#but i guess she doesn’t know what she’s missing sigh… she was born to be a pavitr atsv selfshipper

[miiconsole]

me when im trying not to go insane when pitaya is on screen but they pull out the thrones voice line

[mrsparrasblog]

I just listened to "My Tears Ricochet" and had an idea.

TW: Angst *laughs in free therapy*

So, imagine the boys need to fake their deaths. How macabre it is that they attend their own funerals, wanting to watch their loved ones. (These are standalone scenarios they don't fake their death together)

Price: You were his wife for all these years, always waiting for him to return. The funny thing was you could clearly remember the last argument before he left.

"Love, just one more tour, and I'm coming back to you. Then we can start a family and all that, but the boys need me."

"It's always the last tour with you. When is it really the last?"

"This time, I promise."

To some extent, he was right. You thought it was his last tour, but it wasn’t fair. You knew it was over when you got the call from General Shepard. Your husband was dead. You lost the love of your life, and all you got were his dog tags and a check large enough to end world hunger. You slapped your friend after she said at least you were financially secure now.

Price watched you from behind a tree. He saw how you clung to his grave, hugging it tightly and lying on it as you always used to with him. Your dress was dirty, and the tears wouldn’t come anymore.

When Laswell and Nik approached you, you screamed at them, blaming them for not protecting your husband. You trusted them, and now you couldn't bear to let anyone else near his grave. John wished he could comfort you, tell you he would come back to protect you, but he couldn’t. Instead, he sent Simon, who endured all your insults, screams, and even a punch to his crooked nose until you were ready to move on.

Kyle: You and Kyle were born on the same day, in the same room, in the same hospital. It was like a movie; he was your best friend since forever, your first everything, and you were his. It was a love like in all those movies. The only thing separating you was the military, but you stayed home waiting for him. Not even war could separate you. Last year, he brought you that ring. You remember lying in bed, cuddling him as he promised you that you were allowed to die first. He knew you wouldn’t survive his death. So he made the silly promise that you would die first. He thought it was the first promise he ever broke to you.

Kyle had to be held back when he saw you crying at his grave. “Guess I’ll find you in the next one, love. Sleep well.”

Ghost: He was never good at love, and he was sure no one would come to his funeral. No one knew "Ghost," and Simon Riley had been buried since 2009. But then he saw you, the cute medic he always tried to push away. He was afraid of hurting you or corrupting you. How could he have known that pushing you away wouldn’t stop you from loving a dead man?

All the conversations came flooding back:

"Here, Lt. I made you red velvet cookies, your favorite."

"You're going to sit down and let me fix that, idiot."

"You're beautiful, Ghost."

"You're enough."

"It's kind of silly to be in love with someone whose name you didn’t even know. I hope you find your peace, big boy." You placed lilies on his grave and left. In that moment, Simon Riley realized he was loved, and he would burn the world down to come back from the dead just to return to you.

Johnny: Contrary to popular belief among the team, Johnny wasn’t a whore. He was a loving husband and father. That was written above "Sergeant" on his grave, at least.

His funeral was crowded with people who wanted to pay their last respects. Most of them were blue-eyed MacTavishes. Then there was you, holding your three-year-old in your arms. He didn’t understand why everyone was crying or why Dad wasn’t there anymore.

Johnny watched you sit at his grave, sighing as you talked to your husband. "James doesn’t understand what’s going on, but he misses you. He wanted me to give him a mohawk. It looks ridiculous, just like you. I know you’re rocking it in heaven. Just please wait for me, okay? Don’t want you to hoe around in heaven," you chuckled, holding back the tears. "You watch us from there, right? Can’t miss the birth of your princess, can you?"

[borathae]

Moodbooster

"Your boyfriend always manages to lift your mood, even on your period."

Pairing: Yoongi x f.Reader

Genre: slice of Life!AU, established relationship!AU, Fluff

Warnings: OC is on her period rip to her ✊🏻😔, she has cramps but yoongi boongie is there to rescue her, he is the bestest and sweetest and cutest boyfie ever <3

Wordcount: 806

a/n: a drabble by me that is actual drabble length? 😱 yeah i can't believe it either lmaoo. also, i'm still on my period and i miss yoongi so that's why this was born. enjoy besties, i miss him so much 🖤

Yoongi knows that you aren’t feeling well today. He has a sense for it. When you are having a bad day, Yoongi gets a heavy lump in his stomach. Not because of fear that you would snap at him, but because he can sense your unease. And when he senses it, he has to do everything in his power to at least lessen it a little bit. 

You are locked up in one of the windowless sitting rooms because the summer sun can’t enter and therefore heat up the room. 

Yoongi knocks, listening for your very grumbly “come in” before entering. 

You are on the sofa in nothing but shorts, not bothering to cover your naked chest when he enters.

“Are you that hot?” he asks, brushing his eyes over your chest briefly.

You nod your head and groan. 

“I hate having my period in summer. It feels like actual torture.” 

“I hear you, princess”, Yoongi says, hurrying to you to sit next to you. 

“I already feel like I’m boiling on normal period days, but summer period days feel like literal hell. If I could peel off my skin to cool off, I would.” 

“This sucks a lot, my love.”

“Yeah and I sweat like a waterfall. I don’t know if my soaked pants are sweat or my pad leaking. Do you even know how nasty I smell?” 

“No, you don’t. You smell good.”

“Thanks but also urgh. I have a cramp to make it even worse. And I want to eat six tons of sugar, I’m going insane.”

Yoongi hums in acknowledgement and lifts his hand to hover it over your stomach.

“Can I?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Yoongi places his hand down as flat as possible, giving your cramping stomach warmth this way. He rubs the smallest circles, applying the perfect amount of pressure. 

“Wow, so warm”, you sigh happily, shivering from the touch.

“Does this help?”

“Yes, so much”, you gush, sounding a lot happier than before. You even speak in a softer voice. 

“Then I’ll do that for a while.”

“Yes, thankies. Wow Boongie, you have the perfect hands. They’re like warm water bottles but better.”

He smiles at you. He doesn’t mind when you complain and therefore use a harsher voice, but he has to admit that he prefers your happy voice. You get a sort of soft-spokeness about it and only really use it when he pampers you just right. It makes Yoongi feel really soft and cozy as well because the atmosphere, you and he create in these moments, is always very calming. Maybe that is why he loves pampering you so much. Or maybe he loves it because he loves to see you happy. 

You huff out air.

“Sorry for ranting.”

“Don’t apologise, princess. That’s what I’m here for. That and tummy rubs”, he says, giving your stomach a little rub.

You giggle. Yoongi soaks up the sound until it is burned into his memories. 

“I love your tummy rubs so much”, you say and shift a little, “I think they’re working too well though. I literally just felt it come out of me.”

“Wonderful”, Yoongi says, pulling a face of comradery disgust.

“I think I need to go change.”

“Alright. Do you still have enough? I can pop down to the store if you need more.”

You stop in the doorway, “really?” 

“Of course, princess.”

“And you…could get snacks too?”

“Anything you need.” 

“Even everything sweet ever?”

“Of course.”

You lower your eyes shyly, “then maybe I need more. The strongest ones and the ones for sleep. The really thick ones.”

Yoongi gets up, closing the distance to you.

“Understood”, he pecks your cheek, rubbing your tummy one last time, “text me if you think of anything else.”

“I will. Thank you so much, Boongie.”

“Anytime, love.”

Yoongi manages to go as far as one step out of the room before you pull him back by his hand. He turns with a fond and curious look in his pretty eyes.

“Yes, princess?”

You lean in for a kiss to his lips, eliciting a purr from him. He smiles, rubbing your lower back.

“That was nice”, he whispers.

“It’s a kiss full of love.”

“Mhm.” He pecks you. “I love you too, my princess.”

You step back, “okay, you can leave now. Sorry for keeping you.”

“Don’t apologise. You can always keep me if that’s how you do it”, he flirts, giving you a playful little grin before he turns to really leave.  

And while Yoongi leaves to fulfill your wishes, you waddle to the toilet to change. Seriously, if you didn’t have such an amazing boyfriend by your side, this period would suck. With him, it only sucks when he isn’t here. Once he is back from the store, you will give him the biggest smooch ever.

[illdowhatiwantthanks]

The Rutabaga (The Surprise, Part 15)

Emily Prentiss x fem!reader Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, sex, fingering, oral, explicit language, pregnancy times, pregnancy bodies (let me know if I've missed anything!) Word count: 1.6k

Summary: As your body changes, you're feeling self-conscious and worried that it might never return to "normal." Emily is, thankfully, very good at reminding you that you're beautiful.

Week 25: The Rutabaga

You stared in the mirror as you brushed your teeth, eyes roving over your body. The pimples that had sprung up and never seemed to go away–it was like being a teenager again. You lifted up your shirt to look at your baby bump, but choked on a mouthful of toothpaste at what you saw there. Your belly button poked out over the rise of your belly, a direction which it had never, to your knowledge, gone before. And what was that? A line?! A line from your belly button all the way down to where you couldn’t even see it anymore. You vaguely remembered Dr. Delgado mentioning it but, you hadn’t actually thought it would happen.

You spat into the sink, looking yourself over more critically, still trying to cough up all the toothpaste you’d inhaled.

“Honey!?” Emily called from the bedroom.

You kept coughing, but croaked out a response. “I’m good! Just breathed some toothpaste.”

“Em, look at this,” you said, standing in the bathroom doorway, shirt lifted up over your belly.

Emily lowered her book to look at you. “Yeah, babe. You’re pregnant, all right.”

“No!” You huffed, waddling closer. “Look at my belly button. What the fuck is going on here!? It’s popping out like a little jelly bean or something.”

Emily chuckled and sat up, setting her book aside. “A little jelly bean… Honey, I think that’s normal. Don’t you remember Dr. Delgado talking about it?”

“Yeah, but…” You sighed and ran your fingers over the dark line that ran beneath it, the stretch marks that lashed themselves tight over your belly. “I guess I didn’t think I would look like this.”

“What do you mean?” Emily asked, taking one of your hands and running her thumb over your knuckles.

You shrugged and exhaled. “Everyone’s pregnancy photos always look so cute and I look… I don’t know, there are lines everywhere and I’m all pimply and my baby bump looks weird.”

“Hey,” she cooed, pulling you down to the bed. “It doesn’t look weird. It looks beautiful. You look beautiful.”

You shook your head slightly, looking down. “You’re just saying that because you’re my wife.”

“I most certainly am not,” she protested, tilting your head up.

When you didn’t respond, she pulled you down next to her on the bed. “Come here,” she said softly. “Come lay with me.”

You lay down and stared at the ceiling, feeling inexplicably sad about the ways your body was changing. Such mixed feelings. Just like you would never be the same after the baby was born, it was likely that your body would never be the same either. It made you a little sad, even though you knew, when all was said and done, it’d be worth it.

“Let me tell you,” Emily said, caressing your face, “what I love about your body.”

“Em,” you protested, blushing a bit.

“Shh,” she ordered, silencing you with a kiss.

She started at the top of your head, running her hands through your hair.

“I love your hair,” she said. “I love the way it sticks up in the morning.”

She kissed your forehead. “I love your head because it houses your beautiful mind.”

She planted kisses on either of your eyelids. “I love your pretty eyes.” Another kiss. “Your nose.” Then a real kiss, your favorite kind, where she held your head in her hands and gently pressed her tongue into your mouth. Your stomach fluttered. “I love this mouth,” she said, kissing you once more. “So kissable. Good for so many things.”

You giggled as she continued kissing her way down your body. “I love your neck. It’s also very kissable.”

You whined and arched your back as she swirled her tongue around your nipple, her touch alone hardening them to peaks. She let it go with a pop, using her fingers instead to squeeze them gently. “I think you know exactly how I feel about your tits.”

You’d have blushed if you weren’t so damn turned on. She’d barely done anything and you were pretty sure your underwear was soaked through.

She moved to your stomach, pressing her hands lovingly on your baby bump. “And, god, do I love your stomach. Look at you, honey. You see these marks?” She kissed them gently, only her hands, grasping at your waist, betraying just how aroused she was. “I love these marks. I love your little jelly bean belly button. I love that you’re letting your body change so we can start a family.”

She moved to your thighs and you let out a moan, your hips pushing toward her. “I love these strong legs,” she said, and then paused.

You shuddered when you felt her breath close to your center.

She chuckled, smug. “I love that you get so wet for me, just from my words.” She licked a stripe from your center to your clit and you grasped at her head, breathing heavily.

“I love that you come undone for me,” she continued, planting kisses all over, except the one place you really wanted her.

“Emily,” you moaned.

“I love that I can make you feel the way you make me feel,” she said, finally pushing her fingers inside of you and scissoring them so a bolt of pleasure shot up through your spine, making you writhe and gasp.

“I love you,” she finished, before diving in like a woman starved. Suffice it to say, Emily knew what she was doing with her mouth, but the mouth/hands combo? She could have you coming on her fingers in thirty seconds flat, and she knew it. But she wanted to take her time tonight, building you up to your peak, and then backing slowly away. After a while, you were quite literally dripping, begging for release.

“Come on, Em,” you groaned, bucking for more friction. You just couldn’t quite get yourself there.

She lifted her head, wiping her face and smiling at you. You whined at the loss of her mouth against your clit. “You feeling beautiful yet?”

“Jesus Christ, yes,” you confirmed, annoyed. Your body was shaky from riding her fingers for so long. “I’m a fucking goddess. Now finish me already.”

Emily pressed the flat of her tongue against your clit, hard, and curled her fingers just at the spot she knew would have you falling apart. And sure enough, your orgasm flared through you like a flame set to a line of gasoline laid the length of your body. You trembled as Emily finished you off, pumping her fingers slower and slower to bring you back down, then finally easing out of you and licking your arousal off her fingers.

She moaned and her eyes rolled back as she flopped onto the bed next to you. “The taste of you, that’s another thing I love.”

“Point taken, love,” you said, kissing her quickly and snuggling into her. “I’m stunning.”

“And don’t you forget it.” She kissed your forehead, resting her hand on the side of your head and her chin on top of your head. “Or I’ll be forced to remind you again.”

“Oh, no,” you replied drily, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Emily’s other hand rested in its usual spot on your baby bump, and you pressed yours over hers, appreciating your wife, appreciating that soon there would be three of you.

You felt a fluttering inside your stomach and then, so quick it took you by surprise, a tiny little kick, so hard it poked the edge of your stomach out, right under Emily’s hand. She gasped, barely moving.

The baby kicked again and Emily shot up like a cannon, pressing her face against your stomach.

“Honey, I can feel him!” she said, her voice high and giddy.

You put your hand on the side of her face, brushing your thumb along her cheekbone. She was so happy. God, you loved to see her happy. You loved her so much.

“Hello!” she said softly, lips centimeters away from your skin. “Hey, little guy!” The baby kicked again, right in Emily’s face, and she laughed. “I hear you, baby. I hear you loud and clear.”

She looked at you, absolute joy written all over her face. “Does he always move this much at night?”

You shook your head.

Emily thought for a minute, then her eyes opened wide in realization. “Do you think…” she started, grinning conspiratorially at you. “You think it’s because we had sex?”

You looked at each other and burst out laughing. “Oh my god, we woke her up!” you wheezed.

Your stomach fluttered, a series of baby kicks popping up on your stomach.

“Aw,” Emily cooed, resting her chin on your belly. “It’s okay, little guy. We hear you. Go back to sleep. Mommies are sorry.”

“Let her sleep, Em,” you scolded, pulling her back up to you and kissing her. She kept a hand on your baby bump, just in case, just to feel the baby move. She couldn’t get enough of it. Like magic. Every single time she felt it, she was shot through with joy.

“I can’t wait to meet him,” she whispered, yawning, and tucking herself under your chin. You could nearly feel her buzzing with excitement, with love. The same love she buzzed with for you.

“I love you, Emily,” you said, running a hand lazily under her shirt and over the bare skin of her back.

When she didn’t say it back, you craned your neck and found her fast asleep. You brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead, reaching to turn off the lamp. When you realized you couldn’t reach it, you decided to leave it be. You’d happily sleep with the lights on to stay here with Emily like this just a little bit longer.

[magics-neptunes-things]

KCC- you are snoring, terribly

TW : None

Well actually I change a little the phrasing here, sorry I guess ^^'

______________________________________________________________

Matildas camps, a few months after the World Cup. Usually, you are more than happy to find your teammates but this morning you have a tight stomach and you have the impression that you will be able to burst into tears at any time. You try hard to look good though, especially in front of your girlfriend. Kyra asked you with concern if you're alright and you used all your capacity of conviction when you lied to her.

But it doesn’t seem to work with Caitlin.

"What's happening to you kiddo?" asks the brunette, frowning while you are in pairs for strengthening exercises.

"Nothing" you mumble without looking at her.

"Not to me, Y/N" sighs Caitlin.

You bite your lip thoughtfully, looking at your interlocutor for a few seconds.

"You know you can trust me, right?"

Of course you know. Since you joined the national team, Caitlin has taken on the role of the big sister with you. You were born the same year as Kyra, a few months younger. So Caitlin is more like your big sister.

"I think Kyra is cheating on me" you finally confess

"What?"

Under the surprise, Caitlin drops the barbell she held in her hand until now. The noise makes a hell of a sound and you cast a look of reproaches on her noting that it attracted the attention of everyone around you. After apologizing with a wave of hand, Caitlin shifts her attention to you to resume your conversation. She takes care of whispering, which you’re grateful for.

"What makes you think that?"

"When I woke up this morning, she was no longer in the room. I went out to look for her and I saw her come out of Courtney’s room" you mumble, trying not to let despair take over you.

"I can’t believe something like this" Caitlin said after a few seconds.

"If you have a better explanation, I’ll listen."

You see all the goodwill she’s putting into finding one. She’s really trying, because she loves you as much as she loves Kyra. She appreciates your relationship and advised you a lot to turn your crush into a real couple between Kyra and you.

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. I can’t. If it’s true I don’t know if I would stand it"

Caitlin’s face fills with empathy and she gently squeezes your hand into hers, your exercises long forgotten.

"And if that’s not true, you torture yourself for nothing"

You don’t answer. She’s right, you know it. What you don’t know is that Kyra, at a distance, didn’t miss anything from your exchange. She takes advantage of the lunch break to intercept you before you take a seat in the refectory.

"Are you all right?"

The worry is visible in her eyes and on her face and your tortured mind imagines that it's probably because she knows that you are aware of her infidelities.

"I'm alright, Kyra. Can we just go eat please?"

Your tone is begging, but it seems to worry your girlfriend even more.

"I saw you talking to Caitlin, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?"

You remain silent for a few seconds, before remembering Caitlin’s main advice: Talking to Kyra. You bite your lip and eventually grab her by the arm to train her to an empty room.

"I know everything" you say straight away once the door is closed behind you.

"You know what?" asks Kyra, who looks completely lost.

"About you and Courtney"

Kyra looks at you for a few moments while blinking her eyes, before releasing a small burst of surprised laughter.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Your patience is melting like ice cream in the sun, not supporting these pretenses. You would rather that she drop the information directly and confess. This annoys you and you decide to be direct since Kyra seems incapable.

"I saw you leaving her room this morning, Ky"

"Oh"

Her amused face changes quickly and you see the realization in her eyes.

"Oh" she repeats

And suddenly a certain form of panic seems to take hold of her when she quickly approaches you before resuming speech.

"I’m not cheating on you, I swear"

You see only sincerity in her eyes and you feel yours fill with tears. You find yourself sniffing before answering her.

"Why are you leaving someone else’s room an hour before we wake up then?" you ask in a low voice.

You see Kyra’s face twitching and a little bit of guilt coming over it. But deciding that it's better to tell you the truth than to let you believe in an infidelity (that you wouldn't forgive her) Kyra takes a big inspiration before answering you.

"You snore. Terribly. Every night, all night and I just can’t sleep. Usually I take earplugs because I love sleeping with you and feeling you all against me but this time I forgot. Courntey was all alone in her room so I asked her if I could come and sleep with her" Kyra pitifully admits.

A few moments pass, then you resume talking.

"What do you mean I snore terribly?"

[baronessblixen]

Fictober Day 30: When You Know What You Want

Prompt: "I won't let you down"

Mulder and Scully have to babysit baby Matthew Scully. Rating: T, wc: 1,416

Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober24

“Mulder, it’s me.” The clock reads 8.57 a.m. when he answers Scully’s phone call – the same time she usually strolls into their basement office.

“Is everything all right?” He’s trying to keep the panic out of his voice. Whatever is going on, Scully doesn’t need him freaking out.

“More or less,” she says with a sigh and he’s half out of his chair already. “I can’t come into the office today.”

“Are you sick?” He squeezes the phone between his ear and shoulder, opening his email, ready to inform Skinner that neither he nor Scully will be available today.

“No, I’m fine – I mean, I’m not sick.” She sighs again. “My sister-in-law Tara called me half an hour ago, frantic because my brother Bill is running late and she has a job interview. My mom is on a trip with her book club and well, I guess that left me.”

“You didn’t mention your brother was in town.”

“I didn’t know,” she says through gritted teeth. “He didn’t want me to know. It was supposed to be some big surprise. That completely backfired. Either way, I’m watching the baby until Tara comes back and it could be hours.”

“Do you want company?” He doesn’t even need to think about it. He’d much rather babysit Bill Jr. baby son than sit around in the office all day, missing Scully.

“You don’t have to do that, Mulder.”

“What if I want to?” She takes her time thinking about it.

“Only if you want to,” she says, but he’s certain he hears relief in her voice. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on his part.

“I’ll contact Skinner and then I’m on my way.”

“Oh Mulder, if you’re coming over, could you pick up a few things on the way for me? Just in case.”

“Sure thing. I won’t let you down.”

*

Scully’s “just-in-case” list is longer than any grocery list he’s ever written for himself. He finds everything easily enough and catches several looks from women – mothers, mostly – who gawk at him.

“Your wife is so lucky,” one says in passing and Mulder stares after her, speechless, convinced he’s in a parallel universe. He forgets about it quickly, hurrying to get to Scully and baby Matthew. He met the boy as an infant; his face had been wrinkly and his eyes closed.

Since then, he hasn’t even seen a picture of the boy. He wonders why. Scully has mentioned him here and there, just like she’s mentioned other members of her family. But he doesn’t know what to expect when he knocks at the door, hoping the baby isn’t asleep.

Scully opens the door with the boy on her hip, smiling at Mulder.

“Hi,” he says, overwhelmed all of a sudden. Scully with a baby in her arms is a sight he doesn’t get to see often. He’s surprised how many emotions it unleashes in him.

“This is my friend, Mulder,” Scully explains to Matthew in a soft voice that makes Mulder stare at her in awe. “Do you want to say hi?”

“No.” It’s more spit than letters and the expression reminds Mulder of the baby’s father. He hopes the dislike isn’t genetic.

“That’s his favorite word,” Scully says, running a hand over Matthew’s soft, reddish hair. The Scully genes must be strong.

As he steps inside, he can’t help but wonder what their child would look like; his and Scully’s. Would their child have red hair, too? Would it have Scully’s nose? God, he hopes so.

“Here’s the- here’s everything you asked for.” He hands her the bag, forgetting that she has the child in her arms. The transfer is awkward but they manage.

“Can you hold him for a second? He doesn’t bite.” Scully hands him the baby and for a moment, the two just stare at each other.

“Hello, Matthew. You probably don’t remember me,” Mulder says as Matthew reaches for his nose. They always go for the nose. “I met you when you were born.”

“Guh!” he exclaims, seemingly agreeing with Mulder.

“I work with your aunt, you know. She’s great, isn’t she? She is. You smell like cookies, Matt. I bet she let you have cookies, huh? Remember how cool she is. You can always come to her when your parents – well, when you need a place to stay.” Matthew listens to him carefully, a finger in his otherwise open mouth. He’s quiet and not fussy, surprising Mulder. He’s heard horror stories of toddlers having crying fits when in a stranger’s arms. Not this little Scully.

“I think you might be my new favorite Scully,” Mulder confesses to him, tickling his stomach and making him gurgle with laughter.

“I’m no longer your favorite?” Scully just stands there in the doorway, her arms crossed, a big smile on her face.

“Matt, I think I’m in trouble.” The boy just laughs again. “You’re still my favorite Scully, Scully,” he assures her. “But this one’s quite cute, too.”

“He is,” she agrees and he thinks he sees a flicker of pain cross her face. “You can hand him back now. Unless you want to feed him.”

“Sorry, pal,” Mulder says, handing the toddler back to Scully, “I’m not qualified for that.”

*

“Toddlers are messy,” Mulder remarks a couple of hours later after Tara has come to pick up Matthew. She apologized to Scully – and Mulder – for springing the boy on them, but both assured her that they didn’t mind.

“They are,” Scully agrees, picking up random toys. She didn’t ask him to stay and help her clean up, but he thought it was the least he could do. Especially after his interactive storytelling in which several plush toys were flying around Scully’s living room.

“But they’re also cute.”

“They are that, too.” Her voice is soft; too much so. He thinks about the moment earlier when he thought he saw something in her expression. There’s something in the air and he isn’t sure if he should grasp for it.

“He has that Scully hair.” Scully chuckles, without looking over at Mulder.

“Bill always hated it when he was younger. I hope it will be easier for Matthew.” She’s holding one of the stuffed animals in her hand; a small giraffe. Mulder just watches her, waits.

“Mulder?”

“Yes?” She’s still not even looking at him, making his heart beat faster, knowing she’s going to say something important.

“Have you ever… I know we once talked about- but have you ever seriously considered having children?” He wishes she were looking at him. He wants to see her face when he says this. But he knows this moment is fragile as it is and he’ll take what he can get.

“For the longest time, I didn’t. It just never crossed my mind and my life – the job… it just wasn’t anything I thought about. Then I met Emily and I saw you with her and…”

“Emily?” Scully turns around and her eyes are full of tears. He nods slowly.

“That’s when I started thinking about it.”

“You could meet someone tomorrow and-”

“I have met her already, Scully. I think you know that.” His admission is not a surprise. Scully glares at him for a second before she looks away, nodding to herself.

“That’s… that makes this easier, actually,” she says, laughing uncomfortably.

“Makes what easier?” Suddenly his heart is pounding, his throat dry.

“I got a second opinion on my ova and um, they say there’s a chance. A chance for me to have a baby.”

“Scully, that is wonderful news.”

“I’ve been thinking about it – debating it, actually. Whether it was something I even wanted to explore. Today showed me that I… that I want to at least try. I have to try.” A few tears fall from her eyes and Mulder nods, overwhelmed by emotions, too. A Scully baby. Red hair, blue eyes, and a sweet smile.

Her child.

“When I thought about it, even before I made a decision, the only person I considered asking…,” she trails off. He has a hunch, but right now is not the time to jump ahead. So he waits. He looks at her, proving that he can be patient. He will be there for her, no matter how long it takes.

“I want you to be the other part of the equation.”

And there it is. His heart takes flight and he doesn’t even need to think about it. He grins at her, hoping she understands.

[turkeycalamitybff]

Heaven is a Person, not a Place

decided to post this early cause of the cancellation. Please remember to keep creating and keep being angry!! We have a chance

Tags: Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland, Edwin Payne & Charles Rowland & Crystal Palace & Niko Sasaki, Edwin Payne, Charles Rowland, Crystal Palace, Niko Sasaki, Angst With a Happy Ending, Temporary Amnesia, Love Confessions, Charles goes to heaven, and doesn’t like it, who could’ve guessed?

Summary:

Charles had protected Edwin from Hell for so long, he forgot that it wasn’t the only way that they could be separated. He was regretting that now. Edwin had always thought that Charles was the best person he ever met. He was destined for heaven. So now that he was there, what could Edwin do?   Aka Charles goes to heaven

Sometimes Charles hated witches more than usual. Some of them were nice or helpful. But sometimes, witches were just straight up pricks.

This witch was a prick.

She had left a chair in the room. He snorted, and then hopped on it. Even if he hated her, it was better than standing on pure iron.

Charles glanced around, trying to see if he had missed anything. But the witch was good at what she did, apparently. It was solid iron all around. He sat down, waiting. The witch had said that something was gonna happen, but so far Charles just thought she was full of shit.

A blue glow started to fill the room.

He gaped. She wouldn’t. That would be cruel. All that work to make sure that her stupid boyfriend didn’t cross over, and now this? Her boyfriend at least wanted to! Charles didn’t. He wasn’t ready! And he’d be leaving Edwin behind, which was unthinkable. He quickly scrambled around, trying to look for anything he had missed. The iron burned him all over as he tore at the walls, banging and screaming. He could hear Edwin on the other side. He was calling for Charles. Edwin apparently couldn’t hear him, because he passed right by the door that the witch had shoved Charles in. He yelled, throwing the chair at the wall. It broke on impact, scattering remains all over.

When she arrived, she didn’t look very happy.

“Hello, Charles” she quietly said. Charles looked away. He couldn’t see very well. Everything looked watery.

“Hey, Death” he replied. He couldn’t hold this against her. It wasn’t her fault. She turned to him.

“You know I wouldn’t do this if I had the choice. You and Edwin should be able to stay together,” Charles chuckled without any feeling. At least it had been him and not Edwin. He finally looked up at Death. She looked sad. Charles sighed, walking over.

“Come on then,” he said, “We might as well get on with it, no?” Death nodded, holding out her hand to Charles. He had seen it happen to others so many times.

Charles paused, trying to gather his thoughts. He didn’t know what Heaven was supposed to look like. And there was the thought that he might just be born again.

That couldn’t happen. Edwin would come for him. Edwin would bring him back, it would be fine. This wouldn’t be the last time that Charles saw Edwin. He would be rescued.

He never thought this could happen.

He had been worried about it. But some part of him had actually believed that nothing could separate him and Edwin, not even Death. Not after Hell. And over time, even before Hell, Charles had gotten confortable on Earth. He had forgotten that Death was searching for him too.

He forgot that the Lost and Found department had only promised that Edwin wouldn’t go back to Hell. They hadn’t promised Charles that he wouldn’t go to Heaven.

The second he was back, he would rectify that.

But right now, that wasn’t true. He was wrong, and he had to go.

Charles took her hand.

[lynzishell]

Prev // Next

Transcript under the cut:

Phoenix: You know we have to have this conversation sooner or later. Preferably, sooner. Dawn: I know, it’s just… anytime I think of being separated from her my chest seizes up and I can’t breathe. Phoenix: I don’t want to leave her either, but we are gonna have to go back to work and we have to figure out where she’s going to go during the day. We should’ve had it all planned out by now. Our options are dwindling by the day.

Dawn: What if I didn’t go back? Phoenix: Are you serious? Dawn: Yeah, I’m serious. I can’t bear the idea of leaving her with strangers. And she’s growing so much every day, I don’t want to miss anything.

Phoenix: How long have you been thinking about this? Dawn: Since she was born. Phoenix: When were you gonna tell me? Dawn: Now?

Phoenix: [sighs] Okay. So, how do we make that work? You make more than I do, so that cuts our income by more than half. Dawn: I don’t know. Maybe I can find something that I can do part-time from home? And it wouldn’t be forever, just until she starts school. Phoenix: Preschool or Kindergarten? Dawn: Ideally? Kindergarten. But I’ll go back sooner if I need to. If it’s too stressful.

Phoenix: Well, maybe it’s time I stop putting it off and run for city council. Elections are in the fall, and it could be enough of a pay raise to make it work. Dawn: Really? Are you sure? Phoenix: I mean, deep down I knew I’d do it eventually. I guess this is just the push I needed.

Dawn: Oh my god, Phoenix, thank you! [jumps on him] I love you so much! Phoenix: Whoa [laughs] It’s not a guarantee. If it doesn’t work out, then we’ll need to come up with another plan.

Dawn: You’re gonna do great, I know it!

[loveinhawkins]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 ao3

They end up watching Casablanca thanks to Robin bringing the VHS over. For the majority of the movie, it’s not a serious watch at all; they’re all happily talking over scenes, slapping each other’s hands away whenever one of them gets too close to another’s pizza order.

It’s comfortable, like they’ve known each other for years and years: instinctively able to tell whenever someone’s wrapped up in the movie and falling quiet accordingly, before launching back into chatter again when the moment’s passed.

Eddie silently entertains himself with imagining how he would react to all of this only a few months ago—not the whole alternate dimension related horrors, just the fact that he’s having a ‘Casablanca impressions contest’ in Steve Harrington’s living room, in which Robin Buckley is beating him soundly.

“Steve,” she says, still in Rick Blaine’s drawl, “I gotta ask you something.”

It seems like Steve can’t hear her, but Eddie knows it’s an act when he briefly presses his tongue against the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.

“Oh, sorry,” Steve says, exaggeratedly turning from the T.V to Robin, “it’s like he’s in the room with us.”

Robin throws a cushion at his face. Dropping the voice, she says, “I forgot I didn’t bring anything to sleep in.”

This time Steve doesn’t try and conceal his smile, though he does turn to Eddie, mouths bullshit.

Eddie hides his laugh with a well-timed bite of pizza; Steve keeps smiling like he saw it anyway.

“Sure, go ahead.” Steve gestures upstairs with a nod of the head, sighing like it’s a chore. “It’s not like you do this every damn time.”

Robin jumps up in triumph. “Steve,” she says, the drawl returning, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Steve throws the cushion back at her; she dodges it with an uncoordinated leap before bounding upstairs.

“She thinks I don’t notice whenever I’m missing a shirt,” Steve mutters. He rolls his eyes as he says it, but the fondness is obvious, and he must catch something of Eddie’s thoughts on his face, because he says, “What?”

“Nothing,” Eddie says—thinks once again about how natural Robin and Steve are with each other, like siblings; that such a closeness is never a guarantee, but it’s a choice they’ve made, one they keep on making, rather than being born into it. “Just noticed that you didn’t put your hat in the ring for impressions.”

Steve laughs. “That’s cause I knew Robin would win.”

“Well, guess we’ll never know…”

Steve shrugs. “Guess not.”

Eddie scoffs, mimes casting a fishing line. “You’re meant to take the bait, Harrington.”

Steve opens his mouth presumably to retort, but the sound of the phone ringing interrupts him; Robin calls from upstairs, “I’ve got it!”, and he shouts back, “Sure, thanks!”

“That’s what she did with our phone call,” he adds to Eddie, “probably sneaking around in my room so she could find a shirt she wanted.”

It’s said with affection, like he knew that’s what she would have been doing all along.

The phone call must be a short one, because Robin’s back downstairs in less than five minutes, dressed in a royal blue shirt that’s faded with age. Steve softens when he sees it, and as Robin gets closer, Eddie makes out yellow letters across the front: Free Concert Central Park.

Steve catches Eddie’s eye, smiles like they’re sharing a secret.

Then Robin makes for the couch they’re both on: Steve at one end, Eddie at the other. She flops in the space between them, tips over so she’s upside down, feet dangling over the top of the couch, head lolling down halfway towards the seat.

Eddie gently prods her foot; she’s got one threadbare sock on, a hole at the big toe. “What’s up, Buckley?”

“It was Nancy,” she says. Her head tilts in Steve’s direction when she adds, “She asked if she could come over tomorrow, like, late afternoon? And if it’d be okay if she brought Holly.”

“Yeah, ‘course it’s okay,” Steve says. “She didn’t need to ask.”

“Yeah, I told her you’d say that.” Robin sighs, long and heavy. “She was… quiet. I… I hope I helped—”

“Rob,” Steve interrupts, not unkindly, “you will have, don’t—”

“It’s just—” Robin breaks off with another sigh, hands flexing like she’s grappling for the words. “Sometimes I worry that—okay. Do you ever get the feeling… kinda like stage fright? But more… I remember in middle school, a girl in my class phoned asking for my help with homework, and all I could think was oh, now it’s my job to be the Homework Girl, I’ve gotta my lines right. You know?”

Steve frowns, says, “I mean—” at the exact same time that Eddie says, “Yeah.”

Robin rises at Eddie’s agreement, moving until she’s perched upright on the top of the couch.

“It’s like… it’s like I can sense so badly that she needs… I don’t know! A friend, or just someone to tell her…” Another sigh. “See, that’s the thing, I don’t even know what. I’m, like, so focused on the fact that she needs something, that whatever I say, I can’t mess it up, and then whatever I do say is… useless.”

Eddie’s eyes dart between the two of them—Robin’s uncertainty, how Steve’s frown makes him seem… conflicted.

“Robin, I get it, but it—it won’t be useless. Promise.”

“At least she phoned,” Robin goes on, pensive.

“Yeah,” Steve says. He looks off to the side, and he goes somewhere—Eddie doesn’t know where, but he can tell somehow that it’s not about the night he saw the clock, or at least not entirely.

Robin must sense it, too, because she goes still on the couch. “Steve?”

Steve breathes out, rubs a hand over his mouth. “There’s… there’s some stuff I wanna say,” he says hesitantly, “but it’s… complicated. It’s—it’s not mine to—it’s hers, but…”

His eyes drift again, this time over to the windows; the only thing to see outside is the pool, the water covered with tarp and a thick layer of leaves from last fall. When he turns back, he takes another big breath like he’s steeling himself.

“Look, this is… in, like, confidence, all right? It’s… I don’t think she’ll ever talk about it herself. And obviously I know you won’t, um, bring it up to her, but I think—if she’s… it’s something you might need to know.”

There’s something about the way he phrases it, like he’s walking a tightrope. It makes Eddie think of a morning in 6th grade where a kid’s mom had died the night before, but she was going into class anyway, and the homeroom teacher had warned them in advance before she’d come in late. That the instruction to be extra kind to her, to only talk about the whole thing if she brought it up felt woefully inadequate, but also all they could do.

“You kinda got an… abridged version of everything,” Steve says, eyes on Eddie. “So, back when… um, with Will, and… Barb. Barb Holland died. And she—she—”

“It wasn’t a chemical leak,” Robin says. There’s a tone to her voice, Eddie thinks, like these are suspicions she’s already had; but the way she’s looking at Steve with wide eyes suggests it’s never been talked about, not really.

“Right,” Steve says softly. “Nance, she—she got this journalist to, like, expose Hawkins Lab because… Barb’s parents, they still had hope, y’know? Nance wanted to go further than the cover-up story, but she had to fight even for that, so…”

Eddie recalls Murray’s voice down the phone: “Got enough leverage to take a story, water it down until it’s just ripples in the pond, softly softly, yeah?”

Understanding sinks heavily into his stomach, like rocks hitting the bottom of a creek.

“Barb… she died here, in the pool.”

The rocks in Eddie’s stomach turn to ice.

He sucks in a sharp, horrified breath; as Robin, if possible, becomes even more still, Steve keeps talking.

“Not—it wasn’t… Shit, sorry. We didn’t see what… but eventually, we. We knew. And it—it wasn’t like how it was with Chrissy, or… There wasn’t a Gate. There wasn’t anything.” Steve looks outside again, says quietly, “Trust me, I checked.”

“Jesus,” Eddie whispers.

“But Nance, she… It was after Barb’s funeral in ‘84. Before… I know it was before Christmas, but I don’t… Anyway, I came home from school, and the front mat was lifted up, and the spare key was gone, and… It was Nance. She was in the pool.” Steve swallows. “She’d turned off the heating. And she—it’s like she couldn’t hear me. She just kept diving down to the bottom, kept feeling every damn tile. Her hands, they—I had to jump in and pull her out.”

Eddie glances at the pool, and it doesn’t matter that the cover and leaves obscure it in reality; in his mind’s eye he can still see the ghostly glow of the water. Can see Nancy repeatedly trying to dive, Steve desperately calling her name—both of them shaking from the cold.

He thinks of Steve insisting that he’d make the dive at Lover’s Lake. “It’s gotta be me.”

“God, it was awful,” Steve says. “She just… she just went silent, most she talked was fucking apologising for using some towels to get dry. Then she left and—that was it. Never brought it up again.”

There’s a heavy pause.

“You know how we were during Starcourt?” Robin says, fragile. “Like, when everything was… spilling out.”

Steve’s face screws up a bit. “In more ways than one.”

Yeah, Eddie thinks, really hate how all that’s a casual reference point for you two.

“I think Nancy might be… the opposite,” Robin says slowly. “If there was a drug that made you just… go quiet. And I think she’d—” Robin exhales. “She’d put the needle in herself.”

It looks like the sheer weight of that hits Steve all at once. He closes his eyes. “Shit,” he breathes.

Eddie wants to hold him through it. Desperately wants to make it better. Knows that he can’t—that the only thing that would fix it would be Nancy and Steve never needing to dive into a freezing pool.

The movie keeps playing through the long silence. It’s almost over.

“But I’ve got a job to do, too,” urges Rick Blaine. “Where I’m going you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do you can’t be any part of.”

Eddie looks away from the screen, tries not to think of Steve staring out into the road. Fails.

They’re almost too far away to touch. But Steve manages to press his foot against Eddie’s.

I’m here.

Eddie feels Robin shift along the couch, feels her hand gently squeeze his shoulder. For a moment, it’s like they’re all connected through one touch.

And they breathe.

[chaosduckies]

Restoration (Chapter 10)

I cut this one a bit short since I want the next one to be long. THAT’S where I’m deciding to put the TWO scenes I thought of. It will make you cry, and at the same time make your heart melt. Anyways, enjoy!

Word Count: 3.1k

CW: Witnessing a birth, mentions of death, That’s all for this one!

10-Ryker 

Everything was going downhill. 

There were warnings everywhere around the neighborhood I lived in. That humans living here should find a place to stay on the human side of the city. The riots were getting out of hand. Of course that was something to worry about, but I was really just worried about one other thing. Where would Lucky and Angela live? 

They can’t stay here. If those people come around and they find them, I don’t think I could ever forgive myself if something bad happens. It was better if I find someplace for them to stay. Away from the people that want to kill them. I was not about to let something bad happen to them because I kept them here. 

I had talked with Jasmine, and she said we should take down all of the elevators and hide the human room in case someone decides to barge into our house looking for harbored humans. It was smart, but it might take a while to get rid of all the elevators. There were a lot. I still didn’t have a place for Lucky and Angela to go. 

Nathan could always… no. That’s asking too much. Taking care of my own siblings? I couldn’t ask him to do that. I’m sure his mom doesn’t want two other people to look after either. I really didn’t know what to do. Maybe if I ask? No. Nonono. No asking. I’m sure Nathan already has his own problems to deal with. I can’t put more stress on him. The movie last night was great until I thought he would be fine if I just grabbed him. He absolutely freaked out and I didn’t know why I even did that. So could he really handle a four year old who absolutely loves hugs and a fifteen year old who is just so full of energy and loves playing sports. Is that a good combo with someone who was wary about being touched and hates the cold weather? No. I don’t think so. 

I groaned, leaning against the kitchen island and burying my head in my hands. What do I do? I can’t just give them to some random person! What if they hurt them or something worse? I guess I could always call Lucky, but what fi they take away his phone? 

There was small giggling from in front of me. I picked my head up, seeing Angela holding up a picture she drew. Of course I can barely see it when she’s standing so far away, but I just forged the best smile I could and scooped her up. She giggled even more, hugging the stuffed panda Nathan had given her. Speaking of… I need to find him a gift. 

“What is it, Angel?”  

“Lucky told me we have to leave. Is that true?” She pouted. Nothing goes unsaid in this house. Everyone finds out eventually. I would of had to tell Angela sooner or later. Or at least before she had to leave and go live with someone else for a while. It might actually be harder for me to watch them leave. 

“I’m sorry, Angel. I just want you to be safe.” I apologized, but she only hugged what little portion she could of my thumb. Like I said, she loved hugs. 

“I don’t wanna go thoughhhh.” She didn’t let go. I sighed, lightly pressing the back of my finger up against her back. I smiled softly, “You’ll miss me?” She nodded her head, finally letting go as I pulled my finger away. She was jut a kid, I can’t tell her that some people want to kill her just for being born. That would be bad. She wouldn’t understand yet either. 

I set Angela back down on the counter, watching her take the elevator back down probably to go see what Jasmine was up to. I still remember the day she was born. Everyone was shocked. Mostly my parents, but I remember being excited to have another baby sister.

——————

We could barely hear the crying. The doctors stared in shock as they held the tiny human-sized baby in their palms. Mom was barely conscious while dad was telling her how beautiful she was. None of us could see her face. She was too small. Isabelle was asleep on the couch, Dylan and jasmine stood there shocked at the events that just took place, meanwhile, Lucky was smiling. He was going to have a human sized sister. 

The doctors told the news to our mother, who was even more shocked than us. They carefully handed her the tiny life that had immediately stopped crying after she was safely in my mother’s hand. Mom had started crying happy tears, cooing at the extremely tiny baby she was holding. 

“It’s rare, but happens. The baby is completely healthy and otherwise normal.” The doctor smiled, reading off the clipboard. I walked closer, the doctor moving out of my way so I could see. She was so tiny. Maybe the size of my fingertip. I smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Say hi to Angel, Ryker.” Mom laughed, a shaky hand reaching to the infant. Angel? I liked that name. 

Soon enough everyone was gathered around the hospital bed. Mom didn’t let the younger ones hold her, only Jasmine and I and Lucky since he was a human. When it was my turn, I swear I heard a tiny little giggle escape the baby’s mouth. I smiled, looking in awe at how tiny she really was. Adorable. 

Angel was passed back to my mother, who held her all throughout the night. We never once heard her cry at night. Not at all when she was a baby. We needed some help to get her baby clothes since none of us could fit in a human-sized store except for Lucky, who was barely eleven at the time. Dad asked a few work friends, who were happy to help. When they weren’t around, mom had to use a pipette to feed her. One tiny drop at a time. 

——————

Mom loved her so much. She kept on saying that she was an angel, so that’s what her name would be. Angela. We call her Angel because that’s what mom called her. She really was an angel though. Mom never had a hard time getting her to sleep, feeding her, rocking her. Even if she was so much bigger than her own daughter. 

So, I was not about to let anyone just watch her. We were all so protective of her because of how she was brought into the world. Supposed to be a miscarriage, but here we are, with a happy little sister. I couldn’t let her see the bad part of life yet. It would make me a terrible older brother. 

As for Lucky, I didn’t want him to go back to a place where no one wanted him. Where he was afraid. The adoption center we found him in treated him badly as he was the only human there, so I was just glad I convince him to come with us. Now look at him. He was glued to Dylan and wasn’t scared of anything anymore. Could I let him go back to that terrible place? No. I will not be at any point in time. 

Nathan was my only choice. I didn’t trust anyone else, and I couldn’t let them stay here. Plus, Angel and Lucky like him. I doubt Nathan is able to physically hurt someone anyways. It was my best option. Now I just have to hope that he’s okay with it. 

I picked up my phone, and texted him. 

———Nathan———

My phone went off. I was in my room finishing off one of the books the librarian recommended to me. I picked up my phone, stuffing my bookmark where I left off and checked my messages. 

Ryker: Sorry for bothering you so much lately, but I have a hugeeee favor to ask you 

I already knew what he was going to ask. After what we saw on the news last night, I’m sure he was looking for a place Lucky and Isabelle could be at. Assuming I was the only other human he knew besides his own siblings, I was probably his best bet. I don’t mind though. Lucky and Isabelle are both my friends so how could I say no? 

Nathan: You’re not bothering me :) 

Nathan: What’d you need?  

Ryker: Could you maybe watch Lucky and Isabelle? Just until this whole riot thing blows over 

Ryker: You don’t have though 

Nathan: It’s fine! 

Nathan: I kind of expected this after last night 

Nathan: Let me just make sure my mom was okay with it 

Ryker: TYSM you’re the best 

I laughed, placing my phone back on the desk by my bed and heading into the living room where my mom was finishing up some papers for work. She smiled when she saw me walk in. She took the day off to finish up her work and stay with me. School was cancelled until after Christmas break because of what happened last night. The riots were getting out of hand, and people nearly died. She just wanted to make sure I would be okay at the house alone. Apparently I wouldn’t be alone all that much this time. 

“H-hey mom,” I started, “Ryker asked if his human siblings could stay here. B-because of what happened last night. He doesn’t want them to get hurt and he just asked if they could stay here for a week or two?” 

She smiled softly, putting her pen down, “Of course! You sure it won’t be too much on you? You know I’m working all week.” I nodded my head. If I can take care of myself and my mom, then I’m sure two others won’t be too bad. Plus, I’m sure my mom has some tips for Angela. She absolutely loves kids. 

“Alright then, I can’t wait to meet them!” She cheered as I walked back to my room. I knew she would say yes, I just had to make sure. It’s nice to know I can start slowly repaying Ryker for everything he’s done for me. This was just one small, insignificant way to repay him. 

Nathan: Yeah they can come! When though?

Ryker: Ummm in about three hours? Bus stop? 

Ryker: I don’t want go at night and I want to get them as far away from here as possible

Nathan: Sure! 

Nathan: I’ll be waiting

Ryker: Thank you so much  

Nathan: Anytime :D

Three hours wasn’t that long. I could finish my book and get ready to head out. I don’t know if my mom would want to come. Probably not since she’d most likely have some kind of greeting for them. Maybe she’ll just summon a gift out of nowhere. She does that sometimes. I’ve learned to never underestimate her when it comes to gifts. 

I finished the book, ending with the main character presenting his portfolio while also reflecting on everything that’s happened to him. His brother died, his other brother was broken because of it, he had to be the one to fix his family, and he did it. I liked it. It was a sweet ending. I still had about an hour and a half left until I had to go pick up Lucky and Angela. What should I do in the meantime? Well the first thing that pops up in my head is to bake. Because of course it is. It’s my main coping mechanism and it’s easy to do when you’re pretty good at it. 

Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed everything I needed for just some basic cookies, measured everything up, mixed it, and put it in the oven. My mom had appeared out of nowhere and sat down at one of the stools. 

“Smells good.” She smiled. I smiled back, taking a seat in the stroll next to her. 

“Everything alright, Nate?” She asked. She knew when I bake it’s because something is wrong. Today though, I was just doing it for fun. Also because I didn’t want Lucky and Angela to come without me giving them something. I’m just trying to make a good impression. 

“Yeah. Just making them a little gift.” 

“You care a lot about Ryker, don’t you? I mean, you are taking care of his own siblings for him,” She started, placing a cold hand on my shoulder, “He sounds like a nice friend though.” 

I nodded my head, “He is… I’m just trying to pay him back. F-for everything.” I started playing with my hands. I’m no longer as scared as I was before I met Ryker, I’ve been able to have someone to talk to, I’ve had the experience of actually having a friend, and I feel bad that I can’t give him anything back. 

“Nate, buddy, a good friend doesn’t ever ask for something in return I hope you know. You don’t always have to pay him back.” She advised. I sighed. I knew that… but I wanted to do this. It was the right thing. Was I just about to abandon his siblings to be left in that neighborhood where people were practically trying to weed out any and all humans on their side. 

“I know. But it’s nice to know that I’m at least helpful in some way.” 

My mom patted me on the back lightly, making me sit straight up and offer a nervous smile. She muttered a sorry before heading back to the living room to finish her paperwork. Five more minutes until the cookies were done. I couldn’t do anything else for Ryker except do what he asks me to. I mean, that’s what it means being a human right? You can’t do anything for anyone if they’re not the same size as you, yet a giant can give so much to a human, and still give more to their own people. Wait… Why was I thinking so hard about this?I didn’t even expect Ryker to give me anything. Ah. I’m spiraling again. 

I took the pan out of the oven, seeing the perfectly golden-brown cookies. They smelled delicious as always.  

——————

I waited by the bus stop, constantly checking the time and immediately stuffing my hands back into the warmth of my pocket. I can’t wait to get home, get under the blankets, and cuddle near the heater. Weird? Don’t care. I’m freakishly cold right now, and it was only getting closer as Christmas came around the corner. 

Ryker came into view, a sad look on his face. Right. Parting ways with his siblings he’s lived with his entire life. Why do I get the feeling Jasmine was going to threaten me again? I shuddered at the thought, but smiled and waved as soon as they had stopped in front of me. 

There was no way in heck that I was ready to see Ryker standing up to his full height from the ground, so I just focused on something else. The many cracks in the sidewalk, how many pieces of grass stuck in between the cracks. It helps. Only a little though. 

First up was the goodbyes for Angela. Jasmine was slightly crying, but she wiped those tears away. I knew they were close. Isabelle had hugged Angela up close, and then Ryker and Dylan all gave her a makeshift hug. Angela ran up to me, giving me a tight hug. I only slightly jumped, trying to seem comfortable around Ryker’ siblings. I admit, the ugly bothered me, but was I just supposed to deny a four-year old child a hug? I remember when I was little that was all I wanted. 

Dylan joked around with Lucky before letting him down on the ground. Lucky waved a goodbye to everyone. I was kind of surprised that was it. Then again, he was fifteen. I doubt he’d want his own siblings embarrassing him in front of me. I wouldn’t think anything of it. Not like I don’t do anything embarrassing all the time. 

“Thanks again. You didn’t have to.” Ryker thanked me, giving his best smile. I couldn’t help but catch the way the edges of his mouth twitched. This was hard for him to see them leave. It would be hard for me too if you only had your siblings left in the world and now they had to leave because it wasn’t safe for them. Maybe they don’t trust me all too much… If that’s the case then I was their only hope. 

They had all left, except for Jasmine, who crouched down and brought her face close to me, a mean and annoyed look on her face. I let out a quiet squeak, backing up. Lucky just stood in front of me, shaking his head. He doesn’t have to defend me- 

“If I find out that they even have the slightest little bruise, I’ll murder you.” She promised, standing up and now joining the rest of her siblings. A shiver ran down my spine. 

“Ah don’t take her seriously. She’s a real softie once you get to know her.” Lucky patted me on the back while Angela grabbed his hand. Yeah… Only joking he says. I think she means it when she gets that close to me. 

We walked back to my house where my mom handed them a plate full of my cookies, which they both gladly took and ate in the matter of seconds. My mom sat with Angela in the empty room playing, “tea party” with whatever stuffed animals Angela brought. Meanwhile, Lucky and I were watching a movie on the couch in the living room. 

“Thanks,” He started, I picked up my head, “Ryker told me about what happened last night. When he tried to grab you I mean.” 

I looked down at the floor. I still feel bad about it. Who wouldn’t? He wasn’t even trying to hurt me and I just… Agh. 

“You’re not afraid of him in general, right?” He asked. I quickly shook my head. He could never purposely scare me. It’s what he can do that scared me. Not to mention that I sometimes get those terrible nightmares which make everything a million times worse. So, no, it’s not Ryker I’m afraid of. 

“Well, all I can say is that you’ll feel better if you tell him about whatever happened to you. I know from experience. He’ll help in any way he can.” Lucky flashed me a smile, then continued to watch the movie. 

Would he really though? Anytime I’ve ever told someone and they tried to help, they just give up on me about two weeks in. What’s so different about this time? That it’s someone my age? I think that makes it worse. 

But, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea… maybe I should? 

———————————————

Ahhh oh how I love when it ends with a rhetorical question. Will he? Will he not? Hahaaa I can’t wait to post the next chapter. (I’m crushing my own soul with this one) :D

Thank you for reading!!!

(Also, WHATTTT two chapters in the span of 24 hours?? Impossible)

[robbersofmyheart]

A coffee shop meeting…

Summary: Fate steps in when a teacher in her not-even-quarter-life crisis meets Matty Healy.

A/N: There's a very strong possibility that I'll never post any other writing on here again, but I hope this brings a smile to someone else's face. This was a daydream born of my love both for the 1975 (Matty in particular tbh) and for the found family trope. Hope you enjoy it!

“You don’t happen to have a light, do you?”

“No, I don’t. Maybe it’s a sign you shouldn’t smoke it.”

“I’ve done a lot worse, believe me.”

“Oh, I know. Doesn’t make that nicotine any better for you though.”

Eleanor looked across at her companion, eyebrows raised in challenge, waiting to see if he had a comeback. The café, which had been heaving when she arrived a couple of hours ago, now had only two customers remaining. In their typical British fashion, they hadn’t spoken until now, despite being alone at their adjacent tables, so Eleanor was surprised to hear him finally breaking the ice over the rattling of coffee cups being tidied away. She watched as he put the cigarette back into the packet, a smirk overtaking his features.

“So you do recognise me then.”

Crap. Of course that’s what he took from that. Matty Healy - 1, Eleanor - 0.

“Yes, I recognised you, Matty,” Eleanor replied with a sigh. She couldn’t believe she’d lost that easily.

“Why didn’t you say anything? You were the only one in here that could see my face.”

“I was working,” she paused. “Or at least trying to. I don’t usually focus well in busy places, too many more interesting things to study.”

“Why are you here then?”

“My cousin lives in Manchester and I’d come to visit him. We managed to have half a day before he got called in for a last-minute shift at work. I missed my train home by literally seconds, then I saw that the next one was cancelled, so I thought I’d get some planning done while I wait for the one after to arrive.”

Matty was listening to her intently now, his chin resting on his hand. Eleanor wondered what he was doing here. Since he arrived, he’d alternated between drinking cups of coffee, scribbling frantically in his Moleskine, and watching the comings and goings of customers out of the corner of his eye. Before she could ask him, however, he dived in with yet another question for her

“And what sort of planning would that be?”

“Factorising quadratics with Year 9, area of a trapezium with Year 7, and recurring decimals revision with Year 11.”

Matty exhaled loudly, leaning back in his chair, the glint in his eye telling her that he was impressed. “You’re a maths teacher then.”

“Bingo.”

“That must be a tough gig.”

“Just a bit.”

“You seem quite young to be a teacher.” It was a statement, but the furrow in his brows betrayed his confusion.

“I’m 22, so I guess I am.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

Eleanor hesitated, considering what her reply would be, and Matty waited patiently, almost watching the cogs turning in her brain. “I do, for the most part. I work with an amazing team of people, and I love seeing the difference I make to those kids’ lives. Not everyone has that purpose, so I’m lucky really.”

Matty narrowed his eyes at her, knowing that she wasn’t telling the full story. And that was how Eleanor found herself pouring her heart out to the curly haired singer, the troubles that she had bottled up inside her for months finally breaking free, whether she liked it or not.

She told him about how she lived in a permanent state of exhaustion, tired from the never-ending to do lists and the unbearable repetitiveness of her daily life. She told him about the part of her that regretted throwing herself into such a big career at such a young age, and how she felt that she missed her chance to be young and wild and carefree because she’d always been so focused on her work. She told him about how she’d thought about leaving her current life behind and starting again so many times, but had ultimately been too scared of failing and letting people down when they’d given up so much to help her get to where she was now.

To his surprise, Matty didn’t feel like interrupting her once during her monologue. He simply wanted to let her talk, to let her share her thoughts with him. It was like he could actually see some of the weight lifting off the girl’s shoulders as she unburdened herself of her worries, and it almost made him smile to think that she felt comfortable enough to tell him when he somehow knew that she had never told anyone else. So he just listened, letting her ramble on until she ran out of things to say.

When that time finally came, Eleanor let out a big exhale and looked Matty in the eye as he responded with one word: “Wow.”

Eleanor felt her face start to burn and she buried it into her hands. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. This is probably the last way you wanted to spend your afternoon, being on the receiving end of my word vomit.”

“You know what, it actually made a refreshing change. Didn’t expect to get recruited as a therapist today.” Matty watched her shoulders start to shake under her blanket of blonde waves, and was shocked at the worry he felt that she might be crying. But when she looked up she was giggling, despite the faint sheen of tears in her eyes.

“Oh, so you’re my therapist now?”

“You mean you didn’t purposefully choose me? I’m wounded.” That made her laugh properly this time, and Matty found himself unable to hold a soft smile back any longer before his expression turned more serious. “Look, I’m not going to pretend like I know how to solve your problems, and I’m not even sure if you want me to, but can I say one thing?” She nodded. “I think that if the people that you’re worried about letting down really love you, they’ll be more upset if you carry on doing something that’s making you miserable for their sakes than if you give it up.”

Eleanor mulled over the singer’s words and whilst she knew deep down that they were true, it didn’t change the fact that she was absolutely terrified at the idea of giving up teaching. Below the supportive façades, she knew her parents would always berate her for leaving such a stable, well-paid career, and her pride would never let her return to work at her current school with people that she adores if this mysterious plan B failed. She relayed all of this to Matty.

“Well who gives a flying fuck what anyone else thinks anyway! What’s the point in life if you don’t do something you love?”

“But teaching is the only thing I’ve ever even contemplated doing, I’ve got absolutely no idea what else I’d do.”

“Listen, you’re young, intelligent, beautiful, and you’ve literally got the whole world out there with so many possibilities - it doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right first time.”

“Careful, Healy, I might start thinking you like me,”

Now, if you asked Matty Healy of The 1975 why his immediate response was to do a stereotypically girlish impression of that comment before flipping off the young woman sat in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Nor could he explain why, after only an hour of talking to her, he felt such an incredible fondness for her, an almost brotherly affection, which prompted him to tell her how amazing she seemed to be. But he could describe how his heart soared as she laughed at him, and then sunk as she realised the time and started hurriedly packing her stuff into her bag.

“Shit, shit, shit. Do you think I can make the train in 5 minutes? I can’t miss this one as well. This is all your fault you know!”

“Hang on, how is it my fault? You’re the one who started emptying your brains onto the table.”

“And you were the one who made the mistake of listening.” Eleanor swung her bag onto her shoulder, and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

Then she was running out of the coffee shop, a blur of blonde hair and floral perfume.

It was only then that Matty realised he didn’t even know her name.

***

1 year later…

“Lovely to meet you, take care.”

As soon as the interviewee had left the room, the smiles on four of the five faces dropped and they let out a sigh.

“Guys, if you want to actually do this, we do need to hire someone.”

Matty tugged at his hair in frustration. “It’s not that we’re not on board with it, Jamie, it’s just got to be with the right person. I mean, it’s letting someone totally unknown to us into an entire chapter of our lives, not just our careers.”

It was just over a month ago that The 1975 had told Jamie Oborne that they were ready to start working on their next album. In the same meeting, Jamie had proposed an idea that he had been mulling over for a while. The response to ‘A Theatrical Performance of an Intimate Moment’ had been better than anyone had anticipated, and the fans always loved seeing behind the scenes footage. So, Jamie had suggested filming the entire journey of their next album, from concept to creation to tour, and releasing it as a mini-series. Of course, the band could get the footage themselves, but whether they would actually remember to do it was a different story.

That was how they found themselves in a boiling hot room in the London office of Dirty Hit, having collectively decided against all 15 people they had interviewed for the role of documentarian.

“I mean, they all just seem so serious,” Matty continued.

“Boring, you mean,” George muttered.

“This thing does have to look good, though, for it to work, and these were the most qualified of all the candidates,” Jamie countered.

“We don’t fucking care about qualified!”

“I think what Matty’s trying to say, mate,” Ross calmly cut in, “Is that we were thinking of something more low key. More of a collection of home movies than something carefully filmed and edited.”

“Yeah, we don’t know how long this thing is going to go on for, way over a year at least, and we don’t want to feel like we’re putting on a show the whole time. It’s got to be authentic. It’s gonna be fucking weird at the start but after a while we just want it to be like a mate is casually filming what we’re doing.”

Jamie had to admit that George closed their argument well, and he was sold on it. He just wished that they had told him sooner.

“Okay, okay, I get it and I’m happy for us to go ahead with that. There’s one more person for us to speak to today, who was kind of my wildcard, so if she’s more what you’re looking for then we can revisit some of the other applications tomorrow.” With that, Jamie left the room to get the last candidate.

“A wildcard? What is this, mid-2000s X Factor?” Matty huffed, to the amusement of the others.

But any annoyance that Matty felt was washed away in an instant when he saw who his manager was holding the door open for.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Matty’s words might have sounded rude, but it was the smile spreading across his face that shocked everyone the most.

“I’m here in an attempt to annoy you for longer this time,” Eleanor smirked.

“Well, you’re failing miserably at this point. How are you?”

“I’m good. Really good, actually.” A genuine smile crossed her face this time. “Didn’t think you’d remember me to be honest.”

“I often wondered what you decided to do with your life in the end,” Matty shrugged. “It frustrated me knowing everything and then nothing at all. So I guess you have already succeeded in your goal to annoy me.”

Before you had chance to reply, another voice broke through to join the conversation. “Sorry to interrupt this lovely chat, but would someone kindly explain what the hell is going on here?” It was George, and he, like everyone else in the room, was stumped by Matty’s sudden personality transplant.

Now very aware of all of the eyes on her, she looked to Matty for help, who simply sat back in his chair before saying “Well, I think you’re sat in the better seat for a storytime, don’t you? Anyway, I don’t even know your name.”

So Eleanor told the room about how she had met their frontman, briefly mentioning the life crisis that she’d been having at the time, whilst Matty impatiently waited to hear what happened after she left the coffee shop. She told them how she’d stayed in teaching until the end of that school year, before handing in her notice. Her boss had been sad to see her go, but told her that if she ever decided that she wanted to come back then he’d always find a job for her. Eleanor’s family, however, reacted quite differently; she ended up having a massive row with her parents about it and her relationship with them still hadn’t quite mended fully. Ever since her move to London, she had been taking whatever bar jobs she could find and spent her days applying to any jobs that took her fancy.

Matty couldn’t help the pride that was coursing through him for the young woman sat across from him. She had taken all of those ‘What ifs’ that she’d told him about, thrown them in the fire and walked away, when he knew that all of her instincts would have been telling her to do the opposite. He looked around at the others, and was both amused and pleased to find that they all seemed to be as entranced by Eleanor as he had been at their first meeting. In Matty’s eyes, she was the perfect fit, and he could tell that she was quickly winning the others over as well.

Surprisingly, it was Adam who spoke up first. “So, you’re saying that you’re totally unqualified for this job?”

“Never done anything like it before in my life. But it sounded interesting and I’m always up for learning new stuff.”

“Never been behind a camera? Never had anything to do with the music industry?” Ross asked, slightly taken aback by her honesty.

“Not the music industry, but I used to study music at school and I still play the piano from time to time.”

“And I take it you’re on board for annoying Matty as much as humanly possible?” It was George this time.

“Oh 100%.”

Matty rolled his eyes, but the smile remained on his face. She’d done it. Now, there was only one person left to convince. Matty quickly joined the others in looking at Jamie the way they used to look at their parents when the ice cream van pulled up on their road.

Eleanor watched on nervously as some sort of telepathic conversation seemed to transpire between the band and their manager.

Eventually, the silence broke and a new chapter began.

[klbwriting]

Not Romeo, Not Juliet

Chapter 10: Never Did Run Smooth

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Todd x f!reader

Warnings: none

Summary: YN comes to see Jason, he tells her the truth

The course of true love never did run smooth

— A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, ACT 1 SCENE 1

“What are you doing here?” Jackson demanded as he approached YN. She stood up from the bench, fists clenching as the three seniors surrounded her. Jason walked up quietly, listening to the conversation.

“I’m here to see someone,” she said. She noticed Jason but kept her attention on the others, her fists relaxing. She had no reason to fear Jason and she knew that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.

“Who are you seeing?” Matt asked. Chelsea took a step closer to her, making YN roll her eyes.

“None of your business,” she said. “Now please, can I just wait in peace?” Chelsea glared.

“Watch your tone here bitch, you’re not in Gotham anymore,” she said.

“Clearly, I’m in Bludhaven home of mediocre John Hughes movie,” YN said. Chelsea looked confused. “Lord, just leave me alone…” Chelsea shoved her hard enough to have her sit back on the bench. Her hand moved to slap YN, but Jason caught her arm, sliding himself between the seniors and YN, who stood up behind him.

“Hands off,” Jason said. He reached back, taking YN’s hand. Once he saw no one moving back towards her he looked over. “You want to go somewhere else?” She nodded. Chelsea glared.

“Is this the girlfriend Jason?” she asked, saying girlfriend like it had a nasty taste. He held up YN’s hand. “Gross, traitor.” Jason sighed.

“It's high school theater Chelsea, not tsarist Russia,” YN said. “In another year no one here will care that you ever went to this school or did a shitty job playing Ophelia.” The seniors looked scandalized as Jason gently YN and they started walking towards the outdoor lunch area.

“She looked like her head might explode,” Jason said with a laugh. He looked down at YN, seeing a tight smile on her face. “My brother blocked your number.”

“I figured something like that, didn’t think you were the type to just disappear,” she said. He set down his bag on a bench by small rose garden that surrounded the lunch tables. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure why he hates me, but I’m sorry about it. I mean I didn’t ask to be born poor…”

“Its not because you’re poor,” Jason said softly. He didn’t know how to tell her about her father. How do you break that kind of news to someone? ‘O ya, your dad is a crime lord and my brother things you’ll become one to, so I’m not allowed to date you because my dad once had a hard on for Catwoman…o did I mention he was Batman?’ Ya, that would go over well.

“Then why doesn’t he want us to see each other?” she asked. He looked down, not sure what to say. “Please tell me, I miss you, you honestly are my best friend Jason and I thought, well, even if that’s all we are I just want my friend back.” The look in her eyes and the break in her voice pushed him over the edge.

“He found out who your father is,” Jason said. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, that was clearly not the answer she was expecting. Jason slid an arm around the back of the bench, and she automatically leaned towards him, staring at him. He wished he could look into her eyes forever. “Your father is Sal Maroni, the crime lord, Dick used his connections to find out about that and…” he really didn’t know how to continue.

“Tell me,” she said, voice barely audible. She had tears threatening to spill over now and she had started gripping his hand hard, needing to ground herself into the moment.

“According to Dick’s sources Sal thinks you might be his best bet on a successor to his business. I guess he’s the one paying for your school and your apartment, and when you graduate, he’s going to offer to pay for your mother’s treatment in exchange for you joining his ‘family’” he said. He winced a little at how hard she was squeezing his hand. The tears that had been forming were now spilling from her eyes. “Dick seems to think…”

“That I’ll go become some underworld crime boss to try and save my mom’s life?’ she asked, voice now full of barely contained rage. Jason nodded. “What do you think?”

“I think you would never do anything like that, I think that you’re a good person and you love your mom, but you would never run off to become some kind of gang leader,” he said. YN nodded.

“You would be right; I love my mom. Which is why I would rather stab Maroni in the testicles than join him. How dare that fucking asshole decide that my mom’s life is only worth something if he can use it to get something out of me. How fucking dare he think that I would ever…” she was fuming, standing now and pacing the grass. Jason stood also, watching. “And your brother…how did he find out about this?”

“He’s Dick I honestly don’t know how he finds out anything…”

“He’s a dick alright, judging me by my parent’s. If I did that with you, I’d think you were just some drunk drug addict, or some playboy depending on which parents I wanted to go with, but no, I don’t look at you and think like that, I just think I love you…” she rambled before biting her lip and looking down. Jason felt his heart stop.

“You love…me?” he asked, words almost failing him. How could she possibly love him? How did anyone love him? Jason had never been good with self-esteem, not when he was a little kid who wasn’t worth enough to his mother to get clean, when he lived with Bruce and never seemed to live up to the standard that Dick set, and not with Dick where he couldn’t seem to do anything right, how could he ever be worthy of love? YN looked at him like he was insane.

“Of course, I love you,” she said as if it were fact, a small smile on her face. When he was quiet a moment too long her face began to change, her smile fell, and she looked worried. Jason wanted her to smile again but his mouth was dry, and he couldn’t seem to find words, so he stepped towards her, gently taking her face in his hands and he kissed her. She answered eagerly, hands finding purchase on his chest and Jason suddenly felt at peace. He’d never felt this way before, even when he died he could only remember chaos, but this, her lips on his, hands gripping his uniform shirt, his hands feeling the warmth of her skin, this was peace, this was heaven, this was what being alive was about. When they parted he wanted to immediately kiss her again, feel that peace and that happiness. He took a deep breath, leaning his forehead to hers.

“I love you YN,” he whispered. He hugged her close, just holding her for a while. “I’m going to get a phone on the way home, one my brother won’t know about, I’m sorry that I didn’t get one sooner.” She just nodded into his chest, head sitting right over his heart. “Let me take you home.” She nodded, taking his hand as they walked towards where he parked his bike.

Jason woke up, groaning as he looked at the phone Dick had bought him. It was only 4AM, why did he have so many messages? He opened them, frowning several of the other theater kids were asking about him and YN and what was up with her dad. His heart dropped as he clicked the link one of them sent. It opened to a Gotham news article, a video playing that clearly showed him and YN talking on the bench. It was their whole conversation and the kiss, the article talking at length about him being the missing son of Bruce Wayne and YN being the illegimate daughter of Sal Maroni. Jason felt his world spinning. Not only was Bruce going to definitely know he was alive now but everyone would know about YN, including several people who would very much so like a conversation with her. He reached under his mattress for the burner phone he had bought, finding several missed calls from YN. He called back.

“Jason?” he heard, her words slurred.

“YN? I’m coming right now,” he said, already up and getting dressed.

“I don’t want anyone to hurt my mom…” she said, clearly still sobbing.

“No one is going to hurt her or you, I’m coming to get you, I don’t care what Dick says I will bring you both here and we will figure something out,” he said, getting on his bike. “Give me five minutes, I’ll be there.” He hung up and took off. The streets of Gotham were nearly empty this early in the morning and it did only take him five minutes to pull up to her apartment. He ran up the stairs two at a time, but froze when he saw the door standing open, hanging by one hinge. He stepped inside the apartment where her mother was lying on the floor, panting.

“Are you hurt?” Jason asked, kneeling by her, helping her to stand slowly. She shook her head.

“Someone took her,” she said. Jason nodded, swallowing hard. He needed to stay calm. He got her mother back to bed, calling the emergency nurse they had to come see to her. Then he started searching. The living room looked like there had been a struggle, furniture out of place, the coffee table in pieces, her phone smashed on the floor. Then he saw the note lying nicely on the kitchen table. He walked over, careful not to touch it. He felt a surge of rage go through him.

Maroni, she’s at dock 15, bring the evidence and 50k, Falcone

[sunset-peril]

Present and Future

"Good morning, Princess!"

Zelda's smile, a wonder significantly more common in the modern age, shone through the early morning fog. "Welcome back to Hateno, Purah! It's wonderful to see you again." A tiny hand stretched out from the sling cradled against her chest. 

“Aw, is that the baby?!” At Zelda's approval, Purah peeked inside the cloth to see a golden baby stretching. “Oh, She's gotten so big since I last saw her.” 

“She's got her father's snout…” Zelda chuckled, lifting a tiny wrist. “And his paws, too. It's fascinating! The traits that dictate the brunt of the Wolfbred tribe's differences from Hylians would appear to be dominant in a first-generation hybrid!” Her voice fell off for a few awkward seconds before her grip tightened on the baby's small wrist. 

“What's wrong?”

“Just… we almost lost her so many times…  more times than I can count on my hands…” 

Purah gripped Zelda's shaking hand with her's. “But you didn't. Despite all odds, she made it. She was born healthy and happy, and she's thriving now. Her Papa was a significantly riskier baby, and he made it through! She's fine, Zelda.”

Tears Zelda didn't even know were forming creeped out the corners of her eyes as she looked down at the little one snuggled against her chest. Purah was right. Despite the sheer number of near-misses Zelda's pregnancy carried, both Zelda and Zelda Ivee made it to the other side alive. She was a miracle in so many ways, and now her parents got to cherish her instead of fretting about her survival. 

“Speaking of her papa, where is good ol’ Linky?” 

A laugh finally broke across Zelda’s burdened visage. “Come with me.” With a light beckon of the hand, she led Purah across the village to the Great Ton Pu Inn. 

By the time they'd reached the small two-pot cooking station, Purah could see the form of a blond man laying underneath the inn's balcony. She chuckled as Zelda climbed the first small flight of the Inn's stairs to sit next to the tiny sapling near Link's head. “He's prepared for rain, now isn't he?” 

“Yes,” Zelda gently reached underneath the balcony and brushed a yellow butterfly off Link's nose. “He's hunkered down, as they say, for a long nap.”  

“Does he normally sleep outside the house?”

“Outside of the house’s actual footprint, you mean? Yes, he does spend a lot of time sleeping outside the house. If you mean whether he sleeps a lot off of our property, then it depends. If I’m at home then he’ll usually stay around there too.” She chuckles, stroking her daughter’s head while admiring her husband. “On the ground level to the second floor if it’s sunny, under the roof between the two second-floor windows if it’s rainy, somewhere out in the yard if he’s not feeling too great. When he gets really anxious, I’ve even seen him climb up onto the pergola over the door and lay down there! Really, wherever he can get to that doesn’t cross the bridge. If I’m out amongst the town, then he could really be found sleeping anywhere between the Ginner Woods and Hateno Bay. Although, while I’m working he usually hangs out either at home or at the school. He doesn’t tend to wander much then. He seems to prefer locations resembling a kind of open-air stall, with a roof but no walls. I built him a little hutch on the eastern side of the house near the big tree recently, for when he starts having joint trouble and can’t get up to his more preferred spots as easily.” 

“Yes, he is getting older… Do you have a reason to think he’ll start having problems soon? There’s still a whole decade before Link’s officially a senior Wolfbred.” 

She sighed, reaching under again to brush hair out of Link’s sleeping face, a somber expression glimmering as she viewed the faint markings present on Link’s forehead, as well as his multitude of facial scars. “I’m really worried about his right leg. That ball joint was a concern for the medical staff even before the Calamity… I guess I’m just worried about dysplasia. And those super small joints he’s got in his knees, Father always said they were a poster case for early arthritis. He really abused that right knee as a knight, so I’m worried it’s not going to last much longer.” She shook her head and forced a laugh. “I really shouldn’t worry too much, he just turned nineteen.” 

Purah laughed, disturbing Link slightly. “We did just celebrate good ol’ Linky, didn't we?” She smiled as Link's snorts returned to soft snores. “Is he in any pain? If he doesn't seem to be hurting yet, I'd say just make sure he's not jumping off things for now. The researcher in me wants to get a good look at his bones and joints, but I know better than to try and pat him down while he's sleeping. Lasli's still got that scar.” 

“Link doesn't seem to be in any pain per se. He seems a little uncomfortable in the humidity, but not pained.” 

“Well, my knees are uncomfortable in the humidity, and I was six until recently. He'd probably have to get looked at. Which he won't like.”

“No… no he will not.” Zelda repositioned the cloth cradle around her chest so that the little pup didn't squirm away from her, Zelda Ivee didn't seem to take her mother's security very well and began to fuss. “Hopefully, being in Hateno with the other wolfbred will make Link less fussy. I really don't need to manage him on top of the little one.” 

The infant's crying woke Link, he slowly brought himself back up to all fours (although Purah definitely took note that Link was not having the easiest time) and crawled over to his baby. He stuck his snout-like nose into the sling and began to purr, Zelda Ivee calming shortly after grabbing ahold of his snout.

“Aw, good boy, Link. Good dad.” His wife ruffled his hair and kissed his sleepy forehead. She had all kinds of urges to mess with his hair, calling him all kinds of names more befitting a cute dog than a retired hero, but she forced herself to repress them. One hundred years ago, it was common, but it was no longer acceptable for a Hylian to treat a Wolfbred in such a lowly manner.

Purah giggled as the super-soldier sported a giant, goofy grin with his nose being tugged on by a baby. No research paper from the era of the Wolfbred's creation would say that this could possibly be any kind of life for someone like him, but Link clicked right into his role in the village, and his family, like he'd been designed specifically to do so. She'd been worried when Link began to present the disorder that had plagued male Wolfbred just before the exile, that Link's humanity would seep away until he was only an animalistic beast. However; it seemed that, despite all odds, Link was still the same man that Zelda had fallen for a century before. And for her sake, the baby's sake, and the sake of the rebuilding kingdom; that was a gift from Hylia. 

Now if only she could figure something out for his stuff joints…

[ghostphobic]

 ╼ born to die

abby anderson x reader

cw - heavy angst , talks of death , actual death / implications of suicide , implications of anxiety , mention of hyperventilating , not a happy ending in the slightest.

a/n - got hit with another wave of inspiration. most of my writing is heavily influenced by songs im listening to. my favorite type of fics to read are angst with a happy ending, but i’ve always liked writing angst with no happy ending. i’ve just never ventured this far into it, so it’s a little bit experimental on my part. enjoy ! 

(disclaimer) : this has not been proofread 

You were an optimist. Well, as optimistic as one could be living in a world where infection and death lurked at every corner. 

Abby was a pessimist. She looked at things realistically and logically, but negatively. 

The two of you were different, but the balance worked well. She kept you in check, and you kept her in check. Rarely did it ever cause one of you to upset the other, but there was one night when your optimistic outlook struck a nerve in Abby. 

"Sometimes I feel like dying wouldn't be so bad." You had said one night while the two of you were lying next to each other. Her hand, that had been aimlessly playing with your hair, halted its movements. You feel her lean up and then her face comes into view. 

"Where the fuck did that come from?" She asked. Her tone sounded... annoyed? Maybe a little bit angry? You couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, you just knew she wasn't happy. 

"It's nothing, Abs. I was just thinking out loud. I didn't even really mean to say it." 

"No, no." She said, leaning up further to create more distance between the two of you. "It came from somewhere. I want to know what you mean." 

You decided to sit up, realizing this conversation had taken a more serious turn. "I guess I just... God, Abby. I don't know. I wouldn't even know how to describe it. It was just a thought. That's all. 

"Do you feel like you don't have anything to live for?" She asked.

You could tell where she was going with this, and you were quick to try to repair it. "No. Not at all. I have plenty to live for. I have you, and that alone is enough." You sigh, trying to figure out how to word this so you don't hurt or scare her any further. "Me thinking that is just my own way of coping. We face death every day, so if and when my moment comes, I don't want to feel scared. That's all it is. It's just my way of thinking positively, even if it sounds dark. Even if it doesn't make sense." 

She still seems uneasy, so you reach for her and guide her to lay her head on your chest. "I have no plans to leave you, nor do I want to. I love you more than I can put into words. You will have me as long as I'm alive, and you'll have me long after that if I have anything to say about it. It's you and me, Abs. Always." 

Abby had gotten over it quickly, having not thought about it in the several weeks after. But she's thinking about it now. It's playing over and over again in her head, as her eyes flit from your face to the bite mark on your shoulder. It had happened so quickly. Regular patrol had the two of you venturing into a seemingly harmless abandoned building, and briefly separating. You had screamed, Abby had ran towards the noise and shot the infected on top of you. It all happened in the span of, maybe, 10 minutes. All it took was 10 minutes for her worst nightmare to come true. 

"No." She says. "You're fine. You're fine, and we're going to leave here and everything is going to be okay." 

It's irrational and desperate. She knows it. You know it. 

"Abby we're not going anywhere." You say. Your voice is calm and steady, because you're also thinking about that conversation. You realize you feel exactly the way you want to feel. You feel calm. You feel a sense of peace. You also feel a sense of overwhelming sadness, but you're not scared. 

"This can't be happening." 

"Say goodbye to me, Abby." 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She says. Her tone is angry, but you don't miss the way her eyes shine from unshed tears. "You're just gonna give up? You're telling me this is it?" 

"I love you. I'm asking you to make this easy on the both of us." 

She lets out a sharp exhale of breath and presses her hands to her knees in an attempt to calm herself down. You know you have to initiate the goodbye, so you tilt your head up towards the sky and let a few tears slip out. 

"Loving you has been a privilege." You say. "It's been the only thing that's kept me going, and I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world. Say goodbye and leave me. If it were you, you'd be telling me to do the same thing." 

She looks at you, takes a deep breath, then steps towards you. Her hand comes up to you cheek, and you feel how much she's shaking. She presses a kiss to the top of your hairline. "You will never know how much I love you. It's me and you." She says, echoing the words you had said to her in that previous conversation. "Always." 

She steps away from you, making her way out of the abandoned building with her fists clenched tight. 

Once she's out she leans against the building, and harsh breathing turns into hyperventilating. She can't leave you. She won't leave you. She'll stay until she knows you've done it, because she can't leave you alone while you do this. Even if you don't know that she's just outside. 

She's not sure how long it is before she hears it. The gunshot. Her ears ring. Her body goes numb. Bile rises in her throat. She can't move. 

She stays there until morning turns to afternoon, until afternoon turns to night, then until a few of the others come find her. 

She can't speak, the only thing she can think about is you. How much she loved you. How much she misses you. How you took a piece of her with you, and how she'll never get it back.

[reigningqueenofwords]

Good Kid

Word count: 1,680

Read on AO3

Part 2 of Looking for the Captain

It felt like ages since Nat had put you in that conference room. Your bag had been taken, so you didn’t even have your phone on you. Hearing the door, you looked over to see Steve walking in. He shut the door behind him, a serious look on his face. “Look, I’m sorry.” You started. “I have no idea what’s going on.” You were so confused. “Before today, I didn’t know my father’s name. I had no idea that he was dangerous or anything.” 

“So, you had no idea about your mother’s past?” He asked, arms crossed over his chest. “You’re what, 21? 22? And you’re saying you never asked about your father? Your mother never talked about life before you?” 

Sighing, you sat back in your chair. “I’m 21. And I stopped asking when I was a kid. She always looked scared when I asked. When I got a little older, I assumed that she had anxiety or something. I didn’t want to make it worse, so I never asked again. Lots of guys take off when they hear their girlfriend is pregnant. Figured that was what happened. Whatever, dad’s a deadbeat.” You shrugged. He hadn’t read his letter out loud, so you didn’t know what he knew, either. “I don’t know what he told you, just the few sentences in my letter. That’s the most contact I’ve ever had with him. I don’t even know what he looks like.” Was he going to keep staring at you like you’d miraculously have some more information? 

Finally, he gave you a nod and sat down across from you. At least that was a tiny less intimidating. “Buck, technically, wasn’t a deadbeat.” He stared, making your eyebrows shoot up. “He was there when you were born, I’m assuming. He said he saw you as a newborn.” He explained. “He said that your mother raised you, alone, away from him.” 

“Yeah, it’s always just been us. She never trusted people, so she never dated.” You agreed. “I never asked why.” 

“I’m guessing she didn’t want to risk running into someone who knew who she was, didn’t want to feel like she was being unfaithful to Buck, or what.” He mused. “Where’s your mother now?” 

You shook your head. “Nope. I’m not telling you.” You said simply. “You did not look like you were happy to hear who she was. How do I know you won’t go after her?” You clenched your jaw, and Steve saw Bucky. 

He licked his lips. “Because if Buck is asking me to watch out for you, because you’re in danger, the chances are pretty high that she is, too.” He leaned his elbows on the table.

Chewing on your lip, you were really debating. “First, why do you think she wasn’t a ‘good guy’.” You countered. “My mom’s a nurse. She helps people.” You didn’t miss the look of surprise on his face. 

“I think it’s better if I show you.” He got up, motioning for you to follow. 

You wanted out of that damn room, and didn’t have to be told twice. You let him lead you through the halls, into another room with a large computer screen on the wall. “That’s the biggest screen I’ve ever seen in my life.” You muttered. 

“Tony doesn’t do anything small.” He noted. “JARVIS, pull up all the information on Y/M/N Radovich.” 

You furrowed your brows. “That’s not my…mom’s….last…name…” Your voice got softer and softer as pictures and videos of your mother came on screen. “Mom?” You breathed, confused. Her mugshot was up in the right hand corner, and that wasn’t the Y/M/N that you knew. You teared up, shaking your head. “This can’t be right!” You looked to Steve, then back to the screen. “My mom is a timid, and caring woman. She doesn’t f-fight.” You watched a video of her taking someone down. “Sh-she’s cautious. She helps people, she doesn’t hurt them.” 

Steve felt for you, knowing this was a massive shock. “Y/M/N Radovich disappeared 22 years ago in France.” He explained. “There’s been no information on her since. For years, we honestly thought that she targeted the wrong person. Was captured, or killed, but clearly we were wrong.” 

Licking your lips, you couldn’t figure out where to look on the screen. “What does this Bucky guy have to do with this?” You motioned to the screen. 

“JARVIS, show us the Winter Soldier.” He told the AI. 

Your mother’s face left the screen, being replaced with information on an assassin. You sucked in a breath when you saw your eyes. Only cold, and hard. “That’s…that’s my father?” You asked, scared. 

“That’s complicated.” Steve told you. “JARVIS, change to Bucky Barnes.” He watched as images of the ruthless killer was replaced with pictures of his best friend. “This is your father.” He glanced at you. “The Winter Soldier may be him physically, but that’s not him mentally.” You looked at him, confused. “Long story short- brainwashing.” He sighed. “He’s doing his best to fight against being…that. He hates knowing what he’s done as the Winter Soldier. My guess is that someone powerful put the pieces together. They figured out about you, and your mother. And they likely threatened you to get Buck to give himself up. Hence us getting letters.” 

“Why use me, though? He’s never been around us.” You went back to looking at the screen. “I’ve never seen him, and I doubt that mom’s been keeping him updated or anything.” Your life was getting turned upside down. 

“He may not have seen you face to face since you were a newborn, but I’m guessing he’s checked on you from time to time.” He said softly. 

You were given a room in the tower, and had a bodyguard outside your door. You had no idea that Nat, Steve, and Tony were on their way to your apartment. Your roommate’s eyes went wide as she opened the door. “Holy shit.” She breathed. “I’m guessing that Y/N isn’t coming back?” She looked between the three of them. 

“No, she’s not.” Steve shook his head. 

“We came to get her things.” Tony added, his tone less harsh. 

She stepped to the side, letting them in. “Uh, is everything okay? Is she in trouble?” 

“Technically, no. To both questions.” Tony looked around the small apartment. “Which way to her room?” He looked to your roommate. 

“Down the hall. Last door you come to.” She pointed, shutting the door. She was so confused. It wasn’t like having superheroes in her living room was a common occurrence. Then she glanced at her attire- her pajamas. 

Nat caught her attention, making her look over. “How much do you know about her mom? Have you met her?��� 

She blinked. “Yeah, I’ve met her a couple times. She’s always been really nice.” She shrugged. “But I’m not like best friends with her, so I don’t know a whole lot.” She told them truthfully. 

That seemed to appease Nat, who nodded. “If anyone comes asking for Y/N, or her mother, point them to Stark Tower.” She told her. 

“Should I be scared?” She looked extremely nervous now. 

Tony gave her a small smile. “I don’t think so, but maybe be a little extra cautious for now?” 

“Right.” She swallowed. That made her worry, and wonder if she should go buy some pepper spray or something. “Will I ever hear from Y/N again?” You may not have been best friends, but she still cared about you. 

“Not for a bit. It’s for your safety.” Nat told her, as you could hear Steve in your room. Probably packing everything he could. 

You were lying back on the bed when there was a knock on your door. “Uh, come in?” You sat up, confused. In came Steve with a bunch of your things. 

“Tony is on the way with the rest. He got distracted.” He chuckled lightly. 

“I have a question.” You started, making him look over as he set things down. “If I’m clearly not going home, will I have to drop out of school?” You asked sadly. “I like school, and I don’t want to give up my future.” 

He sighed. “I don’t know.” He told you honestly. “What were you going to school for?” 

“Pre-med.” You shrugged. “I want to be a doctor.” Always had. 

That actually made him smile. “Good choice.” He complimented. “You’ll have to ask Tony, I don’t know if maybe he can find a way around all that. He’s pretty good at outsmarting people.” 

You chuckled lightly at that. “Is that a tone of annoyance I hear?” 

“Possibly. And, I’m sorry about how I acted before.” He apologized. “I shouldn’t have been as harsh towards you. You can’t choose your parents, and you seem like a good kid.” 

“I’m not a kid.” You scrunched your nose. “I’m legally allowed to buy alcohol, thanks.” You pointed out. 

He held his hands up at that, chuckling. “Okay, okay. Good person. Better?” 

“Much.” You nodded. “If I tell you where to find mom, do you promise not to go arrest her?” You asked softly, wanting your mom safe. 

He sat on the edge of your bed. “We already found her.” He saw you panic. “We aren’t going to go arrest her. I’m sure that people higher up would prefer we did, but we discussed it. Nat wasn’t too pleased with me and Tony deciding against it, but we felt that wouldn’t help anything right now.” He explained. “We sent a teammate to talk to her, though. Give her a heads up and explain that you’re safe.” Hopefully that would help. 

“Thank you.” You flopped back. “What can you tell me about Bucky?” You asked. “Could you find him and bring him here, too? If they’re after him, wouldn’t it be best to keep him safe, too?” 

He looked over at you. “Doll, he’s probably going after them just as hard. If not harder.” He told you. “He’ll go to hell and back to keep you safe.” 

[agentsnickers]

i was digging through my notes while working on a near miss related prompt and found two little fragments from the never-written katherine pov/focused near miss fic. since i don't think i'll ever finish it, i thought it might be fun to share them here!

“Hey, David.”


“Kate! Hi!” David shifts his bag on his shoulder. “I didn’t expect to run into you here.”


“I was actually trying to catch you, do you have a minute?” Katherine replies. She’s twisting the ends of her hair around her fingers.


“Uh, yeah,” says David. “What’s up?”


They walk together toward the L stop down the block. Katherine can’t get herself to be still, she’s fidgeting the whole way. “I’m going to propose to your sister.”

“I- oh.” David’s stride stutters for a moment, like he might’ve stopped walking but stopped himself from falling still. He smiles at her, though it’s a little sad. “That’s great, Katie. I’m happy for you.”

Katherine lets out a sigh of relief, her whole body relaxing immediately. “Thank you, David.”

“Did you think I was going to tell you not to?”


“I don’t know. No.” She shrugs. “I don’t think I’d have blamed you.”


“Katie, if I were going to tell you to leave Sarah, I’d have done it three and a half years ago,” David says. Now he actually does stop, and Katherine comes to a stop next to him. He puts a hand on her shoulder. “You’re my friend, and I love you. You’ve been good to Sarah.”

He doesn’t even sound bitter.

--

“We’ve gotta go talk him out of this.” Katherine laughs. “I know it’s Jack, but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” “Kathy,” Sarah says seriously, “it’s not about Jack. It’s about my brother.” “What, you think he’s gonna break Jack’s heart?” Katherine asks. She’s pretty sure she knows where this is going, though. “You didn’t know us when Leah was born,” says Sarah, and it’s all Katherine can do not to laugh, “but David came home from senior year of college a different person. Leah’s mom broke him, and he hasn’t dated anybody since. Jack Kelly is not a good first step back into romance.” Katherine can’t breathe, hasn’t Sarah noticed there’s no more air in the room? Sarah pushes on, though, because Sarah has no reason to know how close to home what she just said hit for Katherine, and Katherine has no intention of telling her.

“I guess I can see where you’re coming from,” Katherine says,