#and well N seems like Darwin?

[eveledoze]

guys..........guys.............................

............it's Nuzi..............................

[hp-hcs]

am just gonna bombard you with requests until instructed otherwise because i've found my new favourite writer✨

but how about the theo's x obscurus male reader (yandere or not, both theo's or not) honestly i'll gobble up whatever given - yxdls

freaks — yandere! theodore nott x obscurial! male! reader

tws: implied/referenced child abuse; snape being a dick

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

To be honest, nobody had really ever noticed Y/N L/N until he came back from winter break with a black eye and a broken nose; and with just one snide comment from a certain Potions professor, he promptly exploded into the most terrifying thing any of them had ever seen.

An Obscurus.

It’d been the first class back from the break. Someone clearly must’ve hated the fifth years, because the new schedule listed Potions as the first class on a Monday morning. Exhausted, all of the fifth years had trudged in and taken a seat, too tired to care about any accidental inter-house mingling.

Professor Snape was having none of it. His beady eyes flashed as he surveyed his class of half-asleep teenagers.

“When an adult says good morning, it is polite to respond.”

“Good morning, Professor Snape,” the class mumbled in a completely exasperated tone.

His lip had curled back into a sneer. Opening his mouth to, presumably, berate the class, he was interrupted by the late arrival of a student.

“Mr. L/N. How wonderful of you to join us. We surely wouldn’t want to waste any more of your precious time.”

The boy in the doorway tried to shrink in on himself. He looked so small and lost with that busted up nose and eye. He started to make an apology, but made it barely two words in before Snape struck again.

“Perhaps it would be beneficial for you all to take a note of Mr. L/N as living proof that Charles Darwin’s theory was not without some error. Mr. L/N, if you would research the term natural selection and write ten inches of parchment on the subject. You can turn it in to me tomorrow morning. Take a seat.”

The boy’s cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame as he scrambled to a seat in the back row.

“Natural selection,” the professor intoned. “The riddance of those who are not well-suited to their environment. That is, abnormalities or freaks of nature.”

The class glanced back at the previously unknown boy. Who was this kid? Why did Snape have a vendetta against him?

Something in the ashamed boy’s eyes flashed. At the word ‘freaks’, he visibly broke.

A low rumble filled the classroom, making Snape pause mid-sentence. With a resounding crack, the flagstones just inches from the professor’s feet split and shattered, like someone had taken a sledgehammer to them.

Snape jumped back, his head snapping up in a panic. The walls began to shake and rumble threateningly. From the belittled boy in the back row, an odd dark mist was beginning to form, slowly swirling around his body before engulfing him completely.

The kids around him scrambled away in a panic, the entire class rushing to the doors. Theodore sat still, stunned as he watched the terrifying scene.

One of his friends tugged on his sleeve, shouting something that was immediately swallowed by the sound as the odd swirling mist began to pick up speed, whipping papers and quills around the room.

The crack that ran through the flagstone floor began to spread with an ominous rumbling, the stone walls beginning to shake and spiderweb with fractures. A dust cloud of debris emanated from every fissure, choking up the air and reducing any visibility.

A sound, like a small child crying, seemed to echo around the room. Theo, stuck in place, watched with wide eyes as the mist- no, whirlwind, began growing, getting more and more violent.

The whirlwind lashed out, reducing Snape’s desk to splinters. The crying got louder, and a sharp burst of magic from the whirlwind sent Theodore flying, hitting the ground hard and scrambling for cover under a table.

For just a split second, so fast that Theo barely had time to notice, the mist of the whirlwind parted, revealing a white glowing form in the center. The form was vaguely humanoid in shape, curled up on the ground in the fetal position with its hands clasped tight over its ears. Its shoulders heaved with the force of its sobs, and then it was gone, swallowed back up by the storm.

Theo wracked his brain for the beaten boy’s name, scrabbling for any memory he had of the kid who had always previously gone unnoticed.

“Y/N!”

The storm…paused, sort of. The debris that had been in the process of being thrown across the room halted midair, hanging suspended for a split second before whipping back around with a stronger fury.

The shattering of glass made Theo instinctively cover his face, smashed potions and vials sending shards of certain death flying through the air.

“Y/N! Y/N, you have to stop!” Theodore shouted, pleaded.

The storm howled with shrieking fury, leaking anguish and total despair.

“Y/N! He’s wrong about you!”

A chair was sent hurtling towards him.

Ducking, Theo continued talking, raising his voice over the wailing of the storm.

“I want to help, Y/N!”

The storm paused again, for longer this time. A cauldron, suspended midair just inches from whacking into Theo’s skull, dripped some sort of potion onto his leg, burning something awful.

That was a problem for a different time, Theo figured.

“I want to! I want to help! You don’t deserve to be treated the way you are!”

The storm drew back a bit, the iron cauldron clanging to the floor and spinning around in circles as the dark mist of the storm retreated.

Theo tried his last saccharine sentiment. “You deserve to be happy!”

With a loud whoosh, the storm completely vanished, quills and chairs dropping to the floor with a loud clatter. The boy—Y/N—sat on the floor in the same way as the glowing form had; fetal position, hands over his ears. His skin crackled, and dark sparks snapped and fizzed from it, although he seemed to pay no mind.

Theodore stumbled to his feet from under his table and carefully picked his way through the debris of the classroom to kneel down a comfortable distance away from the crying boy.

“Hey, hey, there you go. That’s better. Are you alright?”

Y/N looked up with a tear-stricken expression, wiping his sleeve across his face and sniffling. “‘m not a freak, I swear. Please don’t send me back.”

“You’re not,” Theo soothed. “I won’t. Snape was way out of bounds with that one.”

Y/N sniffled again, a fresh wave of tears streaming down his face. “He called me a freak.”

At the sight of the boy before him, sobbing pathetically over his douchebag teacher, Theo felt himself burn with rage.

How could anyone hurt this boy? Who’s done absolutely nothing wrong?

“I’ll make him pay, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”

[futbolfanficpunk]

Just you and me, finally

Player: Kostas Tsimikas Word count: 5.2k Summary: You and Kostas are ex-lovers and best friends, and have been for almost 3 years, but now that you are seriously dating someone else things seem to be different. You are meeting him in person for the first time in forever but the dynamics drastically change once you see each other. Warnings: Angst, Infidelity, Fluff Author's note: This took me forever to write, I rewrote it so many times I lost count. It started the idea of texting. Probably should have divided it into 2 chapters but it was too cute to stop, it's worth it, I promise. Hope you like it

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Kostas

<<Hey! Call me soon, yea? I miss your stupid jokes and ugly accent

;) >>

     It’s been three years since Kostas and you broke up. He was playing with Olympiacos then. It was a passionate yet short affair of a few months but you two decided to stay friends since you actually got along. You were only in Greece for six months, living in Piraeus, and did not want to put your academic career on hold. So, you broke it off in a friendly manner. You both agreed it was for the best in between tears and kisses, but it was done and you went back home. 

       The long-distance friendship had worked well; it was fun yet respectful, and you both cared for each other. You kept in touch by calling each other with voice or video calls every few weeks, sometimes every few months but you always texted each other with memes, news about Greece or to congratulate each other’s accomplishments. You followed each other on social media and were on each other’s close friends' filters. Every now and then, when you were both single there was some flirting but it was always very innocent.

       Now that Kostas lived and worked in Liverpool you thought that you would talk more often and maybe see each other every now and then, but that did not happen. He had a new girlfriend, you had met her on a video call, she was sweet and beautiful and she looked at Kostas the way you used to, you recognized the love in her eyes when she looked at him while he talked to you. You were happy for him but it also made you a bit uncomfortable for some reason, and you did not like feeling that way but you ignored it. You also had dated guys but nothing serious, had a few dates with an older girl but that was a disaster. Now you had gone on a few dates with a man from your doctorate program, who was three years older than you, and he seemed to be wanting something serious which kind of scared you but you were intrigued. You hadn’t had anything serious since Kostas and by the end of it, you almost lived together. It was the relationship to compare to all others. Maybe you weren’t completely over Kostas because the thought of a serious relationship made you so nervous.

      Your cell phone rings at night while you work on a research paper, it’s a video call, and it’s Kostas. You look at the phone, and it shows you your reflection. Your hair is a mess, you fix it and pick it up. 

“Hi, Kos!” you say with a smile on your face

“Hey! How are you?” he asked while you noticed his new hairdo. He used to shorter wavy hair, he told you he was growing it but now he has a Nuñez type of bun. You almost cracked up.

“I’m good, laughing at your Nuñez costume”

“Oooooh! Are you trying to roast me, woman?”

“I think I already did”

“Well, Darwin is considered cool and handsome in the female circles, so I’ll take that as a compliment”

“Sure, getting called the poor man’s Darwin could be considered a compliment”

He laughs and you give him a cheeky grin through the screen while he shakes his head. “Even if you’re trying to make fun of me, I’m glad I didn’t wait for you to call me because you were taking forever”

“Yea, sorry, I’ve been so busy with this paper I’m working on. It slipped my mind but I’m glad you decided to call, it’s so great to see you”

“I’ve missed you, Y/N” he said while showing a shy smile while he tilted his head

“Me too, darling"  you said while your whole body felt relaxed and warm knowing that you two were feeling the same. You and Kostas had an affinity towards each other that only old couples have.

       As the regular update phone conversation continued, you asked him about his girl, Hannah, his family, and his work, you had seen that Liverpool was struggling. He asked you about your doctorate program, your family and inquired about your love life. When you told him about John, the serious contender, his face got serious and he said “So, I think I have to fly over and scare him off”

“I don’t think he’s a afraid of guys with funny hair”

“You’re so rude!” he girly screamed and he burst out laughing 

“Sometimes!” you said while laughing at his scream. “So, you think this John guy might be a serious thing?” he asked in a pressing tone, changing the mood.

“Maybe, we’ll see. I’m testing it out now but he seems to want something more serious than just hooking up and hanging out a bit”

“Ok, that’s good, not a douche”

“I guess not, yea” you said, shrugging and nodding

      You talked about other things for a few minutes, some news, songs you were listening to, and Greece. You always talk about Greece. Time always flies when you two talk, it always feels so natural and fun, like childhood friends who never lost touch but you had to cut the conversation because you needed to get more work done. 

“I’ll call you soon, ok?” I love you, stupid” You said as a good-bye.

 He nodded as he said “Me too, chazós” and blew you a kiss, you did the same and hung up.

Y/N

<<Wooopps! I just accidentally buttdialed you.>

 <I know I owe you a call. If you want to call me back right now, you can, I’ll be home for an hour or two before leaving. If not I’ll call you tomorrow. I swear! >

<I’m not the worst friend but the worse? I just thought of that joke>

<I apologize, it’s bad *skull emoji*>>

    It’s been a month since Kostas and you had talked, although you had texted and dmed on instagram with each other, you had not made time to call him like you said you would. He didn’t insist either. Since then, things had turned a bit more serious with John, he had asked you to be exclusive and be a thing. You couldn’t think of any reasons to say no. He was kind and smart, you two had similar interests and values, you found him handsome, he had a cute American accent from the west coast since he was from Seattle, Washington, and he loved to eat you out when you two had sex, which was your current favorite thing about him. So, you said “Okay! Yes!” with a stupid happy smile on your face when he asked you. The more you got to know him, the more you liked him.

            Tonight you were going out with him to a restaurant and then you had a night event at the uni where some of your musician friends had a recital. John was picking you up about in an hour, and you were getting ready when Kostas called you back after seeing your message. You panicked but decided to pick up since he had seen you put makeup on dozens occasions. You put the phone by your vanity mirror and picked up. “Hello Kostas” you greeted him while putting eye makeup on.

“Hello! Worst friend ever” he sang in a loud voice “Oh, shut up!” you said as you stop to look at him through your screen and gave him a fake mean stare even though you smiled half through it “Can’t you just say hi?” He had his hair down and to the side, he had to be home.

“Are you getting ready to go out?” he asked

“Yes, I have a date with John” you replied

“Is that still going on?” he said with sarcasm in his voice “Obviously, and it’s kinda serious now, you know. We get along great. We’re dating exclusively and see each other a lot, he loves to come over”

“I’m sure he does, I would”

“I’m sure Hannah does, doesn’t she?”

“She practically lives here” “There you go” “It’s what happens when people fall in love with you, they wanna be around you” “Oh, I don’t know if he loves me, but he does tell me he’s crazy about me”

“And, are you in love with him? “I’m not there yet…you definitely are though”

“With Hannah?” 

“Yea”

“Oh, yes. I am.” he responded

You two were quiet for a second. You asked him for a minute so you can finish your eyeliner, put on a bit of blush, and then you started doing your lips, putting on a red lip color. He quietly looked at you the whole time. 

“So, what are you wearing tonight? I want a fashion show” he inquired when he saw you were done “Oh! It’s a really elegant black dress, it’s not too long or short and it has a slit to die for” you said with excitement “Less talking, more showing!” he demanded

“Give me one second!” you went off camera to put it on then you stepped back into view far enough so he can see how the dress looks on you. “Wow! You look gorgeous, John is going to want to stay over tonight!”

You cracked up in laughter and blushed a bit, while your hands held your face in embarrassment . Kostas was not usually this flirty with you but you just played it off as funny banter. “You’re so stupid” you said

“I’m not kidding! You look real good, woman. I mean. You are a doll, no matter what you wear” he said with flirty eyes.

“Stop, Kostas.” “Okay, okay, Sorry!”

“It’s ok. I’ll take the compliment as a job well done on this fit” you said in a more serious tone while coming closer to the camera. “Hey, I’ll let you finish, have fun tonight. We’ll talk” he wrapped the conversation up feeling a bit of awkwardness from you but especially because he felt like he couldn’t stop himself from flirting with you.

“Thanks, I’ll call you next weekend, I promise”

“Don’t promise, just do it” “I will, bye” you waved at the camera

He did too and hung up. You felt butterflies in your stomach and a knot in your throat. Why was Konstantinos Tsimikas acting like this? Usually, your conversations sound more like two guys taking the piss out of each other than this weird flirtatious conversation you just had. Then the apartment doorbell rang. John was here.

Y/N

<<Kos! I have great news! >

<I have a conference, next month in Liverpool that the uni is paying for. Although the conference is three days, I can stay six. So, maybe we can see each other?>

<Maybe at a game or restaurant or your place? >

<I hope you are there that week and not playing somewhere else. I’m freaking out just thinking about seeing you again! Hope it works out! Worst friend ever!>>

Kostas

<< holy shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>

<We’ll make it work! I have to see you!> <Excited! *red heart emoji*>>

It had been three years since you had seen each other in person. Hugged each other, touched each other, or had been close to each other. You were so nervous, getting out of the taxi and walking up to the door of his huge house, your heart was racing. Kostas opened the door before you even get to finish walking up to the door. “Y/N!!!” he shouted as he walked towards you. His smile was bigger than his face, he looked more fit than when you left him, he had the manbun on, and his arms were open to give you a big hug.

“Kostas! Hi!” you opened your arms to receive the hug, even though you were trying to hold on to your purse that had a wine bottle you brought as a gift.

You squeezed each other tight while making all sorts of noises that came out instead of words. “I’m so happy that you are here” he said while he holds your face with his hands and kisses you on the cheek. You let out a small giggle. “Me too, me too! I can’t believe it’s been so long!” you said almost screaming and you hugged him again.

You two looked and sounded like teenage girls while Hannah appeared by the door

“Kostas, get her inside! It’s chilly out there!” demanded Hannah

He moved aside and pointed to the door with his hand. You spent the evening with Kostas and his Hannah. They did make a sweet couple. She was a beautiful & gracious host that seemed to be very curious about you and is surprised by the aggressive banter you and Kos had between each other, constantly roasting each other through the night. 

Kostas had spent the afternoon making various of your favorite Greek dishes and surprised you with Greek snacks that were really hard to find anywhere else but in Greece. You were so excited you gave him a big hug and explained to Hannah that it was impossible to get back home, you only got them through your host family back in Greece who sent them by post. You all sat down to eat, and had wine, talking, joking, and enjoying the delicious meal Kostas had made for you all. You caught yourself staring at Kosta a few times while you ate, he had a very clean and fashionable all-black outfit on. You tried to engage otherwise or talked to Hannah but just being around him again was magnetic in a strange way, you did not want to think about it.

Both Hannah and you complimented him on a job well done. Later, you all chatted in the living room while Kostas played Greek music in the background. You had two more wine glasses while you all talked and joked, you start feeling a bit tipsy. You told Kostas that maybe it was time for you to go. He told you he would drive you to your hotel even when you insisted on an uber or taxi because he barely had two glasses of wine with food tonight. 

“This has been great. It was so nice to finally meet you in person, Hannah, and thanks for everything. You are amazing, Kostas is lucky to have you” You said while hugging her in front of their front door.

“ Aw, you’re so sweet, Y/N. You’ve made Kostas very happy by coming, he couldn’t shut up about it all week, preparing everything for the dinner.” said Hannah

“That’s not true, she’s exaggerating” interrupted Kostas

“It is true. Anyway, you are welcome to come back anytime” concluded Hannah

“Okay, let’s get going, my car is down there” pointed Kostas

“Bye!” you said as you waved to Hannah. 

Kostas kissed Hannah goodbye and joined you.

       He opened the door to his black Land Rover and said “After you!”

“Thanks” you said giving him side eye, you didn’t know if he was really trying to be a gentleman or just joking around.

He sat down, started the car and immediately asked “Did you have fun?”

“So much fun! Thank you everything, especially the food. It was soooo good”

“Good! Took me all fucking day to make it!” 

He started the car and drove towards the exit. 

“You know what my favorite part was?” he said while looking at the road

“What?” you asked while looking at him

He turned to you before taking off to exit to the left

“Having you here” he said

You gently slapped his arm and showed him your phone

“The GPS says the hotel is ten minutes from here” you said

“I’m going to need more than ten minutes alone with you” he responded

“Konstantine,” you said, “Don't say things like that!”

“No, I’m being serious. I just want us to talk by ourselves. I haven’t been alone with you anywhere in three years, and before you suggest it, I don’t want to wait until tomorrow” he protested

“Okay, fine. We can go up to my suite. It has a nice couch with a TV we can sit and chat, and I can drink some water” 

“Sounds perfect”

You decided to cut the conversation before you start thinking about what was going on and just relayed the GPS instructions until you got there, he didn't say much about you two, he just talked about Liverpool and the things you may want to see tomorrow before you leave.

      The elevator door rings and opens, the hotel halls are green and blue, and the doors are brown. A relaxed and unthreatening place.

“It’s over here to the right” you explained where your room was

“Lead the way” he replied

As you open the door you tried to remember if you left a big mess or not but the room looked tighty with just a shirt on your bed and empty water bottle on the side table next to the couch. “It’s not the Four Seasons but, you know, the uni paid for it”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s fine” he says as he walks towards the mini fridge” Should I get you a water? ‘Please” you said as you sat down on the couch, took your shoes off, and sat with your legs facing the opposite direction of our torso.

He sat down, opened the bottle, and gave it to you while sitting so close to you that your knees touched. “Thanks" you said after you drink your water.

“Can I tell you that I am losing my mind by the fact that you are here?” he said as he softly tugged a thick strand of your hair. You knew you were blushing, you felt the warmth of your face giving you away. You didn't want to like what was going happening but you did. You suspect Kos was being wreckless, and maybe, you were too.

“I know, me too. It’s not the same on the phone. You’re funnier on the phone” you replied with a smile. He chuckled and tapped your knee.

“And you’re prettier in person, Y/N” he said while softly caressing your cheek “Stop flirting with me, Kos” you snapped at him

“Why?

“Because I’m seeing someone and I just met your girlfriend of one a half years, we just spent like three hours with her. It’s weird”

“It’s weird? Is that why? He said with a mild annoyance is his voice “you were staring and smiling at me the whole time you were at my place, with Hannah right there, giving me “love me” eyes and now it’s weird that I tell you that you’re pretty? Is that why you want me to stop?”

“because I like it! That's why” you blurt out “I don’t want you to flirt with me because I like it. I don’t want to but I do. I want you to and it makes me feel strange” He leaned closer to you and said “You want me to?” in a soft voice

Your heart was racing, and you felt like it might jump out of your chest. He was so close you could smell him. His sweet and earthy cologne, his expensive hair products, you could hear his breathing, it was fast, just like yours. “Yes,” you said while you felt your face getting close to his. “It’s hard to explain” 

You stared at his mouth while it continued to move towards you. “It’s not,” he said, hovering his mouth over yours, lips almost touching. He started stroking your arm with the back of his fingers as he talked. “You’re my favorite person, I’m your favorite person, and I’m tired of pretending that’s not true” You knew there was truth in that statement, it sent a tingling feeling all over your body, you couldn’t stop yourself and you kissed him. He held your face and kissed you back, his mouth was hungry for yours. You felt like this was a dream, not real, like you turned back time and you were both in Piraeus at the end of your first date where you ended up kissing just like this, wanting each other’s mouth and kissing like two desperate kids. But you felt his new facial hair scrubbing against your face and that reminded you; this was another time and another place. You pulled back. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t”

“I shouldn't have done that” “I wanted you to, I was just about to do the same” “Well, we shouldn’t. It’s wrong” 

“Did it feel wrong to you?”

“I think you should go home”

“I don’t want to go home. You’re here. I just…”

Kostas held his eyes with his right hand and sighed

“I have all these feelings bottled up, all these years. You are such an amazing person, my best friend, I don’t want to fuck it up with you -”

“You won’t”

“—but I’m not over you, and tonight, you look so beautiful, your clothes, your hair, your funny laugh, your smile after you say something funny, it kills me. You are more beautiful each year, smarter, more fun, it’s so unfair. I never felt like I wanted to talk or be around someone so much. I just wanna be with you”

“and tomorrow? Hannah? John?”

“I don’t care. I care about you. Don’t you feel like that at all, Y/N? Be honest, please” You hesitated to speak right away, you looked down and then looked at him, you were still in love with him and you were afraid to admit it.

“I do feel like that, Kos. I tried to just put all those feelings in the back of my mind away from me, because, What good would they bring me? We were far away from each other, busy.  I just rather us be friends. But lately, since John, I felt like you were trying to be different” “I didn’t want you to date him, I hate it” “Yea” There’s a moment of silence when you just stare at each other,

“How do you feel now? he asked

“I feel guilty, but…”

“Uhum?”

“I feel like I’m still in love with you, and I’m dying for you to kiss me” you said with a sigh

“Good, because i’m dying to too” He cupped your face and kissed you softly, like he was afraid to hurt you by kissing you. You grabbed his sides and kissed him back, your tongues, lips, and saliva made loud noises in a silent room. You both moaned into each other’s mouth, squeezing each other now that both your arms were wrapped around each other. All those years of bottled-up emotion were starting to come out. You start leaning back into the couch but his phone vibrates on the couch. You both stopped and looked at the phone.

Hannah

<< Are you almost done? I’m ready for bed.>

  < Just in case I fall asleep b4 you get here:

Love you>

“You should go home” you said while you caressed his face when you saw the message on his screen.

He kisses your nose and said “I know, but we’re not done”

“What do you mean?” you asked “You’re going to see me tomorrow. Before you leave”

“When is that going to happen?

“I’m going to give you a ride to the airport after I finish training, I’ll pick you up” he said with great confidence 

“Okay,” you agreed “sounds good” 

He stood up, helped you up and pulled you into him to hug you, you hugged him back. Just then you remembered that his mouth is full of lipstick from making out with you. 

“You have lipstick all over your face, let me clean you up before you go. Don’t want you to get into more trouble ” 

You both went to your bathroom where you got one of your makeup removing towlettes and cleaned the light red lipstick out of his mouth and chin, you did it with a lot of care so his skin wouldn’t get red from the friction. He just stared at you while you do it, it felt so intimate and calming. 

“All done”

“Thank you. Hey, before I go, let’s take a mirror pic. I want to remember this exact moment forever”, he said as he took his phone out of his pocket . He moved behind you and grabbed you by the waist, he handed you the phone, he kissed your shoulder while you took it.

“I’ll send it to you later. Tomorrow, I’ll text you when I’m on my way to pick you up’ he said as he walked to the door. “Tonight, I’m a very happy boy”

Despite all the drama that could possibly come out of it you too were glowing, you almost felt high. 

“And I am a happy girl, see you tomorrow” you said as you open the door

“See you” he said and kissed you on the cheek, turned and left.

You closed the door, turned around to face your room, It just dawned on you that things were different from now on, there was no turning back from what you both have just done. 

“Oh my fucking god! What just happened?” you said outloud

Kostas

< <I should be in front of the hotel in 30 minutes. Can’t wait to see you, baby>>

Y/N

<<I’ll be ready, can’t wait either>>

It was late afternoon. You got seated in the passager seat and waited for Kostas to come around. There were people staring at you two, and one guy in the hotel valet area was waving at him while shouting “Greek Scouser!”. Kostas who is wearing a designer hoodie, black pants, and blue sunglasses waved back and smiled. He got in and drove forward. He hasn’t said much yet. “Sorry, that was hectic, too many people recognized me”

“No worries, it’s normal, you play for a big club”

He turns on the car stereo, it’s playing Greek Hip Hop.

“So, How was your day? I’ve been thinking about last night and you, all fucking day”

“It was okay, It took me a while to go to sleep last night, I was almost jittery when you left. But, I seized the day and did a couple of things today. I went sightseeing in the morning, and it was nice. Beatles stuff, Museum of Liverpool, took a walk, and had a late lunch in Chinatown, but mainly I just kept thinking about seeing you again the whole time, to be honest”

“I love that!” he said and kissed your shoulder and cheek

“This next one is the exit! Don’t miss it” you said while looking at the GPS

You arrived at the parking lot for your terminal area, Kostas parked between a wall and another car. He left the car on and lowered the music. 

“How long until you have to check in?” he asked

“30-40 minutes I would say”

“Okay” He took your hand and wrapped his around it, and softly put his lips on your hand to smack a trail of small kisses.

“Wish I could stay longer but it’s probably for the better” you said 

“You would get me in so much trouble” he said

“Like we’re not already in deep shit?”

“Oh, It could get worse” 

“That’s true” you said biting you lip because you knew exactly what he was referring to

“Come here” he said

You felt like a little puppy dog, moving your body towards him without thinking about it at all, ready to obey. He didn’t have to insist, you wanted it as much as him. He pulled your face towards his with his hands and gave you a passionate kiss, both of you shuffling on your seats finding ways to deepen the kiss. Your hands held on to whatever they could, his arms, shoulders, his face. His hands went from your face, to your hair, to your waist, your breasts, and arms. 

Kostas pulled back after a while and stared at you with serious intention, staying quiet for a few seconds. 

“There’s one thing that you need to do when you get home,” he said while playing with your hair “You need to get rid of John” he said

“Why would I do that?” you asked 

“Because I’m leaving Hannah” he responded

“Are you for real right now?” you asked barely able to talk 

“I mean it. It’s not fair for her or you or me to continue. I don’t want to have a secret or hurt her more than I have to. Look, I have two days off in a row in two weeks and I plan on flying to see you. But this time it’s not going to be a secret weird thing, I want to be with you. I want to try it out. I know you still have a little bit of time left for your university stuff. But I already waited three years, a couple of months won't kill me. We’ll figure it out. We”ll make it work.”, he held your hands again

You felt overwhelmed for a few seconds. But your mind turned to all the pleasant and warm feelings that you had the last day that reminded you so much of your time in Greece and how happy you were then. John was great, but he was not Kostas, and being in love with Kostas was bliss.

“That’s a big thing to ask, Kos”

“It is but I’m sure about this.”

You sighed even though you were sure too, it was hard to admit that you were going to break other people’s hearts.

“Okay, I’ll be ready in two weeks. We have to really try to make this work, darling. I promise I’ll try, I couldn’t bear it not working out. What I feel when I’m with you, it’s not like that with other people, you know?

“I do know. It’s going to work. I love you, Y/N”.

“I love you, stupid”

“I love you more, cottonhead” he replied before you kissed him again. He hugged you and hid his face on your neck. You wanted time to stay still, for Kostas and you to have this moment together forever. 

“It’s almost time for me to go” you announced in a sad tone

“I know” he said and he hugged you tight.  

Kos

<<There in one minute. I’m so pumped. Just you and me for two days.>

<Love you>>

“Just you and me” you read out loud, "finally." It really was happening. Your door’s ring bell called you, and you jumped up. You had organized your apartment and had a few candles lit up. You were wearing natural-looking makeup, you wore a crop top with high-waisted relaxed-fit pants, and wearing socks because your apartment was a no-shoes place. You rushed to the door, you opened it and there he was. 

“Babe!” he shouted and came in to hug you and kiss your face. “Kostas,” you said while hugging him back “get your stuff inside”

He turned around to get his luggage and closed the door. “Now, can I kiss my girl, please?”

“Yes, please! and thank you” He chuckled while you smiled

“Where’s the bedroom?” he asked while hovering over your lips.

“Down the hall” you replied 

You kissed each other with the freedom of honeymooners, loving each other, you wanted to devour each other, and for the next day and a half, you did exactly that.

[dsandrvk]

Wednesday, August 7 - Ashmore Reef

Today our ship made the trek out to Ashmore Reef, which along with Cartier Island is an "external territory" of Australia. We sailed well over 200 kilometers northwest out to an area that is much closer to Indonesia and Timor than Australia, but it all seems to matter who claimed it first, in this case the British.

It is a beautiful area, and today it is a marine park, although small traditional Indonesian fishing boats are still allowed, as are Australian recreational fishermen. It is an important area for birds as well as marine life, and as such is a great destination, despite the distance out and back.

Another reason Ashmore Reef gets visited by ships like ours is similar to the Jones act in the US, where a ship not registered in the country (in this case Australia) has to stop at a port outside of that country, and for some reason, Ashmore Reef being an external territory fills that bill. Technically we left Australia, and will need to fill out another immigration card when we get to Darwin.

Ashmore Reef became controversial because its proximity to other waters made it a stop for illegal migration, since landing here one could demand asylum. Around 2001, Australia got serious about the problem, as it became a very political issue, and excised most external territories from the Australian Migration Zone, and the Australian Border Force regularly patrols for smugglers.

We had a choice of either a snorkel on the reef, or a Zodiac cruise to the island part of the reef, which is the main bird habitat. I chose to snorkel, as this will be our only chance in Australian (or semi-Australian) waters, even though it was pretty choppy with a strong current. Russ chose to go in the Zodiac, and the first two pictures are his. My pictures of the reef and the incredible corals down there are on my water camera, and I might be able to get them to the phone for a later post.

Suffice to say, I was glad to snorkel, as the reef here was unlike anywhere I have been. There was an abundance of bright blue sea stars, and many small fish, but it was mostly the variety of corals that got my attention. We were lucky, as this is the sixth visit for the ship this season, and only the second time the conditions permitted snorkeling.

Russ enjoyed his Zodiac trip, and saw lots of different birds. This is not only a major nesting location for Brown Boobies but also an important nesting area for Black Noddies and Frigatebirds.

We had a fairly early sail away, as we have a long way to go back to the mainland, and as always there were drinks, music and conversation. The entertainment is not the reason one does an expedition cruise, but it has been quite enjoyable. There is a great duo on board that entertained us one night in the club with songs by the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, and yesterday evening they had Liar's Club, where various crew members gets to lie about the definition of a word (and one has the correct, if improbable answer). Tonight it was our cruise director's turn and he is an operatic tenor and has an amazing voice, even with more popular songs. He is also very funny and keeps us all in line during Trivia.

One of the other nice things is that it is a very friendly, social boat, and everyone welcomes others to their tables, and there are always interesting conversations. So far, the majority of folks we have met are Aussies, mostly because this is a convenient way for them to see a part of their country that's hard to access, and they also don't have to travel far. The mix of folks will probably change when we get to Darwin, as about half the people we have met are ending their cruise there. It appears our Trivia team will mostly continue on, at least for the next leg

Tomorrow we are in Vansittart Bay, with two landings planned - one to the site of a downed WWII plane, and a second to a rock art site on an island. Both should be interesting with wet landings and short hikes.

A note on the last photo. We almost stepped on this moth on the outside stairs, and moved his to a slightly better location so he might survive - ironically, it was moth week last week - who knew?

[lfc21]

Hey there 🙋🏻‍♀️! Hope your summer's been amazing, and that you've been having a great time! So, I'm annoyed by the lack of Nuñez fics on Tumblr since his debut, why don't we start changing that with your no.20 (in a flirty light)?

Your just making it harder

PART 2

You and Darwin had been cast under a spell of love for weeks now. There was no denying the chemisty between the both of you, it was obvious. His presence was the one thing you urged to have next to you, to comfort and keep you safe. It wasn't ment to be you and Darwin it just seemed to happen. In a blink of an eye he was there, in another blink you where wanting him back again. You met due to a mutual friend, a mutual friend in who you where certain got you together on purpose. The first time you saw him his eyes had you locked, they where the windows to his soul - his sweet, caring and joyus soul. You where addicted, but rehab wasn't your answer, feeding the beast was the perfect ending.

"You look so beautiful tonight" Darwin softly spoke to you as his hand fell between yours on the soft white table cloth under the dimbly lit candles. Darwin had taken you to a restaurant for your birthday, he promised this was nothing romantic but you both knew it was. He was whipped under your spell, he wanted every inch of you but couldn't admit it.

"Darwin stop" you gently mumbled as your face turned rose at his sweet words, you hid your face as much as possible causing his large hands to hold your chin up to show the beauty he was missing.

"Don't cover your beauty up" he announced with a smile. Those smiles he constantly gave you, the tight soft lips and the way his eyes would sparkle in sync with his mouth.

"Weren't you the one to say we where just friends" you challenged to him as you let his hand go and took a long swig of your red wine. His eyes where on yours, locked together like a key in a door.

"I was also the one to say I would never move to England but here we are" he sarcastically replied dropping every sence of his romance he was trying with you just moments before. You couldn't decide which type of Darwin you ached to have - the soft, angelic, romantic Darwin or the sarcastic, cheeky Darwin or even both.

"Well what a fool you would of been to turn down the chance to live here" you slowly said as you carefully trailed your foot up his tight trousers. Your heel sat inbetween his two legs on the hard chair infront of you, his eyes followed your lips as the words dropped from them every second.

"Y/n" He warned as you moved your heel up and down his thigh. You could feel his leg tense at the feeling and you knew you had him right where you wanted him to be.

"Yes Darwin" you dumbly replied as you twirled your long hair between your fingers. He had urgency in his eyes, fire that you knew you couldn't put out instead just add more too it. As his lips parted to let the words fall a young waiter came wondering over for the orders. This was perfect. Of course you would of wanted to find out every reason he had for you to stop your teasing but you also loved the fact he had to act so calm and collective infront of you when he was the complete opposite.

"May I take your orders" the waited offered as he stood infront of your table. Your eyes where left on his as he carefully told the waiter your orders, his serious tone was wrapping around every part of your body. Your tease had him gathered in a number of wild thoughts which changed his persona - the big hard man was no longer strong, he was now weak under your power. As the waiter finally took the orders and walked off Darwin's eyes hosted fire within them with burning range and steamy desire.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked furiously as a small vein popped through his neck showing the level of fire and tension he had in his blood stream.

"What is wrong with me? Your the one angry, chill out where supposed to be having a good time" you dumbly replied back with a look through your eyelashes as your finger trailed around the rim of the glass.

"Are you trying to start something?" He asked again in need of an answer to the million and one thoughts. He was lost, so lost, but the look in your eyes made his search for freedom ten times harder.

"Start what?" You quickly asked with a shriek of your voice at his persistent asking. His face fell relaxed as if he had realised something so deep that changed his mood completely. He simply shook his head to your quick question fueling nothing but a raging fire to go off in the pit of your stomach. How could you feel this way about a man giving you so many mixed emotions? You had no idea where you stood. "Don't be an idiot Darwin" you simply added as his hand fell back into yours as his cheeky smile danced back onto his face, this was getting you back for the teasing and you couldn't of regretted it more. You wanted him to get away with his sarcastic moods because of his romantic and charming side he showed you.

"That's not a nice thing to call your boyfriend" Darwin said with confidence as his thumb ran across your small knuckles. The word boyfriend made your stomach churn and your words feel like another language.

"Boyfriend?" You challenged as your voice was high and your eyebrows fell half way up your face. His answer was a small laugh, a small agreeing laugh which made things seem to fit like a puzzle. Was he your piece?

"Maybe" he simply said with a slight nod as he lifted your small hand up to his wet lips before planting a kiss delicately on your hand.

"A man of many words" you mumbled with an eye role as your sarcastic side started to fall out accompanied with the nerves. He knew you, he started to realise your idea of protection was sarcasm and that was something he admired - your confidence.

"Thank you" he replied with his cocky personality. You didn't reply you just looked up, from under your eyelashes your soft gaze danced across every part of his face. Your fingers danced along the knuckles of his wide hand as you felt every piece of warmth you could get too. "Your just making it harder" Darwin abruptly added with a small snigger and smile.

"Making what harder?" You quickly asked as you took your hand of his rather large arm due to his turn of events.

"This. Us" he sternly said as he pointed between the both of you. You where both so close yet to far away, your love was together but your sence was running away like it's the end. "I'm crazy for you. I'm obsessed with everything about you, your smile, your long hair, your non stop talking about the kardashians or dogs, I'm even obsessed with your constant moaning about how messy I am at your house. I'm in love with everything about you but you aren't seeing it." He admitted with wide eyes and a regretful expression. His words weren't completely true and he knew that. You where the one constantly noticing the way he admires you or the way he makes sure you always have a piece of food or a drink. He was in love, and so where you.

"You think I dont see it?" You asked in great urgency as your eyes locked into his. "You think I dont see the way you look at me or the way you make sure I'm safe when I get home! Do you not think i feel the same way, I'm crazy about you and have been for months. I've been waiting for you to realise that but your trying to pretend that you can't see it when deep down you can. I'm falling for you Darwin, just let yourself love." You admitted as your body fell tight at the words you where sharing to him. His face was falling with every word given to him. You where right, so right but he couldn't see it he was so far into his own idea of not being able to love someone yet that idea was morphed, and so wrong. His words where silent matching his body. "Do you know what just forget everything I said" you mumbled as you fell deeper into your chair and you watched Darwins every move.

"Why?" He simply asked with a soft tone. His eyes where looking up through his eyelashes wondering the words you spoke.

"Because you will never realise" you mumbled back with tears threatening to run wild down your soft cheeks. His effect on you was ruling its power over the whole of your body. The addiction increased.

"Then make me" he quickly replied back with fast words and a cheeky smile. Your eyes locked to his and his body came leaning over the small white table. "Now kiss me" he urged as his hand came to the side of your head intertwining every piece of your hair to his long fingers. His lips landed on yours creating a dance to form in your mouths. This was love and Darwin knew.

This is my first Darwin Nunez one! There needs to be some more Darwin imagines soon. Please leave feedback and requests as it helps me in the future with my up coming pieces. My title requests are still open aswell as normal requests. Have a good day! 🙏🏻🤍 @prettylittletrent @cornertakenquicklyyyy @trentsko @trentalexanderarnold @robbo38 @robbothegoat @kostasstsimikass @chelseamount @chloereddy @hnrfc @tsimikasfamily @avenirdelight @blueathens @jordanhendersunshine @mrs-henderson @thatonesexycancerian @hendersons1truelover @nyctophilic0vitnir @peekapeaches @tsimikxs @tsimikostas @trentalexarnofan @leddows @moneymasnn @superkittywonderland @virgilvansike @virgilvandickmedown

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[fangirlings-things]

Rescheduled Lesson

❦ PART. II

Fandom: Enola Holmes

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x female reader

Word count: 3K

anon said: Can I request a Sherlock x reader where she visited Enola often when Sherlock left on long cases, so they became good friends? And when Enola runs away to find her mom, she goes to stay with the reader, which Sherlock deduces and tries to get her to let him find Enola and talk to her? -&

A/N: this request was amazing and I loved every bit of it!!! I put all my inspiration in this, tried to make the personality of the character good, so I hope you like this piece, love, I did my best!! (also I’m thinking about a part 2? if you guys like it let me know, I would be delighted to write it) (had to repost guys, I'm sorry!!)

also, the tag list for this fandom is open!!!

gif credit: @henrycavilledits

❧ You knew the Holmes family was nothing like the other families that lived in the countryside. The father had died many years before. The two oldest sons had already left home, to live their lives and follow the careers they desired. On that incredibly big house, where once lived a family, there was only a mother and her youngest child left. Perhaps the fact that you yourself was considered a little off by other people, was the fact that made you become friends with them.

You lived completely alone, surrounded by books in a small house. Your life was made of studying, researching and writing texts about science. You loved it, great authors of the matter being your inspiration. You tried to learn their teachings and with luck, wanted others to learn as well. You almost couldn’t believe when one day in the middle of a sunny afternoon, Eudoria Holmes had showed up at your door and invited you to her house, where she asked you to be Enola’s science teacher. She educated her daughter not for society, but for herself, so that she could find her own path when she came to grow up. That instantly made you respect that woman and accept her offer.

Twice a week you would go to the Holmes’s house and spend hours and more hours teaching the girl. Darwin, Copernicus, Newton, Galilei. She was eager to know and you were eager to teach her. She was the first student you had that actually wanted to learn and that was amazing. Made you proud and happy, more than you could say. At the evening, Eudoria would ask you to stay for dinner. You would put lessons aside and talk and laugh together. They were like your family, the one you didn’t had.

You were always excited for the days of teaching Enola to come soon. They were your absolute favorites of the week. In the beginning of the afternoon of one of those days, you had been incredibly surprised by a knock on your front door while you gathered the books you would make the girl read and study. Frowning, because you never had visitors or received letters, you went to attend the door.

And when you opened it, you saw that your visitor was Enola herself.

“Hi, Miss (Y/L/N)” the girl smiled at you, a little forced smile that instantly made your frown grow deeper. She was wearing boy’s clothes, even a hat, and her long brown hair had been hidden inside of it. “I’m afraid today’s lesson will have to be rescheduled”

“Enola, what…” you began, confused. You had seen her dressed in boy’s clothes before around her house, that wasn’t a big deal. She did find them more comfortable, she had told you before. But the fact that she concealed her hair as if she wanted to hide it and the expression on her face, something that you couldn’t quite identify but resembled urgency, was enough for you to get anxious.

“Please, Miss (Y/L/N), can I come in? I promise I’ll explain everything you want to know” she pleaded, eyes locked on yours as she did so. The tone on her voice made you nod and take a step to the side, locking the door once she was already inside. “I had never been here. Your house is really amazing” the girl seemed overwhelmed by all the books and unfinished texts you had around, laying on tables and shelves.

“Thank you” you said, mind still running fast as you tried to understand what was happening. You walked after the girl, that had advanced until she reached the next room of your house, one who only had two couches and a table. “Enola, what is going on?” her face instantly lost the admiration she was having for your belongings. Her eyes went to the floor, and she went silent. That made you sight. “Enola, you promise you would explain. And you know you can trust me”

That seemed to make her come around, because she sighted as you had just did and sat at one of your couches. Or better, she laid down on it, placing her head over a pillow and focusing her eyes on the roof. Her hands were joined over her chest. “I came here because I wanted to hide, Miss (Y/L/N). I’m running away”

Your eyes went wide at that declaration and you sat on the other couch, realizing that would probably be a long conversation. “Enola! Think about your mother! She loves you. Your disappearance will hurt her deeply”

“No, no, I’m not running away from my mother. I’m running away to find her” the girl sat straight on the couch, eyes meeting yours again like they had before at the door. She could see the confusion in your eyes grow by each word she spoke. “My mother went missing a few days ago, Miss (Y/L/N). She didn’t say goodbye or said where she was going. She only left me clues, here and there that I’ll have to use to find her”

Worry got a hold of you, the same worry you had recognized on Enola’s eyes. Eudoria. Where would she have gone? Was she fine? Not knowing you realized, was terrible. As you thought about what Enola had just said, another question got to your mind. “If your mother is missing, who are you running away from, Enola?”

“My brothers. Sherlock and Mycroft. Well, especially Mycroft, because he wants to send me to a finishing school, that prepares young women for society” the clear disgust in her voice would have made you laugh if you weren’t so worried.

“Where will you go to find your mother, Enola? What plans do you have? Do you want me to go with you?” all questions left your mouth in such a rush, that it seemed like you had just spit out the words one after the other.

The young girl smiled kindly and got up, going to sit right next to you on the couch you were on. She grabbed your hands in hers gently and squeezed them tightly. “Thank you for offering to go with me, to support me, Miss (Y/L/N). Is more than my own brothers have done. But this is something I have to do alone, I have to be the one to find her and know why she left. And I think that the less you know, the better it will be”

Oh, that girl. You smiled while you looked at her. Eudoria had raised her to be a force of nature and had achieved that goal, brilliantly. You squeezed her hands back in affection. “When will you leave?”

“At sundown today” she said, so quickly that you realized she had already thought about everything. At least, on that phase of that 'plan' to find her dear mother. “Will walk to the train station, not the closest one but the next, and get on the first train in the morning tomorrow. In this way, I’m quite sure my brothers won’t be able to understand my intentions soon enough as to catch me”

“Very well” you passed your arms around her and hugged her tight, sighting. “Let’s get you some food for your journey, then. If you find Eudoria and she finds out I let you almost starve I’ll get in trouble”

Enola laughed as she hugged you back.

════ •⊰❂⊱• ═══════ •⊰❂⊱• ════

Enola had left at sundown of the previous day, just like she had said she would. Carrying nothing more than money her mother had left her, a bag of food you had given her and her favorite book of yours, Origin of Species, you had watched her walk away into the night alone, as her name backwards spelled.

You had spent the whole night incapable of sleeping, wondering if she was fine and if she hadn’t encountered any dangers as she travelled on foot. You worried so much but all you could do, was hope that she would stay safe and find her mother. Soon.

On the next day, you had spent the morning and the beginning of the afternoon distracted. Tried to complete some of your works, but couldn’t. Your mind would always go back to the gone girl and her well being.

You had frustratedly been trying to read the same page of one of your books for fifteen minutes, without being capable of keeping any attention on it, when for the second time in a long time, you heard knocks at the front door.

You got up instantly, leaving the book forgotten upon the closest table as you rushed to the door, already smiling at the thought at Enola had came around on her idea of going alone and was back to ask you to go with her.

When you opened the door though, you realized that it wasn’t Enola who had knocked. It had been a man. A man you had never seen before.

He was tall, it was the first thing you noticed. The fact that he had no beard, was the second. And then, details of him came rushing into your mind through your eyes. He had short, curly hair, bright eyes and memorable features. He wore a white shirt, a brown vest with small white details in it and a brown suit as well as trousers of the same color. No tie which was insula for men that well dressed.

“May I help you?” you frowned at him, holding the wooden door firmly with one of your hands. To receive the visit of men, had always made you nervous. You lived alone, after all, and the world was becoming a more violent place day by day.

“I hope so” he said, which such confidence on his voice that it actually made you raise your eyebrows at him. His eyes were fixed in you, analyzing your face with much intensity. Far more than you thought it would be appropriate. “I’m Sherlock Holmes. And I suppose you are Miss (Y/L/N), my sister’s science teacher”

You took a moment to watch him again, trying to put into your mind that the man in front of you was the Sherlock Holmes, the detective who was making a name on England, solving the most incredible and difficult cases on his own. After long seconds of silence where you only stared at each other, you cleaned your throat. “I am in fact Enola’s teacher, Mr. Holmes. How did you know?”

“I found her works, studies on great science authors. They all had writings on the borders where she constantly mentioned a desire to please and make a 'Miss (Y/L/N)' proud. It only took me a visit to one of the closest houses to ask who it was and get pointed in your house’s direction” he explained, in an impersonal tone quite fitting to a detective. He saw the incisive tone look you were giving him, filled with suspicion, and smiled slightly as he looked at his feet, before focusing his eyes back on yours. “I came here because Enola ran away from home, Miss (Y/L/N). And I think she would come here to see you if she needed help”

You sighted, looking into his eyes. You remembered Enola’s words, where she had told you Mycroft was the one who wanted to send her to a finishing school, the one who had made her run away. If that had been Mycroft Holmes at your door, you would have denied being her teacher or even knowing the girl, wanting to cut the conversation short. But that was Sherlock Holmes. Enola hadn’t expressed much anger towards him and honestly, he would for sure find out the truth on his own. He was the best detective there was in the nowadays. You tell him, would just spin faster the process and you would be able to send him away sooner.

“Come in, Mr. Holmes” you took a step aside, motioning for him to come in. He did, in slow calculated steps and once he was inside you closed the door, sighting. You expected him to say something, but he didn’t. Not at first. Instead he walked around just like Enola had done, eyes floating through the uncountable books you had, all in a complete mess over the tables, piles and more piles of them . “She was indeed here, your sister”

He turned his head to look at you, a genuine smile on his lips. “I was already certain of that” then he walked towards one of the tables, fingers running through one of works. The paper was a bit kneaded, but he didn’t seem to care. “The works you did with Enola, the amount of things she learned… they were quite impressive”

You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to contain your surprise to know you had impressed the most impressive man of all, Sherlock Holmes. You waited for him to speak again, but he didn’t, just kept on walking through the room and inspecting your things with his perceptive eyes. “I don’t know where she is, Mr. Holmes. She left many hours ago”

He placed his hands on the pockets of his trousers, turning completely to you the resemblance of his previous smile on his lips. “And I believe she didn’t tell you what were her plans?”

“No and if she had, I wouldn’t tell you” you said and went to sit on a chair, at the table he had been studying with his eyes previously.

“Mind if I take off my suit?” he asked simply. You just nodded for him to go on, not giving it much thought. He took off his brown suit in gracious movements, then placed it in one of the other empty chairs close by. “May I ask why you wouldn’t tell me my sister’s plans, Miss (Y/L/N), if you knew them?”

“Enola said your brother wants to send her to a finishing school” you replied, watching as one after the other, he folded the sleeves of his white shirt until they got close to his elbow. Unconsciously, you noticed how his muscles could be seen from under his shirt. “To try to turn such a brilliant, incredibly smart young girl into a 'lady society' would be a terrible mistake. She shouldn’t be forced to do it” at the end of that sentence, Sherlock Holmes had grabbed two books in his hands and after reading the tiles, he went to the shelves and started placing them there. “Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I am organizing your books, Miss (Y/L/N). In alphabetical order, of course. Like I’ve noticed you do after a quick inspection” he smiled at you again, placing those two in place. Then, he went to the table and grabbed a few more. “I personally agree with you. I don’t think Enola should be sent to such a place, but she is my brother’s ward. It is out of my hands” he read the titles, then turned around to return to the shelves. “I suppose you weren’t raised as a lady of society also, for you live by yourself apparently and your academic interests”

“You’re wrong” you said with a little smile taking a hold of your lips, and that made him stop organizing the books and look at you with a frown. She shouldn’t be wrong often. “I was raised to be a lady, until the point where my parents died. After that, I started to live on my own, for I had no more relatives. It gave me a chance to become who I wanted to be, instead of whom I was being carved into”

“You chose your own path” he said with a bigger smile this time and when you nodded in agreement, he returned his look at the shelves. “How did your parents die?”

“They were murdered” you tried to swallow the knot on your throat. Even though they had been controlling parents to the most when regarding your future, they were still your parents, and you loved and missed them. “The police never found out by whom”

“The police can be quite… inefficient” he turned back around with his hands already empty. “I’m really sorry”

“Thank you” you said, squeezing your lips in a thin line as old memories came to surface. Things you hadn’t you thought about in a long, long time. “If there isn’t anything else, may I escort you to the door?”

Your polite way of sending him away made him smile.

He placed the books he had just gathered back on the table, grabbed his suit and accompanied you towards the door, not bothering to dress the piece again. You opened the door and he stepped out, turning to look at you once more. His eyes were curious, interesting. Full of something you couldn’t quite identify, so mysterious as his sister’s.

“If you find Enola, don’t stop her from trying to find your mother” you told him, trying to repress the emotion in your voice. “Not knowing what happened… can be quite disturbing”

“I promise, stop her, is not my intention” he looked down at his feet once again, as if he was thinking for a brief moment, before his eyes went back to yours. “I could try to find out what happened to your parents. Who was their murderer”

“I don’t have much money, Mr. Holmes” you told him, your turn now to look down at your feet.

“I never said you would have to pay” he replied and with that your gaze snapped back up to meet his, and that made him chuckle. You couldn’t deny he looked quite beautiful when doing that. “You were there for my sister through much time and when she needed help, when I wasn’t. That is enough paying for me. Think about it, Miss (Y/L/N). After I find my sister and discover where is my mother, I am willing to take over your case. If you want me to” he nodded his head in your direction in a silent appreciation for your reception in your house and began to turn to walk away, but stopped himself in the middle of such movement. “May I know your first name?”

You smiled softly at that. “It’s (Y/N), Mr. Holmes”

“Please, call me Sherlock”

And after that, he walked away.

[howl-fantasies]

A/N - I have to thank @kind-wolf for that one. Imagine Y/N meeting her ex and being joined by Victor. It's more dark than I anticipated, but I hope you'll enjoy it. ☺️

Warning: Victor being Victor. I mean, it's no secret that our dear hitman his a yandere and has some strong yandere tendencies.

Author Babbling: I know that yandere are super popular now because of all the manwhas and films, ecc. And I enjoy them in fiction but that's it. Guys, don't look for a yandere or an abusive relationship IRL. Only professionals doctors may be able to help them. So, take a good care of yourself and look for a relationship based on respect, understanding, consent and complicity. 🙏🙌😘

-- GOTHAM - NEAR THE NARROWS - 1:45AM --

Only a 'thud' resonated in the flat. A fresh corpse was now lying on the floor, slowly painting it with fresh blood. Nothing too challenging nor difficult for her tonight. The guy tried to extort Falcone and lost his pathetic life for it. In Y/N's opinion, the man death was natural selection.

If he was stupid enough to think he could make it mocking the absolute king of the underworld, then his death would just be another story in the Darwin's Awards records, taking its place among the most idiotic ideas who led people to their demise.

She was putting her gun in her holster when a faint creak and a sudden tension stopped her. The henchwoman turned swiftly on her feet and kicked whoever tried to surprise her from behind. When her leg was blocked then strongly grabbed, she didn't wait and put all her weight on her member to jump on her assailant. One hand grabbed his left shoulder and the other a full grasp of hair, bringing the head of the other person down. With her free leg, she punched her knee hard in their nose.

The man, let her leg go and groan while putting one of his hand on his nose to stop the bleeding. "You're still pretty quick, Y/N" She heard him say in a muffled voice before he finally showed her his pained face.

Ah. Well, shit, she thought and put some distance between them, just in case. "Don't be so suspicious my dear, I'm not here to kill you". Without moving, she decided to acknowledge him. "Then what the heck are you doing here, Thomas?"

The man smiled a bit and shrugged. "I took a contract back in Metropolis which led me to good old Gotham. I wasn't too far from here. Just when I finished I saw a very pretty and familiar woman who I wanted to greet, since fate put each other face to face again" He answered.

She raised one bored eyebrow. "Not really face to face, since you had to stalk me here and appeared in my back. Sounds more like a desperate move than a fate encounter" She grawled.

Thomas sneered loudly and make a step in her direction. "My were you always so cold? I have yet vivid memories of one hell of a hot woman, riding me like a fucking valkyrie."

Y/N shrugged one shoulder in a disinterested manner. "Yes, that was me being horny during one of our sex friendly meetings. However, we ended that three years ago and I have better things to do now than having a little nostalgia moment about my best equestrian exploits on your cock."

The other assassin laughed loudly this time and shook his head. "My, I even missed your foul mouth, woman! Look. I just wanted to say hello and reconnect with one of my best sex partners. Maybe we should go have a drink, I am free right now and it seems like you too. What do you say?" He asked mischievously.

Her face went blank. "Dodge." She said cryptically. "Come ag-! " Thomas just had the time to step back when he heard a whistling sound fusing through the room and coming close to his face. He turned in shock in direction of the wall next to them and saw a bullet encased in the dirty cement.

"What the fuck was that Y/N?!" Asked the man angrily. But before she could answer or he could scream louder, two low whistles were heard from the now broken window.

Oh dear. She thought he was on an opposite roof or something, not listening at the fucking window! Since when was he here? That, she would probably never know. "Hi Sweetness ~", his fake enthusiasm and the lack of smile on his face were excellent indicator of Victor Zsasz current mood: any wrong move and you're dead.

"Vic, hi", she answered nonetheless and was utterly pleased to see all Thomas' colors leave his face. To the assassin's credit, he forced himself to stay still when Victor stepped over the window with a silent grunt to get in and walked straight to her.

Without any further notice, Victor freaking Zsasz took her hand and put a fucking kiss on her knuckles just before snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her against his side, in a side hug way.

A kiss on her temple brought her back and she concentrated again on the two men, in front and next to her. "You know each other?" Victor had the guts to ask with a purposely idly voice, his eyebrows high on his forehead and a very convincing curious gaze.

Y/N sighed deeply. "Yeah, kind of. Victor this is Thomas my ex-sexfriend. Thomas, this is Victor" She was immediately cut by the best hitman in Gotham, who leaned a bit in direction to the other man, in a 'I'm gonna tell something big right now, brace yourself' way and precised with his still good-natured false face "Her fiancé".

The woman grabbed his hip hard, smiling at Thomas while tightening her grip so much she knew he would bruise. The fucker had the guts to say something that stupid and with that face! He cleary was enjoying torturing her right now and toying with her ex.

"Wow. Didn't know you wrapped Victor Zsasz himself around your finger, Y/N" Tried to joke Thomas still looking warily at the gun in Victor hand. "Hum. Congrats then... I suppose" Y/N's ex added, still highly uncomfortable.

Victor looked at her with a wolfish grin and pulled her even closer, pushing the farce even more when he peck her cheek. "Yeah thank you, man", he said idly, still putting butterfly kisses on the side of her face.

He was having the fucking time of his life right now. And the fact that she knew, that he knew that she knew, gave her a furious urge to blow his head.

When she was ready to snap and make the barrel of her gun also put butterfly kisses on Zsasz idiotic face, the clearing of Thomas' throat expanded the homicidal maniac's life. Clearly he didn't get the clue Victor gave him to shut up and take his leave. "Look, Y/N. Maybe we can see each othe-.."

"Tom." cut suddenly Victor. "Not now. " his voice went very low, serious and utterly dangerous. The hitman was now looking an invisible point on the wall he put a bullet in a few minutes ago. Not even acknowledging the other man presence with a look anymore. He was losing his patience.

This tone was the "Do something I don't like, even breath a bit too loud and you're dead". Thomas gulped. Victor, even if he was not looking at him, was now very still. Like a predator, waiting. His two arms were securely locked around Y/N's shoulders, in a possessive demeanor.

The woman didn't seem to mind though. "Thomas", she finally said in a very calm tone while he saw Zsasz grip tightening around her slowly but surely, without any sign he was going to stop crushing her like a snake. "You should take the cue, and fuck off" She added. He admired her stoic face while she should be in great pain with how strongly Zsasz was holding her now.

He nodded warily, put his hands in the air defensively and stepped back slowly. "Ok. See you around, Victor, Y/N" He muttered carefully. The duo didn't move until they heard the door creaking, indicating they were now alone in the flat.

But he didn't move, his eyes still wide on the wall. So she decided to speak: "Dearest." Just that. Because she knew making one tiny move would be a great mistake when he was in this state. An angry Victor was rare and dangerous. But he was not angry right now. No, no. He was jealous, which was even more lethal.

The loss of his parents was a brutal shock to him. He felt like death stole them from him and had experienced a terrible fall from normality because of it. Now that she represented a new constant in his twisted crazy life, he couldn't support the mere idea of her being stolen, be it by another human being or death itself.

In this state, he would kill every and anybody to prevent that and would probably also try to cage her somewhere he would be the only one able to reach her. She knew it pretty well and couldn't have that.

He was too close for her to twist and escape his grip, so she had to calculate very carefully her next actions. "Vic, let's go grab a pizza and milkshakes", she offered in her best flat tone and blank face.

With something domestic, implying that they would go in a safe place and just be the two of them, she knew she would create a sense of security with a pizza-milkshakes-films routine.

She knew it worked when Zsasz slowly lean forward and kissed her forehead with a bit too much force. Then his grip loosened and she felt him nod, still kissing her.

When they finally quit the flat and were walking down the gloomy streets, his flat voice broke the silence. "I missed his head on purpose" He said. "Yeah. I know you wanted to toy with him." She saw a sadistic smile on the corner of his lips. "I also know the buzz of your phone two minutes ago was the girls telling you that they have caught him."

She was looking in front of her but saw his eyes now staring at her intensely. "Have fun dearest, he was a cunt." She added in a bored voice. Now she was perfectly able to see his boyish grin. Thomas would regret he hadn't died in that dirty flat earlier, she could trust Victor on this.

[softie-rain]

Meet me at the Hanging Tree

Hunger Games au

previous chapter: Chapter 3

next chapter: Chapter 5

Pairings: Peter Maximoff x fem!reader

Series Summary: Panem, governed by President Magnus, is getting ready for the 75th Hunger Games. It's in this Memory Edition that the reader will learn how far one can go for the loved one, even if that could bring her to certain death.

Series Warnings: Murdering, described death and violence, suicide, death for natural causes such as starving, hypotermia, dehydratation and wounding infection.

Disclaimer: The story is wrote in third person as I'll add other point of views outside the arena. Also, romance will began later in the book, as the characters won't immediately interact!

Chapter Four: Training Session

warnings: mention of fighting and knives

summary: first day of training, and y/n seemed to already have found an ally in the last person she'd expected to.

a/n: a bit obvious and cliché, i know, sorry. My original idea was to make an enemies to lovers kinda trope, but i gave up at the end. sorry :,)

two more chapters and in the arena we goo

Darwin was right: the shower was amazing. 

After the three washing they gave her before the parade she had taken another one before going to sleep and after she woke up, and made sure to fully enjoy it. Having clean hot water dripping directly over her head was probably one of the best feelings she had ever experienced. 

She closed her eyes and let the water run on her face, as she gently rubbed her hair. For how long could she have enjoyed those small things? The showers, the food, the fancy dresses, even that dark beverage that if she remembered well was… Coffee? Yes, yes it was coffee. 

She didn't like the taste the first time, but now during breakfast Charles told her to try it with a bit of milk. She didn't quite get how exactly it was made or the name, but she admitted it was better than the last one. 

"Did you sleep well?" Darwin asked her. She nodded, but deep down he knew that she was lying, and she knew that too. Besides, he had a terrible sleep too. As Effie poured more… tea? In her cup, she spoke to both of them. "First day of training! How are you two excited?" 

They shared worried looks, not knowing what to answer. "Effie, why don't we talk about how they impressed everyone yesterday? What's your response?" Charles changed the subject, which they were very grateful for. "Like I said yesterday, you were wonderful! What Emma did with you two surely left the sign, it's not every time you see a District 12 tribute dressed that properly for a parade!" 

Y/n preferred not commenting on how that could have been considered offensive instead of being a compliment, and she just thanked her. She knew that deep down Effie wasn't being mean or anything, and she seemed to actually care about her and Darwin. 

Darwin too just thanked her and smiled, immediately turning to her to give her a knowing look, that made her understand they were thinking almost the same thing. 

A few hours later they were being dragged to the training center, where they would have spent the following five days. Y/n wasn't really listening to the woman explaining the rules such as "Don't attack each other, you'll have plenty of time for that in the arena", she was too busy observing the other tributes. 

She had already seen the favorites, Scott, Ororo, Kurt and Rogue. Truth be told Kurt looked even more scared than her, and she wondered if he'd actually be a threat to her during the Games. She came to the conclusion that he'd probably be anyway if he went with the other three, which he would probably have. 

She didn't know much about the other tributes, the male form 11 seemed very strong, and so did the guy from 5 and 7. The speech was finally done, and so they all parted to start they're training. 

She noticed that Darwin was going to the fight spot, but she kept observing. Excluding Ororo and Rogue, the other girls looked pretty much "weak", and they would have hardly made a serious danger in the arena.

But then she remembered what Charles had told her on the train, and how that was probably how she looked in their eyes, and they obviously didn't know about how good she was with knives. She shook her head and decided to go trying to do the knots. She was already good at it, giving that back to the District she did it often, but she still decided to give it a try. 

She passed by the couple from the six, who were fighting over how to make a decent bait. She met the eyes of the girl, and she shyly smiled at her. Why would she do that? She had no idea, but she didn’t even have the time to smile back that she was already resuming her argument with her companion. 

She kept walking to the trap-making desk just to find it already occupied by Peter Magnus. "The President’s son is already so good at fighting that he goes straight to the trap uh?" God did she really say that? 

He turned to face her, embarrassed blush covering his cheeks.  "And I'm not really good at it apparently. Are you?" He asked her, trying to hide his embarrassment with the only way he knew: flirt. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I'd rather not tell everyone what my specialities are, that would just benefit the others and not me." He chuckled in response. "True. You know my name but I don't know yours. Would knowing your name benefit me too?" 

She shakes her head. "Guess not. Y/n Grey."

"Beautiful name for a bea-"

"Don't you even try."

She stopped him. He raised his hands in surrender and looked around. "Where's your friend?" He asked. "Fighting. Yours?" His eyes started scanning the room looking for Lorna. "Ah, there. With knives." 

She followed his look to the black haired girl aiming for the targets. She was really good at it, even more than her. 

And no matter what happens, do not compare yourself to the other tributes. You are an amazing hunter and great with knives, don't let yourself down. 

Her mother's last words were more harsh than Jean's one for sure, but certainly useful. 

She was good at throwing knives just as that girl, maybe even better. "Thinking much?" She kept staring at the girl without answering, and then totally changed the subject. "It must be hard for your sister." His smile dropped for a few seconds, just to reappear an instant later. "It is. But at least she's not the one in here and trust me, I prefer it like this." Y/n had to admit she wasn't expecting that answer.

Not that she didn't believe he had any feelings but, for sure she had thought he'd be more selfish than what he was showing. 

"She's up there." He signed, directed to the room where all the gamemakers stayed. And there she was, wearing the most beautiful red dress she ever saw. Honestly, she was incredibly beautiful herself. "Woah. Your sister's hot." She commented. Peter frowned. "I guess? I never exactly stopped thinking about how hot my sister is." He joked, making her laugh.

"Fair enough." She looked at him, meeting his eyes again. She then thought that maybe he could know something about the other tributes, and tried asking him about the girl who smiled at her previously. "Uh, that's Kitty Pride if I'm not wrong, from District 6. And the guy's name is Bobby." He explained. "He volunteered for a kid, it was very touching." He said, still working on his trap.

She raised an eyebrow. "You talked to them?" "No, I just saw their reaping ceremony. And,  between you and me, I got to look in the files of the gamemakers. A lot of stuff about everyone, you included dear." He said winking. 

Well that was interesting. Sure, what he did was probably against the rules but, now that he already did it why couldn't she take advantage of that? Besides, Peter seemed like a nice guy. 

Seems.

"Alright I have an idea. You tell me everything you know about the tributes, and I help you set up a trap and give you some personal survival tricks. Deal?" "So you do know how to make one." "Deal?" She repeated again. He accepted without even thinking about it.

"Ok so, I suppose you already know the ones from District 1 and 2?" She nodded. "There's nothing much more to say about them other than they're lethal but Alex, the mentor of the first District, is Scott's brother. And Raven, mentor of District two? Apparently she is Kurt's and Rogue's mom, but she left them because she had them at a too young age. Ok ok, this one is just a Capitol rumor, no idea if it's true." He cared to add when he noticed her unconvincing expression.

"Then, uhm, let's see. Ah, Jubilee, District 5. Her family isn't as poor as one would think by how skinny she is, and she's very fast. Oh and be careful with Warren, District 3. He could easily become a deathly threat with the smallest sword."

He went on and on with all the tributes and even if the information wasn't much, now the girl felt like she had a bigger advantage over the other tributes. A much bigger one. Finally Peter stopped at District 11 and, even if she fought the urge of asking the whole time, she eventually gave up and went with it. "And about me? And Darwin?" 

He chuckled. "Darwin's family work at the market, not the best but he manage to survive. You… your father died, you live with your mom and sister, too old to play in the Games." She looked down, a wave of sadness rushing over her at the mention of her family.

He probably understood his mistakes because he immediately apologized. "Sorry, didn't mean to-" "No it's fine." She lied.

She just wanted to drop the subject and talk about anything else, and she was thankful for Peter because he didn't brought it up again once she started teaching him how to prepare a small animal trap. "I knew you were good at this. He teased, making her shake her head. 

What in the world she was doing? Befriending him? He was an enemy, just a few nights before she promised herself she would have killed him if she had to. And now they were having a normal conversation like two old time friends do?

This wasn't her at all. She had to wake up from that state the boy put her into before it was too late. And yet, she couldn't help the words that escaped her mouth.

"You know Magnus, you're not as bad as i though." "Back at you, Grey."

tags: @raincoffeeandfandoms @sweeter-innocence-fics @septicrebel

comment or reblog if you wanna be added :)

[onelovewonderwoman]

first class || charles xavier x reader

i’ve been on an x-men binge and fell into a hole of james mcavoy and charles xavier again, so here we are. i haven’t written fics in a long time, so i tried to again. i’m uncreative so like the title is just the first movie because of the fact that it’s set during that time. kind of like self insert cause there’s a few bits and pieces where there’s canonical plot and interactions, so disclaimer for that. anyways, hope you guys enjoy! ps also don’t have enough energy to find a fitting gif so maybe i’ll find one later maybe i won’t. we’ll see

words: 5.8k

warnings: not proofread (i spent three days on this so i don’t have the energy anymore haha), writing lacks emotional depth, drug use and mentions, intent of murder, thoughts of (murder, rape, suicide, etc.), poorly written two paragraphs about kissing, angst, we ignore moira and charles’ romance cause... duh, it’s x reader and it’s too difficult for me to work around it rn a haha

masterlist

The rooms were always the same. They were dark, illuminated only by the dimmest of lights emanating from the occasional lava lamp or fairy lights. Fairy - ironic word for such situations, such rooms. Filled so heavily with smoke it made it hard to breathe, let alone see. And the floors; the floors always felt different. 

In hindsight, it was probably the one thing that had her realizing the rooms were never actually the same. Sure, they had the same smell, the same overcrowdedness and moving bodies, the same darkness, even the same taste, but the floors testified to the difference each room held. 

Sometimes, when the world would freeze and all the people around her became nothing but a mesh of warm bodies, she could hear the floor creak under her feet with every step she took. There she was - the house right down the street from her. 

Other times, the floors felt sticky under her shoes. She assumed it was tequila. There were always too many bottles around to count, surely there would be spills. Or, some poor guy could have pissed himself like that one time. When her shoes sounded like velcro as she walked across the floor, she was at the house all the way across town.

In any case, she felt the same ankle up. One of her favourite parts had to be the way the music always abused her ears - so high, it made her feel lightheaded. More so than she already had been both. Sex was not nearly regular enough for her to compare, but she knew what she would feel every time the music was loud enough to make her head buzz and throb with a vengeance was more erotic than anything anyone could ever do to her.

The place could change but the scene never really did. Down to the people - she knew this for sure. She knew every beating heart around her like they were her own. She never only felt it there, but in her head as well. Even as it buzzed, she felt it. Sometimes it tore at her skull as if trying to escape - ironic.

Now, why did the scene change one evening in 1962? She told herself it was fate, but it had merely been wishful thinking when she knew why. How did she know? She knew the man sitting next to her on the worn down couch, nearly entirely unconscious and reeking of weed and vodka, knew the girl across the house, the girl across the house knew the man next to her and that - so on and so forth - meant she knew all three of them, even though they didn’t know her. So, for two new men to walk into the house, their eyes focused - focused on her - changed the scene entirely.

Now, the music became nothing more than an assault on her ears; the lights became too bright at the same time as the dark became too dark; the air became heavier than usual; and she sobered up at the feeling of something - someone - in her head. Then, it all caved in. It was as overwhelming as it always was, but she was used to it enough to handle it for a little while, at least whilst remnants of her high remained. She couldn’t say the same for the shorter of the two men she saw keel over at the pressure.

He got over it pretty quick, from what she could tell. “Charles Xavier,” he introduced himself as, “This is my colleague, Erik Lensherr.”

A quick trip from the couch to the door had her standing on the lawn of the house of the night with the two men. Crickets could be heard fighting against the sound of the music blaring from the house as she swayed on her feet, making wet sounds in the grass from earlier rain. Charles stood not much taller than her, charm emanating from him and the way his piercing blue eyes seemed to smile despite his furrowed brows and mouth set in a straight line as he stared at her, waiting for a response with his hands tucked into his coat pockets. Erik stood taller, stoic and calculating.

“And?” She crossed her arms across her chest, both in discomfort and the fact that the chilly night air had begun to bite at her skin, her long sleeve doing nothing to help. “I should care why?”

If the incident earlier wasn’t enough, the way the both of them looked at her was enough for her to know why. “What’s your name?” Charles asked, having her notice then the English accent on his tongue. 

The second she gave it to him, he smiled - almost sympathetically - at her and hummed, “You have an incredibly busy mind, Y/N.”

“And you have an incredibly nosy one, Charles.” That had Erik letting out a chuckle, one that felt like approval to her ears.

Never in a million years would she dare say yes to anything of the sort the two men proposed to her that night. A team of mutants; not necessarily that she thought it was absurd or a horrible idea - no. It made sense, not factoring in their current climate, to have a team of mutants fighting against the evils of the world. The horrible idea was to have her join. No, she wanted to tell them, “I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking too,” Erik agreed with her, catching both herself and Charles off guard, “We’ll be going then.”

He offered her his hand. She didn’t know how long she stood there staring at his outstretched arm. Sometimes her high slowed time - it could have been five seconds or five minutes. When she finally looked away from his hand, up at him, she saw he stood unwavered and patient.

“You don’t have to, you know.” Her eyes shot to Charles as he broke the silence. He shook his head, brows still furrowed and mouth set in a straight line. “You’re under no obligation.”

For Charles to know, she understood. He had just been in her mind long enough to know that most of it wasn’t even hers. For Erik to know and offer her his hand made her wonder just how desperate he was to assemble the team - for whatever reason that she was about to find out in a moment.

“We leave now.” Was all he said after he tore his hand from hers.

An hour hasn’t even passed when she found herself on a plane with the two men, mind still buzzing but this time not with a high. This time, with an overwhelming anger and anticipation. The way Erik didn’t make eye contact with her and Charles sent worried glances her way throughout their trip to their “base” was enough to tell her that they knew she had already been briefed on what was happening - the reason behind their assembling of a team. Rather, she knew specifically of the personal motive behind it.

All it made her heart feel like it was beating a mile a minute. It pounded against her chest so hard she was sure at least one of them could hear it. So badly did she want to hide out in the plane’s bathroom and take something to stop the pain, but it was off the table. For now.

Soon enough the flight ended, and she came to find out their “base” was a covert CIA facility where they placed the other mutants they rounded up before her. She just as quickly met and said goodbye to Moira MacTaggert, a CIA officer working with Charles and Erik to stop Shaw. His name alone sent sparks of rage flowing through her veins.

She was left with the group when the three went off that night. There, she came face to face with Raven, Sean, Alex, Hank, Darwin, and Angel - or, Mystique, Banshee, and Havok. Darwin and Angel were “self explanatory”, considering they were already nicknames and described their powers fairly well. Hank was just… Hank.

Her turn came around quickly, once everyone settled down from Alex’s show of his “gift”, when all heads turned to her, sitting at the end of the couch. Raven smiled at her - she liked her, she was sweet - “What about you? What’s your power?”

“I’m,” She paused for a moment, the eyes on her making her anxious and curl into herself hoping, praying, another mutant wouldn’t touch her. “I can move things. With my mind.” She gave a tight smile to Raven and nodded her head, as if to reassure herself. “I can move things with my mind.”

Raven’s smile only widened, excited by either the prospect of her being able to move things with her mind or the opportunity to give her an alias. She assumed it was the latter. She excused herself to the washroom just as Raven asked the group what they thought. “We’ll have one for you once you get back! Promise!” Raven called after her.

Body filled with anticipation, she nearly ran to the washroom, willing the door closed behind her after she entered. It was small, but clean - CIA property after all. 

She tried. She really did. Albeit, making contact with a mutant was always the worst; Erik especially. The trauma, the pain, the thoughts. All them clawed at her brain, as though they were tearing through it layer by layer until nothing but them remained within her skull.

Nothing could stop her from taking out the small baggy in her back pocket and tearing it open. Nothing could stop her from taking it, only to feel a rush flow through her. It would take a bit, but soon enough she would stop feeling them gnawing on her very existence. Soon, numbness would wash over her and she could just be no one.

She guessed she was in the washroom for about half an hour. Staring at her reflection, at the floor, at the ceiling, at anything, but when she made her way back to the room, she found it in disarray. Music was blasting from the radio, chairs flipped over, Raven on top of the couch dancing as Hank hung from the ceiling light, the rest of the group messing around with their powers. She couldn’t tell if they were experiencing some high of their own or just happened to have gotten their hands on some alcohol.

“What are you doing? Who destroyed the statue?” Moira’s voice broke her out of the trance she was in watching the group. Slowly, she turned her head to see her, Charles, and Erik walking over as everyone else froze. Moira was angry, that much anyone could tell, but the two men were unreadable.

Hank was the first one to reply back, jumping down the ceiling, panicked, “It was Alex.”

“No. Havok.” Raven seemed to stay unfazed, still standing on the couch with a wide smile on her face. “We have to call him Havok. That's his name now…”

Raven’s words melted away from her. Her focus wasn’t elsewhere; it was simply nowhere at all. She stared at everyone in the room, yet no one at all. So caught up in nothing she didn’t notice Charles himself staring at her until Erik uttered something under his breath and walked away with Moira following, brows furrowed in what looked to be confusion. Just as she caught his eye, he looked away.

Directed at Raven, he spoke firmly, “I expect more from you.”

Not long after, they had gotten word that Shaw would be in Russia, and so she was left with the group of mutants when the three left alongside the CIA to get their hands on him. Before, it would have made her wonder what purpose the group of mutants really served if they didn’t want them there to help. Now, after the incident, she understood why.

By no means were any of them prepared for such a task. She couldn’t claim to be either. She only agreed because she knew a part within her would hate her for not coming and at the very least trying to help.

Just when she thought she and the solemn group couldn’t be any more of a liability, she was proven wrong. Because now Sebastian Shaw stood in front of them, smug and irritating as ever, after having his lackey drop an unsuspecting CIA to his death in front of all of them and cornering them. 

“Good evening. My name's Sebastian Shaw, and I'm not here to hurt you.” She was sure she wasn’t the only one assuming he had taken out every single CIA operative in the facility to make it this far; a thought that filled her being with even more dread than she was already feeling at the sight of him. “My friends, there's a revolution coming. When mankind discovers who we are, what we can do, each of us will face a choice. Be enslaved or rise up to rule. Choose freely, but know that if you are not with us, then by definition, you are against us. So, you can stay and fight for the people who hate and fear you. Or you can join me, and love like kings and queens.”

They all watched, both shocked and betrayed when Angel took the hand Shaw outstretched, standing by his side even when he murdered Darwin in his attempt to stop him with Alex. She didn’t see it - she turned away the second Shaw released the energy he’d taken from Alex into Darwin. She heard it, though. The explosion. When she turned back, as Shaw, Angel, and the men he had brought with him retreated, she saw nothing. There was no sign of Darwin; not even a speck of dust.

Suddenly, her chest tightened and the clawing came back.

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

The person who happened to almost send them home also happened to be the one who provided them a new place to train their powers for the fight with Shaw. Charles was entirely serious and extremely close to sending them all home; “They’re just kids.” But Erik made it clear to him that they couldn’t be anymore, not after Shaw.

Charles lived, alongside Raven, in a massive mansion that had been entirely too big for her to take in, but it provided the perfect space for them to train their powers. Each of them were assigned rooms by Charles personally that day. 

He took the liberty of walking them each there. She didn’t know if it was just her or a Charles thing, but he stayed quiet. Unusual for a man that had so much to say. But then again, with what they’ve already been through, she couldn’t imagine he was feeling very chatty. She certainly wouldn’t have been in his situation. Granted, she would be feeling the same way now, but in her predicament by this point, she wouldn’t mind someone else’s verbal company.

The second he guided her through the bedroom

door, she began to take in the sheer size of the room, feeling bigger than life itself in the way that she was feeling. The bed was even better; huge and looked as though the softness of it would swallow her into a warm hug. Her first instinct would have been to jump right onto it, but the fact that Charles ceased to leave and instead remained planted there, giving her a look she couldn’t make out once she turned to face him, made her fight against her urges.

She opened her mouth in an attempt to utter an “Are you alright?” but never got the chance. Instead, Charles spoke as soon as her mouth opened, slowly, as if to make sure she understood every word he was saying like she had been incapable of doing so before, “Training starts tonight, but I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

With her brows furrowed in confusion, she nodded, and Charles began to walk away. He stopped by the frame of the door, back to her, and spoke again, “Try and get some rest.”

With that, he shut the door behind him. Now, she was left in the room alone, tiredness washing over her. Awaiting the next day, she decided to fall into the cloud that was the bed and fall asleep while she could.

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

The next morning was when Charles asked to see her - by Raven. The young woman led her over to a room, an odd dome shaped one, where Charles stood waiting. He wasn’t the same as the night before - uncomfortable, was the only way she knew to describe it - welcoming and encouraging.

“We’ve got plenty of work to do,” Charles spoke, hands in his pockets, as she entered and Raven excused herself elsewhere. Looking around, she could see evidence that training had started last night, namely Alex’s. Dark scuff marks were streaked across walls of the dome on the end farthest from them and small balls of fluff on the floor remained, assumingly left behind in the midst of a quick clean up of training dummies that had been torn open.

Despite the mess, several other objects were placed across the floor. All ranged from light to heavy. Chairs, weights - it looked to be anything he could have been capable of carrying in with the help of the others.

She stopped in front of him. “What’s this?”

The man’s smile widened before he started, rather loudly at that. “Well.” He moved towards the objects then spun around to face her, arms outstretched. “This is the beginning of your training.”

She raised an eyebrow, looking at the man unimpressed. “You want me to move this stuff around?”

“You’re not just moving stuff around.” Charles shook his head, arms dropping to his sides as he declared. “You don’t need to move everything here. I only need to see how much you can handle.” His head tilted as he looked at her, blue eyes meeting her own as his expression retreated to one of curiosity. “And how you handle it.”

She didn’t think the professor was aware of the innuendo within the situation, so she let it go despite the sweet stomach dropping feeling that came over her. Instead, she shrugged. “Then what?”

“Then,” Charles hesitated for a moment, “Erik was able to move a satellite dish. If it happens to be possible-”

“A satellite dish?” She laughed incredulously, “You can be serious.”

Charles nodded towards her, challenging her statements as he took a few steps forward. “And what is it that’s making you believe you’re incapable of doing anything similar?”

“Look.” She shook her head, looking directly at him when she said, “I can move the average household item, shut a door and maybe, just maybe, bust it down, but I couldn’t push your couch across the room, let alone move a fu- a satellite dish.”

Charles’ brows furrowed. “And that’s what you believe?”

She hummed. “That’s what I know.”

“Well,” he sighed, disappointment written across his face that sent her into a spiral, “There’s not much we can do if you don’t believe you can better yourself, is there?”

The second he walked past her was when it felt as though ice water had been spilt onto her. A mixture of confusion and gloom washed over her before she turned to see Charles’ back, still moving towards the door. “What?”

He stopped in his tracks at her exclamation, waiting several moments as if contemplating before he turned back to her. Carefully, he asked, “Why do you take them?”

She shook her head, looking almost offended. “How did you-”

“Your mind,” Charles confirmed, “It gets quieter.”

The offence on her face never ceased, but the uncomfortable mixture of feelings she was overwhelmed with had her shrug in response to his question. Charles only nodded and gave her a tight smile before turning back.

She closed her eyes, resigning herself with huff. She could go back to the life she had come to know and hate, or she could take the second chance he was giving her even if it did include the prospect of some suffering.

“I don’t take them for fun.” The sound of her voice made Charles stop again. This time, he waited. “When I touch a person I don’t just take every experience. I take every memory.”

He turned around to face her once more and gave her nod, signalling her to continue. She breathed in and out. “I see and I feel everything that’s happened to them. That’s a lot and it’s enough, but that’s not why I-”

She cut herself off, feeling herself choke on the words before shaking her head and persisting herself on despite Charles’ look of concern. “I take them because, when I take their memories, I take all of their thoughts too. Every one. So every thought of murder, or rape, or suicide, or any fucked up thing, keeps tearing me apart from the inside out.”

Charles nodded, walking closer to her, choosing his words carefully as he spoke, sympathy written deep in his soft voice, “And they scare you.”

She shook her head. Looking away from him for a moment, she willed away tears she felt gathering. She turned back to him. “The thought of acting on them scares me.”

Although slightly taken aback by the revelation, Charles holds his composure. He nodded before opening his mouth to respond, walking closer as he began.

The only reaction he got was her taking a step back, shaking her head. “I swear I’m not a bad person.” Charles assumed she didn’t want him touching her - considering she took away every thought. “I’m always all these people at once - I don’t even know who I am.”

“Then we will figure it out.” Charles tilted his head, making sure her eyes met his when she attempted to look away. His voice was soft and reassuring to her ears, even if she didn’t know whether to believe him or not. “You aren’t alone, Y/N.”

As it turns, the drugs were having a large effect on her ability to use her powers - the next few days told her as much. By no means was she capable of moving a satellite dish, but she had been able to take her powers to lengths she never thought she could have been able to.

Most of it was due to Charles - he’d spent most of the next few days with her, pushing her, sometimes to the point where she’d snap at him. She always calmed, though, and Charles always remained coolheaded.

Still, they grew closer. Or at least she grew closer to him. She couldn’t tell if the praise, the laughs, the banter, and the willingness to come back together after a fight only meant something to her. She hoped it did - because why else wouldn’t he just give up on her? All that time spent on advancing her powers to defeat Shaw, and he still talked about helping her as though their relationship would continue past this mission.

Part of her wanted to touch him so she could just know. Even if he hadn’t taken such a liking to her as she had him, at the very least try to understand him in his entirety and make a space for herself in his life. Then, another part of her was horrified at what she would find in there.

For the time being, there wasn’t much opportunity to dwell on it. The day they would head out was coming soon, and Erik suggested the group get a good night’s rest. They would all need it.

With her luck, she didn’t know why she thought that sleep would come easy that night. Whether it was due to adrenaline, anxiety, or anything else, didn’t matter. Because whatever was keeping her up had her pacing the hallways of Charles’ estate that night.

She wasn’t looking for it, but instead happened upon a conversation. 

“… no difference. Shaw’s declared war on mankind. On all of us. He has to be stopped.” She heard Charles’ voice through a door as she passed by. Although knowing that he could probably make out the sound of her mind from a mile away, she still stopped by it. She grew even more curious when she heard Erik’s voice. 

“I'm not gonna stop Shaw. I'm gonna kill him. Do you have it in you to allow that?” A moment of silence passed and she shifted on her feet. It made the floor creek. She shut her eyes and bit her lip, nervous, expecting to hear the sound of one of their footsteps coming to open the door and catch her eavesdropping. Whether they heard or not, she didn’t know as Erik continued on, “You've known all along why I was here, Charles. But things have changed. What started as a covert mission, tomorrow mankind will know that mutants exist. Shaw, us, they won't differentiate. They'll fear us. And that fear will turn to hatred.”

“Not if we stop a war,” Charles’ voice wavered on a line of urgency and assurance, “Not if we can prevent Shaw. Not if we risk our lives doing so.”

Charles very well could have been doing nothing but reassuring Erik with his words, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually trying to reassure himself. As if the world wouldn’t either discard or abuse them once they’ve served their purpose of their betterment. 

“Will they do the same for us?”

“We have it in us to be the better men.”

“We already are.” Erik’s voice quickly turned from calm to urgent when he next spoke. “We're the next stage of human evolution. You said it yourself!”

“No, no!” She heard Charles attempt to cut Erik off before he sighed. She could practically hear the disappointment in it, although she couldn’t say she felt the same. He only let Erik continue.

“Are you really so naive as to think that they won't battle their own extinction?” She heard him pause. “Or is it arrogance?”

“I’m sorry?” As if Charles had misheard him. 

She shifted on her feet once more as their voices became more hushed, despite the feeling coming from the room becoming more hostile than calm. This time, she was more careful. Nothing made a sound below her feet when she moved closer to the door, pressing her ear against it, as well as her left palm for support.

“After tomorrow, they're gonna turn us. But you're blind to it, because you believe they're all like Moira.” 

“And you believe they're all like Shaw.” Came Charles’ immediate response. Calmly, she heard him continue, “Listen to me very carefully my friend. Killing Shaw will not bring you peace.”

Erik’s voice never wavered when he told Charles, “Peace was never an option.”

Footsteps came far too fast for her to move away from the door. In a split second, she found herself leaning against the door to crashing into Erik’s chest when he pulled the door open. For a moment, Erik stood staring down at her, watching her attempt to recompose herself and attempt to apologize. She didn’t get a word out before he moved past her and walked away.

She watched his form retreat before she turned back to the room. Standing in the doorway, she saw Charles sitting in the chair facing away from her. With his eyes closed and fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed, “You realize I can hear your mind from across this house?”

She took a step in, almost reluctantly. She didn’t imagine Charles would be content with anything she had to say, but maybe she could make him understand. “Erik’s right, you know.”

Her words had Charles’ eyes snap open. He got out the chair, setting down the drink he was nursing on the table next to him, before he turned to face her. “Excuse me?”

“Peace isn’t an option ‘cause we’re never gonna get peace.” She shook her head, desperation in both her voice and eyes as she stared into his. “Erik thinks they’re gonna turn on us. They might not, but it doesn’t mean any of us will get any peace. They won’t all be like Shaw, they won’t all be like Moira, but most of them - most of them will just be human. They’ll fear us and they’ll judge us. It doesn’t matter how harmless we are or not.”

She watched as Charles took a step forward, his head tilting to the side, expression unreadable as his voice remained calm. “You can’t be serious.” It was a statement - a wrong one.

“Shaw needs to die,” She spoke with assurance. She felt her eyes fill with tears, Charles watching her suck in a breath and release as he began to walk closer to her, before she spoke in a whisper, no longer trusting her voice, “Shaw needs to die for what he did to us. We’re going to kill him, Charles.”

They’re faces we’re merely inches apart, chilling her to the bone as he looked at her. What she thought he would never do is what he tried the second he began to raise his hand, speaking quickly to her when he asked, “Us?”

His hand almost cupped her cheek when she turned her head away from it. Immediately, his hand froze. Charles watched her profile as more tears welled up in her eyes and her lips began to tremble. Voice weak and tearful, staring away from him, she pleaded, “Please don’t confuse me. I can’t-”

“I know you feel it,” Charles’ other hand came up to guide her face back to him despite her, whispering carefully, “But it is not your cross to bear.”

His hand was warm against her cheek. Comforting - enough to make her mind go blank. Wishful thinking, of course, because soon the clawing in her head would come back with a vengeance at having a man such as Charles touch her. For now, though, he felt safe. Stable. Enough so that she could close her eyes for a moment and let the tears fall as he leaned down to her and let his forehead press against hers. 

“You can’t help but feel his pain,” She felt his breath against her lips as he spoke, his voice the same soft and soothing as she’s known it to be, “But you can decide what you do with it.”

She shook her head gently and pulled away, but still letting Charles’ hand rest against her cheek. “It’s not just-” she whispered to him, mouth feeling dry as her eyes avoided his, trying to piece her thoughts together. His hand slid down to the base of her neck, guiding her eyes to his. She licked her lips before she swallowed. “I barely knew Darwin, but he killed him right in front of us. And it was cruel and scary and I couldn’t even make myself look at it when it happened.”

“I know.” Charles brought his other hand up to brush away slow falling tears she hadn’t even known began to escape. He voiced nothing but concern, letting her continue as if he knew what she was going to say next. 

Her hands reached up to wrap around his wrists, not to pull his hands away from her, but to simply hold onto them. Almost as if they were an anchor to make up for the tears she now felt were falling faster down her face as she realized. “For the first time, I think I want something, I feel this anger and fear, because of my head. I saw it first and I felt it first. It’s mine, and now I have a real responsibility to take care of it.”

“Not with murder.” Her hands tightened around his wrists as he brought her face closer to his own. A frown on his face as he desperately told her, “I meant it when I told you that we would figure this out together. You told me you were never your own person, that you don’t even know yourself. We were - we are - going to bring you into existence. I beg you, Y/N, don’t let yourself be brought into this world as a murderer.”

His words, as beautiful as they were, only half registered within her brain. All she found herself focusing on then was how close he was. She would think back later and come to realize that it was because the only thing making her tears stop and giving her the will not to commit a murder was the prospect of approval she would get from a man like him. From someone who could never understand her struggle, someone who never tried to or tried to make her feel as though there was some way out. From someone who wanted to build on it and show her the strength she could find within it.

Realistically, she knew he would have a few words for her if she ever outwardly admitted to him that she used approval as a means for bettering herself, but it was the best she could do at the time being.

Charles’ brows furrowed as he watched her face, spaced out and regarding him with an expression not even he could read. Somewhere deep down, though, he knew he had gotten through to her. His lips curled up slightly, speaking lowly with amusement evident in his voice, “Now where did you go?”

Her eyes shot from his lips to his eyes once more. As quick as they made eye contact, she leaned forward to press her lips against his. Lips soft, she kissed him carefully, one hand moving to cup his face. Only in the last few moments did he respond to it by kissing back.

She pulled away, looking at him nervously and letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in. Her mouth was dry again. “I’m sorry-”

She was cut off by Charles’ lips on hers once more. She kissed back instantly, sighing into the kiss in content. Feeling Charles smirk against her lips and deepen the kiss, she put both hands behind his neck, pulling his body closer to hers. He took her lower lip between his teeth, pulling slightly as he let his hands trail down her body to her waist, pulling her to make sure there wasn’t the slightest gap between their bodies.

Their lips broke apart, but only long enough to allow for a quick breath. Charles pushed his lips back into hers as her hands snaked down to the collar of his dress shirt, playing carefully with the top button.

Eventually, their lips broke apart as they caught their breath. Bodies still pressed together, Charles leant forward to rest his forehead onto hers, her eyes still close, for a moment before pressing a kiss to it. He placed his chin on top of her head and rested there, her head resting against the crook of his neck as she felt him - anticipating what it would feel like to feel nothing but him. 

[mycrofts-gunbrella]

Caring is the Greatest Advantage- Mycroft Holmes x Reader (Part 11)

A/N- Okay so this is just a short 2k fill in chapter! It’s kinda cute and kinda sad but it was too long to add to the last chapter, and it doesn’t fit in with the theme of the next chapter (though it sets it up quite nicely!). The next chapter is likely going to be a bit angsty but I promise it’ll have a rewarding ending to it! I hope to have it written and up sooner rather than later but, until then, enjoy this little piece.

Word Count- 2028

The ten minute drive from Baker Street to the Natural History Museum went by in a flash- most of it being spent by Mycroft giving you a mental tour of the building's various rooms and the 'most appropriate route to take'. Though it did also take a minute or two for you to convince him to not get everybody kicked out for a private visit, no matter how many people were there.. Admittedly, you hadn't been to the museum for 6 years or so now- after living so long in London it feels less of a luxury being only round the corner from it- but walking through the doors made you feel like a child again. Entry to the museum was free, but that didn't mean you didn't see Mycroft swiftly pushing a few notes into the donation bin at the front before guiding you forwards. Glancing up, you eyed the blue whale skeleton that hung from the ceiling and frowned. Mycroft caught your look and spoke up.

"Ah yes, Hope has been a relatively recent addition to the museum. She was found dead on an Irish beach back in 1891. It's a rather beautiful marvel to gaze upon, though, large as she is, she doesn't quite fill the hole in my heart that was left after my beloved Dippy was removed." Your eyes scanned the skeleton of the large mammal once more before looking back at Mycroft. "I did try to convince the board to keep the diplodocus somewhere but all attempts were futile. There's only so much force you can put into such a topic without exposing yourself as-"

"As a man who loves dinosaur bones more than he loves people?" Mycroft shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed.

"The very thing." Lifting your arm, you rested your hand at the crook of Mycroft's elbow to encourage him to move on.

"When we get home and have dinner we can raise a toast in Dippy's honour.. but for now, my mind's been taken over by that huge statue of Darwin." And the pair of you headed off, your hand very much staying place at Mycroft's arm as you wandered through the rooms- Mycroft more than willing to reel off facts about every deceased animal of history and, more often than not, even impressing the workers with his spiel of facts. Though you were very much enjoying wandering aimlessly through the room of human evolution, you most definitely noticed the pull from the man beside you as he was eager to reach his beloved dino-pals. As you turned the corner into the slightly darkened dinosaur room, you tripped over your feet slightly as you felt Mycroft stop in his tracks, his eyes wide and taking everything in. He looked as happy as a boy at Christmas and, quite frankly, it was adorable. You nudged him slightly when he still didn't move. "You okay?"

"Sorry, it just seems as though, no matter how many times I come here, it always feels like the first." He had shaken his head as though to bring his thoughts back to focus before taking a few steps into the gallery and leading you over to the skeletal remains of a Baryonyx. "The name Baryonyx roughly translates to 'Heavy Claw' from the Ancient Greek's 'Barys' meaning heavy and 'onyx' being claw or talon." He spoke, his voice smooth and relaxed as his fingers brushed over the board that announced the name of the creature within the glass. "It was also an excellent swimmer which it would use to its advantage while hunting." You listened to his every word as he spoke, grinning as he excitedly told you how many teeth it had and it's preferred techniques for capturing food before he moved you onto the next one.

"Oh these beauties have always been my favourite." You almost whispered, taking in the sight of the huge triceratops skull. You barely noticed Mycroft's hand shift from his pocket until you felt the heat of his palm against the small of your back, fingers squeezing slightly by your hip as he spoke.

"Mine too. Sherlock used to say they were boring and that we might as well have gone to the zoo to look at rhinos. He ended up spending 5 months trying to prove that the rhinos were descendants from the triceratops and then avoided me for 3 weeks when he realised there was no connection at all."

"That sounds about right. Though I can't imagine Sherlock enjoying it here very much anyway.." Mycroft began to guide you to a small bench just off the side to sit down, still giving you the view of the beautiful dinosaur bones.

"He didn't. When we were much younger he would kick off until Mummy and Father would tell us it's time to go and I had to go with them.. Then as we got a little older and Sherlock properly found his legs, he would simply run from the doors round to the science museum. Of course mummy and father had to follow him as he was so young, but one time I decided to stay here. They didn't realise I hadn't followed them until it was time to go home 5 hours later." Mycroft spoke quietly.

"Found his legs? That's at, what, four? Five? How young were you?"

"I was 9 the first time, I think." Now, Mycroft, you don't just 'think'; you know. Your hand moved to rest above his own on his knee, brushing your thumb fondly over his knuckles. "But it isn't all bad. Some of my best days as a child were spent here, and a lot of the staff were very kind and would teach me extra facts that weren't displayed. There was one gentleman who even gave me his own copies of some books that they had here. I'd wander the whole museum in time but I always found myself back here on this bench just.. watching. This room felt more like home than my very house sometimes. It was the room where I could escape the real world and find peace. Eventually Mummy, Father and Sherlock stopped bothering with the visits because Sherlock found the science museum boring after he'd prove them wrong on something each time, but I'd still pop back in on occasion without them.. Coming to think about it, I've never actually brought anybody here with me at all." You squeezed at his fingers and settled back into the bench.

"Well I am incredibly glad that I found out about your little interest, and I feel even more honoured that you let me come here with you." You beamed. And it was the truth. Evidently, this little museum meant much more to Mycroft than you could have ever imagined and it warmed your heart to know that he trusted you to see him nerd out over some bones.

"Eventually I used this very building as the scaffolding to build my mind palace. My files on Sherlock, very appropriately, are nestled in the human biology room. But most people's information is either stored in the entrance, where Dippy remains over Hope, might I add, or in a few of the rooms I find less interesting.." You didn't have to ask to know he was referencing 'that room with all the bloody rocks'. "I love most of the galleries too much to taint them with information on people that aren't important. The likes of Gregory and Doctor Watson now reside in Hintze Hall as the years have passed." His eyes remained focused in front of him, unblinking, as though he was wandering the very halls at that moment.

"And where.. where are my files?" You had to ask, really. Since he was on the subject anyway. "If you've put them in the marine reptiles room when you know I'm terrified of the ocean I shall never forgive you." Mycroft's hand flipped beneath yours so the pads of your fingers brushed before he blinked and looked over to you, a small smile on his face.

"Here." Oh. Well that's.. something. You shifted to give him a quick kiss on his cheek, knowing he wasn't overly fond of PDA and tugged him to stand.

"And on that note, I think we should go and grab some lunch before you make me cry in front of the dinosaurs."

---

After lunch, you both spent a few more hours walking from room to room (and of course circling round to the dinosaur gallery again) before you decided to call it a day at 4pm. Before departing, you headed towards the toilets that happened to be beside the little gift shop and you had a browse while Mycroft was occupied. Grinning, you picked up a deep blue plush triceratops and stroked a finger across its back. It was just small enough that, after purchasing, you could hide the little guy in the loose fabric of the sweatshirt you wore, acting innocent as you waited back outside near the wall. After going to the bathroom yourself, the pair of you headed outside where a car was waiting for you. Sliding in the back seat, you couldn't contain your little gift anymore.

"Surprise!" You laughed, producing the small toy from under your clothes and into the hands of the man beside you. He studied it briefly before beginning to laugh himself as he reached into his inner pocket and handed you the matching dinosaur, though purple in colour. "God, we're such children aren't we?" You noted as you swapped plushie companions, each of you brushing a finger on its nose as though it were a small pet. "I daren't think what your colleagues would say if they knew you were now the proud owner of a baby triceratops teddy that's.." You glanced at the tag. "..Suitable for children aged 12 months plus!"

"Probably nothing as bad as if they realised said triceratops was going to take proud placement on my desk at home." He beamed. "Thank you, this really does mean a great deal to me." You knew he wasn't just talking about the toy that rolled around his long fingers and you shifted to rest your head lightly on his shoulder.

"We can come back any time. I, for one, know I'll never get bored of looking through the galleries.. Or I'll never get bored of watching you light up as we walk through said galleries. Either or works, really." He hummed in response, his emotions slightly overwhelmed from the day and its revelations into his past. "Plus there were about 10 other little dinos in the shop and I've always been one to want a full collection.. so, if we pace ourselves, that's at least 10 more trips."

"13.. Although that could be tripled if we take the colour variations into account."

"Oh, of course! Can't half-arse a collection or it's just pointless."

"I concur."

"That's settled then. Almost 40 more trips to finish off our collection.. And thennnn we can move onto the figurines." Mycroft let out a laugh beside you and tilted to rest his head atop yours for the remainder of the journey home.

---

The evening between you was shared over a meal (where, as promised, a small toast was made to the memory of Sir Dippy) before Mycroft sat to finish the papers for Greg. Eventually you collapsed into bed at a relatively reasonable time, groaning at the throbbing in your legs from the day's adventure before finally slipping into rest.

---

The next day passed relatively quickly. The morning was spent visiting Greg in his office to drop off the papers before the pair of you took a small stroll through the streets of London. Eventually, Mycroft and yourself even got a text message from Sherlock giving a (albeit half-arsed) apology for his behaviour the day before and the rest of the day was spent in bliss. That was until exactly 17 minutes after you got back home when Mycroft's mobile began to ring. He swallowed deeply, showing you the caller ID of the person he had been dreading to speak to post-Eurus and answering.

"Ah, yes.. Hello, Mummy."

[aquaquadrant]

nature’s productions - chapter one

Rated T for: Strong language, description of scars/injury

Summary: Three years after the disaster at Jurassic World, Claire Dearing and Owen Grady are contracted for a mission to save as many dinosaurs as possible from the impending eruption on Isla Nublar. But when they arrive, they experience an unexpected complication; six teenagers who were left stranded on the island when the park closed.

Surviving has left the campers scarred in more ways than one, and they’re pretty sure that their would-be rescuers have less than good intentions. But with a volcanic eruption at their heels, they’ll do whatever it takes to get a ride home- and save the dinosaurs while they’re at it, because that’s kind of their thing. 

A/N: Hey y’all, at long last I’m finally starting the sequel to endless forms. I’ve got big plans for this series as a whole and I’m really excited to get going, so please let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy, reblogs/comments are appreciated! - Aqua

Click here to read on A03 (with more complete tags).

Click here to support me on ko-fi!

~*~

“Can we wonder, then, that nature’s productions should be far ‘truer’ in character than man’s productions; that they should be infinitely better adapted to the most complex conditions of life, and should plainly bear the stamp of far higher workmanship?”

- Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species

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chapter one - variation under nature

~*~

Once they hit Main Street, they encounter their first dinosaur.

A Brachiosaurus, thankfully. Claire agreed to come on this mission knowing full well they might run into any number of the dangerous carnivores inhabiting Isla Nublar, but she’d like to avoid such an encounter if at all possible.

Their little fleet of trucks has pulled over to allow the large herbivore to pass. Zia was out the door before their truck had even stopped and now stands motionless, staring up at the Brachiosaurus in awe.

“Look at that,” Zia breathes, her voice choked. “Never thought I’d see one in real life.”

Claire’s heart twists.

She remembers the first time she ever saw a dinosaur. Or, an asset, as she’d called them back then. It had been a very different experience; a hatchling behind glass, under the harsh glare of incubator lights. What a privilege it had been- one that she hadn’t fully appreciated until it was almost too late.

The Brachiosaurus bellows as it passes by. It’s not a full-out roar, but it rattles in Claire’s eardrums anyways, and she’s incredibly thankful that they’re too small for a creature so big to pay any mind to.

“She’s beautiful,” Zia sighs, her voice wistful.

Franklin clears his throat. “Can we…?” He waves an arm back at the truck, clearly anxious to leave.

Owen catches Claire’s eye, his lips pulling up into a half-grin. “Yeah, we should get moving,” he amends, turning away from the departing Brachiosaurus.

Franklin practically jumps into the truck, folding himself back into his seat. Zia huffs a laugh and wipes at her eyes, casting a final longing gaze at the Brachiosaurus. Claire squeezes her shoulder before stepping away. She hates to think about how many of these creatures are going to perish, but there’s only so much they can do-

The ground shakes, and an Ankylosaurus crests the hill.

Shouts of alarm rise into the air, accented by half a dozen guns swinging around to face the approaching dinosaur. Claire’s heart jumps into her throat; it’s an herbivore, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be aggressive-

A voice rings out.

“Hold your fire!”

Claire freezes, seeing her confusion mirrored in everyone else’s faces as they look at each other, trying to figure out who spoke. It was a male voice, but distinctly young- and Franklin seems just as baffled, looking on from his spot in the truck.

The Ankylosaurus has slowed its approach, baying lowly, and Claire gasps. There are two figures on its back- teenagers, a boy and a girl, who slide to the ground as the dinosaur comes to a stop.

“Oh, thank god we found you!” the girl cries, racing forward to wrap Claire in a surprisingly strong hug. “We’re saved!”

Claire can only stare down at her in shock. “Wha- who are you?” she stammers. “What are you doing here?”

The girl releases her and backs away, expression apologetic. “Sorry, that… that must’ve been weird. I just can’t believe someone finally found us.”

Now that Claire can get a good look at the girl, her heart jolts. The first thing that jumps out at her is the girl’s left eye; it’s colored a cloudy white, only the slightest hint of green to match the other one. Her pupil is dilated and there’s mottled scar tissue surrounding the orbit, further lending to the idea that there’s some kind of damage there.

Claire tries not to let her gaze linger, instead taking in the rest of the girl’s appearance. Her stringy brown hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail, several loose locks framing her face. The clothes she’s wearing are faded and torn; a pink T-shirt with raptors printed on it and a pair of khaki shorts. Oddly, she’s got some kind of tree bark armor on over it covering her arms and legs, tied with vines. A strap of woven vines holds a baseball bat across her back, the end of it stained dark with dried blood.

The boy stands several inches taller than the girl, his lanky frame built of wiry muscle. Light brown hair is tied back under a filthy blue bandana, accenting the piercing blue eyes beneath it. He’s dressed in a similar manner as the girl; a sleeveless black shirt with a Mosasaurus on it underneath ramshackle armor. A leather pouch is buckled around his waist and a spear is slung across his back. He’s standing close to the girl on her left side, his shoulders hunched and his gaze unblinking as it drifts from person to person, one hand resting on the Ankylosaurus behind him.

Both of them are absolutely covered in scars; little white hash marks criss-crossing their skin. Claire doesn’t see any obvious large wounds, save for the girl’s eye which is clearly an old injury, but she can’t help the way her breath catches.

The girl tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, almost self-consciously. “I’m Brooklynn, and this is Ben,” she says. “We’re from Camp Cretaceous.”

“The hell is that?” Wheatley calls, a frown etched into his weathered face as he eyes the teens.

Claire’s stomach drops. “Oh god, that’s… the children’s camp we were testing out, right before the shutdown,” she breathes. Somewhere behind her, Owen makes an incredulous noise deep in his throat, and she winces- in hindsight, the project had been a very bad idea. “It was in the early stages of development, with only six campers… you were presumed dead.”

“So wait,” Owen says, stepping forward, “you’ve been here for the last three years?”

Ben shifts closer to Brooklynn, focusing his stare on Owen. “It’s been three years?” he muses. He has a blunt way of talking, his tone flat and a little louder than what seems necessary. “Huh. Not sure how to feel about that.”

Claire glances around, hesitating. “Are the others…?”

“All alive,” Ben says, only the slightest quirk of his lips betraying his pride. “Despite Nublar’s best efforts.”

Owen runs a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly, and Claire’s knees nearly give out with relief. “Oh, thank god.”

“How?” Wheatley asks, seeming baffled. “I mean, how could you kids survive on this island for three years?”

Brooklynn gives him a considering look. “We never give up,” she says, shrugging. “Anyway, now that we found you, we’d better call the herd.” She’s barely finished her sentence before Ben is putting his fingers to his mouth and giving a sharp whistle, two short trills that make everyone jump in surprise.

Brooklynn continues speaking without missing a beat. “When we saw your boat, we decided to split up to find you faster. We figured you wouldn’t be staying long.” She looks at Claire expectantly. “You’re here to save the dinosaurs, right? From the eruption?”

Claire blinks; Brooklynn’s mismatched gaze is a little disconcerting. “I- yes, that’s right. I’m Claire Dearing, I used to work here. We were hired by John Hammond’s old partner, actually. He’s got a sanctuary prepared for them, on a private island.”

Brooklynn beams. “Oh, that’s great to hear. I mean, we had a plan to hole up in the tunnel system, but we knew most of these guys were gonna be wiped out.”

“I’m surprised you care,” Owen says mildly, folding his arms, “considering what they must’ve put you through.”

Ben wrinkles his nose. “They’re just animals. It’s not like they’re evil,” he says. “Besides, Bumpy here has saved all our lives countless times.” He pats the Ankylosaurus behind him without turning, still keeping his eyes on Owen.

Wheatley lets out a low whistle. “How’d you manage to tame that thing?”

Ben cuts his gaze towards Wheatley, displeasure flashing across his face. “I earned her trust. We look out for each other, it’s not like she’s my pet. Besides, she spends most of her time nowadays with her own herd. I was planning on bringing her into the tunnels with us to wait out the eruption, ‘cause there’s no way I could just leave her…”

Throughout the conversation, Claire notices that Brooklynn’s attention has been on their surroundings. She’s slowly turning her head from side to side, scanning, a look of intense concentration on her face. Suddenly, her head whips around to look somewhere behind Claire, and her hand shoots out to grab Ben’s.

Ben stops talking instantly, head snapping around to follow Brooklynn’s gaze as both teens reach for their weapons.

The whole group startles, troopers whirling around to face whatever threat the teens have sensed. Zia stumbles back against the truck, where Franklin has clapped his hands over his mouth to muffle his cry of alarm. In the abrupt silence that follows, Claire can just barely make out the faint sound of footsteps, echoing off the sides of the abandoned buildings.

Owen, one hand hovering near his gun, meets Claire’s gaze. His expression is tense, but the way his eyes widen in surprise means he’s realized what Claire has; Brooklynn heard those footsteps before any of them, even though she was farther away. That’s incredibly impressive.

A heartbeat passes, and the footsteps stop. Then comes two sharp whistles.

Ben and Brooklynn immediately relax, hands falling from their weapons as the tension drains from their bodies. “Here,” Ben calls out, though his gaze has returned to the people standing in front of him.

Claire lets out a shaky breath, feeling her heart rate start to slow. “Your friends?”

Without looking at her, Ben snorts. “Well, it’s not the T-Rex.” 

“Yeah,” Brooklynn says with a sage nod, “she ditched this place weeks ago.”

Claire manages a laugh- and then she realizes Brooklynn isn’t joking. Inside the truck, Franklin is frantically buckling his seatbelt. “Can we please leave now?”

“Uh, we’ve got another party of two coming, man,” a new voice chimes in. “Cool your jets.”

Two figures round the corner of the building.

The speaker is a young man who looks to be of Asian descent. But all Claire can look at are the three massive scars slashed across the right side of his face. The lines of pink, raised scar tissue indicate it’s an old wound, but the sheer scale of it makes Claire wince. The top one skirts along his nose and passes narrowly under his eye, leaving it with a slight squint. Underneath that, the second scar has torn through the inner border of his ear and the corner of his mouth on the other end, exposing a sliver of his teeth, while the third scar travels along his jaw.

It’s painfully obvious that the scars were made by a three-clawed theropod. Owen’s jaw is clenched, and Claire can almost hear him praying that it wasn’t Blue who disfigured this teenager.

“Hey,” the boy calls as he approaches, his grin crooked due to the tightened skin on his right cheek. “My eyes are over here.”

Claire feels herself flush and quickly averts her gaze. “Sorry, I don’t mean to stare-”

“Ah, I’m just messing with you,” the boy laughs, waving her off. “I’m Kenji. And you’re our ticket off this hellhole, so you can stare all you want.”

He’s taller than Ben and his frame is broader, more filled out. That, along with the scant facial hair lining his jaw, tells Claire he’s probably one of the oldest of the teens. His thick, black hair sticks up in the front, kept out of his dark brown eyes. His vintage Jurassic Park T-shirt is accompanied by the same style of tree bark armor, and there’s what appears to be a machete sheathed across his back.

“Be nice, Kenji,” the girl next to him huffs, her voice rough and low. She takes in their group with a discerning eye before offering a tentative smile. “I’m Yaz. And god, are we glad to see you.”

She’s of Middle Eastern descent, her skin a warm sepia and her silky, dark brown hair in a choppy pixie cut. Her frame is slender but muscular, the crop top and shorts she’s wearing making that fact even more apparent. In addition to the armor, she’s got some kind of brace around her left foot- a bulky structure of tree bark and rusted pipe, held together with vines and compression tape. She’s wearing a makeshift backpack- it looks like an altered plastic tote bag, like a souvenir tote- and a woven rope belt holds a hunting knife at her hip.

Once again; both scarred, and both armed.

Kenji strolls right up to Owen and takes his hand, shaking it. “Seriously, thrilled to have you guys here. I’d offer to give you the VIP tour, but we’re kinda pressed for time here.”

“The others should be here soon,” Yaz adds, addressing an impatient-looking Wheatley before turning to Ben and Brooklynn. “Good job, guys.”

“Told you we’d find ‘em first,” Ben says plainly, though the mischievous glint in his eye implies he’s teasing.

Kenji makes a show of rolling his eyes. “Well yeah, ‘cause you guys have the Bumpy advantage.”

“Still counts,” Brooklynn smirks.

The teens shift into what seems to be a familiar formation. Ben stays planted on Brooklynn’s left side as Kenji slides next to him, settling an arm around Ben’s waist. Yaz stays on Kenji’s other side, her arm reaching up and resting on his shoulder as she leans against him, enough to take the weight off her braced ankle.

Standing together in a line, there’s an immediate- but subtle- shift in the teen’s demeanor. They look more at ease, more confident… and oddly enough, more intimidating. Maybe that’s the point.

Claire takes another look at Kenji. It’s hard to see past the scars, but his name sounds familiar… 

“You’re Daniel Kon’s son,” she realizes. She hadn’t spoken to the real estate tycoon on many occasions, during the negotiations for his plans to develop condos on the island. But the fact that his son attended Camp Cretaceous- and was declared dead in the aftermath- had made headlines.

Kenji raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Uh- yeah, actually. Heh, I wasn’t sure you’d remember. I mean, we met like, what, twice?”

“I- I think so,” Claire says, slightly taken aback that he remembered. Back then, he’d come off as… well, as a typical rich kid, a little self-absorbed. “I’m-”

“Claire Dearing, right?” A slightly bittersweet smile tugs at Kenji’s mouth. “You uh, you were our counselors’ boss. Dave and Roxie.”

The sudden reminder is like a kick to the stomach. “Oh, that’s right,” Claire murmurs. “They… spoke to me, after everything happened. They were convinced you were all still alive, insisting we go back… but I didn’t have the authority to make that call. I directed them to my higher-ups with the Masrani Corporation and didn’t hear from them again. And then, when the death count was finalized a few days later… I’m so sorry.”

In the days following Jurassic World’s fall, the shock and grief had been overwhelming. It hadn’t been made any easier by all the misinformation flying around- part from genuine confusion, because the whole series of events was pure chaos, but part malicious because people loved to sensationalize. By the time officials got control of everything, the conversation had already slipped to the back of Claire’s mind, and she hadn’t thought to question six more names in the death toll.

After all, how could anyone think that six children who went missing at Jurassic World would still be alive?

If the revelation has shaken the campers at all, they aren’t showing it. “There’s nothing you could’ve done,” Brooklyn says gently.

“Yeah,” Kenji agrees easily, “I’m sure everyone just thought they were in denial or something. I probably wouldn’t have believed them either.”

Somehow, that makes Claire feel worse. But before anything else can be said, another double whistle pierces the air.

“There they are,” Brooklyn sighs with relief, as Ben fires a whistle back. “Slow pokes probably stopped to dinosaur-watch.”

This time, everyone hears the rustling footsteps as two figures approach from across the street; another boy-girl pair.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see y’all!” the girl says as she rushes over, wrapping Claire in a hug.

She’s a tall girl with a thick frame, standing just an inch or two shorter than Kenji. Her souvenir shirt of choice is a gray Jurassic World scoop-neck, the logo decorated with plants that compliment the tree bark and vine armor. A hunting knife like Yaz’s is sheathed around her waist. Fortunately, she doesn’t have any obvious injuries aside from the patchwork of little scars that all the teens have. Her wavy black hair is cut above her shoulders, kept out of her face by a pink headband, and her brown eyes are bright as she pulls away to beam at Claire.

“My name’s Sammy,” she says, her southern lilt becoming more apparent, before turning to pull Owen into a similar bear hug. “Thank you so much for comin’, I just knew someone would wanna save the dinos.”

Claire can’t help the smile that spreads across her face as Owen awkwardly pats Sammy’s shoulder. “Don’t mention it,” he says, seeming bewildered.

Sammy steps away, laughing. “Look at you, bein’ all modest.” She glances over her shoulder at her companion. “Now I can finally say, ‘I told you someone would come!’ Y’know, eventually.”

The boy shakes his head, amused, before stepping forward, a slightly-wavering hand raised in greeting. He’s African American, with his collection of pale scars standing out in sharp contrast against his dark skin, and his tightly-coiled hair shorn close to his scalp. Claire can’t begin to guess his age, because while his features seem rounder with youth, he’s got the beginnings of facial hair on his upper lip. He’s slightly shorter than Ben, in any case. The black T-shirt he wears under his armor is mostly plain, save for the design of two little raptors poking out of the pocket, and he’s got what looks like a raptor tooth around his neck. A similar knife to Yaz’s and Sammy’s rests at his hip- except it has a strap running along the handle, as if to provide a more secure grip.

“D- D- Darius,” he says, his voice soft and low. Then he moves his hands in an odd gesture, something Claire doesn’t recognize.

Sammy, who’s watching Darius with rapt attention, gives a nod. “Darius says to tell y’all he’s got some brain damage, on account’a nearly bein’ drowned by a duckbill,” she tells Claire plainly. “So that’s why he stutters. We use this kinda sign language sometimes, for simple stuff. He can still hear an’ all, it’s just so he don't have to talk as much.”

Horror seizes Claire. “That’s… terrible, I’m so sorry.”

Darius gives her a gentle smile and shakes his head, as if waving her off. Then his gaze sweeps over the rest of the teens, his head tilting to the side as he makes another hand gesture.

“Yeah, we’re ready,” Brooklynn says in response. “So what’s the plan?”

Claire glances at Owen. “We should take you back to the boat-”

“Don’t have time,” Wheatley breaks in, folding his arms. “I can radio to see if there’s another transport nearby that can reroute to meet us, but in the meantime, we’ve got to get moving.”

Claire is about to chastise him, and insist that getting these children to safety should take precedence over their mission, but then Darius gives a nod.

“That’s fine,” Brooklynn says easily.

“Yeah,” Ben chimes in, climbing onto his Ankylosaurus’s back. “We’ll follow you guys.”

Brooklynn quickly climbs up behind him, followed by Darius and Yaz. Kenji and Sammy hang back, the former scratching the back of his head as he looks around.

“Mind if we join you on the truck?” he asks. “Bumpy’s reached carrying capacity.”

Wheatley frowns. “I don’t know if we have any extra seats-”

“We’ll ride up top,” Kenji says, before hopping onto the side of the truck to do just that. He scales it effortlessly, disappearing over the edge before anyone’s fully processed what’s happening.

“Ooh, count me in!” Sammy grins, hauling herself up after him. “This is just like when me an’ my sisters would ride on the tractor back home!”

Owen puts his hands on his hips, nonplussed. Claire gives him a helpless shrug and climbs into the truck.

“Alright,” Wheatley barks out, finally regaining control of the situation, “let’s move out, folks.”

The truck door slams shut once everyone’s piled back in, and the engine roars to life. As they pull away, Claire catches a glimpse through the back window of the Ankylosaurus loping behind them, its passengers huddled on top. It’s a surreal sight.

“… so, that happened,” Franklin says eventually, in the tone of someone who’s so overwhelmed that they can’t even decide what they’re feeling.

Owen lets out a heavy breath. “Yep,” he replies.

Claire tips her head back against her seat, closing her eyes.

 What else is there to say?

~*~

One hour earlier.

“Bumpy! C’mere, girl!”

Ben doesn’t have to wait long before Bumpy is bounding towards him, bellowing a greeting. Barely slowing down in time to avoid running Ben over, she rams the flat of her head into his stomach; an affectionate gesture that used to knock him over when he was younger.

Watching from a few feet away, Brooklynn can’t help the amused smile that pulls at her mouth. Which is pretty miraculous, considering how tense things are right now.

Based on the volcano’s activity this morning, the eruption is happening soon. Like, within hours soon. Luckily, they’ve had a plan in place for months, since before the volcano even showed signs of an impending eruption. They’re going to bunker down in the underground system of tunnels, which- thanks to all their hard work over the last however many years- are now entirely sealed off from the outside except for the access hatches. Lots of space, lots of air, and protected from lava and toxic gasses. And ever since the volcano started rumbling, they’ve been stockpiling fresh water and dried food, so there isn’t much left for them to do now that the actual day has come.

They don’t have many belongings with sentimental value; everything they’ve scavenged and constructed has a purpose. But there are one or two little things that each of them are sure to bring, so as not to leave them behind in the evacuation.

For Brooklynn, it’s the master keycard. They haven’t needed it to get around the island for a while now, not since they finished scavenging from all the buildings and fully established their home base, but she can’t bear to part with it. She keeps it tucked in her pocket in case they ever need it, and as a fond reminder of the early days, back when the island was just a mystery to unbox.

For Darius, it’s the raptor tooth necklace that’s ever-present around his neck, and the field guide he keeps in his back pocket. He filled its pages ages ago, but he likes to keep it close in case he ever needs to refer to it, or use it to explain something faster than his words or signs could. And part of him still likes to think it could come home with him, someday.

For Yaz, it’s her sketchbook. It’s a very personal thing for her; none of the herd has seen all the drawings in it, not even Sammy. But among its filled pages are landscapes of their island home, lifelike studies of dinosaurs, and countless portraits- of them, and of her mom. Or at least, what Yaz remembers of her; it’s scary how fast the details are fading.

For Sammy, it’s the flashdrive with Wu’s research on it. She wears it on a cord around her neck, tucked into her shirt. It’s hard to say why she’s held onto it. The casing is sturdy and waterproof, so she knows it’s probably still functional, but it’s unlikely they’ll ever make it home and get the chance to use the information on it. 

For Kenji, it’s an old childhood drawing he found in his penthouse, one he made of him and his family. He keeps it folded up in a Ziploc bag- which was a great find, even if it had a super moldy sandwich inside. He doesn’t like to call attention to it- whether out of embarrassment or something more, no one’s sure- but every now and then someone will catch him looking at it with soft eyes.

And for Ben, it’s Bumpy.

Obviously, keeping a four-ton armored lizard in an underground tunnel for who knows how long sounds… impractical. But they all agreed they couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself on the surface, not after everything she’s done for them.

“Hey, Bumps,” Ben murmurs, probably louder than he intends to, and digs a handful of berries out of his pack. “You and I are gonna go on a little vacation.”

The other Ankylosauruses have taken notice of the teens’ presence, rumbling with uncertainty. They’re still wary of getting too close, but they’ve grown used to Ben- and by extension, the rest of the herd- hanging around, so it’s not usually dangerous to linger. There’s an added sense of nervousness today, though. No doubt a product of the looming eruption.

Ben’s expression is pinched as his gaze sweeps over the Ankylosaurses. “Thanks for taking such good care of her,” he tells them softly.

Brooklynn’s heart tightens. “Hey, they might be fine,” she says, taking a few steps closer so he can hear her better. “It’s a big island, you know? I’m sure it’s not all gonna be covered in lava.”

“I hope you’re right,” Ben sighs, watching Bumpy  finish the last of the berries. He wipes his hand off on his shirt before patting her head, right between her uneven horns. “Okay Bumps, time to go.”

Swinging a leg up, Ben gets situated on her back. Brooklynn accepts the hand he offers her and climbs up behind him. Now that Bumpy’s reached her adult size, it’s not as easy to hop up onto her back, but Brooklynn’s had plenty of practice. Ever since the herd implemented their buddy system, she goes where Ben goes, and Ben often goes with Bumpy.

At Ben’s signal, Bumpy trots off into the jungle, away from the clearing and her herd. Ben steers her in a way that would almost seem telepathic to an outside observer, with no obvious prompting. But in reality, it’s the subtle shifts in his body weight that tell Bumpy where to go- and she must’ve realized they’re heading back home, because she gives an excited rumble and speeds up a little.

Brooklynn keeps her head turned to the side, watching the trees as they race by in a blur. But mostly, she’s focused on listening. After all, they’re more likely to hear a dinosaur coming before they see it, and her hearing is excellent.

There’s a certain degree of background noise she’s become familiar with and learned to filter out; leaves rustled by the tropical winds, clouds of buzzing gnats, the ocean waves whenever they’re close to the shore. She can recognize and differentiate between a few dinosaur calls- and at the very least, she can tell between herbivores and carnivores, even if she can’t name the exact species.

But it’s not often she hears something she doesn’t recognize.

“Wait,” she calls in Ben’s ear, loud enough to be heard over Bumpy’s footsteps but still hushed out of wariness.

Ben leans back, prompting Bumpy to stop. “What is it?” he asks lowly, scanning their surroundings with one hand on his spear.

Brooklynn pauses, concentrating. She knits her brows together. “I’m… not sure.”

It’s a rumbling sound, but not from the volcano, and not from a dinosaur. It’s almost… mechanical? But that doesn’t make sense at all.

“Not a dinosaur,” Brooklynn says after a moment. “Pretty sure, anyways.”

Ben relaxes, but only slightly. He jerks his head over at a nearby tree. “Want me to take a look?”

“Yeah,” Brooklynn decides, “just to be safe.”

Humming his acknowledgement, Ben slides off Bumpy’s back and starts climbing the tree. It’s a skill they’ve all mastered over time, but Ben’s the fastest. He had a lot of practice, back during the days he spent alone. Trees were the only place he felt safe enough to sleep, after Bumpy was gone.

He doesn’t talk about it much.

It’s not long before Ben’s reached the top. Pushing through the canopy branches, he squints against the daylight- not as bright as usual, with all the smoke in the sky- and takes in the view.

Off to the right is the volcano, thick plumes of gray smoke billowing out of its top. Ben should probably feel more anxious about the impending eruption, but honestly, it’s just another danger to add to the ever-growing list. He doesn’t have time to be afraid, because that doesn’t help anything. Action does.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Ben slowly turns his head to scan the horizon. Jungle, jungle, more jungle- small group of Pteranodons flying off in the distance, shudder- and even more jungle. And then his gaze lands on the eastern shore, and his heart jolts.

There’s a boat.

Looming over the dock, it’s less of a boat and more of a ship- a massive cargo freighter. Even from this distance, he can tell it’s easily ten times longer than a full-grown Brachiosaurus, with an open hold that looks like a cavern. It’s hard to make out details, but there are clusters of vehicles and large crates on the shore, cranes and trailers and- is that a helicopter?

Ben can only stare. The scene is so unexpected, it’s hard to wrap his mind around. There are people here. Real, actual people- a lot of them, from the look of it- came to the island covered with dinosaurs and an active volcano.

Well, there’s only one reason they could be here. Assuming Ben isn’t hallucinating. He pinches himself, just to make sure, before he calls down to Brooklynn.

“There’s uh, a really big ship docked at the eastern shore.”

“What?!”

Ben’s already making his way back to the ground. “Lots of people. They’re probably here for the dinosaurs. We need to get back to the herd, fast.”

Brooklynn is silent for the ride home, her mind racing furiously. It’s almost too good to be true- but she trusts Ben’s eyesight, and knows that he’d be the least likely of them to be tricked by wishful thinking. If Ben saw a ship, there’s a ship. 

And if there’s a ship, then there’s a way off the island.

The idea makes Brooklynn’s heart pound. It’s dangerous to hope; they’ve learned that the hard way. After all this time, she’d pretty much resigned herself to staying on this island until the day she died. It’s gotten to the point where the word ‘home’ just makes her think about the clubhouse, not anything from her old life, and she’s got a hunch the others feel the same way.

But it’s not like they could stay, when they have the chance to leave. Even if it’s a slim chance. Because at this point, there’s a one-hundred-percent chance the volcano is going to erupt, and the chance that they’ll survive long enough in the tunnels to outlast the fallout is even slimmer than the chance of getting off the island.

Well, probably.

They make it to the clubhouse in good time, pulling up just as the others are starting to head out, carrying their last bottles of water and packs of dried food. 

“There you are!” Kenji greets them, his relief evident as he grins up at Ben. “You guys ready to get this evacuation party underway?

“There’s people here,” Ben says, sliding off Bumpy’s back.

The herd stares in stunned silence. Brooklynn drops down next to Ben and gives a helpless shrug; she knows how crazy it sounds.

“Uh, you mean besides us?” Kenji ventures with an uncertain laugh.

Ben doesn’t even roll his eyes. “A huge ship, on the eastern dock,” he says urgently. “There’s a ton of trucks and trailers, they’ve gotta be here for the dinosaurs.”

Kenji’s eyes widen. “Holy shit, you’re not joking.”

Sammy gasps. “No way!”

“Oh my god,” Yaz breathes, grabbing Sammy’s arm. “Oh my god-”

“Darius?” Brooklyn prompts, noting the younger teen has yet to react. “How should we handle this?”

It takes Darius a second to process her voice. ‘Sorry,’ he signs, shaking himself out of his shock. Right now, he has to focus. “Were y- you…. uh, s- seen?” he asks.

Brooklynn shakes her head. “I heard them first, and then Ben scouted it out.”

“Well, what’re we waitin’ for?” Sammy asks excitedly. “We’ve gotta catch ‘em before they leave!”

‘Wait,’ Darius signs, before grasping for his words. It’s even more difficult to sort his thoughts when his mind is spinning like this. “We n- need t- to… to- to um, to think th- this thr- through.”

“Uh, what’s there to think about?” Yaz demands, an anxious undercurrent in her voice. “We have a chance to leave, we should take it.”

“Yeah,” Kenji agrees, “unless you’d prefer to hang around on an island with an erupting volcano?”

Darius makes a noncommittal noise. ‘Bad,’ he signs. ‘Careful.’

“He’s right,” Brooklynn says, frowning. “If they’re here for dinosaurs, it’s probably not for noble reasons. We’ve got to play this right, or they’ll turn on us like the rest.”

“I don’t like this,” Ben says lowly. “Remember what happened last time? Instead of just relying on ourselves, we trusted strangers. We almost died, and our boat got wrecked.”

“This is different,” Kenji insists, in his special tone he uses for ‘talking Ben down from the brink of a freak-out.’

Normally, it works pretty well. This time, Ben bristles. “We have no idea who these people are!” he argues, throwing his hands up. “They could be with Wu, for all we know!”

“Oh, please let it be Wu,” Yaz growls, cracking her knuckles. “I’d love to settle up with him for stranding us.”

Sammy puts a hand on Yaz’s shoulder. “We can focus on gettin’ our revenge after we’re safely off the island of dinosaurs and active volcanoes,” she says soothingly.

“Yeah,” Kenji presses, with a beseeching look at Ben, “we can’t pass this chance up!”

Ben crosses his arms, his eyes narrowed. “The volcano is gonna erupt soon. If these people turn out to be bad news, we’ll be wasting our time. We should head to the tunnels while we still can.”

Darius shakes his head. “Th- that was a- a, um- a…. a- a last d- ditch effort. How l- long do you re- eally think our s- st- st- stock will last? Or- or Bumpy’s?”

Ever since they first noticed the volcano growing active, Ben’s been stockpiling dried leaves, grass, and berries to keep Bumpy fed in the event they have to bunker down. But Bumpy’s not a baby anymore, and it’s highly unlikely he’s managed to store up enough to last her more than a month- which could be just a fraction of the time it’ll take for the surface to become safe again.

Ben’s jaw tightens; he knows Darius is right, but doesn’t want to admit it.

“We h- ha- have to t- try,” Darius pleads. “Are y- you- are you w- with us?”

Ben blinks before his expression softens. He’s instantly picked up on the concern in Darius’s voice, and he knows where it came from. But things have changed since the last time they had a chance to leave the island; he could never stay here without his herd.

And gauging by the size of that ship, they can actually bring Bumpy this time.

“Of course I am,” Ben assures him, his voice quiet. Then he breaks into an easy smile. “Besides, someone’s got to keep you hopeless optimists safe.”

A subtle, but palpable, breath of relief rolls through the herd. Kenji huffs a laugh and wraps an arm around Ben’s waist.

“Says the most reckless one in the herd,” he teases. Ben rolls his eyes, but he turns into the embrace anyways, bumping against Kenji’s shoulder affectionately.

“We’ll have to move fast if we’re gonna catch them,” Brooklynn points out, knitting her brows together. “No time for recon, so we won’t know what we’re dealing with until we’re face-to-face. How should we play this?”

She’s right, of course. Darius takes a second to think. “C- capable, but naïve,” he decides. “N- n- no other h- humans. No… no S- Scorpius either.”

If they pretend to be clueless kids, no one will believe they’ve managed to last so long on the island. But they can’t let on that they suspect these people of bad intentions, otherwise they’ll probably just try to kill them straight out. So their best angle is hardened survivors who have had no human contact since being stranded, and thus have no reason at all to think these people could have ulterior motives. They’ll greet these strangers with nothing but gratitude for being rescued, and accept whatever explanation is given at face value.

And until they’re safely on the mainland, back in society, it’s best to keep their knowledge of Wu’s dirty laundry a secret. No telling who these people could be working for.

‘Split up,’ Darius signs. “B Team, m- make the… th- the- the uh, the first con- t- tact. Ev- everyone else, st- st- stay close. Two w- wh- whistles. A List m- moves in…. th- th- then us.”

Brooklynn is great at reading people, so she’ll be able to work out what their intentions are, and decide if it’s safe enough to engage them. If it’s Wu’s crew, they’re likely to be openly hostile, so having Ben there (and Bumpy) as backup will lend her some protection and a quick getaway. Besides, they’ve grown used to accommodating for each other’s impaired senses, so splitting them up is always a last resort.

Kenji and Yaz, admittedly, aren’t the most tactful pair to make a good first impression. But they’re both heavy hitters, and pretty fast even with Yaz’s ankle. They can hang back so that if things go south, they’ll be in place to provide ambush support- or a distraction so Brooklynn and Ben can escape, if needed. 

Darius and Sammy are probably the least inclined to combat, so they’re best suited to watching from a distance. Keeping an eye out for any sign that a fight’s about to happen so they can warn the others. And then, if all goes well, come in last to round out the herd.

Darius doesn’t have the time to explain all his reasoning, but he doesn’t have to. They trust him, plain and simple. He can see it in the determination that settles in his herd’s faces, and pride blooms in his chest, mingled with anticipation.

Part of him is still struggling to grasp the reality of the situation, but another part of him knows they can handle whatever happens. One way or another, they’re getting off this island today. He can feel it.

“Let’s m- m- move out.”

~*~

[velvett-tearss]

Inertia — Jean Kirschtein

summary: A little gravity and spilled coffee never hurt anybody, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt Jean, especially if coming from you.

warning: cursing, gender-neutral reader (no pronouns mentioned), you won’t get the gist of it if you don’t remember 8th grade science lmao ❤️ (laws of motion)

genre: modern au, fluff

word count: 1.3k

a/n: very much an impulse post, this has been collecting dust in my drafts for too long lmao, I hope you enjoy this <3 I sure didn’t 😀

     Jean has never been good with science.

     He learned it for a number of years in different classes — biology, chemistry, physics — and he still couldn't tell you anything other than that mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell.

It wasn't all that bad at first. He did enjoy it in the earlier years of school where most of his teachers breezed past it along with social studies. It was when the class actually started to learn periodic elements that things took a turn.

He learned it, nonetheless. There really wasn't a rule that gets you out of being taught a subject, as uninteresting as you may find it or the class itself.

     Despite this, Jean isn't exactly a lost cause in the science department. A few things have stuck with him, believe it or not. Gravity, photosynthesis, some Charles Darwin dude.

     But now, he wishes he payed attention more in science class. Maybe he would've understood what you were saying the first time he met you.

     "Geez, do you always have somewhere to be?" Jean had asked you with a scowl. He was sprawled on the floor, looking up at you. The two of you weren't acquainted yet. Not necessarily.

He placed you very easily, though. He'd seen you running around the university's campus a lot of the time. You never seemed to be still, in one place, in one piece.

     The reason behind it? He didn't know or care.

You had bumped into him a number of times. The first three times, Jean waved the incident off in good-nature. He thought himself to be a man with patience, something you didn't seem to have. There was no harm in running into someone from time to time.

It was the fourth time that he wasn't so pleased with. Each time you bumped into him, you sent him tumbling on his ass. Hard. He always landed on the floor in a comedic position like those cartoon characters on T.V.

    And each time — no matter the day — you, somehow, remained perfectly unscathed and standing. That wasn't even the worst of it: you always stood there, a hand on your hip and an impatient expression painting your face.

     All that ever did was bruise his ego and ass a bit. You usually went your separate ways after quick apologies, and Jean would see you leave in a quicker speed than when you'd arrived.

But this time around, you had a cup of coffee in your hands.

"What if I do?" you had countered, bending down to help him off the ground. You were scowling. Scowling! How could you look so displeased when it was him who'd been spilled with coffee?!

“Maybe you should manage your time better.” he bit back, allowing you to help him up.

"Maybe you shouldn't walk along the inner corners of hallways."

"Maybe you shouldn't run in the building." Jean told you, trying to ignore the large patch of his damp shirt that clung to his midriff. It was sticky and hot, and he didn't like it one bit. "Besides, everyone knows the inside lane is for leaving."

"No, it's not." you threw back quickly, as if you had been prepared for this interaction. Had you had this conversation with someone else before? How many other people had been victim of your coffee throwing and iron step?

"The outside lane is for when someone is leaving, and the inside lane is for coming in. Same goes for stairs."

Jean raised a brow, patience running dangerously thin on him. "Who made that rule up?" he questioned, unimpressed by your words. He refrained from calling you something that might’ve gotten him a smack to the face.

     "Rising is harder than descending." you explained, crossing your arms over your chest. You gave him an expression that mirrored his. "Plus, the inner lane is shorter than the outer lane. It's— Well, it's the law of gravity."

     You spoke with such conviction he feared he'd been wrong about everything in his life. Besides, he didn't know a thing about gravity other than that it kept him from flying into space.

     "Alright, fine, but why would you run with a steaming cup of coffee in your hands?" Jean asked in retaliation. He may have lacked in the science department, but he knew his common sense quite well. "It's like you want to spill it all over people."

Your mouth opened and shut quickly. He raised a brow, awaiting for your comeback that never came. Instead, you did the weirdest thing.

You laughed at him, eyes crinkling slightly at him. It was then that he realized maybe he wasn't so mad at you after all, Spilt coffee never hurt anybody, right? He would live to see the next day, so was there really any harm?

     "Okay, you're right." you admitted, almost bashfully. Your eyes traveled down to the brown stain of coffee on his dress shirt. "I shouldn't run around with hot drinks anymore, but you shouldn't walk along the inner lane when you're leaving the building."

     "Alright, deal. No more walking in the corners."

     You nodded, lips pursed. "No more running with coffee."

     It wasn't long after that he finally mustered up the courage to ask you out to dinner. He isn't gonna lie and say it was all sunshine and rainbows because it wasn't.

You were always running, always on the go. Were you running out of time? You had nowhere to be, yet you feared the thought of being late. Had you ever stopped and smelled the roses?

It was pretty hard at times. Getting accustomed to your way of things was hard. You were a mess before you met him. At least that's what you always say. Jean doesn't think so.

Maybe you were, in a sense. That was fine, too. It didn't bother him. Messes were made to be cleaned up after all, and he didn't mind leading the clean-up crew if you let him.

Things started sailing smoother as time flew. It was nice. Being with you was nice. You stopped spilling coffee on people. He stopped walking along the inner corners of hallways.

You never seemed to stop running, though. That was a constant in your lives. That was okay, too. Jean had to learn how to keep up with your never-ending speed, but you always let him set the pace. Maybe that's his favorite thing about you.

He taught you that being at rest isn't always a bad thing. You don't have to rush to get things done. Sometimes it's okay to just stop and be grateful for what's now and not what can be.

You taught him a fair share, too. You explained to him that the law of gravity isn’t actually about rising and descending. That had just been a lie to get you out of a bad situation. There was such thing as a law of gravity discovered by Isaac Newton.

Maybe Jean should've payed attention in science class when they talked about Newton because perhaps he would've understood what you were saying that first day.

All he knew was Newton's Laws of Motion, mainly the first: an object stays at rest or in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

     He figured it was something like you.

As fast as you walked, you never seemed to stop. Not until you sent him to the ground on his ass with a coffee stain on his shirt. Maybe he was the unbalanced force that acted on you. He wasn't completely sure.

     After all, Jean had never been good at science.

note: self-projected here bc I fucking hate science too ,, does this make sense or was I spitting gibberish skdkskdn

[davidlikesguys02]

On A Very Special Episode...

M/n= Male name

word count= 2,847

GIF not mine also just Imagine that's you and Vision.

You're pacing around the living room rocking Tommy “Sweet, sweet Tommy, don't you wanna sleep? Daddy wants to sleep.” you sigh “if you go to sleep, I promise you will be my favorite twin.” behind you Vision is coming down the stairs “oh, come on now, darling. You know we love them both equally.” “Well, don't tell him that” Vision chuckles. “No luck with Billy”

“Tried reading to him, but for some reason, Charles Darwin’s the descent of man made him crying even harder. Oh. care to dance, darling?” “oh” you both chuckle. “It's almost like we're on a date.” “mm! Keep it down, lads, I was about to get my leg over.” you chuckle. “Vis?” “Hmm” “would you mind grabbing their binkies?” “Oh of course not. Binkies all round, I think” you and Vision set the twins down in their cribs.

Vision walks towards the kitchen “Now, I know parents aren't supposed to take shortcuts, but I think this situation calls for one, don't you?” the babies continue crying “so, go to sleep, my babies.” you move your hand but nothing happens “and go to sleep” you try again. The twins begin giggling “well, I don't think its very funny. Why won't you do what I want?”

“What's that, dear?” the babies start to cry again, you turn to see Vision has the binkies in his ears “that is not where those go” you grab the binkies and clean them “noise cancellation is not their primary function?” you put the binkies on the babies mouth and they stop crying “look, I think it's..” the twins shoot them out and start crying again.

“Vis?” “Mm” “what are we doing wrong?” “Oh don't worry dear.” Vision kisses your forehead “well figure it out. Perhaps we all need more time to get to know one another.” “maybe. Or maybe we just need some help.” the doorbell rings. “Oh” Vision walks over to the sofa and grabs a pillow to cover himself. “Hiya, kids” Agnes entered through the door.

“Oh, Agnes!” “Agnes, I was just fluffing this pillow. With my face” “oh, I was on my way to Jazzercise when i heard your new little bundles of joy were on a sleep strike.” “oh? Who told you that?” Vision asked, “uh, my ears.” Agnes chuckles, “Anyway, Auntie Agnes is here and I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve?” “oh Agnes you're a lifesaver.” “aw”

“Very well. But be careful of their belly buttons and remember to support their heads, and when was the last time you washed... Actually, you know what? It would be... Just... Maybe we better not.” the babies continue to cry, Agnes turns to you “um...uh… Do you want me to take that again?” you turn to look at Vision and turn back to look at Agnes “uh… I'm sorry?” “You want me to hold the babies. Should we just take it from the top?”

Vision chuckles awkwardly “what?” you chuckle “oh don't be silly. Vision, lets… let's let Agnes give it a try.” you chuckle nervously “fussy babies, meet buns of steel. We dare you to stay awake” Agnes and you both chuckle. “M/n” Vision motions for you to follow him “what was that about?” “what was what?” “what was what? That, that with Agnes just now.” you turn to look at Agnes and see that she's rocking the twins

“Well, I think she just got confused for a moment. She seems fine now.” you turn back to look at Vision “but what she said, the way she looked at you?” “how did she look at me?” “well, I dint… oh.” you turn back to look at Agnes she was spraying something over the twins “Lavender. It's supposed to have a calming effect. Ralph sprays it on me every night. But there's no taming this tiger..” she chuckles “it's so strange”

You start to whisper “that's not fair. It's not Agnes fault that she has an unusually high libido” “M/n did you really not see what I saw?” there's a thud behind you two “oh. Don't mind me. I'm just looking for your dark liquor.” “what?” “not for me. For the twins. What kind of babysitter do you think I am? I'm just gonna go and check in there”

You turn to Vision “Vision, the boys haven't slept in days. You and I both need a break and Agnes is just being neighborly, that's all.” the twin’s stopped crying “do you hear that?” “hear that?” “absolutely nothing” you gasp, Vision takes your hand and you two walk over to the cribs, “they finally fell asleep” “they're empty” “then where are the twins” “dad?, daddy?” you gasp “huh”

Agnes sighs “kids” she chuckles “you can't control em. No matter how hard you try” “well, hi” “hi” both you and Vision say “how are you doing, baby?” “aw”

You wander the world with a vision Of what life could be But then the years come and teach you To just wait and see Forces may try to pull us apart But nothing can phase me If you're in my heart Crossing our fingers, singing a song We're making it up as we go along Through the highs and the lows We'll be right, we'll be wrong We're making it up as we go along And there will be days We won't know which way to go But we'll take it higher You're all I desire When the going gets tough When push comes to shove We're making it up 'Cause we got love We got love We got love We got love Baby, we got... M/nVision

You walk around your house looking for Tommy and Billy. “Tommy, Billy?” you walk through the door and see Tommy and Billy standing in the kitchen “you know, I don't miss the crying, but jeez Louise, did you have to learn to walk? You two never stay put. Unless you're innocently forming a human wall in front of the kitchen sink.” someone sneezes “bless you” “Thank you” both Tommy and Billy say.

There's a soft bark “now tell me which one of you just barked? Scoot'' you gasp “oh, boy. waiter , what's this canine doing in my kitchen sink?” you turn to look at the twins “the doggy paddle?” “Can we keep him, daddy?” “Well, I'm sure his owners miss him very much. Come on.” you grab a towel and grab the dog and start to dry them “huh. There really is no collar?” “Can we keep him?”

“He was outside. Crying, alone.” “Now, boys, taking care of a living thing is a big responsibility. Dogs need food, exercise, training, belly rubs, and cuddles. And kisses between their little ears.” “morning, M/n. morning, boys.” you show Vision the dog “Good morning, unfamiliar wet animal.” you chuckle “who is this?” “we're not quite sure. Why so formal, honey?”

“Oh, it's just a precaution really. I had a hunch someone might pop over.” the back door opens and Agnes walks through “hi, kiddos” “with exactly the item we require” “my kitchen window told me someone got a new pooch.” the dog starts barking “did you name him yet?” the dog starts sniffing an outlet “how about sniffy” “oh” Agnes chuckles. Sparks start to come from the outlet causing the dog to yelp and run away. “How about sparky?”

You chuckle and hold out your hand “well, should we make it official?” you move your hand and a dog collar appears tommy takes the collar from you. “M/n” “hmm” “Agnes was right there!” “Well, she didn't notice. She didn't even notice when the boys went from babies to five-year-old's” “that's not what we agreed upon. You made no effort to conceal your abilities.”

“Well, I'm tired of hiding, Vis. and maybe you don't have to either.” you take your hand and start to crease his cheek “M/n, we are usually so much of the same mind. But right now… what aren't you telling me?” “so, is sparky our dog, daddy?” Tommy asks Vision “what?” Sparky starts to whimper.

“Boys, your father and I don't think you're ready to properly care for an animal until you're at least…” you turn to Vision “Ten” he coughs “Ten” “ten years old” you show them 10 fingers. The twins look at each other and smile “wait, now hang on there a minute…” “wait, no, no, no.” “...you young whippersnappers.” “no, no, no” you gasp as the twins age up. “Lets just hope this dog stays the same size.” Agnes chuckles “woof, woof”

You're in the living room with Tommy sitting next to you on the sofa “sit, Sparky. Now spin. Good boy” “oh bravo, Billy you weren't so bad either, Sparky” you and Tommy both clap “that's was radical. Where's dad? We gotta go show dad!” Tommy got up and walked towards the kitchen Billy followed behind him. “Oh, hes… hes at work” “huh?” “It's Saturday” the twins turn to look at you “no, it's not. It's Monday” “this morning was Saturday.”

“There was an emergency at the office and your father had to go in. end of story. look , he just… he needed a distraction.” “from what?” “from us?” “no! No way! No” you get up from the sofa and walk over to them “sometimes” you start to walk them over to the sofa so you can sit “your dad and I aren't on the same page, but that's just temporary. Like the two of you, you might fight over toys, but he's always going to be your brother. And he is always going to be yours. Because family is forever.”

“Do you have a brother dad?” “I do. Yeah he's far away from here. And it makes me sad sometimes.” Sparky begins to bark and he runs toward the door. “Hey , sparky, what's up boy?” sparky begins to growl “something scaring him” “stay here” you tell the twins and walk outside. You see a drone and you can hear a voice “M/n this is captain Monica Rambeau. Can you hear me? I just want to talk. That's it.” you look up at the drone and your eyes begin to glow red.

You use your powers to take the drone down and you grab it and start walking towards the outskirts of Westview. You can see the force field you put around the town and start to walk through it. You come out on the other side to see a camp of some sorts. “Is this yours?” you throw the drone at Haywards feet, you can still see your powers covering the drone. They have men and women armed around pointing their guns at you.

“The missile was just a precaution. You can hardly blame us. M/n” “oh, I think I can. This will be your only warning. Stay out of my home.” “I wish it could be that simple. You've taken an entire town hostage.” “Well, I'm not the one with the guns, Director.” “but you are the one in control.” “you're still here?” you start to see the red ball of energy around your hand.

“M/n, I didn't know the drones were armed. But you know that, don't you?” she begins to walk towards you “A town full of civilians. And you, a telepath, brought a S.W.O.R.D. Agent into your home. You trusted me to help deliver your babies. On some level, M/n, you know I am an ally. I wanna help you.” “how? What could you possibly have to offer me?”

“What do you want?” “I have what I want and no one” you look at Hayward “will ever take it from me again” you raise your arm and see the familiar red glow around the armed men. They all turn their guns at Hayward and you start to walk away. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa stand down!” “M/n” “Stand down”

you use your powers to change the force field you put around making it glow red you turn around one last time and walk through again.

“Sparky! Come on boy!” “sparky, sparky” you're walking around with the twins looking for sparky. “hey , what's the trouble little dudes?” “we can't find our dog” “ah, don't worry. He's sure to turn up. Your dad wont let him get far. Sir.” “I don't know where he could've gone” you tell the twins “here, boy, Sparky! Sparky!” you hear some rustling near some bushes “Sparky”

Agnes pops up holding something that appears to be wrapped “sparky”. Agnes sighs “I… I didn't wanna come until id wrapped him up.” “What happened to him?” you ask “found him in my azalea bushes. Don't know how many leaves he ate. I didn’t find him until it was too late. Oh…. Tommy. Billy, I'm so sorry.” you turn to look at the twins and see them looking at each other and nodding.

“Wait. Don't. Don’t” they look at you “don't what?” “don't age yourselves up. The urge to run from this feeling is powerful. I know.” “It's too sad” “you can fix anything, Dad. fix the dead.” “what? no” “you can do that?” you turn to look at Agnes and turn back to the twins “I am trying to tell you that there are rules in life, okay? We can't rush aging just because it's convenient.” you chuckle “And we can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Okay? Some things are forever.”

You can hear Agnes sigh behind you “you said family is forever.” “He is family. Bring him back, dad” “bring who back?” Vision looks over at Agnes “oh, boys. Come here” the twins walk over and hug Vision. Later you are picking up some toys and you turn to see Vision walk through the back door. “How are the boys?”

“A little heartbroken, but they'll be alright” “well, it's not often you get a dog and bury them the same day.” “Well, life moves pretty fast out in the suburbs.” you grab the basket of toys and take it over to the counter “I spoke with Norm” “Oh?” you look over at him confused. “I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and spoke to him free of your oversight. He was in pain, M/n”

“Vision…” you chuckle softly “listen, can we just…” “what? Watch tv? Turn in for the night so you can change everything over again? No, M/n. you can't control me the way you do to them” you look at him “Can’t I? I'm going to bed” “no! We're not done here. What is the Maximoff Anomaly?”

“The what?” “I have to believe that this, whatever this is, was subconsciousness at first and you only recently became aware of it.” “aware of what?” you walk out of the kitchen “Norm has a family, M/n” “he has a family, and he can't reach them because you won't let him reach them!” “I don't know what you're talking about” you turn to look at him. “Stop lying to me!” Vision begins to float.

The familiar red glow around your hand appears and you begin to float in front of him “This, all of this is for us. So let me handle it.” “What is outside of Westview?” “you don't wanna know, i promise you.” “you don't get to make that choice for me M/n” he points at you “you've never talked to me like this before” you start to slowly fall back to the ground.

“Before what?” Vision raises his Voice “before what? I can't remember my life before Westview. I don't know who I am! I'm scared!” you look up at him “you are my husband, you are Tommy and Billy’s father. Isn't that enough.” Vision slowly comes down “M/n, why are there no other children in Westview.” you walk over to the sofa and sit down “oh, god. There are just stop it.”

“No. no. the playground stands empty every morning I walk to work. Why? Tell me why?” “ Do you really think that I am controlling everything? That I am somehow in charge of everybody in Westview? I'm walking their dogs, mowing their lawns, getting them to dentist appointments on time? I mean, I…” you chuckle dryly ”I don't know how any of this started in the first place.”

“M/n, what you're doing here, it's wrong” he walks around and kneels in front of you “I…” “It's wrong” the doorbell rings, getting the attention of you and Vision “I didn't do that. I… you don't believe me.” “M/n, i want to, but at this point, I'm ignoring statistics entirely.” the doorbell rings a second time you get up and walk over to the door. You open the door, and are shocked “M/n who is this?”

“Long lost bro gets to squeeze his stinking brother to death or what?” “Pietro?” he nods, he opens his arms and you and hug him “who's the popsicle?” he points and Vision.

[dontcare77ghj]

On a Very Special Episode

Wanda x reader x Vision

The babies didn't want to sleep. It seemed as though they had all formed a pact to not sleep for as long as they could.

And this had led to three exhausted and cranky children.

"Sweet, sweet, Luna, don't you wanna sleep?" Wanda cooed, bouncing her daughter gently. "Mama wants to go to sleep." She sighed. "If you go to sleep, I promise, you will be my favorite daughter."

"By that logic, she's also your least favorite," Y/N said, entering from the kitchen with Tommy in her arms.

"Never!" Wanda gasped. "No luck with Tommy?" She asked her wife, who was rocking the crying boy.

"I tried feeding him, but he rejected the bottle. Maybe Vision's having better luck." Y/N said hopefully.

"No such luck, darlings." Vision said, descending the stairs, disguise free. "I tried reading to him, but for some reason, Charles Darwin's 'The Descent of Man' made him cry even harder."

"Oh." Wanda groaned. The married three stood in the living room, rocking three crying babies side to side.

"Care to dance, darlings?" Vision asked, moving closer to the women. 

Y/N let out a giggle as Wanda grinned boldly, and the two stepped closer to the man. 

"It's almost like we're on a date." Wanda chuckled.

"Keep it down kids, I was about to get my leg over." Vision joked. 

"Vis? Would you mind getting their binkies?" Wanda asked.

"Oh. 'Course not. Binkies all round, I think." Vision said, putting Billy into his crib.

"They're in the kitchen," Y/N told him. "And while you're in there, do you think you could-?"

"Put the coffee maker on? Of course, darling." Vision promised as Wanda and Y/N put the babies down.

"I love you!" Y/N exclaimed with a smile.

"Now I know parents aren't supposed to take shortcuts, but I think this situation calls for one, don't you?" Wanda asked, moving to stand between the cribs.

"If it means a break from this headache, then yes." Y/N agreed.

"So, go to sleep, my babies," Wanda said, snapping her fingers. But the kids continued to cry their little lungs out. "And go to sleep," Wanda repeated her actions, causing all three to laugh. "Well, I don't think it's very funny. Why won't you do what I want?" Wanda asked her hands on her hips.

"I think that's the definition of kids, sweetheart." Y/N joked. 

"What's that, dear?" Vision asked, entering the room with one binkie in his hand and the other two in his ears.

"That is not where those go." Wanda smiled, pulling them out of Vision's ears and wiping them on her pants.

"Noise cancelation is not their primary function?" Vision joked as Wanda gave the children their binkies. 

"Look, I think it's,"

"Shh! Don't jinx it!" Y/N hiss quietly, leaning into Vision's side.

All three of them held their breath, hoping the babies would settle, but when the kids all spat their binkies out, they let out sighs.

"Vis? Y/N?" Wanda started. "What are we doing wrong here?"

"Oh, don't worry, dear. We'll figure it out." Vision assured.

"It's just a learning curb," Y/N said, rocking the nearest crib to her.

"Exactly! Perhaps we all need more time to get to know one another." Vision suggested.

"Maybe. Or maybe we just need some help." Wanda told the two as the doorbell rang.

Vision rushed towards the couch right as Agnes barged into the house.

"Hiya, kids!" Agnes cheered, entering the house in her new Jazzercise gear.

"Oh, Agnes!" Wanda smiled at her friend.

"Hi, Agnes." Y/N waved, still gently rocking a crib.

"Agnes, I was just fluffing this pillow. With my face." Vision attempted to explain, now fully decked out in his human disguise.

"Oh, I was just on my way to Jazzercise when I heard your new little bundles of joy were on a sleep strike," Agnes explained boisterously.

"And which little birdie told you that?" Y/N wondered.

"A little birdie called my ears!" Agnes joked, causing the three to politely chuckle. "Anyway, Auntie Agnes is here, and I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve."

"Oh, Agnes, you are a lifesaver." Wanda sighed, taking the woman's hands into her own.

"Aw!"

"Very well. But be careful of the belly buttons and remember to support their heads, and when was the last time you washed your, actually you know what? It would be, just, maybe we better not." Vision stressed, moving to block Agnes from the cribs.

"Uh, do you want me to take that again?" Agnes asked, turning to face Wanda nervously.

"I'm sorry?" Wanda asked after exchanging looks with both her husband and wife.

"You want me to hold the babies," Agnes confirmed, staring at Wanda with scared eyes. "Should we just take it from the top?" She wondered, grabbing her bag.

"What?" Vision asked, staring at Agnes curiously.

"Agnes, are you on something?" Y/N questioned the neighbor.

"Oh, don't be silly." Wanda chuckled. "Darlings, let's, let's let Agnes give it a try." She suggested, giving both partners a look before turning back to Agnes.

Agnes stared at Wanda for several seconds before letting out a giggle.

"Fussy babies meet buns of steel. We dare you to stay awake." She joked, causing Wanda to laugh.

"Wanda." Vision gestured for her to join him and Y/N while Agnes kneeled between the cribs. "What was the about?" He wondered.

"What was what?" Wanda cocked her head.

"You're joking, right?" Y/N questioned the woman. "That thing with Agnes just now." She clarified.

"Well, I think she just got confused for a moment. She seems fine now." Wanda shrugged, watching as Agnes rocked the cribs.

"But what she said." Vision stuttered.

"The way she looked at you," Y/N added.

"How did she look at me?" Wanda wondered, looking between the two with a smile.

"Well, I don't know."

"I didn't. Oh." Vision gasped, staring at Agnes, causing both wives to turn.

"Lavender. It's supposed to have a calming effect. Ralph sprays it on me every night. But there's no taming this tiger. What?" Agnes chuckled, continuing to spray the perfume over the crying babies.

"It's so strange." Y/N shook her head.

"Undoubtedly." Vision agreed.

"That's not fair. It's not Agnes's fault that she has an unusually high libido." 

"Did you actually not see what we did?" Y/N wondered, tilting her head at Wanda before there was a thud in the kitchen. 

Once more, all three turned to now find Agnes searching through their cabinets.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just looking for your dark liquor." Agnes told them.

"Excuse me?" Y/N asked, staring at her in confusion.

"Not for me. For the kids. What kind of babysitter do you think I am?" Agnes asked, causing Wanda to chuckle while Y/N and Vision continued to stare. "I'm just gonna go and check in there."

"Vision, Y/N, the kids haven't slept in days. We all need a break, and Agnes is just being neighborly, that's all." Wanda told the two. 

"Do you hear that?" Vision whispered.

"Hear what?" Wanda asked in the same tone.

"Absolutely nothing." Vision grinned, moving over to the cribs.

"Oh, thank God. They finally fell asleep." Y/N sighed happily. 

"They're empty." Vision gasped.

"Where are the kids?" Wanda asked, throwing her hand over her mouth.

"They can't have gotten far. The kids can't even walk." Y/N attempted to soothe the two.

"Mama?"

"Mommy?"

"Daddy?"

The married three snapped around at the sound to notice three five years standing by the stairs. Two brunette boys and a blonde girl stood close together, watching the three adults closely.

"Ah, kids." Agnes sighed, now sitting on a kitchen counter with a glass of liquor. "You can't control 'em. No matter how hard you try." She laughed before raising her glass to no-one and taking a drink.

Wanda, Vision, and Y/N shared a confused look before turning back to their kids.

"Well, hi!"

"Hi!"

"Hi, sweetheart!"

The three cooed, leaning down and holding their arms out wide for the kids, who gladly ran into them.

"How are you doing, buddy?"

"You're so big."

"Aw, you're so sweet."

"What's the first thing you do remember?" Hayward asked. 

"Pain," Monica told him. "And then, Wanda's voice in my head."

"Did you try to resist?" Hayward questioned her.

"There was this feeling keeping me down. This hopeless feeling. Like drowning. It was grief."

Monica had been being examined by multiple doctors for hours now. Each had new tests they wanted her to take, and new things they wanted to check were working.

"You can sit up now." A female doctor told her.

"Great." Monica sighed, pushing herself up. "So am I cleared?" Monica asked with no real hope.

"Once I get a look at these." The woman said.

"Where's my uniform?" Monica questioned the doctor.

"In analysis." 

"Mighty glad to have you back, Captain." Jimmy smiled, entering the room with Darcy and Clint behind him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like myself," Monica said with a small smile.

"Well, thank heavens for that." Jimmy grinned.

"What's the latest?" Monica asked, glancing at the two beside Jimmy.

"There's a briefing in ten. Pants are encouraged." She said, holding out a pair.

"This is Dr. Darcy Lewis. She's the one who discovered the broadcast." Jimmy introduced.

"I'm," Monica started, holding a hand out.

"Monica, I know. Big fan." Darcy grinned, shaking her hand with two. 

"And this is,"

"Agent Clint Barton." Monica nodded, holding her hand out once more.

"Nice to meet you." Clint nodded, shaking her hand firmly once.

"We're going to need to do these again. There's something wrong with the machine." The doctor announced, walking back over.

"Those are blank," Darcy said, looking at the tablet in the doctor's hands.

"Like I said."

"Well, what about her labs?" Darcy asked.

"I need another blood draw." The doctor shrugged.

"No. No, we're done here." Monica denied, standing from the bed and walking away to change.

"She does that," Jimmy assured the doctor. "See you at the briefing." He called to Monica.

"Morning." Hayward greeted the assembled crowd. "We are now assessing a more clear picture of this crisis. And thanks to Captain Rambeau, we now have first-person intel from inside the Westview anomaly. Our initial theory had Wanda Maximoff as one of the many victims. We now know she is the principal victimizer." He said, causing Clint to grimace. "Jimmy."

"Quick history on our subject. Born in Sokovia in 1989 to Irina and Oleg Maximoff, both killed during an air raid when Maximoff and her brother were ten." Jimmy explained to the group.

"The twins were subsequently radicalized, volunteering at HYDRA," Hayward interjected.

"They were kids. The Maximoff's were tricked." Clint cut in.

"Either way, after unspecified experimentation with the Mind Stone, Maximoff somehow gained telekinetic and telepathic abilities," Jimmy said, trying to dissipate the room's tension.

"Barton, does Maximoff have an alias?" Hayward cut Jimmy off.

"No." Clint shook his head.

"No funny nickname, Hawkeye?"

"She wasn't interested in having an alias."

"And the earliest tracking had her using her powers against the Avengers. Is that correct?" Hayward pressed.

"She and her brother were scared kids who had been traumatized, beaten down, and manipulated for years. She made a mistake, and she fixed it." Clint defended his daughter's partner.

"And that's why Lagos and Germany turned out as they did." Hayward rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Jimmy," Hayward said, shooing Jimmy back into the group. "Now that we have the lay of the land, we can talk strategy."

"I try not to speak ill of people," Jimmy whispered to Darcy.

"Then allow me. Hayward's a dick." She said, causing Clint to smirk.

"Wanda is not a terrorist," Monica loudly said, drawing the three's attention back to the meeting.

"By your own account, you described the experience of being under mind-control as 'excruciating, terrifying, a violation.'" Hayward recited as the screens behind him began to play footage of her as Geraldine.

"My point is, I don't believe she has a political agenda," Monica said, swallowing harshly. "Or any inclination toward destruction."

"Monica, she basted you halfway across New Jersey," Hayward said, staring at her blankly.

"And I survived because she chose to protect me." Monica defended her on-screen friend.

"She's holding thousands of people hostage, including Agent Y/N Barton," Hayward said, nodding to Clint.

"And it could have been thousands more if she hadn't put up her own quartine." Monica snapped. "Listen, I don't believe this is a premeditated act of aggression." She told the room.

"You don't? Bring up the visual." Hayward told an agent beside him. All the screens lit up now playing SWORD security footage. "This morning, I received authorization to share this highly-sensitive material from SWORD headquarters. Until very recently, it was the top-secret location of the Vision's corpse." Hayward said as everyone watched Wanda storm in SWORD headquarters, blasting doors open and breaking glass windows.

"A corpse that was stolen from his grave on my property," Clint announced, rolling his eyes at the footage.

"We found it. And we weren't going to return it just for you to put billions of dollars worth of vibranium back in the ground." Hayward said as Clint glared at him.

"When was this?" Monica asked, watching the footage closely.

"Nine days ago. Maximoff stormed our facility, stole the Vision's body, and resurrected him." Hayward shrugged as he glanced over at a TV screen showing the current episode.

"But that's in direct violation of Section 36B of the Sokovia Accords," Jimmy said.

"And the Vision's own living will."

"He never wanted to a weapon."

"Maximoff, in her grief, disregarded his wishes. And possibly the wishes of Y/N Barton." Hayward told the assembled group. "All right, that's it for now. Let's work on the problem, people. Dismissed." He said, causing everyone to rush off.

"But how did she even do it?" Jimmy turned to Darcy. "Bring him back without the Mind Stone?"

"Who knows?" Darcy scoffed, shaking her head. "But she has the World's only vibranium synthezoid, playing Father-Knows-Best-In-Suburbia. What happens learns the truth? What happens when Y/N learns the truth?"

"I don't think he likes the water," Tommy said, staring at a sink filled with bubbles.

"But we have to get him clean, so Mama will let us keep him." Billy reasoned.

"I got Mommy's shampoo. It'll help him smell pretty," Luna said, pouring at least half the bottle into the already overflowing sink.

"Tommy! Billy! Luna!" 

"Oh no! Mama's coming!"

"You know I don't miss the crying, but jeez Louise, did you have to learn to walk? You three never stay put. Unless you're innocently forming a human wall in front of the kitchen sink." Wanda said, staring between the three kids as she approached them.

"Is there really any way to innocently form a human wall?" Y/N asked, entering the kitchen to lean against the kitchen counter. "What are you three up to?"

None of the kids knew what to say, and none of them had a chance to say anything as there was a quiet sneeze.

"Bless you." Y/N and Wanda said together.

"Thank you." The kids said in unison before there was a quiet bark.

"Now tell me which one of you just barked?" Wanda asked, tilting her head at the three. "Scoot." Wanda sighed, causing the children to move away from the sink.

Once the kids had moved away, it was revealed that a small dog was sitting in the kitchen sink.

"Oh, boy." Y/N chuckled. "Busted kiddos."

"Waiter, what's this canine doing in my kitchen sink?" Wanda asked, turning to the kids.

"The doggy paddle?" Billy innocently suggested.

"Can we keep him, Mama?" Tommy asked, giving Wanda his best puppy dog eyes. "Please, Mommy?" He repeated to Y/N when she moved to stand beside Wanda.

"We'll be the best owners ever, Mama!" Luna reasoned with wide eyes. "Pretty, pretty, please?"

"Well, I'm sure his owners his miss him very much," Wanda said, attempting to reason with the three as Y/N pulled the dog out of the sink.

"There's isn't a collar, Wand," Y/N told her wife.

"Really?" Wanda asked, checking just to be sure.

"Can we keep him?"

"He was outside. Crying, alone."

"We can't just abandon him."

"They're really good at blackmail, Wand," Y/N said, melting at the kids pleading. "I'm cracking."

"Kiddos, taking care of a living thing is a big responsibility," Wanda told the three.

"That's right. Dogs need food, exercise, and training." Y/N nodded as Wanda pulled the pup into her arms.

"And belly rubs, and cuddles. And kisses between their little ears." Wanda cooed, clutching the dog close.

"Morning wives! Morning kids!" Vision exclaimed, entering the kitchen in his disguise before stopping in his tracks. "Good morning, unfamiliar wet animal." He said, grabbing his newspaper. "Who's this?"

"We're not sure yet," Y/N said as Wanda handed the dog back to her. "Could be ours!" Y/N said in a sing-song.

"Why so formal, honey?" Wanda asked, staring at Vision in confusion.

"Oh, it's just a precaution, really. I had a hunch someone might pop over." He said as the back door opened and Agnes entered the house.

"Hi, kiddos!" Agnes grinned, holding a dog kennel in her hand.

"With exactly the item we require." Vision said, sharing a look with Y/N as she put the dog down.

"My kitchen window told me someone got a new pooch!" Agnes cooed, putting the kennel on the counter. "Did you name him yet?"

"How about Sniffy?" Tommy suggested, watching the tiny dog sniff around the kitchen.

"How 'bout Sparky?" Agnes joked after the dog had sniffed an electrical socket.

"Well, should we make it official?" Wanda smiled before making a collar appear in her hands to the shock of her partners.

"Wanda!" Y/N hissed, moving closer to the two.

"What?" Wanda asked in genuine confusion.

"Agnes was right there!" Vision whispered.

"She didn't notice," Wanda assured her partners. "She didn't even notice when the kids went from babies to five-year-olds." She joked.

"Oh, so I can send a tornado through the kitchen now,  and it's fine?" Y/N shook her head.

"This is not what we agreed upon," Vision told her. "You made no effort to conceal your abilities."

"I'm tired of hiding, Vis." Wanda shook her head. "And maybe the two of you don't have to either." She suggested, taking Y/N's hand and placing her other hand on Vision's face.

"Wanda, since we've moved here, it's been all about fitting in. How is this fitting in?" Y/N sighed.

"Usually, the three of us are so much of the same mind, but right now, what aren't you telling us?" Vision asked her.

"So is Sparky our dog, Daddy?" Luna asked, interrupting the three's conversation.

"Please, Mommy?" Billy and Tommy asked in unison.

"I've cracked." Y/N sighed. "I'm all for a dog." She told her husband and wife. The two turned to look at her, and the three had a silent conversation that ended with Y/N letting out a sigh.

"Kids, three of us don't think you're ready to properly care for an animal until you're at least,"

"Ten. Ten." Vision coughed.

"Ten years old." Wanda finished. The three kids looked sad for a moment before they shared a long silent look and smirked.

"Wait, no, no, no."

"Wait, now hang on a minute."

"Don't even think about what you're thinking about."

The three of you tried to scold the kids, but it was too late. The kids had made up their minds. 

Within seconds the kids were shooting up like beanstalks and were suddenly older. 

"Let's just hope this dog stays the same size." Agnes joked.

"I need a coffee." Y/N sighed, holding a hand to her head. 

"Can we have coffee too, Mom?" Luna asked as the boys nodded with her.

"No!" All three parents exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Okay. Okay, I've got it." Monica said, standing in front of the whiteboard with a texter in hand. "What I need is a ten thousand pound fallout shelter comprised of lead for photons, cadmium for neutrons, tantalum for seismic blasts, on wheels. And then, I would be able to safely re-enter Westview, right?" She asked the woman before her.

"Yes. Theoretically." Darcy nodded.

"I can work with theoretically."

"Better make sure that things a two-seater." Clint piped up from where he watched the TV, showcasing his daughter and her family. "Because you're not going in alone."

"What'd I miss?" Jimmy asked, entering the room with a tray of coffees.

"The kids aged up to ten," Darcy said as she and Clint quickly grabbed a coffee each.

"Holy Christmas. At this rate, they'll be empty nesters by dinnertime." Jimmy commented.

"I know an aerospace engineer who'd be up for the challenge." Monica smiled, looking away from the board.

"But I can't guarantee the Hex won't just mind-wipe you as you go in," Darcy warned the woman, causing the other three in the room to face her.

"The Hex?" Clint asked, raising a brow.

"Oh yeah, it's what I'm calling the anomaly because of its hexagonal shape. It's starting the catch on." Darcy said, causing Monica to look at the men who shook their heads. "You really want to go back in there? After everything you went through?"

"Yeah." Monica nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Have we identified these minors yet? Or the newborns?"

"The kids aren't someone else's," Clint interjected. "Pay close attention to the hair, the eye colors, their faces. They look exactly like their parents," Clint said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"The kids are theirs." Monica agreed. "Everything might look fake on the TV, but everything is real."

"But Wanda manipulates people's perceptions, makes them hallucinate." Jimmy pointed out.

"Yeah, that's her whole bag. If all the sets and props and wardrobe were solid matter, that would mean she's wielding an insane amount of power." Darcy told him.

"Far exceeding anything she's displayed in the past."

"She could have taken out Thanos on her own," Clint said. "She was ripping apart his very being before he made that bitch move. No-one even came close to taking him down on their own."

"Well, I'd argue Captain Marvel came close." Jimmy shrugged.

"Her powers come from an infinity stone, too, right?" Darcy asked, looking at everyone for an answer.

"We are not talking about her. We are talking about Wanda." Monica said, moving over to the board filled with pictures. "Darcy? What was that you were saying about props and sets and," Monica trailed off, plucking the photo of the red helicopter from the sixties episode.

"Wardrobe?" 

"Where's the lab?" Monica asked her.

"Two tents away. Why?" Darcy asked, but she never got an answer as Monica rushed out of the room. Clint, Darcy, and Jimmy shared looks with one another before Jimmy and Darcy raced after Monica. Clint stayed in the room, intently watching the screen before him.

"What are we looking for?" Jimmy asked as Monica pushed the doors open.

"That," Monica said, staring at her seventies costume.

"Oh, man, are we being mind-controlled to see that right now?" Darcy gasped.

"Jeepers Creepers!" Jimmy cringed. 

"Oh no. It's real, all right." Monica grinned after reading off a computer screen. "Can I borrow this?" Monica asked, taking Jimmy's gun from his pocket.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jimmy said, reaching out for the gun as Darcy covered her ears. Monica shot at her costume several times, causing absolutely no damage to the clothes.

"Whoa!" Darcy grinned.

"You had a bulletproof vest on when you went inside, didn't you?" Jimmy asked, picking up one of the flattened bullets.

"Those pants are 87% Kevlar," Monica explained. "It's not an illusion. Wanda is rewriting reality."

"Permanently?"

"If she can changes things as they go into the Hex,"

"Ah, you called it the Hex!" Darcy smirked.

"What happens if we send something in that requires no change?" Monica elaborated.

Computational Services had been upgraded into the 1980s. Vision and the rest of the Computational Services employees had spent much of the day setting up the new computing systems around the office.

"So you're telling me this is a typewriter, a Rolodex, and a calendar all in one? What else can it do? Find me a wife?" Norm joked, sitting at his desk staring amazedly at the new computer.

"Eventually, yes." Vision agreed as he sat down.

"It's a hell of a thing watching you work these computers, Vision. It's like you speak their language." Norm complimented.

"What do you think, Norm? Should we surf the Internet?" Vision asked, moving to stand beside the man.

"Cowabunga, dude." Norm grinned, giving his seat up to Vision."Hey, look, we got electronic mail already!" Norm cheered as Vision booted the computer up. 

"It's called an email, Norm." Vision gently corrected him. "What are you looking for?"

"Letter opener," Norm said after rifling through the draws.

"Ah, we don't need that. We're already cutting edge." Vision said, opening the email.

"SWORD. Top secret communique. Authenticate." Norm read aloud before Vision noticed the rest of the office reading the same email in unison.

"Doctor Darcy Lewis' findings regarding Maximoff's Anomaly. High levels of radiation present at the perimeter. Effect on Westview residents unknown. Please advise." The office chorused as Vision stared at his coworkers in shock and fear as the words of email sunk in. But no-one else was scared.

Everyone else was laughing.

"Well, come on, pal. What are we gonna write back?" Norm chuckled. "You're the office funny guy. It's a joke, can't you tell. None of it is real." He said as Vision tried to read the computer, but he felt nothing.

Vision turned to stare at his coworker as an idea formed, and without a word, he rose to his feet and pressed his fingers to Norm's temples.

Vision could sense a wall in Norm's mind. It was blocking Norm's memories, and it was strong but not stronger than Vision.

Norm transformed before Vision's eyes. His cheerful friend was suddenly reduced to a stammering panicked mess. 

"Please, please, help me," Norm begged, his hands grasping at Visions. "What day is it? How long has it been? Where's my phone? I have to call my sister." He gasped, letting go of Vision and shoving papers and objects on his desk aside as he searched for his phone.

"Norm." 

"She's taking care of our dad. He's sick." Norm rambled, tossing papers aside. "Where is my phone?"

"Calm yourself, Norm. I can't understand what you're trying to tell me." Vision whispered, leaning closer to the man.

"You have to stop her," Norm begged, fists clutching Vision's suit.

"Stop who?"

"She's in my head. None of it is my own. It hurts. It hurts so much. Just make her stop." Norm begged, clutching Vision's suit tighter. "Just make her stop!" Norm yelled before Vision touched his temples once more and restored the wall.

Norm shook his head slightly as his hands fell limply at his side before he smiles at Vision.

"Now tell me this, if I send an email, where would I put the stamp? Technology." Norm chuckled as Vision shakily walked back to his desk.

"I'm just going to go to the store," Y/N told her wife as she pulled on a jacket.

"Oh, I'll tell the kids to put their shoes on. We'll all go for a walk." Wanda nodded.

"No, it's okay. I want to go on my own." Y/N shook her head quickly.

"Are you sure, hon? Because whatever we need, I can, just make it appear." Wanda smiled at her own joke before frowning as Y/N grabbed her bag. "Why don't you want us to come?" Wanda questioned her.

"Because I need five minutes to think. And I think a walk would do me some good." Y/N sighed.

"What can't you think about here?" Wanda pressed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's not here. I just need some time to mull things over." Y/N promised. 

"What's there to mull over?"

"Why are you pushing me on this? What's so hard to understand about this?" Y/N asked, turning to Wanda with a frown.

"It's hard for me to understand why you're acting like this. Did I do something? Did the kids?" Wanda wondered.

"No. Never," Y/N promised, taking Wanda's hand. "It just been a lot of changes recently, and I need just a second to comprehend them all," Y/N said, squeezing her wife's hand.

"Fine. Whatever. Go for your walk. We'll be here." Wanda shook her head, pulling her hand free.

"Look, we'll talk when I get back. I love you." Y/N said, leaning over to kiss Wanda quickly before leaving the house.

"Love you too," Wanda called.

What neither woman had noticed were the three spying kids, who'd heard everything and were now looking at each other worriedly.

"Sit, Sparky. Sit. Good boy!" Billy cheered.

Wanda had snapped out of her thoughts after several long minutes. And once she had snapped out of her head, she needed a distraction. And so, she had called the kids into the living room and asked them to show her the tricks they'd been teaching Sparky.

"Speak!" Billy commanded, causing the dog to let out a bark. "Nice, Sparky. Now spin. Good boy!" Billy said, feeding the dog a treat as his mother, sister and brother clapped.

"Oh! Bravo, Billy! You weren't so bad either, Sparky!" Wanda complimented, causing the boy to smile widely.

"That was radical!" Tommy exclaimed, jumping to his feet and pulling Luna to hers.

"Can we show Daddy?" Luna asked, turning to her mother.

"Oh, he's at work," Wanda told her daughter apologetically. 

"It's Saturday, Mama," Billy said as he and his siblings looked much more disappointed than a second ago.

"No, it's not. It's Monday." Wanda waved him off.

"This morning was Saturday," Tommy told her.

"There was an emergency at the office, and your father had to go in. End of story." Wanda said, causing the kids to look between one another. "Look, he just. He needed a distraction."

"Like Mom?" Billy frowned.

"What?"

"Dad and Mom needed a distraction from us?" Luna asked with a sad expression.

"No! No way! No!" Wanda denied, rushing over to the three. "Sometimes, your dad, your mom, and I aren't on the same page," Wanda said, wrapping her arms around her children. "But it's just temporary." She promised, leading the three over to the couch. "Like the three of you, you might fight over toys, but you're always going to be siblings. You're always going to be Luna's brothers, and she's always going to be your sister, and you boys will always be each other's twin. Because family is forever." Wanda assured the three.

"Do you have a sibling, Mama?" Tommy wondered.

"I do. Yeah, I have a brother." Wanda nodded. "He's far away from here, and that makes me sad sometimes." She said before Sparky began to bark loudly.

"Hey, Sparky, what's up, boy?" Billy asked after the dog jumped out of his arms and rushed to the door.

"Something's scaring him!" Tommy exclaimed as Sparky growled at the door.

"Mama?" Luna asked, watching as her mother's face became blank. 

"Stay here," Wanda said, standing from the couch.

Wanda moved towards the door and opened it, causing Sparky to bolt outside.

"Sparky!" The kids yelled, running off behind their mother.

"I know this tech is from the '80s, but can we sharpen the visuals?" Hayward asked, watching the screen intently over Monica's shoulder.

"Working on it," Monica told him. "Maximoff located." She said as she flew closer to the house.

"Well done." Hayward complimented with a blank face.

"We can't see the drone on the broadcast," Clint announced from behind.

"Wanda's framing it out of the shot." Jimmy deduced.

"Just like all the jump cuts. Wanda decides what makes it onto her show and what doesn't." Darcy added.

"And here we go. You're up." Hayward told Monica.

"Wanda, this is Captain Monica Rambeau. Can you hear me? I just want to talk, that's it." Monica said into the headpiece, staring at the black and white screen, a black and white screen that showed Wanda's glowing red eyes.

"No joy." Hayward sighed.

"Wait, my controls aren't working. Reconnect patch." Monica said as an alarm began to ding beside her.

"Disregard. Take the shot." Hayward shook his head before turning to a man to the side.

"What? No. The drone isn't armed." Monica shook her head, glancing at the man to her side as she desperately tried to take control back of the drone.

"Take the shot," Hayward commanded before the screen fritzed out and died.

"What did you do?" Clint demanded, rushing towards the director. "What did you do?"

 He repeated before several alarms began to blare.

"There's a breach, sir."

Everyone jumped to their feet and rushed outside as the alarms continued to blast.

Cars were loaded as everyone raced as close to the boundary line as they dared. When the agents jumped out of the car, Monica, Clint, Darcy, and Jimmy's noticed, much to their horror, that they were all armed.

The four and Hayward had just pushed their way to the front of the gathering when Wanda emerged from Westview.

Dragging behind her SWORD's drone.

"Is this yours?" Wanda asked, throwing the drone at Hayward's feet.

"The missile was just a precaution. You can hardly blame us, Wanda." Hayward tried to reason.

"Oh, I think I can. This will be your only warning. Stay out of my home." Wanda said, staring blankly at the director. "You don't bother me. I won't bother you."

"I wish it could be that simple. You've taken an entire town hostage." Hayward said, attempting to appeal to Wanda's moral compass.

"I'm not the one with the guns director," Wanda mentioned, staring at the weapons in disdain.

"But you are the one in control," Monica spoke up.

"You're still here." Wanda acknowledged, creating a ball of red energy in her hand.

"Wanda, I didn't know the drones were armed. But you know, don't you? A town full of civilians, and you, a telepath, brought a SWORD agent into your home. You trusted me to help deliver your babies. You trusted me with Y/N and Vision. On some level, Wanda, you know I'm an ally. I wanna help you." Monica told the woman.

"How? What could you possibly have to offer me?" Wanda questioned her.

"Well, what do you want, kiddo?" Clint asked, taking a step towards her. 

"I have what I want. And you, all of you, will stay from them," Wanda said, glaring at Clint. "No-one is ever going to take them from me or hurt them again," Wanda said before turning to Hayward as her hand glowed red. 

Every one of SWORD's agent's eyes burned a bright red as they turned their guns on Hayward.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Stand down!" Hayward exclaimed as Wanda turned away.

"Wanda!"

Wanda paid no attention to those calling her name or the chaos behind her as she neared the Hex.

Wanda appeared to almost rip the Hex apart as she entered it. 

And the shock of everyone watching, the entirety of the Hex changed from a cool blue to a bright burning red.

"Hey, stranger." Y/N grinned as her husband exited Computational Services. "Want to walk me home?"

"You know you should never walk anywhere with a stranger." Vision scolded as he walked closer to Y/N. "The likelihood in which,"

"Vis." Y/N cut him off, raising a brow, continuing to smile.

"Sorry." Vision blushed. "I'd love to walk with you, darling." He smiled, taking Y/N's hand as the two set off for home. 

"I told Wanda I was going for a walk." Y/N mentioned as she swung her's and Vision's hands. "I might have made her suspicious."

"Suspicious of what?" Vision wondered, turning his head to her. 

"What I can't tell her," Y/N said. "I hate doing it, but I lied to her so I could talk to you. Privately. Vis, there's something weird about this town."

"I know." Vision nodded. "I, too, have noticed abnormalities in the town. As well as with the people."

"You mean with Agnes this morning?" Y/N wondered, frowning as she thought back on their neighbor's behavior. 

"I mean with Agnes and Herb. Mr. and Mrs. Hart. Geraldine and her mysterious disappearance. And just recently with Norm."

"The guy in your office?"

"Darling, I have a confession." Vision sighed, pulling Y/N over to a bench. "We received an email about work regarding 'The Maximoff Anamoly.' Everyone disregarded it as a joke, but I had a feeling it meant something, so I looked into Norm's mind."

"Vis."

"I found a wall in his mind, and when I was able to breach it, he changed," Vision told her.

"Changed how?" Y/N asked, cocking her head slightly.

"He was scared, Y/N." Vision said. "And I believe he was scared of Wanda." He added.

"Wanda? Our wife?"

"Yes. Norm's memories seemed to have been blocked by Wanda, and so, I have to ask something of you." Vision said. Y/N caught onto his train of thought quickly and shook her head at the man.

"No Vis, we agreed," Y/N said, crossing her arms. "Even playing ground between the three of us."

"I understand that darling, but I don't remember anything before Westview." Vision revealed. "I have been through all my systems and processors, and nothing is stopping me from remembering. The memories just simply aren't there."

"And you want to see if Wanda has blocked my memories?" Y/N asked after a second of thought.

"Darling, I know how it sounds, but can you remember your family? Your parents? Where you grew up? Do you remember how we met? Because I don't." Vision told her.

"I can never remember our wedding," Y/N whispered as the pieces began to fall into place. 

Everything Vision was saying made sense. She couldn't remember any of those things and never had been able to. 

Y/N had always brushed the idea of not remembering anything to the side, scolding herself for being silly.

But maybe she wasn't.

"Okay. I trust you, Vis. You can break the rule just this once." Y/N said. Vision gave her a gentle smile before raising his fingers to her temples. Y/N's eyes closed as Vision entered her mind before he jumped back with a yelp.

"Ah!"

"Vis?" Y/N asked, eyes snapping open and staring at her husband in shock.

"There's something stronger than Wanda's wall blocking your memories," Vision told her, wriggling his fingers. "I'm sorry, darling, but I can't break it." He apologized.

"It's okay. You tried." Y/N smiled, grabbing his hand with hers. "I think we need to talk to Wanda." 

"I think you're right." Vision agreed, rising to his feet with Y/N following.

"Sparky!"

"Come here, Sparky!" 

"Sparky! Sparky!"

The four had been searching for the small dog for what felt like hours, but there was still no sign of Sparky.

"Hey, what's the trouble, kids?" Dennis, the mailman, asked as he walked past.

"We can't find our dog," Luna told the man.

"Ah, don't worry. He's sure to turn up. Your mom won't let him get far." Dennis promised. "Ma'am." He tipped his head. 

"I just don't know where he could've gone." Wanda sighed as the four continued down the street.

"Sparky!

"Sparky!"

"Sparky! Sparky!"

The kids made it to the end of the street when the bushes began to rustle. The kids let out excited gasps of 'Sparky' before Agnes stood, holding a small bundle with a remorseful face. 

Tommy let out a gasp as Wanda's face fell, and Luna clutched Billy's hand.

"I didn't want to come until I'd wrapped him up," Agnes said, staring at the four sadly.

"What happened to him?" Wanda demanded, moving closer to her friend.

"Found him in my azalea bushes. Don't know how many leaves he ate. I didn't find him until it was too late. Oh, Tommy, Billy, Luna, I'm so sorry." Agnes apologized. 

The kids turned to each other with teary eyes before nodding.

"Wait. Don't. Don't." Wanda said, catching onto their plan. 

"Don't what?" Tommy demanded.

"Don't age yourselves up," Wanda told the three as she bent in front of them. "The urge to run from this feeling is powerful, I know."

"It's too sad." Billy shook his head as Tommy took Luna's other hand.

"You can fix anything, Mama. Fix the dead." Tommy said.

"Please, Mama. Please fix this. Bring Sparky back." Luna begged, squeezing her brother's hands.

"What? No." Wanda shook her head as she pulled back.

"You can do that?" Agnes asked, staring at Wanda in wonder.

"I am trying to tell you that there are rules in life, okay?" Wanda said as she kneeled on the concert. "We can't rush aging just because it's convenient. And we can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us, okay? Some things are forever." Wanda told them.

"You said family is forever." Billy reminded her.

"He is family," Tommy said.

"Bring him back, Mama, please," Luna begged.

"Bring who back?" 

The four turned at the sound of Vision's voice to see him and Y/N standing behind them.

"Oh, sweethearts." Y/N sighed, glancing at the bundle in Agnes' arms.

"Come here." Vision said as he and Y/N pulled the kids into an embrace.

When the six had arrived home, the kids had rushed directly to their rooms, refusing even dinner.

Wanda had taken it upon herself to console the children while Y/N packed away Sparky's belongings and Vision buried the dog.

"How are the kids?" Vision asked, moving to wash his hands.

"A little heartbroken, but they'll be alright," Wanda told him.

"The kids are tough. Give them time." Y/N said, throwing a ball into the basket.

"It's not often you get a dog and bury them in the same day." Vision commented, scrubbing the dirt from beneath his fingernails.

"Well, life moves pretty fast out in the suburbs," Wanda commented, taking the basket of Sparky's toys as Y/N and Vision shared a look. 

"I spoke with Norm." Vision said, drying his hands on a tea towel.

"Oh?"

"I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and spoke to him free of your oversight. He was in pain, Wanda." Vision told her.

"Vision, listen, can we just,"

"Wanda, why is there a wall in my mind?" Y/N cut her off.

 "Excuse me?"

"Vision saw. There are two walls in my mind."

"Sweethearts, it's been a long day." Wanda shook her head. "Can we just,"

"What? Watch TV? Turn in for the night so you can change everything over again?" Vision scoffed.

"No, Wanda." Y/N shook her head. "You can't run away from this. You can't run away from us."

"You can't control us the way you do them." Vision said, moving to stand beside Y/N at the island.

"Can't I?" Wanda tilted her head. There was an air of finality to her tone as she turned her back on her wife and husband and walked to the door. "I'm going to bed."

"No, you're not!" Y/N snapped, walking around the island.

"What is the 'Maximoff Anomaly'?" Vision asked, following after Y/N.

"The what?"

"I have to believe that this, whatever this is, was subconscious at first and that you only recently became aware of it." Vision said, glancing around the kitchen.

"Aware of what?" Wanda asked before walking into the living room.

"Wanda, whatever you're doing to the rest of the town, is wrong!" Y/N said, following after her.

"Norm has a family, Wanda!" Vision exclaimed his anger so vast he lost control of his disguise. "He has a family, and he can't reach them because you won't let him reach them!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Wanda yelled.

"Stop lying!" Vision shouted as he began to float. 

"Wanda, what is happening here?" Y/N demanded as she and Wanda joined Vision in the air. "You can't deny what's happening in this town isn't normal." 

"This, all of this is for us," Wanda told the two. "So let me handle it."

"What is outside of Westview?" Vision demanded.

"You don't wanna know, I promise you." Wanda shook her head. 

"You're not allowed to make that choice for us, Wanda," Y/N told the woman.

"You've never talked to me like before. Neither of you has ever spoken to me like this before." Wanda shook her head sadly as she brought herself back to the ground.

"Before? Before what?" Y/N asked. 

"I don't remember before! I don't remember my life before Westview! I don't know who I am!" Vision yelled. "I'm scared!" He declared.

"You are my husband. You are Y/N's husband. You are Billy, Tommy and Luna's father." Wanda said as Vision and Y/N slowly lowered themselves to the ground. "Isn't that enough?"

"Wanda, why don't the kids have any grandparents?" Y/N asked her. "Why can't I remember the last time I saw my family? Why haven't I spoken to them since we moved here?"

"Why are there no other children in Westview?" Vision added.

"Will the two of you just stop?" Wanda asked, walking away from the two.

"No. We won't."

"The playground stands empty every time I walk past it. Why? Why have I never spoken to either of your parents? Where are mine?" Vision asked her.

"Do you two really think I am controlling everything? That I am somehow in charge of everybody in Westview? I'm walking their dogs, mowing their lawns, getting them to their dentist appointments on time? I mean." Wanda emotionlessly chuckled as she collapsed onto the couch. "I don't know how any of this started." Wanda finally admitted.

"Wanda, what you're doing here is wrong." Vision said, kneeling beside her.

"What you're doing to these people is wrong." Y/N tacked on, sitting on the coffee table before the doorbell rang.

At the sound, the three all perked up and looked over at the door.

"I didn't do that." Wanda shook her head at the noise. "I, you don't believe me." Wanda realized, shaking her head.

"I want to, but at this point, I'm ignoring statistics entirely," Vision told her.

"You still haven't answered any of our questions," Y/N said when Wanda looked over to her.

When the doorbell rang again, Wanda wiped the tears from her eyes and walked towards the door.

With a sigh, Y/N and Vision rose to their feet and stood behind Wanda to see her freeze at the man on the other side of the door.

"Wanda, who is it?" Vision asked, staring at the white-haired man.

"Long lost bro get to squeeze his stinkin' sister to death or what?" The man wondered. 

"Pietro?" Wanda whispered, staring at the man in confusion. "Oh." She happily sighed when he pulled her into his chest.

"Who's the popsicle and the broad?"

Taglist is open throughout the entirety of the series.

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[screeeeeeeeee]

Laurence "Larry" Needlemeyer is a supporting character in The Amazing World of Gumball. He works at almost every store in the town of Elmore, usually as a cashier. He generally disliked the Watterson family prior to the events of "The Pizza," but he gets on more friendly terms with them after they apologize for antagonizing him and causing him to quit all his jobs. Larry manages to keep up with all of his jobs by "working very hard," but he has been fired on at least one occasion. He used to be called "Lazy Larry" and was known as the laziest person in Elmore, but the title was stolen by Richard in the summer of 1983.

Appearance

Larry typically wears a green shirt, an orange tie, a red badge with a diagonal stripe down the middle, and an orange hat with red and white stripes. He also wears black pants and black shoes. His cheeks are pink with freckles on them. However, throughout the show, he starts to wear other uniforms depending on which jobs he works at. He is incredibly skinny, similar to Rob and Miss Simian. His head is disproportionately large and blocky. While being Lazy Larry, he transforms into a huge block, which connects his head to his torso just like Richard.

In season 1, he had a more rocky texture. From season 2 and onwards, those textures were removed, and he looks like he is made completely out of origami.

Personality

Larry is a very hard-working and serious person, and cannot be fooled easily. He keeps many jobs around Elmore, from being a store clerk to a cashier, and does an admirable job at each of them. Although, on many of these occasions, he is accidentally fired, or is driven to do so by a member of the Watterson family. However, Larry also has a history of laziness, as shown in "The Laziest." It seems he can be a forgiving person, as seen in "The Pizza." It is also shown that he is often sleep-deprived, usually due to working both day and night shifts, as revealed in multiple episodes.

He has a fiancée named Karen, whom he has attempted to propose to three times in the show, though he failed on all three occasions.

Jobs

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Similar to Gary and Karen, Larry works numerous jobs. As of "The Menu," Larry is confirmed to have thirty-eight.

Laser Video

This is the first job Larry has been seen working at on-screen, where he works as the cashier. It is very similar to Ripley 2000 from "The Refund." Larry was seen here first in "The DVD."

Elmore Gas Station

This is the second job Larry has been seen working at. Sal Left Thumb has attempted to rob the store twice in Larry's presence but was stopped on both occasions. Despite this, Larry was seen working here in "The Bumpkin" and "The Night."

Food 'n' Stuff

Larry works here as a cashier. He got fired for yelling at a customer as an attempt to get Gumball and Darwin away from him in "The Laziest," but he is seen working here again in "The Name." This is currently the only job Larry has been fired from on-screen.

Joyful Burger

Larry's fourth job is where he works as a cashier. In "The Menu," Larry can be seen working at several different Joyful Burgers around Elmore.

Shoe store

Larry works as a cashier here. He was seen working here in "The Prank," when Richard wanted to return the shoes he bought originally for Gumball and Darwin, but is denied the return because they were filled with baked beans for a prank.

Ripley 2000

For his sixth job, he works as a clerk in the local video game store. He was first shown working here in "The Refund," when he denies Gumball and Darwin a refund for their computer game. He may have been fired from there as he failed to keep Gumball from getting a refund and abandoned his post. However, in the video "What Dad Would Do for a Sausage Part 1," he is seen working there, as well as later in "The Password."

Fervidus Pizza

In "The Job," Larry works for Fervidus Pizza. Larry is Richard's employer, and he fires Richard for eating parts of the pizzas he had to deliver. In "The Game," he gets prank-called by Nicole and delivers a pizza to himself as a consequence. In "The Pizza," he is seen working here again, during which he briefly quits, leading to the destruction of Elmore.

Elmore Shopping

He is seen working at Elmore Shopping in "Christmas" as the mall Santa in a small cabin called "Santa's Grotto." His girlfriend Karen is also seen directly outside of it, dressed as an elf.

Bank of Elmore

Larry can be seen working at the bank in "The Check" and "The Heist" as a bank teller.

Pet store

Larry is seen working at the pet store in episodes such as "The Origins" and "The Origins: Part Two," where he gives Richard all of the pet fish, and "The Roots."

Elmore Zoo

Larry is seen working here in "The Stars" as a zookeeper.

Other Jobs

Other jobs that Larry is seen, or mentioned doing include being the police force accountant, an ice cream vendor, a pest controller, a curator at an art gallery, and a repairman. He works so many jobs that Elmore's economical structure depends on him, and that if he ever stops working, the whole town would break down.

Trivia

Karen is his fiancée; a running gag throughout the series is him attempting to propose to her, but ultimately failing to do so due to circumstances outside of his control. This has happened in "The Laziest," "The Goons," "The Shippening," and on Anais' Flickr if one counts it as canon.

In "The Schooling," Larry claims that he makes $7 per hour.

In "The Night," he states that he does not sleep but in "The Question" he says his routine involves sleep.

In "The Finale," it is revealed why he has so many jobs: to repay damages the Wattersons have done.

Also in "The Finale," it is revealed Larry has a restraining order against the Wattersons.

Because Larry practically has every job in Elmore, if Larry quits all of them, Elmore's society would collapse and eventually lead to a full-blown apocalypse. This is seen in "The Pizza."

Thanks bluu

[ohmykazuha]

mutual appreciation gallery ~

oh no. oh no here comes the big wave of love no you cannot escape from it aaaaaaaaaah oh noooooo

under the cut bcos it's pretty long. hella love u all lots <3 there are def much more than this but these are the people who i interact with more often!!! this will be updated later :")

@bookuya BOO!!! the first person i ever interacted with on this acc!!! i love u i love u i love u! your req was what helped me jump start this blog! your support has meant the absolute most to me. ily, mwah <3 you're the best!!! i'm so happy i interacted with you, you're hella sweet!!! ~~ i love u so so so much boo! please send more brainrots /hj

@dilucbar HELLO!! i love you so much???? ahhh??? you're literally the sweetest ever, you make my face light up when i see you in my inbox!!! i'm so glad that i pressed that ask button when i first joined, otherwise i wouldn't have the random darwin pics, the cale henituse things, anything! i love you so so so much aeri <3 bigggg mwahs!

@noirkkat HELLO HI HI HI another day-one-er!!! i love u hellllllaaaaa lots!!! i don't think words can fully say how much i appreciate you darling ~~ from your c-words to my c-words, we've talked about so much aaaaa! you make me so so so happy, i love u hella lots ez <3 you're a wonderfully created person, mwah <3

@yua1106 HELLO I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! you bring me so much joy! i alw see you in my inbox and notifs and it always makes me so happy?? you're like a giant bright ball of sunshine! that always make s my day! love u hella lots yua mwah mwah <3 thank you for supporting me aaaaa <3

@starglitterz HEEEELLLOOOO!!! i love you so so so so so so much! quill you've been an absolute blessing to everyone around you & i love u so much <3 being on the server has been so fun and i can't wait for more! you're super sweet ahh! i love you! all of our convos make me smile so much ~~ mega hugs!!!

@eternism UWAHHH JADE HELLO HI HI I LOVE YOU!! you make me smile so so much! i remember the first time we met (and it was through tumblr tags!), and we were so chill aaaahahah!!! thank you for giving me advice when i needed it TuT you helped me when i was at my lowest, i love uuuuuu. <3 mega mwahs!

@mika-zuko SCREAMS N CRIES i remember you from the neakkoya blog! you were always one of the people who liked my posts!!! i love u so so so much you don't even know :")) you're genuinely so sweet and kind (and good at making me cry), and your writing is *chefs kiss*. MWAHHHH I LOVE U <3

@almondto-fu SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH!!! i love u so much omg i can't describe it fully. your presence on here has been so comforting and dear, like a warm teapot on a cold night! i love talking with you so much you have no idea TuT love u so so much i hope you get well soon!!!

@komorebi-e TOKI TOKI I LOVE YOUUUUU <3 you make me smile so much aaaaa. also your theme???? hello???? hella cute (LIKE YOU <33) you're so sweet as well and it always puts a smile on my face when i see you in my inbox! aaaa!!! mega hugs toki!

@abyssheart GENESIS I LOVE U <3 you really mean so so so much to me aaaahh you're so nice?? hello??? and you created such a cool server too!!! i love u hella lots, all the best for your exams :")) thank you for being such a cool moot, it always lights a smile on my face whenever i see you in the inbox and notifs! mega hugs mwah <3

@chichikoi koi where do i even BEGIN. firstly!!!! fluff forever! i love you so so soso so much! i can't believe we connected over mika and veille's angst XD and a 150+ notes post! grrr i love you so much, mega mega mega hugs. please spam my inbox :"D i know there are a few notifs in there that i haven't gotten to yet (sob) i love youuuu!

@i-li LIIIIIII!!! you make me so so happy! thank you for being you ~~ you're genuinely such a sweet person?? i love interacting w you fhjksghjkfdsgjk i'll come into your inbox >:DD love u hella lots, i'm honoured to be one of your moots!!!

@lucult HELLO?? the sweetest being!!! ever!!! i love u so much ela, you're amazing and you're so sweet too! i can't believe i'm a moot with one of the nicest people on here <3 you make me so happy all the time and it always lights my face when you're here!!! mwahhh!!!

@help-wtf-am-i-even-doing TAZ TAZ TAZ TAZ hi ily!!! you make me so happy all the time w h a t and the kaeya brainrot XD you've genuinely got such a nice presence on tumblr and i'm so glad that i'm one of your mutuals <3 mega loves i will come and spam your inbox more and more >:DD

@3rdgymbros HELLOOOOOO ok where to start. you make me so happy??? whenever i see you on my dash??? gah i love u and your fics. TuT they're such masterpieces! they make me so happy as well ~~ you give off such comforting vibes honestly. mega mwahs, ily!!! <3

@heaven-dissolution HI WHERE THE HECK DO I EVEN BEGIN. shuu i love u so much!!!! you're so sweet??? uhm???? aaaaa you make me so happy all the time! i alw smile when i see you in my inbox TuT you're such a fun person to be around as well hjkfshkgfdskh i love u!!!! mega mega mega mega hugs!

@yanbub HELLOOOO!!! we don't interact that much but your presence on tumblr makes me so happy!!! like... it wouldn't be the same without you!! if that makes sense? idk. your messaging aus make me laugh so hard all the time and it always brightens my day :")) love u mega lots mwah!!! <3

@yeetmeoffjueyunkarst HEMLO J i love u <33 sorry for sending that keqing drabble over hehe i love u hella lots!!! you make me smile all the time whenever i see you on my dash <3 i'm so happy i get to interact with you, you're really cool aaaaaa :") mega loves & hugs mwah! <33

@kozmiixs HEY ATLAS!!! we don't interact all that much but i would love to interact more with you!!! you seem like such a cool person and i'm honoured to be moots with ya ~~ love u lots hehe <3

@thaliastea OKAY HELLO??? I LOVE YOU SO MUCH WH A T the fanart you drew was amazing!!! thank you for doing it TuT you're so kind and precious, i love you soooo much! mega hugs my love!

okay that was hella long. i love u all