#eventually they'll start waking up in the middle of it and have some “oh shit i love him” moments

[psychotic-nonsense]

This was originally planned to be its own fic, with background and build up and ✨️longing✨️, but I don't think it'll work out. Can't write slow burn to save my life.

Enjoy this bit of it because I'm still gonna be thinking about it.

Context - Post Vecna, a few days after the gates open. Eddie lives, barely, and has some trouble moving. Max survives, though with impaired vision and legs, Vecna having taken barely enough from her to open the gates. The Party finds an abandoned shelter outside of town after everybody reunites, using it as their base.

-----------

It's logical, he tries to reason. It makes sense, it's the only real way to handle this situation.

The kids are all bunking together, no doubt turning the entire floor into one single bed. With the Cali-Crew (quote Dustin) finally back home, no one would dare try and separate them. Besides, the fight over who got to bunk with Max to watch over her injuries was getting too annoying for anyone to keep dealing with.

The adults are bunking together as well. Having one guy sleeping alone in a room each during these times, when danger was prominent every single night, seemed weird to the Russians and Wayne. Plus, as Murray jokes, it "keeps an eye on Hop and Joyce at night" (he got a few punches for that one, laughing all the while).

But the teens started this whole thing - or rather, Argyle did. The second they found out how many rooms there were available in the shelter, he called shotgun on one for just him and Jonathan. The adults reluctantly agreed to it, so Nancy took the chance and grabbed a room for her and Robin, to everyone's surprise.

Which left one last pairing.

Steve did look a little upset about not getting to bunk with Robin (and if you ask Eddie, a little scared, but he won't even try and think of the reason). But upon her and Nancy's shrug and responding, "Girls night," he conceded with an eye roll and a sighed, "Girls night..." before immediately grabbing Eddie to take the room in the middle of the hall.

And that seemed to be Steve's only grievance about bunking with Eddie. Everything else he's seen in the past few days of their recovery, his quirks and struggles alike, he looks ready to take in stride.

Eddie sleeps far from the door with his spear and shield next to him? "I would've fought you on that first, man. And hey, my bed back home has a bat on each side. This thing never leaves me."

Eddie's gauze leaks through with shit from his wounds? He can barely walk to the door without shaking? "We dealt with the same bats, Eds, it's okay, I got you."

Eddie has a big emotional gay crush on the guy and everytime he's called "Eds" he wants to beg for Steve to hold him and never let go?...Well, Steve doesn't know about that one, but it's only a matter of time honestly.

Especially considering the damn sleeping arrangement, which makes itself prominent the second they open the door.

While the rooms themselves aren't so bad, considering the age of this place, Steve and Eddie got lucky enough to find the one room with only one proper bed. Connected bathroom and pull out couch, yeah, sure, cool. But the springs in the couch are rusted through and snapped shut when Eddie tried to open it, so that's a no.

And Steve, still recoiling from the bang of the couch, had the audacity to try and suggest he sleep on the floor?!

"Hell no, Steve!" Eddie immediately fought. Showing too much care that it makes Steve look shocked. "Do you know how many rats could've been crawling around on that? We can clean the bed, but who knows what's hiding in those cracks? Just take the bed and I'll sleep on the couch-"

"After that thing almost exploded?!" Steve exclaimed back. He's a little concerned, with his puffed chest and hands on his hips countered by the softer give in his eyes. "No way, Eds, not with your bites still fucking you up." Stop looking at his eyes, Munson. "I'll just get another bed from the spare rooms-"

"Nope, not happening either." Steve may still be the hot ass jock he was in high school, but a year out of the gym and his own wounds in his sides and back would make just that torture. Because there's no doubt he'll reject any help, try and do it all his own. And Eddie refuses to let him run into pain again. "The couch works just fine as is, and I can barely move anyway, so no harm no foul, right?"

"You could fall off," Steve responds, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"You'll get rabies on that floor," Eddie counters. Then he tilts his head to the side, a lilt in his tone. "Can't worry our dear Buckley, now can we?"

Steve snorts at that, making Eddie smile. Goddamn it, Munson. "You wouldn't be able to get up on your own from the couch," Steve counters yet again, smiling like it's a competition now.

"You wouldn't be able to get up at all," Eddie fights back.

"The bed probably stinks."

"And you'd still let me go up there?"

"You need actual sleep."

"So do you."

"...You wouldn't wanna move rooms?"

"Steve, you don't even want to move."

They're both smiling so wide it has to hurt Steve the way it hurts Eddie. Every counter they've taken a step forward until they're almost face to face, same height even with Eddie's trembling from sliced nerves.

Someone has to break soon - "Then take the damn bed, Munson!" - and it turns out to be Eddie. Because of course.

"Only if you do too!"

There isn't enough metal in the walls for the words to be echoing this much. It's the first retort Steve's actually affected by, flinching back just a hair but it's enough. His expression goes from giddiness to a kind of seriousness Eddie can't decipher.

Eddie's frozen solid. He doesn't want to know what he looks like, knows enough how his eyes are way too wide, that his mouth is stumbling over words it can't make. Look who's really fucked up now, the dude saved your life and you two are finally friends, and you're repaying the favor by asking him to sleep with you. Shameful, disgusting, inconsiderate...

But Steve's looking over at the bed. Assessing the dust covered sheets, the pillows and slightly moldy headboard, and then...

He fucking shrugs like it's no big deal and is saying "Okay," like it doesn't stab Eddie right in the throat, making him squeak as he's brought out of his head into something that cannot be reality.

"Okay?" Eddie responds, incredulous, watching Steve go over to their duffel bags in the hall.

"If it means you'll back down, sure. That thing's big enough for the both of us anyway." Steve throws the bags on the couch, flinching a little when he stands up straight again. "You could've just suggested that from the start, Eds, could've saved us the trouble with the death trap over here." He jokes, nodding at the couch.

But Eddie doesn't catch it, shocked in silence. Making a big deal out of nothing because of his stupid stupid heart. "You're serious?"

Steve scoffs, rolling his eyes as if he's offended by Eddie's surprise. The mirth in his eyes hasn't faded though. "I'm not scared of a little sleepover, man. And if it wasn't you it was gonna be Robin, so don't think you're special." He walks over to the bed as he says that, but Eddie still catches the fear in his eyes again. The one flavored with loneliness.

But as Steve starts carefully pulling the sheets off the bed, he softens again, meeting Eddie's eyes with a kindness that's so genuine. Breath, Munson, that's a thing you need. "Seriously though, Eds, I'm cool with it, don't worry. We've both been through some worse shit than this, yet I'm still here. So are you." Steve averts his eyes, looking almost sheepish as Eddie's heart basically implodes. "Don't think you can push me away now. You're stuck here, like it or not."

Steve occupies his hands with collecting the sheets, so carefully trying not to send dust everywhere. Eddie finally breaks out of his stupor, smiling as his chest sags in relief. Crush or not, Steve proves Eddie's little Upside Down speech right every single damn day. Playful and sarcastic and strong, but the hidden consideration and softness and care showing through. Every. Single. Time.

Steve reaches for the thin bed cover at the bottom, but Eddie's already there on the other side, pulling it out of his grasp. His head snaps up, surprise to open fondness. "You sure about that, Stevie?" Eddie jokes, slowly bunching up the sheet in his hands. Knows the truth is peeking through. "I've been called quite the unforgiving bunk mate."

Steve blinks at his words, searching him for something Eddie doesn't want to know. But then he's smiling too, not looking away as he goes for the pillows. "As long as you don't snore, I'll be the judge of that."

-----------

Eddie does snore.

Not outright, it's a barely there grumble if you get technical. But it comes up sometimes when he sleeps on his back, and thanks to those glorious bites, he's forced to. Thus, snoring. Steve would probably make fun of it, play up the annoyance and make a joke of it to get Eddie to laugh.

But they're both fast asleep. Steve in just sweatpants and Eddie in a shirt and shorts, on opposite ends of the bed, passed out with the exhaustion of the last week still weighing them down.

They're no better than the rest of the Party, their new base of operations providing them all a sense of safety no trailer or winnebago has before. Granting them all the deepest sleep they've had yet.

Still, the unconscious Steve shuffles in his sleep in the dead of night. His brain is a hive of noise in times like these, making his subconscious dark and uncomfortable. He's deep in slumber, exhaustion keeping him trapped down, so his body tries to counteract it, twisting and turning to find sanctuary.

The unconscious Eddie isn't faring any better. Even in sleep he's restless, his usual positions consisting of shuffling legs, constant turning, and the tight cradling of a pillow, all in the attempts to keep his body down and still. But with the wounds, he can hardly breathe without straining against them. Every attempt his subconscious makes to move, a sharp burst of pain shoots into his dreams, and he stops with a groaning snore. And though the blankets they could salvage are thick and comfortable, this new Hawkins post-Vecna is cold at night, and Eddie is too exposed to not feel the shivers rack his body, flaring the pain further.

With a sleepy mumble, Steve shuffles into the bed a little further, his brow straining against his mind's assault. At the same time, Eddie turns his head onto his uninjured cheek, the only movement his body will allow.

Steve squirms and it strains at the wounds in his back, so against the bruising pain of the bites, he turns over into his side. He's got more freedom than Eddie there, so while his body slowly settles against the pain, his other arm comes around to find peace in the sheets below. Anything to ground him from the memories swirling fast like rushing lake water.

And it finds something. Something solid, soft, real and breathing and alive and safe. Steve's too deep in sleep to comprehend it past that, so his fingers just run softly over it, savoring the tranquility it offers his rattled head.

Likewise, Eddie's snoring abruptly quiets with a breathy exhale. Something has grabbed hold of his upper arm. Soft and moving but it's warm, radiating heat up to his shoulder blade and down into his fingertips. Thankful and desperate, his subconscious moves him to shuffle sideways, face straining against the pain in search of the aid that'll soothe it.

At the same time, Steve also searches for more of that feeling, the edge of darkness licking at his heels as he tries to escape. Closes the gap.

Steve is now laying nearly on top of Eddie's right side, arm draped over his chest and head finding solace in the crook of his neck. All the while, both of them completely unconscious.

Steve's brain goes blissfully silent, the presence of another comforting his innate fears and driving away the darkness into a muted haze. It pulls his mind completely away from whatever pain resides in his torso, and he relaxes fully with a soft mumble.

Eddie sags into the bed with a deep exhale. The warmth digs deep into his bones, burning away the cold and restless twitching in his nerves. The pressure on his side adds to the weight on his mind, dragging him deeper into sleep. The pressure on his chest is just barely off of his wounds, soothing the stabbing in his gut in to a soft pulsing.

He leans more into it, meeting Steve breath for breath. Letting their hearts match in beat, sinking into peace. It's the safest and most comfortable they've been since hell froze over.

But as the night goes on, they'll slowly drift apart. When the sun rises they'll be separate once again. Their minds will only remember the peace, their bodies the vague touch of comfort.

Despite everything, they'll be none the wiser.

Despite everything, the next night, they'll long for it again.

And despite everything, they would find it.

[voidsumbrella]

8, 14, 22, 29 for the usual trio this time!

8) Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

witch adores complex puzzles, they eat that shit up, solving complicated things is literally the meaning of their existence, the more brain power it takes up, the better (as long as it's not distracting from something else time sensitive lol). not... that their solutions to the puzzle will always be viable or within the bounds of the rules or achieved without cheating, but they'll have a blast working things out either way~

wraith is fine picking at stuff intermittently, but sitting down under any sort of pressure or audience to solve something in a concentrated burst makes their skin crawl. give them a decade or so to mess with it and it's fine.

haven's a little hit or miss with them, it's gonna vary heavily by genre. give him something that's complicated by dint of requiring a specific method and meticulously following it and he's fine; lateral thinking and logic puzzles make his brain lock up and he just walks away feeling like an idiot.

14) Would they agree with the term ‘guilty pleasure’? Do they have any?

witch: no, they consider those terms to be mutually exclusive. selfish pleasures, maybe, but that isn't the same as guilt.

wraith: they don't understand why they should feel bad about things that bring them joy. other people's feelings of shame are other people's problems; they'll sleep in as late as they please.

haven:

22) Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

witch Will call everyone pet names, it's a very normal part of their speech, everyone is going to get "darling" "honey" "sweetheart" etc etc tossed at them at some point, it's just what's gonna happen. the use of "love/lover" is reserved exclusively for wraithhaven tho.

they're not too big on being called pet names though, which is fine, as neither wraith nor haven are big on using them. wraith enjoys pet names in general, they think it's a charming facet of speech and don't mind it being applied to them. haven gets flustered when people use them on him, which is fine when it's witch but just embarrassing and upsetting when it comes from strangers.

29) What recurring dreams do they have?

witch rarely dreams, for better or worse. the ones they have don't repeat.

wraith has almost full control over their dreams, so they don't get recurring dreams as a like, subconscious processing response thing. but when they get overwhelmed in their waking life, then tend to retreat to an endless blank space, a flat neutral gray extending in all directions, where they can sit and catch their breath until they feel up to wandering somewhere else.

haven has a whole catalogue of recurring dreams, some of them Plot Relevant, most of them Not Very Good! he's for sure got your run of the mill "oh god i have to do high school again"/"showed up to work and realized i forgot my pants" type stuff, but he's got some specific ones, too. aside from the outright "relive your trauma 1 to 1" memory dreams, his least favorite is the one where he's walking down the center of a long straight road in the middle of the woods. there aren't any cars, but he's barefoot, and most of the pavement is covered with long, jagged slices of broken glass, with the only safe spot being the six inch strip he's walking on- if he falters at all or loses his balance he'll be sliced to ribbons and left for the vultures. he walks for hours, terrified of slipping up even a little, until the scorching sun starts setting and his sweat soaked clothes start leeching the heat out of his body, leaving him shivering and desperately trying to make out the edges of the path in the dying light. he always, eventually, stumbles and falls face first onto the spikes, waking up right before making contact.

[mcltiples]

@countlessrealities || Phone Contact Headcanons PT1 (Rick and Morty Edition)

{ OOC / HC } Yes, you read that right, part one. Ahem, starting off, we'll do the Ricks. And you know things are going to be very cheesy for them. He did so deliberately because, why not? It's for him to express his love to his boyfriend.

CONTACT NAME: It's always been the same ever since they started their relationship. "Rick 💙". He's never once changed it, not even when they fight. Whenever he sees that name pop up on his phone, it makes his whole entire day.

CONTACT PHOTO: Now this one constantly changes. He can't help it when he takes so many pictures of his counterpart and so many pictures of them together. At this current point in time, it's a picture of your Rick eating a plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce splattered on the side of his cheek. My Rick thought it was the cutest shit ever and he probably got scolded after he took the picture.

RINGTONE: He would've made the song cheesy, but he didn't. Mostly because he knows that other people can and will hear it. So he went with something cool. Shake That - Eminem at the 0:54-1:29 mark. Though, he never gets to hear the full song because, of course, he always answers the phone right away.

EXTRA: A lot of their texts consist of drunk texts, lovey dovey texts, and lots of "I miss you"s. Since they have their normal conversations in public, they save the small sappy moments to texts. Unless they've been away for a while, then they'll have full on conversations. Also, they call each other in the middle of the night, usually when either one or both are drunk. Which can lead to some sexy shenanigans and one of them coming over to see the other.

{ OOC / HC } I need more lovey dovey Morty icons, but anyway, just like the Ricks -- Morty can be cheesy and cute for his boyfriend, especially when it comes to his phone. And oh boy, does he have his boyfriend's contact info as very cute. So, onto the Mortys~

CONTACT NAME: He has his counterpart saved as "PM 💛". He loves their nicknames that they gave to each other and it's become such a habit that he always refers to his boyfriend as that. Except for the rare occasions.

CONTACT PHOTO: He also constantly changes this whenever he gets a better, cuter picture of his boyfriend. Or a badass one. Though, currently, he has a very cute picture of his counterpart sleeping soundly on a pillow. During a night that they ended up sharing the same bed.

RINGTONE: There wasn't much thought put into it, other than that he thinks it's a song that his boyfriend would like and it gives him PM vibes. The song is Kiss My Sass - Cobra Starship at the 0:00-0:43 mark.

EXTRA: The cutest thing about them is that Morty will always make time to text his counterpart. Starting from when he first wakes up, to in the middle of classes, during adventures, non-stop throughout the day. The only time he calls is late at night, just to hear his boyfriend's voice. And they'll stay on the phone for hours just talking about everything and anything until they both get sleepy eventually hang up.

{ OOC / HC } Now onto the more platonic stuff.

CONTACT NAME: Rick also hasn't changed this since he met his counterpart's Morty. So, it's simple. "Other Morty -Portal Gun Emoji-". (Yes, Rick has custom emojis on his phone.)

CONTACT PHOTO: This also hasn't changed. He has a matching picture set up with him and his own Morty. The same picture of them both, just cropped to fit the avatars. So for this Morty, it's a picture, glaring at him and his counterpart. 'Cause, coincidentally, it was taken after a prank that they pulled on the Mortys.

RINGTONE: Continuing with the matching Morty set up, he uses the same ringtone for his own Morty. Courtesy Call - Thousand Foot Krutch, however, for this Morty he has it at the 0:33-0:46 mark.

EXTRA: There aren't many texts or phone calls he makes to the other Morty. Whenever he does text him, it's because he either 1. is very drunk and lonely or 2. he's confusing him with his own Morty and can't be bothered look at the name properly.

{ OOC / HC } A lot of the information that Morty has for the other Rick is very simple. Considering that he mostly hangs out with him in person. Plus, it's not like he has that much more for his own Rick anyway.

CONTACT NAME: It's just a simple "PM's Rick." Nothing too special about it. He doesn't want to put the word other because it's not just any other Rick, it's his boyfriend's Rick. And he's also like his Rick, in a way, considering that's his grandpa's counterpart.

CONTACT PHOTO: It's kind of a long story, but the short version is, he ended up walking in on the Ricks in the middle of a romantic moment. He never saw them like that before so, stupidly, he took a picture of them. Which he ended up getting caught, called a little pervert, and basically kicked out of the garage while getting yelled at. So it's a picture of your Rick kissing my Rick while your Rick is sitting on my Rick's lap.

RINGTONE: He really can't help it to have this song as the ringtone. Get Schwifty. To this day he's still proud of it and he knows both Ricks are proud of it too.

EXTRA: Morty rarely texts first unless his Rick is missing and isn't answering his phone, so he'll contact your Rick to ask where is. He also ends up receiving a lot of drunk texts, but he never replies to those.

[payeehay]

Jack's Fucking Dead, Pt. 3

---

Part 1 / Part 2 / The Dissection

---

It turned out that Jack wasn't an easy man to find.

He wasn't in his lair, none of the ghosts Danny had asked had seen him, and he hadn't come back to the house. They had waited, hoped, but eventually they were forced to accept defeat and just...try to move on.

So here Danny was, in Vlad's lab, investigating something Tucker had found in their most recent sweep of his computer systems.

Danny's feet touched down silently, and he started through the lab. It only took a minute of searching the sprawling wing to find a room with a large glass box, filled with green smoke, a hulking figure obscured inside. He knocked on the glass, and the figure got up and floated over.

He wasn't expecting his father's face to emerge though the mist.

"Oh my God, Dad," he muttered, before he could think.

Jack's brows rose. "Phantom!" And then they furrowed. "What was that?"

Shit. "I said, uh, where's Vlad?"

"Oh!" Jack relaxed. "He stepped out to take a phone call. V-man has some very important investors!"

Good. That should give them some time. Danny started feeling along the edge of the doorless box. "Alright. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there."

Jack hesitated. "No, I- I'm staying."

Danny paused. "What?"

"We're learning a lot of interesting things!" Jack said. "We developed a weapon that can sense the exact amount of energy needed to knock a ghost out, and send it right to 'em in one big shot!"

"Wow, that sounds...terrifyingly efficient."

Jack chuckled. "Oh, it is," he said knowingly. "Those mischievous ghosties won't know what hit 'em!" he exclaimed.

"Right. So..." Danny searched for his words. "You...want to be experimented on?"

He didn't miss the way Jack hesitated. "Yes," he said, though. And then more quietly, "It's safer this way."

Ah. "Is this about what happened with Jazz?" Danny prodded.

Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How do you know about that, Phantom?"

Phantom stared back. "She told me." His gaze softened. "But you need to know, that only happened because you haven't practiced with your powers enough yet. Once you get some more experience, they'll stop going off when you don't mean for them to."

"And when I succumb to my ghostly rage and I do mean for them to?"

Danny sighed. "I promise you, that's not a thing. Some ghosts have obsessions that make them violent, but I really don't think you're one of them."

"And if I am?"

"Then your family has plenty of thermoses to suck you up into."

Jack hummed. There was a pause.

"Your family wants you home, you know," Danny said, a little more softly.

Jack's brows pulled together. "They...do?"

"Yeah. It's not the same without you. They're really worried."

Jack shook his head. "I can't go back. It's too dangerous. Vlad agrees, but everyone will be safe if i just stay here."

Danny bit his lip. He'd been meaning to tell his parents about Phantom for a little while now, he'd just never found the right time, the right way... But maybe this was the right time. He took a deep breath.

"Okay look, I was gonna do this once we were home, but there's something you need to see. You think ghosts are untrustworthy and dangerous, right?"

For once, Jack seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "They can be."

Danny spread his hands. "Well, you've been living with one for almost 3 years." A ring of light flashed around his middle, traveled across his body, and Danny Fenton was left standing in its wake.

"Phantom! Why do you look like my son?" Jack accused.

"What- no, I am Danny. And Phantom. I'm both."

"That's impossible."

Danny shrugged. "You'd think so, but apparently not."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Why should I believe you?"

"Okay, how about this," Danny offered. Another flash of light, and he was Phantom again. "Ask me anything about my life. Like, anything. Something Phantom wouldn't know."

"Hmm... Why did we have to take you home that year we took you to the planetarium for your birthday?"

Danny grimaced. "Because I rode the centrifugal force ride and threw up?"

"And?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "And then I begged you guys to let me ride it again. And then threw up again. But in my defense," He raised a finger. "That was early astronaut training."

Jack narrowed his eyes again. "What about the slip'n'slide incident?"

Danny laughed at that one. "Oh God, yeah, I stole like a dozen of Jazz's bath bombs and put them in the little pool at the end, and the entire yard foamed up and smelled like gummy bears for like a week." He was grinning. "I still think that was a good idea."

Jack looked stricken. "Danny?" he asked incredulously. He put his hands on the glass.

"Yeah, Dad?" Danny stepped a little closer.

"How did this happen?"

"Well, you know how-"

"Phantom," Vlad's voice echoed across the room. He sounded exasperated. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Danny demanded. He jabbed a finger toward his father. "I'm setting him free!"

Vlad strolled closer, passing tables full of weapons. "Oh please," he drawled, "Jack is free to go at any time, assuming he feels like putting innocent people in danger." He shot a pointed look at Jack, picked up a cannon, aimed it at Danny. "You, however, are not welcome here."

The shots lit up the lab. Danny dodged the first, the second, the third slamming into Danny's chest and throwing him back against the wall with a sickening crack. He heard his father yell, the shattering of glass, and then everything went painful and white.

His consciousness returned slowly.

"-my son!" he heard.

Vlad sounded like he was smirking. "I take it Daniel has told you his little secret?"

"Wait, you knew? And you still shot him?!"

"I can assure you, he's had far worse. Sometimes by your own weapons, correct?"

There was a shout, a series of thuds, and Danny could faintly make out Vlad on the floor, Jack on top of him, punching him in the face.

"You were my best friend! I trusted you!" Jack shouted. "You knew who he was and you shot him!"

Danny shakily floated up and over to join them, and Vlad waved a hand at him. "And look at that, he's fine. It was a warning shot, Jack."

Jack scowled. "Bullshit, you know I know how much that thing hurts." He got his face close to Vlad's. "You don't touch my children, ever again."

Danny smiled. "Looks like you can get angry without seriously hurting anyone, huh?"

"He knocked out my tooth, Daniel."

Danny looked, and there was indeed a tooth on the floor. He crossed his arms. "So? You deserved it."

Vlad looked like he was going to retort, but Jack muttered, "Where do I go now?" He looked far away.

"Well, your recent conduct aside, you're welcome to stay here and continue our work," Vlad drawled.

Jack looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

Danny floated closer, put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Come home with me," he offered.

Jack looked pained. "I can't," he said quietly.

"You can. It'll be okay, I've been with you guys for years and we're all still fine," Danny assured him.

Jack looked down. "It's too dangerous, I can't control myself."

Shit. Danny thought for a moment. "Okay, how about this: you come back to the Far Frozen with me. You can stay there for a while, do some sparring with them to practice with your powers - maybe unlearn a couple things about ghosts - and come back home when you trust yourself enough. How does that sound?"

Jack looked pensive. "How do I know I'll be safe there?"

"They know you're my father, and I'm, uh, important to them." He didn't want to tell Jack everything just yet.

"How do I know they'll be safe with me?" Jack asked quietly.

"They're all pretty strong, I don't think you'll be able to hurt them."

Jack didn't speak for a long moment, but finally, he said, "Okay."

"Yeah?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Jack confirmed.

Danny smiled. "Okay." He crossed the room, motioned for Jack to follow him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vlad demanded.

"To your portal," Danny replied casually.

"You could at least ask!" he shouted after them.

"Go fix your tooth, Vlad," Danny shouted over his shoulder, and then they were gone.

[differentkettleoffishalltogether]

I’m On Fire [Chapter 2]

With her sister’s wedding fast approaching and her Mom hounding her about finding a date, Y/N makes a terrible decision that lands her and her least favorite genius in a confusing situation.

Chapter Summary: Y/N and Spencer start to put a plan together.

A/N:  I’ve got a head cold at the mo’ but I had to get a covid test just in case so I’m not allowed leave my room till I get the results! So enjoy a bonus chapter while I wallow on my own for like 36 hours :( On a positive note, thank you guys all so much for the response to chapter 1 I really didn’t see that coming! I’ve tagged everyone who asked, let me know if you wanna be added

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem Reader

Category: Fake Dating, Enemies to Lovers, (Eventual) Smut, Fluff, Angst, it’s a Slow Burn Baby

Warnings: Cursing, some NSFW language/themes

Word Count: 6.1k

Previous Chapter -- Next Chapter

Series Masterlist

Masterlist 

"Are you coming up or what?"

The question was still ringing in my ears. It caught me completely off guard. 'Up' as in up to Spencer's apartment? Where he lived? I knew he lived somewhere in theory, just like I knew deep down that he wasn't made in a test tube. 

Without noticing I've undone my seatbelt and I'm hopping out of the car, following him around to the front door. I guess I am coming up.

Spencer's apartment is more cosy than I thought it was going to be. It's warm and lived in. It's not big, but I think that might be what makes it homely. Something about the way he behaves had me thinking it would be fully decked out in stainless steel or glass or something. But it wasn't pristine, it was messy. 

There were books bursting from the shelves that lined the walls of the apartment, along with books laid open over nearly every surface in the place, it looked like he was in the middle of reading all of them, and honestly, I didn't doubt it. Maybe I'd misjudged him. He even had some photos of what looked like his family, and maybe friends, even some of the BAU, lining his walls or propped up on his mantle. He had little trinkets and souvenirs on his shelves too, evidence that he'd been around the country for reasons other than a case. I would never admit it to him but there was a real charm to the place.

Once we got inside he took off his bag and suit jacket, tossing them on the desk just inside of the door. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, and he seemed to pick up on my awkward energy.

"You can make yourself at home" he said, his confident streak remaining. I had no idea what to do with that. What would even make me comfortable in Spencer Reid's apartment? I took a seat on his sofa and just sat with my hands resting in my lap. Really not even sure where I should look without feeling like I was invading his privacy. Even though I wanted to. I think it was morbid curiosity, looking for clues on who this man might actually be outside of the BAU. What I really wanted to do was stand up and walk around, soaking in every bit if this place as if it would help me decipher our messy relationship.

He returned to the living room a few moments later, two mismatched mugs in his hands. He places one in front of me on the coffee table. I pick it up and take a sip. It's lemon and ginger, how did he know what kind of tea I liked? I held the mug in my hands inhaling the steam in an effort to relax. When I look up he's watching me, arms folded across his chest.

"So, how does this thing work. What's the game plan?" I honestly have no real idea. This evening really got away from me, I was still expecting to snap out of it and wake up in my bed at any moment.

"Well I can't say I've ever been in a Sandra Bullock movie before either so this is uncharted territory for me too" I say with a chuckle, trying to ease the tension. Even a little. I can see him crack a small smile but hides it almost instantly, his face hardening again.

"My sister, Margot, she's getting married in like 4 months." I can feel myself tense and I shake out my shoulders, I have to remind myself that he's agreed to this already, "Fuck it, I'm just going to be honest with you. My Mom's mostly freaked out that I'm too attached to this job and that I'll just never find someone again." I shouldn't have said again, fuck. I hope he didn't pick up on that. Who am I kidding. "Even though, I'm not sure I care if I do or don't?" he doesn't say anything, like he's waiting for me to continue. I know I've shared a little too much already but I keep going.

"Margot's 2 years younger than me, I introduced her to her fiancé Philip, we met in college, he's a sweetheart. But since they've gotten engaged Mom's gotten exponentially weirder. I think she's convinced I'm fully going to die alone, as if that would be the worst thing that could ever happen? Anyway, she's been trying to auction me off to all these guys, using this wedding as an excuse. I'm not sure how much of that phone call you actually heard earlier but Mom was trying to sell me on this guy, David, and I just… snapped." I look up at Spencer and he unfolds his arms, leaning in ever so slightly coaxing the story out of me.

"David, he uh, he worked for my father for a while back in high school, filing documents and stuff, busy work mostly. He used to make out with me when he was at our house after school, but then he'd ignore me in the halls the next morning. I know it's because I was a pariah back then or something but I didn't want to think about it today and I just got worked up. I shouldn't have let on that you were my date, I was just going to ask if I could bring Garcia or something, and I'm sorry." I cover my face in my hands, "I'm insane, you can back out if you want to."

I can hear him move from his spot on the opposite side of the sofa, he takes my wrists and gently pulls my hands from my face. He looks into my eyes, "I'm in this now Y/N, what do you need me to do?" he asks, and there's a genuine earnest in his voice that I think I've only ever heard a handful of times. And it's never been directed at me.

"Okay, well we've got a few months before you ha–, wait, fuck!" I throw my head back, there's already a complication, "shit" I curse under my breath. His eyebrows knit together, sitting upright.

"What's the matter?" he asks.

"I forgot about my Mom's 50th, it's next month. They've got this whole huge party planned back home in upstate New York. I've gotta go and they'll probably want to meet you, or they're gonna have a load of questions for me at least. I can try and get you out of it I'm sure"

He gets that cocky look again, he shakes his head "I don't know, I've always liked a bit of competition" he reclines back into his corner of the sofa, taking a satisfied sip from his own mug before speaking again. "You know, if I've got to learn enough to pass as your boyfriend in a month, surely that means you've got to learn enough to pass as my girlfriend within the month, no?"

Oh god. What have I done, why didn't I think this far ahead. "I mean, yeah I guess you're right." I had to remember he was doing me a favor. I had to get over myself. "Okay, if you're sure you're up for that?" I ask, and he nods, and I think he looks excited, or maybe he just finds the whole situation funny.

"If anyone's up for the competition it's you" he says, and I'm not sure if that's a compliment or a dig but I nod in agreement.

He takes another sip of his tea, collected and relaxed. I can't help but notice how at ease he is when he's in his own surroundings. I'm so used to seeing him sitting at a desk surrounded by paperwork, or combing through file after file in the make-shift office in a small-town police station, usually flustered or anxious, or antagonizing me whenever he wasn’t. This was a different Spencer. Completely in control, at ease.

"Alright, shall we get started then, we can't really afford to waste any time can we?" he was actually sort of right, so I nodded. It was only now occurring to me that I'd have to share parts of my personal life with him if I wanted this plan to work. We already knew the basics about each other, I'd read his file when I started at the BAU, I'd read everyones. And I feel like it was safe to presume he'd done the same.

His eyes bore directly into mine as he leaned forward, I think he was enjoying how uncomfortable I must've looked.

"How about I ask you some rapid-fire questions and you have to answer 'em?" he asks, and it's as good of a plan as any, and I can't think of any other suggestions, so I nod.

"Okay, shoot." I say, unsure and nervous, so I brace myself. I'm just grateful that he's making my life easier rather than harder for what feels like the first time since I met him.

I really should've known better.

He leans in, "So Y/N, first question, when did you lose your virginity?"

I almost choke on the mouthful of tea I just took, that can't be what he just asked, and he looks like he's savoring my shocked expression.

"I uh, I don't think you need to know that?" is all I can get out.

"Really? You think that's something your boyfriend wouldn't know about you?" he's right, but I didn't want to admit it outright.

"I feel like I sort of already hinted. It was that same guy David, I was 18, he was 19. We had sex on the couch while my parents went out one evening. I kept my bra on the whole time, he came, I didn't. It was all very standard stuff." I wasn't sure what compelled me to add that last part. I think I was giving in to the open honestly thing. "So what about you Doc?" I challenged.

He didn't seem embarrassed, or even shy. "I must've bloomed little later than you" he admits with a soft chuckle, "Vivian Stewart, I was 21, she was too. It was the last semester of my last PhD and I figured I must be missing out on something. And I sure was" he smirks to himself. "I came, she did too, 3 times. I did a lot of research ahead of time" he mirrored my story and I rolled my eyes. It was hard not to feel a little impressed but I tried with everything I had to stifle it so he couldn't tell. I wish it didn't make me feel something but it did. I gulp down the mouthful of tea that's been sitting in my throat.

I have to shake myself back to reality. I can't give him the satisfaction of throwing me. "My turn." I command, "When was your last relationship Dr. Reid?" I ask, "I mean like, serious one, not like hook-up" I clarify before he can ask. He thinks on it for a moment.

"I'm not sure what you classify as fully serious, but I guess it was this girl, Rebecca, we dated for a while when I first joined the BAU but it didn't work out. What about you?" he flips it back.

"So that was what, like 6-ish years ago?" I ask, he just nods.

"Mine was like 3 years ago now I think. I met this guy Nathan on my first week of college, we dated for like 4 years. He moved here for me when I got accepted by the BAU." I had to stop myself from delving into the detail. It was a long time ago now but it still hurt. "Long story short, the hours were demanding and they got in the way more than I would've liked. We ended up splitting a couple months after I got the job." I tried to play it off like it wasn't one of the more devastating things to happen in my life. But something told me he’d registered that, so he didn't push.

His energy picks up and he looks at me with a grin, but there's something a little sinister behind it. "I've got a more fun question for you." he leans in closer to me, "Y/N, when was the last time you got laid?" I just looked at him in shock. 

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I can go first if you really need me to?" his voice didn't waver,

"Fuck you Reid, I know when it was!" I snapped back at him. I did have to think back a little farther than I'd like to pull up the memory.

"Met this guy in a bar when I was out with Pen one night, we went back to his place and hooked up." I say as deadpan as I can make it.

"Well that's not very exciting is it?" he jokes, "Did you at least cum that time?" I know he's just trying to rile me up, but I answer anyway.

"As a matter of fact I did" I earn back a little of my confidence.

"I'm so happy for you, but you did manage to avoid my initial question" fuck "when was this exciting night of yours Y/N?" he probes, like I really, really wished he wouldn't. I could lie, but I'm sure he'd be able to tell. I cringe before I can say it.

"About 8 months ago" I mutter, just low enough for him to hear.

"Sorry, did you just say 8 months ago?" He nearly shouts in disbelief, he seems to find it funny.

"Hey fuck you Spencer!" I go on the defensive, "When was the last time you even got laid?"

"Like two and half weeks ago" he says, confident, and still laughing, "Wait wait, when was the last time you got yourself off? I know you're not waiting 8 months!" he giggles and I think I could kill him. I know I kept giving him outs but was it too late for me to just get up and leave?

"I'm not doing this with you if you're just gonna make fun of me Reid, I get enough of that at work" I get out, my voice is serious but I'm trying to hide how awkward all of this is making me feel, and I don't know that I'm doing a very good job.

I can tell that's gotten to him, he relaxes and eases up on the giggling. "Look okay wait Y/N. I'll stop, I'm not actually trying to make fun of you. I was being serious, I think stuff like this is important if we're gonna have to be comfortable around each other enough to seem like a real couple. Plus, it'll just help break the ice?" he shrugs. "But you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

I soften, because I agree, even thought I hate that he's right. "Fine" I collect my thoughts, "2 nights ago I'm pretty sure." I regret it almost instantly, but breaking the ice is supposed to feel awkward.

"Same here actually," he chuckles, "what'd you do?" I'm so startled by the question I almost forget how to answer.

"I, uh, my, my vibrator? I just felt like uh, I watched some..." I still can't force out a whole sentence. It's not like I was always awkward about sex or anything, I could talk to Garcia, or honestly probably any of the other team members about it. But with Spencer it didn't feel as comfortable. He still sat calmly, smiling just a little.

"Same here, 2 nights back, but with my hands I guess. I wonder if we were doing it at the same time?" he mutters the last part gently and my head goes a bit fuzzy. My eyes drift away from his face and settle on his hands, the mug he's holding looks so tiny with his fingers wrapped around it, I wondered how they'd look wrapped around my-

"Okay I think that's enough for one night, don't you think?" I jump up off the sofa and turn, mostly so that he doesn't catch the blush thats creeping from my neck up to my cheeks. And because I don't know what I'll say, or regret saying, if this conversations continues on its current trajectory.

"Sure," he says, standing up next to me, and I want to move further away instantly, "you're probably right, and it's getting a little late now anyway" he glances at his watch. Ushering me back towards his front door and opening it up. Before I can walk out he lightly touches my shoulder to turn me back to face him, and I wonder if he can feel the heat radiating from every part of me.

"So are you free next Friday after work?" he asks, and I'm so flustered I almost forget why, I just nod. "Perfect, how about we come here again and we can dive into preparing? You could also make a start on getting these onto a hard drive?" he gestures to the antique looking hardbacks adorning the shelves.

'Sounds great!" I perk up, feigning enthusiasm, "See you then!"

"Well, see you Monday morning actually Y/N" he smirks as I walk out the door. Fuck, he was right.

I really hadn't thought this through.

——

The weekend was a bit of a blur. I decided to try and put some useful information into a document for Spencer. It felt strange to try and condense my life into as few pages as possible. I knew Reid had an eidetic memory, and nothing would necessarily overwhelm him. But I also knew that he was someone that the team relied on to fill in a lot of the gaps in the rest of the our knowledge. So I felt bad about dumping a load of information on him, especially considering it was a favor he was doing for me.

I'd complied the majority of my life into a 15 page document and printed it out. Hopefully that would address most of what my family could guerrilla attack him with. There was also something unsettling about the imbalance. I was going to give him so many of the intricate details of my life in a little file, whereas all I really knew about Spencer was what I'd taken it upon myself to learn about him throughout the past few years.

I'd read all of his work while I was in college, given how he was the gold standard of getting into the BAU at a young age, I wanted to know who this guy was. I think I'd pictured something different. And I couldn't deny there was something enticing about finally getting to know him after all of these years of working together. Maybe this could actually be fun, or interesting at least.

----

I arrived early on Monday morning. I thought I was first into the office as usual but Garcia was sitting in my desk chair waiting for me. The second she saw me walk in she tensed, she must've known we were the only people in this early.

"What happened! You've been avoiding me all weekend?" she asked, and she was right. I'd drafted enough texts to her, trying to explain what the plan was, mostly without wanting to admit that she was right. Maybe I was stubborn.

"Alright okay, I drove Reid home." I admitted, dropping my bag by my desk. She rolls her eyes at me, dramatic as always.

"Well I knew that already Y/N damn! What happened next?"

"Fine, we went into his apartment and talked for a while. Trying to sort out the details, get a handle on things I guess?" I said, unsure of how much I should actually give away about our conversation.

"What things!?" She shouts, standing up from my desk,

"I don't know Pen, like logistics and stuff, I still haven't decided how I feel about that little stunt you pulled on Friday night!" I let my frustration get the better of me, and maybe that's why I haven't talked to her. It could also be because I know she's able to read me like a book and I'm not even sure how I feel about this whole situation.

"I call bullshit." She counters, "I know you were relived as hell when I sorted that whole thing out. You would've had anxiety tummy all weekend if I hadn't called Spencer!" I just go silent, she was right. I'd gotten so caught up in the whole, 'how to have a fake boyfriend' that I'd almost forgotten about how stressed I was about Spencer hearing my call in the first place.

"Okay, shit" I sigh. "Maybe you were right Pen. We're actually meeting up again this Friday after work to make a plan for the next while, so I guess that's progress?" I shrug, trying to play it off like this whole situation doesn't make my stomach flip.

"Ohhhhh! So like a date?" She probes, her enthusiasm rising drastically.

"Oh my God Pen no! Like an appointment at best" I diffuse the situation

"Ugh that's no fun" she says, not even trying to disguise her disappointment.

As if on cue Dr. Reid walks through the double doors into the bullpen. Both Garcia and I wave, overall awkwardly, but making an attempt pretend like things were completely normal and like nothing had changed since the last time we were all in the office together.

Penelope heads to her office as the bullpen starts to fill up quickly. Less than an hour later though Garcia's back at my desk and there's a new case that needs the teams attention in Boston. I follow her into the conference room and wait for the rest of the team to join. Spencer follows a moment later with 2 cups of coffee in his hands. I can see my mug in his hand and my automatic response is that he's messing with me. But he places my mug in front of me in the circular table before taking the seat next to me, listening to Garcia's briefing. I don't know if he's ever sat next to me in this conference room, at least not by choice.

I barely had any time to finish my coffee before I have to say goodbye to Garcia and hop on the jet to Boston.

----

The case was grueling. More so than usual. It was wrapped up late on Thursday night and the team decided to fly back home first thing on Friday morning. I was exhausted. Even if there was enough time to get sleep each night it wasn't like I got any. Whenever a case got on top of me like this it made it hard to rest, or get it off my mind at all until it was wrapped up. So even though it was over, that didn't mean I wasn't exhausted.

Hotch gave the team the rest of the day off, given that we have until submit our paperwork by Monday. I wasn't sure if Spencer's invitation from the following week still stood. I didn't want to ask, partly because I was so tired, but also because I was scared. I wasn't about to show up at his house in an effort to have a heart to heart, or hand him a condensed version of my life story on a manilla envelope if he was as drained as I was.

Standing by my desk I packed up everything I'd need to get my paperwork done over the weekend, I was just about finished when Spencer snuck up behind me, perching himself on the edge of my desk. "So, you almost ready to go?" he asks, like it's the most obvious question in the world. I couldn't really hide my surprise.

"Oh yeah. That's fine, I mean, if you're still cool with that?" I ask, and I hate how flustered I sound, like he makes me nervous.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He chuckles, standing up straight.

"Cool, gimme a sec and I'll be good to go."

I pack up the rest of my stuff quickly and we make our way out. There's something that feels a little eerie about the two of us being in an elevator together alone again. It was a different kind of awkward to how it felt a week before hand. It almost felt like a kind of tension rather than a hatred or a rivalry. Either way we rode down in silence.

Once we got to the basement Spencer walks out of the elevator and walks straight to my car without having to ask. I unlock it and he hops into the passenger seat. Like this is a natural interaction. Something we do all the time. And I don't hate it as much as I thought I would.

"So," he says, buckling up his seat belt and breaking the silence, "do you know how to get to my place from here or do you need directions again?"

"Well I've got to turn on the engine first" I tease, hoping he picks up on the reference to our last car ride, he chuckles like he does.

"Are you hungry?" he asks

"Starving."

The delivery guy get's to Spencer's apartment at almost the same time we do.

---

Once the food's been demolished the two of us finally sit on his sofa, the same sides as the week before. "So, shall we get back into this?" He asks, sitting forward slightly to pull a notebook out of his satchel on the floor. It's small and lavender, and it's got a pen clipped into the spine. He cracks it open and flips to a specific page.

"Sorry, what's that?" I ask, pointing to the book, he looks confused,

"They're my notes?" he says, like it should be obvious

"Your notes?" I ask,

"My notes on you." he smirks, again like I'm silly for even asking.

He had notes on me? He had a whole notebook on me? What was even in that thing?

"You've got notes on me?" I ask, my hands reaching out to grab it, but he retreats faster than I can catch him. "What have you got in there that's so serious?"

"Nothing." and his tone's a bit too stern and I don't really want to push it when he's being so uncharacteristically nice to me.

"I've actually got this ready for you" I pull the file out of my own bag and toss it to him. "I'm not sure exactly what you need to know but that should be the majority of it at least."

He opens it up and glances over the the pages. It takes him all of 2 minutes to get through the whole thing. It feels unsettling that he's taking in a boiled down version of my life while I'm just sitting on the opposite side of the sofa. Trying to avoid the attention I pipe up.

"Um, hey, maybe it would be a good time for you to show me where to make a start digitizing your books over here?" I stand up and make my way to the shelf. He jumps up off the sofa and walks toward me, visibly excited.

"That's actually a great idea, I thought that the theses from my degrees could be a good place to start, since I'm pretty sure they're not backed up anywhere." he guides me to a section of the book case by the window. There's a series of leather bound hardbacks, the same gold font embossed on the spines. I recognize all of them, pulling out the first one.

"This is my favorite" I say without thinking about it and he does a double take, clearly thrown.

"You've, uh, you read my work?" he asks, completely puzzled. I'm sort of proud that I've managed to make him this awkward, and I nod.

"Mmhm, back before I joined the BAU actually. Before I really knew you" I regret saying the last part, it comes out a little meaner than I really wanted it to so I back track. "Spencer, I read all of your work while I was in college, you were like the gold standard. I don't think I slept more than 2 hours a night throughout my PHD because I was just trying to get as much done as you." and his face softens at the admission. But it takes him a moment before he responds. Leaving the two of us in silence a little too long.

"I had no idea" is all he says.

"I think this one was best" I say propping up the one in my hand, "you get a bit cockier as you move on” His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, "but I'll start with all of these I guess" I grab the matching books and stack them in my arms. Walking over to his desk and setting up. Glancing at the clock it was only 7pm so I decided to just make a start.

Spencer didn't contest. Letting me just get settled at his desk, I pull out my laptop and begin work on transcribing the first volume. After a few minutes he silently places a cup of tea down beside me and goes to sit on the sofa. The time rolls in quickly after that, each time I look up at Spencer he's carefully combing through the file I'd given him. Re-reading it and making little markings in his lavender notebook. I'm not really sure what I put in there that was worth making a note on but clearly he was reading between the lines on some things. That little notebook was like a profile of me.

When he seemed like he'd finished writing he pulls out his phone, scrolling through it aimlessly like I'd never seen him do before. It made him look so normal. His eyebrows knit together as he's looking at something on his screen and he stands up. Making his way over to me at the desk and shows me what he was looking at.

"Who's this?" he asks, "This guy you're with?"

I recognize the photo instantly. It's from a few years earlier, Nathan and I on the beach, my head resting on his chest. He'd taken it while we were on vacation celebrating our anniversary. That was about a month before I got into the BAU, I had no idea that was going to be our last anniversary. I gulp down the emotions that it stirs. I'm mostly over the whole thing by now, but looking at old photos like that, photos of happier times, it can still sting.

"That's uh, the boyfriend I was telling you about last week. Nathan, we broke up not long after I joined the BAU?" he nods, but he's smart, and I kind of figure he already knew that.

"Ah alright" he takes out the hardback and jots another note down. Maybe he's trying to get a read on me.

"What are you doing?" I gesture to the phone,

"It's research, do you not think that if you and I were really dating that stalking your social media profiles would be on my agenda?" he's smug, and he's right. But I guess I just didn't expect it from him.

"Well that's not really fair now is it? I can't reciprocate, you've got no social media presence whatsoever!" he finds that funny, letting out a deep chuckle and tucking his phone away in his back pocket.

"Maybe so, but that imbalance is hardly my fault. Besides, you've read all my dissertations apparently..."

"Bastard" I joke, slamming my laptop shut and throwing a pen from his desk at him so that it lightly bounces off the top of his head.

"Hey, there's no need for violence Y/N!" he rubs the spot beneath his curls, "Maybe it's time you took a break actually?" he says, sitting himself back down on the sofa.

I was reluctant to admit it but he was right. My eyes were starting to go a little fuzzy after looking at the screen for so long. I stand up and stretch my arms out above my head, feeling my spine stretch out after sitting for so long, letting out a low groan. Spencer waves me over to the sofa and I join him.

"How about we go back to basics?" Spencer asks with a small grin, and I can't help but let out a long sigh.

"I thought I was taking a break, no more questions" he just laughs at me,

"Relax, you're not that interesting, it's just a simple question." he states, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to find it funny or offensive

"Ugh, fine, shoot"

"Well, actually it's two questions" he corrects, "what's your favorite movie, and what's your favorite snack?"

I'm confused mostly by the fact that it actually is a simple question, I was expecting something a lot more contentious, but also because he looks eager to know the answer.

"I'm not really sure what my favorite movie is to be honest, one of them is Night of the Living Dead?"

He nods to himself, and jots it down in the notebook again, "Alright, I can make that work" he stands up off the sofa before turning back to me, "and snack?"

"Peanut butter cups I guess?" I respond and he grins ear to ear, which is a completely new sight, and I like it way more than I thought I would.

"Perfect, gimme 2 minutes!" he leaves the living room and wanders towards the kitchen.

Spencer returns a few minutes later with a DVD, a packet of peanut butter cups , and a thick knitted blanket gathered in his arms. He drapes the blanket over me and gently places the peanut butter cups on top of it before popping the DVD into the player and sitting down beside me. I'm not really sure how to process any of the situation. Am I about to watch a movie on Spencer Reid's sofa? Sitting next to Spencer Reid?

"I... I, uh, thought you were just asking for your notes?" I ask, pointing at the notebook resting in his lap. He picks it up and throws it onto the coffee table.

"Sometimes I find experience is the best teacher, don't you?" he asks before pressing play, “And besides, it should keep you quiet for a whole 96 minutes” of course.

I can only nod in agreement, I'm not really sure what I'll say if I try to speak. I get myself cosy under the warm blanket and we watch the movie in near silence.

Once the credits roll Spencer finally speaks up, "I actually went to see a screening of this last month downtown, there was this little old horror movie fest-" I cut him off without really realizing, I'm just strangely excited that we've genuinely got something in common.

"Holy shit, I was there!" I say, more enthusiastic than the situation calls for.

He laughs at my excitement, "Well, I guess we have more overlap than I thought, that should probably help with the whole charade." he stretches his arms up over his head and let's out a small, gentle yawn. I'd been enjoying myself more than I thought I would, or would ever tell Spencer, that I'd almost forgotten that we'd both been on a case for almost every waking moment of the past week. I really should feel a lot more drained than I do.

I was just after midnight when I suggested that I head back home. I offered to take some of the books home to work on throughout the weekend but Spencer insisted that I just work on them whenever I came over again. I sort of felt like I should thank him for the evening when I was on my way out the door, or give him a quick hug, no that felt wrong. In the end all I could really muster was a lousy, "goodnight" and a meek wave on my way out the door before I drove home. And couldn't get to sleep.

— —

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[princessfbi]

For the sleepover asks what are some of your Buddie sleeping HC?

OH YES! Ok!

Number one: Eddie doesn't like things on or at his back. It's always been that way but it got even worse after the helicopter crash. Shannon learned pretty quickly when she would come up behind him and rub his shoulders only for him to flinch at her touch. The nightmares of someone climbing over top the rock he took cover behind make sleeping with anything other than maybe a pillow practically impossible.

So, he'd rather be the big spoon than the little spoon and Buck's perfectly okay with that.

But that doesn't mean Eddie doesn't have needs. He likes to be held too. So Buddie's favorite sleeping position is Eddie on his back with Buck tucked in his side with maybe Buck's arm around his waist and his head tucked under Eddie's chin. It gives Eddie a weight without it being at his back and it gives Eddie perfect access to run his fingers through Buck's hair.

Which leads into the next one. Let's talk about Buck's hair. If you want to get Buck to sleep in no time at all then running your fingers through his hair and scratching at his scalp is the way to do it. He goes boneless and blinks in a valiant attempt to fight sleep but it's no use. Doesn't matter where he is. He'll be out like a light in no time.

Buck also sleeps with either the blanket or a pillow between his legs. It helps his hips and his knees since he sleeps on his side a lot or tends to roll on his front in between his mountain of pillows. It started pretty quickly after he started football because it helps his alignment. Once he started sleeping with Eddie though, the pillow quickly got replaced with Eddie's leg and Eddie certainly doesn't mind that Buck's a a clingy sleeper.

I've said it before and I'll say it again but Buck runs cold and Eddie runs hot which means most of the blankets end up on Buck and not because he's stealing them but because Eddie ends up kicking them off in the middle of the night. They eventually buy two separate blankets but Eddie's always ends up twisted on Buck's side.

Now, Buck twitches in his sleep. Like full body twitches. Kind of like hiccups but it's his muscles. Which is adorable but scared the shit out of Eddie the first couple of nights it happened. But it's just his muscles relaxing after a hard day at work or a work out.

Eddie gets charley horses and but he used to get them so often when he was a kid that he doesn't even really wake up when he flexes his foot to stretch out the cramp anymore.

I've done a dabble about their nightmares but I'll add it here too. Buck's nightmares are explosive. They steal his breath away and make him startle awake. He holds onto Eddie tighter and it's definitely been bad enough that he can't go back to sleep but he's too scared to move. But Eddie's nightmares are still. He goes rigid and his heart feels like it's going to burst out of his chest. Eddie tends to try and put some space between him and Buck because he's still working on not suffering alone and sometimes he forgets and eventually Buck will work his way back over.

They also like sleeping face to face and when that happens it's usually because one of them woke up in the middle of the night because they've rolled away from one another. It's usually Buck because he gets cold when Eddie's not close. Eddie curls his arms around his shoulder and head and Buck tucks his hands under Eddie's shirt.

They tend to go to sleep together rather than separately if they can and if one of them can't sleep then the other comes and cuddles on the couch with them. Their bed is massive because if it wasn't then they would've had to sleep sideways to fit. They make the bed together and if the other one is having a bad day then they'll strip the sheets and put clean warm ones on for when they come home.

I could go on and on about the Buddie Sleep Cycle!

Send Me Sleepover Weekend! Asks

[stardust-static]

Puppy update 🥰

So if you didn't know I got to bring this guy home early which was about two and a half weeks ago now. We weren't supposed to get him till 8 weeks which was the 16th of December, but we got a call when he was six weeks saying that he's eating solid food and no longer needs his mama. Bailey and I did research and found that puppies usually still need a mama dog to learn mannerisms from and usually they're still nursing at that age. However since he was eating solids and I have three mature age dogs to teach him, & I'm an experienced dog owner who will pretty much be home with him all the time. I thought that it should be fine. Also he was sleeping outside in a pen.. these dogs are typically farm dogs and sleep outside with the farm animals to protect them at night. I was worried he might get too used to that and not want to sleep in the house.. some people get GP'S that are a little older and they usually won't sleep indoors as they want to patrol at night. We want our guy to be inside at night. These are typically working dogs that want a job, but mostly we wanted him to be a pet and his "job" is to protect my other dogs incase of coyotes and us incase of intruders. So it wasnt such a bad deal to get him when he was still so young and impressionable. We agree to come get him. Took a spur of the moment two hour drive. Got out to the farm in the middle of no where. He handed me the other boy. I knew he wasn't mine because I had been staring at this picture of my puppy for weeks. I set it as my wallpaper.

As you can see my guy had speckled nose (its fading now :( ) so he brings me my baby who was just sleeping and he's holding him up to me by his neck fat and he's crying and I grabbed him and he nuzzled his little face into my neck and that was it. We got in the car and I held him close to me and he shook and shivered half of the way and I just kept comforting him. He flinched everytime I touched him clearly not having much human contact. Half the way home he started warming up to me and was giving me kisses and wagging his tail. Bailey and I fell in love with him. We could not handle how adorable he was. Then we finally made it home. I set him in the garage and he was still so goofy and unsure of me. Then he came to me and let me pet him and love on him. Then one by one I let the other dogs in to meet him. They didn't really think much of him at first. Next we gave him a bath which he clearly never had. He smelled like urine and there was so much dirt in his fur. He was a little angel in the bath. The next day he became more confident and started to play with all his new toys and the eskies were pretty jealous. I've made sure to give them all equal amounts of love so no one feels neglected. Wally as always is a lot of work in that department. He's got his behavior problems which have heightened since the puppys arrival. We're working on that. Fast forward to today and Winston adores him. They play so cute together and Winston will actually let the baby cuddle him. Wally just.. I don't think he knows what a baby is. He's very rough and quick to anger. Bailey and I always say that he would have made a great only dog, but he's definitely not so all we can do is correct his behavior when he's mean to the puppy. The puppy cares very little about Wally's hissy fits though. I just don't want him to learn any bad behaviors from Wally. He hasn't yet. He's honestly just a big goofy teddy bear. Such a happy little guy. He's already doubled in size. Everyday I look at him and notice him getting bigger. Today I noticed that he's getting his long coat hairs coming through. He no longer fits in our kitchen sink that we washed him in the first night. Since we did get him so young he is very attached to me. I can not leave him alone. I've been sleeping on the couch with him when Bailey has to work in the morning and he's a sweetie. He snuggles up to my face and gives me kisses to wake me up when he has to potty. He's perfect. The only difficult thing is potty training. The worst part of raising a puppy for me. Especially now that we have carpet in every room. Luckily my mom gave us her commercial carpet cleaner. I put that baby to use last night. It's coming along though... Anytime now I'll have him potty trained. I had my mom babysit him today while I worked and she said he was an angel and didn't potty in her house once so thats good! I just watch him like a hawk and try to catch him before he goes. I'm always letting him outside and hopefully he'll learn how to use the dog door soon. We just got that set up for him, though we will need a bigger one eventually.

Now let me tell you about the stressful ass day I had yesterday and about how I just wanted to lock myself in my room and cry at the end of it all-- because of my pets.

First we wake up and I let the dogs out, and discover that Wally is leaving our yard. The gate on the back side of our property is a metal bar gate with chicken wire over it. Wally pushed the chicken wire out of the way and slipped his skinny little weasel body through the bars. So we went to buy a heavier duty wire fencing to put over the metal fence. Bailey said we should bring Toby cause we want to socialize him and also get him used to the car. So we bring him and on the way home Bailey says we should put him in the trunk of my suv so he could be more comfortable and because he was scratching Bailey up on the way to home depot with his little puppy claws. So we put him back there and we're on our way to get food and Toby is in the back screaming his head off. Then we go "whats that smell?" And I look in my rear view mirror and I see our puppy Toby with his feet hanging over the backseat, paws covered in shit and he's just jumping on everything back there that he can, just really smearing it everywhere. So I'm like WE NEED TO GO HOME NOW!!! just trying so hard not to puke. Bailey is laughing his ass off. Then Toby jumps over and into the back seat. I don't know with what strength suddenly. Winston and Wally have never managed to get out of the trunk space. So now he's making his way to me and I have to reach back and just hold him in place. Theres shit all over my back seat now. I'm crying. I keep gagging. Then Bailey starts to get queezy. We're both not keeping it together. So we eventually get home. Bailey cleans the car and I clean the puppy. Then I have to clean Winston because he ate my mascara while we were gone and got it all over himself. Then as I'm letting the dogs out my indoor cat bolts out of the house for the third time this week. I didn't even go after her. I just said "so be it!". I was having such an annoying day. Then Bailey goes to get us food and I put puppy in the kitchen because I need to vacuum and shampoo the carpets. Puppy screams his head off the entire time cause he hates being confined. The cat comes home an hour later. Bailey and I eat and get to work repairing the fence. Then puppy pees later on the newly shampood carpet. Then Bailey and I get dinner and put puppy in the kitchen again. We're just there at the dinner table eating our Chili's takeout, Bailey goes to get something out of the kitchen and I just hear him go "oh...no." I just looked at him and go "did the puppy shit in there?" and he goes "yup" I say "is it everywhere?" And he says "yuup..."

There was no peace to be had that day.

The dogs woke up and chose chaos.

So today Bailey went to work and so did I.

It was the first time since getting the fence put up that I let the dogs have free roam without me being there for hours. I've been really afraid to. It my number one fear right now, them getting out or stolen or somehow attacked by another animal, but I left the dog door open and just let them be for the day and took the puppy to my parents house. We're also letting the cat come and go as she wants now, because she has been so determined to leave the house. She's constantly bolting out the door and would even rather be in the garage most days. So we're letting her be and hopefully nothing happens to her. I took the bell off her collar so she can be extra stealthy. She did go into my neighbors yard and their 5 dogs chased her away and after that she's just been hanging out on our property laying in the dirt, soaking up the sun. Theres a little dog door built into the garage door that I'm now keeping open for her.

But yeah.. like I said my parents said that Toby is an angel and they'll watch him any time and I came home to the yard still intact and my dogs perfectly fine after being alone for six hours.

I enjoyed my much needed mini break from them and I'm going to go out tomorrow as well now that I feel confident that they'll be okay if I leave them sometimes.

I guess I'll end this massive post about my animals now.

✌💖

[depressedkakashihatake]

Right, so, my idea is: Obito is the one who does it.

Now, I'm gonna explain better:

You said, in ine of the past posts, that you wanted to find a way to integrate Obito in the AU, and I imagined it like this: he's a half-Uchiha like Shisui, since they're brothers, so he doesn't usually go too far from the compound, but one day he does and he almost gets captured and/or killed. Madara saves him, he's pretty old but the Yatagarasu, not being humans, have a longer life and Madara, being a pure one and not a half one like Obito, is powerful.

So. He saves Obito and takes him away, Obito is injured and Madara heals him and shit, and when Obito wakes up Madara convinces him to rest until he's fully healed. In the meantime he starts to manipulate him, telling him that no one is looking for him, no one cares and all that shit because he's a mad bastard (I mean, I love Madara but he's a mad bastard) and convinces Obito that all the humans are bad and that the clan can't see it and Obito should definitely help him to 'make a better world' (poor bastards, both of them).

So, like, Madara trains Obito and eventually Obito starts going around taking out strong humans and recruiting cast-asides creatures (Hidan the Immortal, Kakuzu, Kisame the sharkman, Deidara etc etc... Not a single one of the Akatsuki is human and they were all cast aside at some point so Obito easily gains their loyalty one way or the other)

One day he finds out about Kakashi and Gai, people say that they're hella strong so Obito thinks that they might be a problem in the future and they should be take out sooner rather than later, but since they're strong they have to be taken alone (he doesn't know that Gai is a Phoenix, he only hears rumors about him being strong), so he makes sure to divide them.

Kisame goes against Gai (because, duh, I loved their fight too much to not have one here as well) and Shisui is with him, while Obito attacks Kakashi while he's training alone with Sakura, stopping him from going to Gai when they hear fighting sounds in the distance and Oh, lucky Obito, he can take out Sakura as well since she's a human like Kakashi and kill two birds with one stone, right? So they fight for a while, when Obito suddenly flys up and shoots towards Sakura with his claws out to attack her but Kakashi gets in the middle and Obito's claws are what take his eye.

In the end Kakashi is able to injure Obito throughout the fight so Obito eventually has to retreat to heal, picking up Kisame in the meantime to go away while swearing that they'll be back to kill them.

(And of course Obito goes by 'Tobi' and masks himself, but instead of being goofy he's actually the real leader of the Akatsuki)

When Gai heals Kakashi's eye it's too late. Kakashi can open his eye if he wants to but it's just a blind eye now, he doesn't see anything from that side.

He also doesn't really understands why this weird, strong dude suddenly decided to try and kill him, but 'Tobi' was certainly not human.

I love this so much.

Madara and Obito not realizing that Gai is a Pheonix, someone who would a tually probably be increadably useful for them, and trying to kill him.

Obito targetting Sakura, and Kakashi getting between them to protect his student, losing his eye to Obito’s talon’s which cut deep into his face and leave a scar that even Gai can’t get rid of.

Obito recognizing that he’s not going to win today. Not when Kakashi forced himself to his feet to continue fighting him and still managed to cut deep into his arm with his sword. Backing off and going to get Kisame (which I agree. Easily one of the best fights in the whole show) and leaving.

Gai and Shisui rushing back to check on Kakashi qnd Sakura because they just know they could have been targetted as well, and finding Kakashi on his knees with a hand over the left side of his face and blood everywhere.

Gai’s heart dropping at the sight and rushing forward to check on Kakashi, only to have Kakashi pass out in his arms as soon as he’s by his side (adrenaline wearing off and a feeling of safety taking over). Crying when he see’s the damage to Kakashi’s face, and trying desperatly to fix it.

To save Kakashi’s eye, only to see the scar still on his face even after healing him and cleaning the blood away.

Knowing that Kakashi’s never going to be able to see out of that eye again, and hating himself for not gettingthere quicker even when Tenzo and Shisui tell him that it wouldn’t have mattered because the damage was too deep.

😭😭😭💔💔💔