#and this one my mom got from her workplace when they moved buildings or something

[nokikissa]

Drove to my parents place to pick up this portable ac, had to drag it up two sets of stairs slowly one step at a time but it was absolutely worth it, finally some cool air in this fucking apartment 😩

[sonicasura]

1/2

Kafka was like 12 at the oldest when his mom died. Of course it was a nightmare. We don't really know what age Kafka and Mina was when the first kaiju attacked their homes in canon, at least from what I remember. And given that the second in my au happened months after the first one he was nowhere near a teenager or adult when he lost his mom.

Though regadless of which verson I'd use, Kafka statys in touch with his dad for years. And visits when he can after his old man move to his grandparents place.

His dad always found it a bit akward that Kafka ended up working as a monster sweeper, given his family history. Know or not. But in this verson it actually helps his son greatly as Kafka needs a lot more food to fully function as a adult since his kaiju side is awake instead of dorment. Had it stayed dormant, Kafka would have not needed to eat kaiju meat he stole from his workplace at night every few weeks.

It was the same for his mom and Proto. While Proto found he loved human food, with some junk foods being his favorite. The old kaiju had to hunt other kaiju to properly get the needed nutrition and not bankrupt themself.

Akari was no different, even if she needed to eat less of the amount her dad needed being only 50/50. Kafka need even less, which helps greatly when he has to go and get said kaiju meat.

And yeah after the main events happened, a lot of stuff got filled in for Mina. She did give Kafka a good smack in the head for waiting this long to tell her the truth, but she understood his fears.

Awkward dose not even fit properly with how Soshiro feels about this all. He was infact the one who found out that No 8 was that welp in the old file after he did some digging with Okonogi. As both feld like they had seen the kaiju somewhere.

You can imagien when the two of them reported that No 8 had been spotted before main events as a little welp caused a bit of a mess. There was enough familities from the old pictures they had of Kafka's early form that there where little doubt that it was true.

Some of the seniors where happy to know that that meant no mama kaiju to protect him, since he's an adult now and they know his mom is dead. And feel dread when they realized said full grown welp is now the strongest kaiju know to mankind.

I'm not surprised at all that the entire kaiju side of his family had larger appetites. Only a Pokemon Trainer is equipped to deal with something on such a magnitude. Kafka munching on kaiju corpses when his coworkers are gone or aren't paying attention. It isn't uncommon for something to eat at the bodies so no one would suspect a thing.

Mina honestly would smack Kafka cause her friend really can't do things like this alone. She's just glad he managed to not get into trouble much earlier. Kafka is a Grade A disaster after all.

Soshiro and Okonogi have a lot of material to build their case on. Especially since the Third Division in general likes Kafka. (He's practically their heart similar to Mina.) Although his family line is definitely being monitored, even moreso if Kafka has kids down the line. Tiny had greatly amplified his kaiju blood thus the potency might be way more than 1/4 now.

Kafka feeling awkward in Riot mode honestly sounds funny. Bigger scarier No.8 acting more like s panicked kid cause Tiny just supersized his Kaiju form and the poor man is trying to calm the thing down while fighting Isao. "It's an idiotic old man, not a kaiju so fucking chill!"

Kafka swears he has an extra feral kid in his head than a mysterious body mate.

[sj-ficrecs]

fic rec 11!

just a random collection of what I’ve read and enjoyed lately. as usual, no specific order.

This is purely a fic rec blog, always reblogging fics I enjoy. usually Bucky x reader, sometimes Steve x reader, Chris Beck x reader, etc. So check out more I’ve reblogged on this page. :) See my past fic recs below:

PREVIOUS FIC RECS HERE! // Q & A

(divider by @bwbatta)

Bucky x reader:

Flashing Lights by @pellucid-constellations​ Paramedic!Bucky x reader

“Bucky’s worst fears come true when he’s called to a scene. If he’s the one with the dangerous job, then why is it your life that’s hanging in the balance?”

Operation: Freefall by @constantwriter85​ Bucky x reader

“When Bucky fell from the train in 1945, he didn’t just leave behind his family and friends. He left behind the girl he was going to marry, a girl he never stopped loving. Decades later, Bucky continued to search for her, only to find out that she had disappeared without a trace in 1955. But when Steve hands over the shield to Sam Wilson, he also has something for his childhood friend—a redacted S.H.I.E.L.D. file code-named Operation: Freefall, a file with more questions than answers. With Sam’s help and a handful of Pym Particles, the file sends Bucky on a trip to the past, trying to solve the mystery and save the woman he still loves.”

Recovery by @wicked-mind​ Biker!Bucky x reader

“After going through rehab and recovering, you move back to town to live with your mother as you sort out what to do with your life, but your mom has other plans that include hooking you up with a hot biker by the name of James ‘Bucky’ Barnes”

Teacher’s Favorite + Sharing My Sweetheart by @suitk0via​ Single dad!Bucky x teacher!reader

“You are first grade teacher and Bucky is a single dad who wants to be involved with everything his little girl - Elaine - does. He’s the dad all the parent’s and faculty drool over. You quickly become Elaine’s favorite teacher and Bucky’s just gotta meet you.”

Uninvited by @mymoonagedaydream​ modern!Bucky x reader

Reader is a close friend of Sam’s. Sam and Bucky are roommates, so reader spends a lot of time with them. Bucky becomes colder towards reader and they ask Sam about it - finding out Bucky, who is taken, is falling out of love w/ his gf because he has a crush on reader.

You Know Me Too Well by @nexusnyx​ Tattoo Artist!Bucky x reader

“there is a thin line between pain and pleasure. that line is real and palpable, except for the times when you sit in bucky barnes’ table and feel his hands holding your skin. his job demands him to hurt you, but the only problem is that you enjoy it. a lot.”

The Slip Up by @justkending​ dad!Bucky x reader

“After a last hurrah to graduating college with a future to be a family practitioner, a little slip up happens… Seven years down the road, just when things just now seem to be going smoothly, Y/N approaches that slip up from all those years ago. She’s not looking for anything right now. She is just where she wants to be in life. It seems the universe has a different idea though. One called James Barnes.”

Invisible String series by @dirty-holy-things​ Bucky x reader

“You were fairly certain that landing a date through court-ordered therapy was some sort of HIPAA violation, if not just an ethical one, but you couldn’t help but be intrigued by the mysterious storm cloud of a man who you shared the waiting room with every Thursday.”

Sacrifice by @wkemeup​ Bucky x reader

“In the midst of an attack, you’re dosed with an unknown chemical and your healing ability becomes compromised.”

Purgatory by @wkemeup​ Bucky x reader

“While on a mission, Bucky becomes dissociated into the Winter Soldier. But instead of becoming a threat, his instinct is to protect.”

Behind the Storm by @wkemeup​ Bucky x reader

“On a mission, you’re hit with a spell that takes away your ability to see. Bucky does what he can to make you feel safe.”

We Were Screaming in Color by @samwlscns​ Bucky x reader, soulmate au

“james buchanan barnes was your soulmate and you were his. despite everything the world threw your way, bucky always kept his promise to make his way back home to you. even if that meant having to lose him more than once.”

Bulova by @babycap​ Bucky x reader

“In the five years between the two snaps that changed it all, life had moved on, as life is want to do. In the aftermath of that final battle, you discover that time waited for no one (least of all you), and those you loved marched forward into it without you. Sam suggests you volunteer at the local retirement community to keep you busy, keep your mind from lingering on what—and who—you lost. In giving back, you find that time can be just as generous as it is cruel. A non-canon compliant, friends-to-lovers fic.”

And They’re Roommates by @golden-barnes​ Modern bartender/roommate!Bucky x reader, New Girl au

“Your boyfriend cheats on you, and now you have nowhere to go. So when you found an ad for a shared loft, you didn’t hesitate to say yes. Come to the realization that you will be sharing it with four guys. Four guys, one of them who is extremely hot and zero brain cells between any of them. What else could you ask for?”

Keep Me Cool by @chouettedubois​ Bucky x reader

“You and Bucky are on your third undercover mission acting as a couple. Things go awry when you fall ill. Cue caretaker!Bucky to the rescue.”

Love in the Workplace by @cxddlyash​ Gardener!Bucky x Receptionist!reader

Working at the same hotel, a new gardener is recently hired.

“Your breath hitches in your throat at the sight of the new gardener. 

“What is it?” Sarah asks you and you clear your throat before tearing your gaze from the man.

“Uh, nothing. I finally see the gardener that the hotel hired,” you mention while walking closer to the place.”

Dad Biker!Bucky being adorable with his kids blurb by @angrythingstarlight​ dad biker!Bucky x reader

dad biker Bucky and his kids making pancakes and breakfast for mom :)

Tap by @houseravenclaws​ Bucky x reader

“bucky never talked much. he fell in love anyway.”

Teach Me How to Love by @thefalconthatcriedwolf​ Godfather/single dad!Bucky x teacher!reader

“Natasha leaves behind her precious daughter, Yelena, and with her dying breath asks Bucky to look after her. You happen to have Yelena in your class this school year.”

To Build a Home by @buckyjamess-archive​ @buckyjamess​​ Mechanic/single dad!Bucky x single mom!reader

“a mechanic and a nurse walk into a schoolyard..both new in the single parent life, chaos arises when the two come together but they wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A Good Kind of Fire by @dolcezzasfantasy​ Modern!Bucky x reader

“Character A runs a flower shop downtown. Character B is terribly allergic to flowers.”

If I Could Fly by @ceeellewrites​ actor!Bucky x actress!reader, social media au

“Bucky Barnes is an actor with a small (just a tiny) celebrity crush on Y/N L/N, one of the industry’s well-known actress. Well, it’s just a celebrity crush, what could go wrong?”

The Rumour by @sidepartskinnyjeans​ Bucky x reader

“after a, mostly, chance meeting with Sergeant Barnes starts a rumour around the compound that soon gets out of hand.”

See the World the Way You Do by @vanderlustwords​ Bucky x reader, soulmate au

“You start to see colour when you meet your soulmate. Bucky thinks that soulmates are a one of a kind thing—you get one and that’s it. His world used to be colourful once and then he lost that. He’s resigned to see black and white for the rest of his life…until flashes of colours would appear from the corner of his eye. And it seemed to happen more and more as Bucky spends time with you.”

Crawl Home to Her by @nexusnyx​ Bucky x reader

“when bucky finaly returns from his mission, he finds you sleeping in his sofa and the apartment much different than when he left. much prettier, with a touch of home. apparently, while he was away you took his advice to “do what you want with the place, doll” seriously - or as a distraction - and now he got to come home to this.bucky’s heart takes a leap and he stands there for a second, frozen in his spot.”

Signed by the Author by @wintersfilm​ Bucky x reader

“on a mission to improve his conversations with sam, bucky wanders brooklyn and into a bookstore where he finds his new favourite book and the most adorable bookseller he has ever laid eyes on.”

Seasons of Love by @constantwriter85​ Army vet!Bucky x reader, modern au

“Bucky gets a service dog, but Winter’s only got eyes for the dog across the park…and her owner.”

One Single Thread of Gold (Tied Me to You) by @pietrotica​ Bucky x reader, soulmate au

“on your sixteenth birthday, the first words your soulmate will speak to you appear on your wrist. in a world where it’s quite common to get a simple ’hi what can i get you’ or common phrases, you’ve managed to get their name. that doesn’t make it easier to find him.”

Sunday is a Family Day by @lazyangeltreemoney​ Bodyguard!Bucky x rockstar!reader

“You’re stubborn, annoying and hot as hell which seems to be an awful combo to mix with Bucky Barnes. However one day he realises he got you all wrong and now there’s a little kid in the mix that needs both of your help.”

[baepsaesbae]

Babysitters Club

Pairing— Kim Taehyung x reader    

Genre— SMUT, fluff, babysitting au, strangers to lovers au

Warnings— Dom!Taehyung, roleplaying, face fucking, oral sex (m and f), bondage, explicit rough unprotected sex please stay safe irl, squirting, choking, hickies, a surprise cameo from Spring Will Come Again!Jungkook because I have no self control

Word Count— ~7.6k  

Summary— A generic summer job hunt leads you to babysit rowdy (but still cute) kids alongside the most handsome man you’ve ever seen. What shenanigans will you get into with Taehyung by your side?

A/N— HUGE shoutout to the lovely @kimtaehyunq​​ for making this beautiful banner for me! This was literally the Taehyung I had in mind while writing this uwu. This fic is the epitome of self indulgence but I truly hope you guys like it too! Please let me know what you think! My askbox/inbox is always open, don’t be afraid to come chat with me. Love you all, hope you guys are safe <3

Crumpled up newspapers littered the floor as another ball was apathetically tossed aside. A sigh of defeat escaped your lips as you looked up at the ceiling in desperation.

“Still at it with the job hunt, huh?” your roommate, Hyuna, said when she saw your mess, “I told you to search online. Or try to get a job at a cafe or a boba shop or something.”

“Easy jobs online seem sketchy, and I told you I don’t want to work in the food industry ever again,” you groaned.

“But you’d rather...be a babysitter?” she questioned as she held up an ad, “Wait you could get paid up to $15 an hour? That’s pretty good.”

“I didn’t see that one. Is it an agency or something?”

“Not sure, take a look,” she handed you the paper.

“Oh, it seems like it’s a daycare run out of someone’s house. They’re looking for multiple applicants. You wanna do it with me?! I think it could be fun!” you ask excitedly.

“And spend most of my summer vacation with a bunch of snot nosed brats? I don’t think so. You have fun though!” she blew you a kiss as she walked away.

You whipped your phone out and immediately called the number in the ad. This job was the only one that seemed bearable, and you thought kids were cute for the most part. You’ve had a few babysitting gigs in the past so this shouldn’t be too bad.

“Hello?” a deep voice answered the call.

“Hi, I saw your ad in the paper! I was wondering if there was still a babysitting position open?” you inquired.

“Oh yes! Yeah there’s still a spot open. Um, can you give me a sec?” the man said quickly as you heard wailing kids in the background. After two minutes or so he returned to the phone.

“I’m terribly sorry about that. You don’t have a criminal background or anything right? Gosh, I’m sure this sounds unprofessional but--”

“Nope, I don’t have any charges or anything like that. Should I call back later?” you offered since it seemed like the man was a little preoccupied.

“It’s like this all the time. Why don’t we do a practice run tomorrow? Oh! I mean, whenever you’re available to start. Or technically have an interview? I guess? Hey, don’t put that in your mouth!” the man chastised at someone in the distance.

“I can come in tomorrow!” you said.

“Great! Just use the address in the same ad you got this number from! Oh, and please get here by 9am! See you soon!” the man hung up abruptly.

“That was chaotic…” you said to yourself.

A moment later your phone began to ring. It was from the babysitting guy.

“Hello?” you answered.

“I realized I never got your name! I promise I’m not always this frazzled,” he laughed as rambunctious laughter erupted behind him.

“Oh, I’m ______,” you gave him your first and last name.

“Cool. See you tomorrow Miss ____!” he said before hanging up again.

You were actually excited to babysit. It had been a while since you had done it, and playing with kids was usually fun. Then again, you’ve never had a bad experience with babysitting before. You prayed that this gig would continue the positive trend.

Donning shorts and a simple Mickey Mouse t-shirt, (you figured some kid was bound to like the mousey character) it was time to head off to your potential workplace. The babysitting place was actually fairly close to you, only about a 10 minute drive. It was 8:55am by the time you arrived. A couple of parents walked past your car to drop off their kids. All of the kids seemed to be pretty excited to enter the house, which was definitely a good sign.

You gently knocked on the door at exactly 9am. There was no response as you awkwardly waited for about a minute or so. All you could hear was shrill laughter and thumps that you presumed was the kids running about. You realized there was a doorbell, and sighed at your foolishness.

The door opened seconds after you rang the doorbell. A tall man with dark hair greeted you with a warm smile. You were taken aback by the handsome guy, suddenly questioning whether you were at the right place or not until a child popped up from behind his shoulder and yelled out a loud “Boo!” that caused you to jump.

“Ah, sorry about that! This one is always trying to play pranks,” the man laughed as he playfully jostled the child that was latched onto his back, “You must be ______?”

“That’s me!” you say with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Cool. C’mon in, I’ll introduce you to the kids,” the man led you inside.

The living room was littered with toys, from cars to building blocks to barbies. This place was definitely a kid’s happy place. Four little kids were playing with various things when you walked in. All of the kids there seemed to be between the ages of 4 to 6. At a glance, it seemed like they were all playing house. It took you a few seconds to realize that one of the kids was actually playing by herself; she was just physically close to the other kids.

“Everyone! This is our newest helper! Her name is Miss ____. Let’s all play nicely with her okay?” the man announced.

The kids playing house immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed to you. Two boys began asking you questions in a rapid fire succession, while the little girl merely clung to your leg.

“Those two are Kota and Bel,” the man pointed to the two boys, “The little girl stuck to you like glue is Ava, and the one playing over there is Lucy,” he continued to name each child.

“AND I’M SAM!!” the last boy exclaimed over the man’s shoulder.

“Yes, this troublemaker here is Sam. That’s basically the whole gang! We could get a few more additions as the summer goes on, but these guys are the OG crew. They’re all really sweet kids, once you get to know them. Any questions so far?” your employer asked.

“I don’t think I ever caught your name, sir,” you say politely.

“Oh! No need to call me sir. I think we’re probably around the same age? Not that I’m assuming your age or anything but--”

“He’s my horsey!” Sam interrupted.

“No, he’s the chef!” Kota yelled.

“No, he’s our dad who’s not our dad,” Lucy chimed in.

“My mom told me he was a babysitter?” Bel added, now visibly confused.

“I am all of those things,” the man reassured the children, “But my name is Taehyung. The kids call me Tae or Mr. insert whatever title I have in the game we are playing on that day. Pleasure to meet ya,” Tae extends a hand out to you, “Let’s see how your first day goes.”

The first few hours consisted of a rather intricate game of pretend set up in a fantasy world. You played a princess who was captured by an evil dragon, who was played by Taehyung (you couldn’t help but think about how you wouldn’t mind being his hostage).

The boys were valiant knights on their quest to rescue you. The girls played different creatures that aided the knights as fairies or unicorns or any other things they wanted to be. Most of the game consisted of you and Taehyung sitting together in a corner of the living room. Even though you didn’t have to do anything, it was fun watching the kids play. Their imagination amused you.

“Enjoying yourself, princess?” Taehyung asked as he also watched the children run around.

His deep voice sent chills down your spine. Something about the way the word “princess” rolled off his tongue was so enchanting. You cleared your throat before answering.

“This job has been pretty fun so far, Mr. Evil Dragon,” you smile.

“Hey! I’m not evil, just misunderstood,” he protested.

“Oh no! The dragon is about to eat the princess!” one of the boys cried out.

“What? No, I’m not going to eat her,” Taehyung said defensively.

“You need to pretend to eat the princess so that the knights save her,” Lucy, the quiet one, scuttled over to whisper to the both of you before hurrying back to her spot.

Taehyung turned towards you to appease the kids as they held their breath in anticipation.

“Rawr! I’m going to eat you!” he said in a deep voice.

“Oh no! Somebody save me!” you cried out, playing along.

A few moments passed but none of the kids moved. You both turned your heads towards them in confusion. They stared back at you blankly.

“You need to bite her!” Sam demanded.

“What?” you and Tae said in unison.

“Bite her! Bite her! Bite her!” the boys started to chant.

“But not too hard!” Ava expressed her worry for you, making you smile.

“I…uh…” Taehyung was at a loss for words.

“They’re not gonna stop, are they?” you whispered to him.

He nodded with a sigh as their chanting got louder. You offered him your arm. Kids can be crazy stubborn over silly things. Besides, you’ve done worse for less (college is crazy).

Taehyung shot you an “are you sure about this?” look, to which you just nodded. Once he got the okay, Taehyung grabbed your arm and pulled you harshly, causing your face to be a mere inches away from his.

“Fools! You think you can save the princess? I will devour her before your very eyes!” Taehyung declared with an even deeper voice. He opened his mouth menacingly, as if to show off his fangs. Then, he proceeded to bite your bicep. To be honest, he was being so forceful that you thought he was going to bite you for real, causing you to involuntarily close your eyes.

Instead, he gingerly placed his teeth on your skin so lightly that you could barely feel anything. You opened your eyes to see Taehyung grinning at you with your arm in his mouth.

“Aaaaggghhh GET HIM!!” Sam yelled, leading the other boys straight into Taehyung.

Taehyung quickly let go of you before he rolled out onto the floor. The boys began to pummel Taehyung with their foam swords and pretend bows and arrows. The girls came to your aid to help you escape during the battle.

The little boys triumphantly stood over their defeated babysitter who pretended to be passed out on the floor. You applauded their victory as the girls sat by your side.

“Okay! Good game, it’s almost lunchtime,” Taehyung announced as he quickly popped back up.

“Chef Tae makes the best mac and cheese!” Ava informed you excitedly.

“I wanted dino nuggies!” Sam puffed out his cheeks in disappointment.

“Sam, you know it’s Ava’s day to pick out lunch. It’ll be your turn tomorrow okay? I promise! You guys can stay here and play with Miss ____ till food is ready,” Tae called out as he walked to the kitchen. Lucy silently followed Tae.

“Lucy likes to help out in the kitchen a lot. She sets the table,” Ava explained when she saw you watching Lucy.

“You’re good at being a princess!” Kota butted in as he ran to hug your leg.

“I like your shirt! I like Mickey Mouse too. I saw him in DisneyWorld last year,” Bel said as he clung to your other leg.

The kids took turns holding onto your legs as you tried to walk around. Apparently the thought of making you tumble over was an exciting one, and that kept the kids busy until Taehyung called for everyone.

Five little bowls of mac and cheese were set up on the dining table. The kids took their seats as Taehyung handed out juice boxes. He positioned himself by your side as the little ones began to chow down.

“I normally just eat the rest out of the pot, but since you’re here I can get you a bowl. Sorry about biting you earlier, the kids really like it when I get serious about my roles,” Taehyung chuckled as he scooped out your portion.

“It’s no problem, you’re a great actor. Thank you,” you say politely as he handed you a bowl.

Lunch was spent making small talk with Taehyung. He was a newly graduated college student trying to make extra money before starting a real job hunt.Taehyung had been running this makeshift daycare since he was a senior in highschool.

“Summers are always fun with them,” Taehyung said while smiling fondly at the kids, “How has it been so far?” he asked.

“I’ve been having a good time. The kids are all really sweet! They have so much energy,” you answer.

“They do indeed, which is why playtime is so important in the morning! It makes what comes next easier,” he winked at you before collecting the empty bowls, “Okay kiddos! Who’s ready for nap time?”

Lucy quietly raised her hand while the boys groaned. You figured it would be hard to get those active boys to settle down, let alone to take a nap. You helped Taehyung set up blankets and pillows in the game room. The kids made a beeline to their designated blankets without a fuss.

“Do you sing, Miss _____?” Taehyung asked out of the blue.

“Um, not really?” you say hesitantly.

“Ah, I see. No worries. Everybody ready?” he said.

“Yes!” all the kids replied.

“Alrighty. Do you have any song requests, Miss ____?”

You thought about which songs would make for a decent lullaby, “Do you know Adore You by Harry Styles?”

“I’ll have to look up the lyrics but yeah I like that song! I like his whole album actually,” Taehyung nodded as he pulled out his phone and took a deep breath, “Walk in your rainbow paradise~”

You were shocked by his vocal talent. His voice control was superb and the quality of his voice was downright euphoric. Even though Taehyung’s voice is deeper than Harry Styles’, his range was incredible. He was still able to go as high as Harry without any trouble. All the kids had fallen sound asleep by the time he finished the song.

“This is when I typically have about an hour of free time,” he said after quietly leading you back into the kitchen.

“You have such a beautiful voice! Do you sing to them every day?” you praised him.

“Thanks! Yeah, I sing to them every day. They used to get duets actually,” Taehyung sighed.

“Did you have another coworker before?” you asked.

“Yep. My best friend actually. He’s my roommate too, but he landed an internship this summer so he couldn’t be here. I’m very proud of him! But usually this is a job for two people so I decided to put that ad out. I’m happy you came out! The kids seem to like you,” Taehyung gave you a thumbs up.

“I hope so! Lucy might be scared of me though,” you recalled the way she mostly avoided you all morning.

“Nah, she’s just really shy. She told me that she thought you were really pretty though, so that’s a good sign!” he tried to reassure you.

“I guess it must be true then. Kids are brutally honest,” you smiled.

“She definitely wasn’t lying,” Taehyung smiled back at you.

You had to look away awkwardly to hide your blushed cheeks. There’s no way you could handle a direct smile from this guy. How was it possible for someone to be that handsome without even trying?!

“So what happens after naptime?” you quickly asked to change the subject.

“Basically more playing until their parents come. It honestly just depends on what the kids wanna do. We can play inside, in the backyard, and sometimes we go to the park,” Taehyung answered with an amused smile, “Let’s use this free time to conduct a more formal interview, shall we?”

Taehyung then asked you a series of questions about your summer schedule, if you’re willing to work every day of the week, how you feel about the kids, along with other things. You answered truthfully and kept up a professional demeanor. Taehyung seemed to be satisfied with your answers and leaned back in his chair.

“That all works for me! The people who really need to approve of you are the parents. I’ll introduce you to them later this afternoon. I’m sure they’ll all be fine once I vouch for you,” he nodded.

Soft giggles caught your attention. Taehyung signaled that break time was now over and led the way back to the living room. Kota and Bel were wrestling each other while the others threw pillows at them.  

“Did everyone have a good nap?” Taehyung sing songed.

“Yes!” they replied.

“Can we play house now?” Ava asked.

“Yeah! Miss ____ can be the mommy now!” Sam bounced up in excitement, “Our last mommy used to be a boy.”

“Jimin was a great mommy and I’m sure he misses you all dearly. Jimin is my roommate/best friend/ex-cobabysitter,” Taehyung explained.

The game of house was more hands on from your end. The kids demanded you to carry them and read them stories like a real mommy would. It was mainly the girls who wanted to play with you, while the boys took turns wrestling with Tae or riding on his back. You were braiding Lucy’s hair when the doorbell rang.

“Kota! Your mom is here!” Taehyung called from the front.

All the kids trickled out one by one as their parents arrived. Taehyung introduced you to each parent; their reactions were all positive, especially when their kids raved about you being the new Jimin.

“If she’s anything like Jimin, then I have nothing to worry about. I trust your judgement, Taehyung,” one of the sterner looking parents said (Sam’s father to be exact).

“Congrats! You got the job,” Taehyung congratulated you once all of the children were picked up, “We get paid on Fridays. I’ll basically just split what we earn 50/50, cool?”

“That’s fine by me! I’m looking forward to working with you,” you bow graciously.

“Ah! No need to be so formal. We’re partners now! I’m not your boss or anything,” Taehyung gave you a friendly pat on the shoulder, “See you tomorrow!”

Summer was about to get rather eventful. All of the children warmed up to you surprisngly quickly, even timid Lucy (who had arguably grown the most fond of you). As the days went on, you couldn’t help but admire Taehyung’s kindness and patience when it came to the kids. From firm to understanding, he was everything a caregiver should be. He handled spats between kids with ease, often by making them forgive each other then laugh at some silly joke of his.

One afternoon, the kids voted to watch a Disney movie. All seven of you curled up on the couch together with you and Taehyung in the middle. Lucy sat in your lap while Bel sat in Taehyung’s. Halfway through the movie, Taehyung fell asleep. The kids didn’t notice since they were so engrossed in the movie. You however, DID notice. Mostly because he rolled his sleepy head onto your shoulder.

Your heartbeat quickened as you slowly turned to take a peek at the handsome man sleeping beside you. He looked angelic, and you realized that he smelled pleasant too. He had a sweet scent that was uncharacteristic for a young man. You took a deep breath and pretended not to notice him. He didn’t wake up until the doorbell rang near the end of the movie.

He seemed to be confused and perhaps even slightly flustered when he lifted his head from your shoulder, but quickly shrugged it off to go answer the door. The incident (and the drool on your shoulder) was never mentioned.

It had been a month since you started babysitting with Taehyung, and it honestly had been a lot more fun than you expected. The kids are wonderful silly little beings and Taehyung is...well...Taehyung.

You were cleaning up the living room on a late Friday afternoon after all the kids had been picked up. Taehyung was somewhere splitting up the week’s paycheck. Once all the toys were back in their respective bins, it was time to gather your stuff and go.

“Great work this week,” Taehyung commended as he handed you your cut.

“Thanks! Same to you as always. I’ll see you on Monday,” you wave as you open the front door.

“Actually um--” Taehyung cleared his throat.

“Yes?” you whipped around with almost too much eagerness.

“My friend is part of an art gallery showing tomorrow night and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me? I heard there will be drinks and finger foods…” Taehyung trailed off, presumably due to imagining what kind of snacks will be served.

“I’d love to! I’m not an expert on art or anything, but it sounds cool,” you smile.

“No worries, I’m no expert either. I’m just a guy who appreciates neat expressions of creativity,” he nodded humbly, “I can pick you up at your place, if you’d like.”

“Sure, I’ll text you my address. Oh uh, what’s the dress code like? I don’t really attend these things,” you ask shyly.

“I’d say a step down from formal? Like no t-shirts or jeans. Pretend like you’re going on a date to some restaurant that isn’t a michelin star but is still classier than Olive Garden,” Taehyung tried to explain.

“I’ll do my best,” you smile at his peculiar way of describing the appropriate attire.

A smile never left your face as you drove home. A chance to hangout with Taehyung one on one without any kids around? All of his attention will be on you? Yes please. You love the kids and all, but you finally have a real chance to get closer to Taehyung. To be honest, you might have the teensiest little crush on him, but who could blame you?

The next day was spent preparing for your night out with Taehyung. It probably wasn’t a date (90% sure it’s not), but you wanted to look irresistible anyway. You put on a purple dress with flowy sleeves that made you feel like a princess. It was on the dressier side, but being slightly overdressed never hurt anyone.

You usually only had time to slap on mascara and a lip tint in the mornings before babysitting, but now you had abundant time to play around with your makeup. You settled for a soft yet glamorous look with shimmery eyeshadow and eyeliner. Sparkly lip gloss tied the whole look together and made your lips look tempting (or so you hoped). You decided to leave your hair alone since you were having a miraculously good hair day.

“Wow are you sure this isn’t a date?” Hyuna whistled when she walked into your room.

“It’s not! This is just the first time Taehyung will see me actually trying to look good,” you say defensively.

“You’re cute even in ratty t-shirts, but I get what you mean. Have fun tonight!” your roommate gave you a tight hug.

A strong knock on your front door indicated Taehyung’s arrival. Hyuna tagged along as you went to answer the door; she wanted to see the guy you’ve been gushing over for the past month for herself.

Your mouth hung open in shock for a split second when you opened the door. Taehyung also dressed up. He was wearing a bright sunflower shirt paired with a black blazer that perfectly combined fun with sophistication. He wore a red silky bandana looking belt for an added pop of color with his black pants.

“Hey Taehyung!” you greet him happily.

“Good evening, Miss ____. You look spectacular!” he complimented you immediately.

“So do you! It’s funny seeing you not in a t-shirt, though I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing,” you say.

“You’re charming even in your graphic tees, but this is a nice change of pace too,” Taehyung agreed.

“Hi! I’m Hyuna, ____’s roommate,” Hyuna butted in to shake his hand.

“Hi, I’m Taehyung, ____’s babysitting partner,” he introduced himself.

“We should get going,” you say politely before Hyuna could start to get chatty.

Hyuna mouthed an exaggerated “oh my god” coupled with a double thumbs up as you waved goodbye after Taehyung was already out the door. You playfully rolled your eyes but blew her a kiss anyway.

“I didn’t realize you lived so close to me,” Taehyung said as he pulled away from the curb.

“Yeah, it made the job even more appealing,” you nodded.

“I really am glad that you applied,” Taehyung said softly, as if to himself.

“Sorry, what was that?” you couldn’t hear him properly.

“Nothing! I said I’m glad you agreed to accompany me tonight!” Taehyung quickly stated.

“Thanks for inviting me out! I’m actually pretty excited,” you admitted.

The gallery was somewhere in the swanky part of downtown. You gazed out of the window at all of the high end stores Taehyung drove by. Everyone walking around the stores looked like supermodels, which was actually pretty intimidating. What if the people at the gallery looked like that too?

“We’re here!” Taehyung announced, interrupting your thoughts.

There was a decent amount of people wandering around the venue when you both entered. It was basically one big dimly lit room with spotlights on pieces scattered around on the walls plus some sculptures in the middle. Thankfully, the patrons already inside looked like normal people, most of them probably students like you.

“Taehyung!” someone called from the side of the room.

You both made your way towards the voice, only to find a man who was just as handsome as Taehyung greeting you with a bunny like smile. He had long hair that almost covered up his assorted dangly earrings. He definitely had art student vibes mixed with a dash of bad boy. The boys greeted each other with a ferocious hug, indicating that they’re probably good friends.

“Oh! What’s up, I’m Jungkook,” the boy shook your hand once he noticed you.

“She’s my babysitting partner this summer,” Taehyung said proudly.

“She’s replacing Jimin huh?” Jungkook laughed, “Taehyung and Jimin are like my brothers. We were all pretty close in college and are batchmates, even though I’m younger than them,” he stuck his tongue out at Taehyung.

“Yeah yeah okay whatever. Skipping grades in elementary school and bringing in a ton of transfer credits will help you do that I guess,” Taehyung shook his head even though he was still smiling.

“Are these your pictures?” you asked Jungkook, motioning to the mounted pictures behind him.

“Yeah! I took most of these in Madrid, I’ve been working abroad for my dream company,” Jungkook answered you proudly.

“Who’s this?” Taehyung pointed to a picture of a girl laughing by a giant tree.

“Yeah, she’s gorgeous!” you added.

“She’s um...a good friend. She was the perfect model,” Jungook said with a faraway look in his eyes that told you there was more to the story.

“Tell me more about her on our next phone call. Tonight is for celebrating you!” Taehyung picked up on Jungkook’s sudden change of tone.

You enjoyed listening to their old college stories as the boys reminisced about their past together. Jungkook relished telling you all of Taehyung’s embarrassing moments at various parties. Taehyung returned the favor by recalling Jungkook’s past run-ins with women. Despite his natural charm and god like looks, apparently Jungkook gets really nervous around girls.

You and Taehyung were on your own once Jungkook was flagged down by an older patron interested in purchasing some of his work. Taehyung stayed close to your side as you explored the rest of the gallery. Each artist was so incredibly talented as their pictures told  stories with just a single frame.

“____ look! They have those fancy charcuterie boards!” Taehyung grabbed your hand and excitedly dragged you over to the snack table. You couldn’t help but smile at his childlike elation.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve been getting tired of being force fed fruit snacks every day,” you laughed as you ate the assorted appetizers.

“I completely understand. Unfortunately, the kids are too sweet when they want to share. I don’t have it in me to turn them down,” Taehyung agreed.

Once the food was eaten, you resumed walking through the gallery. It was fun making up stories to go with each picture. Taehyung seemed to gravitate towards adding a romantic twist to each story, while you opted for a bit of mystery. At the end of the event, Taehyung met up with Jungkook once more to say his goodbyes.

“Thanks again for coming with me, I had fun! I hope you enjoyed yourself,” Taehyung said as he drove you back.

“It was really neat! I liked hanging out with you outside of work,” you nodded.

“Would you say it was a successful date then?” Taehyung raised an eyebrow with curiosity. Your heart skipped a beat as your eyes widened with surprise.

“Was...was this a date?” you asked quietly.

“Did you want it to be?” Taehyung teased.

“I wouldn’t have gotten so dressed up otherwise,” you said defensively, taken aback by his sudden cheekiness.

“I realized I should’ve clarified that after you had already left. My bad,” Taehyung shot you a boxy grin, “But then I figured maybe you would be more relaxed if I didn’t mention it.”

“That’s odd logic, but I guess it worked,” you admitted begrudgingly.

Taehyung walked you back up to your house. He sweetly kissed your cheek and bid you goodnight, leaving you frozen in place.

“S-see you on Monday!” was all you were able to stammer out, to which Taehyung just smiled and waved back.

Hyuna happily freaked out with you once you were back inside. She was watching you from the moment Taehyung pulled back up. She shrieked with excitement once you told her that Taehyung confirmed that it was a date. Hyuna didn’t let up with grilling questions about how your night went. She even asked if the Jungkook guy you met was single, to which you truthfully answered that you didn’t know.

“Besides, he told me himself that he’s scared of girls. You’re scary enough as is,” you teased her.

“Oh shut up. So is Taehyung like, your boyfriend now?” Hyuna asked the million dollar question.

“I don’t think so. I think it was just a date, but that’s a good start!” you declared optimistically.

Babysitting on Monday went on like normal. Taehyung didn’t act any differently, which was both concerning and relieving. You were in the backyard pretending to eat whatever dirt concoction the little kids were serving you.

“This one is for you,” Lucy quietly offered Taehyung a clump of dirt sprinkled with blades of grass, topped with a dandelion.

“Oh, how pretty! What is it?” Taehyung played along.

“It’s a love potion. The next person you hug will fall in love with you,” Lucy smiled.

A smirk crept on Taehyung’s face as he pretended to eat Lucy’s love potion. He made a satisfied “Ahh” sound that made Lucy giggle.

“Tae has to hug me now! He loves me the most!” Sam yelled as he ran over to latch onto Taehyung.

“No, Tae loves me!” Bel argued as he pulled on Taehyung’s shirt.

“That’s not how it works!” Lucy huffed as she yelled at the boys.

You watched with delight as the little kids chased Taehyung around the backyard, demanding that he has to hug them. It was easy for him to juke them out as they constantly ran back and forth. You were content with just watching them until Taehyung began to make a beeline for you.

“Oh no no no,” you cried as you got up to run.

Taehyung (and the kids) chased you around for a little bit. The backyard was on the smaller side, so there wasn’t much space to evade all of them coming for you at once. To make matters worse, Taehyung actually started to try and catch you. His speed was no joke; he was much more agile than you gave him credit for.

With one pounce, Taehyung tackled you to the ground. Somehow he managed to whip himself around while you were falling, so you ended up falling on him. Now wrapped up in his arms, Taehyung smiled up at you with a shit eating grin.

“I guess you have to fall in love with me now,” he smirked.

“You wish,” you laughed as you pulled yourself up.

“Aw now he loves Miss _____,” Sam pouted.

“No, now Miss ____ has to fall in love with Tae,” Ava corrected him.

“That’s dumb,” Kota shook his head.

“Tae! Kota said a bad word!” Bel immediately tattled.

“Kota, remember what I said about bad words. No one wants to play with someone who says mean things,” Taehyung chided him.

“Sorry,” Kota mumbled.

“Let’s play go play inside. Who wants juice?” Taehyung patted Kota’s head.

The kids followed Taehyung inside like little ducklings. You loved that sight, you always thought it was the cutest thing. The rest of the day went by without a hitch.

The topic of favorite movies came up during lunchtime the next day.

“I like Frozen 2,” Ava stated, and Lucy nodded furiously in agreement.

“Detective Pikachu was better. Pikachu is funny,” Sam interjected. The other little boys then began to argue about which pokemon was better/stronger.

“I’m not really a big movie watcher,” Taehyung confessed as he took a bite of a dino chicken nugget.

“Have you at least seen the classics? Harry Potter? Lord of the Rings? Star Wars?” you listed with concern.

“I’ve seen Harry Potter and Star Wars. I think I saw the Lord of the Rings? I can’t really remember. I know I wanted to watch the newer Lord of the Rings movies,” he chuckled at your growing disbelief.

“Newer Lord of the Rings? You mean the Hobbit series?” you were disgruntled.

“Yeah those. I didn’t realize you were a nerd,” he nudged you.

“What of it? All of those are great movies. I have copies of the Hobbit series if you ever wanted to watch them,” you offered.

“Do you wanna watch them with me?” he perked up.

“Sure, I love them! You wanna do a marathon? It’ll take up a full day though,” you warned.

“I’m down. Are you free this Sunday?”

“I believe so.”

“Great! I’m excited to see you geek out over hobbits. Okay kids, naptime!”

You drove up to Taehyung’s place Sunday morning, you weren’t kidding when you said it would take all day. Taehyung said to dress comfortably so you showed up in your sweatpants and oversized college tee. He answered the door wearing gray sweatpants and his favorite CELINE shirt. His dark fluffy hair fell over his forehead and was almost long enough to cover his eyes.

“Good morning! I hope you’re hungry. I made some waffles to eat while we watch the first movie,” he greeted you.

His humble abode smelled heavenly as the scent of dough tinged with a hint of cinnamon wafted through the air. The soft belgian waffles were delicious as they practically melted in your mouth. Taehyung asked a ton of questions with nearly every scene, but you didn’t mind. You were happy to flex your knowledge of Tolkien lore.

Hours later, you found yourself cuddled up with Taehyung as the final credits of the Battle of Five Armies began to roll. Taehyung was still trying to process everything that happened as he asked you clarifying questions about each character.

“Well crap, now I’m sad,” he pouted.

“Yeah, the ending is kind of a downer, but that’s what makes it so good! The Lord of the Rings has a happy ending if that makes you feel better,” you look up at him from his chest.

“You look cute like that,” he observed.

“Like what? Tiny from your angle?” you tilted your head.

“I guess so? Tiny, maybe submissive,” Taehyung’s voice lowered with his suggestion.

“Submissive? Is that how you see me?” you sit back up completely with defiance.

“Not at all. You’re pretty feisty, which is why making you be submissive is even more alluring,” he raised his eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

“Do you want me to be a damsel in distress for you? Not happening,” you smirked.

“Pretty princesses are good for one thing,” Taehyung hopped off the couch.

Before you could say anything, he promptly grabbed you and swung you over his shoulder. You were too shocked by his boldness and physical abilities to retaliate.

“They’re perfect for kidnapping!” he let out a dramatic evil laugh as he carried you off to his bedroom.

Once there, he roughly threw you on the bed. You couldn’t help but look around curiously since this was the first time you’ve ever seen his room. It was surprisingly neat; his bed was made and there were no messy clothing piles in sight.

“Are you an evil dragon then? Capturing princesses and such?” you teased.

“Evil dragon, dashing captor, I can be anything you want me to be. Just please not an orc,” he let out a chuckle before getting back into character, “Just know that you’re trapped here with me. No one is going to rescue you.”

“Oh no! What a terrible situation to be in! What on Earth is this extremely handsome dragon going to do with a poor defenseless princess like me?” you taunted.

“Ok this is all very hot but before we go any further, are you okay with this?” Taehyung asked sincerely.

“I can’t think of anything that I’ve wanted more,” you nodded.

“Perfect. Safe word is red,” he winked at you, “Now strip for me, princess.”

“And if I don’t?” you challenged.

Taehyung grabbed a fistful of hair on the back of your head and forcefully brought you up to his face, “I suggest not making me angry,” he sneered.

You didn’t think you were one for being manhandled, but god damn that was hot. There was already a tingle between your legs and he hadn’t even really touched you yet. You complied with his request, and quickly tore off your shirt and pants. Though you weren’t wearing any fancy lingerie, you were wearing a gray bra and gray panties that could pass off as matching.

“Mmm what a pretty treasure. It would be a shame to let it gounappreciated,” Taehyung stretched out that last word as he gently ran his fingers from your torso up to your neck before firmly grasping it.

Taehyung straddled you as his long fingers were wrapped around your neck. Slowly, he leaned down to kiss you. Though apprehensive at first, he gradually got more bold with it. His tongue dipped into your mouth the instant your lips parted. His other hand crept under your bra to fondle your breast.

“You take your clothes off too,” you said as soon as the kiss broke.

“You don’t get to make any demands, silly princess,” Taehyung shook his head.

You pouted and reached out to tug at his pants anyway. Big mistake. Taehyung slapped your hand away and slammed you back onto the bed.

“You don’t listen, huh? I’ll have to do something about that. Stay still or else you’ll make things worse for yourself,” he ordered.

You reluctantly obeyed, partly because you were curious about what he was going to do, and partly because you were actually intimidated by him. He returned back to the bed a few seconds later, but with a familiar silky red belt in hand.

“Give me your hands. Good girl,” he smiled deviously as he bound them together, “Remember the safe word is red, okay?” he gently reminded you.

He looked down at you with a satisfied grin as he began to take off his sweatpants. He had an obvious bulge in his underwear that outlined his massive dick. You were further entranced by his physique when he took off his shirt. He wasn’t ripped, but he was still fit, as you could plainly see when his chest was finally revealed.

“Open wide, princess,” he demanded.

You opened your mouth, and even flattened your tongue out a little bit for him. He pulled his cock out of his underwear, finally exposing his full length. You doubted you could fit even half of him in your mouth, but at this point it wasn’t up to you.

Taehyung lowered himself down to you, and teasingly tapped the tip of his cock on your tongue. He slowly eased himself into your mouth, forcing you to open your mouth even wider to account for his girth. He made his way back out once you gagged. He grabbed your head to hold you steady as he fucked your mouth once more. He got closer and closer to the back of your throat until he finally hit it. All you could focus on was breathing as tears welled up in your eyes. Taehyung thrusted a couple more times before he pulled out completely.

“Good girl indeed. Well done, princess,” he softly stroked your chin before wiping your tears away. All you could do was smile meekly back at him.

“Don’t worry, it’s time for your reward,” Taehyung smiled down at you as his hand slipped under your panties, “Oh you’re so wet. I can’t wait to taste you.”

He positioned himself between your thighs after he tore off your panties. His thumb fiddled with your clit, causing you to squirm. He placed a strong grip on your thigh to hold you down as he circled your clit faster. Your helpless whimpers were music to Taehyung’s ears.

Without warning, he easily stuck two fingers into you. He didn’t even let you adjust as he rapidly fingered you, his fingers curving to graze your g-spot with every stroke. His tongue swirled around your clit, adding even more toe curling sensations.

Him adding a third finger was the catalyst for the strongest orgasm you’ve ever had in your life. There wasn’t even a build up, everything just hit you at once. Suddenly you were crying out even louder as you violently came. Did it occur to you that you were squirting all over Taehyung and his bed? No. Were you doing exactly that? Absolutely.

“Delicious,” Taehyung said as he licked his lips, “Look at the fucking mess you made.”

“I-i’m sorry,” you managed to stutter, you were still recovering from your orgasm.

“It’s only fair that it’s my turn to make a mess now. Do I need to get a condom, princess?” he cooed.

You weakly shook your head. You needed to feel all of him, right now. Taehyung chuckled at your neediness as he aligned himself with your pussy. He slowly inserted his entire length into you until the base of his cock touched your soaked pussy. You moaned together as he stayed still for a second. You looked up to see Taehyung’s face lit up with pure bliss.

“You’re still so fucking wet,” he growled as he began to mercilessly buck his hips into you.

You moaned with every thrust as Taehyung shook the entire bed. Taehyung placed both of your legs on his shoulders, allowing him to hit you even deeper from this new angle. He leaned over to plant his lips on your neck as he fucked you. What started as a gentle peck took a violent turn as he harshly sucked on your neck. He left dark spots wherever his lips touched, and soon you were covered in dark blooms.

“Do you want me to soil your back or your chest?” he asked in a guttural tone.

“Back?” you answer dubiously.

You were immediately flipped over. You were laying flat on your chest waiting for him to prop up your ass, but he never did. Instead, he simply spread your legs wider and fucked you flat against the bed. Taehyung grabbed your ass and spread your cheeks to get a better view of your sopping pussy. You could feel another orgasm brewing as he fucked even deeper into you, and his cock was continuously dragging against your g-spot.

“Taehyung, I--”

“I know, princess. Let it all out. I want to feel you come on my dick,” he demanded.

A few more strong strokes was all it took for you to go limp under him as your orgasm took over. Seconds after you hit your high, Taehyung pulled out and came all over your back.

Once you were all cleaned up, Taehyung untied you and kissed your forehead.

“How was it, princess?” he asked as he stroked your hair.

“I’ve never been fucked by a beast before, but now I don’t want anything else,” you admitted before kissing his neck.

“Good. I was worried about going overboard. As I told you before, I really like getting into character,” he laughed.

“I’ve never been into roleplay but I’m willing to change for you. Oh shit, it’s late already,” you noticed the time on his alarm clock.

“Just stay the night. I don’t think the kids will care if you’re wearing sweatpants or not. I can lend you a turtleneck to cover up those hickies though,” Taehyung yawned.

“Are you sure?” you questioned.

“Yeah, I don’t mind. Be warned, I’m a cuddler,” he pulled you closer to him.

“I guess I can sleep in a little later then,” you reasoned.

“Perfect. Goodnight, princess,” he quickly kissed your lips.

“You’re sleeping like that?”

“Like what?”

“Butt naked?”

“I can put clothes on if it makes you uncomfortable. I just figured it would make things easier for tomorrow morning,” he said sleepily.

“Tomorrow morning?” that got your attention.

“You’ll see! Be patient, princess. Night night.”

Never in a million years would you have guessed that applying for a babysitting job would result in this, but you weren’t complaining.

Published April 17, 2021. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2021 Baepsaesbae.

[batmayne]

𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆? - peter maximoff

author’s note: this is my first Peter fic so I apologize if I mischaracterize him! Also some notes, Peter is 17 in 1973/Days of Future Past (he was born in 1956) and 27 in 1983/Apocalypse. The X Men timeline is mad wonky so I just have Logan waking up sometime in his future when the timeline has been fixed. Reader is referred to with she/her pronouns. I hope y’all enjoy!

genre: slight enemies to lovers, fluff

word count: 1350

1973

As you watched the pot filled with some strange boiling liquid hurl itself toward you, all you could do was hold your arms up in a feeble defense. Though a mutant yourself, nothing could’ve prepared your powers for the amount of commotion and chaos that was occurring at the moment. Even with three strange men showing up at your door randomly (with one claiming to be a friend of yours in the distant future), you still hadn’t expected to lose your life already, you were only 16 for goodness sake! There was so much more to life than killed by a stray pot containing a sad excuse for food.

A couple of seconds passed and instead of being knocked unconscious, you felt a swift breeze rustle your clothing. Removing your hands from your face, you were met with a smirking Peter Maximoff holding said now empty pot a few inches from your face - much to your disappointment.

Despite only knowing him for several hours, Peter had managed to get on your nerves more than anyone you’d ever met, which was saying something. That being said, he wasn’t exactly too fond of you either, hence why he attempted to spend every minute of your time together trying to get under your skin. He could tell by the look of disapproval on your features that you weren’t in moral agreement with the stacks of stolen merchandise that lined his basement walls. But for the sake of breaking Magneto out of prison you two agreed to get along for the time being, it took a lot of reassurance from Logan though.

At one point he had to pull over on the side of the road because your bickering was distracting him from driving.

“Are you two going to stop flirting long enough for us to reach the Pentagon?”

“Flirting?” Peter questioned incredulously, placing his arms behind his head and slouching further in his seat. “I wouldn’t date her if she was the last woman on this planet.” Instead of responding with a sarcastic remark, you just shoved him and ignored his comment. Crossing your legs and peering out of the window as Logan pulled off the curb, you had asked yourself why that last comment bothered you so much. But what you didn’t know was that Peter would be asking himself a similar question when he stared at you for a couple of seconds too long when making sure the pot and it’s contents didn’t hit your head. Sure, he couldn’t see your face because of your hands and while your body position was rather comical at the moment - he had to admit, you were cute. Not that he would ever say it aloud though.

“Thank you.” You replied quietly, and attempted to shuffle out of the room along with Charles and Erik.

“What?” He called back at you, causing you to stop and let Logan brush pass you into the hallway. “No response this time?” He asked once again, wondering why you didn’t call him stupid or at least have some sort of comeback, but all he got in return was an eye roll.

“Y/N, Peter, I just want to thank you both for helping us, it is greatly appreciated.” Charles and Hank bidded you both farewell, and handed the keys over to Peter. “And Y/N, make sure he gets the car back safely please, and Peter make sure she gets back home safe.”

Peter’s horrid driving skills made you wonder why he wasn’t imprisoned with Erik for being a danger to society, but that wasn’t a surprise to you of course. You thought everything about him was reckless, which was the sole reason you couldn’t see eye to eye. As stated earlier, Peter found you insufferable as well, thinking that you were allergic to fun or something. Despite that, couldn’t deny that the way the afternoon sunlight coated his features made your stomach flutter the slightest bit. What were you even thinking? You were obviously suffering from exhaustion from the days events that were clouding your mind anyway.

“Where do you want me to drop you off at anyway?” Peter asked, breaching your thoughts as he ran another light.

“U-um, the public library is fine.” You stuttered out quickly, now concerned as to why him just glancing in your direction caused you to temporarily lose your usually cool composure.

After about an hour of awkward silence and Aerosmith blasting from the radio, you reached your destination.

“Thanks for the ride, make sure you get it back safely.” You eyed him seriously before waving briskly and closing the door. Before you could even reach the top stair, you heard him call your name and so you turned around.

“Hey Y/N!” He shouted from about 20 feet away, catching the attention of onlookers. “Tell your mom I said hey!” Instead of getting angry you found yourself chuckling quietly before waving again as he sped off down the road.

After phoning a relative via a pay phone to come pick you up (fully expecting to hear an ear full for disappearing for an entire Saturday), you took a seat on a bench outside. Mulling over the intense events of the day, one would expect you to feel relieved that it was over and that you were away from all the craziness, but you instead felt quite the opposite. Growing up in a rather sheltered home, a part of you missed the action and adventure, but another part of you was missing Peter for some reason? Sure, he was aggravating and annoying and you were sure that he felt the same way, but at the same time he was the closest thing you’ve ever had to a friend.

Being a mutant was already difficult enough, and controlling your powers in a high school setting certainly wasn’t a day in the park. Everyone treated you as if you were some sort of alien or simply avoided you, but at least Peter treated you like you were normal? But there was no sense in pondering about that anyway, it wasn’t like you’d ever get to see him again.

1983

Once you had graduated high school and then gone on to higher education all the way up to receiving a masters degree, you were somewhat at a loss with what to do with your life. Having such a unique mutation as your own, you felt that you could be of use other than in a common workplace. Lucky for you, you got a call from a familiar Professor with his own school.

Having been a part of the staff of Xavier’s School for Gifted Individuals for several years now, you had achieved a steady routine, often operating as the school's nurse whenever a student was injured - which happened often.

It had started off as a normal enough day before you heard a rather boisterous explosion from deep within the school’s basement. Before you even had the chance to move or react, you found yourself outside with the rest of the students… in someone’s arms. Supporting your back with one hand and the underside of your knees, there stood an older Peter whose gaze was currently focused on the exploding building in front of you.

“Peter?” You gasped confusedly, still attempting to fathom the events that were occurring around you.

“Hey.” He replied dazedly, looking down at you with a lazy smile.

Hearing a helicopter approach in the distance, he gently set you back onto your feet. Darting around to check on the confused students, you were completely caught off guard by the wave of energy that hit you, effectively knocking you and everyone else out.

Eventually waking up and recovering after all of the commotion occurred a couple of days later, you helped treat Peter for his broken knee, which was a bit awkward. While you obviously weren’t thinking about him every second of the day, you would poke into Charles’ office occasionally and ask if he had heard about his whereabouts.

“What have you been up to these days?” You asked tentatively, not looking up from wrapping his bandages.

“I originally came here to look for my dad, er Magneto, but I think I’ll stick around a little while.” He replied, smiling as he placed his hands behind his head.

“I think I’d like that.”

The Future

Waking up years after the events of time meddling into the future, Logan found himself quite disoriented as he bumbled around the hallways. The first thing that immediately caught his attention was two voices behind a nearby door, opening to reveal an older you and Peter - with intertwined hands.

“You were supposed to be ready thirty minutes ago.” You complained light heartedly, stepping further out into the hallway. “For someone with super speed you sure do take-“ Peter abruptly brought your hand to his lips and placed a kiss on it, effectively shutting you up for the time being.

“Aw, babe, you know you’d never get rid of me.” He teased with a smirk, nodding his head slightly in greeting to Logan, while you rolled your eyes and gave him a wave.

Logan found himself giving the slightest smile at the sight of the matching rings on your hands.

[wildingrose]

diamond in the rough

dark alley help part 5

part 4: the introduction | part 6: intrigued police

word count: 2k

》 handjob

- ✿ -

You sneaked into the house without your mother in sight. She must be sleeping still. Taeyong had given you a pair of pants to wear under your shirt and if your mother had seen you in them... you had a lot of explaining to do. Carefully on your tip toes, you managed to successfully get into your bedroom without getting caught and let out a deep breath. You shrugged out of his clothes and put on a floral cami dress along with matching panties. You folded the clothing and quickly hid them in your dresser right when your mother barged in, fuming hard with her nose flaring. 

"Where on earth were you, young lady?" she yelled.

Ignoring your mother was bound to land you in trouble. You had thought through a ton scenarios on your way back home, none of them seeming fit. Telling her about Taeyong had no positive outcome no matter what you tried to envision. You knew he was going to be rejected by her. So you settled with lying. "I was with Raymond." Your mother would never contact him to ask about your whereabouts because that would technically leave a bad impression of yourself to him, that you were the type of girl to disappear at night and not return till the next day.

She narrowed her eyes on you. "Oh really? You know, I was just on the phone with him, asking if he was available to take you out today." Oh shit. "And he mentioned that it'll be great since he hasn't seen you all week!" her voice raised at the end. "Now where the hell were you?"

You rolled your eyes, annoyed that you were going to have to say the truth as any other lie wasn't going to work on her. "I was with someone."

"Who?"

"A guy."

Your mother gasped. "Is he rich?"

This was the part where you didn't know what to do. You thought back to Taeyong's apartment and you could tell right away that he wasn't earning anywhere close to what your mother's requirement was. The truth was the right thing, but that was surely to rip you apart from him. Your granted access to walking to the library every night would be immediately canceled, or even going out anywhere in general unless Raymond was picking you up. Then, there would be no more Taeyong and you couldn't stand to imagine that.

Lying would save you and let you continue to see him. But you'd have to be careful with what lie you'd pick. Your mother was a nosy one. She would right away want to see his place and inquire about his workplace, even going as far as contacting where he'd work to confirm the details. She was dead set on having you married off to the money-loaded.

"Well... he looks rich." That wasn't a lie. He was so handsome that anyone would think he was the heir for some luxurious company without knowing his background. "And we went to a really nice hotel after so I don't know much about him. But I really really like him, mom. I wanna stop seeing Raymond when all I can think about is him. Please?" you pleaded with big puppy eyes despite that it never had any effect on her.

Your details seemed to have made her somewhat pleased. "He sounds prosperous." She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes on you. "I'm not taking back my word and you better go out with Raymond today. But I do want to meet this guy of yours for dinner tonight. If he meets my expectations, then I'll cancel the alliance with Raymond. Deal?"

Your heart was pounding hard in your chest, fearing for what was going to happen at night. At least she was giving Taeyong a chance and a way out of your meetings with a guy you had zero interest in. You were going to have to prepare both yourself and Taeyong for the dinner to get her approval. "Deal," you said, nodding frantically.

"What's this guy's name?"

"Taeyong."

She hummed, quietly speaking, "Let's see how this Taeyong is."

-

You looked at the small building that was currently owned by your father. The lights were out but you knew your brother was in there. Bursting through the doors and into the office room, he sat on the grand leather chair with feet on the desk, playing on his Nintendo switch. He glanced over at you and huffed. "Nice to see you alive, lil sis. Do you even know the shit I had to hear mom rant on-" You strode up to the desk and slammed your hands on it, making him jump and pause his game. "Geez, you didn't have to scare me like that-"

"I need the business."

He blinked at you. "Are you crazy? I'm here sacrificing my Saturday morning acting like I'm learning and you want dad's business?"

You nodded.

He arched a curious brow. "Why?"

"You know they won't let me do anything. They can't say no if it's their business. Plus, you'll be free from this hellhole."

A mischievous smile formed on his face. "Are you trying to bargain with them for something? Why are you getting the idea now?"

You trusted your brother with your secrets as you two were ill-fated with parental expectations. "I... like someone."

"And he's not rich, is he?"

You shook your head.

He hummed, "I can teach you then."

-

You had texted Taeyong the details for the day. He had two things to tackle. First, meet this Raymond guy with you so that you could cut him out of your life. And second, prepare to show his best version of himself in front of your family for dinner.

He pulled the vehicle in front of the building that you texted. While waiting for you, he thought back to the black dress that you left behind intentionally at his place.

A little souvenir from me, you joked.

You knew you were going back to his place again and decided to let it stay there, all pretty with memories rushing back to how good he made you feel.

Taeyong saw you walking out of the building with a guy behind you. When your eyes met his, you grinned and began jogging over to him, making him step out of his car with his heart fluttering.

"Taeyong, you're here!" you exclaimed, beaming hard. While you didn't know how the meeting was going to end between Taeyong and Raymond, you were excited to end things off with Raymond and focus solely on spending time with the guy you had recently grown fond of despite the little time.

The little time containing quite high quality memories.

Your brother caught up and asked, "So this is him?"

You nodded. "Yup, he's Taeyong. And Taeyong, this is my older brother."  

Taeyong gave him a curt nod. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

Your brother chuckled. "It sure is, meeting the one that stole my baby sister's heart. I'll come for you if you break it."

"That won't happen," Taeyong answered with seriousness. He couldn't fathom breaking the heart of his precious doll.

"I hope it won't. I'm expecting you to be better than that jerk Y/N's been set up with."

Taeyong side glanced over to you and you gave him a warm smile. "Taeyong can't be compared to him or any man that mom grows heart eyes for. He's a diamond in the rough."

Taeyong's breath hitched at your compliment. No one had ever called him that.

"Well then, good luck Taeyong, trying to get on our mom's good side." With a wave, your brother walked back into the building.

"See ya!" you yelled and turned to the one beside you, only to be met with twinkling eyes. "Tae?" When he didn't respond, you placed a hand on his shoulder gently, and he broke.

He smashed his lips to yours, sucking hard on your bottom lip as his hands rested on your waist, pulling you close till there wasn't a gap between you. Making a small noise of surprise, your hand went up to cup his cheek and the other went to the back of his head, caressing the soft dark strands. The sensations of your fingers lightly scratching his head was turning him on, making him release a moan and grind his hips into yours.

You gasped when you felt his cock harden against you and pushed him back a little. "Not here Tae," you scolded softly.

He desperately whined. "Please?"

You looked around the area. It was a quiet block away from the busy streets, and you were sure that your brother was back in the office playing his game, so you weren't going to get caught by him.

Huffing, you pushed him into the backseat of his car, instructing him to lean against the other side. When you climbed in after, he pounced on you, his arms coming around to keep you still as he stuffed his mouth with your clothed breasts.

"Oh baby," you breathed out and the new name for him got him excited, resulting him to gently bit down open mouthed, making you mewl and you attempted to push him away with your hands on his hard shoulders. He obeyed and eagerly waited for your next move.

Your hand went to tug at his pants. He lifted his hips to help you with the action, clearly thrilled to meet your warmth around him again that he was addicted to.

He groaned when your hand wrapped around his shaft and thumb rubbed over the head as precum began spilling out. But when your head began to lower near it, he stopped you. "No, I want this," he whined as his fingers went under your dress to circle over your covered folds, hoping that would make you desperate for his cock to be buried into your cunt.

You were resolute and pulled his hand away. "Either you get my hand or nothing. We have somewhere to be and I'm not gonna risk getting messed up. We'll do anything you say after it's over. Deal?"

His cock twitched in your hold at your tempting words. "Anything?"

"Yes."

Taeyong licked his lips and agreed. You lowered your head and took his erect member into your mouth as much as you could. His mouth fell, head falling back when feeling your moist hot mouth around his cock. Your tongue swirled around getting your saliva to coat him perfectly before removing your mouth. You spat on your hand and grasped his throbbing dick.

"Lay down," you ordered. And he did without a complaint. At that point, all he wanted was a release.

You shifted to hover over him, your hand pressed into the seat beside his head as the other one began stroking him slowly. A gasp left his mouth and he shut his eyes to feel your delicate hand do the dirty work. "Faster, doll."

You increased your pace as he began bucking into your hand, desperate for an orgasm to hit him. You kept your eyes trained on his face, observing the way his mouth hung open as quiet sighs spilled out, his brows furrowed. When he was close, he lifted his eyelids, only to be welcomed by your burning gaze just inches away and that was when it hit him hard. He stilled for a brief moment as hot thick ropes spurted out, letting the initial lightning pass by before breathing out a series of curses. "Fuck, doll, fuck."

You kept a hand over to stop his cum from staining your dress and only coat your palms. His stickiness ran down the sides of his length.

Once it was over, Taeyong's head went limp yet his tired eyes kept trained on you as he was catching his breath. His legs twitched ever so slightly when you licked his cum off your hands and hummed.

"Tastes good, doll?" he asked cockily.

"Of course," you replied with a smirk. "After all, it goes inside me."

He let out a faint growl at your words. "Don't say that. You make me want to fuck you right now."

You trapped him by pressing your other hand beside his head and lowered your head super close to him till you felt his hot breath fan over you. "Good thing the deal is stopping you."

tag list: @cosmiclatte28 @mel-yjh @johnnysuhisnotmyproblem @kttyongie @chantellsievert​

[sisterspooky1013]

Only One Choice, Chapter 12

Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: July 15, 1996 9:06am

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: This weekend

Hey,

It was good to run into you yesterday. Your sister seems nice. Is she older or younger? I remember you said you had three siblings; where do you fall in there?

Let me know if you can come by this weekend. Priscilla promises to provide a better beverage selection this time. She was unimpressed with my hosting abilities.

From: dscully@fbi.gov

Sent: July 15, 1996 10:23am

To: fmulder@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:This weekend

Hi,

I was surprised to see you in Georgetown again, what brought you by? Not your drug dealer again, I presume (disclaimer to anyone reading this that it’s a joke). I’m the third of four; Missy is two years older than me. Our oldest brother is Bill and little brother is Charlie. Do you have other siblings, aside from the sister you told me about?

As for this weekend, I’m free in the evening on Saturday. I had the thought, though, that it’s perhaps not appropriate for us to be spending time alone at your apartment. Not that I think you have or would behave inappropriately in any way, just for propriety’s sake. Sorry if that seems old fashioned. Maybe we can get dinner? Send my regrets to Priscilla.

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: July 15, 1996 4:45pm

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:This weekend

Given the later half of your email, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to admit that I went by that coffee shop hoping to see you there again. So let’s just say it was indeed to pay a visit to my dealer.

Nope, Samantha was my only sibling. Mom and Dad divorced after she disappeared. It was far from a Hallmark movie, but I turned out okay (I think).

Scully, if you don’t trust yourself around me behind closed doors, all you have to do is say so. Jokes aside, I can respect that. I actually have an idea of something we could do that is very public and not at all inappropriate. Will you trust me if I tell you it’s a surprise?

From: dscully@fbi.gov

Sent: July 16, 1996 9:36am

To: fmulder@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:This weekend

I go by that coffee shop most Sundays, sometimes with my sister or mom, sometimes alone. I’m not sure what your dealer’s typical hours of operation are, but I tend to be there around noon. For future reference.

I’m sorry to hear about your parents. I would say you turned out pretty well, but then again I hardly know you.

I will trust you with a mystery public outing so long as you let me know what to dress for and also if there will be food involved. Something you should know about me; if you don’t feed me I turn into a Gremlin.

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: July 17, 1996 8:56am

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:This weekend

Hey, sorry I never got back to you yesterday. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say that criminal profilers are not immune to workplace drama.

As luck would have it, my dealer runs a blue light special at 11:30 am on Sundays, so I tend to be in the neighborhood around that time. A stunning coincidence.

I think you know me better than the vast majority of the people I interact with at this point, save for a select few. I’m not sure if that speaks as much to the fact that I like hanging out with you as it does to the fact that I don’t have many friends. My spooky reputation tends to scare people off, but I’m not exactly crying in my cornflakes over it.

I wouldn’t want you to turn into a Gremlin on me, so refreshments will be provided. Wear something you can move in, definitely not a dress or heels (it pains me to say this). Can I pick you up at 5:00?

From: dscully@fbi.gov

Sent: July 17,1996 2:31pm

To: fmulder@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This weekend

Workplace drama knows no bounds. I’ve been getting the silent treatment from one of the other pathologists because I questioned whether they’d calibrated the scale before weighing internal organs.

I think you’re overestimating how well I know you, Mulder. I know next to nothing about you, outside your interest in the paranormal and a bit about your childhood.

I’m resisting the urge to ask what you have planned. Why don’t we meet somewhere? If you’re taking me UFO sighting...we better see a UFO is all I’m saying.

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: July 18, 1996 9:10am

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:The weekend

I want to make a comment on the fact that weighing internal organs is part of your job description, but I spent an hour today debating whether someone sticking pencils in their victim’s eyes is some kind of Freudian penis envy thing.

You know more about me than you think, Scully. You know I’m a cat person, and that I have terrible taste in beer. Also that I like Radiohead and am not beneath asking a woman out while she’s trying to do her job. I’ll offer you a bonus fact, or more accurately a confession: I didn’t really need to come down to Quantico last week when we had coffee. I just wanted to get coffee with you. Don’t tell my boss.

Now you have to tell me something about yourself. It’s only fair.

If there were any good places to spot UFOs around here, I’d take you in a heartbeat. If you’re ever up for a road trip out west, let me know. Washington State is a hotbed of UFO activity. Plus they have really good coffee.

Can you meet me at the Hoover building? I’ll drive us from there.

From: dscully@fbi.gov

Sent: July 18, 1996 1:19pm

To: fmulder@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This weekend

So what was the verdict on the pencil/penis eyeball situation? Fruedian or no?

I’m touched that you’d go so far as insubordination to have coffee with me, however I hope you won’t make a habit of it. Next time you come down here I’ll have to email your boss and ask him if you got permission to come out and play.

Something about me...I like to read a lot. I think I’d say Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time (not that you asked). I’m also addicted to bubble baths. Actually, reading Jane Eyre IN a bubble bath is pretty much my idea of heaven (ideally with a glass of wine).

I’ve been to Seattle once. Too much rain, though it was very green and pretty. Isn’t that where Bigfoot lives?

I’ll meet you at the Hoover building on Saturday at 5, wearing my very best ball gown and stiletto heels.

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: July 19, 1996 8:13am

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This weekend

No verdict will be reached unless and until we catch the guy and have occasion to ask him if he was using his pencils as...pencils. Profiles are all theory, which can be both interesting and frustrating.

I wouldn’t advise you to contact my AD, he’s kind of a dick. I’ll ask him to write a note excusing me from work next time.

Jane Eyre? I wouldn’t have expected that from you. It’s a very romantic book, and entirely centered around two people who never should have worked as a couple coming together despite numerous obstacles. Is that something you’re into?

You get 95 points for knowing that Bigfoot lives in Washington (you lost 5 for calling him Bigfoot; he’s known as Sasquatch out there). My dream vacation is lurking around the forests of the Pacific Northwest, Squatchin’.

It’s a date.

From: dscully@fbi.gov

Sent: July 19, 1996 3:46pm

To: fmulder@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This weekend

Don’t ruin my favorite book by overanalyzing it, Mulder. If you’d like to trash Wuthering Heights, be my guest. I pledge my allegiance to Charlotte.

Your dream vacation sounds like it might end in death from exposure, or perhaps a good old fashioned bear mauling, but who am I to tell you how to spend your paid leave?

See you tomorrow, at 5. And it’s not a date.

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: July 19, 1996 6:55pm

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This weekend

I would always rather be happy than dignified.

(A little Charlotte to arrive to on Monday)

[veryrealimagination]

Grave Training - Whumpay 2022

I put like 8,000 words into this prompt! I did not mean to do that. but this was, however, my favorite one.

Day 16, Buried Alive - Murdoch Mysteries, Castle AU

AO3 Link, for those that want a copy on the go.

The night had turned a bit cool after the dance, but Llewellyn had prepared for that, a thin shirt under his suit. Jack had not need to do the same, as he felt when they dance out on the floor. He was riding on the kiss they managed to sneak while 'dancing' on the floor of the gymnasium. And the one that happened outside the subway before they went down. Jack's apartment was closer to the stop, and he offered to walk Llewellyn home as well before doubling around.

"No, no," he smiled, trying to fight off another giggling fit as Jack wrapped his arms around him, "You said it yourself, your Dad's got you working the shop early tomorrow. You're going to need all the sleep you need to keep up with hauling dead weight." The young man, a bit mischievous, lifted Llewellyn and held him against the next set of solid walls. Instinct had him gripping his shoulders, curling around him, a part of him greatly interested in the pressure and friction. "Jack!"

He grinned, "I don't think I need that much sleep if I can haul live weight just as well after a long day like today." His body was pressed up against him, and Llewellyn's body was very much appreciative of the feeling. If they weren't in the middle of the street, he would be acting on his desire to rub against him right there. He got a little bit by moving closer to kiss Jack from his position. If Mom hadn't invited William over, they could have gone back to his room, providing they were quiet enough...

Oh, my God, I think I understand what Mom was snickering about when I told her I had total control over my body when it came to sexual desires. It was taking a lot of willpower to not act on his impulses. Although a slight moan made its way out when Jack started sucking behind his ear. "Jack," he gasped.

"Llewellyn," he growled, the deeper tone of his voice destroying the integrity of his legs. After about a minute of giving him the start of a hickey, he pulled back and held up his boyfriend when his legs didn't keep straight.

"Cruel, Mr. Walker," he said, barely getting his footing back, "Incredibly cruel."

"Well, I'll just have to finish this later. I do have to get home and to bed to work in my father's shop in the morning," he teased. Llewellyn lightly pushed him before they finished heading to the building. "Are you sure you don't want me walking you home?"

"I've had no warning about workplace dangers, and it was the usual 'be cautious' from Mom and Grandpa," he said, turning to him, "At a possible least, I will be mugged."

"And at best?"

He smirked, "Then I get to go home and fantasize about what we can do tomorrow night."

"And you call me cruel," Jack said, one final kiss before heading to the door. "Get home safe."

"I will."

Llewellyn had traveled this section of the city numerous times, normally when there were more people out. His mother told him to keep his phone ready to record or call anyone that may try something. Right now, he had Detective Crabtree's number up and ready to dial if someone tried to mug him. He never actually had that happen to him, but John and Bobby experienced it. That was a mistake on the mugger's part, as Bobby bit the man's hand when he tried grabbing his brother’s wallet.

He was about a full block away. Llewellyn saw the lights of the apartment building they lived in and just reminded himself that it was a few more minutes. This made him more cautious and worried. More suspects were starting to threaten Mom and Grandpa nearby. It hadn't happen to him yet, but he wasn't normally out at night. He was a regularly 'straight' laced person that didn't have the rebellious streak that his mother developed from Grandpa's work. He passed by an alley and turned around when he heard something make a noise.

Nothing came of it, and he muttered, “Just your damn imagination, Ogden.” He was almost to the corner, avoiding a van that was parked illegally on the street. He heard the door opened and immediately moved away to give whatever person space to get out.

“Take your phone and your hands out of your pockets, Llewellyn,” a clear voice commanded, “And don’t call anyone. I know Mommy probably told you to keep someone on dial.” Confused, he turned to see a man that he vaguely remembered seeing in his Mom’s writing files. He obeyed the command when he noticed the gun directly at his head. He slowly lifted his hands up and away, the phone still on Crabtree’s picture. “Thank you for complying. So much.”

A second person, someone that must have been in the driver’s seat, yanked it out of his hands. It was smashed on the ground without a second thought. The other person was not someone that he recognized. Unable to do anything else, his wrists were yanked together before he heard the rip of duct tape. His heart started going faster when the tape was wrapped halfway up his arms. Satisfied, his arms were then taped to his chest. “Isn’t this overkill? I already can’t use my hands?” he asked, unable to keep the shakiness out.

The guy smirked at him. “You and your boyfriend were an absolute joy to watch,” he said, thumping the side of his neck where the hickey was, “Such puppy love between the two of you. Were we ever that, James?”

“Oh, I’m the cuddly type with you. A nice night of TV and snacks on the bed. Never picked you up and pinned you to the wall, though.”

“To be fair, neither of us have the strength like his boyfriend did.” He started forcing him backwards, until he was being dragged back into the van. His legs were then taped together, first at the ankles, then just above the knees. The vaguely recognizable one, James, the other person said James, got in the back with him, pulling him up to rest against the van side.

Llewellyn couldn’t see where they was going. There was a blanket draped to keep him from seeing out the front and the windows in the back didn’t help that much either. James was enjoying watching him analyze his surroundings. “I didn’t get to really meet you last time, Detective Watts,” he said, the gun at his side with the safety back on as he laid it down. “My path ended a little bit before yours, otherwise it would have been fascinating to bring you in to some of my games.” He was confused and terrified as hell. Llewellyn doesn’t know what he meant by last time, or path ending before his. His name also wasn’t Watts. That was his biological father’s name, and he would never be granted it as long as the man’s wife was around. James was making it sound like they had met previous, or should have. “It would have been interesting, considering you didn’t know about your orientation the last time until you met Jack and dealt with the stamp case. I wonder if I would have been able to tell.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?” he asked, the fear causing his normal speech to falter, “My, my last name’s Ogden, I’m not a detective. I’m still in school.”

“Oh,” he said, crooking his head, “You’re not awake yet.” He stared at him uncomfortably long. “I wonder if I could. Although, I am definitely not your trigger. I wonder what is.”

“James, I’m hitting the drive-thru,” his boyfriend called from the front.

James was up and stopping Llewellyn from screaming within seconds. “You know my order, Robert. Grab something cheap for this one, too, you know how bad school dances were.” Llewellyn was too close to his captor, who had a hand on his mouth and kept swiping his thumb over a cheek, collecting tears that were falling out from the stress. He didn’t hold for long, until they were parked somewhere with little overhead light.

Robert came back with three bags and three drinks with a familiar M logo on it. “Your normal,” he passed, “My normal, and a cheap chicken with water for the young guy here.” It was rare that Llewellyn didn’t want to eat, but it was also his first serious kidnapping and he felt sick to his stomach. The sandwich was forced down, with the water being gone by the time it settled.

Llewellyn kept imagining that William and Mom would popped the doors open at any moment. That Crabtree and Higgins would be behind them ready to arrest the two. He really wanted one of his Mom’s hugs right now. Even one of Grandpa’s bear hugs that last five seconds now when they used to be longer when he had overloads would be bloody fantastic.

Instead, the sky started lightening with the beginning of morning and that was their sign to enact whatever plan they had going. He was warned about fighting, then dragged out of the back into a plain grass area. Surrounded by trees, he saw a machine waiting alongside a pile of dirt and a hole that was getting darker the closer they were getting. That’s, that’s not good. Why is it dark? Why is it so dark? “You know what, Robert? I have to give you more credit for eyeing him so closely to get the height right,” James said, looking between the hole and Llewellyn, “I thought I was going to have to hack into his medical files to get it.”

“Oh, thank you, honey,” he cooed. “I still think we should have had it up here and then placed him down.”

James carefully dropped down in the hole. His head was barely visible. “I wasn’t sure if the components would stay in place. Unfortunately, had to set it in the ground for this to work right.” He did something that Llewellyn couldn’t see before popping back up. “Everything’s still set and working. Hand me his legs.” Robert hauled him to the edge and helped hold him. Llewellyn looked down and saw white silk padding that looked disturbingly familiar.

That’s a coffin. That’s a coffin! Oh God. The pile of dirt, the digger that’s sitting there. “Please don’t,” he begged, being laid down almost gently. He heard something click A pressure plate, what the hell was that? What needed my pressure?! and it terrified him more. “Please don’t do this. Please. Please, please please. Please, don’t.”

“Now, Llewellyn,” James chided, closing the lower half and trapping his legs in, “You’re seventeen years old, only a couple of years off from legally drinking. You should be acting like a man.”

“I, I can only t-hink of few that can f-face a certain death with, with a calm face among the mmillions, bi-billions on this planet,” he choked, “I am not one of them. Please.”

He grinned, a mania barely coming up to the surface as he tousled the young man’s hair, “It’s not a certain death, just a possible one. Don’t worry, you’ll understand this much later on.” With that, he closed the top, making sure it locked as well before jumping out with help.

Llewellyn had never experienced pitch blackness around him before. Blindfolded with tiny amounts of light underneath it, yes. A dark apartment that lost its power, yeah, but there was still something in the background. Tiny dots, reflective surfaces. There was nothing here. “No, no no no no,” he gasped, unable to pound on the top thanks to his hands being taped to his body. His legs were also trapped, the lid too close for him to move. “Please, let me out. Let me out! Don’t do it! Please, don’t bury me! Please!”

He couldn’t hear anything outside of the coffin. It was likely insulated thanks to the plush interior that someone thought dead people needed to be buried in! Please, please, let me out. It’s a prank, it’s a sick prank. Please just let me out! He jumped when something scratched the top, then heard thumping as more was dropped on the top. “Stop!” he screamed, “Stop! Don’t bury me! Please stop!”

“Oh, God. Llewellyn!” a voice cried. He didn’t hear it, panicking at the sounds of dirt covering his coffin. It didn’t even take that long for that to stop, muffled quickly.

“Crabtree, call Brackenreid. Get him here. Higgins, contact with tech and start combing CCTV footage around the area. Constable McNabb, get to the Walker butcher shop, we need to question Jack Walker about what happened last night,” another voice commanded, “Julia, Julia.”

“Don’t you dare, William.”

“It needs to be checked. Fingerprints, tech ID. It might help us find him.”

“We both know Gillies, there is nothing on this doll that’s going to help us-”

That, he didn’t know what that was. Hallucinations shouldn’t start this early from being deprived of oxygen. Why would he be hearing William order people? Why would he hearing William’s voice anyway? Who the fuck was Gillies and why the fuck would he be thinking about a doll? He would be thinking about his Mom, and Grandpa, and Uncle John, and Aunt Ruby and-.

Are they real?

“Mom?”

-

William Murdoch was woken up from the warmth that he was sharing with Julia by his cell ringing. Pulling himself away, he grabbed the offending item and slammed down on the instinct to throw it across the room. “Murdoch,” he grumbled.

“You need to get down to the station, Murdoch,” Crabtree said, “Package was left for you without anyone knowing.”

That was the first concern, and he sat himself up. “What else?”

“Had it checked. No explosives. Higgins and I opened it. It’s a model coffin, but there’s a note taped to the top. ‘To only be opened by Detective Murdoch and Doctor Ogden together. There’s a present inside.’”

That did nothing to settle him. “We’re in.” He woke Julia up, who groaned at the interrupted sleep until he told her the reason of his frantic state. She was up and quickly dressed, confused as to why Llewellyn wasn’t in his room when she checked. She hoped that he had taken some advice and stayed with a friend, if not Jack himself.

The station was buzzing. Inspector Giles was ordering camera footage to be reviewed to find out how someone managed to get in and leave a package without being noticed. He noticed the two, but they didn’t pay any attention once they saw the coffin. Murdoch was immediately analyzing it. “There’s two spaces for a finger on the casket lid, too far apart to be done by the same person.”

“A micro scanner, similar to the ones done on phones,” she suggested, mildly curious, “Possibly with our index fingers placed in. Perhaps that’s the reason for our names?” Nodding to her, he curled his finger over one of the areas, and she took the other. “I’m not getting any give.”

“Switch.” They walked around each other, and tried it again. This time, it opened. “Micro scanner it is.”

“Someone is going to a lot of trouble to…” Ogden trailed off when she saw what was sitting inside. A doll, dressed up in a green plaid suit, with dark, curly hair and brown eyes stared up at the ceiling. “No. No, not Llewellyn, what did He do?”

Before anyone else could talk, the doll did.

“Please don’t do this. Please. Please, please please. Please, don’t,” Llewellyn pleaded. Julia gasped, hearing her child begging in fear.

“Now, Llewellyn. You’re seventeen years old, only a couple of years off from legally drinking. You should be acting like a man.” Murdoch snapped to attention at the sound of James Gillies. They didn’t need confirmation that he had a hand in this, but hearing his voice solidified it in concrete.

“I, I can only t-hink of few that can f-face a certain death with, with a calm face among the mmillions, bi-billions on this planet. I am not one of them. Please.” Unable to bear it, she took the doll out and cradled it. Murdoch scanned the coffin and found a USB that must have been plugged into the back of the doll. He would have to check the doll to see what it was for, if Julia gave it up.

“It’s not a certain death, just a possible one. Don’t worry, you’ll understand this much later on.”

There was a pause in anything happening, which Giles went to go call someone, when Llewellyn started talking again. “No, no no no no. Please, let me out. Let me out! Don’t do it! Please, don’t bury me! Please!”

“William!” she gasped, turning to him in absolute terror. They both remembered how he had done that to Julia in their previous lives. Night terrors stalked her for years after that. Gillies did the same thing to her child?!

“Stop! Stop! Don’t bury me! Please stop!”

“Oh, God. Llewellyn!” Julia cried, almost collapsing if William hadn’t been beside her. Higgins and Crabtree got chairs beneath them before they tumbled to the floor.

Shaky himself, Murdoch started ordering people while holding Ogden. “Crabtree, call Brackenreid. Get him here. Higgins, connect with tech and start combing CCTV footage around the area. Constable McNabb, get to the Walker butcher shop, we need to question Jack Walker about what happened last night.” That got everyone hurrying from where they had been gathered watching the events. Now, he just had to figure out how to get the doll away from Ogden. He first tried a stupid approach to just grab it. It didn’t work as she pulled it right back. “Julia, Julia.”

She curled her arms around the doll to stop him. “Don’t you dare, William.”

“It needs to be checked. Fingerprints, tech ID. It might help us find him,” he tried reasoning.

“We both know Gillies, there is nothing on this doll that’s going to help us-”

“Mom?”

Both of them looked down at the doll. “Llewellyn?” she asked, hope infecting her voice.

“Mom? You’re real? Please tell me you’re real,” he babbled.

“Oh, my God. Llewellyn,” she cried.

“Mom!”

Murdoch started turning the doll around in her hands before he found what he suspected. The mouth was actually a speaker, molded to not be immediately discerned by a casual looker. There was also a receiver in the left ear, not as hidden as the hair did that for it. There was no antenna that he could see, and he wondered if that was a concern. It might be hooked into the wireless internet, or it’s a mobile hotspot. Or it was originally a pair of cell phones that he converted for this purpose. Or walkie talkies.

“Llewellyn, are you hurt in any way?” she asked, finally figuring out something to say and keep the conversation going.

“N-no. I, I didn’t f-fight back. He had a gun,” he sniffed, “He caught me after I walked Jack home. Mom?”

“Yes, Llew?”

“Jack’s gonna be mad, he told me to get home safe. Can you tell him this wasn’t my fault?” he tried joking.

“Llewellyn.”

There was a loud sniff on the other side. “Sorry, I’m sorry.”

She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment of sobbing to pass before going on. “No, no, honey. It’s okay. I get it, humor is a defense that you get from your uncle when he didn’t get a girl’s number.”

The laugh on the other side was snot-filled, and more sad than happy. “I never told you that.”

“John had the same face when he struck out with a girl. You always tried to make him happy on those days.”

There was a sob on the other side, and Julia looked like she was about to follow. “Llewellyn,” Murdoch toned, keeping his voice calm and even for the both of them. Crabtree had called Brackenreid and was awaiting further instructions. Murdoch motioned for him to take notes.

“Detective Murdoch,” he hiccuped.

“I want you to tell me what happened since last night. We’re going to build a timeline. When did you leave your school dance?”

He had to think about it for a few seconds. “Ten thirty. I helped with the clean up alongside others. Jack was waiting for me.”

“And then you walked home with Jack?”

“I walked Jack home first. He’s closer to the subway stop.”

“Then you walked home?”

Another sniff. “Yeah. There was a van parked illegally, by the Visiage Center when I walked by. Only supposed to be for drop-offs. A lot of people park there when they don’t want to walk through the garage. They came out of it.”

“They?”

“I kinda recognized one of them from Mom’s writing files. His name is James. That’s what his boyfriend called him.”

Ogden turned to Murdoch in terror. She had started looking up their old lives, things that hadn’t happened yet. James Gillies had been one of her searches, when they had investigated victims similar to Bennett. She didn’t know how Llewellyn had seen that, she tried to make sure all of that was locked up. “Did you catch the other man’s name?”

“R-Robert.”

He closed his eyes with regret. Robert Perry. “What happened next?”

“Robert, he broke my phone. T-tied me up with duct tape.” There was a pause as he must have been thinking about something before he hissed. “Shit. Shit! He was watching us!”

“Llew,” Julia said, trying to get him back on track.

“He- they- Robert talked about how we were like puppy love. James, he, he saw Jack picked me up and pin me against the wall when we were walking home,” he admitted reluctantly. Julia closed her eyes because that was not what she wanted to hear out of her son right now, and she scanned the room after reopening to see more than a few amused faces.

“Don’t write that down, George,” Murdoch warned, then turned to the room, “I want Crabtree and Higgins as the only ones in the room, now! I want someone to find out how Gillies and Perry didn’t set off any BOLOs to let us know they were back in town. When Brackenreid gets here, he is the only other one allowed in. Clear?”

“Mom?”

People started filtering out. George had seated himself in another chair. Higgins was still working a phone. “We’re at the station, honey, and this isn’t a private phone call.”

“Does that mean…”

“Sorry, honey. The station just heard that.”

There was a small pause and Julia had a guess on what he would say next. “Fuck.” She snorted, a small comical point in this nightmare. “Mom.”

Murdoch took back over, seeing tears fall from her eyes. “What did they do after they tied you up?”

“They, um, Robert started driving. James sat in the back with me. He talked about how he didn’t get to meet me the last time. And, and he called me Detective Watts. I told him that my name wasn’t Watts, that I was still in school. He, he said I wasn’t awake yet. I don’t, I don’t get it. Mom, what did he mean?”

Brackenreid laid a hand on Julia’s shoulder, and she sighed in relief seeing him. “Dad.”

Having been told what was going on from Higgins after Crabtree’s call, still seeing the doll of his grandson disturbed his soul. “Bloody ‘ell,” he muttered.

“Keep going, Llewellyn,” Murdoch encouraged.

“Robert went to a McDonald's. James covered my mouth before I could scream for help. Then he drove and parked near, near where I am now.” There was a sniff and a hiccup. “They gave me a McChicken and water. Then, waited until sunrise before, before…” Julia leaned on William’s shoulder when he started crying. He felt her tears quickly wet his shirt.

Higgins got off the phone with tech and waved to the group for their attention. “One of the techs followed the van on CCTV,” he reported, “It went off camera around the parks.”

“Let me switch places with you, Murdoch,” Brackenreid whispered. He nodded and switched with the older man, allowing him to comfort his daughter and try to get through his grandson.

“Show me, Higgins,” he said, coming around the desk.

He nodded, pulling up the CCTV footage and a small map of Toronto’s public parks. “Laura sent this over. Confirmed that they had been watching and following the boys since the school.” It had been time-lapsed so they didn’t have to mess with it to get through it. Llewellyn didn’t fight back, as he said. Murdoch saw more by stance that Gillies was holding a gun. The van tried a couple of times to possibly get around CCTV, but they still found the McDonald’s stop.

Then, the CCTV that watched over all of the roads leading to the parks stopped working. “What happened?” he demanded.

“Laura and Travis are working together to get through the system, but they think it was hacked. Possibly by Gillies so no one could see where they were going inside.”

Why would that matter? We would have already been eliminating popular public areas. It cuts areas large enough and private enough- wait. He moved back over. “Llewellyn?”

To say he didn’t sound great was an understatement. “Yeah?”

“Did James and Robert already have the hole dug up?”

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed, and Murdoch figured he merely nodded his answer before remembering, “Yeah. And the, the, the c-offin, was already in the ground. James said he had to do it in the ground to make sure it worked out right.”

That meant they would have had to have been to the area earlier to set up. Before he ordered Higgins to look into that, Crabtree piped up, “I don’t think they could have done this in the parks.”

Murdoch frowned, but Brackenreid agreed, “Too many people wandering that place, even at night.”

“Then, where?” he asked, frustrated at their best lead destroyed.

A loud sniff came from the doll and everyone wondered if Llewellyn would start panicking, listening to the adults in his life unable to figure out where James Gillies buried him. Murdoch hoped he wouldn’t, they wouldn’t be able to calm him down if he hyperventilated himself unconscious. “It’s just trees and grass,” he muttered, “There wasn’t any houses or buildings. Why did he bury me in the middle of nowhere?”

Ogden, who had lifted her head off of her father’s shoulder, kept him going. “What else, Llew?”

“Nothing usable. It’s not like they would keep the digger here after burying me as a fucking landmark.”

Julia closed her eyes at her son’s outburst. “The absence of items are also used to find places, Llewellyn,” she said, keeping calm for their sakes, “Trees and grass. Any flowers?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Electricity poles, telephone poles, cell phone towers?”

“Nothing, Mom. Just… The, the grass was mowed? Kept up?”

Her head shot up at that. Just trees and mowed grass? That sounded like private land. And if this version of Gillies was anything like his previous self, it was something connected to one of their lives. Whose, though, and when? Higgins was already thinking that, going through some of the stuff he remembered, with George getting on his own computer and doing a bit of searching on his own.

“Your original house is in the clear. So is the former Gillies residence,” George reported, “A lot of our former lives has been transformed into something else. Not enough privacy.”

“Some of the places I thought of were too far away,” Henry said, “But then I considered that Gillies might be watching and he might have done some research and-”

“Get on with it, Higgins,” Brackenreid scolded.

He sighed, “The grounds, from the Wild West caravan, it’s the back half of a golf course now that’s been closed for a while. Restorations are going on the place, including groundwork.”

“Well kept grass and trees,” Ogden repeated, while also thinking on why Gillies knew about the Wild West travelers from a hundred years prior. That case was before his, how in the world would he know about that case? Teddy Jones Jr. was before the first Gillies case, and Teddy, currently Patrick, didn’t even know about his past life. James had to have been watching them since they almost caught him for the string of murders, and he’s been putting the pieces together faster than they’ve been.

“What is everyone talking about?” Llewellyn asked, tired and scared.

“Old cases, kiddo,” Brackenreid said.

At that moment, McNabb interrupted, letting them know that Jack Walker was with his father and waiting to be questioned. Murdoch took that, allowing Henry and George time to narrow down the possible areas to hide a burial. “Detective Murdoch?” Jack asked, concern radiating out of him. “What happened?”

“Llewellyn was kidnapped on his way back home.” Jack covered his face and swore a couple of times, only revealing himself when he didn’t feel like breaking down at that moment. “I don’t want to tell you any details about what’s going on, but we know most of the timeline from a source. But I didn’t ask them this. Have the two of you been followed for a while?”

Jack focused on the edge of the coffee table, using it to work through his memories. “I think we were,” he admitted, “I always think someone’s eyes are on me, and it was getting worse when I would hang out with him outside. I was with Llewellyn usually when it happened, so I didn’t want to react. I thought maybe some homophobic assholes wanting the perfect time to attack us, but nothing happened. Until now.”

Mr. Walker rubbed his son’s shoulders. “When he came out, we had a few issues with people. Nothing major in the last year, even after he started dating Llewellyn,” he explained.

Murdoch knew a bit of this, seeing some homophobic aftermath with victims. “Okay, I’m going to have Constable McNabb taking your statement about last night and the other times you can remember about being followed,” he said, thinking about the case that will be built up against James.

When he got back, Henry was thumping with energy. “We were granted permission to see images from a satellite that was above the golf course yesterday afternoon. Saw a backhoe loader next to an open rectangle roughly about the size of a grave and a van roughly the same shape and color as the one we picked up on CCTV,” he said, “We’ve likely got the exact coordinates of where they buried Llewellyn.”

-

Llewellyn wished he would stop crying.

After finding out, no, he wasn’t hearing voices in his head. That was his Mom and Detective Murdoch. They had something that was allowing them to talk to him and he to them. He really wanted to beg them to get him out. The dark wasn’t that bad, hadn’t been bad. But he knew he was buried in a coffin, probably the six feet, or two meters, whatever, that was standard in North America. He was trapped until someone came by and dug him back up. He couldn’t move until someone cut the damn tape off. It was starting to hurt. Keeping his arms in the same position too long was starting to cause a few pins and needles to pulse through. He didn’t want to twist onto his side in case the click was to a pressure plate to a bomb or something that would kill him if his weight left.

Detective Murdoch asking him questions, guiding him through his night and it kept him from breaking down immediately as he had to put his mind to remembering what happened. His nose kept running and he couldn’t wipe anything off, so he was forced to sniff every couple of seconds to keep himself from leaking out.

But then he had to remember being dragged over to the hole, being placed in the coffin and he started crying from the memory. He’s pretty sure he set off his Mom. They had done that to each other in front of the TV enough that he recognized her silent crying. He really, really wanted to give her the answers she, they need, but he didn’t even know where he was or whether they would find him in time.

“Llewellyn?”

Oh, Detective Murdoch was back. He was still pretty much crying. It took a lot of energy to steady his voice for a single word. “Yeah?”

“Did James and Robert already have the hole dug up?”

He nodded absentmindedly, forgetting that no one could see him. “Mm-hmm.” He had to cough to clear his throat and actually talk. “Yeah. And the, the...” Get it out, Ogden. It’s just a word. “The c-offin, was already in the ground. James said he had to do it in the ground to make sure it worked out right.”

He thought there was a mention of CCTV and everyone stopped talking to him for a few minutes. They’re probably watching cameras. Maybe they can follow the van? It also meant there was no one taking his mind off things. The only thing he realized they had followed something until it didn’t work. “Too many people wandering that place, even at night,” Grandpa noted, sounding like his former Chief Constable self instead of hobbyist painter.

Detective Murdoch sounded irate. His thoughts didn’t pan out on where they had taken him. “Then, where?”

Llewellyn’s stomach dropped out as they were no closer to finding him even with CCTV. He had a lot of regrets, the major one being that he didn’t take Jack up on his offer to be walked home. But, what if they kidnapped him and placed him here instead? What if they kidnapped both of us and killed him because he wasn’t their main target? He was working himself up for a possible attack and he couldn’t use any of his normal behaviors to calm himself down. He sniffed to get the snot to stay down and had no relief before more filled it. His mother’s writing mouth came out when he couldn’t provide himself any physical help. “It’s just trees and grass. There wasn’t any houses or buildings. Why did he bury me in the middle of nowhere?” he demanded, voice shot from an only staved off attack.

His Mom’s voice, shot as well but still soft, asked, “What else, Llew?”

He shook his head. “Nothing usable. It’s not like they would keep the digger here after burying me as a fucking landmark,” he cursed, wincing at the swearing after. His third within a day, if anyone noticed it.

“The absence of items are also used to find places, Llewellyn,” she sighed, “Trees and grass. Any flowers?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Electricity poles, telephone poles, cell phone towers?”

“Nothing, Mom. Just…” He closed his eyes, not like he needed the help to see in his memory by blocking out sight. Trying to remember what he saw, the picture wasn’t helpful. He couldn’t recognize trees, it was literally just green grass on a mostly flat ground. Really green grass, and it looked like it was from some American TV show. “The, the grass was mowed? Kept up?”

Something about that caught their attention. Llewellyn heard snippets of Crabtree and Higgins talking about places. Higgins started explaining something until Grandpa reprimanded him as if he caught Aunt Ruby creating an elaborate story about why she was out at night.

Wild West caravan? Mom repeated the well kept grass and trees and it made sense that a golf course would have been likely. The other stuff didn’t. “What is everyone talking about?” he complained, tired and just wanting someone to explain things. He was stuck in a coffin and he didn’t know why.

“Old cases, kiddo.” It still made no sense. Mom would have loved telling him about some weird, old timey side show attraction that she would have encountered during her work with Murdoch. Grandpa liked telling them about the ‘safer’ cases of theft and funny captures. What old cases?

Murdoch left, apparently they had Jack brought in for questioning, and he hated that they would probably tell him what was happening and that he wouldn’t be able to talk with him…

“How was the dance?” Mom asked, getting his attention and keeping each other calm.

He really hated sniffling. “Good. Jack and I got to be on the floor. Only one person heckled us.”

“Oh, really?”

“They yelled at us for being so ‘pure’, and to stop making everyone else look bad.”

His Mom laughed, but he heard the wetness behind it. “Do they still enforce the ‘only arms around each other’?”

“Yeah.” Still managed to sneak in a kiss. Several of the constables knew his boyfriend could lift him, he didn’t need Crabtree and Higgins hearing about his kissing.

“Knowing your parents, I’m assuming you broke that a couple of times,” Grandpa teased. Llew groaned. He chuckled, “I thought so.”

“It’s okay, Llewellyn. I have several stories about your grandfather sneaking out to see his future wife away from her father’s eyes.”

“Whose side are you on?”

The banter was interrupted when Murdoch came back and Higgins announced that they saw the hole on satellite footage and they had his exact coordinates.

They were coming to get him out.

Mom was telling him what they were doing, giving him something to focus on as they clamored around her. Crabtree was calling the owners. Higgins was getting his tech set up ready. Murdoch was getting information about BOLOs placed on James and Robert. She told him they were getting in the car to drive to a golf course.

And then she cut off.

There was no noise, none of the background noise that he had been using to keep himself sane, no people yelling orders to each other. There was something, but he didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t people talking and-

“Mom?” he tried, “Mom? Please, don’t do this.” There was an embarrassing whine out of his mouth when there wasn’t anyone responding to him. “Please answer. Someone answer. Don’t leave me alone. Don’t leave me alone in here. Please.” It was still too quiet, and it was almost like a phone call was cut off and-

“SOMEBODY!” he screamed, “MOM!” They had started talking to him once he was in the coffin and he hadn’t been alone during this entire time, and it was the only thing keeping him from having a panic attack and hyperventilating into unconsciousness.

‘It’s not a certain death, just a possible one.’ Was he lying? Was this always going to lead to my death? Was this some sort of sick game to Mom and Detective Murdoch that was going to just kill me?

“Llewellyn!”

He squeaked, “Mom?”

“Listen to me. Breathe in for four seconds. Come on, sweetie.” He followed his Mom through multiple rounds of guided breathing before he had calmed enough. “Llewellyn? Are you still awake?”

“B-barely,” he mumbled.

“Okay, we tried to leave with the doll, and it went offline. That’s why it cut us off.”

Doll? “O-okay?”

“I’m going to be there when they dig you up. But I’m not going to be able to talk to you.”

Can’t talk to him? He wasn’t sure... “Mom?”

“Your grandfather’s going to be here on the, doll, with you. It’s going to be about twenty, thirty minutes to the golf course. Then, it won’t be long before we get you out of that thing. Llewellyn, could you handle that?”

He hoped he could. “Yeah?”

“Llewellyn?”

“Just hurry, please.”

“We’re using the sirens, sweetie.”

-

The owners of the golf course were there, giving permission and letting them know about some of the oddities of what they discovered after being called. The backhoe loader had been used, there were tracks going in and out, and there was a roll of sod missing. Henry led the way using a GPS, George drove with spare shovels while leading one of the workers with the backhoe.

Henry stopped just before his listed coordinate. “The hole was right here,” he called out. Several constables started trying to pull up the grass, searching for the sod piece. He went over to an oddly placed utility box a few feet away. Cracking it open, he found an over-sized cell phone antenna and a pipe going down. “Murdoch, got something,” he yelled. Murdoch looked over, and while Ogden was watching for them to uncover the spot, he came over to see what was found. “Looks like Gillies’s work.”

“Antenna to connect the coffin with the doll. The pipe’s giving him air by fan,” he agreed, figuring things out in his head in a horrifying line of events, “Make sure nothing happens to it until we unbury Llewellyn.” He nodded, finding another constable to guard it with him and start working on the electronics.

Rales was finally the one that managed to find the edge, pulling up a segment of grass as a carpet before tossing it to the side. Another also got a second section and pulled it off as well. He motioned to the backhoe operator, who came forward and started digging in the freshly turned earth and dumping it off to the side. The machine cut down their time, taking ten minutes what three people would have taken an hour. They stopped because it hit the coffin. Crabtree and Murdoch were the first ones in, shifting and moving off the smaller amounts until most of the coffin was uncovered. Trying to open the thing was another matter. Both felt digital locks along the side. They needed the keys to undo them. Where would Gillies have placed the k-

“Julia, call your father, tell him to bring the coffin and the doll with him!” William yelled.

“That’ll mean Llewellyn can’t talk to anyone,” she said, “He panicked when we tried that before.”

He thought about it. The coffin’s likely too thick to hear through, at least with standard talking and… “I’m going to pound on the top. Let him know we’re here. If he knows that, maybe he can take a few minutes of silence.” She nodded and started explaining that to her father. Murdoch pounded three times right where his right ear should have been.

Julia listened to her father relay the instructions to her son. “He heard the pounding and knows. He thinks he’ll be fine until we get this open.”

Five minutes and another pound on the coffin to keep him going saw the arrival of Brackenreid in a screaming patrol car. Anybody that wondered how the man became one of the scariest Inspectors Toronto criminals ever saw caught a full look as even with a porcelain doll and coffin in his hand didn’t stop him from looking like his terrifying former self as he strode to the group. He passed the things on without a word and stood next to his daughter while Murdoch and Crabtree figured things out.

The second lock clicked when Crabtree passed a doll arm over it. The other arm unlocked the first one. Tossing both of them aside, they pulled the lid to see Llewellyn Ogden alive and breathing harshly. He calmed greatly when he saw their faces. “Llewellyn,” Julia said, wanting to jump down and hold her child.

“Mom!” he called back, voice cracking but full of relief. Murdoch immediately tried to lift him up. “Wait. Wait! There was a click when he put me down!”

“A click?”

He nodded, “Like a pressure plate?”

Murdoch stilled when he heard that. Gillies would be the type to teach himself explosives, but he isn’t the type to kill kids, even if they were former Detectives that he would have killed prior. What if it was for something else? The… He heard the whirling of a fan somewhere around Llewellyn’s head. Gazing around, he saw that a section of padding was gone. There was a grate, painted white to blend in, and it lined up with the pipe. “Were you or James talking before laying you down?” Llew nodded. It clicked in his mind and he felt fairly confident about his next move. “George, at the same time.” He took a giant chance, lifting one side while George got the other.

The pressure plate clicked again, and the noise died down. Both he and Crabtree held Llewellyn up when his knees buckled from relief at not being blown up. “William!” Julia yelled, wanting to smack the man for going through with an unvoiced plan.

“The pressure plate turned on the electricity, calling the doll and powering a fan that kept bringing in fresh air,” he said, getting his rapid-fire thoughts in line as they lifted Llewellyn up for the EMTs to hoist out of the hole. “He was never in any danger.”

The only reason that she didn’t wallop William after that was because she was ‘checking’ her son over (he was somewhat cold and the sweat matted his hair down) while the EMTs performed actual physical checks and cut the tape for evidence. His eyes were still red and teary, and his face was blotchy in a way she hadn’t seen since he was four. But he wasn’t injured, and he was alive unlike many of Gillies’s victims. “Llewellyn,” she breathed, relief seeping out of her soul.

“Mom.” He wrapped himself around her when the tape was removed and the EMTs stepped back. “I am never watching that episode of CSI ever again,” he complained shakily, trying not to break down in front of strangers because he wouldn’t be able to stop if he did and they would sedate him for easier transportation and he really didn’t want that. “In fact, I’m going to find every single TV show and movie that has this type of scenario and flag them so I can avoid them for the next ten years.” Julia snorted. She hugged him back just as tightly, content on hearing her son’s slightly shocky heart rate and ragged breathing to hold back her sobbing. Julia felt her father wrapping around them and she lost that hold quietly.

Constables helped the other two out of the grave. Higgins went over to Crabtree, helping him dismantle and prep Gillies’s electronics for evidence. Murdoch, William, didn’t want to intrude on the family moment, and was at a lost for what to do. He took a look at the tape to see a familiar green and black plaid pattern that had to have been custom made. One of the constables was planted flags and spray painting the route between the hole and the box. With acknowledgment from the owners, they would dig it up for evidence.

His phone went off and it gave him something to do. “Murdoch,” he greeted.

“Oh, such happiness,” James Gillies cooed. Murdoch started scanning the area for him. “I’m surprised you’re not around them as well. Even the Inspector’s rubbing his child’s back. Maybe even little Watts’s, I’m at the wrong angle to see.”

He switched to the area behind Julia. But he didn’t see James or Robert. Nor any sort of camera that they could be watching from. “He’s not Watts,” he growled, trying to spot something.

“Oh, trust me, I found the affair and Julia’s refusal to not abort this time completely hilarious, especially since she gave birth to a little boy then named Llewellyn. But it is the little detective, even if he doesn’t remember yet like everyone else.”

“You buried a seventeen year old-”

“That would have lived. You said it yourself. ‘He was never in any danger.’ Robert and I had plans if anything happened to you or Julia. Dig him back up and handed him safely back to Grandma Brackenreid, drop him off at a hospital. Do you think we would have allowed a seventeen year old to die, Detective Murdoch?”

He actually wasn’t sure on how to answer that. William remembered the small girl that had been kidnapped from her parents and used as a ruse to get him going. But he threatened Roland, to get himself killed by Murdoch’s own hand.

James chuckled, knowing he caused a slight crisis. “Oh, William. We’re not the worst ones to remember. In fact, I believe Sally and Eva met after their memories came back. Although, Mr. Pendrick doesn’t remember either. Still blissfully in love with Sally. Quite sad, really. I heard Ms. Pierce had quite the thing for you. Maybe she’ll be the next one you encounter.”

Gillies hung up on him and he turned when there was a hand placed on his shoulder. Llewellyn was being walked to the ambulance with Julia holding onto his hand. Or maybe he’s holding onto hers. “Was that Gillies?” Brackenreid questioned.

“More of them remember than we know,” he said, relaying what he was told, “Sally and Eva have met each other.”

“Bugger,” the older man cursed, “About time we start listing the ones we’ve gotta watch out for.” Murdoch nodded, and headed to his car to head to the hospital himself.

The tape on the right is what Gillies used (or a custom version that's similar). It's also close to the signature suit that Detective Watts wears on the show.

[sunflowerspecter]

any moment, any time (a.h.)

summary: being in love is hard, in your line of work. you only hope that you can tell him all of your feelings before it’s too late. unrelated, his brother is your best friend. 

warnings: this one is... just, filled with angst, my loves. i’m so sorry. there’s also a lot of fluff, to make up for it, though. angst with a happy ending (you hope)

pairing: aaron hotchner x reader (gender neutral, but if i made a mistake let me know!)

words: 4801

part: 1/2 (part two sometime in the next few days, just because this one turned out pretty long)  part two

note: originally titled ‘best friend’s brother’ after the song from victorious (yes), this started as a 3k domestic fluff piece with a high school trope and turned into the disaster that it is. if you can name all the songs i quote throughout this i’ll give you bonus points. i regret everything. 

To say that you were exhausted would be a bit of an understatement—but that’s what four and a half hours worth of paperwork did to a person. You loved your job, and you loved the BAU, they were your family, but there was truly nothing better than falling into bed at the end of the day. 

When you got home, however, there was a human lying on your bed, hands behind his head, legs crossed, eyes watching you. 

Sean Hotchner, in all his glory. 

“Damnit,” you laugh. “What the hell are you doing here?” You crossed the room as he moved over. You sat beside him and he threw an arm over your shoulder. 

“What, I can’t drop in to say hello to my best friend randomly?” he asked. 

You shrugged. “No, you can, but you can’t break into my apartment randomly.” He practically leaped off the bed, turning to sit at your desk, across the room from the bed. 

“Well, I’m here now, so you have to put up with me.” 

You kicked off your shoes, throwing your blazer on the floor and beginning to change into the first pair of pajamas you could find. You and Sean had been best friends for so long that changing in front of the other was normal, and you trusted him. Besides, you were too tired to care. 

“Well, I’ve had a very long day in the office, so you’ll have to talk to me in the morning.” 

Sean laughed, quietly, hesitantly, and said, “My brother treating you guys good?” 

You lay down, pulling the covers over yourself and staring at the ceiling. Oh, so many ways you could have answered that question. So many things that you didn’t want to think about. So many things that it wasn’t okay to think about your best friend’s brother. But that was a conversation for another day. You didn’t want to explain your feelings for your best friend’s brother to your best friend, not yet. And yes, you felt so guilty for it, especially with the workplace flirting between you and Aaron, and the not-so-appropriate glances and yes, even the standing too close to each other made you feel guilty. But you couldn’t tell Sean. You weren’t ready. “Yes,” you said plainly. “He’s good at what he does.” 

Sean scoffed, nodding. “Yes, he is.” He got up, then moved to lay beside you. “I’m here till Saturday, can I crash here?” 

You turned to face him, where he was staring at the ceiling, much like you were. “Of course.” 

“You’re the best,” he said, and you laughed. 

“Don’t you forget that.” You let out a sigh, then said, “How’ve you been?” 

He opened his mouth, then closed it, and turned to face you. “Okay, I guess.” 

“You guess?” 

“Just been a tough couple of months,” he said, and before you could respond, he said, “Go to sleep. You’re exhausted. We’ll talk tomorrow.” 

You wanted to argue, but then you nodded. You were tired. “Okay,” you whispered. “It’s good to see you.” 

“Yeah,” he said. “Missed you. Now go to sleep.” He turned over and slipped under your arm, letting you push your fingers through his hair. It had been a year-and-a-half since you and Sean had been able to see each other last, and it had been a year since you had come to terms with your feelings for your boss. You wanted to tell Sean (he was always telling you that you spend too much time hunting serial killers and not enough time meeting people), but there was no way he would want you seeing his brother. 

Another day, you thought. Another day. 

~~~oOo~~~ 

“Sir,” you said, knocking on Hotch’s door. You tried to ignore the butterflies in your stomach, but when you no longer could, you blamed them on the fact that you were about to get personal with your boss, and say something that you probably shouldn’t. 

“Come in,” you heard, so you did. He was sitting at his desk, doing paperwork. He didn’t look up as you walked in, so you stood awkwardly for a moment. He finished writing the sentence, then looked up at you. “Are you alright, Y/n?” 

You nodded quickly, swallowing. “Look, it’s none of my business,” you started, and the look on his face made you rush out, “and it’s nothing bad. But he’s my best friend, and I’d like to say that I’d consider you a friend,” (just friends), “so for the sake of both of you, I’m going to tell you. Sean’s in town—” he opened his mouth to say something, but you kept talking— “and I think it would do you both good if you would give him a call.” 

He froze, not exactly sure what to say to you. He ended up just shaking his head. “I appreciate your concern, but,” he stopped, then looked up at you. “Since when are you friends with Sean?” 

The question catches you off guard, and you step back. “Since… I don’t know. A few years, I think? You know this. He was visiting you here, started talking to me in the bullpen, we exchanged numbers, started talking.” You breathed out, then said, “I hardly see how that’s relevant.” 

He shook his head. “You’re right, it isn’t.” He sighed, and crossed his arms. “Is that all?” 

No, dumbass, I’m in love with you, a voice in your head said. 

“Yes, it is,” your actual voice said. You turned on your heel and walked out of the room, closing the door as gently as possible behind you. JJ looked up at you, tilting her head. When you sat at your desk, she and Emily exchanged looks. 

“What was that about?” JJ asked. Emily nodded behind her, looking you up and down. 

“Nothing important,” you said. 

“Did you tell him that you love him?” Emily said, and you immediately glanced around the room to see if anyone heard, but no one was in close proximity, save for Spencer, listening to a tape with his headphones. 

“Emily,” you hissed. “No, no I did not, and no, I am not.” 

JJ groaned. “Oh, come on! You know it’s true.” 

You leaned back in your seat, covering your eyes with your hands. “He’s my boss.” 

“Yeah, but technically, you report to Rossi, so you wouldn’t be breaking any rules,” Emily said. 

“He’s just as head over heels for you as you are for him,” JJ added. 

You sighed. You were about to retort it, when Garcia walked in. “New cases, ladies! And Spencer.” 

“Oh, shit,” you muttered, remembering that Sean was probably raiding your kitchen at that exact moment. You stood and pulled out your phone as Emily and JJ started heading to the conference room. 

“I’ll be up in a moment,” you said to them. As soon as they left, you called Sean. It went to voicemail, which could not be a good sign. You started speaking as you walked up to the conference room.“Hi, Sean, it’s me, call me when you get this, but I’m at work, we just got a case, not sure how long it will take, but you know where my spare key is.” You stopped a few feet from the door, making sure your team couldn’t hear you. “Don’t set my apartment on fire. Love you, bye.” 

The conference room was dead silent when you walked into the room. 

“Love you, bye,” Morgan said. Your jaw dropped, and you immediately turned to Hotch, who was looking through the case file, jaw clenched. 

JJ and Emily and Garcia had equally horrified expressions on their face (they all knew you loved Hotch. And also you were supposed to tell them everything). You shook your head at them.

Rossi was quietly trying to explain what had happened to Reid. “Did you all eavesdrop on my private conversation?” The girls and Morgan nodded, Rossi sighed, and Hotch didn’t move. “How much of that did you hear?” 

“Don’t set my apartment on fire,” Morgan said. “So, who’s the guy?” 

You shook your head and sat down. “A close friend is staying at my place.” Hotch looked up at you then, and tilted his head. You could watch it click in his head, as he realized his brother was staying at your place. ‘I’m sorry,’ you mouthed at him, but he just shook his head and tried to soften his face as much as possible, to show he wasn’t upset. You could see right past it. 

“We have four fires in Wyoming,” Garcia said, clicking through the pictures of the buildings. “And 13 people dead. After further examination, the coroner determined that all of the victims were dead before the fire started.” 

“Wait,” Morgan said, “so this guy is killing people, and then lighting the buildings up to cover his tracks?” 

“Is it the kill or the fire that gets him off?” Rossi added. 

“That’s what we have to find out. Wheels up in 30,” Hotch said, and the team dispersed. You longed to go after Hotch, to maybe explain, to say something, anything, but you didn’t. You walked with Spencer to get your go bags. 

“So, I may have overheard you and JJ and Emily talking a little bit,” he said. You looked up at him and he shrugged. “I think you and Hotch would make a good couple. You balance each other out, and you’re always bouncing ideas off of each other.” Reid paused, then shook his head. 

“What is it?” you asked, stopping him before you reached your desks. 

He laughed, “It’s just that you and Hotch have mom and dad vibes.” 

“We… we do?” You sort of laughed at the thought. You ruffled Spencer’s hair and then shook your head, grabbing your things. 

“Besides, you guys would make a pretty couple.” Your head snapped up to look at him, but he was distracted, gathering his own things.

“Spencer!” you laughed, and he just shrugged. 

“I’m not wrong.” 

“No, you’re never wrong, pretty boy,” you said. And then you and him walked to the plane, and he recounted the latest strange and obscure fact he heard. 

“You know, I think I actually read about that,” you said. 

“Really?” he asked, sitting by the window. 

“No.” You sat across from him as Hotch walked in the room. He sat beside you, and you had to pretend it didn’t affect you. 

“Hey, look,” you whispered to him. He turned to you, and you sighed. “Yes, Sean is staying at my place, but I just want you to know that—” 

“No, it’s okay. What you said earlier, you were just looking out for your boyfriend, who happens to be my brother, it’s okay.” 

Your jaw dropped as he turned away. “Boyfriend?” you hissed, as low as you could so the team wouldn't hear as they boarded. “Sean is not my boyfriend, Hotchner.” But I wish you were.

“I’m sorry, I just assumed,” he said quietly, his eyes boring into your soul. 

You crossed your arms. “God, you call yourself such a great profiler, but you really can’t profile your friends,” you whispered, so quietly that even he couldn’t hear you. 

You were quiet for the rest of the plane ride, and by the time you got to Wyoming, it was already late. You went straight to the hotel, where you split off into pairs. Of course, the team sensed the tension between you and Hotch, and being the troublemakers that they were, decided to put you and him together. 

“It’s best for the team that you work out your issues,” JJ said. 

“It’s in our best interest,” Emily said. 

“We need you at your best,” Rossi said. 

And then, Spencer, with: “Contrary to popular belief, forced proximity actually does little to grow bonds between—” 

And then a unanimous: “Shut up!” 

And then, there’s a, “Fuck,” as you entered the room. 

You felt a little bit like you were living in a bad romance novel as you saw it: the room had one bed. 

It was fine. Adults can share beds. It’s only mature. You shared a bed with the other Hotchner brother just last night. This would be a breeze. 

It was not a breeze when you almost forgot he was there and started to strip in the middle of the room, only to shriek and run to the bathroom. 

It was also not a breeze when he walked out of the bathroom wearing a soft t-shirt and pajama pants that made your heart skip (several) beats. 

It was also not a breeze when he tried to take the floor and you said that it was only reasonable that you share because the team wanted us to bond and we aren’t going to do that on separate levels. 

“And also if you're on the floor and a serial killer walks in, you’re the first target,” you said. 

He furrowed his brow, confused, and titled his head. He didn’t exactly know what to say, so he just said, “Okay. But I’m sleeping on the side closest to the door, so I’m still the first target,” he said, and you almost laughed, because it was almost funny. 

“I’m sorry about the comment I made on the plane,” he said. “I… I was jealous, and I let my emotions get the better of me.” 

“Jealous?” you said (you couldn’t help yourself). You were lying on your back, staring at the ceiling, and he was on his side, facing away from you. 

“Maybe that wasn’t the right word.” 

“Then what word would you have used?” 

“I’m not sure. Reid would probably have the exact word for this feeling.” 

You stifled a laugh and shrugged, turning just your head to look at him. “Well, whatever it was, rest assured, Sean and I aren’t together like that. We’re just friends.”

He made a noise just to assure you that he heard in, and then he went silent. “Goodnight, Y/n,” he said. 

“Goodnight, Aaron.” 

And that’s how, at three am, you sent a text to Sean of sleeping Aaron Hotchner, facing away from you, saying, ‘God is testing me.’ Of course, that was meant to go to JJ. 

“Shit,” you muttered, trying to delete the text (and almost not succeeding, but that god for Garcia’s technology hacks) and sending it to its intended recipient. You didn’t exactly want to send pictures of your best friend’s brother to your best friend in the middle of the night. 

Hotch stirred, beside you. You were sitting up, leaning against the headboard, and he was still on his side, facing the door. “Ev’ry think okay?” he muttered, and you patted his shoulder. 

“Yes, love, go to sleep,” you said, running a finger down his arm (in a completely platonic attempt to get your friend back to sleep). He flipped over to face you, then, eyes wide open. You silently cursed yourself. “I just called you love.” 

“Yes, you did, love,” he said, and you sighed.

“It’s too early to be made fun of.” 

His eyes darkened and he shook his head. “Except for I’m dead serious,” he said. You looked at him, and he sat up too, moving closer to you. “It’s not fair,” he said, “it’s not fair how much I love you.” 

You shook your head, then leaned over and kissed his forehead. “It’s late and you’re half asleep,” you whispered. “Tell me in the morning if you mean it.” 

He was too tired to argue, so he huffed an, “A’ight,” and lay his head in your lap. You ran your fingers through his hair and his breathing deepened, falling to sleep right away. He looked so innocent while he slept, as if the horrors of his day simply weren’t there. As if he wasn’t haunted day and night by things most people only experience in horror films. As if he hadn’t lived through more than his fair share of trauma. 

He was just… peaceful. 

~~~oOo~~~

You woke up slowly, Hotch held in your arms. You were surprised at how cuddly he was, only because of his hard exterior, but you were pleasantly surprised. He absolutely deserved to be taken care of. He stirred, blinking rapidly for a second and lifting himself slightly off of you, taking in his surroundings. 

“Hi,” he murmured, laying his head against your chest and slipping his arms around your waist. 

“Hello,” you said back. “We should get ready.” 

“We have time,” he said, pulling you closer. 

You pushed your hand through his hair. “Whatever you say, sir.” 

~~~oOo~~~

“You’re here early,” Morgan said as he walked into the room. “That can’t be good. You and the bossman fight?” 

You sighed, resisting the urge to say, ‘I wish,’ and instead saying, “I neither confirm nor deny that.” After a few minutes, you had untangled yourself from Hotch and gotten ready for the day, 3 am conversations and 6 am cuddles forgotten. 

Spencer walked in a few minutes after Morgan, talking animatedly to JJ, explaining one of the many books on fire he read during the night. You shared a glance with JJ, who excused herself and immediately walked to you. 

“Y/n,” she whispered, and you shook your head. “There was one bed!” she said, too loudly. 

“Wait, you and Hotch slept in the same bed?” Morgan said, and you groaned. 

“Yes! There was one bed, and we were both too tired to fight it, and we’re both mature adults, and it’s not like I haven’t shared a bed with a Hotchner before—” which is not what you meant to say, especially not as Hotch walked into the room. His eyes widened (for a brief moment) and he sat down, choosing to ignore the comment. 

“Let’s get to work.” 

~~~oOo~~~

It was supposed to be easy. You had an address, and you were half an hour out. But Hotch and Emily and Reid had been interviewing a witness, and they were ten minutes out. 

In twenty minutes, Emily had been shot (thank god for bullet proof vests, but she’d have a nasty scar), Hotch was taken hostage, and Spencer was, luckily, unharmed. 

“Oh, my god,” Rossi said, as you, Morgan, and JJ approached Emily and Reid, who were standing by their car. 

“Where’s Hotch?” you asked, and Emily shook her head. 

“There’s four of them,” Emily said. 

“We got the profile wrong?” 

“No,” Spencer said, moving his hands with his words, “it’s his family, they’re protecting him.” 

“Wait, so Hotch is still in there?” you said, looking towards the window. 

Rossi, who had taken a phone call as you discussed it, said, “SWAT and backup is on their way.” 

You glanced around and noticed that police were blocking off the scene, and JJ was talking to the press. Your head was spinning. 

“Fuck,” you muttered, running a hand through your hair. 

“What’s the plan?” Morgan asked, and Rossi gave him an uneasy look. Hotch was always the one who came up with plans in situations like these. Damn. Rossi made the plan, and started talking to the team and a group of officers. 

“We surround the house. I want everyone looking for viewpoints inside. Make sure my agent is okay—” the thought made you shiver “—and we trust him if he’s talking.” 

The group nodded, and someone asked, “If we get a shot, do we take it?” 

Rossi shook his head. “No; they have weapons and will hurt my agent if one of their own is attacked. We want this to go down as peacefully as possible.” 

You bit your lip as Morgan handed you a vest. Your eyes didn’t leave the house. 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” you told him. 

“It’s gonna be okay. Hotch is strong, he’s probably talking them down as we speak.” You nodded, huffing out a sigh. Morgan sighed. “He’s going to live, and you and him are going to talk about your feelings, and you’re going to be the happiest couple in the BAU,” he said. 

You gave him a half smile. “Thank you.” 

He pat your shoulder, tilting his head toward the group. “No problem. Now let’s go save your man.” 

~~~oOo~~~

The ambulance ride was your least favorite part. They wouldn’t let you ride with Hotch (something about claustrophobia and how they needed more EMTs and you would just take up space). So instead you were sitting in an ambulance, Reid on one side of you and Emily on the other, Morgan getting his arm stitched up across from you. Rossi was driving JJ to the hospital, saying that they would meet you there. 

Your only thought the entire time was that Hotch was in that ambulance by himself with a goddamn gunshot wound. 

“What’s the statistical likelihood that Hotch dies?” you said, looking to Reid, who shook his head.

“I don’t think you want to know, honestly.” 

Emily put her arm around your shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay, I swear.” 

You weren’t regretting not telling him that you love him. You weren’t regretting not kissing him or taking him to see the sunset or learning about the stars with him or showing him all of the wonderful things life offers. You weren’t regretting not doing that, no. You were regretting that you wouldn’t be able to do that. You weren’t regretting what you didn’t do, no, because the past is the past and you can’t change what you didn’t have the courage to do. You were regretting what you wouldn’t be able to do, things that hadn’t had the chance to be. The dreams you hadn’t yet had that were crushed before they even surfaced. 

You were crying before you even reached the hospital. Reid was rubbing your arms and Emily had you in her arms, and Morgan was on the phone with Rossi. You cried all the way into the building and all the way up the stairs and all the way into the waiting room. You cried until you couldn’t cry anymore and JJ handed you a bottle of water. 

“Drink up, Y/n,” she said gently, “Aaron would want you to.” 

You nodded, feeling a little numb. You weren’t sure how long you were going to be sitting their in anguish, waiting for a doctor to come in the room. Maybe it would be a nurse. Either way, they would have a look on their face, a mix of being tired from having been through such a long surgery and the pain of having it be for nothing. The pain of having to walk out here and tell a group of strangers that their loved one died, and that they tried to stop it, they did, but they couldn’t. 

It ate away at your thoughts, your stomach doing flips and your head spinning. You felt lighter, all of a sudden. Like you could take a step and float away, even though you were sitting down. And then the room got really loud. But not the voices, it was a ringing in your ear, a sound the color silver, and then it was a sharp pain in your skull. 

“Y/n! Y/n, can you hear me?” you heard a soft, female voice say, but you couldn’t exactly place it. 

“Get help,” a deeper voice said, and then you recognized that as Morgan, and you shook your head, drinking some of the water JJ gave you and closing your eyes. 

“I’m just dehydrated, and the fluorescent lights aren’t helping,” you said. Then you remembered, “I have to call Sean.” You stood up and walked out of the room as quickly as possible, walking right out the sliding door and into the cool night air. 

The phone rang twice before he picked up. “Hello?” 

“Hey, Sean,” you said, voice breaking. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” 

You looked down at your shoes (they were dirty from running after serial killers and kicking down doors and running into houses where the love of your life has just been shot). “It’s… it’s Aaron,” you said. 

A pause. “What about Aaron?” 

“He was… he was shot.” 

Silence. A silence that lasted so long that you could almost feel reality bending around you. 

“He was shot?” Sean’s voice was eerily calm. Until it wasn’t. “Is he alive? Oh, my god, Y/n, is he alive?” 

Stray tears slipped down your face. “He’s in surgery right now. I… he didn’t look good when I saw him.” 

When you saw him… it brings up a whole new wave of emotions. 

There were gunshots fired. You were behind the house, in case anyone ran. By the time you got back around, one guy was dead, two were in handcuffs, and one was shot. You didn’t see Aaron, and Rossi and Morgan were busy, and Reid was talking to an officer, and JJ was talking to the press, and Emily was yelling for a medic. 

A medic. 

Your feet were moving before you could even think it, and you were in the house in an instant. Aaron was lying on the floor, a growing spot of red on his white shirt. You could hear Emily tell you to stay with him while she got someone’s attention. 

“No,” you muttered, kneeling beside his barely-conscious body. Distantly, you heard a train. “No, Aaron, can you hear me?” 

“I… I can hear you,” he said, and you cupped his cheek with one hand while you tried to stop the bleeding with the other, to no avail. You didn’t want to hurt him more; you didn’t press that hard, but you also didn’t want him to die in your arms. 

“Where’s the goddamn medic?” you cried, and you felt Aaron grasp at you, trying to grab your hand. “Hey, I’m here, stay with me, you’re going to be okay.” He was slipping away, his eyes fluttering closed. “No, no, look at me,” you said. 

“I’m here,” he whispered, his voice scratchy. 

“Count to ten,” you said, pushing hair from his face, encouraging him to keep his eyes trained on you. 

“One,” he said, tightening and then loosening his grip on your arm. You saw the paramedics out of the corner of your eye, and you silently prayed to whoever was listening. “Two.” 

“Good, Aaron, good, the paramedics are here, you’re gonna be okay,” you said as Emily stepped towards you, grabbing your arm and pulling you away from him.

When the ambulance started, they wouldn’t let you go with him. They needed all the space they could get, which made your heart stop.  As soon as he was out of your sight, you turned to Emily and sobbed in her arms. She held you tight, understanding. 

“Y/n?” Sean said. You blinked. 

“Will you tell Jessica? And tell her not to tell Jack yet?” 

You heard Sean sigh through the phone. “Yeah, I can do that. Let me know what happens.” 

“I’m sorry,” you said. 

“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “Love you, Y/n.” 

“Love you too, Sean. Stay safe. Call you soon. Bye.” 

Hanging up the phone, you let out a sigh. You spent a minute catching your breath. You wanted to be strong. You wanted to be so strong, and take this like a champ, and somehow know that everything was going to be okay because it had too, but it was so hard. It was so hard. 

But you found yourself back in the waiting room as the sun began to rise, slowly, and birds began chirping. It was a wonder that they could go on, and be so lovely, while you were in so much pain. The birds had not a care in the world. You longed to be a bird. The thought of your friend dying not a worry. The thought of your friend dying, alone, in a hospital room with strangers desperately trying to save him… not a worry. Oh, to be a bird. 

Garcia was in the room, as she had flown in as soon as possible. She hugged you tightly as soon as she saw you. 

“How are you holding up, dearest?” she asked you, to which you just shrugged. You and her sat beside each other, and you noticed her red-rimmed eyes. 

“Are you okay?” 

She nodded. “I’m just worried about Hotch, is all.” 

A doctor walked into the room. “Are you all here for Aaron Hotchner?” 

Simultaneously, you all stood. “Yes,” JJ said. 

The doctor gave a once over to the group, then said to JJ, “He’s alive,” (cue you nearly falling until Morgan grabbed your elbow) “but he’s asleep right now. We aren’t exactly sure when he’ll wake up, but it’ll probably be a few days.” 

The tension in the group immediately lightened, and you were the first one to say, “Can we see him?” 

“Yes,” she said. “Just don’t crowd the room.” 

[mattzerella-sticks]

i really like your batflash idea you wrote in your tags, would love to read it one day (no pressure tho)

Thanks! It's one (of many) I've been working on in my head. I've got a lot of Batflash ideas... unfortunately they're pretty expansive so they stay daydreams lol.

Besides that one with the youngest member of the League!Bruce Wayne, my favorites are:

- an 80s Batflash EPIC that deals with a gay Barry and bisexual Bruce Wayne that has a lot of stuff I can't explain effectively here - it needs a post of its own - but I've got multiple plotlines (so far I've gotten up to Bruce, after being kidnapped by the Court of Owls for his support of a certain candidate for governor in his home state, uses the Press Conference that the Owls' replacement was going to hold to announce "Bruce selling his shares to Owl members" but instead reveals he's not only the major to the candidate but also asked her to run as he believes in a lot of what she stands for, as well as for selfish reasons so he can proudly marry the man he's in love with). It's gotten so large I've even expanded to include a whole host of other plot stuff (the Rogues are all queer, Bruce Wayne is well-known in queer circles in Gotham, gay Jason Todd, etc.), a lot of references to the times (AIDs, homophobia in the workplace as well as within the government, international relations). I've even expanded the universe and thought of other characters' backstories (Hispanic Superman, Wonder Woman active in the 40s before retreating but then coming back, British-Indian Alfred, Donna/Kory/Dick love triangle, Steve Trevor using they/them pronouns). This only scratches the surface and if I were given the chance to do something big for DC this is where I would pull from lol.

- a high school AU where Barry and his dad move from Central City after Barry's mom was murdered (when he was older) and his dad was acquitted, but he still lost his job so he has to take a position in Gotham at the clinic where Leslie Thompkins works; and it's a classic enemies to lovers because Barry and Bruce first meet when Barry almost runs into traffic (distracted) but Bruce saves him and then chews him out; they'll meet again in school, and become lab partners for forensics; Barry is also the recipient of the Wayne Science scholarship; Barry and Bruce will grow closer together and just be teen boys exploring their feelings while also keeping it on the DL since Bruce's mom is SUPER overprotective of him since Thomas was murdered in the alley (she survived). Plus Barry's best friend, Hal Jordan, hates Bruce Wayne for percieved slights. We also have Barry on the track team and Bruce on speech and debate, and they start to bond over an obscure book series that they both read, where Bruce lends Barry an advanced copy of the next book. They're both awkward in their own ways lol. There's ALSO a lot of guest stars from across the DCU in this, too

- a canon-divergent where, after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry became a Speed Force Ghost. And after being freed from an infinite loop where he haunted the building in Gotham he 'died' in by Bruce, could only be seen by Bruce. I've written about this idea, I feel, already in a separate post.

- another canon-divergence where, after Final Crisis, Barry tries adjusting to being back but it's hard because - after moving back to the present - Iris married someone else. So he feels adrift and disconnected, unsure why he was brought back, and also sad because Bruce died. And over time he finds out that Bruce tried finding ways to save him, and that he was in love with him and, after some self-reflection, realizes he has some feelings there as well. So when Bruce comes back, they both decide to see where these feelings lead them.

While I might not write them, or write them to the extent I'd like, I'm always down to talk about batflash lol

[unholyhelbig]

How about part two to the workplace Au you just did? Loved the first one!

A/N: Sure thing! I’m glad you guys liked the first one so much (You can read it here)

Request more prompts here | Read on ao3! 

Chloe could read the discomfort on Beca Mitchell’s face as soon as she unzipped the bag that she had picked up from the dry cleaners. She was struck with the instant scent of lavender detergent, fanning her hand over the outfit like she was picking the next lucky number for the lottery.

Beca had her hand on her chin, a flash of red made her head spin. She was in sweatpants and a grease-stained shirt. She figured that if she had ignored the date on the bottom of the flyer long enough, maybe Chloe would just forget.

No such luck.

“How did you find my apartment?” She asked, clinging to the door.

“It was in your file.”

“I feel like this is slightly illegal.”

“Slightly,” Chloe pushed her way through the door and looked around the apartment. It was kept in a shockingly messy state. Beca presented herself as someone who dotted every ‘I’ and crossed every ‘T’. At least, that’s how she was at work. But there was a leaning tower of pizza boxes and a couple of record sleeves strewn across the room. “You’re not even close to ready.”

“I forgot,” She let the door swing closed “what if we just ignore this PR bullshit and watch a movie instead. Technically I’m still socializing.”

Chloe turned on her heel and scanned Beca up and down. She hugged the bag close to her. “It would look horrible for me to ditch a party I planned.”

“Then you go. I’ll keep watch here.”

“Beca,”

The coder flopped down onto the pile of blankets at the far end of the sofa. She crossed her socked feet and waved her hand in the air as if asking Chloe to continue. For the first time tonight, she noticed the makeup and the slim fitted dress that hugged every inch of the woman’s curves. The black material made the sharp disdain in her eyes glow even further.

But goddamn it, if she wasn’t absolutely captivating. And she smelled lie oranges. Beca had half the mind to stealthy survey her fingers for any trace of a ring. She hadn’t done so in the office, but there was no man to be seen in them. She had blown her chance, she figured, by being her authentic self.

“Red isn’t my color.” She stared at the dress. It had a plunging neckline and would make her look pale. She wasn’t working with much, Chloe was kidding herself. She was also here three full hours before the dreaded thing was supposed to start.

“Just give it a shot. You promised.”

“Wrong. I considered.”

Chloe tossed the bag at her. The fabric was nice, soft against her fingers. She stared at the slight bit of lace and the little bag of gold jewelry that the woman had attached. A few rings and a necklace tipped with a triangle that practically pointed at her cleavage.

“Alright, whatever. I’ll shower.”

She hoisted herself from the couch and tried not to stare too long at the look of triumph on Chloe’s face. It was equally as infuriating as it was attractive. She grabbed a towel from the pile of unfolded clothes on the other end of the sofa and vanished into the back hallway.

Chloe stood like a statue until she heard the water running. Then her curiosity got the better of her and she started to glace around the space; the walls were slathered in charcoal grey and a few album covers were framed and tacked up. Beca had a record player and an extensive library of music. It seemed to be the only tidy thing in here.

She walked over to the couch and picked up one of the blankets. It smelled like detergent and whatever musk Beca radiated herself. She started absently folding, chewing the inside of her lip, so deep in thought that she hadn’t even realized that the shower had shut off and Beca padded into the room in nothing but a towel, still soaked to the bone.

She cleared her throat “Did you clean up?”  

“It’s a nervous habit,” Chloe turned and tried not to let her breath catch. The employee usually stuck with baggy sweatpants and even baggier shirts. They didn’t’ have a dress code at work and she border-lined pajamas with her outfit choices. But Beca? Beca had a figure. “You ready?”

���I’m at your mercy.” She grumbled, “But no eyeliner.”

“oh, come on.”

“You’re not getting close to my eye with a pencil, forget it.” She crossed her arms over her chest, not letting the towel slip in the slightest “Fine. But I’m doing it. Stop pouting.”

Chloe begged to differ. She didn’t pout. She didn’t’ want to push it any further though, so she nodded and grasped the dress before letting Beca lead the way to her room.

           Beca tugged uncomfortably at the hem of her dress as they exited the car. It had hiked up as soon as she sat down, but at that point, she didn’t’ care. The weather had taken a turn to the colder side and she just wanted feeling in her legs. A light dusting of snow had forced their driver to flick on the wipers and move closer to the glass to see past the haze of headlights.

Chloe grasped at her wrist absently, forcing her to stop shifting the fabric. Her hand was warm enough to shock her into complying, but not without a glare. They looked like quite the pair; Beca was almost the same height as Chloe with the heels that were supplied, and she stood out horridly. Red like blood on the snow after a fresh hunt.

The company had spared no expense with the carpet, purple like their logo and leading into a lavish lobby in a hotel that Beca had never been in. She was sure they would throw her out if she walked in and asked to use the bathroom with fancy soap. But when Chloe was at her side, looping her arm through her own, she could pass instantly.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Chloe read the blush on the woman’s cheeks “I’m sure if I weren’t holding onto you, you’d be face down on the floor by now. Take it slow.”

“You sound like a stage mom.”

“In that case,” she frowned “You’re a horrible student.”

Beca scoffed but was secretly thankful for the human crutch. Chloe had an easy way of walking about her, she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin, and acted like she owned the whole building. It was one foot in front of the other, and Beca wobbled on the first few, but eventually evened out. Maybe the stance was a tactical thing- to keep the balance.

They walked through the doors and Beca instantly felt her legs wobble at the direct warmth. There was a clothed table by the entrance, lined with identical masks. Chloe plucked a red one off the table and passed Beca a black one, looking at her expectantly.

“The whole purpose of this is for you to get comfortable being around people. Maybe you can do that if they can’t see the top half of your face.” She spoke with ease as she knotted her own mask. And she had to admit, even though this was utterly stupid, she wouldn’t have recognized Chloe in a crowd. Not if she hadn’t spent the last four hours with her.

She fastened her own mask and took Chloe’s outstretched hand, begrudgingly but thankful at the same time; the ballroom was equally as impressive, violet lights on an installed dance floor and clothed tables with little favors and plates. It looked like a wedding for bank robbers, but Beca couldn’t help letting her mouth prop open.

“Shocked?” Chloe asked, scanning the décor “I do know how to throw a hell of a party.”

“The last party I went to was not this classy.” Beca breathed “We did have bongs made out of apples though, so I’m going to need you to step up your game.”

Chloe smiled, it looked brighter under her mask. She leads them towards a table in the corner and plucked two flutes of champagne from the passing waiter. Alcohol. That was something that Beca wasn’t opposed to. She finished it in two long gulps.

She hovered awkwardly by as the woman who had dragged her here in the first place spoke with a couple of people that she wouldn’t have recognized even if they were shrouded by masks. They shouted over the music; a man in a snazzy looking suit questioned her presence.

“This is one of the most talented coders we have!” Chloe shouted over the sound of the base “Almost single-handedly created the VPN.”

“You’re impressive!” He called out to her “Such a pretty date too!”

Chloe just laughed and Beca thanked him over the bass. He squeezed Chloe’s shoulder before vanishing into the crowd. She leaned close then, her breath hot against Beca’s collarbone, and that familiar floral scent clouded her lungs and judgment. “See, that wasn’t so hard. You’re a natural. Want to dance?”

She did not, in fact, want to dance. But Chloe pulled her onto the floor almost as smoothly as the champagne glasses. Beca was glad that she had swallowed it so quickly. It made the idea of dancing seem more appealing. And Chloe did have good taste in music.

They worked themselves into the crowd and Beca let the sound flow through her. She ignored all of the people, for the most part. Chloe was painfully obvious behind her, grinding close, running her hands across the dress that she had picked out. Beca felt like she was back in college- and she had to admit, she was having fun.

She lost track of how many songs they had danced to, but eventually, the DJ lowered the music and spoke into the microphone. “Alright folks, we having fun? I hope so! I want to interrupt your masquerade for just a moment.”  

There were a few groans from the crowd, but none of them sincere.

“Now, I know you’re all being secretive about your identities tonight. But I want to pull the one and only Chloe Beale onto the stage. Y’all okay with that?”

There were a few shouts from the people around her, followed by applause as Chloe gave Beca’s arm a squeeze and maneuvered her way through the crowd. A woman in an even tighter navy blue dress helped her up the stage and Beca clapped along, lilting her head as she watched, captivated like the rest of the room.

This didn’t’ feel customary, bringing the party planner up to say a few words. Not when it was essentially a giant PR event for a tech company. Beca crossed her arms over her chest as Chloe captivated an entire crowd.

“I’m glad you’re all having fun under the cover of the night,” She lowered her voice dramatically, flashing that brilliant smile. “And we’re so happy to unveil our new VPN, that everyone has been working so hard on.”

It had been months of coding, Beca having to fix so many bugs that the 0’s and 1’s ran circles around her head. Hearing praise from Chloe’s lips made her tingly- or maybe that was the buzzing of her skin after eating cold pizza for breakfast and drinking on a nearly empty stomach.

“We strive for innovation and protection, and our new product can give you just that.” She gripped the podium and waited for a few cheers to settle “When I first started this company in my parent's basement, which doubled as our laundry room, I never imagined this. Thank you, and enjoy the party!”

Beca’s heart had seized in her chest then, as the music started up and the people around her moved with the rhythm once more. She let them bump into her as she mindlessly walked to the edge of the lit-up floor, towards Chloe.

This made sense to her, finally, it made sense. The reason why she was pushing her so hard to interact with other people in the office, why she didn’t have a title on her door. Chloe was the boss. Chloe had seen her ratty apartment and, oh my god, Chloe knows she smokes weed.

The woman in the navy dress talked animatedly to the woman at the side of the stage, nodding and gesturing to the rest of the room. Chloe looked pensive, she mumbled something under her breath and immediately turned towards Beca.

“Dude, what the hell?” She asked, sounding less elegant than she’d hoped.

Chloe shrugged “Stacie from HR wanted to talk to you first but I thought I’d give it a shot.”

“This is literally your party.”

“Yes?”

“Like in your honor. Not something you planned.”

“Well, I did that too.” She shrugged nonchalantly as Beca gaped at her “Look, Beca. I like you, okay? You’re one stubborn girl. And I wanted to spend a night with you, is all. When the report about your lack of social skills happened across my desk, I took a chance.”

She felt her cheeks heat up “You could have just asked me, you know?”

“Would you have said yes?”

“Absolutely not,” She pointed her finger “But only because you’re making me wear a dress. Maybe next time, we could just settle for street tacos or something?”

Chloe laughed, and it was a beautiful sound that mixed so perfectly with the music. “Next time?”

[fdenvs3000w22]

By discovering nature - you discover yourself ~ Blog 1

Downtown Guelph: Took this picture on a trip that i took with my friends exploring graffiti

My relationship with nature has undoubtedly evolved as I grew up and learned to appreciate what it has to offer. At times we have a dynamic relationship with nature: hiking on a trail, smelling flowers, touching the earth vs on other occasions, we may take a more passive stance: looking closely at shades of green on a tree, its branches, or listening to the waves crashing on the beach. I remember myself on a swing looking up at the sky and wondering how the clouds could possibly move across the sky. The human-nature relationship has been increasingly drawing an understanding between the two and its impact on people's mental and physical health. I am sure others can agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to the human lifestyle worldwide. This includes considerable disruptions to social interactions, where these social restrictions can be associated with higher rates of adverse mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression. The importance of spending time on and engaging with natural environments such as parks and woodlands for psychological and physical health has been well documented. While my relation has not been consistent, increasing awareness of the outdoors has played a fascinating role in strengthening my inner world, providing peace, comfort and serenity.   Just a little before the pandemic, I got hired at Walmart and spent the summer working in the Garden Centre. To be honest with you, I was not looking forward to working around plants, dirt, bees, and just out in hot weather. No matter how much I appreciate the beauty of nature and how calming it can be to be outdoors in the fresh air. I have always been terrified of creepy crawlies that roam around plants and soil. I was always afraid to touch them or even help my parents garden in our backyard and was more of the person to observe from a distance. Fun fact: the first time I got stung by a bee was while delivering a Walmart online grocery order in the parking lot, and despite this new phobia, I got transferred to the Garden Centre. Yet working in the Garden Centre turned out to be such a beautiful experience where you take care of plants, water them every morning and afternoon and see them grow day by day. So, after all, this seasonal job just wasn't about helping customers find plants and plant-related products but constantly seeing and being around plants decreased my anxiety and created such a soothing environment. I almost started believing that if you talk to plants, they listen and even grow better! This was something that I always saw my mom do, and I would say that you give them more attention than me (jk). Another memorable part of work was when a bird decided to build her nest in a hanging flower basket. Everyone at work was so excited to check on this bird every day, and we specifically had a sign there saying this basket was not for sale, so no one went too near or disturbed her.

Here's a picture of a beautiful flower at my workplace! (Still not the best with recognizing their names)

This reminds me of my first sense of place interaction with nature which was quite similar. In grade 3, I glimpsed this bird, making her nest outside my room window. I used to watch this bird every day after coming from school, and after a few days, I witnessed a special moment of one baby bird hatching out of its egg into a big and beautiful world. My mom would always see how excited this made me and tell me how vital these living creatures are for us and how they adapt to survive in the conditions to live in during different seasons. Whether it's trees that automatically shed their leaves in the fall or how a flock of birds twist and turn and change direction at a moment's notice as they fly, and the starlings in a murmuration seem to be connected. My mom always taught me to admire nature and recognize the importance of balancing the natural system. She would take me to conservation parks nearby our house in Brampton that reminds me of Chinguacousy park - my absolute favourite place to visit. This park had had multiple playgrounds, water activities, a petting zoo, a tropical garden to explore and offers outdoor entertainment for all seasons and ages.

Just a little attempt at photography ~ As someone who loves photography and capturing moments, my pull towards nature had always been to take pictures of the view in which I took nature for granted. I can now admit that I can appreciate the beauty without feeling compelled to capture every scene and have determined that the connection with nature is essential to my life. I admire people who spend that time connecting with nature themselves, and it's these people that can deal with their thoughts and inner voices.

Thank you for reading:)

Farheen 

[doberbutts]

ty for your post about ADHD, i was actually attacked for saying similar things and accused of not even having ADHD at all, when all i did was explain the logic behind the "ADHD isnt a disability" crowd and that it doesnt mean no one has struggles stemming from ADHD, just that its been both proven that people with ADHD show less harmful symptoms when allowed to thrive in their own way, and that in some nomadic societies ADHD is the default. it just means our exist shouldnt be pathologized

and to be clear i think that goes for a lot more things besides ADHD, pathologization of deviations from what is considered the default is a widespread issue. i dont think people even know it stems from literally a single sample of what researchers at the time considered an ideal family

ADD is absolutely a disability in today’s world. ADD might not have been a disability when we were in a different society, when things such as “must be constantly doing something Or Else A Tiger Will Eat Me” and “sometimes Professor Dillyhop locks himself in his library and doesn’t eat for 3 days while researching a new insect he’s never seen before” were significantly more common.

It’s been proven that, like with many developmental disorders, when provided a support network that seeks to understand and legitimize the neurodivergent experience rather than Make Them Normal, we thrive. Our more pesky symptoms such as RSD and Executive Dysfunction are lessened sometimes to the point of virtual nonexistence. Hyperfocus is put to constructive work, even if that constructive work is “I’m going to stare at these individual leaves on a tree until I understand why they move a certain way when the wind hits them”. Infodumps become lectures and workshops and public speaking. Overstimulation is either avoided entirely by making places less fucking chaotic the second you walk in or a safe place is provided for recovery. Understimulation is solved by creating self-soothing tactics and coping methods to stay on course. Medication is provided by those who cannot be helped with lifestyle changes alone.

But you know, what do I know, I’ve only been unmedicated since leaving middle school and learned to manage my own symptoms through enforcing not only my own lifestyle changes but being vocal with friends and my workplace on what I need to not feel like a complete failure on a day-to-day basis while also understanding that I wouldn’t have needed to feel like a failure and a waste of space if I didn’t grow up as “that weird kid no one likes but everyone pretends to because we get in trouble for being too obvious about it” and “Jaz has Can’t Sit Still disease which is the same as all these problematic unmedicated and unsupported kids in school so we’d better heavy-hand this or he’ll drop out of college and never get married”. I wouldn’t HAVE the majority of the problems I have stemming from having ADD if I had maybe just an ounce more understanding from my community growing up. It’s great that my mom taught me to advocate for myself and got me medication and therapy but it’s less great that she also used it as a weapon against me whenever things didn’t go her way.

And now? I work in a job where I’m not expected to show up first thing in the morning and so I stopped being late for work all the time. I found a special interest that actually pays well to be employed in that I can sit and hyperfocus about each individual client and the intricacies of their specific cases. I use nagging apps to fix my food and water situations. My dogs don’t let me lay in bed like a lump all day. My friends understand my RSD and how I can be sensitive to perceived rejection or mockery. Class is literally Jaz Infodumps For An Hour At A Time. If I get overwhelmed I can always just ask for a few minutes to myself to calm down. I’m able to keep a schedule and stick to the majority of the things I have planned provided Something Else Stressful doesn’t get in the way of that.

I unfucked my life by building a support system and I know that the majority of people who react negatively to those who say that ADD doesn’t need to be a disability if only our society were ready to provide this understanding and acceptance on a large scale basis are reacting to the idea that someone can snap their fingers and make all the bad stuff stop. That’ll never happen. But if you get the support you need, you’ll find that the way your symptoms affect your life lessen to the point where your ADD simply becomes another aspect of you rather than something holding you back from the person you’ve always wanted to be and never felt you could live up to. Disability is about your symptoms having a major impact on your quality of life- and your symptoms would not have such an impact if neurotypical people could perhaps imagine a world where more people like me could have the support system I’ve fought tooth and nail to get.

[layce2015]

The Last of Us Part 2 (Joel x Reader)

Chapter 10: I Know You Wish Things Were Different

Chapter 9

*2 Years Earlier*

"She hasn't changed the strings." Joel said as he looks over the guitar. "I'm sure she didn't know." I said as I stir the stew in the pot, keeping it from burning. "Hmm, maybe..." he mutters and I give a small smile at him. 

We were out in a cabin, just for lookout and patrol. It was just me, Joel, Tommy and Ellie out here, Aiden and Ethan were back at Jackson with Maria, who wanted to watch over them. Right now, Tommy took Ellie out to find any infected around while Joel and I got back in the cabin from our patrol and I decided to cook dinner as it seemed we might be out here for awhile.

"I just don't know about her." He said and I look back at him. "It just...it seems she doesn't want to talk to me anymore. Has she talked to you?" Joel asked me. "No, she hasn't. But in all honesty, honey, she's at that age where kids don't want to be around us old people anymore." I explained then we heard some gunshots off in the distance and both of us look out the window, towards the mountain.

"Must've found some infected nearby." I remarked and I lower the heat on the small portable stove and let the stew simmer. I look over at him as he looks a bit sad while he strums his guitar.

I go over to him then placed an arm around his shoulder, lean down and kissed the top of his head. "She'll come around. I promise." I said then he looks up at me and gives me a small smile. I smiled back at him then I lean in and kiss him on the lips, he places his right hand on my neck then he slides it to the back of my head so he could hold my head in place as our kiss became deeper and passionate.

"I love you. You know that, right?" Joel said, softly, once I pull back from the kiss. "Of course I do. I love you as well." I said as I smiled, gently. I stand up and he removes his hand off of me and I make my way over back to the food.

"I mean, who else is gonna deal with your grumpy ass." I said, teasingly, and Joel chuckles as he strums the guitar. I went back to stirring the stew again when Joel starts to play a song that I recognized. A song that I remembered we danced to so many years ago at our wedding.

I turn to him and see him smirking at me as he starts to sing the song.

You may think that I'm talking foolish

You've heard that I'm wild and I'm free

You may wonder how I can promise you now

This love that I feel for you always will be

But you're not just time that I'm killin'

I'm no longer one of those guys

As sure as I live, this love that I give

Is gonna be yours until the day that I die

Oh, baby, I'm gonna love you forever

Forever and ever, amen

As long as old men sit and talk about the weather

As long as old women sit and talk about old men

If you wonder how long I'll be faithful

I'll be happy to tell you again

I'm gonna love you forever and ever

Forever and ever, amen

"Joel..." I said, my eyes tearing up a bit, and his smile grew wider at me when we heard footsteps and voices. I wipe away the oncoming tears, just as Tommy and Ellie come in. "That was y'all shooting out there, right?" Joel asked them. "Oh, just some stragglers. Ellie got to try out my scope." Tommy said as he and Ellie go to sit down at a table near us.

"Really? How'd you like it?" I asked Ellie. "Yeah. Feels good." She said, rushed. She sits there and looks away while Tommy sits down and starts to kick back. 

"I see you, uh...haven't got around changing the strings yet." Joel said as he stands up and walks over to Ellie, still holding the guitar. "I didn't know I was supposed to." Ellie said as she looks up and chuckles, awkwardly. "See? I told ya, Joel." I said. "Well, we'll get you some new ones." Joel said and he leans the guitar against the table and walks over next to me as Tommy picks the guitar up.

"There's that music store down there. I bet they got guitar stuff." Tommy suggests and Joel, Ellie and I all exchange awkward looks. "I mean that area is long overdue for a sweep anyway. I can keep watch." Tommy said as he looks over at us and Joel looks over at Ellie.

"What do you say, kiddo?" He asked her. "Sure." She said, shrugging, then Tommy begins to play the guitar. "And that's our que." I said as Joel and I walk out while Tommy chuckles.

Joel and I go to one horse while Ellie follows us. "Alright. Let's go." She said. "Okay. Follow us, kiddo." I said and Joel gets on his horse and helps me up as I sit behind him and Ellie mounts her horse. Then we began to gallop away. 

"So, you and Tommy cross anything when you was out?" I asked her. "Just a few we saw from the ridge. You?" She said. "Uh, you know....found two runners in a house." Joel said to her then it went silent again.

"Jesse tells us you're handling your own quite well on the group patrol. He's even recommended you for paired patrols." I said. "Though I still think you're a bit young for it." Joel said. "I'm a better shot than almost all of them. And I have more experience than most of the new recruits who've..." Ellie started to argue but Joel talks over her.

"Look...if you think you're ready, (y/n) and I trust you." He said. "Okay. Thanks." Ellie said, a sound of relief in her voice. "Just do us a favor and start with the shorter routes for awhile, Y'know. See how you handle them." I said to her as I turn to her and see her smile. "Alright." She said and we keep trotting on.

"You remember those Savage Starlight comic books that you're into?" Joel asked her. "Yeah?" Ellie said. "Tommy, (y/n) and I found some when we were moving through that school the other day." Joel said. 

"Did you guys like 'em?" Ellie asked us, curiously. "Oh, you know, it's not really my cup of tea. But (y/n) seemed to enjoy them." Joel said and I rolled my eyes. "Hey, what can I say? My inner child came out when I read those books." I said.

"I didn't know you were into that kind've stuff, (y/n)." Ellie  said, shocked. "Oh yeah. When I was a kid, a bit younger than you, I was really into reading comic books, science fiction being the big thing for me." I explained.

"Really? What made you stop reading them?" Ellie asked. "Life, honestly. It just started to get really hectic once I hit 18. Got a job, having to help my mom out while my brother was in the army, trying to decide whether I wanted to go to college or not, went out with a few friends." I explained and Ellie nods.

"Then I met this weird guy, who came in at my workplace one day, fell in love and married him." I said and Ellie chuckles a bit. "Yeah and I married a clumsy waitress that spilled iced tea on me." Joel said and my face heats up in embarrassment. "That was one time!" I exclaimed while Ellie laughs outloud at this and I hear Joel chuckling.

"Anyway...Dr. Daniella Star, I mean, she's pretty..." Joel started to say before Ellie talks over him, after recovering from laughing. "She's a savage." She said. "Yeah, what she does to Captain Ryan in that Death Match..." I said, chuckling, and Joel nods at this.

"Yeah, I mean, he definitely deserved it but..." Ellie started to say but she stops before Joel talks. "Well, it was a nice twist on how they escape, though." He said and Ellie giggles. "You're funny." She said and I smiled at her just as we make up to a fence and the old motel building. 

"Music story's up that way...we're gonna have to leave the horses here." Joel said as we come up to the fence. "Yeah...sounds good." Ellie said and we stopped then got off of the horses and jumped the fence.

"There's that music store." I said, pointing at the tall sign a few miles up ahead. We walk up to two large vehicles blocking the road before Joel turns to Ellie. "Need a boost?" He asked her. "I got it." She said and she climbs up the old moving truck and gets on top of it then gets on the other side.

"Uh, I don't think we can go this way." We hear her say. "What?" We said, confused, and Joel and I climb up on top of the truck and see that the area was dried out and the road was sunken in. "Well, damn. Used to be able to swim across this...." Joel said, disappointed. "So now what?" Ellie asked us and I looked at the motel building next to us.

"Well, if you're up for it, we can try cutting through that hotel." I said and Ellie nods. "I'm up for it." She said as she climbs back up on the truck then we head over to the hotel building.

We make it to the front door and Ellie tries to open it but it wouldn't budge. "Damn it." She grumbles and I sighed. "Of course." I said. "Oh, that might be something." Joel said and we turned and see him staring at a crawlspace under what looks like a collapsed roof.

"Think that you girls could fit in there?" Joel asked as I kneel down to look at it. "Hmmm...maybe. Worth a shot, though. I'll go first and then Ellie can follow me." I said and Joel nods then picks up part of the collapsed rubble and I crawled through into a room then looked around.

"I'm through, come on, Ellie." I said then I hear her crawling through and I turned and hold my hand out to her to help her up. She takes my hand and I help her stand up. "Made it!" She said. "Hang on, big guy. We'll let you in." I called out. "All right." He said and both of us walk out of the room and look around to make sure no infected were nearby then I see the front door.

"Ellie, keep an eye out. I'll go let him in." I tell her and she nods as I head to door and began to unlock it. I open the door to see Joel standing there, leaning to the side as his left hand was braced against the doorframe. "Well, hey there." I say to him and he gives me a small grin. "Howdy." He said, making my heart flutter.

Even after all these years, he still knows how to make me feel this way. Make me feel like that young woman he met all those years ago. Then an old memory came to me and an idea popped in my head and I smiled.

"Damn, if being sexy was a crime, you'd be guilty as charged!" I said and Joel lowered his head and shook it as he chuckles. "Cheesy pick up lines? Really?" He asked me as he raises his head up to me, but with a smile still on his face and his cheeks were turning a bit red.

"Why not? I mean...we used to share cheesy lines when we first got together." I said and he chuckles then he starts to walk pass me. "I'm too old for this cheesy shit..." he mutters and I rolled my eyes. "Uh-huh...sure you are." I said, sarcastically, and he chuckles then he pushes a strand of hair away from my face, leans in, then kisses me.

"Hey, guys. I think I've found a way through. But there are spores". Ellie said as Joel and I break the kiss. We smiled then we head over to Ellie as she stands in front of a snack machine, that was covering a giant hole.

"Okay, well girls, put your masks on." Joel said and we started to put ours on but Ellie looks over at us, annoyed. "Do I have to? It's just us." She said. "What if we run into someone?" I pointed out to her and she sighs. "Okay. Fine." She said and she pulls out her mask and puts it in while Joel pushes the machine aside.

He goes through the hole in the wall then me and finally Ellie. "You gotta be smart about this. You stop wearing that mask, kiddo, and eventually you're gonna slip up in front of someone you shouldn't." Joel tells her. "I never slipped." Ellie said, firmly, as we walked through some rooms. "You haven't told anyone new, have you? Like Jesse or Dina or --" Joel started to asked but Ellie shakes her head. "Of course not!" She said. "Okay, good." Joel and I said and we continue on.

"You guys ever been in here before?" Ellie asked us after climbing through a hole and landing into another room. "No. We've just patrolled the streets." I replied. "Feeling like a bit of an oversight now..." Joel said. "Maybe." Ellie mutters and we see a dead Clicker that's stuck to the wall.

"Looks like it was shot here awhile back." Joel pointed out as he looks at the Clicker. "When'd did the last patrol go through here?" Ellie asked us and I shrug as Joel said. "Not sure."

"Is it one of us?" Ellie asked and I sighed. "Only people went missing from Jackson are them teenagers from last year. This one's too old. Probably just roamed in." I pointed out then Joel stands up and we continued through until we come up to these large double doors.

Joel opens the door, slowly, and we could hear some infected and Clickers inside. "We are on patrol, right?" Ellie said and Joel and I share a look before I nod. "Alright. Let's take 'em out." He said and we head in what is the lobby area and, quietly, take out the few infected and Clickers inside.

"Guys, I think we did it." Ellie said after a few moments of silence. "Yeah, I think so, too." I said, breathless, and Joel nods. "Good job, kiddo." Joel congrats and Ellie nods. "Yeah, you too." She said. "So, what do you guys say we give up on those strings for today?"

"Couldn't said it better myself." Joel said as I look around the room. "I think our only way out is forward now." I said and we go through another set of doors then through some more rooms.

"This looks like something." Joel said as he comes up to a crawl space in the walls. "Following you." Ellie said and Joel squeezes throught then me and Ellie. Joel and I duck down under this pipe and kept going when we heard something break. 

We look over and see that the pipe broke and Ellie stared at it for a moment and we stopped moving, looking towards the wall. We could hear a noise and then a roar before there was a crash and a Bloater burst throught the wall and grabs Ellie. "Ellie!" Joel and I screamed and we get out of the crawl space just as the Bloater tossed Ellie on the floor. 

Joel and I pull out our shotguns and fired at the monsters. "Leave her alone, you sonuvabitch!" I shouted and the monster started coming at us but we back away. Ellie threw a molotov at it and it roars in pain then turned to her. The flames died down in it and more infected started coming at us.

I went and shot at them while Joel shot at the Bloater until it grabbed Ellie. It pulled off her mask and tried to grab her face until Joel pulls out his machete and sliced at it's arm, making it let Ellie go, then stabbed it, repeatedly, until it died. I run over to Ellie and help her up to her feet.

"Shit." She whispered, shocked. "You okay?" I asked her and she nods. "That was too close." Joel said. "Sure....but we fucking did it." Ellie said and Joel and I chuckle a bit. "We sure did." Joel said and we started to continue on. "You guys good?" Ellie asked. "Other than being really old, ain't nothing a solid night of sleep won't shake off." I said and Joel nods. "I wanna get outta here." Ellie said, exasperated, and we agreed and continued on.

We make it to another set of doors and Joel and I move the couch that was barricading the door. "Wait, what if there's like two Bloaters on the other side?" Ellie asked, worried. "It'll be fine." Joel assured her as we move the couch out of the way then we opened the door, our guns drawn and we look around to see nothing, not even spores.

"Spores are clear." Joel said and Ellie shuts the door behind us as Joel and I take off our masks. "Quiet the fight we had back there, huh?" Ellie said as we walked down the hallway. "Not often we get a Bloater around these parts." Joel said.

"Yeah. Jesse and Dina are going to lose their shit when they hear about this." Ellie said. "What's the deal with them two, anyway? They're dating, right?" Joel asked her as walked through the old kitchen area. "Uh, on and off. Why?" Ellie asked. "(Y/n) and I hear the way Jesse talks about you." Joel said to her.

"No. Jesse and I are just friends." Ellie said. "Now, now, now, I've got a pretty keen eye for these sort of things." Joel said and I rolled my eyes. "Not so keen with this one." Ellie said and Joel chuckles. "We'll see." He said and I scoff.

"Keen eye, huh? Remind me again, honey, who was the one that took months to ask who out?" I asked him. "Well, I had to make sure...get you warmed up to me and then I'd ask you out." Joel said and I snorted. "Really? That was the plan? And not, Sarah coaxing you to ask me out after you were too nervous to ask?" I asked and I hear Ellie chuckling under her breath. "Yeah, that's exactly right." Joel said and I scoffed. "Mmmhmm, okay....Whatever floats your boat." I said, sarcastically, and we head up to this door and Joel goes to open it but it only opens a few inches.

"Think you can squeeze through there?" Joel asked Ellie and she nods and goes through the door. "See what it is?" I asked her. "Yeah." She said and I hear her move something. "Okay." She said and Joel opens the door wider and we walk into an old coffee shop as Ellie walks to the middle of the room and sees a dead body.

I hear a noise then look over to see a Clicker, with no legs, start crawling towards Ellie. "Ellie!" I shout and I run over to the Clicker, put my foot on it's back and shoot it in the head, killing it. "Thanks." Ellie said and I nod at her as Joel comes up to me. "You okay?" He asked me. "Yeah." I said.

"Hey, guys. I think it's them. The couple that ran away last year." Ellie said as she points at the dead body. Joel and I kneel down to the body and look it over. "Think you're right." Joel said. 

"Jackson is a wonderful place....but we got tired of hearing the stories of people suffering everywhere else..." Ellie said and we look up to her to see her holding a note. "We wanted to save lives, we had good intentions...we didn't make it an hour before running into a horde. Now we're bitten. We've decided we're gonna end our lives instead of turning. Please tell our family and friends that we're sorry. Love Adam and Sidney." Ellie said and I lowered my head, closed my eyes and shook my head at this.

Joel and I stand up and look back at Ellie as she flips the note to the back and reads some more. "I shot her. I can't take my own life I'm a fucking coward. Adam." She reads and I place my hand over my mouth in shock. "Jesus." Joel mutters, horrified. 

"If only they were immune, right?" Ellie said as she sets the note down and looks at the body. I lower my hand and Joel and I exchange a nervous look before Joel clears his throat. "Well, let's...let's go get Tommy, and we can take thse bodies back to Jackson." He said and he pats my arm and we start to walk towards the front door.

"After you guys took me out of the Firefly hospital...you two said that there were dozens of people like me." Ellie said, making us stop in our tracks then turn to her. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what they told us." Joel said to her. "I've never met another immune person before. Have you?" She asked us then Joel and I share a quick look before I turn to Ellie. 

"They could be hiding it. You do." I said, shrugging. "Do you guys believe that?" Ellie asked, questioning, and I raise an eyebrow at her. "Is now really the time for this?" Joel asked her. "We traveled across the entire country to bring me to the Fireflies....I had so many questions for them." She said and I could tell she was getting angry.

"Why did you guys pull me out of there while I was still unconscious?!" She asked, loudly. "Because we let them run their tests, and when (y/n) and I saw that they were useless, both of us got all three of us out of there...." Joel said.

"How do you know they were useless? Maybe if you guys woulda given them more time, they could have figured something out--" Ellie yells as Joel walks over to her and stands in front of her while I was standing behind him.

"Ellie. There was no cure." Joel said to her, firmly. "There's nothing that could've helped these people or anybody else. I know you wish things were different--(y/n) and I--we wish things were different. But they ain't." He said and the two stare at each other, my heart beating like a jackhammer, before Ellie, her eyes welling up, looks away then down.

"We need to get these kids back to their families." I said and they look over at the bodies before Joel looks back at Ellie. "Is there something else you like to rehash?" Joel asked her and Ellie looks back at him. "No." She said. "Good. C'mon." Joel said and we start to head out.

That night, we made it back to Jackson and brought those bodies back for the families, which of course they were sad about, then we made it back home. Ellie was in her little shed in the backyard and I had already tucked Aiden and Ethan into bed for the night.

Joel was already passed out but I couldn't sleep so I sat up on the edge of the bed and ran my hands through my hair.

This lie we keep telling Ellie just tears me up inside the more time goes on and the more times she keeps questioning it; I know she knows that we're lying, she just doesn't know exactly what it is.

"(Y/n), honey?" I hear Joel groan behind me and I turn to him to see him waking up. "Everything okay?" He asked, softly, as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah...just couldn't sleep." I said and he starts to sit up then sits down next to me and places an arm around me. "What's wrong?" He asked me and I sigh. 

"I'm...I'm just thinking..." I replied. "About what?" He asked and I bite my lips. "This lie we're telling Ellie." I replied and I hear him sigh, heavily, at this. "Oh Lord, not this again." He grumbles. "Joel, she's already questioning our story. Whether you like it or not, she's gonna find out. She's a really smart girl..." I said and Joel looks down.

"She's not gonna find out." He grumbles. "Yes, she will. And that's what's heartbreaking, Joel. Cause I can see this go either way. Either we tell her and she has her heart broken about it, maybe lose her trust or she finds out herself, still has her heart broken and not only we lose her trust, but also we lose her forever." I said.

Joel frowns at this, knowing I'm right about the potential consequences of holding back the truth from Ellie. He sighs and pull me close, resting his chin on my shoulder. “I know honey...but it’s for her own good.” he said and I frown then sigh as he kisses my shoulder.

"I know it's for her own good...it's just...I'm just worried and scared of what's to come. I don't want to lose her." I said. He pulls me closer to him, his arms wrapped around my shoulders, and I place my hands on his arm as tears rolled down my face. "Neither do I." He mutters and we sit like this for awhile before both of us get tired and fall asleep.

@fangirl-inthe-us

[purplesurveys]

1277

Who are you most nervous about introducing potential significant others to?  Ooooh moving forward, probably Angela hahahaha I have no idea how I’d break it to her if ever I do start seeing somebody again. She’s well aware of all the shit that I let slide so she might get intense with the scrutineering.

What is the most exciting thing about your life right now?  Just the fact that I feel on top of the world these days. My days of being depressed and picking at my insecurities seem to be far behind me and the change has looked to be apparent coming from friends who’ve told me I seem happier, louder these days.

What was the most important non-academic thing you learned in high school?  To not be scared to fight harder for the things you believe in or what make up your identity, coming from having to hide a same-sex relationship during that period. That feeling of being constricted and having to hide to stay on some conservative seniors’ good graces really pissed me off so high school was really crucial in letting me discover just how much I’d be willing to fight and test the waters to be able to live as me.

Have you ever had a job that deeply affected your personal life? How so and do you still work there?  Hmm no, not really. If anything my job is one of the things that helped make me a lot livelier and happier.

Do you have a “one who got away”?  It felt that way at the start when my view was still skewed, but it didn’t take long until I realized she was not a loss at all.

If you were in a superhero movie, would you be the hero or the villain? Hero.

If you found a mouse in your house, would you be frightened?  Mice or rats are the literal worst fucking thing I could see in my house. I definitely see myself making a big deal out of it lmao, especially rats.

Have you ever tried to perform magic tricks?  Nobody ever taught me, so no.

Can you do more with a yo-yo than just "go up and down"? Nah, which kinda makes me feel ashamed because considering it was a Filipino who invented the modern yo-yo, I feel like it should be my responsibility to know a few tricks LOL.

What is one form of technology that you wouldn't be able to live without?  Instant messenger.

Did you get an allowance, growing up? Why or why not?  Starting high school. Before that I was living in our family’s duplex, so my grandma could make packed meals for all of us – not to mention the fact that my parents were also still on their way to establishing themselves at their respective workplaces so we weren’t all that well-off yet. 

When we moved into our own place, we started with my mom making our meals but eventually it just proved to be time-consuming and a lot of work considering she also had a job to go to. With that and the fact that both my parents at that point already got a couple of promotions, we switched to allowance.

Would you rather go to a water park or an amusement park? Why?  Amusement parks though I would only probably head to the safer rides and food stalls with all the deep-fried offerings haha. I cannot handle more intense rides. On the other hand, water parks have always sounded nasty to me.

What is one instrument you wouldn't mind learning how to play?  Piano.

What's the longest amount of time you've had to wait in line for something?  The stupid LTO, because you can never count on government agencies to be efficient. Technically my whole time in there took a couple of stages, but all in all I spent eight hours there.

What is something that you would like to learn more about?  Korean. I just graduated from my Basic Korean 1 class but I already have plans to enroll in the following course, since I seemed to do well and I want to keep the momentum going.

What is something that one of your family member collects?  Mom has a large collection of chef-themed figurines and other sorts of trinkets like a chef timer, shot glasses, etc - but mostly the figurines - that she has displayed in a glass case. I should keep that in mind for when I start Christmas shopping, actually...she hasn’t updated that collection in a long time. Thanks for the idea!

Have you ever moved to a new school before? If so, how did it feel?  No, not in the middle of the same period since I went to the same school from kinder to high school for 14 years. I only “moved” when I started college. Like I’ve said in previous surveys, it felt freeing to finally not under be the hands of an environment ran by...well, Catholics. It was a culture shock to see rallies everywhere, to find out I could wear short shorts or even go to school naked if I wanted to, and to see boys in my class (I went to an all-girls), but it was all the good kind of shock.

Have you ever legitimately forgotten to do homework?  Always, because I never wrote them down.

Do you enjoy autumn leaves or spring flowers more? Why?  I experience neither season.

Depending on where you live, why might a day of school get canceled? Typhoon.

If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be? Melanie Hamilton from Gone with the World.

What are some common places that people tour when they come to your city?  I rarely see foreigners here since my area isn’t particularly known for tourism; most go to the island provinces like Cebu, Aklan, Palawan, etc. If I had to recommend spots here, I’d tell them to go for Pinto and maybe the rooftop bars that offer a view of Manila’s skyline. 

What's one food that you did not enjoy as a child, but do as an adult?  Chicken curry, which I used to dread.

Would you rather have a mermaid tail, a fairy's wings or a unicorn's horn? I guess the wings just because I feel like it’s the only practical one.

What is an animal that you'd like to have as a pet but it's not allowed?  I don’t think that way about animals I can’t keep as pets anyway.

What are some things that you do to make the world a better place?  I always clean up at restaurants (my mom doesn’t understand why I do it because “the servers are here for a reason, Robyn”) but I always see the relief on their faces when they see I’ve stacked up the plates and cups so I don’t see a reason to stop doing it. I keep the door open for people who happen to enter/exit a building the same time as me, share dog adoption posts, don’t make a fuss about or towards a shop staff who messes up...things like that. I hope it’s able to help, even if just in a small way.

Has the last person you had sex with ever had sex with someone besides you?  I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has already.

What’s your favorite store at your mall?  We have several malls within the vicinity but I like frequenting NCAT.

Have you ever done a workout DVD?  No but my mom is fond of those.

Who usually takes out the trash in your family?  Either of my parents.

What song are you currently obsessed with?  My Universe is soooooo good. It’s Coldplay’s classic sound but they somehow managed to perfectly blend in BTS’ style as well, so I love how it turned out.

When you go fishing, do you make someone else get the fish off the hook?  I've never gone fishing.

Do you take any prescription meds?  Nope.

What happens if you don’t take them?  Who was the last person you dreamt about?  My dad.

Do you prefer your tea sweetened or unsweetened?  Sweetened, though I don’t usually actively look for iced tea. I’d have it if it was served, but I don’t typically order it for myself.

How often do you honk your horn?  As long as I am annoyed, which gives my mom a mini heart attack every time because she insists I just let people have their way to avoid getting into fights. Sometimes when she’s driving and someone’s being stupid on the road I lurch forward to do the honking for her and it pisses her off soooooooooo much but it also gets the job done so *shrug*

Do you have any children? If so, names and ages? I don’t.

Have your parents ever witnessed you doing something inappropriate? What?  TMI but I almost got caught doing the m-word once but my reflexes were at lightning speed that day so when my door opened I was able to fix myself up and appear as though nothing was happening lol. My mom also saw a hickey on me once but I was able to veer the conversation away when she started inquiring.

Did you get babysat a lot as a kid?  No, I did the babysitting.

If you were the principal of a school, what would you do differently? Actually deal with teachers who mistreat or make issues towards their students. I had several teachers I know didn’t like me but I could never do anything about it because there was no way in hell the school was going to take my side.

Are you doing anything fun tomorrow?  Continued from yesterday. If I took this question yesterday to refer to today I would’ve answered yes because we actually have a really fun PR stunt scheduled for execution today, wherein we get to sponsor someone’s whole wedding from food to flowers to the host and fillm crew :D :D But tomorrow is just Monday so the real answer to this is no.

What is something you'd like to receive as a housewarming gift?  I dunno the usual housewarming gifts, but I would appreciate anything practical, or anything that you’ll need at the least expected times, like batteries or even like Sticky Tack.

How old were you when you first experienced the effects of puberty?  Oooh I was an early bird – I was 9 when I could first tell my first period was on its way; it came a month after I turned 10.

What is your least favorite holiday, and why?  I don’t dislike any holiday because they all mean a day off work lol.

What were some outdoor games you played as a child?  We usually played piko (hopscotch), our local version of freeze tag that we dubbed “Ice ice water” for whatever reason, and a garter game that we call 10-20. Dodgeball was a favorite during recess and lunch, too.

Did you accompany your parents on "Take Your Child to Work" Day? That’s not observed here, but my mom did use to take me and my siblings to her first workplace. Are cemeteries peaceful to you, or do they freak you out?  They’re actually more interesting to me than anything else. I like learning about the different lives of many different people, even if I only technically know them by their birthday and date of death. Sometimes the inscriptions would be more detailed and tell more about their life, sometimes I’d come across babies who only lived a few days...and it’s just interesting to have those glimpses into life.

Which ancient civilization would you be interested in learning more about?  Filipino, because Western colonization destroyed proof of most of it. 

Do you have better long-term memory or short-term memory?  Long.

What was the last situation that made you cry? Describe.  I cried this morning. Nothing bad or heavy, I just found myself thinking again about my mental state last year.

Which forest animal would you be most afraid to encounter?  Anything that wouldn’t hesitate to tear my limbs apart.

Do you believe in anything supernatural? (ie: spirits, etc)  No.

Has anyone close to you ever gone to war?  No. The closest link I have to the military, other than my dead great-grandfather, is Angela’s uncle who’s like a general or like a colonel or something, idk titles.

Have you ever experienced altitude sickness?  Yeah, occasionally. Pressure in the ear is a bigger nuisance to me, though.

Is there anything, any event, you wish you could remember more clearly?  The last time I saw my grandfather. My only clear memory of him that day was stepping out of the house to leave (my mom and I were visiting) and him sending me off with the message to always be kind and good. If I had known I would never see him again, I never would’ve left.

Have you ever rubbed anyone’s feet?  Hmm no, not that I can recall.

If you had to get advice from someone of the opposite sex, who would you go to?  I’d go to Hans for certain advice, but not for every single situation. He’s the only person that comes to mind.

What was the last new food/drink that you tried?  So last Wednesday I finally got to try this Instagram-based doughnut shop that I’ve been eyeing since August and it turned out to be even MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTEDDDDDD. Like yeah their photos were always mouthwatering but I didn’t expect it to taste as good as it looks, since most pretty food I’ve encountered usually end up just tasting meh. Anywho, I got two orders of their sampler box and they served me their specialty bacon doughnut, signature brown butter, and a bunch of their chocolate and peanut butter variants and I loved every single fucking thing.

Have you had a good day today or was yesterday better?  Oh it’s hard to tell, it’s only 9:05 AM. Both days might be uneventful, though.

Have you ever played Sudoku?  I don’t actually get how to play it hahaha. I feel like I’m too stupid for sudoku.

Do you ever take surveys for money?  I tried it last year when applying for jobs was still a bitch for me, but the thing is most of those surveys look for employed participants so there was rarely ever a survey that fit me anyway.

Do you like Barbie or Bratz better?  Bratz.

Do you prefer purple or green grapes?  I don’t like grapes.

Who was the last person that made you laugh?  Idk, probs one of the boys since I was watching videos of them earlier today.

Where does your best friend live?  A nearby city.

Who did you last confide in?  Angela.

Does your car have an alarm?  Sure.

Where was your mom born?  Somewhere in Metro Manila.

What can always make you feel better no matter what?  My dogs.

What is something you’ll never eat again? Why?  I don’t think there is anything. I feel like I’m always bound to retry things and that I would be open to doing so, even fruits. One thing I’m firm about never drinking again, though, is coconut water. Get that SHIT away from me.

What is currently happening that is scaring you?  I’m not feeling scared these days.

Have you ever found a stranger’s note somewhere? If so, what did it say?  Probably. But nothing sticks out.

[zara2148]

Fethsteel Fic: Not Good Enough (For You)

So here we go, my take on how Fethry Duck joined F.O.W.L. and met Steelbeak. Less warning stuff for this one, mostly just implied abuse, though it’s clear Steelbeak has not had a pleasant history. Also, both he and Fethry have some self esteem issues... and there’s not exactly spoilers for “Lost Harp of Mervana,” but the new intro takes place right after it.

Also on AO3. Make sure leave kudos and comments there. I enjoy the feel of being applauded.

Huey was placing Isabella Finch's journal back in Uncle Scrooge's study when he spotted the tin can phone there, now connected to nothing. Scrooge held on to everything in the mansion, even seemingly useless things, on the grounds that it may one day come in handy again. 

It was one reason why Trash Day could be such a nightmare, though Scrooge was starting to learn how to let things go...

Huey found Della and Donald unpacking their gear off the sub, hanging up suits and boxing equipment until it was ready to be used again. "Uncle Donald? Mom? Do you know how to get in touch with Cousin Fethry? I think he'd love to hear all about Mervana."

"No, sorry, sweetie. I haven't heard anything from him since he rode off on the back of that... giant... fish..." Della shuddered in remembered revulsion.

"Mom, it was a krill."

"A fish is still a fish by any other name."

"You also seemed fine with Mitzy at the time."

"I was too busy thinking about all the Moonlanders we had to beat up."

Donald sighed and turned away from a crate to answer Huey’s question. “I haven’t heard from him either since then.” He shrugged. "But that's normal for Fethry. He either calls every five minutes or he gets so wrapped up in something we don't hear from him for six months."

"Doesn't he have a cell phone we could call?”

"Knowing Fethry, it would just get dropped in the ocean." There was a reason Scrooge only trusted Fethry with a tin can after one too many busted phones.

Huey’s beak twisted in discomfort. “But what if he got in trouble? What if he needed our help?”

Donald let out a breath, more frustrated with himself than anyone else, even Fethry. He knelt in front of Huey and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Fethry is…” Cuckoo bananas really hadn’t been the right thing to say to Huey, not when Donald could see the similarities between the two of them. Unsure how else to finish that sentence, he tried again.

“Fethry is who he is. But he’s also a grown adult capable of making decisions and taking care of himself. If he ever needs us, he knows where we are.”

Della grinned proudly. “He’s a part of the Duck family. Surviving is what we do.”

Uncle Donald and Mom weren’t wrong about that. Cousin Fethry had survived alone in a collapsing sea base for years. He knew the Junior Woodchuck guidebook from cover to cover, just as Huey did. He was better prepared than most to face trouble when it found him.

"Okay, I'll just make sure to write down all my observations about Mervana to share with him when he gets in touch."

Donald gave Huey a smile. "I'm sure he'll love that."

***

“Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”

It was an old refrain at this point. 

The last job interview he had, Fethry had spent a full half-hour talking about the eating habits of krill and the merits of singing when asked about his team management skills. 

The interview before that, he spoke briefly about the endless silence of the ocean when asked how he dealt with workplace difficulties. He’d been too quiet after that question.

And the interview before that… well, he didn’t think that room was ever going to be the same.

Fethry’s laptop was old. Wires were sticking out and duct tape was barely holding the screen together. He browsed through the listings for scientists on Quacked In, tweaking his cover letter and resume slightly for each.

Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. Maybe he should try for a slightly smaller position at a lab, like a custodian! He had experience keeping things in custody! And then he could work his way up from there. 

But the little Donalds had such faith in him. They believed he could be a great scientist. Fethry wasn’t going to let them down. He never really realized until it was too late, but Fethry knew he had a habit of letting his family down.

Gladstone had offered to help, after that big event with purple people from the sky… ahh, yes, the invasion! But Fethry knew how often people tried to get close to his cousin to use his luck. Family shouldn’t do that.

The next listing didn’t quite catch his eye. But Fethry was at the point of applying for everything that came up for “scientist” and read through what little there was.

“WANTED: Skilled scientists for private company in Duckburg. Duties will vary. Flexible work schedule, late nights occasionally required. Must be able to roll with the punches.”

He had no expectations that it would progress to a job offer. How he chose to look at was that he was doing really well on reaching his goal of 100 job rejections. He’d read all about re-framing your objectives for positivity!

Once he reached 100, well, he might as well try for 200 rejections then.

He reviewed his resume and cover letter on the final submission screen. He clicked “Send.”

Then he moved onto the next listing and thought no more of it.

***

F.O.W.L.’s computer settings were extremely sensitized when it came to tracking the movements and activities of the Duck-McDuck clan. They knew when Hubert Duck received a new merit badge, or when Dewford Duck uploaded another video to his overlooked Insta, or when Llewellyn bought a soda that wasn’t Pep branded.

Any diversion from or progress in the Duck’s family’s normal routine could be significant. That’s why they monitored it all.

So when a member of the Duck family applied for one of their vacant positions, it got noticed. Alarms went off, alerting the highest-ranking members in F.O.W.L. command.

Just ten minutes after the application was received, Bradford clicked through it on his laptop.

F.O.W.L. could just ignore this. Stay away from the Duck family until they were more ready to move out in the open. It would be a sensible move.

But there was potential here he couldn’t overlook.

Fethry Duck was one of the harder members to track ever since the McDuck SubLab crumbled into an undersea abyss. Satellite images last had him riding some sort of kaiju across the ocean, which was just typical when it came to the Duck-McDuck family.

When the moon invaders came they had made many mistakes, such as caring more about the acknowledgment of their perceived superiority than how they could exploit the Earth. But they had been right that it was better to have all members of that family accounted for when it came to global-scale plans.

Having Fethry under constant watch at F.O.W.L. would leave Gladstone as the most transient variable. And the lottery winnings and sweepstakes prizes he left in his wake would make him infinitely easier to track.

Fethry was also one of the more controllable members of the Duck family. Neither misfortune nor ostentatious fortune dogged his steps. He didn’t question intention and he didn’t try to stir up trouble for his amusement. He was so lacking in ambition that he stayed in a lonely janitorial position for almost five years. If he was taken to a lab and given every reason to stay, he likely would do so without seeing anything amiss.

His goal was to steal the world right out from under Scrooge. Why not start by stealing a member of the man’s family? One Scrooge was unlikely to miss for quite some time, given his avoidance of Fethry’s company.

Yet for a duck who didn’t believe in handouts, it said something that Scrooge still cared enough about Fethry to give him a string of jobs that he more or less performed adequately. He’d prefer it not come to threats, especially since harm to his family made Scrooge predictably savage. But if worse came to worse… better to have a hostage than do without.

And if he was useless? Disposing of him would be no hardship.

He clicked “Accept” and composed a brief response, suggesting a range of times that Fethry could visit a front location in downtown Duckberg.

After opening up the email and reading through it, Fethry squealed and picked out the earliest possible time. 

***

Fethry hummed as he walked inside the address the email gave him. It was a plain building, notable only for its pristine white exterior that seemed all too blank.

He’d dressed up nice for the occasion. His red jacket was replaced with a slightly frayed and browned business suit jacket. His tie was a piece of dried kelp that Mitzy had picked out for him. She always had the best eye when it came to kelp. And his cap was still present, keeping his thoughts toasty warm!

Yet his throat felt clogged and simultaneously too dry. The papers in his hand would be wrinkled if he clutched them any tighter. There was a heavy feeling in his chest that told him he’d be out of here soon enough, and he would need to try his luck elsewhere.

A duck with a dirty face and ruffled hair sat behind the visitor’s desk. Her name tag read “Ample.”

He approached her without his usual bounce. “Hello, I’m here for an interview.”

She nodded and glanced through the schedule. “Fethry Duck?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“The director is ready to see you now. Go through the double doors over there.”

He dipped forward in an awkward half-bow, unsure if a handshake would be too presumptuous. “Thank you!”

He pushed his way through the double doors. The room was in grey shadow, a large desk slightly off toward one of the corners. Two chairs were in front of the desk, facing the figure behind it.

The shadows slightly obscured the person behind the desk. He could make out a shape but no features.  

The shadow turned to him. “Ah, thank you for coming. Please take a seat.”

Fethry grabbed one of the chairs, shifting his paper copy of his resume as he looked at his interviewer up close.

Oh, he knew this vulture! He worked with Uncle Scrooge before! His name was buzzing around in the back of Fethry’s skull, waiting to be grabbed hold of…. what was it, what was it…?

“Bradley!”

“It’s Bradford,” he corrected in a cold tone. 

Fethry slumped back in his seat, feeling small. “O-oh, I’m sorry.”

Bradford did not take the time to acknowledge what he said. He sat “So, Fethry Duck. Scrooge’s nephew.”

“Yes.”

“You hold no degrees, no certifications that would qualify you for a scientific position.”

“... no.” Fethry knew how much those pieces of paper meant to people. He sunk into his chair, almost wishing it could swallow him up, the way the ocean did…

...and that was not a train of thought he needed to be boarding right now. Fethry stepped off a mental platform, letting it whiz by.

Bradford continued, neither noticing nor caring about Fethry’s inner world and its struggles. “And yet, you thought you could apply here, for a scientific position with us.” He stood up and started to circle around Fethry. “Do you know what we do here, Fethry?”

“Science?”

“Among other things.” Bradford paused behind Fethry. Fethry couldn’t quite bring himself to turn and look at him. “What we do here... let’s just say we're out to change the world.”

Bradford resumed his circle and came to a stop in front of Fethry. He let silence reign for a few seconds before speaking. “And Fethry Duck? We’re willing to give you the chance to join our ranks.”

Fethry had to swallow down dry disbelief. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Fethry’s hands were clammy as he held out his stacks of papers. His grip wasn’t shaking, but his limbs felt hollow. “You don’t even want to look at my resume first?”

“I’ve already seen it.”

He let his arms fall to his sides. His voice came out small, as if he was once again speaking from the bottom of the ocean. “Why me?”

Silence returned. Bradford considered him over his beak.

“You’re the unnoticed member of the Duck-McDuck family. Isn’t it time you had a chance to prove yourself?”

Bradford wasn’t wrong. He wanted that chance. But the implication that he was only getting this job because of his family...

Well. Wasn’t that how he got every job he ever had?

Bradford turned away from him and loomed his way back behind his desk. “Mind you, the job still isn’t much. You’ll be working in a lab on your own projects, yes. But you will remain under direct supervision for the time being. Before undertaking any venture, you are to submit a full report that outlines expected costs and outcomes, in accordance with our guidelines.”

He sat down, his back hunched to allow him to continue looming from a lower height. “The pay is minimum wage, but you can work your way up through experience. Food and board will be provided on-site, so that’s two fewer things you have to worry about.”

Fethry absent-mindedly fiddled with his kelp tie, his attention otherwise on Bradford as he continued.

“As you may have surmised, your work is to be considered top secret. For the time being, we will ask that you remain in the facilities to better learn your responsibilities. There is to be no contact with the outside world without prior approval. Otherwise, you put ourselves and the work we do at risk.”

“If you accept the job under these terms, a car will be dispatched to pick up you and any belongings you choose to bring tomorrow morning.” Bradford steepled his fingers and looked through Fethry. “Do you accept these conditions?” 

Fethry had forgotten he hadn’t said yes to anything yet. He wasn’t sure how he got so caught up that he missed that.

He could bring his team with him, their jar was extremely portable. But taking this job would mean saying goodbye to Mitzy for a while… hopefully, she would understand. 

He nodded, then said for emphasis, “Yes.”

“Well, then. Welcome, Fethry Duck, to…” Bradford paused again, his words trailing off into familiar silence. “... well, we’ll just call it your new place of work.”

***

There wasn’t a whole lot to do at their headquarters between missions. The funnest thing to do around here was to play all the arcade games after the kids had gone home for the day.

However, the last time Steelbeak did that he blew an entire paycheck and ended up with only 20 tickets to show for it—not even enough to trade-in for a piece of candy. That didn’t make him stupid, that made the games rigged.

Now he stuck to the actual secret parts of their secret lair, wandering the halls. His wallet stayed full and fat, but the time between missions dragged on and on.

The gun course was fun, but there was only so much offtime an agent was allowed there. Spend too much time shooting things and command would send you over to their quack shrink.

The rec room was okay, but he’d be fighting every off-duty Eggman there if he wanted to pick which channel to watch on the sole TV. Not that he wouldn’t win, but his time in the prison rec room, and the underground fighting ring’s rec room before that, taught him that victory wasn’t worth it if you couldn’t find any good shows playing.

Which is how he often ended up doing what he did right now, trailing after Heron down to the labs. He’d watch her and watch the other scientists, trying to see how what they did tied into F.O.W.L.’s big ol’ villain schemes.

Did he always understand what she was working on? No. Did she ever really try to explain it in an easily understood way? Also no. Did these trips to the labs often end with her metal hand clamped around his beak, hissing at him and calling him names? No, well, yes. Yes, it did.

… he was supposed to be going somewhere with this, but he wasn’t quite sure where. Wait, no, now he remembered. 

If he wanted to someday be the one hatching the schemes, he should watch how others hatched theirs first. It was like watching the prizefighter in the ring to learn how to beat him. Some people would only hit you if you asked them for anything, so you had to watch how they did something instead.

Most of the other scientists ignored him, and he didn’t pay them much attention either. But today, a duck in a red hat waved at them as he and Heron stepped inside the lab.

“Oh, hello! I’m Fethry!” The lab coat he was wearing hung loosely on him, clearly meant for a slightly larger bird.

“O-kaaay...?” Why was he expected to care?

A grin was spreading across Heron’s face as she looked the duck up and down. Then she turned her gaze to Steelbeak as she gestured offhandedly at the duck. “Fethry is our new marine specialist. He’ll be working on some of our most important projects.”

Heron… sounded like she was trying to hold back a laugh. What, was this smart guy really good at the jokes? Or did he know a party trick or two?

And what kind of name was Fethry? Might as well have called him “Webby” since he had webbed feet.

“Say, Fethry?” He knew that tone of voice from Heron. He didn’t always know the details of what she was saying, but he knew the sweetly sharpened tone was meant to cut someone down to size.

He felt… lighter, watching that tone be aimed at someone who wasn’t him. Like he was actually in on the joke for once. He also felt the urge to move to safer ground.

Heron’s smile was wide as she continued. “Why don’t you explain to my partner, Steelbeak, what you’re working on? He loves to hear about scientific experiments in great detail. Especially if you use a lot of long words.”

Okay, maybe he was still part of the joke.

Fethry’s eyes widened—he didn’t even know it was possible for someone to widen their eyes like that until Fethry did. “I’d love to!”

“Great!” Heron said in a passable imitation of Fethry’s enthusiasm. Under her breath she added, “Maybe now I can get some real work done.”

Steelbeak’s jaw tightened as she walked away. He refocused his gaze on the red-capped duck, who was all but jumping in place. 

A snort escaped him as he sat down at a table. At least if this pipsqueak tried to clamp his beak, he could just knock him into next week.

“So what are you working on?” This was still more exciting than watching the walls, after all.

Fethry laughed nervously. It had been a while since anyone paid him a significant amount of attention. “Well, at the moment I’m just filling out the request paperwork. But I’m hoping to start an experiment on delaying the eating habits of the crown of thorns starfish.”

“The what?”

“Crown of thorns starfish. It eats coral.”

“And that is?”

“Coral is like…” Fethry scratched his head. He could never remember all the big words like polyps, sessile, and Anthozoa when he needed to. “It’s like skeletons scattered across the seafloor that fish live in.”

“Really? So fish just decide to live in dead bodies.” Sounded fake, but at least it wasn’t boring.

“Well, coral is a skeleton, but it’s also alive. It’s really bad when they do die.”

“So the fish live in alive dead bodies.” This Fethry guy was talking an interesting sort of crazy.

“Skeletons, yes. Called coral. Only these sea stars eat the coral, so the fish have no place to live then.”

“Now, these sea stars start off eating algae. It’s been called the grass of the sea,” he explained before Steelbeak even had to ask. Fethry’s beak scrunched up. “Though I have to say, grass usually tastes much better.”

“How long it takes for the sea stars to go from algae to coral varies. And there’s a lot of these starfish in the ocean. If they made the switch all at once, they could do a lot of damage.”

Huh. For the guy’s first project, it had the makings of a decent scheme. “So… if you could figure out how to make them do it, you could have them eat the fish out of house and home?”

Fethry actually nodded at that. “Or if I could figure out a way to slow it down, I could buy time for the reefs to grow.”

“...huh.” He actually followed most of that. Sure in his mind, coral reefs had a lot more skulls than they normally did. But he got the gist of what Fethry was talking about.

Black Heron hummed as she worked without interruption. Fethry calculated the costs of feeding and housing a small colony of starfish, making sure to show his work. And Steelbeak imagined blackmailing a fishing village with an army of sea stars. Small potatoes when it came to true villainy, but everyone had to start somewhere.

***

It wasn’t one of Heron’s longer science sessions. She tapped at some keys, read some screens, fiddled with some gadgets, and was ready to leave in a couple of hours.

Fethry had remained in the lab, drawing up plans for a sea star’s dream home. They’d need plenty of walking room, he’d said, so he was drawing up little pathway designs. Including one for a yellow brick road.

He started to reach out a hand to Steelbeak… for what, Steelbeak wasn’t sure. His body tensed in defense.

And Fethry must have noticed because he let his hand drop to his side and just smiled instead. “Thanks for listening. I know I kind of ramble.”

Steelbeak waited a few seconds to be sure that Fethry wasn’t going to make any sudden moves. Then he gave a shrug and followed Heron out.

It hadn’t been a hardship. Listening to weird undersea stuff passed the time. It was like catching a documentary on TV, without the meatheads that would grab the remote from you and change the channel to something else.

Black Heron laughed at Fethry as soon as they left the lab. "That guy," was all she managed to say before chuckles overtook her.

Steelbeak scowled. “What? What did he say that was so funny?” Was he the butt of someone else’s joke again? He'd make him go splat, if so.

Heron regained control of herself, but she was still grinning. “He didn’t have to say anything. It’s comical that he’s even here.”

The scowl receded and his brows knit in confusion. “I don’t —”

“You don’t get it, I know. Lucky for you, I’m in a good enough mood to explain. He’s Scrooge McDuck’s nephew. You remember, the guy you were supposed to get out of the arcade?”

“The big guy who wrecked one of my suits?”

“Ugh, no! He was the one wearing a top hat.” A frown flitted across her face, but her good mood was quick to reassert itself. Past failure meant little in the face of such a hilarious triumph.

“He came to us, wanting a job. He has no idea that we’re F.O.W.L. and no idea that we’re working against everything his family stands for. We’re holding him hostage, and he has no clue.” Another peal of laughter escaped Heron.

Steelbeak let out a chuckle as well, now that he was finally in on the joke. "Ahh, I get it. Classic dum-dum. What kind of idiot doesn't know who they're working for?"

The grin on Heron’s face slipped slightly.

"This should go without saying, but I know you so I'll say it anyway. Do not tell Fethry any details of your work, your missions, what we do here. Nada. Nothing."

"Well, duh. I know that. That's why they're called secret missions."

"Steelbeak, I once saw you brag about being a secret agent at a bar to try and get a date."

"And why not! They were cute!"

“And you wonder why your recreational leave is so limited.”

“What?”

“I’m saying dumb boys don’t get a lot of outdoors time.”

“Hey!”

A smirk moved across her face before she continued. “The director wants him to remain utterly oblivious, so secrecy is of the utmost importance. He’s not going to be happy if we have to lock him up or kill him for knowing too much.”

Steelbeak did not reach for his beak. He did not feel the slight dents that remained from trying to punch his own mouth open. “And we’re not just locking him up now, why?”

“Because the Ducks are easiest to manage when they think a situation is within their control!” Her voice was raised as decades of thwarted ambitions seeped into her tone.

Steelbeak was unimpressed. He could get just as angry, and he hadn’t needed years to get to that point.

“And what if he does ask what I do here?”

“Why would he ask? You’re hardly about to engage him in some deep conversation, are you?”

He couldn’t quite meet her eyes for some reason. “Well, no, but…”

“Oh, for larceny’s sake. If it does come up and you can’t avoid answering the question, just make something up. You’re an agent, do some lying.”

“... yeah, of course. I can do that.”

***

It doesn’t really sink in until later that night, back in his room, how Fethry answered all his questions without calling him, “Stupid.”