#but did he not see my mountains of tissues on the seat next to me

[jyunism]

HELLO FRIENDS

[guardianofrivendell]

Perfect

Fíli & Kíli & fem!reader (platonic, no use of Y/N)

Requested: no 

Warnings: talk about fat-shaming, refusing food, my favorite nickname returning, this is a very self indulgent fic

A/N: I wrote this ficlet because I experienced something similar this week and I had to write something about it to deal with how I felt and what I wished people around me would’ve said to me. Everyone deserves a Fíli and Kíli as their best friend, and I hope this comfort fic can help anyone who needs it. Never forget, you’re perfect the way you are 💚

MASTERLIST

Fíli knocked on your door, the sound of it echoing through the corridor. When there came no answer, he met his brother’s worried eyes. 

“Try again,” Kíli said, “maybe she didn’t hear you the first time.”

Fíli raised his eyebrows in a “you think?” kind of way, but did as his brother suggested and knocked a second time, calling your name as well. Still no answer.

“Here, let me try,” Kíli pushed his brother out of the way, shoving the plate of food they brought in his hands and knocked a couple of times with a lot more force. “It’s us, your two favorite dwarves in the whole mountain! Open the door, mimûna!” (little one)

“Leave me alone!” They could barely hear your muffled voice through the thick wooden door but unfortunately for you, the Durin princes had known you a long time. They immediately noticed something was wrong, your voice was hoarse and missed its usual spark. 

They looked at each other and agreed there was no way they were leaving you like this. Something was wrong and as your friends, they were here for you. Even if you didn’t want them there, they at least had to know you were safe.

“We’re coming in,” Fíli announced before he turned the doorknob and gave the door a firm push. 

They found you sitting on your longchaise looking out the window, huddled in thick woolen blankets and furs. Without saying a word, Fíli placed the plate of food on the window sill and took a seat at the end of the chair, pulling your feet on his lap. Kíli crouched right next to you, feeling your temperature with the back of his hand, surprised to feel you weren’t having a fever. 

“Are you ill?” he asked, taking in your appearance. You didn’t look sick, but your eyes were red and puffy and you hadn’t come out for lunch or dinner that day. You not feeling well would be a logical explanation in his eyes. 

You shook your head. “No, I’m fine.”

Fíli placed his hand on your shin and gave a light squeeze through the blanket. “Don’t take this the wrong way, mimûna, but you don’t look fine.” He then noticed the tissues and the dried-up tear streaks on your cheeks. “Have you been crying?” 

Kíli’s head shot up at his brother’s words, worry etched on his face. “Are you hurt?”

You sniffed and wiped a few more tears out of your eyes, the brother’s worried questions enough to make you emotional again. 

“No-no, I’m okay. Really, it’s nothing, I promise,” you assured them, attempting a smile to back up your lies. You weren’t fine, and the last thing you wanted was to be left alone again but you didn’t want to tell Fíli and Kíli what had happened. 

“We didn’t see you for lunch or dinner, so we brought you a plate,” Kíli said, pointing at the plate on the window sill. It was filled with potatoes, roasted meat and a few vegetables, your appetite usually rivaling that of the two brothers combined. “Don’t worry, we can go for more if it’s not enough.”

You cleared your throat before you buried yourself under your blankets again, pulling your feet off Fíli’s lap in the process. “I’m not hungry.”

Fíli and Kíli shared another look. This was very unlike you, normally you wouldn’t even think about refusing food. They both got to their feet and went to sit on either side of you, each of them throwing an arm over your shoulders. 

“Okay, out with it, little lady,” Fíli urged you to talk. “There’s clearly something wrong and we won’t leave until you tell us.”

You blinked a few times, hesitant to confide in your two best friends. They probably didn’t understand how you felt or would say you had no reason to feel this way. 

Kíli called your name and hugged you with the arm thrown around you. “You know you can trust us, right?”

“I do, I do trust you, it’s just... “ You sighed. “Do you think I’m too big?”

“Well, you are of the race of Men so it’s not unusual for you to be taller than all of us,” Fíli began, not knowing why being taller than them would bother you all of a sudden.

“Although, you and I don’t differ much,” Kíli laughed, patting your head. “You’re not that tall for a human.”

“I’m not talking about my height,” you argued, clutching the blankets a little firmer. “Do you… Do you think I’m fat?” Your voice broke at that damned word, your chin started quivering again. The words of those horrid Dwarrowdams echoed in your mind. 

“What? Where did you get that idea?” Kíli gasped, bolting upright. 

“It doesn���t matter, it won’t happen again because I’m never going back there. Next time I need new dresses, I’ll be sure to go to Dale.”

Fíli quickly realized what had happened. You mentioned before that you needed new dresses and he suspected that the girls at the dressmaker’s weren’t very welcoming to you. He mentally kicked himself, they should’ve come with you.

He placed his free hand on your cheek and turned your head so you had no choice but to meet his eyes. He said your name with a stern voice, before he added, “I don’t know what was said to you, but trust me when I say that you are perfect the way you are. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” you sniffled, “you’re gorgeous and in perfect shape. Yes, Kíli, you too,” you added before the youngest Durin brother could protest, “no one would even think twice to offend you.”

“They had no right to treat you like that,” Kíli spoke, his jaw tense. He knew first-hand how it felt to be mocked and he hated for you to go through the same thing. Fíli nodded, pulling a knife out of his vambrace before he started twirling it. “Who do we need to kill?”

You smiled through your tears, you could always count on them to make you feel better. How could you even think they wouldn’t understand how you felt? They really were your best friends, acting like your older brothers most of the time and you loved them for it. Except for that one time where you were finally approached by the cute vendor in Dale and Fíli and Kíli scared him away. Older brothers indeed.

“Even though the idea is very tempting, you won’t have to kill anyone. I know better than to listen to them but that doesn’t mean their words didn’t hurt me.”

“I’m sorry you had to deal with them, mimûna. You are so strong. We know that, you know that and they do too. So they try to hurt you by using your insecurities against you.” Fíli shoved the knife back in its place and stood up from the longchair, holding his hand out for you to help you up. 

“Don’t let them get into your head, it’s what they want. Fíli was right - yes, shocking I know, don’t get used to it - but you are perfect. They only say those horrible things because they can’t deal with how amazing you are. It doesn’t matter what you weigh, what size of clothes you wear or what you eat, it’s what’s in here that counts,” Kíli said, prodding his finger into your chest, “not the package.”

You swung your arms around the brothers and pulled them into a hug. “Since when did you become so wise? Thank you both for making me feel better.”

“Did you hear that, Fee? She called me wise!”

Fíli gave his brother a playful shove. “I believe she meant both of us, nadadith.”

“She clearly meant just me!”

“Did not!”

“Did to!”

As the brothers kept fighting, trying to decide which one of them was the wisest, you tiptoed to the window and grabbed the plate of food, silently thanking your two princes for taking such good care of you. They were idiots at times and they could annoy you to no end, but their hearts were always in the right place. 

Permanent taglist: @roosliefje @kata1803 @entishramblings @artsywaterlily @sleepy-daydream-in-a-rose @marvelschriss @kumqu4t @the-banannah @dark-angel-is-back @the-fandoms-georgie @lathalea @xxbyimm @sokkasdarling @katethewriter @aredhel-of-gondolin @starry-cookies @elvish-sky @moony-artnstuff @emmapotato88 @kirenia15 @vicmackeybullshxt @hey-its-nonny @moarfandomtrash @beenovel @cassiabaggins @shethereadinghobbit @justfollowtheroad @laurfilijames @fizzyxcustard @brokennerdalert @linasofia​ @naimadrawsstuff​ @errruvande​ @m-sterboggins​ 

[read-weep-repeat]

Oh, Brother Chap. 2

Summary: When your mom springs 7 stepbrothers and a new stepdad on you, you have to be wary, but they can’t be that bad. Can they?

Warnings (subject to change): obsessive behaviors, eventual smut, (Y/N) loves platform Mary Janes, stepbrother au, curse words, mentions of violence and death.

“Give me the fucking phone jimin” Yoongi whisper yelled, reaching from the front passenger seat. Jimin flinched backwards, making you shift.

“If you keep trying to take it from me you’ll wake her up.”

Yoongi slumped back into his sleep with a grunt, staring at your sleeping form. Jimin thumbed through the photos, “nothing,” he leaned his head back and groaned. “there’s screenshots and maybe a picture or two, but not a thing she wants.”

Jungkook peered over the head-seat, hand wanting to stroke your cheek, but not daring. “Can you see if there’s a Pinterest board? her ELA paper said she liked privacy, i don’t think it would be in photos.” He said, hand hanging just a few inches above, all he had to do was reach- “Ah! Here it is!”

A chorus of shushes flooded the car. “if you wake her up I’m going to punch you” yoongi grumbled.

Jimin rolled his eyes, returning to the phone “Aww, it’s private. I bet our baby is embarrassed”

“Let me see!” Taehyung hissed, pushing his head next to Jungkooks. Jimin passed the phone around. “Oh These Mary Janes would look so cute!” A round of agreement filled the car.

The car rumbled to life, and so did the debate as they scoured your wishlist.

__________________________________________

You stirred, the sound of your mothers movement ringing through the house. Rolling over, something crackled underneath you. Tissue paper?

Oh. Oh no. Bags and boxes were stacked on top your bed, leaving only the spot where you were just sleeping. A shoe box caught your attention, a buckle glimmering in your eye. A pair of shiny Mary Janes stared back at you as you peeled the top off. They were gorgeous, and exactly what you wanted. How did they know? Did you ask for them? Oh god, that’s so embarrassing.

A curt knock interrupted your train of thought. Namjoon peaked his head in before pushing the door open, leaning against the doorway. “Do you like your gifts?” you must’ve looked as bewildered as you felt, making him chuckle. He left the doorway, gazing around your room as he got closer. “We took you with us while we went to go pick up some more clothes, it’s only fair we get our sister a few things too.” you looked around at the mountain of bags, filled to the brim from boutiques you were sure costed a small fortune.

“Did i ask for all this?” you pointed around the room, at those shoes, staring up at you. Guilt swelled, you never wanted anyone to see them, much less buy them for you. They were so pretty, so feminine, and so embarrassing. what if they thought you were immature, or not as strong and impressive as you really were? Did you show them the glaring differences they would have to deal with now? They weren’t used to this, they’ve never had a sister before.

He followed your gaze, looking down at them. “No, you didn’t,” he reached down, running his hand over the duvet. “But you looked at them so much, and I’m sure my brothers would agree with me in saying,” His hand encased yours, pressing it against the bed,“We want to make sure our sister is properly spoiled.” Your face flushed pink, you didn’t remember that. “t-thank you, but I really don’t need-” “No buts” You gave him a short glance, startled and not sure if you could handle more. He was staring, looking through you, as if he could tell how much you wanted this, how right this providing felt. Even if you would never say it. “We’re happy to have you in our family, and I hope you get more comfortable with us. I mean, Isn’t this what brothers do?” He phrased it like a question, but there wasn’t room for debate in his tone.

His fingers trailed the back of your hand as he let go before pushing them back into his pockets. He gave the room a last look, gazing at the pictures and decor before turning to the door. he stopped, looking over his shoulder. “We put our numbers in your phone when you fell asleep, I’d like to see how some of these outfits turn out, and I’m sure the rest of them would too.” You watched as he turned the corner, slumping into the bed. As embarrassed as you were, it was so sweet. Spoiling their “sister” on the first day they meet. You hoped they weren’t assholes, and honestly, they were anything but.

—————-——————————————————

Namjoon gave his goodbyes to your mother, and slipped back into the SUV. they were all nervous, sitting on the edge of their seats. Jimin was closest to Namjoon as he plopped down. “how was it?” He asked, nearly bouncing. “She likes all her gifts.” their pride swelled to fill the car, filling their heads. Almost making them lightheaded.

Their phones lit up. A collective breath hitched. It was you. A picture of your feet, covered by a pair of lace socks, and those shiny Mary Janes.

(Y/N): Hey guys! I had fun today! And thank you for the gifts! If you want to see the rest just tell me, they’re adorable. :) also if you’d like to hang out again before the wedding, just lmk (no gifts this time!!)

Their fingers buzzed, car stalled as they focused. On you. You were talking to them.

Jimin: I’m so glad! Please show the rest, I’d love to see them!

Jin: me too!

Jungkook: yes please!

Yoongi: We’ll get you as many gifts as we please pretty girl, you don’t make decisions about that.

Jimin liked this, Namjoon liked this, Jungkook liked this, Jin liked this, Taehyung liked this, Hobi liked this

Oh. You giggled, feeling like a schoolgirl. they wanted to do this.

(Y/N): sorry, just don’t want you to feel like you have to. 

Hobi: Don’t be sorry doll. We know what we’re doing.

Another giggle, and another, and more until it was a laughing fit. You leaned back on the bed, phone carelessly tossed aside. They seemed like they cared, truly cared. Like they really wanted you in their family, something you didn’t feel familiar with anymore. The thought swam through your mind as you drifted to sleep, comforting you. Maybe having stepbrothers wouldn’t be so bad.

Previous I Next

[egcdeath]

an apple a day

pairing: soft!ransom drysdale x reader

summary: it seems like an apple a day couldn’t keep the doctor or ransom away.

warnings: sickfic, a lot of fluff, brief mention of throwing up

word count: 2k

author’s note: join my taglist if you’d like! all feedback is appreciated <3

Ransom

U busy?

4:37 PM

Ransom

😏🍆😈

4:38 PM

Ransom

Wow ignoring me?????

5:24 PM

Ransom

Bitch

5:34 PM

Ransom

🙄

5:36 PM

A frantic pounding on your front door pulled you from a bizarre dream within your feverish slumber. You peeled the slightly damp cloth that rest upon your face from your sweaty skin, and lazily tossed it to the floor before audibly groaning. 

“Coming,” you whimpered out, hoping that it was loud enough for whomever was at the door.

“Fuckin’ better be,” a voice grumbled as a response.

You rolled over slightly, whole body sore from the sickness that was currently ailing you, and willed yourself to get off of your sofa. Swinging your legs over the left side of the piece of furniture you managed to get up, and sluggishly made your way to the door, ignoring the ache of your neck from resting it on an arm rest.

It seemed like with every step you took, your sinus headache throbbed harder between your eyes, and your fever cooked you a bit more from the inside out.

After what felt like a lifetime, you got to your door and opened it, only to be greeted by your… well, you didn’t really know what he was to you.

“Christ, Y/N. You look like shit,” Ransom commented, raising his brows. “Did you get hit by a car or something?”

You gave him a blank look, and said nothing. 

“Is this a bad time?”

“What do you think, dickhead?” 

“You’ve had better days,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Okay, goodbye,” you rolled your eyes and slammed the door on him, finding yourself slightly out of breath as you lethargically shuffled away.

You collapsed back onto the sofa, and reached for a blue tissue box that sat on your coffee table. Did that even happen? Did you imagine Ransom coming to your door? Or was that part of your fever dream?

Settling back, and pulling a wool blanket over yourself, you began to doze off once again, not really having the energy to do anything else.

Ransom

I’m s-word

6:12 PM

Ransom

I’m not gonna say it

6:13 PM

Ransom

But you know what I mean

6:15 PM

Ransom

I’m coming back over baby

6:17 PM

You hadn’t even noticed the vibrating of your phone, as it was currently lodged under a mountain of pillows and cushions. It also helped that you were asleep once again.

This time when you woke up, Ransom was in your apartment, rambling about some encounter he had while he was out dealing with the public for you.

How was he even in your apartment? You felt like you missed a few steps.

“Sit up,” he commanded, setting down a plastic take-out bag, along with the spare keys you kept under your welcome mat on top of your coffee table, before dragging a seat from your kitchen into your living room. 

The seat finally came to a stop in front of you, and you listlessly sat up. You watched as Ransom wordlessly opened the bag, revealing a massive container of a clear broth soup, and an equally large baguette.

“Am I dreaming?” You asked aloud.

“Why would you be dreaming? ‘Cause I did something nice? Or because I’m that hot?”

“Because I have a high fever that’s making me delusional,” you told him, and his brows furrowed once again. 

“Let me see,” he mumbled, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead, and humming in thought, “Yeah, you’re pretty hot,” he agreed.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” you mumbled, a random churn in your stomach suddenly taking a huge blow out of you. 

“Hey, I did a good thing for you. Don’t get bitchy with me now,” he snapped, narrowing his eyes slightly at you. 

You sighed as a response, and Ransom gave you a little smirk before going to open the lid of the soup container. 

“Open up wide, Beloved,” Ransom said in a playful tone. If you had the energy, you’d shoot something sassy back at him, but you were finding yourself in less of a state to do so with every passing moment. You simply followed along with his orders, opening your lips so Ransom could deliver a little spoonful of soup into your mouth. 

“Mm,” you audibly reacted to the liquid, “did you make this yourself?”

“Hm, you must be sicker than I thought,” he chuckled and dabbed the edge of your lip where a droplet of soup was left behind. “I picked it up on my way back over.”

“It’s really good,” you hummed, “feed me more.” 

Ransom scoffed fondly, “you’re lucky I like you.” He began, dishing out another spoonful to you.

You paused to chew on a softened carrot, “you should’ve known that sick me’s demands of you were gonna be a lot more.”

Ransom rolled his eyes, and went back to feeding you. You were both quiet for a moment, maintaining a heavy eye contact while he fed you, until out of the blue, your stomach turned. 

Your mouth filled with saliva as you realized what exactly was going on, and you rushed off of the couch with an obscene swiftness, just barely making it to your bathroom before you were emptying your stomach into it.

Ransom quickly showed up behind you, making his presence known by lifting your hair out of your face, and rubbing supportive circles onto your back. He cringed as he listened to you heave into the bowl, and when you finally leaned back, he used a thumb to wipe away the few tears that had begun to slip down your face. 

“You okay?” he questioned, squatting down to your level.

“Just peachy,” you choked out hoarsely.

“Maybe you’ll feel better after a shower?” he suggested, flushing your sickness down the toilet while you attempted to catch your breath.

“Okay, yeah,” you began hesitantly.

“I’ll stay in here if you want me to make sure nothing bad happens?”

“You just wanna be a perv,” you weakly giggled.

“I’m just trying to be a supportive… I’m trying to be supportive,” Ransom found his way back up, and turned on the shower’s nozzle.

“Mhm, I’m sure,” you began kicking off your sweatpants when you heard the water begin to putter down, and gestured for Ransom to help you lift off your sweatshirt once he was facing you once again. 

“I can’t believe you’re using up the last of that energy to have an attitude with me,” Ransom pulled you out of your shirt, then helped you up and began to direct you toward the shower. 

You were more or less silent from there on out, focusing on maintaining your balance in the slippery room. Your brain seemed to become increasingly cloudy with every extra puff of steam. You leaned against the slightly warm tiles of your wall as you attempted to get through the genuinely hellish shower for a few minutes before deciding it wasn’t really worth it, and stumbling back out. 

“Was I right? Did it help?” Ransom asked after your period of silence, handing you some fresh clothing that he’d grabbed from your closet sometime between the time you got in and out of the shower. 

You shook your head, “shower kinda made everything worse,” you muttered, pulling a new shirt over your head. “My head is killing me. I think I just need to be in a dark room, or go back to sleep, or something.”

You sluggishly pulled on the rest of your clothes, then sniffled as you walked out to your bedroom. As you made your way to your bed, you pushed aside a mountain of tissues from earlier in the… day? Week? With all the sleeping you’d been doing, you genuinely

couldn’t tell what time or day it was. You slipped into one side of the bed, and grabbed a pillow that you promptly hugged. 

Ransom slipped into bed beside you, a bottle of cold medicine in hand– when did he leave long enough to get you cold medicine?– and watched the tissues on your side of the bed fall onto the floor in a slightly disturbed manner. Yeah, he was definitely getting sick after this.

“Open,” he ordered, and you happily obliged, opening your mouth a bit so he could pour some medicine down your throat. You dramatically gagged, then wiped the corners of your lips.

“Gross, Ran,” you muttered, burying your face into a different pillow. 

“Well, it’ll probably make you feel better. I brought you water for a chaser if you’d like. You probably need to stay hydrated, or some shit like that.” 

When did he get water?? Probably when he was getting the medicine. But that would’ve taken him like, five minutes. And getting in bed didn’t take you that long. Right?

You were pulled out of your confused internal monologue by a pink plastic straw being brought to your lips, and you instinctively drank from it. You weren’t completely sure if it was all mental, or the medicine was kicking in extremely fast, but you were starting to feel a little loopy. Maybe time was being weird again because of your sickness. 

“I feel like I’m dying. You and your stupid showers made me die,” you whined, pushing away the straw.

“I was only trying to help,” he insisted as he set the drink down on your bedside table.

“I’m your second murder victim,” you continued.

Ransom paused and looked down at you with raised brows, “what?”

“Y’know, I saw what you did to that delivery girl who was bringing me soup. You better clean that body up before I get better, ‘cause ‘mgonna be pissed if I have to do that myself.”

“Okay, I don’t know if you’ve been seeing things the whole time, or if the medicine is rewriting your memories. Either way, I think it’s time for you to go to bed,” he chuckled.

“You’re right. Night,” you hummed before turning on your side and closing your eyes. It was pretty much lights out from there.

——

When you awoke, it was to the piercing bright light of a laptop screen that broke through the darkness of night. You had to blink a few times for your vision to focus, but… was Ransom in bed next to you? Looking at a WikiHow article? If you weren’t completely mistaken, you could make out a faint How to Help A Sick Person Feel Better: 8 Steps (with pictures).

You sleepily reached out and grabbed his wrist, letting him know that you were finally awake. He quickly clicked out of the tab, pulling up his Twitter feed instead. 

“Hi,” you greeted. “Why’re you being secretive?”

“I’m not,” he huffed.

“You are.”

“You’re still delusional from the medicine.”

“Probably. But you’re being secretive. And you’re bad at it.”

“Whatever,” you could practically hear the eye roll in his tone. 

“It’s late, Ran. Why’re you still up?” 

“I just wanted to, y’know…” he trailed off.

“To…?” you pressed.

“I wanted to make sure nothing would happen to you while you slept,” he rushed out. “Happy?”

You swooned aloud at this, “you are such a sucker. Put that laptop down and cuddle me.”

Ransom said nothing, but set the device into your night stand, and wrapped an arm around you, “‘re you feeling any better?” he mumbled as he relaxed into you. 

“Kinda. We’ll see in the morning,” you slipped your hand down on top of his, and Ransom promptly moved it.

“You’re already pushing it tonight.”

“You’re always such a dick,” you scoffed with a laugh. “Goodnight, asshat.”

“Goodnight, you sick bitch,” he quipped back.

——

When you awoke in the morning, you couldn’t help but to notice how much better you were feeling. No headache, no nausea, a little fatigue, but hey, you just woke up, and that was to be expected. 

As you sat up and glanced to your right, you found a pink-nosed Ransom with a box of empty Kleenex sat in his lap. 

“Oh great, you’re awake,” he began in a nasally tone. “Since you wanted to get me sick, it’s your turn to take care of me,” he tossed the empty box at you, the cardboard falling softly onto your lap. 

Something told you that this was going to be a long day. 

[jamielea81]

Conversations

Bonus Chapter: Colorado

Description: Takes place a year and a half after the first bonus chapter Back to the Beginning. The reader and Chris are married with life changes ahead. Original description for the series Conversations: You accompany your friends on a day trip to Animal Kingdom Theme Park where you meet Scott Evans by chance. This one afternoon leads to a year long friendship with both Chris and Scott over text messages and phone calls.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader, Scott Evans

Warning: Slightly NSFW (18+ only!), cursing, talk of pregnancy, fluff, Grumpy and Sassy shenanigans. 

A/N: Look who finally wrote a bonus chapter for Conversations! This girl, right here! Just a little timestamp in the reader and Chris’ life. And of course we needed some Scott time. You do not have to read the series to read this one shot, but it doesn’t hurt. Reblogs, comments, asks, what have you, I enjoy. 

Italics are internal thoughts

**

“Honestly, love, it’s fine,” you spoke softly into the phone, trying your best to keep your voice even. The last thing you want is for him to feel worse than he already does.

“I don’t know…” Chris trailed off. “Usually, when women say the word fine, they really don’t mean, fine.”

“Such a guy,” you chuckle. “I promise, Scott and I are going to have a terrific time. He’s taking care of me and promised not to get us into any trouble.” You raise an eyebrow at your travel companion seated next to you in the hired car.

Chris laughed and then followed it up with a groan. “That does not make me feel better. Put me on speaker.”

You rolled your eyes but did as he asked or rather demanded. “Okay, you’re on speaker.”

“Scott, you better take care of my wife. She’s precious cargo. And she’s carrying precious cargo. So, it’s extra precious cargo.”

You laughed; hand automatically going to your stomach. You were four months along and just starting to show. Family and close friends knew the two of you were expecting your first child, but the tabloids had not caught wind. The two of you had been going back and forth on whether to let People Magazine do an exclusive cover shoot when baby Evans is born. The money earned from People would be donated to charity which was the only reason you were even considering it. Plus, the whole you two breaking the news rather than the public finding out when you weren’t ready. Chris wanted to be the one to introduce his child to the world rather than having paparazzi sneaking into your backyard to get a picture. You couldn’t argue with him there.

“Would you relax! You’re going to give yourself a coronary and then I’d have to take care of both precious cargos and you don’t want that.” Scott shouted.

I really hope the driver doesn’t recognize Scott.

You smacked his arm, taking the call off speaker and bringing it back to your ear. “Chris, we are both going to be just fine. The plane ride was as relaxing as any plane ride can be and we are almost to the hotel. Scott and I are going to pamper ourselves and eat lots of great food. Work is important and I completely understand.”

Chris got called back to Los Angeles for reshoots that he couldn’t get out of. He planned a couple of mini babymoons and this was going to be the first one. Because of your advanced age – insert eyeroll – your doctor had mentioned it may not be safe to travel a lot once you were six months along. Chris took this seriously and booked a trip to Colorado at a gorgeous snowy mountain resort. There wouldn’t be any skiing, just loads of alone time and cuddling by the fireplace. When Chris had to cancel, Scott stepped in and volunteered the cuddles.

“This is one of the many reasons I love you. I’m just disappointed our romantic getaway is now being shared with Scott. My brother,” he said, voice in mock disgust.

“It’s fine. Scott and I haven’t hung out just the two of us in forever.” Scott reached for your hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Have a great time and rest please.”

“You know I will. I love you, babe. Say hi to Pedro for me,” you said, smile evident in your voice.

“I will. Love you too.”

**

“Mr. and Mrs. Evans?” The check in clerk, Barbara according to her nametag asked.

“That’s right,” Scott chimed in, wrapping an arm around your waist. “Newlyweds.”

You forced a smile and bit the inside of your cheek so that you wouldn’t laugh.

“Congratulations!” she replied with a sweet smile on her face.

She tapped her chin with her index finger before going back to her keyboard. “Let’s see what I can do here,” Barbara replied, typing away on the computer in front of her. “We have you in a one-bedroom suite with a mountain view, but,” she paused for dramatic effect. “I’m moving the two of you to one of our honeymoon suites.”

Scott gasped and slapped his hand on the countertop. “That’s mighty nice of you,” he spoke in a fake southern accent.

Where did that come from?

“Me and the misses really appreciate it. Don’t we honey?” he asked, turning his attention back to you.

“My pleasure,” Barbara said before you could reply, laying two room keycards on the counter next to Scott’s hand.

You smiled brightly but kept your mouth closed, so afraid of letting a chuckle out or saying the wrong thing. Scott steered you away from the counter, placing a hand on your bottom.

Once you turned the corner to the bank of elevators, you yanked Scott’s hand off your behind.

“Newlyweds. Really?”

“It got us an upgrade, didn’t it dear?”

**

The first night you were fine. Scott kept you occupied with stories of the single life and the wonders of online dating. You weren’t sure how he did it. Or rather, how he didn’t. After he told you about the guy who wore Barney the dinosaur underwear in a child’s size husky, you laughed until you cried.

“But did you still sleep with him?” you asked wiping the tears from your cheeks.

“Sassy! Of course not. Barneeeeyyyy,” he drawled out.

Shrugging your shoulders, you got up to grab yourself a tissue from the bathroom. Coming back in the room, Scott was on his phone, fingers swiping feverously. You plopped down on the couch, tucking one leg under yourself.

“Here,” Scott said, handing you his phone. On screen was what you would refer to as tall, dark, and handsome.

“He’s hot,” you said, passing the phone back to him.

“Barney.”

“No,” you gasped.

Scott sighed before he started to laugh which got you going once again.

**

The second day you weren’t so fine. The two of you ordered breakfast in the suite. Pancakes dripping with syrup, crispy thick cut bacon, sausage links, a bowl of mixed fruit, and decaf coffee because Scott was in solidarity with you on your caffeine hiatus.

“Let’s go for a walk. There are tons of trails that the resort clears of snow. I need to work off this breakfast,” Scott said patting his stomach.

“You and me both,” you said, getting up to put on actual clothes instead of the pajamas you were still wearing.

“You are so lucky. Get to eat whatever you want and can just blame it on the baby.”

Stopping in your tracks, you turned around to face him, lower lip slightly wobbling. Since the minute you found out you were pregnant, you found it really hard to control your emotions. You knew Scott didn’t mean anything by the commit, but your brain couldn’t help itself.

“I have to work really hard to be healthy. It’s bad enough the doctor said I’m old.” A sob escapes your lips. The tears already starting to roll down your cheeks. “I can’t have any caffeine, can’t eat a lot of my favorite foods, have to cut back on my salt. My salt! You know fries are my jam. Doesn’t help that my husband is built like a fucking Greek God. I’m not a model or an actress. I already feel like Dodger’s poo compared to him.”

Scott was out of his seat before you could utter another word. Strong arm pulling you to his chest while one hand cradled your head.

“Stop that. You are fucking beautiful and frankly my bonehead brother is lucky you agreed to marry him. Do you even know how many times I have had to leave the room in the last two months when he starts talking about you growing his child inside you and that it turns him on?” Scott pulls away slightly an emulates puking.

“Stop,” you said, burying your head in his neck.

“Why is my neck wet, Sassy.”

“It’s snot,” you said with a chuckle, wrapping your arm around him and holding on tight.

“You two are meant for each other.”

After a minute he pulled away and grasped both of your hands. “I’m with you in any way you need. If you need a healthy eating buddy, I am your man. If you want to say ‘to hell with it’, I’ll pick up McDonalds for the two of us every day if you like.”

You wiped at your eyes and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I love you Grumpy.”

“Love you too,” he replied and then clapped his hands together. “So, are we napping or are we walking?”

“Walking,” you stated, making your way into the bedroom to finally get changed.

That evening, the two of you got dressed up and went to your dinner reservation at the hotel where you were addressed as Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Scott stuck to sparkling water even though you encouraged him to get an alcoholic beverage.

“I don’t need to drink to be the life of the party. You know that.”

He wasn’t wrong. He’d kept you entertained even without the raspberry liquor he force fed you years ago.

“I think we need a dance party when we get back to the room. For old time sakes. Before I am too big to shake it.”

“Done and done.”

The night ended in a bubble bath with both you and Scott in your swimsuits in an oversized soaking tub. Dozens of pictures were taken with many going to your husband. Rather than a text in return, he called.

“What is this? My brother movin’ in on my wife?”

“Babe! You know that it was me and Scott from the start,” you teased.

Chris chuckled. “You go away for a couple of days and it’s like that.”

“You know you are my one and only. Scott’s just making me smile.”

“I know baby. I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” you said.

**

The next day you were weepy. As much as you tried to put on a happy face, you were missing Chris. Pregnancy hormones or not, Chris had been working a lot and you had barely seen each other. This romantic babymoon wasn’t what you had in mind. Yes, spending it with your best friend was great, but it wasn’t the same.

The fire place was roaring while Magic Mike was queued up on the flat screen. You and Scott were dressed in jeans and cable knit sweaters with fuzzy socks on your feet. The snow was coming down heavy which was fine with you since neither of you had any place to be.

Pop in hand, though you wouldn’t let Scott hear you call soda that, diet for you, regular for him, the only thing you were needing was Dodger’s wet nose on your stomach and Chris.

“You know, Chris can do that,” you said pointing at the screen where one of the dancers picked up an audience member like she weighed a pound.

“No. Stop. Do not ruin this movie for me. I do not need to picture what you and my brother do.”

“Scott, you do know where babies come from, right?”

“Gross.”

You chuckled, standing up to excuse yourself to the bathroom. Why you brought up Chris when you already cried twice this morning was beyond you. After using the bathroom, you cleaned up your face and stepped back into the living room of your suite.

Scott draped himself over the couch, phone in hand, eyes shifting between the screen of his phone and the TV.

“I think I’m going to take another bath. Need to relax a little bit.”

Scott looked up. “Not too hot.”

“Yes, dad,” you said, offering him a mock salute.

You kept the bath water warm, but added extra oils and bubbles to make it feel more luxurious. The lights were off but a few candles were lit and your phone played 90s R&B. You snapped a pic of your soapy legs and sent it to Chris. Within a few minutes you had a reply.

Chris: My brother better not be in there

Y/N: I’m all alone

Chris: We can’t have that

You heard the door open and you scolded yourself for not locking the door. This text conversation seemed to be heading into rated R territory. You did not need Scott to witness that.

“Scott,” you drawled out. “I’m not wearing my suit tonight. Get out of here.”

When you heard the distinct sound of a belt buckle, you turned around. Rather than Scott dropping his pants, it was Chris.

You gasped, mouth hanging open.

“Room for one more sweetheart?”

You nodded your head unable to form words but those tears had no trouble forming.

Chris continued to undress while you tried your best to compose yourself. He joined you a moment later slipping in behind you.

“How? I thought you were working.”

“I put in some long hours so that I could get to you. I was miserable without you.”

“I know that feeling,” you replied, leaning your head against his chest. Chris lightly rubbing your stomach before sliding his hands up to your breasts, fingers tips rubbing against your nipples. “Babe, did you lock the door?” you asked.

“Don’t worry, I got Scott another room.”

You reached your left hand behind you grabbing on to Chris’ head bringing his mouth to yours. Chris kissed you deeply, your back automatically arching at the taste of his tongue.

“Was he mad?” you asked.

“I don’t even care,” he replied, rubbing his nose against yours.

“Neither do I.”

Tagging: @tanelle83 @pinknerdpanda @allaboutthebooz @estillion14 @panicfob @patzammit @xoxabs88xox @heartislubbingdubbing @twittytelly @linki-locks11 @ab-baybay @impalaimages @jesseswartzwelder @rainbowkisses31 @xostephanie @smoothdogsgirl @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @xxloki81xx @firstangeldragonranch @soitmightgetweird @maeleeme @denisemarieangelina @rvgrsbrns @icanfeelastormbrewing @kitkat1690 @smilexcaptainx @dangerouslovefanfic@kelbabyblue @sweetlittlegingy @dont-need-another-fandom @chrisevansforever @evansxxx @southerngracela @bitterstar88 @squirrelnotsam @kitkatd7 @marvelislove10 @the-doctors-fallen-angel @hista-girl @cocomel0613 @also-fangirlinsweden @mustangshelby04 @bellaireland1981 @carolina-thiell @straightforwardly @torntaltos @denise1605 @mcuclintasha @iam-cj @trynnabemultifandom @chrisevansforever @kelbabyblue @broadwayandnetflix @kyjey @thevelvetseries​ @i-just-feel-like @daddieslittlefangirl @stankface @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @whymalu @mariswritingforfun @tessabb7​ @lakamaa12​ @deidrashouseofpain @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @greyeyedsmile14 @dangerouslovefanfic @ripvandrinkle @bitterstar88 @zestygingergirl @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall @onceuponathreetwoone @supraveng @michelehansel @fanfictionaffair @agirlcanstilldream @what-is-your-plan-today @jessyballet @capstopavenger @wiczer @titty-teetee

[jetaime-jespere]

Under The Weather

Some pointless fluff that's been floating around my head for a few days. Also on ao3 🙂

It’s not the usual alarm clock that wakes her this time - the tauntingly peaceful melody that she now associates with being ousted from a dream every morning.

In fact, Emily is hardly awake. Her eyes are still sealed shut, she’s still nestled under the covers because the thought of moving is almost unbearable. Even in her sleep induced haze, the only thing she’s fully aware of is just how shitty she feels, like every part of her body has somehow teamed up against her in unison. What started last night as a subtle headache is now accompanied by a persistent rawness in the back of her throat. The same pain has crept in to settle behind her eyes, and now radiates around her head, like a pair of gnarled hands wrapped and clenched around her brain. But that isn’t the only thing - everything just hurts. Her limbs feel like lead, her throat is now on fire, lips cracked and chapped from the winter air. Her mouth is dry as dust as she grapples for the glass of water Aaron had left on her nightstand hours ago - something he’s done since they moved in together.

Cracking one eye open takes monumentally more effort than it should. The wind rattles against the windows, whistling through the bitterly cold February morning and Emily groans at the prospect of even moving from the safety of their warm bed. A glance at the clock tells her it’s 5:40. Aaron’s side is empty, the sheets cooled, but she can hear the steady pulse of the shower, see the steam curling out from under the door. The cloying pull of sleep is too consuming, the glass of water all but forgotten as Emily groans. The notion of having to get up in less than a half an hour is making her stomach roil in protest.

Instead, she burrows herself deeper into the blankets, wishing somehow this day would somehow restart itself. Her eyelids are too heavy to stay open, even though the looming reality of her alarm hovers over her, along with the daunting challenge of making it through the day. Emily remembers the stack of unfinished case reports left on her desk from yesterday, abandoned in the wake of remembering Ava’s ballet class just a few minutes too late to be early for once. That’s about the time the headache started, subtle enough to temporarily ignore as their daughter happily chattered away in the backseat, little legs kicking against the leather upholstered seat - a story about unicorns and fairies, one Emily could probably retell herself she’s heard it so many times. If only she knew then.

The next thing she’s aware of is Aaron bending down to kiss her awake, fresh from the shower and half dressed in an undershirt, his skin still damp as he murmurs good morning . The whiff of eucalyptus soap and his mouthwash only makes her dizzy as she all but pushes her husband away from her with an ill attempted protest against his affection. “Five more minutes,” she croaks. “S’tired.”

“Sweetheart?” Aaron questions even though he doesn’t have to. He’s no stranger to her indifference to early mornings, the way her arms wind around his neck to pull him close most days when he wakes her with the same kisses, the same sweet nothings in her ear. On the rare occasion when they have more time, he ends up back in bed with her, making the most of a few precious moments. Those mornings are his favorites - the ones where he gets to press her into the mattress, get her leg over his shoulder, seal his mouth against hers to muffle the moans he hasn’t grown tired of hearing even years after he first heard them. But this is different. He figures it out immediately, knuckles brushing against her flaming cheek, skin clammy under his touch.

“Hmmph?” Emily shrugs out from under his touch, the cool hand on her burning forehead a reminder of just how awful she feels. “Five more minutes and I’ll get up.”

Aaron laughs softly, already reaching for his phone on the dresser. “Not a chance.”

“I’ll be fine in a half hour.” It’s a futile attempt; Aaron knows her better than she knows herself by now. Emily doesn’t get sick often, maybe once every few years. But when she does, it hits hard and fast, rendering her inherently useless for a day or two, and they’re all a little thrown off kilter without her. Even though her eyes are closed she can practically see him making arrangements - school dropoff and pickup, soccer practice for Jack, ice skating lessons for Ava. It’s also a Wednesday, the one day a week he spends mostly in meetings as unit chief. It’s the day she picks up more slack around the house, handles the after school activities in addition to her own professional responsibilities. It’s a routine they’ve perfected through trial and error over time.

“You weren’t yourself last night,” he sinks down beside her, his weight dipping the mattress down as he pushes some hair from her face. “You barely touched your dinner. You fell asleep with the light on,” he adds pointedly, pressing his lips to his wife’s forehead for confirmation. “And you definitely have a fever.”

“Do not,” she argues. It’s becoming harder and harder to challenge him, a battle she knows she’ll ultimately lose. There’s no way he’ll let her out the door let alone into the BAU at this point. Despite the sweat that trickles down her back, her teeth chatter together.

Aaron wraps her into his arms, aware of how she melds against his chest as she seeks the warm comfort of his body. “Do too.” His tone is light, which only manages to frustrate her more. “And you’re staying home today. Don’t even try to argue with me.”

Emily attempts to pull away from his embrace. “I have a meeting too, you know. Jack has practice and Ava -”

“Has ice skating. I know, Sweetheart.” Aaron gently pushes her back down, tucking the blankets around her. “I know their schedule. And yours. We’ll manage.” But he’s already reaching for his phone, dialing a number he knows by heart.

“Who are you calling?” She asks weakly, succumbing to his insistence. The sky has lightened to a shade of dark blue instead of inky black, the first traces of the winter morning starting to peek through the curtains.

“I’m texting Garcia. If she can take Ava this afternoon, I can get Jack to soccer after my last meeting.”

Emily grumbles while he taps out a message as she runs through her day ahead. There are her own meetings, of course, a slew of chores around the house waiting when she gets home, all the little things that accumulate during the week without fail, over and over. Aaron can almost read her mind as he gets dressed, disappearing into the depths of their closet to pluck a suit from the rack on his side. “Things won’t implode without you, Em. We can survive one day.”

From her place in bed, Emily watches him dress, securing the sleeves of his dress shirt, the jacket stretching across his broad shoulders over the crisp fabric of his shirt. Some days, she can’t believe they’ve come this far. Seven years of marriage has brought its fair share of ups and downs, most recently an ill-timed miscarriage in the days before Christmas. She hadn’t been too far along - ten weeks - but December 23rd was spent at her doctor, Aaron’s hand wrapped around hers as the news was broken, their eyes glued to the ultrasound screen. They hadn’t been trying at all. It was a surprise neither of them expected, which only seemed to worsen the blow when it abruptly ended. Emily had been the picture of composed, smiling through her grief on Christmas Eve, distracted by Ava and Jack’s excitement, the endless mountain of gifts to smuggle from their closet under the tree, only to spend the early hours of Christmas morning crying in his arms until he rocked her to sleep. She closes her eyes, wills herself not to think of it. It’s still a little too soon.

When he’s fully dressed, traces of cologne lingering in the air, Aaron gathers a box of tissues and fills a glass of water, setting both down next to Emily. “I’ll bring you some toast before I leave. You need to eat something.”

“You need to wake -”

“I’m already -”

“Mommy?” The voice outside the door tells them at least one more Hotchner is already awake. Aaron drops a quick kiss on Emily’s head, frowning when he notes how warm she is. He makes a mental note to bring some ibuprofen with the toast and opens the door just a crack to find their daughter on the other side, fully dressed, not a hair out of place.

“Where’s Mommy?” He’s met with the round, concerned eyes that belong to Ava. Even at six, she could be Emily’s clone, with sleek dark locks and the same pale skin. Ava is precocious, sharp as a tack yet sensitive, hesitant to trust but loyal to a fault. Her arrival in the world had been dramatic, at one point downright terrifying for a few minutes, shoulder dystocia to blame. Aaron had turned ghostly pale as the doctors rattled off medical jargon he’d only ever seen dramatized on primetime television. Yet it was that same efficiency and urgency that ultimately brought their daughter safely into the world a short time later. The moment she was placed in his hands, Aaron was completely smitten, his world forever changed.

“Mommy isn’t feeling well, Ava.” Aaron explains with an abundance of patience, his tone soft and reassuring. In the days after Christmas, following the miscarriage, Ava had been confused when Aaron took Emily’s usual place at the new, massive dollhouse from Santa, doing his best to display the same enthusiasm his wife so effortlessly showed. He’d uttered the same words - Mommy isn't feeling well - when she protested, complaining about his doll handling skills and seeming inability to make their hair look half as good as Emily did. Even though his placations  held an entirely different meaning then, Ava questioned him relentlessly. Telling a version of the truth had been harder than he anticipated, for more reasons that one.

“Is Mommy okay?” Ava asks, persistent as ever.

“She’s fine, honey. Just the flu. Remember when you had it in Kindergarten? You got to stay home while Jack went to school. Mommy and I took turns staying home with you? You got to eat popsicles in bed and watch TV during the day?”

Ava nods, not fully convinced as she tries to poke her head further into their bedroom. “I guess.”

“That’s what Mommy has, honey. Grown-ups get sick too. So Daddy is going to drive you to school. Aunt Penelope is going to take you to ice skating lessons this afternoon.”

Ava squeals with delight at the mention of Garcia, clapping her tiny hands together, only to have the expression melt off her face seconds later. Then she frowns. “But Daddy,” she whispers slowly, her resemblance to Emily and similar mannerisms uncanny, as if profiling him even at the tender age of six. “You don’t know the Good Morning song.”

Aaron checks his watch and pinches the bridge of his nose as he peers into the hallway. Jack’s bedroom door is still firmly closed, indicating his son is most likely still sound asleep. Waking him is the next battle, one of his least favorite tasks as of late. “What song, Ava?” He sighs, not missing the fleeting touch of amusement that crosses Emily’s face from across the room, the softest of laughs. Even in her current state, pale and tired, clearly more than under the weather, Aaron thinks she’s stunning.

“Mommy and I always sing the Good Morning song on the way to school.” Ava folds her arms across her chest, tapping her foot against the floor. “If you don’t know the words -” Her dark eyes double in size, widening impossibly as she stubs her toe with disappointment. “How can you drive me to school?”

“Honey -”

“Mommy knows all the words.”

“Ava - “

“Daddy.” She challenges, sticking her lower lip out in a whiny pout. Aaron knows what’s ahead. Even though Ava has him completely wrapped around her tiny finger, their daughter absolutely adores her mother, never missing an opportunity to steal a few quiet moments together. He often finds Ava curled in Emily’s lap, listening to a story, or playing dress up with some of Emily’s old clothes. Aaron has caught a few misplaced tubes of lipstick hidden in her dress-up box, ones Emily thought she lost long ago. He’s seen the pictures she draws, the way Ava always draws Emily next to her in each one. It tugs on every single one of his heartstrings, every single time.

“Mommy will teach me,” he assures her, crouching down to her level, bringing her to lean on his knee. “Daddy will do his best to know all the words before I take you to school.” He ruffles Ava’s hair as she beams, seemingly appeased by his effort. “Can you be my special helper this morning and wake Jack for me?”

Her face brightens instantly, a mischievous grin spreading across her face at the thought of what she’s being asked to do - something that, most of the time, she’s actively told not to do. “Okay!”

Aaron grimaces slightly as Ava skips off down the hall. There’s a finite window of time until he’s left to deal with Jack’s morning moodiness, exacerbated by his sister’s surprise wakeup call. But it’s worth the few extra minutes he’ll get to spend with his wife. Emily is now fully awake, looking even more miserable than she had moments before.

“You’re on your own for the good morning song,” she rasps sarcastically. Her voice is hoarse, even as she tries to smile. “Couldn’t sing it for you if I tried.”

“I think I’m going to take her for donuts. Those strawberry frosted ones she loves?” He slips back in bed beside Emily, pulling her into his arms once again. “Distraction at its finest.”

“The ones I love,” Emily reminds him, swiping her thumb across his cheek. “Good luck.”

“Right. Hopefully she’ll forget all about it.” Then he remembers just who he’s talking about - a miniature version of the woman he somehow got lucky enough to call his wife, instantly realizing how wrong he is. He’s a goner; he won’t hear the end of this for days.

“I doubt it. But you can give it a try.” Emily snuggles into his chest, savoring their final few minutes of peace.

…

Winter sun streams through the windows, casting the bedroom in a mix of shadows and blinding light.

She isn’t sure how much time has passed - an hour could easily be three, maybe five. Sleep has consumed her, on and off all morning. Yet she’s uncomfortable, alternating between throwing the covers off and disappearing into them, unable to seek enough warmth as she reaches for one more blanket. Everything still hurts, and topped off by a congestion that settles deep in her lungs, rattles her chest with every cough. She almost feels worse now than she did earlier, if that’s even possible.

The house is quiet, so she hears the subtle rumbling of the garage opening, the soft creak of the door leading into the house. Emily smiles to herself - she’d recognize his footsteps anywhere as he makes his way through the living room. He’s undoubtedly picking up wayward shoes and toys along the way, most likely grumbling about the clutter. He’d never admit it (even if she knows it to be true) but it’s one of his favorite tasks. The mess is a reminder of what they’ve built over time, that sometimes things work out just as they were meant to. Even if it means their house will never be spotless.

She pries one eye open as he shoulders through the bedroom door, slipping his suit jacket off to drape over a chair. “You could have stayed at work.” Emily isn’t surprised at all. She knows him sell enough by now.

“I know.” And while Aaron is fully aware of that, there was never a chance he wasn’t going to come home to tend to her. He stayed at the BAU long enough to get things squared away, arranging plans for the kids, and delegating tasks as needed before making a hasty exit. And now, only a few hours later, he’s back. He checks her forehead, refreshes the glass of water on the nightstand and tosses some tissues into the trash. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” Emily shifts to make room beside her. “Worse than before, if that’s possible.” She sighs a little when he wraps her into his embrace. Her head falls against his chest on its own accord. “Ava and Jack?”

“Garcia is taking Ava to ice skating. She’s taking her out for ice cream afterward.” He gets a hand in her hair, rocks her back and forth a little bit until she relaxes fully against him. Almost.

“What about dinner?” Emily mumbles, stifling a cough into her fist. It rattles within her chest, reverberating through her ribs. “She needs real dinner, Aaron.”

“I think she’ll live without vegetables for one night, Emily.”

She’s too tired to argue. “Jack?”

“Dave offered to take him to soccer,” Aaron says, patting her back through the last of the coughing fit and grappling for the water glass on the table. “It’s all taken care of.” His hands are soothing, gentle and strong against the sore, stiff muscles. “You sound terrible.”

Emily pointedly ignores him. “What about you?”

“I cleared my schedule for the rest of the day. Tomorrow too,” he adds with a wink, taking her hands in his own when she starts to object. “I’m making it my mission to get you better.” He shows her the package of popsicles he’d stopped for on the way home, tosses the bag away to the floor. “And I got some of these. Just for you.”

The soft laughter that comes from her is accompanied by yet another hacking cough. It’s the little things he does that are the most thoughtful - a pit stop to the grocery store in the middle of a work day is just one example. “Sounds like you have quite the job ahead of you.” But she’s eyeing the popsicles - it’s the first thing that’s sounded appealing all morning.

“You’re not an easy patient,” Aaron chides as he hands her a cherry flavored one, taking a lemon flavored for himself. “One of the worst I’ve ever dealt with, actually.” He flicks her nose lovingly.

“Is that so?” The cool chill of the frozen ice against her lips and throat is a temporary relief, a moment of reprieve. She doesn’t even notice when a little piece of it breaks off to leave a tiny red stain on the sheets. “You’re no picnic yourself, you know.”

It’s his turn to laugh, because she’s right. He’s just as stubborn, the art of rest and healing lost on them both. “I feel called out.”

“It’s because I’m right,” she quips. And she is.

Emily sleeps fitfully in his arms, only waking up once as the sun sets over the trees in the distance. When her eyes drift open, he has the television remote in one hand, the other anchoring her across his chest. “What time is it?” She mumbles, blinking furiously as her eyes adjust to the dim light.

“Close to five.” He kisses her, rocks her a little to wake her up. “You’ve been sleeping for hours.” Aaron sounds almost pleased that she finally got some solid rest. “I’m going to make you some soup. And don’t tell me I don’t have to.” He untangles himself from her, somehow without disturbing her comfort within their bed. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

His fingers brush across her cheek; she’s not as hot to the touch this time. Emily leans into his hand, curling her fingers around his wrist.

“Thank you for coming home.” She hardly sounds any better, certainly doesn’t feel it either. But having him there somehow makes it slightly more bearable, an unexpected silver lining to all of this. And the reverence in his eyes, the same one she sees every time he looks at her, confirms the fact that he’d do it without question. Another example of the unconditional love he’d promised years before when they exchanged vows in Dave’s backyard.

“There’s nowhere else I should be, Sweetheart.”

Four days later, Aaron wakes up with the same aching muscles and raw throat, barely able to keep his eyes open as a new week awaits them. Emily is only more than happy to return his favor.

[sisterspooky1013]

Only One Choice, Part 2, Chapter 19

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

While at first the days and nights that Mulder is away on a case feel lonely, she soon comes to appreciate the time to herself. She reads more, watches the rom-coms that he despises, has one-sided conversations with Priscilla, and gives her vibrator, long since relegated to the back of her bedside drawer, a second lease on life. When Mulder is home he’s more animated and energetic, their sex exciting and passionate. The things she loves best about him magnified, but also some of the worst. There have been a few nights he’s missed dinner without so much as a phone call, and her worry quickly gave way to irritation when he waltzed in the door raving about secret storage facilities hidden in mountains. They create new routines, new boundaries and expectations, and as time wears on, they adjust. He’ll call if he’s going to miss dinner, and she won’t guilt trip him when unexpected cases ruin their plans.

The day before Thanksgiving, he gets a tip from one of his sources about a UFO crash site in Utah and books himself and Monica tickets for that night. Scully questions whether he’s going to miss Thanksgiving dinner at her mother’s and he grimaces, saying he hopes to be back but as usual, can’t make any promises.

The last she hears from him is around 8:00 am on Thanksgiving day when he asks her to send his regrets to her mom. She tries to keep the disappointment out of her voice as she promises to pack up some leftovers for him to have when he gets home. When he hasn’t called by Friday afternoon, she’s a little bit worried. By Friday night, she’s panicking.

Not knowing what else to do, she goes to the Gunmen’s, using her own special knock that spells out “doc” in Morse code.

“Hey, Sis, are you okay?” Missy greets her with a worried frown, now an honorary fourth member of the trio.

“I haven’t heard from Mulder in over twenty four hours,” she answers, breezing past Missy and into the tech room. “I need you to find him for me.”

The Gunmen work their magic while Missy pours her drink after drink. They track his flight into Salt Lake City and then ping his cell phone just outside Provo around 8:00 pm Thursday night. After that, nothing.

“What do you know about the case he was investigating?” Byers asks, perched behind a computer with Missy’s arms draped over his shoulders, her chin resting on his head.

Scully rubs her hands over her face in frustration. “Nothing, other than an alleged UFO crash site. He didn’t give me any other information.”

“What about his partner, Agent Reyes?” Langly asks, “do you have any way to get ahold of her?”

“I’ve tried her cell a hundred times, it’s off,” Scully replies, feeling tears coming up again.

“Does she have a family, someone else you could contact to see if she’s been in touch?” Byers adds.

“She has a partner, Dahlia,” Scully explains, “but I don’t know her last name to look up her number. I’m sure it’s in Monica’s file as her emergency contact, but the whole Hoover Building is shut down for the holiday. I know that her first name is Dahlia, she works at a flower shop in Alexandria, and they live in Palisades. That’s it.”

“Well we can work with that, why don’t you go home and get some rest?” Frohike offers, resting his hand on her shoulder.

She shakes her head, quiet tears slipping down her cheeks. “I don’t want to be alone,” she whispers, her voice small and afraid.

“I’ll come with you, Sis,” Missy says, replacing Frohike behind Scully and wrapping her arms around her sister’s shoulders.

After Missy has gathered her things and kissed Byers goodbye, she drives Scully’s car back to her apartment and plies her with more alcohol. They hold hands as they sleep, Scully’s dreams plagued by visions of Mulder detained, hurt, or worst of all, dead. If she’d had any idea that having the X files reopened would put his life at risk, she never would have entertained the idea.

Please come home, she begs God, the universe, Mulder himself if he’s somewhere listening. Please be okay.

The phone shrieks and she sits up abruptly, her head spinning. Early dawn light is just beginning to seep into the room and she feels like she hasn’t slept at all.

“Mulder?!” she blurts out, a thousand prayers on the tip of her tongue.

“No, it’s Langly, sorry. We got a number for Agent Reyes’ partner.”

Missy is now awake, and scrambles to the hallway to get a pen and paper so Scully can write down Dahlia Vidales’ phone number.

“Thank you Langly, bye,” she says and hangs up without waiting for a response. She dials Dahlia’s number with shaky hands, repeating please please please in her head over and over.

“¿Hola?” says a creaky voice, and Scully glances at the clock to see that it’s only 6:00 am.

“Dahlia?” she asks desperately, her head feeling thick and muddy.

“¿Si, Quién es?”

“This is Dana Scully, have you heard from Monica recently?” Her throat feels thick and dry, her ears ringing in protest of what they might hear.

“Oh, Hi Dana. Yes, I spoke to her last night around ten pm.”

She lets out a shaky breath, feeling a wave of relief.

“Was Mulder with her?” she questions, her jaw quivering.

“Si, she said their cell phones were confiscated and they had stopped at a diner to get something to eat. She called me from a payphone. Is everything okay, Dana?”

She’s shaking, her body suddenly freezing even under her down comforter. The tension she’s been holding for the last two days erupts in a wave of tremors and she starts sobbing.

“Did she say when they’ll be home?” she forces out around her tears.

“They were hoping to get a flight this morning, so sometime today, should be.”

“Thank you, Dahlia. Sorry to wake you,” she says, and hangs up.

Missy holds her as she shakes uncontrollably, her head aching as her racking sobs jostle her dehydrated brain. Missy runs her a hot bath and after some ibuprofen, two big glasses of water, a set of warm clothes and a hot meal, she feels physically much better.

Mentally, she has shifted from worry, fear, and despair to white hot rage. When he walks in that door, she is going to kill him.

———

“Later, Reyes, sorry to hijack your Thanksgiving,” he says with a regretful smile as Monica slides into a cab. He grabs the next one, chucking his duffel bag into the trunk and slumping into the back seat with an exhausted sigh.

It’s been a long few days. They’d located the crash site and even got a little peek at it from behind a utility shed, but soon after they were loaded up in a paddy wagon and interrogated for six hours in a place that was definitely not a police station. When they were finally released, it was without their cell phones, though the suits were kind enough to let them keep their FBI badges.

He needs a shower and a shave, and a good night's sleep. He hopes Scully has gone grocery shopping, and if he's really lucky, there will still be Thanksgiving leftovers. He’d tried calling her from the terminal but she hadn’t answered. At least he has a full day off tomorrow before getting back to the daily grind on Monday.

The cab drops him off outside Scully’s apartment building and he tosses some money over the seat before retrieving his bag. Once inside, he’s fitting his key into the lock when the door swings open and he finds Melissa on the other side.

“Oh, hey Missy,” he says with a touch of surprise.

“I was just leaving,” she replies with an icy stare, and he wonders if something is up with her and Byers.

“Okay, see ya,” he says as she brushes past him and down the hall.

The apartment is dim, a fire crackling in the fireplace the only source of light.

“Scully?” he calls out as Priscilla trots up to him, rubbing her flank against his leg. He picks her up and scratches under her chin, letting her rub her cheek against his two-day stubble.

“I’m here,” Scully says flatly, and he realizes she’s lying on the couch.

He picks up his bag and walks it to the bedroom, dropping it on the floor and discarding his suit jacket on the bed. Returning to the living room, he leans down to kiss her on the cheek and then stands between the fire and the couch, facing her.

“Did you have plans for dinner?” he asks, “I’m starving.”

She scoffs, but he can’t make out her face in the dim light.

“Make your own fucking dinner,” she spits at him, and he physically recoils. Scully very rarely swears, so when she does, it means something.

“Whoa,” he says with a concerned tone, “What’s going on with you?”

“What’s going on with me?” she repeats, moving to sit up. “What’s going on with me? Hmm, let’s see,” she continues, her voice shifting to angry sarcasm. “Perhaps, Mulder, what’s going on with me is that my boyfriend skipped town just in time to miss Thanksgiving dinner with my family and I had to answer questions all night about where he was. Or maybe,” she says as she leans over and snaps on the lamp on the end table, illuminating her face. Her eyes are red and puffy, pronounced bags resting underneath them. “Maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t heard from you in over fifty hours, not a single phone call, or email, nothing. Maybe what’s going on with me, Mulder, is that I have barely slept in two days.” She stands, moving towards him, her voice rising in volume and her bottom lip quivering. “Maybe what’s going on with me is that I thought you were fucking dead, and I had to track down Dahlia to learn that not only were you alive and well, but you were also perfectly capable of calling me, but simply chose not to. MAYBE that is what is going on with me, Mulder!”

He stands there shell-shocked as she pushes past him, slamming the bedroom door shut as wails of agony erupt from the other side. Priscilla jumps up on to the coffee table and quirks her head at him with a meow.

“I have no idea,” he says to the cat.

He cautiously opens the bedroom door and finds Scully sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, a wad of tissues in her hand and tears streaking her face. She looks up at him with a wounded expression that he’s never seen before, and would never like to again

“I’m sorry, Scully, I didn’t mean to make you worry,” he says softly, approaching her.

She gives him an incredulous look.

“How the hell would I not worry if I hear nothing from you for two days, Mulder? What was I supposed to think? And why didn’t you call me?”

“They took my phone, Scully,” he offers, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“What about the phone in your hotel room, Mulder? Or a pay phone, or a goddamn stranger’s phone. Your cell phone is not the only device available for you to contact me with.”

He’s starting to feel like he’s being lectured by his mother for staying out past curfew.

“Okay, Jesus, I get it. I’ll try to call next time,” he says with an irritated tone.

“You’ll try?” Scully asks him, the anger taking center stage again.

He shrugs. “Shit happens, Scully. You don’t know what it’s like out in the field. Sometimes you don’t have access to a phone, or you’re running down a lead and just can’t waste the time to make a call.”

The shift in her demeanor tells him that was the wrong thing to say.

“Waste the time?” she asks in a tight whisper. “Calling me so I know you’re okay is a waste of your time?”

“God, no, Scully, that’s not what I meant. You’re twisting my words around. Look, I’m exhausted, I’ve barely gotten any sleep, can we talk about this tomorrow?”

“YOU’VE barely gotten any sleep?!” she screams, then stands and walks towards him. Even with the ten inches he has on her, she looks larger than life, imposing, and scary. “I have been lying awake crying for two days worried about you!” she shouts up at him. “Get the fuck out of my apartment!”

He’s dumbstruck. He can’t remember the last time she referred to it as her apartment instead of theirs.

“Scully, you can’t be serious, all my stuff is he-”

“I said get OUT!” She cuts him off. She picks up his bag and walks it to the front door, tossing it into the hallway.

He walks slowly towards the door, waiting for her to say she doesn’t mean it, that they should get some sleep and talk about this in the morning. She stands beside the open door, her chest heaving and her jaw set, eyes focused on some far-away point but most certainly not on him. He steps into the hallway, opening his mouth to speak, and she slams the door in his face.

He hears the thunk of the deadbolt, and the sound strikes him as similar to the final nail in a coffin.

[someonestolemyshoes]

Hey! First of all, I'd like to say that I love your works on AO3! "Fifteen Minutes With You" (or smth along those lines) was one of the first fics of levihan I read, and I loved it!

Anyway, a couple of sentence prompts that've been rolling around in my head. I'll add some detail, but feel free to use or discard anything. Writing is tricky lol!

"What if I (insert bad deed)?"

"I'll love you just the same"

"And if I (do smth bad)?"

"I'll love you just the same."

I was feeling a childhood levihan thing goin on here, maybe angsty? Idk

And fluffiness

"Wow! It's been 4 days!"

"Since?"

"I last bathed!"

*thwack*

Aaah hello! Thank you so much, I’m always pleasantly surprised to find people who read my Levihan fics from back in the day :D it brings me so much joy, you’ve no idea. 

I decided to go with the bath prompt - though admittedly, it ended up far less fluffy and far more angsty than I intended, I hope you can enjoy it regardless! 

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

"Hange."

...

"Hange."

...

"Oi, shitty glasses. Hange."

No response.

Levi stands in the doorway, shoulder-leaning the frame and glowering into Hange's cluttered quarters. He has been calling her name for the better part of five minutes now, but Hange, hunched over her desk with her nose mere inches from the leaf of parchment she is scribbling on, had failed to notice him.

He kicks his boot against the door, and the resounding bang is enough to catch her attention. She jumps a little in her chair, and turns quickly to the door. She relaxes when her gaze lands on him.

"You scared me."

Levi grunts. "You didn't come to dinner.”

Hange blinks at him. Her gaze travels to the window, where the sky beyond had grown dark save for a speckle of stars and the thin smile of a wispy moon.

"I forgot.” 

Levi rolls his eyes, pushing off the door frame.

"You forgot lunch, too." And breakfast, and countless meals over the last few days, weeks. Months, maybe.

She hums absently, turning back to her papers. "I've been busy. Lost track--I don't know how Erwin had enough time in the day to do everything."

Levi gives a noncommittal grunt and picks his way towards the desk, avoiding haphazard piles of books and papers and discarded scrolls, small, disorganised mountains of debris that must have made some semblance of sense to Hange. Even as he watches, she twists in her chair and reaches blindly into one pile, plucking up a stack of papers and dropping them onto the desk with a sigh.

Levi stops beside the desk, arms folded over his chest to look at her.

Up this close, Hange looks tired. It isn't an unusual sight--Hange has been prone to fits of research-fuelled insomnia for as long as Levi has known her, so easily side-tracked by her every theory and scheme that basic needs like sleep and sustenance often took a back seat. But there is something unsettling to her exhaustion, these days. There is no manic glint in her eye, no exaggerated waving or yelling, no aroused flush to her cheeks; recently, Hange is always pale, skin papery at best, but waxy and sickly more often than not. Her shoulders sag over the desk, shirt hanging more loosely over her frame than Levi remembers, and there's a near constant tremor to her fingers that barely ceases even as she presses pen to paper, scribbling notes and signatures on countless forms presented by countless people.

Her gaze is fixed dully on the newest expense report, now. The low orange light of her lamp flickers in the lenses of her glasses; fire dances on a matt black backdrop over her left eye, where the patch is strapped firmly in place. Her right is half closed, exhaustion pulling at the lid, the skin beneath is puffy and bruised deep purple. Her lips, dry and cracked, shift almost imperceptibly as she mouths the words on the page, reading quickly, scratching her signature where needed and flipping to the next page.

"There's food," he says, leaning his hip on the corner of the desk. "Stew, and the brats hid some bread from Sasha. Go eat something."

"In a minute," Hange mumbles. Levi huffs, and pinches the top of the quill, plucking it out of Hange's grasp. It's a testament to her exhaustion, that her fist keeps the motion of writing for a second too long before realising she is no longer making a mark on the paper. With a tired sigh, she sits back, and levels her tired gaze on Levi.

"In a minute," she says again, holding her hand out for the pen. "Let me finish these first."

"Eat. It'll still be here when you get back."

She looks very much like she wants to argue. Levi watches the way her brow creases in the middle, the way her eye pinches, narrowing at him, the way her hands ball into white-knuckled fists against her thighs. But she's tired. She is bone tired, and the righteous energy saps from her within seconds. She deflates, and brings a hand up to rub at her eye, knocking her glasses up to her forehead as she does.

Levi almost wishes she had fought with him instead. There's a terrible, gnawing guilt, seeing her like this--seeing the way the weight of his choice bears down on her. Hange is a worthy Commander, of that, Levi is certain--Erwin never would have chosen her if he didn't believe the same.

But things have changed. The world has changed. And what it means to be Commander of the Survey Corps has morphed into something unfathomable larger and more complex than what it was before. It is unchartered territory, and Hange has been thrown into waters black and bottomless.

Hange pushes her bangs back from her face with both hands. The hair, limp with grease, sticks in place, and even Hange seems surprised, pulling her hands back and looking almost curiously at her palms.

"Huh. Its been four days."

"Since?"

She gives him a look, then, and there's a flash of something old and familiar in her eye. She quirks the corner of her mouth in a grin.

"Since I bathed."

Levi swiftly raises his arm, and Hange flinches, but the curled fist that thunks atop her head is almost gentle. She blinks up at him in surprise.

"Disgusting. I'll hose you down after you eat."

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

Hange sits cross-legged in the tub, while Levi's fingers scrub soap suds into her scalp. The bathroom is mostly dark, save for the flicker of lamplight and the pale, foggy glow from the moon through the window.

She is quiet while he cleans her. She had eaten some food, though not as much as he would have liked; sipped at the stew and picked half heartedly at the bread the kids had painstakingly secured. It was better than nothing, but Levi finds his gaze travelling from the top of her soapy head to her bony shoulders, and to the knotted curve of her spine. He can see the shift of her ribs beneath her skin, and when she obediently leans her head back for him to rinse the suds from her hair, he can see twin points of bone at her hips, the skin brutally bruised from the pressure of their belts.

Something unpleasant rolls in his gut.

"Turn around."

Hange does, twisting until she is facing him and re-crossing her legs. Levi dips a cloth into the warm bath water and begins the meticulous process of scrubbing her down, starting at her shoulders. Hange dutifully extends first one arm, and then the other, and it is while Levi is thumbing at the grime between her fingers that she hums, tucking her knees to her chest and resting her chin upon them.

"It's been a while," she says, voice soft in the quiet. Levi moves on to the next finger; Hange's hands, like his, are calloused across her palms and at the tips of her fingers, from years of using the triggers on the manoeuvre gear. They are rough, but her fingers are longer and thinner than his own, and limp in his hand like this, they look almost delicate.

Levi hums in question.

"Since we did this."

Levi makes another non-committal sound. Things have been hectic, since everything that happened at Shiganshina. A whirlwind of learning, adapting, planning, everything moving at such a dizzying pace that moments like this had been all but abandoned.

Moments of peace, of quiet; moments where the world falls still and time slows to barely a trickle, they are a rarity none of them have been able to afford.

Levi dips the cloth in the water and rinses the soap from Hange's hands.

"We've been busy," he says. You've been busy, is what he thinks, but his guilt would sit too far forward, if he said it like that; it would be too brazen, and he knows already that his apology is not what Hange wants to hear. He made his choice, and now he has to live with the consequences. There is no room for regret.

Hange sits back when Levi brings the cloth down over her chest, crossing her legs so he can wash over her belly and sides.

"It's nice," she says. "I forgot. How nice it was."

"For you, maybe," Levi says. He taps her knee, and Hange hook her leg out over the side of the tub. Levi adds more soap to the cloth and smooths it over her thigh.

Hange lets out a low chuckle. "Just another floor to mop for you, huh?"

"The floors don't get this filthy."

He is careful around her knee, where scar tissue from a recent wound is still forming. It is tender to the touch, he knows, but Hange makes no complaints when he touches it. She lets out a pleasant little groan when his fingers knead into her calves, toes curling.

Levi washes over her foot, then taps the sole, and Hange draws one leg back in and raises the other one, and the process starts again. It is methodical and familiar; strangely comforting, in the mess of everything. They've been battered with new information, faced with a world that is so vastly different from anything they had imagined before, burdened with the  insurmountable task of exploring it, of finding their place in it--all of this new, all of this frightening.

But this; this is an old tale. They have danced this dance for years, muscle memory leading them in each step. Shiganshina changed some things--Levi is more gentle in places than he used to be, careful cleaning the thickened, still healing skin on her back where Bertolt's titan had burned her. He used to dump water over her head like a dog, bit back smiles at the way she would cough and sputter and stare indignantly through her hair at him, but now is he careful to keep water from dripping into her bad eye. He slides the cloth over her face with more consideration, avoiding too much contact with the tender tissue above and below her clouded, milky eyeball. The swelling has lessened considerably over time, but the wound will remain raw for a long while to come.

When he is done, he helps her stand, and rinses her down with a pale of clean water before offering a hand to help her step from the tub. Standing up to full height, Levi can see the extent of the way her body has changed. She has always been a rake of a thing, all straight lines and sharp edges, but she has always seemed strong and sturdy. Something steady, dependable.

Now,  she seems fragile in a way Levi has never known her to be. There is no room left for her to bend; too much pressure, and he fears she will snap, splinter into a million pieces he cannot hope to fit back together again.

He holds a towel for her. Hange takes it with a small, grateful smile, and wraps it around herself, then leans back against the edge of the tub and bows her head. Levi scrubs at her hair with a second towel, ringing as much water from it as he can.

She dries herself half heartedly  and pulls on the spare shirt Levi had brought for her while her back and shoulders are still damp. The fabric sticks to her, highlights the protruding bones of her spine when she bends over to tug on her pants.

Once fully dressed, Hange stretches, popping her back as she does, and rolls her shoulders, her neck. She gives Levi a lazy, pleased smile.

"I needed that," Hange says. Levi clicks his tongue.

"I know. You stank."

Hange laughs, a light, airy thing.

"Always so kind, Levi," she says tunefully. She seems loose, more relaxed than Levi has seen her in what feels like forever. Her shoulders sit lower not bunched up about her ears, and her face isn't so pinched or strained. It's a relief.

It's short lived.

"I should get back," she says.

"You should sleep."

She shrugs a shoulder at him, waves a hand.

"Later," she says. Even as she speaks, Levi can see the tension rising in her; the respite of a bath and a hot meal had been brief, and already the weight is reloading. Her burden grows heavier by the second.

"A few hours, Hange. The paperwork will still be there when you wake up."

"And there will be more, no doubt," she says. "I'll get further behind than I am already."

There is no more room for negotiation. Levi can only count himself lucky that he managed to get this far with her, to do this much. He schools his face into a neutral expression and nods, scooping to pick up her wet towel and dropping it into the laundry basket as he follows her out of the bathroom.

Levi refuses to regret his choice. He made the right decision in Shiganshina, and he will not doubt himself for that.

But the tight, nauseous knot in his stomach does not ease. He watches Hange settle back into her desk chair, strap her eye patch over her still-damp hair, and bow herself over the pile of papers she had abandoned on the desk, and the sickening unease swells to his chest, pushing the air from his lungs.

He made the choice to condemn Erwin to death. He will do everything he can to ensure he has not done the same thing to her.

--------------- 

Thank you again for the ask!! If anyone else has prompts, please feel free to send them :) I can’t promise I’ll fill everything, but it’s a fun exercise 

[arvandus]

Congrats on 500 followers! Could I perhaps request 8 from the fluff prompts with Present Mic, but platonic? Like he's the reader's unofficial metaphorical dad and something bad happens to the reader and the prompt line is what he says at the end? Sorry if that's confusing.

Thank you so much!  Ngl, I struggled with this one a bit. I’ve never written for Present Mic before, so this was new territory for me.  Also never written platonic before, which was also a good exercise. Really though, it’s because this was INSTANTLY the idea that had popped into my head with your request, and it WOULD NOT BUDGE.  Normally not a problem, but for some reason, I had the hardest time figuring out how to fit the dialogue prompt into it.  BUT I DID IT!  It only took me.... *checks* 1732 words to get there. 🤣🤣🤣

This makes it my biggest one yet for the 500 Followers Event.  I hope you enjoy it!  It’s a bit angst heavy in the beginning because of the nature of your request, but it does end on a happy note!

8. “You are my family.”

It happened. It actually happened.  You had hoped it wouldn’t, but here you were, sitting on a park bench with nothing but a backpack and a duffle bag.  Your mind replayed the sound of your family’s words in your head.  Harsh, cruel, heartless words.

‘Get out.’

Sure, there was more to it than that, but you didn’t want to dwell on it, to let it fester within you and take root.  There was already more than enough damage tied to their memory, and the last thing you wanted to do was carry it with you. After all, you had enough baggage as it was.

Of course, this was easier said than done. The ache sat heavy in your gut, your heart a black void. Questions flew circles in your mind like crows, questions you’d likely never know the answer to.  They mocked you, pecking at your resolution, tearing at your self-esteem. Tears soaked down your cheeks and you let them fall freely as you wrapped your arms around yourself, struggling to find a strength you weren’t sure you had.

You began to shiver as the cold night air made its way into your jacket.  You couldn’t stay here.  You knew you couldn’t; it wasn’t safe.  You looked at your phone for the tenth time.  A single contact stared back at you.

Hizashi Yamada.

Hizashi was your mentor, your guide… and quite frankly, the closest thing you had to a good father figure.  He’d helped you through your years at UA, both academically and emotionally, giving you the support you’d desperately needed, the support that was painfully absent with your own family.  He treated you kindly and respectfully, taking you under his wing so that you could flourish. He praised you in your successes and guided you through your failures, all while keeping a light heart that constantly reminded you not to take life too seriously.  It set up the foundation for a strong bond between the two of you that continued after graduation.  It was a bond that you still had, ever evolving with occasional check-ins and coffee shop meet-ups, where he often gave you professional and even sometimes fatherly advice.

Fatherly was what you needed right now, more than anything.  He was the only person you really trusted, the only one who knew about your situation. He’d even said for you to call him if you were ever in trouble.

This counted, right?

Still, you hesitated.  You didn’t want to inconvenience him.  And you’d never ever reached out to him in this capacity before.

But you didn’t really have any other choice.

You pressed the call button.

It rang once. Twice.

“Y/N?” His voice answered.  No doubt, your name came up on his phone.

You swallowed.

“Um… Hi, Mr. Hizashi…” you mumbled.

“Hey, kid! You okay?  What’s got you callin’ so late?” he replied.  You could hear the concern underlying his jovial tone, and you clutched your phone tighter to your ear, grateful to know that at least someone out there cared about you.

“I… I need some help.” You said.  “They… they kicked me out.”

There was a silent pause. When he finally spoke, his voice was somber.  “I’ll come get you.  Tell me where you are.”

You thanked him and gave him your location.  He kept you on the phone with him the entire time as he drove over, making you speak to him and describe your surroundings.  Any people who walked by you, specific landmarks, anything he might need to know if trouble arrived before he did.  When you finally saw his headlights pull up into the parking lot of the park, relief flooded you and you nearly ran to his car. He was a sight for sore eyes, his blonde hair pulled back into a casual man bun, his clothing simple.  He stepped out of the driver’s side door to put your things in his trunk before opening his passenger door for you.

“Thank you.” You said as he settled back into the driver’s seat next to you.

“I’m glad you called me.” He replied.

As he drove, he spoke to you.  “You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?” he asked.

Your vision blurred and you shook your head.

“Listen.  I’m going to give you a couple of options for tonight.  I can take you back to my place and you can crash on my couch.  Or, if you’re not comfortable with that, I can reach out Nemuri.  I’m sure she’d understand.”

You were grateful he didn’t offer to put you up in a motel by yourself or take you to a homeless shelter.  The tension in your spine eased slightly.

“Um.. your place, please, if that’s okay…” you mumbled.

You could see relief smooth the creases on his brow and he smiled at you.  “Of course it is.”

You arrived at Hizashi’s home and he helped you carry your things in.  He retreated to his hallway to grab a spare blanket and a pillow and set it up for you on the couch.  You looked at the space curiously, intrigued at his level of preparedness.

Hizashi noticed the questioning look on your face, and chuckled.  “Shouta crashes here sometimes.  Gotta be prepared.”

You gave a small chuckle at the mental picture.

“How about some tea?” Hizashi asked as he disappeared into the kitchen. You could hear the clinking of ceramics and the running of water. “Have ya had anything to eat?” He called out. “Are ya hungry?”

You shook your head, your stomach still twisted in knots. “No, I’m okay…”

“Well, if that changes, feel free to help yourself whenever you want.” He replied.

By this point, the dam of your emotions was beginning to crack, and you sat on the couch with your head in your hands.  You could feel fresh tears filling your eyes, sticking to your lashes.  You blinked at them, letting them fall into your palms.

A few minutes later, Hizashi returned with a cup of hot tea that he handed to you. You took it gratefully and sipped at its contents, letting the warmth coat your throat and fill your stomach.  It helped to slightly ease the knot of anxiety that you felt twisted up inside you.

“I’m so sorry to ask for your help like this.” You muttered. “I’m sure this isn’t what you had in mind when you gave me your number.  I just didn’t have anyone else to turn to.”

“It’s okay.” He replied.  “Like I said, I’m glad you called me.”

“I promise I won’t stay long…” you said.  “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“You’ll stay as long as you need to.  I’m not going to let you out back on the street by yourself.” He said sternly.  “I’ll start reaching out to people tomorrow.  I’m sure there are some UA graduates that might be cool with getting a new roommate.”

“Thank you.” You said again.  

Another long silence filled the space as you sipped at your drink.  He quietly sat near you, letting you acclimate to his space and this strange, new situation.  Once the mug was empty, you set it down.

“So… do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked.

You began to recount all that had transpired hours before.  The things your family did, the things they said… You tried to keep the emotions separate from your words, but it was impossible.  Within a matter of minutes, the dam finally burst, and you were openly sobbing.  As you cried, Hizashi offered you a box of tissues and put a comforting hand over yours. You clutched at it in return like a lifeline, his silent consolation tethering the broken pieces of your heart.

“I don’t know what to do now.” You whispered.  “Hizashi… what’s going to happen to me…?”

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.  Together.” He replied.

You stared at him and he stared back, a small reassuring smile on his lips.  He was such a good person.  Already, he’d managed to give you more support in the past twenty minutes than you’d received from your family in months.

You gave a sad, ironic laugh.  

“You’re like the dad I wish I had…” you muttered.

Hizashi’s eyes widened for a moment, and panic filled you.  You hadn’t meant to say that; the words had just slipped out, a small confession of tired heart. But then he laughed and scratched the back of his head.

“Haha, really?  Thanks! I guess we have gotten pretty close over the years…”

The tension in the room immediately evaporated.  You gave a small smile, glad that your comment didn’t have the dramatic impact you feared it would.  The man’s positivity seemed as immovable as the mountains.

Hizashi’s chuckles eased, and his expression softened.  “To be honest, I always knew you had family troubles.  When you teach long enough, you start to notice those kinds of things.  And back then, there really wasn’t much I could do about it.  But that’s part of why I wanted to help you, I think.  To give you a chance to grow past that, so it wouldn’t define you.”  

He stared at his hands as he continued.  “I guess, maybe in some way, I did sort of adopt you, in my heart.”  His eyes looked up at you again, holding your attention.  “So, don’t feel bad about saying that, okay?  If anything, it makes this old man’s heart happy.”

Your stared at him, your eyes freshly stinging as new emotions – happy emotions – bubbled forth.

“Hizashi….”

“Yeah?”

“Could I have a hug?”

He gave a chuckle and sat next to you before putting his arm around you. You leaned against him, soaking up the physical contact. It drove away the loneliness and replaced it with something you’d only ever really felt in his presence.

Love, strong and familial.

You had thought that you were all cried out, but you were wrong. Fresh sobs shook from your body like the boughs of a snowy tree, knocking loose all that you’d been carrying within yourself.  The anger, the fear, the self-loathing…

Hizashi rested his chin on your head as you cried. “You are my family.” He said softly.  “Only if you want to be, of course.”

You nodded fervently as a laugh bubbled from your throat, pure joy filling you.  You were safe.  You were loved.  And maybe… just maybe… you were home.

[airis-paris14]

Starlight Chapter 13

Summary: Amani is an orphaned heiress who's spent most of her life raising her younger sister. T'Challa is a widowed King and Father. Neither of them is expecting much from their night at the Lotus. But the coming months have many milestones in store for these young adults. Will becoming a family be one of them?

Warnings: N/A

Masterlist

2 months later

“Amani, I’m about to head out,” Amare called, grabbing her house keys off of the hook. “Okay, hold on, I'll be right back Baby.” T’Challa nodded into the phone and muted himself to speak to someone off screen. Amani hurried down the stairs and smiled at her little sister. “Okay, passport, keys, tickets, wallet, and medicine in carryon?”

“Yes mother,” Amare smirked.

“I’m just trying to keep you safe kid,” the older Okeke smiled and pulled her in for a hug. “You’re 18, not 21, so please, no sneaking off without telling Shuri’s guards where you all are going. Limit your alcohol intake, I know it’s legal over there but the last thing I need is a call from a German hospital saying you have alcohol poisoning.”

“I promise I will limit the drinking, and the sneaking out.”

“Good. Have fun, be safe. I love you.” Amani smiled and pulled her sister in for another hug. “Love you too sis. I’ll only be gone for a week.”

“I know, but you know I hate saying goodbye. You’re all I have left kid. But I want to let you live, so go before you miss your flight. Hug Shuri for me.

“I’ll call you when I land.” Amare bounded down the front steps and into her already packed car. Amani sighed watching her wave one last time before pulling off down the street. She waved at the patrol car as it drove by on its hourly surveillance drive by, before locking her door and heading up the stairs into her office. “And I’m back,” she plopped into her seat, reopening her MacBook.

“Personally I don’t think it’s fair that our sisters see each other more than we do,” the king teased. Amani rolled her eyes, “This is their first time seeing each other since we came home, it’s only been two months,” Amani laughed. “Yes, and after having you here for three months, I’ve decided that 61 days is too long to be out of your presence.”

“Well you know I’m working to get the venue started up, I just can’t travel as much as usual. You know I would be there if I could,” Her voice began to tremble.

“I know my love,” T’Challa reassured, “I am just teasing,” he frowned, noticing her eyes tearing up. “I know but lately I’ve just been feeling like such a bad girlfriend,” she began to sob and the king panicked. “Hey no, you’re perfect. Nothing's wrong. It’s on both of us and I was gonna tell you that I was planning to surprise you with a visit.”

“Really?” Amani sniffled.

“Yes so please stop crying entle.” The heiress grabbed a tissue from the box she had begun to keep on her desk after noticing that even the little things made her tear up. “I’m sorry. I ruined the surprise again,” she chuckled, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “It is fine, now you have something to look forward to. You hate them anyway,” the king teased.

“Are you sure you’re alright though my love? You have been extra-sensitive lately.”

“In more ways than one,” the heiress murmured. “Have you been to the new doctor, did she run the tests the doctor here ordered?” The king grabbed a stack of papers and began signing them. “Yep,” Amani read over and responded to an email her contractor sent before turning her attention back to T’Challa. “I have an appointment with her tomorrow. She and Dr. Zabulie both sounded very excited so I’m hoping it's a positive result.”

The king smiled at the news, “Well then I’ll be expecting a full report as soon as you know.”

“Of course. I’ll call your mother as well, I wouldn’t even be in this position if you all hadn’t encouraged me to go see another doctor.”

“We both just want what is best for you,” the king smiled, “but unfortunately I have a meeting to attend to my love. I will call you later tonight, okay?”

“Of course, I’ll see you later.” She blew a kiss through the phone before the king had to hang up. After responding to more emails, she scheduled some property manager interviews for later in the week and a building walk through. Her phone caught her attention as it began to ring, “Hello?” She answered. “Hey, Kura and I finished those designs for different set ups and interiors, are you free to go over them?”

“Yeah,” Amani smiled. While in Wakanda she and her friends decided to go into the event business together. They’d bought an old hotel downtown in Atlanta and decided to turn it into a sleepover venue. With suites and rooms designed for different party sizes and moveable features to make the room age appropriate. A spa, boutique, and restaurant, would be located on the grounds as well. There was also a separate grand ballroom and garden that allowed them to market the place as an all in one wedding venue. They’d started work while in Wakanda and now two months later they were weeks away from opening the ballroom, gardens, and other non overnight amenities for event bookings. They would use the money from the rentals to help recover the costs of renovating the hotel rooms.

“Bet. We’ll be over in 30. Sakura has to pick up the pizza first.”

“Cool, don’t forget extra garlic butter sauce. Imma hop in the shower. Y’all can just use your keys to let yourselves in.”

After hanging up the phone Amani hopped in the shower and let the water soothe her muscles. She’d been working so hard to make sure everything came together and it finally was. She was more in love with T’Challa each day, she was starting a business with her friends, and Darius had been spotted in New York living with some family he had there. She still had nightly surveillance, but knowing that he’d move out of the state definitely calmed her nerves.

“Madiyson?” The heiress called as the sound of the front door caught her attention. When she didn’t receive a response she shrugged and figured she had her beats on. She quickly motioned with her coconut oil,slipped into some sweatpants, and pulled a sports bra over her head before a voice sent a chill down her spine. “You’ve been holding out on me Amani.”

Darius got up from his seat behind her on the bed and revealed the kitchen knife he was holding. “If I had known you could look like that, I would’ve made you work out more.”

“How the hell did you get in my house?”

“No Thank you? Darius frowned.

“What do I have to thank you for?”

“Giving you a second chance,” Darius smirked before lunging at the Okeke heiress. Amani, dodged his lunge as he ran into the dresser she was standing in front of. “ A second chance for what you bastard!” The heiress resisted the urge to search for her phone, she knew Darius, he watched her eyes always to anticipate her next move. “You ruined my life. You were supposed to be my wife, look pretty, give me kids. Instead your ass got me locked up for damn near life. Now my dad is all on my ass because he had to call in a favor with the DA and the governor in one sitting-”

“Well maybe your ass should’ve just stayed in jail then!” Amani ducked, expecting the lamp on the nightstand to fly towards her head. She took the moment she dodged the light fixture to locate her phone. It was too far and she knew that she’d never be able to reach it before Darius finished his spiel. She’d have to leave her friends a clue that something had gone wrong.

“Now,” Darius eyed Amani as she backed up against the wall, “as I was saying. Everyone is counting on me to not fuck up! Which means I need to get my old life back, starting with you Ms. Okeke, now heiress of the Okeke Industries Tech Conglomerate.”

“No one will ever believe that we are a happy couple once again Darius, they found me, clinging to life, hypothermic, and bleeding because you literally beat our child out of me. It was on the five o'clock news for weeks straight.” Amani risked eyeing her keys once more, hoping that the plan she was hatching would work.

“What better way to show them that I am a changed man, than by having you forgive me. A redeemed love, a true love,” Darius stepped up to Amani and caressed her cheeks and lips. The woman felt like crawling out of her skin but she held it together. “Why don’t you just find another woman?” Not that Amani wished Darius on any other woman, she’d prefer he’d be locked up in a cell, but she needed to get him to back up. “Does it really matter? I want you, and I’ve already invested a lot in you Amani. You got a little break to have fun and spend time with other men, but you are mine. You always were and you always will be, it’s time I got a return on my investment. “ Darius took a seat on Amani’s bed and she silently rejoiced.

“Okay, then what’s your plan?”

“You don’t need to know all of that. Just know that I’m not leaving you behind Amani.” Darius pointed the knife and Amani nodded, “I’m just gonna grab my keys,” she gestured. “If I go missing, the police will look at all of your father’s and friend’s properties, no one will think I was stupid enought to take you to one of our vacation homes.” At least the waitress hoped this wasn’t the stupidest idea she’d ever had.

“Nah, cause I’m sure your friends and man know all about those places. Not to mention your little sister.”

“Amare is out of the country at a science conference, won’t be home for two weeks, you’ll have time to move me before she can get back. As for the others, they don’t even know we own vacation properties.” Amani scoured through her keys and grabbed the one she knew her sister would recognize as missing first. “Here, we can go to the chateau in the mountains in North Carolina. It’s secluded. No one for miles around.”

Darius stood up, “Nah, there’s a reason you’re helping me. What is it?”

“You’re never gonna leave me alone otherwise. I don’t wanna die, and this is most likely the last time I’ll ever get a decision about something that happens to me. Think of it as my final words.” As soon as the excuse left her mouth Amani felt her mouth go dry and heavy, for some reason, it did feel like she’d sealed her own fate.

“Amani!” Madiyson called as she entered the apartment. Sakura followed in hot on her heels to place the heavy pizzas in the kitchen. “I still don’t know why you ordered four pizzas for 3 people,” Madiyson laughed, dropping all of her interior design sketches and renderings on the table. “As much of a perfectionist each of us is… We're gonna be here all night and y’all are gonna be glad I bought enough pizza.”

“Well if AMANI would BRING. HER. ASS. DOWN. THE. STAIRS we could get started and be done at a godly hour.” Madison yelled up the stairs into the continued silence. “You told her we were coming, right?”Sakura joined her friend at the base of Amani’s stairs and frowned. “Yeah, she said just let ourselves in.”

“Maybe she’s taking a nap, she’s been doing that more often than usual.”

“Oh god, if she’s taking a nap then she’ll be dead to the world right now. You wanna wake her up while I set up?” Madiyson shook her head and walked back over to the couch in the living room. “Sure, just throw me into the lion’s den. You know she hates being woken up by anyone but Amare and Ada.” Sakura whined. “You’ll be fine, she would never hate you. Just make it seem like she woke herself up. Throw a pillow or something.” Madiyson shrugged and opened her laptop.

“Always the sacrifice, never the beneficiary,” Sakura mumbled as she jogged up the stairs into Amani’s room. “Mani,” the afro-asian woman sang as she burst into the room, only to be greeted by a perfectly made bed. “Amani?'' She tried to calm her heartbeat as she checked her friend’s closet and bathroom. “Okay focus, details details,” Sakura chanted to herself. “7:47, no phone in the room, nothing messed up, somebody sat on the bed,” the waitress took note of the room as she backed her way out, down the stairs, and towards the garage. “Hey, did you- what’s wrong,” Madiyson frowned as her best friend opened the garage door and looked out. “Did she say she was gonna leave?” Sakura ignored Madiyson’s original question, feeling her stomach drop at the presence of Amani’s car, and the empty house. “No, she said she was gonna take a shower-”

“Madiyson, She’s not here.”

“Look, I already told you what happened. Madiyson called Amani at 6:30, she picked me up, we picked up the pizzas, let ourselves in, but she wasn’t here when i went to check on her. I went into the room at 7:47. The shower had been turned on and the room was steamy, and someone had sat on her bed but Amani hates that unless she’s about to go to sleep. Except she isn’t in her room sleeping!”

“Why are you all not taking this seriously! Her abusive ex is a known kidnapping threat. For God’s sake she’s had a 24/7 patrol for months because there was fear he would try to retaliate! Now that she’s missing, y’all aren’t doing a damn thing.” Madiyson butted in frustrated at the officers staring at them like they were aliens from outer space.

“Ma’am, we are just trying to get all the facts first-”

I’ve given them to you three times, if you can’t comprehend then we’ve got a bigger problem!” Sakura fumed and the officers stood. “We’ll call headquarters and see what we can do. Technically it has to be 48 hours before we can report and adult as missing-”

“Just get out please,” Madiyson sighed. She held open the door for the officers who hesitated, their feathers obviously ruffled.

“I’ll try calling Amare again.” Sakura stood and walked out after the officers left. Madiyson locked the door and stared up at the clock, realizing she should probably call T’Challa.

“Hello?” Madiyson breathed deeply as the call finally connected to the king, “T, she’s gone,” the woman’s voice warbled but her words shook the king all the same. “What do you mean she is gone?” He stood, immediately stumbling to slip on some shoes and race through the halls to his mother’s room. “Sakura and I came for a meeting, and she wasn’t here. Her car is here but she isn't and she assured us she’d be here taking a shower. Someone else was here because someone was sitting on her bed, at the bottom. You know she hates people ruffling her sheets.”

“Have you talked to Amare? Are you sure she didn’t take her to the airport?”

“We’ve been trying to reach her but she's still on the plane. She would have been back by now if she just went to the airport. She knew we were coming.” Madiyson broke, sobbing into the phone.

T’Challa’s heart dropped, his mind racing back to how he’d begged his lover not to go back until the rumors that her abuser had officially moved were confirmed. Now she was gone and the king felt he had failed to protect her. “Madiyson, Madiyson, I need you to breathe and keep breathing. Did you call the police?”

“Yes, but-“ Madiyson stumbled trying to regain her composure, “they said since it hasn’t been 48 hours it’s not technically a missing persons case.”

The king felt anger rush through his veins, “So they aren’t doing anything?”

“Not really,” Madiyson moved to grab tissue from Amani’s bathroom. “Have her call the detectives over these two imbeciles. She was on 24 hour surveillance due to risk of revenge from her abuser. Them sitting around doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know, I know, I’m heading downstairs right now-” Madison paused as she noticed Amani’s keys on her vanity. “Wait, one of her keys-” Madison trailed off flipping through the keys. “One of her keys is what?” T’Challa knocked on his mother’s door. “It’s missing. When her parents died, she kept keys to all of their properties. With them all labeled with numbers but I don’t know which one is which. Just number three is missing,” Madison ran a hand over her braids and huffed. T’Challa banged on his mother’s door again before taking a step back and pacing the hall. “Okay, You and Sakura just stay there, keep trying to reach Amare. I’m on my way and I’ll try to reach Shuri. See if you can figure out what key is missing.”

“Okay, call us when you land.”

T’Challa hung up the phone, “Umama!” He banged on the door before Ramonda yanked it open. “T’Challa, what in Bast’s name-”

“It’s Amani, she’s missing. We have to go now, can you try to reach Shuri? Her friends think they have a lead but we need to reach Amare.”

“How long has she been missing?” The queen mother rushed back in her room and started to get dressed and pack a bag. “We don’t know, I just got off the phone with Madiyson. They went to the house and she was missing.”

“Did they call the police?”

“They say they can’t report her absence until 48 hours has passed,” T’Challa opened his beads and messaged Okoye. I need you, Ayo, a plane, and five of your best warriors. Meet me on the tarmac in 30.”

“When do we leave?”

“In 30 minutes, I have to pack a bag. Ayo and Okoye will meet us at the tarmac with some back up, can you please try to reach Shuri while I get ready?”

“Yes, I will try calling her.”

The king nodded and turned to rush back to his room. “T’Challa,” Ramonda called out,”We will find her. She will be alright.” He offered his mother a sad smile before continuing down the hall.

“It’s the North Carolina key?”

“Yes. Number 3 it's her favorite number for her favorite house.” Amare insisted as Sakura flipped through the keys again.

“Do you know the address?” Madison interrupted.upiui

“Uh, number 3 Lodge Street Asheville, North Carolina.”

“And you’re sure that is the key that is missing?” T’Challa interrupted Madiyson and Amare. The teen looked at the king through the camera, the lights of the quinjet humming behind her as Shuri watched on. “Yes, I’m positive. Amani is heading to the North Carolina house.”

The king hit the table and turned to his guard, “We are heading to North Carolina. Now.”

“We’ll meet you there-”

“No,” T’Challa and his mother answered at the same time.``You two stay exactly where you are,'' Ramonda demanded. “All due respect, I am not staying over here in Germany when my sister has been kidnapped by her abuser!” Amare rebutted. “Yes, but for all we know he has men looking for you too. As well as Madiyson and Sakura. So until then, at least we know where you are. We are sending Dora Milaje to your hotel.” T’Challa finalized.

“No, I am not standing back when my sister is in danger. I wasn’t there the first time she was saved and opened her eyes, I want to be there this time.” Amare demanded while she teared up and T’Challa sighed. He walked around the desk to look at Okoye and his mother. “You all can head back to Wakanda, once the extra Dora arrive. Once we have her, we’ll bring her back to Shuri’s lab, there you guys can see her.” The king looked at everyone in the room, “Besides, I don’t think it is safe for any of you to be in the US alone right now.”

“So what are you saying?” Sakura sat up from her place on the couch. T’Challa nodded at the general of the Dora Milaje. Okoye tapped her staff and escorted the rest of the warriors out of the home. Once the door had shut the room turned to face T’Challa again. “I have been thinking, especially in light of what has happened to Amani, that you all should move to Wakanda. Stay in the palace of course. I know you two would have to travel for business and Amare we’d have to figure out your schooling, but it is obvious that this government has no vestment in keeping you all safe. I can do something about it and I will, if you all will let me.”

“I don’t know T-” Madiyson started.

“I had been thinking about transferring to study with Shuri, but I don’t know how Amani would take it.” Amare added. “She’s not just gonna give up her independence. She just got it back from Darius,” Sakura added. “I know but it is not safe here, at least for now. As well connected as that fugitive is, who knows what will happen to you all if he goes back to jail. I let Amani convince me she would be safe, and now two months later we are searching for her praying to Bast that she isn’t dead.”

“T’Challa this is not your fault,” Sakura interjected. “I know, but if I can keep you all safe, I have a responsibility to do so. You will have free will and autonomy, but at least inside Wakanda’s borders, I can guarantee your safety.

“I think this is a lovely conversation, but might I remind you all that this is a time sensitive case. Let’s table this discussion until we all make it back to Wakanda” Shuri interrupted the discussion that seemed to be heading towards an endless round table. “Shuri is right, time is of the essence.” Ramonda spoke standing, “everyone comes back to wakanda for the time being. Once we rescue Amani, we send our war dogs to clear any suspicions and make sure it is safe for you all to return. Then we make a decision. Until then-“

“We focus on the task at hand.” Madiyson finished and Ramonda agreed. “Shuri and Amare head back home once the Dora arrive. When we have Amani we’ll let you know.”

“Keep my sister safe T’Challa,” Amare asserted before hanging up. “She’s just nervous,” Sakura reassured. “We are all glad we have someone here to help us this time. But we should get on the road. Darius works fast.” The Afro-Asian waitress added solemnly. The king nodded, “Phambile,” he called and the guards opened the doors escorting everyone to the cars waiting to race to the airport.”

Fourteen Hours Ago

“Amani.” The heiress fumbled to wrap the stick back it s package and hide it on the sink before running out of her bathroom. “Hey,” she offered her younger sister a smile but only received a confused face in return. “Hey, you’re up early, I thought you’d be sleep,” Amare took a seat in one of the overstuffed arm chairs in her sisters bedroom. “I wasn’t feeling well. I got up to take some medicine no biggie,”Amani shrugged. “You go to the doctor again soon right? You should have her check it out.”

“She’s an OBGYN, but I’ll see what she might be able to recommend.”

“Cool, well I’d been thinking-“

“Oh that’s never good,” the heiress laughed as her sister shot daggers her way. “As I was saying. I’ve been thinking about transferring to study in Wakanda with Shuri. It’d make it easier for you to come see Tchalla and I could get accustomed to the culture before we move there-“

“Hey hey, who said we we’re moving to Wakanda?”

“Amani. I’m not dumb or a little girl anymore. I know how marriages and relationships work. I know you live tchalla. I know he loves you. And I know how monarchies work. I also know that T’Challa has asked you to move in or visit more often and that I’m probably the reason you’re hesitant about doing either.”

“You’re right, but I didn’t say anything cause I don’t want you thinking you have to move because of me and T’Challa. I want you to follow your dreams, and dtudying at MIT was one of those dreams.”

“And dreams change, Amare reminded. I used to any to be a ballerina, astronaut, actress, and hear I am studying at MIT. And now, I know that the university of Wakanda can offer me so much more. Plus I’ll get to spend more time with my best friend and take advantage of her lab. It’s a win win!” The young genius insisted. Amani sighed and settled on the chair next to her.

“How about we finish out this fall semester and pick up the conversation over Christmas break. I just don’t want you to regret anything.” The older sister explained.

“That’s fair.” Amare nodded and stood. “Back to you though, are you sure you’re feeling well enough for me to leave?”

“Now you sound like the older sister. I’ll be fine kid, you go have fun at your conference thing in Germany. Have you finished packing?”

“Nope, I wanted to get and early start at the stores so I can pack before my flight.”

“Okay, I’m headed back to sleep. But don’t crash the car and fill up the tank before you come back please.”

“I always do,” Amare smiled before kissing her sister's cheek and slipping out of the room. Once Amani heard the front door shut. She locked herself in the bathroom and unwrapped the third and final test. She sat them all in a row before flopping down on the toilet.

“Shit.”

Taglist: @almostpurelysmut @blackbypurpose @tchoking @sisterwifeudaku @wikiwakanda @royallyprincesslilly @90sinspiredgirl @thedelightfulone @autumn242 @purple-apricots @kumkaniudaku @queertrex @kaciidubs @halfrican-heat @skysynclair19 @dramaqueenamby @leahnicole1219 @kreolemami @mzbritt @derangedcupcake @chaneajoyyy @lalapalooza718 @ororowrites @leahnicole1219 @sarcastic-sunshines @sarahboseman @faatassbitch @lady-love-and-glitter-roses @cxnismajcr @tchallasbabymama

[cheri-translates]

[CN] 3rd Anniversary Love Carnival - Kiro

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for an event which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

Kiro’s Prologue: here

3rd Anniversary Masterlist: here

[ KIRO ]

The machinery starts moving, pulling the boat slowly as it makes an upward climb. The end is dense and dark, making it difficult to see.

I’m sitting in the first row, nervously adjusting the plastic raincoat I’m wearing. When I turn my head, I see Kiro’s mouth opening and closing.

In order for the raincoat to better shield us from the splash, it comes with a zipper near the hood area, which can keep the entire head covered.

MC: Mm?

Kiro: You... vous.

MC: What?

The clamour of the crowd mixes with the sound of the machinery. Along with the plastic raincoat, I can’t hear his voice at all.

He suddenly reaches out, pulling the zipper in front of me, at the same time revealing his own face.

Kiro: Come to think of it, this raincoat is really troublesome. I said - don’t be nervous! The first attraction marks a good beginning, and is just meant to establish a foundation.

[Note] “Marks a good beginning” is translated from 开红门 (“kai hong men”). This directly translates to “opening a red door”. Keep this in mind for later :>

MC: ...is it too late for me to say that I’m regretting this?

Kiro: [laughs] Should we jump off the boat?

He smiles broadly, as though he’d jump off with me the moment I say “Let’s jump then!”.

Kiro: It’s all right! Just treat it as us climbing an upside-down mountain, paving the way to a new phase.

MC: If it’s a new phase... would it be an even more dangerous adventure?

The climbing has almost reached its end. The light streaming from the peak of the mountain gradually enters our vision, and fall onto Kiro’s sparkling eyes.

Kiro: A new phase in which I’d like you even more.

The sky is so blue that it’s akin to a tide, gently covering Kiro’s back. The entire world is quiet, as though it has stilled.

In next second, I feel my body being tilted. The splashing water suddenly blocks the entire sky, the waves swirling into arcs, like the corners of a secret smile.

Kiro: [laughs] Is it too late to pull up the raincoat’s zipper... [screams]

MC: ...probably. Ahh---!!!!

Kiro: Ahh-----!!!

The speed of the swirling water crashing back down on us is reminiscent of several explosives, splashing onto our faces.

When we reach the ground, the water, like torrential rain, evokes exclaims from visitors waiting at the side.

The boat courses leisurely along the track, towards the end point. At this moment, no one is paying any attention to the two poor souls who have been soaked to the bone.

We look at each others’ sorry state, realising that the zipper in front of our faces have only been pulled up by a quarter. We lapse into silence.

Kiro: ....haha...hahaha!!

MC: Hahaha.

Kiro: I was so close to helping you zip it up fully just now!

MC: Same for me.

At the exit, the wall displays on-ride photos from the previous group of visitors.

On one of the screens, there are two people reaching out for the other party’s face, smiling brilliantly.

Kiro and I share a glance, and walk to the service counter.

Kiro: Hello, please print the ninth picture in the first row!

Looking at the picture, I can’t help but laugh. Kiro casually sweeps his hair upwards, then smiles as he tidies my messy hair.

MC: I spent the morning applying makeup. This is truly marking a good beginning.

He uses a tissue to wipe my face. From the side pocket of the backpack I’m carrying, he retrieves a stick of lip gloss. Leaning down, he lifts my face slightly with one hand.

Kiro: Don’t move.

The stick of lip gloss lands carefully on my lips, making me so nervous that I can’t help but close my eyes. The air I breathe into my lungs contains the unique scent belonging to him.

After the lip gloss has been applied, what replaces it is an even gentler and softer touch.

It’s so quick that it seems like an illusion.

I open my eyes to see a few drenched strands of Kiro’s hair drooping downwards mischievously. The corners of his lips are lifted, and the colour on his lips and mine are similar.

Kiro: Okay, it’s “red” now.

[Note] Kiro is playing with words here by referencing both the colour of the lip gloss, and to “marking a good beginning”, which, as mentioned above, is translated from 开红门 (“opening a red door”) in Chinese!

[ PART TWO ]

Since we’re already drenched, we decide to seize this chance to try all the attractions which involve water.

Kiro: Miss Chips, let’s take a break over here!

Kiro pulls me over to sit at a corner of the hot spring resting area. Dipping my feet into the warm hot spring, I feel the fatigue in my body dissipating along with the steam.

He removes various props from his face, brushes the beads of sweat from his forehead, and releases a long sigh.

Kiro: The heat almost killed me. I can finally breathe.

MC: You’ve worked hard, big celebrity.

Kiro: It’s not hard work at all.

He leans his head against mine lightly. His feet also shift closer, sticking to mine.

Seeing our legs pressed together, my face starts to feel warm. Perhaps it’s due to the hot spring.

Kiro: Hm? MC, what’s wrong? Are you too tired from earlier?

MC: Nope! It’s just that… this hot spring is too comfortable, and I feel a little sleepy.

Kiro: Ahh… Wake up, Miss Chips! We’ve barely finished half of today’s challenges!

His expression shows concern as he turns his body to the side. Because of the movement, his toes lightly brush the sole of my foot. The other leg shifts over, accidentally rubbing against my instep.

Like a feather brushing and rubbing against my heart, bringing with it a wave of numbness.

MC: I’m awake, I’m really awake! You… just sit properly!

Kiro: [laughs] Miss Chips, why do you look so nervous?

A certain someone doesn’t seem to be aware of what happened, his big blue eyes blinking innocently.

It’s all because of you!

Although that’s what I think in my heart, my mouth starts searching for another excuse.

Kiro: [laughs] Hm?

MC: I’m just worried someone would suddenly come…

The facts show that it’s easy to regret words that have just been spoken.

Several couples walk towards us one after another, sitting on the flight of steps not too far off from us.

Seeing this image, I immediately reach out for Kiro’s face before he turns around.

He widens his eyes. Due to me being overly frantic, I exert too much strength, causing his entire person to turn over, and our legs to be entangled.

MC: …people are here!

Kiro: [laughs] I hear them.

MC: Don’t say anything!

Kiro: It’s all right. They can’t hear us.

His voice is very soft, buried in the bubbling hot spring. But the warmth of his breath is on my face, and I can’t help but hold my breath.

Kiro: I suddenly realised that my hair is a little messy right now.

MC: How can you tell?

Kiro: From your eyes.

MC: Pfft. In that case, what else can you see in my eyes?

Kiro: Hmm… I’ll have to take another look.

He shifts his head slightly closer, as though he’s truly searching for something in my eyes.

Kiro: I see…

Kiro: That MC was lying earlier.

I freeze for a moment, sensing that Kiro has placed his feet beneath mine. Stepping on them, my entire self seems to be lifted up, and I feel light as a feather.

Kiro: Do I make you very nervous?

MC: …you already know the answer.

Kiro: It can’t be helped. Miss Chips was just too cute just now.

MC: I’ll leave you to take the inverted roller coaster by yourself later!

Kiro: This punishment is too much!

Despite what he mutters, his eyes are smiling.

The couples behind us finish resting, and they get up to leave the hot spring area.

I also prepare to release our interlaced hands. However, in the next second, Kiro lifts his hand, placing mine on his face. My feet are once again tangled with his.

Kiro: I need to prepare myself for taking the inverted roller coaster by myself.

Kiro: Let’s stay like this for a while longer, okay?

[ PART THREE ]

MC: I think we need to slow down…

Kiro: Agreed.

Of course, I couldn’t bear to let Kiro take the roller coaster by himself.

We support each other by the arm, preparing to head to a more light-hearted ride.

MC: “Ready Ready”… what’s this?

Kiro: From what the guide map says, it seems to be a 4D theatre?

According to the introduction on the guide map, groups of two will be seated in a sphere-shaped cabin which will course along the tracks. The tracks don’t seem to have a large amplitude.

MC: It should be an attraction similar to “Soaring over the Horizon”. It seems pretty all right.

-

Kiro: Go! Go! Go!

MC: Wa ahh—!!!

Kiro: [laughs] M-m-m-miss Chips, hide behind me quickly!!!

The woman crawling out of the well follows behind us. Just before she reaches us, the door shuts.

The sphere-shaped cabin seems to jolt, and the image of a gigantic spaceship appears in front of us.

The yellow gorilla wearing a crown suddenly smashes through the iron wall above us, reaching out to grab us.

Kiro: MC, come see!

Outside the base, the sky is filled with wyverns. Young people who are sitting on their backs and wielding long swords greet us.

We sit on a wyvern, breaking through the large doors of the jail, crossing the lava mountain and the castle of a mage. On an uninhabited island, a pink-haired girl waves at us.

In the vast ocean, an elderly man is in a small boat. The gigantic, jade-like tail of a whale resembles a hug from the sea.

On top of an ivory tower, a man wearing a mask steps on revolving flowers, showing us a poker card.

Kiro: Hahaha, this is way too cool!!

A person stepping through the clouds next to us waves a long stick in his hand, opening a new path for us.

A panda police officer blows on its whistle, directing the wyverns to land.

When the hatch door slowly opens, I realise that this short, fantasy-like journey has reached its end.

Kiro: Even the name of the ride is a reference.

MC: That was incredible! Just how many Easter eggs are there…

Kiro: Mm… 27?

MC: …why did I only count 16?

Kiro: Let’s see!

Kiro takes my hand, explaining the various images in the ride while we walk.

MC: But there was a hotdog man at the corner, right?

Kiro: There was also a man wearing an X mask on the roof.

MC: There was a dolphin at the corner of the group of small animals.

Kiro: And behind her was a hidden white snake girl.

MC: …

Kiro: …

Our footsteps pause at the same time. Exchanging a silent glance, we turn our heads in synchrony and rush towards the ride.

Kiro: Hello! We’d like to go one more time!

-

MC: There’s a killer whale chasing someone over there!

Kiro: There’s a hot air balloon and a white dragon above the street! And that mountain!!

MC: Where did we count until?

Kiro: 31?

With our four hands together, our brains crash.

MC: Hold on, we missed it, we missed it! Over there!!

Kiro: …

MC: …

We step off the sphere-shaped cabin, more or less identifying all the Easter eggs.

What we had missed earlier was just a small image.

Kiro: [sighs, then laughs] Let’s go, Miss Chips.

I blink, staring at Kiro who looks unaffected. Then, I tug on his hand.

MC: Cough cough. I’ll give you a chance to express your opinion!

He blinks gently, a little expectant and a little hesitant.

Kiro: …won’t the third time be boring?

MC: Will you let me be bored?

What replaces his response is a full embrace.

Kiro: Of course not!

[ PART FOUR ]

The cafeterias in the Love Carnival must have gone through a lot of designing in order for moe flowers to appear easily for couples.

Every single themed cafe is packed to the brim. I hurriedly pull Kiro, who is wearing a wig, away from these “danger zones”.

There aren’t many people in the forest right now, leaving only the rustling of leaves.

MC: It’s a good thing I thought of this scenario beforehand.

Kiro: Deng deng deng deng!

When we speak in unison yet again, we retrieve picnic mats from our individual bags, and look at each other blankly.

MC: …I made enough for two. Did you also buy two sets?

Kiro: I was worried the cafeterias would be too crowded and we’d get hungry.

Kiro: But…

His voice grows soft, and I don’t know what he’s struggling with.

In the end, he purses his lips, turning his eyes to me.

Kiro: I didn’t buy them.

MC: …hm?

He chuckles in embarrassment, spreading the picnic mat smoothly on the ground, and taking out food boxes from the bag.

Seeing these food boxes, I’m left slightly stunned. Based on my memory of how long I’ve known Kiro, it seems that I’ve never had a taste of his cooking.

Kiro: I was thinking that since today is such a special day, even if we couldn’t sit in a cafeteria to have a couple set meal, we should at least have something special. I don’t want you to be left with any regrets today, so I was wondering how to make things different for you.

Kiro: And then… [laughs sheepishly] what you see in front of you happened.

I lift up Kiro’s food box. The rice has been scooped up in a crooked manner. Although the carrots could be said to be in heart-shapes, they look more like the heads of an arrow.

In the messy omelette, the ham seems to have sneaked out secretly. Perhaps it wanted to have a breath of air after being in such an enclosed space.

The octopus sausages are like blooming fireworks, hiding in the gigantic rice ball, too shy to see anyone. Meanwhile, the sandwich looks incredibly full, and it seems to have chicken drumsticks in it.

This looks like a far from perfect bento - shoddy and clumsy.

Kiro: …what’s in front of you is already the best attempt.

MC: How many times did you make this?!

Kiro: I’ll let it remain an undisclosed secret forever.

He places his palm on his chest, closing his eyes and saying this quietly.

Chuckling, I hand the bento that I’ve prepared to him. In exchange, he gives me a few minutes’ worth of praises.

MC: This seems to be the first time I’m eating what you made.

Kiro: There shouldn’t be a problem.

He looks at me with certainty. His expression is exceptionally serious, causing me to laugh aloud.

MC: Why didn’t you show this to me before?

Kiro: They weren’t good enough.

MC: Have you met your standards now?

Kiro: Of course not! I just felt… that you’d be happy with this.

His eyes are bright, akin to a sun being hidden by soft clouds which are unable to shroud the light.

This perfectionist is slowly, bit by bit, willing to display the areas he isn’t perfect in before me.

Like the tender belly of a kitten.

MC: I’m especially happy. But if something does happen, you’ll have to take responsibility.

Kiro: Of course I’ll take responsibility! Even if nothing happens, I’ll also take responsibility! [laughs] I’ll take responsibility after eating.

The afternoon sunlight is just right. The quiet forest is reminiscent of a small world, embracing us.

MC: I’ll be digging in now!

[ PART FIVE ]

The heavy Pendulum drags us far away from Mother Earth. Our feet are suspended in the air, and continuously scale to greater heights.

As of now, I’m hugging the safety bars in front of me tight.

MC: Kiro, you liar!

Kiro: I’m not! I was duped into coming here too!!

After lunch, we proceeded with the carnival challenge. After going through all the tests earlier, we had pretty much conquered a majority of the attractions in the park.

That is, aside from one of them - the Turbo Drop, which is so tall that it pierces the clouds. It looks as though it’s inviting people to scream in an unparalleled manner.

Because it looks overly frightening, and that the entrance has been designed to be hidden in an obscure place, there are extremely few visitors who ride it.

Kiro: The staff told me that this was very interesting! The entrance was a tower, and I thought it was an attraction where we could look at the scenery from a high altitude.

MC: I can understand all of this, but…

We’ve reached the peak of the Turbo Drop. Over a hundred metres in the sky, the winter air is especially cold, and the empty Turbo Drop seems even more desolate.

I feel as though my heart is already dead.

MC: Why didn’t you let go before we boarded the Turbo Drop!

Kiro: How could you bear to let me go through this on my own!

MC: I have to harden my heart during such circumstances!

Kiro: You could treat it as… us going through a hardship together.

MC: What kind of a hardship could be even more terrifying than this!

Kiro: Just think about it. Don’t novels and movies always have such scenarios? Two lovers experience some… challenge from the world.

He reaches out, gripping my hand tightly.

Kiro: By getting through the difficulty, people can see the determined love of the couple, and they eventually overcome all the barricades! As long as we complete this challenge, the future will be full of tranquil and beautiful days of enjoying each others’ company! This way, do you feel filled with courage?

MC: Does this count as Mr Kiro’s exclusive secret to success?

Kiro: This secret can’t be used by anyone. It only works when it’s related to you. Whenever I face anything frightening, as long as I have this mentality, I’ll feel omnipotent, and that there’s nothing I can’t do.

MC: In that case, me too!

I grab his hand tightly, the view beneath my feet frightening beyond compare. But because Kiro is here, I feel as though I can press on through this.

Holding him as we walk towards the end-goal, all the challenges along the way are simply temporal.

MC: Wait.

Something occurs to me.

MC: This has nothing to do with you dragging me up here.

Kiro: Haha.

The music from the Turbo Drop resounds, signalling that this frightening experience is reaching its end.

The incredibly rapid wind brushes past my ears. In the midst of the weightlessness rushing though my entire body, I hear Kiro’s words.

Kiro: If Miss Chips weren’t around, I definitely couldn’t do this on my own!!

-

With jelly-like feet, I lean against Kiro’s frame. Even so, I can’t help but sulk, my soft fist smashing against him.

MC: …“the future will be full of tranquil and beautiful days of enjoying each others’ company”?

Kiro: Welcome to your tranquil and beautiful days with Kiro.

MC: How would you know about that?

Kiro: I just know it.

His voice is soft as he leans towards my lips. It’s as though his words are at my ear, and requires some weaving before it can reach my heart.

Kiro: Because every day will be a future like this. The only difference is that there will be different kinds of beauty.

MC: in that case, what kind of beauty is it now?

Kiro: Right now…

His voice suddenly grows softer. He takes off the hat he’s been wearing all this while, and covers our side profiles.

Kiro: Lift your head, and I’ll tell you.

Fireworks event: here

[livelongdolan]

Fruit Loop (G.D.)

Summary: Grayson confesses his feelings to his best friend Morgan, scared of how she will react but things go surprisingly well. 

Word Count: 4.5k (literally the longest i’ve ever posted asdjask)

Warnings: just like the dirtiest thing i’ve ever written tbh, squirting, ass eating, the works

A/N: Morgan ( @vinylhazza​ ) is my precious lil fruit loop (hence the name) so I wrote her this fic with gray and i’m VERY nervous to post it but lmfao here we go 

You had moved to Los Angeles, just like many others, to chase your biggest dreams but little did you know that you’d be finding much much more than that. It started as just a joke between a few of your friends really, seeing some youtubers you liked growing to fame living in LA and talking about how interesting it would be to be youtubers yourselves. After a bit of joking, you had decided to make a channel, quickly amassing about 500 subscribers within a month due to your fun-loving and positive nature. You spoke about all different kinds of things, ranging from serious topics to simple and fun videos about your favorite things. After a few more months of gaining subscribers (now at about 1.5k) you decided to move to LA yourself, unfortunately leaving a few friends and family behind but it was worth it considering they were just a phone call away. You were now living in LA with a small but nice apartment and a job at a vegan bakery just to get some money saved up while your channel grew. Within a few months, you hit 3,000 subscribers but still worked at the bakery where you noticed the same two guys coming in every day.

     The first time you noticed them it had been kind of a slow day, they had come in looking like they recently came back from the beach; hair wet, swimming trunks on, and flip flops on their feet. They ordered from you very sweetly, making sure to be polite as they requested a black coffee each as well as a couple of the featured scones. They waited as you were almost distracted by how familiar the two were, studying their faces as you handed them their order. They thanked you and left, coming back almost every day after that. Taking their orders every day made you realize that they were youtubers, the Dolan twins actually, who you weren’t a viewer of but rather a few of your friends back home were so they’d be shocked to hear that you had been serving up their food for the past couple weeks. Eventually you became closer and closer to them, getting their numbers and even going out to lunch with them a couple times. After about a month of knowing them your subscribers had skyrocketed to 10k and you could officially bring in enough income to quit your job. You loved your coworkers and would hate to leave them but you let your boss know and went on your way to fulfill your true dream. 

    The twins had thrown you a small party at their house when you hit the big milestone, getting you balloons and getting a pint of your favorite ice cream for you all to sit down and eat together. Afterwards a movie was put on and you ended up falling asleep with your head on Grayson’s lap where he was sitting on the couch. He was still awake but you looked so precious when you slept that he just decided to go to sleep right there with you, leaning his head back to the couch cushion to be comfortable. The three of you woke up the next morning, you being the first as you rose off of Grayson, stretching your limbs out to get rid of the sleepiness in your muscles. You walked over to the kitchen and got a few things out to make breakfast, your time at the bakery really paying off in making some fresh bread and muffins, all vegan of course. Soon after you put the muffins into the oven Grayson woke up and walked over to you.

“Good morning Morgs. Surprised you’re the first one up.” He laughs, moving around you to grab a couple mugs from the cabinet next to you before pouring you both cups of coffee. 

“Yeah yeah Mr. early riser. Just be grateful I’m making something so delicious for you two.” You smile, returning to the muffins after the oven made a beeping noise and taking them out carefully. You had a purple oven mitt covering your hand but accidentally bumped your wrist against the hot rack that they had been set on. You almost throw the tin down onto the counter, moving your other hand to quickly grab the spot on your wrist where you were burned. 

“Fuck Morgan be careful.” Grayson put down his coffee as soon as he saw what had happened and pulled you over to the sink, forcing the burn under the cold water that soon became soothing. 

“Sorry Gray I just didn’t realize-” He interrupts you.

“No no it’s okay I just don’t want you getting hurt, you’re my best friend ya know? Don’t want anything happening to you.” He smiles but there’s a look in his eyes hidden beneath the normal caring of a best friend. You brush off your thoughts and just give him a small smile, your wrist still aching with a slight pain. Grayson whisks away to grab a bandage and brings it back to you, rubbing a small piece of tissue over the burn before placing it on you. He brought your hand to his face and pressed a small kiss on the bandaid. 

“There,” he smiled, “all better.” He moved the muffins onto a plate for you, not wanting you to get hurt again and also removed the bread from the oven since it had finished while you were being bandaged up.  You thanked him, he brushed it off as no big deal as always and Ethan woke up and wandered into the kitchen. The three of you sat at the dining table for breakfast, telling Ethan what had happened to get those muffins and just making small conversation. The boys thanked you and went on with their days, fixing up a few things around the house with your help and just doing some chores they had been putting off. You stayed until about 5 pm, when you unfortunately had to bid them adieu and go back to your own home. You made the drive over, unlocking your door and making your way to your room to film a new video for your subscribers. After finishing up with the bedtime routine video you decided to do, you cleaned up your filming equipment and went to bed. 

                                                           ***

The next morning you went over to the twins house again, it had really become your new routine. You would wake up, grab some breakfast, and go to their house to just hang out. After all, they were really the only friends you made in LA so far since many of the people you met had been extremely toxic, only there to make connections and get famous for the wrong reasons. So as always you walked right in, you had a key to the place after all, and made your way to Grayson’s room. He was sitting on his bed shirtless just scrolling through his phone. 

“Grayyyy” You whined. 

His head shot up at your voice and a smile spread across his face. 

“Morgaaaaaan.” He mimicked your tone and rose from bed, walking over to wrap his arms around you in a hug. You reciprocated the hug, laying the side of your face on his bare chest and just inhaling his natural scent of general nature. 

“Wanna do something today.” You mumbled, finding comfort in his large arms squishing you into him. 

“Then let's go somewhere. Go ahead and get Ethan while I get dressed.” He pulls away from you, placing his hands on your shoulders before lightly pushing you away to go talk to his twin. 

You walked into the living room where Ethan was sitting playing some video games and tapped him on the shoulder, slightly scaring him.

“Morgan I didn’t even know you were here.” He laughs. You simply smile in return.

“I wanna do something today so c’mon Grayson is getting dressed and you’re already dressed apparently so let’s go get the car started. “ You started making your way to the door before he could even give you an answer. 

“I don’t wanna go anywhere today, do I have to?” He groaned, pausing his game to pout his lips at you.

“I mean like you don’t have to, I just figured you’d want to spend time with your two best friends but it’s fine.” You jokingly sass him before yelling to Gray that you’ll be in the car and making your way out.

“Thank you Morgs.” Ethan yells out the door, returning to his game. 

“Yeah, yeah.” You yell back, shaking your head and laughing. Alone with Grayson. It wasn’t the first time as the two of you had gone out to breakfast together when Ethan was still sleeping on some days, but it was definitely different this time. It was the middle of the day, and you’d probably spend the entire day together. You sat in the Porsche and Grayson joined you, placing himself in the driver’s seat and starting the car. 

“Well, where do you wanna go?” He asked, turning his head to look at you. 

You simply turned back to him and placed a hand on his shoulder dramatically. 

“Surprise me.”

The two of you made your way about three hours, going to a large forest containing a river as well as many different hiking trails. After taking a few water bottles from the trunk, you two made your way up to the medium difficulty trail, just walking and talking your way up to the top of the mountain. Once you could overlook the valley as the sun set, it felt extremely romantic for a pair of best friends. That’s when the two of you sat on the bench placed on the almost edge of the canyon and took a rest, just absorbing the atmosphere around you and the cool evening air. Grayson rested his head on your shoulder, something the two of you normally did but it felt different this time. You were just thinking about it when you felt him move his head to look up at you. You turned to him and that’s when it happened. He moved forward a bit and connected his lips to yours, soft plush skin melding together in the perfect kiss. You reciprocated, softly and slowly allowing yourself to get lost in it all as a warm breeze swept past the two of you. 

     Grayson pulled back first, looking into your eyes and letting his tongue glide across his lips. You gave him one more kiss before finally pulling away to gather your thoughts. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” He admits, a slight blush rising on his face. 

“I’m glad you did.” You smiled before the two of you returned to watching the sunset, hands intertwined. 

                                                          ***

     For the next week you and Grayson kept your new found relationship hidden from Ethan, wanting to make sure that all would be okay before confessing what had happened. Today was the day though, so the two of you decided to talk to Ethan and tell him all that had happened. The three of you now sat in the living room, you and Gray sitting a little too close to be friends and Ethan giving the two of you a look of suspicion. 

“So, Ethan, we wanted to just tell you…” You began. 

“Me and Morgan are together!” Grayson blurts out, a large smile spread across his face. 

Ethan opens his mouth in fake astonishment before just laughing. 

“You think I didn’t see how close you guys have been being? I woke up early to go to the bathroom the other day and Grayson smacked your ass in the kitchen.” He continues laughing at the fact that you guys believed that you actually hid your relationship from him. 

You and Grayson look at each other, embarrassed, but laughing along with Ethan before getting up and going into the kitchen to get some water alone. You can hear the two of them talk while you’re in there, pausing to listen in on their conversation. 

“Damn Gray look at you go, how long did you have a crush on her before you finally did something? Like six months? Or was it when you first saw her at the bakery?” Ethan teases. 

“Shut up E, at least I did something about it.” He playfully shoves his older brother, laughing as he dramatically flops down on the couch. You walk back in with a bottle of water, laughing at the boys’ behavior, and tap Grayson’s shoulder for him to sit down so that you could perch yourself on his lap. Together, you two are just enjoying each other’s company and watching movies for the rest of the day.  

                                                         ***

     About a month in, the two of you have slept together many times but it was always the same. It wasn’t that it was bad or anything but you wanted to venture out and try new things, but both of you were too nervous to say anything about it. That’s when you decided, with the help of talking to your best friend, that you were going to try something new tonight. 

     You walked over to where Grayson was sitting on the couch in the living room, laptop on his lap to edit the newest video. At the sight of you, he lifted his head a bit to give you a smile but soon went back to the work at hand. You sat on the couch directly next to him and rested your head on his shoulder before turning your head up a bit to press kisses on his neck. He leans into it at first, loving the feeling of your lips pressed against the thick muscles in his neck but quickly pulls away. 

“Baby, you know I need to finish this video. The fans are expecting it tomorrow.” He puts his full attention towards the video again, deleting and moving parts around to form something he knew everyone would love. 

You moved closer to him, letting your hand rest on his thigh and rubbing it gently. Slowly, you moved your hand closer and closer to where you knew he truly wanted you. He whined, letting your hand cover the bulge in his shorts as you gripped him slightly. 

“Fuck this.” He moves his laptop off of his lap and on to the table in front of the two of you and grabs you up off of the couch,pulling you into his body. He kissed you harshly, taking your ass in his large hands and squeezing. You moaned into his mouth before allowing his tongue to take dominance over yours. 

“Gray,” You’re already almost breathless as you speak to him, “wanna do more. Want it rougher.” 

He looks you straight in the eyes, almost not believing what you’re saying. 

“Are you sure sweetheart?” His voice goes soft.

“Mhm. I don’t think I’ll need it but the safe word will be strawberry.” You smile up at him. 

“Okay Morgan. ‘M so fuckin lucky to have you baby.” He smirks before grabbing your face and pressing a rough kiss on to your lips again, guiding you slowly to walk towards his bedroom. Once you entered the room, he pushed you back harshly on to the bed before ripping your leggings off from the middle seam that ran between your legs. 

“Gray-” You try to reprimand him for ripping your leggings but he quickly stops his actions and looks right up at you. 

“What, slut? Have something to say?” He growls, making direct eye contact as he kneels down in between your spread legs. 

You just shake your head, biting your lip. 

“Good girl.” Grayson praises you, making his way up your thick thighs with slight bites and kisses against your milky white skin before reaching right where he wanted to be. He ran his tongue against you roughly, collecting your wetness on his tongue before plunging it directly into your tight pink hole. You let out a high pitched moan, legs almost closing around his head before he grips both thighs tightly, pushing them away from his head and giving you a stern look. 

“Morgan?” He asks, a sharp glint in his eyes. You simply look down at him. “Don’t just look at me, fuckin talk.” 

His demanding tone sets something off in you. 

“Yes sir.” You practically moan out the words, his fingertips still diggin into the flesh of your soft marked up thighs. 

“Don’t fuckin move your legs or you’ll get nothing.” He demands. 

“I’m sorry Grayson.” You pout your lips and you can see his dominance falter a bit before returning. 

“F’kn better be.” He mumbles, returning back to licking up all your leaking juices before moving his hand up and plunging two fingers deep into you, causing you to clench around him and make your hole even tighter than it was before. 

“Gray-please please can I cum? Please Grayson lemme cum.” Your eyes are tearing up at the fast pace he’s achieved while he completely ignores you, going even faster. The sounds of him moving in and out of you are so dirty but simultaneously are like music to your ears. Fingers moving in and out of you as fast as they can go, Grayson places his tongue on your clit and gives the softest of licks at a consistent pace. The combination of fast and soft set you off and you’re cumming around him, but instead of stopping there he keeps going. You’re too sensitive and you’re scared of doing something you’ve never done before. 

Until it happens. 

Grayson’s fingers are deep into you after your orgasm, hitting that spot in just the right way and you feel something break inside you. Next thing you know you’re squirting all around his fingers, almost blacking out at how amazing it feels before he’s pushing his cock into you. He bottoms out completely, balls slapping against your ass as you writhe on the bed and grip the sheets as tight as you can. 

“Fuck Morgan that was so hot, squirting all around me like a little whore. My little slut, so so sweet baby so nice. Feel so good around me.” He’s letting words just fall from his mouth like a waterfall at this point, feeling your pussy clench around him so nicely that he cums right then and there. His hot cum pumps into you and he pulls out, watching it slip out of you and dribble down onto the bed. His eyes follow his own cum for a moment before he gets an idea. Grayson’s tongue moves directly to your hole and he scoops up the mixture of the two of you and holds it in his mouth before straddling your body and grabbing your cheeks to open your mouth. You stick your tongue out a bit as he spits into your mouth before closing it and swallowing the sweet concoction. 

“Grayson that was so good.” You say, completely out of breath. 

He plops down next to you on the bed and laughs, smiling and looking over at you. 

“Yeah it was. I’ll buy you some new leggings this weekend though. Promise.”

                                                           ***

The next few weeks go on as normal, trying out different things in and out of the bedroom. You had a deal that each new thing that you did with friends or just together, you’d also do a new thing regarding your more personal lives together. So since the two of you went to a bonfire with a group of friends, Grayson tied you up that night. And since Grayson took you to a new place to eat another day, you rode him that night while his hands were handcuffed above him. What you really wanted to try though, was what you had been waiting for today. The two of you, including Ethan and a couple other friends all went surfing. You had been reluctant to go, particularly because you didn’t know how to surf. The twins both offered to help but you were still wary about getting swept up by any waves. Anxiety ate away at you until Grayson finally convinced you to go, promising that if you wanted to stop at any time you could. 

So here you were, standing in a wetsuit on the beach with a blue surfboard in your hands. Grayson showed you a few stances to take on the board while you were still on the sand before having you swim out a bit into the water on your board to watch him. You took in the way he quickly moved his feet up and into the middle before slightly crouching to ride a pretty decent sized wave. When it was your turn, your stomach was in knots but you had promised to try for Grayson. So you did as he said and got hold of a small wave, pushing you up and over it and closer to the sand. You almost tripped a bit at the end but you caught yourself, looked back at Grayson and raised your hands in victory. He swam over to the shore where you were and gave you a huge hug. 

“Morgan! You fuckin’ did it! I’m so proud!” He’s shouting his congratulations as the rest of your guys’ friends clap for you out in the water. Your face goes red as Grayson hugs you and you mutter out a small thanks, a smile spread across your face. The rest of the day goes on spending time surfing, laying on the beach, and eating some good food from the snack shack on the beach. But since you went through all of that for Grayson he should reciprocate, right? 

That night the two of you were laying in bed when he started playing with your hand, then moving his hand down to under your shorts, rubbing you through your thong. You moaned a bit at the feeling but quickly moved his hand away, looking at you in confusion. 

“Baby you said earlier you wanted to do something tonight, did you change your mind?” He asks, a bit upset but understanding if you’re not in the mood to do anything anymore. 

“Gray no I still wanna do something I promise. But I’m in control.” You smirk as his eyes get a little wider, knowing he’s in for a treat. Grayson never really showed his more submissive side, wanting to be a “real man” for you, but you knew he secretly loved being bossed around. 

“Strip.” You demanded, getting up on your knees on the bed to watch him. He got off and stood on the other side of the bed and took off all of his clothes before returning back in front of you. 

“Get on all fours.” At your request, he looks a little wary so you give him a kiss before placing a hand between his shoulder blades to lightly guide him down. You had seen him shower right when the two of you got home, washing the sand and sea from his body, so you decided right now was the best time. You crawled around to be behind him, his eyes focusing on the dashboard while yours focused on the way his ass was up for you, giving you access to his tight little hole. Hand reaching around to stroke him, you leaned forward and gave small kisses to the back of his thighs, rising to his butt before giving a harsh bite on his right cheek. A squeak jumps from his mouth at the surprise as he lurches forward a bit. 

You simply grin, stroking him a little more before pressing one soft kiss on his tight ring. He gasps, surprised by how good it feels. 

“Like it Gray?” You ask, genuinely wanting him to let you know how he feels since you always want him to be comfortable. 

“Mmmm” He hums, “Love it Morgs. Feels so good.” You can almost hear the smile on his face at his words. 

“Good.” You lick a stripe across the forbidden entry before blowing on the spit left behind for a cooling effect. He lets out a soft moan before pushing his ass back towards you for more. You lick around him in a circle before plunging your tongue into him, slowly fucking the soft warm muscle into him. The entire time the hand not holding you up is stroking Grayson’s cock, precum leaking on to your hand. You switch hands and pull your tongue away, letting your finger covered in precum gently slip into him before sliding it right back out. You reach behind where you are sitting and grab a small bottle of lube that you had secretly placed there before everything got started, squirting a generous amount both on Grayson’s tight ring of muscle and your finger. 

Gently and slowly, you slide your finger back in before working in another one. Your other hand is stroking him in the opposite direction of your fingers working inside of him as you quicken the pace. He’s now groaning almost animalistically at how good it feels, pushing back on to your fingers as you leave kisses all over his left cheek. Hands moving even faster on both ends, you can hear his whines get louder and louder as he cums on your hand. You remove your fingers from him as well as the hand that was wrapped around his cock and lick off the cum. Quickly going to the bathroom right next to the bed, you grab a towel and wipe off your lube covered hand. Grayson has fallen forward on to the bed, cock still aching at what just happened. He finds himself getting hard again, rubbing himself on the soft blankets beneath him before you notice what’s going on. 

“Oh baby,” you almost feel bad for how needy he looks grinding against the blankets, “I’m right here there’s no need for the blankets. Wouldn’t you rather be inside me?” 

He immediately stops, turning his head towards you with bright eyes before getting up quickly and allowing you to lay down on your back. You spread your legs and he pulls you to the end of the bed, immediately sheathing himself inside of you. You groan as he fucks into you, tip just brushing your cervix light enough so that it doesn’t hurt you too bad. 

“M-morgan you’re so- fuck- tight, so pretty, so nice w-wrapped around me.” He stutters through his sentences, plunging himself in all the way before cumming inside of you. Grayson pulls out slowly, trying to keep all of his cum inside of you. He quickly gets on to his knees, eye to eye with your pretty pink hole. 

“Push it out. Wanna watch it drip from your cunt.” His voice is almost a growl as you obey him, contracting your muscles and letting them relax to allow his cum to drip from you. Soon you feel his warm tongue licking up the mix of his cum with yours and you whine softly. After he’s done, he gives you a soft kiss. 

“We should do that more often.” He gives you a soft sweet smile, completely contradicting all of the dirty things you two had done. 

“We really should.” You smile back at him, spending the rest of the night cuddling in bed before falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. 

[mrsbarnes107]

Secret of the Widow

-part six-

Summary: Post Endgame time period. The team is healing, trying to navigate this new normal they’ve found themselves in when Bucky and Sam bring home a stray with an attitude and a secret. Will the broken team take her in? Or is it too much to bare?

Warnings: language, *eventual* violence and smut, death, fluff, angst

Pairings: Bucky x OC

Disclaimer: this is posted to Wattpad as well and it WILL HAVE PLOT. I’m a Bucky hoe so there will be smut and romancy stuff but this is a series, so plot plot plot.

Forty-five minutes later I walk out of my still steaming bathroom. I wish I could thank Tony for the never ending hot water and place to live, it's a nice change in routine.

I wish I could thank him for a lot of things.

I give myself a little shake. No sappy moments, not right now.

With a lighter step, I throw on some baggy sweatpants and a tank top, leaving my hair to air dry. I'm pretty sure a good first impression was thrown out the window already anyways.

With a final nod in the mirror, I leave the sanctuary of my room and give myself to the wolves.

As I enter the kitchen, the smell of cheeseburgers and salty fries hits me. I'm almost certain I let out a tiny moan, but I'm going to deny it if asked.

"Hey Ali, grab some food and come sit by me sweetie." Wanda yelled from the table, not even glancing at me, unlike the rest of the group.

Banner still seems reserved, like he doesn't know how he's suppose to respond to the news of my existence. Clint on the other hand looks like he has something to talk about, sad curiosity all over his features.

Having not eaten in the last two days, I'm positive I could inhale more of these beautiful beef buns than even Barnes can, who is currently sitting with three burger on his plate and a mountain of fries. Okay well maybe not him, but Wilson for sure. The mans pretty scrawny.

After getting my food, I plop down in the seat between Wanda and Bucky, immediately tearing into my food. Etiquette be damned.

"So where's Petey? He and I have some unfinished business." I'm pretty sure I just heard Barnes try to cover a small chuckle with a cough. I should probably not talk with my mouth full, at least not during my first ever meal with the team.... whoops.

"He's attending MIT, following Tony's footsteps apparently, so he went off somewhere to study his big book of boring." Wilson didn't even bat an eye while answering.

The room settled in silence for a few minutes. It was not a comfortable one at all.

With a loud sigh I set my wonderful, heavenly, beautiful burger down. "Okay. Spit it out. This silence is strangling me and I'm trying to enjoy this God sent meal in peace."

Sam chuckled quietly, wiping his mouth free from the mustard smeared everywhere. "Okay tiny Tony calm down."

That's the second time today I've been compared to Tony. Each time my heart breaks a little. It's nice though, having a part of him so apparent in me that they see it despite meeting me less than five hours ago.

"So you and Stark were close, obviously, Nat is your mom, still weird, and you know Barnes pretty well by the looks of it."

I pop a few fries in my mouth before answering. Mmm fried potatoes doused in salt is a glorious creation. "All of that is very true baby bird."

Barnes hides a smile as Sam glares very unthreateningly across the table at me. My fry hits him right in the nose.

This time Clint joins Bucky in choking down a laugh.

"So how well do you know Barnes here hm? You were eighteen when you met? I wonder-"

Bucky tensed up, jaw ticking away. Wanda just pursed her lips and kept quiet.

I set my hand on his metal arm. "Stand down Sarge, birdys just trying to wind you up." Bucky relaxes, nerves still on edge and eyes throwing daggers at the bird man.

I look to Sam with a raised brow. "I'm a lady Samuel, we don't kiss and tell. Did you have anything productive to ask before you got all pissy?"

He sighed in annoyance, eyes showing slight amusement. "I still want to know how you got those cuffs on us, they have no key or biometric identification. Did you see me enter the code?"

I let out a soft laugh and turned to Wanda. "You should've seen their faces, it was a beautiful sight." With a glance back at Sam I shove another bite of my burger into my mouth, talking around the food. "I worked with Stark for years dude. I have access to, and can override, anything in this building. He gave me full clearance before I could drive."

"But he never let you up here? Even when we were out on a mission?" This time it was Banner who spoke up.

With a small smile I shrugged. "We didn't want to chance me running into any of you, especially after Petey joined. He worked in the lab with me a bit and it made Tony a little wary. Plus Nat worried about Sarge here seeing me."

Buckys head snapped to me, not expecting to be brought into the conversation. "She knew I had no memories though, why would meeting me worry her enough to ban you from the upper levels?"

Our eyes locked for a few seconds before I turned away, glancing at him as I breeze past the question. "Conversation for another time Buck.... so who made dinner? Well complements to the chef Clint, this is some juicy meat."

•••

Dinner continued with light laughter, and small talk. The group introducing themselves and trying to welcome me into the tight knit squad. The atmosphere was kind, but I could see the change caused by the loss of their friends. A year later and the wounds are still barely even scar tissue.

I remember the times I'd be working in the lab and get bored, eventually deciding that the Avengers would be my own little reality show to pass the time. They use to be so care free, at least as much as they could be, laughter filling the halls and pranks pulled on one another. Now it's random bursts of joy until the silence relapses for a bit.

Maybe I can do some good here. At least bring a little more light into the tower, make the darkness fade a little.

Wanda and I decided to have a movie night in the living room while the guys did whatever guys do. She chose some romcom, which we inevitably verbally assaulted as the cheesy plot continued.

"So, Ali, besides Fury is there anyone else in your life?"

"Nah, there's been a few dates, but having to lie about who you are makes things difficult. Although, so does my choice in work and the fact that I'm very rarely interested in anyone enough to put in the effort." I gave her a shrug and just rolled my eyes, keeping the conversation light.

"I'm curious on the team dynamic. Tony and Steve were like the divorced parents that told everyone what to do, is it just a 'go with the flow' situation now?"

Thankfully this made her chuckle. "Apparently this family of ours can't function without parents that hate each other. Bucky and Sam are the exact same way, they've taken the mantle up themselves. But honestly we're still learning our strengths and how we fit without the old pieces."

I gave her a nod, forehead creased while I tried to picture the teams strengths and weaknesses cohesively fitting together.

It wasn't until midnight when we decided to get some sleep, setting plans to go shopping after lunch the next day.

The bed was more comfortable than anything I've ever had the absolute pleasure of laying upon, but I still couldn't pass the hell out.

I just grunted in very extreme annoyance, despite this being a normal occurrence, and rolled out of bed.

After a quick stop to the kitchen to make some tea, I made my way to Tony's lab.

It looked just as it did the last time I was here, seven years ago Thanos time I suppose.

Walking around the large space, knowing that Tony won't be strutting in yelling about his genius breakthrough after his twelfth coffee of the morning, or having him standing over my shoulder as he teaches me the new mechanics of his suit, well it's surreal.

The room doesn't even feel like him anymore. This lab was once a place that brought me a sense of comfort and home, a place where his laugh encompassed the very life of the room, where his sarcasm bounced of the walls in never ending jabs. Now it is just cold and empty. The joy it once held long gone.

I sit in the floor, leaned against his work table. Now realizing that tears are running down my cheeks, a quiet remembrance to a man I cared for like a father.

I don't bother to wipe the tears away, it'd feel like denying him this moment, I just sigh and rest my head against his chair. "Oh Tony, you self sacrificing idiot.. I miss you. So much. I can't believe you left me alone with Nicky, that was just cruel you know. You both did."

With a shiver I set the empty mug beside me, bringing my legs up to curl my arms around.

"Why did you always have to be so hell bent on sacrificing yourself? Everytime this world called, it was always YOU risking it all, YOU flying into a space portal, YOU getting so much hate and blame from the team, even SHIELD, all the time. I just-" a chocked sob surprises me as I realize this is the first time I've talked to him, really talked, in six years.

"You had everything T, a wife, a baby, me and Petey. And they asked you to give it all up, yet this world barely gives you the recognition you deserve. Steve walks out and just leaves, after so much death, so much that needs cleaned up, he makes the most selfish decision i have ever seen, and yet is grieved more than you are. He walked out on his best friend, left the team already broken, and had the audacity to think he was owed that selfishness. A man who gave up everything and asked for nothing in return, overshadowed by the man who had nothing and was handed everything." I let out an angry little chuckle.

"This world is so backwards and cruel. Now I'm left in it alone. What am I suppose to do T? This place, these people, there's no light here anymore. And I just- it's just- it's so hard Tony. My parents are gone and I'm alone and I miss you so much. Being here breaks my heart. Every second I'm within these walls, knowing I'll never hear your laugh, your encouragement or sassy remarks, never walk in to AC/DC blasting while your passed out at your table. Every second I'm here hurts T. I just- I miss you so much dad and I'll never get to tell you how much I love you."

If I hadn't had my eyes closed, or been in the middle of an impressive mental breakdown, I might have heard the footsteps approaching long ago. But my tears brought sleep to me quickly and everything went black.

[redqueen-hypothesis]

tied together pt.2 ➳ mlqc

➳ WORD COUNT: 3359

➳ GENRE: fluff

➳ SYNOPSIS: how would the mlqc boys (lucien, victor and shaw) propose?

➳ REMARKS: i seem to be obsessed with sleeping at last songs recently. they’re soothing to ears... these headcanons were inspired by heart. 

VICTOR

has been thinking about proposing for a long, long time

and by long, long time i mean, he’s been thinking about this ever since the two of you started dating

victor has a one track mind: dating, proposal, marriage. when he gets into a relationship with you, it’s all or nothing

the man might seem like he’s emotionally constipated - but he’s determined to make this relationship work, to officially join the two of you together for the rest of your lives

victor is a traditionalist romantic, he inherited that side from his mother. he’s big on romantic shows of affection and has the money to do it too, so he gets down to preparing something that will definitely blow you away

he’s brought up the idea of proposing before, wanting to wait until you’re as ready as he is about the idea of being together

when you give him positive answers, jokingly telling him that he’ll have to do all the cooking or you’d turn him down on the spot, he knows that it’s time to pop the question

gradually puts together a proposal plan after work each day, making arrangements and phone calls

goldman gets roped into helping overtime (give the poor man a raise)

aside from goldman, though, victor is determined to get this proposal down on his own: it’s his proposal, and he’ll do it with his own hands

personally goes to the florist to inspect each and every rose he’s buying (he’s buying them by the hundreds), trimming them of the thorns and bundling them into bouquets

he’s not fantastic with his hands, fumbles with the silk ribbons that seem to keep slipping through his fingers and some of the bouquets look just a little lopsided, but it’s the effort that counts for him

victor knows money can buy almost anything in the world, but he also knows more than anyone else what money can’t buy - your love, your devotion, your patience with him

finds himself reminiscing a lot about his memories with you, from the way you jammed your foot in his office door and shouted how you were going to get that funding no matter what to the way you shiver when he kisses you

gods, time works in some strange ways

you realise he’s been looking a little exhausted when you come to deliver the reports to his office, but victor waves it off, looking as put together as ever

goldman complains to you that he’s been staying up late doing extra work and that he should at least get a bonus, but victor drags him away before he can say another word

(he does get a bonus, but it’s more of hush money than anything. from then on goldman keeps his mouth faithfully shut)

one day after a work week, victor invites you to souvenir for dinner. it’s rare that he brings you there nowadays, because you’d rather just eat together in his house, but you’ve missed the place and mr mills

he sends you a dress to wear, a beautiful wine red affair that fits you like a second skin, and also a limousine to pick you up. no one but him is seeing you in that dress

you’re kind of stressed, because victor just dropped this on you out of nowhere and oh god is something big happening? the dress looks more like something you’d wear on the red carpet than a simple meal

you redo your make up five times before giving up

when you enter the limo, the chauffeur passes you a delicate jewelry box “with regards from mr li”. you open it to find a string of sparkling stones - no, those cannot be real... right?

when you think about your boyfriend though, no they’re quite definitely real

you put it on with shaking hands. victor has a penchant for giving you the strangest gifts, from a golden camel he’d found in a souvenir shop while visiting dubai to a glass jar of pink sand from the beaches of eleuthera just because you had mentioned wanting to visit in passing

but diamonds? you’re pretty sure you’ve seen this as a collector’s item somewhere... how much did they cost?

stepping into souvenir is like stepping into another world altogether - you’ve never seen it like this before

there are velvet roses decorating the small restaurant, in all manner of colour, wine red, champagne, white and pink, scented candles lighting up the room with their flickering glow

and standing in the middle of it all is victor dressed in a dark suit, holding a huge bouquet of red roses in his hands. when he sees you, his face softens ever so slightly, and he puts the flowers in your hands “here”

doesn’t so much as explain what they’re for, pulling out your chair for you. the two of you are the only ones here, and victor serves you himself

is it just you, or does the food somehow taste better than usual?

during the course of the entire dinner, however, victor looks like he wants to say something, but can’t quite open his mouth

he puts a pudding in front of you for desert, your favourite, but this time when you cut it in half with your spoon, there’s sound of metal on metal

you frown. surely victor wouldn’t have dropped one of his cuff-links inside? scooping it out, you find a single, silver band inside, a sparkling diamond resting on the top

you stare at it for a good few seconds without moving, unable to believe your eyes. you’re not hallucinating, right? that’s really a diamond ring there in the middle of your pudding?

you know it’s a proposal. you just can’t seem to shed the thickness in your throat that steals your voice, the way your hands are trembling too much to pick the ring up, the way you’re on the verge of bursting into tears

victor is a little flustered. he can’t see the ring from where he is since it’s still firmly lodged in the pudding. did you swallow it on accident?

he rises to his feet, picks up the ring (where it is, thankfully, still in the pudding and not halfway down your throat), and kneels next to where you’re seated

your eyes are wide with unshed tears, and suddenly he finds it difficult to speak

fuck, he had a speech written... he can’t remember a damn bit of it now

when he whispers your name, you look up at him with those beautiful eyes in stunned shock, and the words just tumble out.

“i know that i am not a perfect man, that sometimes we fight, and that there are times we disagree. i know all of that, but i also know that more than anything in the world, you’re the one i want to spend the rest of my life with.” words have never felt heavier on his tongue. “i love you, i really do. will you marry me?”

you’re still frozen, unable to wrap your head around this, victor is proposing to you. on the other hand, the poor man is starting to wonder if he’s given you a heart attack. “you don’t have to give me an answer right now, you can take some time to think over it more clearly. i know it’s an important decision to make, so-”

you practically knock him over with the force of your hug, squeezing him so tight to you victor almost feels like he can’t breathe

“yes.” you whisper into his ear, and he can feel your tears - warm tears of pure joy falling onto the bare skin of his neck. “yes, i’ll marry you, victor.”

ahh fuck. victor doesn’t know why he feels like crying too. he holds you tighter so you can’t see his face. “you’ll rip your dress like that, dummy.”

when the two of you finally get off the floor, he puts the ring on your finger, and you pull him in for such a fierce kiss that you almost knock him to the ground again

“dummy” he whispers again, and kisses you back just as hard

LUCIEN

surprisingly, just recently starting thinking about proposing

for him, the fact that you were already dating him was all the happiness he thought he deserved for everything he had done as ares

he knew that he had hurt you before, his betrayal, his involvement with black swan, and although he seemed perfectly fine on the outside, he would lie in bed, late at night and unable to sleep, thinking

“does a person like me really deserve such an ordinary happiness?”

everything had been about the evolution of mankind to him, survival of the fittest, leaving the weak behind

and yet nowadays when he sat on a park bench and partook in his usual hobby of people-watching, non-evolvers and evolvers alike, mingling without distinction and enjoying their time together, as friends, as family, as lovers, he couldn’t help but ache for that intangible something as well

love. a concept that had been so utterly foreign to him that he’d merely dismissed it as a survival mechanism humans had developed so that different people would take care of each other, increasing their chances of procreating and passing on their genes

until he had met you

he remembered something you had told him once

“if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” it was love that made humans humane

he had dreamed so much about a future where only the best of humanity had survived, leading to a elite society of humans, but if they had to give up this love to get there, did that really make them human?

he pulled together the tiny fragments of memories he had of his parents. the way they had loved each other, the way they had loved him. the way you love him, even though there’s no logical explanation to why you would, even after all he’s done

tears slip silently down lucien’s cheeks on the park bench, alone, for the first time since that car accident when he was five

a young girl offers him a tissue, he smiles and thanks her, watching her scurry back to her family

so you were right all along, weren’t you?

when he confesses this to you one night, with your arms wrapped around his in bed, you look down at him with the most tender smile - so full of this love that he feels like he needs to look away, yet he can’t tear his eyes away from your face

“everyone deserves to be happy, lucien. and i want to be one of the reasons for your happiness, if you’ll let me.”

silly girl. you’re the reason he’s understood happiness in the first place

dating isn’t enough for him. he wants more, to be bound to you, heart, body and soul. he wants to become family, he wants to see you in a white dress. he wants to see his ring on your finger, your love belonging to him for the rest of your lives

he wants to give you the same love you’ve given him

“when two people come together in love, it grows.” you had told him gently, one day out on a date with him. “i want to make you happy because it makes me happy too.”

he’s watched plenty of romance novels in an attempt to replicate the human emotion of love, so he’s all too aware of how the sweetest of words slip out far too easily from his mouth

all those seem so trivial, so lackluster when it comes to expressing just how much he feels for you - it even scares him sometimes

proposals needs rings. that’s the easy part

but he wants to ask you in a way that means something deeper for the two of you

sometimes the old ghosts come back to haunt him and taunt, ‘look at how weak you’ve become, ares, what a fool.’ your arms and lips are there to chase the darkness away

it’s an emotional journey for the two of you

waits till it’s spring to do it

lucien invites you out on a date to a garden exhibition in the rural countryside

it’s a small, beautifully kept greenhouse (typically, it wouldn’t be open to the public, but lucien pulled a few strings with the owner)

when you step in, you’re stunned to see vibrant colours all around in this small, cozy greenhouse. beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe it

you’re already stunned enough until one of the petals flutter just a little before taking off into the air, it’s a butterfly!

your smile makes lucien smile

you run from bush to bush, from flower to flower, gushing to lucien about how beautiful they are - lucien thinks you’re far more beautiful, but just smiles and nods

“did you know that some butterflies only live for a few days after hatching?” he wonders aloud, and you turn back to see him watching two butterflies dancing together in the air. “and yet they’re still one of the most beautiful sights that nature can offer the world.”

you slip your hand into his. when he looks down at you, bemused, and you smile. “kind of like human lives, don’t you think?”

the two of you spend some time at the greenhouse before you leave, wandering along the some of the grassy fields outside. to your surprise, there’s a small stall selling handmade kites

lucien catches you looking at it, and asks if you want to fly kites. you remember your promise together, to fly kites in spring. he hasn’t forgotten it, not even once

you shout encouragement to lucien as he runs, pulling the kite along, and cheer as the purple butterfly kite soars up into the air on the stiff breeze

the two of you take turns keeping the kite in the air

doing this together makes you feel like everything is okay, as if lucien is telling you that he’s ready to put down his past as ares and move on to who he wants to be

you’re feeling just a tiny bit sad when you reel in the kite together, until you see the something shiny tied to the kite

curiously, you pull it free - and realise that it’s a ring

the gem on it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen, it looks white at first glance, but under the light it splits into a rainbow of colours

lucien speaks quietly as he slides it onto your finger. “at first, all i could see this world in was black and white. but the day when you came in my life... i saw colours for the first time. you taught me that this world was so much more than what i thought was right, helped me see the way others saw the world. you brought colour into my life.”

of course you cry. the way lucien speaks is in a way you’ve rarely heard him, his voice isn’t that smooth, composed tone you’re so used to hearing

it’s raw, emotional, and so real with you that you find yourself hanging onto every last word

“i know i don’t deserve you, or the love you give me, but can i be selfish enough to keep asking for it regardless?”

this silly man. why is he asking for it when he already has it all?

holding the kite between you, he kisses you so gently that you feel yourself unraveling under the near painful affection that you can feel from it - the end of one promise, and the forging of a new one together, one that you’ll keep for the rest of your life

SHAW

what’s marriage? is that something you eat?

shaw hasn’t thought about marriage since like... ever

he’s lived his entire life on the edge, playing with danger, coming and going like the thunder clouds before and after a storm

settling down has never been a concept he’s familiar with, but it’s one he finds himself thinking about after he started dating you

he’s kind of young for this, so he’s not sure if he’s ready to give up this flighty lifestyle - it’s all he’s known all his life

and yet, when you call for him, he’s there. when you need him for help, he appears. when you ask him to remain with you, he stays

isn’t that something similar to being chained down already? shaw wonders, but doesn’t quite understand why he doesn’t seem to mind

sometimes, he worries thinks about the fact that you’re getting older... don’t you think about settling down? didn’t one of your co-workers ask you out on a date a few days ago?

when he brings up this question with you one day, you think about it for a bit before nodding. for a second, a tiny bit of worry edges into his heart, but then you’re kissing him on the cheek gently. “whenever you’re ready.”

fuck. he’s never really cared about being a reliable person, he’s the only person who he’s had to take care of his entire life, but now he has you

he wants to be your rock. your anchor in the storm. your man.

when the fuck did he get so cheesy???

finds himself making tiny changes in his lifestyle that he wasn’t even aware of, waving away a cigarette when one of his bandmates offer him a stick, choosing to bring you out on late night dates instead of going drinking with some more uh... shady friends

starts taking on a part time job to earn extra cash (and counting his umbrellas so he stops losing them)

mayhaps he has something in mind that he wants to buy (something for you, but he’s not quite sure yet)

the necklace was an impulse purchase

he’d been skating down the streets, heading home from university one day when a pair of necklaces in the window of a shop catch his eye - they have matching charms, a small storm cloud and a sun

his first thought is: wow that’s so stupid

his second thought: you would look cute with it

he knows he’s whipped, but he’s never going to admit it

shaw finds himself buying it anyway, only to regret it immediately after

what the fuck is he doing

he chucks it somewhere into the mess of his apartment, only for it to resurface a few weeks later when you come over to bring back some clothes you’ve left over in his house

you find the jewelry box, and open it to find the necklaces

they don’t really look like shaw’s type. maybe there’s another girl wooing him?

when shaw sees you holding it he’s scrambling to explain, no it’s not a gift from a girl, it’s...

you look at him, confused. “it’s...?”

he doesn’t have much of a choice but to give it to you now. plucking out the silver chain of the sun necklace, he holds it out to you a little awkwardly

“it’s for you.”

you look into the box curiously. “but there’s another necklace...?”

he blurts out what’s been on his mind for a while

“they’re matching necklaces... for you and me.” he mumbles. you don’t think you’ve ever seen him this embarrassed before. “to chase away any bastards who think they have a chance with my girl. damn, this is stupid, i’m going to throw this-”

you grab his hands before he can move, and suddenly you’re wearing the prettiest smile as you ask him, “well, aren’t you going to put it on me?”

chewing on his lower lip, he puts it around your neck. it takes him a few tries to get the clasp right

in return, you put the other necklace around him, kissing his neck and he swallows at the warmth of your mouth

maybe it’s a little too early to start thinking about marriage, but he knows you’ll wait for him, and that he’ll get there one day

“you belong to me now, alright? no one can take you away from me.”

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction || Hospitals

A/N: It’s not just me that’s creeped out by hospitals right?

Seokjin:

You were feeling sick all week but you weren’t going to let that stop you from doing anything, you had a surprise birthday party to plan for, and an exam coming up. You couldn’t risk taking any sick days off, so you were currently in the mall looking for the perfect gift for your boyfriend, Jin, it had to be perfect or you couldn’t give it to him. You were currently on the phone to your best friend, Jimin, talking about something you could get for Jin when you were hit with a dizzy spell,

“Y/N? You okay?” You heard Jimin’s faint voice ask from the other line, you leant against a wall and hummed back at him.

“Yeah…Just a little tired. I should go and eat something.” You mumbled you hadn’t eaten in two days, it’s not that you didn’t want to eat, but every time you did you ended up being sick, the sickness bug you’d caught was taking everything out of you, draining you and now you were starting to feel the effects of it.

“Maybe you should come back to the dorms, we can go shopping together tomorrow.” You groaned holding your head.

“Jimin I have to do this today, I have to study tomorrow.” He sighed and let you go and try to eat. None of them knew you were sick, you weren’t about to spoil Jin’s birthday because you caught a small bug that would be gone within a matter of days.

(X)

“Y/n?” You looked up from your plate to see a girl around your age standing in front of you, a giant smile on her face, you smiled back at her not wanting to seem rude and she asked you for a selfie.

“Me? But Jin’s not here.” You said with a small laugh, you were used to people coming up to Jin when you were together but not when you were alone.

“I just think you’re awesome,”

After taking a few photos she sat down with you to eat and she noticed you weren’t eating anything, and you were pale.

“You feeling okay?” You shook your head and sipped on the bottled water you’d bought.

“Little under the weather,” You answered biting down on your lip, even the thought of eating right now was making you nauseous.

“Maybe you should head home…You’re starting to sweat.” She was right, you nodded and got up from your seat, she offered to help you get to the taxi bay so you wouldn’t have to walk alone and you thanked her.

“It’s nothing, do you need me to call anyone on your phone? Let them know you’re not well?” You shook your head, about to get into the taxi when another Dizzy wave hit you, this time it blocked your vision and you felt heavy.

“Is she okay?” You heard someone asking from beside you, you groaned and opened your eyes. You were sat in a hospital bed, Jin, the girl from the mall and a doctor all standing around you, you looked at Jin and he looked pale, almost as pale as you.

“She’s just got a small bug, I’ve given her some medication, hopefully, it’ll bring her appetite back and she’ll be as good as new.” The fan noticed you were awake first and nudged Jin’s arm, he instantly came closer to you and touched your forehead, checking your temperature, you pushed his hand away and reached for the glass of water.

“Your lucky Kaitlyn was here with you, if you’d have fallen without her there you might have hurt your head.” The doctor excused himself and you thanked Kaitlyn for bringing you to the hospital.

“I don’t know how I could ever say thank you enough.” You joked sipping on your water and looking at Jin, he was staring down at you and playing with your hair.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Kaitlyn excused herself and you looked up at him, he looked sad.

“It’s your birthday soon…I didn’t want to worry you because I was feeling a little sick.” He chuckled and bent down to kiss the top of your head.

“You worried me even more by ending up in here.” You groaned and laid back against the bed.

“Yeah…this wasn’t supposed to be a part of the plan.” You joked, the door to your room opening to reveal the rest of the boys standing there, all holding get well soon presents and big smiles on their faces.

Yoongi:

“Yoongi I’m telling you I’ll be there in ten minutes, I promise.” You said down the phone to your boyfriend, you’d promised to meet him at the studio with a picnic for you both but you were running late again.

“Just be careful, it’s busy out there today. Don’t rush, I can wait.” You smiled at how he was with you, this was the first time you would be seeing him in a week and you weren’t going to miss it. You liked to give him space to work, and he was in the zone lately so you stayed out of the way. Only today he called you to ask if you wanted to come for lunch and you jumped at the chance of seeing him, even if it was for a short while.

“I’ll see you soon baby.” You giggled, hanging up the phone and leaving through the front door. He was right though, it was really busy in the middle of the city, traffic was bad because of a big accident and people were yelling and honking for traffic to start moving. You kept your head down as you headed through the city and came to a set of big traffic lights, you pushed the button and waited until it was all clear to cross.

“Morning.” An elderly man crossing the road greeted, you smiled back at him, ready to say something back when you heard screaming and a loud honking coming your way.

“Watch out!” You screamed pushing the elderly man out of the way of a racing red car, the next thing you knew you were rolling over the top of the car and hitting the floor with a thud.

“Someone call an ambulance!” A woman yelled rushing over to you, you tried to sit up but she held you down on the ground, she was saying something to you but you couldn’t make out what she was saying, there was a loud ringing going off in your ear.

“Yoongi?” You whimpered out, but he wasn’t there.

“Someone call Yoongi.” You coughed out, the woman was still trying to talk to you, but you couldn’t hear her or the words coming out of your mouth.

(X)

“Where is she?” Yoongi panicked looking at his phone, he’d called you fifteen times, you should have been here by now, even if you took a longer route or stopped off, you should have been here and you always answered your phone no matter what.

“Yoongi…It’s Y/N.” Namjoon said from the door, he had a phone pressed against his ear and Yoongi was on his feet rushing over to his panicked friend and following him down and out of the building.

“She’s in the hospital, a car came speeding through a red light and hit her head on, here.” Namjoon gave him the address and he rushed over to his car, forgetting everything about work and focussing on getting to you.

“Sir you can’t just walk in there. Sir!” He ignored them, bursting through your door and seeing you laid in bed, your eyes shot up and you locked eyes, relaxing instantly as soon as you saw it was him.

“Yoongi.” You breathed out, he rushed to your side of the bed and dragged you into a hug.

“You had me worried sick.” He panted pulling away and cupping your face in his hands, he made you look at him and you smiled weakly at him. You had a cut above your right eyebrow where you hit the ground, your arm was broken and in a cast and your ankle had some soft tissue damage but apart from that, you were fine.

“I’m fine Yoongi…I have a small concussion but I’m fine.” He shook his head, pushing hair behind your ear and leaning his forehead against yours.

“When I find whoever ran that red light-” You kissed him to stop him from continuing his sentence and he sighed,

“If anything would have happened to you-” You shut him up with another kiss and moved over so he could sit on the bed next to you.

“Nothing happened to me…I’m fine. I’m here, I’m alive.” You whispered to him, the door opened again and in walked the elderly man you had pushed out of the way of the car.

“I wanted to bring you these.” He said putting a vase of flowers on the bedside table and looking at you and Yoongi, Yoongi got up from the bed and shook his hand.

“Your girlfriend saved my life today.” He said patting Yoongi’s hand and going back over to the door, you smiled at him and looked at Yoongi who was staring at you.

“It was nothing.” You said with a small laugh, Yoongi kissed the top of your head, the elderly man chuckled before leaving you both alone in the room together again.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” He warned you, kissing your lips, you giggled and kissed him back.

“I won’t,”

Hoseok:

“Jungkook!” You screamed racing after him, they’d brought you along to New Zealand for a break and you were staying in a small cabin near some mountains, you were getting ready to go hiking this morning when Jungkook came in and stole your hoodie.

“I swear if you don’t stop right now!” You yelled at your brother, he chuckled running out of the door and into the garden of the small cabin, you followed him outside and Hoseok was laughing from the kitchen, you sent your boyfriend a playful glare and hunted after your brother.

“Jung Kookie!” You screamed following him up a hill, the rest of the boys were outside of the cabin now, watching you chase after Jungkook who had climbed over a rock, you went to do the same which proved to be a mistake because you lost your footing and slipped backwards and hit the floor with a thud.

(X)

“Hoseok I’m fine.” You grumbled from the hospital bed, he’d rushed you to the nearest hospital to get some help even though you insisted you were fine. No one else agreed though, your ankle was purple and swelling up and you were in a lot of pain so Namjoon and Hoseok rushed you to see someone, you were now waiting for the X-Ray’s to come back.

“Well, it’s a break.” The doctor said coming into the room and looking at you, you sighed throwing your head back against the pillows, what a way to kick of a holiday.

“We’ll get you in a cast right away, and then we’ll send you away with some crutches to use.” You nodded along and he left the room, promising to come back with some pain relief and a nurse to get your ankle ready.

“Don’t you dare say, "I told you so"Hoseok.” You warned turning to look at your boyfriend, he chuckled and shook his head at you.

“I was actually going to ask if I could be the first one to sign your cast…and pick the colour.” You giggled and nodded along with him, you looked up when the door opened to see Jungkook standing there holding your hoodie and a stuffed bear.

“I’m sorry.” You playfully glared at your younger brother but he came in and gave you a hug.

“Hoseok wanted you dead as soon as it happened.” You said to him, which was right because as soon as Hoseok saw you ankle he wanted to rush over and beat your brother up, in a playful way…kind of.

“It was an accident, you didn’t have to follow me up there.” You shook your head, playfully hitting Jungkook in the arm and looking at Hoseok who was still staring at your face.

“Hoseok…I’m not dead! It’s a broken ankle and a cut to my cheek…I’m fine, just means no more hiking for me.” You said with a smile, hiking wasn’t your favourite pass time so at least now you could spend your holiday actually relaxing.

Namjoon:

You were driving to meet Namjoon for a date, you were going to go and have a meal and then go to watch a new film in the cinema together, you were picking him up from the studio to head straight out but there was a problem. Traffic was bad and you were late as it was, any later and you were going to miss the movie.

“Okay Google, text Joonie.” You spoke into your phone which was on the stand, you told him you were going to be late and you could still make the meal but not the movie and you would see him soon. The message was sent and you relaxed a little in the seat, traffic made you anxious, you don’t know why. It was just something about it that made you anxious and on edge.

“New Text from Joonie; That’s alright we can have a movie night at home. Drive safe love you.” You smiled at the response and began to speak into the phone again when you heard an ambulance heading your way, you moved your car over to the side so there was enough room to get through but it clipped the back of your car and you went into the one in front of you.

(X)

Namjoon rushed to the hospital looking for you, he’d gotten a call from a nurse saying you’d be brought in due to a car accident but that she couldn’t give out any more information until he came down to see you, he rushed over with Jin and came to look for you.

“Can you just let me go I’m fine!” He heard you yelling before he saw you, he looked around the floor and spotted you in one of the rooms yelling at a nurse, he sighed rushing through the door, you were laid on the bed, dressed in a hospital gown and being stared at by a doctor.

“Joonie, thank god. Can you tell them to let me leave.” You pleaded, shaking the doctor’s hand away from your face, he was trying to shine a flashlight in your eyes.

“You were in a car accident,” Namjoon said, you stared at him and then to the doctor.

“A car accident?! An ambulance clipped my back head and I went into the car in front of me…I wasn’t even in gear. It wasn’t a car accident it was a bump.” The doctor walked out of the room as soon as he realised you were serious and you got up from the bed to get changed.

“Close the curtain Joonie.” He shut you both in the curtain and you pulled off the hospital gown and began changing back into your jeans.

“I can’t believe they told you I was in an accident.” You laughed turning to look at him, he looked shaken up by the whole thing, you walked over to him and put your arms around the back of his neck.

“Joonie…I’m fine. It was a small bump, I’m fine, the other driver is fine, my car is going to need a new brake light though and some new headlights, so instead of our date can I go on a hunt for a car shop.” He sighed kissing your lips and smiling at you,

“You’re going to be the death of me. Don’t worry me like that again.” You pushed him away and left the room with him.

“Wasn’t me that worried you, it was the doctor.”

( @lovies-kpop-fan-fiction​ okay so this gif has killed me off) 

Jimin:

You were laid in the hospital bed, the doctors had been coming in and out all night to check on you, they’d wake you up to do intake and then let you drift back off to sleep again, you were exhausted. Broken sleep was worse than no sleep at all.

“Look can I just go home, I feel fine.” You said to the nurse who had come in to do another set of intake results, she looked at you with a sad look and shook her head. All you had was some stupid flu bug but because you’d passed out at work they were keeping you overnight to watch over you and to make sure you were okay.

(X)

“Hello? Yes, this is Park Jimin…No…” Namjoon looked up from the table to see Jimin on the phone to someone, the smile that was on his face less than two seconds ago wiped clean and replaced with a worried look.

“Is she okay?” Hoseok looked up next to see his friend rushing to get off the chair and over to the front door, Jin and Taehyung following behind him as he looked for his car keys, Jungkook grabbed them and they all headed for the car without a second thought.

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up and turned to his friends, he explained how you’d passed out at work and currently sat in a hospital with a concussion and asking to go home but no one would let you leave without a helper.

“She’s a strong one, you know she’ll want to go home right away,” Jungkook said with a smile as they drove in the direction of the hospital.

(X)

When he arrived you were sitting crossed-legged on the bed, dressed in jeans and a hoodie of his, you’d taken it to work with you that morning because it was cold out and you didn’t want to get worse.

“Look. My helper is here can I leave.” You grumbled at the doctor who looked at Jimin before handing him a bag of medication and a prescription slip.

“She’s to take these three times a day, and I want her to rest for a week or more.” You rolled your eyes but Jimin was taking this seriously, he walked you down to the car and strapped you in the middle of Jin and Namjoon who stared at you.

“Jimin I am a grown-ass adult I can strap myself into a car.” He chuckled at you and you glared at him, you hated people babying you all the time, it made you feel so small.

“Jimin please, I’m fine. They’re being over-dramatic because I passed out for a couple of minutes.” You spoke, the car engine started and Jungkook looked behind him while reversing.

“Try an hour…You passed out for an hour.” You stayed silent, you didn’t know it was an hour. You just remember being awake one minute and not the next.

“Oh.” Namjoon chuckled and rubbed your arm, you leant your head down onto his shoulder and closed your eyes.

“I’m tired Jiminie, can we go straight to bed when we get home?” You yawned, snuggling against Namjoon who was holding back a laugh.

“Sure thing.” Jimin said from the front seat.

Taehyung:

“You’re a fucking idiot!” You screamed at your brother who had just decided to throw the meal you’d made for him all over the kitchen, he was 19 for Christ sake he should be acting like an adult.

“Well maybe if it was ready for when I got in and not an hour late!” He yelled back at you, you shook your head at him and walked towards the front door, you’d had enough of him yelling at you all of the time and you wanted to leave the house.

“You walk out that door, don’t bother coming back!” He yelled, acting as though he was your dad, you took your jacket from the coat rack and slipped into your shoes.

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” You screamed at him, walking out of the door and slamming the door behind you, you took out your phone and dialled for your boyfriend, but it went straight to voicemail which meant he was still in the studio for the night, you hissed as the cold air hit you. You were going to have to find somewhere to stay for a while, you knew there was a cafe that was open until late nearby so you went on the hunt for it.

(X)

“Taehyung, I’ll be at the dorms soon…I got into a fight with my brother…Yeah okay, I’ll walk it’s not too far.” You said over the phone to your boyfriend who called you back as soon as he turned his phone back on.

“It’s late baby, get a taxi, it’s dark.” You smiled at how protective he was but told him you would be fine with walking to the dorms, you hung up and began the small ten-minute walk there.

(X)

“Assaulted?!” Taehyung screamed at the doctor who had called him to the hospital, he looked through the window into your room and wanted to cry out, your arm was in a sling, your eyebrow cut open and your lip busted, you were being looked at by a nurse who was trying to get information out of you. Taehyung came into the room and you smiled up at him weakly.

“Who did it?” You hissed as the nurse applied a little pressure to the cut on your eyebrow.

“I don’t know, some guys came out of nowhere and wanted my phone…I didn’t give them it and they beat me up.” He sighed and you bit onto your tongue as the cut was glued back together,

“I told you to get a taxi.” You stared at him and so did the nurse,

“Did you really just say, "I told you so.”?“ You questioned looking at him, the nurse held back a giggle and he sighed, sitting down in front of you and taking your hand in his.

"Well, I did.” You shook your head at him and the nurse left the room going to find some butterfly stitches for your lip.

“Next time I will listen.” He sighed kissing the top of your head and promising he would never let anything like this happen to you again.

Jungkook:

Jungkook came home from his tour, it was supposed to be a surprise to you but you surprised him by not being at home. Your apartment was empty except for your mum who was sat in your room packing up some clothes for you.

“Jungkook, you’re back early.” She said with a shock behind her voice, he frowned putting down his bags and looking at her, confused as to why she was packing your clothes into a suitcase.

“Is she leaving me?” Your mother chuckled shaking her head and taking his hand in hers.

“No, no of course not Jungkookie.” He let out of breath he’d been holding and looked in the suitcase, inside was a copy of your favourite book, clothes, an overnight wash bag and some magazines, then the stuffed Cooky plush he’d gotten you a few months ago.

“She’s having surgery tomorrow and we had to bring her some clothes.” His ears picked up and he stood up with your mum, zipping up the bag and walking with her down to his car, he was going to drive her since she was only going to catch a taxi there anyway.

“Surgery?” She blinked at him and then stayed silent.

“I’ll let her explain when we get there.” You’d clearly not told him for a reason.

(X)

“Mum, I can’t find my Cooky plush, I thought I brought him with me when I was first admitted…I need him.” You looked up from the bag beside your bed to see Jungkook, he was staring at you. You were dressed in a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV. He put the suitcase into the room, your mum was down in the cafe with your brother.

“Kookie, you’re back early.” You said nervously, climbing into the bed and staring at your boyfriend.

“What surgery?” He came to your side and you took his hand in yours,

“It’s nothing, just a small surgery.” You told him,

“Small? Is that why you didn’t tell me about it? Is that why your mother wouldn’t tell me.” You stared at him, it was clear he was really mad about you not telling him but he was also upset about the fact that you hadn’t told him either.

“Baby…I promise it’s nothing, it’s just to remove my tonsils.” You promised, he relaxed instantly and you giggled at him.

“I didn’t tell you because I figured you’d be on tour while it happened and I could tell you when I was better.” He sighed and you moved over so he could sit with you in the bed.

“I’ll be down for like an hour at the most, then I’ll be back up with a better throat.” You smiled at him and he reached over for the suitcase, reaching inside and bringing out Cooky.

“Me and Cooky will be waiting for you to come back.”

[urdearestmom]

brain damage

i’m back again y’all and just wrote this piece... a bit of a scene study from that scene in 3x06. basically what i wish mike had said 

also the middle part is mostly conjecture but some of it is bits that you can hear in the actual scene if you strain your ears and ignore nancy and jonathan talking over it

also DISCLAIMER i do not hate max!! i really like her actually but she was really pissing me off with this whole bit because she just does not have any basis for understanding mileven's relationship and so her advice doesn't always directly apply. she had good intentions but BRUH. anyways i could go on a whole rant about max vs mike in season 3 but i'm not gonna do that right now lmao

It’s pretty silent in here, El thinks. It always is, but tonight it’s… strange. Almost as though it’s empty. Why can’t she find them? She’s been sitting in her room for the last half hour trying to locate any of the flayed and although she can’t see it, she knows there’s a growing mountain of bloody tissues next to her on the floor. She’s starting to think that she might need to give herself a break for a little bit.

Her friends are in the living room waiting for her, and she knows they’re all anxious to find out what she might see. So far, absolutely nothing. The only thing that happens is that every so often she hears a bit of a voice. It’s just there, tickling the edges of her consciousness, and she could tune into it if she wanted to… but she’s already identified it by the cadence of the noise as Mike’s voice, and she’d said she wouldn’t spy on him. She’d done it once and he was clearly upset by it. Although they aren’t really back to how they were before, El misses him more than she lets on, and she doesn’t want to make things worse by spying again.

Outside, Mike is getting close to yelling. He sincerely hopes El can’t hear him because he is once again fighting with her new best friend.

“It can’t be good for her to be in there for this long,” he exclaims, pacing in front of her door.

“Mike, you need to relax,” says Max, looking disdainfully at him.

“What if she gets brain damage or something?!”

“Oh shit,” interrupts Lucas, looking between them. “Is that like, a real thing?”

Max scoffs. “No, it’s not. He made it up. Mike doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about,” she adds, raising her eyebrows defiantly as if daring him to refute her.

“Oh, and you do?! ” He retorts. Her facial expression alone is pissing him off. It’s so self-righteous, as if she knows anything at all about him or how he thinks and feels.

“No,” she says quickly. “But I think El does. See, that’s the difference between you and me. You think you know everything!”

“I don’t know everything,” he fires back. His hands are balled into fists and he’s starting to shake. “But I know her.”

Max snorts. “You’re just mad she wants to be her own person. You can’t deal with other people not doing what you tell them to.”

“What do you think this is, Russia? I’m not some dictator, okay? I’m just trying to protect El!” He says angrily. This is getting more and more ridiculous by the second. Max doesn’t know the first thing about what he can or can’t deal with and acting like she does is striking his last nerve. Mike can feel the familiar boil of rage deep within him coming to a rise.

“The only person who knows anything about El’s powers is El,” says Max, with an air of finality.

Mike crosses his arms in an attempt to get himself in control of his emotions. “So if that’s true, what makes you think you have any more of a say than I do?”

She splutters for a moment and it’s so satisfying that Mike almost smirks, but it drops quickly when Max rises from her seat and stalks over to him.

“I don’t,” she seethes, poking him forcefully in the chest. “But she does, and you need to back off .”

“I’m not even on! ” He yells, throwing his arms up and pushing her away. He realizes his statement doesn’t actually make any sense but… whatever. At this point, it’s not like it matters. “She won’t listen to me! Because you put ideas in her head! You know she absorbs every new thing people tell her and you pressured her into dumping me!”

There it is. It’s out. It’s what he’s been thinking since it happened. He knew he’d messed up big-time by lying to El, but he never would have expected her to dump him over it. And the look on Max’s face as she stood by and watched had said everything he needed to know.

Max’s face is turning an alarming shade of pink and Mike thinks that he probably matches her. “I didn’t pressure her into anything, she decided! What is your problem with letting El decide things for herself?!”

“I don’t have a problem! At least I didn’t before you inserted yourself where you didn’t need to be!”

“All I did was give her choices!”

Mike takes a deep breath to retaliate, but then lets it go and turns away. “You don’t understand. Just- fucking leave me alone.”

Lucas is still staring at them; Mike can feel his friend’s eyes on his back. Why isn’t he agreeing? He was there when El- he knows what she can push herself to.

Max makes an angry noise. “Fine! It’s not my fault you can’t be wrong!” She walks toward Nancy and Jonathan and Mike follows, preparing to convince everyone else that this is a stupid idea. “Okay, can you guys settle an argument for us?”

Nancy looks hard at them, her eyes searching Mike quickly before flicking back to the girl next to him.

“Who do you think should decide El’s limits… Mike, or Eleven?”

He sees red. “The way that you framed that is such bullshit. ” Why is he the villain here?!

Her braids whip around her face as she turns to him. “It’s not bullshit, Mike, this is your whole problem! And it’s also precisely the reason why she dumped your ass!”

“El dumped you?” Nancy asks incredulously.

Mike throws his arms up again. “Yeah, because she’s conspiring against me! She’s corrupting her!”

“N- enlightening her!” Max throws back. “The fact is, she’s not yours. She’s her own person, fully capable of making her own decisions.”

“She’s risking her life for no reason!” He shouts.

“No reason?” Says Nancy. “Mike, the flayed are out there doing god knows what-”

“Killing, flaying,” interjects Lucas.

“Transforming into monsters,” adds Will.

Mike glares at them. Not helping.

“And El’s not stupid,” Nancy continues, shaking her head. “She knows her abilities better than any of us.”

“Exactly, thank you,” Max says victoriously. Mike closes his eyes. He cannot believe this is how this is going.

“And she is her own person-”

“Exactly!”

“With her own free will-”

“Exactly! El has saved the world twice and Mike still doesn’t trust her-”

At that he has to interrupt. There’s no way he’s letting Max flip this around. “You wanna talk about trust, really? After you made Eleven spy on us?!”

Max looks down, giving herself away.

Lucas stands up behind him. “Wait, what?”

Mike whirls to face him. “Oh, she didn’t tell you this?” He says sarcastically.

“No!”

“Your girlfriend used El’s powers to spy on us ,” he spits.

“No, no, no,” Max interjects. “I did not make her, it was her idea. And why are we even talking about this, seriously?”

“Yeah,” says Will. “Who cares?”

And now Mike’s annoyed at Will too. Will has no idea what is going on in Mike’s head and he’s not ever going to understand why he feels the way he does. Just the same as the rest of the Party will never really relate to Will’s struggles because they weren’t there, Will wasn’t there for theirs either. He didn’t see what she did-

“I care!” Says Lucas, and finally Mike is glad someone seems to be on his side. Thank God for small blessings.

“Yeah, I guess girlfriends don’t lie, they spy,” he says, turning back to Max at the last moment so she can truly see his ire.

“We were just joking around,” she defends.

“Would it have been so funny if I was taking a massive shit or something?” He asks.

She wrinkles her nose. “You weren’t!”

“But what if I was?!”

“Then gross!”

“Seriously, Mike?” Interrupts Nancy, and all of a sudden this has become like one of those moments where he just wants to strangle her for talking before he’s done. She does it all the fucking time and like, he guesses it’s probably part of being siblings but it leaves him fuming more often than not.

“I’m just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven’s powers,” he says carefully. This is where he needs to get his point across. He desperately needs someone to understand that he’s not trying to be controlling or police what El does or doesn’t do, he’s just trying to save her from herself. He couldn’t do it the first time, but by God if he isn’t going to try now.

“Have any of you noticed Lucas is the only one not disagreeing with me?” He asks.

Max huffs. “Lucas doesn’t have anything to do with this. This is your prob-”

“Lucas has everything to do with this!” He roars. Mike has absolutely had it up to here with her and turns on her a final time, shaking again. “You weren’t there, Max! None of you were. Except Lucas. You don’t know what she’ll do..” His voice trembles.

Lucas seems to understand what he’s getting at and lays a hand on his shoulder. Mike flashes him a grateful look. He still has a hard time thinking about that night, much less talking about it. “She vaporized herself in front of us. I tried to stop her and she did it anyway.”

The room is silent now, the only sound being the TV static from El’s bedroom where she’s still holed up. Mike takes a breath.

“It’s not that I think El doesn’t know her limits,” he says. “I just know that she doesn’t care about them. She’ll die overexerting herself before she lets something hurt one of us.”

He looks up at everyone, Jonathan and Will looking oddly similarly out of place and Nancy with her eyes trained on his face as she listens. Max isn’t looking at him. Good , he thinks. Maybe that made her feel guilty.

“How would you feel if you knew firsthand El didn’t care about dying to save her friends, huh? Wouldn’t you be worried about her?” He directs this at Max specifically, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “You guys are treating her like some kind of machine, and she’s not a machine. I still have nightmares about that day all the time.”

The room stays silent, almost as though everyone is holding a breath and waiting for him to start yelling again, but he’s not going to. He doesn’t have any energy left to expound on this topic. If Max wants to keep making him the bad guy, then whatever. He has more important things to worry about.

“I just-” He starts and stops, wondering if this is the right thing to say. “I don’t want her to die looking for the flayed when they’ve obviously vanished off the face of the Earth, so we can we please just come up with another plan because I love her and I can’t lose her again.”

Now it’s almost as though all the air has actually been sucked out of the room. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to reveal the depth of his feelings, but Mike really didn’t know what else he could say that could possibly make them understand his position. Lucas’ hand on his shoulder squeezes for a quick second and then lightly taps him as Lucas moves his arm back.

Nancy shakes her head. “I get that you don’t want her to hurt herself, Mike, but she’s already in there. There’s not much else we can do.”

“What’s going on?”

Everyone whips around to face El coming out of her bedroom doorway. Holy shit, did she hear what he said? Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit-

“Nothing. Nothing!” He says quickly.

“Just… family discussion,” adds Lucas from behind him. Mike can feel the smirk in his voice without even having to look at him.

“Oh,” says El, and suddenly Mike really wants to hug her. But this isn’t the time. He looks away.

“I found him,” she continues.

“Found… who?” Nancy asks.

“Billy.”