#get to hang out with my morning kids more too!! missed those guys as well!!!!! the cuties... the sweethearts...

[vulpinesaint]

school for the kiddos starts up again tomorrow and i'm gonna be so honest i love summer camps so much but also i'm really excited to get back to my school year job <3 walk the kiddos to school... sit and help them with their homework...

[jude-duarte-wannabe]

Charles jealousy smut please!

my own little devil

order up!

hi lovely thanks for the request, i have been dying to write this and i am a charles girl so i may have gone a little feral while writing this, so apologies in advance <3 i did end up picking prompts from my bakery list to go with this just fyi and those prompts will be bolded.

pairing; charles leclerc x female fwb reader

blurb; your devious little plan to make charles jealous and regret leaving you high and dry the previous night goes wrong.

warnings; biting kink, rough sex, a speck of breeding, spit, dirty thoughts, wall sex, google translated french, semi public sex, creampie, hair pulling, dirty talking, oral fem!receiving, possessive behavior, choking, mentions of pregnancy, dom!charles. [let me know if i missed anything!]

chai; biting or hickeys [i picked biting] lemonade; possessive vodka shot; rough sex tea; semi public doppio; wall sex chocolate mousse; "i'm sorry" croissant; "don't you dare" pancake; "no, we can't, not here" sugar pie; "stop wriggling" boston cream pie; "fuck, it's dripping down your legs"

currently playing; jealous by nick jonas "cause you're too fuckin' beautiful and everybody wants a taste, that's why i still get jealous"

it was all his fault, at least thats what you told yourself when you came up with this devious little plan in the first place, that it was charles's fault for up and leaving before you'd been able to cum around his cock last night.

he'd showed up at your place around two in the morning tipsy and in a grump from having lost the race earlier in the day begging you to make him feel better and so naturally since he was the best fuck you'd ever had, you let him have his way with you but his way last night was utter fucking torment.

he enjoyed, no he loved seeing you beg and he was hoping you'd be begging tonight down on your sweet little knees but you had decided that, that was not going to be the case, you wanted to be the one to have him on his fucking knees for a change.

you knew deep down that this dress would do the trick, the red satin hugged your figure, attaching itself to each and every curve of your body and the bra you wore pushed your boobs so far up that they could fall out of your dress with one wrong move, you looked like a sin; that was all charles was capable of thinking the moment he saw you walk into the club, his own personal little devil.

when you brushed past him on your way to the bar, your fingers grazed across his crotch and the slight gasp he let out made you smirk "you are playing a dangerous game douce fille" charles whispered to himself as he watched you go, hips swinging with every step, charles couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight, desperate for a taste.

charles was fine with letting you wander about the club showing off for him but what he didn't like was you showing off for all the other men there as well with your ass practically hanging out the bottom of your dress, you were his and he wasn't gonna let another guy lay a hand on you, so while he let you have your space, he found his eyes traveling over to you every now and then just to make sure you weren't getting into any mischief.

but little did either of you know, mischief was heading your way. when you felt a hand brush across your back so close to your ass as you leaned across the bar to take your drink from the bartender, you smirked thinking it was charles coming to claim his prize for the night but oh how you couldn't have been more wrong.

as you looked behind you, you made eye contact with a man that just radiated fuckboy energy "please don't touch what isn't yours" you mused quietly and he held his hand's up innocently like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar "relax just wanted to get to know ya, i'm brad" you couldn't help but roll your eyes, brad what a classic fuckboy name.

after a thought you decided he was harmless since you had no intention of flirting or going home with him tonight, so you decided to indulge him a little and so you sat across from one another at the bar, slowly sipping at your individual drinks.

charles had only taken his eyes off you for less than two minutes and when his eyes sought you out, he saw red.... seeing you sitting across from a man at the bar, he wasn't happy and despite you deciding to be a little tease with your choice of dress tonight he trusted you like he had never trusted any other girl before and so he let it go until he watched the guy slip his hand onto your thigh, caressing the skin like he owned you but he didn't, charles did and he was going to make sure that this prick fucking knew that.

"let me get you another drink" brad asked, hand still running along your thigh, little did he know that if he didn't remove it soon he would no longer have a hand and if the intimidating presence behind you didn't give away the fact that brad was fucked, the hand that soon wrapped around your throat should have been a dead giveaway, charles tilted your back to look into your eyes "don't you dare" he practically growled.

"you say yes and i will not be gentle with you" brad's hand slipped from your thigh "i didn't know you were taken" brad stated, trying to defend himself "i'm not" you mumbled, still gazing into charles's eyes and as your words hit his ears, he tightened his grip around your throat.

"lets go" he growled, pulling you off the bar stool and into the bathroom of the club, you'd barely made it in the door before charles pressed your back into the cold tile wall, his hand once again wrapping around your throat and holding tight as you struggled against his hold "stop wriggling" he demanded, his breath hot against your ear as he pressed a little tighter causing black spots to form in front of your eyes, as he watched a tear slip from your eye he eased back a little loosening his hold but not completely letting go just yet "your mine so all those guys can fuck off and leave you alone"

"i'm not yours" you reminded him and he gave you a look that told you that you'd picked your words poorly "yeah, well i'm going to fucking make you mine douce fille" and with that he dropped to his knees, hiking your dress up and around your hips, he dragged the fabric of your panties to the side drooling at the sight of your wet little pussy, if you asked charles in a public setting what his favorite thing about you was he would say your eyes but if you asked in private, he wouldn't even give you a verbal answer and instead just drop to his knees in front of you.

"no, we can't, not here" your fingers tangled in his soft locks, pulling at it to try and distract him from his current mission of wanting to eat your pussy until your legs gave out around his head and your whole body was trembling from his touch but your words met deaf ears as he spit into his hand before rubbing his fingers along your folds, grazing your clit with every pass he made.

"your fucking crazy" you whispered as a shiver ran down your spine due to charles's touch on your clit but also at the idea of being caught in such a compromising position in public, oh how you could see the headlines now.

"FERRARI'S GOLDEN BOY CAUGHT IN ROMANTIC TRYST!"

it was only a few seconds before charles's mouth attached to your pussy, licking through your folds to suck up every last drop of the juices you were currently leaking all over his pretty little face like an alcoholic who'd gone far too long without a drink.

his fingers gripped tightly at your thighs making sure to leave little bruises that he could kiss better later. when he slipped his tongue inside, you shuddered above him, hands pulling at his hair but he never ceased, this man was starving and he was going to feast.

you couldn't help but gently rock your hips against his tongue which caused his nose to brush against your clit causing the most gorgeous friction that had you tilting your head back as a low moan slipped past your lips, fingers tugging at his hair as he smiled against your folds continuing to eat your pussy like a man starved.

you were reaching your peak and fast, you always did when charles ate you out like this, you hips began to move faster against his tongue chasing the pleasure he gave you but right as you were on the edge of pure bliss he pulled away and the sight you saw as he gazed up at you was down right erotic, his cheeks, lips, nose and even chin wet with a mix of your juices and his saliva, the perfect mix in his mind.

his pupils were wide and his mouth hung open as he panted, his warm breath hitting your thigh as he gently nibbled at the skin sending even more shock waves zapping up your spine, he scrambled up your body, hands pulling at his belt desperate to get his hard aching cock inside of your tight little cunt.

"why'd you stop" to say you were pissed was an understatement, he was not about to leave you high and dry again "i'm sorry" he rushed out, he knew that if he was to keep lapping at your dripping wet pussy like the feral animal he was any longer that he would cum in his pants right then and there.

"i was going to cum in my pants" he chuckled, connecting his lips to yours for the first time that night, you moaned at the taste of yourself on his tongue, his kiss was sloppy and desperate causing spit to coat both of your faces.

when you pulled away you couldn't help but smile at the sight, charles cheeks were flushed and warm from the heat radiating between your bodies, his eyes wide and your lipstick was smeared across his lips and chin "so fucking pretty" you murmured, thumb running over his bottom lip as he pulled his aching cock from the confines of his jeans.

you squeaked as he picked you up, practically manhandling you as he wrapped your legs around his waist and plunged in without warning causing your head to slam against the wall behind you "fuck" you gasped "be gentle" but he was far from gentle in this moment as he thrusted in and out of you at an unnatural speed that had your head spinning.

if anyone were to walk into the bathroom in that moment and catch you, you'd have looked like a pair of rabbits in heat from the way you were going at it.

you couldn't help but bite as his shoulder, teeth digging into his skin and drool soaking his shirt in an attempt to keep quiet but the sound of his hips slamming against yours would give you away before any moans did, the sound was wet and sticky as your hips slammed together.

a sharp pain hit you as charles fingers threaded through your hair and tugged forcefully so that he could kiss and bite at the delicate skin of your neck, marking you has his own personal fucktoy, no other man would ever fucking touch you again, not on his watch.

"you wanna come inside me joli garçon, you want me to make you a daddy" charles groaned against your shoulder at the words you whispered in his ear, a million fantasies coming to mind in that moment but pushed them all down in order to focus on you and the pleasure he was making you feel.

when he felt your pussy clench around him, his hips came to a halt, body shaking with pleasure as he released ropes and ropes of his sweet hot cum deep into your tight pussy that still clenched around his cock, milking him dry.

charles's lipstick stained swollen lips pressed against yours as you swallowed eachothers moans, his hand snuck down and started to rub at your clit, pace fast and rough, he was desperate to make you cum around him and when you finally did, juices gushing around his cock, he couldn't help but cum again at the feeling.

when it was all over he pulled his head from the crook of your neck as you both panted "holy fuck" he breathed out "that was the best fuck we've ever had" he darkly chuckled.

"i never knew you were a biter" you giggled which caused your pussy to clench around his cock again, a small shot of cum shooting out.

he slowly and gently let you down and as he kneeled down to pull your dress over your butt, he couldn't help but lean forward and lick a stripe up your thigh "fuck, it's dripping down your legs" his tone of voice told he was proud of the work he'd done.

he had fucking bred you and god did he want to do it again and again until it stuck and you were round and pregnant with his baby.

"your fucking mine now you petit diable"

you couldn't help but laugh at his words "little devil huh"

oh yeah, you were his own personal little devil and a fucking hot one at that.

"yeah, my little devil" he chuckled, lips pressing against yours sloppily once more, you both couldn't help but smile against eachothers lips,

"lets get the fuck out of here" he suggested, tangling your fingers with his own "why, you going to breed me again" you joked not knowing how fucking right you actually were.

[mellifiedprincess]

REALLY SHORT BUT SAPPY SHIT! and boob talk for like 2 seconds.

Opening the door to the house you share with the boys, you immediately take notice of the lack of noise that usually takes place.

You can’t say you’re not a little bit grateful, especially after working a 12 hour shift as a peds nurse. It was not a good day to say the least. All you wanted in that very moment was a hot shower and to be wrapped up in the arms of your ridiculously handsome boyfriend.

Closing the door to the garage, you walk over to Chris’s door and softly knock waiting to hear a response. “Yeah?” You peek your head in and see the boy at his desk, headset on and eyes focused on the monitor in front of him. “Oh, hey Y/N/N- Yeah, she just walked in.” Chris replies to you and then who you assume to be Matt through the headset. “Hey Chrissy, just checking in before I head upstairs. You okay?” This was part of your nightly routine. You couldn’t really remember when it started, but you always had to check on Chris and Nick before going to bed. Otherwise you couldn’t sleep.

“Yeah, I’m good. Matt’s yelling in my ear right now asking for you to hurry up. Kids acting like you just got back from war.” You let out a soft laugh at his remark. “I need to check on Nick, then I’ll be in there.” “Oh Nicks gone. He went to hang out with Larray and Arrington.”

“Alright. Well, try to get some sleep. You guys have that really important meeting tomorrow morning.”

“Oh shit! I totally forgot about that. Thanks.” You nod your head and you both say goodnight, before you turn and finally make your way to your bedroom.

When you open the door, your eyes find Matt’s already staring at you. He looks so…soft. Soft and warm and inviting. “Finally!” He huffs out. You can’t help but laugh at him as you walk over to where he sits at his desk. “I missed you so much today.” His voice is muffled by his face being smushed into your stomach, his arms tightly wrapped around you as if you were gonna leave him.

“I missed you too angel.” Your fingers push his hair away from his forehead, and you lean down to place a gentle kiss to his hairline. “I do need to shower though, and then I’m all yours.” A very audible whine leaves his mouth and he pulls you down into his lap, and immediately shoves his face into your neck.

“Can’t you shower in the morning? I wanna keep holding you.”

You’re convinced your heart just melted in your chest from how sweet your boyfriend is. “How about you come sit in the bathroom while I shower? You can tell me about your day.”

“Okay!” He jumps up at that and your eyes widen at the sudden movement. “Jeez Matty, warn me next time.”

“I’m just really excited to see your boobs.” That comment earns him a slap against his chest and an eye roll.

“You act like you don’t see them whenever you want, kid.” “I could have 24/7 visual of those things and it still wouldn’t be enough. Same thing with that pretty face of yours.”

You would never understand how he could be so sweet, yet disgusting at the same time.

You make it to the bathroom, and Matt places you back down on the floor before walking over to the shower to start the water for you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He places a quick kiss to your lips and exits the bathroom.

When he returns, he’s holding a pair of fresh love sweatpants, clean underwear, and an old t-shirt of his that you stole and claimed as yours a long time ago. “Ughh I love you!” You can’t help but exclaim before pulling him closer to plant another quick kiss to his lips. “I love you way more though. No argument there.”

And Matt really believed that.

The love he felt for you was soul consuming. It was overwhelming in the best way possible.

“That’s not fair. I love you just as much as you love me! You’re the sun in my freaking sky Matthew.” You pout. Pout. And Matt can’t help but gush at how fucking cute you are.

He looks down at you, your arms wrapped around his waist, and he swears to himself that he would be the sun in your sky for the rest of your lives. And he knew what you meant by that, but being the sun in someone’s sky is nothing compared to being someone’s moon.

And you were his moon. Full of love and hope. The most nurturing person he knew, always taking care of others before yourself, especially him and his brothers. And you were always so calm, which helped a lot when he was on the verge of a panic attack.

“Okay, sweet girl. Let’s get you in the shower so we can go to bed. I know you’re probably exhausted.” He softly pats your hip, and moves so you can get undressed and finally shower.

Later that night when you finally retreat to bed, your head lies on Matt’s chest, sleep calling your name so softly you can barely keep your eyes open. Matt just watches you. He watches as your chest slowly rises and falls, and your breathing slows. He watches as you curl into his side even more. But he knew you weren’t quite asleep yet, because this man knew every minor detail about you.

So, when you reach for his hand and bring it to your lips before squeezing it against your chest, where it would stay for the rest of the night, he knew you were finally asleep.

[everythingacotarbxm1012]

Do That Again

Summary - You meet a certain fellow after your roommate starts dating some guy.

Content Warnings - Language, heavy drinking, characters getting drunk, underaged drinking (please tell me if I missed anything)

A/N - I wrote this mostly because there are definitely a lack of Cassian x Reader fics out there and as much as I love Cass and Nesta, this felt necessary. *Do not repost my work without my express permission.* *Do not copy my work.*

1k words

✨ 💫

You and Cassian. Cassian and you. Attached at the hip in every sense of the phrase. If someone was looking for one of you, they’d find the other. The only time you weren’t together is if you didn’t have a class together or if one of you was going to the bathroom and even then if one of you was drunk enough… you might be in a close proximity.

You met Cassian through your friend and roommate, Feyre. Feyre, after a shitty high school boyfriend, met Rhysand at a party. Rhys was… well he was something. It was one of those situations where someone falls first and the other falls harder. Feyre fell hard. Like inches of cement hard. You’d be grinning with smug intent while Feyre’s face was absolutely red after getting back from an evening out with Rhys. Somewhere in the madness of first year the two crazy kids finally were official. You ensured you would meet him before summer break. You did. 

As Feyre’s friend, and body-guard , you were of course critical of the man. He certainly had an ego. But below it all he felt right for your friend. He treated her like an individual, a partner—not a possession. The same night you met Cassian at a party. Admittedly you were a little drunk. Okay, you were more than a little drunk. Okay, fine! You were very drunk. Like hookup-with-your-friend drunk. Thankfully he was drunk too, less drunk, but still drunk. Somewhere between the drinks, bad music, and watching Feyre and Rhys be sickeningly smitten with each other you and Cassian found a connection. It was like in kindergarten when your eyes land on any random person in the room and think, you’re cool and we’re friends now. 

You woke up the following morning with a hang-over on a couch to Feyre and Rhys stifling laughter. Your friend informed you it was the suite Rhysand and his friends shared on campus. How a group of first-years got that was beyond you, but you didn’t complain. You were still wearing your clothes and thanked the heavens you saw no vomit either. You managed yourself awake to see Cassian sprawled on the floor. You met Azriel that morning. 

“For the headache,” he said, as he offered you a glass of water and Aspirin. 

The three of you suffered while Feyre and Rhys remained wrapped up in each other all morning. 

The connection with Cassian only grew faster. You kept in contact over the summer, both constantly joking about the disgust you felt for the budding relationship between your friends. In truth you both were happy for Rhys and Feyre. Upon your return for your Sophomore year of university, the friendship solidified itself. You were constantly together. Staying up late to get work done, eating, studying, getting stupid drunk at parties. Despite the humor and jokes, you also found a deep comfort from each other. 

Cassian adored physical contact, which was perfect because you did too. Something you discovered when you woke up on the couch in the suite to your dear friend have a nightmare. 

“Just a nightmare, Cass. Just a nightmare,” you reassured him. He had clung to you, falling back asleep soon after. 

By the end of Sophomore year, you were literally inseparable, constantly draping over the other whenever you hung out as a group. A group you drunkenly named, Rhysand’s IC , because he was constantly parenting the rest of you alongside Feyre. IC standing for Idiot Children . 

One particularly very early morning, around 1am, you and Cass were draped over each other on the couch in the suite. The conversation topic was stupid things you did as children, and Cassian was letting out a particularly loud laugh when a cold-faced looking Az stepped out of his room, asking you to “pipe down”. 

Your junior year, Cassian managed a suite that could fit you and Feyre and you all lived together. Often times the night would end with Feyre and Rhys finding themselves together with you and Cassian sitting together having a drink while you braided Cass’s shoulder-length hair, talking about trivial matters. 

Your final year, Feyre and Rhys chose to live off campus because they wanted a place to themselves leaving you, Cass, and Az to fend for yourselves. Az wound up with a single while you and Cassian chose to share a room to be closer to the center of campus. Azriel was a floor above you. You spent night after together, sitting in the corner of your room, watching a movie together, or talking, or sitting in silence enjoying the other’s company. In hindsight it was crazy how quickly college had gone by. 

Cassian had become your dearest friend through it all. His humor you adored, but it was his caring and passionate nature which had you feeling more deeply for him. And suddenly you were stumbling back from an We’re Almost Graduated party Rhys and Feyre hosted.

✨💫

“There’s a spider on your shoulder!!” You shout as you stumble into your dorm room with Cass. You cackle as Cass squeals, squeezing his eyes shut. 

You step forward to flick the spider off his shoulder and he screams making you laugh and nearly keel over. He catches you before you do, a hand landing on your hip. An electric buzz bolts through you. For all the times you’d been in contact this felt different. Maybe it’s the alcohol, the fact that his hand has never been on your hip before, or the the excitement of graduation. 

“Cass?” You ask him, his hand still resting against your hip. Your breath hitches in your throat.

“Y/N?” His question is met with a moment of silence. And then suddenly Cassian’s hands are cupping your cheeks and he’s kissing you. 

Your eyes flutter shut before he’s pulling away. The kiss somehow intoxicating and sobering. There’s a stupid grin on your best friends face. “You know how long I’ve wanted to do that?”

He’s met with silence for a while. You are unable to move. Finally you manage words. “Do that again.”

There is a mild question in his eyes. 

“Do that again,” you repeat. 

Cassian doesn’t need to be told a third time.

[winterspiderpurrs]

Bucky was just exiting the debrief room after returning from a mission with Sam when he spotted Tony and Steve talking to each other. They were both looking at what Bucky recalls is an ipad, swiping images across the screen. Steve nodded along as Tony rattled on. Tony glances up when he enters the room and waves him over.

" First, I'm still going to do what I want. But what do you think of Peter getting his own place?"

Bucky blinks, looks at Steve, and then back at Tony.

" He likes living with May for the most part. He already has an apartment you set up for him in the tower, as well as a room at the compound and your lake house. Plus, if he isn't there, he visits Ned"

Steve nods and points to the ipad,

" and he seems like a fella who wouldn't want you to buy him a duplex. In Queens or not."

" He is in college. He needs privacy, especially with the Spideymonkey gig he still insisted on doing."

Steve and Bucky move to look at each other. They know what Tony isn't saying. That Peter needs a place he could bring someone back to.

" Just talk to the guy and see if he wants that."

Steve squints for a moment at Bucky when he says that.

**RING RIIINNNNGGGG RIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGG**

Bucky pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen. It's Peter calling.

Tony, being Tony, looks over and notices as well who is calling. It doesn't even pass through his mind why Peter would be calling Bucky.

" Oh hey, let me talk to him," states Tony and he reaches for the phone.

Bucky was already in the process of answering and was moving the phone out of reach. In those few moments, the phone accidentally went to speaker mode.

" No hey its my phone."

" Just let me see it I paid for it"

Bucky ends up clenching the phone too hard in his metal hand and ends up muting the phone, but the speaker is still on.

Peter's voice comes through.

" Hello? That's some weird voice-mail message you got there. I'll help you set up a good one later. Anyway, you're probably in your debrief still. " heavy sigh could be heard, and the faint breeze of Peter probably swinging on his webs.

" I'm just now done with patrol. I've had a shit day of finals, and I smell like a dumpster cause I fell into a dumpster after I got stabbed. "

There was a pause before he quickly said," but don't worry, it's already healed, but yeah shitty night. I haven't slept since yesterday. So I'm gonna be exhausted when you get in. But I ordered some chinese for us, swinging to pick it up now, but it should still be warm by the time you get home. I apologize in advance if I have already passed out in bed when you get in. But I promise you amazing welcome back home morning sex. And I'll fix those waffles you like. But remember we are going to May's later for Passover since we couldn't yesterday. On Friday, we were invited over to the XMansion to celebrate there unless something else doesn't come up. But yeah, I'm rambling."

He sighs a little." I missed you. I'll see you at home in a bit. Love you, " you hear some rustling." Hey Miss Jenny, " "I got you extra egg rolls. " " Aweso-" the phone hangs up.

Everyone is staring down at the phone before Steve and Tony turn to look at Bucky.

Tony had no clue when Peter and Bucky would have gotten together and is now trying to piece together instances that should have stood out.

Steve, though, he was starting the suspect for a while now. The few times he visited Bucky's apartment, he noticed differences. The apartment seemed lived in compared to before. House plants, a video game console, a vast collection of movies that showed up on bookcases along with more photos and just more personal touches.

"Well. Looks like I need to get home. Don't call me"

Bucky tucks the broken phone back in his pocket before he quickly leaves.

Steve eyes Tony warily.

" But... no. When did the terminator get with my kid?"

"He isn't a kid anymore he is 22"

" Zip it, capsicle! "

[ladykailitha]

All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 4

Hello! And welcome to part 4. Edie has more questions than answers, but we’re finding more and more out as the story unfolds.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

*

Eddie wiped away a stray tear that had escaped his eyes before stepping out into the garage.

“Hey, you kids almost done?” he asked. He looked at his watch. “It is getting late.”

Kenny looked up at the clock. “Shoot, man! My mom is going to kill me.”

Mandy swore too. “I’m getting a ride home with you, right?” she asked Kenny. He nodded and they hurried to put their stuff in his car.

They waved goodbye and then Eddie was alone with Harri and Edie.

“How’s Dad?” she asked. “Still puking?”

Eddie shook his head. “I managed to get him into bed.”

Edie rocked her head back. “What? Dad never lets anyone help him to bed. Not even those who can straight up carry him.”

Eddie blinked. “Uh...he let me.”

“He let you what?” Edie asked tilting her head in confusion.

“Carry him to bed?”

“Oh,” Edie said. “Wow. So how do you know my dad?”

Eddie looked over at Harri before shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor. “Your dad and I used to run together with Nancy and Jon and all them after high school. Well after Steve graduated, anyway. Me and the rest of us older kids graduated in ‘86.”

“You’re younger than my dad?” Edie asked.

Harri scoffed.

“Shut it, kid,” Eddie barked. “No, I’m older. It just took me three tries to graduate.” He glared over at Harri. “Something I trying to make sure this idiot doesn’t repeat.”

Edie frowned, remembering her dad’s comment about not raising a quitter. “You know, it’s strange. I don’t think I’ve ever heard your name before in my life, but I can’t help but think that I’ve been raised on stories of you my entire existence nonetheless.”

Eddie blushed. “Can’t say I did the same. Harri here wouldn’t have heard of Steve Harrington at all. At least not from me.”

“Wait,” Harri said. “That guy that that your old bandmates talk about all the time. The one they keep telling you to make up with, that’s Steve Harrington, isn’t it? What the hell, Dad.”

Eddie grimaced. “Jeff and Gareth have a very inflated sense of ego.”

“Jeff Lawrence?” Edie asked. “Mandy’s dad?”

Eddie pursed his lips. He was going to kill Jeff. It was one thing to say that Steve and him had kept in contact over the years but it was quite another for his daughter to be best friends with Steve’s.

“That’s the one, princess,” Eddie said tossing his head back and rolling his eyes. “Only Jeff was friends with me first.”

Harri kicked his dad’s ankle. “Hey, Uncle Jeff is a grown ass man, he can be friends with whoever he wants. And since you guys aren’t in the band anymore and we were still living in Cali it makes sense Uncle Jeff would want to connect with someone from the old crowd.”

Eddie sneered playfully. “I hate it when you get all cleverer than me.”

Edie was glancing back and forth between them like a tennis match, but finally she had enough. “You’re telling me that not only do you know Mandy, but that you’ve known her dad for years?”

Harri and Eddie both grimaced in unison as they had completely forgotten she was there.  

“I didn’t think about how I knew Mandy,” Harri said. “We just started hanging out when we moved here about a month ago and then when she said you guys needed a new guitarist...”

Edie smacked her forehead. “Yep. That’s on me. I didn’t ask either.”

Harri scuffed his shoe on the pavement, looking down. “Am I still going to be allowed to be in the band?”

Eddie’s heart sunk. He looked over at Edie and then back at his son. They were both expecting him to say no. But how could he do that to either of them? It wasn’t their fault.

“What kind of asshole would I be if I said no?” he asked. “Of course you can still be in the band.”

Harri looked up at him all smiles and hugged him. “Thanks Dad!”

Edie smiled at them both. “Thanks, Mr Munson.”

Eddie sighed. “Yeah. Come on, Harri. It’s time to go home, you both have school in the morning.”

“Bye, Miss Thing!” Harri said after giving her a fist bump.

“Bye H-man!” Edie said.

Edie watched as the two Munson boys walked away. Her dad had a lot of explaining to do.

*

Edie walked into Steve’s room and was impressed by what she saw. The drapes were closed, the light was off, and Dad was actually under the covers. Something no amount of bullying on Aunt Robin or Nancy’s part could ever achieve.

Dad hated being taken care of. But in less than two hours of this man coming into her home, her father had let down more walls than the entire time she had been on this earth.

Who was Eddie Munson? And why did her dad treat him differently then anyone she had ever known.

She knelt next to Steve’s bed and gently roused him from sleep.

“Hey,” he murmured as he slowly got up. “Is everyone gone?”

Edie sat down next to him on the bed and took his hand. “Yeah, they’ve gone.”

Steve nodded. “You must have so many questions.”

“Oodles and gobs,” she agreed. “But I’m going to be nice and wait until your head is no longer trying to kill you.”

He grimaced. “What, so you can finish the job?”

She chuckled. “Something like that.” She played with the ring on his right hand. She once had asked him if it was his wedding ring to Mom, but he’d told her no. It was from something else. From someone else. And now, she was pretty sure she knew who. “Do you need some pain killers?”

Steve nodded barely able to contain his whimper. Edie got up and the pills and a Gatorade. She came back and handed them to him. He took the pills and chugged half of the Gatorade, before handing it back to her.

“Thanks, love,” he murmured and got back under the covers.

“You’ll want to shower and change before you completely are down for the night,” she reminded him gently.

Steve nodded again. “Just a few minutes. Time for the medicine to work.”

“Of course.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “I’ll come back and check on you later.”

Steve hummed in response and she knew she would have to wake him again when she came back.

*

Steve woke up the next morning better than he usually felt in the aftermath of a migraine. And he knew who to thank for it. He also knew that had he not been in the throes of one of his worst in recent memory, he would have been a lot bitchier. Hurray for migraines, he guessed.

He didn’t have any appointments today so he didn’t have to cancel anything which was a life saver. He could even have Edie take herself to school. He got up and shuffled out to the kitchen in his pjs.

Edie was munching on her cereal when he got out there. “How’s the head?”

Steve waved his fingers back and forth. “So-so. You okay to take yourself to school today?”

She nodded. “Yeah, no trouble.”

They stared each other down for a minute before Steve blinked first.

“So what do you want to know?” he asked, turning on the kettle.

Edie steepled her fingers under her chin. “We can start with how did you meet mega-producer Edmond Munson?”

Steve laughed. “When I met him he was on his first senior year of high school, jumping on tables and ranting about ‘the man’.”

Edie’s eyes went wide. “What?!”

Steve shook his head. “I knew who he was then. And probably before that. As sort of a ‘oh look there’s that dude again making a menace of himself’ kind of way.”

“He really stood on tables and ranted about ‘the man’?” Edie asked incredulously.

He shrugged. “The topics would vary but, yeah. Pretty much the same theme of kids are being oppressed type thing.”

“But you were a preppy jock in high school,” Edie said. “I’ve seen the pictures.”

“Yeah, I was the King and he was the Freak, never the twain shall meet,” Steve agreed. “That’s what he was called, don’t give me that look.” Edie rolled her eyes.

“Okay,” she growled, “but none of this explains how you guys knew each other. Because this sounding like you didn’t.”

Steve leaned on his elbows onto the counter and looked her dead in the eye. “I want you to understand one thing and one thing only. If you go looking this shit up after I tell you, you will be grounded for life. Because it’s been twenty years and he deserves to let sleeping dogs lie. Do. You. Understand. Me?”

Edie’s head jerked back. This was like those moments when she asked about his scars or the many concussions he’s had. Her normally goofy dad was replaced by someone darker, someone who had walked through hell and lived to tell about it. She nodded quickly, her eyes wide.

“Back in his final senior year, the year Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, and Argyle all graduated,” Steve said sternly, “he was accused of murdering a cheerleader. Something your Uncle Dusty swore he would never do. And you know how tenacious he can be when he puts his mind to it.”

Edie nodded. “He’s like a dog with a bone.”

“So we went on this hunt to find Eddie,” Steve continued. “And sure enough he was being railroaded and we tried to clear his name. He almost died.” The last sentence was whispered, pulled from from the very depths of his soul and he hung his head between his shoulders.

“Holy shit,” she whispered. “Really?”

Steve lifted his head and straightened up. He pinched his nose and rubbed it with his knuckle. “Yeah. He got cleared of all charges and then few months later he was gone. Signed a record deal.”

“Your friend that had a band...” Edie muttered. “That was him?”

Steve nodded. “But it’s time for you to go to school. We’ll talk more later.”

Edie knew that she still had a couple of minutes before she needed to go, but she accepted it as the dodge it was. Dad was getting emotional and needed a break.

She nodded and got ready to go. She kissed his cheek. “Love you dad.”

***

Part 5  Part 6 Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16 Part 17  Part 18  Epilogue

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[lushlovers]

Xbox Withdrawals, J Burrow

summary; the burrows decorating their beautiful home for christmas and dallas being the equivalent of the grinch :).

warnings; swearing, dallas the sass master, joe being sad for two seconds, tooth rotting fluffffff

word count; 1k

note; i hate this sm but i had to put out something. thank you all so so much for the recent love on my works, and for 55 followers on here?? if there's anything you guys have in mind that you want written send it my way, i need some ideas!!

"Alright, everything Christmas-ish is down from the attic, as requested, mama," Joe informed you, waltzing into the kitchen with a very unhappy looking Dallas in tow. He probably was put to the slightest work by his father, now he'll be a sourpuss for the rest of the morning.

Annika sat comfortably on your hip, staring up at her father with your same eyes. She was your twin and Joe loved it. The boys were spitting image of him, just with your complexion. He loved to see your little mini me's running around your house.

You hum in return, pressing a kiss to his cheek as a thank you, "ew," Dallas is always cringing at the slightest contact his parents make. Being like every seven year old ever. Geo comes in to see what he missed out on while he was watching his cartoons, "Mama, up!"

"I can't pick up both of you, baby. Anni's getting too big for that." He turns to your husband after your response, and he's scooped up before he even has to ask, but instead of Joe holding him, he sits him down on the counter, "My back is killing me," you groan, getting older is actually the worst thing ever.

"I can tell it's raining, my knee's killing me," Joe mentioned, stretching out his leg the best he could. After surgery it absolutely kills him in the cold.

Decorating in the house was an all day affair, no matter how fast you all tried to get it done, having a seven month old and a five year old running around was a challenge on the daily, let alone when there were glass ornaments sitting out as you placed them along the tree.

Unfortunately, baby Annika has figured out she can pull herself up on the coffee table in the living room and mess around with whatever may be on top of it. Once it's in her hand, of course it ends up in her mouth, some way somehow, especially since her gums bother her so much with teething.

Joe and Dallas had both volunteered to set up the lights on the bushes outside and around the trees, the rest up higher would be taken care of when there's no little ones around who could possibly climb up a ladder or something along those lines.

Going out and looking for a tree was probably the easiest part in all of this, the whole Burrow family got together and did it as a family. Having Joe's brothers and their wonderful families around to blend with your own was something beautiful to watch, especially seeing them all get to grow up side by side. You were the same way as a kid, always hanging out with your cousins.

Thankfully, today Annika has decided not to throw her tantrums or break something on the table whilst you decorate the tree, she even wanted to help the best she could. She reached out for the sparkly red bulb in your hand, to which you perched her upon your hip, taking her hand in yours and hooking it onto one of the beautiful branches.

Geo was hooking them onto it as well, pointing to each one he did searching for praise on the good job he was doing at being a helper, and you are quick to praise his skill every time just because it makes him smile. He's such a little bundle of energy and smiles no matter the time or place. Dallas too usually, but he's in a sassy era at the moment.

Speaking of, he comes inside, this time with Joe following him, kicking his shoes of with even more attitude than before, he'd gotten really accustomed to being on his Xbox all the time, but that was nipped as soon as he got too comfortable sitting around on it all the time. His playing hours are limited, especially when Joe's home. He loves spending time with the boys whenever he's capable.

"He's still mad about the Xbox?" You ask, already knowing the answer, of course he is. Joe only nods, flopping down onto the couch, Dallas had disappeared somewhere upstairs, most likely on his game despite him not supposed to be. "I just don't get why he doesn't wanna spend time with me," he muffles, but you understand what he said perfectly.

"He does, baby," you frown, sitting yourself down beside his head, "He talks about you all the time, to everyone. Even at school, all his teachers know who you are. It's just.. He's a boy in this century, thats all he does is sit on that game for hours." You're telling him the truth, that's all Dallas really likes to do.

"How about you go and join him, while us three finish the tree, then we can all come watch?" He lifts his head, smiling big and pearly at your great idea, causing his eyes to crinkle a bit. He nearly jumps up and trips over something on his way to the stairs. How had he not thought of this yet?

Geo had barely paid any attention to your conversation with your husband, only continuing to add the glittering tinsel along the tree, being sure to pick up the little pieces he'd managed to drop, "Mama, doesn't it look so pretty?" He's asking again for your validation and you happily oblige.

"It's gorgeous, baby. You did a great job helping mama."

[laundrybiscuits]

Spotify Wrapped #33?

lift your hearts to the horizon / leave your fears upon the shore / this one life is for the living / and we ask for nothing more

“Settled in yet, Harrington?” Steve nearly jumps as Eddie swings down from the rigging. “Not missing your feather bed?” 

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m crying myself to sleep every sundown.”

“Poor baby. Need someone to hold you through the night, huh? We’re a little short on lusty lasses out here, but your good pal Eddie’s always available.” Eddie flutters his eyelashes in that teasing way he always has, and Steve laughs.

“Okay, Munson, I’ll be expecting you in my bunk at six bells.”

Eddie winks, smirking. “It’s a date.”

He shuffles in to lean his elbows on the rail next to Steve, squinting out at the bright morning light splayed over the waves. The salt water stretches out in a blue so deep and pretty that Steve thinks it could pass for a completely different world from the sea he saw last night. 

“Seriously,” he says. “You doing okay? I know it’s…not what you’re used to. The first storm’s always the hardest, and we caught a real nasty one. You want to call it quits after this, you’re not on a long-term thing, no one’s gonna say shit to you.”

“What?” Steve twists around. Eddie’s staring up at the cloudless sky, stray curls escaping from the frayed scrap of linen binding up the bulk of his hair. There are grey shadows under his eyes; he probably didn’t get much rest last night, either.

“I’m not gonna quit,” he says. “Didn’t even cross my mind.”

“Sure. If you change your mind in the next few weeks before we reach port, though…”

“I’m not gonna quit,” says Steve again. 

He’d stepped onto the gangway for the first time less than a fortnight ago, but it’s true that he hasn’t once thought of going back. At least not yet. 

“It’s different out here, isn’t it,” he hears himself saying. Eddie hums in agreement but doesn’t say anything else. 

“I mean,” says Steve, when the silence stretches out. “Everything’s just, like. It matters or it doesn’t. ‘S just easier.”

“Like you can breathe, right?” Eddie nods. “No distractions. Just the stuff you do to stay alive and sane and moving in the right direction. All the bullshit falls away.”

Steve does feel like he breathes different here. The wind has a taste, and it seems to reach every corner of his body when he shuts his eyes and inhales deep. 

And yeah, when he opens his eyes again and there’s nothing ahead except the endless distant edge where the sea blurs into sky, all the shit that he cared so much about even a month ago—the broken engagement, the rejection from the Academy—none of it seems all that important anymore.

There’s just the sea before him, and the sky above him, and the man leaning into the wind at his side. 

—

It’s well past dusk when Eddie shows up at the doorway to the cramped quarters Steve shares with a few other guys. One of those guys is Eddie, so it’s not weird for him to be there, but he lingers in the entrance, fingertips drumming a quick pattern on the rough lintel. 

Even in the low light, Steve can tell he looks a little different. He’s freshly scrubbed, hair unbound but tamer than Steve’s ever seen it before. He’s even shaved the patchy scruff that he’d been sporting earlier in the day.

Eddie looks like he’s made some kind of effort, and it’s that, more than anything else, that sends a near-painful spasm of fondness through Steve.

“Six bells was a while ago,” says Steve.

“I know,” says Eddie, too fast. “I mean. Fuck, this is so stupid, I know you were just kidding—”

“Yeah,” says Steve. He’s not agreeing so much as he’s just saying yeah. “I could be—not kidding, though. If that’s something…”

“It’s something,” says Eddie. He moves closer, into the glow of the lantern hanging from the top bunk. 

Steve’s eyes slip down the column of Eddie’s throat to where his shirt is hanging unlaced, crudely inked lines just barely uncovered at the edge. “Jeff,” says Steve, not looking away. “I got a full bottle of port that’s all yours if you fuck off for, uh…”

“Don’t come back until first light and I’ll throw in the knife I won last winter,” says Eddie. He folds gracefully to kneel between Steve’s legs, hands sliding up his thighs. 

“Pox on both of you,” Jeff groans. “Hand me that port and I’ll go sleep on the deck. Just keep it down, will you?”

Steve looks at Eddie’s dark eyes, his smiling mouth, the capable shape of his hands. Even through the rough breeches, Eddie’s grip feels like the air before a storm.

“No promises,” says Steve, and leans down.

Send me a number between 1-100 and I'll write a ficlet based on the corresponding song from my Spotify Wrapped! It will definitely be gay and may possibly be musical theater

[honeyjars-sims]

1.47 I Won't Be Home for Christmas

Lexie: So I guess this is Christmastime in Del Sol Valley.

Johnny: Yeah, it’s no winter wonderland. I bet it’s more festive in Brindleton Bay. Are you going there for Winter Break?

Lexie: Well, I was supposed to, but my mom just told me that she and my dad are going skiing on Mt. Komorebi this year. 

Johnny: Oh, that sounds nice. Are you going with them?

Lexie: Nope. It was pretty last minute and they won’t be getting back until after the new semester starts.

Johnny: You sound disappointed.

Lexie: I am. I didn’t get to see them on my birthday, and now this. I’ve never not spent Christmas with my parents. It’s extra hard because I’ve been feeling a little homesick lately. I’ve never been away from my family this long.

Johnny: I’m sorry, baby. You’re welcome to spend Christmas with me and my family if you want.

Lexie: Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.

Johnny: Yeah, my parents would love to have you over! They’ve been hounding me to bring you around.

Lexie: Well, in that case, I’d love to come! I have a feeling your family knows how to entertain.

Johnny: Oh, for sure! There’s never a dull moment when we get together. I know it doesn’t make up for you missing out on time with your family, but I’m glad we’ll get to spend the holiday together.

Lexie: Me too. Christmas has always been a big holiday in my family. I was just thinking about my favorite Christmas memory. When I was 6, my parents surprised me with my favorite stuffed animal. You remember that little white dog from the dog food commercials?

Johnny: Yeah, he was so cute!

Lexie: I was obsessed with that dog. Apparently they made him into a stuffed animal and that’s what my parents gave me that year. I named him Snowflake and I took him everywhere. After a while he was more of a dingy gray.

Johnny: Aw, that’s cute! Do you still have him? Don’t tell anyone, but I still have my favorite stuffed cat from when I was a kid and I still sleep with it every night.

Lexie: I think that's sweet! Unfortunately our dog mistook Snowflake for a chew toy. My mom tried her best to salvage it, but it was a lost cause. I wish I still had him, though. Maybe having Snowflake to cuddle up with would help me feel less homesick.

Johnny: I’m sorry you’re missing home so much. I know I can’t replace Snowflake, but if you ever need a cuddle buddy, you know I’m here.

Lexie: Hmm, well, you’re not as soft and fluffy, but you’re still pretty cuddly. What’s your favorite Christmas memory? 

Johnny: Well, Christmas growing up was pretty rough. We didn’t have much money and my mom usually had to work so it was never much of a thing in my house.

Lexie: Oh, I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you didn’t grow up like I did.

Johnny: That’s ok, I haven’t really talked about it much. Maybe I’ll tell you more about it someday. But things were much better once I moved in with my dads. 

Lexie: That’s good. What do they do for the holidays?

Johnny: Well, Dad is Jewish and Pops grew up Protestant so we do a secular “Chrismakkuh” thing where we combine traditions from Hanukkah and Christmas. On Christmas Eve we make cookies and popcorn and hunker down in the living room for the night to watch cheesy holiday movies. We get our sleeping bags and make snarky comments about the movies. 

Lexie: Oh, like those movies where a woman goes back to her hometown and discovers the true meaning of the holiday season, which always involves a guy?

Johnny: Yep. Our first Chrismakkuh together, my parents kept trying to get me hyped up, but I wasn’t having it. I was just being a typical 14-year-old who was too cool to hang out with his family. But I ended up having a great time. That’s probably my favorite memory. 

Lexie: It sounds like a lovely one.

Johnny: It was. I remember waking up the next morning with the TV still going and seeing the rest of my family still snoring away in their sleeping bags. That was the first time I really felt like I was home.

Lexie: I’m glad you finally got to make some positive holiday memories. That must have meant the world to you.

Johnny: It did. And it means the world to me that I’ll be making memories with you this year.

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 21

An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note.

Another quick under 3,000 word update for you guys :) Enjoy!

When it's quiet, Carl and I go visit Sophia's grave together.

Under the low-hanging oak tree is a whole long line of graves, many more than the last time I stood here, all marked with their own wonky, homemade cross. Rings, necklaces, hand-written notes and little trinkets hang from each one, swaying gently in the afternoon breeze. I wonder which belongs to the one I killed the other night, which mound of dirt and death I'm responsible for. I wonder if they know I'm sorry.

I don't have to wonder which is Sophia's. I know already. It's the one with the Cherokee roses laying on it.

I step forward and carefully place Matilda against the white petals, making sure her yarn-hair is neat and her dress is as it should be, while Carl lays the Pokémon folder down next to it. When I promised Carol I'd return the doll to her someday, I never imagined it would be like this.

As we step back, I grab Carl's hand and tell the small grave, "Wherever you are, I hope you get to play again."

Thoughts and prayers, I think they say. I don't think they ever done any good to nobody. If God was listening to silly things like thoughts and prayers, this tree would be someplace we could play together, and not the graveyard it's turned into. Those roses would've worked. But it's like Shane said. Sophia was weak. Just 'cause it don't sound nice, don't mean it ain't true. She was weak, and she paid the price for it. I wish I could do more than just stand here and miss her, but maybe I can also learn from what she couldn't, be stronger, live what she didn't get to.

I ain't never seen much purpose in death, but maybe that's it. Maybe like scars, all they do is make us stronger.

"We'll miss you, Sophia." Carl utters, squeezing my fingers. "I'm sorry we couldn't find you."

When he starts sniffling, I feel even emptier than I already do. I should cry with him, but I can't. I don't know why. I've always been a bit of a crier. It was one of the things Merle hated most about me. If you're gonna be angry, be angry, but don't start cryin' too while yer at it. He used to need to shout at me and shake me by the shoulders to get me to dry up, but now I've dried up all on my own.

"She'd dead, Carl." I mumble, turning away. "Ain't no tears ever saved nobody."

When we make it back up to the gate where Dad's waiting for us, he doesn't mention my scowl. He kisses my hair and leads us up the path. When we get there, Carl drags me to the spot behind his family's tent, 'cause apparently he wants to show me something.

"You gotta promise not to tell." He warns as he pulls a gun from underneath a rock. "I stole it this morning from Dad."

My eyes go wide. I was not expecting a gun. Carl's more the type of person to steal a cookie before dessert, not guns.

I quickly duck down, glancing around to make sure none of the adults saw. "What the Hell, Carl?"

"You remember Shane was gonna take us for shooting lessons, right? Well, that's not happening anymore. We gotta do it ourselves."

"Are you serious? Your parents are gonna kill ya if they find out, you moron."

"Duh. That's why I'm not gonna tell 'em."

"Adults like to know where kids are." I scold him harshly. "You wanna end up like Sophia?"

"No," He says firmly. "I wanna end up like you. You know all about surviving. You know plants, and birds, and animals. I know nothing."

He's right, I suppose. He doesn't really know anything. He didn't grow up around hunters, didn't live by the woods, didn't get compasses and boots and BB guns for his birthdays. I bet he's never even killed before, neither. Not even a rat in the rafters. Just like Sophia, he knows nothing.

I would like to teach Carl what I know, but I've never done somethin' like this. Unsure, I grumble, "I don't like gettin' in trouble."

"It's fine. We'll be quick." He assures me. "And if we get caught, I'll just say the whole thing was my idea."

I pin him with a look. "It was your idea."

"Exactly. Besides, you got lost in the woods for two whole days and you were fine. I'll be in good hands. So you coming, or what?"

I sigh. "You're gonna go no matter what I say, ain't ya?"

"Mm-hmm."

I roll my eyes. Finally, someone as stubborn as I am. That settles it, then.

"Fine." I say. "I'll come."

He pumps his fist excitedly. "Yes!"

"But lemme grab somethin' first before we leave."

He tucks the gun into his pants line and follows after me as I make my way to mine and Dad's camp. When I stop in front of the motorcycle parked in the shade, he asks what I'm doing, but I wordlessly flip the saddlebag open and pull out a shiny, mean-lookin' Bowie knife.

He blanches at the sight of it as I strap the sheath to my belt loop. "That's the biggest knife I've ever seen."

"Used to be my Uncle Merle's." I say absentmindedly, before nodding him toward the treeline. "Let's go."

"For the record," Carl hums as we walk along the marshy creek, "I think the missing ear makes you look super badass."

I give him a light shove, making him stumble and giggle. "Keep talkin', and you'll be missin' yours in a minute."

"What? You don't think you look badass?"

"Not really."

"Well, I say you do. And I'm always right."

"No, you ain't. Hey, look. Mushrooms."

We skip across a toppled log laying in the water and leap onto the other side, approaching a cluster of brown mushrooms sprouting from the base of a fat tree. Morels, made obvious by their wrinkly, honey-comb caps. I pull him down with me and start plucking some.

"These are Morels." I explain, handing him a stubby, dark-colored stalk. "Here. You can eat 'em."

He takes it from me like it's a bomb. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

I snap another off. "'Cause they're ugly and they smell like bread."

He grins in amazement as I pop it in my mouth without hesitation. Encouraged to do the same, he takes a little nibble of his.

I watch his eyes go wide. As expected, he seems to like it. "Tastes like nuts."

"The darker the cap, the more flavor ya get. Not that you'd be worryin' too much about that when you're dyin' in the woods, I guess."

"Still a cool fact, though." He takes my hand and stands up. "Let's go find some more stuff."

Happy to keep exploring, we wonder from tree to tree, bush to bush, rock to rock. I teach him which berries will make you froth at the mouth and die and which ones will taste like sour candies, how to tell poison oak from regular leaves, which mark on the ground means what.

I even teach him to make a whistle from a mottled wax-leaf, which he seems to find very fun.

He blows through it for a hundredth time, making the ringing in my ears turn piercingly loud.

"Quit that noise, dumbass." I complain, reaching to snatch it from him.

He comes to a sudden halt, leaf falling from his lips.

"What is it?" Frowning, I turn to what he's looking at.

There's a walker stood on the bank opposite us, its foot caught under the thick, gummy mud. It keeps trying to break free, but it's skinny as a twig and useless as a newborn deer, so it ain't gettin' outta there any time soon, which is good for us but bad for him, I guess.

Watching it flail around, Carl wonders, "Should we shoot it?"

It'd make an easy target, but I got no interest in killin' that thing. Might be the one that bit Sophia. It deserves to suffer.

"Nah." I sourly disagree, turning away. "Let's just leave it there. We can go shoot somethin' else."

He gives it one last glance before falling into step with me. "Okay. Like what?"

"Somethin' that's useful. Rabbit, maybe."

"Ooh, you can teach me to skin it. You ever done that before?"

Have I ever killed and skinned a rabbit?

Pssh. "That's funny, Carl."

He giggles at that.

We return to the farm about an hour later with a dead hare. I offered to carry it, but Carl says he likes having it slung over his shoulder 'cause it makes him feel like a strong caveman, whatever that means. I tracked it and taught him to shoot the thing, but I guess it was him that shot it dead so technically, it's his kill. His first ever kill. He didn't get squeamish or nothin', not even when I flayed its skin off with the knife.

"That was awesome," He exclaims, not caring that there's blood all over his shirt. "Where'd you even learn to shoot?"

Tall grass and laughter come to mind, but as we approach the gate, I settle on shrugging, "Doesn't matter."

"Well, I can't believe an eight-year-old got to learn to shoot before I did."

I unlatch it and open it for him, joking, "Maybe it's 'cause I'm better behaved."

"You know what," He lilts as he steps past, "You're probably right."

I lock it closed and follow him along the path back to camp, feeling more and more grateful that I'm behind him and can hide a little when I realize we weren't as sneaky as we thought we were, as Rick, Lori, Dad, and Dale jump out their seats at the sight of us approaching.

My stomach does a weird little flip at the angry look on Dad's face. I have to remind myself things are different now.

"Where were you?" Lori screeches, running to crouch in front of us. "You silly boy, where were you?"

"We just went out for a bit, Mom. We're fine." He seems to think showing her the hare won't make things ten times worse. "Look!"

Before she can lose her mind again, Dad snatches it off him. "What the Hell were y'all thinkin'?"

"I'm sorry, Dad." I tell him. "I just—"

"You disobeyed me, is what you did." He scolds. "'Stay where I can see ya.' Ain't that what I always say?"

"It's what we say, too." Rick frowns. "You know it's dangerous out there. There's a reason we have rules."

"And there's a reason we keep the gun bag away from children." Dale raises a brow. "We know there's a pistol missing, son."

Lori holds out her hand. He makes a big deal out of pulling the gun out and handing it over. 

"You too, Harley. Where'd you get that knife?"

"It's Merle's." Dad gruffly answers for me. He doesn't take it, but I can tell he's disappointed. Feels so wrong not gettin' belted for this.

"Guys, she didn't even wanna come at first." Carl says. "It was my idea. I asked her to. I thought it would be safer with the both of us."

"So, what you're saying is you not only stole from us and snuck out without permission," Chides Rick, "But you put Harley in danger, too."

"I— I didn't think I was."

"As the older child, you should've known better. You need to look out for her, Carl. This isn't a joke."

Dad scoffs, "Nah, she's more'un capable of followin' orders on her own. She knows not to sneak out."

"Tell you what, we can go shootin' sometime soon if that's somethin' you feel you wanna do, but you cannot do this again."

Lori adds, "Ever."

"Is that clear?"

I nod straight away, but Carl takes a little longer before he gives in. "Do we at least get to eat the rabbit?"

"If you promise you won't try gettin' another one for tomorrow's dinner."

He sighs moodily. "Fine. Okay."

"Glad we're finally on the same page."

As Lori leads Carl away to get him changed into a shirt that's not so blood-soaked, he throws me an apologetic look over his shoulder. He didn't mean for us to get in trouble. Rick leaves to replace the gun, Dale resumes watch duty, and Dad drags me back to our camp without another word. I don't bother saying sorry again. I know he don't appreciate being told the same thing twice, so I keep my mouth shut.

I half expect him to lay me over his knee the second we make it back, but all he does is sit me down on the stump.

"You sit here for however long I feel's right, and you think about how you done wrong."

As he walks off to start preparing the rabbit, I take great effort in keeping my jaw from dropping.

Time-out. I ain't ever been in time-out before. Usually, I just get whipped and that's it, but things really are different now.

I accept my punishment without complaint, watching him gut the hare and slice it into small strips, laying them out on the rocks around the crackling fire. I wonder if he's letting me keep the knife because I did a good job skinning. I hope so. He taught me how, after all.

Once the meat's cooked, which takes about ten short minutes, he beckons me off the stump with a nod of his head.

"Come get some food, chicken."

I hop off and approach him unconfidently, taking the mug of browned meat that he offers me.

"Carl was smart takin' you with him." He says. "Would'a fucked that poor animal up, otherwise."

I find myself trying not to smile. I think I like time-out.

"Are you still angry with me?"

"I don't like what you did, Harley. You went and did somethin' behind my back." I understand that. It wasn't right. "But you wanna start doin' some things on yer own, I'm more'un happy to let you, baby, you know that. Simple things, like havin' yer own knife. I'll allow that."

I perk up a little. "I can keep Merle's knife?"

"Yeah. A gun, though, we'll have to work up to. You got plenty people around here ready to protect you with guns, already. But it's important to know how to shoot one, anyway, so when Rick takes Carl, he can take you, too. Certified instructor, and all that."

That's more than fair. "Alright. Thank you, Dad."

"I'll show you how to use that thing properly later, but for now," He hands me another hot mug, "Go shut Carl up with some'a this."

I carry both mugs back to main camp and find Rick and Carl sitting together at the picnic table, having what looks like the serious conversation me and Dad just got done having. When they notice me, Rick finishes off what he was saying and scoots over so I can sit next to him.

"Dad cooked the hare." I tell him, passing it across the table. He takes it with an owlish look. "Might still be hot."

"I don't think you've ever eaten hare before, have you, buddy?"

"No. Had skunk, though." He pops a piece in his mouth. "Mm. That's pretty good."

"Now you got a taste of what you wanted, I expect you to reel it in a bit. Protection's important, but not if it ends up killing you."

"Rick, My Dad said I can come shooting with you and Carl, if that's okay."

"'Course, honey. I think I'm gonna ask some of the others if they wanna come, too. Start today, if you want."

Me and Carl share an excited glance. "Yes, please."

"Alright, then. Finish up that food and we'll see about leavin' soon."

Author's Note.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, everyone 💙

Some more intense things coming up in the next one.

[persephonewritessometimes]

me and the devil / unsub!hotch x reader / chapter four

Summary: Hotch gets called on a case and has no one to watch Jack. Y/N volunteers and finds herself as a babysitter for a few days. [exposition building!]

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x AFAB Reader

Word Count: 8141

Warnings: MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY, ANATOMY TERMINOLOGY, CHILD BIRTH [not too graphic but I will give a warning and a following summary for those who don't want to read it!], MENTIONS OF DEAD PARENT, MENTION OF BEING ABANDONED BY A PARENT one use of fuck, domestic!reader, jack is too cute for his own good

Key: y/n = your name

Author's Note: jesus fuck i'm so sorry i didn't get this out sooner!! finals wrecked my motivation and i hate plot buildingXD hopefully you guys enjoy, i've got some fun things planned for this story coming up!

me and the devil series masterlist

This work is meant for readers aged 18 and over. You are responsible for your own media consumption.

I got the call that my car had been repaired and was ready for me to pick up the morning after I made Hotch spend the night. We coordinated with Morgan to make sure all the cars got back to where they needed to go and I no longer had to rely on Hotch’s decommissioned SUV to get me places. I would lie if I say I don’t miss it though - I felt like a badass secret agent in that car. I ended up having to skip Morgan’s self-defense class on Saturday due to Tia having a boyfriend emergency, well, now an ex-boyfriend emergency, and because of that, I was busy all weekend. I promised Hotch I would go to the next one, knowing he’ll hold me to it.

I haven’t seen Hotch for over a week now, but he texted me and let me know that they had been called on a case halfway across the country so he doesn’t know when he’ll be back. I’m disappointed, but I know Hotch has to work just like everyone else. It’s a dull weekend at the club due to poor weather - I didn’t even want to go because it was so dreary. I go to bed early Sunday night, exhausted from work and school. My phone blares in my ear the next morning - someone’s calling me. What the hell? I’m disoriented, as I furrow through my blankets to find my phone, and when I finally get ahold of it, I see that it’s Hotch. It’s unusual for him to call me this early, and a glance at the clock tells me it’s just before 8:00 AM.

“Hello?” I say into the phone, voice scratchy from sleep.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry to ask you for this, but we just got called on another case and Jess is in California this week and I have no one to watch Jack. I’ll pay you well, I just need someone to watch him for a couple of days. I’m so sorry.” He’s rambling and it’s kind of amusing to hear his stoic facade disappear for a second.

“Hotch, slow down, it’s fine. I don’t mind watching Jack, I like kids.” I say, and I can hear him let out a sigh of relief.

“You just saved my life.”

“Well, if I’m counting right, that’s the second time I’ve saved your life,” I say, smiling.

“You’ve got me there. I’ll text you the address. Oh, and you can bring Cujo, Jack loves animals.” He hangs up the phone and a few seconds later my text tone chimes, and sure enough, he’s already sent me the address. I rub my eyes for a few seconds. I’m usually not awake at this ungodly hour. When I’ve collected myself a little bit and feel more coherent, I get out of bed, Cujo cocking his head as he looks at me, like he’s also confused as to why I’m up this early I laugh a little.

“It’s okay boy, we’re just gonna go stay somewhere else for a few days.” He huffs and puts his head back down. I grab the duffel bag from underneath my bed and throw in a couple of outfits and a pair of scrubs haphazardly. I pack up my toiletries in the bathroom and grab Cujo’s food and travel dishes from the kitchen. Thankfully I didn’t unpack my backpack after studying at the library yesterday, so I don’t have to worry about packing that as well. My clinical bag is also waiting by the door. I call Cujo to the front door and he whines but gets out of bed to join me. I slip him into his travel harness and leash before slinging my backpack over my shoulders and grabbing my overnight bag and clinical bag. I feel kind of stupid trying to lock my door with what feels like my entire apartment packed into my three bags. I slowly make my way down the stairs, mindful of the leash - I can see myself wiping out if I take one wrong move, and that would be embarrassing to have to explain to Hotch.

I get Cujo clipped in in the back seat and put my bags there too. I drive to Hotch’s house as quickly as the speed limit allows. He sounded so panicked over the phone and I know he thinks he’s inconveniencing me, but he’s letting me bring Cujo, so why would I be inconvenienced? I pull into his driveway right next to his SUV and get out of my car and wave hello to him as I go to get my stuff from the backseat. My backpack finds its way back onto my shoulders and I unlatch Cujo from his hook in the backseat and click the leash back on. He hops out of the car, surveying his new surroundings. I’m reaching to grab my duffel bag and clinical bag when a large hand grabs both of them before I can get to them.

“I’ve got them.” He says, chest very close to mine when I turn around and look up at him.

“Thanks,” I say breathlessly. I shut my car door and lock the car, following Hotch into the house.

“Jack’s at school right now, but the bus drops him off at 3:00 PM and picks him up at 7:50 AM. He does have the day off tomorrow, some kind of makeup snow day, and I was hoping to be here so I could spend it with him.” He trails off and I can tell that he’s embarrassed.

“Hotch, it’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“I already called the school so Jack knows you’re here. This isn’t really how I wanted you two to meet, but it’ll have to do.”

“How did you want us to meet?” His cheeks turn pink at my question and he deftly changes the subject.

“You have my number, call me if you need anything. I should be back late Wednesday night. Jack’s a sweetheart, so you should be fine.” I nod and he gives me a quick tour of the house, pointing out the guest bedroom, giving me a guide to the alarm system, and the garage door codes.

“One question.”

“Yes?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you a ‘no animals on the couch’ kind of person? Because that might be an issue.” He laughs, and says,

“Animals are welcome on the couch.”

“Good. Now get out of here, I know you have a flight to catch.” He hesitates, face torn, and I add quietly, “Hotch, it’s okay, I can do this, I want to do this. Go do your job - catch the bad guy.”

“I can’t thank you enough for doing this.” He presses a spare key in my hand, kisses my cheek, and is out of the door in minutes. I lock the door after him and slip the spare key next to my house key on my keyring. Hopefully, I won’t get them mixed up.

The house is very quiet now that Cujo and I are the only one’s here. I’m not usually a nosy person, but as the minutes drag on I feel the urge to explore the house getting stronger. I worry my lip for a few seconds, torn between respecting Hotch’s privacy and satisfying my curiosity, but I ultimately give in, padding around the house and checking it out with more attention. I steer clear of the master bedroom, having to set a boundary for myself, plus I know the room will smell like him - slightly minty with a hint of evergreen and something that’s just man, just him - and I know the smell would make what’s left of my rational thoughts flee my mind. I find my way into his study, the large mahogany desk imposing and clear of any papers. All the drawers are locked, but at least three hundred books are in the surrounding bookcases. I look at the titles, but most of them don’t catch my eye, just textbooks, studies, and other papers of that kind. What does catch my eye are the dozen Harlan Coben novels. I’m not much of a reader, what with school and work, but I used to read Harlan Coben novels when I had the time. I run my fingers over the spines, recognizing a few titles, but the majority are new to me. I chew on my lip debating if Hotch would care if I read one and conclude that he wouldn’t.

I pull The Innocent off of the shelf, tucking it under my arm and retreating from the office. I settle down on the plush couch, Cujo already asleep on it and open the book. I don’t put it down until a few hours later, and only because my stomach started rumbling. I dig around in my backpack for a piece of paper and tear off an edge, using it as a makeshift bookmark while I snoop in the kitchen. Hotch told me to help myself to anything, and this man splurges on his groceries. I finally settle on a DIY charcuterie board, having cut up a couple of types of cheese, some lunch meat, and fresh fruit. I grab my book from the couch and hold it open with one hand while I eat with the other. I’m sucked in - I can’t put the book down. I love mysteries and this one with an ex-convict as an accidental murderer has my full attention. I finish the book in the early afternoon and carefully place it back into its rightful spot in the study. I force myself to not pull another book down, knowing that I have to work on homework now.

“I’ll come back for you later,” I whisper to the books.

I check the time - I have two hours until Jack gets home, a perfect amount of time for me to get some homework done. I’m currently in my OBGYN rotation, and there’s so much information I need to know for my final, which is only two months from now. I lose myself in flashcards and textbook passages when I hear the unmistakable sound of a school bus. I scramble to get off the couch, having been buried in my papers. I walk towards the door and open it, leaning against the door frame as I watch Jack get off, wave bye to the bus driver, and run up the driveway with a huge smile on his face. I smile to myself as he gets closer and then slows down.

“Hi, Y/N! I’m so excited to meet you!” He says, out of breath. 

“I’m excited to meet you too, Jack.” I move out of the way and he rushes inside. Cujo, having heard the commotion, hops off the couch and trots towards the small boy.

“YOU HAVE A DOG?” He exclaims, dropping his bag in the entryway as Cujo greets him with sniffing and wet kisses. Jack giggles when Cujo licks his cheek and he’s petting him eagerly.

“His name is Cujo, and it looks like he likes you!” I say, smiling.

“Well, I love him!” Jack pets him for a few more moments before saying, “Wait! I think I have a tennis ball in my room, can I play out back with him?”

“Of course!” Jack runs off to his room and I kiss Cujo on the head and whisper,

“Good boy.” Jack comes back seconds later and we head outside to the fenced-in backyard. Cujo sprints around the yard - we don’t have a space like this in my complex. Jack starts to play fetch with Cujo and his giggles every time Cujo drops the ball at his feet are infectious. I sit in one of the chairs on the back porch - the weather has taken a turn for the better today, the sun shining bright and the weather is actually kind of warm. I find myself lost in thought and think about this house. It’s beautiful, yes, but I would think it’s a show home due to the pristineness. The only giveaway that someone lives here is the family pictures. The air inside the house is stale, I noticed it as I was studying. As if there’s no life in the house.

“Jack, I’m gonna open some windows if that’s okay,” I call to him, “Does your dad ever open the windows?”

“Not really!”

“Well, I’ll open up a couple, get a nice cross breeze in here.” I head inside, always keeping an eye on Jack, and open some windows. They creak and groan from disuse, but even with just a few open the house feels more inviting. After about twenty minutes, Jack comes back inside, Cujo trailing behind him and I fix him a snack when he says he’s hungry. He’s watching me, and I’m watching him, both of us trying to look busy. He reminds me of his father - eyes always alert and watching for something.

“What do you do?”

“I’m a nursing student.”

“So you heal sick people.”

“Well, I try to.”

“That’s really cool! How do you know my dad?” I freeze a little bit, not sure what to tell him.

“We…met at a bar,” I fib a little, “He actually helped me get away from some bad guys.”

“Yeah, he’s cool like that,” Jack says with a smile.

“You got any homework?”

“Yeah. Math. It’s confusing though.”

“Want some help? I mostly do medication conversions these days, but I’m sure I could help a little bit.”

“Yeah!” He runs off to grab his backpack from the entryway and comes back to the kitchen table, pushing his bowl away and pulling out a paper. I glance at it, and luckily it’s something I do know - addition and subtraction. “Once I find the answer it makes sense, but sometimes I get confused on the subtraction. Especially the double digits.”

“Hmmm, let’s see here.” I watch him struggle with the first problem, not having enough fingers on his hands to get to the correct answer. “I have an idea.” I open a bunch of drawers until I find something I saw earlier. I pull out a jar of peanuts and open them. Jack laughs.

“What are you doing?”

“Just watch! Okay, look at the first problem, 12 - 5.” I dig out a handful of peanuts and put them on the table. “Okay, count out 12 peanuts.” Jack laughs a little but does it anyway. “Great, now if you were to take away 5 more peanuts, what would you have?” Jack grabs five of the peanuts and removes them from the pile. He counts them and shouts,

“Seven!”

“That’s right! Let’s do the next problem.” By the end of the worksheet, he’s got a better grasp on the idea, and in the last three problems he doesn’t even use the peanuts to solve the problems. “Good job!” I say and he holds out his hand for a high five. I smack it lightly, and he says,

“You have a weak high five.”

“Do you want a do-over?” I say.

“Yes!” I only hold back a little bit this time and he whoops when our hands meet. “Now that’s a high five!” He shakes his hand a little bit afterward, and I feel bad about it. “Do you have homework too?”

“Yes, my homework is never ending, it seems. But I graduate this semester, so no more homework after that!”

“Do you need help with your homework?”

I laugh a little, “I don’t know if my homework is appropriate for you, buddy. I’m learning about mommies and babies right now. Gross stuff.”

“Ew! I don’t want to look at that!” I laugh again.

“How about I put on a movie for you and I’ll do my homework while you watch it? Is Star Wars okay?”

“I love Star Wars!”

“Good! Let me get it in the DVD player. Which one do you want?”

“Return of the Jedi!”

“Good pick, that’s my favorite one.”

“You like Star Wars?” He looks at me with wide eyes.

“Of course! My dad used to watch them with me all the time.” I walk into the living room, grab ‘Return of the Jedi’ from the entertainment center, and put it in the DVD player. It takes me a few seconds to figure out how to get the TV on the right setting, but I eventually figure it out. Jack sits on the couch, and Cujo gets up on it as well, putting his head in his lap. I watch as Jack watches the movie, absentmindedly petting Cujo on the head, who’s fast asleep. I bury myself in my studies again, knowing I have about an hour and a half to do so.

I’ve gone through my flashcards so many times it feels like I can’t stuff any more information in my brain. I finally sigh and paperclip them back together and set them to the side. I turn my focus to the movie - Luke Skywalker has just turned himself in to be taken to Emperor Palpatine. I watch the rest of the movie with Jack and when it’s done, he looks at me and asks,

“What’s for dinner?”

“That’s a great question. What are you hungry for?” He thinks for a couple of seconds.

“Chicken nuggets?”

“Great pick. I’ll go get them in the oven.” I gather up my things and put them back in my backpack - Jack doesn’t need to see a diagram of a woman spread eagle and crowning, that might haunt him for years.

I’m in the kitchen getting dinner ready, also throwing some frozen french fries I found in the freezer on the sheet pan. I’ve just put them in the oven when I hear from behind me,

“Are you my dad’s girlfriend?” I blink a few times before turning to face him.

“Um, we’re just friends.”

“Do you want to be my dad’s girlfriend?” He asks, widening his eyes. Oh come on I haven’t even asked myself that question yet!

“I…don’t know,” I answer truthfully. I don’t want to lie to him again.

“Well, he likes you.” I can’t hide the surprise that flashes across my face. The curiosity to know exactly what Hotch has mentioned about me is too strong and I find myself asking,

“And how do you know that?” The words are out before I can stop myself.

“He told me he met a really pretty girl who makes him laugh. He said that you’re captivating and he can’t stop thinking about you.” My cheeks are boiling.

“He told you this?” Jack turns sheepish at that and shakes his head no.

“I overheard him talking to Uncle Rossi about it.”

“Oh, so you were eavesdropping?” I say with a smile and his indignation makes me laugh.

“No! I was just listening!”

“Mhmm.”

“I swear! Don’t tell him I told you, he doesn’t even know that I know.”

“I won’t tell him, I promise.”

“Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise,” I say, wrapping my pinky around his and squeezing tight. He sits down at the table and watches me as I cut up some fresh fruit.

“I like you. You’re nice. And you like Star Wars.”

“Thank you. I like you too, you’re fun to be around.” I say back and he smiles. It’s quiet until the oven timer goes off and I use an oven mitt to get the sheet pan out. I let it sit for a few minutes, knowing that if I plate the chicken nuggets and fries now, I’ll burn my mouth, and Jack probably will too. Jack is impatient as we wait for the nuggets to cool down, asking every few seconds if they’re ready yet. After dinner, Jack gets in the shower and I close up the windows, the air already feeling much better inside the house. I take Cujo outside to use the bathroom and clean up after him. When I come back inside Jack is out of the shower and in dinosaur-print pajamas.

“Oh, I like your pajamas!” I say with a smile and he grins up at me. “I have dinosaur pajamas too!” His eyes widen and his mouth drops open.

“You? Have dinosaur pajamas?” I chuckle at his dumbfounded expression.

“Yes, I have dinosaur pajamas. They’re actually in my bag right now, do you want to see them?” He nods furiously and follows me to the guest room. I dig them out and show them to him. Pink and purple stegosaurus, velociraptors, and triceratops cover the top and bottoms, and he laughs when he sees them.

“You have girl dinosaurs!”

“Hey! Boys can like pink and purple too!” He’s laughing at my pajamas and I can’t help but laugh too. “Come on, let's get you to bed,” I say and throw my pajamas on the guest bed. He grumbles but listens to me, and when I tuck him into bed he says,

“Thanks, Y/N. See you in the morning.” He yawns and rubs his eyes.

“Goodnight, Jack. I’ll see you in the morning!” I almost trip over a toy truck making my way back to the door of his room, and I shut off the light and shut the door behind me. Now it’s my turn for a shower. I shower with efficiency, wanting nothing more than to climb into bed. My thoughts wander as I do so, and I wonder how Hotch feels about having such an involved job while also having Jack. I think it would be hard. I get out of the shower and went through my skincare routine before I slip into my pajamas and get in bed.

Tuesday morning comes quickly, and thanks to Jack having the day off we get to sleep in for a little bit. He finally pulls me out of bed around 9:30, and I complain the entire time, which he just laughs at. I make us french toast for breakfast, which Jack fervently declares his love for, and then get dressed. I have one lecture today, Adult Health 4, and it’s at eleven.

“Jack, I know you don’t have school today, but I have school today, so here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna come to class to me, but we’re going to bring your portable DVD player and bring a movie or two, as my class is two hours.”

“TWO HOURS?” He exclaims. “For one class?” I laugh.

“Yes, college isn’t really fun.”

“I bet!” We get ready and I make sure everything that I need is packed and we have Jack’s DVD player with a pair of headphones. He grabs A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and we climb into my car. I make him sit in the backseat, as I don’t have a car seat for him and drive slowly to Stafford Hospital, where all of my classes are being held this semester. I park in the farthest lot, as is our rule since we are guests at the Hospital, and sling on my backpack. It’s unusually hot today, and sticky, and Jack starts to complain the moment his feet hit the asphalt.

“Y/N, please, will you carry me? It’s hoooot.” He whines.

“Jack, you’re six, I think you can walk.” He drags his feet and I concede. “Fine, come on. I hoist him up on my hip and he wraps his legs around me, resting his head in the crook of my shoulder. I want to curse but he’s being cute so I’ll let it slide. I wrap my arms around him, supporting him, and make the long trek to the hospital. Sweat is sliding down my temple when the doors slide open and I step inside. Jack sighs at the sudden cold air. “Think you can walk now, buddy?” He nods and I set him down, but he takes my hand as we make our way through the hospital and up to the second floor.

“It’s so bright in here!” Jack says, eyes wildly tracking all the people we pass. We make our way into the small lecture room, and I get Jack and me situated in two seats in the back corner.

“Y/N! Who’s your friend?” Jenna says, making her way over to us.

“I’m Jack!” Jack says with a grin, bouncing in his seat.

“Nice to meet you, Jack. I’m Jenna!” Jenna looks at me with raised eyebrows and mutters, “Do you have a kid we don’t know about?”

I chuckle, “No, he’s my…friend’s kid. I’m just watching him while his dad is out of town.”

“Well, you two must be really good friends,” Jenna says and winks at me, and my cheeks grow hot. Jack soon commandeers the attention of the whole class and he’s telling them all about playing fetch with Cujo yesterday. Dr. Pratt comes in shortly thereafter, and even she cannot resist Jack’s infectious energy. We start class ten minutes late because of it. I get Jack’s DVD player set up and his headphones plugged in and he’s contently watching Star Wars while I’m frantically taking notes on Dr. Pratt’s lecture and asking questions at every opportunity. Jack quietly asks for a snack about halfway through, and I’m glad that I keep a bag of Goldfish in my bag for emergencies. Thankfully, the pictures aren’t graphic today so I don’t have to worry about scarring Jack for the rest of his life. Class is over before I know it, and as everyone is packing up, I tell Jack I’ll be right back.

“Dr. Pratt?” I ask.

“Yes, Y/N? What can I do for you?”

“I’m really sorry about Jack. His dad didn’t have anyone else to watch him so I volunteered.” Dr. Pratt chuckles.

“Y/N, Jack was lovely, feel free to bring him again if you’d like. He was not a problem at all.” I let out a breath and thank her, making my way through the now almost empty room to pack my stuff up. Jack pauses his movie, yawns, and stretches, and I put his DVD player away.

“What do you say we get lunch, buddy?” I ask Jack as we make our way out of the hospital and into the humid air.

“Yes! Lunch lunch lunch!” He practically skips back to the car, I help him in, set my backpack in the passenger seat, get in the driver’s seat, and he’s suddenly quiet.

“Jack? You okay?” He looks shy as I glance back at him in the rearview mirror.

“Can we get McDonald’s?” He asks, his voice quiet.

“You know what, yeah, we can get McDonald’s!” He cheers and I smile to myself as I put the car in drive and make my way to the nearest McDonald’s. I get him a chicken nugget kid’s meal, as per his request, and I get my favorite meal from McDonald’s. Jack asked if we could get hot fudge sundaes, and I couldn’t resist, so those may have snuck into our order. By the time we’re done with lunch, it’s almost 2:00 PM, and Jack is falling asleep in his chair. “You need a nap?” I ask, and he furiously shakes his head no. I laugh, “Well, I think I need a nap, let’s get you home, okay?”

Sure enough, he falls asleep in the car on the drive home, not rousing as I gently carry him to his room. I run back to the car to get my backpack, not wanting it to get stolen from my car, and I put on a tank top and shorts, open a few windows, and take Cujo out back. I fall asleep in a plastic chair while sitting in the shade, and wake up when Jack shakes my arm.

“Y/N, wake up!”

“Huh? Oh, hi.” I say and rub my eyes. “What time is it?”

“Four o’clock!”

“Oh jeez, we slept for a long time!”

“Play legos with me, please?” I nod and stretch my stiff body as I get up from the chair. Jack drags his legos into the living room, we play for about an hour, Jack makes a Lego car, while I make a little house. My build looks shoddy and colorful, while Jack’s is more put together than mine.

The rest of the evening is quiet. I make dinner - frozen pizza this time - and afterward, Jack takes a shower, and I let him know the plan for tomorrow.

“So, you have to go back to school tomorrow.” Jack groans. “I know, it’s no fun. Your dad says the bus picks you up at 7:50, I’ll be up way before that, I have to go to clinical tomorrow so I have to get ready for that.” He looks confused.

“What’s clinical?”

“Oh! It’s hands-on learning. So I shadow a nurse in the hospital and they teach me the ropes. It’s really fun!”

“Cool!”

“Okay, so, I’ll see you off on the bus. My clinical gets out at 2:00, so I’ll be home before you get home.”

“Okay.” Jack yawns. I tuck him in.

“Goodnight, Jack.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.” This time when I leave, I make note of the toy truck so I don’t almost trip over it again. I take a quick shower after I lock the house up and close the windows. I lay out my scrubs for tomorrow, and make sure my clinical bag is packed and ready to go. I set my alarm for 6:30 AM, already dreading it, but I’m asleep soon after my head hits the pillow.

Wednesday morning is a blur. I’m frantically making breakfast, trying to eat it, let Cujo outside, then back inside, fill up his food dish and water dish, get Jack ready for school while also keeping an eye on the time, and by the time Jack gets on the bus I feel like I need a nap. I don’t have time for one though, as I’m out of the door by 8:00 AM.

-START OF CLINICAL DAY, THEREFORE MEDICAL TERMS AND CHILDBIRTH -

When I get to the hospital, I shuck my clinical bag over my shoulder and once again make the long trek from the back parking lot to the front entrance. The Labor and Delivery, or L&D, unit is on the third floor, and I swipe my badge to get in before I meet Dr. Anshaw in our meeting room. I’m shadowing Erin today, who’s a nurse practitioner and can deliver babies by herself if the need arises, and I get my shift change notes from her before meeting our patient in room seven.

“Angie? Is it okay if I bring in Y/N, my student nurse?” I hear Erin ask from inside the room as I patiently wait outside.

“Of course, bring as many students as you want!” Angie says with a laugh. I step into the room and introduce myself.

“Hello, Angie, my name is Y/N Y/L/N and I’m going to be your student nurse today. Can I please get your full name and date of birth?”

“Angie Lewis, January 8th, 1980.”

“Perfect,” I say as I check her wristband. “Do you know where you are right now?”

“Stafford Hospital. And it’s early spring.” She says, winking at me.

“You’re ahead of the game! On a scale of 1 to 10, one being no pain at all and ten being the worst pain you’ve felt in your life, where are you at right now?”

“Probably a six.”

“Erin, what stage is she in?” I ask as I turn to wash my hands in the sink on the wall.

“Almost to active labor. She was 5cm the last time I checked.”

“Angie, are we excited to meet the baby?” I ask and smile at her.

“So excited!”

“Are you a first-time mom?” 

“Second time!”

“So this one will be a breeze!” I wink at her and she laughs.

“Well, hopefully, my husband won’t pass out this time!” I laugh at that.

“Happens a lot more than you think!” I pull on a pair of gloves and look to Erin for reassurance. “Is it okay if I check your cervix, to see how dilated you are?”

“Go right ahead, sweetie.” She gives me a soft smile and it eases my nerves a little bit. I check her cervix.

“Almost at six! You’re about to hit active labor!” I discard my gloves and wash my hands again as Erin double-checks and affirms what I felt.

“We’ll be back in a little bit, Angie. Hit the call button if you need us!” Erin says, and I trail her out the door. “Very nice, Y/N, she’s comfortable around you.” I get sheepish at that.

“I just like what I do, that’s all,” I say and shrug, and Erin smiles at me before saying,

“Don’t downplay your abilities. You’re already a wonderful nurse.” I help her with some charting in the break room and about an hour later I’m knocking on Angie’s door to see how she’s doing.

“Angie, how are we doing?” I’m met with the sound of controlled breathing - her husband is currently coaching her through a contraction. I’m washing my hands and pulling on gloves as they finish.

“I’m okay. Active labor hit about ten minutes ago I think. Contractions are stronger and closer together, the pressure in my back is killing me.” She says. “Richard, can you put my hair in a braid please?”

Her husband jumps to her aid, pulling a hair tie off of his wrist and holding it in between his teeth as he braids her hair. Once he’s done I ask Angie if I can check her cervix again.

“Seven centimeters, you are moving along quite quickly, Angie!”

“Thank god, I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever.” She lets out a breathless laugh.

“Are we wanting an epidural?” I ask, discarding my gloves and washing my hands again. Angie shakes her head no. “Erin and I will be in a half hour. Use your call light if you need us or change your mind about that epidural, okay?” She nods, relaxing back on the bed, in between contractions.

Thirty minutes fly by, and Erin checks in on Angie, her contractions are about four minutes apart still, and she’s only 8cm dilated. Another thirty minutes go by, and Angie is now 9cm dilated and feeling a lot of pressure in her back and butt.

“Y/N?” Angie asks, wiping her forehead. “Will you stay with me? I’d feel better if I had a nurse here. I have a feeling it’s going to happen soon.”

“Of course, I’ll stay with you,” I say, pulling up a chair. Angie begins to distract herself, telling me stories of her other child, Lily, who turns four in a couple of months. She stops when the contractions hit, then resumes her stories. They seem to calm her down, and Richard chimes in now and then. It’s not very long after before Angie says,

“I feel like I need to push.” I jump up, press the call light, wash my hands, and put gloves on. Erin walks in.

“Angie says she feels like she needs to push.” Erin nods, and now it’s her turn to wash her hands.

“Go ahead and check her, Y/N.” I do as she tells me.

“10cm dilated and fully effaced. I can feel baby’s head.” I say. Erin nods, grabbing the sterile towels and blankets, and setting them up before paging the doctor on call.

“Y/N, you want to take the lead on this one?” I blink at her in surprise. I’ve never coached a woman through birth on my own yet. Erin just looks at me and I nod, situating myself at the end of the bed. I’ll move when the doctor gets here.

“I want to push,” Angie says.

“Do you want the stirrups?” Angie nods, and I swing them out, helping her legs get situated. “Dad, come and help me here.” Richard jumps up, already assuming his position on Angie’s right leg. Erin is on the other leg. “Erin, when is Dr. Rawlins going to get here?”

“He’s not answering his pager.”

“Are there any other L&D doctors on call?” Erin pauses and shakes her head. “Well, it looks like it’s just you and me, Angie.” She nods. “When you feel a contraction come on, I want you to take a deep breath in and hold it, bear down, and push until I tell you to let up, okay?”

“Okay, one’s coming on now.”

“Let’s do this, Angie, deep breath in. Hold it. Okay, push, push, push. Good! Let up and take a little break.” We do this for a few minutes, and the baby is moving, slowly but surely. The baby starts to crown and Angie insists that she can’t do it. “Angie, you’ve got this. You’re a strong woman, you can do anything. Come on, deep breath in, hold it, bear down and push! Yes! Head is out, good job Angie! Bear down for me again, and push!” My hands are ready and as Angie’s baby is delivered, I catch her newborn in my hands, rubbing her with a towel as she opens up her mouth and cries as she joins the world. Erin’s already pulling part of Angie’s gown down and when her baby is relatively clean, I carefully place her on Angie’s exposed skin. The baby continues to cry, and Angie and Richard start to cry as well.

“You did good,” Erin whispers to me. A little while later the cord is cut by Richard, and the placenta is delivered, and that’s when Dr. Rawlins decides to show up. Dr. Rawlins is notorious for never being where you need him. Erin and I exchange a look as Dr. Rawlins assesses the situation, gives his good wishes to the happy parents, and leaves again. Typical. We get Angie situated to spend some time with her new baby. Angie thanks us both profusely. “Hey, don’t thank me, Y/N did all the work!” Erin says with a smile. I get shy.

“What are you going to name her?” I ask.

“Felicity.”

“That’s beautiful!” Angie gives me a tired smile and Erin and I take our leave after cleaning up.

“So, what did you think, taking the lead?” Erin asks, grinning at me.

“Can I curse?” She lets out a laugh and nods. “That was fucking awesome.”

“Good. I mean it - you did well. Now you’ll have an adrenaline high for the rest of the day!”

And she’s right, I feel great the rest of the day, and before I head back to Hotch’s house, I check in on Angie one last time.

“Hey, Angie, I’m heading out for the day. Thank you for giving me the chance to learn from you today.” I say quietly, taking note of Richard and Felicity passed out on the makeshift couch bed.

“No, thank you, Y/N. You kept me sane.” She grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Thank you.

-END OF CLINICAL DAY, NOTHING GRAPHIC AFTER THIS! tl;dr - Y/N helps a woman give birth and she thinks it's really cool! -

I head out to the parking lot and back to my car, getting home around 2:30, with plenty of time to shower before Jack gets off the bus. I strip off my scrubs and throw them in Hotch’s washer. I’m sure he won’t mind. I feel like an idiot trying to get it to work though, but I finally figure it out. I shower quickly, thinking back on my experience during clinical. I love shadowing Erin as she allows me a lot of freedom to interact with the patient, but getting to deliver a baby? That’s an adrenaline high I’m still trying to come off of. I step out of the shower, drying my hair some before slipping into my pajamas. I’m not going anywhere else today, I’m wiped. I let Cujo out back and wait for Jack to get off the bus. He’s right on time and sprints up the driveway to the front door, which I open for him.

“Y/N!” He shouts, as he drops his backpack and wraps his arms around me.

“Oh! Hey, Jack! How was school?”

“So much fun! We got to watch a movie today!”

“That’s so exciting!” He then looks at me and furrows his brow.

“Why are you in your pajamas already?” He asks, giggling.

“I already took my shower! I had a fun day at school too, and I needed to relax!”

“What did you do at school today?” He asks, eyes wide, and I chuckle at his comical face.

“I delivered a baby today!”

“GROOOOSSSSS!” He groans, running off to the back door to join Cujo outside. I smile to myself as I shut the front door and lock it. Jack is occupied by Cujo for the better part of an hour before he comes back inside and asks to play a game. We settle on Candyland, and the competition is cutthroat. I’m not going to lose just because I’m playing against a child. It was a close game, but Jack eventually won and gloated about it before stopping and asking for dinner. We do mac and cheese tonight. I cut up some fresh fruit while the noodles are boiling, and when it’s time to mix the mac and cheese, Jack asks to stir. I hold the pot so he can reach it and he furiously stirs the mac and cheese before letting me resume stirring it on the burner so the butter and cheese will actually melt and mix. We eat quietly, and before I know it it’s Jack’s bedtime. I tuck him in, and as I’m about to turn off the light, my phone chimes. It’s a text from Hotch.

“Jack, your dad will be back really late tonight!”

“Yay! I miss him.” Me too, buddy. Me too. I turn off the light and shut the door and head downstairs. I pull out my textbook and notes as I have a huge test next week and I want to do well on it. I’m so engrossed studying that when I check the time it’s already 10 PM. I hear the soft pad of feet that cannot be Cujo’s, as he’s already asleep on the couch. I turn and see Jack standing at the end of the couch and he yawns as he rubs his eyes.

“I had a nightmare and can’t fall back asleep.” He says softly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, come and sit with me.” I peel my blanket off my lap and he wordlessly slides in right next to me. I tuck my arm around him. “Do you want to talk about it?” He shakes his head no. “Okay, well, you can sit here as long as you like.” Within twenty minutes, he’s snoring softly, head tucked against my chest. I continue to study, and I don’t remember falling asleep.

A hand on my knee gently shakes me awake. I blink open my eyes and find Jack sprawled across me, half in my lap, my hand resting on his head that’s resting on my chest and when my eyes finally adjust to the soft light on the side table light I find myself looking at Hotch.

“Oh! Hi!” I whisper, voice scratchy. “What time is it?”

“Three. Jack has certainly gotten comfortable with you.” He says with a soft smile.

“Nightmare. We didn’t intend to fall asleep.”

“I can tell that by the textbook that’s still open in your lap.” I give him a sheepish smile, and he helps me push back the blanket covering Jack and I. Jack’s at an awkward angle, one that Hotch can’t comfortably carry him in, so I get off the couch slowly, Jack never wakes up, just clings to me like a baby sloth, ankles locking around my back as I take him to his room and tuck him in. When I turn to make my way out of his bedroom, Hotch is watching me with a curious expression on his face, one that I can’t quite place. He quickly schools his face into neutrality, moving out of the doorframe so I can leave the room and shut the door behind me.

“Tough case?” I ask, trailing him back to the kitchen as he opens the fridge and grabs the rest of the fruit that Jack and I didn’t eat for dinner.

“Just long.” He says with a sigh, unceremoniously shoving fruit into his mouth. “I can’t thank you enough for watching Jack.”

“Oh please, you don’t have to thank me. I had fun. He’s a sweet kid.” Hotch smiles to himself. “He’s lucky to have you as a father.” I watch as pink colors his cheeks. He clears his throat,

“Y/N, it just occurred to me, and I’m so sorry I didn’t ask sooner, but, where is your family from? Do you have family around here?” I’m a little jolted by the sudden attention on me, but I answer his question anyway knowing that he’s just deflecting from my compliment.

“I don’t have any family around here. We’re from all over though, my baba and I never stayed in one place for too long.”

“Your baba?”

“Sorry, that’s what I call my dad.” I shrug, a little embarrassed.

“Where is your dad now?”

“I’m not sure. He was always away on business trips when I was little, so I had to fend for myself a lot. My mom died when I was three, never really had extended family, so it was just me and Baba.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t remember her, though my dad says I look like her.”

“Do you have pictures of your family?”

“That’s the weird part - I don’t have pictures of either of my parents. My dad hated them, never took them, and never wanted to be in them. Sometimes I feel myself forgetting what he looks like, but I know if I see him in a crowd I would still be able to recognize him. When my dad disappeared for good when I was fifteen, I didn’t have anything to remember him by.” I pick at my cuticles as I overexplain the situation.

“Oh. That’s horrible.”

“Eh, it’s okay. My gut tells me he’s still alive, but I don’t know if I want to see him again after all these years. There was always something about him, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. His name was Isaac Smith, but I knew that wasn’t his real name. It’s like he was hiding himself and his life from me. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever know who he really was.”

“Well, I hope you find out someday. You know, for closure.”

“Yeah, me too.” He regards me, studying the planes of my face, brows furrowed as though he’s trying to figure something out.

“When I first saw you, you reminded me of someone I know, but I can’t quite figure out who.” He shakes his head. “Oh well, maybe it’ll come to me.”

“Well, if you figure it out, let me know,” I say with a chuckle.

“Hey, why don’t we have Garcia do some research on you? Try and find out who your dad is?” I swallow hard and the movement doesn’t go unnoticed by him.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

He nods. “I respect that. But if you ever are ready, let me know, she’d happily do anything for you.”

“Thanks,” I say with a yawn.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m keeping you awake, aren’t I?”

“I don’t mind,” I say with a soft smile. “I delivered a baby today.” I don’t know why I want to tell him that, why I feel the urge to tell him everything about my life, but I’ll give into it anyway. His eyes widen.

“You delivered a baby?” I nod, grinning. “That’s so cool! Did you like it?”

“The adrenaline is like no other. It was a baby girl, the mom was so nice to me.”

“Of course she was, you’re like…like a shining beam of sun, lighting up wherever you go.” He says the last part quietly, not looking me in the eyes as if he wasn’t sure if he was going to say it or not. I feel my cheeks grow hot.

“Thank you,” I say thickly, and then yawn again.

“Okay, time for you to go to bed too, come on.” He says as he puts the fruit back in the fridge.

“What, are you gonna tuck me in?” I say with a mischievous grin.

“Only if I can read you a bedtime story.” He shoots back, mirroring my smile. I let out a soft laugh and he leaves me in the doorframe of the guest bedroom. “Thank you, Y/N. You saved my life this week.”

“Anytime, Hotch.”

“You can call me Aaron, you know.” I blink in surprise. “Hotch is fine, but you’re welcome to call me Aaron.”

“Okay…Aaron.”

-

chapter five - coming soon!

-

TAG LIST (want to be added? click here!): @iameternallylonely @morgthemagpie @mrs-ssa-hotch @angelmather1 @laubeck10 @rousethemouse @scarlett-jade3 @ssalinaprentiss @alexa-33 @ill-be-okay-soon-enough

[crystalninjaphoenix]

MerMay 2024 Day Twenty-Two The Last Resort

They didn’t want to meet at the Institute of Marine Biology, just in case someone from TridentCorp saw Lise heading there and thought it was suspicious. Luckily, the group soon found a location that would work for everyone. A small, rocky island just off the mainland. Too small and stony for the humans to do much on it. So one day, early in the morning, three boats gathered near it and humans stepped onto the ground.

Chase grabbed the rocky edge of the island and pulled himself onto it, sitting with his tail hanging off the side. Anti stayed in the water, but he didn’t hide away. Even as all the humans started gathering close by. “Well... it is... lovely to see you all again,” Lise said awkwardly.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Ollie replied.

Stacy and Roxy stood next to each other. The kids had wanted to come, too, but Stacy insisted they stay on the boat. She wanted to forbid them from coming, but knew that they had a knack for stowing away, so decided this was the second best thing. “So... h-how have they been?” Stacy asked.

“Your mermaid friends?” Lise asked.

“Merms,” Chase said.

Lise jumped. “Right, right. Um, merms. I... think they have been alright. More or less. There was an incident yesterday... They were, ah, doing an examination.” She shook her head, looking disgusted. “There was no need for the samples,” she muttered.

“Samples?!” Chase repeated, alarmed.

“They are more or less alright,” Lise insisted.

Anti growled. Chase instinctively lifted his tail out of the water, just in case the electric eel decided to pulse.

Lise looked over at Anti. “O-oh. You are... the eel from before. Ah, I am... sorry. About everything. W-we did not think you were, um...” She cleared her throat. “Glad to see that you are okay.”

Anti just stared at her. He nodded slowly, not saying anything. Despite being able to speak English ever since the transformation.

“Dr. Ester,” Roxy said. “Pardon my language, but how the hell did TridentCorp manage to kidnap five merms? Chase and Anti have told us there was an incident with a net, but why did they know to drop the net in the first place?!”

Lise winced. “We had tagged fish that we took in to study before, but recently we’d been experimenting with tags that give off radio waves. It seems that Chase and, ah... Anti?” She glanced at the two merms. “They had some of those. For a long time, I convinced others that we were content to know where they were, but Mr. Visser got impatient. He wanted another lifeform to show off, so he sent a seaplane to catch one of the radio signals. It was bad luck that they were all gathered together.”

“Lise,” Chase said. “What do we do? We have to get them out of there! Th-they’re my—my friends.”

“I know,” Lise said quietly.

“Uh... do you need a getaway vehicle?” Ollie asked. “I’m a great sailor. And I’ve probably already been seen by these guys, so like... no one else would get in trouble.”

Lise shook her head. “Security has been increased. All entrances to the C-SAHL are equipped with keycard scanners, and every inch from the dock to the building are covered in cameras. We have hired more personnel, too, and they have been told to be better safe than sorry with checking out violations.”

“Meaning... they check security breaches even if it’s some random guy causing an accident?” Ollie clarified.

“Exactly.” Lise reached into her bag. “I have with me some copies of the building blueprints.”

Stacy raised an eyebrow. “How did you get those?”

“I was in charge of building the whole thing. I had these before the security increased. But I have added markings where the cameras I know are. But I also know there are ones I have missed.” She spread them out on the rocky ground, and all the others gathered around. Even Anti grabbed onto the side of the rock and pulled himself up for a better look.

“What if you steal a keycard that we can use to get in?” Stacy asked.

“Not possible. We are instructed to keep them on us at all time, and if we somehow lose them, we go straight to security and they deactivate the card.”

Anti grumbled. “Why don’t we just fucking storm in?”

Lise looked at him in surprise. “We have up to one hundred security guards on-site, that’s why. We wouldn’t get far at all, especially if we have to take five merms out.”

“Overkill, much?” Roxy asked. “Alright. What if we...”

The group all talked for a while. The sun beat down on the rocky island, moving slowly through the sky. Every solution they came up with was rebutted by Lise’s explanation of their new security protocols. They couldn’t bust the five merms out in a grand heist. They couldn’t sneak them out one by one. They couldn’t replace the merms with some sort of decoys.

“We just... don’t have the resources,” Stacy finally concluded. “Even with the Institute helping. We can’t sneak them out.”

A grim silence fell. Chase glanced towards the boat Stacy and Roxy came on. He saw Sereia and Muirin duck under the railings—trying to hide how they were listening in. Maybe... if they could use some sort of magic... Those wish talismans, maybe? Chase opened his mouth to mention that—

“Why do they want merms, anyway?” Anti asked.

Lise looked at him. “Well... I always wanted to learn more about fish. They are incredible animals. So when I heard there were mermaids that might exist, I-I wanted to learn more about them, and protect them. But... that is not what TridentCorp as a whole wants. They are a business. They make money. Their scientific endeavors are all towards things that they can gain something from.” Her tone was decidedly bitter. “Their plan now that Visser has taken over the project is not to protect the merms. I believe they are working on some special aquarium plan. And seeing if there is anything else merms can do that they can sell.”

Chase’s stomach dropped. For a moment, he couldn’t say anything. But he cleared his throat and tried anyway. “And... if they make this aquarium... is there no way to stop them?”

Lise shook her head. “It will be very difficult.”

“Maybe... maybe our way to get the other five back,” Stacy said slowly, “is to find some way to stop the aquarium project.”

“How?” Ollie asked.

Chase sighed. “If we had more humans who could help, we could do it, I just know.”

Roxy coughed. “Well... the Institute already knows. It... wouldn’t be too hard for us to reach out to other similar organizations. Oceana, MarineBio, World Wildlife—I mean, merms aren’t wildlife, but it should be similar enough—”

“You want more humans to know about us?!” Anti blurted out, eyes wide and fear evident in his voice.

“Not all humans, just the ones who would help,” Roxy said.

“It could work,” Lise said slowly.

“But it’s only a matter of time before someone in one of those organizations spills the beans,” Stacy pointed out. “If we tell others, it will spread eventually.”

“No—No!” Anti swam backwards through the water. “N-no!” He suddenly dived under, disappearing.

Chase watched him go, then turned back to the others. “I, uh... should keep an eye on him,” he said. “But for now... let’s consider that... a last resort?”

Stacy nodded gravely. “We’ll talk more about this later.”

Chase nodded back, then dove into the water and swam after Anti.

[just-dino-maggie]

Prompts List

“Honestly, I rather die than stay in the same room as him”

“What the hell are you doing in my house at 3 in the morning?”

“I can’t believe I have to do this work with him”

“You’re so fucking annoying! And- wait, are you hurt?”

“Why is it so hard for you to admit that I’m better than you?” “Who said it’s hard for me?”

“Are we…” “Friends?” “Yup, that was definitely what I was about to say”

“Are you guys dating?” “No, I hate him” “Really? Because he was praising you so much the other night” “He was what?” “Oh, so you care?” “No! I don’t, I couldn’t care less”

“Why do you guys hate each other so much?” “He’s just annoying” “She’s too damn pretty… I mean, boring”

“I know I’ve hurt you, but please, only for today try to understand me, I’m not asking for your forgiveness… well, kinda, but-” “You don’t need to ask that, I already forgave you a long time ago”

“I hate him, I definitely hate him, who does he think he is to kiss me after all he did?” “I know that wasn’t nice, but why are you so nervous right now? You could just pushed him away like always” “Because I’ve might liked it”

“I’m freaking out, at the beginning it was fun to tease her, but now it’s just scary, I am feeling things when she looks at me”

“Are they fighting again?” “Worse, they’re kissing”

“Sometimes I hate you so much that things get confused in my mind, like right now, I was almost pulling you in to a kiss”

“Things were easier when you hated me back”

“Not gonna lie, you angry actually makes me feel… hot”

“When you’re shut up I almost like you”

“Wait a minute, did you just choke on your whiskey because (Y/N) is dating that asshole?”

“Today was weird” “Super” “But I kinda liked it dancing with you”

“I know I shouldn’t, but I’m falling for you”

“You’re making me dizzy, and not because of the usual reasons”

“Love’s certainly more complicated than I’ve ever thought”

“Yesterday I realized I miss you”

“Why don’t you hate me anymore!” “cause every single good memory I have, you’re there”

“We should talk about what just happened” “I refuse to talk about how I just lost control and kissed you”

“You’re my motivation every single day”

“Dare me again, and I’ll break you off”

“I’ve never been in love with someone but you, always you.”

“What are you talking about? We’re best friends!”

“C’mon, what are you guys even talking about? We’re nothing more than friends” “Well, what was that kiss another day then?” “A friendship kiss…?”

“Are you… jealous?”

“Did you just kiss me?”

“One last thing before I go, you really didn’t notice all those signs I gave to you?”

“If I stay here tonight and sleep by your side again, I won’t be able to control myself, not today”

“You’ve always been more than a friend to me, I just didn’t had the courage to admit it, and now I’ve lost you”

“Do you remember? When we were twelve? We promised to marry each other, being honest, I always hoped you wouldn’t broke this promise”

“I think I messed things up, I’m not in love with her, I’m in love with (Y/N)”

“We should stop pretending” “Pretending?” “That we’re just friends”

“I want to ruin our friendship”

“We’re only friends, stop being a pain in the ass” “Well, he wasn’t talking about you as a friend yesterday” “He did what?”

“I don’t care about who’s she’s hanging out with, she can do whatever she wants” “Even if she’s hanging out with your archenemy?” “I beg your pardon?”

“So, for how long are we gonna pretend we don’t love each other more than friends?”

“You’ve been my best friend for all these years, and I’m really grateful for everything you did to me, but I can’t stay here watching you fall in love with someone else, because the truth is… I’m in love with you”

“Everytime I look at you I feel my heart breaking, because I need you, desperately, and you never notice”

“Am I an end-of-party love to you? ”

“Don’t cry, you don’t need to hide your feelings, I feel the same”

“Well, since we were kids I planned to marry you someday”

“I’ve been waiting forever to hear that”

“Sometimes I allow myself to imagine a future where we are together, a future where I can hold your hand and bring you closer and when I’d smile to you, you’d call me ‘love’, a future where I am more than a friend ”

“Yes, I’ll clean your mess once again, I’ll do it, but not because we are friends, because I am fucking in love with you”

“There’ll be a day where I’ll look at you and all this pain will be gone”

“Fuck, I’m sorry okay? But I can’t hide my feelings anymore”

“Did you just… wait, you love me?”

“Dance in the rain with you will always be my favorite thing in the world, cause in those moments, I feel like you love me back”

[onetomb-art]

Step, Drag

A Doll finds something unusual, voting ensues! (tw for mild slur use, about 1300 words long)

Step. Draaaaag. Step. Draaaaag. Step. Draaaaaaaag.

<Z-Cptn> You know, this is just like that one campfire story. With the escaped inmate?

<DosEquis> not helping

<Hi5> Campfire story? Do tell, you’ve piqued my interest!

<DosEquis> guys can this wait

<Z-Cptn>  Oh i can’t remember all the details, but it was something about an escaped serial killer on the loose in a summer camp, but he was still handcuffed to a cop, so he had to drag the body, and it was all like. Step. Draaaaag. Step, Draaaaag.

<Hi5>  Fascinating!

<DosEquis> guys i think hes really hurt

<777> Zee you dumbass thats not how it goes! 

<777> Its supposed to be a prisoner with one of those old-timey ball and chains on his leg

<Z-Cptn> What? Since when?

<777> Since fuckin always, who drags around a dead cop? You can break handcuffs like, so fuckin easily.

<Sixaphone> you can?

<Hi5> I don’t believe that’s correct, dear Sev. Handcuffs are made of quality materials, or else suspects would always be getting out of them, don’t you think?

<777> BULLSHIT

<777> Cuffs are fuckin weaksauce its just a chain link, plus you see people break them in movies all the time

<Z-Cptn> Movies are different from real life.

<777> Movies are basically real life!!! Movies are more real than real life, fuckin fight me

<Z-Cptn> [Called a vote: “Are movies the same as real life?”]

<Z-Cptn> [voted]

<777> [voted]

<Sixaphone> [voted]

<Hi5> [voted]

<777> …

<777> well?!?

<Z-Cptn> Hang on, it's tied.

<Z-Cptn> @<DosEquis> We need you to vote.

<DosEquis> are you fucking kidding me

<777> Dont be such a fuckin killjoy babe! It takes like, two seconds

<DosEquis> hes hurt bad i dont have time for this

<777> Dude hes like. Wayyyyyyy dead. Just leave him there and vote so i can show everyone what a fuckin idiot Zee is

<DosEquis> hes not dead

<DosEquis> i saw him move

<DosEquis> [voted]

[Vote concluded. Vote results: 40% “Obviously Not”,  60% “Yes(???)”. “Yes(???)” is the victor with five votes counted.]

<777> YES

<777> FUCK YES

<Z-Cptn> What???

<Hi5> Who would possibly vote “Yes”?

<777> SMART PEOPLE!!

<777> THATS FUCKIN WHO!!!1!

<DosEquis> i just clicked to get rid of the popup

<777> STILL COUNTS!!!!

<Z-Cptn> Wait, then that means that @<Sixaphone> voted for you too.

<Z-Cptn>  @<Sixaphone>, you don’t actually think movies are real life, do you?

<Sixaphone> um

<Sixaphone> no

<Sixaphone> i just

<777> JEEZ Zee lay off her thats like, voter intimidation its hella illegal you could go to jail

<Sixaphone> wait what

<Z-Cptn> Its not “voter intimidation”, i just wanted to make sure she knows the difference between *fiction* and *reality*.

<Sixaphone> please dont send Miss Zero to jail

<Sixaphone> im sorry

<777> Youre fine Six, its an expression

<Z-Cptn> I’m not going to jail, don’t worry. Seven was just attempting to make a crude joke. 

<Sixaphone> oh, ok

<Sixaphone> sorry

<TriAsIMight> Good morning everyooone!!!

<TriAsIMight> What’d I miss???

<Hi5> Oh, Salutations! We were having a discussion about movies and campfire stories! Would you like a recap?

<Sixaphone> good morning!

<TriAsIMight> WAIT 

<TriAsIMight> IS THAT A DEAD BODY???

<777> yes!

<DosEquis> no.

<Z-Cptn> We’re not quite sure, actually.

<TriAsIMight> WHAT

<TriAsIMight> EXPLAIN?!?

<777> Twos been on a murder spree, its been like fuckin rambo first blood over here

<TriAsIMight> ???

<Z-Cptn> That is blatantly incorrect.

<Hi5> I thought that the entire point of the “Rambo: First Blood” film was that the titular character did *not* go on a murder spree.

<777> Never seen it tbh

<Z-Cptn> There’s not really that much to explain, really. Two was piloting, in salvage mode, digging through some of the old office blocks, when she found this guy collapsed in a pile of blood. Recovery protocol kicked in, and now she’s attempting to drag the guy to safety. Does that seem about right, @<DosEquis>?

<DosEquis> left out the part where hes heavy as fuck

<DosEquis> but yeah

<DosEquis> basically

<TriAsIMight> JEEEZ

<TriAsIMight> That is effed up!!!

<DosEquis> thank you holy shit finally

<TriAsIMight> That sounds so stressful like what the F!!!

<DosEquis> THANK you

<DosEquis> im over here trying to save this guys life while yall are calling votes over dumb shit

<TriAsIMight> I can’t believe you all!!! Discussing movies and even calling a vote while Two is out there risking her life to save a person she doesn’t even know!!! Shame on you all!!!

<777> Ugh, youre not our fuckin mom, fuck OFF with all that shit

<Hi5> I agree with Seven, the lecture is hardly necessary. 

<Z-Cptn> Come on now. 

<TriAsIMight> We have to do something!!!

<Z-Cptn> Why don’t we ask her if she needs help with anything first. @<DosEquis>?

<DosEquis> i dont know what yall could do right now im

<DosEquis> hang on

<DosEquis> uh oh

<TriAsIMight> uh oh???

<DosEquis> theres a ladder

<Hi5> Ah, so there is. That could prove troublesome with your heavy new friend, I’m afraid.

<DosEquis> yeah i just

<DosEquis> im not sure how to get him down safely

<777> Drop the fucker, i wanna see if he bounces

<DosEquis> what no

<DosEquis> maybe if i just

<DosEquis> no

<Z-Cptn> It doesn’t seem like that far of a drop, you could lower him down feet first and then drop him? You might break his ankles, but that seems like the least of his worries. 

<DosEquis> guys

<Z-Cptn> [Called a vote: “Should she drop him?”]

<777> [voted]

<DosEquis> seriously

<Z-Cptn> [voted]

<TriAsIMight> [voted]

<Hi5> [voted]

<Sixaphone> [voted]

<Z-Cptn> @<DosEquis> Are you going to vote?

<DosEquis> yall are assholes

<DosEquis> [voted]

[Vote concluded. Vote results: 50% “Drop him”,  50% “Try another way”. The vote is a tie with six votes counted.]

<777> Well that was fuckin pointless

<DosEquis> can we stop with all the votes this is really annoying when im trying to work

<DosEquis> im gonna tie a rope to his waist i just gotta find a rope

<Z-Cptn> Voting is a useful tool for quick decision making!

<Hi5> Well said, hear hear!

<TriAsIMight> Don’t you all think the voting is distracting for her??? 

<777> lol yeah 

<Z-Cptn> Distracting? It's one button push. 

<DosEquis> ok i found some rope and ive got him tied

<DosEquis> gonna lower him down now

<Hi5> Ah, the moment of truth! Drumroll, everyone…

<TriAsIMight> Shut up, let her concentrate!!!

<777> Fuck off youre not the boss of me you dumb bimbo

<TriAsIMight> HEY???

<Z-Cptn> Play nice you two.

<777> Yeah, play nice you fucking piece o

<777> HOLY SHIT

<TriAsIMight> OH MY GOSH NO!!!

<Hi5> Oh dear.

<DosEquis> fuck

<DosEquis> the rope snapped

<Sixaphone> is he okay?

<777> HES TOTALLY FUCKIN DEAD BITCH

<Sixaphone> oh no

<Z-Cptn> We don’t know that, Two can you peek over the edge so we can see how hes doing?

<DosEquis> i dont want to

<777> Congrats on your first successful snuff film babe, this ones going on liveleak!

<Z-Cptn> Seven cut it out. Two, i need you to peek over the edge for me.

<DosEquis> no

<777> DO IT DO IT DO IT

<DosEquis> no i really dont want to

<TriAsIMight> We can’t help him if we can’t see him, you have to be brave!!!

<DosEquis> fucking fine

<777> YES YES YES YES

<Hi5> At least try to hide your murderboner, Seven. 

<777> BITE ME

<777> Aw

<TriAsIMight> He looks like he might be okay!!! That bush looks like it cushioned his fall…

<DosEquis> thank fuck 

<Sixaphone> he moved

<DosEquis> wait holy shit youre right

<DosEquis> hes moving

<TriAsIMight> Hes alive!!!

<DosEquis> i think he sees me

<Z-Cptn> Is he saying something? He’s moving his mouth.

<DosEquis> yeah hang on let me give yall audio

<DosEquis> [Input audio source “not dead guy”]

[‘not dead guy’] -OU FUCKING RETARDED MACHINE WHAT THE FUCK YOU BROKE MY FUCKING RIBS YOU [Incomprehensible] ILL FUCKING HAVE YOU SCRAPPED WHO THE [Incomprehensible] [Incomprehensible] ILL 

<DosEquis> [Removed audio source “not dead guy”]

<DosEquis>...

<DosEquis>...

<DosEquis> [Called a vote: “Hey can i kill him?”]

[hotsexydorks]

🌀 Hypno Plot Ideas 🌀

Generic | Incest | Cheating/Cuck | Hypno  

“Mister Harrison?” The man looked up at him acknowledging his voice but nothing else. “Good the hypnosis worked.. now strip for me.”

“Who knew that catching boys on this internet BnB thing would be so easy. Shame he’s only staying for a few days.”

There he was, the once cocky alpha breeding stud now a cum hungry muscle pussy. Begging for men to find him and fuck his pussy whenever they liked.

Remember, always wear sun cream - cum

“Keep listening to my voice, relax, fall deeper and deeper into your sleep.”

When Master said to always have a cock in my mouth but there’s no one here.

“Come on boy, time for breakfast!”

Every night just like the genie said, your roommate would walk in. Unknowingly get on his knees and suck your cock. You could get used to this, or maybe more.

Once, he was the top dog of campus, the hot cock straight guy that showed off and bragged about how much pussy he pulled. Now here he is, pumping away at his loose hole with a thick dildo, live streaming and showing the world how much of a cock slut he is.

“Look at him, the dumb slut can’t even stay still for cum, he’s that much of a fucking useless dump around cock now.”

“Coach, I have an alteration suggestion to the team's uniform. What do you think?”

It had been a few months since the major’s son went missing. He was a good kid and everyone knew him, and got on with everyone. The whole town searched for days but no one found anything. He just vanished. Now, no one could recognise him as he turned up across different forums. Mindless hanging in a sling, about to be the centre of attention for a 24 hour live stream of sex and depravity.

“Hello Sir, I’m here to talk to you about the recent notice I received about my job termination. I would like to present an item to help you change your mind on that decision.”

“Time to present for your weekly performance inspection. We can’t have the team being damaged cause a player isn’t pulling their weight.”

“What did I say? One wish and your worries that guy at work would all disappear. Now, why don’t you send him a nice picture, show him how much of a good boy you want to be for him. Make sure you show him how smooth and tight your hole is too.”

“That’s it, reach back and spread those cheeks. You want to see the head priest you’ve got to go through all of us first, better go two at a time if you want to see him before this week is over.”

“Here, Gentlemen, we have subject #6. As you can see he is a smooth jock, hard and very tight. All hypnoed out and waiting for you to use him. With an added bonus, the highest bidder can have him addicted to their cock.”

“That’s it boy, keep jerking off, keep cumming, keep growing. The more you cum the bigger you’ll get. Can you feel how big you’ve already gotten?”

“So how does your first time taking dick feel, straight boy?”

“Come on slut , keep training that hole and that body. This is combining your two workouts, you should be thanking me slave.”

“That’s it, just relax to the sounds of my voice. You want to make your body perfect for your master.”

“Good afternoon gentlemen. Welcome to detention.”

“Good Morning Mr.Smith. I’m sure you’re wondering where you are, all you need to know is that this is the first day of your new life. You are no longer a blue collar worker, you are now a brand new sex slave.. Or you will be once we train you up.”

“Why is it crying?” “Well we thought that letting our product keep some of their sanity would be a new feature for those Masters who like a trained body but a struggling mind.” “We’ll take it.”

“Dude, how many of those unnamed sex drugs did you take!? You know there’s one going around that gives people cum for brains... Oh well, guess there’s no point in a hungry slut going to waste.”

“Maybe three drops of this fag maker drug was too much... or maybe it was just the right amount.”

A few of the ‘special’ beers, that’s all it took for the straight boys to be not so straight.

“Fu-- fuck yeah! Fuck me dude!” The best part about hypnotising any volunteer you wanted into a massive slut was you could do it over and over again.

“Mr.Jones...I know that tutoring classes are now all online but class still calls for you to wear... clothing..” “Sir I am wearing clothes, see. Get a good look so you don’t try call me out again.” 

[secretsofalifetime]

Avengers x Y/N: A Dizzy Spell Incident

Bucky Barnes x Y/N: enemies to lovers

Trigger warnings: Mainly fuff, a little romance, fainting and dizziness, and fake disease. this is my first time writing a fanfic so go easy on me pls :)

Summary: You have been Bucky's enemies since the beginning of time until Bucky finds out about your rare POTS *fake* disease and dizzy spells, as well as how you were battling with them during training and missions.

"You have got to be kidding me! Why her? There are so many others to pick from. Why her?" Bucky exclaimed. "Because she's the only one that is challenging enough for you" replied Steve. "I don't care if you like her or not, you are scheduled for simulated fight practice with her tomorrow at 11 AM, and you better be there." Bucky replied with a grumble before storming off to his room.

"Steve, really? You know how he treats me. Why in the world would you pair me up with him?", Y/N mumbled. Steve sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before replying, "I don't understand. Why are you both like this." Y/N grinned. "So he also gave you a hard time with this. You really should have known better than putting the both of us together for this drill." Y/N turns on her heel and walks out the door when Steve calls her name. "Y/N, this is mandatory, You better show up tomorrow." Y/N smile grew. "Don't worry about me. Worry about what condition Bucky will be in tomorrow when I'm finished with him."

Bucky up at the digital clock hanging on the wall and frowns. "Why isn't she here yet?", he voices. "Because she didn't want to ruin her day first thing in the morning by seeing your face, but for Steve, it seems like I'm just gonna have to deal with a crappy day." Y/N walks in holding her water bottle. Bucky let his eyes roam her body before quickly realizing what he just did. Lucky for him, you didn't catch him eyeing your matching black shirt and shorts that just seems to show off every single curve. Dropping off your water bottle at the bench, Y/N walked towards Bucky and prepared your stance before saying, "Listen, I don't have all day to do this. Let's quickly finish the drill within the hour so that we both can leave as soon as possible." Bucky's eyebrow propped up. "No stretching?" "Did it before coming here," Y/N retorted. "Didn't want to spend anymore time in here than I had too". "Why doll? Afraid I will bite?", Bucky smirked. Y/N bounced from side to side. "Nah, quite the opposite actually. Didn't want to scar that pretty face of yours more than I have to." Bucky rose to the roof with that comment. He walked towards Y/N, but of course she's not one to back down. "So you think I'm pretty." "No, I think your face is pretty, not your ego", was the last think Y/N said before punching Bucky square in the face. Bucky stumbled back a step before regaining his balance. "And now that pretty face of yours is bruised, just like that ego", Y/N stated with a smirk. And when I say, shit went down after that, I mean shit went down :)

3 hours later, and neither Avenger was at their breaking point. Y/N definitely missed her phone call from Nick Fury on her next mission, but that was the least of her worries right now. Right now, all she wanted, no NEEDED, was to defeat Bucky at this drill. But god, the way Bucky swings those knives around from one hand to hand is the most attractive thing in the world. Having fast reflexes turned Y/N on like nothing else, and the only reason she has extended the fight this long was to watch his concentrated focus on trying to stab her with those knives. A couple of faint footsteps were detected and Sam’s loud bark heard from the entrance of the training room. “Well this is a sight!”, Sam exclaimed. Nat elbowed him in the ribs to keep him quite, but that just made him louder. “Get him. Y/N! I’m rooting for you!”. Nat groaned and rolled her eyes. “They have been at this for hours now”, she said while eying her watch. “Bucky! Y/N! You guys need to stop!”. “NEVER!”, was never heard more perfectly in sync. “Ugh ok, well me and Sam are going to be training on the side”, Nat replied. “Holler when you win Y/N!”, Sam yelled as Nat dragged him away.

30 minutes later, and the fight was still going on. Bucky was so focused on the movement of Y/N body, the fight pattern in her steps and the sharpness in rough punches that he almost didn’t hear Y/N excessive breathing and see the glare over he eyes. “Y/N, its ok to except defeat,” Bucky smirked, “I can see that you are tired, we can stop.” Y/N gritted her teeth. “Keep. Going”. Instantly, Bucky’s concern skyrocketed and he tried to pause, but Y/N kept swiping at him, causing him to react in self-defense. “Y/N what is going on. You need to stop”. Bucky grabbed Y/N hand as she tried to punch him. Y/N instead pulled her hand out of his grasp and backpedaled for a fraction of a second and came at Bucky again. “I said. KEEP. GOING”, Y/N managed to say through her breathes. “Hey what’s going on in here?”, Nat popped her head around the corner. It took Nat 3 seconds to analyze Y/N stance and heavy breathing to figure out what was going on. “FRIDAY, GET BANNER IN HERE”, she yelled at the AI system. “Nat what’s going on?”, Sam walked around the corner and when he saw Y/N, his eyes grew. “What is going on!?! Why won’t she stop!?!”, Bucky yelled at Nat and Sam as they got closer. Completely ignoring Bucky, Nat turns towards Y/N. “How long?”. “64 seconds”, Y/N replied, her voice raw and broken. Her eyes kept closing and her feet kept faltering but she wouldn’t stop fighting it. Nat turned towards Sam, “Get a mat and her water bottle. she going to need it once its over.” Sam for the first time, listened without any smart remark, making Bucky concern grow in fear. “NAT. WHAT. IS. GOING. ON”. “Just keep fighting her”, was all she could muster before giving her full focus towards Y/N. “Come on Y/N you can do this”. Bucky didn’t know what to think. Was she okay? What was going on? She clearly needed to stop, so why was she and everyone else telling him to continue fighting her. Over the next several minutes, Y/N excessive breathing increased to the point where she sounded like a plane about to take off. She feet were dragging and her movements were slowing down. She kept asking Nat, “How much longer?”, but Nat would only reply, “Just a little bit more sweetie”. Nat would keep encouraging Y/N from the sidelines, while keeping her eyes on her watch. A couple minutes after, Sam returned with the mat, water bottle and Bruce. Bruce had brought with him a kit that seemed to have a bunch of medical supplies in it, as well as a juice box. “How long?”, was the first question Bruce asked Nat. “15 minutes and 43 seconds.” Bruce looked up from his chart, “that’s longer than ever.” Nat smiled, still watching Y/N. Bucky watched all that was going down from the sidelines while still dodging and throwing punches at Y/N. His confusion was beginning to mix with his extreme concern. Shouldn’t he stop now. His focus went back to Y/N eyes. They were so cloudy that he didn’t think she could even see straight anymore. Tears were falling out of her eyes while listening to Nat’s ongoing comments of encouragement. She looked absolutely broken, and he was pretty sure she felt liked that too.

“Nat, I can’t I do it, I can’t do it anymore.” Y/N could feel her the calm darkness creep up her eyes. The dizziness had just gotten worse in the last 5 minutes. The only thing that had kept her going were those sky blue eyes that were looking at her all wrong. She had never seen Bucky’s expression so concerned. She didn’t know how he would react when he finds out what was going on. “Come on Y/N, just a little bit more.” Nat requested. “No, no, I can’t, I…” And the last of Y/N resolve dissipated into thin air and her footing stutters. “Y/N!”, Bucky yelled before coming over and holding her arms. “Bucky, lie her on this mat”. Bruce stated. Bucky quickly gathered Y/N in his arms and carried her onto the mat. As soon as he places her on the mat, Bruce announces, “18 minutes and 23 seconds, Y/N”. A soft smile, appears on Y/N’s face, “I did ok then”. “You did more than ok, sweetie”, Nat gets on the floor next to her and offers he the juice box. “No, I’m sleepy. I wanna sleep.” “You know you have to drink this first.” Nat replied. Begrudgingly, Y/N tries to get up, with Sam holding her back. Nat holds on to the juice box while Y/N drinks out of it. Bruce checks temperature and blood pressure. While this is all happening, Bucky could only watch from the side.

Bucky sat in the kitchen and watched Sam carry Y/N to the sofa. Y/N was now dressed in clean clothes and her hair was wet. Somehow Nat convinced Y/N to take a bath and let her help washed Y/N hair before she fell asleep. Nat walked in and took a look at Bucky. “She has a rare form of POTS syndrome.” “What do you mean rare?”, Bucky asked, his voice a whisper. “Normal POTS syndrome is triggered by excessive exercise or exhaustion of a sort. Y/N’s POTS doesn’t have a trigger, at least one that we know of. It can happen anytime, anywhere, under any circumstance. It’s why she’s able to exercise for hours on end but faint while just making coffee. So in order to protect her from potential harm during missions, Bruce has come up with a long term plan that while help increase her stamina and hold her ground even when the dizzy spells are in effect. Hence, why she kept fighting you. We have been timing her ability to keep upright and lately she has been showing signs of progress”, a faint smile crept up on Nat’s face. “How come nobody told me?”, Bucky asked. He held his head low, trying to remember any instance where Y/N showed symptoms, but he couldn’t come up with anything. The only thing he remembered about Y/N was how annoying she was, the pranks she pulled on him, and how he used to look at her: with disgust. And a hint of passion. But now it was something else that came out while he watched Y/N sleep peacefully on the sofa. She looked delicate, not in the way where she would break because Bucky knew there was no way anyone could break her, but delicate in a way where now instead of hatred, Bucky’s instinct had turned into protectiveness. Nat sighed. “Bucky, you were already dealing with your own problems. And you were barely even here on campus most of the time. Y/N also good at hiding it. You didn’t even remember anything wrong with her, did you?” Bucky shook his head. “Y/N is strong, Bucky. But there is also a soft side to her. Yes, she can be over the top at times, but that’s her way to hide her problems. Maybe if you got to know her better, you wouldn’t see her as an enemy anymore.” “I brought shawarma everyone!’, a voice exclaimed, as a certain genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist walked into the room. Tony’s eyebrows scrunched up when he saw Y/N on the sofa. “Did it happen again? How long did she hold it?”, he asked while turning around to Nat. “18 minutes and 23 seconds.” “Oh wow and he knows?”, Tony nodded towards Bucky. “Yup.” “Ok, then manchurian candidate, welcome to the squad.” “What squad?” “The fainting princess’s watch squad”, Tony pats Bucky’s shoulder before walking out, Nat on his heel. “Oh and leave some food out for Y/N when she wakes up. That princess works a double shift as a raging hangry monster”, Tony called back while Nat chuckled.

Y/N groaned and tried to sit up on the sofa. “Woah, there!", Bucky says while suddenly coming into Y/N's view. "Slow down, you don't want to get whiplash." Bucky placed a hand behind Y/N 's back and grabbed Y/N's hand with his other hand, gently helping her rest against the sofa. "Whhatt, what are you doing here?", Y/N asked, flabbergasted. Never in a million years would she imagine Bucky helping her and his voice's tone so sweet and concerned in her favor. "Listen, I want to apologize for the way I treated you before. I had no idea you were going through all of this, but that still is no excuse for my actions, so I am very, truly, deeply sorry." "Where is the real Bucky Barnes, and what have you done with him?", Y/N laughs weakly. Bucky grabs her hand and to Y/N's surprise, places it on his cheek. "Still very real doll, still very real." "Well then it's probably my turn to apologize for the pranks and endless teasing and..." Bucky cuts Y/N off by placing a finger on lips. "It's all good. But don't stop the pranks, they keep me on my toes", Bucky winked. "Only if you promise to chase me again after I "accidentally" put blue hair dye in your shampoo", Y/N grinned. Bucky place both of his hands on hers that were resting in her lap. "I promise."