#but they raise my blood pressure every time i play that stupid game mode i hate it

[heartswithinreach]

petition to move kitty cards to the battle menu where it fucking belongs

[kuzocho]

Scarred. | Kaminari Denki x Reader

I’m not even sure what this is, lol. But my boy Kami needs more love. So here’s some h/c with him.

tw: scars (not from self-harm)

Kaminari moaned when your hips rolled against his and it took all his will power not to go any further than this heavy make-out session. Your hands pulled harder at his hair from the sound he made and with half-lidded eyes, you breathed his name. Feeling his blood rushing through his veins at that, his grip on your waist got stronger. He couldn’t help but crane his neck to kiss you once more. Your fingers left his hair and wandered down, cupping his face for a second before they found hold on his shoulders as your hips moved again.

A sight left both of your lips, yours leaving to trail down kisses along his jawline while he closed his eyes. The feeling of your kisses on his neck send shivers down his spine and the way your fingers touched him was intoxicating. They roamed his shoulders, taking in the warm skin of his arms before they explored his lean muscles on his chest. He quietly moaned again when you draw a slow circle over his crotch and your digits left patters on his stomach and with his name falling from your lips again before they sucked at his neck, it felt so good that he almost missed how your fingers played with the hem of his shirt, leisurely finding their way under it. His eyes flew open and you nearly fell from his lap when he pushed himself up to grab your wrists.

“Stop”, he said, his voice was pressed and full of panic.

Leaning back on your heels you asked, “Are you okay?” Your hands moved away from his shirt and he let go of them. Instead, he intertwined one of them with yours and gave it a gently squeeze.

“Yes, baby, it’s all good. I’m just not in the mood, y’know?” The lie left his lips in an instant, given that it was not the first time he had told you that.

“’kay…” You didn’t buy his answer. Hell, how could you after you felt his arousal just mere moments ago.

But as much as Kaminari wanted to tell you, he couldn’t do it yet. He knew that with the direction you two were going, he had to at one point, but because of his own selfishness, he wanted to delay that as far as possible. When he had literally run into you in that cute little ramen shop close to his work a few weeks ago, he had been immediately smitten by you. Fortunately, you had been interested as well, giving him your number and he had taken you out for some coffee the next day. On your second date a couple of days after, he had kissed you.

Ever since then, he had met you regularly, either eating dinner somewhere, cooking together at your place or playing video games at his, but always ending up with locked lips and roaming hands. And every time he had to end it. Along the way of all this, Kaminari had developed feelings for you which only made it harder for him. He was certain that you would react like all the other women and after the last few weeks, he wasn’t ready for you to leave yet. So he was being a dick, telling you lies why he stopped you when your hands found their way under his shirt, because he wanted to have more moments with you, even though the guilt made his stomach turn.

The feeling was even worse today, seeing you chewing your bottom lip and knitting your eyebrows together.

You turned your head to the side. “You know, you can tell me if you don’t find me attractive enough.”

“W-What? No, that’s not it!”

“I won’t throw a tantrum or be mad at you, just tell me.” Your voice was quiet.

He squeezed your hand. “Hey, cupcake, look at me”, he gently demanded. When you did, he added, “I swear, this has nothing to do with you and everything with me.”

His heart fluttered a bit as you chuckled. “That’s such a cliché, Kami.”

“It’s true though. I wasn’t lying when I said you took my breath away the first time you smiled at me, sweet cheeks.” Kaminari tried to give you one of his cheeky smirks, but it felt weak and shaky.

“But you’re lying every time I try to initiate something.”

It was his turn to look away. “I know.”

“Why?”, you asked as you kept looking at him. There wasn’t any anger in your voice.

Pressure formed in his chest, making his heartbeat faster as he realized that this was the moment he had tried to run away from. Of course he despised lying to you. But leaving you with the feeling his behaviour was your fault? He’d rather got beaten up by Bakugou. Despite thinking about it a lot beforehand, he didn’t know what to say and the first thing was, “You’re not gonna like me anymore after you’ve seen it.”

He sounded like a whiny teenage-boy, making the pressure worse. He felt like he was choking on the air.

You leaned closer to kiss his cheek and oh god, this would be the last time you would do this, he knew it. “Kami, I’m sure that’s not possible. It is about your body, isn’t it? I know that everyone has some parts that they don’t like about themselves, but from what I’ve could feel and see so far, there is nothing wrong with yours. Nobody is fla-”

The bubble in his chest exploded like a balloon being picked by a needle and he blurted out, “I’m scarred!” Warmth crept up his cheeks and the need to hide was almost unbearable. That was definitely not the way he had wanted to tell you.

You quirked and eyebrow up. “You are a hero, of course you would have some scars.”

He licked his lips, his eyes searching the room for something they could focus on. “It’s worse than that.”

Placing another kiss on his cheek, you mumbled, “Sunshine, why don’t you just show me and then we can argue how bad it is?”

His gaze wandered back to you and your relaxed complexion. Maybe it won’t be so bad this time, a tiny voice in his head said and suddenly he nodded. Sensing that nothing would come out if he tried to speak, he waved his hand to gesture that you should get off him. Letting go of his other fingers, you sat next to him on the couch. Kaminari took a last glance at your face before he turned away, his back facing you. Taking a deep breath in a weak attempt to calm himself, he resisted the urge to just run, grabbing his shirt with trembling hands at his neck and pulling it off. Once he was out of it, he let his head hung low.

Your shocked gasp filled the room for a second and Kaminari closed his eyes. He memorised the picture that you saw a long time ago.

Dozens over dozens over dozens of scars littered his whole back. They were small, each only less than an inch long, but there were so many that it didn’t mattered anyway. Some of them were straight, some cracked ironically like a lightning bolt and the white colour and shiny surface only added to that even more. It was the worst around his spine. They gathered along it, covering almost every part of skin of it before they spread out. In two years or so, his sides, shoulders and neck would be coated with them as well. And after that, his front and his arms would be next, maybe even his legs. At least they didn’t hurt or made his skin tight.

“How?”

“Every time I short-circuit myself.”

It had started to happen at the training camp during their first summer break. While he had changed in front of his friends, Sero had spotted them. On that day, Kaminari hadn’t bothered, thinking that they might be scars from his childhood since they weren’t that many. It only had occurred to him that they could be quirk related when Kirishima had pointed out more of them the next day. When they had been back at school after the incident, he had overused his quirk on purpose, confirming his theory. There had been nothing Recovery Girl could have done to remove or undo them and he also hadn’t minded, assuming that he would solve the problem of going into his yay-mode quite fast.

But he had forgotten that he had been at UA, so they had pushed and pushed and pushed him, always going plus ultra. The self-awareness had kicked in when all of the boys had started to send hidden glances at his back and as the cherry on top of it all, Bakugou had stopped calling him stupid and dunce face.

Now, a few years later, they didn’t increased as frequently as back then, since he actually managed to raise the limits of his quirk ridiculously high. The damage had been done anyway, especially on his confidence, masking his insecurities by being even more awkwardly flirtatious. When there hadn’t been that many, he could still explore intimacy with girls, but even that had changed after the scars had covered all of his lower back, making him feel the need to either warn them beforehand or not anticipating anything at all. He bad become used to the different reactions, so much that he could foreshadow them based on the personality most of the time and slowly finding peace in never finding a significant other.

But then you came, knocking him straight out of his Pikachu socks and he wanted nothing more for you than to stay. And now he was sitting in front of you. He felt naked in a way that had nothing to do with clothes. It was as if you could look right through him, like his soul with all his insecurities he developed over the years laid directly in front of you, ready to get stumped on again. At any moment now, you would get up and tell him that you couldn’t to this and that it’s dis-

“Can I touch them?”

“What?” His head whipped around and he saw your face out of the corners of his eyes. Your hand was already hovering in the air, mere inches away from his skin. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint your emotions; there was sadness, maybe a hint of anger – but he felt that it wasn’t towards him – and something softer, calmer, something he had seen before in your eyes when you looked at him. Your question threw him off guard, obviously. No one ever wanted to touch them willingly, but before he could think about it further, he nodded and turned his head back, missing the reassuring smile you gave him.

His heart was beating a mile per minute and a shiver ran through him as your fingertips tenderly touched a scar on his right shoulder blade. It wasn’t bad per se, but a completely new feeling. He experienced sensory overload as the pads of your fingers followed the thin lines. The silence buzzed violently in his ears and the clock was ticking so loudly, leaving him suddenly wishing he had put some music on before you came over and your breath fanned his neck, making him feeling hot there while the rest of his body was cold from his anxiety.

And then you kissed one of them and his heart missed a beat at the feeling. It was gently and warm and loving. His vision blurred.

“That”, you started lowly, pressing your lips on another scarred patch between the words, “doesn’t change a damn thing.” Your arms came around his waist, pulling him closer. Embracing him with all his flaws and he barely could hold a sniffle in. “And you know why?” Another kiss, this time closer to his neck. “Because you’re still beautiful.”

He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, forcing the tears back with a mess of white dazzling dots behind his eyelids, pleading, “Please, stop.”  

But you would have none of that. “And that has nothing to do with your looks. I fell for you, because you’re funny and smart and adventurous and so unbelievable lovable.”

There were more kisses and it got too much. The last word ripped a sob through him. One of your hands were on his chest, pushing him down with you while the other was waving through his hair as he let himself fall. The tears were streaming freely now and Kaminari couldn’t tell if it was because the anxiety had deflated the second you had hugged him or because your words had awoken an emotion deep within him. Either way, he didn’t hold back, couldn’t bring himself to do so anymore and you didn’t seem to mind as you cooed at him.

God, how long had he been longing to hear these words? Not the ‘you can still be a hero, bro’, the ‘it just means you’re pretty strong’, the ‘don’t worry, with your face and chest you’re still sexy’, but the simple confirmation that he was enough. That he wasn’t his scars. That he was more than that.

At some point, you turned him around and pulled him even closer and he pressed his face into your neck, babbling incoherent words about all the pitiful looks with the reassuring pads on his shoulder afterwards and the countless rejections he had gotten over the years, because yes, he was nice, but that’s not what they were looking for.

Eventually, the sobs stop wrecking through his body, turning into sniffles and after a while they were gone too. Your hand drew small circles on his back and just the sheer thought of such a tender affection on something he despised for so long had him almost bawling his eyes out again.

He closed his eyes, whispering, “You meant that?”

“All of it”, you answered, giving him a kiss on top of his head.

Thinking what to say next to express his feelings, he sat up. His back was turned to you again, this time however, he felt comfortable. It was still weird, of course, but he had nothing to hide anymore. You’ve seen everything, you’ve seen him – and you were still here.

“I’ll go and get you some water”, you said quietly and stood up. You were right, he really needed that. The headache grew with every passing second and he probably looked like shit with blood-shot eyes and reddened cheeks and god knows whatnot, but he grabbed your wrist, looking up to you. Your gaze and smile were warm and there wasn’t any need to ask, but, “So you’re going to stay?”

You leaned down to him again, faces mere inches from each other. “Yes, Denki, I’m staying. Takes more than that to scare me away.”

He ignored the wet patch on your shirt – you could wear one of his shirts soon, he definitely wouldn’t mind - and the fact that he absolutely needed to wash his wash as he cupped your face to press his lips onto yours. He hummed into it, smiling. He really liked the sound of you saying his name.

[missmalice202]

Designing Your Melody: Chapter 10 - Composition

Chapter 01 - Chapter 09

The sun had set and stars were twinkling overhead when Luka finally dragged his tired body home. Stowing his bike on deck, he staggered down the stairs, falling against the wall on his way down when the boat rocked on a wave. Shaking his head to keep his eyes open, he was surprised to see his sister sitting on the couch, apparently waiting for him to get home.

“You okay there?” Juleka murmured, concerned. She watched from her perch on the couch as he walked over to sit next to her, shoes scraping lightly against the floorboards. Her eyes widened when he tossed his messenger bag on the end of the couch and collapsed into the cushions, closing his eyes as he laid his head back. “Rough day?” she asked with a dark eyebrow delicately raised.

He rubbed his face with one of his hands before cracking an eye open to look at his sister. “Ugh, it’s been a rough week,” he groaned. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately. Things are still crazy at the studio and I just don’t know what to do? I feel like I’m wasting my time because no matter what we come up with, it’s not what Mr. Roth wants and he rejects everything. I know Jagged is getting pissed off at wasting his time too, but there’s nothing we can do because Roth is the boss and has the final say on what is produced under his label. I want to just walk away and stop wasting my time when I know it’s all futile, but I just can’t leave Jagged in a bind like that. He’s refusing to give an inch when it comes to his music, and I respect his commitment, but when is enough enough?”

Juleka’s brow furrowed as she gazed at his exhausted face. He had been really busy lately. She hadn’t seen him all week and she was starting to get worried at the crazy hours he’d been keeping. “When is Vivica coming back from maternity leave?” she asked.

He sighed, lifting his head off the back of the couch so he could properly talk to his sister. “Not soon enough, honestly.” His shoulders sagged as he thought about the pressure he’d been under the last few weeks. If he were honest with himself, there were times that he regretted agreeing to being the studio guitarist on Jagged’s new song single. But, he wasn’t the kind of guy to deny someone if they asked him for help, so he’d see it through until the end. However, whether the end would be Jagged and Mr. Roth finally coming to an agreement on their ridiculous feud, or Vivica’s return to being Jagged’s main guitarist, he didn’t know. What he did know was that he was desperate for a break. “Don’t worry about me, though. What are you doing up so late?”

“Well…” she began, looking down at her hands clasped tightly on her lap, “I wanted to talk to you about something, but between you working so much and me working and trying to find time to spend with Rose, we haven’t been able to talk much lately.”

Luka reached over and gently placed his hand on top of hers. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

She laughed softly. “I know. I wanted to ask if you could take some time off on the 30th.”

“That’s all?” he asked, shaking his head. “You had me worried that something was wrong. You made it sound so serious.” He tilted his head as he looked at her. “What’s happening on the 30th?”

“I’m going to be walking the catwalk in a fashion show during Fashion Week,” she explained, her voice breathless in her excitement. “A friend of mine is having her first show and asked me to be her model.”

Luka rushed to his feet and yanked his sister off the couch into a hard embrace, his exhaustion forgotten in his exuberance. “Juleka! That’s amazing!” She giggled when he spun her around in a circle and set her back on her feet. “Why didn’t you tell me before? This is huge! I’m so proud of you.”

She hid her face behind the dark curtain of her hair as her face flushed. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d make a big deal about it.” She mumbled as she reclaimed her seat on the couch.

“Sorry, but I’m really happy for you,” he said with a grin as he sat next to her. “I’ll definitely make sure to come see you in the show.”

As they continued to talk about what they’d been up to since the last time they’d really talked, Luka couldn’t help but wonder if Marinette would be at Fashion Week. He’d make it a point to ask around after Juleka’s show and see if he could find more information about her. Especially since so far, he’d struck out on catching her at the bakery.

For the past week, whenever he had a chance, he’d stopped by Tom & Sabine’s bakery and sampled their wares. Sadly, every single time he’s been there, Marinette hadn’t been home, according to what her parents told him. At times, he couldn’t help but wonder if her mom had figured out the real reason why he’d started coming to the store so frequently.

It wasn’t completely fruitless though. He’d developed a fairly good relationship with the petite Chinese woman who had taken to giving him extra macaroons or pastries in return for his sudden frequent business. He felt a little bad about going there with ulterior motives, but he really would have gone there regardless of his desire to finally talk to Marinette. Their food was delicious and had become the highlight of his day if he found the time to visit.

Suddenly remembering the leftovers from his trip to the bakery earlier that day in his messenger bag, he reached over and grabbed his bag. Pulling the paper bag out, he tossed it onto his sister’s lap.

“What’s this?” She looked at the bag, and then opened it to peer at the pain au chocolat inside. “Oh, I see. You’re hooked, too, huh?” she teased.

“Too?” he asked, a little confused.

“The DuPain-Cheng bakery was famous in my class while I was in school. My friend would often bring in treats for the class from there and we’d all usually end up going there for lunch a few times a week.”

He chuckled. “I can see why. Their food is amazing.”

And with that, he bid his sister good night and retreated to his room, where the melody of the baker’s daughter lulled him into a restless sleep.

-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-

“Man oh man oh man oh man. Why did I think it would be a good idea to bead the entire bodice of this stupid dress? Yeah, it’s going to be gorgeous, but it’s such a pain in the ass! Why, oh why would I completely change the composition of the most important piece in my show only ONE WEEK before the show? The dress was beautiful before, but noooo, I just had to try to make it better. What is wrong with me??”

Marinette was freaking out. With less than a week to go until her show, she was in full-scale panic-mode. Her band-aid covered hands were a blur as she hand-sewed black seed beads onto the bodice of the dress she had designed for Juleka to wear for her show. Working fast, she hissed as the needle she recklessly wielded stabbed into her finger once again. Yelping, she dropped the needle and rolled back in her chair so she didn’t get blood on the fabric. Sucking on the wound, she glared at the dress, irritated at her own carelessness.

She set the dress aside, deciding to take a break. Her poor fingers couldn’t take much more abuse. She stretched her arms over her head to ease the ache in her back from being hunched over her desk for the past few hours, meticulously attaching bead after bead after bead. With a final withering glance at her dress, she stood up and walked away, sitting down at her computer chair instead. What she needed was a distraction for a little bit to help clear her mind. She grabbed her controller and turned on her console, ready to ease her irritation.

Glancing at her clock, she realized how late it was. With a shrug, she decided that if none of her clan mates were online, she’d just do some solo grinding for a little bit and then resume her beading.

When she brought up her friend list, she grinned when she realized that she wasn’t the only one online so late. She picked up her headset and quickly placed it on her head, smoothing her hair away from her face in the process.

“Hi, Viperion, how’s it going?” she cheerfully greeted her teammate, blue eyes sparkling.

“Ladybug, I wasn’t expecting you to be on tonight.” His soothing voice tickled her ear. There was just something about his voice that made her stomach flutter. He could be reading the dictionary and she’d still hang on to his every word.

“Same here. I haven’t seen you online lately. Have you been busy?” From what Alya and the others had told her, it seemed like she and Viperion had been playing an online game of tag: neither of them had been on at the same time for weeks, sometimes missing each other by mere minutes.

His heartfelt groan made her giggle. “I work for an unreasonable dictator, so yeah, I’ve been busy. I just want to get the job done and move on with my life, but nothing we do is good enough to satisfy the higher-ups, so we’re forced to redo everything over and over again.”

“That’s awful,” she agreed. “I’ve been pretty crazy myself. I’ve got this thing next week that I’m finishing up the final details of and I’m starting to panic.”

“Hm…” His soft hum resonated in her ear. “If you panic, you’ll make mistakes. Just calm down and you should be fine. And don’t forget, you can ask for help if you need to. I’m sure you have people in your life that you can count on to have your back if you need to.”

“Yeah, I know, but telling me to be calm doesn’t actually mean that I’ll actually do it,” she jokingly replied. “I’m bleeding all over myself at this point, which is why I’m taking a break and playing.”

“Wait, you’re bleeding? Are you okay?” The concern in his voice was palpable.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m being dramatic, as usual.,” she reassured him. She explained that she wasn’t really bleeding, just pricked her fingers a few times. She giggled again when his relieved sigh filtered through her headset. He really was too adorable sometimes.

They continued their conversation for almost an hour before Marinette decided that her break had gone on long enough, refreshed from her interaction with the smooth-talking Viperion. “I’ve got to get back to work and if you’re as busy as you say you are, you should be sleeping, not wasting your time with me.”

“Spending time with you is not a waste of my time.” Her eyes widened slightly at his response. “In fact, I think it’s safe to say that it’s been the highlight of my day. Thank you, Ladybug.”

Heart thumping in her chest at his candid compliment, she murmured goodnight to him and signed off, staring at her screen without blinking as she replayed what he had said over and over again in her head.

She recognized the feelings brewing in her chest from her previous infatuation with Adrien. Marinette jumped up from her chair, knocking it over in her haste. ‘Nope, not gonna happen,’ she thought to herself. ‘I am not crushing on someone whose name I don’t even know!’

She thought she was done with this nonsense. She was a strong, independent, semi-levelheaded woman and she refused to lose her mind over some guy that she had never met. Yeah, she really enjoyed spending time with him online, and she’ll admit that when she saw his name highlighted on her friends list indicating that he was online, she always felt a tiny thrill creep up her spine. But he was just a good friend that she played with from time to time. He wasn’t anyone special. She didn’t have time for anyone special. She needed to focus on her career now, and not lose what sanity she had left chasing after a boy she knew nothing about.

Determined, she continued to talk herself out of the feelings she felt blossoming toward the soft-spoken boy.

Now needing a distraction from her distraction, she rushed over to her worktable and began furiously attaching beads to the garment.

But try as she might, she couldn’t stop his silky voice from echoing in her mind.

-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-

Chapter 11

*Thanks again for stopping by to read my story. I appreciate all of the love I’ve gotten from everyone on this. This is my second Fanfiction and probably the first one I’m going to finish. All of the likes and reblogs and comments help me keep going, so thank you all.

Special shout out to @s-n-arly for the fic recommendation post.

@write-for-your-life2, i’m not sure what a “tag list” is (I’m still kind of new to tumblr haha), but I tagged you in here, so hopefully you see this lol!

Next chapter will feature the fashion show and I’m so excited to show you what I have in store for these adorable dorks.

Until next time, my lovelies XOXO*

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers XX (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: There’s something so pleasing about finishing this on chapter #20 // Also, thank you all for reading up to this point! I just hope it reaches your expectations, or at least, doesn’t suck as much. Remember to leave a comment! It’s the last part, after all. Love you, and see you this summer! <3

Words: 8,274

Warnings: Some killings, some blood, some injures, Oh! And major character death, but is it really major? lmao

Previous chapter

“I’m gonna let this world die,” I hear my friend gasp, “I yearn for the sweet release of death” 

“You can die once we reach the school,” I grunt, skating faster.

Alex and I used to be very active people, but with the nuke our physical condition has self-induced into a coma.

It all right though! I’m running on spite and love, it’ll keep me active enough to reach the Highschool on time.

Unfortunately, Alex is only running out of patience.

“You know,” He wheezes, “if it wasn’t for you, starcrossed losers, I would be in the mattress store having my healthy eight hours of sleep!”

“It’d be like that sometimes,” I reply, “stop talking before you pass out.”

You wanna know how I feel? 

You guessed it! I’m McFreaking out.

But Alex’s comment reminds me of something, and it’s that I haven’t added songs to the soundtrack of my life! What a terrible narrator I am.

Allow me to introduce you not only to the next song of our list, but also the one that gave this story its iconic title.

You’re welcome.

Things have changed since the first time we met back in that alley, huh?

I was a loner, you were... uh, living your life, I guess. Being a good member of society.

“It started out as nothing in the strangest sense He was never in his right mind, no defense She prayed for his attention, often on repeat Every time she heard his name and his heartbeat”

Josh was alone and hurting, not knowing how to express his feelings and just hiding all inside. 

Never do that kids look how it ends, with you painting an apology all over the neighborhood. And I mean all of it. The phrase is not the same as the one outside my house, these ones say ‘I’m with you’, ‘Where are you?’ and ‘I’m sorry’ not the same but it gives out the same vibes. 

It seems that ever since I cured Josh’s hand, all we’ve done is to play this game of jumping back and forth in our boundaries, throwing our bones at the wrong times. 

“He was in denial in his own backyard Pleading for the rain just to come down hard She bought him a bracelet and put it on his wrist Like every time before she got close but missed”

“By the time we reach the school it’ll be too late, you know that, right?”

“The School,” I reply, breathing heavily, “has to be saved. We can’t let it rot in hands of someone like Triumph, he’s gross!”

“We’re gross,” Alex grimaces, “I stink, and now we’re sweating like pigs. Imma smell like a Ghoulie.”

“Pigs don’t sweat,” I say simply.

It takes us another half an hour to arrive, we’re on time. I’m just thankful that Alex could hold on for so long, he’s almost fainting.

“Okay, we can take a break,” I say as I watch him lose all color from his face, “you want water...?”

“I need to sit down...”

I hear noises in the distance and I see Triumph arriving at school. 

Only this time he’s with someone. I’m glad to see them, it means we can still help.

It’s my favorite knock-off Triumph and stupid Josh.

“Alex, do you mind if I leave you for a second? Josh and Eli are over there-”

“Go, I hate you I can’t even see you right now,” He groans, poor dude.

They don’t notice me as I get closer, I watch them silently as Josh gets inside the cage and Eli closes the little door, that’s when I decide to walk up to them.

“So by ‘have it under control’ you meant giving yourself to Triumph as a peace offering?” I ask.

Eli and Josh curse and look at me with wide eyes.

“I told you not to follow us!”

“Yes, I wonder why you thought I would actually listen,” I cross my arms, “Sacrificing yourself is not a fair move, I can’t stay mad at you like this, you look ridiculous”

“That’s the plan,” Eli smirks, “We’re gonna pretend I’m Triumph so the kids won’t attack us, and once we’re inside we’ll save those kids and we’re out”

“Uh-huh,” I tilt my head, “How do you know Triumph isn’t inside the school right now? Like, what if the kids just saw him go to the bathroom when a second Triumph walks in through the main entrance?”

“We... improvise?” Josh offers.

“No. Never improvise, that’s awful,” I shake my head, “don’t you remember what happened last time?”

“You walked out unharmed and with half their spare weapons,” Eli says. 

“Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best example-”

“Look, Y/N it’s alright,” Josh shifts on the cage, “we got this okay? Go to the mall, we’ll do fine”

“No, you’re not,” I insist, “you’re not going back to the mall, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll survive,” He shrugs, “you read the note...”

“Romeo, Romeo I'm your Juliet I'm the pot of gold that you haven't found yet I'm here, right here”

Someone runs to us and tackles Eli to the ground, screaming like a maniac.

“Hi, Baron Triumph! Die!” 

Oh my god, Jayden Hoyles it’s still alive?

“Get off of him!” I circle the byke and grab Hoyles’ arm trying to separate him from Eli, but he’s way stronger than me.

“Hoyles, you twat that’s not Burr, that’s Eli Cardashyan!” Josh yells from his cage.

Hoyles stops his movements instantly, sitting back and observing as Eli takes off his mask.

“’Sup turd?” He smirks.

“Fuck! Fuck!” He stands up and looks around in confusion.

“Hey let me outta here!” Josh demands, pushing the cage’s door.

Hoyles starts running away.

“Yeah, you better fucking run!” Eli sits on the ground as I walk over to the cage and unlock it.

“Hoyles you asshole! Hey!” Josh stands up in the cage, still screaming, “Hoyles!”

Then another miracle happens: Hoyles is tackled by a mutant pug.

“Oh, fuck” I cover my mouth in disgust. 

“Holy shit,” I hear Josh whisper, “mutant pug mating season”

I wish I didn’t have that image pierced in my mind forever.

Josh crouches next to Eli and checks on him.

“Hey man, are you okay?”

“I’m the lord of illusion!” Eli chuckles, “I even fooled Hoyles!”

“Hoyles is not exactly a smartass,” I retort, “but yeah, good for you I guess. C’mon”

I try to help him get to his feet but Eli whimpers, falling back.

“What? What?!” I step back, thinking that maybe he’s got a broken rib.

Eli touches his stomach and his hand gets smudged with blood.

“Oh shit,” I mumble, kneeling beside him.

“N-Nah man, it’s fine,” Josh stutters, “we got you, Y/N will heal you, right Y/N?”

“I need to see how deep it went,” My hands are starting to sweat and I feel something cold run down my back, “Eli, I need to take your clothes off”

But Eli is not listening, he’s got a panicky look on his face as he puts pressure on his injury.

“No, Eli!” Josh tries to carry him but Eli whimpers again.

“Alex!” I yell, “Alex, come quick! Eli is hurt!”

“Oh fuck,” Josh is holding onto Eli like his life depends on it, “what do we do?”

“Eli, don’t move,” Stab wounds are off-limits, you’d think I’d read a fic that had stabbing on it, but it turns out the world is lacking some good old-fashioned stabs, “Uh... keep applying pressure to it, we need to stop the bleeding and-and we need bandages... oh god, but I don’t know how deep it went, Josh! if his organs aren’t intact...” 

I look at Eli, who’s now coughing blood. I don’t dare to finish my sentence.

“What?” Josh asks anxiously, “if his organs aren’t intact what?”

“He’s...” This can’t be happening, not after all we’ve done, “we can’t help him, Josh”

“This blood is gonna get the Ghoulies fucking fast,” Eli speaks up, finally gaining a little bit of control.

“No man, don’t die,” Josh pleads, “Eli, don’t fucking die!”

“Josh,” I try to get his attention.

“What the fuck happened?” Alex is paler than before, “Y/N?”

“Hoyles stabbed him,” Only then I realize that I’ve started crying, “I-I don’t know what to do, Alex I can’t see his injury!”

“We’ll drive you back to the mall, okay?” Josh continues, “We’ll get Mavis. We’ll help you”

“Dude,” Eli speaks again, this time weaker than before, “Mavis is a mannequin. I don’t have the luck you got with Y/N, I don’t have anybody”

“Stop fucking around!” Josh exclaims.

“Just... when you get to the Highschool...” He mumbles.

“What? What man?” Josh gets closer, “Anything”

“You touch my ‘Magic: The Gathering’ cards, and I will hunt your ass,” He gives him a pointed look, “You don’t wanna fuck with paranormal Eli. I’m terrifying as shit”

“Jesus Eli,” I sob, “are you being serious right now?”

“More than ever, princess,” His breathing’s uneven now, and I know he’s about to go, “you do me a favor too, don’t go into sick dictator mode? Stay cool”

“Eli-” I cut my sentence as I notice he’s lost conscience, “No!”

“No, wake up, wake back up!” Josh shakes his body, “Get up, man! Get up! GET UP!”

“He’s gone,” Alex kneels beside me and touches my shoulder, “he’s gone...”

“Wake up,” Josh whispers, giving our friend’s body a final push.

Eli’s inert on the ground, he’s not breathing, and blood is still pouring from one of his sides. I feel the same numbness as with Katie. 

“Fuck,” I sit back, whipping the tears from my face and accidentally smudging blood on my cheek, “I fucking hate this town”

“Josh?” Alex asks beside me, “Josh, we need to leave before the Ghoulies...”

I raise my eyes and see Josh still holding Eli’s body, he’s looking at some point in the distance, crying but not making any noise.

“Wheeler,” I move over to his side and I kneel in front of him, cupping his face between my hands, “now is not time to lose it, alright? Deep breaths...”

Josh is facing me but it’s like he’s looking through me, then he closes his eyes and takes deep breaths, three times. He nods slowly and looks at me, now I see he’s back on this plane of existence.

“Let’s fucking end this shit”

We’re arriving at school when Josh starts acting weird again, he stops walking from time to time and I hear him breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the ground.

At some point, he turns around and sits on the ground next to a car.

Alex and I share a look and I step closer.

“What’s wrong?”

He vaguely shakes his head.

“Okay,” I reply softly, “you need help..?”

“I need closure,” He rasps, “I’m... I’m trying to...” He looks at me with pleading eyes, “Please don’t think I’m crazy”

“I won’t”

“I’m trying to imagine a conversation with my father,” He says to me very slowly, “you know, if I only had answered my phone on time... I need... I need that conversation now more than ever”

I feel a lump in my throat when I hear him, so I just nod.

“Course,” I mumble, “take your time”

I go back with Alex and tell him Josh needs a moment to calm down, so we sit at the main entrance of the school.

“It’s too empty,” Alex tells me, “the school, it’s too quiet.”

“Yeah,” I shrug, “maybe they’re gone, but we should make sure no one got left behind.”

“What is Josh doing, exactly?”

“He’s talking with his dad”

Alex gives me a weird look.

“Not he’s real dad, obviously. Like, the version inside his head,” I shake my head, “Look I know it sounds crazy but I get what he’s doing, don’t worry, he’ll be fine after this. He needs to talk it out.”

A memory flashes before my eyes: 

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

I’m thirteen and my cat just died, he was pretty old and fat, but I thought he would live forever. When I found out that wasn’t the case I sat next to his grave in the backyard and cried for a whole day until Katie came back from school.

She sat next to me in silence for a while, not even having physical contact.

“You know, dad says it’s better this way,” She says after an hour passes, “he died in his sleep, he wasn’t in pain.”

“But I am,” I cried, “he wasn’t supposed to leave me so soon!”

“You don’t know that,” Katie grabs my shoulder softly, “maybe he left so you could get another cat, maybe that cat is an orphan right now, and it’s waiting for you to save him”

“I wanted Lou, not an orphan cat,” I sniff loudly, “he was my best friend”

“It’s okay,” Katie slides closer and hugs me, “He’s still watching over you, I bet he’ll stay with you forever. That’s what happens when you die, you get to take care of the things you love in subtle ways.”

“You think?”

“Definitely,” She smiles, “if you ever feel scared during the night time he’ll warm your bed, or if you’re ever hungry and forgot your money for lunch, a friend will offer you cookies. Those kinds of things are stuff they sent to us, subtle reminders of their love”

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

God, I miss my sister so much. 

I hadn’t thought of that conversation in a long time. She was clever, always knew what to say. 

She was also right, about the subtle ways someone can send you their love.

I feel my sister on every kid that thank me when I heal them, my mom and dad are there every time Wesley and Angelica give me a speech/lecture about how I’m doing a good job and shouldn’t give up.

And Josh is... 

Josh is every little thing I used to love about my home: the laughter, the secrets told at midnight, the goodnight kisses, the vibrant colors... 

I look at my skates with a warm feeling on my chest, all of them, every person that I can’t see, they’re still with me. Looking after me, sending their love in subtle ways.

Josh walks up to us, looking determined.

“It’s done?” I stand up.

Josh hugs me without saying a thing.

“Oof!” I grunt, taken by surprise, “okay?”

“I don’t want to hurt people anymore,” He says, voice muffled by my hair.

“That’s good,” I pat his back.

“I will keep my promises this time,” He assures me, but I think he’s still talking to himself, “I won’t push you away”

“I believe you,” I respond, stepping back and looking into his eyes, “but Josh, keep in mind that you aren’t perfect, so please don’t push yourself too hard or you’ll break again”

He nods, smiling lightly.

“Ready to finish this?”

Instead of replying I turn around and extend my hand to Alex to help him get up.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” I apologize wholeheartedly, “you could be traveling around the country if it wasn’t for me”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Y/N” He smiles.

I look back at Josh, his usual energetic attitude is slowly coming back.

“We’re ready.”

“You’re something else, Y/N,” Josh replies, eyes beaming.

“Well it started out as nothing in the strangest place Beating like a drum in a hard work space He swore that he could feel something tugging on his sleeve He had the strangest sense that he was Adam, she was Eve”

The school is completely abandoned, no one is on the halls, they’re clean like someone made sure to leave everything in their place before escaping.

“We should look in every room, just in case,” I say, Alex and Josh agree silently.

We search in the principal’s office and the classrooms.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Alex whispers.

“Wait,” Josh stops, “you heard that?”

“What?”

We don’t move for a second. Then, a clanging sound echoes through the hall, we share a look of excitement before sprinting forward.

“Over here!” Alex opens the door of the chemistry classroom.

We step inside as the noise gets stronger, Josh moves quietly and points to the closet in one of the corners.

We join him to see Sam Dean, desperately trying to open a heavy metal door with chains around its handle. We get closer and she doesn’t seem to hear us, too focused on breaking the chains.

“She was in chains by her own good hand Keeping all the angels under her command He saw every detail burning like sun Couldn't get it straight that his race was run”

“Sam?” Josh asks loudly.

The girl screams and raises the crowbar, almost hitting Josh on the head.

The three of us step back and shout that we come in peace, raising our hands so she sees we have no weapons.

Well, I do have Katie on my back, but like, I’m injured so I can’t grab it fast enough.

Her eyes widened and urge us with an alarmed voice.

“QUICK! BURR’S GONNA-”

An explosion sends us all against the opposite wall, I hit the side of my face with a chair and when I open my eyes I’m on the ground. Blood is coming from my mouth and I feel my lip has a cut. I’m too disoriented to get up, so I stay still on the floor.

A shadow stands above me and I look up, is that... Sam Dean?

She helps me to get on my feet and it’s then when I realize my ears aren’t working as they should.

“I...” But I can’t hear my own voice, so I assume they can’t hear it either.

Well, fuck.

I search through my bag ignoring the pain in my shoulder and pull out my notebook (the one I always carry around, not the one Josh gave me, I left that one behind, remember?) and a pen, quickly scribbling away.

‘Triumph?’

I show the page to Sam and she nods, she grabs my notebook and writes back.

‘My fault. Need to stop him.’

Josh and Alex walk up to us, Josh is looking good overall, but I can see Alex will have a pretty nasty bruise on his eye in a couple of hours. Josh rushes over to my side and examines my face with a worried expression, I brush him off and grab my notebook from Sam’s hands, pointing to what’s written in it.

Josh reads it and shakes his head, taking the pen and writing messily.

‘We have no weapons’

I snatch the notebook from his hands and write in all caps:

‘MALL’

I show the notebook to Sam and she nods excitedly. Then she mouths ‘LET’S GO’ and guides us outside.

She leaves the classroom with Alex following close behind, Josh and I are left alone.

I scribble quickly.

‘Ur <3 is with me?’

Josh reads and nods, not understanding what I’m trying to say.

‘R U going to tell her?’

He gulps and looks over to where Sam was moments ago, then takes the notebook from my hands and writes five words.

‘Kill Triumph 1st. Talk later’

Right. Priorities.

We get out of the classroom and soon are on our way to the mall, my lip has stopped bleeding but it’s swelling and it hurts. I landed on my shoulder and that’s also hurting, you can add this to the list of injuries that I’ll have to deal with later.

It’s around five o’clock when we arrived, we are battered but we need to gather our stuff and think of what we’ll do next.

The kids spot Sam and most of them run to welcome her and give her a hug, but she tries desperately to let them know what’s going on, I don’t know if they’re able to hear or not, so I hit Josh’s shoulder and give him a sharpie I had in my bag, pointing to the column in front of us.

He grabs it and writes on it ‘TRIUMPH IS GONNA NUKE GLENDALE’.

KJ snatches the sharpie and writes ‘We have to GO!’

Sam glares at her and takes the sharpie back, writing ‘We have to stop him!!’

I drop the notebook and grab the sharpie, quickly adding ‘We need the spare weapons! We need to kill Triumph!’

Sam and KJ keep pointing to their signs and then KJ does it harder, giving Sam a pointed look and walking away.

I walk over to KJ and grab her arm, frowning at her, trying to communicate my thoughts: ‘What THE FUCK are you doing?’

She points with her thumb over her shoulder and then to the things on the ground, like saying ‘I’m done with this shit’

Well, smartass so am I.

Most of the kids start to join KJ, they don’t want to fight or kill, they want safety.

I should know that, I heard them before.

I walk back to where Sam is and I see slight relief in her eyes, she knows she’s not alone.

Josh starts to walk over to KJ’s side and both of us look at him with wide eyes.

I pull the pen out of my pocket and throw it at his head.

He turns around, holding the place where I hit him and asks silently ‘What?’

Sam’s mouths ‘What the fuck?’

Josh shrugs and points to the kids, ‘Let’s go?’

KJ crosses her arms and raises a brow, expectant.

For fucks sake, I like her but sometimes I want to kick her ass.

Sam shakes her head and picks up the notebook and the pen from the ground, she opens it on the page where we were writing before and just when she’s about to start writing, her eyes find my conversation with josh.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Please kill me now, oh fuck, I fucked up. I’m the worst.

Her eyes widened, throwing the notebook she looks up at Josh and then at me. 

I step away from her.

It’s embarrassing really, how long it takes Josh to realize Sam found out about us... ugh, that sounds disgusting, it sounds like we cheated or something.

She gesticulates dramatically and Josh only seems to get even more confused as she keeps going until finally she stops moving and asks, very loudly:

“You FUCKED Her?”

Oh, I can hear now.

Oh no, I can hear now.

“I’m going to get those weapons,” I say, face completely red and unable to look at either of them in the eyes.

Fuck is a stretch, to be honest. We barely kiss like two times, this is not middle school.

“Alex can you..?” He tilts his head and frowns.

Am I... am I the only one who’s able to hear right now?

“You can’t hear me?”

Alright then, they can’t. I lower my head and walk straight towards the pharmacy, thinking what will I do to live with the humiliation of being ‘the other girl’.

________________________________

Well, Josh had a blast being insulted nonstop by a bunch of colorful post-it notes.

Sam was pissed. She had the right to be, Josh had been unfair and had offended her for no reason, so he just let her write everything she wanted, he wasn’t going to defend himself.

When the girl stick the last note on his forehead ‘U R a coward’ Josh pulled the old, raggedy yellow note that said ‘Where are you?’ and handed it to her.

Then he grabbed the post-its and wrote:

‘Fixing my mistakes.’

Sam read it and spoke up.

“Am I a mistake?” She raised a brow.

“What I did to you was,” He replied, “I know saying I’m sorry sounds like I’m not actually sorry. I am, though. I’ve been working on fixing the way I cope with things and it’s taking me a while to get used to it.”

“Good for you,” Sam replied harshly, “that doesn’t mean everything will go back to normal and you know it, right?”

“I wasn’t counting on it,” He admits, and when he said it, the pain in his chest was minimal, “you deserve better Sam, I really liked our time together but I know that what I said to you was just plain awful”

The girl tilted her head.

“I’m right,” She squinted, “You and Y/N are a thing?”

“No,” Josh saw her skeptical expression and sighed, “for a moment we kinda were, but... Let’s say I’m a pro at making girls hate me”

Sam nodded.

“It looks like karma got to you, I have nothing to add,” Sam started to walk away, but stopped to look over her shoulder, “the things you wrote on the notebook... is it true? You love her?”

“I don’t know,” Josh felt his heart flutter at the thought, “it does feel like it sometimes”

“Like it felt with me?” Sam asked ironically.

Josh groaned, passing a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry I was so pushy”

“Josh,” Sam insisted, “you can’t be falling around for every girl that treats you nicely”

“Y/N doesn’t ‘treat me nicely’,” He replied, “when I cut my finger she almost tied me to a bed and forced me to recover. She insults me a lot, recently threatened to kill me”

“And you like her?” Sam frowned, “Are you sure you’re working on your issues?”

“She’s done all those stuff but she also cured my hand, and she’s cured every kid on this mall, she got us weapons and she watches our back. When I talk to her I just feel that she gets me, you know? She’s... I feel I finally found my place,” He looked over to the pharmacy, where Y/N was hurriedly putting weapon after weapon inside a plastic box, “I feel happy when I’m with Y/N”

Sam gets closer, also watching the girl in the pharmacy.

“Y/N L/N a.k.a Vinchi-”

“She doesn’t like that nickname anymore,” Josh is quick to correct.

“Alright,” Sam gives him a funny look, “just Y/N, then. Artistic type of person, creative, funny, a talent for kind words. Yes, I can see you falling for someone like that. Actually, I don’t understand how it didn’t happen sooner,” Sam eyes him up, “didn’t you do a project together?”

“Yeah,” He smiles, “I did have a thing for her, but you know, I was with you...”

“How considerate,” Sam shakes her head, “time’s up, we need to go and stop Triumph.”

_______________________________

I hand the box to Alex and dry the sweat of my forehead.

“That was the last crossbow,” I sigh, “well, we need to go again”

“Not gonna lie, being a hero is way harder than expected,” Alex grunts.

I put an anti-inflammatory cream on his eye, the bruise is fully formed now and it gives him a shitty look, I wave of appreciation washes over me and I hug my friend by the shoulders.

“I love you, Alex. You’re the only family I have left”

“Hey, that’s not true,” He looks down at me, “things are not over yet, we still can get Wesley and Angelica back, and... I mean, Josh is still pretty much into you, right?”

“Right,” A voice replies behind me, “but she’s not ready to forgive me, so I decided to do the next logical thing and fight against the cannibal to win her back”

I turn around and I see Josh standing at the entrance, a tiny smile on his face.

“Ready to go?”

“Where are we going first?” Alex asks.

“We need people, we should go for Angelica and Wesley,” Josh looks at me, “I shouldn’t have kicked them out in the first place, I know.”

“Wait,” Alex interrupts, “we can’t leave the weapons here alone and we can’t take them with us, it’s a lot to carry. Someone needs to stay and wait”

“I’ll stay,” I reply instantly.

“Are you sure?” Josh asks me.

“Yes, I’ve always been the one to look after the mall, right?”

I’m trying to make it look like I’m being heroic, but actually, I’m just finding an excuse to not confront Sam just yet.

“Okay,” Alex pats my back, “I’ll stay too then”

“No, you have to help them, you don’t know what could happen while you’re out,” I push his hand away, “Go, I’ll be fine”

Josh holds my hand.

“I’ll fix things, I’ll get everyone back... I hope you can give me another chance once this whole thing ends”

Little does he know, I would give him the second chance right now if he’d ask.

If only he had asked.

“Romeo, Romeo tell me where you've been I would be complete if you'd only let me in I'm here, right here He said Juliet I told you I was only passing through If I had a moment I would spend it just with you I'm here, right here”

So I sit on the mattress store with the box of spare weapons next to me for what it feels like hours, but it’s really just like one. Finally Josh, Sam, and Alex arrive with Wesley... and Turbo.

“Well hello,” I raise my eyebrows, “it’s always a pleasure to see the guy that tried to kill us a few nights ago”

“He’ll help,” Josh tells me, “he’s with us now”

“I assumed he was, otherwise he wouldn’t be so chill, right, big guy?”

Turbo smiles awkwardly at me.

“Y/N,” Wesley smiles at me, “can I have a hug?”

“You can have all you want!” I quirk up, hugging him tightly I take the opportunity to whisper, “I missed you, man. You were great on Harvard’s podcast”

“You listen to them?” He steps back, shaking his head, “nevermind, of course you do”

“What’s that supposed to-”

“Hey,” Sam walks up to me, “can we talk?”

If I could pronounce the way I write a key smash, I would. I do not want to talk to Sam Dean.

“Sure!” I say, maybe too excitedly.

She takes me outside the store and sighs, just letting things out.

“I know about you and Josh, I just want you to know that I’m fine with it, you can stop looking at me like I’m about to jump on your throat”

“What?” I laugh nervously, “I’m not- Okay, fine, holy shit I’m so sorry, I’m under a lot of pressure”

“I understand,” She pats my shoulder, “it’s okay, Y/N. We’re good.”

“Thank you,” I let out a heavy sigh, “you’re great”

“I’m just not a bitch,” Sam smirks, “besides, he really cares about you”

“Okay,” Josh speaks up from the store, “Burr has Angelica, an army of jocks, and a big nuke.”

We go back in the moment he turns to look at Turbo.

“What’s your plan?”

Turbo stands up and grunts, pacing up and down. He’s upset.

“Kids need the strongest leader,” Sam mentions, “Turbo isn’t that anymore”

Turbo grunts louder and I reach for his arm to gain his attention.

“If you keep grunting like that your throat will never heal,” I warn him, “and you probably need a humidifier... or something, I don’t know, I’m not a doctor”

Turbo stares at me for a few seconds and then back at Josh. He points to him and then to me. Wesley eyes me up with a sly smile and then at Josh.

I’m: confused.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Josh stands up, “I can’t make a plan, I’m not a leader, I’m just... I’m just Josh!”

“Alone, yes,” Wesley retorts, “with Y/N? That’s a different story.”

“Uhm, what?” I frown.

“He’s right,” Alex says, “Josh is an expert at survival, but you know how to find shortcuts to solutions. Creativity and knowledge, that’s enough to succeed.”

“No one will follow us,” I reply, “Josh and I are nobodies, we have no friends!”

‘I’ll be your friend!’ A voice that triggers my panic speaks up from the hall.

“SHIT!” 

We jump to hide and Sam looks around.

“Aw! What’s your name? Guys look!”

“It’s not exploding?” I peek over the couch, “What a nice way to find out I have PTSD”

“Sorry!” KJ appears at the corner, “Sorry! Thought it was cute... My bad, too soon. I want to apologize for running away. We came back to help you fight. And... we’re not the only ones”

I’m shocked to see that the Cheeramazons are here. I’m even more surprised when I see that Josh knows sign language.

“Besides,” KJ smiles at me apologetically, “must of us feel like we own you big time, Y/N. You’re like a mom”

“I’m not a mom!” I scoff, “But... thank you, I guess.”

“Do you have a plan?” Sam looks at us.

Josh hesitates, looking around like he’s lost.

“Josh?” I hold his hand, “I’m right here with you.”

He looks down at our hands and a smile appears on his face, he drops my hand, but only for just a second so he can sign what he says:

“Let’s save the world.”

“And they all fall down And they all fall down”

“You don’t actually have a plan, don’t you?” I ask.

“I don’t have a plan,” Josh looks at me with pure fear, “I was expecting you would give me one?”

“Hmm,” I nod, “well, you can’t expect me to solve every problem, you know?”

“But you’re great at solving things!”

“Yes, but this is a difficult one!” I reply, “we are so few, and they are so many... shit, we could barely form a...”

My voice dies at the end, an idea making its way to me.

“I know that look,” Josh says, a smile growing slowly on his face, “tell me what you think”

“We need to form a marching band.”

Josh frowns, having no idea of what I’m saying.

“Just- Come...” I grab his hand and rush to the main entrance of the mall.

I know I’m making a lot of time-skips. But those parts are boring and let’s be honest, you’re not here to listen to our crazy plans, you’re here to read some classic romance.

Maybe I should skip to the end of this? Would you like me to?

Sike! you’re gonna sit and wait for me to end narrating cause I want to talk about my goddamn day.

Where was I? Oh right, so we take the truck to the mall and Josh parks right outside, lowering the ramp so everyone can climb up the back.

“Alright!” Josh tells aloud as I circle the truck “Let’s hop in!”

I stand next to the ramp and watch as kids hesitantly climb.

Sam grabs my arm and pulls me towards Josh, whispering:

“Hi, what the shit?”

“I’m relatively confident this is gonna end well,” Josh points at me, “it’s one of Y/N’s plan, those never fail”

He gives me a bright smile but I almost wish he didn’t cause I am not even close to confident.

“Fighting Baron Triumph, with the surviving members of the JV marching band?” Sam asks in disbelief.

“Hey, don’t underestimate the power of music,” I state.

“Besides,” Josh continues, “they don’t have to be any good, just loud!”

A Cheeramazon stands in our way and mouth ‘it’s going to be loud’ she winks, high-fiving Josh. He chuckles (his cute, childish laugh) and guides us to the front seats of the truck.

“Yes, that makes total sense, thank you,” Sam mumbles.

“If it doesn’t work, I guess we can just follow plan b,” I shrug.

“What’s plan b?” She asks.

Josh and I share a goofy look and respond in unison:

“Improvise!”

The kids start playing the instruments as loud as they can and it happens: a Ghoulie walks out of his cave, mindlessly following the noises.

“Fuck, Josh!” Sam gets all defensive, but Josh and I only get excited.

“Keep playing! Keep playing!” Josh runs over to the driver’s seat and I grab the hammer that’s hanging on my back.

“Y/N?” Sam looks back at me, “you’re not coming?”

“Oh, yes” I smile, “just not inside the car.”

“What do you mean?” She frowns.

“I mean I could, but where’s the poetry in that?” I respond.

I can see that she doesn’t get what I’m trying to say, but that’s okay, no one could. Only you guys, you’re the one seeing the whole scene unfold.

So picture this:

The former loner who knows every corner of Glendale like the back of her hand, now skating along with her best friend from childhood ahead of a huge truck that carries her old Highschool classmates playing loudly (and badly) the marching band’s instruments so they can get as many Ghoulies as possible to make the dirty work for them. 

We make our way through the dirt that’s lifting from the ground, the Daybreakers make their dramatic appearance in front of Triumph’s army.

Yeah, you like that name for our tribe? I wish I could say it was my idea, but it seems that my imagination is better at stupid plans rather than naming important things. 

I don’t mind, really, as I smugly arrive at the scene, backed up by a gigantic bee face, I feel more powerful than ever. 

Josh and Sam get out of the driver’s seat and stand on each side of us, I bet we must look pretty badass. Or at least I hope our vibe feels like we know what we’re doing.

“Hey Josh!” Burr yells.

Then his army starts walking towards us, and I keep my grip firm on Katie.

“Is this your plan?” Sam asks loudly.

“We need an army to fight the jocks,” Josh retorts, “so we got an army”

Now, I did feel a bit bad watching as the Ghoulies feasted on those poor athletic souls, but hey, they had it coming! How can they support someone like Burr?

Turbo’s bus stops next to us and we climb up on it, I have a hard time climbing without using my injured hand that much. Jesus, at this point I don’t think my hand will ever properly heal.

He drops us where Angelica is and she receives us with a hug -first time she hugs me, I feel validated- and tells us the wonderful news about how the nuke is ready to blow up in our faces.

KJ and she try to deactivate it but the instructions are in a different language and it’s hard to read, Angelica has a little breakdown and Josh tries to calm her down.

“Hey! Okay then, we’ll just unfuck it,” He says calmly, “Angelica, you’re a Mensa-level genius with flexible morality... and I need you.”

Alright but you agree with me when I say that this is not fair, right? 

That was so sweet! Why is he so sweet when I try to keep my distance? 

WHY?

“I need help,” Angelica replies, “there’s a biological weapon on this nuke, I don’t know what it is, Ms. Crumble does. I need her”

“We’ll get her,” I say.

“Well, where is she?” Sam inquires.

Angelica points to a building behind us.

“In there, with the other kids”

When we walk inside we see a bunch of kids trapped inside two school busses.

“I’m gonna get them out,” Sam says.

But before she can, Triumph attacks Josh and pushes him over the ramp, he falls from a reasonably high distance and Sam ends up fighting Burr, so it’s up to Alex and me now.

“Go get Ms. Crumble!” Sam demands as she runs, “Angelica needs her!”

Josh runs away and Alex and I go towards the busses.

“Get away from the door!” I warn the kids on my bus as Alex does the same with his.

I hit the small window on it and I break the glass, I hear the sound of a gun being fired and some glass falling to the ground, so I assume Alex shot the door to death.

“Get out! Come on!” I urge the kids to run away as they desperately climb out of the bus.

I hear Sam grunting and screaming and I look up to see her on the ground. I don’t get to worry much cause soon enough Josh appears behind Triumph and stabs him in the back, Ms. Crumble is next to him, along with Mona.

I have to make a quick choice, and I decide that the four of them can easily kick Burr’s ass, so I make my way outside to cut some Ghoulie heads.

Or more specifically, smash them.

But when Alex and I get out we see Wesley and Turbo being cornered by some jocks and we stand beside them, Alex points his gun to someone but I see he really doesn’t want to use it against a live person.

“Well, look what the plague brought,” Maya comes out to the front, “Vinchi.”

“Bite me, Maya”

“I rather leave it to the Ghoulies,” She smiles, “go ahead, boys”

The jocks move but Sam appears behind us, trying to calm everyone down.

“Woah, Woah! Hey, guys” She peeks over Wesley’s shoulder.

“Hi Sam!” a boy at the back waves at her, “Nice jacket!”

“Thank you Michael!” She exclaims, “Okay, so if we could all just... relax. Principal Burr is dead, but we need to get Ms. Crumble here, up there to disarm that nuke and save everyone. Good?”

“You got it, Sam!” Michael replies.

“Thank you, cooperative”

We go back to Angelica and Crumble tells us that the bomb made her, I don’t really understand what she means, but right after she says it Angelica tells us she can’t deactivate now.

But, she can fire the missile to a different location. Up to god, apparently.

Unfortunately, it can only be done from here, and being this close to the missile when it shoots up equals dying a really shitty death.

“I’ll do it!” Crumble offers.

Angelica refuses the idea, but deep down... it’s our only way out if we want to stay here. 

It’s hard, I see myself reflected in the way she holds onto Crumble’s waist. She doesn’t want to let go of the only family she has. However, it’s imperative we do this soon, so we have to take her away.

She fights, kicks and yells as hard as she can, but eventually, we drag her out.

“Get to the trucks!” Josh yells and we all obey.

Crumble makes sure we are all safe before she presses the button. 

The explosion is massive, impressive. Angelica turns her back to it and hugs Josh and I close, Wesley joins in.

“We’re here, An” I tell her as I pass a hand through her hair, “we’re with you”

“I never thought I would see anything like this,” Alex mumbles behind us.

“I never thought I would be this close to die so many times in just one year,” I scoff, “apocalypse, am I right?”

The missile explodes but is too far out of our reach to even feel scared. It’s like four of July, and we’re just watching fireworks.

“We did it?” I ask.

“It’s done,” Sam says.

“Holy shit,” Alex pulls me away from my other friends and hugs me tightly, “We did it! We saved the world!”

I hug him back and laugh loudly.

“Fuck yes!” I step away and hug Wesley, then Turbo, then Sam... and Josh and I are standing face to face without knowing what to do.

“Uh, good job,” Josh smiles.

We hear Angelica sob and the bliss disappears.

Josh puts a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry”

“We have so much to thank her,” I hug her again, “it’s okay...”

Wesley joins in, the three of us looking at the flames surrounding the place where the nuke used to be.

“What are we looking at?”

“SHIT!” I jump away from Crumble, “How are you so quiet- No, how the fuck are you here?”

Angelica gasps and hugs Crumble.

“I told you!” Crumble laughs.

“What are you?” An asks her.

Yes, that would be the right question.

“I don’t know,” She shakes her head, “but aren’t we gonna have fun figuring it out together?”

“Yeah!”

I don’t know why, but a need to run away invades me. I feel like this is all too good to be true and something will explode in our face.

Now, that could be my PTSD talking, but either way, I quietly start to skate away from the people, trying to find a place that is lonesome enough to control my nerves.

“Y/N!” I keep skating, not noticing someone’s calling my name, “Y/N! Wait!”

Josh grabs my arm and stands in front of me.

“Where are you going?” He frowns.

“Oh, hah, I’m just-I’m just trying to... I...” I swallow the lump in my throat, “I’m scared, Josh”

“I know,” He nods, letting go of my arm, “but I thought we had agreed that you didn’t have to go to feel better, right?”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” I blurt out, “Cause if you’re not, I just can’t do it, Josh. I can’t be wondering every day if you’re into me or if it’s just you pretending, I need... I need to know that you know”

“I know,” He repeats, “I want to be with you, Y/N. You and your silly socks and these horribly blinding lime-green skates. If that’s what makes you happy then I’ll get you all the lime-green things in the world. I’m okay with whatever you want as long as I can keep listening to your voice calling me stupid Josh and urging me to brush my teeth, I... I like you”

I’m not going to cry over this cliche speech. I refuse.

Fuck, I’m crying.

“Shut up,” I half-laugh, half-cry, “I think... I like you too, stupid Josh”

“Can I have a second chance?”

“You just saved the world, you can have anything you want”

“You saved the world too”

“All I want is you”

I grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him down to kiss him.

“Ouch! Bad idea, bad idea,” I step back, holding my swollen lip, “I was trying to be romantic”

“Are you okay?” Josh laughs, cupping my face, “Wait, hold on let me see, did I make it bleed again?”

“I don’t know,” I raise my head so he can examine it, “I’m sorry, I ruined the moment”

“You didn’t,” He shakes his head, still chuckling, “let me just...”

He leans slowly, giving me a moment to step back if that’s what I want. 

That’s obviously not what I want.

He kisses me again, softer this time.

Oh, how little matters the end of the world on moments like this.

Suddenly it’s like we’re back at the beginning, the school is celebrating their homecoming and I’m kissing my boyfriend after a long day of cheering for our football team. Alex must be waiting for us to get to the mall so we can watch a movie with him and Stuart. There’s not a ‘What if’ on sight to wonder about, I’m living in it.

“She said Romeo, Romeo I'm your Juliet I'm the pot of gold that you haven't found yet I'm here, right here He said Juliet I believe every word you say Time is running backwards every single day...”

“Hey, lovebirds!” Sam calls out.

We break apart to look at her and Josh smiles.

“Hey! Listen, I think we’ll be a bit uncomfortable at first cause we are too many, but we can make it work, so if you just gather everyone...”

“What are you talking about?” Sam tilts her head.

“Uh, about the jocks joining our tribe?” Josh shrugs, “Now that Turbo is no longer their leader, you’ll need a place to stay. I know I’m not the best leader, but perhaps we can take care of you just fine”

“Says who?”

“Sam, you have no leader, you need protection,” He replies, “that’s why we rescued you”

“Rescued me?” She rolls her eyes, “I’ll always be thankful to you, Josh. And you Y/N, of course,” She walks up to the ramp, “when you posted that video you showed me who I could be. I don’t need to be saved! I just need a little guidance, something Y/N could be very helpful at?”

“You want me to join your tribe?” I frown.

“What? What are you talking about?” Josh asks, “Sam, what are you saying, who are you?”

She walks up to the center and turns around, looking down at us.

“I’m Sam Dean,” Sam replies like it’s obvious, she looks at Mona and nods.

Mona hops into the truck, ready to follow.

“What do you say, Y/N?” She asks me, “We might need your brain to rebuild our home”

“I-I don’t...” I stutter, not knowing what’s going on.

“She won’t leave her little boyfriend behind, she’s too needy,” A voice says.

The Jocks step aside and Maya reveals herself.

“I’ll be more than happy to help, though.”

“No!” I say in outrage, “Don’t listen to her, she’s not-”

I can’t find the words and it’s making me frustrated.

“Sam, you’re not like this,” Josh helps me out, “you don’t want Maya, she doesn’t play nice”

“Things change, Josh” Sam extends her arms, “this is my life now, these are my people and they need a leader. Y/N can understand that, don’t you? You wouldn’t just leave your mall kids abandoned, right?”

“No, I wouldn’t,” I reply dryly.

“No, you would do anything to keep them safe. Well, the jocks... they need me, and I know Maya can be quite resourceful, she spent some time with the Cheeramazons after all, I might need her talent for strategy, you know, just in case,” She smirks, “who cares about stupid morals nowadays?”

Maya walks up to her and stands on her left side, giving me a satisfied look.

“The apocalypse wasn’t the best thing to happen to you, Josh. It was the best thing to happen to me,” She looks at the rest of us and adds, “follow me.”

The jocks kneel and Sam sits on her throne... a queen bee finding its hive.

“Y/N?” 

“What, Josh?”

“Remind me to never doubt you ever again,” He looks at me with a worried expression, “I should’ve listened to you and just leave her alone...”

“you did that because you’re a good person,” I reply, “but I think it’s time we face it, ‘good’ won’t assure our safety, we’ll have to be smarter than that.”

“Now what?” Alex asks next to me.

“We stay together,” Angelica replies, “we won’t get intimidated that easily. We’re a tribe now! We have to make them respect us”

“I’m in,” Wesley says, then looks at Turbo next to him, who nods, “Turbo’s too”

“Me too,” Alex agrees.

“We’ll find our way out, right?” I ask Josh, reaching for his hand.

“Together, or not at all,” He nods intertwining our fingers.

“I'm here, right here...”

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic @slythermyg @loving-u-3000​

[justjessame]

Babysitting Butcher Chapter 47

“What’re you watching?” Billy came up behind me in our home office, his voice breaking through my earbuds and making me jump an inch out of my chair.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook ya.”  His lips against my forehead made the tension ease from my body.

“I must have been more riveted than I thought.”  I hit pause on the video, and sat back.  “Just thought I’d prep for meeting  Ryan.”  I’d been watching one of the stop motion videos Ryan had made of one of Becca’s favorite movies.  “He’s talented,” I offered, smiling up at Billy, “I can’t think of many kids under ten who can use Legos to make a complete remake of ‘Dances with Wolves.’”  

“Becca always loved that stupid flick.”  He shook his head, a sad smile lurking on his lips.  “You were watching a movie he made?”  

I nodded, and pointed at the computer screen.  “Yeah, he made a bunch, all non-violent movies.  Clearly an outlet his mom wanted him to have.  A good one, a way for him to be creative without being-”

“Without him tapping into his powers?”  Another nod from me.  “What’re you worried about, Ronnie?  Really?”  

I considered how to explain without freaking out Billy Fucking Butcher to the point he’d go commando mode.  “Vought went completely opposite from where it went with Homelander with Ryan.”  I pointed out that they created an entirely false, safe community for him and Becca.  A cookie cutter, normal place with bland people, with a bland school, and with bland hobbies.  “Becca wanted so badly for her son to have a normal life, a safe and happy life, Billy.”  I rarely used her name and it felt strange on my tongue, but I wanted him to understand why I needed to see that Ryan was in a good place.  “I’d love to say that whomever Mallory was told would keep him safe is a good fit, but let’s be realistic, he’s being held by our government.  If Vought has some shady shit going on, do you honestly think that the US government is always on the up and up?”  

“You’re worried that he might be being what, Ronnie, what are you worried about?”  He wanted me to name it. To put it in exact words, but I wouldn’t, not only because I didn’t know for sure, but also because I didn’t want Billy to make a hasty decision that couldn’t be undone.  

“I just want to check on him, Billy, that’s all.”  I stood up and moved into his space, where he’d perched on the side of the desk, stepping between his legs and looking up into his face.  “I want to make sure that your promise to Becca is being kept, that’s all.”  And for the most part, that really was it.  I just worried, in the pit of my stomach, that it wasn’t.

I managed to watch three of Ryan’s Lego stop-motion film adaptations, getting Billy to watch “Terms of Endearment” with the promise that I’d reward him heavily.  I also was sworn to secrecy about the glassiness of his eyes at the end of it, because the pollen count was clearly high, it had nothing to do with the show, nothing at all.  I also went over some of the other videos from Becca and Ryan’s time before Homelander and Billy found them.  

I wanted to know what Ryan’s schedule with his mom had been like.  The day to day, their special rituals, how they interacted, how they communicated.  This was important because, even after Homelander unveiled the reality of the world at large to Ryan, Becca and Ryan were still a duo.  Even when he took Ryan away, even when Stormfront tried to weasel her way into his affection, Becca was still his foundation.  Knowing how Ryan was reared by Becca would help me when I met him because it would help me gauge how he was dealing with the changes in his situation and circumstances.  How was he handling it, how were his powers manifesting because of it?

I also had Frenchie get me a tiny gadget that I didn’t want traced through the office or the usual channels.  It had come to me while we were having our party and Annie sat across from me at dinner.  If Vought chipped The Seven, then why wouldn’t they do the same to Ryan- the FIRST known child born of a supe.  And if that chip had been removed by his new guardians, why wouldn’t our people put one in.  My own experience showed me that it was more than likely that he was wired to the gills, even if he had no clue, so I had a gizmo that was more or less like an app on my phone that would tell me if he was and would act as a jammer should that become necessary.  

I felt like a conspiracy theorist, but something about Ryan’s situation, the more I thought about it, the more it felt worrisome.  Billy, after careful consideration, was coming with me, but wanted to stay out of sight.  He promised me that he didn’t feel homicidal toward Ryan, but he wasn’t up to a face to face just yet.  Having him close by would be enough, for now.  And knowing that the rest of the supes were diverted with their own distractions kept my blood pressure down, for the most part.  

Nondescript.  That’s how I would describe the neighborhood and housing development that Ryan’s new guardians chose to take up residence in.  Every house seemed to be identical to the one next to it, and honestly, from what I’d seen of the fake Vought community that he’d been raised in, it had more character.  

“This is,” I sighed, as Billy grimaced while he drove down the boring street.  “Bland.”  Maybe they thought bland kept a supe calm?  Or maybe government guardians made shit wages and adopting Homelander’s offspring isn’t exactly lucrative, who knew?  

We pulled up to a house that was forgettable, and Billy sighed.  “So much for staying out of sight.” No trees, no bushes, this was the worst place I’d ever seen for recon.  Which made some sense, if you considered supes trying to sneak up to abduct a kid.   “I’ll wait here, Ronnie.”

“Alright,” I turned to see that he was staring at me like he was willing me to stay in the car.  “I’ll be fine, Billy.”  Leaning closer, like a magnet he met me halfway, our lips brushing.  “I love you, don’t go crazy.  Play a game on your phone or something.”  He snorted and I got out of the car.  

The sun beat down on the grass, which was surprisingly green, but there wasn’t any added color of flowers, nothing lined the walkway, there weren't any decorative touches added- no chairs on the porch, no flags, or wreaths.  Nothing that would mark this house from any of the others.  They didn’t even have a welcome mat.  Shrugging, I pressed the doorbell and waited.  And waited.  Finally I heard the muffled sounds of footfalls on the other side of the door, then the clicks and snaps of locks being turned, before the door opened a sliver and a bright blue eye blinked out at me.  

“Hello?” The voice was quiet, hoarse, as though it was rarely used, and I smiled benignly.  

“Hello, I’m Dr. Veronica Taylor,” let me in, I thought.  “I have an appointment to meet with Ryan.”  Open the damn door.  

“Right,” the door shut, but instead of reopening all the way, I heard muttering on the other side and then again the blue eye in a sliver reappeared.  “Do you have ID?”  Couldn’t fault that caution, but I did have to question why it took a second person reminding this one to issue it.  

Smile starting to twitch, I pulled my badge free, along with my office ID.  “Here,” I held it up for Blue Eye to see, along with whoever might be behind her, but out of reach so she couldn’t grab it.  “Now, may I come in for my appointment with Ryan?”  

Again the door started to shut, but again there was a whispered conversation and I was starting to lose my patience.  “Whose in the car?”  Damn it.  I sighed.  

“My driver, William Butcher.”  Blue Eye, who’d reopened her slat to ask blinked before her eye went wide.  “That’s right, same last name as Ryan.  Now may I enter?”  

The door opened only wide enough for me to slip inside, and on the other side was a slender woman, the owner of the blue eye- I was happy to see that she had two of them.  And a man who demanded I submit to a pat down.  Rolling my eyes, I sat my briefcase down, and stood with my arms out and my feet shoulder width apart.  Once he was convinced I wasn’t packing heat, I was led into a surprisingly bright and airy living area. 

In fact, aside from the blandness of the exterior, the entrance was beautifully laid out and decorated.  Large screen television, the art on the walls was both bright and yet also simple, the house was comfortable and lived in, but well appointed as well.  Told to make myself comfortable in the family room, Blue Eyes went to fetch Ryan, while her male companion stood watch over me.  

“I do hope you know that as a psychologist, I have to ask you to leave the room when Ryan and I sit down together,” I offered, as I took a seat where I could keep my eye on the guard.  “It’s a violation of doctor/patient privilege, you see.”  

“He’s a minor,” the man grunted, and I grinned.  

“Do you want me to throw my full weight around?”  My head was tilted in challenge as Ryan was led into the room.  The man huffed at me, but he led Blue out and I waited until I felt they were at least a reasonable distance out of eye sight.  “Hello, Ryan.”  He was staring at me like he wasn’t fully committed to trusting me, which was good.  Ryan needed to learn a healthy level of distrust in the real world.  “My name is Dr. Veronica Taylor.”  He stepped closer, but well out of reach and I wondered if he’d learned a new reason to distrust.

“I thought I heard you say Billy’s name.” I smiled and nodded.  “Is he here?”  He looked slightly hopeful and it broke my heart.  

“He’s outside, in the car.”  His eyes dropped to the carpet and I took a deep breath.  “Would you sit down with me, Ryan?”  He shrugged and I tried again.  “Billy and I want to make sure you’re doing well, that you’re-”

“If I’m not, would he-” he stopped, but I’d heard it, the slight break in his voice and I felt a clench in my heart.  “He wouldn’t want me to come live with him, would he?”

Shit, I thought, that wasn’t a question I’d prepared for.  “Come sit with me, Ryan, let’s talk about why you’d want to live with Billy instead of with Mr. and Mrs.-” Fuck, what was Blue Eyes and whatshisname?  

Leaving Ryan in the brightly decorated on the inside, but bland as vanilla pudding on the outside house was the hardest thing I’d done since I left the clinic after Homelander’s failed attempt to murder me.  Hearing that he wasn’t mistreated, necessarily, but that he also wasn’t being cared for so much as he was being lived with was bad enough.  Remembering the gadget I’d asked Frenchie for, I’d run a quick scan and felt bile rise up when I realized that not only did our government chip the kid, but they hadn’t removed Vought’s.  Why would they leave those trackers in?  

Saying goodbye to this little guy, a kid who idolized the man I love and who shared his last name, was harder than anything I’d ever thought possible.  Harder than walking into a clinic and having Homelander’s parasite removed.  Harder than slipping in and out of consciousness when the rejected Compound he’d had me injected with tried to self-destruct me.  Harder than when I thought Billy might one day see me as someone he would have to snuff out.  

Ryan wanted to know if I’d be back, and when, and if I’d know if he could leave with me?  And I wished like hell I could tell him something worthwhile.  I knew I had more research to do, more files to delve into, including who Blue Eyes and Mr. Personality was, not to mention just what this neighborhood really was and how Ryan’s life was outside of that house. 

As I slid into the car, before Billy could ask a single question, his thumb was brushing a tear away that I didn’t even realize was falling.  “Do I wanna know how fucked up it is?”  I shook my head, feeling like I couldn’t even start to put it into words and suddenly the sobbing that I hadn’t done for any of the shit that I’d had handed to me from supes came out in a rage and Billy pulled away from the curb, murmuring his love to me, as his hand held mine and he drove us home.  

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Bucky somehow gets frozen again but only for a very short time cause its Tony to the rescue. When he wakes the only thing he can do is ask what year it is while trying not to panic. Tony goes into mother hen mode.

You Wanna Build a Snowman?

A/N: Gore warning here for those sensitive to that sort of thing. (severed limbs)

“So much fuss,” the man said, and he really wasn’t a man at all,but a boy in his late teens, someone who should never have drawn theunfavorable attention of the Avengers, “for so small a thing.” He reached forthe band of alien metal hanging off the tree-limb. Tony eyeballed the scene;they didn’t have much longer and the waves of ice-golems that the temple hadunleashed as guardians were slowing the Avengers down. Cap went down in a waveof them, then burst up, spinning like a red-white-blue pinwheel, knockinganimated snowmen in all directions.

“Great,” Clint said, climbing up to a better vantage point. Tonywasn’t watching him, mind you, but the HUD was keeping track of where all theAvengers were, mapping out their relative positions on the combat grid. “We’vegot ourselves an old-fashioned Tolkien human wanna-be here.”

“Only a Tolkien geek would be able to pass the Mandarin’s templetrials,” Natasha said. “I am telling you, censorship is not such a bad thing.Or at least, make sure to give them the wrong answers.”

Hulk smashed into the melee and opened up a good third of thebattlespace in a single swipe. Atta boy, Tony thought, darting into thespace left behind by the Hulk and repulsing a good half dozen; where were theycoming from? If he could just close off the spawn point, that would make thisbattle a lot easier. His boots were losing traction on the icy floor; thecreatures bled some sort of slurry ice-water that froze almost as soon as ithit the stone.

“No, what we need to do is make sure the next Mandarin has moreobscure taste in literature,” Sam said. His guns barely made a dent in the iceand snow monsters, and he would have been the perfect person to zip ahead,except the temple was guarded against fliers. Both Sam and Tony were forced to fighttheir way through on foot. It was that or learn to maneuver in space, somethingSam couldn’t do, and Tony would not.

“What we need to do right now is make sure that Frosty the Snowmandoesn’t put a ring on it,” Tony snapped. He was tired of Ten Rings; the oldMandarin had been old, and while not a good man, he’d been mostly retired. Buthe’d gone and done the whole setting up of Makluan temples and tests to claimthe rings. Which would have been fine, maybe, except that this particularMandarin fuckwit had sent out advertisements, telling people the Ten Rings werein play and fucking daring someone to try to claim them.

The Avengers had been chasing over the globe for weeks now,grabbing the would-be Ring Bearers. The biggest problem seemed to be that therings themselves refused to be contained. If a potential Mandarin solved thepuzzles and obtained the ring, he or she could wield it, but if an Avengerplucked it off their smoking corpse, the ring would vanish and reappear in adifferent temple.

Tony scanned the HUD again. A single red star glinted, totally outof the expected path. “Bucky, baby, sweetheart, what the fuck are you doing?”

“Linin’ up th’ shot, kitten,” the Winter Soldier said.

(mobile users, there is a readmore line here)

Tony finally found him, perched high in the ruins, the rip-tear ofvacuum only inches above his head. Had Bucky crab-crawled the whole way, mereseconds away from being suffocated, frozen solid in space? Tony’s HUD indictedan accelerated heart-rate and rapidly rising blood pressure before Friday sentanother cooling wave of chemicals into the pharmaceutical suite. “Boss, head inthe game,” she scolded.

Just what he needed, a babysitting momma duck AI.

Tony found the spawn point, finally, the shimmering faint tracesof extradimensional energy that was letting the ambulatory popsicles in fromwhatever dimensional disaster they’d come from. “William Tell,” Tony snapped.“I need you over here; sticky up this portal before we get more snowpocalypsereinforcements.”

Clint was so good with his aim that Tony didn’t even bother tostop moving in order to let him get the shots in, he just waited until theexternal mics picked up the gentle thrum of Clint’s bowstring and Tony lit upthe sticky substance as soon as it came in. Together, Tony’s flame-thrower andClint’s arrows worked like a sort of double adhering napalm, grabbing thecreatures and melting them to steam. The battlefield was obscured in the thickmists.

Thor whirled his hammer, clearing the fog.

The Mandarin candidate slid the ring onto his finger. He turned,raised his hand, the white Zero band glittering and catching all the light likea fallen star.

“Ha, gotcha,” Bucky said, soft. A second later, Tony heard the boygasp as Bucky’s bullet went right through the kid’s wrist, nearly severing thehand that bore the ring.

A blast of frost, glittering and deadly, shot from the ring as theboy fell to his knees, screaming.

The frost touched the Winter Soldier and for just a moment,everything was fine.

Then Bucky was captured in an icy shell like a diamond, frozen ina moment of perfect horror. The block teetered on the wall.

Tony had seen this, seen it a dozen times or more. If that blocktouched the ground and shattered, there was no hope. Bucky would be broken,irrevocably and unrecoverable.

“No!”

“Tony!” Steve was running, flat out, toward the far side of thecompound, where Bucky was falling; falling.

Steve threw the shield down in front of him, jumped on it like itwas a fucking snowboard, and Tony gritted his jaw, tracing vector angles; firedthe repulsors to give Steve an extra burst of speed.

Steve caught the Winter Soldier just before the ice block hit theground.

“That has got to be the grossest use of a severed hand I’ve evereven heard of,” Clint said.

They’d made that mistake before, taking the ring off the finger ofa Mandarin contender. So this wasn’t the best idea they’d ever had, but it wasthe only one. They took the severed hand, injected it with some of Tony’snanobot suit controllers and Tony was pretending it was just a… very fleshyversion of the gauntlet in order to manipulate the Zero ring in order to thawout the Winter Soldier.

“Man,” Sam said, shoving at Clint’s shoulder, “here I was sure youhad at least a half-dozen uses for a severed hand.”

Clint licked his lips, looking faintly green around the gills. “Ido. This. Still the grossest.”

“Shut up,” Tony snapped. “And back off, One Direction, you are alltoo up in my space here.”

The problem was, he didn’t have any sort of telepathic connectionto the ring itself. From what Tony understood, the very act of putting the ringon did a download of the instruction manual for the wielder.

Natasha was practicing her best interrogation techniques on theOnce and Future Jack Frost, but the kid was still so fucking traumatized aboutlosing the hand (and the fact that Tony had used the unibeam to sear the woundshut so that he wouldn’t die!) that he was barely coherent. Tony was aboutready to start wiggling fingers randomly, just to see what happened, but that…could have unintended consequences, including sending them into another IceAge, so Tony was trying, very hard, to keep hold of his patience. And hopedthat his boyfriend didn’t fucking melt before they could get him out ofthere.

“So help me,” Tony finally snapped, listening to the kid whimperand moan and complain, “if you don’t tell me how to fix this right the fucknow, I will turn you upside down and feed you to the vacuum of space slowlywhere you can feel yourself die an inch at a time. We clear?”

Every single one of the Avengers turned to gape at him; they allknew Tony’s feelings about space, how he’d almost died alone, out there. Thepanic attacks, the sense of dread.

“I’d um… do what he says,” Steve said. “Because none of us aregoing to stop him.”

The boy, eyes eating up his face, made a simple gesture with hisother hand, like catching a ball and twisting his wrist. Friday zoomed in,recorded it, replayed it.

“Do it again,” Tony said. He and Friday analyzed it. The motionwas identical. “You got it Fri? Help me out here, babygirl.”

“You got it, boss,” the AI chirped.

Please work, please work, please work.

Friday grabbed hold of Tony’s nanobots; she’d done it a few timeswhen he was out of commission; the control was part of the Avalon protocols, whichTony had never bothered to explain to the team. He grimaced. At least Buckycouldn’t see what he was doing, because Bucky always noticed stupid shit likethat, and Tony really wanted to put that reckoning off as long as possible.

His brain twitched as Friday ran the protocols up though hisfingers, into his brain, and out through the nanobots.

The severed hand twisted, caught, manipulated the Zero ring’senergy.

Bucky fell to his knees, gasping, soaking wet and shivering.

“Oh god,” Bucky said. He couldn’t seem to move, hands planted onthe cold rock floor, staring at the puddles of water than formed under him.“Oh, god. What… what year is it?”

Tony handed off the hand to Natasha, who cringed away, but tookit, holding it out and away from her by one finger. “Oh, baby, Bucky, hey, hey,hey,” Tony said, the suit peeling back as fast as he could get Friday to shedit. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s only been a few hours, honey.” Freezing watersoaked up into his flight suit as he slid to the ground, pulling Bucky into hisarms.

“Oh, god,” Bucky said, again. He was so cold, his skin was likeice, his muscles moving slow and uncertain. Tony rubbed at his skin, tryingfrantically to warm him. “Tony, I… oh, god.”

“It’s all right, honey,” Tony said. Bruce was there, suddenly,shirtless and holding one of his multiple blankets that they stored on theQuinjet. “Thank you.”

“Give me a hand, here,” Clint said to Natasha, holding out asample bin. “Let’s get our would-be Mandarin off to a nice toasty prison cell.This whole severed hand thing, that might be the way to go. This ring hasn’tvanished yet.”

“Man, I heard of eight heads in a duffle bag, but 10 hands in aring box just seems a bit much,” Sam complained.

“Come on, honey, can you get -- Steve, help me out here,” Tonysaid. Between Steve carrying most of Bucky’s weight and Tony providingemotional support and warmth, they got the Winter Soldier back on the Quinjet.

Bucky was shivering, clinging to Tony with both hands. “Thought…didn’t know. Time passes different, when you’re frozen,” he said. Tonyshuddered. “Your brain don’t slow down none, an’ there’s nothing to tell timewith, no heartbeat, no breathin’, just time and time and more time. I… didn’tknow if’d been an hour or another twenty years. If I’d lost you…”

“I’m right here,” Tony said, squeezing Bucky’s hand tighter. “Iwon’t leave you behind, I promise.”

Bucky tucked his face against Tony’s neck, still cold, stillshivering, seeking Tony’s warmth and comfort. When Tony looked over Bucky’sshoulder, he saw Steve, solemn and stern. “Yeah, don’t you worry, pal,” Stevesaid, acknowledging Tony with a quick nod. “Tony won’t let you fall.”

“Don’t listen to this asshole,” Tony said as Bucky flinched. Stevewas never going to forgive himself for the train. Tony rolled his eyes atSteve; Bucky was back with them, and it was time to let those things stay inthe past where they belonged. “He’s the one that caught you, acting like Disneyon Ice, I swear. I’ll have Friday play the logs when we get back. It was prettyamazing.”

“Wouldn’t have made it there without Tony’s help,” Steve said.

“It was a team effort,” Natasha said. She held a mug of cheapcoffee between her hands. “Here, Yasha, have something warm to drink. It willhelp.”

Yeah, Tony thought, keeping one arm around Bucky’s shoulders whilehe cradled the cup, letting the heat soothe. “We make a great team. I mean, I amthe boss, but…” Tony kissed Bucky’s hair, letting the razzing of the teamgo over his head. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had Bucky in hisarms and one of the Ten Rings on lockdown.

He was going to count it as a win.