart so they wouldn’t think too much of it. Then Riza would be in the kitchen making food and Roy would help. The boys are sitting at the kitchen table and happen to see Mustang hug her from behind while looking over her shoulder at what she’s preparing. Ed and Al give each other a look. When Hawkeye leans in and gives Mustang a peck on the cheek, the boys give each other another knowing look. Ed was relieved to know that Roy wasn’t just being a creep. “Finally,”they both think.

We all know Roy Mustang is a flirt. Sometimes when they’re alone, Riza lets herself fall for it. Only sometimes though! At least that’s what she tells herself.

Roy knows Riza would do whatever he asks of her, and she has, so post-series he tries his best not to ask too much of her unless completely necessary. Not that he didn’t care about that beforehand, but after all they’d been through, he hates to see her overexert herself and the last thing he’d want is to see her in any kind of pain ever again. When they’re at home, Roy dotes on Riza but he tries not to make it obvious. She sees right through him. How could she not? She secretly loves it but doesn’t believe she deserves it. Roy wants her to feel like she does.

[xenyasplacex]

Baby Trapped — Prologue

Chris Sturniolo x Fem!OC

Summary: Chris is in a toxic relationship and the only thing keeping him there is his daughter.

warning- Toxic relationship, Miserable Chris, Shouting, Abuse, Physical Abuse

A/N : Hey guys, this is the prologue to my new series, lmk if you guys enjoyed it x

I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORK TO BE STOLEN, REPOSTED OR TRANSLATED

IN THIS STORY THE TRIPLETS ARE 24 YEARS OLD

Nick woke up with start when he heard his bedroom door slam. He quickly turned on his bedside lamp as saw Chris stood taking off his slippers.

“What are you doing Chris it’s 2am!” Nick whisper yelled at his younger brother. Chris didn’t say a word he simply walked over to Nicks bed and layed next to him.

it was only now that Nick could properly see him. He had obvious tears in his eyes and a slight bruise starting to form under his eyes.

“Chris? What happened, what’s going on, what happened to your eye?” Nick rambled, clearly worried for his brother.

“It’s nothing Nick go to bed” Chris whispered as he layed his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

“What the hell do you mean don’t worry, did Aaliyah do something? And where’s Adriana? and what the hell happened, why is there a bruise under you e-“

“Nick!” Chris shouted angrily, cutting his brother off. “I’m sorry for yelling,” Chris whispered back a few seconds later, “Aaliyah didn’t do anything okay, Adriana fell asleep in Matts room and nobody wanted to wake her up and i just… i fell okay? Now can we go to bed?” Chris rambled playing with the ends of the pillow.

“Yeah, of course i’m sorry” Nick replied quietly before turning of the low lamp. “Good night Chris.”

Chris didn’t reply, ages went by and Nick thought Chris had fallen asleep until he felt Chris move his arm around himself and felt his younger brother cuddle up to his side. Nick brought Chris in closer and wrapped both arms around him as if to protect him. With that Chris let out a content sigh.

“Good night Nicky.”

Nick was barely awake when he tumbled out of bed for a glass of water the next morning.

“i’m so sorry, i’m sorry,” Nick heard Aaliyah, Chris’ wife, say over and over again between kisses as he walked downstairs.

He took a quick look into the kitchen where he saw the Aaliyah kissing Chris all over saying how sorry she was while Chris stood there, not reciprocating the affecting but not pushing her away either.

“Whats she so sorry about?” A voice asked behind Nick making him jump a little.

“You scared me! And i have no idea, all i know is Chris came into my room crying last night and almost blew up on me when i asked if Aaliyah had done something.” Nick replied turning back to look at his sister in law who was now pressing long and hard kisses to his brother’s lips.

Nick simply gave Matt a look before going upstairs to look for his niece. 

This was a cycle. Aaliyah would do something, Chris would get extremely upset and then the next day she would be all over him, apologising and everything. They had all had enough of it but Chris couldn’t let go. Not when he had a daughter with this woman and she knew enough to destroy their career and so the same thing kept happening over and over again.

Until it ended.

HOW I IMAGINE EACH CHARACTER

Adriana Sturniolo

The Child

4 years old

Aaliyah Sturniolo

The Wife

23 Years Old

NOT PROOF READ

Next chapter

[blueishspace]

Hero, Villain God 19

(Prev) (Next) (First)

*Grian's pov*

The final interview ends up being really boring and long, even more then the literal test, you might have lived for billions of years but you have not felt such levels of unfun ever before... You have to give it to them, this is definitely impressive.

All about law and respectability and rules, things you understand are important for an hero to know but are so uninteresting to you...

... In contrast the questions created by Hotguy are a shift in tone that's for you, you don't even need the interviewer to tell you Hotguy wrote these because It's so blatantly obvious to you... They are also somehow much more thought invoking then the previous ones... Less...cut and dry...they are also phrased in a way that's not just prose and proper nouns and all that stuff.

You can tell that Hotguy really cares about this, you suppose he has every reason to... Then is another complete vibe chance as the last question comes, this one has Hero Association written all over it so much that it might as well count as an autograph.

"Do you believe you can fit in with the Hotguy brand?"

You know the god of heroes, you have talked once or twice or maybe a few hundred times, he would absolutely cringe at the thought of the profession being considered a brand. From what you have seen of HotGuy he probably does the same.

"Yes."

"How?"

You would make a joke about being very hpr but that would be equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot...Well, you have planned the perfect twist for this.

"Hotguy is the first hero with two powers."

"Indeed"

The interviewer is clearly not getting what you are trying to say, good. Surprises are always welcome.

You generate an arrow in your hand while spreading your wings.

"Hopefully, I'll be the second"

The interviewer is shocked, you tend to have that effect on people it seems... You silently say goodbye, now you just need to wait for an answer.

*Scar's pov*

You are called by the council, you don't really know why. You are sure you sent your questions, were they bad or something?

"We have found the perfect candidate."

Oh!...Wait, what?

"A-Already? It's been less then-"

"Yes, this one is special"

That's uh... Usually not good when they are the one to say it. Who did they pick?

"Special...? How?"

"He's like you."

Like... You...??

"... Uh?"

"Two powers. Wings like that of Sheriff and an ability to summon weapons at will... Has a fascination with arrows much like you."

"Oh...oh! . . . Oh I didn't expect that to ever happen... heh"

... You aren't the only one anymore...if he's better will you be replaced? ... No, no! They wouldn't...they wouldn't.

You should meet him then, if he's going to work with you then you are going to have to get along.

Well, if he answered your question at least mostly correctly then you are sure you are going to get along well... You'll have to ask Cub for his score.

"HE GOT ALL MY QUESTIONS WRONG!?!"

"Don't shout in my lab Scar"

"... Sorry Cub... I just... I just can't believe he got all my questions wrong and still got a 98% in the interview."

"I can, your questions were the last ten out of five hundred made by the association. You should have really written more."

"Oh...well maybe they should have written less... five hundred questions for an interview is insane."

"Can't argue with that"

Ok, so maybe you and the sidekick think nothing alike, that's fine, you can still be friendly... You are sure you can trust the association... It's not like they have ever...well, not too often... not always.

You open the door and-

"Coffee guy???"

[sanjisprincesswifey]

obvious ⋆ trafalgar law x reader

summary: in hindsight it was sort of obvious

♡: awkward law content. female reader. 1,000+ words. sfw content.

you step outside, the bright warm sun hugging your body as you stretch out your tired limbs. it had been weeks since the polar tang broke surface, it was nice to get a calm breath of fresh air. 

that is, until three boys rambunctious laughter immediately breaks the peace you had so desperately desired. you shoot ugly looks to shachi, penguin, and bepo who were enjoying the weather on the deck. 

at first, they didn’t notice you were there, but as soon as they did, they shut right up. though, their giggles resumed as you laid down in a sun chair on deck. 

although your eyes were closed from enjoying the sun, you could still feel the three, who seemed to be playing a card game, who kept peeking over at you and giggling like school boys. 

“what?” you grittingly ask. 

the secretive laughter had been going on for days now and it grew tiring very quickly. 

“oh, nothinggg,” penguin says dragging out the last syllable. “it’s just…” he then cracks up in even more fits of giggles unable to finish his sentence. 

“i know someone who likes you,” he sing-songs, teasing like the twelve year olds they appeared to be. 

you roll your eyes. “i’m out of your league, sorry.” 

shachi and bepo burst out laughing, clutching their sides in pain. 

penguin’s face turns red as he frowns, “it’s not me!” 

you sit up in your chair, shrugging your shoulders at the three of them until shachi can finally calm down. “it’s captain! captain has a crush on you!” 

now it’s your turn to laugh, but instead you just stare at him as if he had lost his mind. 

you wanted to blame the sun for the burning sensation that covers your cheeks but you can’t, nor can you blame it for the intensity of the warmth emanating either. 

“what’re you talking about? no he doesn’t. why would you think that? did he tell you that?” you interrogate, stammering over your own words. 

“he definitely does,” bepo agrees, ignoring your curiosity as the three all nod along together. 

you groan, slumping back down in your chair. “why would i believe you idiots anyway?” you wonder aloud, closing your eyes again to hopefully regain some tranquility and a nice tan. 

“you don’t have to believe us…” penguin says, holding his hands up in defense. 

“i don’t.“ 

“…but who do you think put the chair out here for you?” 

your eyes shoot open as you process what he had just said. the polar tang was submerged not even two hours ago. 

“that doesn’t mean he—“

“he knew you’d come out here, just like you do every time,” shachi explains. 

“so what? he puts a chair out for me, that doesn’t mean he likes me,” you gawk, annoyed this was effecting you the way that it was. 

“he always cuts the crusts off your sandwhiches.”

“even if he’s not the one who made it,” bepo chimes in. 

you try to keep your cool the best you can, but it was clear what the only thing on your mind was.

all the unnecessary but minuscule doting that law would do seemed to brush over your head completely up until this moment. 

you glance back over to the boys who have seem to drop the subject and return to their card game. 

as you stand and head for the inside of the polar tang, you try your hardest to not look back as their giggles resume when they realize what you’re doing. 

your steps echo against the metal as you beeline for his study room which was supposed to remain undisturbed, but you figure he wouldn’t mind if you were the one who came in. 

when you’re face to face with the door, there’s a sign posted on the metal that read “studying, do not disturb,” but you ignore it as you knock harsher than normal. 

there’s no noise on the other side and you assume it’s law choosing to ignore the call. but you persist, you knocking again, this time with more force. 

“busy,” law shouts, surely hoping to end the incessant knocking. 

annoyed, you open the door regardless of his protest to do so. as soon as the door is open enough for you to enter, you slip in seeing law spin in his chair with an unamused stare.

his face falters for a couple seconds when he realizes that it’s you, but resumes it’s unforgiving disposition seconds later. “hey! i said i’m busy, did you not see—“ 

“you like me,” you bluntly state, leaning against another one of his desks with your arms crossed.

his face drops, glancing between you and every other object in the room. his cold, off-putting demeanor disappears and what replaces it is an awkward, stuttering mess of a man. 

“wh—what do you mean? of course, i, uh, like you. you’re a good asset to this team and—“ when law realizes that was certainly not what you meant, his head falls in his hands. “…yes, i…like you,” he admits. 

his voice is muffled so you can barely hear him, but you’re glad you did and nod with a soft smile. so those idiots weren’t fucking with you, for once. 

when he notices that you haven’t left, he sits up slightly, “do you,uh,” he dryly coughs, “like…me too?”

the slight blush that tints his tanned cheeks is almost comical, you’ve never seen him look so vulnerable before.

“yeah, i like you.” you smile.

law tries his hardest to not show the extent of his excitement, but the smile that forces its way on his face as he looks away is a dead giveaway. 

“so…does this mean you’re my girlfriend now?” the hopeful tone in his voice makes your heart skip a beat. you’d always known his hard-boiled personality was a facade, it was pretty obvious, but you didn’t think you, of all people, would see what was underneath.

“how about a date first?” you offer, walking over to him and placing a kiss on his cheek. 

his eyes widen, the blush from before now spreading to his entire face as he hastily nods his head, “right, right. that sounds better.”

you giggle, tousling his dark hair. 

“was it obvious?” he questions, still cringing at his own behavior. 

you think back to the three boys on the sun deck who were surely having the time of their lives right now. ”yes, yes it was.” 

like, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated! (✿◠‿◠)

[healingfairy000000001]

Trafalgar law x witch! straw hat (part 6) ---------------------------------------

"Another day, another spell! Or maybe not, because today is my break!" she thought excitedly as she walked around the dock. It seemed Law hadn't woken up yet, but neither had the crew! Except for Sanji and Brook, who always woke up at that time.

Sanji was cooking breakfast skillfully while Brook enjoyed a good cup of coffee. "MORNING!" Y/N greeted, stepping in to join them.

"Y/N-chwaaannn~ How grateful I am that you blessed me today!" swooned Sanji, while Brook returned the salute casually.

"Need help?" she asked Sanji, coming closer to the cutting board.

"No need! You must be tired from night guard duty," he replied, declining the offer but returning to his cooking as he casually asked about last night.

"Nah! I don't feel tired at all!" she answered cheerfully, sitting close to Brook.

"Yohohoho~ You never seem to be sleepy!" chimed Brook.

"And you'll never catch me slipping!" she said with a small, shared laugh, and the atmosphere returned to its usual comfort. Sanji continued to cook, Brook drank his coffee while thinking of his next tune, and Y/N read a book without a title.

It was peaceful, and soon, everyone started coming in, waking up from their slumber.

"Hey! Where’s Tragu?" asked Luffy, after munching on some breakfast. Nami and Robin turned to Y/N, prompting everyone to do the same.

"He's probably still asleep," she stated calmly.

Zoro looked at her from the side before going back to his food.

"That's not fair! Why does he get to sleep?" protested Luffy.

"That's true! He needs to at least wake up on time!" added Usopp

"What's with the commotion so early in the morning?" Law said as he entered, and all eyes turned to him. Some smiled, while others quickly returned to what they were doing. Luffy and Usopp, however, decided to tell him what the commotion was about.

"How dare you not wake up on time!" "Yeah! How dare you!"

The man in question didn't change his expression as he sat down for a cup of black coffee, ignoring the two idiots.

With an angry look, Usopp demanded one more answer, "And where were you yesterday? You didn’t sleep in the men’s quarters nor on the ship's deck!"

Now that caught everyone’s attention. "Where was he?" Everyone focused on Law, waiting for an answer. His response was simple: "Asleep."

Everyone’s faces fell to the floor. Was it the answer they wanted? No. Did it help? Maybe. But thanks to Nami bringing good news to change the subject, the situation was saved.

"We’re getting closer to an island!" she showed her compass, causing Luffy and Usopp to quickly leave Law alone.

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

As the Thousand Sunny docked, the summer island appeared abandoned, with overgrown trees and missing a port or road. It looked completely deserted. The crew decided to spend the day exploring or swimming.

"Not leaving?" asked the witch.

"Don’t feel like it," Law answered, leaning against the mast with his katana close by, his hat covering his face.

Hearing this, she sighed and rolled her eyes before walking away. "Oh! That should be obvious, but don’t touch anything in my lab."

He ignored her, giving her a side-eye. She jumped off the ship and caught up to Nami and Robin.

"Nami! Robin, wait up!" she shouted, catching up to them. "I believe we haven’t spent much time together lately."

The two women looked at each other and smiled. "Well, I am going to draw the island’s map," said Nami. "And I am accompanying Chopper to find some medical herbs," added Robin.

Nami's option wasn’t as tempting as collecting ingredients with the adorable doctor and the archaeologist, so the decision was clear. "Let's get to collecting! Nami, I'll join you in the afternoon!" Y/N exclaimed excitedly, throwing her fist in the air.

Nami shook her head and waved them off, preparing her tools to draw the map. Chopper got his bag, and Robin chuckled as she walked alongside the two into the heavy forest.

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

The forest was thick with branches and hanging vines, heavy with humidity, which excited the doctor and the sorcerer for the amount of plants around them—wildflowers, mushrooms, weeds, various berries, and animals.

The two had a blast finding and comparing the uses of certain herbs in their fields.

"This is useful for painkillers!" exclaimed Chopper, showing her a leaf. "It can be used to create ink for scrolls!" she answered. "It was a plant used in human sacrifices," added Robin.

Which understandably creeped Chopper out, but the conversation didn’t end there. "For real? To harvest their souls for dark magic?" "Usually it’s to please a god or bring fortune and get rid of illnesses." "Huh."

"Can we change the subject?" pleaded Chopper, looking at the two women like the subject at hand was a normal thing.

Deciding to continue, the conversation died down as the three continued the herb hunt, until...

The forest grew colder and less crowded with trees. Even the animals became scarce. That’s when they reached an abandoned town. Doors were torn down, windows were broken, and everything reeked of death.

Chopper hid behind Robin while Robin and Y/N got on guard, ready to fight at any moment. "We should head back," said Chopper, but it seemed only Robin heard. "Y/N?" But she didn’t respond, walking to the side of a house and inspecting its wall, which was covered in grayish, wall-climbing plants. Tearing them down revealed... a strange symbol.

"This is bad news," she muttered.

Cawww!

"We have to leave! The crow is warning us!" yelled Chopper, but it was too late. Blackened arrows were shot at them from the sky. Robin grabbed Chopper, shielding him with her body.

"Not a second time," whispered Y/N. "ARIELA!" she shouted as a purple shield engulfed the three of them, protecting them.

"A witch! Our lucky day!" The culprits, a group of people with ragged clothes and bone-like physiques, emerged from their hiding spots. "We can satisfy our goddess!"

"Nerocta evera aarota!" she casted another spell, this time conjuring a strong wind that blew the attackers back. The leader quickly formed a shield of his own, filled with horrified faces. "Shit!"

"Robin, Chopper, RUN!" she shouted, dissolving the shield.

The two nodded, though hesitant, understanding that returning to the others was in their best interest. Chopper shifted into his running form to save time.

"Catch them!" three of the attackers jumped forward at their leader's command, but were stopped by a rock wall slamming into them, taking them out.

"Come on, then," Y/N muttered, her fingers crackling with mana. "Show me what you’ve got."

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

On the other side, things were more peaceful. Sanji returned with some fruits and vegetables, Zoro had hunted down some animals, and the rest were either resting on the beach or waiting for Franky's infamous 'SUPER BURGER!'

Nothing could disturb their peace—until Robin and Chopper showed up, barely catching their breath. The crew immediately got guarded, and Nami and Luffy rushed toward them.

"What's wrong?" asked Luffy, worried. "Where’s Y/N?" added Nami.

That's when Robin spoke up. "Magicians! A lot of them!"

With this new information, the crew exchanged looks. Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, a reluctant Usopp, and Nami decided to go help their friend. "Where?" Robin pointed in the direction they came from, and before she could give more details, Luffy and Zoro ran straight ahead.

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

As the commotion rose, the two sides continued their battle—two types of magic: those who used mana and knowledge, and those who relied on others’ souls.

"HAH! You think you can take US down?" the leader mocked, as ghostly hands emerged from the ground beneath him, attacking Y/N. "You’ll make a perfect sacrifice!"

Ignoring him, Y/N jumped high, creating a boulder to stand on. As she looked down at them, the witch felt... anger? Betrayal? Or just pity? She’d never know, because she had to finish this quickly.

"Ignia mi cora jejuteti sma tih berimah min thulg wanar ISMARI NEDAI YASAMA!" she threw her hand up with the palm facing the sky, the other straight by her side, palm facing the ground. "Waayuha ard kudibeamry wahibry tarwidatenla tasmahleaduwy LILHARAB!"

With the two spells cast, the sky filled with dark gray clouds, and the ground glowed with strange letters surrounding the whole village.

"RUN!" one of the dark magicians warned, running toward the edge of the village, but instead bumped into an invisible wall.

"What—THAT BITCH! Kill her!"

With one of them soaring high to stab her, an ice crystal pierced him, slamming him to the ground. And that was when the hell she unleashed began—ice-like spears and fireballs rained down, crushing the ceramic bodies of the dark magic users and burning them to ash.

Y/N descended, the sky clearing as the glowing runes on the ground faded. She bent down to pick up a ceramic shard that hadn't burned. "So, you also lose your humanity by 27, huh?" she chuckled dryly before letting the shard crumble into ash...............

[justwhisperingfantasies]

This is my first piece for @jarpadversebingo . Squared Filled: College A.U Pairing: Sam Winchester x reader best friends to lovers. Warnings: Language, Fluff, Angst(ish), Pining, Drinking, Jealousy, Couple Fighting. Summary: College is hard. Add on being in love with your best friend (who you have to watch struggle in their relationship) Make's it a real B**ch. Word count: 2500 Special thanks to @nightxcreature for being my beta 🫶 My Tag list My Master List Hope y'all enjoy ♡

“I’m never gonna get this.” Sam huffed as he tossed the old book on the coffee table.

“Not with that attitude.” You told him,

“I think we need a break.” He voiced, standing up and starting toward the mini fridge in your common room.

“So, where’s Jess at tonight?” you asked him

“Um, girl’s night.” He said twisting the cap off two beer bottles. “She said she needed to let off some steam.” He rolled his eyes.

“Hmm. She’s been doing that a lot lately.” You commented.

“Yea…” He handed you a beer and sat down. You clanked your bottle to his and took a drink. “Back in the day she used to get mad when I didn’t go out with her.”

“We don’t have to talk about your relationship problems, if its too awkward for you.”

“You’re my best friend y/n.” he bopped your nose. “Why would it be awkward?”

You hated that term "best friend." Good enough to keep all your secrets and talk through your problems with but not good enough to be in a relationship with. You forced a smile, trying to mask the sting you felt every time you heard it.

"She’s been distant." Sam admitted, fidgeting with the label on his beer bottle. "I feel like she's pulling away, and I don't know what to do about it.”

You nodded, feeling a mix of empathy and frustration. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"I've tried, but she just says everything is fine." He sighed, taking another swig of his beer. "I don't want to push too hard and make things worse, you know?"

You leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Relationships are complicated. Maybe she just needs some space to figure things out."

"Yeah, maybe." He seemed lost in thought, his eyes distant. "I just wish I knew what she was thinking."

You turned to him, your heart aching for him and for yourself. "I'm sure it will all work out, Sam. Sometimes people just need time."

"Thanks, y/n." He gave you a small smile. "And thanks for being here. I don't know what I'd do without you."

You smiled back, hiding the turmoil within. "Anytime, Sammy.”  You picked the book up off the coffee table. “So back to Constitutional Law.” You told him, making him groan.

“y/n!!” Sam shouted, collecting dirty looks as he ran through the library toward the table you were sitting at. “I did it! I passed the test!”

You stood up and threw your arms around him, “I knew you could it it!!”

His arms tightened around your waist; your feet left the ground as he spun you.

“Ok, enough spinning.” You told him, making him laugh.

“I couldn’t have done it with you.” He kissed your chest, making them turn red. “Thank you.”

“Yes, you could have.” You reassured him “But you’re welcome.”

“I gotta go call Jess.” He pulled out his cell phone, walking away.

Your hand slid to the place where his lips just were, a sharp ping in your chest as you watched him walk away. You sat back down returning to your books, determined to focus, but the lingering warmth of his kiss made it difficult to concentrate. The library seemed quieter, almost melancholic, as you gathered your thoughts and tried to push the emotions aside.

“I don’t get it Charlie.” You told your best friend as you plopped on her bed. “Why can’t he see it?”

Charlie sighed, putting down her book and turning to face you. “You know, sometimes people just can’t see what’s right in front of them. It’s like they have blinders on, focusing on everything but the most obvious thing.”

You stared at the ceiling, feeling the weight of her words. “But why? It’s so frustrating.”

“Maybe it’s because they’re scared,” Charlie continued thoughtfully. “Scared of ruining what they have, or scared of what might happen if they acknowledge it. Or maybe they’re just not ready to see it yet.”

You sat up, hugging your knees to your chest. “So, what am I supposed to do? Just wait?”

Charlie smiled gently. “Sometimes, yes. And sometimes, you just must be patient and let them come to their own realization. It’s not easy, but if it’s meant to be, it will happen in its own time.”

You nodded slowly, taking in her words. “I just wish he could see it now.”

“I know,” Charlie said, patting your hand reassuringly. She stood up and moseyed over to the mini fridge. “But trust me, if it’s meant to be, he’ll see it eventually. And until then, we have beer.”

You managed a small smile, feeling a bit more hopeful. “Thanks, Charlie. You always know what to say.”

“Anytime,” she replied, the bottles clanked as she tapped your bottle with her own and you both took a swig.

You could hear yelling as you walked up the hallway to the apartment, recognizing Jessica’s voice getting closer to their door.

“Um, maybe we should just go without them, Max.” You voiced turning around to him.

“Or maybe they need to go out to end the argument.” He countered.

“Dude… That sounds bigger than just an argument.”

Max rolled his eyes and knocked on the door.

Sam's face was a mixture of sadness and anger as he opened the door. The spark in his eyes as they met yours was undeniable. "Hey guys… sorry about the noise," he said, his voice a blend of frustration and relief.

Concern etched on your face. "Is everything okay, Sam?"

He sighed heavily, running a hand through his tousled hair. "It's been a rough day.”

"Maybe getting out for a bit will help clear the air." Max pleaded.

A weak smile tugged at Sam’s lips. "Yeah, you’re probably right. Let me just grab Jessica."

As Sam turned back into the apartment, you exchanged a worried glance with Max. Moments later, Jessica emerged, her face flushed and eyes weary. Despite the tension, she forced a smile. "Ready to go?"

You nodded, hoping the evening out might provide some much-needed relief for everyone. "Yeah, let’s get out of here."

You all walked down the hallway together, the tension in the air was thick, almost palpable. Each step echoed the unspoken worries and unresolved conflicts. Sam walked ahead, his shoulders slumped slightly, while Jessica kept her gaze fixed on the floor. You and Max exchanged another glance, silently agreeing to make the evening as light-hearted as possible. As you reached the building's exit, the cool evening breeze brushed against your face, releasing some of the awkwardness.

Your group managed to find an empty high-top table. You sat down next to Max, across the table from Sam.

“I’ll be right back.” Max said as he started towards the bar.

Your eyes scanned the bar, trying to hide your discomfort.

“So, y/n, big day Monday. Isn’t this exam worth half your grade?” Jessica asked you.

“Yep. If Max wouldn’t have held me to my promise I would have my nose in a book right now.”

Sam chuckled. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring them with you.”

You peered at him as you gave him a mocking look. Jessica’s eyebrows rose as you and Sam teased each other.

Making his way back, Max sat a tray on the table. There were 9 shots and 3 beers sitting on it.

“Did you leave any for anyone else?” Sam joked.

“Shut up and do a shot.” Max remarked.

As the glasses emptied, your group relaxed and started having fun.

Jessica stood up and started swaying her hips, you could tell she was starting to feel the effect of the alcohol. You looked away as she wrapped her hands around Sam from behind. Not being able to stop it, you glanced back out of the corner of your eye. Your heart sank as you found a wide smile on his face with her whispering in his ear.

He chuckled. “You know I don’t dance, babe.”

She pouted.

“That’s not going to work.”

“Fine” She sighed. “Max, come dance with me?” she held out her hands.

“Of course, darlin.” He drank the last swig of his beer and stood up. “But forewarning if a hot guy approaches me, I’m ditching you.” he stated as he gabbed her hands, making the 3 of you, chuckle.

Sam turned to you. “What’s on your mind over there?” he stretched his leg, tapping you on the knee with his foot.

“How did you know?”

“Your beer.” He pointed at the bottle in your hand. You looked down realizing you were scratching off the label with your nail. “You always do that when you’re debating something, or nervous.”

You let out a soft, amused chuckle. “Well, I was debating on whether I should ask you what’s going on with you two.”

 “Ah I see.” He smiled and took a drink. “I don’t want to bother you with it.”

You glared at him. “Come on. Out with-it Winchester.”

He chuckled. “It’s stupid.”

“Amuse me.”

“She thinks I have feelings for you.”

You swallowed hard as your heart leaped into your throat. “Why would she think that?” you asked, trying to keep your voice steady.

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing away for a moment before meeting your gaze again. “I don’t know! Maybe because we spend a lot of time together, and she gets jealous”

You looked at him intently, searching for any hint of truth in his eyes. “And do you?” you asked softly, almost afraid of his answer.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I don’t know what I feel anymore. She’s been so distant lately, and you’ve always been there for me. It’s confusing.”

You felt a mixture of emotions swirling within you. Hope, fear, and deep empathy for your friend. “Sam, I’m always here for you, but I don’t want to be the cause of any problems between you two.”

He nodded, appreciating your candidness. “You’re right. I need to clear things up with her.”

You pulled your purse onto your shoulder as you walked out into the common room. Charlie was sitting on the couch, smiling at you. Your eyes followed hers as she looked at a bouquet of white lilies with red roses, sitting on the coffee table.

“What are those?”

“I do believe they call those flowers, darlin’.” She smarted.

Your head tilted “Well no shit sherlock. Who sent you those?”

“They aren’t for me.”

Creases formed in your forehead as you read your name written on the note card. “Who are they from?” You leaned down and grabbed it.

“I didn’t read it, but I got a good guess.” She smiled.

The card read:

You're not going to need it, but good luck today! You got this y/n! I'll see you after.                                             -♡- Sam

You blushed slightly, feeling a wave of warmth washing over you as you tucked the card into the pocket of your purse.

“Maybe you won’t have to wait much longer,” Charlie teased, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

A smile tugged at your lips. "Yeah, maybe not," you replied softly.

“How did you do you have so much shit, Sammy?” Dean asked his little brother as he loaded more of Sam’s belongings into his truck.

Sam chuckled. “Thank you. For helping me.”

“Not a problem.” Dean sighed. “Are you sure it’s over? You might be able to.”

“Dean.” Sam cut him off. “It’s over.”

“What are you not telling me Sam?”

Sam glanced at Dean, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I have feelings for someone else," Sam explained.

Dean smiled as he registered Sam’s words.

"She's incredible. Smart, kind, everything I finally realized I needed." He paused, looking down at the ground for a moment before meeting his brother's eyes again. "She's been my rock through all of this."

“She is pretty special huh?”

"She is," Sam affirmed. "She's got this way of making everything seem... brighter. Even when things are tough, she’s always there, supporting me, believing in me."

Dean nodded slowly, processing his brother's words. "Well, Sam. It’s about damn time."

A weight lifted off your shoulders as you walked out of the exam room. A smile spread across your face as you saw Sam pacing in the hallway, waiting for you.

"I didn't know you meant right after, Winchester," you said, a hint of playful surprise in your voice.

Sam's smile broadened, his eyes lighting up with warmth and amusement. "Oh, so you got the flowers," he said, his tone teasing yet tender

"I did," you replied, starting to walk over to him, your heart fluttering with every step. "They're beautiful, Sam. Thank you.”

Sam's smile widened even more, if that was possible. "I'm glad you like them," he said, his eyes sparkling with warmth and amusement.

“So, how’d you do?”

“What do you think? I aced it.” you teased.

“Of course you did.” He agreed, still smiling

“So, what’s the plans for today?” you asked him

"Come on," he said, taking your hand gently but firmly. "There's something I want to show you."

You followed him, curiosity and excitement mingling in your chest. He led you through the winding corridors of the building until you reached a staircase that ascended to the roof. With every step, the anticipation built, the air between you charged with unspoken words.

When you finally reached the top, the view took your breath away. The iconic, red-tiled roofs of the university buildings gleam brightly under the azure sky, creating a picturesque contrast against the lush greenery. The palm-lined main quad is bustling with students and visitors, all soaking in the warmth and vibrant energy of the day.

Sam turned to you, his expression soft and vulnerable, a look you had seen rarely but cherished deeply. "I have a confession. And I’m sorry it’s taken this long, Being your best friend has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me " he began, his voice steady but filled with emotion. “You a way of making everything better. You’ve been my light in the darkest of times. But.” He started walking towards you.

Your heart pounded in your chest as his words sank in.

His steps slow and deliberate, as if he was savoring each moment leading up to this one. The wind played gently with his hair, and the sun cast a warm glow on his face, highlighting the sincerity in his eyes.

His hand cupped your face once he got close. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”

A smile spread across your face as his words hung in the air, their warmth enveloping you like a cherished memory.

"I love you," he confessed, his eyes searching yours for a response. "More than I ever thought possible."

Tears of joy welled up in your eyes as you whispered, "I love you too, Sam."

With a relieved smile, he closed the distance between you, capturing your lips in a tender, heartfelt kiss. In that moment, everything felt perfect.

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[drconstellation]

Come Back When You Can Make A Whale

This is going to contain some speculation for S3, so you know what to do! Or not do!

SITIS: What did God say? JOB: Um... I'm not sure. I didn't understand much. Things too wonderful for me. Ostriches came into it. SITIS: Ostriches? JOB: And whales. God's very proud of the whale. Went into some detail about... how great whales are. SITIS: But did They explain? JOB: [shakes head] I think the point was, if you want answers, come back when you can make a whale.

Whales, huh?

If you aren't well read, this could be quite the misdirection. It should be reasonably obvious, given who is doing the talking - Job - what he is actually referring to, then we can join a couple of dots to make some speculative leaps.

You still with me?

No? Then let us start with how do you make a whale?

By giving it another name.

Leviathan.

Chapter 41 of the Book of Job is all about the Leviathan, a great sinuous sea serpent with impenetrable scales and breath like fire. It sleeps beneath the sea until the end of days. Over time it came to be associated with any sea monster, then anything large, and what is the largest animal ever known to have lived? The whale.

The top of the matchbox is also worth a look. We have a skull and crossbones, which is classic Memento mori symbolism, fitting in with the resurrection theme of the Second Coming - but look at the way the address of the pub is spelt! Now, this not the same way it is spelt on the record single Maggie gives to Aziraphale; Goatgate is spelt as one word, not two. A little bit of searching reveals the meaning behind this fictional address that backs up and reinforces the quote on the side of the matchbox.

Strong's Concordance for 66 gives us "wild, savage, fierce." Goatgate is an interesting one, because it turns out to be a relatively modern term from the urban dictionary, and I'm just going to refer to the polite version of it here - it's another word for "mouth." So 66 Goatgate is a "fierce and savage mouth." Yes, that does sound about right - in more ways than one, once you know who it is. (If you want to look up the impolite version, go ahead - I'm sure you will still find the connotations very amusing.)

Our metaphorical Leviathan is Crowley. He gave the game away at the end of S1 during the appearance-swap.

This also means Aziraphale is his counterpart, Behemoth. Why - well, I made a bit of joke in my post here that he was playing at being a "river horse" while he wallowed in the bath of holy water during his part of the appearance-swap scene. Modern day scholars think the description of Behemoth in the Bible may be that of a hippopotamus in real life history. If that is so, I'd still be betting this is what the "dark horse" comment from Nina in S2E1 is foreshadowing.

Maybe none of this new to you if you've been hanging around the the fandom for a while. That's fine, I'm just trying to establish the scene. And the next bit we need to talk about is this one, where Job gets a lecture from God.

During this sequence, we hear lines that come from Job 38 and 39.

GOD: Job, if you have questions for me, I have questions for you. Do you know how I created the earth? Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, Job? Were you there when all the morning stars sang together and all the Angels shouted for joy?

These lines are paraphrasing some of the beginning of Job 38.

Then we have:

GOD: Do you know the rules of the heavens? Did you set the constellations in the sky? Can you send lightning bolts and get them to report back to you? Did you give wings to peacocks, Job, or teach the ostrich to run?

These lines are again, paraphrasing Job, half from 38 and half from 39.

So then, we need to ask, why highlight these lines in particular?

Job 38 is mainly about setting the boundaries of the universe around us. The Earth might seem impossibly huge to a human, but it started with a single stone at its foundation. Earth and the other planets obey certain laws as they move around the Sun. The patterns of the stars in the sky take so long to change that it seems like they are set and inconstant. Even the chaotic form of lightning respects its Creator and returns to its point of origin.

From the last part of Chapter 38 to the end of 39 God challenges Job with a list of animals. The theme here is about freedom and wildness. Whether it is a noble lion, a loathsome crow, a nimble mountain goat, the head-strong wild ox or the willing war horse, they all flourish upon the Earth under the sight of the Almighty. Even the mightiest and most fierce beasts of all, Behemoth and Leviathan, have a place, although only God has the means to control those two.

None of this needs a human to be involved. We are so often the center of our own universe, and try so hard to control every aspect of the world around us that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Shit happens. Some things are out of our control. That doesn't mean its your fault and you're wicked and damned to go to Hell because of it. And that was the point God was trying to make to Job. The world is a far bigger, wilder and chaotic than you can imagine, but its also incredibly beautiful, and it runs itself within the rules and limits that seem to be set by invisible forces you can't see.

So back to the script from the show.

The first set of questions from God could apply to both of the duo. They were both around when Earth was created and were more than likely there when the "morning stars" (the highest angels, such as Lucifer, Gabriel, Michael and angel!Beelzebub) sang together.

The second set of questions are the ones that seem to have got the most attention so far, with ops cross-matching them to things Crowley does in S2.

Do you know the rules of the heavens?

Did you set the constellations in the sky?

Can you send lightning bolts and get them to report back to you?

Did you give wings to peacocks, Job...

(I make a suggestion this has something to do with Michael, but also see comments below)

...or teach the ostrich to run?

The first three of those questions are fairly straight forward, and I doubt many would dispute what they are referring to. But the reference to the peacock and the ostrich are more subtle and curious, and I would like to take a moment to look at the actual verse - because it is only one verse that is providing both questions - that is being paraphrased here.

Job 39:13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

Did you realize that the King James Version of the Bible is the only one that mentions peacocks in this particular verse? All the other versions mentions the first sentence of that verse in relation to the wings of ostriches: "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly." The ostrich is considered a cruel and witless bird in the Bible, pleased with the way it looks, and seemingly careless about its young.

Why does that sound familiar...

Shax thinks this ostrich feather-clad angel in disguise isn't too smart either.

So using the peacock line is a curious choice in the script. Other than the "eyes" in the tail of the peacock having a connection to Michael's many watchful eyes on the world, it's still not clear how Crowley helped them upwards. Unless both lines are supposed to refer to Gabriel, and how the vain peacock was helped to both fly and run to a distant location in the stars.

Edit: Since I first wrote this, @beebopboom pointed me to some more peacock lore, and this helped me delve a bit deeper into them. Peacocks were associated with wealth and royalty, but they were also associated with immortality in early Christian beliefs. There was a belief that the flesh of the peacock did not decay after its death. The bright colours in its tail came from its eating venomous snakes, which reminded people of Christ becoming sin for humanity's sake (think of Crowley downing the laudanum to save Elspeth from Hell in the crypt in 1827, its a similar action.) The "eyes" on the males tail also represented the all-seeing eye of God. So we have a connection with both royalty and resurrection here.

(Oh - just as an interesting connection here - a number of the newer versions of the Bible not only don't mention the peacock in this verse, they compare the ostrich to the stork! The meaning is meant to be that the stork cares more for their young than the ostrich, but if you read the words at face value, you could take a double meaning away...)

Let us return to questions, answers, and whales.

Questions. Always questions. It's like the proverbial toddler who's always asking a never-ending string of "but, why?" for funsies and you just want them to shut up for a moment and think about the last thing you said first. They, too, are a bit like Job. They are the center of their own universe at that age, having not had much experience of the world. They have no grasp of how far it extends beyond them, and how little even we as adults know.

If at this point you're going "oh, no, no, no, no, op, please don't tell me the point of this meta is it's all ineffable," relax. I'm not.

The point was to set you up for some nice, juicy, awesomely sweet S3 speculation.

Because I believe Crowley will finally get to ask his questions of God.

(oh lordy, I made the mistake of taking a break to have a shower before trying to finish this off, because I was having trouble seeing how to finish this in a tidy way, and that caused me to have "shower thoughts" and now the nice sweet simple speculation has turned into a slightly bat-shit crazy kind-of one, although still on the same track as what I was originally thinking. Here goes...)

We have this three card spread from waaay back at the beginning of S1. We all think its something to do with the three babies.

What if its not?

Because we need something like this to happen again - Aziraphale and Crowley either side of a third protagonist. What if it's the King of Kings, Love personified, Jesus, in the middle? (Or Adam again, I wouldn't discount that option either...)

If you would look at the GIF and the screenshot together again and go, well that makes, sense, white for the angel on the right, and green for the demon on the left, I would jump up and shout at you - NO!

Look at the cards again! In the Tarot, that's the Ace of Swords on the right - it belongs to Aziraphale. It's a very powerful card, about new beginnings and change.* Lets call the one of the left Knight of Wands, which also represents the element of Fire. Knights are all about movement and journeys. Who owns the Bentley? And look what Gabriel has instinctively done with his hands - he has held his screen-left hand out to Aziraphale, the Sword, the angel who wears green, and his right hand out to Crowley, the Knight of Fire. The yin and yang qualities are actually swapped. That was what I was trying to tell you in this post. They aren't as obvious as they seem at first glance.

And love is the answer, it turns out. Did you see my comment the other day on another post? In Strong's Concordance 25 = to love.

Anyway, we should get a third parallel scene somewhat like this, and like when Aziraphale and Crowley took Adam out of time to talk to him in S1.

Only this time the three of them (with who ever is in the middle) should be having a talk with God about what is or isn't supposed to happen.

JOB: I think the point was, if you want answers, come back when you can make a whale.

Crowley could be a literal serpent (though I would be very surprised if he did manifest that way) but it should be a metaphorical Leviathan that stands before the Almighty to ask his questions and get his answers. And it will be that he has earned the right to be there, because he finally understands the lessons of Job.

@makewayforbigcrossducks I hope this answers one of your questions

*The Ace of Swords speaks of new beginnings, but it is a two-edged sword that can cut both ways. It is strength in adversity, victory out of struggle, good out of evil, a change in the old order on the way.

[lawva-girl]

Jealousy

Law x fat!reader

reader is gender nuetral. :))))

WC: 1365

shout out to @sukunas-play-thing for the idea!!!! I hope you like this with my whole heart!!!!

I just know in my soul Law would go so incredibly well with a plussized person!!!!!!!

Boa Hancock. The most beautiful woman in the world. Looking at her made you feel like there wasn’t even a comparison between the two of you, she was so pretty. You were… average? It was hard to tell. 

You, along with the Heart pirates, were all staring at her in amazement. You heard the voice of her sister, warning all the men of what could happen if their sister got upset. Saying something about how she isn’t afraid to turn allies either. 

It didn’t matter, they all still looked. You wondered if it worked on women too, since Ikkaku was also staring with heart eyes. After a quick glance around, you found that Law was nowhere to be seen. 

Suddenly you were storming into his room, desperate to find him. You knew it wasn’t entirely plausible but what if he had gone off and turned to stone? You had to find him, you could probably convince Hancock to turn him back… 

You turned the corner to leave his room, when a voice scared the fuck out of you.

“What are you doing here y/n-ya?” 

Freezing in place, part of you was incredibly grateful he didn’t turn to stone, another part of you was freaking out that your beloved Law had caught you in his room. 

“Oh Law… uhm the crew was staring at Hancock again… I came to get you.” You barely got the sentence out, since you were trying to make up a reason as to why you were here that wasn’t pathetic.

“Thank you for getting me, I’ll head out there now.” 

Suddenly there was panic in your gut again, but he was already on the move to you, where the door was.   

“Law, you shouldn’t go out there! You might see her!” You turned fully towards him and decided that you would refuse to let him pass. 

“Why would that matter?” He didn’t even slow down, just opened a room and ‘shambles’ his way past you. 

You turned as quickly as you could to look at him but his hat was the only thing you saw. He was gone.

You stood for only a second before beginning to chase after him. 

Once outside, there was a peculiar scene.

The heart pirates were all sitting on their knees, head hung low. They were sitting in front of Hancock and Law, who were lecturing the group together.

Upon seeing you on the deck of the polar tang Law nodded, then went back to yelling. You stood there confused, clearly something had happened, but you felt like an outsider. 

Not a clue as to what was happening. 

Thankfully, Law decided to clue you in on what occurred later.

The two of you were sitting in the medical bay, where he was patching up a gash in your leg. It had been an eventful day to say the least. The bay itself was quiet and calm though, not showing any signs of what had occurred that day. With the exception of you and your leg of course. 

“You can’t just run around however you want y/n-ya.” Law didn’t even look up at you as he spoke, instead focusing on the stitches he was putting in your leg.

“It’s not like I wanted to fall off the Tang… my depth perception was just a bit off. Plus I would’ve been fine if the repairs Shachi was working on were finished.” You closed your eyes when you felt the pinching pain Law was administering.  

“I’ve had to yell at too many people today, can’t any of you behave?” He grumbled, making it obvious for you that he was upset. 

“I know, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t fall again. It’s not like anyone would be able to fish me out if I did.” 

“What?” 

“What?” 

Law stared at you now, you assumed he looked up in shock at one point or another. 

“What did you have to yell at the others for?” You asked him, not giving him the chance to say anything. 

Law took a deep breath, “they almost got turned to stone, Hancock caught them all staring. Thankfully she wasn’t upset, since we had helped Luffy.” 

“Oh that’s good…” you laid back fully, closing your eyes. You had always worked as a somewhat friend to Law, hearing him rant and complain. It made you happy to have a use. It made you especially happy to have Law need you, despite knowing that you didn’t have a chance with him.

Law didn’t speak much in general, so if you wanted to know you kinda had to pry. You wanted to know so badly how he ended up lecturing beside Hancock, but you also did not want to know at all. 

“So.. you weren’t staring with them?” You felt your heart quicken, but you didn’t say anything to take it back. 

Law coughed a bit, then explained, “No. she’s pretty but I’m not… attracted to her.” 

“Why not? She’s beautiful and she has the perfect body! Plus her hair is perfect and she’s so skinny, anyone could fish her out of water.” You spoke the words before you even realized it, feeling the consequences seconds later when Law hesitated to respond.

“I don’t like…” he paused and smiled into an evil smirk, like it was second nature, “I prefer women who have something I can hold onto.” 

You sat up with eyes wide in shock, and mouth agape. “But…” 

“What? I’m not allowed?” Law looked at you now, and you could swear there was something in his eyes. Something that you could get extremely familiar with. 

While you remained there speechless, Law finished on your leg. As he smoothed the bandages over the slice, you stared at his hands. 

“I’m done. Just make sure you take it easy for 3 days, unless you want it to reopen.” Law stood, turning swiftly and started to clean his tools and pack his equipment. 

“You don’t like Hancock at all?” You called out from the hospital bed.

“No. I like people with something to hold onto. Like you.” Law turned slightly, you could just barely see his face enough to tell he was being serious.

“Oh! Uhm!”

“I like people who have soft thighs I can use as pillows, people who have a belly for me to grab while spooning, people that have a butt and love handles. I like to grab them and watch…” 

Your eyes were wide, unsure of why he was telling you this and why he wouldn’t stop. 

“I like people who have meat on their bones. Plus when a person like that is drowning, only a real man can save them. I can lift you, and I can lift you when you're soaked too.” 

“Law I.. why are you,” you couldn’t think of the words you wanted to use, until Law interrupted.

“Why would I tell you?” You nodded fervently, “I’m telling you because I hope you’ll do something about it.” 

You stared at him, he seemed so far from you. He wasn’t at all but you felt weird trying to stand on your leg that was freshly patched. So you motioned for him to come over to you with your hand. 

“Why?” He was walking over as he spoke. 

“I have to tell you something..” you motioned for him to come closer, so he did. 

You again motioned for him to come closer, and he rolled his eyes but did again.

You leaned forward and closed the gap between you two, whispering to him “my type in men.. its men who are named Law.” 

He turned his head towards yours in shock, and you chuckled. He took the opportunity of the proximity and pressed his lips to yours. Your chuckle died in your throat, as you pressed back into him. 

It felt like magic. His lips were soft, and soo warm. You were convinced such a cold steely man would have a matching body. 

Then you realized, all this time. Law wasn’t cold, he was just caring in a different way. He had answered every question you had. He never put you down, and he seemed to like you the way you are. 

[wolfjackle-creates]

Ghost!Robin Part 13

THE DINNER ENDS!!!!!! Dear god, I need to write something that has less than seven characters present in the currently-being-written scene. This segment will be a bit longer than most previous ones simply because I was so close to the end.

Story Summary: Danny was invited to dinner at Wayne Manor to meet Jazz's boyfriend and his family for the first time. He worked hard to make sure no ghost business would interrupt the evening. But when he arrived, all he could focus on was the ghost of the dead Robin that seemed to haunt Jason. Looks like he was breaking his promise.

First, Previous

Word Count: 1.9k

-----

“Look, I’ve faced both an evil future version of me and have had to deal with mind control.” He looked to Bruce and, serious now, said, “As soon as the Anti-Ecto Acts are repealed and the Guys in White disbanded, I will help you write those plans myself.”

Bruce gave a single nod. “Do you know what caused you to turn evil in the alternate time stream?”

Danny sighed and nodded. “Believe it or not, I cheated on a standardized exam.”

“Okay, what?” asked Tim, incredulous. “What sort of 2000s PSA life do you live? How did that lead you down the path to evil?”

Danny frowned. “I got caught, my teacher met with Jazz, my partners, and my parents at a local restaurant to discuss it. There was an explosion and the entire place blew up killing every single person I was close to. I was then sent to live with Vlad where things got worse.”

Duke let out a low whistle. “Damn. I think I’d go evil, too, under that pressure.”

Robin flew over to him and draped himself over Danny’s back, hugging him as tightly as he could. Jazz reached over and gripped his hand. He gave her a smile and squeezed back.

Bruce nodded. “But it sounds like a future that is unlikely to happen again.”

“Grandpa says the same thing. And since he’s the Ghost of Time, I try to believe him.”

Tim made a noise of agreement. “Be glad you have that assurance. I’ve an evil future self as well. He’s such an asshole.”

Danny forced a laugh, recognizing the attempt at levity. “I’m sure. How’d you get yours to go away?”

He shrugged. “The obvious way. Threatened to kill myself so I could never grow up into him.”

Dick spluttered from his spot next to Damian. “I’m sorry, you did what? Tim! How could you?”

Tim shrugged. “Better than having an evil, gun-using Batman running around.”

Bruce was now sitting with his head in his hands. The rest of the table also started yelling at Tim, the references and names making no sense to Danny who looked over to Jazz. She just shrugged at him.

Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, “At least your in-laws won’t be too freaked out when weird things happen around you.”

She laughed. “Yeah. Honestly, I’m glad this is how the evening ended. It means no more secrets between Jason and me.”

“Guys, enough!” shouted Tim. “Look, I’m fine. This happened ages ago. But I promise I’ll update my incident report so you can all snoop on it later. Now, if you’ve all forgotten, we have guests. And ones who can help us with our League troubles. Danny, you had questions about the Lazarus pits?”

“Yeah, uh, you said it can be used to heal people? How does that work?” To Jason, he added, “And how did you interact with it?”

“I was dunked in it,” said Jason with a shrug. “After I’d been revived. I wasn’t in my right mind and Damian’s mom thought it might help.”

Robin nodded and signed something.

Dick translated for the ghost. “Baby Jason says the pit tied him and Big Jason together, but also prevented them from actually combining into one person again.”

Danny looked between them. “You were submerged in a pool of bubbling ectoplasm? How the hell did that not kill you? That shouldn’t be possible for a human. I doubt it’d be good for a ghost!” No wonder his future brother-in-law was split in two. That was probably the best that could be expected.

Danny hadn’t even realized how hard he was projecting concern until Robin trilled back at him to calm him down. Danny took a deep breath and pulled in his aura. “Sorry, Robin. I do think I’d like to get you both in to see my doctor as soon as possible, though.”

Jazz cleared her throat. “We can discuss that at home.”

Bruce stared at him. “Do you think they can help Jason?”

Danny shrugged. “He knows the most about ghost-human hybrids of anyone. If anything can be done, he’ll know.”

“I will go with you,” Bruce said.

Danny immediately shook his head. “Nope. I won’t bring anyone from Earth into the Realms until the Anti-Ecto acts are repealed. And only Jason can invite people to his private medical check up.”

Steph pouted. “But Jason is from Earth. Sure, he’s got some weird thing going on, but why does he get to go exploring other dimensions?”

“Cause he’s dead. He belongs to the Infinite Realms just as much as he belongs to Earth. I’m not gonna block someone from accessing their home.”

“I’m not dead!” yelled Jason. “I’m alive.”

Danny winced. He’d have to talk to Jazz about that. Death wasn’t really a thing that could be recovered from. Not fully. But it wasn’t his place to tell Jason he was still dead if he wasn’t ready to hear that. Jazz or Frostbite could have that conversation. “Of course you’re alive. And Earth is your home, too. But you’ve got one in the Realms if you ever need or want it. Think of it like dual citizenship.”

“I don’t want it.”

Danny sighed. “Look, then the part of you that is manifesting as Robin has a place there and you two can’t be separated so you’re allowed to follow him. It’s the only way I’ll be able to get you in to see the best doctor to help you out.”

“Jason,” Jazz spoke gently and rested her hand on his forearm, “you’re still alive. Nothing about your situation has changed. You just have some more information and more help. Which is a good thing.”

Jason frowned and didn’t answer, choosing instead to glare at his dinner plate.

No one else spoke up until Alfred cleared his throat. “Well, I believe that we should wrap the conversation up here. We’ve all received quite a lot of information and will need some time to review it and consider our next steps.”

Danny nodded. “Yeah, I think— Wait, um, before we end this, would you have a sample of the Lazarus Water I could take to Frostbite?” At the confused looks he was given, he added, “The doctor I mentioned. I think it’d help him figure out how best to help Jason and Robin.”

Bruce exchanged looks Danny couldn’t interpret with Damian and Tim before speaking. “We’ll have to discuss it. Would we be able to give you our answer in two days? At the very least, we’d like to have the report from your friend first.”

Danny shrugged. “Sure. The sooner the better, though. I’ll call Tucker on the way to Jazz and Jason’s. We’ll put something together for you tonight. I’m not sure exactly how long it’ll take, though. Depends on how much sleep Tuck’s running on.”

Bruce merely nodded.

Dick laughed and got to his feet. “Well, it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know you. Welcome to the craziness of the Wayne family. It sounds like Jazz and you will fit right in. Let me walk you out.”

His words seemed to be a signal to the rest of the family. Most of whom also rushed over to try and insist on walking them out.

Until Jason shouted, “Enough! We don’t need a crowd to follow us to Jazz’s car. You can say goodbye from here just as easily.”

Dick pouted but acquiesced. Only after pulling Jason into a hug, though. Jason forced Dick to let him go only for Robin to rush in and take his place to Dick’s delight. After separating, they signed something to each other that had Jason blushing and scowling.

And then Dick moved on to hug Jazz, then Danny. “Come back anytime,” he told Danny. “Whether or not those two are with you. B meant it when he said you would have a room here.”

But then Steph was pushing Dick to the side to give Danny a hug as well. “What’s your phone number? I so want whatever blackmail you get on Jason. And I’ll share some of what I have.”

Danny laughed, but did agree to exchange numbers before the Duke was in front of him.

“Dude, you have to come by more often. It’s so annoying being the only meta around here.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Danny promised.

When Tim came over, he insisted on adding both Danny and Jazz to some of the family group chats. “If you give me your sister’s number, I’ll add her in, too.”

Jazz shook her head. “We’ll have to confirm she wants to be added in first. And ask her if she’d like an introduction to Superboy.”

“His name’s Kon. Kon-El. I’ll message him tonight, too. I’m sure he’d love to meet her.”

“Dani will say yes,” said Danny, “but she doesn’t always reply right away. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear from her.”

Then Tim was being pushed aside by Barbara who wanted to make sure he knew how to send them the information about ghosts and the Realms. And Cass was waving goodbye.

Bruce was the last of the group to approach them. “Remember, if you ever need a place to stay or want to lay low, you can come here any time. Even if you just want a warm meal. Your sister as well.”

“Thanks, Bruce,” said Jazz. “We do really appreciate that. You don’t have to offer it.”

“But I want to. Jason…” he trailed off before trying again. “I would like it if you kept me informed with any updates to your condition.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Right, because you want to know how much of a liability I am.”

If anything, Bruce’s face became more closed off at those words. “That’s not… Hn.”

Robin rolled his eyes, somehow visible despite his mask, and flew over to hug Bruce around the waist. Danny couldn’t make sense of the expression Bruce wore as he looked down at the ghost and though his arms twitched, he didn’t return the hug.

Alfred smoothly stepped forward before anyone could say anything. “Well, now that the goodbyes have all been said, I will walk you four out.”

Jason shook his head. “You don’t have to, Alfie. I know the way.”

“Of course you do, Master Jason. But I insist. We’ll stop by the kitchens and I’ll send you home with leftovers.”

Danny tried to hide his smile as Jason merely turned and walked in the direction of the kitchens. It seemed no one argued against Alfred. Once in the kitchens, they were given so much food to take home it required all three to carry it, then Alfred was leading them out a side door which brought them to the drive where Jazz’s car was parked.

Jazz nudged him and nodded her head towards the car. Danny nodded and followed her in while Jason, Alfred, and Robin remained outside to talk for a minute.

Danny took the back seat and met Jazz’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.

She gave him a wry smile and said, “What a night, huh?”

Danny snickered before bursting out into full-on laughter, Jazz joining a breath behind him.

-----

Next

Tim totally spilled the beans about Gun Batman to get people distracted from Danny. He's just being a good new friend.

I'm thinking I'll put this on a temporary hiatus as I work through how I want arc two to go. I know the story beats, but the pacing will absolutely have to change. Not gonna spend 16k words on a single evening again! (Did you guys realize it was that long? I certainly did. XP) In the meantime, I'll keep working on Bring Me Home and rewriting the Wrong Number AU.

Bonus points to anyone who can guess my favorite line from this segment!

And sorry for not replying to comments on the post from two weeks ago. I got caught up in irl stuff and wasn't able to get around to it.

Tag List Part 1

@addie-lover-of-stories, @justwannabecat, @gin2212, @amercurio, @regonold, @overtherose, @readerzj, @sjrose1216, @echoednonny, @deeterzz, @blu-lilac, @number-one-jew, @rowanaway-fromthisbs, @vythika96, @tired-yet-awaken, @themirrorghost, @emeraldcorpral, @all-mights-asscheeks, @darkhinauniverse, @blep-23, @phandomhyperfixationblog, @larkcoe1, @thegatorsgoose, @job-ross-the-second, @britcision, @lenacraft, @bubblemixer, @androgynouslordofescapism, @purefrickingspite, @leftmiraclechaos, @lizisipancardo, @starlight-sparks, @miraculousandmore, @gildedphoenix, @sometimesthingsfallapart, @letmesayfuxk, @phoenixcatch7, @skulld3mort-1fan, @abaowo, @dhampir-princess, @idkmrpianoman, @sarina-elais, @ballzfrog-blog, @undead-essence, @spookytragedyshark, @flyingpansaurus, @akintoabitch, @marivictal, @8-29pm, @justreadingthefanfics, @happybear135, @kisatamao, @spoopyspoony, @adorablechaos, @sara0055, @screamingtofillthevoid

[lovepotionsandlust]

All Of The Ways We Differ

This is my first ever fic I have written. this will be MULTIPLE parts. *please note this is an AU* Not proof read

no use of Y/N

no warnings for the first chapter

enjoy!

“Explliarmus!” you watched as Harry’s wand flew from his hand. For your first try at the disarming spell, you were shocked how well it had worked. You were late to join “Dumbledore’s Army,” making you the newest member. You could not stop the nerves of feeling behind everyone’s progress. “Well done!” shouted a student whose name you were yet to be aware of. As you strode away from the center of the room, enjoying the praise from your peers, you joined your group of friends.

“Fred Weasley,” he said, extending his right hand to you. Looking up at him, you reached out, shaking his large hand. From his right stepped out his identical twin.

“Now Freddie, don’t take all of the star students’ attention.”

 He bumped shoulders with his brother making more room for himself.

 “George Weasley at your service” you couldn’t help smiling up at the red headed twins.

 “I wouldn’t call myself the star by any means but thank you for the vote of confidence.”

“it’s about time you three met,” interrupted Ginny, your best friend. “I’ve only told you about her a million times.”

“ah so you’re the infamous twins I have heard so much about” you chuckled up at them.

“so what brought you to join the big boys?” they asked in unison.

Rasing your hand, showing the back of it. Still red and irritated, “I shall not speak disrespectfully to my superiors.” You mocked Umbridge’s voice. “after she decided to insult my work in class, I promptly asked if her hairstyle was some form of curse we would be learning about in the upcoming chapters.” You smiled to yourself, still staring down at your hand. “Was well worth it though, the look on her face was a thing of dreams.”

Shooting your eyes at the twins, both looking amused. “absolutely brilliant if you ask me! We were thinking of slipping her some puking pastels in her tea, they are an invention of ours.”

Your interest peaked, you had to know more. As you stood taking in all of the information regarding the skiving snack boxes, their deliciously devious contents. “here, consider me a founding member, and remember who supported you at the beginning.” You handed them each ten galleons.

Right then and there Fred knew he had fallen, and fallen hard.

***

Every meeting since then, you had always held Freds attention. Frequently catching him watching you in the mirrored walls when your back was to him. Typically ignoring it, “he’s just watching you because you’re a fast learner, don’t think too much about it.” Today you decided to stick your tongue out at him, letting him know he was caught. Quickly straightening himself up, his face turned a darker red color than his bright hair. George leaned over to whisper something in his ear in your general direction. Whatever he had to say clearly upset him as he gave his shoulder a quick shove. Leaving George to walk away looking far too smug.

 You turned walking your way to Ginny, noticing the expression on her face.

“Now what is that face about Gin?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? You clearly have caught my brother’s attention” she tilted her head in Freds direction. “he was so busy trying to impress you with his patronus charm, that he sent it flying  into the back of Nevilles head.”

“Yeah, bloody hurt too. If I didn’t have a hard enough time remembering things, now I have a head injury to worry about.” Neville exclaimed joining the conversation.

Rolling your eyes, shaking your head, you did your best to hide the blush that had risen to your cheeks.

“You both have gone mad, he has got most of the sixth years wrapped around his finger-“

“Well, your finger is the only one he is wrapped around. All he can ever do at home now is ask about you. Speak of the devil, look who’s coming.”

You could feel his approach from behind you. Ginny leaned in closer adding.

“At this rate we will be in-laws before the semester is through.”

“you keep pestering me and I will send Goyle a love potion with your name on it.”

With this she put her hands up in surrender stepping back, “hey, I have always wanted a sister.”

You stepped forward at her causing her to turn around, exiting the room. A throat clearing behind you caught your attention. Turning on your heel, there Fred was, standing much closer to you than you had expected. Catching you off guard you stumbled backwards slightly, he reached out catching your hand helping you find your balance. Both of you blushing, avoiding each other’s eye contact.

“Sorry about that, I just wanted to come to with you a happy Christmas.” He smiled down at you in a way that made your knees feel as if they were going to give out.

“Thanks Freddie, Happy Christmas to you as well.”

“Going to visit your family I trust?”

“Not this year actually, ill be staying at the castle. My family is traveling around Europe visiting relatives from all over the country. They won’t return for quite some time after either. With O.W.L.s quickly approaching, figured it would be best to stay behind to catch up on my potions preparations.”

“Well, now if I knew you were staying behind, I would have signed up to stay as well. Percy, Bill and Charlie, all cannot make it home this year. Should be a quiet day at the burrow.”

“don’t you worry about little ol’ me. There is always trouble somewhere that I can find myself in the center of.”

A low chuckle left him, as if without thinking he replied “That’s my girl” with a grin.

Your eyebrows raised at him, biting back a smile.

“Oh- uh- I just meant- um” he stammered.

You watched as he tried to back his way out of the corner, he had just put himself in.

“For the biggest prankster in Hogwarts history, I really thought you would be quicker to get yourself out of trouble Weasley.” Without breaking eye contact, you slid your bag over your shoulder.

“I hope you have a very merry Christmas Freddie.”

Without another word shared, you exited the room. Attempting to hide the amusement on your face. Fred watched you intently as you exited into the large hallway, rejoining your friends.

George joined his side “ugh, I missed her! Did you at least wish her a Happy Christmas from me?”

Without moving his attention from you, he leaned closer to George, “ do you remember how much trouble I had got in for turning moms knitting needles into snakes last summer?"

“How could I forget? She wouldn’t let me out of the house either for fear you were lying to her to get out of the house. Wait- why?”

Fred nodded in your direction “that one over there is more trouble for me than that, I assure you.”

***

***

As the campus refilled with student, you could not help but feel eager to see Freddie again. Too many nights to count over the last week you had found yourself in the astronomy tower yearning for his company. Classes roared back up with the looming O.W.L. examinations nearing closer. Sitting in the library you could not focus on your text books, your mind often wandering. You were so distracted you didn’t even notice Ginny join your table. Your name being called pulled you from your day dream.

“Lost in the clouds again?” she teased.

“just cant seem to keep my feet on the ground, nothing out of the ordinary. Did you enjoy your break Gin?”

“well, I tried to, but most of the time I was being harassed. Do you want to know by who?” she smirked up at you.

“Yes, absolutely I do.” You thought. Keeping your eyes on your textbook, afraid she would read your facial expressions too easily. “oh, here we go again, I do not want to hear your theories- “

She promptly interrupted “Fred would not stop pestering me regarding what you were talking to me about before break. He overheard my comment about wanting a sister. You should have seen his face when I told him that we were discussing your schoolgirl crush for Ron. He turned just about the same shade of red as you have now.”

You crumpled up a near piece of paper and threw it at her.

“You did not!”

“Well what else was I supposed to tell him?”

You hid your face in your hands with a sigh.

“tell me you’re joking you did NOT tell him-“ you looked around your surroundings quieting your tone, “that I fancied Ron of all people.”

Pushing your arm gently, prompting you to remove your hands, your eyes flashed up at her.

“well would you have preferred I told him the truth about who has caught your eye?”

There was no point in trying to lie to her at this point.

“you open your mouth and I will tell Harry about that dream, in which I swore never to repeat”

She placed her hand over her heart dramatically. “you wouldn’t!”

Smiling back at her, you waited a moment acting as if you were dep in thought.

“but you promised!”

Pure embarrassment and panic flushed over her expression.

“you’re right Gin, I wouldn’t. even thinking about having to repeat that depravity and I’m feeling ill. Have been doing my best to forget it since you told me about it.” You placed your hand over your mouth pretending to fight back vomit.

“you and Fred are perfect for each other, you know that? Glad to see you finally admit that you do in fact fancy him, don’t think I missed that.” Swiftly you kicked her under the table.

“Now it is your turn to promise to keep things between us Gin.”

She extended her pinky to you, interlocking them in a promise the way you would as a child.

***

Days had passed since your conversation with Ginny in the library. No practice sessions took place in the room of requirement as everyone prepared for the O.W.Ls. Tensions continued to build as Umbridge had really supped her retaliation against the students and now the staff. With her rules prohibiting students of opposing genders to interact in the halls, your chances of spending time with Fred any time soon were dwindling.

As students sat quietly in the rows of desks that now lined the great hall, the only sounds to be heard were the quick movements of quills and the swinging of the pendulum. That was until a fizz and pop noise caught everyones attention. Before you knew what was happening, Fred and George were flying through the air above you. Throwing more fireworks than you had ever seen. You could not keep your eyes off of him. The loud cheers of the fellow students gave him the courage he needed to make a move. Swiftly he flew down to you slowing only for a moment to leave a kiss on your cheek. Turning to wink at you as he returned to his brothers side. Ginny grabbed your hand pulling you closer, the smile on your face could not be removed with the cruciatus curse. Between the twins antics and the sound of Umbridge screaming as she ran, the previous months of stress seemed to melt away. As a large dragon made of fireworks chased her out of the room, all of the students followed. Chasing after the twins as they entered the courtyard, a large “W” filled the sky in shimmering colors. As they were out of eye sight, something else caught your attention. A small paper bird flying near your side. You extended your hand allowing it to land softly in your hand. Noticing the ink bleeding through from the other side, you quickly opened the parchment.

“tomorrow 6pm

3 brooksticks

Back booth

Don’t be late xx

Freddie”