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zosan-secondchances · 21 days ago

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The Pirate King of the North: Part 6 with Sanji Character Sheet

Main Themes: Villain Sanji, Alternate Universe, Zosan Ship

Warning: Long post ahead with One Piece spoilers. Contains strong language and explicit content.

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

In the wealthier district of Sabaody Archipelago, Zoro perches on the roof of a tall bell tower. From afar, he carefully watches a squad of royal guards lead slaves that are carrying two individuals on their backs all the way from Sabao Dome. They finally stop at a particularly large mansion behind high iron gates and thick brick walls. Inside, there is a polished garden that has thick ivies climbing up to the very top of the marble facade of the main building. The slaves set down the heavy carrier by the entrance, then the Celestial Dragon ushers Sanji into his house. The swordsman sighs in disappointment, silently cursing the situation at hand. He’d hoped to have an opening where he can nab the blonde while they’re outside but it never came to, given how many guards there were.

Law continues to speak on the line of his transponder snail.

Law

Don't do anything stupid. Wait for us and just keep tabs on the line.

Zoro

No. No matter what you do, stay away. I don’t think they’ve linked you guys with Curls yet and I'd rather it stay that way. Have you got the rest of the Heart Pirates with you?

Law

They arrived about five minutes ago. They’re…not happy to say the least.

Zoro hears several familiar voices in the background, begging the swordsman for forgiveness and crying out for Sanji to come back safely.

Law

So what now, swordsman? How do you plan to infiltrate the most heavily guarded holiday house in Sabaody Archipelago by yourself? You need my power. It'll take seconds to get him out as soon as I get there.

Zoro

I said, no. Look, these guys don't joke around. If they see you somehow cause trouble for any World Nobles, they'll send an Admiral to hunt you down until you're dead or imprisoned. If I think he's going to do what I think he intends to do, he very well may be turning the entire world against him.

Law

And…what's that?

Zoro

I think he wants to kill the Celestial Dragon.

—

It was easy enough to hurdle the initial gates, but staying hidden in the enclosed area is proving to be just as difficult as he expected. Zoro can’t rely on staying on the ground as there are too many patrols. And he can’t break inside the mansion from above because that would mean jumping from a far distance and landing with a bang, then dealing with guards on the floor anyway. He decides to push through the only and the most annoying option he has left.

As soon as the opportunity presents itself, he shimmies up the mansion walls, silently praying that the thick ivy vines and trellises that he’s holding onto don't give into his weight. He's never been a fan of stealth missions or anything that required subtlety. Through the windows, he sees Sanji and the Celestial Dragon walking along a corridor and into a room. He follows, traversing through the climbing plants. He stops just under a balcony of the room where he assumed they had gone. He wraps his limbs around one of its support pillars and waits for any sign to see if he was right.

Sanji

Saint Charlos, my dear, I'll need a second to freshen up.

Saint Charlos

Of course! Don’t be long.

There was the sound of a click, presumably the door closing. Zoro jumps and grabs onto the platform above him. He carefully raises himself, enough to peek through the gaps of the balcony’s balustrades. He worriedly looks around when he realises that there’s no one in the open room, so pulls himself up further, shoving a foot between the railing.

Suddenly, a face pokes up in front of him.

Sanji

Hi~

Zoro’s hands slip. He tries to recover himself by flailing his arms around but to no avail. He falls backwards.

Zoro

ACK–!

Sanji snatches him by the collar of his open robe and pulls him back. Zoro takes the opportunity to grab onto the top railing and the blonde’s outstretched arm. He hooks his other foot between another set of balustrades, finally able to get some semblance of stability.

Sanji speaks in a whisper.

Sanji

My god, you are terrible at this. I could hear you shuffling around behind the walls. I had to compensate a lot for you, you know.

Zoro

What–?

Sanji covers his mouth with his other hand, practically slapping it. He tuts, shaking his head.

Sanji

Too loud. But…I can’t help but think how romantic this all is. It’s very sweet of you to put yourself in danger and come all this way, Zoro. You’re not worried about me, are you?

For some reason, the sound of his name coming from the blonde gives Zoro butterflies in his stomach. He blinks dumbly a couple of times, then slaps Sanji’s hand out of his mouth.

Zoro

Curls, we don't have time for this. We have to go now.

Sanji

What, why? I'm in the middle of a heist here. A heist! For money! We're pirates–we like money! Actually, you can clear our way out. At the eastern side there’s a hidden passage that they use as an escape route for emergencies. I've been told it's under a big willow tree. I want you to find it and make sure there are no guards on the way out in two hours.

Zoro

Two…? Fuck that. Let’s just–

Sanji

You can manage that, can’t you? You know which side is east, right? He won’t know what hit him until we’re way out of here. He’s far too rich to notice anything missing. I’ll have the money and some when I’m through, I promise.

Zoro

What? Is this really just about…? Curls, this isn't worth it. We can just stick to Traffy’s plan.

Sanji places a finger on Zoro’s lips then gives him a warm smile. The swordsman didn’t realise that the hand that gripped his collar is now splayed over his chest.

Sanji

Shh…too loud. And just…can you just give me a sec to take this in? Please?

Zoro furrows his brows in confusion and looks around, trying to make sense of what the blonde is talking about. Then it dawns on him.

It’s just like what he’d seen on the covers of those romantic books about forbidden love. It’s where the suitor breaks in just for a chance to see his beloved by the windowsill. He played the brave man standing outside on the balcony, trying to win his love’s affection, and Sanji is the girl in a fine dress that he’d been chasing. The cool wind blows calmly through them, giving Zoro the rare chance to see both of Sanji’s eyes up close, bright and blue, looking back at him longingly.

Sanji

Can I try something?

Sanji gently cups both sides of Zoro’s face in his hands then pulls him in, his lips just hovering over Zoro’s own. He pauses there, as if giving the swordsman a chance to back off.

Zoro’s head tells him that he should push him away. By all accounts, with everything that they’ve been through and everything that he’d seen him do, he should be repulsed by this.

But his heart screamed louder at that moment. He finds himself unable to move away. Instead, his open eyelid droops down.

Sanji moves in and places his lips lightly onto his. He parts himself away for a second to look Zoro in the eye, carefully assessing his reaction. When the swordsman tips forwards ever so slightly, he takes the hint. He angles his head and clashes their mouths together.

They start their exchange gently, taking in each other’s sensations. When Sanji teases a tongue between Zoro’s lips, it quickly becomes frantic and desperate. They deepen their kiss as their hands keenly seek and explore each other’s skins, sliding under fabrics of clothing and grasping whatever they can in an attempt to pull themselves closer together.

Finally, Sanji forces himself to pull away before it gets too messy, leaving a trail of spit stretching between their tongues. Zoro couldn’t help but follow the momentum as he craved for more. They both take a second to catch their breaths. The swordsman looks into the blonde’s eyes again, then down to his mouth, trying to process what just happened. The feeling of the softness of his lips and the taste of his tongue on his own linger still.

Zoro

That was…

Sanji smiles fondly and lets out a light-hearted chuckle. He wipes the stain of his lipstick off Zoro’s lips, leaning back slightly to admire the strong features of his face while cleaning any proof of his makeup.

Sanji

Zoro… I…

Zoro slides his hands from Sanji's forearms up to his shoulders, then wraps his hands gently around the back of his neck.

Zoro

Curls…don't kill him.

Sanji's smile fades quickly, then he looks at the swordsman in confusion. His expression turns sour.

Sanji

You're trying to protect them…?

Zoro

No! I–

Sanji pushes Zoro by the chest, jerking himself away, taking backward steps.

Zoro fumbles but manages to catch the top railing of the balcony just in time before he could lose his balance.

Zoro

It's not like that! Curls, I am here because I…. Look, if you kill him, they'll send every Admiral and Warlord to get you and I might not be able to protect you from them. They'll send Mihawk.

Sanji

You think I need your protection? You? The person who's been trying to kill me for–

Suddenly, blood bursts out of his nose, staining the front half of his dress.

Zoro

Woah–!

Sanji

–the fuck?!

Sanji cups his hands over his face and runs inside, looking around clumsily for any piece of cloth to stop the bleeding and to clean himself with. Finally he finds facial tissues stashed on a dresser at the far end of the room.

There was a knock on the door. Zoro was about to hurdle over the railing to help the blonde but quickly skirts the balustrade to hide behind the outer wall instead.

Saint Charlos

Everything okay, princess?

Sanji

Y–yes, dear! Don’t come in yet. I’ll be there soon!

The door bursts open regardless. Saint Charlos saunters in.

Saint Charlos

Are you alright? I thought I heard–why are you bleeding?

Sanji

Of course I am. I’m in the house of a mighty World Noble after all. One has to work up the bravery just to be by your side, Your Grace. Nervous jitters.

Saint Charlos

Ah, I see. There's no shame in admitting it. I am magnificent, especially compared to someone like you. Come on then, my slaves will clean you up.

The Celestial Dragon lays a hand on Sanji’s lower back, ushering him through the door where he came from.

Sanji steals a glance behind him, only to find that there’s no one in the room. He uses his haki but can't seem to sense anyone’s presence. He returns his gaze forwards, feeling torn about the whole ordeal.

—

Thick clouds darken the skies and the rain starts pouring heavily. From under the refuge of an especially large willow tree, Zoro looks up and adjusts his hood frustratingly, trying to keep himself dry. His leg twitches restlessly. He keeps thinking about his last interaction with the blonde and tries to make sense of his own actions. He should hate the guy, but he can no longer deny his attraction to him. When he blinks, he realises that he's running his fingers across his lips, unable to shake the lingering sensation of their shared contact. The worst part is, he didn’t hate anything about it at all, nor did he realise that he had any regrets. He grips onto Wado's handle to keep his hands occupied.

He looks down on the trapdoor located just under the tree trunk, silently praying that the tunnel through it is the correct one that Sanji had instructed him to find. He won't, of course, admit to the other man that he'd gone the complete opposite direction initially. Of course he didn't have much luck looking for any secret passages that way. He just kept wandering around until he found an easy pick royal guard to intimidate so he could show him the way and that's how he ended up here. He almost felt sorry for the poor fellow when he rendered him unconscious and dumped his body somewhere hard to find.

The swordsman quietly wonders to himself if the Sanji had anticipated this kerfuffle, and that's why he had given him two whole hours instead of a shorter duration.

He’s lost track of the exact time, but he’s certain that it’s coming close to the two hour mark that the blonde had set. From afar, Zoro tries to look through the mansion window to check on the grandfather clock he’d been watching, but the rain is so heavy now that it clouded his vision of the landscape, barely able to make the silhouette of the house from where he sat.

The swordsman concentrates on his observation haki, detecting five presences running towards him. He stands and draws two blades, ready to strike.

The group of people come to a halt as soon as they see Zoro up close. They gasp in fear and hold each other's hands. They all have tattered clothes and no shoes, and around their necks are fresh purple and yellow bruises. The swordsman recognises two of the men as the ones that carried the Celestial Dragon and Sanji all the way from Sabao Dome but it looks like they had lost their collars.

When he looks down, he sees a small figure trembling madly behind them. A child with an angry red mark on his chest, shaped like a dragon’s claw, exactly like the one on Sanji’s back. His tan skin isn't textured like normal human skin, but instead, has an iridescent shine to it. On the sides of his face where his ears should be are fins covering a set of gills.

Man 1

That scar and the hair…. It’s–it’s the Demon Warlord–Roronoa Zoro!

Woman 1

What…what do we do? I thought Your Highness said that this path is clear?

Woman 2

The Warlord must be working for the Celestial Dragons and has come to stop us!

The swordsman frowns at that statement. He wonders if he's done the right thing all these years, which is a question that's come up quite a lot since starting this mission to find Corazon.

Man 2

Please–please have mercy! Junior here has never seen light! Just let him go, and w–we’ll stay!

Man 1

No, we've seen what they all do to people like us. We're all dead anyway, but I'd rather die fighting! Son, make a run for it!

The man recklessly charges in with a makeshift shiv in his hand. He lunges at Zoro, who steps aside and trips him with the blunt side of one of his swords. The man falls on his face.

Merchild

Dad, no!!!

The merchild ducks between the other people’s legs and charges angrily. He uses his webbed fists to throw punches against Zoro’s stomach.

Merchild

You hurt him!!

Zoro stares at the small figure and senses that the others are shaking in fear, too frozen and afraid to move. He raises his swords–

The others cry out–

–and sheathes his blades back on his hips. He kneels down to catch the child’s fists with his hands and speaks calmly.

Zoro

Did the Pirate King free you?

The first man pushes himself up by the elbows on the ground and spits at him.

Man 1

Don’t hurt him!

Merchild

So what if he did?! He’s a kind man and you’re–you’re–

Zoro lets go of the merchild.

Zoro

Your punches are making my belly itchy, that’s all.

The merchild blinks at him, but stops his assault.

Zoro offers a hand to the man he’d tripped.

Zoro

If you’re looking for the way out, it’s just through that trapdoor behind me. We don’t have a lot of time so grab the torch I set up inside and run. Just be careful, I’m not quite certain what you’ll find on the other side of the tunnel.

There was a moment of silence. It takes a second for the group of people to fully realise that the feared Warlord is on their side. The man on the ground takes Zoro’s hand and the swordsman lifts him onto his feet.

Merchild

Dad!!!

The family reunites. They hug affectionately.

Woman 1

You’re…you’re helping us?

Man 2

We know what’s on the other side. I know where we can find a sloop to get out of this island.

Zoro

That’s not a bad idea. That way we can protect you outside too. Just make sure to stay low and quiet until we get back. Do you know where the Pirate King is now?

Woman 2

He said he’s off to the treasure room and then he’d meet us on the way out but…that was about half an hour ago. We thought he’d caught up to us by then so we just ran out ourselves as soon as we could use the rain for cover.

Zoro nods as thanks and proceeds to walk towards the mansion.

—

Not far from the house, a group of royal guards surround a hunched figure wrapped in a large curtain taken from one of the windows inside. The soldiers charge in one after another, relentlessly attacking with weapons on hand. The figure dodges left and right, occasionally taking swipes against them. The figure knocks back clusters of them each time, but in its weakened state, it’s not enough to take them out. They simply stand on their feet again and begin another round of assault.

A royal guard spears right through the figure from behind.

Sanji’s eyes jolt open, the pain that sears through his chest becomes unbearable when the guard twists the weapon while it's inside him then pulls it out forcefully. He screams, his voice breaking. While overwhelmed, he senses another guard somewhere on his left side swing his sword low, slicing the tendons on both his ankles, dropping him to his knees. He readies himself for another direct blow from a guard wielding a heavy mace right in front of him. Over the guard’s shoulder, he sees glints of three lines shine through the mist of the rain.

There was a heavy gush of wind and a flash of green. Sanji was in too much pain to fully understand what's going on but he could hear the clashing of blades and cries for help around him.

Zoro

Three Swords Style…Tatsu Maki!

A powerful whirlwind forms around the swordsman and Sanji, effectively blowing and damaging the royal guards in its wake. They fly up high in the air and fall roughly on the ground, knocking them out. The one who landed right in front of the blonde somehow stayed awake. The guard writhes and attempts to get up, but Sanji throws a heavy punch reinforced with armament haki across his head, cracking his skull. The blonde speaks in a difficult, huffed breath.

Sanji

I…had it all…under control…Shitty Mosshead.

He tips forwards.

Zoro runs, sheathing his swords and catches the blonde before he falls on the ground. When he angles him back, the curtain that wrapped around him slips off his body. The swordsman gapes in horror, shocked at the sight.

Sanji’s dress had been torn to shreds. He’s practically naked under the curtain cover. His heels are nowhere to be found, only having his bare feet to walk with. He has a deep puncture through his upper chest and a nasty cut across his ankles–both fresh and bleeding from the fight just now. The full lengths of his arms are reddened and scratched. One side of his body has a large purple bruise that spans from his ribs right through to his back. He also can’t help but notice evidence of trauma and a messy cluster of teeth marks along his inner thigh towards his groin. As horrendous as the sight of his wounds may be, the worst detail that the swordsman can see is the large metal clamp that hangs around Sanji’s neck. He recognises them as a slave’s chain.

Sanji

Take a picture. It’ll last longer.

Zoro

…Did he do this to you?

Sanji doesn't move or reply. His hair had become heavily damp in the rain, covering his face. When Zoro dips down slightly, he sees the blonde's lips trembling over gritted teeth. He can't tell if the stream running down his nose is from the rain or from his eyes.

Zoro

Did you kill him?

Slowly, Sanji shakes his head.

Zoro’s eye narrows. He feels his hands tighten their hold on Sanji. A pang of guilt washes over him, remembering their conversation earlier.

Sanji

But I made sure that he can't hurt anyone anymore.

Zoro's hands relax.

Zoro

…Good.

Surprised, Sanji lifts his head to look at the swordsman.

Sanji

Just…”good”? You're not going to ask me what I did?

Zoro

Knowing you, it's probably something unpleasant. I'd rather not know.

Zoro notices the curtains that the blonde had used for cover have fallen on the damp grass underneath him, completely soaked in the rain. He removes his own cloak and wraps the blonde in it, making sure that the hood covers his head before scooping him up into his arms.

—

With one of the men holding out a fiery torch, the liberated slaves lead on through the dark winding passageway while Zoro carefully carries Sanji in his arms behind them. He guesses that they’re inside one of the Sabaody Archipelago’s giant roots, hollowed out so that anyone walking through can potentially cross the entire length of the island without anyone knowing. He starts worrying where they may end up but he trusts the people guiding them, simply because there’s no other choice. They all want one thing–to get out of this place alive.

The swordsman is well aware of others’ subtle glances and pitiful looks at the Pirate King but he tries to ignore them to keep his senses focused on monitoring the blonde’s heart rate and breathing. Sanji’s been falling in and out of consciousness and it’s starting to worry him more each time. He wishes his reindeer friend is with them. He’d know what to do.

Zoro dares a peek at the collar around Sanji’s neck. He frowns at the sight then tears his gaze away.

Zoro

You don’t…happen to have a key for this, do you? Or know how to get it out another way?

Man 1

I’m so sorry… it was him who somehow got his hands on one to get us out but we don’t know what happened to it when we parted ways. The last time I saw him, he didn’t have anything around his neck.

Woman 1

It must have happened when he went to the treasure room. We don’t know how to take it off without the right key. We would have already tried to escape if–

Den-den Mushi

Purupurupurupuru

Everyone jumps at the sound, clearly on edge from the potential dangers that could come their way at any second. They all turn to Zoro who fumbles around, trying to answer the transponder snail while carrying the blonde.

Sanji had woken up from the sound and feebly reached inside Zoro’s open robe. He pulls out the den-den mushi from his breast pocket and holds it out for him in his hand, pressing the button on its shell to answer the call.

Zoro

Hello?

Law

Zoro-ya, it's been…

…where are…y…

…did you get…

…there’s news about…

Sanji looks up to the ceiling then around them. He speaks in a weak voice.

Sanji

We’re probably in the dense area of the root system. It’s interfering with the signal.

Zoro

Traffy, you’re breaking up. Can you hear us?

Law

…they know you’re…

…Pacifistas heading your way…

…need to…

…before Admiral…

Zoro

Tra-guy, we have a friend on Grove 44. Duval of the Flying Fish Riders. I want you to meet us at their base if you can.

Law, if you can hear me, go to–

Den-Den Mushi

Click

Zoro tuts disappointingly at the lost signal.

Woman 2

Pa–Pacifistas?!

Woman 1

Wait–a Marine Admiral is coming too?! To get us?!?

The people around them start shaking uncontrollably in panic. The merchild holds onto his dad’s leg desperately.

Zoro sighs but gestures for them to keep moving forward.

Zoro

Let’s pick up the pace. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds us and I'd rather not get caught up in here. We’d get trapped and surrounded pretty easily.

Sanji returns the snail inside Zoro’s inner breast pocket then gives the others a small smile in an attempt to ease their minds.

Sanji

Don’t worry about the Pacifistas for now. We’re not in any danger until they see us. They’re too reliant on their visuals. As for the Admirals…lazy bunch, all of them. Too slow to act. Besides, my friend here will protect us from harm I’m sure. You said you know where we can find a sloop?

Man 2

Y–yes!

The word “friend” echoes in Zoro’s head.

—

They continue their walk in silence, at an increased pace this time. Zoro didn't want to have them running at full speed in fear that it would open up Sanji’s wounds further. Instead, they had to take longer rushed strides.

In one of the brief moments when the blonde is conscious, he breaks the silence by starting a light-hearted conversation, brightening the troubled mood of the crowd.

Sanji

I got loot like I promised. It’s not exactly money but we can sell it for a lot. The surgeon’s going to freak.

Zoro's serious and tense expression softens. He holds the blonde closer, tucking Sanji’s head between the nook of his neck and shoulder after he notices that his body is cold and shivering.

Zoro

I never doubted you for a second. What did you get?

Sanji pulls a small pouch that he'd secured around his wrist by its loops. The swordsman didn’t even notice that he had it on him, too distracted at the sight of his mangled body earlier. The blonde opens the bag with one hand and pulls out a small dark pebble between his fingers with the other, raising it as high as he could muster in front of Zoro’s face.

Sanji

Pure, unadulterated condensed Seastones, baby.

Zoro's eye widens. Then he grins, genuinely impressed at the man.

Zoro

Wh–what? I've never even seen them in that form before.

Sanji grins a toothy smile up to him. Zoro's heart pounds at the sight.

Man 2

Those things?! They’re Devil Fruit user killers–they're worth almost a million Beri each!

Sanji

I know right! Want one? When we get out of here, you can buy your way anywhere in the world and start a new life.

Woman 1

Your Highness, you can't possibly–

Sanji

Catch!

Sanji flicks a pebble up in the air to the woman who scrambles to catch it in surprise. He does the same to the others. Finally, he gently holds one out to the merchild walking alongside them.

Sanji

Grow up big and strong for me, okay?

The merchild looks at his father, who nods, then takes the pebble from Sanji.

There's a moment of silence, then Zoro hears sniffles coming from one of the women, then the other, then followed by the two men and the merchild that they had freed. They cry their eyes out, thanking the Pirate King and the Warlord as they reach the end of the tunnel.

—

Sanji is unclear what exactly happens next. He knows that he’s been drifting in and out of sleep, blaming his body’s fatigued condition and whatever serum that the Celestial Dragon had injected him with to nullify his strength earlier.

He feels the harsh wind and rain on his face. It looks like the weather has turned for the worst. He hears high pitch sounds of whirring, as if machines are charging up. Then he hears a child scream. Forcing his eyes open, he sees blindingly bright long beams head directly towards them. He wonders if this is his chance to see his mother again.

The swordsman above him quickly takes a step forward, adjusting his hold of him, then swings a sword in three wide movements, redirecting all the beams back to its source. One hits a Pacifista straight onto its face, causing it to explode and knock back the two next to it. Sanji can’t help but smile.

Sanji

Nice… shot….

Zoro

Curls–?! You’re awake! Do you think you can…

Sanji’s vision and hearing gets all fuzzy again, unable to hear the rest of Zoro’s question. His eyes droop weakly, limbs dropping.

Woman 1

…There’s no…

…he’s lost too much blood!

Man 2

…This way, hurry!!!

Zoro

Hold on! Give me…

…anything, just quickly!

Sanji feels a painful pressure against the hole in his chest as the swordsman pushes down a crumpled cloth over it. He thinks that it would be a shame to die now. He doesn’t want to face his mother until he fulfils his promise to help his sister and brothers first. He silently asks her forgiveness for not visiting enough. His world darkens as reality fades once more.

When his eyes open, they’re in the sloop that one of the men had promised. It rocked madly from the torrential weather in the open seas. One of the women and the merchild held him securely in their arms while keeping pressure over his bleeding chest. They’re trying to keep him as stable as possible in the undercover area of the boat.

Outside, he sees the rest of their group all work together to pull a rope on one end of the ship while Zoro pulls a separate one all by himself on the other side. They look like they’re trying to secure the sails above them while dealing with the severe storm.

Sanji

What a nice… family….

Merchild

Hey, uncle! Stay with us, okay?! We’re…

…it’s going to be…

Woman 2

…just about…

…very soon, I promise!

…just hang on!

Man 2

Warlord Zoro! We’re being followed!!

Sanji’s eyes close again. He ponders if the Seastones of the quality he got would help Germa finalise their research. Then he starts wondering if there's a chance that his siblings would enjoy a day out sailing when they finally get emotions of their own without having to rely on those ugly modified helmets. He silently asks them to hang in there.

Sanji

I'm so, so sorry….

When he comes to again, he sees Zoro by himself in the thick of the rain, panting madly. He looks extremely worn and tired.

Bright lights shine from a distance and a continuous barrage of beams break through the fog, directly heading their way. Most hit the water next to them, causing the small boat to rock sideways, almost tipping over the boat at one point. He hears Zoro yell out one of his one-sword style moves as he deflects the beams in one long swipe, sending them off in different directions. He could hear his exhaustion behind his voice.

Man 1

Warlord Zoro! Another rogue wave up ahead!

Zoro

Shit!

Sanji feels the boat shift upwards at a steep angle. He thinks about how much work the swordsman is putting on right now, dealing with Pacifistas, protecting them, and trying to keep their small boat afloat in the storm all at the same time.

Zoro lowers down almost to a kneeling position and takes out a second sword. He swings his blades synchronously in a circle, creating a massive force of vortex that breaks through the rogue wave in front of them. It corrects the angle of the boat, saving them from capsizing.

Sanji

What a… great swordsman…

His words catch Zoro’s attention.

Suddenly there was a nagging sensation from the right. Another beam is heading their way. Sanji predicts that the distracted swordsman can redirect this attack but the aftershock of the impact would heavily damage the roof of the undercover area and the sloop’s already stressed mast.

Sanji reaches out and uses his last remaining strength to pull the nearby woman and merchild down to the floor with him.

His prediction is correct, and the events unfold exactly as he saw it through his haki, saving the woman and merchild from getting caught up in the blast.

Sanji worries about the other members of their family. He’s too weak to think about too many people at once.

Zoro rises from under the debris in front of them. Sure enough, he had used his body to protect the others from the blast by pinning them low to the floor. Relief washes over the blonde.

He sees a series of lightning strikes reign down from the sky that makes his hair stand on end, followed by powerful sounds of thunder and huge explosions from afar.

The blinding light of the sun suddenly emerges above them. Sanji welcomes the warm sensation on his skin. The thick grey clouds part, as if being commanded to. The whirring machine noises from the distant seems to have quieted down.

Zoro groans in exhaustion. He looks around and huffs. When he gazes upwards, a large smile forms across his face.

A heavenly being descends from above, waving a long metallic staff in circles. As it does, the clouds part further, creating an area of calm waters in their immediate vicinity. As the creature of light gets closer, Sanji notices long orange hair flowing beautifully in the wind. He catches sight of an impressive tattoo on its arm. When his vision clears a bit more, he finally sees that their saviour is in the shape of a voluptuous woman riding a small bubble ship floating down to their damaged sloop. She waves at them over the side with a bright smile on her face.

Sanji

An angel… from heaven…?

Zoro

NAMI!!!

----------

I like to think that in every universe, Sanji worships Nami in different ways.

I initially really wanted to draw the balcony scene as an opening to this chapter. The whole kiss kiss smooch shebang. But as I was doing it, I noticed some inconsistencies with Sanji's design. I figured I'd do a character sheet for reference to hone down on it first before I flesh things out too detailed.

Zoro's character design definitely needs some love though. Maybe I'll do his next.

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larluce · 3 months ago

Text

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

LINKS TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS AU HERE: PART 1 , PART 2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6 , PART 7 , PART 8 , PART 9 , PART 10 , PART 11 , PART 12 , PART 13 , PART 14 , PART 15 , PART 16 , PART 17 , PART 18 , PART 19 , PART 20 , PART 21 , PART 22 , PART 23 , PART 24 , PART 25 , PART 26 , PART 27 , PART 28 , PART 29 (You're here), PART 30

Gaius: (sighs) My boy, I don't think crying for your life to the King is going to work.

Merlin: Is not him I'm going to cry to.

Gaius: ...

Merlin: I know, I know. This is so absur-

Gaius: Brilliant! 😃 How didn't I think of this before? (quickly looks for some medicine and gives it to Merlin) Here, a couple of drops in your eyes should be enough.

Merlin: I can't believe you're really supporting this madness.

Gaius: Madness is what Arthur will do if you don't change his mind soon. (starts pushing Merlin out of his chambers) Now go, I can't keep the King assleep much longer. (ends to push Merlin outside and closes the door)

Meanwhile in Arthur's Chambers.

Arthur: (on his desk with a bunch of parchments with names, strategies and possible scenarios, thinking) This was not supposed to happen so soon. I had I plan goddamit! (sinks his face in his hands) Why father? Why do you always want to take away everyone I love? First Gwen and now...(sighs and gets the hands off his face) I hate you, so much... but I don't want to kill you. I don't want to do any of this, but I have to. You'd do the same for my mother. I hope you understand, because even now I can't bare the thought of you not forgiving me.

Merlin: (enters hanging his head)

Arthur: (letting out his frustration) May I know where have you been? 😡 This room is not going to clean itself. I have a lot of work to do and you are-

Merlin: (lifts his head to reveal two rivers of tears under his eyes, face red, hiccuping and whining)

Arthur: Merlin! (jumps from his sit and runs to Merlin, almost in panic) What is it?! Did something happen? (checks him, worried) Are you hurt?! Tell me!

Merlin: (thinking) Me eyes hurt! 🥺 Why does it have to burn this much? 😭(says) Please, Arthur, stop this! This is your fault! (hits Arthur's chest)

Arthur: What?! What did I do?! 😨

Merlin: (thinking) Shit, I did it backwards. (says) I mean, MY fault! (hits his chest) It's all my fault! (hits his chest harder) My fault, my fault!

Arthur: (very concern) Will you stop that?! You'll hurt yourself! Merlin! (grabs Merlin by the wrists) What's gotten into you?

Merlin: Please, Arthur. I can't-(thinking) Wait, I forgot to kneel. (drops to his knees)

Arthur: What the- 😨

Merlin: I can't live with myself if blood is spilled because of me! 😭 (tries to hold Arthur's hands, but can't see well through the tears so he ends up pulling his trousers in a crying mess)

Arthur: (definitely in panic now) What are you doing?! Merlin, stand up! My trousers are going to fall. Merlin! (kneels too and cups his face, comforting) I get that you're scared, but everything will turn out alright.

Merlin: (thinking) Nooo! It's not working! And I can't hug his legs now! (says) No! No! You have to stop this-Argh! (thinking) Damn it! It's burning too much! I can't open my eyes! (hides his face in his hands, pretending he's crying harder)

Arthur: (even more worried) Merlin look at me, please.

Merlin: (thinking) No! He'll realise I'm faking if I can't open my eyes. What do I do? What else was in Morgana's script? Oh, right! (says) If you do this, I… I'd rather… disappear! (faints dramatically)

Arthur: (catches him before he hits the floor in reflex) Merlin? (pats his face) Merlin! (shakes him) Merlin, open your eyes.

Merlin: (thinking) I can't. I fainted.

Arthur: Wake up, come on. Merlin! (Shakes him harder)

Merlin: (thinking) Ow! There is no need to be so rough. 😠

Arthur: (concern) He fainted.

Merlin: (thinking) Don't say!

Arthur: I need to take him to Gaius. (carries Merlin bridal style)

Merlin: (thinking) Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! why are you carrying me like this? 😳😫

Arthur: (Runs outside with Merlin in his arms and yelling) Gaius! (Runs through the castle staff) Everybody, get out of the way! It's an emergency! Gaius!

Merlin: (thinking) There's no need to be so dramatic either! 🤦‍♂️

In Gaius' Tower.

Arthur: (enters kicking the door open) Gaius!

Gaius: (looks Merlin in Arthur's arms, alarmed) What happened?!

Arthur: I don't know! He-

Gaius: Lay him on the bed first. I need to examine him.

Arthur: (Lays Merlin on the bed quickly)

Gaius: (while checking Merlin) Now explain.

Arthur: (paces, anxiously) He came to my chambers crying and saying that this was all his fault, hitting himself like a madman. Then he begged me to stop the rebel-the back up plan and he kneeled, Gaius, he KNEELED before me! When has he ever done that? I tried to calm him, but he just wouldn't stop crying! And then suddenly he fainted!

Merlin: (pinches Gaius subtly)

Gaius: (realices he's faking) I see... (gets an idea) Oh, my poor, poor boy.

Arthur: (stops pacing) What? What is it?

Gaius: It seems that Merlin is in a very bad state of... anxiety, Sire.

Arthur: Anxiety?

Gaius: Yes, that! He fainted from the anxiety. I know he doesn't show it always, Sire, but Merlin is very... sensitive. Sometimes his heart cannot bear strong impressions and, apparently, the approach of a rebellion was too much for his... delicate heart.

Merlin: (thinking, offended) That's not true! 😠

Arthur: (thinking, between concerned and confused) How can this be? Not even when his father died I've seen him so distraugh. Does the rebellion really worries him this much? (says) But he'll wake up, right? He'll be fine.

Gaius: He will, but I fear that... (dramatic pause)

Arthur: What? Tell me!

Gaius: If he continues receiving news that could cause him any anguish he could become seriously ill to the point his heart could... stop beating completely.

Merlin: (thinking) Really, Gaius? 🙄 What was the need of making up this diagnosis?

Arthur: (desperate) No... No! there must be something you can give him! Some medicine, a treatment, ANYTHING!

Gaius: The only thing that can help Merlin now is rest and tranquility. ABSOLUTE tranquility.

Arthur: (sinks in a chair nearby, filled with guilt) This is my fault, isn't it? He's like this because of me.

Merlin: (thinking) No, no, no. Don't think that! ☹️

Gaius: You had no way of knowing this would happen, Sire.

Arthur: What do I do now? If I keep up with my plan I lose him if I don't I lose him too. (looks up at gaius with watery eyes) I can't lose him, Gaius. (thinking) Not again, not again. Please.

Merlin: (thinking, his heart beating like crazy) He... He never cared for me like this in my other life. It feels... nice.

Gaius: (puts a comforting hand on Arthur's shoulder) Rebellion is not the only answer. You said yourself it was just a back up plan. You can still reason with the King or we can put Merlin safe somewhere.

Arthur: But he'll be away.

Gaius: But safe. Isn't that what's important?

Arthur: ...

Gaius: Whatever it is you'll do, I know you'll make the right decision, your Highness.

Arthur: (sighs, stands up, aproaches Merlin and caresses his hand lovinly)

Merlin: (tries very hard for his heart and breathing to stay even)

Arthur: Tell me when he wakes. I need to take care of some things.

Gaius: Of course, Sire.

Arthur: (gives a last look at Merlin and finally leaves)

Merlin: (sits up as soon as the door closes) What the hell was that?! 😡

Gaius: That was me saving us all.

Merlin: "Anxiety"? "delicate heart"? "his heart could stop beating completely"? There was no need to scare him like that!

Gaius: You are the one who decided to faint. Why did you do that?

Merlin: Morgana told me to.

Gaius: (in understanding) Morgana! I should've known it was her idea.

Merlin: Yes, the idea was to use tears to persuade Arthur of not doing the rebellion. This is outright lying to him! And you know I hate lying to him, Gaius! (rubs his eyes) Ugh, my eyes still burn a bit.

Gaius: This should help (gives him a bowl with water and Merlin starts washing his eyes). I'm sorry I lied to Arthur, but I figured that if he was doing this rebellion to save you, the only way to stop him was if he believed you'll be in danger if the rebellion were to happen too.

Merlin: (sighs) What's done is done. (gets off the bed)

Gaius: What are you doing?

Merlin: Going to do my chores.

Gaius: You can't! You are supposed to be ill. Remember?

Merlin: So what? You expect me to stay in bed all day?

Gaius: That's exactly what you'll do. Now, lay down.

Merlin: But-

Gaius: Lay down.

Merlin: (recluntanly lays down) Can I read a book at least?

Gaius: I'll bring you some.

Time skip. Arthur with Kilgharrah.

Kilgharrah: I don't understand. Don't you want to start your reign, young Pendragon?

Arthur: Of course I do! But not at the cost of Merlin.

Kilgharrah: It's not just about saving him. It is Uther who persecutes Merlin and his kind. Even if Uther were to spare his life, which I doubt, your warlock won't be free until Uther dies.

Arthur: I know. But everything is getting out of my hands! I can't go back to my original plan and the back up plan is not an option now. (holds his head in desperation) How did everything turn out this bad? This never happened in my timeline!

Kilgharrah: Every change you've done, even if it was small, could lead to a complete different scenario. Being from the future won't prepare you for that.

Arthur: What do I do then? There's no pacific way to get out of this.

Kilgharrah: Maybe not pacific but, perhaps, a least violent one. Just enough to not worsen your warlock's state.

Arthur: Which is?

Kilgharrah: You needn't to involve others when the enemy is only one.

Arthur: ...

Kilgharrah: You already thought of it.

Arthur: (sighs) I did, I was just hoping you'll come up with something different.

Time skip. In Uther's chambers.

Gaius: (preparing another sedative)

Arthur: (enters) You don't have to do that anymore, Gaius.

Gaius: (turns to him, surprised) Sire!

Arthur: (smiles) Let him wake up. I want to speak with him alone.

Gaius: (nods in underdstanding) I'll prepare Merlin's things just in case.

Arthur: That won't be necessary, Gaius. Don't worry.

Gaius: ... Sire?

Arthur: (gives him a calm smile) You really don't have to worry, Gaius. I found I way to convince him. He won't be able to deny me this. You can go in peace.

Gaius: (unsure, but bows and leaves)

Arthur: (his smiles fades as soon as Gaius is gone, checks the doors are closed and then turns to Uther) This was not supposed to happen like this. (walks to the bed) I was going to give you an honorable dead, you were going to be remembered as a hero, even though you don't deserve it. You've hurt a lot of people, father. Murdered thousands of innocents in your grief... but aren't I about to do the same? Haven't I already done that to be where I stand? (pulls Uther's hair out of his face) It makes me wonder. Were you always a monster, father? Or you only turned this way when you lost my mother? You always insisted I marry for duty even though you married for love. Was it because you feared what I'll become if I were to fall in love like you? (lets a dry laugh) I guess what is inherited is not stolen. (grabs a pillow) There's a difference between me and you though. I'd never blame others for my own mistakes and I would never risk Merlin like you did with my mother. (holds the pillow close to Uther's face) I'm sorry.

Anhora: (appearing out of nowhere) Arthur Pendragon.

Arthur: (lets the pillow fall to the floor, almost jumping out of his skin, but quickly composes himself as he recgonises him) The keeper of the unicorns.

Anhora: Glad I don't have to introduce myself. I have come to deliver a message.

Arthur: (tired) Please don't tell me you'll curse Camelot. I don't have time for this. I let your unicorn go.

Anhora: For which I'm in debt with you. Whoever dares to slay a unicorn meets despair, but those who save one can be rewarded.

Arthur: Do you have an enchantment that can make my father forget all his absurd suspicions about Merlin? Because if you don't I don't know you how else you could help me.

Anhora: This is what I don't get. You spared the life of my unicorn, which is an act of a pure hearted person. Yet your heart is anything but pure. You are ready to enchant your father, to take his life just to fullfil your selfish desires.

Arthur: Is this my reward? A sermon?

Anhora: No. (gets a bracelet out of his pocket) this bracelet made of unicorn hair is a lucky charm. It could help turn chances at your favor, but it'll disappear as soon as you achieve your goal.

Arthur: You said could. You mean is not certain?

Anhora: You have to make your part and it'll only help you with one aim. The more short term and specific the better.

Arthur: That's a very useless lucky charm. 😒

Anhora: Useless or not it's yours. I beg you to use it wisely (extends the hand with the bracelet)

Arthur: (grabs it) Thank you.

Anhora: (about to leave, but turns) Prince of Camelot, if you keep down this pat you build and embrace the darkness in your heart to protect your love ones, that darkness will end up harming those you hold most dear.

Arthur: You think I don't know? You think I like doing what I'm doing? (laughs without humor) Is ironic. Where I come from you determined I was "pure of heart" for the same reason now you are determining I'm not. Because I wanted to save Merlin, to keep him safe. But even then I was willing to leave my kingdom without a heir just so he wouldn't die. My love was never pure.

Anhora: (with sadness) It was. It once was. One of the purest love I've ever seen. Or at least it could have been. Now it's corrupted.

Arthur: (surprised) You... you are-

Anhora: If something goes wrong this time, there will be no going back. And it will not be fate's fault. The blame will fall entirely on you, Arthur Pendragon. Are you prepared to assume the consequences of your actions?

Arthur: (serious) Yes.

Anhora: Then you are doomed (dissapears)

Arthur: (sighs and looks at the bracelet, thinking) This better work. (puts it on)

Uther: (wakes up) What…? Where am I?

Arthur: (takes a chair nearby and sits next to him) In your chambers, father. You had a seizure.

Uther: (still kind of groggy) Oh...

Arthur: Father, I know Merlin behaved very poorly and I take complete responsability for that. I've given him too many liberties since he is under my service. I failed to properly teach him how he should adress his superiors and for that I'm sorry. It won't happen again, but please, I beg you, spare his life.

Uther: (smiles softly) Alright, I'll spare him.

Arthur: (very surprised) Really? (thinking) This thing is more effective than I thought!

Uther: (smiles more brightly) Of course! Anything for my son.

Arthur: (thinking) ...okay, something's wrong. (says) Father, how many fingers do you see? (raises 3 fingers in front of his eyes)

Uther: Hmmm... Six!

Arthur: (lets out a sigh of exasperation, thinking) No! He's still drugged! It won't matter if he spares Merlin's life now, he'll take back his words as soon as he comes back to his senses...unless... (stands up and searches around the room quickly)

Uther: What are you doing son?

Arthur: (picks a parchment and a quill and sits back next to Uther) Can you show me how you sign your treates, father? I want to see if I'm doing it correctly.

Uther: My son, always looking for perfection. Alright. (signs)

Arthur: (thinking, looking at the parchment) The writing is stable enough. (says) Father, I just remember there are some urgent documents that need to be signed. I really don't want to bother you, you've just woken up, but you're the King. You're the only one the can do it.

Uther: I understand. You can bring them to me.

Arthur: I'll be right back. (stands up and goes to the door)

Uther: Arthur!

Arthur: (turns around)

Uther: I love you, son.

Arthur: (thinking, holding back the tears) Of course the only times you've told you loved me would be when you're drugged or in your deathbed. (says) I love you too, father. (leaves)

...

Anhora I hate you for stopping Arthur from killing Uther but I also love you cause now Arthur can go back to his original plan :D

How will Uther react when he comes back to his senses? Will Merlin really be safe? Find out in the next part of "Merlin: The Favourite of crocodile tears"

Also credits to my best friend Rosangela, who is practically beta and almost co-writer of this AU now.

Tagging @aceauthorcatqueen , @fallenxjas , @smileytrinity ,@lucifertookmyshoe , @an-entity-i-think , @thecornerofbelu , @griffonskies , @odinjm , @cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu , @thelady-mary , @bennedict , @nightninjaboy , @st8-of-grace , @star-rie , @error-username-not-available , @dogberryrowan , @jamieweasley13 , @tansyuduri , @tercais , @robynnemrys , @evadne01 , @serasvictoria02 , @hairdryerducks , @hopeaha , @curiously-lazy , @ harriettesthings , @andrealux16 , @wacko-weirdo , @greatdonutenemy , @yougottobekittenme , @anxiousosaurus , @kinkforwings , @someweirdassnamee , @impracticalantlers , @miyriu , @hobipabo , @whitemaskcd , @cute-girl-next-door , @bogslob , @tkmaras , @cunts-and-kermits

#bbc merlin #merlin bbc #merlin #merthur #merlin prompt #merlin fanfic #merlin fic #merlin and arthur #arthur and merlin #merthur fic #merthur fanfiction #merthur fanfic #merthur prompt #Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

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avengers--assembly · 4 months ago

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Hoodie thief

Summary: Y/n is sick (although she won't admit it) and steals Bucky’s hoodie. He wants it back. No can do. Let's argue about breakfast food instead?

Prompts used:

7. Borrowed Hoodie

15.” Who decided __is ‘sick person food?”

25. Summer flu

Word count: 1028

Warnings: none

●◇●◇●◇●◇●◇

Sweltering hot temperatures all week long. That’s what the weather app said. That’s what everyone was warning against. Drink plenty of fluids. Sunscreen. Stay inside. All the usual warnings for a normal temperature spike. So why exactly was Y/n shivering like crazy wrapped in one of her thickest blankets?

She wasn’t completely sure, just that the sun was shining through her bedroom window in greeting, and she was in no mood to stand up. Or get out of her blanket burrito. But all that said, her stomach had a dull ache that she was blaming on hunger, meaning she had to eat something.

Her body gave one more shiver as she placed her feet on the floor and hauled herself up. She wasn’t sick. Really, she wasn’t. She had too much stuff to do, like enjoying the nice weather outside. Because it was nice, and her body was just late on getting the memo. She glared at the blanket that dropped on the ground. Her lazy ass decided it was too much effort to pick it up again, so she left it. Stupid blanket.

Walking down the hallway, her summer pyjamas did nothing to help her mismatched body temperature, leaving goosebumps prickling her skin. Scowling, she stomped only slightly into the living room, gaze tracking for any movement.

No one.

Good.

Her gaze landed on an oversized hoodie that was thrown over one of the couches, and she inched closer for a better inspection. Definitely not hers... but big, black, and warm. It met all her requirements. Who cared who it belonged to?

She slipped it on, hands disappearing in the too-long sleeves. The oversized hoodie hung far enough to completely cover her shorts. She allowed a smile to cross her face. Perfect.

Except for a certain super soldier who didn’t share her feelings. Bucky glowered at her, arms crossed, “Cute. 10, 9, 8.” His voice was calm, but his eyes were narrowing in warning. Y/n knew Bucky hated when people touched his things, but by the time she realized it was his, she was already too comfortable to care.

“You’re really going to count down?”

“Take it off.” Was his only response, his irritation obvious. Y/n let out a huff, folding her arms right back at him, “No.”

“Y/n” He warned, taking a step forward. She narrowed her eyes at him, “I’m not scared.”

“My hoodie. You have your own, don’t you?”

“They’re not as comfortable! And they’re all the way in my room!” Y/n complained, pouting at him. He muttered something to himself, rubbing a finger across his brow, eyes closed, “Stop that” He snapped.

“What?”

“Pouting. Makes you too damn cute.” She smiled slightly, but before saying anything, he continued, “Why do you need a hoodie anyway? Isn’t it like 30° or something?”

"I’m cold. No, leave me alone. I want to make breakfast.”

“You’re cold?” His frown deepened, concern flickering in his eyes, only to be replaced by frustration, “And I’ll leave you alone as soon as you return my hoodie.”

“Make me.”

He lifted a surprised eyebrow at her, but there was a playful glint in his eyes now.

“You sure you want that, doll?”

“I could take you,” Y/n said, still defiant.

He walked towards her, slowly at first, and the pace made a brief flash of fear settle in her stomach. Oh, shit. She was still shivering, albeit less, and her muscles were sore. He was a super soldier with decades of training—and a metal arm to back it up.

“Wait, I didn’t mean right now,” she blurted, trying to keep the nervousness out of her tone. She forced herself not to step backwards. It would be ridiculous if she couldn’t meet her own stubbornness.

“I think now is perfect. You still have something that belongs to me.” Before she could react, he scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder with ease. Y/n shrieked in surprise, hands scrambling to find balance as the world tilted beneath her.

“Bucky! Put me down!” He ignored her protests, walking towards the kitchen counter. Only then did he lightly place her on the marble surface, hands hovering a few inches from her waist until she caught her balance. The sudden shift upwards again made her head spin, black spots dancing in the corners of her eyes.

“Nop,” she muttered, closing her eyes, leaning her head against Bucky’s chest.

“Doll?” Concern was evident in his tone. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. “Yeah?” She hummed back.

“Why are you cold?”

“Flu?” she said back, almost too quiet for him to catch. He nodded along, “You planning on ignoring it?”

“I’m not sick.”

“Fine. Let me make you breakfast.”

“Just cereal.”

“Oats.” He argued, shaking his head at her choice, “You need better nutrition than that sugary stuff.”

“Yuck.” She leaned back from him, her nose scrunched up in distaste, “Who decided oats were good for sick people?”

“It’s nutrition values.”

“Could be fake,” she reasoned.

“Could be. Toast then?” He bopped her nose playfully, smiling as she swatted away his hand.

“Why do you hate me so much? I need sugar to survive,” she said dramatically.

“I mean, you did steal my hoodie.” He answered back, raising an accusing eyebrow.

“If I give it back, will you love me again?”

“Mmm no.”

“What? Why?” She gaped at him, a brief look of confusion on her face. He smiled, “It’s full of your germs now. Don’t want it anymore.”

“Hypocrite. You just hugged me.”

They settled on toast with jam in the end. On the couch, they watched some silly comedy, Y/n still wearing his hoodie, an extra blanket lying nearby. The water and medicine were only a precaution for when she stopped ignoring the facts.

Bucky chose to stay indoors today, and Y/n simply joined him to keep him company. No other reason. The other Avengers didn’t need extra information, even when pool day turned into movie watching instead. Nat had joined them later, settling comfortably next to Y/n and only stealing her food when she thought Y/n wasn’t looking.

#fanfic #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky fluff #comfy and cute #marvel fanfiction #sicktember 2024

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sinnabarmoth · 3 days ago

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Tribute for the Dragon (8/18)

Pairing: Dragon|Sylus x Fem|Reader

Summary: Sylus takes you to witness a dragon celebration and things take a rather fiery turn.

Content Warnings: Adult language. Thigh riding.

Length: 3k

Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9)

Read on AO3

Life in the mountain was different.

You hadn’t noticed it at first but things were different. Ever since you and Sylus actively started getting to know one another the mountain felt more homey. You weren’t just a servant wandering these halls, both mystified and turned on by the dragon you served. He had become a friend.

Things had never gotten as personal as they did the day he told you about what life was like for him growing up. It had been a lot for him to admit, even under the initial guise of a draconic folktale. He never mentioned it again and you didn’t pry. But you were glad.

Your dragon was someone you knew. Questions you had no longer had to be filled with your imaginings. When wanted to know something about him, he just told you.

You were happy and you felt trusted.

You had noticed a shift in Sylus too. It was more subtle but he was around more. He went out of his way to seek you out and talk to you throughout the day. He was gentler, not as aloof. He still teased you but it felt more like a joke between the two of you instead of him trying to antagonize you.

You also just had fun together now. When you were bored you’d go to the hoard room and make towers out of the gold coins and jewels for fun. You taught him human card games and even tried to teach him human dances too. You quickly realized that dragons were not the most graceful of creatures when not flying.

“It’s really not that hard. Try again.” you held him at arm’s length as you tried to get him to copy your moves. “Out and in and your arm goes up and I duck under. One and two and three and four.”

You tried to do the move but again Sylus twisted the wrong way when you ducked under. “Are you purposefully getting this wrong to spite me?”

“I would never.” he settled his hands on his hips. “I just don’t understand how I am supposed to angle my body so that it doesn’t end up twisted.”

“I keep telling you, just arc backwards, follow the movement the way it flows. You’re the one that’s supposed to be leading, I follow you, you don’t follow me.”

“Why are we learning this again?” he asked.

“For something to do.” you shrugged. “I grew up doing this dance every year at the village festivals. My father would always take me out onto the dance floor when I was little and then when I got older and I could have other partners, I always made sure to save a dance with him. Dancing was always my favorite part of the festivals.”

“Your festivals sound like they are more fun than dragon celebrations.”

“Really? I would have guessed that a dragon party would be far more interesting than a human festival. I mean, what do a bunch of dragons do at a dragon celebration? Food? Games? Dancing?”

“Food definitely. Games, maybe. Dancing, never.”

“So what do you do?”

“Depends on what the celebration is about.” Sylus thought for a moment. “Actually, there is one that should be starting soon.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We cannot exactly attend but we may still watch the events from a distance.”

“That doesn’t sound like so much fun.”

“It might not be. But I thought perhaps you’d like to witness a little about dragon culture.”

“I would. You’ve piqued my curiosity. When is this celebration?”

“Three days I believe, during the half moon. Shouldn’t take more than a couple hours by flight.”

“What do you mean flight?”

~~~

“This is the best thing ever!” you shrieked with glee as Sylus and you soared through the warm summer air. Sylus had you wrapped tight in his arms as he flew. The wind stung your face but you couldn’t stop beaming.

“That was right in my ear, little bird.” Sylus said. “I know you’re excited but I’d still like to be able to hear.”

“Sorry.” you knew that it was easiest for him to fly when you were still but you were just so excited all you wanted to do was bounce around. “I cannot believe that I’m really flying!”

“It’s very freeing, isn’t it?”

“It’s amazing!” you clung tighter onto his neck. “I wish I could fly myself. It must be annoying that you have to carry me.”

“I don’t mind. Just try to keep still, we have a long flight ahead of us until we get to the shore.” He reminded you. It took a couple of hours of straight flying but eventually you saw the blue of the ocean in the distance. The only time you had been to the ocean before was when you were very small and you didn’t remember much of anything. It was still impossibly big, even from a distance.

Sylus touched down on a high cliff about a mile from the beach. “Why don’t we go down?” you asked. “I’d love to get my feet in the sand.”

“Not today. This is dragon land and this is a very important tradition that is happening today and I’m afraid if they smell a human has been tromping around down there, we may get in some trouble.”

“And being on the cliff is better?”

“We’re downwind, also, what is most important is the sand. They should not care that we’re up here so long as we don’t touch the sand.”

“The sand? What’s so special about the sand?”

“You’ll see. Now, how about we have some of the food you packed.”

You slung the pack off your shoulder and opened it up. Inside was a blanket, a large skin of water, and a lot of food you had wrapped tightly in paper to avoid leaking all over the pack. You knew Sylus needed a lot of food and after such a long flight he was bound to be ravenous. You laid out the blanket over the grass and sat down to eat.

Even if you couldn’t go on the beach it was nice to be by the ocean. The salty sea air blew across your skin and the sun warmed your face. You watched as the waves rolled and crashed down below. It was so peaceful.

The peace was abruptly broken when a deafening roar echoed across the air. You had immediately scrambled next to Sylus, searching the sky for what had made such a noise. Sylus chuckled and pointed out in the distance where a swarm of dots in the distance were growing larger and larger. “Are those all dragons?”

“Yes. Now is when we have to be quiet and keep our heads low. They shouldn’t know that we are up here but I’d rather not risk it.” he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, “Stay close to me, it’ll help mask your scent.”

You huddled close and watched as dragons landed on the beach. They were beautiful and frightening. They came in many shapes and sizes and colors. Some as green as glittering emeralds, others had opalescent scales that reflected the sun like a mirror, and then there was the largest of them all, a hulking red and black dragon, with eyes of molten fire and two long silver whiskers.

Sylus pointed to the largest dragon, “That’s the elder of this tribe, Tengya. It’s said that he’s lived for over five thousand years.”

“Is that why he’s so big?” you whispered, afraid to talk any louder.

“Yes. Unlike humans who stop growing at a certain point, dragons only get larger the longer they are alive. His size is testament to how long he has been on the planet. Many battles he has faced and he remains.”

“Do dragons die naturally or are they immortal?”

“They can die of old age, most don’t make it to that point. Most dragons end up dead battling other dragons or being felled by humans. Not Tengya though, no one that has challenged him has survived.”

“I can see why. He’s terrifying.”

“Yes he is. Imagine living with him.”

“Live with him? Did you live in his tribe?”

“I did, for a bit.” he gruffed. “He’s about as approachable as he looks.”

You didn’t ask any further questions and instead watched the dragons on the beach. The sound of their roars only got louder now that they were all gathered together. As the sun began to set the elder, Tengya, stepped forward and the beach fell silent. He sat back and nodded to one of the smaller dragons to step forward. It was a sky blue dragon that stepped forward and bowed their head.

There was an expectant silence as the blue dragon dug its claws into the sand, arched its back, and then blew a hot wave of fire out of its mouth into the sand. It was then you realized what it was doing. It was the same as what your father did in his shop but on a much larger and less precise scale. The dragon had turned the sand into twisting tower of glass.

The dragons on the beach thumped their tails against the ground, almost like applause.

“What is this?” you whispered to Sylus.

“It’s a rite of adulthood.” he explained just as quietly, “Adolescent dragons have to demonstrate their power by blowing a fire into the sand to create large craters and statues. The bigger the formation, the more powerful they are seen.”

“Amazing.” you watched as the next dragon stepped forward to a new patch of glass. This one used its wings to pick up more sand as they blew their fire and made an even taller sculpture than the last. “What do they do with the glass afterwards?”

“It is considered treasure and taken back as the first piece of their proper hoard and usually given a place of honor.”

You thought back to the hoard room back at your mountain. You had explored it quite a few times now and you could not recall seeing a giant glass sculpture anywhere in there.

One by one you watched as the young dragons stepped forward and made their creations. It was amazing to witness but the sun had long since set and you were starting to get cold up on the cliff. A shiver ran through your body and Sylus pulled you onto his lap, his wings extended from his back and folded in around you to shield you from the wind. You leaned against him, sapping whatever warmth you could get from his body.

“You know,” you said, “I’m glad you were the dragon that moved into the mountain. Before meeting you I would not have thought I’d feel so safe in a dragon’s arms. ”

“Nor did I think I’d embrace a human like this.” he said, nuzzling his nose against your hair. “I’m glad it was you that hiked up the mountain. Anyone else would not have been nearly as interesting.”

Your heart was beating terribly loud again. You picked your head off his shoulder and looked him in the eye. “Sylus,” your cold hands rested on his broad warm chest. “I’m scared I’m going to do something foolish.”

“And what foolish thing is that, little bird?” he asked. He stared back at you through half lidded eyes, once again letting nothing show on his face.

“This.” you leaned closer, your eyes falling shut as you pressed your lips to his.

He had gone rigid in your arms, his lips unmoving against yours. Immediately you worried that you had done something wrong. You pulled back slightly, embarrassed beyond words. “I’m sorry. I told you it was foolish--”

Sylus grabbed the back of your neck and pushed your mouth back against his. You gasped and his tongue swept into your mouth. You wound your hands into his silvery hair, trying to pull him even more into you. He tasted like heat and spice, as if you had taken a drop of the summer sun and let it coat your tongue.

“You continue to surprise me.” he murmured against your lips.

“And you worried me. I thought I had ruined everything for a moment there.” you chuckled.

“Took me a moment to realize you had actually done that.” his hands landed on your hips, adjusting you so sat more comfortably on his lap. “You taste even sweeter than I thought you would.”

He pulled you back in, pushing your entire body flush to him so not a part of you wasn’t on him. His teeth gently worried your lower lip and you could feel the sharp point of his canines graze your skin. You felt something slide across your ankle and squeaked, worried for a moment it was a snake before realizing it was Sylus’s tail.

“Don’t mind it.” he said, “I feel it sometimes has a mind of its own. But this, is all me.”

His tail had slithered under the fabric of your skirt and wrapped around your thigh, pulling your leg over him so you were straddled on one of his legs. “What are you--ah!” you got your answer when he jostled the leg you were straddled across.

“Ride it.” his voice had dropped to that low growl you had heard him use when you were both in the hot spring.

Oh gods, were you really doing this? You lowered yourself so your cunt was pressed right to his thigh and ground your hips down. The bit of friction sent pleasurable ripples through your body and you could feel heat pooling between your legs. His hands roamed up and down your body, touching you in a way you had only allowed in your fantasies.

“You’re still so cold,” he said, the pad of his thumb teasing your nipple through the material of your dress. “Just look at how you shiver.”

“Sylus,” you ground against his leg a little harder. “Please Sylus.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm.” his mouth latched to your neck, biting and bruising the sensitive skin.

You moaned aloud, pressing yourself more into his touch. You knew that you had to have soaked through the material of your undergarments. You normally went without since it meant more laundry to do but considering that you had to fly here you wanted the extra cover. Right now it was very inconvenient. You wanted to feel the leather of his pants rubbing against your clit. Wanted to stain his leg with your arousal.

“Sylus,” you panted, “I want to feel you more.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, I can do that.” he said. You thought he was going to let you shuffle about so you could get the undergarments off but instead his hand slid under your dress. “Lift your hips up.”

You weren’t sure what he was doing but you lifted yourself off his leg. You felt the pressure of his claws, cold and hard press against the soaked material and a grin spread on his face. Then the sound of cloth ripping as he cut a slit at the crotch. “There, keep going.”

You lowered yourself again, this time feeling the leather of his pants directly against your soaked and sensitive cunt. You moaned again and he plastered his mouth to yours, swallowing the sound.

“Keep going. Don’t stop until you come.” he commanded. “I want you looking in my eyes as you come undone.”

You threw your arms around his neck, your forehead pressed to his as you rode his thigh. Your cunt spasmed and clenched around nothing longing to be filled. It was all getting to be too much. You were dizzy from pleasure, so close to an orgasm but it was right out fo reach.

Sylus kept his hands on your breasts, rubbing and pinching your nipples through the cotton. His tail was still wrapped around your one thigh, squeezing it tighter and pulling your leg back down when you tried to wiggle off his leg. He switched from biting and bruising your neck to kissing you fiercely. Every little sound you made he wanted it poured down his throat instead. And at this point there were many sounds for him to feast upon.

You were panting and moaning his name against his lips. “Come for me.” he said. “I need you to come for me, my wildfire.”

“Sylus!” your voice cracked as you came.

“That’s it, that’s my girl.” he grabbed your chin and forced you to look in his eyes. Your cunt twitched again, flooding with arousal but nothing to cling onto. All of your juices spilled out onto his thigh, making the leather supple and soft underneath you.

You collapsed forward, your face buried in his neck. His hands gentled up and down your back, easing you back from the high. “Breathe, you did so good. You were so good, little bird.”

“I…I’m feeling much warmer now.” you muttered into his neck.

He chuckled. “Yes. Me too.” For a minute yout sat there catching your breath before Sylus moved you off of his lap.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s probably best we head back now while you’re still warm.” he said.

“But--”

“Trust me, I want nothing more than to tear this dress to pieces and fuck you till you’re screaming. But we also don’t want to garner too much attention up here.”

“Attention?”

“Remember what I said about dragons having an excellent sense of smell?” he nodded towards the beach. “I would really rather not have everyone down on the beach realize that there is a very horny human and dragon nearby.”

“Oh right…” you had forgotten where you were for a moment.

“Come along. Quickly.” he stuffed everything back in the pack and handed it to you.

You gave one final look to the dragons down on the beach surrounded by their giant glass sculptures that glittered in the half-moon light. Sylus scooped you into his arms and you were back to the skies. You held tight to him, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck as you began the long flight back home.

#love and deepspace #lads sylus #lads mc #sylus x mc #sylus x reader #dragon sylus #lads dragon au

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saveyourblood · 23 days ago

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Pretty Boy - Ch 10 (Buddie x Reader)

Summary: You can feel Buck staring. When your eyes meet his, you realize he’s staring at your hand, which is still on Eddie’s knee. You slowly retreat, which makes Buck turn his attention to your face. You smile softly. He just looks out the window. The one where you’re an advanced paramedic, Buck and Eddie are firefighters, and you think you might be in love with both of them.

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9

Chapter Summary: You and Buck have a few realizations about a certain someone... but it might be too late.

Word Count: 3.7k Warnings: Mentions of blood/violence

You and Buck are finally back at work together — the balance in the universe has been restored. It sounds dramatic, but you swear Hen shed a few happy tears when you returned. Even Chimney spared you a hug.

Once everyone disperses, you see Eddie leaning against the dinner table.

“Hey,” you say, approaching him.

“Hey,” Eddie returns.

Before you lose courage, you wrap one arm around his neck and the other around his waist, pulling him into a hug. It takes Eddie a moment, but he reciprocates.

“What’s this for?” He asks, voice muffled by your shoulder.

You pull back enough to look at him but keep your hands where they are. “For saving my life. I never thanked you. So… thank you.”

“Anytime,” he says, setting his hands in the crooks of your elbows. “Seriously.”

You smile sweetly.

You’re starting to see what Buck was talking about. You didn’t entirely believe it at first, but now that you’re staring into Eddie’s eyes, you can see it; he’d move the Earth for you. You swallow the lump forming in your throat. What are you supposed to do with this knowledge? It doesn’t mean Eddie loves you, and it doesn’t mean you love him.

Doesn’t he, though? And don’t you?

Does it even matter?

“Babe,” Buck says, setting a hand on your shoulder.

You spin around, probably a little too quickly.

“Bobby needs us, something about paperwork,” Buck explains.

“Sure,” you nod once, then turn back to Eddie. “I’ll see you around?”

Eddie looks you up and down, then nods slightly. The corner of his mouth turns up; you wouldn’t exactly call it a smile.

Buck wraps an arm around your back, guiding you to Bobby’s office. You reciprocate the gesture. As you walk, he smiles down at you. You smile back at him.

This. This is what matters. For the first time in your life, you’re in a healthy, long-term relationship. You love Buck, and you know he loves you back. For fuck’s sake, you just finished moving into his apartment. This relationship is the only thing you should be thinking about; you shouldn’t be doing anything to jeopardize it. Besides, you already know that you love Eddie — as a friend. His friendship means the world to you, and you know Buck can’t live without him either. Acting on a potentially fleeting whim could devastate everyone, including yourself.

“I love you,” you whisper to Buck as you walk.

Buck furrows his eyebrows in confusion, but he smiles anyway. “I love you too.”

You bump your hip against Buck’s as you dry a plate. Well, he’s so much taller than you that you actually bump your hip against his thigh. Still, he bumps you back with a soft chuckle.

Although you haven’t been living together for long, you’ve fallen into a routine of making dinner together and washing dishes together. It’s a weird, domestic ritual that you only partake in once, maybe twice a week since your shifts don’t always fall on the same days.

Buck glances over at you. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything,” you say, partially as a joke but partially sincere.

“Promise you won’t get mad?”

“Buck, haven’t you learned never to ask a woman that?”

Buck doesn’t say anything. He just continues to wash the plate.

“I’m kidding,” you say softly, gently taking the plate from his grasp and setting it down. “What’s going on?”

Buck sighs, taking a few steps backward until the small of his back rests on the kitchen island.

You stand in front of him, slipping your hands into your back pockets. “I won’t get mad. I promise.”

At this, he smiles softly.

“What’s on your mind, Pretty Boy?” You ask, nudging his leg with your foot.

Buck wets his lips, only to bite the lower one. “Did you have a crush on Eddie?”

You think you feel your heart skip a beat. “What?”

“Before we got together, I mean. Did you like Eddie? As more than a friend?”

The spit in your mouth has turned into sand. You swallow, and it feels like razor blades scrape their way down. How the hell are you supposed to answer this question? Do you lie, say, ‘Of course not, why would you even suggest it’ ? Do you tell him half the truth, that you liked him at some point but not anymore? Or do you go with the full truth: that you liked him then, and probably love him now?

“Before we got together, Eddie and I… had a moment,” you settle on saying.

“A ‘moment’?” Buck frowns. “What kind of ‘moment’?”

You cross your arms over your chest. “We had a tough call; a woman in her 30s coded after giving birth. It was an amniotic fluid embolism, the same thing that killed my mom. We got her back in the ER, and when I stepped out of the trauma bay, I… lost it a little bit. Eddie comforted me, and… we almost kissed.”

Buck nods, taking everything in. “Almost. So you didn’t.”

You shake your head. “No, we didn’t.” You pause, biting your lip. “I did tell him something, though.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“Buck, you have to remember that this is before, okay? I mean, we were still fighting at the time.”

“It’s okay,” Buck says with a slightly forced smile. “I understand.”

You take in a deep breath. “We were leaning in to kiss, and I remembered Shannon. He said she wanted a divorce, but I said that he’s still married and I’m not that type of girl. When we pulled away, my exact words were, ‘I’m not saying it can never happen.’ ”

“You left the ball in his court,” Buck summarizes.

“In a way, I guess,” you cede, rubbing your hands together nervously. “And then you and I got together, Shannon’s accident happened, and, I don’t know… it hasn’t come up since.”

“Have you thought about it?”

“Buck, I love you.”

“I love you too,” he says, reaching out and rubbing your arms. “I won’t get mad. I promise.”

You smile faintly, but your heart is still running a marathon in your ribcage. “I’ve… thought about it, I guess. I’ve thought about if you and I had never met, that maybe Eddie and I would be together. I’ve wondered what would’ve happened between Eddie and I if you and I never got together. They’re all just… thoughts, though. What-ifs. They don’t matter.”

Buck’s hands trail down to your hands. He takes his in yours. “Do you love him?”

“Buck.”

“I know you love me,” Buck continues, playing with your fingers. “You know I love you. But I’m asking if you love him .”

You feel your eyes well up with tears. It’s getting harder to catch your breath. “Evan, I need to know that whatever I say does not change our relationship, okay? Because you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and if this changes something, I will never recover.”

“Hey, nothing’s gonna change,” Buck promises, pulling you into a hug. “I just… need to know.”

You wrap your arms around him, holding on for dear life. “I don’t know,” you finally cry. “I mean, I think I do. But I’m not sure.”

You feel like a little kid running to someone for comfort. It’s embarrassing. If anything, you should be comforting Buck. You just told the man you love that you might also be in love with another man. And he’s comforting you.

Buck presses his lips to the top of your head. “We’ll figure it out.”

It’s you and Eddie in the rig today, and you can cut the tension with a knife.

He obviously doesn’t know about the conversation you shared with Buck, but for the past 72 hours, it’s been the only thing on your mind. Really, it couldn’t have come at a better time — the morning after, Buck started a 48-hour shift, and when it ended, you were starting a 24. He got in late, so he kissed you goodnight, and when you left, you kissed him goodbye. You haven’t spent enough time around Buck for things to feel awkward.

With Eddie, on the other hand… the last 8 hours have felt nothing but awkward. You’ve tried brushing it off, pretending that the air around you both hasn’t shifted. But it has. And you have no idea how to shift it back.

It’s like you’re back at the start of things, when you were first getting to know each other. Long, quiet pauses are interrupted by the occasional sound or text message. When you’re driving, Eddie will bring up Christopher and talk about how he’s doing in school. When he’s driving, your phone barely leaves your hand as you obsessively check for any contact from Buck. There isn’t any. You hate this; it’s miserable.

“Are we cool?”

You look up to see Eddie tapping the stirring wheel. It’s the only sound in the rig.

You look back at your phone. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I did something.”

“You didn’t do anything, Eddie.”

“Then why can’t you look at me?”

You set your phone in your lap and turn your head towards him. Eddie spares you a glance, and you see his jaw unclench.

“Is something going on between you and Buck?” He asks, eyes fixed on the road.

You place your elbow on the door, resting your head in your hand. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll work it out,” he says simply. “You two are made for each other.”

You tap your fingers against your cheek. “You believe that? Not about me and Buck, per se, but in general. You think two people can be made for each other?”

“Growing up, I was taught it was God’s will, that He brings people together for a reason. These days, I tend to believe in what I can see. And I can see how happy you make each other.”

You settle your hands in your lap, considering this. “Do you think someone can be made for more than one person?”

“What, like in a ‘different people for different phases’ type of way? Yeah, I could buy into that.”

“No, I mean, like, do you think someone can be in love with two people at once? Do you think that’s possible?”

Eddie turns his head to you, looking you up and down.

“RA 118, requesting medical assistance at 2749 Elmer Avenue for a PNB victim,” The radio interrupts.

PNB — pulseless, non-breather. Eddie flips on the lights and sirens.

You pick up the radio. “Dispatch, this is RA 118 responding. Is CPR currently in progress?”

“10-4, by victim’s son. 118 rescue is also en-route.”

Momentum pushes you back in your seat as Eddie picks up speed.

“10-4, RA 118 clear,” you say before hanging up the radio.

You and Eddie are first on the scene. You make your way into the house and quickly see a young boy, no older than 10 years old, doing chest compressions on his mother.

“Hey buddy,” you say, kneeling beside him. “We’ve got it from here.”

“No, the 9-1-1 lady said I have to keep doing this,” he protests as he continues compressions.

“And you have done a great job, but your part's done,” Eddie assures, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Now it's our turn.”

As the boy steps away, you place two fingers on the woman’s neck. “No pulse, continuing compressions.”

Eddie quickly cuts her shirt, places the defibrillation pads, and then moves on to bagging. When you come up on two minutes, you hold compressions for a pulse check.

“She’s in V-fib,” Eddie says, observing the monitor. “Clear!”

He delivers a shock, and the woman’s body jolts, but you still don’t feel a pulse.

“Resuming compressions,” Eddie says, swapping out with you.

You go a few rounds, switching roles so you don’t tire too quickly. After a third round of CPR and a fourth shock, she converts to a normal sinus rhythm. Thankfully, the rest of the 118 crew on shift has arrived, so they help you and Eddie load her onto the gurney and into the rig.

When you drop the patient off, by some miracle, she’s stable. The ER doctor thinks the cause of arrest was a heart attack, but all you care about is that she didn’t code in your ambulance.

Walking out to the ambulance bay, you see Eddie sitting on the rig. The door is closed, so he’s sitting on the ledge just in front of it. He’s resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

“Everything okay?” you ask.

He perks his head up, and the tear tracks on his face are unmistakable.

Your heart rate picks up as you set a hand on his shoulder. “Woah, what happened?”

“It’s nothing,” Eddie tries brushing you off with a sniffle.

“It’s not nothing,” you argue softly. “What’s going on, Eds?”

He runs a hand down his face. “You know how long she was down for?”

“For us? Well, three rounds of CPR is about 6 minutes, but including shocking and pulse checks, it was probably closer to…”

“...7 minutes,” Eddie finishes.

“I was down for 7 minutes,” you whisper.

He nods. He knows that better than anyone.

You take a seat next to him, setting a hand on his knee. “I can’t imagine how terrifying those 7 minutes were. If it were you or Buck, I’d be…”

You trail off, the weight of your words slowly catching up to you. They’re starting to sink in for Eddie, too, because his hand slowly trails up to yours. You turn your hand over so your palm is facing upward. Eddie laces your fingers together.

You somehow feel insurmountable guilt and relief at exactly the same time. Guilt because it feels like you’re betraying Buck. Relief because, finally, Eddie knows, and evidently, he feels the same way you do.

But… does he know?

“You know, I was talking to Buck the other night,” you say, still holding Eddie’s hand. “He said that he and I will figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“How we can be in a relationship when I also have feelings for you,” you say, voice barely audible. “Because I do. I’m in love with Buck, but... it feels like there's something between us, too. I didn’t even think it was possible at first, but…”

The two of you sit in silence for a few moments. Your interlocked hands are starting to feel like a bomb waiting to go off, but neither of you dare to break away first.

“Well,” Eddie eventually says, “whatever you two figure out, let me know. Because no matter what it is, I’m there.”

You hold in a sigh of relief. “Really?”

Eddie squeezes your hand, smiling softly. “Really.”

You can’t fight the smile that blooms across your face.

Things are definitely different between you and Buck. He said they wouldn’t be, and you’re sure he’s trying his hardest, but it doesn’t change the fact that something between the two of you changed.

You can’t remember the last real conversation you had with him. Granted, your shifts have been mostly opposite of each other, but even then, you used to at least text. Now, you can be sitting in the same room for hours on end without a single word being spoken.

After about two weeks of radio silence, you’ll finally be working a shift together. Buck doesn’t say anything when you’re sitting in the passenger side of his Jeep. He doesn’t say anything as he pulls out of the parking lot, either.

“Are we breaking up?” you ask, no longer able to avoid the question. “Because I’ve never been good at taking hints. So if this is it, you need to just say it.”

“Of course we’re not breaking up,” Buck argues. “I told you, nothing you said changes anything between us.”

“It already has, Buck,” you retort. “It’s changed everything. It doesn’t even feel like we’re friends anymore, let alone dating.”

Buck lets out a sigh, leaning his head back. “Okay, you’re right: things are different. But it’s not because of you.”

You frown. “...What?”

“You realizing your feelings towards Eddie has made me realize some things about myself. I’ve been working through those things, but I shut you out. I’m sorry.”

Your head is spinning. “Buck, pull over.”

“We’re gonna be late if—”

“This is more important. Pull over.”

Buck finds a random parking lot and pulls into it. You click off your seatbelt so you can fully face him. He’s still staring straight ahead.

“What have you been working through?” you ask. “And why couldn’t you do it with me? It’s what I’m here for, Buck.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

You take one of his hands. “You don’t have to keep apologizing. Just… talk to me.”

Buck bites his lip. “I just didn’t want to make things even more complicated.”

“Okay…” you say slowly. “What would make things more complicated?”

Whatever it is, he doesn’t want to say it. His jaw clenches and unclenches a few times, and his brows are knitted together. He’s playing with your fingers as a distraction.

“Evan,” you prompt softly. “If you can keep loving me after everything about Eddie, then I can keep loving you after whatever you’re about to say.”

He finally looks at you, and his eyes are red. His tongue darts out to wet his lips, which he then presses together. It breaks your heart to see him like this.

“I, uh…” He croaks out. “I think… I think I might be… Bisexual.”

You can practically feel the weight lift off of your shoulders. “That’s it?”

“Not exactly.”

You nod but stay quiet, waiting for him to elaborate.

“When you talked about what might’ve happened had we never got together, I… started thinking too. About the ‘what-ifs’. They’re the same as yours.”

You said that if you and Buck didn’t start dating, you wondered if you and Eddie would’ve ended up together.

You lean in a little closer. “You’ve pictured yourself with Eddie.”

It takes him a minute, but Buck starts nodding slowly.

“You love Eddie.”

Despite his frown, Buck laughs. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

You set a hand on his cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I’m… terrified. Terrified he won’t feel the same way.”

A stray tear falls on his cheek, and you catch it with your thumb.

“I have seen the way that man looks at you,” you say quietly. “He loves you.”

“What if he doesn’t? What if he loves you, and not me? I can’t watch you both be happy without me.”

“This is what you’ve been worried about?” You ask, moving your hand to run it through his hair.

He nods slightly.

“Evan Buckley, listen to me,” you say, taking his face in both of your hands. “If we’re going to do this, it’ll be all or nothing. Either both of us love him, or neither of us do. I would never hurt you, and if me and Eddie together would hurt you, then it isn’t gonna happen.”

“I want you to be happy,” Buck whispers, a few more tears falling.

“I’m happy with you — it’s one of the only things I’m sure of. I can live with the unknowns and the ‘what ifs’, but I can’t live without you.”

You and Buck make it to the station right on time. After parking the Jeep, he waits by the door as you make your way around. He extends his hand; you take it. The two of you walk in wordlessly.

You’re barely in the garage when you see Eddie walking out of the locker room. He’s already dressed in uniform.

“Damn, you’re early,” Buck remarks. He squeezes your hand before letting go.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Eddie replies. He looks at you. “You remember the mom the other day?”

You frown. “Sheila? With the sick kid?”

You took a rescue call with Hen, Chim, and Bobby towards the end of your previous shift. A woman, Sheila, fell through her rotten patio. She has a son, Charlie, with an autoimmune disease. Once Sheila was rescued, you took her to the hospital while Eddie stayed behind to look after Charlie.

“He's not sick, not really. She's making him sick. Probably has been for years.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Munchausen by proxy? That's a heavy accusation, Eddie.”

“All signs point to it,” Eddie continues. “The nonspecific autoimmune disease, the revolving door of doctors. He's frail, he's weak, he's always throwing up. She's poisoning him.”

“Poisoning him?” Buck interjects. “With what?”

Eddie’s phone rings. He sighs in frustration, but his expression changes when he sees the caller ID. “Charlie? Are you okay?”

You and Buck look at each other.

“Okay, just stay put, alright? I’ll be right there.”

You pull up to the scene in the Captain’s truck — B shift is still on a call, and it was the only vehicle available. You and Buck didn’t even have time to change before leaving, so you’re still in your street clothes.

When you get to the apartment, you find Sheila unresponsive and Charlie holding an empty bottle of eye drops. She’s been dosing his food with them for years, and Charlie wanted to see what would happen if she got them for a change.

After a good sternal rub and some fluids, Sheila perks up. You get her and Charlie into separate ambulances.

They’ll both be okay but never together again.

“Wish I’d gotten here sooner,” Eddie says, shaking his head slightly.

You’re leaning against the engine, Buck beside you.

“Hey, that kid is just lucky he met you,” Buck says.

You nod in agreement. “Seriously, Eds. It was a good call.”

“Diaz, you wanna ride with the kid to the hospital?” A paramedic interjects.

“Yeah, that would be gr-”

A sharp sound cuts Eddie off. You feel something splash on your face and instinctively close your eyes. Your eyes are barely open again when Buck is tackling you. You both collide with the side of the engine and fall to the ground.

There’s a lot of screaming and shouting. Someone is radioing that shots were fired, and a firefighter is down. You spare a glance up at Buck. His face is splattered with blood. You reach a shaky hand up to your own cheek, and your fingertips come back stained red.

You look across the way to see Eddie lying in the street, a flood of crimson underneath him.

It’s Eddie’s blood on your face.

#911 abc #evan buckley #evan buckley x reader #911 show #911 on abc #911 reader insert #evan buckley/reader #eddie diaz x reader #eddie diaz #evan buckley x eddie diaz x reader #Buddie x reader #buddie x reader #pretty boy fic #i can write

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cosmerelists · 7 months ago

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Adolin asks: "Would you still love me if I was a cremling?"

A direct sequel to that time Kaladin asked that same question.

[Some Stormlight spoilers in this!]

1. Renarin

Renarin: Yes. Ever since Kaladin asked me this question, I've been contemplating it. Renarin: I would definitely still love my cremling brother, and I've already done some research into cremling diets and habitats so you'll be well taken care of! Adolin: Great! Uh.......your answer doesn't relate at all to your future sight thing, right? Renarin: [smiles beatifically]

2. Elhokar

Elhokar: No. You'd be ugly. Adolin: You wouldn't love me just because I'm an ugly bug?? Elhokar: Oh, suddenly this isn't safe space.

3. Dalinar

Dalinar: Of course. Dalinar: I will love you on any stage of your journey, cremling or otherwise. This has long been my philosophy. Adolin: You have a philosophy about me being a cremling? Dalinar: I meant--more the journey thing, but--

4. Sadeas

Sadeas: I would love you exactly the same amount as I do now. Dalinar: Awww! Sadeas: [glaring at Adolin] Adolin: [glaring at Sadeas] Adolin (hissing): I'll kill you! Sadeas: (hissing): Not as a cremling you won't!

5. Shallan

Shallan: Of course, Adolin. In fact, did you know that some male cremlings fight for territory? Adolin: Uh... Shallan: That means you can still duel! Adolin: Isn't that kind of...unfair, though? I mean, I would be a super-intelligent cremling, as cremlings go. Shalln: Hmmm...I could ask Sja-anat if she knows any enlightened spren currently inhabiting the body of a cremling who want to thrown down? Adolin: You would do that...for me? Adolin: That IS love!

6. Navani

Navani: If I can love a woman who is a crab, I can love a son who is a bug. Adolin: Awww, thank you!! Adolin: Wait what was that first part? Navani: Let's not spoil this moment.

7. Jakamav

Jakamav: Honestly, I would crush you immediately and with prejudice. Adolin: Still mad about the duel, huh? Jakamav: YES I AM STILL MAD ABOUT THE DUEL

8. Danlan

Danlan: Yes!! Adolin: Wow! Your enthusiasm is...touching? A tad suspicious? Danlan: You'll be able to get into SO many spaces in secret! With you on my side, I'll be the greatest spy EVER! Adolin: ...you're a spy? Danlan: I hope you'll be faster on the uptake as a cremling.

9. Jasnah

Jasnah: Do I have any way of knowing that it's you? Adolin: Yeah, you know it's me. Jasnah: How? Adolin: Uh...you just do? Jasnah: I just do? Really? Adolin: What if you...watch the transformation happen in real time and then you, like, ask me ten yes-no questions relating to little-known aspects of my history that a fake-Adolin would be unlikely to get completely right by chance, and I, like, dance back and forth for no and hop forwards and backwards for yes? Jasnah: In that case yes I would continue to love you. Adolin: I'm exhausted! Jasnah: That's just how love is.

10. Kaladin

Kaladin: Yes...but I won't be happy about it. Adolin: Meaning?? Kaladin: It would be SO much harder to protect you if you're a cremling! You'd be so small! So crushable! Kaladin: I guess I'd keep you in my pocket. Adolin: I am NOT living in your pocket. Kaladin: I'm your bodyguard! You'll live in my pocket if I SAY you live in my pocket! Adolin: I will BITE you. Kaladin: Cremling don't have TEETH probably! Adolin: I'LL FIND A WAY

#cosmere #cosmerelists #I woke up in a cold sweat with the Elhokar dialogue in my brain and had to write this #Adolin #Stormlight Archive #Stormlight Archive spoilers

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shinynewmemories · 5 months ago

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Final lines of every chapter in the Hunger Games (book 1)

Chapter 1:

It’s Primrose Everdeen.

Chapter 2:

Of course, the odds have not been very dependable of late.

Chapter 3:

She hops in her pointy shoes around the pool of vomit and flees the room.

Chapter 4:

Which also means that kind Peeta Mellark, the boy who gave me the bread, is fighting hard to kill me.

Chapter 5:

Right on his bruise.

Chapter 6:

I wonder if she’ll enjoy watching me die.

Chapter 7:

Then I give a slight bow and walk straight toward the exit without being dismissed.

Chapter 8:

“Peeta has asked to be coached separately.”

Chapter 9:

“Because . . . because . . . she came here with me.”

Chapter 10:

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!”

Chapter 11:

The voice belongs to Peeta.

Chapter 12:

It would be hard to miss the wall of fire descending on me.

Chapter 13:

Then, without even rustling a leaf, her little hand slides into the open and points to something above my head.

Chapter 14:

Then the ants bore into my eyes and I black out.

Chapter 15:

“I think we’re going to have to fix that, Rue.”

Chapter 16:

Then the apples spill to the ground and I’m blown backward into the air.

Chapter 17:

She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear enters her body.

Chapter 18:

Before I can stop myself, I call out Peeta’s name.

Chapter 19:

“Peeta, look what Haymitch has sent you.”

Chapter 20:

The rest of Panem can.

Chapter 21:

The last thing I remember is an exquisitely beautiful green-and-silver moth landing on the curve of my wrist.

Chapter 22:

But in my head I can hear Haymitch’s smug, if slightly exasperated, words, “Yes, that’s what I’m looking for, sweetheart.”

Chapter 23:

In answer, I hold out the berries.

Chapter 24:

Then I am stumbling blindly after Cato with no thought of anything but to save myself.

Chapter 25:

“Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you — the tributes of District Twelve!”

Chapter 26:

And right now, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin.

Chapter 27:

I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.

#thg #the hunger games #thg book comb #peeta mellark #katniss everdeen #haymitch abernathy #coriolanus snow #i love love love that the first chapter is basically #FRICK THEY CALLED PRIM'S NAME!!!!!#and the second chapter is #FRICK THEY CALLED PEETA'S NAME!!!!!!!!!!!

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seuonji · 1 year ago

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night shift ★彡 xu minghao

xu minghao x yn ln

彡when yn’s juniors finds trouble with some fellow college mates, yn goes through mountains just to get them justice, even if it means needing to infiltrate and make friends with the most intimidating clique on campus.

masterlist

#7 7th chance! | #8 wasted times! | # 9 yn’s boyfriend!

notes: there’s a writing part after the cut! <3 (1k words!)

you turned your phone off and redirected your attention to minghao and his friend that tagged along who’s name was…kwon soonyoung? you were mildly acquainted with both of then due to chan’s dance club but other than that, you really have never had a conversation with them so the walk to icey milk was ought to be interesting.

when they first approached you, minghao was quiet and cold as ever. perhaps that was just his default character. soonyoung on the other hand greeted you with such friendliness that it shocked you.

now you three were on the sidewalk making your way to icey milk.

awkwardly, you were walking beside minghao.

soonyoung walked on a faster pace so it were as if he was leading you two.

“so, what’s it like being vice yn!” soonyoung turned around, walking backwards as he asked.

you giggled at his eagerness, you’ve never met someone so interested in the role of a vice, “well, i kinda just do whatever the president tells us. but there is times i get to boss people around aswell.”

“you boss people around?” minghao suddenly chirped in.

“hard to believe?” you titled your head.

“not really,” he faced to the front again.

“i’ve always wanted to get acquainted with you guys, you all seemed like fun but i was scared it was prohibited.”

you held back your laugh, from the corner of your eye, you saw minghao doing the same. “like we’re celebrities or something? come on, it’s really nothing like that, we’re all students just like you,” you casually responded.

you caught the attention of minghao while your attention was on soonyoung. today he realised, you probably aren’t the snob-could be apart of the mean girls trio-obnoxious-not humble type of person he portrayed you be in his head. you were pretty decent and he could see himself being alone in a room with you without going insane.

but what was he thinking? it’s only been a 2 minute walk so far he could only judge so much.

“so i could totally just try and be friends with the student council?” soonyoung continued his questions. that one kind off took you aback, did he have some sort of student council addiction, why was this man so invested. but perhaps this interest could be an asset to you.

“of course! we don’t bite. actually jeonghan might but he’d only do it as a joke,” you joked.

“who’s jeonghan?” soonyoung tilted his head.

minghao snorted out a giggle, “so much for wanting to be friends with the student council.”

“ouf,” you blurted almost letting out a loud laugh. jeonghan always swore everyone knew who he was, you wish you caught what soonyoung said on tape.

you proceeded to give brief descriptions on everyone from student council but before you knew it, you reached icey milk. you parted ways with soonyoung. you think you made a good impression since soonyoung insisted that you and him should hangout again. that felt like an accomplishment!

soon enough, you and minghao went to the back to start work.

it was a slow day seeing as it was a weekday which allowed you and minghao to focus on training more today.

he trained you in ice cream scooping, the right way to wash the dishes and since icey milk also sold milkshakes, minghao was able to train you on that aswell.

“so that concludes your training, anything else just ask me,” he had a slight smile on his face.

you let out a breathe thankful for the zero mishaps that happened that day.

“thanks, mind if i take a break?”

“not at all, go ahead”

you were able to confide in the space of the employee room to text seungcheol. afterwards you shut your phone tired of the situation but laughed cause it was pretty funny.

you had your earphones in and looked up into the ceiling, letting your playlist run wild.

few songs had passed and you heard someone walk in. you lowered your volume down just in case someone spoke.

unbeknownst to you, minghao walked in and caught a glimpse of the song that was playing on your phone. it was showcased on your lock screen and he pointed it out.

“hey, you listen that artist too?”

it took you a bit too long to realise he was talking to you but you pulled out one of your earphones and you peeked at your screen. an artist song was playing, an artist you swore only you listened to. “yea, holy shit i’ve never met someone that knew them.”

“yea, they’re kinda underground.”

“i like them that way,” you giggled.

he had the same smile on his face as he laughed, “me too.”

huh, you two finally agreed on something.

he sat infront of you, going on his phone aswell.

this was your chance.

“did you hear they’re coming to town this year?”

“huh they are?” he placed his phone down giving you his full attention.

“yea! i mean it’s not a huge concert, it’s more like a live house but, would you go?”

“probably not, it would cost money i can’t spare,” he looked defeated.

your eyes grew bigger from the reality check as your plopped back into your chair, “that’s true.”

“i mean, we could just take the cash from the register and go,” he shrugged his shoulder and joked.

you let out a laugh, he was capable of making jokes? you swear he was a robot. “that’s genius actually!”

“let’s plan it out then,” he said with such seriousness it didn’t seem like a joke anymore.

you enjoyed the conversation, just as you were about to prolong it, the chimes rang as the front door opened, alarming you two that there was a customer.

minghao instantly stood up to attend to them as you followed behind. as he opened the door, he whispered to you, “here comes our money for the concert!” he did a small jazz hands gesture before returning back to his employee mode. you watched him at the side and quietly let out a sigh of relief.

maybe you could enjoy working around him.

funfact: when yn went back home they searched up the meaning of the song wasted times. they could see some correlation and they definitely didn’t let him breathe because of it.

taglist: @weird-bookworm @kissesfrmwonwoo @haecien @amxlia-stars @addyanm @anemoiant @kokoiinuts @leewonkyeom @silver-liner @zzenkha @buffhoshi @woozixo @porridgesblog @ilovehimyourhonour @koala-wonderland @bangantokchy @limbomoon @som1ig @imprettyweird @hyelium @sikuthealien

send an ask to be added to taglist! (replies are fine but i may not see them!!) — please check your visibility before asking to be added to taglist! if your account is hidden it won’t allow you to be tagged on posts!🤍

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southernprideyall2 · 10 months ago

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU MOVE TO THE SOUTH

1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in the South.

3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in the South, plus a couple no one's seen before.

4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

5. Onced and Twiced are words.

6. It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy!

7. Jawl-P? means: Did you all go to the bathroom?

8. People actually grow, eat, and like okra.

9. Fixinto is one word. It means I'm going to do something.

10. There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there's supper.

11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar. It is referred to as the Wine of the South.

12. Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you.

13. The word jeet is actually a question meaning, 'Did you eat?'

14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is, you work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH em.

16. Y'all is singular. All Y'all is plural.

17. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal.

18. You carry jumper cables in your car for your OWN car.

19. You only own five spices: salt, pepper, mustard, Tabasco, and ketchup.

20. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local high school sports, motorsports, and gossip.

21. Everyone you meet is a Honey, Sugar, Miss (first name), or Mr (first name)

22. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

23. You know what a hissy fit is..

24. Fried catfish is the other white meat.

25. We don't need no dang Driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive!!!

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neverenoughmarauders · 19 days ago

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Prophecy / Potters' in hiding / Snape & Peter spy timeline

I've wanted to share my current headcanons on this for a while. I'll go through what pieces of evidence I believe support this. There might be a slight rant in here about the fact that there's no way to get all the pieces we hear in canon to align - as far as I am aware.

Timeline (mostly headcanon supported by canon, some of it is canon):

1. Late 1979/early 1980: James and Lily step back from "active/fighting" Order duty due to Lily's pregnancy. As they are not working, and Lily is muggle-born, they are essentially in light hiding/keeping a low profile

2. Spring 1980: Dumbledore hears the prophecy and Snape, overhearing parts of it, relates it to Voldemort.

3. Early/mid November 1980: Snape learns from Voldemort that he thinks the prophecy is about Lily Potter's son. Although getting a reassurance that Lily will be spared, Snape decides to inform Dumbledore.

4. Late November 1980: The Potters are warned by Dumbledore and go into hiding. Peter starts passing information to Voldemort about the Potters.

5. Early-ish July 1981: The Order photo is taken

6. Early/Mid August 1981: Lily writes her letter to Sirius

7. Mid-October: Snape warns Dumbledore that Voldemort is planning to make his move. Dumbledore advise James and Lily to go under the Fidelius Charm

8. Late October: the Fidelius Charm is cast with Peter as secret keeper

9. October 31, 1981: James and Lily are killed

Okay, let's get into it below!

1. James and Lily step back from "active/fighting" Order duty

Honestly, this is merely based on the interview with JKR from 2007:

So that’s what they did, they left school. James has gold, enough to support Sirius and Lily. So I suppose they lived off a private income. But they were full-time fighters, that’s what they did, until Lily fell pregnant with Harry. So then they went into hiding.

I'd be surprised if Lily had continued with active Order stuff after becoming pregnant, but I could see a case of James continuing if it hadn't been for this interview. Still, the reason I have that time range is because I don't think they would have immediately pulled out. They'd make up some excuses for Lily, and James would continue until they were confident enough that the baby would survive. Then they would announce it to close and trusteed friends and Order members. (Sirius would immediately learn about it, of course)

The reasons why I believe this fits into the category of hiding (in addition to JKR's words) are (1) they didn't have jobs so effectively, they are now pretty confined and (2) Lily is muggle-born. Lily's choice is basically to fight or hide, and thus, that's also James' choice.

2. Dumbledore hears the prophecy

It feels overwhelmingly probable that Sybill Trelawney’s first prophecy was made in early 1980. Dumbledore tells Harry:

”On a cold, wet night sixteen years ago, in a room above a bar at the Hog’s Head Inn…"

Working backwards from 1996, it’s 1980. Cold and wet implies early spring or fall in my head. As we know Dumbledore is interviewing her for a job, spring feels more probably, as the job would presumably start the following term. Finally, the prophecy tells us that the baby "approaches", so Lily is pregnant when the prophecy is made - Harry is not yet born.

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …”

At this stage, I don't think Dumbledore does much (or he probably does a lot of thinking and investigation and so on, but he doesn't alert anyone). He knows (or quickly learns) that Alice/Frank and Lily/James might fit the bill given both couples are pregnant in ways that mean they might plausibly (or likely) be due end of July. However, Dumbledore is not a sharer of such vital information by nature and he sees no reason to share his suspicions yet. Forcing either couple into (further) hiding could signal things to Voldemort or his followers. No, I think Dumbledore will absolutely have deemed it for the greater good to keep quiet.

3. Snape learns from Voldemort that he thinks the prophecy is about Lily Potter's son. Snape decides to inform Dumbledore.

We see Snape defecting in DH during a time where it's cold and trees are leafless:

[U]ntil his surroundings solidified again and he stood on a hilltop, forlorn and cold in the darkness, the wind whistling through the branches of a few leafless trees. The adult Snape was panting, turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or for someone.

Unless we branch out (haha), we can assume these trees are natural, mixed woodland, in which case this scene is set no earlier than mid-November (and that's assuming they're in Scotland). Although it could be later, I am going to stick with mid-November as I feel that neatly fits in with 4.

Could this have happened in fall 1981, given what Fudge says in POA? I believe it is virtually impossible for this scene to take place in fall of 1981 (it can however, be early 1981). The leafless trees do not add up to Snape warning Dumbledore a week or so in advance of the Fideluis Charm, which in turn happened less than a week before the Potters were killed. Plus as we know Snape becomes a teacher at Hogwarts in 1981, and September seems the most likely time for him to start work (and the trees are certainly not leafless then)

“Now ... how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?” [Umbridge] asked, her quill poised over her clipboard. “Fourteen years,” Snape replied.

Thus, we can assume Snape tipped off Dumbledore before September 1981, and given the leafless trees, that means somewhere between late fall 1980 and early spring 1981.

4. The Potters go into hiding. Peter starts passing information to Voldemort about the Potters.

a) The Potters go into hiding

We know that the Potters go into more "proper" hiding some time after Harry was born. Basically, now it's no longer about keeping a low profile because they're having a child and Lily is muggle-born. Now, they know Voldemort is after their family (thanks to Snape - and I mean that both ways).

I am making the assumption they don't go into this stage of hiding until Snape is begging Dumbledore to "hide them all", I am assuming Dumbledore is forced with this new information to tell Lily and James to hide, and this I suspect happens pretty quickly after Dumbledore and Snape have spoken. This also seems to happen around the time Harry's christening which was hurried.

When Harry was born, it was at the very height of Voldemort fever last time so his christening was a very hurried, quiet affair with just Sirius, just the best friend. At that point it looked as if the Potters would have to go into hiding so obviously they could not do the big christening thing and invite lots of people.

This doesn't tell us much - I'd expect Harry's christening to happen between a few weeks to a few months after his birth - and hurried could just be that James and Lily had been pretty relaxed about getting around to it, and now they suddenly need to hurry. Having said that, Harry being born end of July, I think it's fair to say end of November can, at least, work with what we know (assuming that the earliest Snape could have been defecting was mid-Nov - see 3.)

b) Peter starts passing on information about the Potters

I flip-flop between whether Peter has already become a spy for Voldemort by this time, passing on general bits about the Order and Peter not becoming a spy before Voldemort starts looking for people close to the Potters. I think I am slightly more on the former: once James started going into hiding when Lily falls pregnant, Peter starts losing confidence. He might even be a bit jealous of James who is safe at home with his family. Peter is scared, feels powerless in the Order now one of his protectors are gone, and is an easy prey for Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Also, if Peter is already the spy, I can see a case for Peter's information being, in part, responsible for giving Voldemort what he needs to make the Potters the target. But it really doesn't matter.

I've kept this timeline to what we have some basis in canon for, and thus left this at the time Peter starts passing information to Voldemort about the Potters. Why? Because at some point, Snape likely informs Dumbledore there is a leak close to the Potters - though Snape clearly does not know who.

“[Dumbledore] was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,” said Professor McGonagall darkly. “Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who.”

There might be other ways Dumbledore got this information, but my guess is Snape. As we don't see Snape give this information to Dumbledore when they meet on that hilltop, it's likely Snape informed him later because Snape only learn about it later.

Also, side note but I am 100% sure that Snape did not know who the spy was. Firstly, this should be obvious. If he had known, he would have warned Dumbledore. Secondly, the way Snape acts in POA in the shrieking shak is entirely consisten with a man who believes Sirius (and James by extention) is responsible for Lily's death - and now Harry, always like his father - have the nerve to believe Sirius to be innocent.

“Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he’d killed you! You’d have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black — now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!”

Back to the main point. Whichever way, Peter was likely passing information about the Potters for about a year. Sirius accuses him of such and Peter does not deny it.

“DON’T LIE!” bellowed Black. “YOU’D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!" "You don’t understand!” whined Pettigrew. “He would have killed me, Sirius!”

5. The Order photo is taken + 6. Lily writes her letter

Omg the Order photo. There is a case in canon to argue this is taken in 1980, as well as July 1981 as well as late September/early October 1981.

1980? In GOF, Karkaroff offers Crouch evidence against Travers who "helped murder the McKinnons", meaning Karkaroff was captured after the death of the McKinnons, right? However, Sirius tells Harry and Co that Rosier was "killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell", and Rosier was killed after Karkaroffs arrest, meaning the McKinnons were killed in 1980, Karkaroff was arrested in 1980 after this event, and shortly after that again Rosier was killed.

“Yes!” said Karkaroff. “There was Travers — he helped murder the McKinnons!"

“Any others?” said Crouch coldly. “Why, yes ... there was Rosier,” said Karkaroff hurriedly. “Evan Rosier.” “Rosier is dead,” said Crouch. “He was caught shortly after you were too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle.”

“Rosier and Wilkes — they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell."

Quotes not in order of the book

Now, I am just going to ignore Sirius' statement that they died a year before, because that's only one of many things Sirius says in the cave that is inconsistent with other things in canon. Also personally, I read Karkaroff's trial as something that happened after the war - everything he talks about is in past tense. In which case we can disguard 1980 as the year. I just needed to rant.

Similarly, the reason why September/October 1981 is an option is because Lily writes in her letter that Dumbledore has taken James’ cloak. As we learn later in Deathly Hallows Dumbledore only took the cloak just before James was killed.

You have guessed, I know, why the Cloak was in my possession on the night your parents died. James had showed it to me just a few days previously. It explained much of his undetected wrong-doing at school! I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I asked to borrow it, to examine it. I had long since given up my dream of uniting the Hallows, but I could not resist, could not help taking a closer look

And again, we can assume the McKinnons’ deaths are recent, hence the Order photo will needed the be taken late Sep/early October.

But just as with 1980, it doesn't add up otherwise. Firstly, the letter read as something to have happened shortly after Harry's birthday. Secondly, if the Order photo was taken in September/October, then all the Order members that were killed in that photo were likely killed in the space of a few weeks. That feels unlikely in itself, but if that was the case it would be especially weird for Moody to single out the McKinnons as being killed two weeks after the photo was taken AND Lily equally attributing Peter being down due to the McKinnons death.

So that leaves July 1981 as the most viable option. I still don't love it to be honest. I don't love the idea of James and Lily going to an Order meeting when they know Voldemort is after their son. I don't see them leaving Harry with a baby sitter, nor taking him to the meeting. (But someone on Reddit felt I was an idiot for not just accepting that they left Harry with Bathilda when a massmurderer is after him, so...) Also, Lily's letter reads as if James is going spare from not having seen anyone other than Peter for a while when it's not that long (especially for a parent of a toddler) since he has seen the entire Order. But never mind.

Lily writing her letter a few weeks after the picture is taken, between a few days and a couple of weeks after Harry's birthday, fits the timeline of the picture being taken early July, and as much of canon as we can manage.

7. Snape warns Dumbledore, who in turn warns Lily and James + 8. The Fidelius Charm is cast

For reasons I've hopefully explained, I think it's likely Fudge is talking about Snape alerting Dumbledore specifically to Voldemort having decided to make a move against the Potters in POA. I.e. he is not referring to the time Snape warns Dumbledore Voldemort thinks it's Lily Evans' son, but the moment Voldemort has set his sight at eliminating this unexpected threat.

“Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You- Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know- Who wasn’t an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm.” (...) “But James Potter insisted on using Black?” “He did,” said Fudge heavily. “And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed — ” “Black betrayed them?” breathed Madam Rosmerta.

Working backwards from their death on Oct 31, 1981, it feels likely Snape alerted Dumbledore early/mid October. I think we can expect that they moved pretty quickly from warning to putting up the Fidelius Charm - after all you don't move slowly if you know Voldemort is preparing to kill your son.

9. James and Lily are killed

Hopefully no need to explain this one as it's plain canon! RIP Lily and James.

#The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death #This is currently my hc of the timelines but there is probably some stuff I've missed or things people can help me interpret #Lily Evans #Lily Potter #James Potter #Albus Dumbledore #First wizarding war #Timeline #order of the phoenix #hp headcanon #and a bit of HP meta

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ruanbaijie · 9 months ago

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我会保护你，保护你一辈子。无论是你的一辈子，还是我的一辈子。 ARCS OF THE SPIREALM 致命游戏 (2024) [in/sp]

@userdramas event 15 something new: a new show from 2024 @asiandramanet mar creator bingo board ⎈ typography ➻ notes for translations and motifs (spoilers!) used below the cut

Arc 1: 雪村 Snow Village

Quote: 一人不如庙，二人不观井，三人不抱树，独自莫凭栏 One person shall not enter the temple, two people shall not look into the well, three people shall not hug a tree, one shall not lean against the balustrade alone. - the death rules of this door

Motifs: a circle meant to represent the well, split into two to represent (what are assumed to be) the "real world" (top half) and "virtual world" (bottom half). note where rnz is placed

Arc 2: 菲尔夏鸟 Fitcher's Bird

Quote: 小老鼠搬鸡蛋，鸡蛋太大怎么办？一只老鼠地上躺，紧紧抱住大鸡蛋。一只老鼠拉尾巴，拉呀拉呀拉回家。小老鼠搬鸡蛋，鸡蛋太大怎么办？一只老鼠地上跑，紧紧抱住大鸡蛋。一只老鼠拉尾巴，拉呀拉呀拉回家。Little Mouse, carrying an egg, what shall it do if the egg is too big? Little Mouse, lying on the ground, tightly hugging the big egg. Little Mouse, pulling its tail, pulling and pulling and pulling it home. Little Mouse, carrying an egg, what shall it do if the egg is too big? Little Mouse, running on the ground, tightly hugging the big egg. Little Mouse, pulling its tail, pulling and pulling and pulling it home. - the creepy as hell nursery rhyme recited by the three girls

Motifs: broken egg, clock ticking backwards that's formed by the staircase that's rotating clockwise (which I realised was a neat little trick to hint that they were travelling forward in time) and the cut birthday cake

Arc 3: 阿姐鼓 Sister Drum

Quote: 她不见了，找不到她了 She's gone, I can't find her - the words written by the older sister in her diary

Motifs: top view of a Chinese drum, bamboo

Arc 4: 佐子 Zuozi

Quote: 我的腿没有了，你的给我好吗？My leg is gone, can you give me yours? - the death line of this door

Motifs: ripped pieces of paper, handwriting, slowly appearing words

Arc 5: 威福利山疗养院 Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Quote: 已经过了八点了，你们为什么不睡觉？It's already past 8pm, why are you still not asleep? - what the nurse says right before she starts chasing after the players who are outside their rooms

Motifs: room 502, overlapping but non-concentric circles representing a Russian doll

Arc 6: 雨中女郎 Woman in the Rain

Quote: 总不能是你一直保护我们吧 It can't always be you protecting us - what lqs says to convince rnz to let him go into the painting world

Motifs: picture frames shifting from scenes of the players to scenes of the door god and painting world, and back again

Arc 7: 哭儿郎 Crying Baby

Quote: 天惶惶，地惶惶，我家有个哭儿郎，过往恩客念三遍，一觉睡到大天光 Panic in the skies, panic on the earth, I have a crying baby at home, when the kind guest who passes by recites three times, they will sleep till the next morning - the line that will save you in this door. Interesting to note that there's actually a similar line that exists, except one of the changes is instead of 恩客 (ēn kè "kind guest"), it's 君子 (jūn zǐ "gentleman"), and while I translated 恩客 literally as "kind guest" here (what each of the individual characters means), the word itself actually in the past, used to refer to "benefactors" - the customers whom prostitutes fell in love with

Motifs: a lamp with lqs as the flames (vague hint at what rnz always tells lqs) and rnz as the base (note the orientation and negative colours), swirls meant to mimic water as in the book, this door was slightly more strongly related to the river god

Arc 8: 扫晴娘 Rain Doll

Quote: 如果这样，明天还是阴沉下雨的话，我就砍掉你的头 If it's still gloomy and rainy tomorrow, I will chop off your head - the line to recite in this door in order to make it rain

Motifs: umbrellas in the corners, a window (there's this one beautifully framed scene in this arc where they both open the windows of their room at the same time) showing the iconic nanqiu umbrella scene (each of them coloured differently on purpose) vs. the outside of the window with the rain dolls and additional rain overlay layer

Arc 9: 箱妖 Box Demon

Quote: 别看那个箱子，看我 Don't look at that box, look at me - what lqs tells rnz when he gets "hypnotised" to open the box

Motifs: diamonds forming 3d boxes

Full list of scenes used since this gif moves too quickly: rnz waking up from his "hypnosis", rnz and lqs staring at each other after rnz returns from his "death", cyx turning around to look at lqs when they thought rnz was dead, cql being pulled into the box, juxtaposition of rnz (upright) and ybl (upside down) in front of the stained glass windows, one of the box people in the box rnz nearly opened when he was "hypnotised", rnz being full of shit in front of everyone else (as usual)

Arc 10: 无解 Insoluble

Quote: 二人去一人归 Two people go, one person returns - the hint that appears consistently for the 11th door

Motifs: kaleidoscope of the final scene before rnz walks away

I put the two final doors (百鬼夜行 "Night Parade of Hundreds of Ghosts" and the "real" "12th" door) together because I really like how the hint applies for both the 11th door as well as the ending of the show

I also used 无解 "unsolvable" (the original name of the final chapter in the novel) for the name of this arc because of how short and simple it is, but also how it just summarises the 意难平 (idrk how to translate this, but sort of like the bittersweet feelings, being unable to let go of the past) of this arc and the entire show. Just like how there was no way to solve the 11th door with a happy ending for both people (assuming only two people went in lol), there was no way to solve the 12th door and the entire game with a happy ending for both rnz and lqs

However, instead of translating 无解 as "unsolvable", I used "insoluble" instead as it sounds just a little more poetic and is more symmetrical, and also hints at how lqs's memories of and feelings for rnz, whether his whole experience was a dream or otherwise, never dissolved with time 🥲

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elliesbelle · 1 year ago

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almost like we knew

chapter 8

pairing: ellie x reader

synopsis: it all began online—the whirlwind long-distance, years-long romance between you and young artist, ellie williams. despite all the history and heartbreak and regrets, you keep dancing backwards into each other. the time just never seems to line up.

content warnings: ellie's POV (and briefly dani's POV, ellie's fiancée), modern au, artist!ellie, cursing, angst, mentions of hospitalization, mentions of death, mentions of alcohol, relationship problems, minors do not interact

chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9

series masterlist

my masterlist

i have a ko-fi if you like my work so much that you feel compelled to tip me ♡︎

based on the lauv and julia michaels song “there’s no way”

Present Day

Ellie’s POV

Dani's POV

Ellie’s POV

author's notes:

sorry for taking so long to get this out! i've been swamped, plus the app i use for my text fics is soooo glitchy and i had to do so much more editing than i wanted to ugh

and tbh i'm also likeeee struggling a little bit mental health wise so if i take a while to get my WIPs out, please be patient!

btw bindi and i were just talking on discord about how so many of us creators' engagement has been so low and it's very disheartening tbh :\ i mean, y'all don't have an obligation to us, but if you do appreciate our works, please do show us by showing support in different ways <3

taglist: @sawaagyapong, @elliewilliamsmissingfingerss, @lonelyfooryouonly, @abbyily, @spaceshipellie, @ximtiredx, @elliessknife, @aouiaa, @godisacirclemp3, @uberyellowsheep, @alexpritch, @fireflyelllie, @machetegirl109, @millersaurora, @ellieslegalwife, @jokerpokimoon, @gold-dustwomxn, @carmellie, @ellieswifee, @robinismywifee

please let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist or if you'd asked previously and i missed you! and please have your age in your bio if you want to be added to the taglist!

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nellie-the-toad · 12 days ago

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so because i'm a little insane, i took a look at the different translations of the episode titles of season 5 (german, french, spanish). and most are literal translations (e. g. le pont -> the bridge), but some of them are actually quite revealing?!

now blabla, the translations might change and i do doubt they're all that significant, because i doubt the actual writers give feedback on them(?). but i still think it's worth sharing! i don't speak any more languages, but maybe there are more hints in the translations of the titles into non-romanic/non-germanic languages? please share if anyone has any insights because i love languages!!!!

ep.1: the crawl, die suche, mission de secours (rettungsmission), al rescate (zur rettung)

ep. 2: the vanishing of ....., la disparation de..., das verschwinden von

ep. 3: the turnbow trap, die turnbow falle, le piège

ep. 4: sorcerer, der zauberer, sorcellerie, hechicero (zauberer/medizinmann)

ep. 5: shock jock, der stromschlag, plan de choc

ep. 6: escape from camazotz, die flucht von Camazotz, s'échapper de camazotz

ep. 7: the bridge, die brücke, le pont

ep. 8: the rightside up, zurück in der realen welt, le monde à l'endroit, el mundo derecho

concerning ep. 1, it's interesting that really only in englisch they used "crawl" (as in: a motion of moving forwards or backwards). in german it's "the search", in french more something like "rescue mission" and in spanish (correct me if i'm wrong, my sibling is my source for this and they only had like 2 years of spanish at school and weren't all that good) it means "to the rescue". maybe this ep. is about rescuing max? by crawling? i don't fucking know i'll leave it to the theorists.

ep. 4 is really only notable because of the gendered implications of "sorcerer". so, in german they chose the masculine form (so you would expect a male wizard, unless they are using something called the "generic masculinum" in which case the gender of the person the title refers to could be anything). in french, they chose to just say "sorcery" and not gender it. and in spanish (again, might be wrong) they picked "hechicero", which can either be translated to the male version of sorcerer or it's the adjective (?). it would be rly interesting to know what the most common translation of "sorcerer" into spanish/french is, because it could also imply things like what kind of sorcery is at subject here. e.g. whether it's healing powers or more like dark magic. assuming the "sorcerer" in question is definitely male (because of the spanish/german translation), the ep. could be about will?

now the ep. 5 title in englisch has something to do with moderators/interviewers, a "shock jock" defined as someone with a mike and something funny, entertaining, "offensive", often comedic and even truthful to say, that simply for some reason pisses people off. for the record i have never heard this term before, but i'm not a native englisch speaker (thank god for that), so i dont really know anything about the history of this term/who it has been used for. but funnily enough in all three other languages it means something mostly unrelated. the german "der stromschlag" (literally "electric shock"), paired with the french (very similar as in spanish) "plan de choc" implies some plan involving electricity. but of course, there's the double meaning of being "shocked" (emotionally and physically/electrically).

now looking at ep. 8, i'm not that sure because i don't know the exact translation they used for the "upside down" respectively. in german, there's just no real equivalent, it's just called "the other side" (?). howeverrrrrr the german title for ep. 9 can be translated as "back in the real world", which to me sounds like the upside down was never "real" at all, just some dream? but you kinda have that also in englisch with them having chosen "right" instead of "down" as the opposite of up. so the "right" world already means something like "real". same in french/spanish, i think.

and yeah, that's it. let me know if there are other notable translations.

#stranger things 5 #stranger things theory #i swear im not even in this fandom #i just really like languages #languages #imagine they make byler canon only in the spanish dub #i was hoping for #byler #but now i'm realising none of this is relevant #stranger things

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lightandheatao3 · 7 months ago

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The Bunker - Criminal Minds

Chapter 11: The Bolt

Summary: Spencer Reid wakes up in a locked bunker to find half the current BAU and two of its departed members unconscious on the floor. The old team is back together but the reunion is not what any of them would have wished for. An Unsub from their past has decided it's time they all stop keeping secrets, even if it means exposing them by force.

Hotch and Derek have been pulled back into a world they tried to escape. Emily, Rossi, and JJ are doing their best to keep it together. Spencer is falling apart.

AKA a found family is reunited and forced to go through the most nightmarish version of family therapy imaginable.

Set months after the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution. Evolution referenced, but not necessary to understand the story.

Chapter Summary: Spencer has a plan. Derek wants to talk.

Read chapter 11 on AO3 or under the cut. Please check AO3 for content warnings. All comments and reblogs are extremely appreciated <3 I would love to know what you like about the story :)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

He twisted the bolt, gripping it with all the meager strength he could muster. For the first time, he was truly glad that the others had refused to let his muscles atrophy into nothing, despite his protests.

His finger tips had developed calluses over the past five food delivery cycles since he’d started working the thick, entrenched bolt loose. It was spot welded, but water had dripped onto it and anointed it with blessed rust.

In stolen moments, when nobody was paying enough attention to wonder why he lingered just that little bit longer at the sink, he worked away at it.

Now, as they all slept, he gave it one final twist.

Then it was his.

The rusted, two inch long, half inch thick bolt sat in his palm looking entirely not worth the effort. It was brittle, but it had a surprisingly sharp edge on the bottom.

It was fine. It was good enough to serve its purpose.

Now, it was all about the timing.

The next delivery would be soon after they all woke up, if everything went to schedule. They had built their sleep cycle around it, so it resembled something like breakfast.

He had to make his move when he knew she’d be watching.

Quick enough that the others couldn’t stop him. Effective enough that she would have to intervene immediately, without having time to gas them.

A shuffling sound from somewhere to his left alerted him that one of the others was awake.

Just in time, he deftly slid the bolt into the hole he’d created in the elastic waistband of the scrub pants the Unsub had dressed him in. The years of practicing sleight of hand as a child had payed dividends throughout his adult life.

“What are you doing?” whispered a groggy Derek, leaning against the empty door frame of the tiny, prison-like bathroom.

“Just needed some water,” he whispered back. “Couldn’t sleep.”

It felt like they were meeting in the dead of night, like it should be dark. It reminded him of the whispered moments they used to have in dark motel rooms on cases when neither of them could keep the nightmares at bay.

Derek folded his arms over his chest. “I’m glad I got you alone for a second,” he said, glancing backwards to where the others soundly slept. “I want to talk to you.”

He sat down on the closed toilet lid like it was a chair. Spencer considered dodging past him, but instead he leaned back so he was sitting on the edge of the low sink. It almost felt like they had privacy.

“What’s up?” asked Spencer, like they’d just run into each other at the water cooler at work.

Whatever Derek had to say, hopefully he would get it over with quickly. He wanted to care, really. He did. But he had more important things to focus on than trying to conjure up his absentee feelings for a heart to heart.

“I just wanted to say… You know I love you, right?” he said, nudging Spencer's leg with his foot. “I know I’ve been kind of a dick, but it’s just because…” he looked out at the grey concrete and the solid steel door. “Well. You know.”

Spencer softened. Something close to sympathy crept its way through the invisible glass bubble that was separating him from the rest of them, and he almost felt it for real. “I know,” he said. “Me too.”

“Good,” said Derek. “Because I’m worried about you, pretty boy. You’re really freaking me out.”

Spencer stared at him blankly. “I think you have bigger things to worry about right now, man.”

Derek huffed. “Maybe. But I’ve got a bad feeling. I mean, none of us are really okay right now. I get that. I know I’m not. But you’re being weird, even for you. Do you realize you’ve stopped quoting statistics at us? You’ve been in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds and still quoting stats at me,” he said. “I don’t like you being this quiet.”

“I don’t have any good statistics for this situation,” he said. “Do you really want to hear the chances of us being found alive after so long?”

“It’s not just that,” said Derek. “It’s like a part of you has shut off. I’m worried. I’ve seen you do some reckless, self-destructive shit over the years, especially when you get it into your head that it’s the only way to protect other people.”

Spencer’s mind raced. Could he tell what he was planning? What was he getting at?

“I’m fine,” he said. “I mean, not fine, but you don’t have to worry. It’s like you said, withdrawal has screwed up my neurotransmitter levels, and the lack of vitamin D and iron aren’t doing any of us any favors. But I’ll be okay once we get out of here,” he explained, trying his hardest to sound reassuring despite his complete inability to believe for a single second that he was ever going to be okay again.

Derek smiled tightly, straining to keep his voice light, even as his nails dug into his biceps. “I want to believe that, pretty boy, I really do. But the thing is, I think you were pretty fucked up before we ever woke up in this godforsaken bunker, and that you’ve probably been seriously depressed for a long time, because the thing is, happy people don’t do heroin. And I think if we get out of here, you fully intend to go right back to shooting up.”

He sounded like he was speaking to one of his kids. Spencer had been there once when his son had come home from kindergarten crying because another boy pushed him, and Derek had sounded exactly like this when he tried to talk his son through how to handle the situation.

“What’s your point?” he asked.

He hadn’t intended to sound petulant or sarcastic, but even he could hear how it came across.

Derek grit his teeth. When he spoke, he forgot to whisper. “My point, is if that’s the only future you’re capable of imagining for yourself right now, you might not be motivated to do everything in your power to keep yourself safe.”

Spencer stood up straight.

He knew. Derek knew.

“Whatever happens, Derek, you have to know that I am doing everything I can to get you out of here. To get all of us out,” he said calmly, stepping towards the doorway and the main room.

Derek put his arm across the exit, blocking him in.

“Give it to me, Spencer.”

"Give you what?" he shot back.

"Man, I saw you. You might be quick, but I know what to look for. Just hand it over."

The sound of the others stirring caught both of their attention. “What’s going on?” came JJ’s voice.

As soon as Derek turned his head, he took his shot.

He ducked under his arm and darted into the room, pressing himself against the corner farthest from the half-awake group.

Derek cursed and swung around to face him. The others scrambled to their feet.

“What’s going on?” repeated JJ urgently.

“You’re the one who said it first,” pointed out Spencer, still focused on Derek. “We need to do something extreme.”

“We doesn’t have to mean you, Spencer,” he said, stepping forward.

“Then who? You? I don’t have kids waiting for me to come home to them.”

Four sets of eyes widened in shock and comprehension.

“What are you doing, Spencer?” asked Emily, raising her hands and taking a step forward.

Faster than the rest of them could get to him, he pulled out the bolt, pressing the sharp, ragged end to his wrist. “Stay away!” he shouted.

JJ lunged for him. He pressed harder, ready to move, but Derek grabbed her and hauled her back.

“Everyone calm down!” yelled Derek.

“Spencer, what the fuck are you doing?” shouted Emily, who for the very first time since waking up in the bunker, looked like she was about to fall apart.

He glanced up at the camera. “I wanted to time this better,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “Emily, I’m sorry,” he said, meeting her eyes.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” said Hotch, putting a hand on Emily’s shoulder and as she clasped her hands over her mouth and fought back tears. “This isn’t the way, Reid. We don’t even know if they’re watching.”

“No, but it’s close to the next delivery and she likes to time them for dramatic effect. Have you noticed that? I’m willing to bet she is watching. Besides, I’m on camera now. We won’t have another shot at this.”

Rossi raised his hands. “It doesn’t need to be you. I’m a lot older. I’ve got less on the line.”

“Nobody is doing anything,” said JJ furiously. “This is ridiculous! Don’t you fucking dare, Spencer, or I swear to god I will never forgive you.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “There’s no time to discuss it.” He glanced up at the vent, afraid he had already waited too long. “This instrument is imprecise, but if I do it right I'll have three to five minutes. That number goes up if you put pressure on the wound. She won’t have time to knock you out if she wants to save me, so someone is going to be coming into this room. Be ready for it." He took a ragged, steadying breath. "She’s not going to let me die. It’s going to be alright.”

He shot one last guilty look at Emily. This was cruel on all of them, but after everything, it felt like it was cruelest on her.

“You promised me you wouldn’t do this to me,” she said through silent tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said one last time.

He pressed down on the bolt, driving the sharp edge into his wrist hard, and dragging it up his forearm in one swift and violent motion. No hesitation.

Somewhere, a vast distance away, he heard screaming.

He was utterly transfixed as dark, shining red came pouring out of his arm.

After a small eternity, there were people, grasping at him, pulling at his body. The waterfall on his arm was covered by a pair of strong, dark hands, holding his skin together like Atlas held the world.

Oh.

There it was.

All those things he hadn’t been feeling, there it all was.

The edges of his vision darkened. All around him there was noise, but he couldn’t extrapolate meaning from any of it.

All that existed in the world was the unyielding, crushing hopelessness that came rushing into his body with every drop of blood that rushed out.

Had this unbearable, all encompassing sadness been with him the whole time?

He’d been telling himself the same thing that he told the rest of them. He was doing this because somebody had to.

He was doing it because he had the least to lose.

He didn’t really believe she’d let him die if she could help it, and if she couldn’t help it, then at least he’d given them a chance. It was a noble sacrifice.

“Hang on, Spencer,” came a voice from somewhere above him. “Just hold on.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

As consciousness slipped away from him, he finally understood that the awful truth.

He realized that he didn't really want to wake up.

#criminal minds fic #spencer reid angst #aaron hotchner #bau team #bau team as family #criminal minds evolution #criminal minds #emily prentiss #derek morgan #criminal minds fandom #spencer reid hurt/comfort #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid #dr spencer reid #criminal minds hurt/comfort #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds angst #criminal minds fanfic

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