#could drop something for Halloween or Christmas if I fell better

[childofsardior]

🔴 Closing the blog for a while 🔴

Mental health and anxiety are getting worse and that's a sign I need a break from socials.

Cya! ⋆˚✿˖°

PS. As always, feel free to browse my stuff :3 Just don't repost it/steal it/put it inside IA bots etc. Be kind!

[milliesfishes]

⋆౨ৎyou're alone on halloween and alex comes to see you⋆౨ৎ fem reader x alex nilsen

Swiping the wand over your lashes, your eyes fell to your phone when it buzzed on the counter. Alex was trying to call you. Ignoring it, you leaned forward in the mirror to get a better look at the state of your makeup. Fish purred contentedly by the sink, lifting his chin in a kitty smile when you looked at him.

It was always hard spending a holiday away from Alex, even if it was a minor one. You always took the major holidays together, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, but you longed for the simple pleasures of fun ones like Halloween. All your friends were bringing their boyfriends to the party tonight in coordinating costumes while you were stuck with your solo act.

Maybe if Alex was here you would have done something cute from a movie you both liked. But since he wasn't, you had gone generic, donning a short white dress and angel wings. Staring at your reflection, you capped your mascara, shoulders slumping a little. You felt pretty. You'd look good in whatever pictures your friends posted tomorrow. But the ache in your chest was apparent, and you wished with all your heart that he was with you.

The two of you had talked about him maybe relocating to the city when you'd first accepted this job a few years ago, but nothing had come of it until this past spring. You both agreed that he should spend at least another school year in Linfield and maybe start looking for teaching jobs this winter so he could move right after school ended. You were so excited at the prospect of him coming to live with you finally after missing him so often for so long.

That still didn't make days like today any less hard.

Your phone buzzed with another text from Alex, but you didn't bother to read it. In a minute you would FaceTime and show him your costume and the little bow you'd put around Fish's neck. He would let you see Flannery O' Conner, Fish's littermate, and probably tell you he would be staying in tonight.

Petting Fish, you smiled a little sadly when he stood, rubbing his head on your side. You and Alex had gotten your cats together, picking them out at the town shelter. Fish was a tie to the man you loved in that way, and you were grateful for it.

There was a knock at the door, and you called, "It's unlocked, come in!" It was probably Jules here with the Uber. She was early.

Deciding to find a quiet-ish place at the party to call Alex in, you picked up your phone and gave Fish one last pat, trailing from the bathroom to the kitchen and living room. Your white heels were sitting by the couch, and you internally debated the logistics of bringing a purse before you realized who was standing in front of the door. Not Jules.

Alex grinned at you, somehow more handsome than when you'd seen him last. His hair was a little messy, and he looked a little tired. But he was here. "Hi baby."

Your mouth fell open, and you hurtled toward him, crashing into his open arms as he dropped his carry-on and squeezed you tight, lifting you off your feet. You'd told him a thousand times not to do that because of his bad back, but today you shelved your concerns. His clean scent filled your nose as you buried your face in his chest. "You're here...how are you here?"

"It's amazing what they're doing with teleportation these days." You lifted your head up, raising your eyebrows and meeting his eyes. He smiled, thumbing the side of your cheek. "I took today and tomorrow off. Decided to take a long weekend and come see you."

You giggled, almost in disbelief. wrapping your arms around his neck. "You did all that for me?"

"I missed you." Alex pressed his lips to your forehead, leaning down and catching your mouth in a kiss as sweet as candy corn. "Missed my girl."

Tummy fluttering from both his words and his lips, you squealed lightly, hugging him tight again. "I'm so happy you're here."

Pushing you back just a bit, Alex's eyes roamed over your body, your dress. "You look sexy. Were you going somewhere?"

"A party," you mused, staring up into his eyes, your previous plans already nearly forgotten. "But now that you're here...I'm not going anywhere."

He gave you a look. "We can still go. You got ready and everything and you look gorgeous-"

Reaching up, you kissed him needily, effectively silencing his protests. Losing yourself in his touch, you nudged your nose against his. "I wanna do something else."

He slipped off his shoes as he kissed you, letting you walk him over to the couch and push him gently to sit down. The grin on his face hadn't faltered once for the time he'd been there. When you began to take off your angel wings, he sat up, reaching out. "Wait, wait. Did you take any pictures in your costume?"

You shook your head, a little dazed, mind clouded around everything except him. Alex reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, using his hands on your hips to scoot you backwards a bit. Flopping back on the sofa, he swiped right on the screen and pointed it at you, the shutter clicking. Over and over you'd teased him for not turning off the phone's standard device sounds.

After a few seconds of posing, you gravitated back towards him, sitting on his lap despite his protests. "Just a few more...okay." You were already cuddling into his chest, your wings poking his arm. Looking up with puppy dog eyes, your cheek squished his shoulder. He sighed, smiling and setting a palm on your other cheek. One final click of the camera was heard as you smiled adoringly up at him.

Tossing the phone aside, Alex settled his hands on your hips, giving you a fond look. He rubbed you gently, and you melted under his touch.

Remembering what you'd wanted before, you stood from his lap and slipped off your wings, setting them on a nearby chair. Letting his arms rest on the back of the couch, Alex shifted so he was sitting up straighter, grinning. "Whatcha doing babe?"

"I was gonna send you a picture later," you smiled, slipping one strap of your dress over your shoulder. He watched, almost entranced, as you removed the other one, beginning to shimmy the fabric down your chest and over your knees. His eyes widened as you kicked the dress aside, smoothing your hair behind your shoulders.

Your lingerie was white and lacy, hugging your body and effectively stunning your boyfriend. He wordlessly reached for you, hands glued to your hips as he pulled you right down into his lap again. "Baby..."

Sliding his hand to your breast, you kissed him lovingly, pressing yourself against him. Alex kneaded your hips, hands sliding over your bottom and tugging you into him.

His lips ebbed and flowed over your skin in the way you'd missed so desperately, and you tangled your hand in his hair. It'd been nearly a month since you'd seen him last, felt him like this. He shifted you off his lap so you were sitting beside him. You were about to protest, when he knelt in front of you, pulling your legs over his shoulders.

When your phone buzzed on the coffee table, you reached for it, seeing the text from Jules. She was on her way. Alex frowned, squeezing your thigh. "Baby."

"Hold on, I need to tell her I'm not going tonight." You tapped out the text quickly, using more abbreviations than usual.

Alex pressed his mouth to your thigh, still pouting. "You weren't so eager to respond to my texts."

"I was going to call you," you giggled, hitting send and putting your phone back on the table. "And show you my costume."

"Hmm." Alex kissed your knee, dipping back down between your legs.

It was dark when the two of you finally stopped, trying to catch your breath, skin sticking to one another. He kissed your forehead, reaching for his boxers and tugging them on. Taking the blanket from over the arm of the couch, Alex unfolded it, spreading it over your body before getting to his feet.

He went to the carry-on bag that he'd abandoned earlier, kneeling and unzipping the top. You sat up sleepily, holding the blanket to your chest. "Did you bring more sweatshirts?"

Alex threw a smile back at you. "You don't have enough of my clothes?" But he tugged out what he was looking for, holding the maroon sweatshirt up triumphantly. "I'll have to borrow one of the others I've left here."

With an excited squeak, you sat up, making grabby hands. He laughed, bunching up the sweatshirt in his hands. "Lift your arms, baby."

You did, smiling wide as he pulled the neck opening over your head and adjusted it over your bare body. He gave you a loving peck on the nose, leaving for your bedroom to find a sweatshirt of his own. The one you were wearing was an old one from college that was soft and cozy on the inside.

He returned in a forest green one, smiling and diving into the couch, taking you into his arms. Pressing warm kisses to your neck, Alex nuzzled there, murmuring, "You're so pretty."

"Wanna put on a movie?" you murmured, rubbing his chest.

Alex nodded, kissing your cheek. "Scary?" You scrunched up your face, and he laughed. "Alright. Not scary. I'll pick a Halloween movie though."

Remote in one hand, Alex kept you cuddled close with his other arm, kissing your hair as he flipped through movie options, selecting one of your favorites. You were pleased when his other arm slid around you as the opening credits began. Fish found his way over, jumping on the couch and purring as he settled into Alex's lap. It seemed you weren't the only one who'd missed him.

Every second with him you soaked up, reveling in his warmth. As the movie played, you talked softly about everything and nothing, the stupid little things you always wanted to tell him but felt strange doing when he wasn't physically here.

You knew eventually you would have to escape your bubble, find a way to say goodbye until the next time. But for now you were content in his arms, able to pretend that he would never leave.

tagging @kellielovesmovies because <3

[jo-harrington]

Rise of the Guardians

I can only imagine this is a request for Hymns and not just…asking what I think of the movie? (Because I love it. Jack Frost and Periwinkle from Secret of the Wings was a fluffy ship I had for a short bit.) I hope you enjoy this little blurb. It's a little...angsty.

(Literally poor timing as today is Halloween and this is set in December but idgaf.)

TW: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Eddie and Reader/OC have a little fight and then reconcile, but with a supernatural element involved.

Find Hymns of Heaven here.

And find the Master List for As Above, So Below here.

December 1984

Your night-in wasn’t supposed to be like this.

But that's what he always thought when the two of you fought. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Not with you.

And inevitably...it wasn't.

A little verbal tousle never led to anything disastrous or relationship-ending. It was just...him. His abandonment issues. His need to be...needed.

The night started pretty normally. December, talks of Christmas, a last-minute visit to K-Mart before it closed to get hot cocoa (and fuck around in the toy aisle because you both were still kids inside after all), and then you regaling Eddie with the origins of Santa Claus as he flipped through your shoebox full of cassettes for something decent to listen to.

"...the story of Saint Nicholas of Myra is cool, but I always liked the legend of the Guardians better."

"Guardians?" Eddie asked, only semi-present as he stared at the faded track listing on one tape to see just what it was.

"I read it in a book once," you explained. "The Guardians of Childhood. They're meant to protect children."

You went on and on and explained each of the Guardians, who they were and what they did. Wonder and memories and special surprises made with magic and happiness. Your hands gestured wildly as you spoke and it was easy to see the sparkle in your eyes as the street lights illuminated your face every so often.

But the longer you went and the more Eddie heard, the worse he felt.

The Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus.

He'd been hearing about them for most of his childhood. All of it. Heard about them, though. Never experienced.

He'd always felt...slighted.

Now, as an adult...hell...even back in his childhood he knew. Knew that those things weren't real.

When he lost a tooth growing up, his mom would pull together a handful of change from the tip jar at Benny's for the Tooth Fairy to leave him. He could hear her count the coins as he laid awake in bed, hoping to catch the elusive sprite that first night. He always said he lost the teeth from that point on, not wanting to be burdensome.

His family didn't celebrate Easter. He'd heard all of the "he is risen" crap from church-going classmates growing up. He always questioned how it tied in with rabbits and eggs and chocolate, with no definitive response. At best, he and Wayne indulged in Cadbury Eggs as a special treat every year, with a few stashed away at the back of the freezer whenever the mood struck. But the meaning of the holiday was lost on him.

And his dad had pretty much dashed all illusion of Santa Claus immediately when he was younger. He couldn't remember a time when there had been any extra gifts under their mediocre tree.

"Isn't it amazing?" you asked by the time you were climbing the steps and entering the trailer. “Like…ok…admittedly I kind of think kids are the worst but…Guardians protecting the innocence of children. It deserves to be protected.”

“Does it?” He asked flippantly as you went on about how fun it would be to go to the North Pole one day and see if Santa’s workshop was real. “Do they?”

“And he—w-what?” You furrowed your brow as you dropped the bag of cocoa and marshmallows on the counter in the kitchen.

“I don’t know about you,” he laughed dryly as he fell onto the couch. “But there was no one magical and fantastical protecting me. There was my mom, then Wayne and Rick, and now…now I look out for myself.”

“Eddie…I…” you looked like a deer in the headlights. At a loss for words.

He knew you didn’t mean any harm with your story, but he couldn’t help but bicker and bitch and yell. And when he finally turned his frustration onto you instead of his situation, your expression got darker. Because you weren’t going to stand there and take this misplaced anger.

And that’s all it was right? Bickering and picking and mourning the loss of a childhood and a loss of innocence in both of you. You had more in common than you had differences—

Shitty, absent parents whose only priorities were themselves.

A guardian who sacrificed everything for you, to their own detriment.

The obvious fact that you were different from everyone else and there was nothing you could do to change that.

The idea that you were the only ones in the world who could understand each others plight.

—it’s just when you got to feel bad for yourselves that it all turned to shit. Unable to see what the other saw because you couldn’t see past yourselves.

So, back and forth you both went. Deeper and deeper. You didn’t understand. No he didn’t understand.

“I would think,” you scoffed, tears streaming down your cheeks. “That you, out of everyone, would feel some kind of…kinship with this. I didn’t say it to make you feel bad Eddie. You protect all of those kids. Your friends. Me. Instead—”

“You’ve made it very clear, the only person you need to protect is yourself. You only care about yourself. Otherwise why…why would you keep all of these secrets from me?”

You choked a sob. It shook your entire body.

And suddenly he didn’t see red anymore.

He saw…you, his girlfriend, who knew how much he enjoyed magic and fantasy and whimsy as an escape. You, who enjoyed all manner of monsters and cryptids and tall tales as a way to connect with the world around you that, most times, didn’t want to connect back.

You, who didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of his bullshit.

After Eddie’s dad got sent away, his mom had a better head on her shoulders when it came to arguments. To protect herself, protect him. She always chose to walk away from a fight with Rick when one of them got mean. And taught Eddie to do the same.

“You’re gonna hear people say, don’t go to bed angry,” she told him once, as she tucked him into bed after a verbal tousle. He’d asked if they were ever gonna see Rick again. “But that just encourages people to fight more until it’s over. You want to go to bed. Because the Sandman will bring good dreams and help you realize how silly it all was in the first place.”

And that was the philosophy you both had agreed to after your first fight, over Mountain Dew of all things.

So he knew, now, once you controlled your tears, controlled your breathing, that was what you were planning to do. And he couldn’t object. Keys in hand, coat shrugged back on so you could trek out to your car. No goodbye. Because sleep would make it all better.

It had to.

He’d just sat down with his head, full of regrets, in his hands when you knocked on the door, needing to get back in.

“Car won’t start,” you whispered, unable to look him in the eye.

“I can take a look in the morning,” he offered weakly. “You can have my room. I’ll sleep on Wayne’s bed, not like he’s here to mind.”

The two of you went through the motions, calming yourselves down but still not ready for a kiss goodnight.

Eddie fell asleep with the sound of your soft sobs echoing in his ears, whether they were real or imagined.

It was Pitch Black and his thoughts swirled around him.

Literally.

They took the form of spectral creatures, smoky and abyss-like phantasms that grabbed and pinched at his skin.

He was tied down on the ground, held by each of his limbs, by his throat. He choked on his apologies.

“Please please, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you the way I did.”

They bit and pulled and tore at pieces of him. Filled his mind with dark thoughts. Images of you crying, screaming, burning in fire.

“Please no. Forgive me. I fucked up. I fucked up.”

And then…

They stopped.

He was released in a puff of smoke, the inky, insidious tendrils evaporated and he was left to lay…on a glowing golden cloud.

Eddie looked around and saw…in the distant darkness…another cloud lazily approached. And on it there was a rotund little man with glowing skin and a beatific smile. His eyes crinkled as he got close enough to Eddie where their two clouds merged to become one.

“Who…are you?” Eddie asked dumbly. “Is…”

The man grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

“Is she ok?” He felt relieved when the man nodded sympathetically. “Where are we?”

The man’s eyes closed and the void they were in brightened to reveal…

Unicorns and sword-wielding elves and a palace spire that reached the sky. A stage with a crowd of roaring fans, a large gaming table with a group of eager participants, a comfy sofa and a coffee table with a bowl of popcorn and two steaming mugs of cocoa resting atop it.

All made of golden dust.

“Dreams,” he muttered. “My dreams.”

One of the man’s hands landed on Eddie’s shoulder and the other over his heart. He pressed down carefully and raised a brow in question.

“I do love her,” he whispered to the man, easily able to understand despite the silence. The man patted his hand twice. “And I know. She loves me too.”

The man’s brow became stern and his fist clenched then knocked on Eddie’s chest again. Eddie frowned, and then the man huffed a sigh. Above his head gold dust swirled and suddenly…there you were. A tiny version of you with a sword in one hand and shield in the other. You slashed and hacked as the gold dust turned black and attacked you.

“She’s…” He nodded. “She’s protecting me.”

The man smiled and nodded, the little dust mirage disappeared.

His hands then went and cupped Eddie’s face. He leaned in close and pressed a kiss to Eddie’s forehead.

For the briefest second, Eddie felt the most serene than he had felt in his entire life.

And then it all disappeared.

He woke with a start, tears dripping down his face.

It was dawn, the living room glowed with the rising sun, and you were there. Puffy-eyed and somber, with your hands on his cheeks.

“Hey it’s ok,” you told him. “It was just a nightmare.”

“No, no,” he shook his head. “It’s…it was…it was a dream.”

“Yeah?” You quirked a smile at him. Before you could make a joke, he was upright, engulfing you in a tight hug. “You, uh…sure it wasn’t a nightmare?”

“I’m sure,” he spoke, words muffled in your neck as he willed himself to become one with you. To no avail, of course. Your hand ran over his back, through his hair and you let him have the time he needed.

“Did you know…” he finally spoke. “Did you know that the Sandman is a Guardian?”

You got stiff for a moment, body immediately on the defensive, but as he pulled away to look at you with—he hoped—an apologetic gaze, you relaxed.

“Oh yeah?”

It wasn’t an apology. He could get to that later. But it was enough of one for now, one that you were willing to accept.

“He is the Guardian of Dreams. And he…he doesn’t talk. Did you know that?”

“Well obviously he doesn’t want to wake anyone up,” you gave him a small nod and a smile.

Eddie thought about it for a moment.

“…that actually makes sense.” He pressed his lips to yours for briefly. “I was so…occupied with what I didn’t have that I forgot what it was that I did.”

“Your dreams?”

“Yeah.”

He’d always been a dreamer. Always thought of fantastical far away lands and the most epic future. Filled with adventure and laughter. Friends and fans.

But there was one dream that was his reality, and he would never forget it again.

“And you.”

[sadsoftserve]

-Rebellion- An EE 'mini'-fic

(This is 10,506 words long, not mini at all. This is the fanfic I've been working on for the past couple days. Mainly Parker and Percy centric. The Fruit Basket quintuplet (yes that's what they're called) is in here too. My Google doc made this look way better, I was going to properly fix the spaces in-between each paragraph but Tumblr was lagging and I'm lazy. Inspired slightly by the twolooween stream.)

Halloween was the holiday Parker hated the most. Not because she was scared or didn't have friends, she had plenty of those. It was the fact she wasn't able to participate in it. The last time she went trick-or-treating, she was eight. Ever since the diagnosis, she’d been living with her aunt. Percy. Parker didn't understand her aunt. Sure, the ADHD and autism solidarity was there, but Percy was strange with how she dealt with children. Most holidays, besides Christmas and Thanksgiving, weren't celebrated. And Halloween was the one Percy forbade Parker from participating in. It bothered her. No matter how much Parker tried to persuade Percy, the answer was always:

“No.” Percy's voice was deadpan as usual. She crossed her arms as Parker fell to her knees and clasped her hands together like some pathetic guy begging a girl to go out with him.

“Auntie, Please!” Parker gave her best puppy dog eyes as she begged. “Just this once! All of my friends are going out! Please?” Percy was not swayed. She stood there, her arms still crossed as he exhaled, hard.

“Parker,” Percy said, her authoritative tone frightening Parker. “We go through this every year. And what is my answer every time you ask?” Parker slowly got off of her knees and sighed before she answered.

“No…” Parker mumbled out. As she hung her head, staring at her feet. She sighed again. She was fifteen, not a child, surely she could handle a couple hours out with her friends. But Percy made her stance and wasn't gonna change it. It was like this every year. Parker would beg, Percy would say no, and Bonnie and Sabrina would have to share their candy with her the next day. She just wanted one year, just to revisit and feel how it is. 

“Exactly,” Percy answered back. “My answer is always no,” Percy's voice was painfully monotone. At this point, Parker felt like Rapunzel. Trapped in the same boring life with the days blurring together. Even locked in a house. “You never know who, or what may be lurking in the dark. Or the sorts of costumes you will see. Like, sexy mustard.” Percy said with a scornful voice and look in her eyes.

“Yeah... I know.” Parker replied as she rolled her eyes slightly, a detail that did not go unnoticed by Percy.

“Don’t sass me.” Her monotonous voice rang through the room, like a dripped-out truck with speakers that fizzled with every bass drop. Parker didn't even bother arguing, she knew that Percy would find a way to make herself right. Thats what cops do.

“I’m- Nevermind. I’m going to bed.” It was around her ‘bedtime’ anyway. Percy nodded.

“Don’t-” She was cut off by Parker.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth. I know. G’night Auntie.” Parker said as she rounded the corner into the hallway.

“Goodnight, Parker.” Percy responded as Parker went to get ready for ‘bed’. Parker had a wack sleep schedule, but she was normally able to shake off her sleepiness in the morning. She normally stayed up till three on her phone, then went to bed, sure, school started at eight in the morning, but four hours of sleep was better than nothing. 

Parker lay in bed, scrolling through her phone, when she got a notification from the group chat. Sabrina and Bonnie were probably arguing about something. When she saw Sabrina’s sugar glider profile picture and Bonnies snake profile picture she figured she’d join the conversation. 

Nightmare endurer- And yet YOU think sneaking into a college when they reject you is justified???

The creature-

IS IT NOT THOUGH????

I MEAN

IT MAKES SENSE

NOT LIKE THEYRE GONNA KNOW

@moth bby

BACK ME UP DALIA

Boy kisser- ?????

What are you yapping abt????

Nightmare endurer-  Bonnies being an idiot again

Shes the Ramsey of the group

Rat

>:)

Dalia isn't gonna help you

Because unlike us

She has a healthy sleep schedule

The creature- NUH UH

And my uncle is a respectable man

Nightmare endurer- HE EMBEZZLED MONEY???

The creature- Nobody perfect 

Boy kisser- my aunt arrested him

He is NOT a good man

The creature- GRRR

Nightmare endurer- Bonnie stfu

Anyway

What’d Percy say?

You allowed to go with us??

Boy kisser- She said no

Like she does every year

Idk why she does this

Nightmare endurer- I think its the autism

Damn

So no parker again this year??

The creature- Damn

Just sneak out???

Like

Its easy

Doubt she’ll notice anyway

I do it all the time

Nightmare endurer- well we don't live with a washed-up felon

Bozo

Its not that easy

Slow one

The creature- Shit

Rat alert

Talk to you later

The creature went offline 

Boy Kisser- Damn

Imagine

She probs got her phone taken

Nightmare endurer- nah

Probably for the night

Ramsey’ll give it back

Anyway i should go too

Even though i cant sleep

Boy kisser- goodnight <3

Nightmare endurer went offline

And just like that Parker was left alone. But Bonnie's words hung in her head. Maybe she could sneak out… but how does one sneak out? Bonnie knew all about sneaking out. But did she really want to go through with this? Was she that desperate? Maybe. She would have to ask Bonnie tomorrow if she showed up to school. As the tall, scrawny, blonde girl lay in bed, her frustration grew, as if it were a kettle, on the verge of spilling over. Maybe this is what she needed. A little bit of rebellion never hurt anyone.

The night came and went, as Parker got her dosage of a total of five hours of sleep. For the first time in a while, she was excited to go to school. Today was Halloween, and even though they had school, most of the teachers didn't care about their jobs enough to teach or show up on a holiday. So that meant the quintuplet could goof off as much as they wanted without their grades feeling the punishment. 

The ride to school was silent. Parker was in the passenger seat of her auntie's police cruiser, the very same place she had seen multiple people in before. Cops weren't something that scared her necessarily but being incarcerated did. The day Parker would be cuffed and in the backseat of a police vehicle would also be the day Percy lost her shit, either in anger or sadness. The reason she showed no emotion most of the time was that her emotions boiled over the second she got angry or scared. Two emotions Percy never showed often. 

The ride’s silence was interrupted by Percy's monotone voice. “Parker, please stop shaking your leg. It's causing the car to shake.” Parker hadn't noticed she’d been shaking her leg. She quickly stopped.

“Sorry…” She mumbled into her hand as she rested her elbow on the car door.

“It's quite alright,” Percy responded back, her signature half smile on her face. “I know you cannot help it. But please do consider I am driving. I want you to arrive safely to school, sweetheart.” Parker smiled a bit at her aunt’s precautions. She understood why she did it, but that was for driving. Not the whole, ‘not being allowed to participate in Halloween’ thing. But maybe Parker could discreetly ask how Percy would feel if someone (hypothetically her) snuck out.

“Auntie, quick question,” Parker spoke. “You know Bonnie right?”

“Yes. I know her, why do you ask?” Percy knew Bonnie alright. From being Ramsey's niece to being in juvie multiple times, Percy knew her well.

“Well I was wondering, do you know that sometimes she sneaks out? I don't think her uncles caught on about it yet. But if you were in Ramsey's position, how would you feel?” Yes. Asking how Percy felt about anything by relating it to someone else always stumped her. And Parker made sure she focused on the Ramsey and Bonnie bit. 

“Well. Certainly a good question.” Percy said before she thought about it. “Im not sure how I’d feel. One part of me feels betrayed and the other feels disappointed, or upset. It's hard to word. My apologies.” Percy quickly focused her attention on the road in front of her. “I certainly hope you wouldn't go that far and sneak around behind my back, Parker.” Ouch. That stung Parker straight through the chest. “I'd be disappointed.” Double-whammy, jeez. Parker was feeling really anxious about this whole thing now. The day her aunt was disappointed would be the day Parker’s condemned to hell. Once Percy was disappointed, she was disappointed. She would give you the silent treatment and everything.

“Yeesh. A disappointed auntie is not a happy auntie.” Parker joked trying to hide her anxiety. “Anyway… do you work tonight?”

“Yes, I’m on the schedule. Patrol, 3 pm-12 am.” Percy said as she pulled into the school.

“Oh, okay!” Everything was falling into place, Miraculously Percy's work hours happened to fall in when she planned to sneak out. If she had the balls to do that. Percy pulled into the car-rider line and stopped the car, letting Parker get out.

“Have a good day, Parker. Be safe.” Percy said as Parker grabbed her bag and smiled at Percy’s words. 

“You too auntie.” She flung her bag over her shoulder as she shut the car door, and ran to the front of the school. The quintuplet was always here 15 minutes before the bell rang, so they could talk before class started. Dalia, Bonnie, and Sabrina were already there. Bonnie was perched sitting on the metal bar fence, while Dalia and Sabrina stood next to her.  

“Im just saying hypothetically, if the world was flat, do you think the water would spill off the sides and go into space?” Bonnie was back to asking nonsensical questions. Parker was walking up to the group as she heard the conversation going on.

“The world is round,” Sabrina stated as she whacked Bonnie upside the head with a peice of paper. “Dumbass.” Sabrina looked at Parker as she was walking up to them. “Will you tell this simple-minded weasel right here that the earth is round?” 

“Bonnie,” Parker said with a twinge of cringe. “What are you on about?”

“Coke probably,” Bonnie replied with a shit-eating grin as the three girls in front of her mentally facepalmed. “Anyway, why are we talking about me, when we need to be talking about Parker? Her aunt is holding her hostage!”

“Hostage is certainly a descriptive word. I don't think its hostage.” Dalia inquired. “Besides, Percy isn't that strict… right?”

“You’d be surprised,” Sabrina replied. “The first time Parker had Wendy’s is when my dad took us after colorguard a month ago.” Both Dalia and Bonnie looked at Parker with a surprised look. Was Percy really that strict?

Bonnie got off the blue metal bar fence put her hands on Parker's shoulder, and shook her. “You have got to rebel. Do something about this! You're a prisoner in your own life! Percy is holding you hostage!”

Parker rolled her eyes. “She’s just… Protective. It's nothing… really!” 

Dalia and Sabrina exchanged glances before Dalia spoke. “She's… kinda a helicopter parent… and she's not even your mom. Doesn't it get old?”

Sabrina’s eyes widened. “Helicopter parent? More like an authoritative parent, she wants Parker to be like her… monotone… and bland. No offense. You aren’t able to have caffeine. Or fun...” Sabrina said her voice feeling bad for Parker, which was rare, she hardly felt bad for anyone.

“She's a cop… she means well.” Parker tried to defend her aunt's parenting style, but she knew that it was useless to do so. 

“Cop or not, you're in a prison! And I know a lot about prison.” Bonnie replied as she shook Parker again. “Yknow what, meet me at our spot at lunch, we're gonna get you freedom, by any means necessary.” Bonnie looked Parker in the eyes, the same look an army general would give his men before battle. Parker admired her friends, especially Bonnie for her candid ‘we're gonna do this no matter the consequences’ attitude. And right on cue the bell rang, and the girls went their separate ways. Bonnie to Science, Dalia to Math, Sabrina to History, and Parker to P.E. 

The Periods blurred together, it was the same thing every day. But 4th period was Parker's favorite, Art. It was a class she shared with Sabrina, besides 8th period. The art classroom with Ms. Wade. She was an eccentric individual, and one Parker trusted with anything (besides Mrs.Cox, she’s the nicest teacher at SJHS). Ms.Wade’s flowy blue hair and silver round-rimmed glasses made her quite the person. Not to mention her small stature. Sabrina was barely shorter than her.

“Parker…? Something wrong?” Ms. Wade asked as Parker snapped out of her daze, unaware she was staring directly at the boy across the room. 

“Ah- !” Parker snapped back to reality as Ms. Wade's high-pitched voice rang through her ears. “I’m fi-”

“Then why were you staring at Micah?” Sabrina cut Parker off, as she moved to take one of her black colored pencils.

“I was zoned out, Sabrina!” Parker spoke through her teeth in an annoyed manner. Parker huffed as she turned around in her seat to speak to Ms.Wade. “As I was saying before I was rudely cut off. Im fine. I zoned out.” Parker picked up her pencil again as she stared at the blank paper in front of her.

“You don't seem alright.” Ms.Wade stated as she leaned over and looked at Parker's blank page. “Having trouble with the prompt?”

“You could say that. How do I take an insecurity and draw it? Arent those just thoughts?” Parker asked. Sure she had insecurities, everybody did, but how does one translate that onto paper? It seemed impossible.

“Well, you think of something you're insecure about, like me, im insecure about my height. You take that, and you imagine a picture that speaks without speaking. Like a picture with meaning.” Ms.Wade did her best to explain, but she had no idea how to describe the prompt. 

“Is being afraid people will be disappointed in you an insecurity?” Parker asked ideas slowly coming back to her.

“Sure, you can do that. I look forward to seeing what you create.” Ms. Wade gave Parker a gentle shoulder pat, as Parker resumed looking at the paper. As Ms.Wade walked away, slowly Parker began to run her colored pencil across the page, drawing a large silhouette of a woman with one hand holding a smaller sadder girl, and the other hand on her hip. She flipped over the page and quickly scribbled some writing in her chicken-scratch handwriting. The most notable thing about the drawing was the fact that the large woman had a striking resemblance to Percy, and the smaller girl looked like Parker, even though they were blacked-out silhouettes. 

“Is that supposed to be Percy?” Sabrina leaned over and asked Parker, as the girls put down their pencils. Parker picked up her drawing and held it up tilting her head to look at it at another angle.

“Huh, it does kinda look like her… thats weird,” Parker stated as she put the drawing back down on the table.

“I’d say. Wanna see mine?” Sabrina asked. Parker nodded. Sabrina held up her drawing. It was two people both that looked like her, but one was blacked out and looked like something from a horror movie. “Cool right?”

“Thats creepy. What even is that?” Parker asked her face turning into one of slight disgust.

“It's my nightmares... OooOOOhhHHh… spooky… isn't it?” Sabrina asked with a sly grin on her constantly tired face. 

“Jesus… how do you function?” 

“I don't,” Sabrina replied. “Im constantly on the verge of a mental breakdown.” Even when saying something like that, her grin never wavered. Parker was slightly concerned but knew Sabrina was just like that, so she let it slide. “What’s that supposed to represent anyway?” Sabrina pointed to Parker’s drawing.

“Uh, disappointment? Im insecure about people being disappointed?” She said with uncertainty. Parker wasn't sure what it conveyed exactly, but she knew it conveyed something. Sabrina raised an eyebrow and playfully punched Parker.

“You need therapy.” Sabrina jabbed.

“I'll get it when you do,” Parker responded. Soon enough, the lunch bell rang, and Parker shoved the drawing into her bag. She and Sabrina hurried from the art room in the 400 hall to outside underneath the bleachers in the football field. It was a colder day, rounding out at about 50-ish degrees. The chill hit the duo as soon as they walked outside and to the football field, where Bonnie and Dalia already were. Bonnie had a paper in front of her along with a poorly drawn blueprint map of Parker's home. And a neighborhood it looked like. Dalia was munching on the expensive school Snickers from the vending machines. 

“About time y’all showed up.” Bonnie crossed her arms, as the two climbed under the bleachers sitting around the paper.

“Bonnie, maybe don't be mean-” Dalia went to say but was quickly cut off by Bonnie, who quite frankly does not give a shit. 

“Hush, lemme speak.” Bonnie playfully slapped the side of Dalia’s arm. “Okay. Now you may be wondering why I have all this paper spread out.”

“We aren’t,” Sabrina said.

“Hush Dumbass,” Bonnie said glaring at Sabrina, who was now on her phone. “As I was saying, the reason we have all this paper is because we are gonna help goody-to-shoes here gain her freedom.” She held up the poorly drawn map of Parker's house. “And I have the blueprints to help.”

Sabrina looked up from her phone at the blueprints. “Those look like a four-year-old drew them.” She said mocking Bonnie's terrible art skills. “Isn't your uncle an online artist? I thought you could do better than that.”

“Kill yourself and let me speak, dickhead.” Bonnie retorted. “If you would let me speak, I would tell you what the plan is.” Parker and the rest of the girls sent their attention to Bonnie. “Finally, now here's what's goin’ down. Whenever Percy leaves the house, you're gonna make a fake you out of pillows and stick it underneath your blanket. Then all you gotta do is walk out of the house and meet us at Greengage Gated Community.”

“It’s that easy?” Parker asked as she fiddled with the hem of her black denim shorts. She honestly thought it was gonna be much harder, but the way Bonnie was describing it made it sound so easy. “I thought it was gonna be harder.”

“It is that easy. Plus you live in a one-story house, so it'll be even easier.” Bonnie spoke cockily. The girls murmured and mumbled to one another before all collectively agreeing on something. Sabrina spoke up.

“I live in GreenGage, you can meet us there Parker. And if push comes to shove, I'll throw myself under the bus and say it was my idea.” The girls all nodded in response.

“Really? Wow, I didn't expect you all to be so… open to this. Are you sure though, im sure my aunt, if she found out, she would chew all of you and your parents out.” Parker said, her voice full of slight guilt and embarrassment, like a child confessing to breaking something.

“Nah, it'll be fine, my uncle knows how Percy is.” Bonnie shrugged off Parker's worries and gave her a pat on the back.

“Yeah, my dad and Sabrina’s are pretty lenient. I’m sure it'll be alright.” Dalia added, trying to soothe Parker's worries rather than brush them off like Bonnie just did. The four girls looked at each other, and all grinned.

“Last one to the lunch line is a rotten egg!” Bonnie said quickly before dashing back into the school building. The other three girls quickly ran after her, Sabrina being able to catch up with almost no difficulty, Dalia and Parker following close after. 

(insert break line here)

Percy had a few hours to spare before needing to even leave for work. She sat at the empty kitchen island in the empty kitchen. Normally she didn't mind being alone, but today something was eating at her. She clutched her glass of butter water and sighed. She could not place it but an empty pit of dread was in her stomach. Why? She couldn’t explain. 

“Maybe I’m being too harsh on her…” Percy had a knack of talking to herself when she was alone. “She's growing she needs to learn… but what if im stunting her social-emotional growth…? I don't want her to end up like me… a social recluse…” Percy sighed. She was probably just overthinking things again. Seems like thinking as all she ever did. Percy was awoken from her overthinking state when she heard a knock and a shout from her door.

“Per-CY!” Ah, Rose, right on cue. If it wasn't for that ungodly voice crack, Rose would've felt confident right about now. But in returning Percy's badge that she had accidentally left over at her place, she had forgotten what Percy did to her. At this point, she wouldn't have been surprised if Parker started calling her “Auntie’. At this point, she hung around Percy so much that the girls even started to suspect something was going on. At this point, Rose couldnt deny it.

Percy quickly answered the door. “Rose?” Percy opened the door and stepped out on the porch. “What brings you here?”

“Oh- ! Uh, right…” Rose fiddled inside her cargo pants pockets, trying to find Percy's badge. When she found it she held it out, letting Percy take it back. “You left that at my place. I figured you would need it, for your job. Not like you don't have like three spares but, I figured I might as well return it.”

Percy looked at the badge before softly smiling at Rose. “Thank you. I was wondering where this went. I was afraid I was going to have to wear my spare.” Percy said as she swapped this badge with the one she was currently wearing. 

“It's no problem really… I pass this way while going to work so I figured I might as well return it.” That was a lie, she took a fifteen-minute detour to get here, she just wanted to see Percy, hopefully, that would give her some motivation for the shift upcoming. Hopefully the same could be said about Percy. 

“Well thank you. I appreciate it.” Percy gave her small half smile to the tan woman in front of her. Before it dawned on her. Rose had siblings, multiple actually. “Rose, may i ask you something?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, go ahead,” Rose responded as she shifted her position to lean against the column on the porch.

“Is it wrong to shield a child from the outside world?” Percy asked as she crossed her arms, trying to comfort herself. Rose thought about it for a moment before responding.

“Not wrong, but it's not good either. The more you shield a child from the world, the more curious they get, and the more likely they are to rebel.” Rose said giving the best answer she could. “Kids need some form of freedom, keeping them shielded, while it is safe, it's also a recipe for disaster.” Percy took this into account. Parker would go that far. She was a good kid, she wouldn't rebel… right?

“Hm, I’ll take that into account. Thank you.” Percy said uncrossing her arms and fixing her rigid posture.

“No problem, I’m always-” 

BEEP BEEP

Roses pager was going crazy. She quickly took a look at it before chuckling to herself. “I guess thats my cue to leave. See you around?” Rose returned around as she walked down the steps of the porch. 

“See you around Rose.” Percy waved back to the tanned woman who was now walking to her car. She waved one last time before getting in and pulling away. Rose's answer only brought up more questions for Percy.

It was safe yes, but what did Rose mean by ‘recipe for disaster’? Surely Parker wouldn't do anything that drastic. Percy began thinking again as she walked back inside. She looked at her watch. Still, an hour to kill. She sat back at the kitchen island thinking again. She’d been doing a lot of that lately. Thinking. Mostly about Parker. The very child she was sworn to protect. Thats what she told her brother. She would take care of his daughter, no matter what. But lately, she’s been more protective. 

Maybe it's been the string of kidnapping cases thats been going around the police station. Parker was a young, blonde, blue-eyed, and as much as Percy hated to admit it, a curvy young girl. She was also a mundie, if she were to be abducted, she’d have no means to defend herself. The subject matter was important to Percy, she would defend, protect, and ensure Parker's safety, even if that meant keeping her inside. Percy didn't feel much remorse for saying no to Parker's pleas to go out, she knew it was for the best.

‘It was for the best’, was what Percy kept saying to herself. She didn't want Parker to end up like Bonnie, poor girl. Why was she comparing her niece to a girl who has gone through more than her? She was trying to prevent what happened to Bonnie, from happening to her. She needed to get her mind off of this subject. She decided to bite the bullet and go to work early, maybe that would help her get her mind off of this. So much for taking Roses advice.

(Insert another line break)

When Parker arrived home Percy was already gone. Perfect. This was the most opportune time for her to be gone, it's like the gods responded to her multiple prayers about being stuck inside with the same boring life. It felt good. Around 6-ish Parker left, in an old Hyena hoodie she had. It had a few loose stitches, and a couple of stains on the back, but the hoodie combined with her black leggings made the last-minute costume come together. At the end of the road was Sabrina, Bonnie and Dalia, all waiting for her. Upon seeing them she picked up the pace, and walked faster meeting up with them.

“Y'know, for someone who doesn't celebrate Halloween normally, you look like you've done this multiple times before.” Sabrina said with sarcasm. She was talking about Parkers costume. Out of the four of them, hers was the most last minute looking. Sabrinas looked the most put together, she had face paint and everything. “I'm a skeleton, spooky, right? I plan to scare some children and take their candy.” 

“That’s kinda mean Sabrina. They worked hard for that candy.” Dalia spoke, fiddling with her hands a bit. Sabrina looked at her as they all walked to GreenGage Gated Community. “What if we get in trouble?”

“Dalia, you sensitive soul. I'm not taking just any children's candy. I'm aiming for Stink and Stonk. They're the ones who avidly look to steal candy. I'm simply helping.” Sabrina tried to justify her actions.

“The seventh graders? Why waste your time on those guys? They're probably still believing in cooties.” Bonnie said, adjusting the headband to her rat costume. Fitting, especially for her. Sure it was a gray t-shirt and jeans with a headband, but it got the job done.

“Are cooties still a thing?” Parker asked.

“Yeah. I heard that last year one of the Roughhouse twins sold a jar of their ‘thooties’ to Stink and Stonk at the Halloween store. They got 50 bucks.” Dalia responded to Parker's question as she twisted her wand in her hand. Dalia was a wizard, she had on a black shirt and pants, along with a cartoony purple cape with silver stars on it. All equipped with a pointy wizard hat.

“Sounds like something me and my uncle would do.” Bonnie responded. The girls had walked a good distance now, as the arrived at the gates of GreenGage. The place was really nice actually, to most of the girls surprise. “Did you take us to a neighborhood with full size candy bars? Because that's what it looks like”

“Of course I did.” Sabrina smiled. “My friends deserve nothing less.” She was full of herself. Sabrina took them here to flex on Sylvie that she has friends. Unlike him. “And my dad just so happens to be giving out said full size candy bars.”

“No shit.” Parker replied as the girls started running into the neighborhood.

“H-Hey! Wait for me!” Sabrina shouted as the girls nearly knocked her over. She ran behind them as they walked into the nice neighborhood. Lights from all the identical suburban houses, and the bustling sounds coming from children and adults alike rang throughout the place. It was beautiful.

“I was missing out on all this?!” Parker exclaimed as she threw her hands up.

“Yup. Aren't you glad your friends talked you into this?” Bonnie said as the group began walking through the road.

Sabrina and Dalia were having a conversation about smart people things, talk that Parker and Bonnie wouldn't and didn't want to understand. “Hey Parker, I know a cooler place than this.” Bonnie said to Parker as the two were walking down the road. Bonnie's grin was mischievous, and Sabrina and Dalia would shut down any idea she had. But they weren't here right now. And Parker was gullible.

“Really?”Parker asked falling for whatever Bonnie was planning.

“Mhm hmm. Yup.”

“What is it?” 

Bonnie looked around a couple times, as if she was looking for any sign of an adult. She grabbed Parker's hand and led her out of the community. The border between the community and the other neighborhoods was unclear. So Bonnie could be leading her anywhere. Soon enough she led her to another Neighborhood, one that wasn't as nice. In fact it kinda looked like the ghetto. But the nice part of the ghetto. “I don't do all that Richie stuff. Sure, I like the large amounts of candy, but it's the experience that counts.” Bonnie said as she led Parker through ‘her part of town’. All sorts of people were there, along with all sorts of food, and smells. It was almost homey.

“I like it. It smells nice.” Parker said as the two walked.

“It does, doesn't it? Oooh! Just wait till we get to Mama’s food stand. She makes the best food.” Bonnie said enthusiastically.

“Okay! You have money, right?”

“Duh! I may be a delinquent, but I'm not a criminal.” Bonnie rolled her eyes. “You wait here, I'm gonna find Mama.” And Bonnie was off. Parker leaned up against the wall of one of the buildings. She pulled out her phone, and started to play an offline mobile game, not paying much attention to her surroundings.

Before long, a lanky man leaned up against the wall next to her. He was wearing a stained wife beater, and a pair of jeans that were a weird tan color with stains around the hem. “What's a lady like ya’ doin' out here?” The man had a breathy raspy voice and weird stubble across his pale face.

“I-I’m not alone… I’m here with a friend.” Parker responded as politely as possible but found it a little unnerving a man like him was talking to her, a teenager. The man let out a small grunt of acknowledgement.

“Where is them?” The man's lack of grammatical correctness, also through Parker off.

“Getting… food.” Parker responded with a bit of hesitancy. He let out another noise of acknowledgement. The man glanced at Parker, his brown eyes staring into her skin. His whole vibe was off. Really off. 

Parker tried to ignore him, by continuing to play her mobile game. But the man scooted closer to her. She scooted farther, trying to maintain the distance between her and this man. “Why ya’ runnin’?” The man said as the shink of a pocket knife was heard. Before Parker could react, the knife was up to her neck.

“AH-!” The man quickly covered her mouth with his grody hands.

“Don't make this any harder than it has to be.” He said as Parker started to cry and try to squirm herself away from this man. “You know what I want.”

No she didn't. What did he want? What did it have to do with her? Where's Bonnie? Sabrina? Dalia? Anybody? She felt hopeless. She should've stayed home, she wanted to be anywhere other than the grips of this man. She shook her head, she didn't know what he wanted. The man took the hand that had the knife and gently ran it down Parker's face, and slowly down to her torso leaving small holes in her Hyena hoodie. That's what he wanted. Her. No. Tears started spilling from her eyes as she tried to scream and squirm her way out. It was all in vain. The street was so crowded, but no one was helping, and the few who did notice were too scared to help or didn't care enough. 

“Hey Parker! I got some-!” Bonnie stopped dead in her tracks. The food that was in her hand dropped to the ground as she looked at the man and Parker, who was trying to free herself. So Bonnie did what she does best. Scream. She screamed loudly, loud enough to be heard from a good half mile. Her own experiences would not let this happen to her best friend. She'd been in Parker's position before, but she didn't have anyone to save her. So, she did what baby Bonnie would've wanted. She was going to fight.

Bonnie, after her lengthy scream, moved quickly. She didn't have an Epithet either, but she did have pure will and fists. And to her that's all you needed to fight. The teenager lunged at the man, giving a good punch to his gut. He didn't barrel over in pain like she hoped he would. Instead he used the pocket knife and slashed her cheek. Thankfully It wasn't her eye.

Bonnie doubled back in pain as she winced uncomfortably. “Dammit…” She touched her cheek, the blood trickled down her face, dripping onto her gray shirt. She delivered another punch, but he quickly deflected it. He sent a punch to Bonnie's nose, sending her backwards and onto the concrete. 

By now the authorities were called. People were recording, but not doing anything to actively help. Most of them were cowering in fear walking as fast as they could away from the scene and the more braver ones were recording.

“Attention all units, attention all units. We have a possible 240 and a possible 261A in progress. All units in the area of Armen Avenue and Outland Road please report immediately.” Percy’s radio went off. She quickly picked it up and answered it as her police cruiser sped up slightly to get to the named location. 

“This is Officer P. King reporting in, what exactly is the situation?” Percy's monotonous voice was heard over the radio.

“Two female teenagers in the hands of a dangerous man. Multiple witnesses have called in about the disturbance. Man seems to be armed with a pocket knife.” 

“10-4.” Percy quickly responded as her cruiser turned onto Armen Avenue. The shrieking wails could be heard through her car, even with the windows up. With her sirens blaring the crowd around the man and Parker quickly aired out, leaving Bonnie and the man to their own devices, not far from them Was Ramsey. Trying to desperately get through the crowd to his niece and Parker.

Percy's eyes widened as she saw just who exactly was in the arms of the dangerous man. Part of her wanted to freeze in place, the other wanted to beat the man until he was dead. Percy, instead of reaching for her sword, reached for her gun. Her Glock 19 was firm in her hands as she hissed. “Put the child down! I will open fire!” Parker was still crying In the man's grasp. This was the worst possible outcome. Not only was she being held hostage by a man, but the cop who had to stop this situation was her aunt. And Parker could see Percy's anger plastered on her face. 

A familiar voice rang from the crowd behind them.“Damnit..! Move!” Ramsey was shoving his way through the crowd, pushing anyone that was in his way. He must've heard Bonnie's scream from that dingy apartment not far from here. “Bonnie!” Bonnie was trying to hold her own. Out of all the fights she’d been in, this one was the hardest one. She should've expected it, she was picking a fight with a man who belonged in prison.

“Put the weapon down!” Percy gripped her gun harder. Her arms were flexing so much to the point of shaking. “I will open fire! This is your final warning!” Her usual monotonous voice was full of emotion. Anger and fear. Her gloved finger was on the trigger, ready to pull. The man simply gave a twisted smile. He lifted Parker up by the collar of her hoodie.

“Ya’ wouldn't shoot a kid, right officer?” The man adjusted his position to be holding Parker up in front of him, still by the collar. Her hoodie was slightly small on her and this action caused the hoodie to start choking her slightly. She let out a gasp for air. “Not especially yer daughter… right?”

Percy out of instinct lowered her gun. “Put her down. Now.” Her voice was still stern as ever but it held a great amount of fear. The man simply put his pocket knife up to Parker's neck.

“An’ if I don't?” The man asked with his twisted grin. Percy couldn't respond. Her mouth went dry. She looked around. No other officer was here. She was the only one. She felt hopeless. If her niece were to die she would never forgive herself.

The red-headed rat man came barreling out of the crowd. “Listen to the damn cop, jackass!” He stumbled out of the crowd and next to Percy, who was surprised by his sudden entrance. “Put the kid down, an’ you'll leave with your face still intact.” Ramsey raised his arms, and got into a fighting stance, his arms were made entirely of gold. Bonnie was on the verge of passing out. She stood next to Percy as well.

“Put my best friend down. You have no business with her.” Bonnie said her voice filled with resentment and anger. The man was outnumbered, three to one. 

The man gave a laugh, an unnervingly hearty one. “This girls comin’ with me. She's too purtty to be left out here… alone.” The man gave a weirdly unnerving smile. Percy has just about had it. Her gloves came off and her sleeves went up. 

“You'll find that my daughter is coming with me.” Her voice hissed. Ramsey and Bonnie exchanged glances but didn't think much of the statement. “As a police officer, I have full jurisdiction to use force if I'm forced to. And you'll find I am an excellent boxer.” Percy got into a fighting stance, throwing all weapons to the side. No sword or gun. She had her fists and pure will.

Thean gave another unnervingly hearty laugh. “I'd like to see ya try.” As soon as the man finished his sentence, Percy swung. She delivered a swift yet powerful punch at the man's jaw, sending him backwards. He dropped the pocket knife, moving both of his hands to his jaw. “What the hell!” He let out a long wince. Before he was able to recover Percy kneed him in the gut. He barrelled over in pain. The pocket knife that was on the ground he picked back up. And lunged at Percy. Percy caught the man's arm before it stabbed her, but the lanky man was surprisingly strong. She wouldn't be able to hold it forever.

“L-Leave her alone!” Parker's heart wrenching cries rang out as she tried to attack the man who was currently trying to stab her aunt. “Stop it! Please!” Parker tried her best to fight the guy off of her aunt. The man threw her off of him, and sent her stumbling backwards onto the ground.

That distracted the man long enough for Percy to knee him in the jaw. His jaw made a loud popping noise. She dislocated it. The man grabbed his jaw, clenching it in pain. “You whore! God damnit!” He winced out. He turned away about to book it out of there, before his ankle was grabbed. The grip was as strong as it could be from Parker. Her tear stained face, and her pitiful voice didn't sway the man, it only agitated him more.

“No… you're not going anywhere…” Parker said as she gripped the man's ankle.

“Let go of me, bitch!” The man tried shaking her off, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. In a last ditch effort to get away he kicked Parker in the face, knocking her unconscious. Her grip loosened as she passed out, leaving the man to be able to run away. Percy wasn't letting that happen. Quickly summoning a wizard tower to paralyze the man.

The lighting sprung out of the tower and electrocuted him. Making him black out. Percy threw the eraser cuffs to Ramsey and shouted. “Deal with the man, I'm getting Parker!” Ramsey, noticing the shocking amount of worry on her face agreed. He ran over to the man, quickly cuffing him, as Percy ran to the unconscious teenager, laying face first on the concrete. Shouting her name as she ran, Percy felt herself grow more worried. Tears were forming in her eyes as she crouched to Parker's level. “Parker…? Sweetheart please, don't do this. Parker?” Percy felt her throat closing up as she tried to shake Parker awake. She was out cold. Percy checked for a pulse, out of worry. Thankfully one was still present. “Parker, love, you gotta wake up. Please.” Percy was begging for her to get up, give her a sign she was alright. Before Percy knew it tears were streaming down her face. There was no stopping her emotions, she was already melting down.

Ramsey handed the guy over to the other officers who finally arrived at the scene. He quickly ran over to Percy who was bawling now. “Aye, Percy. You alright?” He asked crouching down next to her, he put a caring hand on her back.

She shook her head no. How could she be alright? She let her niece get hurt, if she hadn't got there sooner it would've been worse. Percy knew this was her fault. “No…” She sobbed out. Ramsey really didn't know what to do in this situation. He'd never seen Percy so distraught. Ramsey quickly called Bonnie over, to see if she could do anything about the situation. The two brought Percy over to the other officers, handing her over so they could hopefully do something about her state. 

Soon enough the scene was filled with ambulances, cop cars and news anchors. Percy wanted nothing to do with them. She wanted to crawl under a rock and die. She wanted to be away and just cry. She knew this was her fault and she was responsible for Parker getting hurt. No matter how much Ramsey and Meryl tried to soothe her.

“Percy, it'll be alright. She's in good hands. Please calm down.” Meryl said as she stroked Percy's hair. The two were crowded around Percy, who was sitting in the open back of Meryl's police cruiser.

Percy kept crying. “I-I failed… I didn't make sure she was safe… it's all my fault…” She wiped her face, smearing her mascara across her face.

“It ain't your fault Percy. You didn't know this would happen.” Ramsey tried to soothe her now. He knew that Parker wasn't able to go out at night, let alone Halloween night. So he knew who's fault it was, but he wasn't going to bring it up. Not now at least. “Like Meryl said, she's in the hands of the hospital. That's the safest place she can be right now.” Percy cried into Meryl's shoulder, getting wet mascara all over her white coat.

“I'm… I'm supposed to be the safest person for her… I failed…” Percy’s cries dissolved into soft sobs as she spoke.

“Why was she out alone anyway?” Meryl asked as she continued stroking Percy’s, now messy blonde hair.

“I don't know… she was supposed to be at home…” She responded.

“I think I know what happened.” Ramsey glared over to Bonnie who was currently giving her statement to an officer. “Parker most likely snuck out. With the help of Bonnie…” He pinched his nose bridge.

“W-what..?”

“You heard me Percy.” He responded. “I took Bonnie's phone last night, all the girls, except Dalia, were online talking about Parker and how they wanted her to come with ‘em tonight.” He sighed as he looked over at Bonnie. “I can't believe she'd go this far.”

Percy hung her head. She knew this would happen. “I- I figured…” she sniffled. “I'm too hard on her, I- this I didn't want this to happen.”

“None of us did Percy.” Meryl comforted. “It'll be okay though, just keep your head held high.” She placed a caring hand on Percy's shoulder. She looked at her watch. “Let's get you out of here. Your shifts about over anyway.” Meryl helped Percy up, and led her to her police cruiser. She held out her hands for the keys, which Percy willingly gave. Meryl started up the police cruiser and drove away, leaving Ramsey and Bonnie at the scene, they lived close by, they'd be able to get him easily.

“Bonnie Lynn, get your ass over here!” Ramsey shouted as she gently tapped his foot against the ground. Bonnie heard his call, and heard her middle name. It was serious, but not as serious as her full name. Bonnie walked over, her hands in her pants pockets. “Just what the hell were you thinking?!” Ramsey spoke. Whenever he started a lecture like that, Bonnie knew it was going to br ranty and lengthy. “I gave you the benefit of the doubt, and assumed that those texts were just jokes, but no. You deliberately go behind not only my back, but Percy’s as well. Tell me Bonnie, what the hell was going through your mind when you decided to help Parker sneak out?”

Bonnie hesitated. “I thought I was helping. She always seems so sad she never gets to do stuff with us. I'm sorry.” She hung her head, as her uncle continued his rant.

“Bonnie, look at me.” He paused letting Bonnie lift her head to look up at him. “Percy does that for a reason. She doesn't want Parker to get hurt, like I do with you, she does with Parker. Yes I'm aware I'm not a perfect figure, but I'm better than a lot of people out there. But the point is, that was dangerous, dangerously stupid as well.” He paused, catching his breath slightly. “Bonnie, you're a good kid. You mean well, but when it comes to people's lives, you gotta let stuff happen. If Percy says no to something, either let it slide or come to me. Okay?”

Bonnie nodded. She looked up at Ramsey. “Is Percy mad at me?”

“Percy doesn't do mad, disappointed, yes. But she'll never be angry at you.” He reassured. As he looked at Bonnie he noticed the cut she had gotten from the fight. “That's a nasty scar, hey, you match your old man.” He pointed to his own eye scar.

“I guess.” Bonnie sighed. “I just really didn't want Parker to- y'know.” Bonnie's voice held a bit of guilt. Ramsey knew exactly what she was referring to, and found it admirable Bonnie was trying to save Parker from that.

“I know, kid.” He pat her back with affection. “You did good tonight. But don't let it happen again.” He warned.

“I won't, old man.”

“Good. C’mon, let's go home, the police have a lot of work to do.” Ramsey wrapped his arm around Bonnie's shoulder and led her away. The walk back to their dingy apartment was mostly silent, the two walked side by side, all was silent for most of the walk, but then Bonnie's standard ringtone went off. She was ignoring the first time, but they kept calling and calling, to the point she had to answer it. The caller ID was Sabrina. She answered it and was met with the loud sounds of the tired girl's voice.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED??? IS PARKER OKAY???” Sabrina shouted from her line of the phone.

“Parker's fine. She's in the hospital right now, but she's fine. Why?” Bonnie asked.

“The news dumbass! It's all over. ‘Local teen fights of creep, authorities get involved.’ WHERE DID YOU TWO EVEN GO ANYWAY?” Sabrina shouted through the phone. She was clearly concerned, and her volume was starting to make Bonnie cringe.

“We went to Armen Avenue.-”

“ARMEN AVENUE??! ARE YOU INSANE?!” Sabrina shouted. Murmurs of Dalia and Mr.Ashling could be heard in the background. Before Bonnie knew it, Dalia took Sabrina's phone and started speaking.

“Is Parker okay? We heard she took a good kick to the face. What about Percy, is she okay too?” Dalia asked, her volume much more manageable than Sabrina’s.

“Yes, Parker should be fine. Percy was crying a river though.” Bonnie replied. The other line was silent for a good moment before Sabrina shouted again. 

“PERCY WAS CRYING?!?! WHAT DID YOU-”

Click.

Bonnie hung up and put her phone on silent. She already had to speak about the situation to the police. She didn't want to do the same thing with her friends. She sighed. She wasn't gonna hear the end of it for a while.

Percy and Meryl were in a silent car ride. Originally Meryl wanted to take Percy straight home, but Percy voiced that she wanted to get the statement and paperwork out of the way. Percy was fiddling with her gloves the entire ride, her leg bouncing as she did so. Meryl noticed Percy's state of anxiety. She knew it was from the previous situation but she felt the need to ask anyway. “Percy, are you alright?”

Percy shrugged. “I'm not sure. I'm conflicted. And worried. Half the police force saw my meltdown, they're gonna put me in mandated therapy before I'm able to work again.” She sighed. Talking about feelings were hard for Percy, and with a stranger it was even harder.

“That's okay. Maybe it'll help.” Meryl tried to make light of the situation. “I'm sure the therapy will help you get rid of feelings you've been avoiding.”

“Avoiding? I don't avoid my feelings.” Percy said, defending her way of feeling.

“Yes, you do. Ramsey told me you called Parker your daughter, despite the fact you know she's your niece.” Meryl said. “You don't just do that. If you say something it has meaning. With that, I think that you're avoiding the fact you think of Parker more than just your niece. She gives you a maternal feeling, doesn't she?”

Percy went silent. “What does that feel like?”

“Well. It varies, I'd assume.” Meryl started. “It's like when you really want to be there for someone, and look over them like they’re family. Which Parker is, but, I think you see a part of yourself in her.” Meryl said as she looked directly at the road in front of them.

Percy thought for a moment, thinking about what Meryl said. “I'm not sure if I do. We're two different people. How can we be alike?” Percy asked.

“I'm sure you'll figure that out. You always do.” Meryl smiled. The drive went silent again. Maybe Meryl was right. But how? Percy thought about it and just couldn't find an answer. The car pulled into the police station, and the women got out. Heading inside. Percy knew she didn't want to be here, she wanted to be with her niece, even if it was in a hospital.

The cadets stared at Percy as she walked through the police station. She was disheveled, her hair awry, her mascara smeared across her cheeks, and her uniform wrinkled and dirty. Percy immediately got to her paperwork. The statement was the most daunting part. Her penmanship, which was mostly neat, was barely readable. The pen ink smeared as she moved her hand across the page. Her leg bounced underneath the desk. Her breathing was uneven, and her eyebrows were furrowed the entire time. Minutes turned into hours as she did the paperwork. It was almost three in the morning when she finished, and she had been up since 6 yesterday. She had been awake for almost 21 hours. She felt like passing out. She turned in her paperwork and left the station, walking out into her police cruiser, and getting in. She sat in the driver's side seat, just sitting. She was in no state to drive right now and she knew that. She sat there, for a good minute. Before resting her head on the wheel. She sighed. “What is wrong with me?” She asked herself out loud. She felt like crawling under a rock and dying.

After a good minute, she finally started the car. She was in no state to drive right now, but she didn't care. She started to drive, following all the proper road laws and obeying every light and sign. She drove a good twenty five minutes to the hospital, and parked. She knew visitor hours were over. Even so she still stayed in her car, to tired to drive home now. She leaned the seat back the farthest it could go and laid back. Sure it was uncomfortable and the bright lights from the hospital and lights from the parking lot were unbearable, but being at least this close to her niece made her feel at ease. She moved her arm to cover her eyes, hoping to block out some of the lights that were coming from the parking lot. Percy's thoughts spiraled as she sat there, each thought different and contradicting one another. She blocked them all out. Soon enough she fell asleep.

Hours passed and the sun started Percy in the face as she woke up. As she sat up from her uncomfortable position in the seat her back cracked. The car clock read 9:12. Five hours of lousy sleep that she didn't even count as comfortable. “Damn.” She winced as she fixed her seat to be in the upright position. She stretched the best she could, given the small space she was in. Visitor hours were from 10am-10pm. She had a little over half an hour to kill. Though she didn't feel like killing it. Percy, even though she knew the hospital wouldn't do anything about letting her in, decided to start walking up to the hospital anyway. As she was walking through the parking lot she pulled out her phone. It was almost dead, not having been on the charger for almost a day. There were a couple of texts, ones of which she was too tired to answer right now. Walking into the hospital she was met with the sounds of a man panicking, however, this wasn't just any man. This was her brother.

“Who cares if I'm early! My daughter is in there, injured! I swear to God I will sue!” He threatened. 

“Daniel. Put the empty threats away.” Percy commanded in a tired tone. Daniel turned around at the sound of Percy’s voice.

“Percy? What the hell are you doing here?” 

“I was going to make sure my niece is alright. Now move.” Percy's tone was cold. Colder than normal.

“I-Im sorry to intrude but visitor hours aren't until ten…” the small older receptionist lady behind the desk stated with a wavering voice.

“I am aware. I was going to wait.”

“Wait?! Percy! Parker is in there!” Daniel shouted. “She could be dead!”

“She's not dead. I know that, because I was there.” Percy’s tone got colder. Her brother's lack of common sense always bothered her.

“Oh, if you were there why the hell didn't you do something?!” He said back, his voice getting louder. He widened his stance, his six-foot frame trying to intimidate Percy. She was tired, anxious and upset. She didn't have the time or the patience for his shit today.

“For your information, I did. I was there, I fought him off, and I did my job as an officer and a caregiver. Something you wouldn't know about because, for the last seven years, you and Harper have been in Glassport doing God knows what.” Percy snapped. Her tone didn't raise, but it got cold and harsh. “And only when it's convenient for you is when you do anything for Parker. When was the last time you spoke to her?” Daniel didn't reply, he stood there. His arms crossed. “Exactly. I didn't think so. I have done my damnedest for this girl, trying to do everything in my might to understand and connect to her. The only reason you sent her with me is because of her neurodiversity damnit. God forbid anybody in this family be different.” Percy was surprisingly gentle with her rant.

“So I'm not allowed to make sure my daughter is alright?” Daniel retorted.

“She's not your daughter anymore when your sister has been her goddamn caregiver for seven years!” Percy was getting loud. She felt slightly bad that she was arguing in a hospital, but she needed to tell her brother her thoughts. “Tell whoever the hell you want, but Parker is my daughter! I've fed her, clothed her and put a roof over her head for the last seven years! And I've done all that while still maintaining my job, my social life and my own neurological condition!” She breathed heavily. “So no, you have no right to call her your daughter.” 

Daniel scoffed. “What the fuck ever Percival. That damn autism still making you a stubborn little shit.” He rolled his eyes and left the hospital. He wasn't gonna deal with her shit, to him she was still a child, one who couldn't do anything on their own. She was viewed like that by all the King men in the family. Percy being left standing there, breathing heavily, looked at the clock on the wall, 9:44.

The older receptionist lady behind the desk quickly scribbled on a pink piece of paper and handed it to Percy. “Here, love. If anyone asks, tell them you've been waiting for a while and I let you in early.” The piece of paper had the receptionist's name on it, a time, and the room number for Parker. 

Percy nodded. “Thank you.” Percy took the paper and held it in between her index and middle fingers. She wasn't expecting to argue with her brother this early in the morning, hell she wasn't even expecting him to be here at all. But she meant every word she said to him. Percy walked through the quiet, cold halls of the hospital. The smell of stagnant death in the air. The smell was off-putting, so much so that she resorted to mouth breathing.

Parker's room wasn't much different, the smell and vibes were the same. Percy didn't bother knocking or anything. Parker was seen on the bed tapping her fingers together. She noticed Percy walk in and went to speak, but before she could Percy walked up and hugged her. This hug held more meaning than the other hugs they had shared in the past. This one was tighter, and full of protective love. When Percy pulled away she placed a gentle hand on Parker's cheek and spoke. “Are you alright?” Parker nodded.

“Yeah, I'm okay, Auntie. You look tired… Are you okay?” Parker asked back as Percy held her hands.

“I'll be fine. Just a little shocked is all.” Percy responded.

“I'm sorry. About everything… I should've-”

“No, don't say anything.” Percy hushed her. “I know what happened. And I was expecting it. You're a stubborn girl, and you're a problem solver. You sneaking out wasn't as much of an issue as it was what happened last night.” Percy squeezed her hands in her own. “I know you weren't expecting it, but you did well holding your own.”

“If I did well, why am I in a hospital?” Parker asked. “And if you're not bothered by it, why do you look so stressed?”

“I'm stressed because I'm worried. About you. And the way I handle things…” Percy admitted as she sighed. “I know I'm not perfect, I'm far from it. But I try. And what happened last night scared me. And I'm sure it scared you just as much.” Parker nodded. It gave her one hell of a scare.

“It did.” Parker said. “Why do people like that exist? I was minding my own business.”

“I'm not sure, sweetheart. Just know he's behind bars now.” Percy softly smiled as she moved a strand of Parker's hair from her face. “Did the police come speak to you?”

“Yes ma'am. They did. I gave them my statement and everything.”

“Good girl.” Percy smiled. “I'm glad you're alright. I don't know what I would do without you.”

“Die?”

“Who knows? Glad I won't have to find out.” Percy laughed a bit. As she gave Parker a side hug. The two went on, carrying on conversation for a while. Soon enough a doctor came in.

“Ms. King?” He said. Both girls perked their heads up. The doctor looked at the two and asked Percy, “You're Parker's mother, correct?” Percy was going to correct him, she was her aunt, but figured she might as well just accept it.

“Yes.” Parker gave Percy a confused look.

“Here's her discharge papers. Fill these out, give them to the front desk and she's able to leave.” He handed her a clipboard, then promptly left the room.

As Percy was filling out the paperwork she could sense Parker's look of confusion. “Parker? What's with the look?” 

“Why didn't you correct him? You always correct people.” Parker asked as Percy continued the paperwork.

“Simple. Didn't need to.” The confused Parker more. Percy went on to explain. “If I take the role of a mother, I might as well accept it, right?”

“I assume?” Parker said. “So… I'm your daughter…?”

“Not biologically. But yes.” Parker let out a noise of acknowledgment and happiness. Percy wasn't usually this open with how she felt. But she wasn't objecting to it. “Paperworks done, grab your stuff.” 

“Yes mom” Parker said jokingly as she grabbed what few things she needed to.

“Let's not go that far.” Percy responded.

[junebug-is-on-jupiter]

Somebody better be dying | Danny Wagner

Idk if this is really a full fic? More of a really long blurb, but I was listening to Halloween by Phoebe and I needed to write about it.

Content warnings: None really, an ambulance as well as sirens are briefly mentioned.

Playlist:

Halloween by Phoebe Bridgers

Your Best American Girl by Mitski

“I hate living by the hospital, The sirens go all night I used to joke that if they woke you up, Somebody better be dying”

- Halloween by Phoebe Bridgers

The sheets were warm, more so on my right than my left. Danny radiated heat like no one I had ever met, and usually I liked the warmth, but tonight I felt unsettled.

Danny had fallen asleep an hour ago, but I had tossed and turned. We lived on the third story of our apartment building so I usually kept the blinds half open, both of us enjoying the sunlight in the morning and the vast void of night. It felt a little psycho to not close them all the way, since I had always lived on a first floor, but no one could see us. Moonlight barely grazed my face through the blinds, making shadows stripe across the room.

I didn’t know why I was awake, but the nagging feeling in my gut told me something was off.

In the distance I could hear a faint screaming of sirens. Was this why I felt so off tonight? I slid out from under the sheets and comforter as quietly as I could, not wanting to wake Danny. Through the blinds, blue and red lights entered the room, painting the walls and ceiling.

I snuck up to the window, picking up a blind to see better. An ambulance pulled up across the parking lot, squealing into place as EMS jumped out of the vehicle.

“What’s going on?” Danny mumbled from the bed, words slurred from sleep, eyes barely open.

“It’s okay baby, go back to sleep.” I assured him. “It’s an ambulance across the street.” I said not looking away from the window. They had gone up the stairs to the second floor and went to the left. Maybe the Johnsons or the Lee’s? I couldn’t remember.

I heard the sound of sheets shifting and looked back to see Danny clumsily getting out of bed, one leg of his sweatpants hiked up half his leg.

“Think someone’s hurt?” He asked, coming up behind me and resting his head on my shoulder. His arms wrapped around my torso while grabbing and pulling my robe tighter around me as he went. He knew I stayed cold.

“Better be if they woke you up.” I pouted, “I don’t even remember who lives there, do you?”

“Maybe the Lee’s?” He suggested, his fingers fiddling with the empty belt loops for my robe.

“That’s what I was thinking.” I replied.

I crossed my arms loosely around me, fingers grazing his wrists.

“I know I’m sleep deprived so this may be slightly tone deaf...” he whispered, I looked back at him to find him already looking at me. “Hmmm,” I prompted him to continue.

“You look really beautiful in the ambulance light.” He grinned, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I smiled, “you look beautiful in any light.” I countered, as he rolled his eyes but grinned lazily. He rested his head on the top of mine, he was just tall enough to.

“Hmmm,” he sighed, I could feel the vibrations on my head. “You’re deflecting. Just let me tell you how amazing my girlfriend is. She’s the prettiest, most talented and intelligent person I know, and I know a lot of people.” He said.

I know he couldn’t see my face, but I still lit up like a Christmas tree.

“You know David Grohl.” I reminded him.

“Oh yeah, the second prettiest person I know then.” He laughed.

I shrugged, “How am I expected to compete?”

“It’s David Grohl honey, no one can compete.” He said, pulling himself off of me and just grabbing onto my arm instead. “Let’s go back to bed, we have the Christmas tree farm tomorrow.” He tugged at me.

“Yeah okay,” I replied, giving one last glance out the window to see nothing new before dropping the blind.

Danny just fell into my side and rolled half way over to the center, most of my side still being taken up.

“Come on, move over.” I requested, setting my knee on the mattress.

He didn’t say anything in response, just patted his chest and extended his arms to me.

I sighed a little, but relented, laying down practically on top of him. My head on his chest, close to his neck, my legs the only part of me on the mattress.

“You couldn’t sleep.” He stated simply.

I blinked for a second, trying to remember if I had said that earlier. “How’d you know?” I asked.

“When you’re asleep, a full orchestra couldn’t wake you, you sleep like the dead. I’ve played Metallica on full volume right next to your ear and nothing. Sam has the video if you want proof. An ambulance is not going to wake you up.” He explained.

“Oh… wait, when did you let Sam record me sleeping?” I asked, propping my head up on my arm so I could see his face.

He looked down at me, eyes widening for a fraction of a second before he promptly shut them tight.

“Uh uh, nope.” I said sitting up to grab hold of his shoulders, leaning over his face. “When did you let a lunatic around the defenseless love of your life, you creep?” I laughed, shaking him gently.

His lips turned up ever so slightly, “shhhh, I’m asleep” he whispered, keeping his eyes closed and turning his head away.

“Okay, two can play that game Wagner.” I said, laying back down. “Sam is easy enough to get information from. I’ll ask him tomorrow.”

Danny didn’t say anything at first, just placed his hand on my back, “that’s okay, I’ll get to him first.” He said sleepily, raising his other hand to rest it over his eyes.

“We’ll see about that.”

[gotham--fc]

The Haunting of Jess House - A Jessie Fleming Imagine

Prompt: Jessie and R at a haunted house

A/N: The title is a reference to the haunting of hill house but the fic has nothing to do with hill house at all, I haven’t even seen the show, I just thought it would be funny and it fits kinda

This is the last of the Halloween requests! Thank you to all that requested, and now it’s onto Christmas!

“Are you sure you can handle it babe?” Y/N teased, “You can sit this one out if you’re too scared.”

 “No, I’m fine,” Jessie said, crossing her arms.

 “No one will judge you if you chicken out–” Y/N was cut off by Jessie shoving her forward.

 It was Y/N’s idea for the two of them to go to this Halloween themed event. It happened once a year on a farm, the owner setting up different Halloween/autumn attractions. There were corn mazes, hay rides, Halloween themed food and drinks, and, of course, a haunted house. Jessie wasn’t the biggest fan of haunted houses, not really enjoying paying to be scared, but if Y/N wanted to, she would go through this one. She wasn’t scared of them, as much as Y/N teased her, she just thought she could spend her time and money in a better way.

 “Last chance to back out,” Y/N said when they reached the front of the line.

 “It sounds like you want to back out,” Jessie teased back, “With how much you’re trying to convince me to change my mind.”

 “What?” Y/N scoffed, “No way! I just don’t want you to have nightmares.”

 “Next up,” The worker said.

 “Here you go,” Jessie held out the money for two tickets. Y/N grabbed her wrist.

 “Are you sure? Once we pay, there’s no going back.”

 “Y/N,” Jessie said, “If you don’t want to do this–”

 “Nope!” Y/N grabbed the money out of Jessie’s hand and thrust it at the worker.

 Jessie and Y/N walked through the doors. Right away, someone in a mask jumped out at them. Jessie heard a scream, and her head snapped towards the sound. More specifically, to Y/N, who had jumped back and was clawing at the entrance door, trying to get it to reopen. Jessie’s mouth dropped open in shock.

 “Y/N, baby,” Jessie grabbed Y/N’s hands, “We have to keep going.” Y/N shook her head. “Yes,” Jessie said, “We have to go through to get out. It will be fine, I will be right beside you the whole time. They will not hurt you.”

 Reluctantly, Y/N left the doorway and walked with Jessie. Y/N clung to Jessie’s arm. It was dark and there was fog and music playing. Y/N was able to just make out the decorations on the walls. She took a deep breath, it didn’t seem so bad anymore.

 “Aaarghh!!”

 Y/N screamed, almost deafening Jessie, and fell to the floor. The man who jumped out at them revved his chainsaw once before slinking back into the darkness.

 “I don’t wanna do it anymore,” Y/N cried, “I don’t wanna do it anymore. I’m not doing it, I wanna go back.”

 “Y/N, we can’t go back we have to make it to the end,” Jessie said, trying to pull Y/N to her feet. Y/N shook her head.

 “I don’t wanna do it anymore, I wanna go home.”

 Jessie sighed. She didn’t want to force Y/N to do something she didn’t want to do, but they had no other option but to keep going.

 “Okay, but we have to go to the exit. I promise it’s right around the corner,” Jessie felt a little bad for lying, but she knew it was the only way to get Y/N off the floor and moving forward.

 Y/N stood up, grabbing Jessie’s arm so hard it hurts. Jessie stood there for a moment, and then strode forward, dragging Y/N with her. Soon, she was practically jogging. People kept jumping out and Y/N kept screaming, but Jessie was moving to fast for her to do anything but continue following her. As soon as the exit door closed behind them, Y/N wrapped herself around Jessie.

 “You lied to me.”

 “I know,” Jessie said, “But aren’t you glad that we’re outside now and not still sitting on the ground inside?” Y/N sniffed, but didn’t answer. “I think you might be all Halloween-ed out, you wanna go home?” Y/N nodded.

 Once they got home, and in bed since Y/N was tired after the whole ideal, Y/N was refusing to let Jessie move at all.

 “Y/N,” Jessie said, trying to shift out of Y/N’s grip, “I’m just going to turn the lights off so we can sleep.”

 “No,” Y/N said.

 “Y/N, one of us has to turn the lights off so we can sleep.”

 “We don’t have to,” Y/N said, “We can sleep with the lights on.”

 “Y/N…”

 “Please?”

 Jessie sighed, turning back to face Y/N and pulling the covers over her head to block out the light. Jessie could feel Y/N’s grin pressed into her neck.

 “Oh the things I do for this girl,” Jessie thought to herself.

[americancowgirl19]

Leave a Message

Summary: No matter how many times they call, all they get is the answering machine.

Warnings: angst, cursing, fluff, dates might not be correct (deal with it)

Reader: Sister Winchester Reader

Pairings: Dean Winchester x Sister!reader, Sam Winchester x Sister!reader, John Winchester x Daughter!reader, slight Bobby Singer x Daughter!reader

Word Count: 3,481

A/n: Y/n/n = Your nickname Y/d/n = Your daughters name

Masterlist

December 19th, 1996 - 9:17 am

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Hey, Y/n/n, it’s Dean. Where are you? Dad won’t tell Sammy and I anything. You’ve been gone for two days. Please, just tell me you’re safe. Call me back,”

March 5th, 1997 - 1:32 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“It’s Sam... You’ve been gone a long time... Dad won’t talk about you anymore, he gets mad when we bring you up. He won’t let us look for you but don’t worry, Dean still does and I help him where I can. I don’t know where you are but we’ll find you. We’ll bring you back. Love you,”

October 31st, 1997 - 8:49 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“...It’s Halloween... Remember when you would make Sammy dress up in some stupid costume and take him out trick or treating for a little bit? Dad would always get mad but you had this way of just lightening him up. I swear we would gain so much weight eating Sammy’s candy when he went to bed *small chuckle*… You’ve been gone for almost a year and I’m no closer to finding you than when I started... I’m not gonna give up though. I know you’re out there even if Dad won’t say anything. I just hope that wherever you are... you’re safe. Please, call back,”

December 25th, 1997 - 10:23 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Merry Christmas, Y/n. I miss you... a lot. Dean says you’ll come back but I don’t know if I believe him anymore. We should have found you by now right? Dad should be helping us *aggravated sigh*… He’s been drinking a lot lately... I just want you to come back. Nothing’s been the same since you left. I don’t know where you are but I hope Dean finds you. We need you here. We Love you,”

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Merry Christmas, Y/n/n... Sammy demanded that I call you and tell you that... He thinks you’ll come back if we talk to you or something like that... I don’t know... I’m starting to think you’re not actually missing... I think you and dad fought and you left us. I don’t think you want to be found... *sigh*… I thought you were happy here, with us. I don’t know what dad said to make you leave but please just... come back... Sammy needs you. I... *heavy sigh*… Come back,”

February 10th, 1998 - 2:30 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Hey, Y/n. Nothing has really changed in the last couple of months. Dad’s wanting to take me on more hunts but Dean’s holding him off. I know I’m ready to take on more of the big stuff. I just have to prove to Dean that I’m ready, that I can handle myself. You should come back and help me convince Dean I’m not a little kid anymore...You should come back... Love you”

June 1st, 1998 - 11:41 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Sammy got hurt today... We were hunting and... I don’t even know what happened. One second he was behind me and then we were separated and then he was hurt. Dad got pissed. Dad told me Sammy wouldn’t have gotten hurt if you were looking after him... I know he’s right... You were always better at looking after him than I was... Hell, you’re better at looking after me than I am... I don’t know how much longer we can keep going on without you. We’re falling apart here. Dad’s either hunting or emptying a liquor store. I’m trying to look after him and Sammy but... I can’t do this alone. I don’t know why you left or if you’re even- fuck... if you’re even getting these messages...”

October 31st, 1998 - 9:02 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Happy Halloween... Dean said I shouldn’t call... That you wouldn’t answer. That you’re probably not even listening to the messages... That might be true but still... You’re my sister and I miss you.”

December 25th, 1998 - 12:13 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Merry Christmas from Dean and I...”

December 17th, 1999 - 4:55 am

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“It’s been three years, Y/n... God, it’s been three years... I miss you like hell...Damn, I just... I just miss you”

December 17th, 2000 - 7:00 am

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Hey, it’s Dean. Just checking in... Everything’s fine on our end. Dad and Sammy are both doing good. It’s been four years and... I guess we’re just now figuring out how to work without you *small laugh, sniffle*… Sammy’s doing good in school. I can finally drink *laugh* legally that is. I know you’re getting these messages cause Sammy and I have left a shit ton and the box isn’t full yet. That means that you’re deleting them. I guess on the bright side that means you’re alive... I don’t know whether to be happy or pissed... I guess a little bit of both... I miss you. Sammy misses you. Hell, even dad misses you even if he doesn’t say anything. I hope you’re listening to these and not just deleting them... I guess it makes me feel better to think you actually listen... Guess it means a small part of you still cares enough to at least listen to me ramble on... *sigh*… I want you to know... You can come back. It doesn’t matter that you’ve been gone, you can still come back. I want you to come back. Hell, I’d be happy for a damn phone call or even a fucking text! Something!... Just give me something...”

December 17th, 2001 - 6:26 am

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Hey, it’s Dean. *Large sigh* I’m just... Just checking in... God, I wish you were here... More than anything... God, I need you. Text me where you are and I promise I will drop everything to come pick you up. Hell, I won’t even ask a damn question. Sammy and Dad have been going at it... It seems like it never ends. I can feel him pulling away. I know Sammy wants to leave and if Dad doesn’t lay off we’re gonna lose him just like... Just like we lost you... I can’t lose him.. I lost... I-I lost you an-and now *throat clearing*… If you come back then you can fix everything like you always could. You know, like, you could just... you can fix us... You can calm Sam down and make him stay... You can get dad to relax... I can’t keep this family together, they’re slipping through my fingers. Please, come back...”

July 8th, 2002 - 4:09 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“...Sammy’s gone... *slow sigh*… *sniffle*… I-... *quiet sob*…”

September 28th, 2006 - 6:37 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Hello, this is Stacey with the - hospital. I’m calling for a Y/n Winchester. I have news about the passing of a John Winchester...”

May 1st, 2008 - 11:59 pm

“Hey, this is Y/n. Leave a message,”

“Uh... Hey, it’s uh... It’s Sammy - err - Sam. *Throat clearing* It’s been a long time since I called... Dean didn’t want me calling and I didn’t think I would have too but I can’t put this off anymore... Dean made a deal with a demon... His contract is up in a couple of weeks. I’m doing everything I can to get him out but... *shaky sigh*… I don’t know if... It would be nice if... If we could just see you. Leave the past behind us, ya know?... I doubt you’ll respond but I just... I had to let you know...”

Sam sigh’s hanging up the phone. It fidgets with the device in his hand, hunched over his knees. He could feel his heart dropping in disappointment. Even though he knew you wouldn’t answer there was still a small part that just... hoped.

He turns his head when he sees something moving in the corner of his eye. Dean leans against the doorway with his arms crossed. Sam looks into his eyes.

Neither of them have to say anything. They just understand.

It killed Dean that no matter what they said to you over the phone, you never called back. You never sent a text. You sure as hell never showed up. You simply dropped off the face of the Earth 10 years ago. No matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find a trace of you.

You were always the best. You were the best hunter, being the eldest of the three. You were the best ‘parent’, being the unofficial mother figure. You somehow managed being both mother and sister. It’s what made your disappearance so hard. The boys weren’t just losing a sister.

Despite the fact that they couldn’t track you, you could track them. In fact, you had been doing your best to keep your eye on them. You’re father had demanded that you leave, never come back, and never contact them. You tried your best but you loved your brothers, you had to make sure they were ok.

However, they’re Winchesters. Keeping tabs on them wasn’t always easy. There would be months where they would be the ones that fell off the face of the Earth before suddenly reappearing somewhere. 

You listened to every single voice mail they left. You would cry your eyes out every time. You couldn’t put into words the pain you felt when you heard their voices begging you to come back. You always looked forward to their calls but it never failed to send you into an anxious depressive mess for weeks, sometimes longer, afterward.

It didn’t matter though, you had to keep moving. You had to keep living. It’s not just you who you have to worry about. 

In a couple of months your daughter would be turning 10. Y/d/n Winchester. The father disappeared a couple hours after conception. You had tried to track him down but it wasn’t your main priority. 

Telling your father was extremely hard but him forcing you to leave was the hardest. He wouldn’t let you say goodbye to your brothers. He just told you to pack your bag and get in the Impala while the boys were asleep. He bought you a bus ticket to the furthest place that the bus went too and told you to stay away from the life.

He knew if you talked to your brothers you would be pulled back in. If you were pulled back in, your daughter would be caught in the supernatural mess. John knew a war would be coming and a little baby shouldn’t be in the middle.

As much as you love your brothers, your priority is your daughter. You loved her from the moment you found out she was in your stomach. You had to protect her, no matter what. It didn’t matter what happened to you, your daughter was going to live a happy life.

You always dreamed of a day where you could introduce your daughter to her grandpa and uncles. You dreamed of different scenarios. You prayed they would come true.

When you learned of your father’s death you wanted to cave that instant. You wanted to pack your things, pick your daughter up from school, and go to Bobby’s. You knew the boys would be there. They could cover their tracks but sometimes they were just down right predictable. 

But then you remembered how he died. The nurses had explained the weird things going on and you got the security footage. You watched Dean teeter between the living and the dead before miraculously recovering. Not long later, your father dies. You were able to put two and two together.

Watching the footage would be the first time you saw Sam and Dean since you were a teenager. You didn’t think it would be possible for them to be so tall. The longing for your brothers amplified but they were in deep shit with demons. That isn’t the life you could bring to your doorstep. That isn’t the danger you could bring to your daughter.

However, when you got Sam’s call your world stopped. Hearing that Dean would be dead in a few weeks, dragged to hell by those damn hounds, made you fall to your knees. Hearing about your father’s death, hell seeing it on camera, was one thing. But to lose your brother is something you never wanted to go through.

Sure, you haven’t talked to him but you knew he was alive. You knew he was still kicking ass and taking names. But now you knew he was going to die and there wasn’t a damn thing you could to about it.

But you could do one thing.

“Where are we mom?” Your daughter asks in the back seat as you pull up to a motel. You don’t answer her. Your eyes are glued on the sleek, black Impala. Suddenly you’re 19 again being dropped off at the bus station by your dad who’s telling you to never come back again. “Mom?” You shake the thoughts out of your head. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” You whisper.

You were not fine. Your anxiety is so high that someone would need an oxygen take to climb to the top. Your nerves are shaking your hands. You couldn’t sit still. You felt as if you were on the verge of a panic attack. You managed to keep yourself together not wanting to have such an attack in front of your daughter.

“Sam,” You whisper. You’re youngest brother walks to the Impala, not sparing your car a glance. You watch him open the truck and rummage through it.

“That’s Uncle Sam?” Your daughter asks. Your daughter knew almost everything about your family. She had an idea about the supernatural but not a lot.

“Yeah,” You whisper.

“When was the last time you talked to him?” 

“Too long,” You respond. Sam closes the trunk and begins to walk away. “Stay here,” You say sternly. “I’ll come back for you,”

“Ok,” Your daughter barely answers before you’re out the car following your brother. You were so nervous about the fact that you were about to approach your brother for the first time in a decade that you had forgot one thing. He’s a Winchester.

Sam rounded the corner and you quickly followed. What you weren’t expecting was for him to grab you and slam you against the wall with his forearm digging into your throat.

“Who are you?” He snapped.

“Damn, Sammy,” You choked. Sam frowns his eyebrows and you give him the best Winchester smirk you could muster. “What? Don’t recognize your own sister?” You joke nervously. Sam frowns his eyebrows even more as he takes in your features. “You were the one who called me...” Sam eases back a bit but isn’t completely sure if he trusts you. “Unless you plan on cutting me with some silver or splashing me with some holy water, mind stepping back?” You grab your brothers arm and pull it to the side allowing you to slip away from the wall.

“Y/n?” Sam whispers.

“The one and only,” You wink at him.

“You’re actually here?” Sam asks. You nod.

“I heard that Dean’s in a tough spot,” Sam ignores your comment. “Thought I’d come see you assholes,” The edge of Sam’s lip raises a bit.

“Mom?” Your head snaps to your daughter. Sam slowly follows your gaze.

“I told you to stay in the car,” You growled. 

“I wanted to meet Uncle Sam,” She says walking up cautiously. You sighed and motioned for her to come.

“Uncle Sam?” Sam whispers frowning his eyebrows.

“Sammy, this is Y/d/n,” You introduce glancing at your brother. “My ten year old daughter,” Sam meets your gaze and you can practically see the wheels turning in his head.

“Ten?” 

You slowly nod your head.

“Well, technically not yet but I will be,” She says running a hand through her hair. “It’s nice to meet you,” Y/d/n says holding out her hand. Sam looks down at her and instantly begins to notice the resemblance. He slowly begins to smile and shakes her hand.

“I’m going to assume Dean is with you,” Sam looks back to you.

“And Bobby,” You smile at the mention of his name. “Come on, they’d love to see you,” 

“I’m not sure if love is the right word but they sure as hell will be shocked,” You say following after him. Sam grins a bit but doesn’t comment. “Y/d/n, I want you to stay behind me or by Sam, alright? I don’t know how Uncle Dean and Grandpa Bobby are going to react but don’t be scared. If it gets too much, step outside, alright?”

“Ok,” Y/d/n nods. You smile kissing the top of her head. Sam glances back at you and his niece. A fond smile coming to his lips.

“We’re in here,” Sam mutters opening the door. Dean doesn’t even glance up but Bobby does. The instant Bobby sees you he drops the beer he was holding.

“What the hell, Bobby?” Dean snips when some of it splashes on him.

“Use your eyes and look, boy,” Bobby snapped back. Dean looks at Bobby and then to you. You notice Dean pale.

“Hi, boys,” You whisper.

“What’re you doing here?” Dean asks, after a long silence.

“I came to see you Dean,” You tell him. Dean scoffs.

“What do you want?” He rephrases his words.

“Nothing,” You shake your head. “Sam called-”

“We both called,” Dean snapped. “Hundred of times we called,” You press your lips together. “Did you even listen to them?” He asks standing up.

“Every one of them,” You whisper.

“And you never thought to call back?” He growls stepping closer to you. “What about the time Sammy begged you to come back? What about when I begged? When I told you we needed you? Where the hell have you been?”

“Taking care of me,” Y/d/n speaks up. Dean’s head snaps over to her. You look at her as well. She looks nervous but you smile proudly as she puts on a brave face and walks up to Dean. She looked scared but she didn’t waver as she stopped in front of your angry brother. “I’m Y/d/n... and I’m ten... almost,” 

Dean stares at her, his mind processing everything. He slowly looks from her, to you, back to her. She shifts a bit but continues to look strong.

“It’s my fault she had to leave,” She continues.

“Baby-” You try to interrupt but she wont let you.

“I don’t know the whole story but I know she misses you and Uncle Sammy and Grandpa John and Grandpa Bobby a lot,” You glance at Bobby. The old geezer has tears in his eyes as she says ‘Grandpa Bobby’. “She told me all about the pranks you would pull together and how you would all look after each other. She would tell me stories every night. She wanted to go back to you but she wouldn’t because of me...” She whispers.

“Y/d/n, we talked about this,” You say, slowly turning your daughter to face you. “None of this is your fault, ok? I love you and I don’t blame you a bit because it’s not your fault. Yes, I missed my brothers and your grandpas but I love you so much that I would stay away. There’s so much you don’t know still and I’ll tell you when you get a little older but-”

“It was safer for you two to stay away,” Dean whispers. You glance at your brother. He’s staring at you. “She just wanted to protect you, she did what she had to do. She was always good at doing the right thing,” You smile a bit.

“There’s a few things I could have done differently,” You shrugged.

“A text would have been nice,” Sam muttered and you smiles a bit.

“How about letters?” You ask. Y/d/n pulls a large stack of letters out of her bag. “They’re addressed to all of you,” You say tearing up. “There’s some for dad too but...” You sniffle a bit.

“You’re here,” Dean whispers, disbelief clouding his eyes. You glance at him. For a moment you’re looking at teenage Dean.

“And I’m safe,” You smile a bit. Dean’s smile widens just a bit. “I just have to figure out a way to keep you safe... Can’t leave you boys alone for a second,” You tease tearfully. Dean smiles and pulls you into a tight hug. Sam comes up to you as well and you wrap your arms around your little, yet taller, brothers. “I love you both so much,” You whisper.

@akshi8278​

[crazy-sevens]

Heyo, I wasn’t sure eid you took requests, but if you do could you do a part two to “An Excuse to make Christmas Jokes”

This was a long time coming but hope you like it!

Part one here

***

The hero had never felt more humiliated in their entire life. Not when their voice cracked at an eighth grade talent show. Not when they tripped into the punchbowl at prom. Not even when they had to dress up in a pink rabbit costume for Halloween at fifteen because their parents made them match with their little sister. At least there weren’t any witnesses to their embarrassment this time. 

The hero sat tied up in a red ribbon, gagged, and sitting under a Christmas tree. The flush in their face being almost the exact same shade of red as the ribbon. 

The villain had been gone for about ten minutes. And the hero knew that because there was a clock on the wall. Weird for what was basically a prison cell, but the room where they were sitting in was actually a really nice living room. 

Great. That made them feel so much better about this.

They looked up at the Christmas tree as the ornaments glinted in the light. Soon enough the villain would be back bringing whatever torture device that they called the hero’s Christmas present. The hero would have to be gone before then. Gone with what they had come here for. 

But no matter what they couldn’t think around this. The ribbon was tight, binging their arms and legs together so they could barely move. They couldn’t use their powers with the gag on their mouth and nobody around to use them on. And there were dozens of guards out there, so they wouldn’t even make it out, let alone with the device. 

The hero closed their eyes and leaned against the tree. The ornaments clattered together with a soft clink. They were made of glass. At least the villain had some taste.

Wait. Glass. 

The hero scooted themselves around and kicked the tree over. They winced at the sound of the ornaments shattering, but they couldn’t worry about the noise right then. They flexed their fingers and grabbed a shard from the wreckage. It was a little difficult but they managed to cut through the ribbon with the shard. They then tore the gag off. 

They felt in their sleeve and breathed a sigh of relief when they found it; the one thing the villain’s guards hadn’t taken from them- a hairpin. They picked the lock quickly.

They smirked. Sometimes they were so good it was frightening.

And on that note, they tripped on their way out. 

Nevermind. 

Before they could pick themselves up, a boot pressed against the small of their back. “What do we have here?”

The hero reached out with their power. “Hey get off of me!”

The boot’s pressure lessened, but that was about it. Of course it wouldn’t work that easily. “And why should I do that?”

“Um, because,” the hero scrambled for a convincing story, “because you’re unsatisfied with your boss and you want them to respect you more,” they blurted out. “I can help you.” They hoped they had struck the right cord. When trying to convince someone to do something, it helped to give them a good reason to. The power enhanced those feelings and moved the person to act. The hero could only hope that the guard was unsatisfied with his boss. How that fact might relate to letting the hero go, they weren’t sure. Maybe they would actually believe the hero could help.

Who knows? This wasn’t their best work anyway.  

But it actually seemed to be working. “Really?” the guard asked.

“Uh, yes,” the hero said. “Just let me up and we can talk all about your feelings and maybe try to start a union or something.”

The boot left their back. The hero stood up and brushed themselves off. Then they punched the guard square in the jaw. The guard fell over unconscious.

Then they dragged him back into the room, tied his hands and feet together with scraps of the ribbon, then they tied the gag around his mouth. They smirked. Now they were starting to feel better.

They walked over to the foyer, the sounds of music and chatter echoing through the door to their left. They could leave. Sneak out through a vent or something. But they couldn’t pass up this opportunity. The villain thought they were taken care of, so it would be perfect to find the device. 

They snuck through the house. 

No, house wasn’t really a good description. More like a mansion. Or a palace. It wasn’t very inconspicuous, but it was one of the most guarded places in the city so it didn’t really have to be. With that in mind, the hero knew they had to keep sharp, and they had to be patient. 

The latter being the most difficult. 

They regretted knocking out the guard. He could’ve given the hero a tour. But now they were just stuck checking every room. There was nothing for a while. 

Nothing until they found the villain’s office. 

It was pretty average in terms of officeness. No signs of villainy about it. No giant swirly chair to turn dramatically in, no assortment of stuffed creatures, no giant red button that opened a trap door for someone on the other side to drop through. 

It was disappointing to say the least. 

They searched all the drawers, checked for false backs or secret openings, but still nothing. But then they looked in the file cabinet. There were multiple files for people whose names the hero didn’t recognize, but at the front of them all was a file marked, Arch Nemesis.

Of course. 

They grabbed the file and tucked it under their arm. They couldn’t read it now. They only had so much time left before the party ended. If the device wasn’t in the next room they would cut their losses and leave.

But one thing they failed to notice: it was quiet. That wouldn’t be much of a problem normally, but when they had searched before they could still hear pieces of loud conversation and music through the hallways. There was none of that now. The party was already over. 

And the hero realized that too late. 

“Really you couldn’t wait ten minutes for me to come back? Admit it, you missed me.”

Before the hero could turn around, strong hands grabbed their arms, pinning them behind their back. The file dropped out of their hands.

The villain hummed into their ear. “Someone’s been looking into things they shouldn’t have.”

The hero tried to kick but the villain only responded by kicking the hero’s legs out from under them. They bracketed the hero’s hips with their own, and they kept the hero’s arms pinned above their head. 

“Get off of me.” The hero growled.

The villain rolled their eyes. “You really can’t get it into your head that your powers don’t work on me, can you?”

“What can I say? I’m stubborn,” the hero said. “And you’re a liar.”

The villain laughed. “You can hide it all you want, hero, but I know the curiosity is driving you crazy. A problem you could never solve.” 

The hero struggled, but the villain’s grip was like iron. “It’s not a problem. I can beat you without my powers.”

They could taste that lie in their mouth like bile. No they couldn’t. They could never beat the villain without backup and the villain knew it.

They shook their head. “You know I wasn’t going to tell you before I gave you the present, but I really think you’ve earned it.” They leaned in close. “I have the same powers as you do.”

The hero stopped struggling. “What?”

“I know! It was a little . . . frustrating at first, I can’t use my powers on you either, but you’ve been the most interesting hero yet.” Using one hand the villain pulled something out of their pocket. It looked like a dog collar. “I have learned that if you simply disable the other person’s powers, instead of cancelling out, your powers will finally work on them.” 

The hero’s heart stopped. That’s what the agency had sent them looking for. 

It had all been a setup.

The villain’s smile widened. “So, Merry Christmas. I know it’s early, but, hey, you’re worth it.”

“Keep that thing away from m-”

The hero’s voice died when the villain clipped the collar on.

[alfredosauce50]

Ghost of jealousy [Possessive! America x reader]

Wordcount: 5,545 Synopsis: Alfred gets upset when he finds you hanging around Mathias during his Halloween party. You tell him he’s your friend, but everything escalates into an argument, so he takes it outside to his car. He regrets everything he’s done, but you refuse to talk to him while he drives off to find some lodging for the night—an old inn. While you avoid him by staying in a separate room, it becomes apparent there’s something very off about this place. Something otherworldly. Will he make it up to you by saving you before something terrible happens? 

(I was inspired by this song by Michael Jackson, “Ghosts”) The reader is referred to as she/her.

It didn’t bother you that Alfred always disappeared during his parties. He was the host, after all, and you were merely another attendee, boyfriend or not. There were guests to interact with, excitement to arouse, and the general gist of event-running. So while he was off doing his business, you loitered around in the kitchen with one of your friends. You were dressed as a mermaid, with a seashell bra and all, while Mathias was in his pirate get-up.

Here away from the incessant pounding of Halloween classics and chatter, you could actually hear him talk. "I think it’s cute that we’re matching! Are you sure you didn’t wear this on purpose just so we could look like a couple?" He grinned, earning a small gasp from you.

"Hey! It’s not my problem you wear the same thing every year, Mathias. I—on the other hand, change it up." You gloated a little at that, giving his hip a light bump. He had been sipping a cup of punch, but spilled some as a result. "Ah! Jeez.” Because it was so dark, with only jack-o-lanterns and fairy lights to illuminate the house, you never even realized.

"What’s wrong?”

"Why don’t you smell my coat to find out?” He hummed mischievously. Cupping a hand around your head, he pulled you in and pressed your face against a mysterious wet patch.

"Ew! What was that?!" You pulled away and rubbed your cheek as he exploded into a fit of laughter.

"... Juice?"

"That’s right, min prinsesse. And it’s all your fault." Leaning in with his hands on his hips, he tapped your nose. A dash of guilt was present in your eyes, so he quickly added this. "Don’t look so stressed, (F/N)! I always forgive what you do to me. Mostly. This time, if you wanna make up for it, you’ll have to go to our after-party for once!"

You blinked. "After-party? You mean with just you and Lukas and everyone?" He nodded excitedly. The question was innocent enough, but really, you had another concern in the back of your mind. Every year, you and Alfred would spend a night together after the festivities. You could only imagine how upset he’d get if that didn’t happen. He always valued the time together with you, even to the point of being a little excessive. "Mm... I don’t know. Alfred and I usually do something afterward. I’ll ask him."

His wide grin faltered a touch. Alfred this, Alfred that. Mathias couldn’t exactly say he was jealous—though he’d joke about it, a lot—but wasn’t he a little controlling sometimes? "Mm, mm. Not good enough. I won’t take no for an answer!" Scooping you up in a bridal style carry, you let out a small yelp and reached out for his neck to stabilize yourself. "Let the King of Scandinavia save you from the evil clutches of American capitalism!"

"Mathias, you idiot!" You hissed through a flustered expression, but you couldn’t deny you were enjoying yourself. While he laughed away, bouncing you in his arms, you bonked him on the head numerous times. "Put. Me. Down!"

"Ow. Ah! Okay, okay, stop hitting me!" The Dane was as big of a goofball as your boyfriend, but just less serious most of the time. That was right. As your relationship with Alfred progressed, he was less easy-going than he initially seemed. More stubborn. Argumentative. And you never imagined how soon you would see this side of him.

"What’s this about saving (F/N) from the evil clutches of American capitalism?"

The chorus of you and Mathias’s laughter came to an abrupt end. Uh oh. Turning to the voice, you found yourself staring at none other than your boyfriend, dressed in a long orange coat with a Jason Vorhee's mask on the side of his head. And his arms were crossed with an unamused expression. Only then did you feel yourself get set down to the floor. Great. "Alfred, hey! We were just talking about his after-party. You know, the one where they have a lego-building contest?"

"Mhm. Sounds fun. But we’re doing something even better." Reaching out to your hand, he pulled you away from your friend, much to your displeasure. Mathias didn’t look all too happy either. Alfred then managed a small smile, but it was a little strained. "So c’mon, babe. Most of the party’s events are ending, anyway. Let’s go to my car." He squeezed you in his grip and turned to leave, all with you in tow.

But you weren’t having it. Couldn’t he at least let you explain yourself a little better, considering how upset he seemed already? You stopped, the action pulling on his arm so he would too. "Wait, Al. He asked if I wanted to go, and I kinda want to. Just this one time, please? Lukas, Berwald, Tino, and Emil are gonna be there too—" The fact that you were listing all these names only made it blatantly obvious who was in right, and who was in the wrong.

All you were asking for was some time with your friends. But he played the jealous boyfriend role all too well.

He turned to you with a frown. It was annoying enough to see Mathias carrying you like that. But going to a sleepover with him? He couldn’t be any less enthusiastic. "No, (F/N). Halloween is our thing. We’re supposed to spend the night together like we always do." Reaching out to your cheek, he caressed it gently. "You can hang out with them any other day of the year. Just not today."

Unlike other times, you didn’t give in. He already showed up with an attitude, so sweet-talking wasn’t going to cut it. Especially when you felt Mathias’s hand on your shoulder. The thought that he was behind you and trying to calm you down only egged you on to stand your ground. "Any other day? You’d have to exclude Valentine’s Day, Christmas, New Year’s, and St. Patty’s as well. I never get to celebrate them with my friends, either, so can’t you let me go this one time?"

The room fell silent. Even with the Dane’s friends present, nobody spoke a word. And nobody had to because they all shared one thought.

Alfred was being way too controlling.

Almost as if he could read their minds, he felt himself crumble under their scrutiny. "I’m not talking about this here with you." Without another word, he pulled you out of the house against your will.

"And why not? Is it because Mathias is here?" You retorted, feeling bile rise in your throat.

Once you and he disappeared out the door, Lukas made a brief comment.

"... He really has to stop doing that." 

“Yep. Man, I wish he’d just step on a lego." The blonde heaved out a sigh. 

"Fair enough."

Once Alfred managed to get you outside his car, he turned to you to finally give you an answer. "And what if it is because he’s there, (F/N)?" He exasperated, already feeling his tongue start slipping now that he was alone with you. And his words only held more impact against the deafening silence of the night. "The reason why I don’t want you hanging out with them on special occasions is cuz’ he’s in the group.”

“Why? Do you hate him or something? But that’s got nothing to do with me!" You ripped your hand from his grip to see his eyes widen with shock. This was the first time you ever lashed out, so he could already feel the inklings of regret well in his chest. He should’ve just shut his trap and let you go.

But something told him he would’ve never let that happen.

"They’re my friends, Alfred! You can’t expect me to pass on every invite they give me just because you don’t like someone!"

He dug his hands through his sandy locks of hair stressfully. 

"That’s the thing! Mathias obviously doesn’t just wanna be friends with you! He likes you, I can tell!" He yelled. 

The cat was finally out of the bag now. What had been plaguing his mind for months was this—competition. And he hoped that admitting it would somehow get you to understand his behavior, no matter how uncalled for it had been.

But you didn’t. You refused to.

Your jaw dropped, but not out of surprise. Instead, it was pure disappointment. "Even if he did, are you saying you don’t trust me with him?" You scoffed, folding your arms at him.

At this point, Alfred knew how bad he fucked up.

"No, that’s not what I—" His brows knitted together, and his cerulean blue eyes welled with moisture. "I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I just..." But it was.

Wasn’t it?

Otherwise, why else was he so possessive of you?

"It’s exactly what you meant. If it wasn’t, you’d be defending yourself by now." A small smile curled up at your lips, and it was from anything but mirth. It was your defense mechanism to keep the waterworks at bay, but even that had failed you. The tears finally came spilling over the rim, streaming down your face as he watched on with guilt.

"Even if you hate him, he’s not what you think he is. It wouldn’t matter if he loved me. He wouldn’t do anything because he respects me." Reaching up to your eyes, you rubbed them, but the effort was in vain as you let out a sob. "If you’re so quick to doubt me, then maybe..." You struggled to string together the words as you continued to cry. "Maybe we shouldn’t..."

Maybe we shouldn’t be together anymore. 

Alfred froze. Anything but that. And yet, you had all the right in the world to think of ending things. But his heart couldn’t take it.

"No, no, no... Don’t you finish that sentence..." You would probably hate him after this, but kissing you was what he first thought of. The connection between his and your lips managed to silence you, and the close proximity let you feel the waves of heat radiating from his face. And he continued to kiss you, gently, for as long as you let him until you decided to shove him away.

"Don’t." You whispered faintly, albeit firmly. Leaving his side to get into the passenger seat of his car, you buckled yourself up and turned to the window.

He breathed out a sigh, but joined you in the driver’s seat. Facing you with remorse so deep, it made his eyes droop. "You know I love you, right?"

You were still crying, and you never spared him so little as a single glance.

He royally screwed up, for sure. 

The engine purred to life. Now, to find a place to stay for the night. Hopefully, he could make up with you before lights out. But his gut told him it wouldn’t be so simple. The car began to move, crushing sticks and leaves under the wheels as he drove on a dirt path deep in the woods. He picked this cabin for the ominous ambiance, but he was beginning to regret his choices. The same could be said for everything he did tonight, hell, the same could be said for how he acted all these months.

He was the jealous, insecure, shitty boyfriend.

And the whole time, he never realized how kind you were to put up with him.

He wanted to tell you he trusted you. To pull you into his arms and apologize a million times. But what could he say to convince you when he’d come off as a liar? Even he didn’t know if he could be honest. Why did Mathias’s presence get him to feel like this, anyway? He boiled it down to how similar he was to him. Like you always said, he and Mathias were two of the same person. Loud, fun, and obnoxious sweethearts. So of course he started comparing himself to him.

And he was doing it right now. He couldn’t imagine Mathias ever having these kinds of problems if he dated you. Fuck. Aside from self-loathing and bitter regret, he was beginning to feel the beginnings of ugly jealousy all over again.

Are you serious right now, Alfred? He thought. 

Narrowing his eyes on the road that seemed to disappear, he slowed to a stop. Was it just him losing concentration over these thoughts, or did he really lose his way? Perhaps. But at least he found something. He peered around his windshield to see a few rooftops resembling an old, vintage villa in the distance. Could that possibly be a motel?

He sped up and drove closer and closer until he reached a clearing. Climbing out of his car with you trailing close behind, he made his way to the entrance of the establishment. There was an open lawn in front of the building, and in one of the gardens stood a wooden sign with "The Aura Inn" inscribed into it. Neither of you thought much of it, let alone read the little sub-paragraph of text below it.

"Let’s go." Looking at you over his shoulder, he held out a hand for you to take. You just brushed past him and kept walking. Right. He forgot for a second that you were mad at him.

The only thing that concerned you was having somewhere to stay the night, so the reception was the first stop. Making up with him could come later.

Upon arriving, you were greeted by nothing but an empty room. There was no furniture besides a wooden counter, and even then, it was lacking quite a few amenities. There was no receptionist here either, and yet, the lights were on. That could only mean one thing. Somebody was here, just not in a way you liked. But you were just overthinking, weren’t you? Needless to say, this inn was starting to feel a little off to you.

Gripping the scales of your mermaid dress, you turned to Alfred with a nervous glance. Immediately, he responded with a reassuring smile.

"You okay, babe?"

Hold on. Did he just call you babe? Your mood went sour when you felt yourself nearly give in to him. What he did couldn’t be forgiven so easily, otherwise, how could he take your feelings seriously? So you forced yourself to lie.

"Yes." You murmured. "I’m perfectly fine."

He knew you were lying, but he couldn’t blame you.

"Okay. I’ll just... Get us a room. I think this is an Airbnb." He pulled out his phone.

The thought of sleeping in the same bed as him irked you, to say the least. After the stunt he pulled today, which effectively stopped you from going to Mathias’s after-party, you needed some space. That was right. How come after all these years, you’ve never been to one of his infamous after-parties? Even though you were a close friend of his? It was simple. Because Alfred never let you go. God, thinking about it just made you relive the anger all over again. 

So before he finished the booking, you reached out for his arm.

"Wait. I don’t want to be in the same room as you."

He paused, and you saw sadness flash in his eyes. And once again, you found yourself tempted to cave. But you didn’t. You couldn’t.

"... Oh. Sure." Alfred finished with the online forms and walked you to your room. The halls were long, winding, and dimly-lit. You would’ve thanked him for accompanying you in this unsettling place, but you couldn’t bring yourself to. Once you managed to open the door, which wasn’t locked, he gave you a reluctant goodbye. Resting his arms against the doorframe, he gazed down at you with a bittersweet smile. "Night, babe. I’ll see you in the morning—"

The door slammed in his face and he cringed.

"... Love you too." He murmured, clenching his fists against the door. This was by far the worst argument he’s ever had with you, and it was all his fault.

Pressing your back against the door, you felt blood rush up to your face after hearing what he said. He nearly had you. But you managed to seal yourself away in the safety of your room. It hurt to push him away, but you had to. He couldn’t keep having his way. Alfred needed to accept the consequences of his actions, and you needed to be strong enough for that to happen. 

And plus, he needed to get used to not having you around him all the time. But the boy was excessively clingy, and you let this carry on for far too long. 

Unpacking your things on the bed, you got your things ready for a shower. As you melted into the hot embrace of the water, your concerns of this inn melted away too. It was just Halloween jitters, wasn’t it? Turning off the faucet, you dried yourself off with a towel before getting dressed. When you exited the bathroom, your room was plunged into almost pitch-black darkness. But you never turned off the lights.

Perhaps this was an energy-saving function. 

Well, it saved you from the effort of going to the light switch, anyhow. 

Before you moved from your spot, you shuddered at the feeling of a cold draft blowing against your body. Looking over to the source, you were shocked to see that the door was wide open, letting the dim halls stare back at you. 

There was probably a little wind tonight, and somehow, you didn’t shut the door properly. Making your way to close it again, you made sure you heard a little click. When you did, you didn’t feel any wind from outside at all, not even a gentle breeze. 

Weird. 

Setting your things down on the bedside table, you climbed into bed and tucked yourself in. While you made yourself comfortable, you faced the entirety of the room, which had a small wall-mounted TV, rocking chair, and desk. Of course there was a rocking chair. And you somehow couldn’t tear your gaze away from its faint outline in the dark. 

Then, it began to rock. 

Forwards and backward as if an invisible entity was sitting in it. 

“!” Your blood ran cold and you buried your head underneath the blanket. Something was in the room with you. Unlike before, you couldn’t blame it on the wind because you just closed the door. As you came to terms with that reality, the icy hands of fear gripped around your heart. Your breathing grew ragged and uneven. There was something behind you. Someone behind you. 

You could practically feel their presence creeping towards you. Closer and closer to your bed as the carpet compressed under its footsteps. Your chest constricted when you felt the bed dip under a weight. 

Then, it began to crawl. 

But you were too terrified to scream, let alone move. 

In that moment, you never regretted your decisions this much in your life. And you never wished more for Alfred to be with you.  

Unbeknownst to him as he finished up with his own shower in his room, you were left paralyzed in bed. If he’d known what was happening, he would have run to you as fast as he could. But he didn’t. He only assumed you were busy brooding over him, and maybe even second-guessing your relationship with him. The thought was reasonable, and that upset him to no end. Throwing his towel to a random spot in the room, he fell on his back onto the bed. 

Reaching out to the ceiling to stare at his arm, he sighed. 

“I’m so sorry...” He murmured, lowering his hands to cover his face with them.

If he was lucky, he’d be able to make up with you by the end of tomorrow. But for now, he was burdened with uncertainty. But his attention was quickly diverted to something else. A laugh. Your laugh. Sitting up with visible confusion, he listened in to the muffled sounds of your voice down the hall. 

The walls here were thin, so it didn’t surprise him he could hear you so clearly. 

But what did was what he heard next. Another voice talking, and it belonged to a boy. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he registered it as someone he knew. Mathias. Wait a second, what the hell was he doing here? But there was no way he could be, right? Didn’t he have an after-party to be at? The longer he eavesdropped on the conversation, the more obvious it became that it was Mathias. And they were talking about him. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come this year. Again. But you know how Alfred gets.”

“Yeah... Don’t worry about it. This can be our own little after-party. Just as long as he doesn’t find out, you’ll be fine!” 

Wait, what? 

From what he heard, it sounded like you really had moved on. But you never had the decency to tell him, and that was what filled him to the brim with betrayal--it broke his heart. Was this why you wanted to be in a separate room tonight? Sliding himself off the bed, he stormed out the door to find you. His glasses were already fogging up, but he never bothered to clear them as he marched down the empty halls. 

Your voices grew louder and louder, all until he came to a stop outside a room he never booked. That was right. He applied for one with a single bed. He could only imagine what you were doing with Mathias in a room with a double bed. 

The laughing continued behind the door. 

“You know these walls are thin, right?” He began lowly. Swinging open the door, the noises disappeared along with the people inside. The room was completely dark, and when he flicked on the lights, you and Mathias were nowhere in sight. Not a soul was in here. 

“... What the fuck.” He grumbled.

He swore he heard you both giggling away like school children. Did you two hear him coming and hide somewhere? He was skeptical, but he checked around nonetheless. In the wardrobe, then under the bed. There was no sign of either of you. The shower, maybe? Stepping into the bathroom and pulling open the curtains, he was prepared to catch you red-handed. But there was nothing there except for a porcelain white tub.  A defeated sigh fell from his lips. What the hell was going on? Alfred was completely sober, a miracle considering he usually drank at his parties. So he had a terrible feeling he wasn’t just hearing things. That only pointed towards one explanation. 

This inn was totally haunted. 

And whoever, or whatever that haunted it was toying with him.

He swallowed thickly and turned to the mirror, only to jump at what he saw. The reflection revealed a figure standing behind him. 

It was Mathias, except his face was twisted in a sick smile. 

“Holy shit--!” Alfred paled as he stared face to face with the entity. As he lost himself in its soulless, blue eyes, he was overcome with dread, almost as if the spirit was forcing fear into him. Reminding him of his failures, insecurities, and the uncertainty of his relationship. All of his faults flashed in his mind again and again so incessantly, he thought he would break down on the spot. 

Where is (F/N)? 

She doesn’t want you anymore. 

You should just give up. 

And the deeper in he spiraled into these self-destructive thoughts, the wider the entity smiled, its lips stretching to impossible lengths it became grotesque. Darting his wide eyes around the reflection in his bout of panic, he saw its hand reach out to his shoulder in the mirror. He didn’t know how he managed to do this, but he spun around quickly to defend himself. And there was nobody there.

In his brief moment of disorientation, the spirit shot out two arms, breaking the barrier of the glass. Tightening its hands around his neck, Alfred was pulled back against the mirror and choked. “Gh--!” His airway was completely constricted by the iron grip, and he was forced to struggle a few inches above the ground. 

Digging his fingernails into the hands, he never felt them loosen. 

So he did the unthinkable--he started to smash his fist against the mirror. It hurt like hell and left his knuckles bruised and raw, but the thought of you in danger kept him going. That was right. There was no saying if you weren’t being choked, attacked, or worst. Punching the glass again and again, it finally shattered, and the grip around his neck loosened. 

The mirror was reduced to shards and fell into the sink.

Falling to the ground in a loud thump, he stood up while coughing violently. 

The arms disappeared, and so did the entity. 

And Alfred had a feeling it had to do with the mirror it was in. 

Leaving the bathroom with heavy breaths, he ran back to his room and picked up his chainsaw. Halloween had the perks of carrying around dangerous tools, and he was never this glad that he took it with him instead of leaving it in his car unattended. Too bad he was out of costume, though. But a white tank and boxers would do. Holding it above his chest, he revved his chainsaw and ran out the door. 

It was time to fuck shit up. 

You were still stuck in bed, but the spirit managed to remove your blanket. A soft whimper fell from your lips as your only form of protection was stripped away. If you thought you were terrified, then you would prove yourself wrong with a whole new level of fear as two arms wrapped around your neck from behind. No way. Was it going to choke you? One of its legs was thrown over yours, so you were completely enveloped by its limbs. 

As you trembled away in the dark, you let out a soft cry when you felt its warm breath tickle your ear. 

“I missed you. Why didn’t you wanna stay in a room with me?” It cooed, the voice sending shivers down your spine. It sounded strangely similar to Alfred’s, and what he said was exactly what he would’ve said too, except it wasn’t him. You never saw him come in, and the last time you checked, he wasn’t invisible. 

“... W-What... What are you?” You stammered, feeling a hand glide down your bare thigh. “Stop--” 

“I’m his desire, sweetheart.” It began in a low and alluring voice. “Every feeling in the Aura inn festers into a semi-physical form. That’s why I’m here right now. Because he wants you.” 

You screwed your eyes shut. Just what the hell kind of place was this inn? A magical hut that personified emotions? “... Can you please let me go? I don’t like the way how you’re... Hugging me.” You pleaded, only to feel the entity tighten itself around you. 

“But I don’t want to. He doesn’t want to.” It responded with a hum. “I reflect everything he wants. And currently, he wants to see you more than anything. Especially when he’s dealing with jealousy... And having a hard time at that.” 

“Jealousy?” It wasn’t shocking, per se, but he had you curious. If desire festered into a sultry form of someone and hugged their object of affections, what did jealousy turn into?  “... I knew he was jealous of Mathias. But that’s not the problem here. We’ll sort it out later. If you’re desire, then what’s jealousy like?” 

It let out a deep, foreboding laugh. “Depends. If it’s only a little bit of envy, he’ll start hearing things that hit his nerves. Nothing but... Harmless fun.” You felt yourself get rolled onto your back, and you were caught off guard by what loomed over you. It was Alfred himself, or more accurately put, his personified desire, but this time, you could see him. “But if his jealousy gets mixed in with insecurity, that’s when things get pretty ugly...” 

You furrowed your brows with concern. “Ugly? How so? Is he gonna be okay?” 

It craned his head from side to side. “Who knows.” 

“But I’ll tell you a few things that I do know. Jealousy tends to be pretty sneaky. It’ll snoop around in mirrors and attack him.” You tensed up all over. “So Alfred will have to smash every mirror in the inn to get it to come out. And when it does, all he needs to do is be with you to send it away.”

Loud chainsaw noises were heard down the halls, silencing both you and the entity. Following that was the shattering of glass. 

“... Hm. Looks like he already figured it out.” 

Joy filled you to the brim and you smiled wide. “He really did! I’m so glad!” Reaching out to hug the entity around its chest, you pulled away and slid yourself off the bed. 

“Thank you, um, Alfred’s desire! I’m gonna go find him now!” 

He laid on his side and watched you run off. “You can just call me Alfred.” 

“Okay, Alfred!” 

While you exited the room to stand in the halls, you found yourself staring at a number of doors that were wide open, and the lights on inside. You assumed those were the rooms he already cleared, which meant he still had quite a bit to do. But he was fast. Appearing out of one room, he continued tearing down door after door to smash every single mirror and window in the inn. And soon, he managed to reduce every piece of glass present into shards. 

Once the chainsaw revs came to a stop, you called out his name. 

“Alfred!” 

He jerked up at the sound, then glanced around. “(F/N)!?” While he was on the first floor in the courtyard, you were on the second in the mezzanine, so he had to glance up to see you. “Oh God, I was so worried! Are you okay?” He shouted. 

“Yes!” You called back. “This place is... Super haunted. Let’s get out of here!”

“You called it. I nearly got murdered!” 

Running down the stairs to meet with him, you practically jumped onto him after he dropped his chainsaw to the ground. Embracing you with his strong arms, he pressed kiss after kiss all over your face. While he did, you spotted another figure standing by the stairs. Was that Mathias? You couldn’t take a better look at him before he disappeared into thin air. “Oh my fucking god. I missed you so much.” He exasperated, setting you down on your feet. “You won’t believe what happened. I’ll explain everything in the car.”

As he led you out of the Godforsaken inn, he gripped you tight with his hand. And you squeezed right back. “Let me guess. You were attacked by something in the mirror so you shattered every single one here. I know.” 

At this point, you and him had arrived outside his car.

Turning to you with shock, he placed his hands on his hips. 

“And how the hell did you know? I thought it was original enough that you wouldn’t be able to guess!” He exclaimed, much to your amusement. 

“Mm... Not really. With how many horror movies you’ve watched, I wouldn’t put it past you to come up with a solution like that.” Giving him an affectionate pinch on the cheek, he rubbed the spot with a light pout. You considered telling him the truth, but you already wanted to forget tonight. If he didn’t know about it, then moving on yourself would be so much easier. 

“Now, I think you have some apologizing to do.” 

He softened his gaze. “Yeah... I really do. Sorry for everything. Sorry for being a dick. And not just... For today.” Pulling you into another hug, he nestled his chin into your shoulder. God, did it feel good to have you in his arms again. “I’m gonna be real. I never hated Mathias. He’s my friend. But seeing him with you gets me... Really jealous. And it’s not cuz’ I don’t trust you, it’s because I’m...” His cheeks grew rosy. “I don’t know. I just feel...”

You knew he’d get stuck at this part, so you helped him. 

“Because you feel insecure?” 

“... Yeah.” 

“You idiot...” A soft, content sigh was heard from your end. “It doesn’t matter how similar you are to him. You don’t have to try to make any changes or keep him away from me for me to choose you.” 

His heart fluttered as he released you with a sheepish smile. 

“I really needed to hear that. So, thanks.” Alfred murmured, reaching out to cup your cheek. “Kinda lame of me to put you through that. I should’ve just talked it out with you.” 

“Yeah, you dumbass.” You grumbled, but it was on an affectionate note. 

“So, do you think we’ll make it in time to the party for me to carpool with Mathias back to his place? I wanna see what they’re building this year!”

He frowned, but his expression was short-lived as a smile began creeping onto his lips. “Are you serious right now?” 

“I’m kidding!” 

🎶 Tell me, are you the ghost of jealousy?

This is a request. Thank you for requesting.

[eelistolvanen]

Bruises that you left behind - Travis Konecny Pt.4

A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter and it’s probably more of a filler. After this the next chapter (Pt. 5) is probably going to be the last one(Hopefully longer than this one).  Thanks to everyone who liked, reblogged or commented! Let me know if you like it! Happy reading <3

Words: 2.9k 

Warnings: Angst, more heartbreak, mentions of a panic attack, no proofread (as usual)

Part 1    Part 2     Part 3  

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Nobody else on the team knew anything more about your suspicion. They were just as clueless as you were about what exactly happened.

Christmas was coming around and you were busy with work most days. You were still hanging out with some of the boys and the girls on the team, just not as frequent. And even though the situation with Travis still wasn’t really resolved you were trying to avoid him. Not that he was looking for you or reach out for you, but you made sure that there wasn’t a chance of an unexpected run in like there had been at Halloween.

You mostly hung out with Kevin. Nolan was hanging out with Kelsey most days and as much as you loved both of them, you tried to stay away from third wheeling a couple for now. And Kev was fun to hang out. He never pressed the Travis issue and was always able to get your head away from work.

And it was just before Christmas when Maddie broke the happy news to you. Provy proposed to her and you needed to be one of the first to know. At least that’s what she was telling you when she stormed your apartment that day. You were happy for her, they were a great couple but you couldn’t help the heavy heart you got when she mentioned what her dream wedding looked like. You smiled through her showing you her wedding pinterest and telling you about the place she wanted to get married at. That the wedding would be perfect.

You felt a sab in your heart. Your wedding was perfect, everything had been picture perfect. Besides that one thing. That ruined everything.

 He slowly shook his head. “He’s not coming, Y/N.”

At first you couldn’t believe it. You couldn’t really understand, you didn’t want to understand because understanding would also mean that you in a way accepted it. And you didn’t.

“No, Nolan. This can’t be right. Maybe… maybe you misunderstood him. I.. I-“ There wasn’t anything he could say that would make this hurt less and he needed to tell you the truth. He couldn’t sugarcoat this. No matter how many times Nolan had protected you before, tried to keep you out of harms, this time he wouldn’t be able to do so anymore. He couldn’t protect you from harm. From heartbreak.

“He called the wedding off, Y/N. I’m so sorry-“ You couldn’t listen to him and you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to hear him apologize for something he didn’t do.

“I have to talk to him, Nolan. Where is he?” Nolan stayed silent and you could already guess his answer but you weren’t just heartbroken anymore. You were angry.

“WHERE IS HE?” You barely raised your voice and Nolan visibly flinched at your change in tone.

“He already left.”  You were in denial and angry so you were only half registering what Nolan said. And as much as Nolan tried to convince you that he’d already left and that it was stupid to run all the way to the room where he was supposed to get dress for his own wedding, you weren’t listening.

You swung the door to his room open, by now halfway believing Nolan that he had left and expecting an empty room, but you were met with Travis’ silhouette. At least you mistook it for his silhouette for a second. His brother had enough similarity to Travis to fool you at first glance.

Then Chase turned around and the expression on his face would have broken you if your heart hadn’t already been shattered minutes prior.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. He’s gone.” He looked at you the same way Nolan had. Full of pity, sorrowful, hurt.

You only spotted the letter he had in his hand once he stepped closer to you.

“He asked me to give you this.” He handed you the letter but before he could blink you had thrown it across the room. “Why didn’t you stop him Chase!” You were hammering your fists onto his chest. You knew it wasn’t his fault but your anger had taken over, he slowly caught your wrists while your punches lost force. “I tried Y/N, believe me I tried.”

You didn’t wanna hear it, you ripped your wrists from his grasp and made your way out the door. Nolan’s “Where are you doing?” were left unanswered.

On your way out you ran into Maddie. And apparently everyone already knew that the wedding was called off. You brushed off her inquiries about your well being and quickly appointed her to your personal chauffeur. You could sense that she wanted to fight this but by now you had turned into full on bridezilla and she knew better than to get in your way.

She had barely stopped the car in front of yours and Travis’ shared house before you jumped out and made your way up the stairs. And for the next couple minutes you ran around your house like a mad person, still in your gown and everything while trying to process what had happened.

When you came to a standstill Maddie was already standing in the doorway.

“Y/N…” Her tone was cautious but laced with pain. She hated to see you this broken and she hated Travis for doing this to you.

“He’s gone..” You said it more to yourself than to her but it was still loud enough for her to hear it.  

“What..-“ Maddie barely got a word out. She knew Travis left the wedding but this felt different. It felt worse.

“His suitcase for our honeymoon is gone.” You gestured towards an area in the entryway. “His favourite snapbacks…” You moved towards an empty shelf. “His fishing rods… All the dog leashes… His grandmother’s picture on the nightstand… Everything that’s important to him… It’s all gone..”

This was it. This was your breaking point, for the first time that day you started to cry. “He’s gone, Maddie.” You sobbed under tears while she rushed to you to you. You felt yourself starting to hyperventilate, you were panicking.

“Ahrgh,.. get me… out.. get me out of this.” You were trying to rip your dress from your body but the lacing on the back kept it in place.

“Hey, hey, hey, Y/N. Breath Y/N, breath. I’m getting you out of this.”

It felt like forever till she had finally cut all the lacing open and shed you from your wedding dress. Your entire body was shaking as you fell onto your knees and completely broke down.

“It’s over, Maddie. It’s over.”

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

You had holed yourself up in your house for the next days. You didn’t want to see anyone right now. You knew they meant well, you just couldn’t take it. The only people you let in were Nolan for his daily check ups, Maddie and your sister. The day before Maddie had told you that she needed to get back home and that she would see you in Philly soon. You knew that you wouldn’t but she didn’t had to know that now. You weren’t in the mood to explain that your life in Philly was over. So you just nodded in agreement and said your goodbyes to her. This morning your sister had dropped to tell you that she had to fly back home. But not before telling you that you should consider coming home for a while as well. Your parents home or your sisters were always open for you. You tried to fight her, tell her that as long as you stayed here you weren’t giving up, that there was still a chance but deep down you had already contemplated the move back home before she had brought it up.

Now Nolan was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, nervously bouncing his legs. It was driving you nuts. You knew there was something he wasn’t telling you and you also knew that he was aware that you sensed this.

“Spit it out Nolan. What is it?” Your tone was irritated.

He took a deep breath before making eye contact with you.

“Chase got a hold of Travis.” His eyes were searching yours for a reaction before he continued

“He’s in Fiji. And he told Chase to move all his remaining stuff out of your house if you want to stay here. He won’t be back here for a while.”

You knew this was coming, deep down you knew he wouldn’t come back to you. But it still hurt more than you thought it would. It was over.

“Fiji? Please tell me he’s-“ Your voice broke before you could finish the sentence but Nolan knew what you were gonna ask anyway. His slight nod let you know what you wanted to know soon enough.

“Please tell me he’s by himself. That he didn’t take some mistress to our Honeymoon resort..”

Nolan’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know if he’s alone or not… You don’t.. you don’t think he’s cheating on you? Y/N?” He was almost to shocked to form a coherent sentence.

“I don’t know, Nolan…” You felt tired. And numb. Suddenly you felt like Nolan’s presence was crushing you.

“Thanks for stopping by Nolan.” Your tone made it clear that he wasn’t welcomed anymore. It was cold and unfair what you did to Nolan but you wanted to be alone.

It took you a while to realise that he left something on your kitchen island after he left. It dawned on you what it was after you picked it up. The letter you threw across the room that Chase gave you. It had your name on top of it in Travis’ scrawny handwriting.

You turned towards one of the kitchen drawers and started searching through them until you found what you were looking for.

For a moment the thought of burning the entire house down crossed you mind. No, you could probably go to jail for that. The letter, however, went up in flames seconds later.  

That afternoon you cleared everything that fit in your car out of your house. You had made your choice. The life you once had was gone. Travis wasn’t coming back to you. So instead of trying to hang onto a life that was only inflicting you pain you decided to leave it behind. All of it. Travis, the dogs, the house, Nolan, all your friends in Philly. An entire life, really.

By the time Nolan came around the next day for this next check up you were already miles away from your old life. You said goodbye to the last pieces of that life a few weeks later. By now you were able to transfer to a local school near your hometown. You emptied everything that belonged to you out of your and Travis’ shared Philly place.

Quietly, like a ghost, you vanished from your past life until there were no traces of you left anymore.

You tried to share Maddie’s excitement as much as you could. She knew herself that this wasn’t easy for you and was a little more lenient than usual. You also got invited to the Flyers Christmas party but had to decline because you already had something school related that evening. In a way you were relieved that you had an excuse but you were also a bit sad since you loved hanging out with the team.

It was already mid January when you saw Travis again. Strictly by coincidence. It had nothing to do with the team or Nolan or Kevin. You were out shopping but since you were looking for something different than usual, something for your students actually, you found yourself on the other side of town. Not in your wildest dreams did you think you would run into Travis in a parking lot. You probably wouldn’t have even noticed him if he hadn’t called out to you.

“Oh, hey Travis” You were sure he realised how shocked you were to see him, and he kinda looked at you the same way. Like two aliens from the same planet meeting each other on another planet or something. At least that’s how it looked to you.

“How are you Y/N?” His voice was soft, contrary to his appearance.

Was he seriously trying to make small talk with you in parking lot?

“Good. Busy with school and stuff.” You weren’t quite sure what to say, were you just gonna talk like some people who barely knew each other? Or was there more behind his question?

“Ah, yeah, Haysey told be that you’re teaching in Philly again.” You raised your eyebrows, he talked with Kev about you? He seemed to notice your questioning look on your face.

“I ask him about it. I just wanted to know how you’re doing.” Your heart sunk towards your feet at his words. You wished he didn’t care so much, it would be easier if he wasn’t trying so hard to fix this.

“Yeahh… It’s good.” You turned back towards your car, enough small talk.

“Don’t just run away again, Y/N. I’m trying, I am.”

You felt your emotions flare up again. Why couldn’t he just let it be?

“Your not trying hard enough.”

He was stroking through his hair in despair.

“What do you want me to do then?” You stared at him. How many times did you have to tell him again? Why couldn’t he answer the one question you wanted to know.

“I want you to tell me the real reason! What was in that letter Travis?”

“ I didn’t mean to hurt you, Y/N.” You scoffed, of course he would deflect again. He always did. “Oh really? What did you think would happen when you left me at the altar then? That I would be happy? Why Travis, why? I just don’t understand your reason.”

“Why is it so important to you? Why do I have to explain my reasons to you? I fucked up, ok? I made the biggest mistake of my life. I ruined my life. And I’m so sorry, Y/N. If I could turn back time I would do it all differently. In a perfect life I would have married you and we would have kids by now. But I fucked that up. It was all my fault and I’m so so sorry. Isn’t that enough?”

You stared at him for a while. You knew he would wait til you spoke up. You slowly shook your head.

“No, it’s not. I wanna know the real reason. I know there is one.” You tried your hardest to keep your voice steady.

“Why do you wanna know so bad?!” His voice was rising and so was yours as you shouted,

“Because I need to know it to move on!” Travis was visibly taken aback. He looked like someone slapped him in the face. He was left speechless so you continued.

“Since the wedding I’ve been running away from it all. From all the memories, from the pain, from my life, my friends. I thought that running away would ease the pain. I thought I could move on. But deep down all the pain was still there, bottled up deep down. And I realise now that I have to face it and work through it to move on. But I need to make peace with the reason why you left me, I…-”

You didn’t get any further before Travis finally found his voice.

“Move on? You’re… you’re moving on? I thought we could work this out.”

You looked at the sky and let out something between a laugh and a groan.

“There’s nothing to work on, Travis. There is no us, not anymore.”

“But you still love me!” He sounded angry now, his tone throwing you off guard.

“No, I don’t. Not anymore.” That was a lie, but you couldn’t give him any hope. Not when you’d already lost yours.

“That’s a lie, Y/N. I know you and I know when you’re lying.”

“You used to know me, Travis. Not anymore. Things have changed. The pain you put me through changed me.”

Even a complete stranger could detect the absolute agony in your voice when you said that. And Travis knew that you meant it, you wanted to move on.

Defeated he turned away from you, he didn’t want to tell you the reason. Especially not when knowing that it meant that you would move on once he told you. But he had to, he owed that to you. Even if it was the last thing he would ever get to say to you, he owed that to you.

“It’s not any of the reason that you think. There was never anyone else. And I knew that I would never find anyone better than you. But I promised you, I promised I wouldn’t do this to you.”

It took you a moment to understand what he was talking about. What promise he meant. And when you did, suddenly everything seemed to fall apart inside you. A silent sob escaped your lips. A disbelieving, shocked “No..” was all you came up with. This couldn’t be true. He’d turned around now and when you looked at him you could see that silent tears were running down his face. You didn’t remember ever seeing him in so much despair.

“ I promised you, Y/N…”

Part 5

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Real Life Tasks With Ransom Drysdale

An Advent Calendar Of 24 Normal Human Tasks As Performed By A Huge Man Baby

Day 22: National Lampoon Christmas Vacation Drysdale Style

Warnings: Bad Language Words. 

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N: So this is my last entry for the Ransom Advent Calendar. It has been so much fucking fun to do and read everyone's reactions at his attempts to be a good husband. Much love sent to @jennmurawski13​ and @what-is-your-backupplan-today​ for the joint writing and antics. Happy Holidays everyone, Happy Reading and Much Love always 

Series Masterlist

Christmas it turned out was a big deal for you. Huge actually, you had been decorating for a week since thanksgiving last Thursday and Ransom had never seen anything like it. There were lights and ornaments all over the place, he had never seen a nutcracker before but when you demonstrated how to use one, he said that was barbaric, and there was the constant smell of some kind of strong smelling candle constantly burning through the house now. 

He could just imagine how much Linda would hate all of this, the santas, reindeer and snowmen scattered around, the big giant wreath hanging on the door, or the platter of cookies always laid out for whoever wanted some. She would loathe it and consider it tacky. Ransom loved it all just for that reason. 

As well as how happy it seemed to make you, he would catch you now talking to your belly all the time, singing Christmas songs and telling stories while you would be setting something new up. Today you were busy making a miniature village the length of the living room to put in the picture window. Little houses scattered across the white sheet covered board, and you were fluffing bits of white cotton to look like snow, a container of people and animals were nearby to start setting up like it was an actual little village. 

“Where did you even have all this packed away?” Ransom asked while he leaned over the table to get a better look at some of the buildings. 

“In the attic, where you store stuff.” You retort sarcastically, as you try to prop some fencing up, and you straighten, rubbing the small of your back. “And I'm almost finished.” This time a hint of pride in your voice didn't escape Ransom, and he moved up behind you, taking over to rub at the small of your back, able to dig slightly into the tense muscle and make you moan in appreciation. 

“Well it all looks good Princess.” he said softly and you nodded in agreement, happy at how well it had come together. “I have never had a Christmas like this before.” 

You turned to face him, wrapping your arms around his waist while looking up at him. “I know, and I plan on changing that. This is the kind of Christmas’s I want our Bean to have, fun and exciting, full of love. There is one thing I need you to do though.” 

“Oh? What's that? Taste test cookies? Because I'm all for that. Cookies and whiskey.” Ransom grinned and you shook your head. 

“No, cookies and milk Ransom.” You chuckled while his face screwed up in disgust. 

“Now that's just wrong. Ruin a perfectly good cookie. And what did you need?” 

“Fine! When the time comes Bean will leave out Cookies and Whiskey for Santa… we will have a drunk Santa, everyone needs some kind of messed up tradition.” You played your fingers in his soft knit sweater for a second. “I need you to hang the lights outside.” 

“Why the fuck we doing the outside to? It already looks like that elf you made me watch the other night wreaked havoc through our house.” 

“Because Ransom, it looks nice. I already left it all out in the garage. All you gotta do is line the edge of the roof with the blue and white icicle lights I left you.” You patted his chest and turned back towards your village. “And admit it, what makes me happy usually fares well for you.” 

“Just the lights? You're not gonna make me drag anything up on the roof like that movie the other night?” 

You paused a moment, thinking about what Ransom was talking about. “What movie?” 

“You know, the Tim the Toolman one, with that Halloween chick.” Ransom stated while grabbing a jacket from the closet and pulling it on to get ready to go out and start on the project you assigned him to. 

“Oh Christmas With The Kranks… no no, there is no Frosty for our roof.” You turn back to your village, ending with a “Yet. I ordered one though. But he wont get here till after the new year because the one I wanted was on back order. Next year Ransom, you gotta get a Frosty up there.” 

“Fucking hell, Of course I do.” He muttered to himself while leaving the house to get into the garage, feeling suddenly like maybe he wasn't entirely loving this whole Christmas explosion as much as he thought he did. 

In the garage were a few boxes of the lights you had described, as well as a brand new nail gun and staples. He set about pulling out the lights, effectively tangling them in the process and spending another 45 minutes cursing them with every name he could think of while untangling them. “You fucking cunts, l’m gonna murder you if you don’t stay untangled.” He whipped the lights till they fell in place, and he dragged them all outside to toss in the snow near one edge of the house. Going back, he got an aluminum ladder and dragged that out as well to prop against the edge of the house. “Fuck this is going to take forever.” He grumbled while loping the lights over his arm and grabbing the nail gun to climb to the top. 

Ransom, he was typically fearless, heights didn't bother him, so that made him less self aware then most people. He just started to stretch the lights along the edge, stapling half haphazardly along the roof while letting them dangle down his shoulder and eventually the strand tangled around his feet. It wasn't so bad he thought when he managed to get a quarter of the way up and was about to climb down the ladder to move it over. Ready to start hanging more lights when the strand tightened around his ankle from where they got tangled and the sudden pressure made him lose balance.

Now he felt actual fear of falling, watching as the bushes under the living room window where you were setting up the village started to rush towards him when a snap stopped him, making him sway and twist around like a pendulum. You happened to look up when he screamed and saw him hanging just above the ground. “RANSOM!” you yelled while awkwardly rushing away from the table to get outside, your hand braced against the side of your very pregnant belly to support it. “Hang on! Oh fuck fuck fuck...” You chanted in a panic while you made your way carefully down the steps of the house. 

While you're trudging through the snow in your house slippers, Ransom is screaming. “Y/N, Call 911! Call 911!” he's all red faced from being upside down, his hands trying to grab at the bushes below to make himself stop swinging, and your using your phone to call the local emergency services because you are imagining all kinds of scenarios, mainly that your boyfriend has busted a ankle hanging like that or he was going to break his neck falling and you were going to have to raise the baby yourself. 

“Don’t you dare break your neck Ransom, if you die and I have to raise our spawn child myself.” Your voice is panicked as your pressing the phone to your ear. 

Ransom hollers hearing you, having grabbed a hold of the bush now to support himself. “PAY ATTENTION TO THE PHONE Y/N!”

There was a pop above the two of you and all the staples shoot out, the lights slacking as they pull away from the roof, and Ransom fell the last few feet into the bush  below with a grunt from impact. 

You give a surprised yelp when he disappeared from sight, the voice on the other end finally got your attention and your words just about run together. “Myhusband- he was hanging off the roof. I don't know what happened, he was hanging lights.” 

Ransom rolled out of the bush, still tangled in lights. “Tell them i’m fucking fine Y/N.” He growled while trying to tug the lights off his legs. And you paused a second. 

“You sure? You don't want to be checked out?” Your voice waivers with uncertainty, and Ransom is sitting in the snow, working once more to get them untangled, this time from around his ankles. 

“Yea, I'm not hurt.” He yanks on them while shoving them off with a “Fucking whore bitch, I hate you.” his temper making him curse at the lights, and you step away so the 911 operator cant hear him. 

“We’re fine, I’m sorry to bother you.” Hanging up, you return to Ransom who's standing now, checking himself over. 

“I am not going back up there again Y/N, and that fucking Frosty can go in the yard.” he sputtered as he kicked at the lights before swooping down to gather them. “I will hire someone, that's the only way it will be done.” 

You can hear the genuine shocked fear in his tone, and you have to agree this time with him that it would be better to let someone else do it. He half expects you to argue with him about it, wanting to be independent on hiring help, but this time you surprise him. 

“You are right Ransom.” 

Pausing, he looked at you with shock. “I’m… right?” 

You nodded and rested your hand on your protruding belly. “Better mark the calendar.” Everything that happened in the last five minutes sink in, making you gasp a bit as the heaviness settled in your chest. The tears they just bust out of nowhere and Ransom drops the offensive lights to pull you into his arms. Of course you were going to cry, it seemed to be all you did over this. He was kind of used to it by now. 

“Hey Princess, its okay.” He says soothing as you sob into his chest, making him wince. “It takes more then some god damn lights to end me.” 

You sniffle a bit and lift your head to look at him. “Its not that Ransom.” 

“Well then, what the hell brought on the waterworks?” He arched a brow and you look at the front of your house. 

“I didn’t get a picture of you hanging off the house to show our kid.” 

Ransom looked at you incredulously in disbelief. “You are serious...” 

Shrugging a bit now that the shock was over you grinned a bit. “Come on... I’m just teasing. Now that its over an your safe, it was a little funny seeing you have a Clark Griswold moment...” Ransom pulled away and started stomping towards the house, you following after him. “Ransom! Don’t be mad! Its Christmas!”  

“Fuck Off Y/N, I’m not in the mood.” He grumbled while shrugging off his jacket and you knew you had to make it up to him. 

[citydreamgrls]

how much have you had to drink?

george weasley x fem!reader

words: 2,387

a/n: maybe I did use too many differing pov’s but it is what it is,, enjoy!! :)

warnings: none ( i think )

I had been the first, and only person to prank the twins back at Hogwarts. Everyone else in the school was too afraid of their tricks that it was easier to stay out of a never-ending war with them. But I'd always been up for a good challenge, even if it was a 5 year long one.

As usual the twins joined me at breakfast, ignoring Angelina who had been telling me about the upcoming halloween party, and sat either side of me.

“Morning boys,”

“y/n,” they acknowledged in unison, both reaching for toast.

“Sleep well?” I asked George.

“Oh yes, perfectly.” He said sarcastically, taking a large bite of food.

“Almost as if someone slipped us a sleeping potion.” Fred joined in on the other side of me.

“Well I had to test my homework on someone,” I admitted, unashamed of my great potion-making skills. “Anything else strange happen last night?” I asked innocently.

“Nope.” they said.

“You sure? Because I managed to get some very lovely pictures of you too sporting some very sweet hairstyles.” I waved the photos of their sleeping forms in their faces, the little red pigtails flashing before their eyes.

Oliver Wood, having caught onto the end of our conversation leant across the table to see what I had.

“So that’s why you too looked like that this morning, I was beginning to worry I’d started sleepwalking.. Or styling.” He laughed, earning a glare from the boys beside me.

“You know we will get you back y/n,” Fred warned, but his threat was empty.

“Oh come on, you boys always go easy on me.” I laughed, taking a sip of my juice and immediately spitting it back out. “Gross!”

“Oh do we?” George asked, barely looking up from his book to hex my plate into slugs.

-  

As much as the twins and I battled, they were still my best friends and I had spent pretty much my entire time at Hogwarts at their side. Unless Angelina pulled me away to gossip about whatever ‘exciting’ thing was coming up next.

This time it was the halloween party.

“I just don’t get why I have to dress up Lina, I'm already a witch. Can’t I go as myself?” I huffed, resting my legs on her lap as we sat in front of the fire.

“The Weasley’s won’t let anyone in who isn’t dressed up, it’s the rules.”

“Oh that’s easy, they’ll let me come regardless.” I laughed.

It was as if they appeared at the sound of their name, popping their heads over the back of the sofa. Both Angelina and I jumped out of our skin, immediately reaching up to hit them in retaliation.

“Hey, you guys will still let me come to the party saturday if I don’t dress up right?” I asked with an expectant smile.

“No costume,” Fred started

“No entry,” George finished. And then walked off to the dorms.

“Oi, but it’s me-”

“No exceptions,” They called back.

I fell back into the sofa, ignoring Angelina’s smug face as she started discussing costumes once again. Tossing up whether to go as a cat, or some sort of muggle character. Not that she really knew any, but she just wanted to impress one of the boys in the year above.

“Will you help me y/n?” she pleaded, to which I finally gave in. Knowing I didn’t have anything better to do.

-

Saturday morning rolled around and I still hadn’t sorted my own costume, but at least Angelina was happy with her Daphne costume that I’d helped organise.

Fred and George had slipped away early from dinner last night, claiming that they had to ‘finish up party plans’. But I felt uneasy, having swapped their ties for two slytherin ones and then locking them in the dorms until 2 minutes before classes started that morning.

Yes it made me late for Mcgonigall’s lesson too, but seeing them rush in wearing the wrong uniform and having to explain that it had just been mixed up somehow to their head of house was well worth it.

Still, they could be planning payback.

-

The party was starting in an hour, and everyone was in their dorms getting ready. Including about three more girls than were usually in mine and Angelina’s dorm, racing around with masks and lip liner and other parts of costumes.

I walked in to see a hat with bunny ears laying on my bed.

“It’s all I could find,” Angelina told me, as she passed by to grab her purple jacket. “Dunno if it’ll be enough though.”

“I’ll sort something out, thanks Lina!” I shouted after her as she raced to use the bathroom before anyone else slipped in.

My only thought at the time was clown makeup, but I didn’t have any white face paint, and never really enjoyed its feel as it was. So I took a red lipstick and some dark eyeshadow to draw diamonds round my eyes. With the bunny hat on I looked far from scary, but paired with the clown makeup and a dark lip, I at least looked creepy.

Angelina leant me some fishnet tights to wear with my black skirt and I threw on a zip hoodie I had stolen from one of them twins years ago. I couldn’t remember which one if I was being honest.

-

Oliver and I had been sharing a bottle of vodka I'd brought with me from home, knowing it got everyone drunk quicker than wizard booze. Without realising it, an hour had passed, and I was yet to see either of the twins.

“You seen Fred or George tonight?” I asked the boy beside me, who was enjoying his stress-free evening.

“Yeah, Fred is dressed as a fighter pilot and I think I saw George in some kind of lab coat… or maybe it was a doctor?” He laughed to himself.

I headed up to their dorm room to see if they were there, and sure enough I just avoided a head on collision as they walked out.

“Whoa, nearly lost me there!” I screamed, stumbling back with a laugh. “What are you guys doing up here,”

“Nothing,” George spoke quickly.

“How much did you drink, y/n” Fred asked, helping me down the stone steps until we made it safely to the common room.

“Not loads, hey that’s not right.” I frowned at the boy holding me steady.  “Oliver said you were dressed as a Pilot Fred, not George.”

“I am George!” The boy, with the aviator sunglasses on, teased. “You’re as bad as mum honestly.”

“Yeah, at least our costumes are legit!” the other teased, flopping the bunny ear that had fallen over one eye away.

“Do you like it?” I spun round, the skirt bouncing around I did.

“It’s an interesting combination,”

“Well you haven’t kicked me out… yet.”

-

Unbeknownst to y/n’s knowledge, the twins continued to confuse her. Constantly running off to swap costumes, and mess with their friend further. Although it kind of backfired, as the more she drank, the less she trusted herself to tell them apart and gave up altogether. In the end they went back to their original costumes, Fred as the Pilot and George the bloody doctor. They both decided to tell y/n the next morning, when she could at least have a chance of understanding.

-

Everyone else was in bed, except for the twins and I who sat up singing by the fire and sharing the last bottle of gin that I could find in my stash.

“I’m gonna have to stock up my stash at christmas,” I laughed as the last swig was taken and we fell into each other's shoulders. I slumped between them, laughing at the memory of Ron and Hermione’s perfect dance routine to livin’ la vida loca earlier that night.

I felt a lump in my jacket pocket and remembered that’s where I’d left my cigarettes since being at home. I stood up, startling the boys and declared what I was leaving to do.

“I’m off for a smoke, see you in a bit.” They shook awake.

“Wait y/n, you can’t smoke here rememb- oh god she’s gone.”

“Well go on then George, stop her!” Fred grumbled to his brother, having already drifted back off to sleep.

-

George ran down the staircase, being careful not to make too much noise as his doctor’s coat flew behind him. He had only been a few seconds behind y/n, how could she have disappeared already? Still, he headed for the black lake, knowing that was her favourite spot to go when she wanted to be alone. He had watched her there many times, far away enough that she had never spotted him though.

“Y/n!” He whisper-shouted, running down the bank towards her. She was already sat down, the lighter in one hand and a cigarette balanced between her lips.

“What are you doing Fred?” she asked, mistaking him for the other twin.

“Oh about th-”

“At least it’s you and not George,”

The boy felt hurt by her words, always having looked after her without her knowing. Most of the time the lack of retaliation from the twins in their prank war was because George would sabotage it. He always felt guilty playing tricks on y/n.

“Why’s that?” He asked, playing along with what she believed to find out the truth.

The girl lit her cigarette regardless of his warning, and puffed out a breath of smoke offering it to the boy beside her who reluctantly agreed. Knowing that if his mother could see him now, she would have a heart attack.

“I always embarrass myself in front of George,” y/n admitted. “Whether it’s being drunk, or making stupid jokes. I just look like an idiot when I’m around him.”

“I don’t think you do,”

“I can’t help it though, it’s different with you. You’re like a brother to me Fred.”

“Actually y/n-” George started, wanting to come clean, but she kept going.

“But George, he’s just more than that you know. He always cares for me and makes sure I’m safe, hell he thinks I don’t notice when he watches me sulk down here.” She laughed lightly to herself, leaning to rest on the boy beside her. “I was so sure I knew him better than anyone else, but obviously not.” Her shoulders dropped in despair.

“Why’s that?”

“He probably just sees me as a friend right? I mean, I couldn’t even tell you two apart tonight, I thought you were him.” She scoffed.

George swallowed, knowing that him admitting to their prank would most likely cause some backlash from the girl. But he bit the bullet.

“I am George.”

Her body froze.

“Don’t joke.” She said flatly.

“I’m not, honestly. It was just supposed to confuse you earlier but I am George.”

Y/n stood up, dropping her cigarette into the water and headed up the hill towards the courtyard. George ran after her again.

“Please y/n wait!” He called out, grabbing her hand to stop her. She spun around, tears running down her face. “Oh god i’m so sorry, I didn’t realise you thought I was him, I just came to check on you.”

“I’m such an idiot god.” she huffed, trying to drag herself away but he wouldn’t let go. “I can’t even tell it’s you when you’re right here,”

“Yes you could y/n, that’s the whole point.”

“Still I just told you how I feel about you, with no intention of actually telling you, yet here we are with you being kind and nice and perfect and I’m just embarrassing myself once again.”

George followed her into the hallway and up the stairs, not wanting to call out until they were clear of the earshot of others. He managed to stop her just before the common room, pulling her aside into a secluded corner.

“Y/n, darling..” she had never heard him call anyone that seriously until now, and she couldn’t help but feel special because of that. “I have never seen you as an idiot, and you have never embarrassed yourself in front of me. In fact, I’ve always thought you were the perfect one.”

“Then why are you only telling me this now?” The girl asked him.

“I always thought you liked Oliver,”

“Wood?” she laughed and he hadn’t heard a sound better “God, he’s way too intense. Even tonight he wanted to talk game strategies with me, it was so boring.”

“Well that’s a relief.”

“So… you’ve always liked me?” She teased him slightly, playing with the seam of his costume. George just rolled his eyes and held her face, making her look up at him. Of course she had stood next to him before, but it was only in this moment that she felt the sheer height gap between them.

He leant down and kissed her lips, still clutching her face as her hands dropped from his coat in shock. He was soft and sincere, holding her as if he’d longed to do so for quite some time. Y/n smiled against George’s lips, making the boy blush to himself and thank Merlin that she couldn’t see him do it.

They broke away after what felt like nowhere near long enough, y/n rested her head into his chest and sighed happily.

“We should get to bed, it’s late.” George whispered and she nodded. “You tired?” y/n nodded again. “Okay darling let’s go.” He took her waist and lifted her off the ground, letting her wrap her legs around him and nestle into his neck.

He passed Fred who was slipping into unconsciousness on the common room sofa.

“Night Fred,” they called to him, and he just groaned back.

“Don’t worry, we can tell him in the morning.”

“George,” the girl in his arms groaned.

“Yesss..”

“Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course darling,” George said softly and took the girl up to his dorm so she could sleep comfortably in his arms, her little head tucked between him and the bed. He laughed at the bunny hat discarded on the chair, remembering how sweet she’d looked in it.

Even as a creepy clown George had wanted to kiss her.

[hargrove-mayfields]

for @magellan-88!

When Hawkins’ class of ‘85 graduated high school, Billy was the first to take off, halfway back to San Francisco before the caps even touched the ground.

Everyone gave hats off to him for being one of the few who’d ever make it out of the dying ghost town that was Hawkins, but as much as he hated that place and all its confines, he felt like he had left behind a lot.

The job wasn’t what he really wanted to do anyways, his house, when he was still staying there, was cramped, and after only a couple of months, the town had no sentimental value to him. The only thing he couldn’t help but feel bad about ditching, and that amounted to a whole lot of regret on his part, were the people.

Not the girls who swooned over him or the half made friendships he’d been neglecting since they formed anyways either, but he had his little sister, to whom he promised he’d drop everything and come back the second she said the word, and he also had Steve.

His relationship with Steve was a little blurrier, the two of them had gotten to the point of calling each other friends just after Christmas, best friends by the time Neil kicked Billy out for nothing but turning the big one-eight in april, and he was left crashing on the Harrington’s designer couch until he was free to leave Hawkins.

That’s where Steve would’ve ended the story at least, but as for Billy, he’d fallen ass over tits in love for his best friend in a matter of a smoldering gaze at a Halloween party.

Of all the many things he regrets about his short time in that cramped little town, he’d have to say the biggest was not having worked up the courage to fess up about his little crush before he skipped town to live it up more than two thousand miles away, mostly because that had been the only of his mistake he never took any time to resolve.

So it was that when Steve, apparently completely forgetting about the existence of time zones, calls him up at five in the morning to ask if he could come out to visit his new place in the golden state in a few weeks, Billy senses a pretty big opportunity.

What Steve had always done when Billy was staying at his place was cover the couch in the upstairs foyer, as he was made to call it, in layers of spare pillows and blankets, making it up like a bed for him. If he could, he would’ve let him have the guest bedroom, but that was out of the question when every other night that Steve’s parents were home, they argued and John had to take the spare.

But Billy doesn’t have a spare room, and he isn’t too sure about doing the same for Steve in his new apartment.

The problem isn’t that he can't, he has a brand new couch, bought from an actual furniture store instead of an old busted up one at thrift (or that he brought in off the curb and said was bought at thrift) and it’s even got a pull out to make things easier. He’d spent too many dozens of nights on Steve’s couch, staring up at the way high ceiling and wishing he had the guts to make a move, that he doesn’t think his yearning heart can take being just down the hall from him again, especially not with the promise that in a few weeks time, there’d be that vast, looming space between them again.

So he’s settled on it, Steve is going to sleep in his bed. He’s just gotta find a way to get him there, and that’s simple enough, he just has to pretend there’s nowhere else for him to sleep.

Now, he’ll admit that his plan on selling that idea is shaky at best, but Steve is bone tired when he gets there a few days later, his first time flying and dealing with jet lag taking everything he has out of him, so really, he’s looking to crash as soon as they get up to Billy’s apartment.

Only, he notices immediately that the couch isn’t set up like a bed like he usually would have done it up, and he looks to Billy with a slight tilt of his head, confusion in those big puppy-dog eyes.

So Billy answers, trying not to be too smug about it, “Sorry man, couch is out of the question.”

“Why?” Steve asks, then thinks better of it, knowing Billy’s history, “Actually, hold that thought, I don’t think I want to know.”

That makes Billy laugh, makes him remember why he fell in love with Steve in the first place too, “Nothing gross this time, s’just brand new. Can’t have you drooling all over the furniture that cost me two months of rent.”

“Right. So.. where am I going to sleep then?”

“I’ve got a bed, Steve.”

“Well duh, but I’m not going to kick you out of your own bed.”

“I didn’t say that. You’re not the only one with a queen sized now. I got room for two.”

“But.. is that going to be weird?” Steve asks, shifting on his feet, like the suggestion makes him uncomfortable, and Billy almost backs out then, lies about how he was just messing around to test Steve, but he sticks to his guns, saying, “Only if you make it weird. Don’t have much of a choice anyhow, unless you want to sleep in the bathtub.”

Steve insists on arguing though, “What’s wrong with sleeping on the floor?”

“Dude, this is a shitty ass apartment. I live here and I don’t even know half of the nasty shit that’s been on this floor.”

“Fine, just as long as I have a place to sleep.” Steve half-mumbles, cut off by a yawn, obviously too tired to keep pressing the issue.

He saunters off to Billy’s room not too long after that, not even changing out of his clothes before he’s throwing himself face down in his bed, leaving Billy to do his entire nighttime routine while Steve makes himself right at home, assuming that after brushing his teeth and putting his hair up, changing out of his jeans and triple checking that the doors and windows were locked tight, that’d be enough time for Steve to fall asleep.

That however, does not happen to be the case.

Billy knew from sleeping just down the hall from Steve’s bedroom that he snored like a motherfucker, and from the times he had fallen asleep on the basketball bus after a game that Steve never stopped moving in his sleep, but he was truly not prepared for how difficult it was for Steve to get to sleep in the first place.

He understands it, he remembers how hard it had been trying to relax in the silence that surrounded the country, and since that was all Steve was used to, it wasn’t exactly a surprise that the sounds of the city were hard for him to tune out and just sleep.

What he doesn’t understand is how Steve doesn’t wear himself out tossing and turning, and after at least an hour of it, Billy’s got to wonder if this is a princess and the pea type situation, some messed up spring in his mattress making this arrangement not proper for the royalty at his side.

Billy can tell he wants to talk, from the way he keeps feeling Steve’s eyes on his back, the tapping of his fingers against the headboard, which, if they got to talking he might not even need part two of his plan, but Steve doesn’t ever say anything just sighs with every chime on the clock, another hour he can’t get to sleep.

It isn’t until three in the morning rolls around that Steve finally conks out, Billy himself still barely awake enough to shoot his shot, draping himself over Steve and pulling him close before he has a chance to roll over onto his front again, falling asleep with his crush in his arms.

~~~~

The sun’s not up yet, and the clock’s too blurry to say exactly what time it is when Steve wakes up again, realizing after a few minutes that he’s hot as hell, and didn’t immediately start tossing and turning again, which, once he’s actually woken up enough to think, he discovers that the only reason that is is because Billy is pressed against his back, his arm thrown over his side, spooning him and basically keeping him held there in place.

Steve at first tries not to think about it, the whole, sleeping in the same bed as the person he deliberately never did that with to avoid facing his feeling, and just get comfortable with Billy all cuddled up to him, but he’s a front sleeper, and Billy is fucking hot in more ways than one, so when it’s evident that’s not going to work, he clears his throat, announcing into the silence, “You’re smotherin’ me, Bill.”

There’s a sharp intake of breath behind him, like Billy had just woken up, and a soft little hum of a question, “Hm?”

“You’re like, on top of me, man.” Steve informs him, like he didn’t notice he was half laying on him, but Billy answers bluntly, voice all tired and scratchy, “Don’t care.”

That sort of confuses Steve. He’d been expecting an apology, for Billy to roll over and them to pretend this never happened in the morning, and it’s got his mind, and his heart, racing a mile a minute, because Billy isn’t the only one with a helpless crush, there’s a reason Steve flew 2,000 miles just to see him.

So he asks, before he can lead himself on, “Just to be clear, is this an accidental thing that only isn’t awkward because we’re friends or is this like, meaningful?”

Billy just hums, pulling him even closer, making Steve feel small, “Go to sleep, Steven.”

“Okay.” He tries to, shoving his arm under the pillows and shifting under Billy’s weight so he’d be comfortable enough, but it’s just nagging at his lovesick brain, “But seriously man, I don’t know what I should take away from this.”

Billy sighs softly, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, maybe because he was tired, maybe because Steve was being Steve, “Look, you’re in my bed, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, because of the couch, I thought you were just a cuddler or something.”

“Nope. This was all by design.”

“So then the couch..”

“Was perfectly fine, yeah. Damn thing even has a fold out.”

“You did this on purpose?”

“Thought I made that pretty obvious.”

Steve pouts, sitting up so Billy has to let go of him, “Well if you’re so annoyed with me, I’ll just leave you to get back to sleep.”

“Oh no. It’s much too late for that. I’m thinking we’re going to have to find another way to spend the time now. And, well, since you’re already here...”

[wheresfury]

Lights up

~Pairings: Natasha Romanoff/fem!reader

~Warnings: Mommy!kink, fingering, fluff, angst, blood, violence, knives.

~Word count: 3,495

~Summary: Nothing seems to be going right at work and your feelings for Natalia aren’t helping. The truth is bound to come out. Question is who will it hurt most?

~Authors note: hey 😅 I know it’s been a long time and I’m sorry for that. I’m starting to slowly get back into writing and I noticed I was basically almost done with this part of the series. There is a lot in this part and I’m excited to see what y’all have to say about it and where it could possibly go. That’s all I’m going to say for now. I tried my best with the tag list but some were not there anymore but if you’d like to be tagged let me know. 😊

~Previous parts to this series are on my Masterlist

———- ⧗———-

It was another cold winter night as you wrap your scarf around your neck tighter, further burrowing into the warmth of your coat. Your arms were heavy with bags of presents you had bought for all of your family and friends. You tried to think of something to get Natalia but nothing came to mind. You sigh in relief as you get closer to your car. The bags were weighing heavily on your arms. With slight difficulty you grab your keys out of the small purse that you carry. Once unlocked you pop the trunk and practically dump the bags into it. You close the trunk and plop into the driver's seat, lazily starting the car. The heater on full blast, you take a moment to relax. You nearly have a heart attack as your phone blasts Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” You take a moment to catch your breath and notice it's Tony who is calling you. You roll your eyes as you answer.

“What is it, Stark?” You hear him grumble before he speaks.

“Have you heard from her?” Her being Natalia.

“No I haven’t. I told you yesterday and the day before that. I haven’t heard from her since your Halloween party.” Tony groans at the lack of information he desires.

“You better not be covering for her, Y/N. When I gave you this assignment you were never meant to fall in love with her. That’s the number one rule, no feelings involved.” You sigh as he reminds you once again of your mission. A mission only for the best of HYDRA. Someone who can take out a high profile target like a black widow. He has been yelling at you for five minutes saying how you had ‘lost sight of the mission’ and that you were ‘blinded by love.’ You roll your eyes at that. You were one of HYDRA’s top agents. You never got distracted. Falling in love wasn’t the plan- that’s true. You can’t deny you’re glad it did though. It’s just going to hurt worse when you have to finish the mission. Knowing how hard this will be on Nat. You get tired of hearing Tony yelling and hang up before silencing your phone. You sigh and cradle your face into the palms of your hands. You hold back tears as you overthink, as you tend to do, about the mission and your feelings. You text Carol telling her you’ll be stopping by before putting your car in drive. As you make your way to Carol’s you frequently check your mirrors and watch out for cars tailing you for more than a few minutes. You circle Carol’s block a few times to conclude you were not being followed. You park in her driveway and see her waiting for you at the door.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” You lock your car and step into her waiting arms. You sigh into her neck as she rubs your back in soothing circles. You take a moment to enjoy some peace before pulling away.

“Can we go inside, Carol?” She nods her head and opens the door for you. You step inside and immediately feel the warmth from her fireplace. You take off your scarf and coat hanging them by the door. You can feel Carol’s stare as you move to stand a few feet away from the fire. You hear Carol move over to the couch before she appears next to you. She drops two pillows onto the ground before sitting herself down. You follow suit and stare into the fire losing yourself to your thoughts. Carol stays quiet knowing you need time to process your thoughts. You’re not sure how long you get lost in the fire. Your thoughts are a jumbled mess. You flinch as Carol touches your cheek, pulling you out of your trance. You look at her confused as her fingers pull back wet with your tears. You hadn’t realized you were crying.

“Is this about her?” She goes to wipe your tears when you look back to the fire.

“I don’t think I can do it anymore.” You hear Carol sigh and reposition herself. She hugs her knees to her chin as she tilts her head to look at you.

“I don’t think you have a choice, babe. It’s either you or someone else. At least you would be merciful.” You can feel the pain in your heart heighten at her words.

“It’d be you, Carol. You’re next in line of command.”

“Are you asking me to take over?” You hesitate and decide not to speak. Carol repositions once more to face you. Her legs are crossed as she picks at the pillow beneath her. You know she’s waiting for you to talk, to give her the go ahead. Anything to get this mission over with.

“No. It’d be hard on you too, Carol. As much as you hated her from the beginning you’ve grown to like her.” You hear Carol scoff making you crack a smile.

“She’s different from every other target we’ve ever had. Granted we’ve never slept with any of them. However it’s our job, Y/N. She’s a danger to society, she’s a killer who needs to be dealt with. Tony is already mad because it’s nearly been a year and you have yet to seal the deal. He could reassign her to anyone before you know it. You’re running out of time.” You begin to hiccup as your tears fall faster. You knew you were almost out of time, yet you’ve done nothing to speed up the mission. Your heart has outweighed every decision your brain tries to make.

“I know. It’s just… have you ever thought about if what we are doing is wrong?” You see Carol furrow her brows at your question.

“No, I haven't. I trust in HYDRA, don’t you?” You remain silent as Carol’s eyes burn into the side of your face. Her stare hotter than the fire in front of you. It wasn’t until recently that you’ve had second thoughts about your line of work. Maybe it was that you fell in love with a target or maybe deep down you always knew something wasn’t right.

“I can’t say for sure, Carol. I just- I’ve always felt that what we do isn’t entirely okay. I mean we aren’t even allowed to talk about it to anyone outside of HYDRA.” You look at Carol and find her biting her lower lip. You stare at her lips as she forms words.

“This isn’t something you should be talking about, Y/N. You could get into serious trouble for even confiding in me.” Your eyes meet hers.

“I can trust you, Carol. Isn’t that right?”

“Of course you can, baby girl. I’ll always have your back. I trust you over them any day.” You study her face looking for any signs of a lie. You kick yourself mentally for thinking Carol could be anything but truthful with you.

“I can’t do it. I don’t think I can kill her.” The crackling of the fire is the only thing making sound. You start to sweat at Carol’s silence. Maybe you shouldn’t have come here. You’re about to get up when Carol places a hand on your thigh.

“Then what's your plan?” You place your hand atop hers on your thigh and sob.

“I have absolutely no idea.”

  —⧗— six months later —⧗—

“I’ve reassigned your case.” You look up from your desk as Tony stands before it.

“What?”

“You heard me, Agent. It’s been well over a year and you haven’t heard from her in six months. It’s unacceptable.” You scoff.

“It’s not like I can call her up! She’s elusive and I’m the best chance you have at her!” Tony shakes his head in disappointment.

“You’ve gone soft. This mission is over for you. It’s Carol’s now.” You sit back in your chair and look up at the ceiling.

“What makes you think she can do it?” He glares at you.

“She’s not blinded by her feelings for a cold blooded assassin!” You quickly stand up and slam your palms on your desk, rattling the objects you have.

“Then what does that make us?! Are we not assassins too! Just because our targets are criminals does it really make us better than her?” Tony leans back in surprise at your outburst.

“What makes us different is our orders come from the law. We are the government and what we do is what’s best for the people.” You begin to shake in anger.

“If what we did was right we wouldn’t kill them we would arrest them! Give them a trial by jury not a trial by bullet!”

“That’s enough! Go home and take a few days before you do something you’ll regret.” Tony walks out leaving you to growl in frustration. You quickly grab your things and storm out of the office. You stop at McDonald’s on your way home and order an alarming amount of food for one person. You tend to eat a lot when frustrated and honestly you didn’t care at the moment how you’d feel the next day. You slam your car door and pause, you stand terribly still with one arm full of McDonald’s. You sniff the air and immediately you are comforted by the smell of warm vanilla with a hint of spicy cinnamon. She’s here. You relax your shoulders and lock your car before walking inside like you knew nothing at all. You can feel her stare as you walk in - to her you were still unaware of her presence. You always knew though. You dump your meal on the end table and head to your room to change. After you change into your pj’s you head back into the living room. Once there you see a glass of red wine ready for you. You see her sitting on the couch, her back to you. You look to your left and see your bat, you go to reach for it when her voice stops you cold.

“Kitten, I think you know it’s me. No need to try and be heroic here.” You internally sigh in relief that you had fooled her once more. You weren’t ready for the truth to be out just yet. You honestly hope it never has to come out. You take a moment to gather yourself before making your way over to the couch. Natalia has a glass of wine herself as she sits with her legs crossed, signature smirk on her face.

“Mommy?” She pats the spot next to her and you immediately move to cuddle into her side. She chuckles and kisses the top of your head.

“I’m sorry it’s been so long, kitten. I had to take care of some things.” Your face turns warm as you inhale her intoxicating scent. You missed her terribly. You nuzzle your face into her neck as her arm pulls you closer.

“Anything interesting, Nat?” You feel the vibrations of her humming against your cheek.

“Nothing you need to know about, kitten. How about we forget about our work lives and focus on us right now.”

“That sounds lovely, Nat. How would you like to do that?” You reach out and grab the other glass of wine as Natalia slouches back into the couch. Your fingers clasps around the base of the glass when she speaks in a tone of voice you’ve never heard her use.

“I love you, Y/N.” Your body freezes at her confession. Your fingers tremble over the stem of the glass. You feel her hand make its way slowly up your back, sending chills down your spine. You hear her chuckle as your mind continues to fog up with shock. You slowly take in a deep breath and release the glass.

“Do you mean it?” A million thoughts race through your head. Could she be lying? Could this be some sort of elaborate plan? Why are you questioning this? Is this not what you wanted? You see Natalia lean forward and place her glass on the coffee table.

“Of course I mean it, Y/N. I have never felt this way before. You have a way about you that keeps me coming back for more. There is no other way to describe how I feel for you,” Your eyes quickly start to water as she continues to rub your back up and down in a soothing manner. A sob breaks out of you before Natalia is pulling you into her arms “shh sweetie, its okay. I know this may come as a surprise. I'll try to be better at seeing you. I have a plan, baby.” Your cries hiccup at her words. What does she mean she has a plan? Also she called you baby so you swooned a little. You wipe your tears away and sniffle a bit as you look into her beautiful, honest eyes.

“I love you, too, Natalia.” She smiles the sweetest smile you have ever seen. She cups your cheeks into her hands as she brings you in for a passionate kiss. You shiver once more at the absolute love you were feeling at the moment. As your tongues dance, she pulls you in closer. You shiver again and she pulls away, leaving you to pout. She hums and gets up off the couch.

“Let’s go to bed, kitten.” You whine and fall back further into the couch.

“I’m not tired, Nat!” She looks at you and you immediately stop your whining. Her eyebrow raises at your behavior.

“If you want to act up, fine, I’ll just go fuck myself then.” Your jaw drops as she walks away, down the hall, to your bedroom. You see a shirt fly past your peripheral and you immediately get up from the couch, your food long forgotten. You sprint down the hall almost tripping over her pants as you strip from your top. Thankfully you already took off your bra. You stumble into your room trying to take your pants off. You hear her laugh as you try not to face plant on the floor. You roll your eyes as you kick off your pants. You look up and see her ready for you on the bed. Her legs spread showing off her glimmering pussy. Your mouth begins to salivate at the sight. She beckoned you closer and you immediately obeyed. You strip out of your underwear before crawling towards her on the bed. You stop at her legs, bent up and splayed wide open. Your hands cup her thighs as you lean down to kiss them. Her hand comes down to tangle through your hair. She scratches lightly at your scalp.

“Such a good girl for me. Why don’t you eat mommy out, kitten? Show me how much you love me, baby.” Your heart aches at her words. You never thought this day would come. Before your brain could interfere you lay down on your stomach. You breathe in the scent you have missed so much. You can never really describe how she smells to you. I guess home would be a great start. You lean in and lick her clit, you both moan at the welcomed feeling. You start suckling on her clit, savoring the taste you’ve missed. Her thighs quiver as you nibble softly. You give a tender kiss to the bud before moving down, trailing your tongue through her folds. Her grip on your hair tightens as your tongue enters her. You slowly pump in and out, lazily. You slurp up her essence as her moans fill the room. You curl your tongue and she lets out a squeal at the move. You chuckle causing her to pull your hair. You moan into her pussy at the tingling sensation. You increase your speed and alternate between pumping her pussy full of your tongue and nibbling on her lips.

“I love it when you do that, kitten.” You hum from the praise and make your way back up to her clit. You move one of your hands to her silky folds, pinching lightly. You suck her clit into your mouth as you slip two fingers into her pussy. Natalia throws her head back with a scream, back arching beautifully.

“Oh that’s it, kitten. It’s been so long, I’m close already.” You increase the speed of your fingers and curl them every other thrust. Her thighs begin to shake as you suckle at her clit. You break away from her just long enough to speak before she gets upset.

“Cum for me, Nat.” With one more curl of your fingers, Nat releases a cry of pleasure as her fingers pull your hair. You flinch at the pain and kiss her mound, slowly pumping your fingers as she rides out her high. She comes down with a smirk on her face.

“Good girl, Y/N.” Her fingers curl around your locks and slowly scratch the back of your head. You moan and pull out your fingers as you nuzzle into her belly. The rhythmic sensation of Nat’s massage makes you realize how tired you were from the events of the day. You wipe your fingers on the bed sheet and sigh onto her stomach. You hear her chuckle at your lack of energy. Nat starts to wiggle underneath you and you groan in annoyance.

“Stooooop, I can’t go another round.” She releases her hold on your hair and stretches causing you to lift your head and glare at her. She raises one of her perfect eyebrows at you. You immediately get sheepish and mumble an apology. She sits up and pats the bed next to her.

“Come on, baby. You can be the big spoon tonight.” You blush and scramble to the other side of the bed. She giggles at you and leans in to kiss you. You get lost in the kiss before a yawn threatens the moment. You pull away and clear your throat.

“I didn’t realize I was so tired.” You notice Natalia looking at you and you feel as if she is looking right through you. She leans in and gives you a peck on the lips.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” You give her a lopsided smile as she lays down, her back facing you. You lay down and pull her closer to you, kissing the back of her neck.

“Goodnight, Natalia.”

———- ⧗———-

Your phone vibrates softly on the nightstand, waking you from your slumber. You turn around slowly so as to not wake Natalia. You pick up your phone to see a text from Carol.

“I know she’s there, Y/N. Take her out or I will. You have 5 minutes. I’m sorry.”

Your palms begin to sweat. You just can’t have one perfect night. Fuck. Your heart begins to ache at what you have to do. This was years in the making and it can all be over soon. Yet you were hesitant. You take a deep breath and open the drawer of the nightstand. Inside you take out the blade you’ve used way too many times. You never once thought twice about using it, until now. Your phone buzzes once more.

“She’s gotten inside your head. Don’t let her act fool you. She is dangerous.”

You sigh and type out a quick reply, confirming your play. You silence your phone for good and shut the drawer, grasping the knife firmly. You turn towards Natalia with a steel gaze. You couldn’t let her get to you anymore. She loves you though and that’s all you’ve been wanting for the last year. You shake your head in an attempt to clear your thoughts. It’s fake, Y/N. It’s what she does, the black widow, infiltrates and lies to get her way. She’s been fooling you this whole time, just like you had been doing. Yet at some point you stopped pretending and fell head over heels for the spy. You clench your teeth and tighten your grip on the knife. You were trained better than to fall for the enemy. She’s a murderer and you’re HYDRA’'s best agent. You lift your arm and before you could finish your mission, Natalia quickly turns around with a knife of her own. It was in a matter of seconds that she plunged the blade deep into your chest. Your body immediately goes into shock as you cough up blood. The iron taste is lost on your senses. Your vision begins to blur as she releases the handle. You see her get up and dress with an ease you would expect after she kills someone. You fall backwards onto the bed as you feel your limbs go numb. She walks over to you and leans down to kiss your trembling lips.

“Nice try, kitten.” You see her smirk before turning around and walking away. Your eyes flutter closed before she even reaches the door.

———- ⧗———-

Natasha series tag list: @theunknowinglys , @natashalance , @andrea25434 , @iwillpokeyouwithmyknife , @scarlettnatasha , @gaylorrds​ , @widowbitessting​

Forever tag list: @cheethos , @kello-unknown , @domromanoff , @stuckys-whore , @marilynroselleprentiss , @captainwonderwidow , @wndamaximov , @awrykai , @tribblemakingalicorn

[keanureevesisbae]

Coach Cavill - Chapter 10

Summary: After the autumn market, Henry has a hard time leaving the Jung residence.

Coach!Henry Cavill x Amelia Jung (Asian ofc)

Wordcount: 4.2k

Warnings: None

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Henry didn’t leave that weekend.

He drove us back to our house, leaving Kal with the three of us, while he dropped off the dreaded package at Dean and Mindy’s doorstep. When he came back to pick up Kal, Isabella persuaded him to stay over for a sleepover. After all, he did buy us all matching pajamas including one for himself. According to her, that was reason enough for a large sleepover. Henry wouldn’t be Henry if he didn’t non verbally checked with me, before he agreed.

The remainder of that Saturday, we wore our pajamas and despite the fact that it was still mid October and Halloween still had to happen, we watched a ton of cheesy Christmas movies. Benji sat next to Henry, Isabella climbed on my lap and Henry wrapped an arm around my shoulders. It was nice spending time together like this, mindlessly watching movies together.

We stayed up way past the bedtime of the kids, but it was totally worth it. It was one of the best autumn days we’ve experienced in a while.

It was actually one of the best days we had experienced in general since the divorce.

Henry fell asleep on the couch. Despite being the big and buff man he is, he looked adorable as he slept on his side, his hands underneath the pillow after we prepped the couch for him. He might be a judo coach for a living, but spending one entire day with the kids, definitely tired him out, especially since Isabella really likes to be carried. I tucked him in underneath a blanket, before I went upstairs.

That Sunday, the hours passed by slowly, but it wasn’t boring. The kids did their homework, Henry had some coaching stuff to go over and I was preparing my week with the little ones in class. Though we didn’t talk, we were together and it felt good to all sit around the dining table, doing our work.

We made dinner together—in other words: we shoved pizza’s in the oven—and curled up on the couch, to watch even more Christmas movies. By ten in the evening, the kids are securely tucked in by both me and Henry. I can still hear Isabella giggle, while Henry was tucking her in, making silly faces.

Finally the two of us managed to get outside on the porch. Henry has yet to leave, but I’d like to stall that moment a bit more. It is nice that it’s just the two of us, especially since our date got cut off short. Kal fell asleep at our feet and around our shoulders, we have a blanket to keep us warm.

‘Thank you for this weekend,’ I say. ‘The kids and I will remember this for a very long time, I can guarantee.’

Henry shakes his head. ‘I think that I should thank you for this weekend,’ he tells me. ‘I enjoyed every bit of it, starting from Friday seven p.m. I can’t remember when the last time was that I had this much fun. You and the kids are such a blast. My family was never like this.’

‘No?’ I ask. ‘What were the Cavills like then?’

‘The Cavill family is a very serious one,’ Henry explains and I notice the slightly pained expression in his eyes. ‘We never wore matching pajamas, never had Christmas movie marathons and eating pizza on the couch. But… Also the way you guys can talk about certain topics, it’s admirable. The three of you are truly a family.’

I smile. ‘You seem to fit here so well,’ I say. ‘I mean, especially Benji can be a very wait-and-see  type of boy, not necessarily a fan of new people, but he accepted you in a heartbeat.’

Henry nods. ‘I think it helps that we have something in common and that I understand him. Besides, you and the kids are amazing. I think that everyone who is willing to try, could fit here.’

That is so sweet… I nod, before I place my head on his broad shoulder.

‘You’ve got time this week to spend some time together again?’ he asks me, as he places his warm hand on my leg.

‘We could go on Wednesday, after school. I think I’m off a little earlier than usual,’ I say. ‘Eve and Johnny could babysit.’

‘And what would Amelia Jung like to do for her second date?’ he asks me and I can hear in his voice that he is smiling. ‘Bowling? Something to drink somewhere? A long walk? You name it.’

‘We could go apple picking and after that, go to your place to bake an apple pie?’ I suggest with a smile. ‘Usually Eve and I did that when I still had days off during the week and I would love to bake a pie for the kids. Besides, if I check out your place, I can see what needs to be done before the kids and I help you decorate the place.’

‘That sounds like an excellent idea.’

I wrap my arm around his. It would probably wiser if we would say our goodbyes now, but I don’t want him to leave. ‘Whatever happened to us wanting to take it slow?’

He laughs, his shoulder shaking, a nearly silent laugh that makes me chuckle as well. ‘I think that went off the table,’ he chuckles. ‘Besides, I don’t really want to take it slow anymore. I just want to go at a pace that feels right and that might be a little slower or faster than we originally anticipated. We’ll see.’

‘Maybe one day you can actually tell me more about yourself and your divorce? So I can actually get to know you a bit more?’

He smiles. ‘I think apple picking is perfect for that conversation.’

I turn to the side and he pulls my legs over his. ‘You really own the red plaid pajamas, Cavill,’ I chuckle. ‘Isabella loved them and though he tried to pretend that he thought they were “okay”, Benji thought it was cool too. This was such a lovely gift.’ I look down at my own pair of pajamas. ‘And I like them too. Really soft.’

‘They are really comfy,’ he says, rubbing himself on the chest. ‘She picked out a great pair. I just can’t believe that they had it in all our sizes.’

I tilt my head, as I take in his perfect appearance. His blue eyes with the brown spot in it, his well shaped lips and the five ‘o clock shadow on his jaws and cheeks. I place my hand on his cheek, the short hairs prickling in my palm. I let out a soft sigh.

Henry places his hand on my leg, whispering: ‘You are beautiful, Amelia.’

‘Shut up,’ I chuckle. ‘It’s you that looks like utter perfection anyways.’

‘Now you need to shut up,’ Henry laughs. ‘I have never seen someone as beautiful, smart and kind as you. It is beyond me that after your divorce, guys weren’t getting in line way before me and someone hadn’t snatched you away.’

‘You are exaggerating.’ I shake my head. ‘I’m not that special. If I were, they wouldn’t have spoken to me behind my back in the way they did. There is nothing special about a kindergarten teacher, who was boring enough for her husband to leave her.’ I let my hand slide from his cheek, to his chest. ‘I’m nothing special.’

‘That’s nonsense, you know that.’ Our eyes meet, but I’m met with a frown. ‘You don’t know,’ Henry concludes as he studies my face. ‘That’s such a shame, really.’

‘Why?’

‘If only you would see yourself the way I see you,’ he whispers. ‘You are special, amazing, beautiful, kind and funny. So much more,’ he tells me, his hand placed on my cheek, as his thumb runs over my lips. ‘You are so mesmerizing in everything you do.’

‘Wow,’ I say, ‘you sure have a way to make me blush.’

Henry smiles and he places his forehead against mine. ‘Can I ask you a question?’

‘Surprise me,’ I whisper.

‘Can I kiss you?’

I have been thinking about that all weekend. However it was never a good time, since we were always surrounded by the kids and I’m not having my first kiss with someone like Henry while they are watching.

I nod. ‘You can,’ I whisper, but loud enough for him to hear it.

His lips first graze over mine, before he actually kisses me. He is a lot rougher than I’d imagined, but when was the last time I was kissed like this? I wrap my arms around his neck, as I pull him even closer to him. He feels so soft, yet the kiss is so hard and I can still taste the marshmallows from the hot chocolate earlier tonight. We simultaneously open our mouths and his tongue explores mine. My fingers run through his curls, tugging him closer to me.

I mean, of course I dreamed about him kissing me, but this feels so much better than I originally thought it would.

He pulls away a bit sooner than I would like, but he lets out an apologetic smile. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers, ‘but I have to catch my breath. It has been quite some time.’

I smile. ‘Yeah, for me too. Good to know that I still got it, though.’

He presses a gentle kiss on my lips. ‘You sure still got it,’ he laughs. He pulls me against his broad frame and I nuzzle my face in his neck. ‘It’s late, I think I should go home, though I really don’t want to.’

‘My couch is more than welcome for you,’ I whisper against his skin, ‘and… Well… I think there is room left in my bed. I mean, if Benji and Isabella sleep there with me, there is still plenty of room left.’

Henry pulls back, as he tilts his heads. ‘Are you sure?’ he asks. ‘I don’t want to overstep.’

‘Of course,’ I say, ‘otherwise I wouldn’t have offered. I mean, you are already in your pajamas.’

Kal, Henry and I walk back inside, lock the house all up, before we quietly head up the stairs. I open the door of my bedroom, hide my bra under a pile of clothes (though it’s ridiculous; I mean, I think the man saw bra’s before) and plop on my side of the bed. ‘When Dean and I got divorced,’ I say, ‘he took the bed with him. So when I bought a new bed, I wanted it to be big enough for me and the kids to all cuddle up there and watch movies.’

He tells Kal to go down, after he placed a blanket on the floor. ‘He took the bed with him?’ he asks me in disbelieve. ‘What? Why?’

‘I don’t know. He took the car, the bed, the television, our lawnmower, while his new place doesn’t really have a lawn, but okay, and some other stuff that we all could really need here, but well… I think he really wanted to take revenge after the judge decided that I should have the place.’

‘He’s a douche,’ Henry says, as he steps in and lays down with his head on the pillow. I flick off the light, but in the dim lighting of the moon that shines into the room, I can still see his beautiful face. I scoot over to him and I place my head on his shoulder.

It has been so long, since I could simply curl up against someone. ‘I think I’ll sleep well tonight.’

‘I know I will,’ he whispers. His arms are wrapped tightly around my body, before I place my leg over his. ‘Good night, Amelia.’

✰ ✰ ✰

The next morning, Henry and I prepare breakfast for the kids, while I also make my infamous sandwiches, including two extra for Henry. He is doing his best to pack the sandwiches in aluminium foil, and as I walk behind him, I place my hand on his back.

‘I’m sorry that this is too messy,’ he says in an apologetic tone. ‘I just never pack anything in aluminium foil.’  

I can’t hide my smile. ‘You’re doing good,’ I tell him, as my hands travel to his shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze in the tight muscles. Waking up this morning to his beautiful face, his arms still tightly wrapped around me, made me feel so giddy and well loved. It was ages since I woke up to someone I was this fond of.

I hear their footsteps upstairs, just like I hear Isabella whine something about her shoes.

‘Co— Henry?’ Benji asks when he walks into the kitchen. ‘You’re still here?’

‘Yeah,’ he says, obviously feeling slightly awkward. Though he looked handsome as ever in his pajama, he looks better in these types of grandpa sweaters and jeans. ‘Look kid, I attempted to pack your sandwiches.’ He throws them at Benji, who catches them with one hand. My son is so considerate, because he really wants to judge Henry’s packing skills, but he keeps quiet about it.

Isabella rushes in the kitchen, and she gasps. ‘Henry! You are here!’ she yells, running towards him, but stops when she sees Kal. ‘Oh, Kal is here too!’ She wraps her arms around Kal, who not only wags his tail, but his entire butt too. She kisses him on his nose. ‘Mom, you want to braid my hair today? Two, please?’

‘Of course, angel, sit here.’

Isabella climbs up on the barstool next to Henry, looks to the side with a cocked eyebrow, before she hands me the hairbrush. ‘Did you sleepover again?’ she asks.

‘I did,’ he answers, packing her sandwich as well.

My daughter hums and that can’t mean anything good. ‘On the couch?’

How does she always know the questions to ask that make everyone around her uncomfortable? It is a gift, I know that for sure. Though I am hoping that she is not going to date ever, since no one will be good enough for her, I know for a matter of fact that she’ll be like this in a relationship. Even if she has the slightest doubt of cheating behavior, she’ll ask. Apparently, she overheard me and Dean talking about Mindy Simpleton. The next morning she asked if her dad was having sleepovers at some other woman’s house and if that was considered bad.

‘Oh, did you sleep in mommy’s bed?’ she asks, when Henry’s cheeks color bright red. She’ll take that as a yes. ‘Well, the bed is big enough. Also, I always like to sleep in mom’s bed. It’s better than the couch. I get it.’

‘You are totally right,’ he says to my daughter, but he avoids making eye contact with Benji, who looks up from his phone, right in my eyes. Benji smiles at me and focuses again on his phone.

I braid Isabella’s hair, as she babbles about her dream where she was walking Kal. ‘Can I walk Kal one day?’

‘Yes, you can,’ Henry says. ‘I think he would like that a lot.’

Our front door opens and I hear four pairs of footsteps. ‘Hello, hello,’ Eve announces herself. ‘I am here to drop off the beautiful young lady Yara.’ She walks into the kitchen with Yara, Lola and Jake. ‘Oh,’ she says. ‘What a nice surprise. Is that why you two wanted to come along?’ she asks the twins.

‘We saw his truck outside,’ Lola says. ‘I kinda wanted to have a good look again of the man who is stealing Amelia’s heart.’

‘Okay, stop it,’ I chuckle.

Eve walks over to Henry, holding out her hand. ‘We didn’t really properly met Friday, so my name is Eve. Kids, come on, introduce yourself properly.’

Her three angels politely introduce themselves to Henry, but leave it to Jake to say: ‘So, looks like someone stayed over twice.’

Henry heavily blushes and I look away, to contain myself from laughter.

Isabella doesn’t pick up the mocking tone (or she does and doesn’t care, that’s actually pretty plausible come to think of it), because she says: ‘He did. He even wore matching pajamas with us.’

Eve looks at me, with a cocked eyebrow. ‘Well, well, well.’

‘He slept in mom’s bed last night.’

‘Okay enough,’ I tell her, gently pulling her braid, to non verbally let her know as well that she needs to keep quiet.

‘Well, looks like your mommy had a lot of fun last night,’ Eve says, ‘as she deserves obviously.’

Jake, Lola and Benji all try to hold back their laughter, but the way they are failing miserably is almost amusing.

‘Yara,’ I say to Isabella’s best friend, ‘are you ready to go?’

‘I am, Amelia,’ she says, hooking her arm through Isabella’s when they are standing next to each other.

‘Okay, you kids can wait here for Hattie if you want,’ I tell Benji, Lola and Jake. ‘There are some snacks in the refrigerator that you might want to have before school or bring something to school with you.’

‘You’re the best, Amelia,’ Jake says.

‘We’re so lucky to have an aunt like you,’ Lola says.

‘No need to kiss ass,’ I tell them. ‘I don’t know what you guys want from me, but flattery won’t get you anywhere. Okay, Yara, Isabella, you girls ready to go?’

‘We are,’ Yara says, who gives her mom a kiss.

I press a kiss on Benji’s cheek, telling him that he should not forget his library card. Without even thinking, I wish Henry a wonderful day and that we’ll see him tonight during training, before kissing him on the lips. An audible gasp makes me freeze. ‘Oh shit,’ I say.

‘Mom, you can’t say shit,’ Isabella says. ‘When I do, you get mad.’

‘We’re going,’ I tell the girls. I point to Eve and the three teenagers, who al desperately want to say something about this. ‘Shut up, I don’t want to hear anything about it.’ My face is probably even redder than a firetruck and I rush out of the house. Maybe it was unfair of me leaving Henry alone with Eve and the kids, but he is a grown man and can probably handle it.

Yara, Isabella and I get in the car and I take a deep breath. ‘So, girls,’ I say, hopefully being able to distract them, but Yara starts to giggle. ‘What is it?’ I ask her, as I start the car.

‘Are you in love with him, Amelia?’ she asks me.

‘She is,’ Isabella answers for me. ‘Right, mom?’

‘Right,’ I say, knowing I can’t come out of this. ‘Just, please, don’t say anything about this in school, okay? I don’t want people to talk about this.’

Isabella and Yara both nod. ‘Our lips are closed.’

‘Sealed, honey, but I appreciate the effort. I knew I could count on you girls.’

✰ ✰ ✰

Amelia: I’m so sorry for leaving you behind with Eve and the three kids. Are you okay?

Henry: It was quite amusing. I was told by three fourteen year olds that if I were to break your heart, they would hunt me down.

Amelia: Oh goodness, no…

Henry: Don’t you worry about it, okay?

Amelia: You sure? I mean, I kinda left you in a shitty situation. Leaving you after that kiss?

Henry: That was okay. Eve told me that I looked like someone who knew what they were doing and that I should keep it up.

Amelia: Of course she did.

Henry: It’s okay. Don’t you worry about it. See you tonight?

Amelia: Definitely see you tonight.

✰ ✰ ✰

Benji and I walk into the training center, as the place is packed with desperate moms. The crowd actually grows every training, it’s nearly pathetic. Henry already is wearing his judo pants, with a black hoodie on top. ‘There you two are,’ he says with a wide smile. ‘Get dressed, kid. I want to go over some things with you, for the match this Saturday.’

‘Sure thing… Coach.’ Benji smiles at his coach, before walking to the dressing rooms.

‘And for you,’ Henry says with a grin, ‘I have a cappuccino with a pump of hazelnut syrup.’

‘You’re amazing,’ I say, taking over the cup and I see that he made a little flower as latte art. ‘How do I thank you?’

‘Making two extra sandwiches for me tomorrow morning. I’ll pick them up.’

I chuckle. ‘That can be easily arranged.’ I place my hand on his underarm, squeezing him there for a second, before walking up to the bleachers. I take a sip, when I hear someone clearing their throat. I turn to the side and see it’s Trixie Cooper… Oh no, wait, it’s Trixie Yates now, because she got married to Lucas Yates, the most popular guy back in high school. ‘What do you want, Trixie?’ I ask her. ‘You haven’t spoken to me since the Christmas PTA meeting three years ago. What changed?’ I think it starts with a C and ends with oach Cavill.

‘I’ve heard rumors about you and coach Cavill.’

I am truly gifted. ‘We’re not in Meadows High anymore. I think we’re too old now for gossiping, don’t you think?’

She doesn’t. ‘You went to the Autumn Market with him and your kids. I even heard that he brought a package to Mindy and Dean. Turns out little Mindy is pregnant. That must make you feel so… I don’t know the word.’

‘What do you want?’ I ask her, before taking another sip of my delicious cappuccino. Henry is on another level when it comes to cappuccino’s. His outrank every cappuccino I have ever had.

‘Just wanted to check how you were doing. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you… Knowing that your ex husband is going to have another kid. I mean, you are only thirty five, still plenty of time to have kids with Henry, but you need to hurry, love. You don’t want to host a sweet sixteen party and a baby shower in the same month now do you?’ She pats me on the shoulder and walks off.

There is a thought…

Henry walks over to me and sits next to me. ‘Is your cappuccino good?’

‘It’s wonderful,’ I quickly say, while I try to forget Trixie’s words. ‘You surely are talented. You should work part time at the cafe. They could learn a thing or two from you.’

He starts to laugh. ‘By the way, I was wondering something. I wanted to talk to Benji and maybe later to Isabella, to ask them what they expect from me.’

My brain doesn’t follow. ‘What?’

‘You know, I don’t want them to think I’m simply going to take their mom away from them or that I’m really desperately trying to become their dad. I think we should get that out of the way, you know what I mean.’

I smile, my heart swelling with love. ‘Oh my gosh, that is so sweet. I just think they already know. I’m actually sure they already know. However I do think it’s admirable that you want to talk to them. Very considerate of you.’

He bumps his knee against mine. ‘I’ve gotta go. See you afterwards.’ He stands up and walks away. I look at my phone and decide to call Eve, as I get out of the gymnasium.

‘What is up, beautiful woman?’ she asks and she knows exactly how to make me feel better, even if it is a little bit.

‘Okay, just a little something,’ I say. I repeat Trixie’s words and add: ‘But what if he does want kids?’

‘First of all,’ Eve says, ‘why are you even letting a dumb bitch like Trixie get to your head like this? This is what she does, Amelia. Butting into other people’s business for the worse. Second of all, you two are barely dating. Don’t sweat about it.’

‘You sure?’ I ask her. ‘I mean, she does have a point.’

‘Well, if it turns out he really wants kids and it’s a dealbreaker that you don’t want more, then he is an idiot and you two weren’t meant to be. It’s honestly as easy as that.’

I let out a sigh. ‘Oh my, I did it again. Let Trixie’s words get to me. Oh my, I’m back in high school again.’

Eve starts to laugh. ‘But thankfully, after all these years, you still have me next to you. I’ve got your back, girl. Now get back inside, because I can hear the cars clearly and have some heavy eye sex with your man.’

‘OMG, mom, I can hear you,’ Lola says. ‘Disgusting.’

‘I’m with Lola on that one,’ I laugh, as I get back inside. I hang up and sit down again on the bleachers. Benji stretches his neck, as he frowns looking at me. I quickly send him a reassuring smile, before I lean back in the plastic chair.

I shouldn’t let this get to me. We’re just getting to know one another, we don’t need to think that far ahead in the future. I should enjoy his company for now and think about these matters later. I deserve to have some fun, to be carefree. I haven’t really been carefree since I was fifteen. Being a trainee, an idol, going to college, getting pregnant, graduating, marrying, working, raising kids, I was always on guard, making sure that everything would go just fine. I should just enjoy the moment. Not worrying about everything every single second.

I think that’s doable.

[theprinceofflies]

Ship: Wilford/JJ

Day: One out of Twenty one

I’m pretty sure me and @basicallywhite-babe talked about this au. Again I have about a thousand posts so it would be very hard to find every ask i got this off of.

(edit four days later i found it https://theprinceofflies.tumblr.com/post/655080369188667392/0oh-how-about-corpse-bride-nightmare-before)

~`~`~`~`~

JJ gasped as the skeleton rose from the fountain. The creatures around him cheered as the skeleton brushed himself off. A pink suit adorned his body and he grinned at the monsters. The skeleton and laughed and looked around. “Well thank you all for making this Halloween extra special. Dark will now read off the awards,” he said. 

“You're the scariest Wilford!” a monster called. 

Wilford laughed. “Thanks.”

The king of pumpkins and madness grinned at the monsters. He turned to the hanging tree where JJ was hiding. JJ gasped and quickly ducked behind the tree. Wilford frowned and turned away. “Let's read the awards!”

JJ peeked out from the tree to see the Mayor stepping up on a pedestal. The mayor was a short wan with a head that turned back and forth depending on his mood. “For most scares in a-”

JJ was suddenly whipped around to face an angry doctor. “Vhat are you doing out here?” Henrik hissed. “You know you’re not allowed to be out yet!”

Henrik sighed and pulled JJ away with him. He stopped when he stumbled forward. JJ pointed to his missing arm in Henrik’s hand and frowned. Leafs fell out of his arm socket and Henrik groaned.  “This is why you can’t go out.” 

JJ sniffed and followed Henrik out of the crowd. “Anti vas so vorried about you!”

JJ rolled his eyes. ‘I doubt he was flirting with the mayor at the ceremony.’

Henrik sighed. “Well come back home. And don’t drug me ever again!”

~`~`~

JJ giggled silently as Henrik snored. A bowl of cold soup sat next to him. JJ smiled giddily as he left the house. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed down the road. He spun in the streets and smiled at the creatures that he passed. 

JJ reached the gates of the graveyard and opened it with a loud creak. The mute mused to himself that if he could hum he would. Curse Henrik for forgetting to give him vocal cords. He walked through the gravestones and stopped at the herb patch. Being stuck inside did allow him to cook. And he needed more nightshade. Anti had stolen most of his stash for who knows what. He started to collect the flowers. He smiled softly as he picked the flowers. JJ froze when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hello!”

JJ jumped and turned, falling to the ground and covering his face for protection. “Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

JJ looked up and gasped. ‘You're the pumpkin king.’

Wilford snorted. “Yes, I am. And you,” his grin widened, “you are new! I love new things! We haven't gotten a new monster in so long.” He sighed and grabbed JJ’s face, turning it so he could look at the stitches. He pulled the doll-like monster up off the ground and grinned. 

JJ was well, he looked human enough in shape. He was made up of a light blue material that served as his skin. Stitches littered his body. His eyes were glassy, one was a lighter shade of blue than the other. He was told they were taken from an old doll. He wore a bowler hat that had been a gift from Henrik. Under it, he had black hair that was normally a mess. “You're beautiful.”

JJ blushed and shook his head. “You must be the project Henrik and Anti were working on. They wouldn’t let me see you.” Wilford whispered, tracing the stitches that made it look like JJ was always smiling. 

JJ grabbed his arm and pushed him away. The skeleton tilted his head and took a step back. “Sorry.”

JJ hugged himself. ‘I’m a failure.’

“What,” Wilford asked, “no you’re not!”

‘I fall apart easily, I'm clumsy and I don’t have a voice box.’

Wilford tilted his skull. “Fall apart?”

JJ nodded. ‘I’m sorry for bothering you, I'll be on my way.’

“You were not bothering me at all.”

‘I’m sure the pumpkin king has better things to do than talk with a failed science experiment,’ JJ signed with a silent laugh.

“I am doing something very important. I’m talking with a beautiful man whom I found in the graveyard.”

JJ blushed as Wilford pulled him closer. “So what are you doing here?”

‘I needed herbs.’

Wilford hummed. “You cook?”

JJ nodded. ‘Yes, I get rather bored cooped up in the lab.’

Wilford nodded and sighed. “Boredom is awful. I’ll tell ya that. I’m bored of this whole holiday. It’s the same blasted thing every year.”

JJ nodded. ‘This is my first Halloween. It’s quite lovely.’

“I’m glad someone likes it.”

‘Well if you don't, why don’t you try something new?’ JJ asked. 

Wilford gasped. “Your right!” He pulled JJ in for a hug. “Your totally right,” He whispered, turning away from JJ, still holding his arm. “This is-'' he paused when he felt something tap his wrist. He stared at the now severed arm in his hand that was waving at him. “Oops,” he whispered. 

JJ giggled silently and took the arm from the skeleton. He pulled a needle and thread from his pocket and got to work stitching his arm back on. “You have leaves inside of you?”

JJ sighed. ‘It was apparently the only thing they had. I also have stuffing from a teddy bear.’

Wilford nodded and watched him. “I can do that too!” He said and popped his head off. “See!”

JJ finished sewing his arm on and clapped. “Dark always says I should put some use to this. He’s always a grumpy gus though.” Wilford muttered tossing his head back and forth. “Something about scaring more people. I, fuck,” he cried when he dropped his head.

JJ gasped and leapt forward, catching it before it hit the ground. “Oh hello,” Wilford whispered, staring into JJs eyes. 

JJ smiled and stood up, placing him back onto his body. Wilford gripped JJ’s arms and sighed. “Thank you.”

JJ nodded and looked away. ‘I should go. Henrik will be waking up soon.’

“Of course,” Wilford whispered. “Feel free to come back any time.”

‘I wasn't aware you owned the graveyard.’

Wilford blushed. “I mean I am the king of the land.”

JJ raised an eyebrow. ‘The pumpkin patch?’

“Fine fine. But please visit.” Wilford said and grabbed JJ’s hands. 

‘I’ll try.’ JJ signed as he pulled away from the skeleton. 

“Goodbye, doll.”

‘Goodbye.’ JJ signed as he walked off.

Wilford sighed dreamily and let himself fall backwards. “Oh, he’s amazing.”

Something barked and he laughed. “Hey Chica,” he whispered as the ghost dog floated over him. She had a pink pumpkin as a nose and she nudged Wilfrods shoulder.

Chica barked again and tilted her head. “I just met the nicest creature. Do you know what he told me? He told me to change things up!” 

Wilford sat up. “But how? Dang it.”

He stood up and walked towards the pumpkin patch. “A walk will help. Oh, I wish Jay would come with me. He’s full of amazing ideas.”

He clicked his tongue and Chica floated over to him. “We’ll play fetch on the way there!”

Chica barked and did a flip in the air. Wilford laughed. “Knew you would like that.”

~`~`~

“You snuck out!” Anti hissed. 

“Twice in fact,” Henrik added. 

Anti glitched widely and approached JJ. His tail swung behind him and he leaned down to stare at JJ. “And where did you go?”

‘Just the graveyard. For herbs.’

Henrik frowned and tapped his arm. “You vere gone awfully long.”

JJ nodded. ‘I lost track of time,’ he signed as Anti circled him like a shark would its prey. 

Henrik raised an eyebrow and Anti pounced on the doll-like creature. JJ gasped as he fell backwards. Anti pulled a note from his pocket and hissed. “Meet me on Friday at Mary Reedfields grave, three o’clock!”

JJ blinked and blushed. “You met someone?” Henrik cried. 

“Who is it? Not the mayor right?” Anti hissed, his green eyes turning black.

JJ shook his head. ‘He’s not the mayor. I’m not going to steal your boyfriend.’

“You aren't meeting vith any verevolves right?” Henrik asked. 

JJ sighed. ‘No werewolves Henrik. I’m not stealing your boyfriend either.’

Henrik blushed. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Anti giggled. “Oh so sharing health tips and making out isn’t dating?” 

“Anti!”

‘Well, Anti I wouldn't say anything. Considering you have the mayor wrapped around your finger.’

Anti hissed. “You’ll do good not to tease me! I am the dark web!”

‘Yes yes and you are on top of me, please get off,’ JJ signed and waved Anti off. 

Anti laughed and hopped off of him. “I won’t hurt ya but Henrik on the other hand.”

“JJ you’re grounded. And you vill not be meeting zhis mystery person!”

JJ stood up quickly and gasped. ‘What! Please Hen!’

“Nien, to your room vith you.”

JJ sighed and stormed off. Of course, his creators had to ruin everything. Maybe if they paid more attention to him than their new experiment he wouldn't be such a brat. JJ opened the door to his room and slipped inside. He’d make it, somehow. 

~`~`~

Wilford paced back and forth, muttering to himself. “It’s got to be in here somewhere! What does it mean?”

Chica yipped and Wilford brushed her away. “Not now girl.”

Chica yipped again and floated over to the calendar. “What is it? I know I haven't left the tower in a while but,” he trailed off. “I missed my meeting with JJ.”

Chica yipped again and Wilford shook his head. “He’ll be fine. I have different things to worry about.”

Chica growled and floated back to her bed. Wilford grabbed a string of Christmas lights and spun them around his electric chair. “What is the meaning of Christmas? A simple question that I can’t figure out the answer t-” he stared at the window. 

There was a basket hanging from a rope. Wilford opened the window and took the basket. He looked for a creature but saw no one. He took the basket with a soft smile. “Looks like I've got an admirer, Chica Bica.” 

~`~`~

JJ held his chest and smiled. Anti wasn’t ever going to let him out again after this stunt. He blushed softly and walked away from Wilford’s tower. He reached the wall and stepped out of the gate. He sighed as he sat down, leaning against the wall. 

Gosh, he was a mess. He picked up a thorny flower and smiled as he picked the green petals off. He gasped as the petals went up in flames and the thorns grew. A star appeared on the top as it burned. The flames danced, reflected in JJ’s glass eyes before it turned to ash in his hand. 

JJ stood up and stumbled away. He had to tell Henrik.