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quillyfied · 6 months ago

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Hellaverse Theories: Helluva Boss S2E6

Welcome to Quilly’s Hellaverse Theories, where I overthink the entire Hellaverse! I am so excited for these last two episodes of Helluva Boss that we have right now (still pre-Full Moon as of writing this) (no I didn’t just go panic check YouTube and the IMP twitter account just to make sure), because they are so effective at not just setting up the driving tension that’s going to be igniting in s2.5, but also in making me absolutely fall in love with two characters I did not care for much at their first introduction, and Viv really needs to stop doing that or I’m going to wind up loving every single Hellaverse character and I can’t HAVE that.

But first! It’s s2e6, here to give us so much good tasty backstory and development to feast upon!

Now, listen. I might be new to this fandom, but I’m old hat at fandom in general, so I can only imagine the ground-shattering shouts of vindication when in the first ten seconds of this episode it’s revealed that yes, the theories were correct, Ozzie and Fizzarolli are sleeping together. Not only are they sleeping together—they are IN SAPPY DISGUSTING LOVE. (Also, fun fact, you can kinda see Fizzarolli’s uncovered head just before it pans to the cuckoo clock (cockoo clock??) and it’s adorable.) Fizz manages Ozzie’s schedule, Ozzie cooks them breakfast—they’re precious.

And, said it before but I’ll state it here now: pretty sure this nooner with Stolas was rescheduled; unless Unhappy Campers takes place after this episode, which is possible but would be really weird, Blitzo was occupied for about a week, so Stolas’ recovery pushing back his meeting with Ozzie from three days to more of a week makes sense. Also lines up with Striker bragging about having a royal on the ropes “just last week.”

Huh. Paused on the newspaper that Fizz immediately balls up and there’s some interesting stuff in here (and no I’m not talking about the breast imp-lants): King of Ozz a Hypocrite being a headline is weird enough, but in some of the side text, it’s confirmed that the circus that Fizz and Blitzo grew up in was…kind of a big deal, actually, in being an all-imp circus. So much so that it isn’t called by name, but referred to as “the now-disbanded all-imp circus.” As in, the only one of its kind, everybody remembers that, right? Also went back a smidge to see the cover and “heart hoarded by an imp” and “royalty left reeling” are some subheadings. Yikes. Kinda makes one wonder how Stolas and Blitzo escaped any kind of media storm after Ozzie’s, but I guess Stolas being boring and uninteresting to the denizens of Hell (who all have very poor taste anyway :P) carries even to what is absolutely some shocking gossip if it was happening to any other royal. But the newspaper was left on the counter and has a coffee ring on the opposite page from the article; Fizz goes through a lot of trouble to hide it, but it seems like Ozzie’s already seen it. The picture the article uses of them cuddling also looks like it was taken by invading a private space—maybe Oz’s personal box at Ozzie’s? Poor guys. They look adorable though. Oh gross looks like there’s some gold-digger allegations popping up in the text on the side too, but it’s hard to tell because half of the text is obscured by both Fizz’s thumb and being offscreen.

“You know I ain’t afraid of ropes!” …yeah but how about duct tape?

“But you haven’t been to the Greed ring alone since becoming Mam’s new big brand figure.” Okay, time out—we know as of next episode that Fizzarolli has won the clown pageant for the past ten years (five years post-accident, presumably). I really want to see some details on Fizzarolli’s past, because did he go from potentially living with Mammon to living with Ozzie? Or straight to Ozzie? I can see Mammon wanting to keep his brand baby close and guarded at all times, but I really wish we knew how long Fizz and Oz have known each other. Sigh.

Knowing that Alex Brightman and James Monroe Iglehart have known each other for a long time makes their performances together (though rarely actually together, to my understanding; voice recording is weird) so much more perfect. Fizz and Oz were already too damn cute for words. Now I love them MORE.

LITERALLY NOBODY BUT YOU TWO CHUCKLEHEADS MENTIONED LOVE. HOW ARE YOU SO BAD AT THIS. But I’m happy that they’re so happy they can’t really hide it. Dangerous, but so cute. How did it take forty-five seconds for me to go from being irritable at them to absolutely falling in love with them? Sorcery.

The way Oz is pinching his brow before we even see the Jizzlord Machine Fizz thinks is low-key should really have clued me in. I love that Fizz has become so big that he doesn’t have a concept of “discreet” or “low-profile” anymore, but also that’s really sad, because all of this is adding up to a super agoraphobic imp whose success is great but also really isolating. And it’s BECAUSE he’s an imp, I’m willing to bet. And because he’s an imp who’s working for two different Sins and sleeping with one of them. Phew. It’s nice to see him cutting loose and having fun but also…Fizz is just really out of touch. I kinda hope that changes for him in the future, because he’s so excited about going outside before the whole kidnapping thing.

It took me way too long to realize that the confetti is sperm-shaped. (Also a little disappointed that sperm also looks the same in Hell but I guess you can only reinvent the wheel so many times before you just want to get on with it and tell the story already.)

AND HERE WE GO, FIZZAROLLI AND BLITZO CONFRONTATION PART TWO! This time, in the streets, where brawling is acceptable!

The banter is fine, not exactly glittering but there is probably a little bit too much of a sharp edge between them to make it more fun and less hurt. Their arguing isn’t really fun for either one of them and it’s kind of obvious in how they both go for the throat pretty quickly to try and make the other one pissed off and leave. Fizz touching Blitzo’s pendant before shoving him away is kind of uncalled for (which makes me think Fizz knows exactly what Blitzo lost in that fire—just not the extent to which it damaged him). Blitzo calling Fizz a pampered attention whore is a low blow, so Fizz’s retaliation of “my horns were always bigger than yours…weren’t they?” is…phew. The look on his face, the darkening of the shadows around his eyes—even if this is your first time viewing and you have NO IDEA why these two hate each other so much now, the way Fizz looks when he says that and the way Blitzo turns his face away are really indicative of how much that comment hurt. And WITH CONTEXT??? It’s an especially vicious crotch-shot, knowing that it really was an accident and Blitzo really does regret that happening, but Fizzarolli still thinks he did it ON PURPOSE after being best friends their whole lives. I wonder how Fizz interprets Blitzo’s turning away, because he sure as fuck doesn’t think Blitzo is sorry for it. Ashamed, maybe, but not sorry.

I also gotta wonder what kind of day Blitzo was having that made him go at Fizz and tackle him like a freight train. He’s in Greed, for one thing, which isn’t his usual scene, and he’s fresh from being told by his twin sister that she never wants to see him even now that she’s gotten her life together. Blitzo is down to fight at any given moment, but brawling with Fizz in the street? Highly reactive even for him. Also makes me wonder how much they fought like that as kids, because Blitzo has no problem tackling him but later on is surprised that Fizz doesn’t really know how to fight. (And I have further thoughts on that, but let’s check in on the plot first.)

Seeing Striker doing a job interview with Crimson is such an expected team-up but it’s so good. All the ways the characters sort of interconnect is so much fun to track. Wonder if Striker sees the family resemblance between Moxxie and Crimson, because I imagine it would be an awkward conversation if it ever came up that Striker drools when he tries to choke the life out of Crimson’s son that he also wants dead now and is really homophobic towards.

Picking back up on my “Fizzarolli doesn’t know how to fight” train of thought: Blitzo does, though. Blitzo is very talented at killing people. He could dismantle and slaughter Fizzarolli at any time if he was being serious about it. But that’s not what their fighting is about. I imagine it’s something of a pressure release for both of them; they have a lot of baggage built up from fifteen years of dealing with the aftermath of the fire. They’re angry, but this is less about wishing each other serious harm and more like communicating how angry they are at each other (at themselves, at the situation, at all of it). While a crowd forms and they roll around getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies. In an angry way. :P They’re grinning at certain points in their fight, right up until the second Striker lassos them up to Crimson’s office.

(Side note but Striker calling Blitzo “Blitzy” being the only concession this episode makes to their history and especially what Striker just did to Stolas does make me sad, but this episode isn’t about Stolitz, it’s about Fizzarozzie and also Fizz and Blitzo reconnecting and healing that hurt between them. Stolas gets his moments but they are appropriately apart from Blitzo, even as his motivation in being there with Oz in the first place is Blitzo-driven. It’s fine. It’s all fine. We are exploring other characters right now.)

Ozzie being an engineer is such a fun thing to have him do, and it makes perfect sense with the sex toy industry. But I also love the idea that he gets to work on projects that aren’t sex toy related but still fun for him. Like Fizzarolli’s limbs. I am extrapolating pretty heavily here but I’m pretty sure even if it isn’t said, it’s shown that Oz designed them and maintains them. Big man needs a hobby, after all. (Also I love how it seems like he uses watch alarms to remind himself to do things? Big ADHD energy, he’s just like me for real :P)

YEAH THE FACT THAT HE HAS A GIANT PAINTING OF HIMSELF AND FIZZ IN HIS GODDAMNED OFFICE. THEY AREN’T IN THE SAME ZIP CODE AS DISCREET.

Stolas!! Looking healed up and nervous, poor guy. Asmodeus is much nicer to him when they aren’t making a ruckus in his club. I also like how he refers to Blitzo as feisty. Despite knowing exactly why Fizz hates him. Might just be being nice for Stolas’ sake, see what he wants before pissing him off. Idk. LOVE the way Ozzie’s face immediately falls when Stolas says he has feelings for Blitzo, though—man probably has meetings like this all the time, rich assholes begging him for love potions. Gosh it would be nice if Stolas and Oz could become a little friendlier; Stolas could use more friends and I think Oz could use some support from someone else who knows something about what he’s going through, being immortal high-profile royalty in love with an imp. I’m not making myself sad.

Okay the way Oz just SCARFS DOWN AN ENTIRE BOWL OF CANDY while Stolas is talking. I never noticed that before. Omg. But it does seem to me that Ozzie is surprised at the request—maybe even pleasantly so, since it isn’t for a love potion—before having to let him down easy. And I respect Oz so much for keeping the story a secret (even if he does call him BlitzO, which pretty much confirms that Fizz told him the story. I wonder if Fizzarolli told him before the night at Ozzie’s or not).

DING DONG TIME TO PLOT. I love that Crimson, that dramatic bitch, paused for effect to give Ozzie enough time to indeed ask if he has any idea who he’s fucking with. Showmanship; let it never be said that Crimson doesn’t have it. I do have to wonder if “weakest and most non-threatening of the Sins” refers to the fact that he has such an obvious weak point, or if Asmodeus really is the weakest power-wise. Because, uh. Beelzebub has a hellhound boyfriend. Yet nobody seems to be going after her through him. And so much more interesting that Crimson goes for Oz, not Mammon, to get ransom for Fizz. Maybe because Crimson knows better than to shit where he eats, so to speak. And Mammon might get a lot of money out of Fizz but he might not respond to a ransom demand the way Oz would.

Ozzie’s tea set is fire chicken themed. I love it.

Ozzie’s heart might bleed for Stolas…but Stolas has plenty of reason to return the favor now. Stolas doesn’t strike me as someone who’s up to date on all the gossip, so watching his expression as he learns how much Oz cares for Fizz is enlightening.

Now back to Blitzo and Fizz! Even when they hate each other, they’re still helping each other out and distracting each other from how bad this situation is. Not purposely, I don’t think, but they’re old friends. They have patterns that they follow, that are comfortable to fall back into. Probably not the first time they’ve been accused of gossiping like a couple of teen skanks :P AND IT WILL NOT BE THE LAST! But the way they can pretty much peel each other’s masks off with fairly little effort—it’s a much-needed conversation that they both had to have, and I’m excited to see Blitzo and Fizz continuing to hang out in s2.5. Mainly because if anyone in Hell is going to get Blitzo to admit to having feelings without them just sort of ripping out of him in the heat of the moment, it would be Fizzarolli. Look at how much he gets Blitzo talking about Stolas while they’re tied up. Heeee.

Here's the thing though, too…the way Blitzo says here “royal demons don’t give a shit about guys like us, they’re all the fucking same” and during maybe Full Moon is going to say “you fucks think you can do this every time, like you can just play with our feelings because we’re smaller and not as important”—Blitzo, who else hurt you?? Because the thing with Stolas hasn’t been exactly the best for him in a lot of ways, but this speaks of prior experience.

Aaaand enter the asshat. Hello, Striker. It’s interesting, but what Fizz says…well, it’s not wrong, but it’s certainly not right, either. “Neither of you filthbags know what you’re even talking about; if you think you’re superior to anyone, then you’re no better than any royal—” Well…the arguments are more nuanced than that. But maybe pointing out the flaws in Striker’s logic isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do when you’re tied up, Fizz. It’s also interesting that for the first time we’re starting to get somewhere with this messy social conversation. And maybe it isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility that Fizz’s ten-year isolation from being among other imps has warped his views, despite the fact that Fizz definitely still undergoes plenty of discrimination (and degrading new flavors of it, being famous and with a widely-available sex doll of himself out there causing thirstier freaks to follow him around. Hell, VALENTINO has one, though it’s custom and renamed). Fizz has access to privileges that Blitzo and Striker don’t; moving up the social ladder, even if it’s a superficial move, can still cause some striking opinion changes. Idk it just smacks of “why can’t we all just get along?” to me, which I know I said a lot as a teenager and young adult before I fully understood a lot of the hot button issues I was getting confused by and frustrated with and how that sentiment is not helpful, not realistic, and in many cases actively detrimental to actual nuanced discussion.

I’m not saying Striker and Blitzo are right and Fizz is wrong. I’m saying it’s more complicated than that, than what any one of them are saying. But all three sure do know that being an imp sucks and can be dangerous and it’s often the fault of the higher-ups.

(The way that Fizz and Blitzo still blush around each other, though. And keep winding up in each other’s space. And get progressively more comfortable with that. They were friends, once. Really good friends. Probably more than friends. It’ll be good for them to be in each other’s lives again.)

Hang on, have to have feelings about how Blitzo looks furious the second Striker puts his hands on Fizz.

Back to Stolas and Oz: he was already groaning about paperwork he had to do before meeting up with Stolas, but the fact that he’s in MORE PAPERWORK? Egregious. I love that Stolas didn’t leave, either; it’s unlikely that Asmodeus would have let him, given that he has no way to ensure Stolas’ silence, but it really speaks more about Stolas’ desire to be helpful and useful, at least to me. And look! Stolas IS helpful and useful! Because Oz REALLY needs to know what’s in these contracts!! (I love how the captions call Stolas’ giggle “excited chicken noises” when those are excited OWL noises, excuse you XD)

Can SOMEONE, ANYONE, talk to me about how when Blitzo cuts Fizz free, he frees his arms but leaves his legs and also his nipples taped over? Because it amuses me every time. (Also, I know Blitzo has been competent this entire time, but why is he so sexy and competent in this episode in particular, it is really distracting, send help. It wouldn’t be nearly so cool if his escape plan wasn’t so OFF THE WALLS INSANE, and if the emotional walls weren’t about to come down. I have a problem.)

I love how you can tell Blitzo has been formulating this plan since Striker used the boxes to lean over into their vicinity—and that with a quick glance around, Blitzo has a plan to not only get himself and Fizzarolli down, but to make sure he takes out as many enemies as he can in the process. BLITZO MIGHT BE A GENIUS. AND IT FUCKING WORKS, DAMN HIM. It’s the most loony toons ass shit I’ve ever seen. I’m in love with this plan.

I love the tiny details, too—Fizz still being grossed out by blood, Blitzo managing to score himself a drink out of the debacle, and then CRIMSON WALKING BY WITH CUCUMBER SLICES ON HIS EYES. Heck. Moxxie got his dramatics somewhere, alright.

And now! Now that some of the ice has broken! The banter between Blitzo and Fizz as they dance around danger is SPARKLING. There’s still unresolved tension that’s going to come busting out here very soon, but they’re more in sync now. So they’re actually ready for this conversation, actually ready to hear each other. Which is important, because there are some misconceptions on both sides to start working through and if they aren’t listening to each other, they’re never going to get through them.

I want to marinate on some of what Fizz says here—I looked up to you, I thought you were my best friend. “I looked up to you.” HHHHGK. Okay. What we know about Fizz—here and in the next episode—is that Fizz has a pretty chronic people-pleasing streak, especially for his heroes (Mammon, maybe Cash at one point). Blitzo and Fizz are the same age or very near it, so for Fizz to look up to him, Blitzo must have been looking out for him for a long time, taking the lead with his stronger opinions, protecting Fizz from some of his creepier fans. And Blitzo was already forming that self-hatred streak that turns into a full-on personality quirk after the fire, but he cared about Fizzarolli. CARES about Fizzarolli. It seems Blitzo has been to therapy enough to be able to accept that what happened at the circus was an accident, but he still blames himself for it—and when so many other people do as well, is it any wonder he can’t let go of blaming himself?

And then that turning point of the memory, Fizz reaching out for help and Blitzo turning his back—this makes me want to know what all happened in the aftermath, how much Fizz knows about who all died in the fire. If Cash was looking after Fizz and keeping Blitzo from seeing him (not looking forward to that at all, s2.5), it’s unlikely that Fizz doesn’t know that Blitzo and Barbie’s mother died. I just wonder if it has truly taken him this long to put two and two together—to see Blitzo’s tears, his scars, to know how much Blitzo loved his mother, and to suddenly understand what it must have been like for Blitzo to be living with the knowledge that he caused the accident that killed her and ruined Fizzarolli—or if Fizz has been operating under the assumption that Blitzo is a heartless waste of space for fifteen years and their entire friendship was a lie without thinking further into it. Because I’ll be honest, folks, until Fizzarolli finally sees Blitzo break, I don’t think Fizz allowed himself to think of the alternative, of how much Blitzo must have also been hurting this entire time. Fizz is certainly not to blame for not thinking of it, given everything he’s been through and how Blitzo just seemed to disappear from his life. It’s just a very shitty hand they were both dealt, and they handled it in ways that made it easier to process and try and move on with life.

Now let’s get the full picture from Blitzo, SHALL WE?

(Dammit. Don’t have an age for this birthday for Fizz. MY TIMELINE IS INCOMPLETE AND PROBABLY WRONG, CAN WE PLEASE GET SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILS??)

“There was SO MUCH going on, I was TRYING to get help” holy fuck, Blitzo. Yeah, when your entire life is going up in flames thanks to one careless mistake, it’s hard to know what to go for first. But. Blitzo DOES have his priorities in order, actually. His mother is the top priority. He’s not wrong for that. Just like Loona being his top priority in Western Energy. Only in Western Energy, he’s in a position to send help. He wasn’t in that position at the circus fire. You can read his lips after the firework hits his eye that he saw Fizz, he was trying to point Fizz out to anyone who could help, but his mother’s tent being on fire was more important. Fizz mattered. But so did Mom. Another impossible situation for Blitzo to try and navigate and he does the best he can.

But let’s break this down a little: Blitzo has the love letter and flower for Fizz, decides against giving it, pushes the guy carrying the cake…freaks out the hell horses…kaboom…mouthing “Fizz” to people…yeah, braceface…and then “Mom” and running off. Gosh, Brandon Rogers’ delivery for this is so perfect, so emotional, how the FUCK has he never done voice acting before because he’s NAILING IT. I am CRYING.

“You have no idea what I lost in that fire.” I mean…everything. His mother, but also his sister, his dad, his best friend, any kind of support system whatsoever that he might have had with the rest of the circus troupe—yeah, Fizz lost all four limbs and both horns and it’s a miracle he’s even alive, but it does seem like he had a little bit of support after the fact. Who the fuck did Blitzo have? I am in NO WAY saying that either Blitzo or Fizz had it worse than the other. Again, very shitty hand dealt to both of them, and for Fizzarolli to be where he is in life after that kind of tragedy is an astounding show of resilience and strength. And, frankly, for Blitzo to be where he is in life is impressive, too, as emotionally fucked up as he is. He’s still creating a family that he can rely on again—and reconnecting with Fizzarolli is part of that process. Blitzo and Barbie might never be okay again and sometimes that’s just how life works, but for Blitzo to be able to reconnect with Fizz after something like this got between them—and then Cash made it worse—that’s huge. That’s amazing.

Seeing it all come together for Fizz, though, finally understanding just how backwards he had Blitzo’s motivations and emotions—heck. Heeeeeck.

(I mean, fuck, if it’s taking being in a hostage situation for Blitzo and Fizz to talk and reconnect and more importantly for Blitzo to spill his emotional guts, WHAT KIND OF SHITSTORM IS IT GONNA TAKE FOR HIM TO BE HONEST WITH STOLAS???)

I love the moment they both realize that they were both lied to, but it does make me wonder how often this happened or how often they were told to stay away from each other. Because with the way Blitzo walks away from the party—not just chickening out, but actively upset, crying, shoving people out of his way—pretty sure it happened a lot, that people told him he was going to fuck up Fizzarolli’s future if he attached himself to Fizz like a barnacle for much longer. And I love too that Fizzarolli is honest: fifteen years of resentment is hard to work through, and forgiveness is going to be tough for Fizz to grant. But Fizz is the true optimist between the two of them, and the one who arguably has the better life now; it’s good that he can be honest and say that while it wasn’t easy, the fire didn’t break him.

Heeee, watching Fizz just point Blitzo at things instead of fighting, though. Perfect teamwork, no notes.

Almost as perfect as that knowing little grin that Blitzo is giving Fizz the entire time he’s trying to deflect about Ozzie. They see right through each other. It’s the annoying thing about lifelong friends.

AND LOOK AT BLITZO KEEPING HIMSELF BETWEEN FIZZAROLLI AND THE GOONS COMING AT THEM NOW. I AM WEEPING OKAY.

See—Striker doesn’t voice any complaints about Blitzo saying “don’t you dare talk sexy to ME” at his “break you like a fucking horse” comment (which was arguably pretty sexy, actually), but he absolutely DOES object to Fizz’s comment about getting hard later. It’s just very funny to see a hitman being picky like that while on the job, y’know?

“You’re still on the horse thing?” WHY IS THAT THE FUNNIEST THING THAT ANYONE HAS EVER SAID. LIFELONG FRIENDS. THEY’RE THE WORST.

If you will all excuse me, I need to go sing along with this musical number for a moment. Because it’s brilliant. (And I don’t know how I missed Fizz slipping a hand up under Blitzo’s jacket to get at his keychain while holding him. These two canNOT stop feeling each other up. It makes me laugh.)

My favorite part of the song is the building falling down after the fact, so I don’t know why they don’t include it in the official music video :P

LOOK HOW PROTECTIVE BLITZO IS NOW THAT HE HAS FIZZ BACK THOUGH. HE. PROTECTS. HIS. PEOPLE.

Y’know. Relatively. By blowing them up sometimes. But still!

…does…does Striker have a double-voice thing going?? Because he’s obviously hit his limit of the protagonists’ plot armor fucking him over, but even for a guy at the end of his rope, there’s something very sinister about his voice in particular. Just gonna. File that in with my “is Striker working for Roo somehow??” pseudo-theory.

Okay the fact that Blitzo uses FUCKING CIRCUS TRAINING to get Fizz out of there, though. Like. It’s known that Blitzo has it, but it’s never been so obvious as it is in this moment.

THE LOOK ON BLITZO’S FACE WHEN FIZZ HUGS HIM THOUGH. They both needed this so badly, but that look lives in my head rent-free and I WEEP.

Hang on have to keep crying over how cute Fizz and Oz’s reunion is.

And, uh. I have mixed feelings about Stolas’ “Get fucked, little one” here. Because. Yeah, fuck that guy, he’s Crimson’s lawyer and was absolutely drawing the process out longer than it needed to be. But. “Little one?” Did we have to go there? Couldn’t have stopped at “get fucked?”

Look at how proud Ozzie is of himself for getting to fuck up Blitzo’s day even just a little bit. It’s a little ill-timed now and Fizz fixes it, but Ozzie is a good partner, okay.

THE FACT THAT THE CAPTIONS TELL US THE QUIEVES ALL MADE IT BACK OKAY. HHHHHHHHHHHHH.

…the fact that they’re called “quieves.” Like I get it, immature humor is what the Hellaverse is all about and I do giggle at it, but. Like. The same way I give puns a cursory giggle.

Just noticed too that the symbol for the O in Helluva Boss is the same symbol that’s on one of the circus balls that little Fizz was balancing on.

A good cathartic episode. Good backstory, good interpersonal conflict resolution. Some minor predictions for the upcoming season, but mostly about how this episode was SO GOOD for Blitzo and his character development. Really feels like it’s laying the fuse for his upcoming arc, smoothing the way for what is still going to be a very fucking bumpy ride. (There’s a reason why so many human AUs that have Blitzo and Stolas getting together in a more normal way usually have Blitzo on good terms with Fizz and sometimes Barb. Gotta get some of that emotional baggage resolved and out of the way already :P)

Okay! One episode to go! I’m excited! (Might also do the short, since it exists and it’s about Millie and Sallie May and it’s adorable.)

#quilly's hellaverse theories #helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #quilly writing

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makeyouminemp3 · 3 years ago

Text

I Dare You To Kiss Me

brooke davis x fem!reader

summary: after a long night of sneaking out of your parents house to go for a late night swim with Brooke. The two of you end up staying at your place, sleeping in the same bed.

warning: slight mention of homophobia and internalized homophobia, but mostly just fluff

words: 1236

requests: open (I write for glee, the vampire diaries universe including the originals and legacies, teen wolf, and one tree hill)

a/n: I love Brooke, and I wanna write her. And she's probably gonna be the only oth character I write for. I might write for Haley, Nathan, maybe even Lucas. Still debating. Also a few of the lines are inspired from Life is Strange because I love Pricefield. Don't judge me. Also its a little cringey and cheezy, but I like to do that once in a while, so...

masterlist

gif not mine *but she's absolutely gorgeous*

You and Brooke had stayed at your place after having fun at the schools swim pool. Your parents didn't know, they thought you were fast asleep, so you and your best friend snuck through the window and had slept in the same bed.

You always had these weird feelings for Brooke that were completely unexplained. You lived in a Christian household where you were taught that two people of the same sex being together was bad, and that they'd got to hell. But at school, you were taught that love is love. You and Brooke were best friends since Junior High along with Peyton too. You three had become your own unholy trinity. Then it became a quartet in junior year when Haley James, now Haley James Scott due to her and Nathan marrying last year.

In the morning, you had woken up to Brooke's arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you close, so that your back was pressed against her chest. You felt both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. You didn't want it to stop, but yet you were terrified of the fact you'd most likely get caught. Then your parents would send you to boarding school, or conversion therapy. Or both.

You slowly got up from your bed, moving Brooke's arm off of you. You went over to the bedroom door and walked down the hall to your parents bedroom. You put your ear on the door and heard nothing, then opened the door to see both of your parents gone.

They could've gone to work, but you walked downstairs to make sure. If they weren't at work or in bed. Your dad be sitting on the couch watching a football game, and your mom cooking breakfast. But they weren't here, you saw a note on the fridge saying 'breakfast I'd in the fridge. Enjoy! - love, mom'

You appreciated the fact your mom made food for you. You saw she made French toast, you had that with a glass of milk. As you were eating, Brooke had decided to sneak up on you and spooked you, "Boo ya!" and that made you spill the rest of your milk all over your clothes.

"Jesus, what the fuck is wrong you?"

"Chill. I was just having fun." she responds. You slowly got up from your seat and went back upstairs and tried looking through clothes, you felt Brooke put her hand on your shoulder, "You know, I left clothes of mine the other day you can wear. Since your going through a fashion crisis."

"My parents would kill me if they saw me wearing your clothes. They already think you're a bad influence on me. The other day, I heard my mom slut shaming you just because you wore a crop top." you responded, still searching for clothes. Brooke had rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on, y/n. Stop second guessing yourself. Put this on, and let your inner bitch flow through you and come out. You can afford to take chances! Whenever and whatever you want to try... for example, I dare you to kiss me!"

You were in complete poker face at that last sentence and spoke up, "What?"

"I double dare you. Kiss me now."

You had all the power in the world. One choice and there's a possibility of ruining your friendship. But then there was an opportunity to become something more if Brooke wasn't joking about it.

You were in love with Brooke since 7th grade, but even you didn't know it. But Peyton did. Five years later and nothing has changed, feelings were still the same you had. Yet you were clueless to the fact that you like girls. You took the chance you had and you leaned forward and kissed Brooke. She backs away in surprise, "Wow... I knew you would do it. I thought you were too chicken. But goddamn you're hardcore y/n. I mean, we can try again."

You immediately started stammering, "W-wait, what? Um... I'm not gay. I just would never pass up on a dare."

"I know when you lie. I've known you for years." She pulled a piece of a your hair behind your ear, "You think I'm that clueless to know that you like me as more than a friend. I mean... I'm Brooke Penelope Davis, I feel absolutely honored I can even pull women without trying." she pulled you a little bit closer, "Come on, y/n. I know you want to kiss me again."

"I can't." you say, "Its wrong. My parents had said a girl kissing a girl is wrong. Same with a guy and a guy."

She cupped your face and said, "It doesn't matter what your parents think. It matters what you think. Is kissing me wrong to you?"

"No. I want it to be. But it feels so right."

She then slowly kissed you deeply. You really liked the idea of kissing your longtime best friend. You felt her put her hands onto your hips as you two began making out, with her pushing you against the wall, attacking your neck with kisses from your chest to your jaw. With her her whispering in your ear, "It does feel right doesn't it?"

"Yes." you answered with your eyes closed. But then you heard your phone ring, bringing the both of you back to reality, "Great. Phone cockblocking me." you had answered the phone and had a conversation with your mom on the other line.

"Hey mom.... Yeah thanks for the breakfast, it was great..... No its okay, I'll go have lunch with Brooke--" then at that moment the Davis girl started planting more kisses onto your neck, you tried not to distract yourself as you heard your mom say that it was okay," Alright. Thank you mom. I love you too. Bye." you hung up the phone and turned to Brooke and playfully shoved her, "Not cool, B. Davis."

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it."

"Still, I didn't need you, girl kissing my neck whilst I'm on the phone with my Christian homophobic mother. If she found out, she'd disown me."

"Then live with me and Haley." she says, "You can come out. And if your parents don't accept you and kick you out. You have a place to stay."

"Thank you. I really want to, but I don't have the courage."

Brooke gave you a soft peck on the lips, "Deep down you do, y/l/n. You just need to dig a little deeper and find it. And when you do embrace who you are. I am so yours, proudly so. Because who gives a crap what all the other peasants think."

"Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too." and she pulled you into a hug.

The meaning 'I love you' towards each other had more than just a platonic meaning.

#one tree hill #oth #oth imagine #brooke davis #brooke davis x reader #brooke davis imagine #sophia bush #sophia bush imagine #sophia bush x reader

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anne-i-write · 4 years ago

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moriarty the patriot headcannons

| requested by anon: “uhhh kinda weird lmao but how would the moriarty bros react to an s/o from the future? (Headcanons) thanks! OwO” |

william x reader; louis x reader; albert x reader

word count: 1355

tw: a few swears, if i’m missing any please let me know!

a/n: i’m so sorry that these are coming out so slow please enjoy!

william: 317 words

please

as soon as you wake up he’ll be staring at you intently

“where am i?”

“durham, england, 1880… and in my room”

it takes you like ten minutes to process everything that’s going on because: “i’m dreaming right??? or did i actually shift???

after finally accepting the fact you indeed did not shift and are not dreaming, you finally looked at the man who had stayed silent during your incoherent ramblings

“you seem more awake now, is it alright if i ask a few questions?”

hhh he’s such a gentleman

you both honestly take this whole time shift thing really well

louis definitely walks in on you two and he’s like,,

“who tf are you and how did you get in”

sdjkfhd pls its so funny when you guys converse

his speaking manner is so refined and yours is just,, yours

but he loves it

he thinks its cute

he comes up with a story for you because there were people who were no doubt going to question how you came into his life

and from there you two hit it off really well

accidentally said you two were to be wed during a conversation and the nobles went insane

when you are on the carriage ride back from the party he apologizes for saying something so out of line

“i wouldn’t mind being married to you, william.”

this man always has something to say but THIS

YOU

he wanted to respond with something witty but you just,, existed and made him melt

“let’s go buy a ring tomorrow then.”

asks you questions about the future

only trivial things, never if his plan works in the long term

but judging by the way you talk about your previous life he can tell that everyone is somewhat equal, except for “the dumbass politicians” you speak about

oh did i mention he picks up your swears too LMAO

louis: 459 words

he’s heading back to his room when you come OUT of his room

“who tf are you, how did you get into this house, and why are you here”

instant kill mode

you think you’re dreaming so you’re like,, ok cool and you tell him most of your life story and he’s like

??????

has never been more dumbfounded in his life

who is this person and what are they wearing and why are they telling me their life story

eventually the rest of the moriarty team gets involved and matters are settled lmao

you all agree that staying in the manor is the best course of action at the moment

louis thinks you’re taking this a little too well so he’s still a little sus of you

like seriously,, the future?? cmon now

the people you’re working for probably made those weird clothes for you

but anyways

you’re helping him clean the house and cook

“this is fun,,, but honestly?? if i have to do this by myself everyday i would cry”

you keep saying this and you know it’s getting annoying for louis but he ISNT TALKING

if you can’t beat em, annoy em

finally gives in

“how did you used to wash clothes in the future?”

and you get this big smile on your face and you start TALKING

you’re so excited that he finally spoke to you

even tho you know you lowkey annoyed him

but you’re talking and louis is like,, huh

you’re talkative, but not annoying at all

you have little stories that make him laugh sometimes

needless to say you both get closer

but it isn’t until one night louis is making rounds around the manor that he passes by your room and hears crying

so he’s worried and he goes into your room

bruh you try pulling that shit where you wipe away your tears and be like “oh i’m okay!”

like,, no u aren’t

louis makes you spill what’s bothering you

“my friends, my family… are they okay? are they looking for me?? they must be so worried”

note that you’ve already been at the moriarty estate for about two months without any word that you can return to your own time

and louis holds you

he teaches you more about the year that you’re currently stuck in and he tries to take your mind off of the bad things

asks william to buy more books to indulge you bc you have some book withdrawals bc “WHAT DO YOU MEAN A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING HASNT BEEN PRINTED YET” followed by a short crying session

he’s a really good boyfriend

you taught him what a boyfriend was and he couldn’t stop thinking about how much society’s view on relationships changed

albert: 579 words

is walking down the streets at night when he sees you barreling down the road in your clothes

you look pretty scathed when you run right into him

“are you alright?”

you’re scared and out of breath but he’s wearing what you can only assume is a uniform of england

he takes you to his place and tries to calm you down

he asks you questions and you tell him everything straight out

you know you look crazy but you couldn’t bring yourself to care

you were just walking back from a friend’s place IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and you felt dizzy and you woke up alone in a dark alleyway

“where are you from?”

you obviously give him your city but he corrects himself

“what year are you from?”

“2019”

doesn’t want to believe you bc you’re all frantic and maybe insane

but your clothes just seem to different for him to brush off the possibility

tells you to sleep it off and gives you his bed

he’s already writing a letter to his brothers that he’s possibly coming back with someone

“ohoho brother albert has a suitor now?”

anyways, albert asks you more questions about your other life as you’re both on the train to durham

albert went out to buy you more fitting clothes before leaving and you couldn’t even repay him

but he tries to get you in a comfortable position so you don’t spiral again

but he’s genuinely nice about it when he finally accepts the fact that you are in fact from the future

funny enough, you both don’t get each others names until you get onto the train

“oh, my name is albert james moriarty”

and you’re briefly like “oh like sherlock’s nemesis” but then you remember that this is only the victorian era

sherlock holmes doesn’t exist, it’s just a coincidence

so you both get to the manor and he introduces you to the moriarty team and this is where you’re like,,

oh my God

this is real and i know the ending

you suddenly want to travel back further in time and never meet them bc they’re all really sweet towards you

and you got attached to them more than you should have

albert notices you’re a little tense so he makes small conversation to get your mind off of things

“i do like to play the piano”

bro

they have a piano delivered to the house to make you feel more comfortable and hopefully keep you occupied

itching and nostalgic (ironic), you play songs from rachmaninoff and joe hisaishi, despite it being from the future

everyone knows chopin so shhh

“that’s beautiful, did you compose that?”

“no, but another composer did, i don’t even think he exists yet”

you’re very adamant on keeping things the same

like,, no i’m not going to tell you how to create a washing machine because i don’t want to mess up the timeline if i do go back to the future

you do get very sad occasionally because you are homesick and being placed in a world where you have only heard stories of is very disorienting

but albert and the boys make up for it

albert always tries to be by your side and if he can get his hands on a piano sheet he’ll buy one for you and see if you already know it

it’s always nice to have them around, but you know the troubles you’ll eventually have to face

moriarty the patriot taglist: @zoehanji

#moriarty the patriot #moriarty the patriot x reader #yuukoku no moriarty #yuukoku no moriarty x reader #albert james moriarty #albert james moriarty x reader #louis james moriarty #louis james moriarty x reader #william james moriarty x reader #william james moriarty

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ohheyitsokay · 3 years ago

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home

part 10 of the ‘hey batter batter’ series

pairing: Francisco (Frankie, Catfish) Morales x reader

wordcount: 3k

warnings: so so soo much fluff. clouds and clouds worth. kissing, implications of sex (blink and you’ll miss it)

summary: it’s a Triple Frontier Baseball AU! Trust me, you don’t need to know anything about baseball.

In this chapter, you and Frankie finish the season and the summer, and know it’s only the beginning.

notes: thank you all so much for supporting this little story of mine! I genuinely am blown away by how kind everyone has been! originally I planned on this series just being a couple of one-shots set in the same universe, but it got away form me, and I can’t believe so many of you came along for the ride. some of those stories will come in time, but thank you thank you thank you to everyone who stuck around this long! all the love for all of you!

It was a beautiful day for a baseball game.

The sun was shining and for once your bones weren’t shaking with the rumble of the stadium as people stomped and cheered. In fact, the majority of the noise was from Frankie’s momma as she chattered across your lap to your grandfather. The two of them were discussing gardening and how well season was played, how proud they were, the best of friends. It was peaceful, almost, and most of the flashing lights and roaring crowds were away – it was the final game, a charity fundraiser, all fun.

You could see your catcher as he turned, looking at your section like he couldn’t help but search for you, and you smiled, heart as full and as warm as the sun on your shoulders. His curls were sticking out from under his helmet haphazardly, the pads on his shoulders and thighs making him even more solid, and it was a sight that you’d never get tired of. Combined with the smells of warm pastries, jalapeños and melted cheese, contentment settled into your soul like a hand in a glove, a perfect fit.

It was the of the ninth and they were playing well, encouraged by the cause and playing for the love of of the game instead of a paycheck. Behind you, you heard someone mention just how well Frankie had batted this season, and you brushed pan dulce sugar from your lap.

The players had told you last week after all the big games were done why Santi had offered to pay for you and James to fly to see their final games. At the time, it had baffled you how intensely they insisted, how eagerly the pushed it, and how your boyfriend had looked equal parts embarrassed and hopeful, but eventually you agreed, assuming you could get the time off from work. When the secret came out you laughed, shaking your head and rolling your eyes.

They had exchanged smiles and shrugged and shared knowing glances as they let you explain away what they knew was true. You were their luck.

The thought was long gone from your mind now though, as Ben was doing weird poses on the field, and you heard chuckles ripple through the crowds. Fans of him and the team alike were endlessly charmed, and you knew you’d catch comments about it for months to come. His brother was just standing, and still you heard dreamy sighs of Will’s name, and made a mental note to tease him after the game about his “blonde halo”. Whatever that meant.

Santi threw a perfect curveball, and when it landed firmly in Frankie’s glove, you heard a girl swoon, “That’s my man!” and the laughter of her friends, as they called her “Mrs. Morales”.

“No!” his momma was glaring over her shoulder tugging on your elbow, as if physically fighting them was a viable option. You tugged back, making soothing noises as she protested, “Mi frijol.” The sweet lady muttered something else and before your heart could latch on to what you could’ve sworn was something about the future and tu marido you moved on.

“I know, I know,” you were saying, when James leaned over, glint in his sweet, aging eyes.

“She’s right, honey,” he said, only encouraging his friend, and you grinned.

“He’s my boy,” she said again with an air of finality, “and yours."

Looking at your grandfather sheepishly, you pointed at your shirt and shrugged as he said, “Right again.”

You were wearing his backup Jersey.

Cheesy as it was, it felt good to have the little claim of his over your skin, and while it wasn’t obvious to everyone, you wore it with pride. Comments from his fans slid off it like raindrops on a tin roof, and while you apricated her inclusion, you didn’t need it to know he was yours, as you were his.

Jimbo leaned towards the woman at your side and whispered conspiratorially in her ear, and she settled, and you left it, enjoying their friendship. The day was too lovely for anything else, anyway.

Catch, catch, walk, look for his girlfriend, sit, swing, hit, run, walk, sit. Repeat.

Nothing so eventful happened the last few minutes of the game, and as the Will went out for his final bat, you felt a surprising wave of bittersweet nostalgia for all that had passed since the opening game, cold as an evening breeze.

Then the ball cracked against the bat, and the sound snapped you back, and you felt a fire under your breastbone, reminding you the best was yet to come.

Frankie’s mom finished her final cheers enthusiastically, all annoyance long gone, and she pulled you into a hug.

“Nieta is calling. Hug Francisco for me, hija, and I’ll see you tomorrow?” You nodded, squeezing her back almost as hard. You and Frankie were using his first real day off to babysit and get some quality time, and both of you were well aware this was hardly goodbye. You gave a gentler hug to your grandfather, who was going with her, whispering “Bye Jimbo,” as you kissed his cheek. He had conspired to let you stay out for the evening, and while you’d miss driving him home, you were grateful for the opportunity.

Seeing them safely as far as you could, your feet danced with excitement. Like it had been more than handful of times, they knew the path to the locker rooms, carrying you so light you were almost floating. When you slid into the waiting room, Frankie was already clean and looking for you anxiously. Maybe you should’ve given him a little wave from across the room, but you could do better.

You ducked away from his line of sight, and snuck around behind him before say, “hey, batter, batter.” He whipped around and before you could even register the grin on his face, he was pulling you against his chest.

“Hey yourself,” he said, and the two of you got one sweet, slightly needy kiss before you heard good-natured groans.

“It’s been like month,” Santi said, ruffling your hair as you stepped back, “Aren’t you guys done flirting?” You stuck your tongue out at him, wondering if you were fast enough to flick him in the forehead.

“Don’t bother,” Will said, his tone resigned but playful as he hugged you too. “Be happy he got her to stick around.” You pulled a face, and Benny laughed. They all knew by now that it was more than a summer fling, even Tom, who you realized hadn’t come out yet.

When you asked, they winced, and you dropped the topic, knowing they would tell you in their own time. Frankie pulled you back to him, his warm fingers lacing with yours as you herded them towards the door.

They were still working on things, still trying to figure out what their next steps looked like.

For now, you owed your baseball boys a dinner.

It had taken you a couple of times cooking for them to get the portions right. The Miller boys ate like they were hollow, and after a game was a testament to that.

Thankfully, you had more than enough this time, having been preparing their favorites for days with the enthusiastic help from Frankie’s mom, and begrudging help from his sister as a thank you to her hermano. The piled into your little space and ate gratefully, telling you about the game like you knew what they were talking about.

“Benny, why were you –” his deep laughter cut you off, and your hand shot out to grab Will’s wrist mid-throw. You had a rule against projectile food to keep them from squabbling like children at your makeshift dinner table. The dinner roll fell to his plate as Benny tried to explain, and Santi deadpanned.

“I was stretching, and I got distracted –”

“You were flirting with the entire stadium, Ben.”

“No! Well –”

It was warm and bright, eating dinner with them like a family, teasing and laughter filling the space like clear broth in the cool of night.

Frankie’s hand found your knee under the table.

The best part about these replacement-parties was watching them all try to help clean up. You were lucky professional athletes had fast reflexes, or you would’ve lost more than a few dishes to their shenanigans. They insisted, wouldn’t let you help, and things probably would’ve been put back correctly if you had, but it was great, letting things play out however they may. Maybe years and years down the road, you would tell a younger generation that you had some of the world’s most desirable athletes fighting in your kitchen over where you kept your dish soap refills.

And after, they would collapse in your living room, unearthing all the games from your shelves. One of your favorite moments from the summer was coming through thrift stores for games, ignoring the stare of jealousy and making ridiculous bets.

All the while, Frankie kept as close to you as he could, too busy watching you with wrinkles in the corners of his eyes to be embarrassed of his rambunctious friends.

When you and Will won the first game of the evening, he accidentally hit you in the face with the back of his hand as he flung his arms open in triumph.

It hadn’t hurt as badly as it would’ve if his brother had been the one talking with his hands, but Frankie had still thumped him in the back of the head before he followed you to the kitchen.

“Baby, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Frankie,” you laughed, but he was already taking the pack of frozen peas from your hand to press it against the lump forming on your temple. He was gentle, and the air shifted, like there was more on his mind than your minor injury. Brown eyes searching yours, you wished you knew what he was thinking.

“Francisco?” Your hands had settled on his chest but the moved around his neck when he moved the ice to ghost his lips over the spot. He didn’t answer for a moment, just setting the peas aside, and carefully trapping you against the counter.

There were noises of good-natured arguing coming from the living room, and you knew he was taking advantage of their distraction, carving a little pocket for the two of you in time.

“Te adoro,” his lips were almost hot as they pressed into yours. “I love you,” he said, so close you could feel the hairs on his upper lip still.

For the past month, your relationship had been fast, jumpstarting to serious and staying that was, but this was new. It was one thing, for him to tell you he wanted something real with you, wanted you to be a part of his life, and another to hear him say he loved you simply, without abandon. Still, you didn’t hesitate.

“I love you too.”

He kissed you again, unhurried, and you almost couldn’t return it, you were smiling so widely. Your bump was long forgotten.

When the two of you came out the kitchen, the others had barely noticed you were gone and Ben immediately was accusing you of cheating, but Santi shot you a knowing smile.

There was a gap of time when a season ended, when Molly’s inbox was mercifully void of emails. It was a time when the chaos of her job slowed, for a bit before she began her work for the off-season, and she relished it with every fiber of her being.

This particular gap began wrapped up in sheets with Tom, her Tom, kissing and wishing the world outside was a simple as this, in the little bubble of her room.

She could always tell though, when his mind was no longer filled with her, and the other sides of him began to leak through the cracks. His eyes moved with urgency instead of appreciation his hands moved a little slower and then in sudden jerks, and when he trailed off mid-sentence, she sighed.

“You told them, didn’t you?”

He rolled onto his back; his gaze pointed towards the ceiling.

“Right after the game,” he confessed, and she sighed again, sitting up. If nothing else, for him, she had endless patience.

“How’d that go?”

Her love was silent, thinking only of the embarrassment and defensiveness that had reared in his chest. The tilt of Santi’s head, Frankie’s slow nod. He wished Benny had been disappointed, wished Will had thought it was a joke.

“They understood,” Tom didn’t add that he hoped with all his considerable might that they had reacted stronger, hoped they had told him not to, said they needed him to stay, but they hadn’t. It wouldn’t have been true, anyway. They were growing, going somewhere he couldn’t follow.

Her hand ran over his chest as it filled with air, stilling over his heart.

“It’s time,” one of them said, and the other nodded.

Counseling. Rehab. Retirement.

Slowing down to coach at a local college.

He clenched his hand into a fist, and then relaxed, palm falling open, upwards.

The love of his life kissed his forehead.

It was time.

The first stop of the day was with James, spending the morning helping him around the house. Before this summer, you had thought you were his favorite grandchild, but he had essentially adopted Frankie months ago, and already liked him more than you.

The little old man talked excitedly about baseball and lectured your love on enjoying his off-season. He dragged him into the yard, talking his ear off about the benefits of different teas and the importance of volunteering with youth programs, and you settled inside, throwing away expired things from his fridge. Their absence was your only opportunity for the chore.

Honestly, the two of you needed to leave sooner than later and you weren’t sure how much time you had.

“Honey?” You dropped a can of whipped cream from a month ago guiltily.

“Yeah, Jimbo?”

He eyed you suspiciously but seemed too excited to be deterred by you.

“I put this together for you!” He said proudly, and you noticed a flash of the same mischief from yesterday in his eyes. Your grandfather handed you a box, and made you promise not to open in until you left. You hugged the sweet man, and smiled when Frankie did, too, before saying your goodbyes, thankful beyond words for him.

If it weren’t for him, you were sure you wouldn’t be climbing into the truck of your boyfriend, and certainly not having the catcher’s hand slide into yours. When you opened the box, the gratitude didn’t shrink, but your embarrassment rose.

Frankie laughed so hard you thought he was going to have to pull over.

It was full of Francisco Morales merchandise, signatures and memorabilia ranging from his very first baseball card to his most recent bobble head.

Frankie kissed your knuckles for the second time since you climbed into his truck, which was silly since it had only been three minutes since you left his mother’s house.

He could feel your look, answering before you even asked.

“I’m good, just… I love you,” he said, unable to keep his eyes on the road when he said it.

“I love you too, Frankie,” you said, wondering what prompted him.

“Could we… would you want to get dinner?” He looked thoughtful and you laughed.

“Are you asking me on a date?”

Your hand was lifted to his lips again, sending electricity up your spine as he confirmed.

The two of you had a bag full of Anita’s best by the time you entered his home, and he still hadn’t told you what was on his mind. The two of you ate, sharing stories about the day��s adventures, helping his mother around the house and watching, Bianca, his sweet, tiny new niece. You had a great conversation with his mother, and despite her excitable nature, she surprised you by asking you about your boundaries and promising not to overstep.

Frankie told you about his hermana, and her slowly opening up to the idea of letting him help her out, not as charity but family, and letting him shoulder some of the responsibilities. You watched the warmth in his eyes as he talked and wondered how it was possible for a single person to feel so safe.

Eventually the talking slowed, and you found yourself half falling asleep against the stretch of his chest, is hands slowing their wandering paths.

“Love?” he murmured into your hair. You hummed in response.

When he didn’t say anything, your mind woke, and you pulled yourself up, and into his lap, straddling him.

He looked up at you for a moment before you felt him sigh against you.

“I have this baby,” he said, and you couldn’t help but smile at his phrasing. Santi always said it was melodramatic. “Do you… is this all too much?”

His expression mirrored that of your first date, and you told him the same thing as you had then.

That you would stay, as long as he would have you. That you would navigate alongside him, that you were happy to. This time, you added that you loved him, and you felt him shift under you, anxiety leaking out of him, allowing solid adoration to replace it.

Frankie said, “Thank you,” against your mouth, and like a prayer. In the dim evening light, you kissed him, and as his hands slipped under your shirt to hold your sides, he held you for the first time like you were real.

And you were, this was something that wasn’t going away.

For the first time in a long time, it was a perfect day for something new, and his heart was here, beating under his hands.

translations:

pan dulce: pastries

mi frijol: my bean

tu marido: your husband

nieta: granddaughter

hija: daughter

hermano/a: brother, sister

te adoro: I adore you

taglist:

@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge @pbeatriz

hey batter batter taglist:

@icanbeyourjedi @studyofawearymind @hnt-escape @athalien @the-witty-pen-name @daffodin @sarahjkl82-blog @pintsizemama @anaaaispunk @pjkimrn @dobbyjen @stuckontheceiling

#francisco morales #francisco morales x reader #francisco morales x you #frankie x you #frankie x reader #triple frontier baseball au #hey batter batter #maybe i don't know people

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insomniac-dot-ink · 5 years ago

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Books I’ve Read in 2020

AHello! I’m trying to read as many books as I can during the quarantine, here’s what I’ve finished so far:

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (literary fiction): a son writes a letter about his life to his illiterate mother. Breathtakingly beautiful with it’s way with words this book is lovely and real in the hardest and sweetest ways. The author’s combination of prose and poetry is dazzling and intricate, this book has stuck with me for days afterward. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (fantasy): a money-lender gets in trouble after bragging she can turn silver into gold and is kidnapped and ordered to do so by a fey creature. It may be that I am the perfect audience for this type of book, but it’s my favorite thing I’ve read all year. It’s a book that equally takes on the fantastical and real-world with compelling female characters at the center of the whole thing. A wonderful fantasy journey inspired by eastern-European Jewish folklore. 5 out of 5 stars.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (horror graphic novel): a series of short horror comics. Absolutely bone-chilling! This was a really fun type of scary story, especially the last one which made my skin absolutely crawl. Deliciously eerie, this was treat to read if not a little too short. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (magical realism): a young girl can taste other people’s emotions in their cooking and begins to understand her family in new ways. This was a weird book, but it has everything you’ve got to love about that combination of the surreal and mundane. It’s sense of character was electrifying and I had fun engaging with this type of off-kilter real world. I was a little frustrated in parts bc of some characters choices, but that too was true to life. 4 out of 5 stars.

Crier’s War by Nina Varela (steampunk fantasy wlw): about a Made automaton heir to a throne and her human hand-maiden that is trying to kill her. This was an easy read with a lot of tension between the two main characters that I liked, but the writing itself was very weak. There was waaay too much exposition in parts and the dialogue had some really hockey lines. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the middle of the book, but the beginning and end didn’t have much movement. 2.5 stars out of 5.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn (historical fiction): honestly, I’m a little disappointed. This book just did not hit my sweet spots, it wasn’t fast-paced enough for me to get immersed in the plot, and the characters weren’t real enough to be wholly invested in them. That said I adored Nina Markova and the Night Witches, so that did help. 3 starts out of 5.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White (horror sci-fi retelling): HAND IN UNLOVABLE HAND. A retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein from the perspective of Victor Frankenstein’s wife and my God! The characters! The plot was well-enough, but the characters took the whole show for being complex and compelling. The main character was breathtakingly layered and I was wholly invested in Elizabeth and her story and the triumph at the end of this story was tangible. 4 out of 5 stars!

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (fantasy): A story of a young woman who lives in a valley where a girl must go live with a wizard for 10 years. She is certain she won’t be chosen, but ends up having to be “uprooted” herself. I enjoyed most of this book! However, I think I liked “Spinning Silver” a lot more just because the ending of this one somehow lost me. The characters were good and plot compelling, but (SPOILERS) the big battle at the end seemed to drag and didn’t interest me somehow. 3.8 out of 5 stars.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (fantasy): excellent read! A story of a young woman in Jazz Age Mexico who goes on an adventure with a Mayan death God who is trying to regain his throne. A romp across the country absolutely brimming with likable characters and fairy tale twists. My only complaint would be that most of it felt a little predictable due to the fact we knew where we were going throughout the whole story, However, it was still greatly enjoyable for the heroine herself, Casiopea. 4 out of 5 stars!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (literary): a story of two families in a progressive “planned” community, how their lives intertwine, their secrets, and a central question surrounding motherhood. Deeply empathetic to its characters and introspective, this is an every-day story of people in suburbia that reads like a thriller. I could barely put it down and felt deeply for its characters and situations, 5 out of 5 stars!

Wilder Girls by Rory Power (YA sci-fi suspense): a story of a group of girls at a boarding school on an island affected by the “tox” which alters their bodies in strange ways like giving them scales or an extra spine. This was an eerie, interesting read with a wlw romance! Watch out for the body horror in this one, but it was very gripping and held my interest. Some of the pacing was off in places (like the romance), but had a very creepy atmosphere that did it for me. 3.8 out of 5 stars!

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (thriller-mystery): A thriller about a group of Shakespeare actors in their last year of college and one of their classmates who turns up dead. I enjoyed the murder mystery part of this novel more than I expected despite the fact I had guessed who had “done it” pretty early on. I really enjoyed the James-Oliver dynamic with its growing homoeroticism, but I didn’t like how the character of Meredith was handled at all. She felt like a one-note aside. I might have given this book four stars, but the ending was EXTREMELY frustrating for me and I did not like the “open-ended” conclusion. 3 out of 5 stars.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (literary humor): a weird character-driven comedy about an old grumpy man and a new family that moves in next to him. Warning for themes of suicide. Anyway, I don’t normally indulge in cliches like “I laughed, I cried, I loved one Cat Annoyance.” However, that’s exactly what I did. I laughed out loud, I cried my eyes out (THE CAT’S HEAD WAS IN HIS PALM), I loved this book. It was sweet and compelling and thoroughly immersive. 5 out of 5 stars!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (historical fantasy): set in the early 1900s comes a story of a young girl and her experience with “Doors” that lead to different worlds. This book had a lot of great character development and really interesting descriptions, however, I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. I found it hard to get myself to sit down a read it. There was just something missing with the push to “page-turn,” but it was still a really good book. 3.7 out of 5 stars!

Gideon the 9th by Tamsyn Muir (high fantasy, kinda gay): I AM FILLED WITH EMOTIONS. This was book was definitely a page-turner. I was very confused with it at the beginning, but the characters and their interactions were, forgive the expression, the life blood of the story and kept me wholly invested. The ending has CRUSHED my heart, but damn did I have a good time reading it. 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Harrow the 9th by Tamsyn Muir (sequel to Gideon the 9th): I really enjoyed this book. It was just as strange and twisting as the first book, though I think I enjoyed the first one a bit more since I love Gideon. It was fun ride overall, though the ending was kind of really confusing. So 4 out of 5 stars.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (historical fiction): Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The writing style was personable and grounded in reality. I found myself really liking the main characters and the exploration of the life of a bi main character was really well done I thought. A solid book with drama and glamor to boot. 4.6 out of 5 stars!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (historical fiction): A story of two sisters during WWII and their resistance to Nazi occupation. To be honest, this book wasn’t my cup of tea. It was compelling, but also wholly depressing and I felt like gloried in the pain of the two main characters too much. The history was wonderful and realistic, but it didn’t make me feel anything good afterward. It was just dark. 3 out of 5 stars.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (mlm romance): I finally finished this after the heaviness of The Nightingale. This is a story of the First Son of the USA falling for the prince of England. And it turned out to be a very fun and light hearted read! Some of it was kinda generic and too political, and it coulda been shorter, but I thought the romance itself made up for it. It just made me feel so sweet and lovely inside. 4 out of 5 stars!

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (literary humor): I’m searching out heartfelt books and this one ticked off all the marks on my “sweet” list. A lovely book that made me cry more times than I would like to admit. Compassionate beyond belief, funny and heartfelt. I think I enjoyed A Man Called Ove slightly more, but this book was also dear to me and something I hope to reread in the future. 4.2 out of 5 stars!

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel (sci-fi): A post-apocalyptical story about a group of traveling Shakespeare actors and a symphony. Overall, an excellent read that somehow pictures a more realistic or even softer version of the apocalypse. At first, I wasn't happy with the jumping around of the story, but as I progressed I grew fonder and fonder of the interwoven characters and their journey. A very fascinating read about a world that hits a little too close to home. The appreciation of the arts and preserving humanity was somehow very hopeful and I was fully engaged with this story. 5 out of 5 Stars!

Up next: The Hidden Life of Trees by by Peter Wohlleben (nonfiction science), The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (urban fantasy), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (fantasy)

#I'll keep this list updated!#am reading #bookblr #IA talks #I've mostly read books I've really liked this year!#then again I rarely finish books I don't like

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pbandjesse · 2 years ago

Text

Today was a good day. I had a good time and it is storming again. The alley is flooding! We had to pin up a towel in the window in the kitchen because we can't close that one and water was coming in. Wild.

I slept better last night. I woke up with alarm anxiety a few times. But it wasn't the worst sleep I've ever had.

James left for work and I got up a little after that. I didn't have to be at work until noon. So I was excited to use my morning.

I would mostly just lay there for an hour playing on my phone. But I would soon get up and make the bed and get washed and dressed and felt pretty good.

I cleaned for a while. Vacuumed and cleaned the surfaces in the bathroom. I wanted to do more but I was a little to warm and so instead I would do some knitting. And then ate a yogurt and nilla wafers for breakfast. We didn't have any bread and I wasn't feeling cooking anything. It wasn't the best breakfast but whatever.

I played Stardew for two days in game. I am almost to the next step and I'll have a green house and that's going to change my whole farm. So I am excited about that.

I would work on my capybara embroidery for a while. I am really excited for how the fur is coming together. Still no idea how I'll price something like this. But it's still fun.

I laid in bed and watched tiktoks for a bit. But I decided to head to work. I wanted to drive through the city so I left a few minutes early. But it didn't matter because I would end up at work very early.

I was a little frustrated because my phone wouldn't connect to the car. Later in the day it would but for whatever reason it wouldn't on my drive in. I just put my podcast on the phone speaker and hoped for the best.

It was nice to see James's face when I got to the museum. I chilled at the desk and talked to them until I had to go and get ready for my tour.

The tours were going to be a little wild today. 7 consecutive groups! We almost never do that and we were all a little worried. But me and Becca had worked out a rough schedule on the board and then Jessica had emailed us and we all came together to figure it out.

This meant I had to do a tour stop in transportation which is not normal. But with a 3rd grade group it ended up being totally fine. I was very worried about facts and stuff so I wanted to read some of the signs. I went over there and Gaby was chilling between assembly lines and I sat and chatted with her for a bit. We were all a little on edge because of a different thing but that is alright.

The group was 15minutes late. Because of course. And they were on four buses and it was a little hectic. But once I had my group we were off.

They were honestly lovely. The only real issue I had was because we had all the other tours happening at the same time we had to be very very on time. And the group behind me was two minutes fast and almost pushed me into Becca's group. And so I had to weirdly cut things and transition and I hope they still got a lot out of it but it was not ideal.

Machine shop went better. Much better timed. There was a dad on the tour that I decided I wanted the approval of. And so I was trying to like make sure he was making appropriate faces at the jokes and facts and at the end of the tour he made a big fuss about how great the tour was so I for sure won.

In the transportation room I did some facts and then basically just let them explore and look in the car and they were so well behaved so gathering them again to ask questions was great. I am really glad it worked out so well.

We finished up and I brought them to the rest of their group.

There was a lot of issue getting them out because the school was with a tour guide company and they were being weird about who leaves the building when. And I was just like. Tell them to go back to their bus?? Why are they all in the lobby?? So I just made everyone go outside. Ask forgiveness not permission.

It all worked out. And we chilled at the desk. James was in a meeting so it was just us there for a bit. It was the end of the day and a nice couple came in and since it was so close to the end of the day we just let them in for free. I hope they had fun.

We went back to the office to do some car parts. We had gone to check assembly line and it was basically all reset. So no big deal. We put together packets and talked and it was a good time.

But I was ready to get out of there. It was my last daytime shift for the summer. And I said goodbye to my friends. It's not a real goodbye by it always feels a little like, until next time.

I did not go home. I checked in with James. And then drove out to Target. The plan was to get sunscreen and snacks for the beach and specifically I was there for get a clamp umbrella for my beach chair. But even though the internet said they had them I couldn't find it anywhere and for frustrated. I did get snacks and drinks and sunscreen. I also got some floaty tubes as a gift for Jess.

I made a pitstop at tacobell. Had my two tacos in the parking lot. And then it was home.

I felt like the drive home took forever. But I got back here by 430. There was nowhere to park. So I had to park in a two hour spot. James would move it before the time was up but I was frustrated by this. And when I got home the apartment smelled like vinegar??? We can't figure out why but there have been weird smalls in the living room all night.

It was good to be home. I was to hot but I put everything away and went through my packing for the beach. I forgot to make space for my toiletty bag. But I figured it out.

Me and James worked on our lego guitar and it came out so cool!! It was fun hanging out and finishing that. We made space for it on the mantle and it just look so cool.

I laid on the couch while James played video game. But soon they had to go to the theater. And I spent some time playing Stardew and watching videos and having snacks. It was a nice evening.

It started to rain. And James got caught in it but it wouldn't get very strong for a while.

We chilled and laid in bed together and it's been a nice night. And now we are clean and the windows are closed. Ready to sleep.

I am leaving tomorrow for a few days. I will stop at my parents tomorrow morning and then me and Jess are heading to the beach! Apparently this day last year we were already at the beach. I am looking forward to it even if it's going to be a little rainy. A second month with a beach trip where it rains. Of course. Still going to be great.

Sleep well everyone. Take care of yourself!! Ash your hands!

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guessimwritingficsagain · 4 years ago

Text

To Be Seen, Part Seven

Warnings : depression

Author's note : I based my depiction of Frankie's wife on the movie Laggies that I mentioned before. It's not exactly the same thing but I liked the way the mom was depicted in the movie and how, in the end, everybody made mistakes. I'm still very sad Lynn Shelton left us. So I guess, in a way, this is dedicated to her.

Chapter One ; Chapter Two ; Chapter Three ; Chapter Four ; Chapter Five ; Chapter Six

------

Two weeks later, you broke down. You’d felt it coming, used as you were to that grey cloud slowly sneaking its way into your brain. You called in sick on a Saturday night and turned off your phone, not even feeling guilty about that.

Linda had had her meeting with her ex, and they’d both been tentatively hanging out, trying to fix something that was so broken you didn’t know if there was ever a chance it could be fixed. You’d stayed out of the way, of course. You hadn’t spoken to Linda except for the occasional text to check on her. That left a sinking feeling in your stomach, one that came with the realization that even though you considered Linda your friend, you were also her ex, first and foremost, and though she didn’t mind poking into your love life, she seemed reluctant for you to know about hers. Even though you couldn’t really blame her, that heaviness never went away. That was the first sign.

Jessie’s story was something else altogether. James and Will had set up a tight sleeping schedule at Jessie’s house - a tight schedule of following her to work and staying with her all day, too. Will had involved all the boys except Frankie. They were taking turn watching her, making sure she and her kid were safe. You’d managed to talk them out of going to the guy’s place and beating him up - barely. But you knew that couldn’t last. The way Will had vibrated when you explained the situation told you everything you needed to know about that. Talking to Jessie hadn’t been easy either, because she’d first shut you out completely and resented her brother for telling you, you for telling Will, and Will for telling everybody else. That was understandable too, but things were tense between the two of you, and since none of the men wanted to include you in what you called the Jessie Watch in your head, you were left to watch and worry from afar.

But the worst thing was the complete and utter silence from Frankie. He wouldn’t answer your texts or your calls. You kept replaying the only phone call he’d answered to just like you’d kept replaying the moment he’d offered you wine and chocolates for Christmas - God, you wished you could go back to that time.

You dial his phone number, hoping he picks up. He does, starting with :

‘Listen, now’s not a good time. I’m sorry but I got some things to deal with right now. I’ll call you back.’

Unnerved by the tone of his voice, unnerved by his answer, and thinking we don’t even see each other anymore and I thought you liked me and trusted me you bluntly answer :

‘Pope told me.’

The silence on the other end in unbearable, so you continue :

‘Frankie, talk to me. Don’t shut me out, please.’

You’re begging, and you don’t care that you are.

‘It’s fine.’ He eventually mumbles, his voice unconvincing. ‘I’ll sort this out. I just need some time.’

Some time was more than two weeks apparently, and two weeks was your breaking point.

You felt alone in a way you’d never felt before.

That led you here, right to this moment, you opening a bottle of wine, all by yourself. You sat on your couch, and drank a glass. Then, a second. By the third, you were turning on your phone and dialing your mother. When she picked up, you completely broke down. After the phone call, exhausted by all the crying, you left your phone on the couch and went to bed. The battery was empty when you woke up the next morning, feeling puffy and barely keeping it together. You didn’t bother to plug it in.

As agreed upon the night before, your father picked you up a bit before noon. Starbuck was in her bag, and you’d thrown some clothes in a luggage. You felt a wave of relief wash over you when you put it in your childhood’s bedroom, Starbuck already carefully sniffing around the house. You called your boss to ask to use all of the vacation days you had. You didn’t know what deity to thank for the fact that he agreed. You knew it was all wrong. You knew you should be here for Jessie, for everyone. You father covered that : he went to Anna and Phil, told them about the situation and made them promise not to say a word.

You had three weeks of vacation, and nothing to do but pretend you were a teenager again, living with your parents.

Your father kept in touch with Phil and Anna, if only to get news about what was going on with your friends. At the end of the first week, he came back with a letter. You felt yourself shaking until he added :

‘It’s from Anna.’

He heard your sigh of relief but didn’t say a word, turning around to leave you in peace. As he got to the door, though, he turned around and announced :

‘One of these days, I’m gonna have to have a talk with that boy of yours.’

He looked tired, and worried. Your voice wavered as you answered :

‘You won’t have to if he’s not my boy anymore, Dad.’

You felt like crying, but you didn’t. You turned your attention to the letter instead, and smiled at the first line. Anna had taken to give you your own nickname every time you compared her to Jane from Pride and Prejudice.

Dear Elizabeth,

How long and lonely are the days without you. Our dear cook is not quite himself, since you’ve been away, as he has to endure me without you to soothe the pain in his ass that I am. The counter has lost its light, and even the birds seem to sing in a more quiet manner, as if they were missing their dear friend too.

I hope your dear feline companion Starbuck is doing well in her new surroundings. I do not worry much, though: change can be difficult, but she is anything but faint-hearted.

I will keep writing to you, dear Elizabeth, if only to let you know if a respectable gentleman of good fortune ever comes in to charm me. You must promise, though, that you shall write back.

Your Jane.

The letter was so sweet and thoughtful , with Anna’s clumsy attempt at sounding Jane Austen-ish, you finally cried, only this time, the tears were not all bitter. You could call her, but this seemed more fun. You fumbled around to find a piece of paper and picked up a pen.

Dear Jane,

How sweet of you to write to me. I cannot express how much I miss you too. Do not worry about Phil, for he is softer for you than you know. I am sure you are quite exaggerating to hasten my return. Alas, I will remain where I am, for I find this retreat is beneficial to my health.

Starbuck has taken to her new life quite readily, and is currently enjoying a lovely nap in the sun.

Guard your feelings well, my dear. Experience has taught us much in this matter, recently.

I’m writing a return address on the back, so you can write to me through the post-office and avoid my poor father the task of being the delivery man.

Your Elizabeth.

You left the house for the first time this week to mail the letter.

Those three weeks went by like this.

You learnt that Linda and her ex had called it quits for good. You learnt that Will eventually drove to Jessie’s now-ex-boyfriend’s house and beat the shit out of him, and that everybody watched it happen with glee. You learnt that Frankie’s ex-wife was still in town. Staying on the couch.

You wanted to throw up all the time, these days.

You still didn’t turn on your phone. You used your parents’ line to get an appointment to the doctor. The woman only had to look at you to say :

‘Yeah, you’re not going back to work.’

You knew what she meant : you barely recognized yourself when you looked in the mirror. You didn’t sleep much, you didn’t eat much, and it all showed. When you came home, your father hesitantly said :

‘They’re starting to be worried. They’re asking a lot of questions to Anna.’

You found that you didn’t care, and a little voice at the back of your head warned you that this was worrying but you ignored it. It was so easy not to think. You enjoyed the feeling - maybe a little too much, said the voice again. You ignored it again. You were standing on that fine line : you were aware that you weren’t fine, but you weren’t doing anything about it. You knew it would only take a push to bring you to the other side : and then, you wouldn’t be aware anymore that you were not fine.

‘I got two weeks more.’ You answered instead.

———

You hadn’t seen Frankie in five weeks.

You’d been feeling better, lately, but still considered going back to work. And by that you meant going back to work at all, ever again. You weren’t good at facing your problems, you knew that, and that whole existential crisis about your future sounded a lot like running away but you didn’t have the strength to face anything right now. You wanted Frankie and your friends to make some king of grand gesture while knowing they didn’t have the means to reach you. You knew that was ridiculous and a little bit fucked up. You kept at it anyway.

Anna visited you more and more. The first time she’d shown up unannounced, she looked so hesitant it broke your heart. You’d hugged her so hard and she’d given it back the same way. She took to showing up in the morning, when your parents were on their daily stroll, though she happily stayed for lunch. Your parents, of course, adored her.

So, that morning, when someone rang at the door, you expected it to be her. You realized your mistake the second you opened it. You took a step back, speechless, and Will and Santi used your surprise to push past you and come in, very much uninvited.

On autopilot, your brain pretty much gone, you turned around and just stared at them. They stared right back, Pope with a hard look on his face. Will, though, looked like he wanted to hug you but didn’t dare. He seemed to struggle for a minute, before opening with :

‘Benny is very upset you missed his last fight. It was a big one.’

You found your tongue, even if it felt heavy in your mouth.

‘Well, I’ve been…’

‘You’ve been what ?’ Interrupted Santi, his arms crossed and his gaze unforgiving. ‘Ignoring us for five weeks ?’

‘My phone is dead.’

‘For five weeks ? Cut the crap.’

‘How did you find me ?’

You crossed your arms too. Whatever reunion you’d imagined, that wasn’t it. The reality of the situation was starting to sink in and you were trying to get angry, because if you got angry, then you wouldn’t break down. You could feel the tension building up your spine, knew exactly what it meant too : that conversation was not going to go well because whatever happened, whatever your reaction would be, the part of your brain labeled stupid and self-destructive was going to take over.

‘How did you find me ?’ You repeated, your fingers digging into the flesh of your arms to try and ground you.

Apparently, though, your brain wasn’t the only one with a part labeled stupid because instead of answering the question, Pope just decided to go with :

‘Do you realize how Jessie feels ? Do you realize how we all feel ? We had to take care of your friend, your friend because you just bailed on us while her fucking ex-boyfriend was beating the shit out of her.’

The silence that followed was heavy, as you could feel both the anger coming off of Santi and the panic that was shaking Will. Your voice was cold, emotionless, as you answered :

‘I was there. Except nobody wanted me there. I was completely useless.’

‘Bullshit. So what, you disappear ? Jesus, Frankie must have a thing for women who pull that kind of stunt because you’re the second one. The boy’s not very smart, apparently.’

‘Pope.’ Will’s voice rang loud in your ears, but you were frozen to the spot. You wanted to answer with some smartass remark, something petty along the line of well she’s back now, so who needs me anyway, just to get back at Santi because you knew in your heart Frankie wouldn’t just leave you like that. You knew there was more to the story but Frankie had completely shut you out before you went off the grid and now Santi was in front of you, scolding you as if you were a child, the whole thing feeling too much and not real at all, like you were having a really bad nightmare.

Pope ignored Will’s warning and went on :

‘You know the worst part ? He’s so worried he’s going crazy right now. We’re fucking back to square one, when I had to pick up the pieces when the other one left.’

‘Pope, stop.’ You heard Will say.

You opened your mouth, just a reflex, because your brain was empty. You couldn’t think anymore. But you opened your mouth anyway and realized too late you wouldn’t be able to contain the sob crawling up your throat. Breaking down it is, then, was your last thought before you started crying and shaking uncontrollably. So you ran to your room, leaning on the walls to avoid falling.

You were crying so hard you didn’t hear the door open, some time later. You felt the bed dip, though, when someone sat next to you.

‘Go away.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Will’s voice answered as a hand went to your hair. ‘Come on, deep breaths. Everything’s gonna be okay but I need you to breathe, okay ?’

Your hand shot up to grab his arm in a steely grip to steady yourself. You complied, though. After a while, you felt like you could breathe again. Will’s hand kept stroking your hair as he started talking :

‘Listen, Pope’s an asshole, we all know that. Anna briefed me a bit about everything. She wasn’t the one who gave us your address, by the way. I swear, the woman is unbreakable. Linda just figured you might be at your parents’ house and we looked it up. I’m a bit ashamed it took us that long to think about it, honestly.’

He chuckled, and went on :

‘Anyway, listen. Frankie’s been really overwhelmed by his ex coming back, and he didn’t react well, though I must say you answered in kind but I get it. He told me how he kept you out of the loop and I know how hard that must have been for you because I can see how much you care about him. It’s so obvious, the two of you. It was even before anything happened. I know Frankie is, you know, the quiet one, and he’s not all sharp angles and shit like the rest of us, but he turns into a puddle when you’re here. He’s unburdened when you’re around. We used to give him shit because he wouldn’t talk to the cute bartender.’

You smiled, still not looking at Will, but he was looking at you and he saw it.

‘Remember when he came to ask you, for Maria’s birthday ? We made him do it. Benny taunted him. He said that if he had to get up and ask you that, he’d also get your phone number and a date with you.’

‘I’d never go on a date with Benny.’ You replied, your voice hoarse.

‘Yeah, you’re smarter than that. Remember the Christmas presents ? Frankie was having a bloody existential crisis over this. He wanted to buy you a book. Linda gave him ideas but he was freaking out because he was scared he was going to buy you a book you wouldn’t like. I actually had to text Jessie about your favorite wine and get Frankie to go shopping with me so he would stop freaking out. Pretty sure I’ve never seen him stressed out like that and we served together.’

‘You already had Jessie’s number ?’ You asked, pretty sure Jessie would have told you right away about that.

His voice grew quiet, thoughtful.

‘Yeah. I had asked for her number one day. But I was really drunk so I never used it. Figured she’d given it to me because she felt obligated or something since I was a regular. I thought I was taking advantage. If I had made a move earlier …’

You turned your head towards Will, then, knowing you looked like a mess and not caring one bit.

‘What happened is not your fault, Will.’

And then, it hit you.

‘Wait, earlier ? That means you did it ?’

His smile was blinding. You squeezed his arm.

‘Good for you.’

You both fell silent for a moment but Will wasn’t done.

‘Listen, that thing with Frankie’s ex, it’s not what you think, even though he’s been an idiot for not telling you. Wendy came back because she’s lost. She thinks she made a mistake, leaving like that, and she’s still trying to figure out if she wants to be a mom. It’s not about Frankie and her, okay ? It’s about Maria. She wants to try, maybe. She still doesn’t know. Pope shouldn’t have talked to you like that but he’s right : Catfish is lost right now, because he misses you and he doesn’t know how to fix it. He’s too damn respectful to show up here unannounced, too. That’s why we came.’

He kept stroking your hair as your mind processed everything.

When you left the room, Santi was waiting in the garden. You went over to him and hugged him. He whispered apologies in your ear.

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

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#pedro pascal #frankie morales x reader #frankie 'catfish' morales #triple frontier

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sintreaties · 4 years ago

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The first thing to keep in mind, is that the OC has to be coherent with the story and the setting. You need to slip them in your fic in the same manner you would add a different species of fish in Kirari’s aquariums, that is, seamlessly and without much racket. They have to be weaved in the background and plot without disrupting the setting, but at the same time they can’t just be soul-less puppets, ready to be discarded as soon as you’ve used them for your plot-points.

These are the main pieces of advice I can give:

1) make sure you know who your characters are and why the story needs them

2) use the narrative technique of “show, don’t tell” to make them come alive in your stories

3) refrain from using excessive flashbacks, dialogues and descriptions.

4) practice, practice, practice and have fun

I will now talk about all of this a bit more in depth.

Let’s start with the character itself.

In order to create an OC you have to ask yourself:

1) what is their purpose in terms of plot

2) how do their actions and existence influence the world around them

3) how many times they appear.

In a word, you have to know how relevant they are to your story.

The more relevant they are, the more you should work on their thoughts, speech, actions, backstory and appearance in order to give them the same depth as the canon characters. You should also remember, that technically characters like Grandma Bami aren’t OCs. Their personalities and looks might be original, but for the rest, they already have a place in canon, even if we don’t see much of it, so you have to pay more attention in order to ground them and make them believable.

Keep in mind that your characters are more than a face and a plot-point, that relationships can be paradoxical and varied and that every person has flaws and strengths. Now you should be good to go.

Once you’ve decided on who the OC is and what they do, it’s time to weave those characteristics into the narration. Of course everyone has their own way of narrating their stories and everyone has different reasons to use an OC. Here are some of the examples in my fics.

In Of Thorns and Petals, Sayaka briefly mentions her parents to Kirari. In particular, we know about her mother's job and that she was always quite busy and distant. We learn more about this when Sayaka compares herself to her through a brief recollection: Sayaka remembers her talking on the phone, pressing it between her shoulder and ear while she cooks, like a real woman (meaning a functioning adult). This is meant to show the nuances in Sayaka's relationship with her mother: Sayaka looks up to her as as role model, and at the same feels her distant because she was always too busy to build a proper relationship with her.

Althought we won’t see Sayaka’s parents for God only know how many chapters, it was important to mention them now in order to establish that they exist, so the reader won’t be confused to see them at a second time and they won't feel out of place when Sayaka (and the narration) will require their presence.

Another OC of mine is Naosuke. Naosuke is merely a servant of the clan. In In the Shade of the Orchard we learn about his story, but his main function as narrator was to allow us to learn about Grandma Bami, about her cruelty and at the same time about all the characteristics that made her a woman worthy of admiration. In later works like OTAP he's a connection between past and present, between what the twins used to be when Grandma was around, and what they've become. He offers a contrast too, between the hatred they have for her and the reluctant admiration and devotion he always felt (i.e. Kirari suspects him of bringing her peaches when she goes to visit her Grandmother in Blood's Sickness).

Although Naosuke is now a background character in most of my fics (AUs and not), you don’t need to read In the Shade Of The Orchard to know who he is. We get to know everything we need about him at the right time through the right dialogues, actions and recollections, without disrupting the present narrative.

Naosuke and Sayaka’s parents are both examples of a “show, don’t tell” style of narration. Although it might take some practice, I believe this is the best style when it comes to introducing OCs, as it feels more natural.

See it as a painting and every detail is a brush stroke that will bring the composition together: Kirari recollects that her father often looked tired; and that the same tiredness often turned into something very similar to fear when he came out of Grandma’s office. Today, in the present moment, he doesn’t smile often and he never shows himself proud of her, notwithstanding all of her accomplishments (meaning, he sees too much of Grandma in Kirari and it’s taking its toll on the relationship between them). Here you have the portrayal of a weak, tortured man and his change throughout the years. You only need to give him a fitting appearance, perhaps bright blue eyes that look older than what they are.

Want to introduce an OC that has no real, possible connection to canon? Work in the same manner and make up everything you need.

The man sitting before Sayaka keeps playing with a lighter. He doesn’t look scared or nervous, but he has his own kind of restlessness. His eyes are indifferent and there are deep shadows under them; his hair is clean and cut, just like his nails, but there’s the first hint of a beard under his chin. Sayaka thinks that his suit looks too new, as if the price tag is still behind his neck.

Later on, when Kirari will arrive, she will amiably ask him if his flight went well, and he will tell her that her cousin was very clear in her instructions.

In a few lines we learnt that this man smokes or has a connection with fire, that he looks after himself but that Terano forced him to fly to Hyakkaou in such a hurry that the only way to make himself presentable was to buy brand new clothes, plus that Kirari isn't surprised to see him, so she probably knows him.

Kirari, Sayaka and John Doe himself will tell you this. I, as the narrator, am merely showing you their thoughts, words and appearance.

What you shouldn’t do in order to achieve the same result is use paragraph after paragraph of flashbacks and dialogues. In the first case, you will interrupt the flow of the narration, detaching the reader from the present; in the second one you might lose their interest.

When working on descriptions in general, be sure not to exaggerate. If you sap the subtext, you will only bore the reader (remember all those Jane Austen character descriptions? XVII Century English literature wasn’t that fun because the writers passed too much time telling us about each damn piece of clothing on their characters). Consider that most people don’t even notice each other’s eye color unless there’s something peculiar about it.

Last but not least, the more you get acquainted with your OC the better your narration around them will become, most importantly if you enjoy what you’re doing. There’s an intimacy between me and Naosuke; built on the fact that I and only I know most of his feelings and thoughts, only I know how he could react in a certain situation or not. When I think so much about it, it is extremely satisfying to bring all of that in my stories. Naosuke came to life first because I needed a “walking camera” and second because I was having a lot of fun writing him.

If it’s your first time writing an OC, don’t be afraid to come up with a Mary Sue. Humans are complicated even in fiction and only through practice (and reading) you might learn how to avoid certain mistakes sometimes.

Remember that it’s fanfiction. Be happy first, worry about technique later. Don’t be afraid to write as much as you can about anything you want and don't get discouraged if you can't write like James Joyce right off the bat.

I hope my answer and the examples I provided were useful. If you do end up writing something, please let me know!

#writing #fanfiction #OCs #kakegurui #sintreatiesreplies #anon

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imagines-to-quench-thirst · 5 years ago

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No nut November

Imagine: in the glory of No Nut November, you make a bet with your lover saying if they fail you cuff them and use them to your liking but if you lose they get to fulfill one of their fantasies. And you are keen on it to make them lose, by any means.

Victor Creed

Accepting the challenge that is No Nut November, it's a walk in the park, after all, he did have a wager with you. So you were prepared to make him lose.

Walking into your living room dressed in a maid outfit so small enough that the skirt perfectly (barely) covers your ass when you bend over. And you use it wisely, in front of him.

-Excuse me, Mr. Creed. Just a second.

He watches your form in front of him seeing the black thong between your cheeks that peaked between getting the sensation he started to miss already.

-You want me to lose, dove?

He asks as he grins feeling his palm on his hard length trying to massage the hard-on away.

-Me, no. I'm just wearing this costume since I didn't go to the Halloween party. So this is my chance. It's not my fault you have a dirty mind.

-It's not that hard with a beautiful girl like you.

Damn!

He knew how to rile you up.

-So you forfeit? You do remember your punishment.

Victor stands up walking to you slapping your check roughly as he smirks down at you.

-Being handcuffed while you ride me isn't that much as a punishment.

Steve Rogers

For Steve, it's somewhat easy. He is always on a mission kilometers away from you. That also means when he comes back to you he is a beast... Until he accepted the bet. After a day passed since he came home he wanted to devour you.

-Ready to relinquish, captain?

You asked as you sat next to him on the couch dressed in your pajamas. You knew you didn't have to do much, he will crumble himself eventually.

-No...

He trailed off but you saw how hard he was, partially begging to take you.

-When you think about it if you lose it isn't that bad. Sure you would be handcuffed and you don't like to be submissive...

With that Steve grabs your hand yanking you to him so you sit comfortably on his dick.

-Who said I don't like to be submissive?

You kiss happily knowing that there is indeed something like a 'Submissive Captian'.

Bucky Barnes

-Doll, I have been known in my days as 'James the Champ', which meant I NEVER lost.

You turn your gaze to him watching him through the glass as you applied your red lipstick as he leaned in the door frame.

-Well, of course, but you never went head to head with me.

Bucky rolls his eyes at your testimony as you walked towards him letting your steps be slow and seductive as your hands land on his shoulders.

-That means I'll just have to go to the girl's night out without my departure gift.

Bucky licks his lips finding it hard not to fuck you before you go, your usual tradition before you or him went. Always marking each other up to know how just lucky you are that the rest of the population.

-Looks like it.

He said slowly as he felt your fingers dance along his neck waiting for your kisses just below his ears. He closes his eyes focusing his hands trying to control his animalistic behavior from jumping out and losing the bet.

-I'll be home in a few hours.

You kissed his cheek and left your shared home for the first time ever since he came back from the mission. Closing the door Bucky jumps onto the bed discarding his pants and mixer and quickly getting to work.

Ding

Bucky stops for a second as he looks at his phone a new text message form you.

A photo.

Opening the photo it's a picture of him jerking off with the title being

'When I come home you prepare for your self for the punishment.'

Loki Laufeyson

After spending almost an hour explaining Loki the No Nut November he was rather excited to try his limits. And the bet was just as sweet. He did always say that his mind is the strongest of anyone but you knew how to crack him. And now was the time.

Cooking.

Loki loved to help you cook especially when you bake a cake just for the fun of it. Taking the freshly whipped cream covered cake you dip your finger onto your slice of the cake totally forgetting the fork beside you and putting the whipped cream covered finger into your mouth letting the delicious moans be loud for Loki to hear.

Loki watched you torture him as he felt drool exiting from his open mouth.

The bet.

He needed to be strong, he is royalty they never give their power to others. Especially if they are his amazing and sexy lover.

-Delicious.

You moaned as you looked at Loki as he shakes his groaned approval.

-Yes... You are.

Giggling at his blurb you walk to him pressing your body on his.

-Ready to forfeit, my King?

Loki sighs and for a split second he nods.

-Yes. I'm yours, my love.

Thor Odinson

He loved challenges, he loved the pressure to succeed and prevail amongst other mortals that failed. And he was furthermore ready for the challenge. You were in it to make him beg for you. And you knew just about how.

-My darling, how about a kiss?

Thor asked as held you by your waist.

-I'm sorry, Thor. The bet is limited only to hugs other than that it's losing.

Thor sighs as he watched you walk away hoping that this will end soon.

-Y/n, my light, my moon... Can you bestow me kiss onto my aching lips?

Looking down at your kneeling boyfriend you laugh as you watch Tony enter.

-For fucks sakes. Thor just forfeit and get a room!

Tony screamed clearly irritated at the muscular God.

-But fellow Tony much is at stake.

-Just kiss her and get it over with. I'm tired of hearing your pending across the HQ.

-Forfeit Thor and I'm all yours.

Thor looks back at you and he nods to your words as he lands his lips on yours softly.

-Please, do go get a room!

Thor continued to kiss you as he carried you out of the living room leaving Tony to wash his eyes with soap.

Bruce Wayne

He is the man, the detective, the toughest of tough. He can endure every pain and still make it on time to a date with you. But when a wager is in he is 10 times tougher. He is in it for the end line. But you were also stubborn as him, even more. This will be fun.

-Come on, Bruce. You possibly can't endure a whole month without feeling me. And my body.

Bruce looked at you as you swayed in your dress next to him watching the crowd of shallow rich species.

-Believe me, It's hard. But knowing I beat you in a bet is all the worthwhile. Plus, I have spent years in isolation so this will be easy.

Rolling your eyes at his ruling you walk away grabbing Olivers Queen and going to the center of the ballroom, in the perfect position in front of paparazzi, rich folk and Bruce.

-Ready to waltz, Oliver?

-Yeah, let's make some magic.

The dance was magical. You and Oliver moved in unions even better with Bruce but your eyes never left Bruce's figure. As the dance ended you pull out your leg from your high slit dress placing on Oliver's hip and giving a kiss on the cheek.

-Thank you.

-Always, temptress.

Walking back to Bruce you see his eyes locking onto your body and stoic expression he wastes no time in yanking you out of the room.

-Get ready to be punished, baby girl.

-Yes, sir.

Clark Kent

Clark is a cinnamon roll, you can't deny that, but he is rough when he wants to so pulling an invisible brake on his libido is pure torture.

-You know that you can always forfeit.

You say softly hoping from him to give up since you are feeling frisky.

-I don't know. I want to but I also want to win this bet.

Kissing his cheek, almost near his lips you see the twitch in his neck as he tries to kiss you on the lips. You know just what he needs. Fuel this small fire.

-If you want to complete this bet you can do that. I'm not gonna stop you. I can always ask Bruce for some meaningless fun.

Clark sharply runs to you on his face shock.

-Or maybe Arthur, or maybe even Diana. I am feeling very much frisky.

Clark shakes his head as his hands grip your waist and pulling you on his lap as his hands roughly grip your boobs.

-You are going to regret saying Bruce's name. I'll make you forget it.

-Prove it.

Arthur Curry

Arthur is filled with happiness and he very much finds joy in making you feel amazing. So proposing the bet he was against it. He himself knew that he won't last even 3 days without touching you.

-Maybe I'll accept the bet if you add something more.

-What do you propose?

-You being in a sexy costume of my choosing for 2 days.

Arthur grins at the idea.

-Fine. But if you lose. You'll fulfill my fantasy of choosing.

Arthur nods feeling excited as he shakes your hand, starting the challenge. A days pass and you knew how much he wanted to win even going so far to sleeping on the couch. He wanted to win so bad but seeing you exit the shower as he entered he just could not look away from your marvelous body, wanting to pinch your booty and massage your tense muscles.

He started to lose his cool. It was apparent. You saw it and somehow enjoyed seeing him squirm.

-You alright, Art?

He looked at you like a hurry and horny wolf (mostly horny)

-No. Want. To. Touch. So. Bad.

He slurped like a zombie as he watched your lips wind up in a smile. So kissable.

-You can. But there are consequences.

You walk to him at an arm's length not touching him just torturing him by the small insignificance distance.

-Come on, Arthur. You can't go on like this.

He huffs like a bear as he steps closer kissing your lips with so much need you almost fell on the floor he wasn't holding you tightly.

-Fine, you win but now I get my way.

-Deal.

Orm Marius

Orm wanted to touch you it was a fact but having a challenge for him as a prince was tantalizing. He wanted to try it and he was wrong he didn't understand the power you had on him and made his task a nightmare in his words at least.

-Y/n can you not be so sensual, beloved? I'm trying my hardest.

He pleaded hoping for you to change out of his shirt into your pajamas.

-I don't see the problem. I always wear it and you love it.

-I do! That's the issue. You are enticing me.

Snickering at him you walk to him standing in front of him as he sat on his chair.

-Well, then how about you get on your knees and worship me.

Orm gulps feeling his dick hardening at your command. He loved it when you took control and he lived when he submitted to you. It was like a drug. He doesn't answer as he drops to his knees in front of you looking up hopeless.

-Yes, my goddess.

Joker

-You want to chain me?! Chain the sex machine?! Are you crazy?

-It's not an order. Just a bet. You can decline it. It thought it would be fun.

-It's on.

After that J was focused and loaded as he focused on his 'gangster' work. After countless tries of seducing him in his office in his favorite lingerie. You took a break. To gather yourself and think of a new plan.

Got it.

As the night enrolled you walked into J's club dressed in a small red dress and walking past J's private club section. Only winking at him as he discussed business with another gangster. Going straight to the bar and sitting pretty it doesn't take long from the moths to come to the flame.

-Can I buy you a drink?

Many men ask as you lean on the bar table and seeing the bartender behind you butting in.

-Gentlemen, Y/n is...

-Its okay Mark. Let them be.

Mark nods obediently handing you your drink. After a while, you see Joker walking to you pushing away the men from you.

-Scarm before I kill you here.

The men run away and you smile at your man.

-You are very clever, luring me in with other men so I get jealous and fuck you hard.

-Did it work?

-Yes, princess. Prepare for the punishment of your life.

-And you too.

Duncan Vizla

-Y/n you should know that I am trained to be tougher than the average person. This puny bet won't affect me in the slightest.

Smiling at Duncan you counter his statement.

-I know but when people are told something they tend to the opposite. Something like the apple in the Garden.

-Are you pulling Biblical reference to get me on board with the bet?

-Maybe?

-Deal.

After that deal, you made sure he saw you every second. If he was in the kitchen you were there to help, if he was in the bathroom you needed an 'urgent bath'. When he sat in his leather chair you purposefully bend down to pick up anything that fell, accidentally. Even when sleeping. You were purposefully sleep talking small words that he wanted to hear.

-More Duncan... Faster... I'm yours... Mark me...

He was a tough nut to crack but it will be worthwhile. Just a little more. A few days passed being completely impressed by Duncan's steel will. As you walked into the house you see Duncan cooking his eyes looking solely one the scrambled eggs.

-You good, Duncan?

You ask as you watch Duncan turn to you pulling himself to you like on a string.

-In a way. A HARD way.

Moving your gaze down you see Duncan hard-on poking out of his pants.

-Need help with that?

You ask hoping for Duncan to nod and fuck you right here in the kitchen. Of course, as you tried to seduce Duncan and being left empty-handed was also hard on you leaving you wet and wanting more of his distant touch.

-Time is passing Mr. Vizla and your problem is still here. You know how it can be solved.

Duncan smiles viciously as he pushes you against the fridge. His rough lips smacking against yours as your ears pick up the calling of his belt.

-You are in a ride, prepare yourself Y/n.

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just-another-writer-cherry · 4 years ago

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The one where Harry is a drug addict and Y/N fines out

Warning: mentions of drugs

Requested: yes

Type: imagine

A/N: I don’t know how drugs work, so yeah I did my best, also kids don’t do drugs it’s not good and it only hurts you more. Anyways, thanks Lovie for the request you know who are, I hope you guys really enjoy this one.

Harry’s POV

Acceptance, something us people are very stubborn about.

Help, something we refuse to take even if we needed or when we needed the most.

I don’t when or how it happened, but it did and little did I know it was going to be the end of me.

Drugs

I Harry Edward Styles am addicted to drugs. It was all supposed to be innocent one time thing. Just take puff and move on. But it didn’t, it started out with weed, I was hanging with some friends when they ask me if I wanted some.

I said yes

Big mistake

Then I moved on to marijuana, next thing you know I’m snoring cocaine. Than suddenly I fine myself trying something new. Crack. Fuck! How did this even happened? It started out with what I thought was just fun and then it becomes a stress reliever. People around you go saying they understand what the pressure of being a musician is. But they don’t they simply don’t. And when you start to talk about the stress and your feelings, people tell you it’s your fault for using such career. Hell! Was it that bad to follow my dreams.

Anyways now I’m here once again meeting with James, my drug dealer, the one that delivers the goods. I see him walk towards me, it’s hard to forget what someone face looks like after meeting with them for over a month. I’m currently dress as if I was a gym. Why you might ask, well nobody knows this side of me, so I need to keep a cover. That and I can’t afford to lose the people around me. My mom, sister, my princess y/n, my friends. I just can’t, specially y/n I can’t afford to lose the best thing that has happened to me. I’m madly in love with that woman, she does things to me, makes me feel things that no one has ever made me feel before.

I’m snap out my thoughts by a voice

It’s James

“Hey brother” he greeted me

“Hey, did you bring it? I ask him, looking around making sure no one was taking pictures or anything

“Course I did, the usual right?”

“Yes, um here” I handed him $500

“It’s hice doing business with you sir, have a nice high” he says his goodbyes

I find myself walking home to my beautiful girlfriend with a brand new bag of weed and cocaine to smoke my stress away.

God what have I done.....

~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N POV

Harry has been acting weird lately, not that good kind of weird. Had been distance, I try to talk to him but it doesn’t work, he either avoids it or just changes the subject. Either way, today he told to me he was going to the gym, right before diner. Strange but I decide not to question him either, just go with flow.

As I’m cooking dinner in the kitchen I hear our front door open

“Babe, I’m home!” Harry said, dropping his gym bag on the floor

“In the kitchen H” I reponded him

“Smells good in here, what ya making sweets?” He ask coming towards, planting a sweet kiss on my forehead

In that moment I smell something weird on him, almost like weed. It can’t be, he won’t, he knows better than drugs.

“Your favorite” I say with a sweet tone of voice at the same time putting a sweet smile across my face looking up at him

“Did you go to gym?” I ask him, he isn’t sweating or smells like sweat, plus he doesn’t have his headphones on or hanging anywhere

He gives me a strange look

“ course I did, why you ask darling?”

“Well for one you don’t smell like sweat and two your headphones aren’t hanging from anywhere ” I say as matter of fact

“Well that’s because I took a shower at the gym before coming here, I put my headphones in my gym back , lovie” he said,

“Right but you never take shower at the gym”

“Decided to change it up a bit today”

I just look at him for a second, he looks drained, pale, tired, dark circles underneath his eyes, god H what are you doing to yourself

“Go get change H, so you can come down on time for dinner” I tell

“Yes ma’am” he said and left the kitchen

Once he left, I turn the stove off and go where his gym bag is.

I pick it, open it and start looking around to see if I can fine something.

What I fine next makes me question wether I know the real Harry or not and wether he loves or not

I drop the gym bag, my shaky hand only holding a ziplock bag, tears form in my eyes

It’s not just any ziplock bag

One with drugs in it, if I had to guess it’s weed and cocaine

What have you done Harry

I’m in so much shock, I didn’t even notice Harry standing there, I look at him slowly, with red eyes trying to content my tears.

“Please tell me it’s not yours, please” tiny tears start to fall

“I can explain” it’s all he says,

I just look at him, disappointed, mad , hurt

“Explain then, tell me why in the fucking world you have drugs in your bag?!”

“I’m sorry”

He is crying, I’m crying we are crying it’s a mess

“Why?! Why Harry?! What did I do wrong?! I have always been there for you! Why?! I say throwing the bag of drugs on the floor

“I don’t know, it was supposed to be a one time thing I swear it” he says, crying sobbing

I give him a “are you kidding” kinda look

“Seriously Harry! You have to be fucking kidding me! Anne raised you better than this! Drugs are never and will never be a one time thing!” I screamed angry with tear rolling down my face

He stays quite, doesn’t say anything else

“I can’t even look at you right now” my tone is normal this time, I walk pass him, getting bag

He turns around

“Where are you going? Please tell me your not leaving, you can’t leave Y/N, please don’t leave me” he says

Harry tries to crap my arm but fails when I pull away

“I need to be away from you” it’s the only thing I say before I walk out the door

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

Harry’s POV

No no no she left, my love left, fuck how stupid could I’ve been. It’s all my fault. I’m crying, I’m a mess but I do the only thing I have been doing for the past few moments.

Drugs

I take the bag and get the weed out and roll it up

I start to smoke it but it’s not enough, I need to numb this feeling

I take the cocaine out, put it onto the table, make the lines and start to snore it

What have I become

~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N

I walked like a block before I decide to call Anne, my crying as calm down now, it’s more so of a shock. I still can’t process what just happened. It’s a lot to take in. I’m in no condition to drive which is why I didn’t take the car. I’m scare I don’t know how Anne or Gem will react to this, Harry really took it too far this time.

I dial Anne phone number

( phone conversation) Anne Y/N

Hey

Hello sugar, are you okay?

I’m- can you please pick me up, I’m like a block away from our house

Yeah, of course. What did he do this time?

I will tell you once we get to your home

It must be really bad if you had to call me

It is

Ok hang in there sweet heart

Thanks Anne

(Phone coversation end)

I wait for like 15 min before I see Anne car, she stops in front me.

“Hey”

“Oh no, you’ve been crying, it’s that bad?”

I just nodded

The rest of the car ride is in silence

~~~~~~~~~

Once we arrive to Anne’s house the first thing I do is seat on the couch, she follows after me.

“Where is Gem? This is better with you two here”

“I’m here” Gem said coming from downstairs

“What did he do now?” Gem ask sitting besides Anne

“I can’t beat the bush around with this one, he is doing drugs guys and I don’t know how or when it happened” I say breaking down and crying

They both look shock, speech less

“No him, no my son” Anne says crying

“We have to help him” says Gemma

“ I don’t know anymore, I’m so mad and angry, I feel like I have fail him and our relationship”

“You haven’t failed anyone dear, you’ve done more than enough” Anne told me

“You’re right Gem we have to help him, I don’t what are we still doing here” I tell them and both of them nod in agreement

We get our bags and head to the car

~~~~~~~~~~

Anne park in the drive way, I’m the first one out the car, I open my bag in search for my keys. I get them out, Anne and Gem already behind me.

I open the door and the first thing we all notice is the smoke and smell of weed but the second thing worries me the most

A crying Harry, sitting on our living room floor. I start to walk towards him, the closer I get the more I can hear him whispering my name.

“Harry, baby it’s me, I’m here” I’m kneeling down in front of him, trying to separate his arms so he can look at me

“Y/N” he said

“Yes baby it’s me, are you okay? What have you done” I ask him

“I think he needs a cold shower y/n” Gem said

I look up at her and nod my head

“Anne can you help me get him off the floor”

“Yes dear”

“I’ll get him a change of clothes” Gem said

I gave Gem a nod. Anne and I both somehow manage to get him off the floor, we start to walk towards the shower. Anne gets out the bathroom and I start to undress Harry. I turn the water to cold.

“Get in with me please” he ask

“Course baby” I cant deny him anything at the moment

The water hits Harry first, he mumbles a “cold” I start to wash him, he starts to shake a little bit but I decide to just stay in for a bit

Once we are done with shower, I get out first and grab towels for both us. I rap a towel around his waist and around my body.

We get out the bathroom and walk up to our bedroom, that’s when I see Gem standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“You’re stupid Harry, I left his clothes on the bed”

I nodded, Harry didn’t give her any reaction. I guess is from being drained from all the smoking and snoring he was doing before we got here. At the corner of my eye I see Anne cleaning the living room, little tears falling down her face.

God how did we get here

~~~~~

I change Harry into some fresh clothing as well as myself and set him down for nap, I stayed with him until he was completely asleep. Once I was sure he was asleep I got from the bed when down stairs.

I see Anne and Gem sipping on some tea, they both look drained, tired ,pale and I have a feeling I don’t look any better.

I walk towards them, I take a sit with them

“He is taking nap right now” I told them

“What are we gonna do?” ask Gem

“Help him” said Anne

~~~~~~~~~

3hrs later

The three of us are sitting on couch doing whatever when we hear Harry coming down the stairs

I was the first one to get up, I walk towards him and gave him a hug, he seems a little taken aback at my actions but quickly reciprocateds

“Have a nice nap?” I ask him once I pull back from the hug

He just nods

“Want some water sweet heart?” Anne ask from behind me

He just nods again, Anne walk towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water

“You’re stupid and deserve to get the beating daylights out of you, I would do it if it weren’t for your current state” yeah that’s Gem

“I know” he said, Anne comes out the kitchen and hands him the glass of water. He drinks it all in a blink of an eye

“I think we need to talk” I said

We all take a sit at the kitchen island, I sit on Harry’s lab, gem and Anne sit beside eachother in front of us

“When did you start?” Gem ask

“It was while I was on tour, I swear it was supposed to be a one time thing but I don’t know what happened, I guess the stress got too much. It’s not excused but it’s the truth”

“Have you tried to stop?” I ask him

“No I can’t, it’s part of my life now , I need it” he said and all I wanna do is cry

“ we are all here to help you” Anne said

“Why didn’t you told us earlier?” I ask

“I didn’t wanna lose you guys” he said with guilt in his tone.

“We will always be here for you, Sweets” Anne said

Gem and I nodded

“Thank you guys ” he said crying a bit, I hug him, then Gem and Anne join the hug

After our little group hug gem said

“Mom do I have your permission to beat the shit out of my stupid brother?”

“Hell yes you do” Anne said

“Even I agree” I said getting down from Harry lab

Harry just look at Gem who was holding a plastic knife , next thing you know he is running and Gem right behind him

Anne and I just look at eachother then we burst in a fit of laughter.

Then I knew we’ll be alright

#harry styles imagine #harry styles #harry writing #harry styles masterlist

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ais-for-alex · 3 years ago

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The RIDER Nature Reserve: Chapter 2

So I’m probably just going to upload this as I edit which might end up with several chapters a day then nothing for awhile 😄

James Potter was a picture of contentment. Currently he was burrowed into one of the well-worn holes in his parents’ old loved couch, propped up by countless throw pillows and buried somewhere underneath several plush Sherpa lined blankets. Opposite him James younger sister Lily was reading a dense looking book while simultaneously trying to shove her foot into James’s face.

Within the Potter household Wednesday night dinners had become the traditional family gathering once they had all graduated from Hogwarts. Every week they would gather in their parents’ cozy home for their mum's delicious cooking, everyone throwing lighthearted jabs at each other over the dinner table. These had become James favorite night of the week. So far only James and Lily had made it back to their childhood home that night.

Ginny Potter was currently in the kitchen humming tunelessly as she banged pots and pans on the stovetop. Wednesdays were her normal days off from her job as head coach of the Holyhead Harpies, so she had been cooking when James and Lily had arrived not long before collapsing onto their respective sides of the couch.

At the sound of the flue activating James looked up from his warm bubble just in time to see his dad stumble through green flames. Still clad in his velvet Auror robes James noted that his dad seemed a bit disheveled. His dark unruly hair was more of a mess than usual like he had been running his hands through it for the past hour, and unless his eyes deceived him there was more gray shot through his beard than the last time James had seen him.

Harry sighed in relief when the green flames calmed down back to their soft yellow warmth, he paused for a moment warming his hands seemingly lost in thought. James watched his dad pull off the heavy velvet cloak and send it sailing upstairs with a quick flick of his wand. Harry was so distracted he was completely oblivious to the fact that two of his kids were sitting quietly behind him. That is until Lily let out a giant sneeze making Harry jump, his hand twitched towards the wand holstered at his thigh as he turned only to relax back to his side once he saw who it was.

“Sorry, flue powder, always makes my allergies act up,” she said mildly.

“Jeeze! You scared the crap out of me! Out of the three of you, you two are not the ones I expect to be quiet, make a noise every once and awhile, God damn!” Harry said in exasperation placing a hand on his racing heart. Finally calming down Harry sat on the arm of the couch next to Lily, “Why are you guys so quiet anyway? It’s weird.”

Lily looked up from her book for a moment before responding, “I, unlike this overexcited puppy,” she jabbed her socked foot in James’s face again for emphasis “have the capacity to be calm at any given time.”

“I’m sleeeepyyy,” James moaned, pulling a knit blanket over his head.

Harry scoffed at James’s whine, “Speaking of quiet, where’s Al? Not here yet?”

James’s muffled voice came from under the blanket, “That traitor ditched us because Scorp is off from St Mungo’s and he would rather spend the evening shagging his boyfriend rather than enjoying some wholesome family fun with us. That’s what he said right Lil’s?”

“Oh, yeah you got it verbatim, those were his exact words.”

Rolling his eyes Harry leaned over and kissed the top of Lily’s head before standing, “Mum in the kitchen?” he asked only to receive two mild affirmative answers as he headed out of the living room.

“Why are you so tired tonight you weirdo? Normally, you would be forcing us to play exploding snap until dinner, but now you’re just a quivering mass of pathetic over there.”

“Muf mnr smrm” James’s voice came, now completely muffled as he had pulled a pillow under his blankets and on top of his head.

“What?”

“Vmdf kjr fjbvd”

“Oh, for fucks sake!” she groaned, stretching her leg out and lightly kicking her brother in the head knocking the pillow and blanket to the floor.

Sighing dramatically James repeated his statement again, “I said I’m not pathetic you're pathetic.”

“Ooo, what a snappy comeback, totally worth the wait,” She said sarcastically.

“Ugg, I’m just super tired from training,” James said, finally answering her question, “I think my coach is officially trying to kill us. I don’t think I have been this sore since last season’s finals.”

“I don’t know why you guys are training so hard, I mean considering Mums team is going to whoop your arse anyway.”

“Yo! A little support here would be nice!” James cried in outrage that his sister had sided with their Mum rather than himself.

“Meh, I don’t want to inflate your ego. Not that you are short of adoring fans who will do you the honor.”

“Aw come on Lil’s you know that your support is worth what like five of theirs.”

“Only five!? James you have thousands of fans and I am only worth five! I’m your own flesh and blood for fucks sake!”

“Well I mean it is only you, Al and Dad are probably about fifty each but you, your kinda meh.” James laughed at the indignant look of outrage in his sisters’ face then promptly threw one of his pillows at her head.

“Rude!”

From the kitchen they could hear their Mum shout to them, “Offspring! Dinners ready!”

The two got up to head into the kitchen, as they walked James wrapped a strong arm around his sister catching Lily in a headlock.

“Oh, come on,” he said at her now sulking expression “you know I’m kidding.”

Rolling her eyes she replied exasperatedly, “Yeah I know, now get off me you oaf.” She punctuated this with an elbow to the side. The two were still locked in a bit of a wrestling match as they stumbled into the kitchen.

The Potters sans Albus were sitting at their dining table bickering good naturedly, wrapping up the end of their meal together, when a huge gray owl soared in through the open kitchen window and deposited himself on James’s lap. A small smile played at his lips when he noticed the familiar elegant script on the envelope, he gently removed the letter from the bird’s leg who let out a low ‘hoo’ then took off out the window once more.

“Ooo, who’s that from?” Lily asked in a faux scandalized voice, “another admirer?”

“Shut up,” he groaned at her teasing, “it’s from Teddy.”

“Oh,” she said, seeming genuinely interested now, “well go on then, what’s it say? Haven’t heard from him in ages.”

James rolled his eyes at his sister then looked down to read the front of the envelope and scoffed a bit in amusement at the words.

Jamie,

Open With Care

‘Open With Care’ had been his and James’s secret way of letting the other know that their letter was to be opened in private as it contained something sensitive or less than appropriate to read in front of other people.

“Lils, if you want to know what he has to say so badly, write him yourself you twat.” He said gently tucking the envelope into his pocket.

“Rude!” she cried.

“Well,” he said, taking a last sip of wine before getting up from the table, “I think it’s about time I head home. I have an early practice tomorrow.” Harry and Ginny looked up from the hushed conversation they had been having at the other end of the table.

“Hey Jay, wait up” Harry called out, “Before you go I wanted to talk to you all about something.” His dad's eyes darted from James over to where Lily and Ginny were still sitting at the table, his face was grim and pale. James vaguely recalled his mum mentioning his dad had been working extra hours lately on a nasty case and it looked like it was taking its toll on him.

“Alright, what’s up?” James replied sliding back down into his chair.

There was a pause as Harry took a deep breath before speaking, “Jay, I know this will sound a bit weird but I need you to start being a bit more cautious when your alone.” James blinked a bit taken aback by his dad's request but the serious tone with which he spoke made it clear he wasn’t joking. “Strictly speaking I’m not supposed to talk about this but screw it. Over the past couple months the Aurors have been looking into a sting of some pretty grizzly murders. We had another one today, and it's officially been classified as a serial killer.” Not knowing what to say James remained silent hoping his dad would continue speaking. “I don’t really want to go into details but we do know that they are targeting people who seem to have higher than average magical abilities. Now the Auror department has been keeping it under wraps to avoid panic for the moment but it won’t be long before the Profit gets ahold of it. One of the jackasses in the department as dubbed them the Wizarding Reaper.”

There was a beat of silence while Harrys words settled over the table James shot a look over to his sister who shrugged in response before turning back to their dad.

“Uh Ok, I’ll make sure to double my warding and keep an eye out for anything off,” James said, his demeanor serious.

“Thanks kid,” his dad sighed, sagging a bit in relief for a moment before he got up and wrapped James in a hug that quickly turned into a light headlock. Harry rubbed his knuckles into James’s already messy auburn hair, “Now just try not to kill yourself on the pitch and everything will be fine,” his tone had completely changed from that serious one back to his usual joking demeanor.

“Yeah, yeah alright” James said, breaking out from under his dad's arm, “I’ll see you two on Saturday,” he said to his dad and Lily. “And you,” he turned to his mum, “I’ll see you on the pitch,” his voice lowered a bit in a faux challenging tone.

Ginny, never one to be outdone, turned on her best taunting voice, “That you will baby boy, don’t forget to bring some tissues for when you're crying in the locker room after the Harpies demolish you.” His mum’s words would have been cruel but she said them in that same faux challenging tone James had used and had a teasing smile on her face. It was a little tradition of theirs before matches their teams played together, they would go back and forth with smack talk until their taunting insults turned into statements of love.

“Oh, you’re going to be the one crying, sobbing into dads’ shoulder when we put you out of the running for the world cup.”

“We are going to whip your ass, same as I did when you were a child stealing cookies from the kitchen.”

“I still steal cookies, but that’s cause you’re amazing at baking,” James said still in a taunting voice despite the complement.

“Thank you, I left a plate of them on the counter for you.”

“Thanks, love you mum.”

“You’re welcome and I love you too,” the two kept up the charade of acting the bitter rivals their teams were. James slowly crept over to the counter grabbing the plate of home baked cookies she had left all the while meeting her exaggerated glare with his own, an utterly ridiculous attempt at looking intimidating. As he backed out of the kitchen, he paused in the doorway taking two finger pointing to his eyes then pointing to his mum in the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture, he then relaxed his posture and waved them all good night before disapparating away to land in his own entryway.

James sighed in relief at finally being home after an extremely long day. His small apartment was sparse with only the essentials to live comfortably only decorated by the occasional bits of Puddlemere United paraphernalia he had picked over the years. With a couple swift wand strokes James reinforced the warding on his front door, then dropped his gym bag full of dirty practice clothes off his shoulder to the floor. Wandering into his small kitchen James slid his plate of cookies onto the counter; he would save them until after the match this weekend. Snagging a water from the fridge he made his way into the living room to flop down onto his old couch.

James pulled Teddy’s letter from his pocket, once again smiling at the familiar writing on the front, he opened the envelope and read its contents, a warm fond feeling spreading through him with every word.

Jamie,

Guess what! One of our dragons is pregnant! Or sort of, she technically incubating her eggs, but still! I am so excited! Charlie has been trying to find her a mate for ages, turns out she took a liking to that dragon I told you about, the one I went to fetch from the U.S a while back. I am so curious to see what the babies will look like, it’s an interesting cross. Anyway, I digress. It’s just so exciting I had to tell you.

So, how’s training going? Your coach still acting like a drill Sergeant? You excited for the match this weekend; I know you’ll do fantastic. I know I’m supposed to support both of you equally but honestly, I hope you beat the Harpies. You’ve been working your arse off, you deserve it. Just don’t let your mum know I said that.

On a side note I got the ‘present’ you sent me, and god damn Jamie are you trying to kill me? God you are so gorgeous I don’t even have words; I will let you know that they have officially been added to my personal spank bank so thank you.

Good luck on Saturday. I know you’ll crush it, I wish I could be there but you know how the ministry is about travel on and off the reserve. I’ll be watching on the live stream though and rooting for you.

-T

P.S. The picture of you polishing your broom was my favorite, that little wink at the end makes my blood go south just thinking about it.

James groaned at the mental image that last comment had invoked. In his last letter to Teddy, James had included a couple risqué pictures that had been taken for the Puddlemere United’s annual charity calendar. The whole team had them done and after his session with the photographer he had been sent several of the shots with instructions to choose which one he would prefer to have in the final product. James had thought he looked silly in most of them so he sent them to Teddy for a second opinion, including the one of himself in only a jockstrap in the team’s colors polishing his broom, as his hands stroked back and forth on the wood suggestively. In the picture his eyes would close as he tipped his head back, mouth open slightly, slowly he turned to the camera with a sultry look then winked as the image looped back to the beginning.

James moaned quietly turned on by the thought of Teddy getting hard and wanking to his picture, the concept was still a bit weird for him to wrap his mind around. He and Teddy had been friends for ages they had practically grown up together.

Teddy had always been James’s person, the one he could confide in or complain to about his siblings or even just hang out with and enjoy each other’s company. Through James’s last couple of years at Hogwarts Teddy had been working to finish his Auror training but just before he was due to be inducted as an official Auror Teddy decided that ultimately it just wasn’t the job for him. The constant strain of being surrounded by dark wizards, surrounded by murderers and rapists, it had worn on his mental state.

Eventually Teddy settled down in a position working at the Nature Reserve James’s uncle Charlie ran, and he absolutely loved it. That had been in the last year before James graduated, after Teddy left for Romania, they began writing to each other and they were just as they had always been, friends.

This last Christmas though Teddy had come home. He had only been back a handful of times since leaving and it had been years since James had seen his best friend face to face. That Christmas Eve though James had opened his parent’s front door and was greeted to the sight of Teddy, his turquoise hair lightly dusted in snow and smiling brighter than the sun. In a split-second James’s entire demeanor changed though normally energetic he seemed to almost start vibrating with excitement.

Teddy had the good sense to drop his duffle bag quickly as James nearly tackled him in a bearhug. The two men stumbled backwards across the Potters front deck from the momentum until they fell backwards into a snowbank. Teddy hugged back just as enthusiastically, causing them to roll in the snow until he was straddling James' hips. Both of them were laughing heartily ecstatic to finally see each other again Teddy stood up and pulled James up from the snow with enough force to lift him off his feet and spin around. James locked his arms around Teddy’s strong form not wanting to let go as they stood now completely soaked and cold from the snow.

Still in Teddys strong hold James breathing in deeply, intoxicated by the crisp smell of fresh cut pine, campfire smoke, and strong coffee that seemed to cling his skin. Suddenly the porch light flicked on making the men look up, Harry was standing in the open doorway having come to investigate to cold breeze leaking into the house as James hadn’t bothered to close the door when he tackled his best friend. The two began laughing again at the silliness of rolling around in the snow in subzero temperatures then headed back towards the house where Harry was still watching with an amused look on his face.

After the onslaught of warmth and greetings from the rest of the Potters it was like Teddy had never left at all. He effortlessly fit back into their family easily slipping into each conversation on quidditch with James and his mum, Albus and Scorpius’s deep discussions about wizarding folklore and how bits of it could fit into their D&D campaign, he talked Ministry politics with Harry and even seemed to take an interest in Lily’s newfound love of all things Muggle as she had decided to seek further education at a Muggle university. Throughout the night James could feel Teddy's eyes frequently coming to land on him, he would look up to find Teddy staring a small grin playing on his lips as he held the eye contact before turning back to his conversation leaving James feeling warm from his gaze.

Back when Teddy had left neither he nor James had anything other than friendship in mind, each was preoccupied with their own struggles. Teddy trying to make it work with the Aurors and James still in school then starting his own career in the Quidditch world after graduation. That Christmas eve though felt different somehow, their eyes seemed to always find each other, leaving behind a charged feeling in their stomachs. It was odd after being friends for forever neither was sure what to do with this new energy that seemed to be pulling them together.

Their evening was filled with friendly familiar chatter until everyone was exhausted and ready to head home into bed. Teddy was chatting with Harry and disclosed that he hadn’t really thought too much about where he would be staying while he was in England. At that exact moment James had been meandering by the couch, not eavesdropping on their conversation at all, when he plopped down and slung his arm around Teddys neck insisting he stay at his flat.

They left the holiday festivities soon after that, both collapsing into a heap on the old beaten up couch in James' sparse living room. For the first time in years they had the freedom to tell each other everything that never translated well into letters. The night wore late as they spun tales of their lives, talking animatedly about quidditch and dragons sharing the last years of their lives with one another.

Teddy had been telling a captivating tale about one of his coworkers who had gotten a bit too comfortable around one of the dragons and ended up getting his arm torn off, however, James wasn’t listening. Teddy had pushed up his shirtsleeve revealing intricate tattoos that swirled and moved with the motion of his arm and James was utterly distracted. His eyes traced the magically moving ink from where it began at the wrist up his forearm until it disappeared under the sleeve of his shirt.

Eventually Teddy stopped talking, realizing that James was no longer paying attention to his words, the silence prompted James to let his gaze wander slowly back up to Teddys face, bits of glinting metal caught in the dim light as he finally met his burning eyes. James watched in awe as Teddy’s eyes darkened from their natural hazel color to a deep midnight blue with lust. He barely had a moment to gasp at the intense look before Teddy’s mouth was on his, body pressing him back into the worn couch cushions. They moved together gasping, moaning, James whimpered at the feeling of skin on skin. Mouths sliding together, hands exploring, both trying to get as close to the other as possible. The next morning, they woke in bed Teddy had wrapped himself around James’s body every inch pressed together both filled with warmth and contentment.

Even now laying alone in his flat, if he closed his eyes James could almost still feel the tingling trails of Teddys fingers caressing his body as they talked that morning. The two ultimately deciding against starting anything more between them, after all Teddy would leave in a couple days back to Romania and James would once again throw himself into Quidditch training, there was no point. So, from that point they went back to normal, aside from the occasional salacious fantasy they were simply friends.

James had gotten caught up in the memory of that night when he looked up at the time it was nearly one in the morning and he had to get up early for practice. With another dramatic groan he pushed up from the couch and headed to bed.

Read on ao3

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#james sirius potter #albus severus potter #harry potter #teddy lupin #writing #RIDER #jeddy

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bourbon-ontherocks · 4 years ago

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(Previously, on GG rewatch...)

So this episode is literally the closest we got to what the show would look like if Brio was written off it. Ruby/Annie adventures!! Beth being totally useless in a crime plot! Almost zero Dean as a consequence (this is probably the only episode in the show where Dean has less screentime than Rio hahaha!)

Okay, practical question here, but is it safe to confess literal crimes you got away with to a support group? Like, nobody's going to report you? Just asking for a friend...

As an anti-waste myself, I can only but approve Annie picking expired bread before it gets thrown away tbh.

THE PTA MOMS!!!!!!! I LOVE TO HATE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!

Beth's printed board of fall-themed baked goods is literally a moodboard for a pastry chef AU fic...

I really love Sara's character development through the end of season 2/course of season 3!

How did Annie get Rio's phone number, again?

I can't believe that we were SO CLOSE to an Annie/Rio interaction!!!! It was RIGHT THERE!!! Why did they take that away from us????

Beth has an insane amount of different kitchen oils in that kitchen-counter basket. And she's buying truffle oil in season 3. This woman needs to stop with oil.

I can't believe that Beth literally does not answer Annie's "are you okay with the actual book club thing?" and nobody calls her out...

"How do you think he's gonna do it without us?" Pahahahahaha, Beth, this man's business was doing pretty fine before you joined, calm down...

Did I mention how much I love the PTA moms??? "Are corn stalks too sexual?" I'm dead!! And I love adrenaline-addicted shoplifter Beth so much!!!!

Note for later: between the expired seafood and the half-smoked cigarette in the pickles jar, remind me to never shop at Fine & Frugal’s...

Oh no, Annie said "I love you" to Noah and he betrays her right in the next scene, I'm so sad right now!!!! Honestly the fact that he's FBI doesn't bother me thaaaaat much (I mean, it's just a common trope) but the fact that he betrays her now is hearbreaking!

"One of my mom's friends." Either Sara is gaslighting her friend because she's ashamed of Annie's song, either the girls are lying when they claim that their children grew up together.

Okay so Dean appearing at the 19th minutes of the episode had me "Huh, I completely forgot about you!"

I can't believe I didn't remember that THERE. IS. A. NURSING. HOME. IN. THIS. SHOW. Guys, it’s canon!!!!!!

Why did the Canadian woman look for Beth Boland? Didn't Rio update big Mike's crew about who was coming?

I know it's controversial but honestly, I wish the show had given Annie and Noah a better resolution. I don't understand why people hate him so much. He's clearly torn in a moral conflict, and I would have loved for them to stay together while Noah could just turn to crime or become the girl's intel in the FBI.

I understand the purpose behind that scene and it's brilliant, but I just can't watch Beth destroy all that food. It physically hurts me. I sort of whish they used fake food to destroy during the shooting but I'm afraid they did not.

"She taught me Snapchat." "I am so sorry" is one of Ruby's most underrated lines, fight me

I ABSOLUTELY abide by Ben's theory about other kids freaking out the day they'll realize their parents aren't perfect haha!

I was so lost in contemplating how there were way too many kids in that park that I legit jumped when Rio and his mooncup-shaped beanie appeared on screen.

ALL OUT OF CATASTROPHY!!!! I LOVE THIS SONG WITH THAT SCENE SO MUCH!!!

I am in absolute awe at Beth's duality in this episode. The poisenous dark Beth serving her "Hello, James" with a beaming, cat-and-mouse smile vs. zombie PTA Beth cooking tons of food and haunting decoration stores is a masterpiece of writing and acting. And Annie's and Ruby's faces when Beth confesses she had fun speaks for themselves. Dark Beth is rising. Finally.

Ooooh, poor Annie!! Also, I love how Tyler just obliviously monologues details about his conjunctivitis!

So... If Beth barged in the dealership with a warning barely ten seconds before the sirens (which makes Rio's heads-up pretty useless but whatever), when did they have time to clean the cars??? Did I miss something?

Bonus: I know that I have a dirty mind, but... Isn't that too sexual?????

#gg rewatch #this land is my land #honestly this looks like a friendly penis with a very nice bush #I said what I said #and yeah I actually really enjoyed this episode #Beth/Rio drama should be written off more often tbh #and I want Noah back in season 4

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nlmorgan89 · 3 years ago

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Revenge

Jeff Tracy had been back on earth long enough to organise a surprise graduation for Alan when they got a call about a rescue in the Atlantic. Jeff should have been suspicious as John had said it was a Gold card members rescue, what ever that meant. What he was surprised about was after reading the names all his sons groaned and Scott, never leave anyone behind, Scott had asked if they were really needed. As a tidal wave was approaching them it was a neccesary rescue, what had happened to make everyone not want to rescue these people. He waited till everyone was gone before asking his mum.

"Why did no one want to rescue these people?" Jeff asked, she had been taking a nap and had not been there for the initial report.

"Who is it?" Sally asked, there was a sort list of people who her grandson's hated rescuing.

"Francois Lemaire and Langstrom Fishler. What?" Jeff asked again after she groaned and went to the desk calling Val.

"Tracy's if its about the Gold card members John already called us and I am on the way with some back up from The Mechanic, Rigby and Kayo." Val said she was sitting down in a cockpit already flying out to make sure that Scott did not do anything to tarnish the IR reputation.

"Thank god, just beware Lemaire already made Allie cry during his last rescue, if he gets upset you know what everyone else will do." Sally said, she had also sent Jeff copies of the rescues that the boys had done involving the Gold card members.

"Okay so you want me to deck him first before anyone else does." Val said the fact that she was serious was not lost on anyone.

"How did they survive into adult hood? Not even the boys managed to do half this shit in their teens." Jeff said, he wondered how both remained rich and working in their respective fields.

"I have no idea but I wont blame you if you want to throw your weight around, I remember your college days were some good times. Val, you and the Commando's where quite good at starting things and not getting caught." Sally said, they both grinned at that, but quickly went back to watching the rescue The Mechanic had assigned the ground and air crew with a dragonfly mecha and Gordon had his ray mecha. It was just a precaution so that no one was seriously hurt. Even John had EOS in drones so she could assist and keep an extra set of eyes on the family. While no one was hurt by some miracle was more down to the extra safety of the mecha's and EOS it was still time consuming. It would have only taken them an hour but it instead took them 7 hours so everyone was tired and hungry.

"Val are the Commando's still around?" Jeff asked once everyone was fed and in bed, Sally was in the hall listening them plan their revenge, she knew she should feel sorry for the poor idiot but they brought this on themselves. When the morning rolled around Jeff was watching the news and had to laugh when he saw the report.

"Yesterday, after International Rescue was called out to rescue the parties involved they were met with a rather pleasant surprise after waking to find themselves in a mysterious bubble. Maybe now they can let International Rescue rest and I am sure after seeing these videos the rest of the world will agree..."

"Why are they in a fish bowel?" Scott asked, he had wanted to thump them last night and had put that on the backburner after he had to hold both Virgil and Gordon back. Rigby and Val were to busy holding Kayo and The Mechanic back after he had made Alan cry, even EOS had placed John in quarantine lockdown so he didn't do anything stupid.

"No idea, but I would call that poetic justice. I am going to a lunch with some college mates on the main land, will pick up dinner so you don't need to cook anything mum." Jeff said, Sally was grinning she had not even heard Jeff leave the island but then it did not surprise her when he walked out and climbed into a SPECTRUM plane. Her poor family were totally confused.

Later... "Damn Jeff you have not changed at all. Shame Lee missed out on this?" Charles said, he was not surprised when a Commando's alert had gone out after he had watched the Tracy boys rescuing the idiots once more, even his own team had been called out during the Tracy's absence when they had gone to rescue their dad to save Lemaire.

"I have to agree, though it was rather fun," Samuel said, raising his glass to Jeff everyone followed suit. He too had wanted to kill Fishler after one of his machines almost killed the treaty that he had made with Titanica.

"So, what is the next prank?" James said, he was happy just to get away from his desk, it was no fun running a country but then he would not change it for anything.

"No idea, but we should team up next time prank wars break out in one of our divisions, show these youngsters how its done." Val said, she had been in a meeting reassuring the idiots that they had no idea how the bubbles had appeared and promising that they were doing everything in GDF's power to help them.

"Ready to watch Phase 2?" Jeff said, he had placed cameras around both houses so they could watch their pranks play out. Everyone nodded, as Jeff had only told them to come up with something to help contain all of his pranks thus the bubble. "Well hope they have a good cleaner on hand will secretly send them a massive donations once they have cleaned the buildings."

"Jefferson what exactly did you plan? Also congratulations on your re-election James." Val said, she was the only one that could get away with calling him Jefferson only because she could be as scary as Sally Tracy when she wanted to be.

"Thanks Val," James said, he noticed people snapping photos but he knew that they would not make it online thanks to Jeff's sons AI, EOS. "After lunch we should take a group photo for old times."

"Agreed, we should make it a regular thing too, we don't get breaks where we are able to leave work often." Samuel said, but started choking, how had Jeff added that much glitter to the water supply. Everyone was loosing it too for the sprinklers had started spraying the houses and yard with glitter. Poor Lemaire had just entered his shower and Fishler was doing his laundry. Jeff was grinning like that evil SOB that he was. Even Gordon's glitter bomb was tame compared to that.

"Is that really sanitary Jeff." Charles said, he was tearing up from laughing so much, glad he was best friends with him and not an enemy. That thought was going through all of there minds, it was fantastic having the master strategist back in charge. "Is that 'Sh*t List' playing?"

"Yes, OMG you even messed with all the audio devices dude." Samuel roared, he had to laugh they had discussed revenge songs and this one made the list only because of the one line. 'I grab my pen and I write up a list, of all the people that won't be missed. You made my shit list'.

"What can I say 11 years is a good way to expand ones prank list." Jeff said, which was truthful aside from thinking of his family he spent years thinking of ways to pay back Gordon if he decided to prank him once he was back. Turns out these three pranks were his best ones though he was saving the Kool-Aid in the pool for when Gordon was too much for the entire family. 3 hours later he was looking at the photo they had taken all his friends were surrounding him, and could not be prouder of his friendships and how even years later they were still great friends.

"Hi dad, who are they?" Alan asked, the boys had come in wanting to ask how his day away had gone, and surprising him with a visit by Lee Taylor.

"Hey Lee, boys, these are my college mates. Val your god-mother, Charles Grey the commander-in-chief of Spectrum's Cloudbase, Samuel Shore, commander of WASP, the last person is James Holland, president of the US." Jeff said, he watched as his boys stared open mouthed at this. Lee laughed, and clapped his friend over the shoulder, he had made it back and watched the news report of the bubbles that had appeared and realised his team had come together wishing he had been involved but kept his mouth shut. "Lee forgot to tell you James says you owe him some money after Moon base was destroyed."

#irrelief #@shirubie #gumnut-logic

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jaskiers-sweetkiss · 4 years ago

Text

Bombshell [B. Barnes] - 2

Pairing: British SHIELD Agent!Reader x Bucky Barnes

Warnings: swearing, (legal) alcohol consumption, explosions, memory loss, mentions of past trauma, mentions of death

Work Count: 5.8K

See end for Author’s Notes.

Masterlist Previous Part

___

"Agent Y/L/N, what's your status?" the concerned voice crackled over the coms. "Y/L/N check in."

You huffed, rolling your eyes as you took out a guard.

"Jesus Rogers, we split up less than two minutes ago. I'm fine."

"I'm sorry for being concerned," Steve muttered sarcastically under his breath, the coms barely picked it up and you bit back a laugh, trying to remain stealthy.

You peaked your head around the corner, peering into the large room before you to ensure that it was empty. Once you were sure it was clear, you made your way around what appeared to be a storage room, checking for any objects of importance or secret passageways. As you cleared each wall, you made sure to slap a small disk to each one.

"Y/N, we're at the quinjet, what's your status?" Natasha came over the coms.

"Just finishing up down here Nat," you replied lightly, making your way back to the stairs, slapping a few more disks in the hallway for good measure. "Who's 'we'?"

"Steve and me."

You sighed, equal parts worried and relieved. "Wilson, what's your position?"

"Couple Nazis on the roof, I've got it covered," Sam responded with a grunt.

"Take them out quickly, please," you ordered, holding your position on the stairs. "I'm activating the bombs and we'll only have a couple of minutes to get out of here."

"Yes ma'am," Sam answered, and you almost thought you could hear him mock salute you, "Will you have enough time?"

"What do you take me for?" You gasped, offended, "an amateur?"

Sam barked out a laugh and you couldn't help but smile in response.

"Nazis down." He announced over the coms. "Commence explosions."

"With pleasure," you smirked, pressing the button on the activator. "T-minus five minutes to detonation." You announced, running up the stairs. "Nat?"

"We're in position." The redhead affirmed over coms and you ran harder, making sure to press the button on each floor to activate the bombs you had placed on your way to the basement.

You had about two minutes to spare by the time you reached the roof, pushing yourself harder as you sprinted up the quinjet ramp.

"Go!" You barked out, Nat immediately pulling the jet off the roof and into the sky, the ramp not even closed.

"I... am going... to kill... Stark." You panted, doubled over as you tried to catch your breath. You could hear the explosions in the distance as the building beneath you was destroyed. "Honestly... would it kill him... to make longer-ranged bombs?"

"Well, to be fair, we've never had an explosives expert on the team before." Steve defended only to be met with a glare.

"That's no excuse." You glowered. "They had better bombs in World War Two and you know it!"

You had seen some of them yourself in Tripp's suitcase of Howling Commandos gadgets that he got from his grandfather. They may have been bigger and a pain in the ass to set, but at least they gave an adequate amount of time to get to safety.

As if he could hear your thoughts, Steve echoed the same sentiment,

"These ones are a helluva lot easier to set." He argued, tossing one of the round explosives in one hand.

"Rogers, you idiot." You snapped, snatching the bomb out of the air before he could catch it again. "This is a bomb, not a toy!"

Steve had the gall to smile while you scolded him. "Jesus, that is not something I should have to say to someone who is nearly one-hundred-years-old."

"Relax, Y/N, it's not like it's gonna explode." The super-soldier placed a hand on your shoulder and you scowled up at him.

"It very well could!" You knew that he was right, the explosive was stable and could only be activated with the remote, however, now the argument was about principle. "Who's the explosives expert here, hm?"

"How did a history major become an expert in blowing things up?" Sam asked curiously, breaking up your petty argument.

"Well, I've been exploding things since I was a little girl," you began, making a show of putting the bomb back into its designated case before plopping down into one of the many seats lining the interior of the quinjet. "My dad was a science teacher and we used to do all kinds of experiments together. Coke and Mentos, baking soda volcanos, film canister rockets- the works."

You sighed happily, though Sam and Steve didn't miss the sad look in your eyes that was always present when you talked about your family.

"I sort of naturally drifted towards real explosives after SHIELD recruited me." You shrugged and Sam nodded understandably, but Steve was staring at you as if you had just told him the moon was orange.

"What happens when you mix Coke and Mentos?" He asked warily and yours and Sam's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y-you don't know?" Sam spluttered out through his shock.

Steve shook his head slowly, looking even more alarmed by your response to his question.

"Oh, Stevie, we are going to have so much fun when we get back." You grinned already choosing which of Tony's labs you would be hijacking.

___

"So what did you do for fun when you were a kid?" You asked as you sat on the floor of one of the many Stark labs at the Tower.

A soda-covered tarp sat abandoned nearby and you and Steve were surrounded by nearly-empty two-liters of Coke. After touching back down in New York, you immediately ran out to buy the soda and mints necessary for the classic experiment. You had a hypothesis that Steve might want to repeat the explosion more than once, a hypothesis that the man readily proved correct. Now you sat facing each other, steadily drinking your way through the flat soda left in the bottom of the plastic bottles because you had insisted it was "tradition."

"Well, my ma and I were pretty poor, even before the Depression hit." Steve began, taking a swig of the nearest two-liter and grimacing slightly at the taste of slightly-minty flat Coke. "We couldn't afford to go out much, so we made do with what we had at home. I remember I spent about a week drawing playing cards when our deck fell apart. I used to draw a lot back then."

You recognized the look of mixed nostalgia and grief in Steve's eyes as he spoke about the past; it was a look you were intimately familiar with yourself.

"When Bucky and I moved in together after my ma passed he'd let me sketch him while he cooked or baked in the kitchen." Steve smiled, a faraway look in his eyes as he recounted the past.

"You never helped out?" You asked, teasing lacing your voice.

"Nah," Steve laughed. "I was hopeless in the kitchen, still kinda am. After I nearly burnt down the kitchen twice Buck stopped letting me anywhere near the stove."

You smiled, thoroughly enjoying Steve's storytelling. He seemed at ease in that moment, completely relaxed and open, something rare for Captain America. The wheels began to turn in your own head when he brought up his childhood best friend, now a fugitive with spotty memories of his own past.

"What were his favorite things to make?" You asked and Steve grinned, though it was so natural you weren’t even sure he realized he was doing it.

"I was too sick to work back then, and with only one source of income we were still pretty disadvantaged, but on special occasions, Bucky would make this baked apple pudding that was divine."

"Divine, huh?" You giggled, tucking that information away. "I wish I could've tried it."

"I actually might still have the recipe." Steve perked up at the thought and you stared at him, puzzled.

"How do you still have a recipe from the thirties?"

"When I went into the ice the SSR boxed up everything in my apartment for 'records.' When I woke up SHIELD gave them all back to me." The blond downed the last of the flat soda and jumped to his feet, practically buzzing in excitement. "C'mon let's go look for it!"

"Slow down there, cowboy." You held out a cautionary hand before gesturing at the lab. "We have to clean all this up first so Stark doesn't kill us."

Steve groaned but relented and you spent the next fifteen minutes making sure Tony would never know they had exploded soda in his "state-of-the-art, high-tech labs."

___

"Sergeant Barnes, it's Agent Y/L/N. I'm coming in." You announced into the speaker, the door beside it unlocking with a click as the technology recognized your voice.

The cabin was dark when you entered but before you could reach out to flip the light switch next to the door you were pinned to the wall, grocery bags falling to the floor.

You couldn't help the gasp that escaped your lips though you made sure to control your breathing the way you were trained to. You knew what to do in this situation but needed to remain calm to do it. The arm pressing across the top of your chest made it difficult to breathe steadily, but you were able to manage after a minute of focusing on remaining still and slowing your heart rate.

"Sergeant Barnes." You managed to get out, your voice a bit raspy albeit steady.

The man growled at the name and said something in Russian that you couldn't understand.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes." You began again. "You were a Sergeant of the one-hundred-and-seventh division in World War Two. On a mission to intercept an enemy transport, you were injured and captured by Hydra. Hydra experimented on you and brainwashed you."

You could feel the muscles in the arm relax, though the man wasn't close to removing it just yet, so you continued.

"I am Agent Y/N Y/L/N. Three months ago we met in Washington D.C. and I brought you to this safe house. Every week since then I have come here to check in on you and bring you groceries."

This wasn't the first time you had been met with the Winter Soldier when you arrived at the safehouse and you had had to quickly learn how to bring Sergeant Barnes back. You had found the Soldier responded best to facts, and so you would lay out the facts that led Barnes to that moment in the most even and calm voice you could, allowing the Soldier to stand down and Barnes to come through.

"You are not the Winter Soldier, Sergeant Barnes." You reminded him evenly, and after a moment you felt the man relax entirely and stager quickly away from you.

"Agent Y/L/N, I'm so sorry." He gasped, voice ragged as he quickly worked to pick up the groceries that had fallen out of their bags when you had dropped them.

"It's quite alright, Sergeant Barnes. I know that wasn't you."

It was easy to say because you believed it, though you hadn't always. When you had initially brought Barnes to the abandoned SHIELD safehouse it had been to monitor him to see how much of him overlapped with his assassin alter ego. After about a month of observation, you had found that there was no overlap between the two, other than the fact that Barnes held the Soldier's memories. Hydra had tried to erase everything that made James Buchanan Barnes the man he was when creating their super-powered assassin.

"What's all this?" Barnes asked quietly, starring perplexed at the groceries, particularly the bag full of baking supplies.

"I thought you and I might bake something together," you said, trying not to give away your entire plan.

You had hoped to jog the man's memories a bit however you wanted to avoid accidentally planting false memories.

"I... I think I would like that?" The man said, though it came out more like a question as he still wasn't really sure what he did and didn't like anymore.

You smiled reassuringly. "Well then, lets hop to it!"

You worked quickly to put away the rest of the groceries before you laid out the ingredients for your bake on the counter.

"First and foremost those apples are going to need to be peeled and chopped," You said, nodding towards the apples as you held out a knife to the man beside you.

The two of you stood just like that for a moment, you with your arm holding out the knife and Barnes not taking it from you before you finally looked over at the man.

"What's the matter, Sergeant Barnes?" You asked, your accent clipped with concern.

"I can't be trusted." He said softly, and you almost missed it.

"Really now, Barnes, would I be trying to give you a knife if I thought you would hurt me?" You tried to reason, hoping you were doing enough to quell his anxieties. "I trust you, Sergeant Barnes, even if you don't trust yourself."

"James." He spoke so quietly that you weren’t sure if he had even spoken at all.

"What was that?"

"James," He repeated, more confidently this time. "You can call me James."

He wasn't sure why he had said it. From what he could remember, he hated the name James, everybody had called him Bucky. You were confused by it as well. You had never once heard Steve refer to him as James, always Buck or Bucky. Regardless, a first-name basis was a step in the right direction and you would take it.

"Alright then, James," you smiled at the man, "Those apples aren't going to cut themselves."

"Yes ma'am!" He joked as he finally took the knife from your hand, seeming to surprise himself as much as he surprised you and you smiled even wider.

You worked in mostly silence, the kitchen filled only with the sounds of your labor and James giving instructions- you had given him the recipe right away, hoping it would spark some memories. He didn't tell you if it had, but he moved through the kitchen with an ease and comfort you had yet to see from the man. You thought maybe he didn't realize; that he was having a subconscious reaction to being back in the kitchen, baking something that had at one point held such significance to him.

"Alright, Stevie, desserts in the oven, whaddya want for dinner?" James asked, his back to you as he rifled through the fridge. As soon as the words left his mouth he paused, slumping inwards on himself.

"James?" You asked softly, cautiously stepping towards the man.

"I- I remembered something." He said brokenly, and you decided it was safe to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Steve- I- we used to live together, I think," James spoke, gripping the fridge door tightly in an attempt to support himself. "I- I used to bake this for him, I- where did you get this recipe?"

His voice had turned somewhat hostile with the last question but you stood your ground, not stepping back from the man in front of you.

"Steve gave it to me," you said softly, hoping he could hear the honesty in your voice, "He told me how you used to make it for him."

"Is he- does he know I'm here?" James asked as he turned around to face you, eyes and voice filled with panic.

"No, and I won't tell him until you tell me you're ready."

"Thank you, Agent Y/L/N."

"It's Y/N." You smiled kindly, "Now, what should we have for dinner?"

___

"This mean anything to you?" You asked, eyebrow raised inquisitively as you set the old paper down in front of Skye.

"Where did you get this?" The agent gasped, breezing past the fact that no one was supposed to know what she had been working on.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for you, nearly everyone at SHIELD seemed to think you knew more than you did.

"The Avengers brought me along on a Hydra raid. Found that in the basement of the warehouse, thought it looked familiar." You pointed to the worn parchment laid out on the table.

It was covered in an interlocking series of lines and circles that you didn't understand but you had seen Skye working on something similar in the past months.

"Does anyone know you have this?"

"Nope." You answered, a sly grin on your face. "Nabbed it before I left and then blew up the entire building, so Hydra won't know it’s missing either."

"What do you know about it?" Skye asked, seeming to have realized that this was supposed to be between her and Coulson.

"Nothing, other than that Coulson's had you working on it in secret for a few months now," you answered honestly. "You have to be a little quicker when closing down the holoscreen." You added when you noticed Skye's confusion.

"Noted," Skye responded dryly. "Well, thank you for the old parchment but I can't tell you anything else."

"I didn't expect you to," you smiled before asking, "How about something you can talk about? Like what happened with Browning?"

"Hunter's still pissed we've been shadowing them," Skye smirked and you laughed, not even slightly surprised. The mercenary was more a fan of his paychecks than of SHIELD's protocols. "But an enhanced took out Browning before we could get to him. We're pretty sure he's with Hydra which means they're after the 0-8-4 too."

"Big surprise there," you sighed, the world may think Hydra is gone but you knew the truth: they were just biding their time in the shadows once again.

"So when do we go out to collect it before they can?" You asked curiously, having been off base when the first mission had occurred and Coulson wasn't exactly accepting visitors to his office.

"As soon as we figure out where the government is keeping it." Skye sighed and you groaned. The US Government, or more specifically General Talbot, had been making SHIELD's operations even more difficult lately.

"Is he in the lab?" You asked, changing the subject.

"He's barely left, he's working on the samples we collected from the enhanced right now."

You frowned but nodded in thanks to the agent before making your way towards the lab.

Fitz hadn't been doing much better, he was still struggling to come up with words and his hands were still shaky. Additionally, he seemed to be talking to himself, or rather, a version of Simmons he had conjured up for himself. In your downtime on the base, you found herself just sitting in the lab, an option for Fitz to talk to if he wanted but you always brought a book or something to occupy yourself if not. Today you were sitting on the floor, leaning against a lab station while reading Rob Chernow's biography Alexander Hamilton.

"Uhh, Y-Y/N," Fitz began to panic, waving his hand wildly to get your attention.

"What is it?" You asked worriedly, quickly getting to your feet to stand next to the scientist.

"Y-you see that too, right?"

You did see. The metal samples Fitz had been analyzing had begun to ooze with a red liquid.

"Is that... blood?" You asked, face contorted in disgust and slight fascination.

Before Fitz could answer, the two of you watched as the pieces of metal turned into what appeared to be human flesh.

"What the hell?" You muttered under your breath while Fitz relaxed beside you.

"This is good, I mean- weird, but I can-" Fitz stuttered out tensing up once again and shaking his hand as he tried to come up with the words, looking over his shoulder as if looking to someone else for the answer.

"Figure out who's blood it is?" You supplied and Fitz nodded.

"Shouldn't be too hard." He affirmed quietly under his breath as if he needed to convince himself.

"Well you've got my help regardless," You smiled and Fitz nodded lightly before doling out instructions.

It wasn't the first time you had served as Fitz's hands in the lab and you fully intended to offer your services as long as he still needed them. Working together it took you about an hour to analyze the sample and search the various world DNA databases for a match, eventually finding one in SHIELD's own database.

"Carl Creel?" Fitz read the name out loud as you both peered at the monitor.

"We crossed him off the Index?" You asked skeptically, it wasn't uncommon for SHIELD to take out potentially dangerous enhanced individuals in the past, but clearly they hadn't done a very good job with Creel.

You pondered how SHIELD could've been so careless when Fitz pointed to the supervising agent listed on the report.

"Of course it was Garrett," you sighed. "We should get this to Coulson."

___

"Why am I here Maria?" You asked harshly, arms crossed as you stared at the woman. "I could've been helping Coulson."

"I get that you want to help, Y/N, but you still work here and you have to keep up appearances," Maria said firmly, ignoring her friend's scowl. "If you really want to help SHIELD, you'll keep your cover intact."

You rolled your eyes but you knew Maria was right. If you spent too much time away from the Tower the Avengers would get suspicious and they couldn't know that Coulson or SHIELD were still alive.

"Plus, you know you can't get involved with Talbot."

You rolled her eyes again.

"Why does it matter Mar? He clearly saw us both when we crossed his team at Providence. Why does it matter if he sees me with SHIELD again?"

"Y/N, you and I both know why it matters, you're just being stubborn. As far as the world is concerned, SHIELD is a terrorist group and if you're associated with them-"

"It'll bring a lot of bad PR to the Avengers and I'll have to step down from both organizations to protect them." You finished for her, sighing frustratedly. "I know, Maria, I just hate it."

"Go blow off some steam, hang out with the team, whatever you need to do," Maria instructed in the motherly tone she had used when she was your SO. "There's a classified mission on the books to explain your absence."

As if summoned, Sam walked into the conference room moments after Maria had finished speaking.

"Hey! Y/N is back!" He exclaimed, a grin on his face. "Where ya been?"

"That, my friend, is classified," you answered with a sly smirk before turning to Maria in order to keep up appearances, "Am I finished with my debrief, Agent Hill?"

"You're free to go, Agent Y/L/N," Maria confirmed before turning to Sam, "Next time, knock before you burst into occupied meeting rooms, Mr. Wilson."

"You could just lock the door," Sam shot back but retracted it when he was met with Maria's no-nonsense glare. "Yes ma'am, I'll knock next time."

You did your best to hold back your laughter at the interaction until you and Sam had left the room. You immediately erupted into giggles and Sam groaned.

"I don't know why you guys even bother with all that 'Agent Hill' 'Agent Y/L/N' crap." He said, trying to turn the tables on you as you boarded the elevator. "We all know you're friends, it's so unnecessary."

"It's about professionalism, Sam," you answered, smirking. "I know you don't get it because the Avengers lack any sense of professionalism whatsoever but-"

"Hey! I take great offense to that!" A voice yelped from behind you and you turned to see that Tony was on the elevator as well.

"Oh please, Stark, you're the worst perpetrator of unprofessionalism." You pointed out and Sam snorted.

"I'm not the one who exploded coke all over one of the labs with Rogers last week," Tony shot back and you flushed.

"That was on our off time and we cleaned it up!" You protested, "How'd you even find out about that?"

"You think I don't have surveillance in my labs?"

"Wait you guys did the Coke and Mentos without me?" Sam whined right as the elevator doors opened on the gym floor.

"Oh, look at that, this is my floor," you said, rushing off the elevator to escape your friend's inevitable wrath for leaving him out of the childish experiment.

"No way, Y/L/N, you're not getting off that easy," Sam followed you and you broke into a run.

You sprinted down the hallway towards the gym doors, Sam hot on your heels.

"Steve! Nat! Help!" You squealed as you burst through the double doors, darting behind Steve's tall frame as he stood in front of a punching bag.

"Get back here, Y/L/N!" Sam yelled as he ran through the doors, still swinging from your entrance.

"What's this about, Sam?" Steve asked in mock seriousness as the man stalked towards them.

"Oh good Rogers, you're here too," Sam said and Steve had the mind to look alarmed right before Sam landed a hit on the super soldier's arm.

"Sam! What the hell was that for?"

"You guys blew up pop without me!"

"I didn't know you were supposed to do it with us!" Steve protested and the pair went silent for a moment.

Then you found herself struggling in Steve's arms as he turned on you.

"Steve! Let me go!" You gasped.

"Tell Sam you're sorry," Steve instructed, and you bit back a laugh, schooling your face into one of determination.

"Never!" You yelled, using your years of training to maneuver out of Steve's grip and using his weight to your advantage to flip him to the ground, his back landing hitting the mat below them with a thud.

Natasha let out a whoop from the other side of the gym where she had been silently observing. "That's my girl!"

You shot the redhead a grin as you took up a defensive stance. "Try me, Wilson." you dared.

Sam looked between the British agent and the blond supersoldier who was still lying between the mat before standing down.

"Nah," he shook his head, "Just invite me next time."

You snorted but agreed.

"Hey Y/N, wanna spar?" Nat called from the other side of the gym where she was already wrapping her fists.

"Sure," you answered with a laugh, "I love getting my ass kicked by former Soviet operatives."

Sam, Steve, and Nat all laughed and you flipped them off mockingly as you walked to the locker room to change out of your work clothes.

___

"I got here as soon as I could," you said sadly as you knelt next to Skye.

You were in Hartley's room and Skye was packing up the agent's belongings.

"How's everyone holding up?"

"I think we're all compartmentalizing," Skye sighed, folding up a piece of clothing and placing it in the suitcase. "Coulson won't mourn until we find out if Hunter snitched, and Mack and Tripp are putting all their efforts into reverse-engineering the quinjet's cloaking."

You had to remind yourself to take a deep breath to stop yourself from going off about the cloaking. You were less than thrilled with how Coulson, and truly the rest of the team, had been handling Fitz since the accident, and now they had gone ahead and found a cloaking solution even though Fitz had been working on one for months. You knew the organization desperately needed it, but you thought Coulson could've at least brought Fitz on to what they were doing instead of keeping him in the dark. But now wasn't time to get into that debate, now was the time to mourn Hartley and Idaho.

You helped Skye pack up the rest of Hartley's belongings until you were joined by Hunter, who had apparently decided not to betray SHIELD. You gave the two of them space, heading to the lab instead. Your presence there had started as a way to comfort Fitz, but at some point, the grey tiles and sterile surfaces had become something of a comfort to yourself. You had planned to just sit in a corner and stew in your emotions, maybe text Nat or Steve or Sam, but when you approached Mack was there talking to Fitz. You stood in the doorway, not wanting to enter the room and interrupt whatever they were doing. It was rare for other team members to seek out Fitz in the lab, everyone was too afraid of what they'd find.

You watched as Fitz handed Mack a file, the taller agent looking them over.

"I didn't solve this today." Fitz blurted but instead of wincing or pointedly looking anywhere but at the man, Mack looked up from the files to look the scientist in the eyes.

"You think you can?"

You cursed yourself as you let an excited gasp escape you. It immediately drew the two men's attention and the atmosphere of the lab changed.

"Y/N," Mack acknowledged and Fitz looked down shyly.

"I was just coming here for some peace, but I'd love to help," you explained your eavesdropping sheepishly.

"I think we could use the extra hands." Mack smiled and you grinned, stepping into the lab.

"What're we looking at?" You asked, stepping forward to look at the file that was now placed on one of the many lab tables.

It wasn't long before you had a cluster of lab techs gathered around the three of you as Fitz doled out instructions.

"It's about the.. the resonant," Fitz explained, though it was clear that none of the techs quite knew what he meant by the way their eyes flitted between you and Mack for help.

Fitz noticed the looks and you frowned as he clutched the wires he had been holding closer to his chest. "I didn't solve this today."

"So, what is this?" Mack asked, holding up another object that you didn't recognize. "Is this some sort of sonic device? Like the cloaking?"

You watched as the two men grew increasingly frustrated with each other.

"No, I- ugh, I didn't-" Fitz fumbled, his tone becoming more helpless as he continued to be misunderstood.

"Sorry, forget the cloaking." Mack waved it off and you glared at the techs as they exchanged wary looks. "No one blames you for that, let's just focus on Creel."

You yelped slightly as Fitz threw the papers off the lab table they'd been working at and Mack yelled for him to calm down.

"Get. out." You growled at the techs as they exchanged another look when Fitz turned his back to the group. They scampered off and Fitz turned back around to face them.

Okay." He said, taking a deep breath.

"Take it easy," Mack told the man and you frowned as you saw Fitz become visibly upset again.

'Look, I didn't solve this today!" He exclaimed and Mack matched his frustrations.

"Yeah, I know! You've said that already!" He yelled back.

"No!" Fitz exclaimed, "I didn't solve this today."

Mack looked like he was about to blow his top but you finally made the connection.

"You mean you've solved this before?" You asked him eagerly, eyes alight with the realization.

Fitz nodded excitedly, his posture relaxing slightly now that he had gotten his point across.

"Wait, you mean this is an old design?" Mack asked

"Yes! Yes!" Fitz said and you reached for a tablet, pulling up the designs from the past year.

"Okay, we're with you, Turbo," Mack said as they gathered around the tablet.

You began to flip through the designs, a few of which you recognized from various SHIELD reports until Fitz stopped you at one called the Overkill Device.

"Let's tell the team." You grinned at Fitz who looked quite proud of himself as he looked over the schematics.

___

"Did you get the 0-8-4?" You asked eagerly as the team filed off the quinjet.

You had been bitter that you weren’t brought in on the mission, especially since it had nothing to do with Talbot or any other government official but you knew you had accomplished something big back on base so you were willing to let it go.

"No," Hunter shook his head, "But we got Creel."

He jerked his thumb behind him a few agents escorted Creel off the Bus. Hunter wore a shit-eating grin and even dared to throw some taunts at the man as he passed them. You knew this was important to him, after what the man did to Hartley and Idaho.

"So Fitz's device worked?" You were thrilled, he needed a win, and this was a big one.

"Worked like a charm!" Hunter answered, taking a break from yelling insults at Creel's back.

"Woah, what the hell happened to Skye, Tripp, and May?" You demanded as the three slowly made their way off the plane with help from Coulson, each of them glaring daggers at Hunter as they passed by. "And Coulson was in the field?"

"A lot happened, I'll fill you in over a beer," Hunter said, making his way into the base and you followed.

You were mostly quiet as they made your way to the kitchen, Hunter grabbing you two bottles from the fridge.

"So what did you do to piss off May, Tripp, and Skye and to get Coulson into the field?" You asked as they sat on the barstools that lined the kitchen island.

"Might've iced them all to get a shot at Creel," Hunter shrugged nonchalantly and you gaped.

"You what?"

"Then Coulson took Creel down with Fitz's device and offered me a job at SHIELD." Hunter continued, speaking like this was just another day at the office for him.

"Hunter, that doesn't make any sense. You shot three of our agents!"

"With ICERS!" Hunter protested, "I wouldn't have killed them!"

You merely raised an eyebrow as if to say "wouldn't you have?"

"Y'know what? I take great offense to that, Y/L/N." Hunter said, using the hand holding his beer to gesture at your face. "I think I'd quite like to drink alone now."

"You're such an ass, Hunter." You laughed, standing up from your stool.

"Funny, that's what my ex-wife told me before we split up." He joked and you rolled your eyes.

"Well, I suppose I'll be seeing you around, Agent Lance Hunter," you smirked at Hunter's grimace and grabbed two more beers from the fridge, carrying them back to the Hanger.

As you expected, the Bus ramp was down and Mack and Fitz were stood inside.

"You look like you could use some refreshments." You joked as you walked up the incline to stand with the two men, handing each one a bottle.

"What's this for?" Mack asked, an easy smile on his face as he accepted the drink.

"To celebrate, of course," you answered, "Without Fitz, we never could've captured Creel, and if Coulson's plans to hand him over to Talbot works we might finally have the military off our asses."

"I'll drink to that," Mack said and you saw Fitz smile, the three of you clinking your bottles together.

___

a/n: Lot’s of jumps in this one. I think I’ve kinda decided that’s how most chapters are going to be- I’ve got a lot of ground to cover between here and endgame and I don’t want this story to drag on too much. Since the story is in Season 2 of Agents of SHIELD right now I think the Avengers parts are going to be a little lighter to balance out the heavier SHIELD moments (Though I did manage to get in an Avengers action scene). That’ll shift once we reach MCU territory. Also, first full Bucky encounter! Let me know what you think!

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