#but then we kinda knew that from the moment she literally impersonated what turned out to be a serial killer

[academyofbrokenhearts]

This woman has no sense of self-preservation.

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 2

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Swordplay~

To summarise: I will have the love square one way or another!

Ao3

First >Next 

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

As far as homes go it’s pretty good” Adrien stretches out, Plagg curls up next to him.

“Don't get too comfortable we’re going to be on the move,” Marinette types furiously at her computer.

“I will try my hardest,” Adrien stares blankly at her, sat atop a pile of grubby blankets next to a broken window. Marinette loses connection to her computer and slams it shut with a huff.

“Get some sleep I’m going to find an internet cafe,” Marinette stuffs the cheap laptop into her bag, amazing how something she bought at a hole in the wall place for thirty bucks didn’t work well.

“Who needs sleep when you can have coffee,” Adrian stands up, ready to follow her.

“Sleep Chat,” She pushes him down by the shoulders, “I need my partner fully operational,”

“Yeah kid, take a break, we worked hard,” Plagg yawns, turning over.

“You also worked hard Bug,” Adrien lets himself be pushed back onto the blankets.

“I won't be able to sleep until I know how everything is in Paris,”

“Neither can I,” Adrien protests, already half asleep.

“Sure you can, night Chat,”

“Night M’lady,”

Marinette leaves the same way they came in, though the window. She has to slide down the gutter to get on the street, Tikki hiding away in her bag. She has to go pretty far in town to find a suitable cafe, too far from Adrien to be comfortable. Marinette pops in her earbuds before opening her computer to let her talk to Tikki freely.

She doesn't immediately search up missing person cases. Looking instead at Paris tourist destinations and guides. Switching to the dangers of traveling to Paris; the only mention of Akuma being on obscure question and answer sites. She looks at kidnapping potential and then moves onto missing person cases. Adrien's is the first to come up, obviously. 

There was lots of outcry among his fans. Many were throwing around accusations of foul play on Gabriel's part from abuse to locking Adrien away from the world. However, Gabriel was also fiercely looking for his son. Adrien hadn’t left behind any sort of note. Well only to Nino, which Adrien had told Marinette was asked not to mention to anyone.

Marinette then feels safe enough to look up her own case. It was smaller, although was gaining attention as Jagged proclaimed it to high heavens; more so asking what they did wrong and how they could fix it and asking for any sightings of her. That could be a problem if her picture was already around. Marinette pulls her hood up higher. They might have to get haircuts and wear disguises… on second thought wearing suspicious disguises in Gotham might cause more problems.

“Tikki they seem really worried,” Marinette watches the videos Jagged posted, her parents in the background running around talking with police.

“Of course they are Mari,” Marinette feels a light tap on her side, “But you're doing the right thing,”

“No I’m not,” not when she’s watching a video of her parents crying,  “I’m doing what needs to be done, this is my responsibility, no matter what a certain someone thinks,”

She spits with venom. Maybe Adriens rant last night rubbed off on her.

“He’s the hero here,” Tiki says non accusingly, “Imagine if another hero came to Paris without asking you… remember Volpina?”

“Ah now that was an actual villain,” Marinette hadn’t trusted her from the start,  “Plus she was akumatized,”

“Marinette,” Marinette can’t bring herself to feel guilty, even under tikis scolding.

“Right but that still doesn't give him the right,” Marinette huffs, “After all would he attack Marinette? No!”

“Are you implying you would attack Lila?”

“......... no,”

“Marinette,”

Marinetti smirks to herself instinctively looking around for Adrien to share her joke. Then Marinette froze. The cafe was empty, not even a barista. How had she not noticed!?

“Wait,” Marinetti says out loud before Tiki could talk, “I’m going to have to call you back, something just came up,”

Something was watching her from the kitchen door as if she couldn’t see them. Marinette tries to act normal going for the pepper on the table and putting it on her food. They move at the same time. The attacker runs towards her, Marinette throws the shaker at- Robin?! It hits him square in the forehead, with a curse he touches his bleeding forehead.

“I am so sorry!” Marinette panics, “That was meant to explode in your face!”

“How is that better?!” Robin runs forward, sword drawn. Marinette ducks behind the table grabbing her plate and frisbeeing it towards him, he manages to dodge this one, “Draw your weapon coward!"

“I don’t have a weapon!” She grabs the table cloth ready to take the vigilante down, “What is wrong with you?!”

He doesn't answer lunging at her again with the sword. Marinette kicks up the table then kicks it towards him in one swift movement. With the impact of the table he drops the sword, Marinette jumps up landing on the table which pins Robin down to the ground with its weight and hers, with the legs sticking up.

“I knew it,” Robin spits and she presses her weight into the table to keep him pinned.

“Excuse you,” Marinette catches his wrist as he tries to pull a dagger on her using the table cloth to tie it to the legs of the table, then does the same with the other, “You attacked me,”

“-Robin!” she hears a faint call, no one is around so it must be from his communicator, “-Robin report back to the cave!”

“I’ll take that~” Marinette sings songs ignoring how he growls at her. She rolls her eyes stepping off the table she needed to get out of here now.

She steps out of the cafe throwing the communicator and likely a tracking device too on the roof of a passing car then sprints in the opposite direction. She heads for the alleys looking for an area with no cameras as she runs. When she finds a spot Marinette transforms running back to their base with record timing.

“Adrien wake up!” Ladybug jumps through the window, barely avoiding landing on him, “Batman’s after us,”

“What?!” He sits bolt upright, Ladybug pulls him onto his feet.

“Move! Now!” She grabs their bags, Adrien transforms and they take off over the rooftops.

“What happened?!” Chat shouts as the runaway, “Is Batman chasing us?”

“Yes, well kinda-- Robin tried to kill me,”

“He what?!”

“As Marinette,” She adds, slowing down as they should have put enough distance between them.

“Did they figure us out already?” Chat Noir slows down into a walk then collapses on the rooftop,

"Probably,"

“This is the worst wake up call ever!”

“Well, it's about to get worse,” Ladybug cringes feeling the distinct trace of magic she was all too familiar with.

“Akuma?”

“Akuma,”

“Great, perfect,” Chat complains standing back up.

“At least we’re not at school,” Ladybug shrugs, launching herself over a roof.

“No you’re right being chased by a masked vigilante is a massive improvement,”

---

Wow

“Robin! Get your head out of the clouds and get over here!”

Damian breaks out of his trance, regrettably tearing his gaze away from Ladybug to the much less awe inspiring sight of Batman trapped under a car. They shouldn’t be wasting their time worrying about these established amazing hero’s and worry about that assassin on the loose. Who knows who she was after. She could be planning Batman’s demise at this very moment; if she was close with his mother then surely she knew their identities which was far far more dangerous.

Ladybug could handle herself as evidence by her going toe to toe with the newest villain. In a matter of minutes, the villain was down for the count with no help on their part. 

“Ladybug!” He calls before she leaves again, maybe she could help him convince his father that he was being an absolute buffoon.

“Oh it’s you,” She says surprisingly coldly, “What do you want now?”

“Now?”

“Are, you here to attack me again?”

“... I didn’t attack you?” He had spent all morning tracking down a dangerous assassin.

“... Oh! Of course, you did- haha I just ummmm-- there must have been an… Akuma! Yes! There must have been an Akuma earlier that looked like you,”

“An Akuma was impersonating me?” Robin growls.

“Yeah, they do that sometimes,” Chat Noir pipes up, “It’s annoying,”

“Yes and if you’re here, that uh… that means the Akuma is still out there so we gotta go deal with that so-bye!” Ladybug swings off closely followed by Chat Nor; off to go save his name and reputation.

---

“So you really think that was an Akuma?” Adrien asks as they transform back.

“Maybe- I don’t know it was just an excuse so he wouldn't figure out my identity,”

“Well at least he doesn't know it,” Adrien shrugs as they walk through the alleys in search of a new place to rest that night.

“If he doesn't know then why would he attack Marinette?” She asks, “And if it was an Akuma that means Hawkmoth knows my identity which is so much worse!”

“Is it tho?”

“Chat,”

“I mean back in Paris it would have been bad,” They both cringe, “But here we have no home, no family, no friends! He cant use any of that against us now!”

Adrien beams his contagious smile.

“You always manage to find a bright side,” Marinette smirks punching him in the shoulder.

“So that's why,” They both turn around, staring in shock.

“Batman?!” Turning back their way out is already blocked by mister boy wonder. Who, by the way he is glaring at her, was not an Akuma this morning.

“I can't believe Talia called me because some teenagers were eloping,”

I know that name- WAIT!

“Eloping?!” Marinette chokes, “We are not eloping!”

“As in not at all,” Adrien blanches, “And I mean no offense Marinette you are literally the sweetest person but I can’t imagine anything more horrific!”

“Oh god, same!” At least now, “I mean once when we were younger…-- it was a silly crush!”

“Wait you had a crush on me?!”

“Yeah, well, you had a crush on me!”

“... oh god… I did, didn’t I?!”

While Adrien is dealing with that little revelation Marinette looks around for an escape. There isn’t much opportunity since both have their eyes on them, partly out of morbid curiosity at their little freakout. Well if you don't have a distraction homemade is fine.

“AKUMA!” They both look, predictably. 

Marinette grabs Adrien and runs. She goes for the side Robins guarding, sweeping his legs sending him crashing to the ground.

“I’m not sorry!” Marinette calls as they sprint down the alley.

Marinette heads for the main street, enough of a crowd to camouflage. As they are walking through as casually as possible Marinette sweeps them both for bugs putting any she finds on random passerbys. They walk sometimes ducking into busy shops in hopes of losing their trail. They come across the mall which works perfectly for them. They stay until it starts to approach closing time, it’s easy enough to avoid security and so they get locked in for the night.

“So what do you want to do?!” They walk through the empty halls Adrien skipping along and looking at each display. Marinette stops outside an electronics store, the tv’s still on and displaying the news.

“Make a plan for a way to deal with that,” On-screen are the two of them, a video of Ladybug throwing a car at Batman, “This is taken completely out of context!”

“What’s the context?” 

“Batman was being a little bitch!”

“I’m sure that will hold up in court,” Adrien laughs taking a seat in one of those massage chairs, “Besides what's the problem?”

“The problem?!” Marinette yells, “The problem is that now all of Gotham is going to hate us!”

“So? Do we really need them to like us?” Adrien gets up to stand by her, rubbing her shoulder.

“They did in Paris,”

“We’re not in Paris anymore,” Adrien says quietly, leading her towards the seats, “We have a chance to start new again, everyday something we haven't done before, a couple of pals living day to day on the edge, isn’t that exciting?”

“I just--” want to go home, “I’m tired,”

“Take a break,” Adrien sits her down in the massage chair with a kind smile, “I’ll keep watch,”

“.. ok,” Marinette curls up in the chair Tikki coming to lie beside her. With not much strength to fight it, Marinette falls asleep while she can.

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

Taglist? nope don’t have one, horrible at keeping track of them sorry~

[problematicfavesareproblematic]

Band of Brothers-

Cute/charming things they say when they walk into a room and see you/you walk into a room and they see you:

Babe: 

“oh SHIIIIIT! There’s my BABY! Do you see her, fellas? GodDAMN, I’m a lucky sonofabitch!” 

(you blush so hard and are just like Babe, we’re at work stahp it but he dgaf).

It’s embarrassing and always makes Martin glare so imploringly at you that you’ll go over to Babe just to make him be quiet. Because, you know, YOU’RE AT WORK. 

This bitch is shameless when it comes to loving on you, having once come to stand next to you when Sink was giving an important announcement and straight-up PINCHED. YOUR. ASS. 

how you didn’t yelp is a miracle, and how no one else seemed to notice was equally astounding 

(oh, the boys noticed. They kinda shipped it tho, so it was more a matter of hiding their joy). 

Needless to say, it only happened the once, something you made Babe swear after you pulled him aside and punched him in the arm. 

Don’t worry, you kissed it better.

Roe: 

bb boy doesn’t say anything at first, 

the smile he saves just for you is playing at his lips as you walk up to meet him, tho.

The moment you’re close enough that he can smell the  sweet mint of your gum, he’ll whisper something sweet like “hey you” or “mon amor”, or maybe just your name 

(bc let’s be honest, his accent is 10 out of 10 and he could read me the dictionary and I’d still rock an ugly giggle/snort combo). 

If it’s a more serious situation, like if you’re hurt oh lordy

he will literally shout your name until either you shout back or someone tells him where you are. 

I could see him being a face holder, in the sense that he does it to reassure himself that you’re okay and make sure he has your undivided attention. 

Since getting injured in Carentan, you hadn’t been as close to the frontlines as you had been, so when you were needed you are REALLY NEEDED, 

and even if he didn’t like it Gene knew you were the best at what you did. 

Gene also feels better if he knows where you are.

 Even when you eventually return to Easy, he will feel better knowing which Foxhole you’re in, and knowing he’s seen to it your first aid kit was fully stocked.

Liebgott: 

THAT FUCKER’S SMIRKING AT YOU SO OPENLY that whoever he had been talking to instantly goes 

*sigh* y/n’s just came in, didn’t she? 

And he won’t even ANSWER because he’s already shoving past them to walk up and eye you with obvious satisfaction. 

“Bout time you showed up,” he’d say casually, hands finding your hips giving them a quick squeeze. 

“Sooner we get briefed, sooner we can get outta here.” 

(You’re not fully sure what ‘getting outta here’ entails, but if the way he looked at you was any indication, you had a feeling it didn’t involve anything less than PG-13 sexy times.)

Bull: 

“Hey, little lady.”

He’ll say it no matter how tall or short you are, how wide or how narrow.

He will always say it to you that when you first see each other in the morning 

(sometimes, you wake up to Hey, little lady being kissed into the soft skin behind your ear.) 

(Once while on a 48 hour pass, he’d woken you up that way in a REAL bed and the two of you had nearly gotten him sent up Curahee for being late coming back because you’d ended up spending more time in that bed than either of you anticipated Whoops)

(Even if he had been late, he definitely wouldnt have minded, tbh. He fully considered going AWOL if it mean neither of you had to leave the bed)

but throughout the day he’s more concerned about getting his hands on some part of you whenever the two of you had been apart- 

even if it was for like five minutes. 

Nothing over the top- holding his arm up and out so you can step into his side, a press of his lips to your temple. 

Idk guys i just feel like he’d just love you so much that everyone would be able to see, which they do and they all think it’s fucking cute

Buck: 

He doesn’t always call out when he sees you, mostly because your eyes always seem to find his. 

The two of you could be across a field from one another with a thousand angry Germans between you, guns blazing, and the two of you would always spot each other like two honing beacons. 

If its downtime and you guys don’t have to be on your guard he’ll ABSOLUTELY wolf whistle in at you, 

You’ll see a stupid grin lighting up his face as he nods in your direction. 

“Take a look, boys. I think we’ve got ourselves a…” 

and he always waits until you’re close enough that he can wrap a quick arm around your waist and pat your hip. 

“Certified babe-asaurus!” 

(in a foxhole somewhere, a wild Babe’s head pokes up in confusion). 

You groan and boo him, and whoever he was with inevitably ends up booing him too.

But he doesn’t care because seeing you smile makes him so happy you guys.

Lipton: 

If you’re in public, he will quietly step up beside you and place his hand gently between your shoulder blades.

He’s not super into PDA, which you didn’t mind because what he didn’t show in physical touch he more than made up for in open admiration. 

He is in awe of you 

sometimes he worries you forget how highly he thinks of you, how highly everybody thinks of you 

(you don’t forget, but he’s just one of those people who will get intrusive thoughts like that and sometimes has a hard time shaking them so plz just let him say it ok?)

so he always whispers some praise with his greeting 

(Hey, beautiful...Doin’ okay, love?...What’re you thinking, brilliant girl?). 

It’d probably seem like overkill if anyone else did it but Carwood is just so goddamn sincere that you can’t help but duck a quick kiss to his shoulder. 

HOWEVER! 

If you two kids are alone….

OH BOI. 

He is handsy, coming up and caging you with his arms, 

probably pulling you close quickly so you lose your balance and he can hold you a lil bit.

(He likes to sweep you off your feet im so sorry)

 That’s when his praises are hushed and sighed between long slow kisses. 

Nixon: 

Like Liebgott, he’s a snarky motherfucker who will get the most self-satisfied grin on his face the moment he sees you, instantly turning on the famous Lewis Nixon charm ( something he’d long since decided belonged to you and you alone.)

“Uh oh,” he’d say, looking you up and down before raising an eyebrow.

(bc your hot but also he doesn’t want to get all flirty if you’re hurt or sick or something’s up bc ur not just something to flirt with- YOU ARE A BADASS WITH BADASS RESPONSIBILITIES AND THAT WAS SOMETHING HE very often and sometimes FOUND SO HOT THAT IT MADE HIM THINK HE MAY HAVE AN AUTHORITY FETISH this has been a PSA) 

“Here comes trouble.”

you roll your eyes, the behavior you once found cocky and arrogant having becoming endearing somewhere between Toccoa and England. 

He has absolutely no qualms about PDA (verbal or physical), so it’s up to you to reign him in 

(especially if he’s a lil tipsy, poor Luz didn’t need to hear Lewis’s sloppy and shameless plea for you to let him eat you out on top of piano he’d found in the attic of the billet he’d been assigned. You weren’t able to look at George for a week without wanting to die of embarrassment and Lewis Nixon didn’t get any for two weeks. He was sure to never make such a mistake ever again) 

And Dick had probably grown blind to how Lewis liked to pull you his lap and run his hands up and down your thighs while you played with his hair. 

Also, like Lipton, he probably saves the more explicit acts of PDA for when the company has scheduled downtime 

(but only bc you told him he needed to keep it in his pants any other time he tried to get cute with you)

but you can bet your ass his hand will always try to tap it (your ass, that is.)at least once

a day when he isn’t supposed to.

That’s when you get to punish him whoopsies

Dick: 

since the day you were introduced to Dick in Georgia, the boy always made sure to stand when you entered a room and will call you “ma’am”,

(you know, LIKE HE DOES ONLY BECAUSE HE HAS TO FOR SOBEL BC RANKS. I feel like he has a “we salute the woman, not the rank” speech queued up for anyone who tried to give him shit for it BUT THAT’s JUST ME)

but he has a knowing look in his eye that makes the term ‘ma’am’ feel anything but impersonal.

It confused the shit out of replacements, who would automatically stand because their superior officer (that would be Big Dick Winters) did- only to see you standing there in your fatigues with a coffee in each hand with a look of mutual confusion on your face. 

(bc while they like you, but they’re confused still bc while you’re a boss ass bitch,  you didn’t outrank him...or at least they theink you dont?) 

Babe had been the one to ask you about the longing looks and lingering glances, and when you didn’t know how to answer him you’d gone to Nixon, 

He’d burst into tearful laughter and was unable to get it together enough to explain anything.

Dick had been the one to bring it up the next time they were alone, weirdly enough, as she proofread his report for errors that didn’t exist. 

Because you warrant it, he’d said when pressed for a reason why he greeted her like a ranking officer, looking down at his boots as they both blushed like teenagers at a school dance. 

After that, he still stood wherever you walked in

but now he made a point to brush his fingers against yours at some point during the time you were together. 

He’s the definition of a slow burn friends-to-lovers story, and boi can get spicy LEMME TELL YOU.

(this is my first writing thing ever plz let a sister know if there are any glaring typos. Also i’m roughly 97 years late to fandom but I brought y’all some starbucks so plz let me in thank you)

[phantoms-lair]

The Phantom Detective Redux Chapter 3

��Vultures, that’s definitely Vlad’s work.” Danny glared at the ceiling. He wished the little girl who also spoke English had told him that over the phone. He could have been flying around trying to find them instead of wasting time getting here. 

In all of the mess of last night with him accidently turning Conan into a halfa (and wasn’t THAT unsettling? Was that a new power he could just do? Could Vlad?), he’d never gotten a clear answer as to why Vlad was after Conan.

Like, yeah the kid was scary smart, but Danny hadn’t realized it until he’d spoken to him and as far as he’d known Vlad hadn’t. And his initial guess that it was because he was the detective's son (in an attempt to blackmail said detective) was dashed by Conan admitting he was under a ‘witness protection program’. He doubted Vlad wouldn’t have done the research to show that.

He needed to find some way to keep him safe, but most of the methods he knew for keeping malevolent ghosts out weren’t exactly safe for Halfa use. Which Conan was now for unknown reasons.

He could think about that later. Right now he needed to track the vultures, save his fellow Halfa and-

His train of thought was interrupted by the door slamming open and the girl he had saved yesterday from Skulker storming in with Conan in her arms. She did not look happy.

This was borne out as she began yelling at them in Japanese, only for the small girl to say something involving his name.

“I don’t speak Japanese, but I am very fluent in being thrown under the bus.” Danny said with a mild glare as the angry girl turned on him.

~

The short walk to the Professor’s (it hadn’t been very far) had given Ran more than enough time to build up a heady steam of indignation. As much as she wanted to shake Conan-Shinichi and demand answers, she couldn’t do that right now. He wasn’t waking up, which scared her and fed her anger even more.

Shinichi had been lying to her. And Agasa had been helping him. And if one couldn’t give her answers, the other would.

She barely stopped to kick off her shoes as she marched in the door. The Professor was there with Ai-chan and someone she didn’t know. In any other circumstance, she’d be more discrete, but she was done.

“Hakase, why did I just see Shinichi turn into Conan?  Why did he look so strange? What else have you been keeping from me?” 

Everyone in the room looked at her in shock. Surprisingly, it was Ai-chan who spoke first. “Danny did something weird to him. We don’t understand what.” ‘Danny’ glared at her and said something in English. That was all the impetus Ran needed to turn on him. “What did you do to Shinichi?”

He responded in English again. Ran wasn’t doing badly in her lessons, but he spoke too fast and she was too flustered to translate.

Cona-Shinichi held protectively in her arms, she lashed out with her right leg. The boy ducked back, still shouting in English. Ran shifted her weight and struck again. 

The kick should have smacked him in the head, if not for the fact that his head detached from his shoulders, floating half a foot above. There were twin thuds as Ran misstepped her landing and Haibara fell to the floor in a dead faint. Agasa didn’t look much better himself.

Danny reached up, grabbed his head, and pulled it back onto his shoulders. Conan was still out cold and the only other English speaker had fainted. Great.

He looked to the Professor in a silent plea for help while the kicky girl just looked at him in terror. The Professor looked at him with a bit of fear in his eyes, but he turned to the girl and began to speak. Danny only hoped they were friendly words.

~

"Ran-kun, I know was Danny-kun did was scary," And wasn't that underestimation. As much impossible as he had seen in the past day, that took things one step too far. "But he has been trying to help fix whatever it is he did."

"H-He's a monster!" Ran stammered, clutching Shinichi tighter to her.

Agasa winced. Not just for Danny's sake, but for Shinichi's as well. At least he hadn't been awake to hear it. "Danny-kun's not normal, it's true. But that doesn't make him evil."

"What is he?"

"A yūrei hanyou. At least that's as close a translation as Shinichi-kun and I got." Not much use in hiding that little tidbit when she'd seen him transform.

"You mean yōkai hanyou. A yūrei hanyou doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't and that's driven Shinichi-kun up the wall." Once quite literally. He'd paced to the end of the room and had gotten halfway up a wall before realizing what was happening. Gravity had temporarily reasserted itself, only for him to catch himself mid-fall, levitating a few inches above the floor before falling the rest of the way. But it didn't seem like a good idea to mention it at the moment. "That's the best translation we have though. Danny-kun doesn't speak Japanese."

Ran turned her attention to the harmless looking boy she's just seen decapitate himself. He was a monster and he'd done something to Shinichi, but apparently was trying to help? She needed answers so badly, but didn't think her English comprehension was good enough to understand them. She thought for a moment and cradling Shinichi in one arm she pulled out her phone. She typed a few moments then held up the screen for him to see. On one side was Japanese, on the other the words 'What did you do to him' 

He looked at the screen then pulled his own phone out of his pocket and began typing before showing her 'I think he absorbed some of my ectoprism. I don't know how. It's never happened before.' 

Ectoprism? Okay she didn't know that word. And somehow Shinichi absorbed it? 'What is ectoprism?' 

Danny assumed she meant ectoplasm. 'Basically the essence of ghosts. The accident pushed a lot into my DNA.' 

Ran felt a shiver down her spine at the idea of 'Ghost Essense' being shoved into someone's genetics. 'What kind of accident' She regretted it a moment later when he saw her question and just looked sad and uncomfortable. 

He was claiming to be part ghost, was she asking about his death? Was that a taboo subject? Somehow the question 'Are you dead?' didn't seem any better. So she switched her question. 'How did you make Shinichi a child?' 

He stared at her phone, but this time just looked confused. He fumbled with his phone a bit. 'What is a shinichi?'

She gave him a look and pointed at the child she was holding. He typed back and showed her 'Conan is a shinichi? I don't know why he was older. It was weird. Maybe it's because he's an adult for his age?

That gave Ran pause. Danny's answers had all been about ghostly things, none of it about Shinichi deaging. And the fact that he didn't seem to know his real name was even a name... "Hakase?" Ran asked in a dangerously sweet voice. "Is there a reason Danny-san, who I was just told was responsible for this, doesn't know Shinichi's real name, and in fact seems to think Conan-kun somehow aged up into Shinichi?" 

"Ah well, that is to say, the part Danny-kun's responsible for, that only happened last night." Agasa definitely looked nervous as he helped Ai onto her bed. 

Her eyes narrowed. "Okay, then why don't you tell me the rest of the story."

~

Well apparently whatever he'd said had been enough to turn her attention to the Professor. She was still mad, but not at him, so good? He had no idea what was going on, though. 

He wished he had someone with him that could help him explain and spoke Japanese and English and... Danny smacked himself in the face then hit a contact number on his phone. "Jazz, are you free? I need some help?" 

"Kisaki-san is talking to Mom so sure. Is this about Vlad?" 

"Kinda, but not really." Danny sighed. "So Vlad's been targeting this kid I thought was the detective's son-" 

"The one you thought could see right through you?" 

"...Yes, and you will understand once you meet him, but that's not the problem. The problem is I...kinda turned him into a halfa last night." 

There was silence on the other end, then "*What? Danny what the actual fu-wHAT DID YOU DO????”

"I just touched him Jazz. And it was like my transformation ring spread like fire over him." Danny ran a hand through his hair. "And now someone I think is his older sister is here, and I'm using google translate to try and explain, and there's something else going on she's mad at this professor guy over and...Jazz I need help." He heard her sigh over the phone. 

"Send me your address, I'll be right there."

Danny hung up and texted her the number. He looked over to the girl and Professor, they were talking about something, something that seemed serious. Also that word shinichi kept popping up. It had something to do with Conan, and he really wished he could find a translation.

~

The more Agasa talked, the more Ran wanted to scream. She felt hurt, used. She looked at the child who wasn't still wrapped in her arms. She wanted to rage at him, but he still wouldn't wake up and that kept an undercurrent of worry beneath all her anger. 

"Was this all just a game to him? A joke I was too stupid to figure out?" 

"Ran-kun no he..." Agasa looked at the still unconscious Shinichi. "You've never seen the back and forth. It's torture. He used to scream..." Agasa shut his eyes. In a way he hated that Shinichi had become so used to the pain he didn't anymore. “There was a very real chance each transformation would kill him. As it is, he has permanent heart damage, barring this whole ghost thing that none of us understand." 

"If Shinichi-kun were truly selfish, he could have started over. Left everything behind and began a new life. That would have been the smartest thing he could have done. But he clung to the one thing that made his old life worth keeping. He clung to you, because you were the most important thing he has. And he'd rather face death then leave you behind. He never took a cure without the intent to see you."

But Agasa was wrong. She had heard the screams. In the diplomat’s house, and after the case where Shinichi was being impersonated. She’s always convinced herself they were nothing, since nothing appeared to be wrong afterwards, but that sound had shaken her.

And Shinichi was still Shinichi after that last incident, which meant after being in that pain he’d immediately gone through it again

 “How are you sure? About the heart damage?” Ran asked quietly.

Agasa was quiet for a moment. “Ai-kun had a bad cold and started to feel pain in her stomach. The doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to check her organs, but she was scared, so Conan volunteered.” He didn’t mention that this had been carefully orchestrated. Not the illness or the kidney infection, but when Ai realized she might get an ultrasound she got the idea to give them a chance to check Shinichi’s internal organs in a way she normally couldn’t.

If the technician hadn’t been focused on the frightened little girl and looking at the screen when she held the scanner over Shinichi’s chest…

“I saw the scarring myself, on the ultrasound screen.” Agasa was very solemn. “He’s been cut off from the temporary cures since, but with so much damage already done-”

“Dai-job-boo-dee-sooka?”

They turned and saw Danny, looking at his screen. He was frowning as though he knew the pronunciation of whatever he was trying to say was off. Finally just turned his phone around so they could see what he was trying to say. Daijōbu desu ka Are you okay?

No, she was very much not okay. She fumbled for a moment with her own phone, now even less willing to put him down. ‘Conan’s heart is hurt’

Danny frowned. The kid was a bit young for romantic heartache so - oh. Oh no.

His face must have given something away, because her eyes narrowed. ‘What’

‘I had a bad idea’ he typed back. He didn’t want to say more, but the look she gave him demanded it. ‘Ectoplasm should not affect a normal person, but if he was probably very close to death’

The response hit Ran in the gut harder than any of the blows she’d taken during her matches. Whatever Danny had done to Shinichi had happened because Shinichi was dying. And he was dying because he refused to give her up.

A sudden knocking at the door startled them all. Danny brightened and ran for the door. 

Ran and Agasa shared a confused look.

Danny came back with a young woman with bright red hair. "Hello, you must be Conan's older sister." The girl said in clear, but accented Japanese. "My name's Jazz, Danny's my little brother, he called me to help." 

"Your brother?" Ran asked, even as she inwardly shrunk at the reminder of Danny still being under the misconception she had been until not to long ago. "Are you...like him?" 

"One hundred percent normal human, if that's what you're asking." Jazz reassured. "But I've been helping my brother adapt for the past years, so I'm very familiar with what's going on." Of course the early days were her weak spot, as she hadn't known till about two months later, and hadn't been let in on everything till the stupid test incident. 

"Do you know why he won't wake up?" Ran asked in a small voice. 

Jazz asked Danny something in English, then nodded and turned her attention back to Ran. "Basically his system didn't have the ectoplasm reserves for what he tried to pull off to escape the creature that kidnapped him-" 

The what that did what now? How many loops was she being left out of?

 "-and his body strained itself trying to maintain. He'll sleep until his ectoplasm levels are back at a safe amount. The first time Danny tried pulling a stunt like that, he was out for four hours." 

"His ectoplasm levels? I don't understand. Danny-san said that he'd absorbed some ghost-essence from him but..." 

Jazz pinched her nose. "Right. Google translate. Okay, so normally ectoplasm, the 'Ghost-Essence', has no effect on humans whatsoever. But there are rare cases that involve a lot of ectoplasm and a fair amount of electricity that can alter a human body to the point where their mitochondria start creating it instead of the usual oxygen based chemical energy. This causes the person to exhibit certain ghost-like traits."

"Yūrei hanyou." Ran whispered. 

"In a nutshell." Jazz agreed, making note of the term. She'd take it over halfa, if for no other reason that Vlad must have approved of the term for it to be bandied about so much. 

And now Ran understood what Danny had done. No wonder he'd had trouble explaining it, the concept shouldn't exist. This wasn't some one and done magical side effect of absorbing some ectoplasm from Danny, something that shouldn't have even happened if he hadn't been dying by inches. 

Co-Shinichi was in the process of becoming a yūrei hanyou. That's why he'd looked so strange as Shinichi. Unbidden, every scary story about people becoming monsters flooded her mind. No. No she could not focus on that because obviously it wasn't true. Danny still had a close connection to his human family. His big sister had stood by him, she'd have to too. 

(Though she had no idea how to define her relationship to him at the moment)

 "I can answer any questions you have, but we might want to wait until he wakes up, I'm sure he has a bunch too." Jazz continued on, unaware of all the thoughts running through Ran's head. 

"He speaks English, wouldn't Danny have-"

Jazz let out a frustrated puff of air. "Oh I have no doubt brother dearest tried explaining. But Danny's not," she glanced at her brother, "he's not the most adept at explaining things even when they're not deeply personal and he's not panicking all over the place, which it seems is what he's been doing. Not that he doesn't have reason. This nice family vacation has turned into a cluster." She sighed deeply. "But one thing I really need to impress is how important this is to keep a secret." 

Ran felt something dark curdle in her stomach. That sounded enough like what Agasa-hakase had been saying to bring the bitter feeling back. "Why?" 

Jazz clenched her hand worriedly. "Are you familiar with a law in America called the Anti-Ecto Act? It basically states that 'Ectoplasmic Entities', despite being sentient and sapient, are not living people and don't the same - or any- inalienable rights. And they don't differentiate between yūrei hanyou and true ghosts."

"If Danny was discovered, he'd be taken to a government facility. The Agents were boasting about all the painful experiments they were going to perform on him. Thankfully Danny convinced them they were wrong about him." She certainly wasn't going to go into the magic artifact with mind wiping capacity. 

“But for a short time we had proof of how people would react to a yūrei hanyou's existence. Those that knew him stood by him, but..to anyone else, he was just a monster, a threat. And I don't know if Japan has an equivalent to the Anti-Ecto Act, but I do know that you place a greater emphasis on conformity than America does. And yūrei hanyou definitely break that mold." 

Ran wanted to argue that Shinichi had never conformed to anything, not since preschool when he'd accused the teacher of trying to do something terrible to her. But she knew the difference between excelling and nonconforming, and the truth was Shinichi excelled, physically and mentally. 

This was very different. If word got out Conan was Shinichi, these mysterious people in Black Clothes would kill him. If word got out he was a yūrei hanyou, his life would be effectively over. It felt like balancing on the edge of a knife. Shinichi standing on tiptoe, trying to avoid falling into ruin. "How did your parents take it?" 

Jazz's expression darkened. "Our parents' work was instrumental in helping draft the Anti-Ecto Act."

"What? How could they?" 

"They don't know. Danny always insisted if they did, they'd change. They'd love him anyways. But it's been two years and he hasn't told them. I don't think he's ever going to. In some ways he feels safer with actual malevolent spirits that definitely mean him harm, because he knows they can't hurt him the same way Mom and Dad can." Emotionally or physically. "It's not healthy growing up and hearing your parents talking about how much they'd enjoy ripping apart beings like you 'molecule by molecule'."

Ran shuddered. Hearing it that way, it sounded like the ghosts weren't the scary ones in this scenario. And if Jazz-san was right about Danny not being able to explain things well, Shinichi might have no idea of that added complication. "So what now?" 

"The first month to month and a half are going to be the roughest part. His body doesn't know what to do with its ectoplasm, and will have trouble regulating its use. This results in ghost powers that randomly go off, especially in time of high emotions. After that he'll be able to control it more, no more passing out, for example, since his powers will simply fail rather than push him past his limits. Or accidental power usage. Once he hits the two month mark, he'll be fine, it'll just be a bit awkward until then."

Two months. She could keep it together for two months. “Is there any way to wake him up?” She asked. It helped being told this was normal, but not as much as him waking up would.

“We always let Danny sleep it off, although…” Jazz trailed off as she thought for a moment. “Would you be willing to let Danny hold him?”

“Why?” Ran was loath to let Shinichi go, and moreso to Danny, who was the  reason Shinichi was turning into a yūrei hanyou in the fist place. 

“His body needs ectoplasm right now, and barring letting it generate naturally in his cells, Danny’s the only other source we have.” Jazz explained calmly. 

It made sense and she hated it. She held Conan a little closer and almost screamed as Danny suddenly changed in a burst of white light. The last thing she wanted to do was hand Conan over but…

But she’d seen those green eyes and white hair before. On Shinichi. Danny and Shinichi were the same, being afraid of one would be being afraid of the other, and she couldn’t bring herself to be afraid of Shinichi like that.

She reluctantly handed him over. Danny cradled him and his arms began to glow green.

Before she could change her mind, Shinichi’s eyes blinked open and he looked around blankly. 

~

He felt...not warm, but it felt warm. Like in the laying in a sunbeam way, or being cozy in a blanket on a cold morning. But it wasn’t a temperature thing. It was weird.

He opened his eyes and saw Danny in his ghostly state. “Why are you holding me?” he asked dryly.

“More I’m recharging you.” Danny answered back in the same tone. He raised a glowing hand. “You used up all of your ectoplasm and knocked yourself out. Now that you’re back with us, hopefully your sister can calm down a bit. Also what’s a shinichi, she keeps using that word.”

His sister? Wait, he couldn’t mean… “Ran?”

“Who ran?” Danny asked, but Conan ignored him and looked around.

“Shinichi,” she said in a tone that meant the jig was well and truly up.

“Seriously, what does that mean?” Danny grumbled.

Conan gulped and flickered for a moment.

“Nope, gonna need you to stop that.” Danny chided him. “I know you can’t really help it at this point, but you’re still low on power.”

Conan was only half listening to him, half to the one person in the roof he didn’t know. “Invisibility and Intangibility tend to trigger as a fear response, and if he’s like Danny, he’s going to be on the verge of both of those until he’s more settled.” The young woman then turned to him. “Hello Conan, my name is Fenton Jazz. I’m Danny’s older sister and I’m here to hopefully explain things a little better.”

~

"Now keep in mind, the science of this isn't my main area of expertise, but between listening to my parents ramble my whole life, and helping Danny for the last two years-” Jazz began.  She’d gone into full lecture mode. Ran and Agasa were sitting on the couch with Haibara between them, and Conan between Ran and a once more human Danny.

“- I've picked up a few things. Now mind you some of this will be theoretical, but I'll let you know when those things come up and - Danny are you falling asleep?" The last part was said in English.

"I don't speak Japanese Jazz, I'm not going to get anything from your lecture because I can't understand a word of it. Yesterday sucked and Vlad could be doing something at any moment, plus I was just used as a human battery. Lemme rest."

She rolled her eyes. "Ignoring my brother, let's go back to what makes a ghost." 

"Death." Said Haibara bluntly. 

"Yes, but also no. While the death of a living thing is certainly the most common way ghosts are formed, not all deaths created ghosts, nor are all ghosts the result of something dying. The real answer is ectoplasm.” 

“A living being is made up of two parts, a body and soul. Bodies are well documented, souls less so. They're not physical and made up of what I'm going to call, for lack of a better term, spiritual energy. When a living being dies usually the soul passes over or dissipates - we've got nothing to help figure that out so we're not dwelling on it. But very rarely it doesn't. Instead the spiritual energy in the soul is converted to ectoplasm and the being becomes a ghost." 

"Unlike spiritual energy, Ectoplasm is..." Jazz faltered for a word. "It's more in your face. Where the soul can't be seen, ectoplasm can't help but express itself. It can be solid or ephemeral, and can mimic any state of matter. It's potential can be almost limitless, however the potential in each individual ghost is limited."

"All ghosts have a core, which is a bit to a ghost what a soul is to a living being. Though it's a part of them, it can't be seen or extracted." Her parents had tried, which she didn’t like dwelling on. "But is ineffably a part of them. The core also functions a bit like a nucleus, as it defines what a ghost’s focus is, what powers they have, and their inherent nature. As a ghost's appearance tends to be a reflection of their self image, that can change over time. But the only way to alter a ghost’s core is by forcing them to experience something literally soul shattering. This...it's something that will never end well and that's all I'll say on the matter." She'd seen it happen to Danny in another timeline and she'd never let anyone go through that if she could help it. 

"There are two more kinds of ghosts, but they're not what you want me to be here for, so I'm just going to touch on them briefly. Throw-offs are ghosts that are created by the will of other ghosts, formed of their own ectoplasm but as an independent being. Penelope Spectra, the ghost of an abusive psychologist, created a throw-off named Bertrand to act as her personal assistant. Likewise the self-styled 'Captain Youngblood', the ghost of someone who died as a small child created a parrot to act as both playmate and parental figure. Both of them can shapeshift to better suit their creator's needs, though without a larger sample size I can't say if that's a coincidence or a common trait of Throw-offs."

"The final kind are what I call Spontaneous. The limbo ghosts tend to be stuck in unless they find a way to the world of the living seems to be made primarily of ectoplasm and sometimes unlife just happens. This can range from barely sentient blobs, such as ectopusses, to beings of comparable human intelligence, like Skulker, whom you met yesterday. But for now let's move on to the rarest ectoplasmic beings, which is what you actually need to learn about. Halfas, or as you called them yūrei hanyou."

Jazz motioned to the small boy sitting between Ran and the now snoozing Danny. "Conan-kun here is the fourth to ever exist, as far as we can tell. We only have minor observational data from the first, the third was a special case, so mostly what I'm going on is Danny, since he and his friends have been cataloging data practically since day one." 

Agasa nodded, pleased they had thought to do so. 

"So yūrei hanyou are usually created by a living person being ground zero for a rift between worlds opening due to ectoplasm being charged with an incredibly powerful electrical current. And by which I mean ‘could kill several people in seconds’ powerful. Thankfully the ectoplasm changes it enough that the person exposed enters what I call the 'Schrödinger State'." 

"Alive and dead at the same time." Conan said darkly. 

Jazz nodded. "The person's spiritual energy is fully converted to ectoplasm without the soul separating from their body. This gives you access to a ghost form. In addition, as I explained to Ran-san earlier, the mitochondria in each cell are producing ectoplasm instead of it’s normal adenosine triphosphate, which allows you to manifest ghost powers in your human form. But your body hasn’t learned how to regulate it yet. That's why you're unstable right now. Not helping that is because of the energized ectoplasm that creates them, yūrei hanyou are by default some of the most powerful ghosts in existence."

"Really?" Ran asked with some trepidation. She didn't like hearing about ghosts, though the more lecture-like nature of Jazz as opposed to Sonoko's scary stories made it more palpable. 

"As I said, despite what living in Amity Park might have you believe, becoming a ghost is really really rare. Much less than 1% of people who die become ghosts and those who do are mostly weak enough that if they make it to the land of the living they can't be seen, heard, or affect anything. Most ghosts need to find a way to siphon energy from elsewhere to boost themselves enough to do anything. Some feed off human emotions, others find a nexus point saturated in ectoplasmic energy. But the process can take years to decades depending on the abundance of the source. And that level of power, the type that takes decades to achieve. That's your starting point."

"Power absorbed through the environment or emotions is reliable, but temporary. They would constantly need to recharge to maintain a steady output." Hence Spectra's need to feed the misery that fed her. Without a flowing source her power consumption far outstripped what her core was capable of. "That's not to say ghosts can't become more powerful in their own right, just that it's not a quick process." 

"Here's where we're entering some of the more theoretical stuff, namely how Ghosts can permanently raise their power. One theory is self awareness. Ghosts who are the result of dead humans tend to be composed of memories and emotions from when they were alive. And that in better understanding those, they deepen their own abilities. I won't say it's untrue, but as many ghosts wouldn't have the patience for it, it would be at least highly uncommon." 

"Some, shall we say, rather biased individuals believe ghosts can strengthen themselves through human suffering. They are wrong. While ghosts can feed off human emotions, including negative ones, as we established before it's a temporary fix. Then we get to the theory I have the most faith in. Obsession fulfillment." 

"What fulfillment?" Conan asked, startled.

Jazz winced. She was used to this part being common knowledge. "I mentioned ghosts tend to be made of emotions and memories. Usually there's something tying it all together into a drive. This drive, usually referred to as a fixation or obsession, is central to the ghost's being and usually forms their identity to a greater degree." 

"It's...easier for yūrei hanyou. It's there, but more of a compulsion than an all consuming drive. Something they can choose to ignore, but it won't necessarily be easy to do." 

"So I'm going to develop one of these?" Conan's voice was small. 

Ran snorted. "Going to? You've been obsessed with mysteries and mystery solving since at least kindergarten. I really doubt there's going to be a noticeable difference."

"Going back to before,” Jazz continued, though it would be cute if Conan-kun’s thing was solving mysteries to be like his father, “it's my personal theory that the best way for ghosts to grow their core is by successfully doing whatever their fixation is focused on. It also explains the growth difference between Vlad and Danny." 

Conan had been looking like he was halfway between sulking and being relieved, but he shot straight up at the mention of their culprit. "How so?" 

"Vlad's fixation is about having things. Once he had his powers stable, it was easy for him to just take whatever he wanted through force or trickery. He's only been active twenty some years, but his power levels had risen to a degree it takes most ghosts centuries to obtain. Talking with other ghosts I've been able to chart a pretty steady growth - until two years ago." 

Conan raised an eyebrow at Jazz's self satisfied smile. "What happened two years ago?" 

"Vlad found three things he couldn't obtain through money or power. Ownership of the Green Bay Packers, since they can't be owned by an individual by their charter. The love of his college sweetheart, since Mom has standards. And for Danny to love him like a father and hate our actual Dad. Don't think I have to explain why that's not happening. But because of those three things, he wasn't getting what he wanted. He tried to get them, but it didn't strengthen him since he never actually succeeded." 

"Danny's fixation is-" Jazz rolled her eyes fondly, "- being a hero. He's driven to help people who need help, even putting his personal safety at risk. It's something he sadly gets to indulge in often, sometimes multiple times a day. As a result Danny's growth has eclipsed Vlad to the point where he's almost caught up to Vlad's core power level in a mere two years." 

It was good to know there was a strong chance Danny could supersede Vlad in not too much time, at least on one playing field, but that brought up a new worry. "So if my thing is solving mysteries, and I solve them fairly frequently, this is going to get worse?"

"Worse is a bad way to think about it." Jazz said gently. "I won't say parts of it aren't going to suck, especially for the next month or so, but it's not all bad. However illogical they may be, powers are useful as long as you have control, and that's something you can have with a bit of work. Can you honestly tell me there's no time being invisible would have been useful as a detective? Or walking through walls would have made an escape easier?" 

He didn't like how easily past examples filled his head. Heck, if he's been invisible when spying on Vodka that night, he wouldn't be three feet high now. "I still don't like it." 

"Neither did Danny at first. In fact he downright hated it. But now it's so much a part of him, I don't think he'd know what to do if he got back to normal." Honestly probably get himself badly hurt trying to protect other people. "Do you want me to keep going, or is that enough for one day? I know it's a lot." 

"If there's nothing vital, I think I'm good." He had more than enough to dwell on. 

"I don't know if Danny's mentioned this, but be aware around things meant to ward against spirits, they can be uncomfortable." Jazz advised. "Other than that you should be good." 

Ran sighed and glanced at her watch. "We should probably go home. Dad will be getting worried."

"You go. I think I should stay here until I'm a bit more stable." Conan winced, "Imagine trying to explain any of this to him. And it's not like I can hide it." As if to prove his point, he started to sink into the cushions. 

"Danny wake up!" Jazz said sharply. Danny shot awake and rolled forward, ready for a fight. Jazz simply pointed to where Conan was stuck in the couch. He rolled his eyes and turned his arms intangible to pull him out. "Would it be okay if my brother stays too? He can help Conan and act as a defense if Vlad tries to silence him again." 

"Certainly. There's not a lot of extra bed space but there's somewhere Shinichi and he can go if needed." Agasa said

“Who’s Shinichi?” Jazz asked.

“There’s that word again,” Danny muttered.

There were awkward looks abound, but no one answered either sibling. Jazz sighed. “Unless you have anymore questions, I’ll see you tomorrow Danny.”

Danny blinked. “Tomorrow? Aren’t I going to the hotel with you?”

Jazz rolled her eyes. “I just said you should stay with Conan to help him manage his powers and in case Vlad makes another attempt.”

That made sense but…”I’m guessing, like most of what you’ve been saying, you said it in Japanese. The language you know I don’t speak.” He grinned, knowing he had her.

Jazz stared at him a moment, then pinched her nose. “Point to you. I’m still heading out.”

“Wait,” Danny stopped her. “In your lecture did you mention Halfa’s regeneration ability?”

“No, and you really should start using yūrei hanyou, like they do.” Jazz advised.

Danny rolled his eyes. “And why would I want to change the only word I’ve had for myself for the past two years.”

“Do you really think all those ghosts would use a word to describe Vlad that he didn’t personally approve of?”

Okay, any distance between himself and Vald was good. “Okay, but seriously. Please tell her about yurry hanyo healing.”

“Yūrei hanyou,” Jazz corrected his pronunciation. “And they’ve all had to deal with a lot of new information at once. Non essential things-”

“It’s essential. Trust me.”

Danny looked so serious Jazz sighed and gave in. “Before I go, brother dearest wants me to go into a little more detail on one of the perks of being a yūrei hanyou, namely their healing capacity. Though not instantaneous, they do heal much faster than baseline humans and can recover completely from injuries humans never could without so much as a scar. I have a theory about how it’s related to their core, but that’s far from proven.”

Injuries...like heart scarring. Ran gave Danny a grateful look. “Thank you.” Both for telling her and...she may not have liked the idea of Shinichi becoming a weird ghost hybrid, but from what she’d been told earlier, it very well have saved his life.

Agasa and Ai shared a look of their own. They’d need confirmation but if that were true it would be a huge relief to both of them. Conan glanced around and read the reactions of everyone except for the honestly confused Jazz. “You told them.” He accused Agasa.

“Yes he did.” Ran confirmed.  “And I’m glad he did. And- we can talk about this later.” It was obvious Danny and Jazz didn’t know the truth about Shinichi and it wasn’t her place to tell them. “But rest assured, we will.”

Conan gulped and his form flickered again, before vanishing completely from sight.

“It’s a good sign your ectoplasm is regenerating.” Jazz said. “That being said, it’s obvious there’s something you’re not telling us, so if you’re trying to keep other people from figuring it out, you need to be better about the fact that you’re hiding a secret. I won’t ask what it is, we understand better than most how life or death a secret can be.  But at least one of your secrets isn’t just your own.” With that, she walked out.

Danny sighed heavily. “I really need to learn Japanese.”

[idk-my-aesthetic]

Phoenix Prince /// Dragon Princess AU

Aka a healthy (ish) fire siblings au (thats still super angsty im so sorry) where Zuko and Azula love/take care of eachother and earn the love of their people

———————————

Ursa dies in child birth, though thankfully Azula survives. Zuko’s only three at the time but he’s devastated by the loss of his mother, and vows to protect his baby sister at all costs

He’s super super involved with Azula growing up, and does everything in his power to protect her from Ozai. Bc when she’s little Ozai’s very bitter bc she “killed” Ursa, plus he already hated zuko for being too weak, plus there’s no Ursa to challenge him. so he can basically do whatever tf he wants to them and be an abusive fucking dick

But then, Azula starts fire bending and is clearly a prodigy. Ozai suddenly takes an interest in her. She’s terrified of her dad so she does w/e tf he wants to keep him happy.

Except she refuses to hurt zuko. he’s her big brother and she loves him. She (secretly) stays really close with him, though is skilled enough at manipulation that Ozai thinks she’s basically cut herself off from zuko/hate him. Which zuko is fine with, he wants Azula to be safe from Ozai and if that means she needs to pretend to hate him when their dad is in the room? He doesn’t care, he knows his baby sister and knows she loves him

Anyway yeah Ozai starts to like her better and treats her.... “better”. (Note the quotations.) but she still feels guilty that Zuko’s getting the brunt of ozai’s wrath, so she does her best to keep Ozai’s attention on how good she is instead of how much of a failure zuko is.

Quick side note: if Azula seems ooc that’s on purpose. We know her toxcicity is a result of Ozai’s influence. But here he has way less control over her. Bc Ozai mainly controls her by using fear. And while she is afraid of him, she’s not nearly as afraid in this AU. a) bc Azula has her over protective big brother being over protective and b) Ursa’s dead so there’s no mother who is supposed to protect her failing to protect her and making Azula feel unsafe

So in this she’s much closer personality wise to like a “season 1 zuko” version of herself. She’s in general cool but tends to loose control of herself. Though she also has a lot more self confidence than zuko did, and maybe a bit too much pride. She’d never hit someone who was already down and cares for ppl, but pretends that she cares for no one

So yeah. The two are just kinda surviving living in the castle and love eacother a lot

Until they hear about the whole kill ur first born thing....... (which happens about 2 yrs after cannon bc Iroh came home when he heard his sister in law died and the whole siege of ba sing se was postponed)

Instead of like. Waiting for her brother to get murdered tiny 9 yr old Azula packs up their shit and gets ready to go on the run

Unfortunately she’s (almost) too late. While she’s getting ready to leave Zuko is trying to cover for her (Ozai would be murderus if he knew Azula was gonna betrey him by leaving) and somehow manages to insult Ozai while trying to protect Azula from being found out

Ozai gets big mad, and in a fit of rage tries to kill zuko by burning half his face off.

Azula runs in at the sound of her brother’s screams, at the exact same time two gaurd rush into the royal chambers. The guards are frozen in shock, but Azula is pissed

Azula attacks her dad. At first she has the upper hand/element of surprise but... she’s 9.

she starts loosing. Her forearm gets really badly burned in a suspiciously hand-shaped pattern.

During the fight Zuko’s struggling to lift himself from the ground and help. He manages to save Azula from a killing blow by throwing some fire at Ozai, but collapses immediately after. Azula barely has a second to breathe before Ozai starts attacking again.

For a moment it legitimately looks like Ozai is going to murder his two young children in cold blood

Until one of the guards snaps.

She uses the whole fucked up situation to knock Ozai out, though she doesn’t kill him. The other gaurd is just standing there, and she has no clue who he’s gonna help so she just knocks him out

Then the gaurd grabs zuko and Azula, and fucking BOOKS IT from the castle. She does a blue spirit type thing to escape (threatening to kill either Azula or zuko) and eventually gets them somewhere safe where she can get their wounds treated

The next day the fire lord puts out this whole sob story about how an assassin pretended to be a gaurd, killed his father, then kiddnapped his children. And how he’s sending out a whole manhunt for his lost children yada yada yada

The other gaurd that was there mysteriously disappears a few days later, but not before he can spread some ��rumors” about the prince and princess’s disappearance. Ozai ascends to the throne and publicly offers an enormous reward for the return of his children,,,,,, while secretly sending assassins after them. (Like.... Azula attacked him and he already tried to kill zuko he don’t give a fuck)

Iroh is obviously devestated when he finds out. and while he thinks the whole thing is a bit suspicious he starts on a journey desperately looking for his lost niece and nephew

While all this BS is happening this poor gaurd suddenly has 2 damaged af kids to take care of and a bunch of assassins to run from

So once zuko and Azula are healed enough to travel and they know zuko won’t die, they go on the run. They can’t stay in one place bc of all the assassins after them and end up going all over the world

They don’t spend a lot of time in the fire nation (for obvious reasons) but they do spend bits and pieces there. Connecting with their people, meeting freinds of the gaurd who saved them that can help (like Lt Jee who ran Zuko’s ship in cannon) and spreading the truth of what happened.

Stories about the damaged prince and princess who were so hurt by their father begin to spread. But even more stories about how the prince and princess care for their people spread ten times faster. Stories they take time to rebuild small fire nation villages damaged by floods, or how corrupt military commanders suspicious disappear after they come to town start to spread.

Ppl start calling them the dragon princess and pheonix prince. Because the princess protects her people like a dragon protects it’s hoard, by killing everyone who dares to endanger it. And the prince has risin from the ashes (you can see the burn clear as day on his face), to heal the land and his people

(Though really..... the prince and princess are both dragons and pheonixes. Because even if she seems invincible and more ruthless than her brother, the princess has been hurt deeply. Though her wound is more easily covered. And she aches for the pain of her nation, the nation she feels she wasn’t strong enough to protect. She just hides her emotions better than her brother....)

(As for the prince, yes he shows more kindness than his sister seems too. But he is just as ruthless as her if someone threatens their hoard. He’s just a bit calmer.... less trigger happy than his twin. It was his idea to take out the corrupt commandor stealing a small town’s livelihoods, after all)

They call the gaurd who saved them “the Kitsune”. They say she is a flame wielding spirit, sent by Agni himself to protect the true leaders of the fire nation

Iroh overhears bits and pieces about them. He starts to get an idea of what’s happening, but for the most part he really struggles to track them. Ppl can recognize him, and they won’t sell out their prince and princess to someone who might take them away

So yeah. The three of them are on the run together for a long time. They can never spend long in one place (assassins never stop coming after them) and dart all over the earth kingdom and fire nation, seeing first hand the effects of the war. And gaining a positive reputation both for caring about their people in a way no one since before Sozin has, as well as shaming dishonorable fire nation soldiers who mistreat those in the earth kingdom

(They almost never hurt foot soldiers who are just following orders, but any one (especially upper command) who take clear pleasure in other’s suffering are often challenged to Agni kai’s in exchange for said soldiers leaving.

Though usually just being publicly knocked on their asses by a couple of scarred kids who turn out to literally be the lost prince and princess holy shit, is enough to put them in their place)

So yeah. They travel together earning a good reputation from as soon as they’re healed until zuko and azula are 14 and 11 respectively

At that point they get separated from the gaurd.... (she doesn’t die, either captured or separated for some other reason)

So now.... all they have is eachother

The two spend the next two years on their own. They still try to do the same types of stuff they did before but now they’re in a lot more danger w/o an adult to help them. They’re basically just.... 2 increasingly ferel children struggling to survive. They live mostly off of like foraged stuff and whatever money they can make/steal from rich assholes

They continue to dodge Iroh as well bc they have no clue if he’s gonna return them to their father or kill them or w/e. Which is wayyyy harder than it would seem, the only reason he hasn’t caught them yet is that they have an alliance with June the bounty hunter who keeps sending Iroh on wild goose chases bc she has a soft spot for the weird ferel kids. (And a huge crush on the gaurd who was basically their mom/older sister for a while. But we don’t need to talk about that)

so zuko and Azula are just these absolutely feral kids being hunted by 12 dozen bounty hunters from their father, plus the “dragon princess and pheonix prince” have officially been declared “traitors to the nation that are impersonating the late children of Firelord Ozai” so there’s a good amount of the actual military after them, and they’re trying to keep away from their uncle and all his fucking white lotus freinds

They’re a little bit stressed ok??? And like super protective of eachother by this point

And then who joins the fucking search??? The goddam avatar

Bc he heard these stories about these good firebenders who protect everyone no matter what side of the war they’re on. And ofc Aang wants one or both of them to teach him

So Aang like the lovable idiot he is, is just trying so hard to adopt these crazy feral firebenders.

And ik I keep saying feral but like. I need to emphasize this bc these two spent 2 years on the run + 2 more years on the run while basically living in fucking forests cus they’re out of money, connections, and the gaurd was the only one out of the three of them with social skills. They’re a little stressed okay???

And idk I just love the idea of Aang trying to befriend these crazy feral firebenders acting like they’re just like. Wild animals or smthn. Like cornering them in a clearing and trying to offer them jerky as if they were wolves and the two giving him the blankest fucking expression

Anyway this post is about 200x longer than I meant it to be and I am so so sorry. (Especially since I can’t put in a read more on mobile)

Anyway bc it’s so long i’m just gonna do the last bit in bullet form and try to finish as quickly as humanly possible

- obvi they join the avatar and stuff

- the gaurd (who ima call kit/kitsune cus I don’t have a name for her) eventually meets/joins with Iroh. June later joins them as well as they try to find the idiot fire children

- Sokka has a big gay crush on the feral firebening guy

- Katara has a very tiny crush she refuses to admit too on Azula

- there’s also a lot of drama between her and Azula at first bc Azula is brash and Katara kinda gets annoyed at a mix of that/the lingering bias she has against fire nation ppl but they get past it

- also Azula has ~issues~ where she blames herself for their mom’s death/ is sure their mom hates them but asp their mom comes to her in spirit form and says she loves her (no fucking clue when that would happen but I love that idea)

- instead of having zuko/Azula chasing them they have a really fun variety of different random bounty hunters. Obvi including sparky sparky boom man

- the siege of the north.... happens. Though Zhao doesn’t kill the moon spirit so yue lives, and Azula and zuko manage to make a huge speech and get many of the soldiers to defect to their side instead so it ends with minimal bloodshed

- when Toph joins the group she and Azula are chaos incarnate

-mai and ty lee hear rumors and stuff and join team avatar eventually

- when they find out about the day of black sun they just. Skip trying to talk to the earth king. Cus they can just stage a cou lol they have the people on their side?? Forces from both water tribes, random earth kingdom ppl they’ve managed to befriend,,,,

- though they have to find uncle first bc he could challenge zuko for the throne. Obvi they think they’ll need to get rid of him bc they don’t really know him and think he wants to hurt them but all of a sudden??? 

- so they kinda have a few side quests as they’re preparing and gathering everyone but then it’s the day of black sun!!! And it works and shit and I actually have some other ideas too but FUCK this is SO LONG i am so sorry and will shut up now

[anothertimdrakestan]

A Lovely Intervention  -  Damian Wayne x Jon Kent & Tim Drake x Conner Kent

Words: 2.3k

Requested? Yes! From a lovely anon!

“Can you make a fic out your short where Damian is taking after his brothers? Maybe like an intervention or something? I love your shorts I basically binged them😁😁”

LINK TO PROMPTS  -> REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN!

I LOVE THIS! TimKon is my everything and we love Damian and Jon secretly taking after their brothers and it turning into a whole family moment. This req made me soft, thank you so so so much and I’m glad you like my shorts hehehe 💓 Hope you enjoy!

“We gotta talk get here asap.” Dick called his family, needing to investigate the current problem.

“I’m bringing Kon if you’re interrupting my day” Tim buzzed in, and Dick smiled, everything was going exactly to plan. “Yeah Red that’s fine, I want him here anyways” Dick replied, hearing the whoosh of Tim and Conner take off towards their rondevu point.

“Kay gang’s all here except the demon, you hiding him here somewhere?” Jason mocked, eliciting a harsh look from Dick.

“No, this meeting is actually about him, or about us. Have you guys noticed Damian and Jon trying to imitate us recently?” A lightbulb went off for Conner as he stole the floor, recollecting his most recent interaction with the boys.

“Oh my god yea, wait get this: I’m at the farm gettin’ work done so I could hang with Timmy - don’t blush babe everyone knew we were out together - yeah, then I see Damian tearing across the field with one of Ma’s horses. And I’m like ‘Hey Punk! She isn’t yours!’ and the kid gives me this shitty little smirk like he knows something, and he keeps going! Then he has the balls to flip me off! In my house?!?” Kon was waving his hands around trying to get the point across. “Is this gonna go anywhere airhead?” Jason interrupted, and Tim grabbed Conner’s hand, pulling him down back onto the ground after he began floating with anger.

“Shh babe lemme finish I was there too” Dick looked taken aback “TIM YOU SPENT THE NIGHT AT CONNORS? YOU TOLD BRUCE YOU WERE WITH THE TITANS” Tim quickly blushed and kept talking “Well yeah, but that’s not the point! I was watching Damian cuz he wanted to go over and ‘watch the stars’ which seems lame but the kid’s messed up enough maybe he needs some star gazing” Jason rolled his eyes, tapping his wrist to hurry his younger brother up. "Shit I took Kori star gazing a few weeks ago!" Dick mumbled before Tim got back to explaining.

“Sorry, sorry, so I wake up before Kon and go down and Jon is showing Damian pictures of all his pets then he ruffles Damian’s hair [ Dick audibly gasps ] yeah I fucking know, he let him touch him. Then it gets worse. Jon was wearing your jacket Kon. With the fucking spikes. The. Spikes. And Damian complimented him like I always do like he said ‘looking sharp Kent’ and that’s literally my line. So I have to do some recon but you’re right Dick, the kid’s a robot or something, not the demon” Kon nodded, finishing his story right after Tim “Oh my you’re right, Jon told me that he wanted to give Damian something to cement his feelings, like how I give you some of my clothes and souvenirs babe, except he gave the punk a whole ass horse!”

Dick realized it was getting worse that he thought. “This is good info guys, Tim I don’t think Damian is a robot but I think he’s taking after us, remember when I caught you trying on my Nightwing outfit? Jay you did it too, do I need to remind you about the Robin suit? And Kon you know what it’s like” The three boys shifted, uncomfortable with being called out by Dick.

“Alright so what do we do? Jump off a bridge and see if the demon follows? Kid doesn’t take after me so I don’t know why this is a problem?” Jason crossed his arms, still a little hurt by the robin reference. “Shut up Jay you’re with Tim running interference while Conner and I take the lead” Dick looked at the group explaining his plan. “Conner you’re talking to Jon about being himself, don’t roll your eyes they’re teens they need shaping in the right direction, it’s the least we can do. I mean look how well Jason turned out, you don’t want that happening to Jon!” Conner nodded, glancing at Jason who was openly scowling at the group. “Shut up Jay you’ve got the easy job unless you rather take mine and try to talk to Damian about his feelings. That’s where you guys come in, if Damian tries to make a break for it you’re security.” Tim and Jason high fived, excited at the possibility of having to cage a demon.

“So, plan A is the civil plan, plan B is caging the bird and then trying to be civil what happens if plan B fails?” Tim was well aware there were odds Damian wouldn’t want to hear it. Dick sighed, “well, plan C is disgusting Jon and Dami with Kon’s sappiness” and Kon cheered. “Plan C it is!” And it was time to set the plan (s) in motion.

“Dami look! I’m like a bat!” Damian tried to suppress a smile as Jon grinned, hanging upside down on the tree he’d climbed. “C’mon I can see that smile come hang with me!” Jon cooed and Damian easily scrambled up the tree, sitting on one of the limbs with his back against the trunk. “TT Kent I’m Robin not Batman, besides shouldn’t I be trying to impersonate your father?” he joked, tracing an S on his chest.

In a flash, Jon was pulled from the tree by his big brother. Damian jumped up, not sure what had taken Jon. “At ease soldier, it’s just Kon!” Tim walked up to the base of the tree, gesturing Damian down. Sliding down the tree Damian mumbled “your Kent stole my Kent” and Tim nudged him “so you’ve staked a claim huh?” and Damian blushed, looking down and walking towards the house. “Dames Dickwing needs you for something I think he’s waiting outside. “And you’re not coming? Gonna spend another night with Conner, who is your excuse this time?” Damian sneered as it was now Tim’s turn to flush with red. “Hey you wanted to go too! Don’t pretend like you didn’t hold Jon’s hand on the way over” Damian didn’t turn around, flipping Tim off as he raced toward’s Dick’s car.

“What’s with the super-snatching?” Jon huffed while Conner set him down on top of the family barn, the view of their home from on top of the barn was a favorite spot of theirs. “Well, uh, I’m never good at these but I’ve noticed you and Dames getting really close, and that’s really cool ya know”

Jon gagged and tried to begin climbing down from the roof, “oh god Kon no. I don’t want whatever talk you’re trying to give me. You really? Aren’t you already with a bat yourself?” Kon snorted “so you admit you wanna be with the bat?” and Jon huffed, sitting down again. “Maybe a little bit - what does it mean to you!” Jon refused to make eye contact with Conner. “Kid nothing’s wrong! But if you are I just wanted to give some advice, one SuperBat to another!” Jon shook his head at the cringeworthy ship name but eventually gave him attention back to Kon.

“What I’ve learned is that each of those boys is their own person, and so are we. And you know how hard that was for me to learn especially! So, I guess we’ve noticed you kinda trying to act like me and Tim but I just wanted to tell you that Damian isn’t Tim and you aren’t me, you gotta make your own path bro” Kon nudged Jon as he nodded, “yeah, I mean you’re right Damian is nothing like your coffee addict, he’s strong and passionate and really cares if you actually look deeper and - uh, yeah. I get what you’re saying.” Kon smiled, it wasn’t often they had a good “bro moment” but it went well. “Okay good talk bud, I’m gonna take ya back over now, but remember I’m here to give advice. You know Damian is emotionally constipated and so’s Timmy sometimes so I’m here when ya need me, okay bud?” Jon rolled his eyes “okay there we go, too sappy Kon, let’s go back... Oh no, are you guys trying the same thing with Dames?” Conner nodded, and Jon groaned knowing Dami was gonna be in a bad mood now if he hadn’t torn one of his brothers to shreds yet. “Let’s go back now”

“What do you need Grayson” Damian slumped in the passenger seat while Dick began driving. He noticed Dick locked the doors and noted all the ways he could escape if Dick wasn’t who he seemed to be. “Not much little-D just wanted to chat n grab some food, I’ve missed ya!” Damian narrowed his eyes, “I thought you liked Kent, you let Tim sleepover too and he had significantly more fun with the clone than Jon and I, who knows what they were doing while we traced star patterns” Dick cringed, noting that he’d have to talk to Tim later. “Well this is actually about Jon! You’ve gotten really close huh?” Damian shifted in his seat, getting a clear view of the car’s side mirror which showed none other than Red Robin trailing a couple hundred feet behind Dick’s car. “What is happening Grayson, we’ve done nothing wrong, not to mention nothing the clone and replacement haven’t done,” Damian couldn’t fathom why he was being tortured by his mom brother.

“That’s just the point baby bat, you and Jon haven’t done anything for yourselves. You invited Jon to star watch, Kori and I did that two weeks ago, Jon’s ruffling your hair the way Kon does Tim, and you’re saving news clippings from your adventures with Jon just as Tim does with Kon. It’s time to be your own guy Dames!” This was too much emotional intervention for Damian. Noticing Tim had fallen behind he pulled the lever on the car seat and use the momentum of it flying forward to push himself out the car’s side window. Never without his tool belt, he grabbed his grapple but cursed Smallville for having nothing good to swing towards. He heard cars honk and a child threw themself out of a window, rolled smoothly on the grass beside the road, and took off.

He was in the clear until he heard the rev of Red Hood’s motorcycle. Muttering under his breath he pulled out the comm he and Jon had exchanged just a few days before, he’d seen Jason do it with his teammates why shouldn’t he? As he signaled Jon he let his thoughts divulge for just a second at how similar he was to his brothers, and how Jon really liked to copy Kon as well. “Might have a point but this is good fun” he mumbled as he radioed Jon.

“They try the intervention?”

“I think I’m still being intervened for lack of a better word. Care to give me a lift these damn Smallville buildings aren’t big enough to swing from.” Damian heard Jon chuckle. “I would say ‘I’m on the way bird-brain’ but I think that’s Kon’s line and we aren’t supposed to do that anymore” Damian groaned at the realization they’d already gotten to Jon and knowing him he’d want to talk about it with Damian. There truly was no escape, but Jon was better than getting captured by Jason and Tim.

“C’mere you little shit!” Jason screeched as he saw Damian pick up the pace. Damian would usually know when he’d lost and go in for a fight but the kid kept running. “Something’s up, he’s not fighting” Jason lookup up to see Tim soaring down towards Damian. “Wings aren’t flapping Drake you’re not airborne much longer” Jason noted as Tim cascaded through the air. “Long enough idiot, pick up is on the way”

“of - fucking - course it is” Jason stopped in his tracks when he saw not only Jon but Conner flying in, Conner on Jon’s tail. “So is this just a fun exercise now? I think the kids got the message” Tim had connected Kon to the group. “Leave ‘em be let’s go for plan C” Dick told the group and the comms filled with Tim’s groans and Kon whooping. “Nah I’m out but I still wanna give ‘em a run for it. Dami is smart he’ll figure out what he and Jon are” Jason tried to sound caring and thoughtful, but really he wanted to chase Damian and not have to watch Conner makeout with his brother. “Alright we can talk later, go get them” Dick gave the go-ahead and the three took after their younger brothers who had quite the head start.

“Clone is on our tail, can’t you go faster?” Damian complained. “Good one Rob but if I’ve got this correctly I’m the one carrying you.” Damian rolled his eyes, using his wrist computer to find the quickest hiding spot. “Left here, hard turn” Damian instructed as Jon dove into a field of grains. “Not that hard idiot” Jon laughed and Damian couldn’t contain a giggle. “Well they won’t find us... what should we do?” Jon poked at Damian.

“Sometimes I wonder how I befriended you”

“So you admit we’re best friends!”

“Glad that’s what you got”

“Well now that we’re here wanna talk about our..... feelings?” Jon waggled an eyebrow at Damian.

“Forget it, Jason finding me is better than this” Damian began to get up when Jon grabbed his hand, stopping him dead in his tracks. “Stay with me Dames, just for a little” and though Damian wouldn’t admit it, he was glad Jon asked him to stay, because he was never good at the feelings thing but with Jon he kinda wanted to try. He wanted to find what the feeling of his heart pounding out his chest and his brain being fuzzy was, and just how he could feel it just a little more often.

[bgn846]

The Niflheim Experiment Chapter 13

The dust settled after fifteen minutes which allowed Ignis and Aranea to explore their makeshift prison. What Gladio had initially thought of as being one explosion had actually been two, thereby sealing them inside the hallway from both sides. Sighing quietly he turned to check on the others. Ravus was awake but had his eyes closed, his only movement being the hand that was carefully petting Luna’s hair.  She was still unconscious but appeared to be comfortably resting and using her brother's stomach as a pillow.

Loqi hadn’t stirred once, since Luna had finished healing him.   Gladio hoped he would be okay, the kid seemed fine but looks can be deceiving. Unwilling to relinquish his hold Gladio simply sat cradling the former Nif in his lap.  So far Loqi was the only person who’d actually be able to relate to what he’d gone through.  Well, not all of it, but at least the nearly being consumed by the scourge.

Suddenly wondering how long he’d been out after Luna had healed him Gladio couldn’t help but ask. “Ravus, how long did it take for me to wake up after Luna healed me?” The man in question groaned softly before shifting his head slightly. Aranea had been nice enough to lend her jacket as a pillow for him. She was rough around the edges but it was clear she had a strong desire to ensure the safety of those she considered allies.

“Wasn’t quick,” Ravus offered after a beat. “M’guessing nearly twelve hours or more.”

“Probably means blondie here is gonna be out for a little while longer then, huh?”

“Maybe, but he was in good health before he was corrupted, I’m sure that will make some difference.”

“Careful Ignis!” Aranea shouted disrupting Gladio’s train of thought. Looking over he was alarmed to see Ignis crouched down with his arm in between a rather large chunk of rubble.

“Nothing has shifted, but I need to see if I can feel an obstacle on the other side. If this debris pile is only a few feet thick we may be able to breakthrough.” Ignis defended as he pushed his arm even further into the small gap.

“Iggy, please be careful, I don’t want you to lose your freaking arm.” Gladio scolded, he was terrified the pile of unstable concrete would shift and trap him.

“Fine!” he huffed, “it’s of no matter, I can’t feel anything besides more hard surfaces.”

“Good then you can stop doing that,” Aranea commented right before she roughly pulled Ignis back and sent him sprawling backward on his butt. “You may be okay with endangering yourself like that, but I’m not.” She accused after Ignis shot her a glare.

The two came back over to sit down. It was clear they couldn’t escape from this place. They had no choice but to wait for backup or see if this Ardyn character would attack them again.  The guy could easily set off another round of explosives and kill them all. That realization made Gladio’s stomach turn. It wouldn’t be his first choice of how to die but they were at the mercy of this mad man.

“So, tell me again what happened when you came in to get us?” Aranea asked once she’d checked on Luna and sat down to rest.

“We came in and then someone who looked like Luna approached us, but didn’t say anything.  They were injured and kept holding out a hand for help,” Gladio explained.

“What do you mean looked like? Were they blonde and resembled Luna or--.”

“It was the oracle,” Ignis cut in. “If Gladio hadn’t stopped me from assisting her then I’d be in the same boat as Loqi.”

“So an exact copy of Luna? How’s that even possible?”

“I dunno, but when I ran it through with my sword nothing happened.”

“Wait you stabbed Luna?!” Aranea exclaimed.

“It was Ardyn!” Ravus growled, “he’s got magic remember.”

“Still, I never saw him impersonating someone, that’s creepy as shit!”

“You think that was Ardyn I stabbed?” Gladio asked in disbelief. “I thought it was a monster or a daemon.” The idea that he’d already come nearly face to face with this guy was not sitting well.

“I’m almost certain of it, Ardyn is a tricky bastard,” Ravus breathed out harshly.

“It would explain why he was able to seemingly disappear after you attacked.”

“How did you know it wasn’t Luna?” Aranea questioned with a furrowed brow. “If it looked exactly like her how’d you know?”

“Uh, I--,” Gladio wasn’t exactly sure how to describe how he knew. The feeling he’d experienced was nothing he’d ever dealt with before. It was like a sixth sense had awoken in his body, one that specifically reacted to Ardyn. “I felt bad, honestly. I can’t explain it properly but I knew it wasn’t Luna and that’s about it.”

“Huh, I wonder if butterball over there will have the same reaction as you when he wakes up,” quipped Aranea.

“Do let us know if you feel that sensation again,” Ravus added with a wave of his hand. “I’d like some warning, small or not, of Ardyn’s return.”

Nodding Gladio stayed silent, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.  He couldn’t exactly see a way to beat someone that could survive being run through. He’d aimed for the heart, there was no mistaking it, but the fake Luna, or Ardyn, simply laughed and ran away.  

A soft moan drew Gladio from his ruminations. Glancing up he noted that Ravus seemed very alert, his focus being on his sister. They all stared intently as Luna worked to regain consciousness. After a few minutes, she blinked her eyelids open and peered back at them owlishly. “Did we crash?”  

Aranea laughed sarcastically, “no, we got blown up.”

Luna’s eyes widened at the admission, “Is everyone alright?”

“Yes, mostly, aside from some expected bumps and bruises we are all okay,” Ignis supplied calmly. “Though, I can’t say with certainty how Loqi is feeling as he hasn’t woken yet.”

“I healed him, I know he’ll be alright,” Luna affirmed with conviction.

“Until he wakes up to tell us otherwise, we’ll have to take your word for it,” Aranea sighed.

“Are we trapped?” Luna asked with worry as she looked around the dimly lit pile of rubble around them.

“I’m afraid so, I’m not sure what Ardyn wants from us but he’s clearly not done yet,” Ravus added while scowling.

“So far, our only advantage has been your ability to heal the scourge,” Gladio threw in to try and make himself feel better. Things were not looking good and he needed some form of good news to latch onto.

“I wish we could harness that power into a weapon,” Aranea huffed, “I know it’s probably impossible but I can still dream.”

Luna remained silent after the comment, it was clear she was thinking hard about something. “Wait, I might be able to bless an object, enchant it in a way. It might actually have an effect on him, it’s worth a try right?”

“When you say enchant what exactly do you mean?” Ravus asked with narrowed eyes.

“If I can heal the scourge then I must have power over him. I might be able to actually heal him!” Luna was getting excited and Gladio hoped she might be onto something. Though it was hard to see how in her current state. She still hadn’t sat up and looked exhausted to boot.  

“You’re barely awake from passing out earlier, and now you want to go around making our weapons into instruments of the gods, themselves.   Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” Ravus retorted.

“If he has the power to spread the scourge then he must be stopped, I don’t care at what cost.”

Groaning loudly Ravus threw an arm over his face. “You’re going to try no matter what I say aren’t you?”

Luna attempting to get up was her answer; she struggled at first until Ravus begrudgingly supported her back. “We don’t have much time, he’ll be back I’m sure of it,” she chided reaching out for her brother’s sword.

Watching the oracle work her magic was something to behold. Gladio wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing, but Luna appeared to be gathering her powers and somehow imbuing them into objects. Not that it was obvious except when you handled whatever she’d work on.  His own broad sword now thrummed with new energy.  Something similar to what it felt like when he used the armiger, but this feeling had more raw power behind it.

After about an hour Luna’s complexion began to pale. She was fading due to working so hard. Ravus noticed right away and ordered his sister to stop what she was doing.  Figures Luna would be trying to literally energize every single weapon they had in their arsenal.

“I must finish this last one,” she murmured.

Wincing with pain Ravus sat up fully and gently pulled the dagger she was holding away. “Rest, I believe you’ve given us a fighting chance.”

“No, I – I must continu--,” she offered weakly before fainted mid-sentence and falling straight into her brother's arms.

“It’s selfish of me to let her push herself, but this may be our only chance at making a dent when it comes to Ardyn.”

“She seemed pretty excited about the idea, I don’t think she’ll hold it against you,” Aranea supplied as she stood to stretch. “How much more time do we have to wait before the cavalry arrives? I’m getting sick of just sitting here.”

“Would you rather the alternative?” Ignis asked. “I do think this barrier of rubble is keeping our attacker at bay.”

“Then what is he waiting for? Back up is coming so we won’t be stuck in here forever.”

“Perhaps the person he wants isn’t in attendance at the moment,” Ignis lamented. “I wouldn’t be surprised if his real target was Noctis.”

Panic gripped Gladio once Ignis’ words had sunk in.  “Is there any way we can warn them? If he comes then Ardyn could attack when they arrive or go to the city to ambush him there. We’re divided and vulnerable!”

“Calm down!” Ravus growled. “We must stay focused or the fight is lost. I know you’re concerned but we can’t let our emotions rule.”

Gladio knew Ravus was right, but the idea still stung. Having to simply wait and see whether they would survive or not.

“Do you have any of those potions left?” Aranea asked suddenly. “We sorta need Luna to be awake if we actually end up catching Ardyn.”

“Damn, you’re right,” Gladio groaned. “Sure, she gave us magic weapons but without her to deal the final blow we’re kinda just left holding a ticking time bomb.”

“If we can hold him,” Ravus corrected.

“If he lets us get close enough to try,” grumbled Ignis.

“You lot are so depressing. I for one am not dying at the hands of a creepy dude. We need to help Luna right now and wait for backup.”

Healing Luna enough to wake her up ended up taking 2 elixirs and 1 potion. The oracle again regained consciousness looking exhausted and not at all rested. Gladio felt terrible for doing this to her but Aranea was right, she needed to be awake for them to even have a fighting chance.

“Wha’ppened?” she slurred.

“Waiting for Ardyn,” was the response that Aranea choose to offer as she paced the small space. “We needed you awake, sorry.”

Luna simply nodded and worked to gain her bearings. “How will we know when help has arrived?” she asked after a moment.

“I wish I knew the answer to that, but I’m afraid we will have to wait to find out,” Ignis sighed.

And wait they did, for nearly another two hours. The beam on their lone flashlight was growing dimmer by the minute. Soon it would flicker and go out leaving them trapped and in the dark. Gladio hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He was about to comment on what their backup plan might be when a distant rumble shook the floor. “What was that?!” he exclaimed hurriedly. “You all felt that too right?”

Based off the wide eyes peering back Gladio figured they’d heard and felt it as well. Wasting no time he began shouting at the top of his lungs.  It didn’t take long for the others to join in.  Ignis had to shush them a few minutes later when shouts could finally be heard through the rubble. Gladio felt like he could cry, they’d made it! Help had arrived.  The only fear left was Ardyn.

The light had officially gone out by the time the others had broken through the immense pile of debris blocking their exit.  Gladio had summoned his shield and done his best to keep the dust off of Loqi and Ignis.  The only other shield in the armiger had been given to Aranea and she was protecting Ravus and Luna.  The rush of stale, but to them, fresh air hit and they all sighed collectively in relief.   It was at this moment they could finally see their rescuers.

An entourage of glaive stood on the other side of the now penetrable barrier with Cor and Nyx in the lead. They all hobbled out of their little concrete prison quickly, the risk of getting stuck again too terrifying to consider.

“Who needs medical attention?” Cor asked once they’d cleared the small opening that’d been created with what appeared to be a lot of hard labor and sweat.  Granted the glaive had a few more tools at their disposal than they’d had.  Namely what looked like a pneumatic jackhammer.  That would explain the odd noise they’d heard early on.

We’re all mostly tended to, Marshal,” Ignis offered as he kept walking forward. “I’d like to get outside of this facility as soon as possible.”

Cor nodded and waved the remaining glaive forward. The small sliver of daylight coming out from the door was a sight for sore eyes. Unable to slow his pace Gladio practically ran the rest of the way and promptly collapsed on the grass outside.  Thank the astrals they’d made it out of there!

“Big guy? Did –did we die?” Loqi rasped a second later from where he still wrapped in Gladio’s embrace.

“Loqi! Ha you’re alright! We’re still alive but it was a close call there.”

“What happened?” he asked tried to roll his head to the side to see around Gladio’s bulk.

“We got blown up,” Ravus spit out as he approached. He looked the part considering Ignis was half dragging him along.

“Shit, no way, I didn’t wake up at all!”

“Yes way, now do you think you can walk?” Gladio checked as he went to release his hold.

“Walk? Are you fucking kidding big guy? I’m going good holding my head up.”

“Need some assistance?” Cor asked as he strode up next to them.

Gladio shook his head and peered around to see how they’d all managed to arrive. A combination of militarized vehicles was spread out around Aranea’s dropship, dusty from their rigorous journey. It was at that moment that Gladio spotted something terrible. There, in one of the trucks was a familiar silhouette. “We need to leave now! You shouldn’t have let Noct come!” he shouted in a panic.

Cor merely shrugged, “He was acting like a baby, so I let him come.”

Opening his mouth to argue, Gladio quickly thought of another problematic issue. “Is the king with him?”

“He couldn’t leave Insomnia. You know your father wouldn’t have let him anyway.”

“Still --,” Gladio didn’t have time to finish when a dark shadow passed over them, he could only look over in shock as the rays of the setting sun highlighted the figure of Ardyn standing before them once more.

“Oh joy, you’ve brought me more playmates, how exciting,” he drolled. “I was beginning to think you’d never show up.”

←Previous Chapter

     Next Chapter →

[a-pitifulchild]

Wow - Robert Manion x reader

Request: Hi, so my idea for the Robert Manion x reader thing is...Okay, so let's pretend that TGWDLM just got out onto YouTube and Lauren is throwing this party where everyone in the cast can come and they all watch it together. Y/n has been dating Robert since Twisted and when you guys and the rest of the cast watch it for the first time he only looks at y/n on the screen and talking about how talented y/n is and all that jazz. (Even though I love Mariah let's pretend y/n has Mariah's parts instead) @taylor-manion

A/n: so i tried, but it has been such a long time since the last time i wrote! Hopefully it's good and not shitty idk. Also like. My english is not perfect, since it not my native language.

You sat on the couch, waiting for Robert to get out of the bathroom. “Lucky wee?” You asked him as he reached to his coat and keys. He rolled his eyes and smiled, “i have you, so it's clearly working”. Now it was your turn to roll your eyes, though you couldn't but smile as well. Robert tossed you your coat. You let out a small sigh and got up, putting on your coat. You loved your Starkid family, but you loved the couch at the flat you shared with Robert just as much.

You've been dating Robert for the past five years. You met him through Twisted - you helped them with the costume change, mostly because being on the actual stage frightened you. Of course you got stuck with Robert and had to help him with his costume change, and ever since then you were together. When Rob heard you sing for the first time he was shocked. You never mentioned your secret dream of performing in musicals, but he wouldn't leave you alone after finding out how talented you were. He looked for any excuse to hear you sing, act and dance, if it was a Starkid sing along, rehearsing lines with you or asking for help with the choreography he had to get done. With his compliments, your confidence grew and although you were still kind of scared from the stage, you were more willing to actually perform. So of caurse, when Starkid reached out to him for “The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals”, he got you an audition as well, and next thing you know you were a part of the show.

The two of you arrived to Lauren's house. She was hosting a kind-of-party to celebrate the release of “The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals”. You were going to watch the musical, all the cast together. You got to be in the one they did for Twisted as Robert's date, but this time you were a part of the cast. It was exciting. Robert  grabbed your hand, and the two of you walked up the stairs and toward the door. “Are you nervous?” Robert asked. You nodded, blushing, “kind of” you admitted. “Well don't, you are amazing, and insanely photogenic, so i'm sure you're great” Robert said, moving his hand across your waist. You stopped in the Middle of the hall, and he pulled you into a hug. He kissed the top of your head and you wrapped your hands around his neck, pulling yourself up to kiss him. “You are the sweetest boyfriend ever, ya'know?” You said, and he gave you a knowing smirk. “oh, I know” he said, “but thank you”. You laughed, and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the familiar dark brown wooden door. You reached your hand to knock, but the door opened before you had the chance. Lauren smiled at the two of you, “Hey guys!” She smiled, hugging you first and then Robert. “How did you-” you wandered loud, then realised she probably heard a guy with an australian accent and immediately knew it's Robert and you. She confirmed your suspect as the three of you got inside the apartment.

After about half an hour of talking and laughing, everyone got there, and you gathered in front of the tv. Lauren pressed play, and the musical started. Everyone started singing along with the video.

30 seconds in, and you saw yourself. Robert, who obviously set next to you with his hand wrapped around your shoulder seemed more excited than you were. He looked at you, smiling, and mouthed the words “look! it's you!”. You smiled back and rested your head on his shoulder. Then it was Robert's turn to be on screen, and you couldn't help but smile seeing your talented boyfriend doing what he loves. Then your first solo came. “Sh!” Robert said, and everyone went quiet  to hear your beautiful singing, even though it was not the most impressive vocals you had during the show. Everyone joined back in for “should we kill him?”, And then hysterically laughed, which led to the end of the sing along.your next solo came along, and even though it was just two lines, Robert tightened his hand around your shoulder, happy to see you perform, finally sharing your talent with the world and having a blast. “You are literally so amazing like, what the fuck? How?” he whispered. “Look who's talking” you replied, pointing at the screen with your chin and looking at Robert on the screen, who's solo was right after yours.

Then the part when you, or should you say Melissa, asks Paul if he'll come the Company trip came. “Man, (y/n), you really got that 'totally crushing’ look down” Jeff said. Robert looked anywhere but the screen. like Jeff said, you looked like your crushing on Paul, and he hated seeing you look at another man like that. “If i didn't know you and Robert are dating, i'd think-” Jeff kept talking, but stopped once he saw the death glare you gave him. You noticed what Jeff said made him uncomfortable. “Same way i looked at you during Twisted” you said, leaning into Robert's shoulder. You felt his hand stroking your hair. “And the way i look at you to this day” he said and kissed your head. “Shut up, love birds, we are trying to watch a musical here” Joey said. Everyone laughed, and the rest of the musical passed by pretty much quietly, up until “La-Dee-Da-Da-Day”.

Rob loved how you performed it, although the moment you grab jon's hand and the one you danced with Jeff made him kind of jealous since he only got to dance with you for a short time on “show me your hands”.

“Yes, hit that note, (y/n)!”Jon called after the line “on this la-dee-da-da-day“. He sat next to Jeff, who sat next to you, so he high-fived you over Jeff's head (which was kinda hard considering the fact Jeff is taller then you, but he bent down a little). “Your voice is so goddam good, have i ever told you that?” he added . He couldn't show his appreciation to your vocals on stage, so he took the opportunity to do it now. Robert smiled as you belted amazingly

“I am so proud of you, (n/n)” Robert said and took your hand with the hand that wasn't wrapped around your shoulder. He kissed your hand and held it close to his chest. He turned his head to you, leaning his forehead on yours and giving you a quick kiss as you sang “la-dee-da-da, la-dee-da-da, la-dee-da-da-day” in the background. “You know, Jon is right. Your voice is amazing, and you are an incredible performer” Robert said, “and i am the luckiest guy in the world for dating you”. he kept going with the compliments during the song, sometimes loud and proud of his girlfriend and sometimes he just whispered “wow”, so only you heard him.

Some Laughing, “wow”s from Robert every time you appeared on screen and one “literally the most talented human ever is my girlfriend!” after “Cup Of Poisoned Coffee” later, your solo song arrived. Sure, you sang most of “La-Dee-Da-Da-Day”, you did an amazing job at it and stole the show, but in “Not Your Seed” you sang all of it, and it was your time to shine. It was obvious it was your favorite part of the show - the song had everything: different emotions, fun riffs and belting - plus a great choreography. You loved this song so much, and you performed it amazingly as well. If anyone still had doubts regarding how talented is the new girl, that song made those vanish.

As you started singing, Robert's eyes went back and forth between you on-screen and the you next to him. It's like he couldn't believe someone as talented as you is dating him. You didn't even notice the way he looked at you, so proud and happy. He loved you so much, and having you there, at his side, both of you happy and doing what you love just made him feel such pure happiness.

“Love, you are so good at everything” he whispered at the end of the song. You smiled at his words. He rarely ever used these type of nicknames - “love”, “babe”, “honey”. They were “too jenerick” according to him. He wanted something special for you, but sometimes no other word could describe better what you are to him. “Thank you, Rob, love” you replied, wrapping your hands around him. He hugged you back, pulling you closer and kissing you.

“is this even legal??” Joey said. You stuck your tongue at his reaction. It was a joke by this point, ever since you and Robert kissed before a show, already in your first costumes, which belonged to characters with quite the age gap. Joey had to make a reference to the infamous vine, which then led to recreating it and making that joke way too often.

Everyone clapped as Lauren screamed her lungs out. “Amazing! Each and every one of you is lure talent, and I had so much fun working with you guys!” Brian said after he got up from his spot on the couch. Everyone clapped at the short speech, that was somehow moving. “Well, Brian, may i-?” Corey asked, and after Brian nodded, he got up and stood in front of us. “Well, this is the end of a great production, and i've prepared a little something for the occasion” he said, trying to impersonate Rob's Professor Hidgens voice. Everyone laughed and clapped at the reference. “Damn, you should have played the role!” Robert called. “Well, i doubt i can do it better than you Robert” Corey said as he plugged a usb to the computer. Few seconds later, a video from behind the scenes was played. The vine recreation was one of the many iconic things that were a part of the video.

The time passed by, and eventually you and Robert went back home. You were so relieved to finally take the makeup off and get into more comfortable clothes. Finally, you were in bed next to your one and only. He wrapped his hands around you, pulling you into the cuddle you waited for ever since the two of you got home. “I love you, (y/n), more than anything. You are literally amazing, and so talented, i honestly wonder how come you never did anything like that before. You are so, so gifted it's just-” he said softly, tightening his hug and kissing the back of your head. “I love you too,  you talented... human” you said, closing your eyes. You heard his quiet laugh. “Goodnight, (n/n)” he said, but you were already asleep. “I'm gonna marry someday, i swear” he whispered. “Goodnight, love” you muttered. Apparently you were not as asleep as he thought.

[everlarkchristmasgifts]

Something Suspiciously Like Hope

Written for Day 2 - Secret Santa Exchanges.

Unbeta’d. Rated T for language. Enjoy :)

Peeta takes the slip of paper from his pocket and stares at the name, written in her small, careful cursive. Again. As if the writing changed from the last time he read it.

Katniss Everdeen.

The gods of Random Name Drawing have a sick sense of humour, that’s for sure.

God, what if she drew his name, too? Then what would he do? He fights back a shudder — what are the odds of that happening? — and tosses the paper in a nearby bin. It’s not like he’s ever going to forget it, anyway.

He takes stock of his very limited options as he mixes up another batch of dough for the bakery’s famous Christmas shortbreads. He can’t get her anything too impersonal. That just seems… rude. Not to mention, a gigantic lie. They’ve never been friends — hell, the slip of paper with her name on it is about the entirety of their exchanges over the years — but they’ve been in the same classes since kindergarten, so that should count for something, shouldn’t it?

But on the other hand, he can’t get her anything too… not impersonal, either. Nothing that could out the feelings he’s carried around like a backpack full of bricks for over a decade. That would be… not a gigantic lie. But also, his absolute worst nightmare come true.

He should have asked to redraw his Secret Santa when he had the chance. Knowing Ms. Trinket, though, she never would have allowed it.

There’s a tiny sliver of grey area that he can work with here. What’s the happy middle between a five-dollar café gift-card and a dozen long-stemmed red roses? Is baking her a cake from scratch too heartfelt, or just the right amount of caring and not-caring?

I put together this cake just for you, but I also work in a bakery and make literally thousands of cakes just like this one in a week, so don’t feel too special.

“Why does this have to be so hard?” he mutters to himself.

“Surely not the dough, son? You could make those cookies blindfolded by now.”

Peeta jumps maybe three feet in the air. He’d almost forgotten his father was still in here, too.

“Not the dough,” he says, shaking his head.

“What, then?” his father prods.

Peeta sighs, but there’s never been any point lying. His crush on Katniss Everdeen has been his worst-kept secret since he was five and saw her for the first time, after which he declared to everyone in earshot that he would marry her someday. If Katniss ever heard, she’s been too polite to say anything.

“A Secret Santa exchange at school. I drew Katniss.”

His father goes quiet for a minute, then asks, “Why’s that so hard?”

“What do you mean, why’s that so hard?” Peeta exclaims. “What am I supposed to do?”

His father shrugs. “I guess that depends on the sort of impression you want to make.” He dusts off his flour-covered hands and crosses his arms. “Do you really want to go about your last year at school without ever having been honest with her? Could you live with that?”

“I think I could live with it,” Peeta whispers without hesitation. “But I think I’d regret it every day, too.”

His father smiles. “Then I guess that’s your answer.”

“So, what do I give her?”

The smile spreads into a grin. “Something unforgettable.”

Peeta says nothing. Just furrows his brows and turns back to his dough, rolls it out into a thin sheet.

He has an idea. More like a sapling of an idea, really. A weedy little sapling struggling to break up into the light. It’s a ridiculous idea given that they only have until the end of the week to exchange their gifts, but he thinks he can do it. He’s got everything he needs back home, so the twenty-dollar price limit isn’t going to be an issue (or does that just make him look cheap?) and what’s more… if he plays his cards right, it will be unforgettable.

Peeta finishes his shift with a smile on his face.

XXX

The canvas barely fits inside his beat-up Corolla.

Never mind ‘unforgettable’. She’ll be lucky to ever forget him after this. The guy who made her carry a massive canvas all through the halls with her. Less of a ‘something to remember me by’, and more of a gigantic ‘screw you.’

He parks in his usual spot at school and collapses against the steering wheel. He’s gotten a collective ten hours of sleep this past week working on the damn thing, recreating the woods which border District 12 in wrenching, painstaking detail, but it’s worth it. It has to be.

A fist raps against his window. Peeta jumps high enough to hit his head on the car’s felt ceiling.

“Hey! Is that it?”

Without waiting for a reply, Finnick swings to the other side and settles himself in the passenger seat. He twists towards the back and lets out a low whistle.

“Dude. It’s huge.”

“I couldn’t do it with anything smaller,” Peeta mutters.

“Sure isn’t going to be a secret now.”

Peeta shakes his head and gets out of the car. “I never said it was going to be.”

“So… you’re going for it?” Finnick jumps out and slams the door shut. “You’re actually gonna do it?”

Peeta sucks in a deep, sharply cold breath. “I think I… maybe?”

“Peeta!” Finnick punches his shoulder. “Seriously, man? That’s awesome.”

Peeta snorts. “Yeah. Two guesses how it’ll end, though.”

“You still reckon she’ll say no?”

“I just don’t see why she’d say yes.”

“You know, Annie says she’s real nice.”

“So? I’m not after a pity date, Finn. I just… I know she’ll like this. That’s all.”

“Yeah, she will. You wanna know what I got my Secret Santa? A box of sugar cubes.”

He almost laughs. “Seriously? Why?”

“Well under the twenty-buck limit, and ‘cause Clove Andersen could stand to be a whole lot sweeter, don’t you think?”

Peeta snorts. “When she decks you, and she absolutely will, don’t expect me to step in and save the day.”

“All you’d have to do is flash that smile and she’d be off me and all over you.”

“Yeah, not really the image I’m going for right now.” Peeta pulls in another deep breath, sets a hand on the car’s roof, and nods to himself. “So, you going to help me bring this thing in or what?”

XXX

His own Secret Santa gift — from Madge, mercifully, a pair of thick, silly, reindeer-print socks — had been front and centre at the top of the pile in Ms. Trinket’s room. At the end of class, he grabbed it and bolted, the tips of his ears burning as he caught Katniss out the corner of his eye, approaching her massive gift, propped up at the back and taking up damn near half the wall, with a frown on her face. He considered for all of a nanosecond staying and waiting for her to unwrap it, just to see her face when she saw it. But that same crippling self-doubt that always seemed to afflict him around Katniss squeezed at his chest and he just… couldn’t.

God, he’s such a loser.

He plops down on a damp bench right on the far edge of the school, far enough away that the chatter and laughter from everyone else is little more than a distant echo. The cold air dusting past his face brings his thoughts into more clarity. He should have seen this coming a mile off. It happens every single time. He’s never been able to string more than five words together in Katniss’ presence; why would today be any different? Combine that with a giant, what-the-fuck of a gift, and it’s a damn wonder he was able to walk through the school gates at all this morning.

The phone in his pocket vibrates with texts he’s not sure he wants to see. Probably just Finn asking how it all went. Maybe one from his dad, too. Peeta groans and fists his hair. His own damn fault for telling everybody.

“Peeta?” a soft, smoky voice whispers behind him.

He jumps about ten feet in the air and spins to face his assailant. Katniss Everdeen, her hands tucked into the pockets of her patchy coat, staring at him with eyes as grey as the storm clouds above. An omen or not, he’s not sure.

“Katniss,” he breathes.

She smiles, the barest quirk of her lips. “I wasn’t sure you knew my name. I guess… I guess that was wrong.”

His cheeks flush as he sets himself back down on the bench. “I’ve always known who you are.”

“I’m starting to get that, yeah.” She perches herself on the bench beside him, even though there’s not a whole lot of room for them to share. Even through his thick coat, the warmth Katniss radiates is enough to make him feel like his blood is boiling.

“It’s incredible,” she blurts out before he can say anything. “I mean, I knew you were good — I think you’ve got paintings hanging in every corridor in there — but that painting is… amazing, Peeta. Really.”

“I’m glad you like it,” he murmurs.

She sets a warm hand on his forearm. The contact is like lightning beneath his skin, but it anchors him, too; this moment is real. He’s not dreaming it. And it’s fucking amazing.

“I love it,” she tells him, low and deliberate. “Thank you, Peeta.”

He clears his throat. “You’re welcome.”

She lets her arm fall from his, and he misses the warmth all at once. “I kinda feel bad about what I got my Secret Santa now, though.”

“Who’d you have?” he asks.

“Delly.”

He barks out a laugh. “What did you get her?”

“A fluffy pom-pom keychain shaped like an owl. Prim picked it out. I had no idea what to get her.”

“I can tell you with absolute certainty that Delly loved it.”

She smirks. “Oh, I know she did. She jumped me right in the hallway as we were leaving and hugged me.”

Peeta smiles. “That sounds about right.”

A couple from the year below them walk by, hand-in-hand. As if by some unspoken agreement, Peeta and Katniss stay silent, their gazes trained on the ground, until the pair pass by.

When he looks up again, their faces are much closer together than they were before — or maybe they were always this close? Katniss’ cheeks are a bright, glowing pink, and she’s looking everywhere but his face.

“We should… uh, meet up, maybe?” she says, all fractured, and he thinks it fractures something in his head, too, because she cannot possibly be saying what he thinks she might be saying. “Some day during the break? I could, um… maybe show you the woods when it’s snowing, and you could paint or something? If that’s even something you wanted to see, I don’t even know if you —”

He cuts her off before she can ramble anymore, because even though it’s completely, utterly adorable, he’ll be damned if he lets her talk herself out of this now. “I’d love to come to the woods with you, Katniss,” he says, leaving no room for anything else.

“Good!” she says, a little too loudly, but Peeta’s not sure anything could beat the pounding of his heart for volume right now. She clears her throat and says, “That’s… good.”

“Yeah… good.” Damn, he’s eloquent.

“How’s Boxing Day for you?”

“Yeah… good,” he says again. Katniss lets out a tiny chuckle, one that he swears makes his heart skip a beat.

A bell goes off somewhere… the school, maybe? He’s got no way of knowing, or caring. All he gives a shit about right now is Katniss Everdeen, right in front of him, so close he could maybe kiss her if he didn’t think that would be kind of weird. Before he can move, Katniss is shouldering her bag and making her way back towards the building.

“Merry Christmas, Peeta,” she whispers, a real smile, however tiny, tipping her lips now as she walks away.

He grins what he’s sure is the dopiest, happiest grin the entire world and calls back, “Merry Christmas, Katniss.” For the first time in forever, the self-doubt doesn’t even enter his head.

In its place now is something suspiciously like hope.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Find Your Light: Part 1

Pairings: Jason Momoa x Reader

Warnings: Cheating (not Jason or reader), swearing, angst

Word Count: 1,754

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are ya ready for this, sweetheart?” You glanced at your mother, Sarabeth in the full length mirror as she fixed your veil in your bottle blonde hair to fall behind your shoulders. With a small sigh, you nodded at her as you pulled up the beaded v-neck of your Pnina Tornai ball gown for the hundredth time.

“You have everything in my car?” You asked as you looked at yourself in the mirror.

“Bags, extra burner cell phone, cash, plane ticket, hotel information… ’s’all there.” She reached up and gently grabbed your arm to turn you around to face her. As tears welled in her eyes, she nodded at you with a smile. “I am… so damn proud of you. An’ I know your daddy would be too.” With tears in your own eyes, you nodded at her and gave her a weak smile.

“Honestly, I’m proud of myself.” You both looked over as your maid of honor, Ashley knocked on the door.

“Read… Oh, (Y/N)! You look gorgeous!” You forced yourself to bite your tongue and smile at her and you knew your mother was, too.

“Doesn’t she? My little, sparklin’ angel.” You smiled at your mom as she offered you her arm with a smile. With one final nod, you grabbed your bouquet of purple calla lilies with your vows wrapped around the stems and headed out the door. You held your head up high and walked as confidently as you could behind your best friend.

“Just remember to get it on video.” You whispered to your mom as you came to a stop outside the chapel doors. You looked over at her as she pulled the top of her cell phone out of her purple, slightly too revealing dress.

“Oh, I’m all over this.” You smiled at her as the doors finally opened to reveal the bride to the nearly 500 guests that were invited. You smiled with a warmth that didn’t quite reach your eyes and forced one foot in front of the other to get to the alter.

‘Minutes… just a few more minutes.’ You thought as nervous butterflies flittered about in your stomach, threatening to make you sick. ‘You can do this, (Y/N).’ When you finally found David’s eyes through the crowd, you swallowed hard against the bile that rose in your throat. Tears welled in your eyes as your mother passed your hand to your fiancé. As you passed your bouquet to Ashley, your mother gave you one last, knowing look before finding her seat as literally, your only family member and the only person you invited.

“We are gathered here today…” You looked up at the officiant, some friend of a friend of David’s who was glad to make the non-denominational ceremony go as quickly as humanly possible. Your fiancé nervously played with your fingers as his eyes danced across the profile your face before looking up at him as well. Long seconds turned into even longer minutes before the officiant finally got to the vows which you had purposely requested to come before the ‘I do’s’. You looked over at your soon to be husband with tears in his eyes as he pulled a single note card from his jacket pocket.

“My dearest (Y/N). I vow to love you, every waking moment of my life. I vow to be there for every moment you need me to for the rest of eternity. You have brought me more joy than you could ever know and I can’t wait to see where my lives take us and what the future brings us.” You smiled at him and couldn’t help but notice how bland, lifeless and impersonal his vows were. It was almost poetic. With a smile, you turned and grabbed your vows from the bouquet… not that you needed them.

“My darling David. I stand before you today with heavy heart.” You glanced up at him with a smile as you let your hands fall slightly to your side. Vengeance coursed through your veins as you cocked your head to the side. “Did you honestly think I would marry you when you were fucking my best friend?” You watched his smile drop as your guests gasped and your mother burst out laughing.

“What? You didn’t think I knew? Well, fuck me, baby. It was kinda obvious to anyone with half a brain. Seeing as though I hate the color purple. It’s Ashley’s favorite color… and it was forced on me by you. This dress? Wasn’t the one I wanted what so ever. Ashley wanted it. Which is probably why you went behind my back and ordered it over the one I wanted. Oh, and the nanny cams that I had in our room for the past few weeks were the icing on the cake.” You glanced out into the crowd and found Mike, Ashley’s husband’s stunned face in the front row.

“Sorry, honey. She was fucking him in your bed, too.” You looked back at David’s livid face and smiled. “You are garbage and I hope you spend the rest of your life miserable and alone. But then again…” You turned around and eyed your supposed best friend with a look that you wished could kill. “You can have this trash all to yourself now.” With a roll of your eyes, you looked back at David one final time.

“Go fuck yourself.” You grabbed the front of your wedding dress and turned away from the alter with your middle finger in the air. Your mother cheered loudly and some of your (finally) ex-fiancé’s friends and work colleges joined in. As quickly as you could, with David screaming after you, you ran out to your waiting car to hopefully make it to the airport in time for your solo honeymoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun warmed, Hawaiian sand felt good on your bare feet… as did the feel of the bottle of champagne in your lap. You had your God awful wedding dress fanned out around you and you didn’t give a damn that people were actually blatantly staring at you. The only thing you were concerned about was paying the surf instructor David insisted on hiring before you took your dress straight into the ocean to purposely trash it. You figured the tulle would hold up alright, but the beads and Swarovski crystals on the bodice were gunna be no match for the waves and salt water of the Pacific ocean.

“Well I take it you’re (Y/N).” A deep, male voice as a shadow fell across your lap as you took a swig of your champagne straight out of the bottle. You nodded as you set it back down and looked up at the man behind the voice. Your jaw literally dropped as you leaned back the slightest bit to look at him and his extreme height.

“Fuck me.” You muttered to yourself as your eyes dragged down his tattooed, muscular forearms, bare chest, and wash board abs. You had never in your life seen someone that was the pure definition of a long haired, bearded, caramel Adonis and you thanked God you were single. “I am (Y/N) but honey, I’ll be whoever the fuck you want me to be.” The moment the words left your mouth, your eyes went wide and your face flushed cherry red. The man crouched down next to you as you bent over and buried your face in the skirt of your dress.

“So I’m pretty sure I already know the answer but um… it’s just you?” You sighed, sat up and grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the sand beside you.

“Just me. My ex-fiancé is probably balls deep in my maid of honor right about now.”

“Ouch.” He muttered as you chased the drag of your cigarette with a swig of champagne. “One more question…” You looked over at him as he gestured to your gown. “What’s with the dress?” You pointed to the ocean with your champagne bottle.

“Trashing it. Wasn’t even the one I wanted. I was just waiting to pay you first. Oh! That’s right.” You set your bottle down on your lap and bit your cigarette between your lips as you pulled up the end of your dress. You grabbed the small handbag you had strapped to your leg with hair ties and sat up. You pulled out ten, one hundred dollar bills and handed them over to him with a smile. “There is a good chance, since I bought out three gas stations of Guinness and I have two more of these in my hotel room, that I will hopefully be too intoxicated to stand up on a surf board.”

“You’re a Guinness girl?” You smirked and nodded as you took a drag of your cigarette.

“Best beer there is to an Irish girl.” Your brow furrowed as you looked over at him. “Wait, what’s your name?”

“Jason. It’s Jason… or J. Either one works.” You nodded as you put your cigarette between your lips and offered him your hand.

“Well Jason, thank you so much for offering to teach me how to surf. I hope you enjoy your next two days off but now, I got a date with an ocean and another bottle of champagne on ice in the stupid honeymoon suite.” You rolled your eyes as you grabbed the bottle of champagne from your lap with a shrug. “Free rooms a free room, though… fucker.” You took a long swig as Jason grand the cigarette from your fingers.

“Oh, no. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” You looked over at him and shouted ‘hey’ as he took the bottle of champagne from your hands and stood up. “You wanna trash that dress? We’re gunna do that shit right. Come on. I got an idea.” You frowned as he moved in front of you between you and the water and offered you his hand. With a heavy sigh, you took his hand and let him pull you too your feet. You instinctively put your hand out on his chest to steady yourself in the sand and noticed that he had nearly a foot of height on you.

“God damn, man…” You muttered as you looked up at his gorgeous green eyes. He smiled at you and nodded.

“You’re not to bad yourself, nani.” You cocked your eyebrow at him as he gestured to the parking lot behind you. “Come on. Let’s go have some fun.”

Part 2

[thecrystalauthor]

For All of Us [Part 1}

Ok, so before i start the actual story I just wanna say I’m kinda nervous to post this cuz y’know I’m an art blog and all, so if you could give this some extra love and notes I’d be really happy.

She muttered as she angrily paced down the city street. The pale faced girl stuck out like a thumb even in the huge city, and her choice of all black clothes and a little kitty headband only emphasized her case.

“I've had enough!” She hissed through clenched teeth. She was nearly at her apartment now. It wouldn't be long until they all paid.

As she lined the geometric figure on the floor with candles, Jane took a moment to think of what reasons she had to go through with this, her coworkers. It's true the girl had never been very popular, her gothic attire had got her mercilessly teased in high school, but she'd expected respect in work. Respect she got, fear included. Not a soul would speak to her, work was left on her desk without Jane even being able to catch who left it. She was never invited out for drinks, or for work barbeques and the seclusion of being a complete pariah drove her insane, not literally though, she thought as she lit the last candle and looked down at an old dusty book of spells.

Translata quid hocTune es qui terebravisse!

Omnia bona fortuna sit penitus ego sumquod aliquid geometriam

It looks like another is summoning

Whose turn is it?

It’sssss yoursssss we think

Alright

As Jane finished her ritual the flames brightened to an unbearable white; Jane curled into a ball, shielding her eyes in her lap, bracing for whatever will leave the ring.

This was a bad idea

She can't help but think just a little too late,

And then,

plick!

Jane rubbed her head as she stared at what dropped on her from above. She gently picked up the item to examine it, a tiny blue rhombus made of wood. Is this? Jane couldn't help but be reminded of the tangram toys she used to play with as a child.

“Excuse me?”

Jane's head snapped up to look at the voice in the ring, the flames burned duller now, but even still she could only see a silhouette as it stood in the circle. Was it human? No. Although at first glance the figure looked human, She noticed an extra arm tearing through its elbow, and only one eye on the left side of his face. Jane could only stare on in horror at the thing she had summoned, and it got no better as it stepped from the ring. It wasn't even flesh, maybe if it was at least skin and bones Jane could manage, but it's entire body was those little colored blocks, each one twitching as the thing stepped forward. It looked like it's unliving gaze could kill her, but then it did something odd, it laughed.

“Could I have that back?” The thing mused. Jane was finally freed from her paralysis enough to look to the block in her hand and back at the creature. “Yes, that.” It stood there chuckling to itself until Jane shakily handed the block over. “thanks kitten.” It snapped the piece into the end of his hand, creating a sound not unlike bones snapping. Jane shuddered. “Soooo?” The thing took another step forward, the candles going out and the lights coming on; Jane scrambled to her feet and jumped back.

“Stay  BACK!” Jane shouted at the thing, causing it to pause.

“Rude.” It had no concern for her fear, or at least didn't act like it, “after you called me and all.” Jane felt her adrenaline fade slightly, after all it, no he, Jane decided, didn't seem hostile at all. Maybe he did just want to help. That's his purpose, she supposed

“Um, yes,” she paused, “ I uhh need you-”

“Lemme guess, you've got some half baked revenge plot against your peers because they don't understand you because you're goth.”

“How?”

“That's everyone's plan kitten. Everyone I've met at least.” He rolled his one eye, leaning against the side wall.

“It's Jane.”

He grinned.

“Nice ta’ meet cha’ Jane!” His arm thrusted towards her, the force pulling the pieces of his arm apart slightly before snapping back in their place, “Name’s Chao.”

Jane's brow furrowed.

“Like the dog?”

“No not the dog,” Chao grimaced, “like the Latin word for chaos!” He threw his arms in the air for dramatic effect.

“How original,” she quipped.

“You're right, they created a word based on my name and now it's so overdone,” Chao frowned, deep in thought. Jane paused, considering if it was possible for Chao to be that old.

“So, Chao,” she paused, mulling over her thoughts, “Can you do it?”

“Can I do it?” He seemed insulted, “yes I can do it, I can do anything. I'm a chaos god.”

Jane seemed temporarily stunned.

“You, you're not a demon?” She fumbled through her spell book, “I could've sworn you should've just been a low level demon, something harmless..”

“Well I'm not kitten, sorry,” He obviously didn’t mean it.

“So what do I need to do?” Jane took a step closer, “do you need my blood, my soul?”

“No!” Once again, Jane seemed to offend the thing with her stereo typical knowledge.

“Then what?”

Chao paused.

“Nothin’”

“What do you mean nothing? You're just going to help me?!”

“Sure, I'm bored; ever since you humans invented the internet you've been doing my job for me, it's total discord,” he crossed its arms in a bizarre formation to account for the extra limb. He even pouted slightly, making Jane wonder if Chao was actually a threat.

“Alright. Well, uh, should we?” Jane had no idea what to do, she’d never summoned anything, and certainly never something like this.

“Do you have a plan?” Chao quizzed, “anything? All of your peers? Dead or just tormented? Anyone have phobias?”

“I don't know!” Jane shouted, shutting Chao up for the time being, “I didn't think about it,” she sighed, “I didn't think at all.”

“Don't worry about it kitten, I'm patient,” he curled an arm around her and she flinched; His body was cold and hard, as you would expect wood to be, not at all comforting to be held by, and certainly not helping Jane be less afraid. She tried to politely step away, and chao didn't seem to be offended by the gesture.

“Why don't you take some time to think it over? I don't know get some food or something, Just calm down,” Chao, finally content with their progress in talking, started looking around the room he'd been summoned in.

“Uh, are you hungry?” Jane examined Chao, “Do you need to eat at all?”

“No,” Chao paused, “or if I do, it's only once every thousand years. However, if you're offering.”

“You can have some pizza,” she offered, slightly wary of accidentally insulting the god again, “I can't eat one in just one sitting anyway.”

The two headed back to the living room, in order to continue planning their evil plot.

Jane knew the pizza delivery girl personally, Sammy, she’d learned over time. Jane ordered pizza at least twice a week, so they spoke often. This meant when the usually dead faced Jane answered the door nervous and full of thought Sally took notice.

“What ‘sa matter J?” Sammy asked through a mouth full of bubble gum.

“Hmm? Nothing.” Jane hurriedly took the food constantly glancing behind her to make sure the monster she'd summoned stayed out of sight.

“You gotta boy over don’cha?” She proceeded to blow and pop another bubble as Jane's face turns bright red.

“No no no Sammy you got it all wrong!”Jane stumbled over her words but Sammy just laughed.

“No I didn’t, I can read you like a book J,” she smirked, “Just stay safe, a'ight?”

Jane was temporarily stunned by the implications of Sammy’s remark. If Sammy only knew what was going on she wouldn't joke about how “safe” Jane should be. Jane stood there long after the delivery girl was gone. Long enough for Chao to slink out of his hiding spot and waltz over.

“that's what food looks like now?” Chao eyed the box.

“Chao when were you last summoned?” Jane was honestly curious. As they waited for food, Chao had explored everything in her house and seemed familiar with very little of it. Chao paused, before counting on his hand.

“1875,” he declared, nodding slightly as he checked the math in his head

“1875? You're kidding!” She looked at him as if he was even more insane than she'd already determined.

“Nope.” Chao snagged the box and pivoted, placing it on the table.

“So you've never seen cars, or cellphones or laptops?” She offered, trying to better understand.

“I've seen cars,” Chao retorted, “I stayed here until 1903, cars were invented in 1885. Plus, I'm not an idiot, I know what cellphones and computers are.” He shifted, his pieces slanting slightly as he leaned. “Just never seen them.” Jane nodded, understanding a little better. As she plated their dinner she dared to ask, “what kind of deal did you make that took almost 30 years to complete?” Chao somehow seemed to go even more rigid.

“The kind that isn't your business.”

Not wanting to aggravate him anymore, Jane handed Chao a plate and a soda.

“Thank you,” Chao sighed, before sitting on the couch.

It's going to be a long night

They both decided.

Morning was never a good time for young adults, and as Jane found out, it wasn't very good for Chao either. As the girl got up and ate leftover pizza for breakfast and clumsily got dressed, the monster she had summoned laid motionless on a recliner.

I hope he's not dead.

Jane thought, then momentarily puzzled if he even could die. Would the pieces just collapse? As she stared and wondered, Chao finally rose, stretching his three arms and groaning like a teenager on the first day of school. They both just watched each other for a moment, but Chao was the first to speak.

“It's rude to stare,” he mustered, throwing his weight off the couch in a movement Jane was sure would make his body collapse. It didn't and he stared at her a moment more before walking over and snagging the last slice of pizza.

“Made up your mind on your revenge?” Chao asked, an impersonation of a stereotypical villain creeping over his words, in an obviously mocking tone. He expected her to chastise him, as most humans thought it would be acceptable to do, but she just stopped chewing and stared at her counter momentarily.

“Can you make me more likable?” She didn't even look up at him as the hushed words left her mouth.

“Whoa, whoa this is a big shift from yesterday,”  Chao looked her over, not expecting her to have changed her mind so quickly.

“ well yeah, but it's only because you said it.”

Chao paused. Humans weren't usually ones to take advice from weirdos. Humans wouldn't even listen to other humans if they were too weird. If Chao had known how easily Jane would listen to him, he would’ve used his words much differently.

“I can't hurt anyone Chao. You're right, I just chose to be mad and didn't think, and now you're here and-”.

“Calm down,” Chao insisted, “This isn't some anime where I'm gonna eat your soul or something because you accidentally summoned me. You're fine.” Despite his annoyed tone, Chao’s words seemed to calm Jane slightly. “Besides,” he continued, “I can't enter this plane of existence without being summoned, so, y'know, you kinda did me a favor anyway.”

“Wait, you were banished from here?”

“Well yes, but-”

Jane suddenly seemed panic stricken. “So are you gonna try and murder us, or destroy the world, or enslave-”

Once again Jane's ramblings were cut short.

“I said CALM DOWN!” Chao’s pieces clicked together, his anger more apparent. “Yes I was banished we ALL were. Just because you humans won't let us on your plane doesn't mean we'll just blindly destroy everything jeez!” Chao huffed and dug his teeth into the remaining pizza crust. Jane nodded.

“Sorry.” She looked away from him again and Chao simply scoffed. “It's just, no one's seen anything like you in hundreds of years, you'll have to forgive me for being a bit…”

“Of an ass?”

“I was going to say presumptuous.”

“I wasn't.” Chao grinned and looked at Jane, who laughed a little at the remark.

“I should get to work, would you be ok staying here until I get back?”

“You still want me here?” Chao looked her over for an explanation, maybe she was just tired.

“Well I'm obviously not just gonna let you leave without helping me with something.”

Maybe we’ll get along alright after all. They both thought.

[impala-dreamer]

This Ain't No Joke, Sweetheart - Chapter 1

SPN FanReality

~Let me tell you about my weekend with the Winchesters…~

Beka ( @impala-dreamer​ ), Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Steph ( @torn-and-frayed​ )

3,379 Words

Warnings: It’s insane, but clean. Maybe some curses, I can’t remember.

A/N: This is not a joke. My weekend was pure insanity, and I thought I would write it all up and share it with you because, that’s what I do. You probably won’t believe me, but here it is. I’ve broken it up into chapters to save you all from reading almost 24,000 words at once. So… enjoy, I guess. I did…

Go To Chapter: One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six ~ Seven ~ Eight

Chapter One: Friday Evening…

Hey guys. Here’s the thing: I usually tell you stories when I get inspired by a song, or an episode, or a prompt, or whatever. But this story… as much as I still can’t believe it, this is all true. Not “inspired by true events,” no, 150% all natural, 10/10 this happened to me…true. I know you won’t believe me. Hell, some mornings I don’t even believe me, but unless I was hallucinating for forty six hours this weekend… this is legit.

Let me set the scene for you just so you can follow along. I’m Rebekah. I go by Beka, as you probably know. I live somewhere in the lower end of northern New Jersey. I can see New York from my house, which is where I grew up. I’ve got an attitude, an accent, and resting bitch face. My eyes roll freely and my eyebrow is usually raised. I’ve got a husband, two kids, two cats, and life is fairly normal. Well, OK. Some days are harder than I’d like, but that’s not what I want to tell you about. The boys and hubby were gone that weekend, out on a boys-only retreat with grandpa, leaving mommy home to relax and recharge. But, damn, that didn’t happen.

Friday evening. My favorite of evenings, especially when the house is quiet as it was then. It was raining, so I lit a candle like I always do. Some strange tradition my mother and grandmother passed down to me. This one was particularly yummy. A large, three-wick Bath and Body Works Bergamot Mint scented candle. I like to think that’s what Sam Winchester smells like. Manly, kinda spicy, hints of orange and mint. Just a little headcanon of mine. Anyway, the candle was lit, the lights were dim. I had a tumbler of honey whiskey on the rocks, and Netflix loaded and waiting. For good measure I brought my plush Tardis blanket to the recliner and snuggled down, ready to commit to finishing Season 6 in one sitting. Hey, don’t look at me like that. You’ve done it too. And anyway, it was for research. I’m working on a Soulless Sam smut. *insert shoulder shrug here*

I clicked play and episode 6.9 began. I gave a little chuckle when I read the title. “Fight the fairies!” I exclaimed to no one. Yes, sometimes I talk to the TV. Ok, most times I talk to the TV. Whatever. Anyway, as I’m waiting for the opening disaster, I take a nice long sip of my whiskey and then roll my eyes as the doorbell rings. “Seriously?” I pause the show and take a moment to adjust myself after climbing out of my chair.

My front door is directly behind the recliner, in a little “entryway.” I stumble over my son’s snow boot that keeps escaping from the closet and peek out the large frosted glass door. Two tall figures darken the portal, their faces in shadow, their outlines lit by the yellow street lamp behind them. Now, I’m not a tiny woman by any measure, but I’m still a woman, home alone, on a dark and stormy night, so the thought of opening the door to two huge men kind of panicked me. But, whatever, this isn’t a movie. What could happen?

I turned the knob and opened the door. Their images were still dark, and slightly skewed by the screen door, but I gasped in shock nonetheless. Standing before me, in all their denim and flannel glory were Sam and Dean Winchester. My mouth dropped and my brain sizzled. I’m not an idiot, I realize that’s impossible. Someone was playing a joke on me. A strange, brilliant, expensive joke. But it was April, and my birthday had just passed, so… maybe. Or I was dreaming.

“Rebekah Jones?” the Dean-like one asked. He was holding a slip of wet paper, his eyes narrowed and examining my face as he spoke.

“Er… yes?” I wasn’t sure I had actually answered, what with the shock I was in, but I suppose I did make some noise because he nodded and continued.

“Hi. Uh, my name’s Dean Winchester, this is going to sound strange but…”

I laughed. He stopped and glared at me. I laughed again. I couldn’t help it. “Dean Winchester? Uh huh, and this is Sam Winchester, right? Nice. Um… you guys are like, really good impersonators, like… really good. But, I’m sorry, roleplaying kinda freaks me out. I don’t even cosplay at Comic Con anymore so…”

The Sam-looking man on the right spoke up, his voice a perfect copy of the man I knew from television. “We’re not roleplaying. I’m Sam, and we need your help.”

The laughter was unstoppable. It bubbled up from my stomach in awkward giggles as I held onto the door frame for stability. “This is just odd. Wow.”

“Dean” reached for the handle of the screen door and pulled it open, leaning down a bit to meet my eye line. “Rebekah, this is serious.”

God, his eyes were so green. Wow, even in the darkness they stood out like a forest. “Sam and Dean are fictional characters. On a TV show. Thanks, but I’m not buying crazy today. I’m all stocked up.”

He let the screen door close as he spun around exasperated, turning his back on me. When he spoke next, it was to Sam who kept his eyes on me, watching carefully. “I told you she wouldn’t believe us. What’s the plan?”

The taller man pretending to be Sam shook his head, “This is the plan. She’s the only plan.”

OK. They were good, I had to give them that. Same facial expressions, same tone of voice, same… wait… My brain clicked into something and I went with it. “Holy shit!” I exclaimed, causing Dean to turn back around with hope in his eyes. “Are you guys…” My heart beat so fast at the thought I expected to pass out. “Jensen and… Jar- Jare- Jared?” To say my eyes grew wide at the idea would be an understatement. I probably looked like a creepy anime with heart eyes.

“What? No,” Sam said. “I’m Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean. Could you please let us in, we need to talk to you.”

“Jensen Ackles and Jared Motherfucking Padalecki are on my porch!” I squeezed my eyes shut tight as my hands shook. That had to be the explanation. Had to be. But then again… “Wait, aren’t you guys supposed to be in Vancouver? No, wait… what con is this weekend… Seattle? No, that was last week, wasn’t it? Oh well, either way you’re a long way from where you should be.”

“You ain’t kidding sister, but we’re not Jensen or Jar-whatever. Dean. Sam.” Dean pointed between them both, trying desperately to get me to understand.

“This is an April Fools joke. I love it, I do. Please, come in…” I stepped back and opened the door to let them pass, my hand closed tightly around the door knob. I was shaking, there was no hiding that.

“This ain’t no joke, sweetheart,” Dean said as he nearly tripped over the same boot I had.

“Gah! He said ‘sweetheart’!” I yelped under my breath and bent to pick up the shoe, tossing it towards the closet.

Once Sam was in, I closed the door and turned to face them. Dean was in my living room, looking around cautiously while Sam kept his attention on me. I looked up, my body practically melting at the sight of him. He really was incredibly tall. I’m six foot tall in socks, and I know he had boots on, but wow, they did not exaggerate his height at all. Also, he was fucking gorgeous. I hadn’t realized how hard I was staring until he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Just like Sam. Oh, he was good. Totally in character.

“Listen,” I said, mustering up as much courage as I had left, “I don’t know what contest I entered to win this, but this is like… incredible. You guys are my favorite. Supernatural is like, my life. OK, that sounds weird, but you have no idea how much your show means to me. Like, literally saved my life so many times, and I just… thank you.”

Jared/Sam smiled kindly, showing off those prized dimples and making my knees a little weaker than they already were. Behind us, Dean was wandering about, peeking behind corners and generally being nosy.

“I know this is strange, Rebekah,” Sam said, “But this is real. We’re the Winchesters.”

“Beka,” I said with a sigh. “You can call me Beka.”

“OK,” he laughed, “Beka. Nice. We got sent here, given your address and…”

My attention was no longer on the man in front of me, but on the other who had just found my shelf of collectibles. Jensen/Dean ran his hands over the dark cherry wood and picked up a matchbox car replica of the Impala. “Hey! No touching! Those aren’t toys!” I snapped as I had so often done with my kids. Nobody plays with mommy’s things.

He laughed and set the car back down, grabbing my favorite Pop Figure, Mark of Cain Dean.

“What are these?” he asked, spinning the toy in his hand and looking over at me with raised brows.

“They’re Pops. Put it down!”

Instantly he returned the toy to it’s spot and stepped back with hands raised in surrender. “OK…” He rolled his eyes as if to say, “hey, crazy person alert.”

I turned back to the Sam character and sighed. “OK, so… what are you doing here? I mean, yeay! Oh my god, you’re here! But also… what are you doing here?”

Sam took a deep breath and began, “There was a portal, apparently a bunch of monsters got sucked in and dropped into your world. We found it, hopped in, and here we are. We need your help.”

“Uh huh,” I crossed my arms and considered his words for half a second, deciding to play along. “OK, let’s say I’ve not gone crazy and you’re not Jared and Jensen.”

“We’re not!” Dean chirped from the stairwell. He was peeking down into my husband’s workspace, nodding in approval at the vintage albums that covered the walls.

“OK, you’re not,” I continued. “So you’re Sam and Dean and I’m not insane. Gotcha. What do you need with me? And how do you even know who I am?”

“Cas,” Sam said simply.

“Cas. As in Castiel, angel of the Lord, baby in a trench coat, love of Dean’s life, Cas?”

Dean’s head popped up, “What?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I yelled back, and then winked at Sam, “You know what I’m talking about, right? Him and Cas…” Sam shook his head in confusion. “OK, nevermind. That’s for another time. Castiel gave you my name?”

“Yes.” Sam nodded. “And told us you could help.”

“I’m not… I mean, I’m not a hunter. I’m an office manager. I do paperwork and answer phones. This isn’t… I can’t… nope.”

“Listen Sweetheart,” Dean said, walking back towards me. My heart leapt at the nickname once again. “Why don’t you suspend your disbelief for a few hours and help us out? Obviously we’re here. We’re real. Just roll with it.”

He had a point. And yet… “OK,” I looked back at Sam. “Jared just had a new addition join the family. What is it, and what’s it’s name?”

Again he scrunched up his face, confused by my question. “I don’t know… a dog?”

If he was acting, it was believable. I swallowed hard, my face falling as my brain tried to decide if I was happy that it wasn’t Jared and Jensen or terrified. “It was a baby. Odette.”

“Weird name,” Dean chuckled.

“I think it’s sweet,” shrugged Sam.

“I need a drink,” said I.

I pushed passed Sam and headed towards the kitchen for the booze. Behind me, Sam called, “Do you mind if I use your computer real quick?”

“Yeah,” I waved behind me. “It’s over there,” I pointed towards the messy desk. “Password is Impala.” I heard Dean laugh but I kept my course steady, retreating into my kitchen and collapsing against the black countertop.

I ran my hands down over my face, trying to calm the shaking in my brain and sighed. “You are not crazy. You are not crazy. You might be crazy.” I pulled my phone from my back pocket and pulled up Skype, needing to tell someone and confirm that I was still alive and not floating in some psychotic hallucination.

I shot off a quick message to Steph and waited somewhat impatiently for her reply.

Well, that got me nowhere. Good to know she’s not a millionaire though, I guess. Why would she believe me? I didn’t believe me. I shook my head and dropped the phone onto the counter, turning to the liquor cabinet. I say liquor cabinet, but it’s really just a Tupperware graveyard with a bottle of whiskey tucked into the back. I pulled out the JD and went to get some cups as my phone buzzed. I picked it back up and swiped, the screen revealing a Tumblr notification.

@torn-and-frayed mentioned you in a text post… 

Goddamn it, now everyone would know I was teetering on the edge of insanity. I considered reblogging and yelling at her for a moment, but Sam’s voice pulled the idea right out of my head.

“Um, Beka? What is this?”

That can’t be good, I thought as I carried the bottle and glasses back into the living room. Sam was seated at my computer, Dean lurking over his shoulder. They were both reading something on the screen, Sam’s eyes wide with shock and Dean’s face filled with a smirk. Oh…shit.

I set the booze down and ran over to them to see what could be so horrible. Yup, my worst nightmare was coming true. I had left my docs open and Sam Winchester was currently reading a half finished Sam Winchester smut piece.

“Ohhh my god…” I cringed and fought with his hand for dominance over the mouse, quickly clicking it closed.

“What was that?” he asked innocently, looking up at my red face.

“It was…nothing.” I tried to laugh it off, but there was no way.

Dean grinned. “Sam’s long fingers brushed against your nipple, teasing the bud into a stiff peak…” he quoted me.

“Oh fuck me,” I groaned. “OK, I might… dabble in… erotic fanfiction.”

“Dabble?” Dean laughed again, “There’s like a hundred docs here.”

“OK fine, I write porn!” I threw my hands up and spun around, more embarrassed that I thought could be possible. “I’m sorry! I write porn about you guys!”

“Wow,” Sam said, sitting back in the chair, quite embarrassed but hopefully flattered.

Dean strutted over to me, “Do you write any about me?”

I frowned and nodded. “Yeah,” I confessed quietly, “Those are my more popular ones.”

He laughed and looked at his brother. “Hear that Sammy? I’m more popular.”

“OK, let’s forget we had this conversation,” I begged and grabbed the whiskey, pouring three large drinks, and shaking myself again. How could this get worse?

Sam cleared his throat and agreed. “Yeah. Forgotten.” Somehow I didn’t believe him. “So, it looks like there was a 911 call placed earlier this evening.” He began reading from some website I’d never seen before, it looked like a police blotter. “Says, police responded to a call on West 5th Street, two bodies found behind a dumpster at SGG Window Factory.”

My ears perked up, “Holy shit, I know that place. It’s by my office. Like, four blocks away from here.”

“And you didn’t notice the sirens?” Dean asked, picking up a glass and swirling the contents.

“I mean, I’m not exactly in the woods here, sirens are like background noise at this point. No, I didn’t notice.”

Dean shrugged and downed his whiskey in one large swallow. He lowered the glass, licking his lips. “Is this honey flavored?”

I grinned, “Yeah, I’m a girl. Sue me.”

Sam stood up from the desk and joined us. “So you wanna go take a look?”

“At what?”

“At the crime scene.”

“Me?” I shook my head. “No. Why would I want to do that?”

Sam sighed, his big shoulders dropping, “Beka, we’re gonna go look. For whatever reason, you’re involved in this or Cas wouldn’t have sent us to you. You need to come with us.”

“Yeah but…no.”  

“Come on,” Dean urged, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

I sneered at him, “Uh… death? Dismemberment? Heart ripped out? Um… take your pick. Look guys, I watch the show. Maybe I’m not the opening scene victim, but I know what happens to women who team up with you two. They die. Bloody. Beka don’t play that.”

“That’s not true,” Sam defended, a twinge of hurt in his voice.

“It kinda is,” I said. “I can give you a list, if you want.”

“Hey,” Dean pulled my attention to him with his stern yet calming voice and laid a hand on my shoulder. “Nothing’s gonna happen to you. You hear me?”

Maybe it was the pressure of his hand on my shoulder, or the look of utter truth in his eyes, but I suddenly believed him. He was real. Sam was real. Whatever was happening, was actually happening. I had two choices. One: run away screaming up the stairs, locking myself in my bedroom until they left, or two: have an adventure of a lifetime.

The closest I’ve ever had to adventure was this one time, before we were married, Billy and I went on a camping trip up in the mountains. It was July, and it was terribly hot, but the couple we were with insisted we have a fire, so my man and I went in search of firewood. We came across a motel sporting a sign offering wood for cheap, so we pulled over. The manager greeted us, and seeing what a nice couple we were, offered to get us some top quality hickory firewood from his private stash. I still don’t know why we did it, but we piled into his golf cart and let the man, Mike, drive us into the woods. We got the firewood and before returning us to our car, he asked in a more than creepy voice, “Do you like views?”

Well, hell, we were in a horror movie. I cowered and gripped Bill’s arm for security, but he laughed and said, “Yeah, why not?”

What I had thought was the dumbest mistake of our young lives turned into one of the best. Mike drove us literally up the mountain and took us to the very top where he had cleared a lot to build a cabin for his wife. We stood in the clearing and looked out across the sky. The trees around us framed a perfect sunset; the mountain air was fresh and clean, and the scene was magical. Sometimes, what appears to be a recipe for danger, actually yields something good.

“Beka, you good?” Dean asked, pulling me from my memory.

One look up into his sparkling eyes and I had made my decision. I was in. All or nothing. Crazy or not. Possible impending death be damned.

“Yeah. Let’s roll.”

To Be Continued… Chapter Two...

NEW TAG LISTS IN EFFECT!!

FOREVERS: @27bmm @allinhishands @amanda-teaches @arryn-nyxx @atc74 @autopistaaningunaparte @babypieandwhiskey @bea789 @because-imma-lady-assface @becauseyouwishedit @blacktithe7 @blanketmadeofstar @brewsthespirit-blog @bulletscrossbowpie @callmesatansprincess @captainemwinchester @chaos-and-the-calm67 @charliebradbury1104 @chelsea072498 @chumi-la-chula @cyrilconnelly @dannnyphantomm @daughterleftbehind @disphandomgirl @docharleythegeekqueen @dreamingofwinchesters @dustycelt @emptywithout @evansrogerskitten @evyiione @fabulouslycassie @faegal04 @feelmyroarrrr @fiercespnbaebeyonce @freddy-fuckboy-tammy @fuckyeahfeysand @gemini75eeyore @growningupgeek @hareliketherabbit @hexparker @idreamofhazel @ilsawasanacrobat @im-super-potter-locked @impalaimagining @inthedepthsofdespair @j2-winchester-boys @jayankles @jesspfly @jotink78 @jpadjackles @lauren-novak @lipstickandwhiskey @luciisthebest @maddieburcham1 @meeshwalsh7 @megansescape @meganwinchester1999 @mein1928 @mija-novella @milkymilky-cocopuff @mjdoc90 @mogaruke @mrsbatesmotel53 @mrswhozeewhatsis @my-life-is-here-soo @myfand0msandm0re @mysteriouslyme81 @naadestiel @neobemurak @nerdysandwichqueen @nervousmemzie @notesfromalabprincess @ohgodjensen @ohmychuckitssamanddean @percussiongirl2017 @petrovadixon @pinknerdpanda @poukothenerd @pretttypadalecki @riversong-sam @roxy-davenport @sam-w @sgarrett49 @shhhs3cret @sumara62 @super-not-naturall @supernaturallymarvellous @tennesseewhiskey-and-pie @therosecolouredpost @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @tmccarney @trexrambling @typicalweirdbookworm @wayward-marvel-sommer1196 @winchesterprincessbride @wordstothewisereaders @wvnchxstxr @yearoftheweasley @yvngkinggchristyy

The Dean’s List: @brihughes4 @bringmesomepie56 @girliciousdreams @jealousbitxh @jojo-nz @leather-moccasin-hero @love-me-some-pie21 @niamandthings @ofloveandlonging @paleogamrgrl @rdy4thevoid @samikitten @spontaneousam @torn-and-frayed @wanderlustnightwanderer @zanthiasplace

Sammy Lovers: @akoya-pearls @jealousbitxh @niamandthings @ofloveandlonging @paleogamrgrl @spontaneousam @troubletrumble 

If you’d like a tag for this series, or to be added to any of the lists, please CLICK HERE to ad yourself :)

[dammit-stark]

Feeling Forgotten From Long Ago Part 2

This here is part 2 to my Rossi x reader fic Feeling Forgotten From Long Ago. @ohmypageet and a couple of anons requested this sequel. It’s been awhile since I’ve written rossi x reader so it may be a bit rough but I think that i’m quite pleased with how it came out. Also, I may or may not have written this at 1 in the morning so I apologize for any mistakes I may have missed. Please enjoy :)

After what happened you’re left all confused, etc and you’re not quite sure what to do anymore. The team protects and sides with you, but you begin to contemplate transferring. Meanwhile, Rossi defends you against Strauss and eventually realizes he is still in love with you and thus breaks up with her, but can he win you back? ooohWEEoooh

Part 1 can be found HERE

Things were different after the…slap. At first, everybody was shocked. You didn’t generally go around slapping people, but once you explained your reasoning, the team gravitated toward you as if to protect you as the deflected their malevolent glares toward Rossi and his new lover.

At first, you enjoyed the criticism directed toward Rossi. He deserved it after all. He had broken your heart, and so you would be lying if you said it didn’t feel just a little bit nice to see his choices bite him in the ass. But after a couple of weeks of it all, it started to just feel… rude.

The entire situation was crudely similar to a daily game of middle school dodgeball.

Gathered around a conference table in some humid, nondescript police station, tasks would inevitably have to be divided and glares would inevitably be distributed in your ex’s direction.

“Y/n and I can go back and recanvas the first crime scene, ask around some more,” Rossi offered, doing his best to ignore the dirty glares of his teammates.

“No, no, I’ll go with y/n.” Morgan hurried to say. Emily made a similar comment, JJ took a step toward you, and Rossi frowned at the way his coworkers had treated him. He hadn’t expected the team to so readily take your side, hadn’t intended to hurt you as bad as he had apparently done.

Even Hotch, one of Rossi’s oldest confidants, took your side, “I think it would be best if you stayed here at the station and coordinated for the rest of us, Dave.”

And thus, the David Rossi was forced to submit to the mob of profilers that all believed he had wholly hurt their friend. The worst part? He had hurt their friend, and he was starting to regret it.

The worst part of choosing Strauss wasn’t the way he was treated at work, though. It was the nights. Oh, the nights. It was in the dark of night when Rossi really felt his mistakes illuminated, his blunders cruelly highlighted by the way darkness and silence fell simultaneous and left him to brew dangerously.

“Erin?” He said as he shut the door behind him, “Are you here? I’m back from the case?”

It had been one of the hard ones. All the cases were difficult. In their line of work, that was a given. But every once in awhile they would get a case that felt impossible and evil and so fatally trying that it challenged the team and all their abilities, leaving them exhausted beyond comprehension. It had been one of those cases.

All he wanted was to collapse onto the nearest surface and just breathe again, but Erin was waiting for him in the dining room, a dry smirk reaching her lips, “Welcome back, Dave.”

“Today was the worst day.” He deadpanned, hoping she would bite, allow him to vent the way he always did when she ranted about bureaucracy or sexism or some combination of the two.

She didn’t respond the way he had hoped, just tilted her head and nodded as if she understood completely, “That sucks. Did y/n slap anybody else today?” She nodded for a second, “Could you set the table for us? I’ll get some wine.”

Rossi sighed, not in the mood to sit down and eat and mindlessly chatter over candlelight. He weighed the idea of defending you. After you had struck her in front of all of her suboordinates, Strauss often acted unnecessarily cruel when it came to your character. He was too exhausted to spark a battle he always somehow lost. He did what he was asked to do nonetheless. He wandered after Strauss into the kitchen where she had already grabbed the plates, turning to hand them to him.

He reached out to grab him and it had never been more shockingly clear how much he missed you. Strauss was standing there, grinning placidly with two glasses of wine at the ready. It was good and all, lots of men would love to be in his place, but all Rossi really wanted was to be somewhere with you, quietly destressing as the pair of you talked about your days, especially the bad ones.

His hands wrapped around the plates, Rossi froze, “I’m breaking up with you, Erin.” He said, feeling more clearheaded than he had in weeks.

“What?”

“I’m breaking up with you. Goodbye.” He set the plates down and turned on his heels.

It was cruel and impersonal and so painfully sudden, without explanation, he knew all this, but he couldn’t stand himself being in her presence and pining after his ex, after you. Rossi shut the door behind him just as a strangled mixture of a gasp and a sob jumped off of Erin’s lips. He didn’t hear it. He was already halfway to his car.

After the hardest cases, you were always too highstrung to go directly back home, and so you usually lingered back at the office, alone with the sound of vacuum cleaners on other floors and fax machines whirring messages from other time zones. It was a calm and decisive environment, placid in its routine.

You settled in at your desk, stacks and stack of paperwork were typically spread out like blueprints across the surface. On this particular day, however, there was one single sheet. A transfer request.

You hadn’t marked it yet, hadn’t decided if it was worth the drastic measures, but you were leaning towards a yes. You hated the way the others were treating your ex. You hadn’t minded at first, but it got tiring and rude after awhile and you had started to pity the man for the treatment he was receiving. You didn’t want to be the cause of such unhappiness, not when you were so regrettably unhappy as well.

For as much as you hated David Rossi for breaking your heart, you were still in love with him, and you hated that fact more than you hated the man himself. You hated the way his absence and betrayal made you feel like fire had become of your veins.

You were stuck. Stuck between miserably leaving a place that you loved and staying someplace where you made somebody that you loved miserable. You were trapped.

And you didn’t even notice when you were no longer alone, too mesmerized by the conundrum the paper before you had set out.

“Y/n? Y/n?” Rossi repeated from across the office, exhausted, dejected, and oh-so in love with you, “Y/n?” You didn’t notice, didn’t hear, and Rossi felt like his world was crumbling. He crossed the room in a matter of steps, moving his hand to your shoulder, “Y/n?”

You shuddered at the touch, and reluctantly looked up, tears had long ago begun to well in your eyes, an exhausting combination of frustration and anger and yes, a little love as well.

“What do you want, Rossi?” Your voice rasped out, harsh among the silence of the office.

His eyes flickered down to the transfer papers laid out across your desk and his stomach dropped like an elevator in an abandoned building that had finally had enough, “Don’t leave.” He begged, voice soft yet hardened, miserable.

“Why not?” And the honesty of the phrase was nearly unbearable, but you struggled on, “For what I did, I could literally get fired at any moment. Strauss hates me. You hate me. I’m tearing the team apart. It’s not worth it anymore, is it?”

“No, no, no, no, no” Rossi whispered, shaking his head fervently as he lowers himself down to his knees, “Y/n, I broke up with Erin. I couldn’t take it anymore. I just…” He paused, making sure he was looking you in the eyes before finishing, “I’m still in love with you.”

Your intake of breath was sharp and the world slowed down, before you slapped him, then soothed the blow with a kiss, long and hard and slow, “Dammit, David Rossi. I hate how much I love you.”

Because you do. God, do you love him. He hurt you, he hurt you bad. And somehow he still managed to be the constant center of your thoughts.

The two of you sat there for a long time in silence, a somehow simultaneously hopeful and hopeless silence, foreheads pressed together. Your tears dried and his grip loosened on your knees while he remained on the ground. You listened to your breath even out and synchronize with his, a familiar rhythm that you found disturbingly quickly.

You let him hold your hand as the pair of you sat like that and he calmly began padding circles against the heel of your palm, calm undulations of relaxation.

“It’s late.” He eventually whispered reluctantly.

You nodded, “Walk me to my car?”

There was that David Rossi Grin that you had known and loved.

And so you walked down together, and you let him hold your hand in the elevator where it’s quiet and the lights seem harsher and begging for something to be said. Out of nowhere, Rossi starts to laugh.

“What are you laughing about?”

“Well,” He paused, considering whether or not to continue, “I just think it’s kinda funny how you seem to have a slapping problem. It’s okay, we’ll work on that.”

You rolled your eyes at him and allowed the awkward silence to resume.

“I hope you know we’re starting over. Completely.” You said eventually, needing to fill that void. You glanced over at him to find him watching you before you continued, “Tonight, I’m going to my place and you’re going to yours and tomorrow you will take me out on a proper date and we will talk about what… we are.”

“I know.” He said, simple and honest. The elevator doors opened and the two of you stepped out, started walking.

“We’ll get back to how we used to be. We will. But, David, you’re going to have to wait. Goodnight, David.”

Before he could say anything else, you pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and got into your car.

David Rossi watched as you started your car. The taillights glowed brightly beneath the stone blanket of the parking garage, the sole source of light as you often were to him. Staring was all that Rossi could manage to do as he racked his brain in an attempt to figure out why exactly he had let you go in the first place and how the hell he ever thought you weren’t absolutely worth the world.

[sarcasmfics]

Stuck In The Middle: Chapter 6

Summary:  Sarah is a scholarship recipient working at Stark Industries. Her job? To break the super-serum! But when she falls, literally, into the arms of those super soldiers, will she lose their trust when her work is stolen? At this point, it’s PG (some swearing), smut to follow, but mostly fluff and some anxiety(AO3 link here) BuckyxOFCxSteve, BuckyxSteve, OFC, OFC!scientist, poly relationship

Chapter 6: 

The first month went fairly quickly. Between getting back into the swing of working in a lab, learning Bruce’s quirks, and taking in the overwhelming amount of new information I was learning, I was exhausted. I caught lunch with Bruce sometimes, but he seemed to meet with Renee quite frequently. After running into Bucky in the cafeteria, either him or Steve would just happen to be there, even though they had a fully functional kitchen in their apartments. I didn’t mind though; hanging out with them helped me get to know a few others, and I was really feeling at home.

I’d spoken with Nat a few times, but Wanda seemed to be a bit more open and friendly. Nat usually hung to the side while giving witty commentary; she knew how to make everyone laugh and everyone blush too. Wanda greeted me with a big hug when we met, offering to show me around the nearby shops and to visit her apartment any time. We chatted for a bit and she laughed when I showed her the picture of Bucky, Steve, and me with the Captain America impersonator. It was quickly passed around and soon it became everyone’s favorite story.

By Thursday, I was so tired, that by the time I made it to my room, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I was that weird kind of tired where no matter how long I shut my eyes, I couldn’t sleep. My phone ping’d a few times and I sat up, yawning as I opened the chat.

Steve: hey sweetheart, are you coming up tonight?

Bucky: I found some movies at Tony’s we can watch

I sighed, running my hands through my hair (which really needed to be washed). I wanted to see them, but I knew that the second I sat on that couch, I’d pass out. Not to mention I’d gotten a bit grumpy at the end of the day; we’d spent the afternoon solving a few problems, and mine didn’t seem to want to work out.

Me: sorry guys long day at the lab I’m beat

Bucky: you’re no fun :P

Steve: can we do anything for you?

Me: nah, I’m kinda grumpy rn think I’ll stay in

Bucky: okay, well call us if you need anything doll

I smiled down at my phone before forcing myself out of bed to take a shower. I knew that if I took a quick nap, I’d never get up. As I climbed beneath the warm water, I shut my eyes, wondering what was going on at home. Home, I’d had such a hard time calling it that, but as much as we disagreed, they were still my family. I only spoke to my parents during the holidays when I’d call for the obligatory ‘Merry Christmas’ conversation. Otherwise, my brother kept me updated, mostly through text. Although he moved out of the house, he still stayed local, working at the town’s small school district doing custodial work while coaching baseball.

He didn’t agree with everything they believed in, but he’d fallen in love with his high school sweetheart, and she was adamant that they stay close to the family, citing that it was a great place to bring up children. He didn’t have the heart to disagree, so they moved out (after the wedding, of course). Last I spoke to him, they were still trying for their first kid. I still had one unread text from him on my phone; I’d been avoiding it since I moved into Stark Tower. I’m sure he knew.

But it wasn’t just his text message I was avoiding. The red notification of a voicemail reminded me that I needed to make a decision. I’d looked into it before, but I’d never been to therapy. My doctor, who prescribed the anti-anxiety meds I was on had suggested it when he heard I was moving to New York for this job. I was way out of my comfort zone, he’d said, and he couldn’t have been more right. I knew Stark had a whole medical ward that employees could use, but I didn’t want anyone to know about this or my meds. They’d think differently of me and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to look weak or incompetent. No, I’d do this by myself, but finding a way to hide it from Steve and Bucky would be tricky. The decision was made; I’d call tomorrow.

By the time I finished my shower, I put on my pyjamas and cleaned up a bit, tossing my laundry into the basket and straightening out the mess of papers on my desk from earlier today. Bring the work back, I’d thought, you’ll definitely think better later! Maybe I was shooting too high at this point. Once my desk was straightened up, I turned on the tv and climbed into bed. Before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep.

***

What was that annoying noise? Slowly, I turned over, burying my face into my pillow until consciousness fully hit me; my alarm was going off. When I glanced up at the clock, I realized that I’d overslept, being in such a deep sleep that my alarm didn’t wake me until now. I had enough time, thankfully, and got dressed and ready fairly quickly. Before heading out, I grabbed a protein bar from my stash and headed up to the lab.

“Happy Friday,” Bruce greeted as I made my way into his office.

“Happy Friday,” I replied, holding back a yawn.

“Late night?”

“No,” I shrugged. “I’m just a lot more tired than usual. I didn’t do so much high level work in my previous classes, so I guess I’m getting a bit fried quicker than usual.”

“Yeah, that’ll happen sometimes. Did you take those home yesterday?” he asked, nodding toward the notes in my hands.

“They came back with me, but they didn’t get looked at. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Sometimes the answers elude us. What do you say we get started?”

Bruce and I worked together on the some of the tougher work, explaining a few new concepts to me as I took vigorous notes. After, he helped me through the problems I couldn’t solve the day before, naturally taking a pedantic stance in front of the white board. Once I’d had my ‘ah-ha’ moment, we moved on to the work left over. If I felt intimidated by the work at this point, how was I going to make it through my dissertation?

As usual, Bruce took his lunch with Renee and I made my way down to the cafeteria, seeking out a cup of coffee. Just as I placed the ceramic mug beneath the karaffe, it was snatched away by a random hand. “Hey!” I practically growled, turning to find Bucky behind me, holding the mug above me with a smirk on his face.

“Hey back,” he winked.

“Buck, come on, I need my coffee.”

“Kiss first?”

“Fine,” I sighed, and pecked him on the cheek. “Now coffee.” He handed the mug back to me and, once I had filled it, followed me to a quiet table in the corner.

***

I’d left lunch a few minutes early on the guise of wanting to get some extra stuff done before Bruce returned. He hadn’t gotten back yet from his daily lunch appointment with Renee, so I closed the lab door and made the phone call. Ten minutes later, my first appointment was set for next Wednesday.

---

Thanks for reading!! <3

[sarcasmoverlordxo]

Stuck in the Middle: Chapter 6

Chapter 6 is up!

Summary: Sarah is a scholarship recipient for Stark Industries where she plans on doing her pre-thesis research. But when she falls, quite literally, into the lives of two super soldiers, are her butterflies just a crush? Or something more? And when her research is used for nefarious purposes, will she lose the trust of not only the Avengers, but the two men she’s fallen for?This story contains mostly fluff, eventual StevexOC and BuckyxOC (poly relationship). There are no content warnings in early chapters. They’ll be listed as necessary. 

Chapter 6:

By Thursday, I was so tired, that by the time I made it to my room, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I was that weird kind of tired where no matter how long I shut my eyes, I couldn’t sleep. My phone ping’d a few times and I sat up, yawning as I opened the chat.

The first month went fairly quickly. Between getting back into the swing of working in a lab, learning Bruce’s quirks, and taking in the overwhelming amount of new information I was learning, I was exhausted. I caught lunch with Bruce sometimes, but he seemed to meet with Renee quite frequently. After running into Bucky in the cafeteria, either him or Steve would just happen to be there, even though they had a fully functional kitchen in their apartments. I didn’t mind though; hanging out with them helped me get to know a few others, and I was really feeling at home.

I’d spoken with Nat a few times, but Wanda seemed to be a bit more open and friendly. Nat usually hung to the side while giving witty commentary; she knew how to make everyone laugh and everyone blush too. Wanda greeted me with a big hug when we met, offering to show me around the nearby shops and to visit her apartment any time. We chatted for a bit and she laughed when I showed her the picture of Bucky, Steve, and me with the Captain America impersonator. It was quickly passed around and soon it became everyone’s favorite story.

By Thursday, I was so tired, that by the time I made it to my room, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I was that weird kind of tired where no matter how long I shut my eyes, I couldn’t sleep. My phone ping’d a few times and I sat up, yawning as I opened the chat.

Steve: hey sweetheart, are you coming up tonight?

Bucky: I found some movies at Tony’s we can watch

I sighed, running my hands through my hair (which really needed to be washed). I wanted to see them, but I knew that the second I sat on that couch, I’d pass out. Not to mention I’d gotten a bit grumpy at the end of the day; we’d spent the afternoon solving a few problems, and mine didn’t seem to want to work out.

Me: sorry guys long day at the lab I’m beat

Bucky: you’re no fun :P

Steve: can we do anything for you?

Me: nah, I’m kinda grumpy rn think I’ll stay in

Bucky: okay, well call us if you need anything doll

I smiled down at my phone before forcing myself out of bed to take a shower. I knew that if I took a quick nap, I’d never get up. As I climbed beneath the warm water, I shut my eyes, wondering what was going on at home. Home, I’d had such a hard time calling it that, but as much as we disagreed, they were still my family. I only spoke to my parents during the holidays when I’d call for the obligatory ‘Merry Christmas’ conversation. Otherwise, my brother kept me updated, mostly through text. Although he moved out of the house, he still stayed local, working at the town’s small school district doing custodial work while coaching baseball.

He didn’t agree with everything they believed in, but he’d fallen in love with his high school sweetheart, and she was adamant that they stay close to the family, citing that it was a great place to bring up children. He didn’t have the heart to disagree, so they moved out (after the wedding, of course). Last I spoke to him, they were still trying for their first kid. I still had one unread text from him on my phone; I’d been avoiding it since I moved into Stark Tower. I’m sure he knew.

But it wasn’t just his text message I was avoiding. The red notification of a voicemail reminded me that I needed to make a decision. I’d looked into it before, but I’d never been to therapy. My doctor, who prescribed the anti-anxiety meds I was on had suggested it when he heard I was moving to New York for this job. I was way out of my comfort zone, he’d said, and he couldn’t have been more right. I knew Stark had a whole medical ward that employees could use, but I didn’t want anyone to know about this or my meds. They’d think differently of me and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to look weak or incompetent. No, I’d do this by myself, but finding a way to hide it from Steve and Bucky would be tricky. The decision was made; I’d call tomorrow.

By the time I finished my shower, I put on my pyjamas and cleaned up a bit, tossing my laundry into the basket and straightening out the mess of papers on my desk from earlier today. Bring the work back, I’d thought, you’ll definitely think better later! Maybe I was shooting too high at this point. Once my desk was straightened up, I turned on the tv and climbed into bed. Before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep.

***

What was that annoying noise? Slowly, I turned over, burying my face into my pillow until consciousness fully hit me; my alarm was going off. When I glanced up at the clock, I realized that I’d overslept, being in such a deep sleep that my alarm didn’t wake me until now. I had enough time, thankfully, and got dressed and ready fairly quickly. Before heading out, I grabbed a protein bar from my stash and headed up to the lab.

“Happy Friday,” Bruce greeted as I made my way into his office.

“Happy Friday,” I replied, holding back a yawn.

“Late night?”

“No,” I shrugged. “I’m just a lot more tired than usual. I didn’t do so much high level work in my previous classes, so I guess I’m getting a bit fried quicker than usual.”

“Yeah, that’ll happen sometimes. Did you take those home yesterday?” he asked, nodding toward the notes in my hands.

“They came back with me, but they didn’t get looked at. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Sometimes the answers elude us. What do you say we get started?”

Bruce and I worked together on the some of the tougher work, explaining a few new concepts to me as I took vigorous notes. After, he helped me through the problems I couldn’t solve the day before, naturally taking a pedantic stance in front of the white board. Once I’d had my ‘ah-ha’ moment, we moved on to the work left over. If I felt intimidated by the work at this point, how was I going to make it through my dissertation?

As usual, Bruce took his lunch with Renee and I made my way down to the cafeteria, seeking out a cup of coffee. Just as I placed the ceramic mug beneath the karaffe, it was snatched away by a random hand. “Hey!” I practically growled, turning to find Bucky behind me, holding the mug above me with a smirk on his face.

“Hey back,” he winked.

“Buck, come on, I need my coffee.”

“Kiss first?”

“Fine,” I sighed, and pecked him on the cheek. “Now coffee.” He handed the mug back to me and, once I had filled it, followed me to a quiet table in the corner.

***

I’d left lunch a few minutes early on the guise of wanting to get some extra stuff done before Bruce returned. He hadn’t gotten back yet from his daily lunch appointment with Renee, so I closed the lab door and made the phone call. Ten minutes later, my first appointment was set for next Wednesday.

**

Thank you so much for sticking with me! Things will be getting pretty interesting soon :) 

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Fate: Part 4

Pairings: Alpha!Bucky x Omega!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Swearing.

Word Count: 6,062 (Sorry, I had to cut it where I did though...)

A/N: First time writing A/B/O so please be gentle. Figured I’d drop a new story for the new blog. Enjoy it, y’all!

My {Heart in Ink} Masterlist

Fate Masterlist      Aesthetic by @ravenangel33​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What are you doing?” Aaron asked as you headed down stairs to grab one of the blankets from your basket in the living room.

“This one is too hot.” You said absentmindedly as you finished rolling up one of your top three favorite pink fleece blankets and put it in the basket. You grabbed your blue cloud print throw; your favorite blanket to watch movies with and turned back toward the stairs when Aaron lurched in front of you.

“Freeze, missy.” He said as he studied you. He scented the air as his eyes searched yours. “You smell different.” You rolled your eyes at him and tried to take a step around him.

“Everyone keeps saying that since we bonded, I smell different so you aren’t…”

“No, (Y/N)… I think you’re pregnant…” You couldn’t help but laugh at him as you tucked the blanket up under your arm.

“You’re out of your damn mind. I’m on birth control.” He shook his head and chewed on his lip.

“No… no, sunshine, you’re definitely pregnant. I’ve been around you basically every single day for the last eleven years. I know every variation of smell you have. This isn’t the bond I’m smelling. And look, your re-doing your nest. You never, ever fully re-do your nest, you just pack it up and move it with you.” He moved out of your way and pointed at you as he flopped back down on the couch. “I’m tellin’ you. You’re gunna have a baby.” You rolled your eyes and headed toward the stairs to, in fact, fix your nest for the fifth time that morning.

——

“THREE?!” You screamed as you looked at the three distinct, bean shaped blobs on the screen. “No, no, no. Look again, that’s not right.” You said as you waved your hand at Dr. Helen Cho. You heard Bucky’s weight slam down into a chair next to you.

“My technology doesn’t lie, (Y/N). You are definitely pregnant and there are definitely three pups. Congratulations.” Your jaw dropped as you stared at the screen; incapable of wrapping your head around this new information. Aaron wasted no time sharing his theory when Bucky had gotten home from his ‘casual’ 10 mile run that morning and your mate instantly brought you to Stark Tower. While Dr. Cho wasn’t an OB/GYN, she was able to do a fast ultrasound, effectively changing your life forever.

“But… she’s on birth control.” Bucky said as he stared at the screen. Bruce Banner, who was working on something ‘top secret’ when your Alpha literally carried you in and had joined the party, shrugged as he grabbed a small stool and wheeled it over between the two of you.

“My assumption. With you being affected by the super serum, my initial guess would be that your sperm weren’t affected by the progestin of the birth control during the rut/ heat cross over and made it past the thicker cervix…”

“Alright, alright.” You snapped as you sat up and put your head in your hands. “Science lesson’s gunna make me sick right now.” You looked back over at the screen as your mind reeled in shock. Bruce’s words ran through your head again and you looked over at the two doctors. “So what does that mean for them? How is the serum gunna affect them?” You heard Bucky slowly stand up as that thought permitted his brain. Bruce and Helen both looked at each other as Bucky sat down behind you on the exam table.

“That we don’t know. They already appear to be a little larger than fetus’ at this point in pregnancy but…” Helen said softly as she looked back at both of you. “We have no notes to compare it too. You are the only two in the world that could ever be in this situation.”

“Are they going to be OK?” Bucky asked, a little more forcefully than necessary. You immediately reached back and put your hand on his knee to keep him calm as Bruce slowly shook his head.

“We don’t know. The only thing we can do is wait and see. Keep a close eye on the progress…”

“You’re moving into the tower.” Bucky said as he looked over at you before looking at the picture of his three pups.

“I’ll call Aaron to help pack.” You whispered in agreement as your hand spread across your barely bloated stomach. Neither of you could move out of fear.

“I’ll call Steve and Tony, too.” Bruce said as he gently grabbed Helen’s elbow and pulled her toward the door to give you both a minute to process… and to figure out what the hell to do with this kind of pregnancy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This isn’t normal.” You said softly as you looked in the bathroom mirror at your stomach before bed. Tears softly fell on your cheeks as your fingertips danced across your baby bump. It had only been two weeks since you found out you were pregnant, four weeks and one day since conception, but if you were to go by all three of your pups, you were 12 weeks along. Like he did every time you found yourself in front of a mirror, Bucky came over and gently pulled your shirt down.

“Come on, Omega. All five of us are going to be just fine. Let’s go watch a movie, OK?” You nodded your head and let him lead you out of the bathroom as you wiped the tears off your cheeks. You knew he was just as terrified as you; no matter how hard he tried to hide it, you could smell it on him, but he was forcing himself to be a positive rock for you. With a small sigh, he climbed into the middle of the massive, blanket and pillow filled nest you had built and re-built almost hourly and situated you between his legs.

“We’re gunna be able to know the genders soon at this rate.” You said as you ran your fingers over your stomach as he picked a movie on Netflix. “Do you want to know now or wait until they’re born?” He hummed as he picked one of the movies you had saved on your ‘things I want to see and see again’ list, started it but immediately paused it and set the remote next to him to wait.

“Well, how would we pick names if we don’t know what we are having?” He asked as he grabbed the blanket, pulled it up, and handed it to you, knowing you would move it around about twenty times until it was just right.

A smile spread across his face as he leaned back against the headboard and watched you begin your nesting process for the night. It was moments like this that no matter how stressed, or how scared he was, he knew it was going to be alright. He had you and little things like making sure you arranged the blankets just right or researching baby cribs until four in the morning (where he literally had to drag you to bed) to find the perfect one just showed him that no matter what happened with his pups because of the serum or how fast they grew in your womb, you would do everything you could and then some to ensure their safety.

“Well, some people pick out two names for each baby, one of each gender. So, say the first baby would be Adam or Anna and so on. But then you’re coming up with six ‘good names’ and it’s kinda impersonal, ya know. I read that if you don’t know it makes delivery easier.

BUT I also read that most Omegas delivering multiples usually have to have a c-section, so waiting to make delivery easier is kinda a moot point. So, I kinda want to know just so each pup gets their own name and just one name, ya know? Ooo! Did I tell you there is a company I found on Pinterest that makes these blankets that… why isn’t the movie playing?” You turned around in your spot once you had that blanket situated around both of you how you though you wanted it to look at Bucky with your eyebrow cocked.

“Just waiting on you, doll.” You huffed as you turned around and faced the TV.

“I don’t take that long.” You grumbled as you grabbed a blanket from the outside of the nest and pulled it toward you. “You’re the one who asked the question.” You balled the blanket up and put it between Bucky’s leg and the outside of the wall of blankets on the other side of the bed. You took one look at it before coming to the conclusion that it was wrong and moved it again. After a few move adjustments, you finally deemed it right and looked up at the TV to watch the movie. “James, hit the thing!” You wined as you bopped his leg.

“God, you’re so adorable, Omega.” He chuckled as he grabbed the remote and hit play. You huffed as you settled back against his chest and pulled the three blankets you had covering you up over your chest. You felt your mate’s hands slip under your arms and come to a stop on your bump as the opening credits to ‘Mean Girls’ started up.

Within minutes of the movie starting, exhaustion hit you hard and you fell asleep with a peaceful smile on your face. After checking to make sure you were 100% out, Bucky simply chuckled and flipped back to his list to find the Star Wars movie Steve told him he had to see.

——

“So pup A is now 7.7 centimeters. Pup B is now… phew, 7.9 and pup C is now 7.4 centimeters. Blood levels look good, pups look good.” Helen looked up from her tablet at the small group of people in the med bay and sighed. “Collective total of 1.7 centimeters gained since yesterday morning.” You looked over at Bucky with your bottom lip caught between your teeth. He rubbed his hand down your back as he processed the new information that felt like it was getting more and more worry some.

“So what now?” He asked. The room stayed quiet for a moment before Tony stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Well, now you need to go back to work.” He said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started pulling something up. You were just about to scream at him with Omega rage; you couldn’t dare think about working when your pup’s lives were in the balance but he pulled up the layout of part of a wing you recognized in the compound upstate. “Now, these offices hadn’t been put to use yet, and while they were perfectly decorated the first time around, we did a little bit of refurbishing to make it more… home like. I had them turn it into four bedrooms with a big play room. Plenty of room for the pups to crawl around and…”

“Wait, what?” You asked as you got off the exam table you had been sitting on for the past hour. “Wha…?”

“What, you think I was gunna let the best designer in New York raise pups in your small apartment? I know Barnes’ room isn’t big enough for that either. Now look, you have these two floors…” His words were cut off as you gave the Alpha a hug. You had never really been close to him but he knew what you meant to Pepper, so helping you out was a no brainer to him.

“Thank you.” You whispered with tears in your eyes. You pulled back to look at him and he simply waved you off.

“Don’t thank me. It was Pepper’s idea. Now, any furniture and decorations you want or need and I mean ANYTHING, goes on the company account… ut! Company account. Pepper is setting up a different account to help you out financially because, despite the fact that I know we pay you handsomely, three pups is a lot and well… you’re family. Now go get to nesting. Your partner in crime is already moved in…”

“Wait, Aaron?” You asked as he practically shoved you out the door. You missed his nervous glance over his shoulder to the rest of the group; he prayed that this would be enough of a distraction for you to stay (sort of) calm until they could figure out what was going to happen with the pups.

“Pepper said I couldn’t split you two up by leaving one of you in the city and moving one of you to the country. So yes, Aaron is there, too. Now go pack; leave the furniture. I’ll make sure everything gets moved out to the compound before noon.” You nodded as Bucky guided you toward the elevator. Steve had told him about the idea he, Nat, Tony and Pepper had come up with a few days before that morning when the two of them were working out. Bucky had been the one to suggest Aaron and Max go too, knowing full well that you would need your family with you… just in case.

“What am I gunna do about doctor stuff?” You asked as Natasha pushed the button to the elevator.

“Pepper has that covered. Helen is going out to the compound to keep an eye on things and we are staffing an OB as well.” Tony said as he sent a text to Pepper to let her know that Operation Distraction was working so far.

“And Steve and I are moving out there as well. We’re gunna be on the floor right below you with Aaron and Max.” Nat said as she stepped into the elevator with you, Bucky and Tony.

“This tower isn’t really that home like anyways and most of the team are already out there as is so might as well keep everyone together.” Tony stated with a smile.

“I think this is a great idea.” Bucky chimed in as he draped his arm around your shoulder and rubbed your shoulder, using his pheromones to keep you calm. You nodded in agreement as the elevator opened on the floor to the living quarters. “Now, the pups get their own rooms once they are big enough.”

“Yea… it’ll be great.” You said with hardly any hesitation. Your head bobbed of its own accord as you headed into your room to start packing.

——

“Now this is high living.” Aaron said as he helped you unpack all of your clothes the next morning. “Have you seen the kitchen? It’s incredible! Ten times our kitchen at home. Imagine how much easier Thanksgiving dinner is going to be to cook now.” You nodded your head absentmindedly  as you hung up all of Bucky’s jackets and your dresses in the (unnecessary) walk-in closet.

Your pups had all hit at least 8.5 centimeters; three little lemons, this morning and your stomach officially stuck out farther than your breasts. Your skin itched from the quick stretch, your body ached and you were absolutely exhausted, despite the fact that you had slept for nearly 13 hours the night before.

Your new OB/GYN, Cara Smith, had been briefed on your case by Dr. Cho, Dr. Banner, and Pepper but you could still tell the Beta was not prepared for what she saw. Aaron, noticing how distracted you were, walked over and sat down on your new, king size bed in front of you. You were, however, able to learn from a fancy blood analysis (thank God for Bruce Banner’s brilliant mind) that you were having two boys and a baby girl.

“Hey, sunshine.” He said softly as he pulled the hangers out of your hands and set them down on the bed next to him. He smiled softly as he held your hands in his. “We are going to make if through this. You and me? We are fighters. Do you remember what you said to me when you found me at the run?

I was bruised, bloody, dirty, starving, and hiding in a tree. You climbed up and sat down next to me and said ‘no matter what happens from this moment on, you will never be alone again. You are a fighter to have made it this far and I know just by the fire in your eyes that you aren’t done fighting yet.’” Tears filled your eyes and with a nod, you sat down on the bed next to him. “I know you’re scared, all of us are. But you’re a fighter, (Y/N). I know you. You are gunna fight. So the pups are fast growers. Is that gunna make you love them any less?” You shook your head as he reached up and brushed the tears off your cheeks with a smile.

“None of us are. These pups, no matter how fast they grow up, are going to be loved by each and every one of us until our dying days. Especially by their mommy. We’ll make it through this together. I know your scared but look at it this way. You’re a third of the way through the pregnancy and you haven’t even been pregnant a month. Do you know how many pregnant woman would kill for that? Pregnant, puff out and boop! You’re done.” You couldn’t help but huff a laugh and nod.

“You’re right.” You sighed as you rubbed your hand across your stomach. “You know, I hate it when you’re right.” He giggled as he pat your hand and stood up.

“I know you do. And I know that you know, I love it when I’m right.” You rolled your eyes as you stood up, grabbed the hangers off the bed and headed toward the closet.

“Don’t let it get to your head, Aaron.” You called out. “That’s big enough as is.”

“Hey! That’s not very…”

“So, we have all the furniture moved in and set up where you wanted it and all three nurseries and the play room are set up with the fanciest cameras Stark has. Said he’d show you the tablet thing when he comes back when we get back with the stuff for the pups.” You came out of the closet and smiled as Bucky leaned against the bedroom doorframe. He brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of his bun back behind his ear and sighed. “Ready to go take care of the nurseries?”

“Yay! Break time!” Aaron cheered as he grabbed the last empty box off the floor. “You two have fun shopping.” You smirked and kissed his cheek.

“Just be glad I’m not making you go with us.” You sassed as you headed back into your closet to grab flip flops. “Will you please get me one of those fruity protein smoothie shake things Nat made me? The strawberry one.” He nodded more to himself as he broke down the box and added it to the large pile outside the door.

“You enjoy the pup store.” Aaron teased as he pat Bucky’s shoulder on the way to the kitchen. “I brought her in there one afternoon just to look and I had to drag her out six hours later so they could close at nine.” Bucky sighed as he stumbled into the room to change out of sweaty clothes he had on from building and moving furniture with Max and Steve all morning.

“Alright, Omega. Let’s go shopping.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Stay calm, Omega. It’s all gunna be OK.” Bucky said softly as you held a little pink dress in your hand. Tears welled in your eyes as he gently wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you a step back against his chest.

“I know.” You whispered as you ran your fingers over the pink bow in the middle of the dress. “It’s just a lot.” He nodded his head as he kissed your shoulder.

“I know it is, Omega. How about this… we know they may grow fast. It could or couldn’t happen. Since I know you wanna get all these cute little outfits and don’t wanna have to settle and only get a couple, let’s get them all and we’ll just change them all a couple times a day. We’ll take lots of pictures… how about that?” A small smile spread across your face as you turned in his arms.

“Have I told you lately how much I absolutely love you?” He smiled and nodded.

“You have but it’s never gunna be as much as I love you.” You leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss before resting your forehead against his.

“I couldn’t have done this without you.” You said softly as you cupped his jaw in your hand.

“I feel the same way, doll.” He gave you a chaste kiss before giving you a small pat on the ass. “Come on, sweetheart. We have three pups to dress, diaper and put in beds we don’t have yet. So let’s see that list of yours.” You smiled as you pulled away from him and grabbed your long list out of one of the four empty carts you had grabbed. You heaved a sigh as you looked down the list you had made from a collection of websites you had found.

“So I think to start out, we’ll obviously keep them in bed with us but after a while we should put them all into one room. Move them into their own rooms when they get a little…” You bobbed your head, unsure of what word to you; older or bigger.

“Sounds like a plan.” He agreed simply as he took the pink dress from your hand and put it in the cart onto of your purse gently. “So what’s the first group on the list?” You smiled up at him for his ability to keep you positive before looking down at your list again.

“Basics.” You looked around the Babies ‘R’ Us store you were in and pointed toward the sign marked ‘Diapers and Wipes’ just past all the clothes. You shoved your list in your pocket and you each grabbed two carts and weaved your way through the racks.

“How many do we… My God, how many different kinds of diapers are there?” You smiled and looked for the brands that were rated the best.

“Lots but not all babies like the same thing.” You paused in front of the Pampers and looked for the size you needed. “So, what we’re gunna do is buy two of these. And… these.” You said as you tossed 2 boxes of Pampers into a cart and did the same with 2 packs of Huggies. “And two of these.” You grabbed 2 packs of Honest diapers and set them on top of the other boxes as you grabbed the list from your pocket and a pen from your purse. “That way, we can try them all and see which pup prefers what. And after that, we can just order them online. I have an account on Amazon and they deliver in New York in an hour.” He nodded as you crossed off ‘diapers’ on the list and turned to look at the wipes.

“When did you do all this research?” He teased as he stacked the boxes up to one side of the cart to optimize space. You couldn’t help but smile as you looked over your shoulder at him.

“Alpha, I’m an Omega. I’ve done research for my future pups for years.” He chuckled as you handed him three different boxes of wipes. “It’s an Omega thing.” He nodded as you crossed ‘wipes’ off the list and moved your carts down to the end of the isle. You turned to your right to head down the ‘bath’ isle and a book of baby names caught your eye. “Here. Read out your favorites. There’s a pen in my purse to mark off the ones you like and just dog-ear the page.”

“Alright, let’s see.” He said as he followed you down the next isle of bathroom stuff. His eyes danced down the list as you grabbed four packages of different patterned wash cloths and tossed them in the cart. “What about Abigail?” You paused with your hand on a package of plain blue and a package of plain green hooded bath towels (so they can be embroidered with your pups names) and looked back at him.

“No. Let me say this, if you heard the name when you were a kid, there is a good chance I’m gunna say no.” You cocked your eye brow at him as he simply laughed and turned a few pages. “You like these?” He glanced up and nodded before looking back down.

“Chloe?” He asked, more to himself as he tapped the pen on the side of the book. “Chloe Barnes. I can do that one.” You nodded in agreement as you tossed a package of plain pink towels in the cart.

“Circle it. What about Tessa? I liked that name as a kid.” You looked back at him as he said the name out loud with his last name.

“Not a fan.” You nodded as you moved a few steps down to the baby washes. “What about Mia Barnes?” You paused and tilted your head to the side as you ran the name through your head a few times.

“I like that one.” Bucky continued to flip through the book, going back and forth between girls and boys names as you casually strolled the isles and grabbed every thing you could without his help. After two hours, you had two half full and two overflowing carts of essentials (and about 30 names you both really liked down) and found yourself in front of the cribs. You sighed as you looked at your half finished list before looking up at the crib you fell in love with online.

“So I think our best bet is to get this kind. The ones you can convert into beds over time.” You said as you pointed to a display that showed the crib set up and turned into a toddler and kids bed. Bucky nodded agreement as he shoved the pen in the book and put it on top of a pile of crib sheets so you would remember to actually buy it since you marked it all up.

“Sounds good to me, doll. Which ones are you thinking?” You shrugged as you took a step back and looked at all the options.

“The first question is, do we get three sets that have the changing tables for when we split them into their own rooms or do we just put changing mats I grabbed right on the dressers?” You looked over at him as he brushed his metal hand through his hair and leaned against the cart handle.

“Realistically, we’d be better off with doing the dresser thing.” You nodded as you looked back up at the dark wood crib you loved.

“OK… now, what do you think about doing white for her and different shades of brown for the boys to differentiate?”

“That’s fine. I just have one request. I have only one little princess. You got all that princess stuff for her…” He stepped around all the carts and walked down to an extravagant looking white crib. “Can she sleep like a princess, too?” You smiled as you rubbed your hand over the left side of your stomach where your daughter was and nodded.

“Absolutely.” He walked over to you with a smile on his face and rested his hand on top of yours over his baby girl.

“Have I told you lately that you are beautiful?” You couldn’t help but giggle as you shook your head.

“Thank you… but I feel like a small balloon.” He chuckled as he gave you a chaste kiss before going back for the first crib box.

“You’re not a balloon, doll. You’re the mother of my pups and the love of my life.” He put the box in the cart with the baby proofing stuff and gestured to the wall of cribs. “Which other two, Omega? I don’t wanna have you on your feet too much longer.” You sighed as you looked up at the shelf as you rubbed the right side of your bump where your boys were.

“I love this one. The deep color would look great against a pale light yellow for the first boy.” Bucky nodded as he came over and grabbed the box for you was you strolled down the rest of the line. You passed a light brown one and almost kept walking but something made you stop. It was a rustic looking, light brown crib and you knew, it was the one. “This one.” You said softly as you reached up and ran your fingers over the wood with a smile. He came over and smiled.

“Yea. Definitely this one.” You smiled at him as he grabbed the box and you crossed off ‘cribs’ on your list. “Alright, what next?”

“Let’s see… furniture I plan on ordering separately, the stroller we’ll have to order off line or we can see if Tony can build one for us…”

“Have Tony do it. It’ll be like a mini tank. Safest stroller in the world.” Bucky said as he moved the lighter carts toward you so you wouldn’t have to push or pull the weight. You nodded as you looked over the rest of your list.

“Car seats, pack-n-plays, bouncy seats and then clothes.” You looked up at him and back at him and the carts full of stuff. “I think we’re gunna need another cart.” He nodded as the two of you started heading toward the car seats.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t drive here. I don’t think this would all fit into a car.”

“I don’t think this stuff is gunna fit into the Quinjet!” You laughed as you looked down at your list for the name of the car seat that was deemed the best by the 18 different websites you checked.

“Thank God Tony is helping us out, too. I don’t think we could afford all this on a designers and an Avengers salary.” You nodded in agreement as you pointed to the Chicco KeyFit 30 carseat on display.

“I don’t care if they are only in it for the ride home from the hospital. This car seat is the best carseat out there. I won’t put my pups in anything else.”

“That’s fine, doll. I won’t fight you on it.” You nodded as you looked at the boxes for the colors you wanted.

“These two, Regatta, for the boys and this one, Ombra, for our girl.” Bucky nodded as he came over and grabbed the first two boxes. You watched him set the two boxes on top of the pile of diaper boxes, bathroom stuff, toys and play mats and you could help but smile. His hair was pulled back in a bun with a few stray strands falling in his face and he had this small, seemingly permanent smile on his face. He didn’t notice you staring as he came over and grabbed the last car seat box. You reached out and gently grabbed his arm.

“Parenting looks good on you.” You said softly. He looked over at you and his smile got even bigger.

“Looks good on both of us.” You nodded as he set the box on top of the various nursing accessaries, bedroom stuff, diaper pails and other miscellaneous trinkets. “We should get married.” You couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Yea, because that’s the most romantic way of asking.” You teased as you started pushing and dragging your two carts toward the bouncy seats and pack and plays.

“I’m serious. We’re mated and having pups. Might as well…”

“I’m gunna stop you right there.” You said as you paused at the end of the isle and looked back at him. “I’ll say yes one way or another, but you’re asking again when you have a ring and it’s all ro…”

“I already have a ring.” He said as he reached into his pocket. Your words audibly caught in your throat as he handed a small black box to you. “I know you’re not a big jewelry person so I kept it simple.” You flipped open the top and looked at the beautiful diamond ring inside. It was simple; a single diamond set in white gold and it was perfect.

“Doll, I know we’re a little backwards with the whole get married, have pups thing but…” He reached up and brushed his thumb across your cheek with a smile. “I knew you were meant to be mine the second I saw you. True Mate or not, I need you in my life. I have never met someone that I wanted to open up to, someone I wanted to talk to about the goods and the bad I’ve seen and done and dream. Someone I trusted with my deepest and darkest thoughts, fears and secrets. Someone I wanted to wake up next to every morning and fall asleep wrapped around every night. I love you, (Y/N). My beautiful, kind, sweet, amazing Omega and the mother of my pups. Will you marry me and make me the luckiest Alpha in the universe?”

“Yes!” You squeaked. He instantly crashed his lips to yours and wrapped his arms around your waist. Tears fell from your eyes against his cheeks and you suddenly heard soft clapping behind you.

“That was so beautiful.” A pregnant woman said as she wiped tears off her cheeks. You blushed hard and hid your face in Bucky’s chest as he took the ring box from your hand.

“Thank you. I meant every word.” The woman smiled at him as she pulled a bouncy chair box off the shelf and put it in her cart.

“You’re one lucky Omega. And by the looks of it, you’re gunna be one tired Omega as well.” You smiled back at her and nodded.

“That is an understatement.” She laughed as she turned her cart the other way.

“Good luck… and congratulations.” You blushed again and you and your mate both thanked her as she walked away.

“God, that’s embarrassing.” You joked as he slipped your engagement ring on your finger.

“I’m not sorry either. Now, tell me what I’m grabbing from here so we can get the clothes and get out of here. I wanna make love to my fiancee.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You groaned as you tried desperately to find some sort of comfort for even a minute at 3 in the morning. You were three days shy of your third month of pregnancy but if anyone looked at you, they would assume you were full term. Your stomach was massive as were your pups. For the past two days, Allie, on the left, weighed in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces and she was the smallest of the three. Ryan, on your right was 7 pounds, 8 ounces and Mason, front and center was a whopping 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

You had been on forced bedrest for the past three weeks as your pups continued to grow. And just your luck, at least one of your pups was always active. Every inch of your body hurt and itched. Your hormones were insane and you knew you had to have been driving anyone in a ten mile radius crazy. But you wouldn’t trade it for the world.

You shifted in your nest and gently pushed on Ryan to get him to stop his direct kicks to your lungs as Bucky softly snored next to you. You glanced over and glared at him; it had been at least two days since you had gotten any sleep, and turned up the TV a tiny bit. You sighed as you pushed at Ryan again, silently begging him to move when suddenly all three pups kicked hard at the same time and went still. Your heart clenched and you jabbed at Ryan again, receiving no reaction.

“Alpha!” You screamed as you jabbed at Allie and Mason. Bucky sat bolt up right in bed as tears started pouring down your cheeks. “Something’s wrong.”

Part 5