#gonna go ahead and take my panic attack meds

[thezombieprostitute]

Not a good day. 9 AM and already not a good day.

[sixhours]

Chapter 11 - The Ghosts of Babylon

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut and violence Series tags: Joel Miller x You, Joel Miller x Reader, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, LGBTQ+ characters, y/n is bi/pan, y/n is ~45, violence, pregnancy, abortion, medical trauma, emotional trauma, panic attacks, sex work, suicide, smut, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, romance, no use of y/n, reader has longish hair, Joel can lift you, smallish age gap (~11 years), I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

You’re napping on your cot in the clinic when the walkie at your belt scratches out your name. You rub your eyes, fumbling for the switch.

“Here,” you mutter, sitting up.

“Got a situation, patroller with a busted leg,” someone says.

“Okay, bring them in.”

“Gonna need to make a house call, doc. Meet us at the east gate.”

“Copy that. Out.”

Shit.

Patrol was rough and sometimes things went sideways–Theresa told you as much–but you’ve never had to leave the settlement before. You pick up the med kit, double-check to make sure you have everything you need, and grab your down jacket.

There are two men on horseback waiting for you. You know one is Eliot, and the other…is Joel.

Well, this will be interesting.

Joel gives you a barely perceptible nod. “She can ride with me.”

You raise an eyebrow at the too-easy double entendre, and you swear you see the hint of a smirk before his face drops back into a gruff mask and he puts out a hand to help you up. You can’t ignore the flush of heat that courses through you at his touch, an embarrassing Pavlovian response. You know what those hands are capable of, and you remember all too well where they were last night. You wonder, in a flash of helpless depravity, if you could still smell your slick on his fingers. It doesn’t help that you’re forced to press your whole damn body against his back just to stay on the horse.

Fuck, this is going to be a day.

“You know how to use this?” he asks over his shoulder, holding up a pistol.

“I might.”

He scoffs as you take the gun, check the safety, then tuck it into the back of your jeans.

“Shouldn’t need it, but y’never know,” he says.

When the gates close with a thud , you feel your chest constrict. You’ve lived within the safety of Jackson’s walls for months, too used to its creature comforts. You tighten your grip slightly around Joel’s waist as he nudges the horse to a fast trot, Eliot riding ahead. Your ass is already starting to hurt.

“How far out?” you ask, trying to keep your voice light.

“Couple hours’ ride; we’re camped at the southeastern outpost.”

“What happened?”

“Allan’s horse got spooked and threw her.”

“...Theresa Allan?”

There’s a pause. “Yeah.”

“You said it was a break?”

“Uh-huh. Bone went through the skin…can’t move her until it’s set and splinted.”

“Shit.”

You shift in the saddle, trying to take some pressure off your tailbone, your thighs already aching from the effort of keeping your balance. Joel seems to notice.

“Woulda thought you’d have experience on horseback, comin’ from Nebraska.”

“I’m not from Nebraska. I grew up in New York. I was a city kid.”

“So…how’d you end up at the Omaha QZ?”

“It’s a long and uninteresting story.”

“We got time.”

You let out a deep sigh.

“Alright. I was finishing my residency at a hospital in Maine when the outbreak happened. Managed to get out alive with a…group.

“We protected each other. My medical experience was useful, so I guess I had more luck than some. Just happened to land in Omaha at some point, and that was home…until it wasn’t.”

In your defense, this is all true, save for the destination and the fact that the “group” in question was FEDRA. Your story is the same as countless others, and it comes so naturally, it doesn’t feel like lying…not exactly.

“You were right about the uninteresting part,” Joel says dryly, but there’s a teasing lilt in his voice. “I’m fallin’ asleep over here.”

You clamp down on a smirk, kicking the back of his leg with your boot.

“Asshole.”

~*~

Theresa is ashen and shivering under a moth-eaten wool blanket when you finally arrive at the outpost, which is little more than a shack in the woods. She greets you with a shaky smile through gritted teeth.

“Hey, babe. Fancy…meeting you…here.”

You wince in sympathy. “Can I take a look?”

She nods, teeth clattering as you pull back the blanket and a blood-soaked bandage to reveal the fracture, the jagged white shard of her tibia poking through the skin of her lower leg. You remember trailing kisses up that leg, her thigh, the taste of her on your tongue, and you have to stop yourself from going further with the thought. 

“Alright. Let’s get you fixed up,” you murmur.

You set your med kit on the floor and kneel, pulling out gauze, alcohol, wrapping, and a tiny bottle of precious painkillers. You hand her three of the small white pills and a canteen. “Take these. They might take the edge off.”

“Might,” Theresa snorts, but she swallows the pills with a gulp of water.

You kneel beside her, taking her hand, giving it a squeeze. “This is going to hurt like a motherfucker.”

“Wow, don’t hold back or anything,” she huffs. “Can…we get it…over with?”

“Give the pills a chance to work. I’ll be right back.”

Joel is waiting for you outside. “I’m going to need someone to help me hold her while I set and wrap the break, and someone to keep an eye on her vitals.”

“We’ve got four. Two on watch, two with you. Eliot’s got field medic training, he can handle the nurse stuff.”

You nod.

“You okay?” he asks, his voice suddenly low.

“Fine,” you reply automatically. Indeed, you’re not looking forward to the next part, but it comes with the territory.

He considers this, then nods. “I’ll hold her.”

~*~

It’s as bloody and painful as you expect. Theresa's screams are barely muffled by the belt strap in her mouth, but eventually, you’re able to get the bone back into place. The sun is setting by the time you’ve finished bandaging, wrapping, and splinting the leg. Your hands, jacket, and jeans are splattered in Theresa’s blood, and Eliot brings in snow and melts it over a camp stove to help you wash up.

Theresa is conscious, resting, covered by the wool blanket. Her blood pressure stabilizes and the painkillers are doing their work. Small favors.

Joel waits at the threshold, arms crossed. “We’ve got a sled fashioned up to take her out, but I don’t wanna risk it in the dark.”

You wince. It’s going to be a slow and painful journey back to Jackson.

He leans in, hand coming to rest lightly on your forearm. You’re glad for long sleeves that hide the sudden rash of goosebumps that pop up at his touch, the low timbre of his voice sending a pleasant shiver through you.

“Sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” you say, giving him a tired smile to prove it. He studies your face, then nods slowly.

“Alright. Make yourself comfortable, we’ll ride out when it’s light. Be outside if you need anything.”

Then he ducks out in a whirl of cold air.

You roll out a spare sleeping bag and wrap yourself in your bloody jacket, easing yourself down onto the floor next to Theresa. Your fingers find the pulse point at her throat and she stirs, eyes opening to you.

“How are you feeling?” you ask, making a mental note of her heart rate.

“Like shit,” she croaks.

“Meds might make you nauseous. Think you can eat?”

She shakes her head, making a face.

“Water, then,” you say, picking up the canteen and putting it to her lips. She takes a few slow sips and swallows, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. This seems to sap all her remaining strength, and her eyes close, fluttering shut.

You think she’s asleep, but then she speaks again, voice rough.

“So…you and Joel.”

You open your mouth to protest, but she cuts in, blinking at you with drugged eyes. “Don’t even try, babe.”

You huff a sigh, and close your eyes. “Thea–”

“I care…about you,” she says, struggling to keep her eyes on you. “You know that…right?”

The sentiment is so foreign, so unexpected, your mouth goes dry and you cough to cover your surprise.

“You’re on drugs,” you remind her dryly.

“Good ones,” she agrees. “But I know…what I see.”

“And what’s that?” you ask, even though you’re not sure you want the answer.

She grins then, a brilliant and wry smile that reminds you why you found her so attractive in the first place.

“You’re…alike, you and him.”

“I’m ‘lethal?’” you scoff. “Isn’t that how you put it?”

“Untouchable.”

The word hangs in the open air like a warning shot.

“Look, Thea, don’t…don’t tell anyone, okay? It’s not serious, and his kid doesn’t know. Would make it awkward if–”

“Secret’s safe with me,” she mumbles. “But I meant it…what I said before. Be careful.”

~*~

You’re jolted awake from a cold and troubled sleep by the sound of gunfire.

“Shit,” you breathe, reaching for the pistol at your back. Theresa is awake, too, looking at you with wide eyes.

“What’s–”

“Shh.”

There’s yelling in the distance. You creep on all fours to one wall. There are no windows, just a boarded-up hole through which you can see slivers of moonlight. You try to peek through the slats but all you see are the shadows of trees on snow.

Where the fuck are the guards?

More shouting, sounding further away, and then…shuffling. A croak that is far too close for comfort.

Your finger flicks off the pistol’s safety and you turn to Theresa, putting a finger to your lips. You put your ear to the wall, trying to pinpoint the sound’s location, when a loud thud lands on the door.

Theresa lets out a startled shriek, and you whirl around, ready to tell her to shut up, but then the door begins to crack and splinter as the infected throws itself against it, pounding and pounding until the sound drowns out Theresa’s whimpering and the infernal racket of your heart between your ears.

You get to one knee and bring the pistol up, holding it steady with both hands, trying to slow your breath.

In. Out. In. Out.

The hinges give a rusty scream as they’re wrenched off the frame and the infected breaches the door.

You take the shot.

It goes wide, but it draws the creature’s attention. Its gaping maw hisses and croaks at you, and when it lurches in your direction, you fire one more bullet into the center of its bulbous forehead. It drops like a stone.

A shadow appears in the doorway, and you aim for the head, finger steady on the trigger.

It’s Joel, wide-eyed, breathing hard. He raises his hands. “Fuck–”

You don’t lower the gun; your muscles are trembling, locked in place by adrenaline and fear. You’re still seeing the infected in front of you, coming straight at you, mouth open and ready to feed.

In. Out.

Another moment passes. You feel your finger ease up, feel yourself standing slowly. Joel switches between watching you with concern and glancing at the gnarled body on the floor.

“Are there more?” you bark, not ready to give up the gun just yet.

Joel shakes his head slowly, hands still raised like you might change your mind and shoot him after all.

“Where the fuck were you?” you hiss, finally tucking the gun back into your jeans.

“Eliot and Ashbury had one to the south, I was watchin’ their six,” he says, looking down at the infected corpse. “Seems like you had it covered, though.”

The walkie on his belt squawks, Eliot’s voice staticky over the airwaves. “Joel, you there?”

“M’here. Found one up by the cabin…we took care of it,” he says, looking pointedly at you. “Clear.”

He steps outside to continue the conversation, although now that the door is gone, there’s not much point. You turn to look at Theresa, who has pushed herself to a half-sitting position against the nearest wall, pale and shaking.

It was already freezing in the shack, and now the wind coming through the open doorway makes it unbearable. The sweat that beaded on your skin in the heat of the moment has cooled, making you feel damp and slimy beneath your coat. You grab one of the scratchy wool blankets and look for some way to secure it to the door frame.

“That was…f-f-fucking impres-s-sive,” Theresa chatters, watching as you move about the shack, looking for a spare nail, a piece of wood, anything to pin the blanket up. “If it weren’t so…fucking c-c-cold in here I’d…b-b-be turned on.”

“It was,” Joel says. You hadn’t noticed he’d re-entered the cabin, but now he’s standing there, still watching you with something like trepidation. “Impressive, I mean.”

You shoot him a look. “Help me get this up. We need to get this place warm.”

~*~

It’s only a couple of hours until dawn, but the time crawls by in a bitter-cold haze. Joel drags the infected corpse into the woods and you manage to get the door covered. You spend the rest of the time curled up against Theresa’s good side under the blanket, trying to conserve body heat.

It’s a welcome relief to be up on the horse, arms anchored firmly around Joel’s waist and heading back to Jackson in the early morning light. Eliot and his patrol partner’s horses are hooked to the makeshift sleigh upon which Theresa is bundled, while Ashbury rides ahead as a scout. You gave Theresa another pain pill before you set off, but you suspect it’s not doing much good with all the jostling on the frozen, pock-marked ground.

It’s been an hour of this lurching, plodding cadence when Joel’s voice drifts over his shoulder. 

“Where’d you learn to shoot like that?”

“Picked it up while I was out there, I guess.”

You feel him shift against you, leaning back slightly. Even sweaty and bloody and in pain, his proximity is unnerving. The constant pressure of the saddle rolling between your legs doesn’t help.

“Looked like a FEDRA thing.”

“That so?” you say, trying to sound disinterested.

“Hell of a shot, though,” he says when you don’t elaborate. “For a ‘city kid.’”

“Mmm. Got lucky,” you sigh, resting your forehead between his shoulder blades, smelling the warm leather of his jacket. You’re so tired you could fall asleep right now, sore ass be damned.

“Right,” he says, drawing out the word sarcastically. “Well, remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“Doesn’t feel so good on the other end of the barrel, does it, Miller?”

He gives a soft, knowing chuckle. “No, I s’pose it don’t.”

~*~

You finally ride into Jackson, exhausted and bruised and desperate for a shower. Theresa is set up at home with one of the clinic nurses as a caregiver, and you promise to check on her the next morning.

Joel disappears without a word as soon as you dismount, trotting off toward the stables. You’re too tired to worry about his suspicious questioning, although in the back of your mind, you know you should be.

When you finally make it home, you don’t have the energy to do more than stumble upstairs and fall into bed fully clothed, still bloody and sweaty. The shower will have to wait.

~*~

A feather-light touch draws itself down your cheek, and you startle awake in the semi-dark, pushing yourself up and reaching for the knife you keep tucked between the mattress and box spring.

“Whoa, s’just me,” Joel says. “Don’t shoot.”

You blink up at him, confused. “What–how did you–”

“Door was open.”

Shit.

In your exhaustion, you’d forgotten to set the lock. Christ, being in Jackson has made you stupid.

You realize his hand is still resting on your cheek, and you sit up abruptly to break the contact. 

“What is it? Is Thea alright?”

“She’s fine. Checked in on her before I came over. Just…wanted to see you.”

He leans in, capturing your lips with his, tongue sliding against yours in a sweet erotic dance, and you moan softly, instantly wet. After a full day of being so close, so fucking close without being able to touch him, to feel his lips on your sensitive skin, you’re like a woman starved.

You pull back with great difficulty, breathing hard. “I need a shower. I’m filthy.”

“Yeah y’are,” he growls, nipping at your ear, sending a hot shiver of delight straight to your core. But then he stands, reaches out a hand, and you take it.

The water feels amazing when it hits your skin, washing off the remains of Theresa’s blood, the dried sweat, soothing the ache in your muscles. He holds you under the stream of rushing water as his hands run the soap up and down your back, and he kisses you and bites at your neck until your legs threaten to give out. When he grabs your ass and presses you to him, nudging his cock between your thighs just out of reach of where you need it, you groan in frustration. 

“Not in the shower, Miller.”

“M’not that stupid,” he says, but you’re not convinced. He leans back but only slightly, forehead pressed to yours, panting through gritted teeth. “God, the things you do to me. Wanted you that whole time, out there. Wanted you to…to–”

“Show me,” you murmur, reaching behind you to shut off the water, not caring that your body is still slick with soap.

You’re going to need another shower after this, anyway.

[maddiwrites]

Family Troubles

Pairing: JJ x Routledge!Reader, mostly John B x Routledge!Reader sibling dynamic 

Summary: (Requested) After the death of your brother, you move to the mainland with a nice foster family. Months later, you get the biggest shock of your life that leaves you questioning what you want.

Note: I’m so sorry this took so long. I hope this is what you were looking for!

Word Count: 4.6k

You peek your eyes open to another sunny autumn day as your alarm echos off the walls of your room through your phone. For the first time in a long time, you didn’t dread the day ahead of you. Because you feel like you’re finally living a life worth living. 

It’s been about three months since John B disappeared. The worst three months of your life. You never would have imagined living a life without your twin brother. It was lonely and heart wrenching. You didn’t think you would get through it. And living with the Cameron’s didn’t make your life any easier. Ward tried blocking you off from the rest of the world. He was afraid of what you could do to his reputation despite knowing most people wouldn’t believe you. You were just a Pogue with a criminal background.Your word means nothing to Kooks and cops alike. Nonetheless, Ward didn’t want to take any chances. 

It wasn’t until you finally got in touch with Cheryl, your social worker, that your life started to change for the better. You couldn’t believe the irony of running to your social worker for help when you’ve been running away from her all summer. Surprisingly, she did hear you. She listened to you. She believed you! Although there wasn’t much she could do about Ward, she could help you get out from under his neglectful guardianship. 

She placed you in a foster home with an eager Spanish American couple on the main land. Of course you weren’t ecstatic about it. Foster care was never something you wanted to be placed in. Especially without your brother. But at the time, anything was better than living with Ward Cameron. 

The worst part of the process was telling your best friends. Kie and Pope, although disappointed, were happy for you because they knew this was what was best for you. JJ, however, didn’t understand how you could be so cool calm and collected about moving. Losing you to Figure Eight was hard enough and now he was going to have open water separating you two? He didn’t cope well with the news. He barely talked to you as you gathered your stuff to leave, almost didn’t show up to say his final goodbye with Kie and Pope. But he came as you were about to get on the ferry with Cheryl. The two of you cried and told each other you were sorry. You kissed his cheek and slipped a small piece of paper with your new address into his pockets. JJ reluctantly let you go with a promise that he will visit you as soon as he could and you believed him. Because he was your best friend, your soul mate, and partner in crime.

JJ saves up every week to take the ferry to visit you. He usually comes every Sunday, respecting your foster parents’ wishes that he not stay the night. At first they were wary of him coming over - they know about your past from the social worker and the News and how JJ was a part of it. They wanted you to have a new beginning. A fresh start. They believed you when you said your brother wasn’t a murderer and that you and your friends did nothing wrong. They were just afraid that JJ would convince you to come back to the Outer Banks (which he’s tried), or make you regress to past trouble making behaviors. But you explained to Maria and Luis, your foster parents, how important JJ is to you and that he needed to be a part of you life no matter where you were living. So they allowed him weekend visits, always making sure to keep an eye on you when he was here. 

Someone lightly taps on your door until you say, “Come in.” 

Maria pokes her head in and smiles when she sees you’re awake. “Morning, honey. Your appointment is in thirty minutes. Will you be ready to leave soon?”

You offer her a smile and nod. “Yeah, I’ll be down in ten.”

Maria nods. “Okay.”

She closes the door gently, leaving you alone to get ready for your appointment with your therapist. You agreed with your new foster parents to go to therapy once a week. They thought it would help you move on and grow and get rid of the nightmares that sometimes terrorize you at night. You went because you felt like you owed it to them to make an effort. They weren’t like the other foster couples you hear horror stories about. If they were gonna be there for you, you were gonna be there for them too. 

The therapy sessions were working. You’re more open to talking about what you went through. The therapist never gave you any inclination that she was judging you or analyzing you. She just listened and asked you how you were feeling about everything. She helped you adjust to this new life on the mainland and taught you new coping strategies that didn’t involve getting into fights or arguing with the cops. She helped you through your anxiety about starting a new school and making new friends. She even prescribed you some anxiety meds that helped with your nightmares and panic attacks.

Both Maria and Luis drive you to your therapy appointment. You silently question why the both of them felt the need to accompany you to your appointment. You mentally list all the reasons as to why they both would want to come when usually it’s just one or the other. You’re too afraid to ask, thinking they’re about to drop a bomb on you and send you back to the island. You don’t want to hear it, procrastinating the inevitable for as long as possible. 

When Dr. Hildegard greets you in the waiting room, she waves not only you but your foster parents as well into her office. The three of you take a seat on the brown leather couch in front of her chair. You awkwardly glance between your therapist and your foster parents, trying to read the room. You dig your nails into the skin of your hand to keep yourself calm, focusing on the slight stinging pain it leaves you.

“Good morning, Y/N,” Dr. Hildegard says. She takes notice of your fidgeting hands and smiles. “I know you must be confused and anxious right now. But Maria and Luis have something they want to ask you and felt you would be more comfortable having this conversation with me present.”

“Okay...” You say wearily. 

Luis and Maria hold each other’s hands as they turn to look at you. You feel a little better when you see a smile on their face, making you think it isn’t going to be bad news. 

“Y/N, how would feel about officially being a part of our family?”

You glance between your therapist and your foster parents and tilt your head in confusion. “I don’t understand...”

“Y/N,” Dr. Hildegard says. “Maria and Luis would like to adopt you.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Meanwhile, back at the Outer Banks, JJ is getting ready to leave his house to make the last ferry to the mainland. He had to pick up another shift to afford another boat ride and a date for tonight, which left him racing against the clock.

Someone knocks on his front door. “Shit,” He curses and looks at the clock. 3:04. He needed to leave twenty minutes ago. He doesn’t have time to talk to anyone right now. He figures it’s his dad’s probation officer or druggie looking for money. So he ignores it so he can find his wallet. 

But the knocking persists. 

“Fuck,” JJ grunts and storms to the front door. “He’s not here -”

JJ freezes as he rips the door open. He didn’t know who he was going to find, but he definitely wasn’t expecting his dead best friend to be standing on his door step. 

John B smirks up at his shocked reaction. “Hey, stud. Miss me?”

JJ’s brain is doing flips inside his skull, knocking around with so many questions and curses and phrases and shouts. But with that is the immense excitement and relief that takes over his entire body. 

JJ jumps on him and wraps his arms around his best friend’s shoulders. Tears inevitably prick his eyes and he physically holds onto John B. He’s in utter disbelief. He never thought he would get this opportunity again. To see and hold his best friend - the best friend that’s supposed to be dead. 

“Wow. Who knew JJ Maybank could get so emotional?” John B jokes, trying to hide his own tears through his laugh. 

JJ removes himself from John B and shoves him back by the shoulders lightly. He wipes his upper lips with the back of his hand and sniffles back the rest of his tears. “Shut up, bro.” JJ narrows his eyes at the dead man in front of him and asks, “What the fuck happened? Where’s Sarah? Is she -”

"Sarah’s fine. We’re trying to lay low right now. No one knows we’re back.”

“What -”

“Look, I know you’re confused and there’s so much I need to tell you guys, but first I need to see my sister.” John B says with a sweet grin on his lips at the mention of his sister. He was most excited to see her - his first best friend and partner in crime. “Is she here?” JJ’s face falls at the mention of Y/N because he doesn’t know how John B is going to take the news that she’s no longer on the island. John B notices JJ’s hesitation and immediately get’s worried. “Where’s Y/N, JJ?”

“She’s not here.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

You trail behind Maria and Luis as they unlock the front door to their house. The car ride home was awkwardly silent. You didn’t know what to say.

“Oh...” You said. You weren’t expecting that. You thought they’d be telling you the complete opposite. Yet, you didn’t know how to feel about their proposition. 

Maria and Luis looked at Dr. Hildegard for some insight or ice breaker since you froze up on the spot. You looked back down at your hand and pressed your nails even harder into your skin, leaving half crescent moons indented in your palm. 

Dr. Hildegard kept her calm smile and said softly, “Why don’t Y/N and I speak alone and I’ll grab you guys at the end?”

Maria and Luis, although a little disappointed by your reaction, agreed and stepped out of the room.

When the two of you were alone, Dr. Hildegard asked, “How are you feeling right now, Y/N?”

“I uh...” You stammered. “I don’t know. Shocked, I guess.”

“Usually when kids in foster care are offered adoption, they’re excited. Do you like living with Maria and Luis?”

“Yeah, they’re great. It’s just...” The last time someone offered to take you in as part of their family, it didn’t end well. It changed your life for the worst, you lost your only living family member left, and is the reason why you were here today. Although foster care isn’t that much different, you didn’t expect to stay with Maria and Luis past 18 years old. 

“Rebuilding a sense of trust can be difficult after past traumas. But taking those necessary steps, of letting new people in your life, can help you over those humps.”

“Why don’t you get ready for volleyball practice? I’ll take you there when you’re ready,” Luis says as the three of you walked inside. 

You nod silently and quickly hide in your room. You fall back on your bed that suddenly feels different than it did this morning. Like a reminder that it didn’t belong to you.

But maybe it could. 

You get changed for volleyball in a pair of spandex and a t shirt. When you close the drawer, something falls on your dresser, catching your attention. 

You pick up the fallen picture frame of you, John B, and the rest of the Pogues on Memorial Day Weekend. Kie had taken a selfie with all of you making silly faces at the camera in the middle of the marsh. That day always brings back amazing memories for you. Oh how you wished you could have another day like that. 

You stare a little longer at John B in that photo. What would he say if he was with you right now? Would he say yes to Maria and Luis like he did to Ward? Or would he encourage you to be more careful about who you trust with your life?

Maria knocks on your door and says, “You ready, sweetheart?” 

You place the frame back on the dresser and walk out into the hall to meet her. “Yes.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“So this couple....” John B says as he follows JJ off the ferry on the mainland. 

“Maria and Luis,” JJ says. On the way here, he told John B everything. About how horrendous your life was after John B “died.” How Ward treated you like a prisoner. How you practically begged Cheryl to help you. How you ended up on the mainland with a lovely married couple. 

“Are they...nice?”

JJ shrugs. “They seem like good people. You can tell they don’t like me around, but that might just be because they associate me with all the bad shit that happened to us because of Ward.”

“Does she like it here?” John B says as he takes in his new surroundings. As he and JJ walk towards your neighborhood, which isn’t too far from the ferry, he thinks about what your life could become here. Nice neighborhoods, friendly towns. It’s definitely better than the Cut. But it wasn’t home. 

“She’s learning to, I think,” JJ answers honestly. “She doesn’t like being so far away from the Pogues.”

“Yeah, I can understand the feeling,” John B says. Although it was nice to have Sarah around while they were gone, he couldn’t help but feel like a giant chunk of his heart was missing. And that was the Pogues. 

“This is it,” JJ says as they reach the end of a short driveway on the outskirts of town. A two story baby blue home with white shutters and a rose bush. Bigger than the houses on the Cut and smaller than the houses on Figure Eight. 

“This is where she’s been staying?” John B asks. Something swarms inside his brain. He doesn’t know if it’s betrayal or jealousy. 

“Yup,” JJ says, popping the ‘p’, “Her room is on the side.”

JJ knocks on the front door and looks down at his watch while he waits. Somehow, he managed to be about ten minutes early. Probably because of John B’s hustle to find his sister as soon as possible. 

Luis opens the door with a friendly grin that quickly falters when he sees who accompanies JJ. 

“Good Afternoon, Mr. Morales. Is Y/N, here?”

Luis looks between the boys and inhales a deep breath. He knows John B from the pictures on the News, the stories in the paper, and the cries of his name when Y/N was terrorized with nightmares in the beginning of her stay. 

Although the adoption process just started, he and his wife felt like they were finally forming a family-like bond with Y/N. Dr. Hildegard suggested starting over would be in Y/N’s best interest, encouraging new friendships, joining extracurricular activities at school, staying away from the Outer Banks for a while. Luis and Maria made an exception for JJ, seeing how happy he truly made Y/N. But they never expected to see John B. 

And he didn’t know what that meant for his family. 

John B notices Luis’s hesitation and politely holds out his hand. “I’m John Booker Routledge. Y/N’s brother.” 

Luis reluctantly shakes his hand, although apprehensive, never rude. He coughs awkwardly and looks back at JJ without saying a word to John B. “Tonight’s not a good night -”

“What do you mean? Sunday’s our day. She didn’t tell me she was busy -”

“I’m sorry, son. Maybe next week.” Luis shuts the door before JJ or John B could argue. 

John B knocks again and even rings the doorbell. “Mr. Morales! Hey! Come back!”

“Here,” JJ pulls John B by his arm. “Come here.”

JJ and John B round to the side of the house where your window sits right under the middle point of the roof. JJ find’s the nearest and smallest rock and tosses it up at the glass of your window. 

“What are you? Fucking, Romeo?” John B glares at his friend.

“You have a better idea?” JJ glares right back. “Trust me. I wouldn’t put it past Mr. Morales to call the cops if we kept banging on his door. They’re pretty protective of Y/N, which means they’ve never been truly fond of me.”

“Maybe she’s not here,” John B suggests. 

“She’s always -”

JJ freezes when he hears a car pull into the driveway. They both look at each other before walking back to the front of the house. JJ notices Maria first when she steps out of the car. She has a smilier reaction to John B as her husband which makes John B bounce on his toes nervously. 

You don’t see him at first, with your back turned to grab your bag. Then you spot him immediately. 

You stiffen when you see both JJ and....your dead brother standing on the lawn.  Suddenly your mouth feels dry and your heart is beating the crap out of your ribs. 

“Y/N...” Maria says wearily. 

“Hey, Dimples,” John B says with a smile, using the nickname he and your father use to call you when you were younger due to the deep pits in your cheeks when you smiled. 

Your eyes shift to JJ who looks at you with pinched eye brows. He was expecting a different reaction. One where you run into your brother’s arms and squeeze the shit out of him in a tight hug. 

But instead, you were feeling numb. You never expected to be face to face with your brother ever again. You convinced yourself he was really dead because holding onto hope that he was still alive was slowly killing you and even holding you back. You needed closure and that closure was accepting the truth that John B was dead and to never be found.

Yet, here he is. Standing and breathing and watching your reaction with a hurt expression. 

“Y/N...” Maria says again and lightly touches your shoulder. 

“I’m fine,” You finally speak, flinching at the way your throat feels scratchy. You swallow and turn to Maria and offer a polite grin. “I’ll be right in.”

“I don’t know...”

“Please, Maria,” You say, this time a tad more forceful but not rude. 

Maria hesitantly nods and blocks herself away with the front door. 

“I - I don’t - “ You huff. “How?”

“The Phantom...” John B licks his lips nervously. “Capsized...and Sarah and I...well...a shipment boat found us. Took us right to the Bahamas.”

“The Bahamas?” You repeat, taking two steps closer to him. 

“Yes. There’s so much I have to tell you -”

“Like the part where you couldn’t call?” You say accusingly. 

John B sighs. He should have expected it, but he didn’t prepare for it. He thought you’d be happy to see him, but now he’s realizing how hurt and confused he’s truly left you.

“It’s a long story -”

“Yeah, I’d expect the summary of your last few months to be a long one.” You look at JJ. “Did you know about this?”

JJ shakes his head. “He showed up on my way here.”

John B sighs. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t find a way to contact you, but we couldn’t! We didn’t want the cops realizing we were alive and we were looking for the gold -”

“The gold?” You laugh humorlessly and your hands run up your head to your scalp. Your fingers tug on the roots of your hair in frustration. “The gold’s gone!”

“It’s not! If you would just listen -”

“I don’t want to listen, John B! Because I don’t care about the gold. That gold took everything from me!” You yell as tears begin to build in your eyes, thinking back to what happened last summer. “I lost Dad, you, my home... I can only see my boyfriend once a week. And I was treated like a prisoner in the house of a murderer!”

“I know that it couldn’t have been easy for you but -”

“No. You have no idea what it was like for me when you were gone. Because you weren’t there!” You cry. “You left! You were living it up in the Bahamas, searching for gold, while the rest of us cried over your death and suffered the consequences!” Tears were now silently streaming down both John B’s cheeks and JJ’s as they watched you break down. “I couldn't sleep for weeks. I barely ate. Ward locked me in a room so I couldn’t tell anyone about what he did.”

“I’m sorry,” John B says. “I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you. Back home -”

“Home?” You scoff, shaking your head. “I have a home.”

“This isn’t your home,” John B says defensively. 

“It has been. For the past few months. But you wouldn’t know that, would you?” You say with a glare. You look at the house behind him, noticing Maria and Luis snooping through the curtains of the window. You think back on what happened today and the options you had. At first it was a hard decision to make and now it’s damn right near impossible. “Maria and Luis offered to adopt me.” You say honestly.

John B inhales sharply and JJ furrows his brows. 

“What?” John B says.

“I didn’t give them an answer yet. But this is an opportunity to start over.”

John B glares at you. “Think about your family!”

“I am!” 

You suddenly feel exhausted and weak, like the day has lasted over twenty four hours. Your head begins to throb and your neck aches. 

You sigh, “Look, I’m happy you’re all right and safe and unharmed, from the looks of it. But...I just need some time. Okay?”

“Y/N...”

“Please, John B?” You’re practically begging. 

John B sighs and reluctantly nods his head at your request. At the end of the day, you owe him nothing and he owes you everything.

“Okay,” He agrees. 

You walk past him without giving him a hug or anything, afraid you’ll break down in sobs and follow his lead back to the Outer Banks. But you need to be strong and figure out what it is you need in life, tired of following the path that always leaves you broken and alone. 

You kiss JJ’s cheek as you walk by him. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” 

JJ squeezes your hand before you disappear into your house. When the door shuts behind you, you slid down it onto the floor, finally letting your sobs wrack through your body. Maria and Luis run to comfort you to the best of their ability, but they don’t know how to truly help you. 

Later that night, over a cup of tea, you tell Maria and Luis everything. From start to finish. How your dad was obsessed with finding the Royal Merchant, to the compass, to Ward taking you in, finding out he murdered your father and covered up Sheriff Peterkin’s murder by using your own brother. 

Maria and Luis glance at each other nervously. They know how important family is, which is why they want you a part of theirs so badly. But they never want to take you away from one you already have and love. 

“I think you should think long and hard about what you want over the next couple of days,” Luis says. “And we’ll help you in any way we can.”

“I’m sorry,” You say, wiping away your tears with a napkin. “I know you didn’t sign up for this.”

“Honey,” Maria says, wiping another tear with her thumb. “We don’t want you to worry about that. This changes nothing for us, okay?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The next day at dinner, Maria and Luis sit you down and offer eager grins. Just like they did at your last therapy appointment. 

“Y/N...we have something we’d like to discuss with you,” Luis says.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

With the help of JJ, you meet John B at the Wreck with the others for a civilized conversation. Now that you’ve had a few days to think and calm down, you’re able to really appreciate how lucky you are to have John B back in your life. 

When you see him standing in the middle of the restaurant, you run to him and squeeze him around his waist as he wraps his arms around your shoulders. You cry into his T shirt, telling him how sorry you are for your outburst. 

“It’s okay,” John B cries into your hair. “You don’t have to be sorry. I should be the one apologizing.” 

You pull away and wipe away your tears. “I think we’ve both been through hell and back and did what he had to do to survive. Neither of us should apologize.”

After giving the other Pogues a hug, the five of you sit down and recap each other’s last three months. John B tells you about his time in the Bahamas, how Sarah is laying low until she gets her shit figured out with her own family, and you describe life at a new town and a new school.

“It’s weird. There’s no division. No Kooks vs. Pogues. I don’t know if I like it or miss my enemies,” You say.

When the five of you are ready to say your goodbyes, you pull John b aside and say, “Actually, I think there’s a couple of people I’d like you to meet.” John B furrows his brows and follows you to a park where Maria and Luis are waiting at a picnic table.

When they see the two of you approaching, they stand and reach out to shake John B’s hand, officially introducing themselves and apologizing for being rude a week ago. 

“It’s okay. I understand,” John B says. “Thank you for taking care of my sister.”

“Pleasure’s all ours,” Luis smiles. “We’re lucky to be able to meet you.”

“Y/N’s told us such great things,” Maria adds. 

You roll your eyes playfully and look at John B to read his face. He seems to be enjoying himself. 

“That’s a first,” He even jokes and looks your way.

“There’s actually something we wanted to ask you,” Luis says and takes his wife’s hand like he did at Dr. Hildegard’s. He looks at you to see if you want to explain. “Y/N...”

You take a deep breath and face your brother. “I have agreed to be adopted by Maria and Luis.”

“But -” 

“Let me finish,” You cut John B off. “We talked about it and the three of us are going to move back to the Outer Banks to be closer to you and the Pogues.”

“But...” Maria says like a song with an excited grin.

You mirror her smile and say, “But...Maria and Luis want to know if you would like to a be a part of their family too?”

John B’s brows jump up in surprise. “Seriously?”

“I know it’s a big decision,” Luis says.

“And if you need time, that’s fine,” You say. “But, I think this will be good for the both of us.”

John B looks between you and your foster parents, who he can tell care about you greatly. Of course he wants that too, but just like you were, he’s nervous.

“Are you sure about this?” He says softly as to not offend the couple in front of him.

“Yes,” You nod. “I’m sure.”

John B inhales a deep breath and nods. “Okay. I’m in.”

[d0llpie]

prompt 16 ;; in your req rules you said this was okay so i hope its fine :,) could i have oikawa, iwaizumi and tsukishima finding their s/o's fresh (or old if you prefer) sh scars? the way it ends should be fluff lol, im only asking because this would bring me comfort </3 either way i love your writing ur amazing<3

Self Harm Comfort

oikawa x reader, iwaizumi x reader, tsukkishima x reader

Warnings: self harm mention, blood mention, this topic is very triggering so please do not read if uncomfortable, i add tags that can be blacklisted for this topic !

a/n: hi love, i hope this brought you some comfort, my messages are always open, have a beautiful day <333

prompt: “i know i’m not what you signed up for”

wc: 1.9k

Oikawa

~ You hadn’t been dating Oikawa very long, he never questioned why you always wore long sleeves and honestly he didn’t think much of it

~ You were proud to say that you hadn’t self harmed since your relationship had begun, he was always doting and caring while also being fun and a distraction for you. You loved him with all your heart and knew he loved you too

~ You knew you couldn’t hide them from him forever but you didn’t realise he was coming over to surprise you, wanting to take you on a date

You’d been in your head all day, you couldn’t help it, your thoughts spiraled and you were back in that dark place you’d been so happy to be out of for so long. You hated that you resorted to this but coping this way became to familiar that before you knew it, you found yourself on the bathroom floor, blade in one hand and bloody tissues in the other. Tears were rolling down your cheeks but you stared blankly ahead of you, you didn’t feel any better, your thoughts turning to tooru, what would he think? This only made your tears come out faster, shame creeping up on you, your thoughts spiraling darker and deeper until you were stuck overthinking and rolling your sleeve higher.

You didn’t hear Oikawa open the door or walk towards the bathroom, you did hear his gasp in the door frame as he dropped to his knees in front of you, cradling you in his arms, wetting your shirt with his own tears. “Y/n, why didn’t you tell me? What happened? What are you doing?” you were too shocked to answer, scared that this was the end of your relationship and you’d be trapped again with your thoughts, alone. “i-“ you tried to speak but it came out in a choked sob and Oikawa shushed you, pulling you to sit on the edge of the bathtub while he fetched your med kit. He was silent cleaning your wounds, occasional sniffles let out which only make you overthink even more. Once he bandaged your arm you held his wrist still.

“Tooru i wanted to tell you, i hadn’t done this since before we started dating, i’ve been doing well i dont know what happened and i know i’m not what you signed up for, i’m sorry i’m really sorry it’s just-“ “you are exactly what i signed up for. I want you, all of you, i just wish you felt comfortable enough with me to tell me, this scares me y/n, i need you and i’m sorry that i was to ignorant to realise how you were feeling..” you cupped his cheek “no tooru baby you don’t need to apologise..” “you don’t need to either y/n, i’m going to help you, please tell me when you feel like this...i don’t know what to do but i’m not leaving. i’m staying right beside you okay?” you nodded, tearing up again and burying your face in his chest “why are you crying my love?” you lifted your head, pressing your lips against his slowly “i love you tooru, i’m s-“ “don’t you dare apologise, i love you too.” you giggled softly, sniffling before returning back to his chest.

“C’mon y/n, let’s watch your favourite movie and i’ll let you braid my hair to distract you hmm?” you smiled up at him, you both looked a mess, red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks but you were there in each other’s arms, safe and in love.

Iwaizumi

~ Iwaizumis love language was touch, it reassured him to feel you against him and showed you how much he loved you when he would absentmindedly trace patterns on your skin

~ He always had to have some form of physical contact with you, holding pinkies in crowded spaces, holding your hips while talking to people

~ It shouldn’t have surprised you that he’d eventually feel them

He’d had a long day, the team wasn’t listening to him and all he wanted to do was come home and fall asleep on your chest while you played with his hair. He hated staying late training the team but he knew you were going to be there tonight, waiting for him to come home. It was so domestic, coming back to see you in his apartment, wearing one of his hoodies and a pair of his boxers, the thought kept him going throughout the day and drive home.

Iwa was coming come home late again so you decided to take a shower and head to bed, you got out of the shower, towel wrapped around your body as you made your way into the bedroom to grab one of iwas hoodies. Iwaizumi walked into the bedroom to see you in just a towel, he smiled at you and wrapped his arms around you, breathing in deeply. You froze underneath him, did he see? would he think you were weak? disgusting? you tried calming your breathing but Iwaizumi obviously noticed your state and stepped back, running his hands over your shoulders and down your arms “what’s wrong?” he froze when his arms reached your forearms, running his fingers over the raised flesh so he knew he wasn’t imagining it. Your breathing only sped up, your throat felt like it was constricting. “y/n...” he was angry, not at you, at himself. You’d been together for so long and he never realised? He used to find the fact that you only wore oversized hoodies adorable, seeing you drown in the material warmed his heart, now it made him sick. Did you not want him to see? Did you not trust him? Why didn’t he notice?

“Ouch Haji..” your squeak shook him out of his thoughts and he released your wrists, not realising how tight his grip was getting. He then noticed your wide eyes and shallow breaths and realised you were having a panic attack “y/n-shit. i’m so sorry here, breathe with me baby okay?” he held your hands and led your breathing until you calmed down. You changed into one of his shirts and some shorts before sitting next to him on the bed. “Baby, please tell me none of those are new.” he pulled you onto him so you were sitting on him “they aren’t, i was going to tell you i was just...ashamed? i’m not sure it’s complicated, i know i’m not what you signed up for..” he held your arm out gently, tracing the scars with his fingers before pressing your wrist against his lips. He kissed along each of your scars, mumbling how much he loved you while a few stray tears escaped his eyes.

“If you ever feel that way again, i want you to tell me first okay? I love you, you’re so strong and beautiful, you’re my home okay? i need you and i want you to be able to rely on me too.” you nodded before kissing him, smiling against his lips “thank you haji” you began playing with the hair at the nape of his neck and he nuzzled his face into your neck, picking you up and lying you down fully under the covers “you don’t have to hide them around me y’know” you hummed, playing with his hair, kissing his forehead as he peppered kisses along your jaw “goodnight haji”.

Tsukkishima

~ you don’t know what exactly led you to feeling this way again, but you were back to feeling numb, wanting more than anything to feel

~ although you knew better, you still made you way to the bathroom, blade in hand like you were on autopilot

~ you hadn’t told tsukkishima yet, too afraid of what he’d say, what he’d do. He was rarely serious as it was and you didn’t feel the need to burden him with this

Tsukkishima wasn’t dumb. He was smart, he noticed when you were uncomfortable in public and would take you out of there without you needing to express your discomfort. He noticed advertisements for that show you mentioned a few weeks ago on the back of a bus. He noticed the clothes you wore and how you fiddled with the edges of your sleeves. He noticed the empty look behind your eyes sometimes and the fake smiles you’d send his way when he asked if you were feeling okay. He hated it. He felt so powerless, he wasn’t certain but he was almost positive and he wanted to help you but he didn’t know how.

You weren’t answering your phone so Tsukki let himself inside, making his way up to your room only to see your phone on your bed but you nowhere to be found. He walked down the hallway and noticed the light on in the bathroom.

You looked up from the floor, hearing a knock on the bathroom door. “Yes? I’m in here.” your heart leapt into your throat when the door knob started rattling and you quickly sat against the door. “Y/N? move, what are you doing on the floor?” You froze at the sound of Keis voice “Kei? what are you doing here?” you tried to push harder against the door but he pushed it far enough to let himself into the bathroom. You had rolled your sleeves back down but he saw the bloodied blade on the counter. “Take off the jacket” you rolled your eyes “I’m not in the mood right now Kei” he moved towards you “y/n.” the sad tone in his voice made your lip quiver, he knew. You slowly took your jacket off and looked away from him as you started to tear up “i know i’m not what you signed up for but please-“”dumbass, why didn’t you tell me...” you looked up at him to find him staring at the cuts, you tried to speak but you couldn’t.

Tsukki moved to the medicine cabinet and took out some bandages and alcohol wipes, cleaning and dressing the wounds while you cried softly. “y/n, i’m not leaving okay? you don’t need to cry, i’m here.” you wrapped your arms around his neck and he hugged your waist, burying his nose in your hair. “Kei i’m sorry i didn’t tell you i just didn’t want you to break up with me..” “i’ve known for a while now, i’m not mad but i will be if you feel like this again and don’t tell me. I’m you boyfriend, you’re one of the few people i can stand and i’m not gonna have you thinking i don’t care okay?” you nodded at him, burying your face in his chest “i love you kei, i promise i’ll talk to you more..” he rubbed your back soothingly “good, dumbass. i love you too..”

[lilcomfyfics]

Fredrick Chilton x male reader

Warnings: hospital setting, mentions of abel gideon, unprofessional nurse making assumptions, loopy chilton

Summary: A long time friend of Dr. Chilton's gets a call after his run in with Abel Gideon. Is this the push they both needed?

_______________________________________________

Dr. L/N was at his home when he received a phone call. Checking the caller ID, he instantly knew something was amiss. It was one of Fredrick's acquaintances who he had been briefly introduced to a couple months prior. With his anxiety already flaring up, he answers the phone only to be told the news that his long-time friend had been gutted by one of his former patients. The caller told him when and where he would be allowed to see him. Everything felt too quiet after the call ended. The nagging space was filled with pacing, the tapping of feet, pacing some more, attempting to read, and finally a sigh. How could he stay calm and patient in this situation? Really, he's doing everything he can to avoid thinking about how bad he's got it for Fredrick. The thought of losing him hurt him so much. Far more than any friend should feel. It downright broke his heart. Even calling him just his friend left a horrible taste in his mouth. There had always been this unspoken thing between them and this made that bag carefully holding all these feelings snap from the tension. They have been playing this game for long enough, the doctor decides as he grabs his keys to go see his long-time crush at the first opportunity.

There he was lying broken in his hospital bed. Looking far from the Dr. Chilton everyone knew and well, he wasn't known for being very likeable. Despite that fact, there were a few cards littered in his hospital room. More importantly, a very anxious man waiting was for him to regain consciousness. As soon as he had exited his house, the memories came flooding back. All those almost-kisses and lingering glances made his heart ache. On the way to the hospital, his mind drifted to the first time they met. Both in med school at the time, Fredrick thought y/n didn't notice his staring but he definitely did. He thought it was adorable and if he hadn't already been in a relationship he would have broken the ice first. Might have even asked him on a date on the spot. When they finally did speak, his girlfriend had arrived to interrupt the conversation which made Fredrick deflate right then and there. Neither had made any move in all these years and it was extremely frustrating on both ends. They'd get together for dinner sometimes and sometimes even end up cuddling on Chilton's couch. More than once they had been locked in a tension-filled moment and almost kissed each other but Fredrick always pulled away. He was always doing that, pushing him away when there was any chance he could be rejected. It was too much for his lonely heart to bear. This was his only friend after all. What if things got awkward? He would rather suffer crushing on him for eternity than lose his friendship. It's safe to say that y/n was gonna have to make the first move and after a scare like that? He can't wait another second.

Finally, green eyes blinked open with a groan. Everything that happened came rushing back to him. All of his emotions overwhelmed him and caused him to panic. As Fredrick is fighting a panic attack, his heart monitor picked up loudly. A nurse came in and checked on him. After being brought out of his panicked state, he finally noticed the other person in the room. His long-time crush was curled up in an uncomfortable chair and had slept through the commotion. Dr. Chilton's heart skipped a beat and the nurse followed his gaze. She wore a satisfied expression as if her suspicions had been confirmed. He shot her a glare, which she ignored, before informing him that his 'boyfriend' had been here the whole time.

"It's no wonder he slept through that, he's been waiting a long time. He's definitely going to kick himself when he realizes he wasn't awake for this." She jokes but Fredrick can't take his eyes off him.

The nurse left quietly after double-checking everything. Chilton relaxed a bit more and stared up at the plain ceiling. He really didn't want his friend to see him like this. His thoughts about being weak and pathetic came flooding in like an all too familiar tide. He clenched his jaw and dared to look at the sleeping man again. All the frustration washed away when he saw that the man had repositioned himself in his sleep. Fredrick could see his face much clearer now. The clear indications of exhaustion caught him by surprise. He pushed away even more thoughts that were just remnants of his upbringing and allowed himself to feel loved. Even if just for a moment, he allowed himself to feel cared about.

He remembered how entranced he was when he first met the man. They were in a lecture at university and the man had sat a row or two ahead. Dr. Chilton silently thanked whatever god was out there that he didn't notice him staring for weeks before gathering up the nerve to approach him. Bitterly, he's reminded that when he finally did get up the courage, his crush's girlfriend had appeared to steal him away. He shook those memories away, feeling better after reminding himself that he was the one who had his attention in the end. He was the one who would end up cuddling with him on his couch some nights. He was the one who got to see his handsome features up close. Even if he backed out of kissing him every time out of fear, his friend didn't seem to judge him. Truthfully they hadn't really talked about any of this and it made Fredrick unbelievably nervous. He felt like either way he was a burden. If there was something real between them then he's been holding it up with his anxieties. If it's all just imagined, he's made his best and only friend extremely uncomfortable. He sighed and winced at his injuries. How could he ever love him now anyway? He will undoubtedly have a very noticeable scar after this. Still, he recalled when he had no one else to celebrate with when he got the job as head of the BSHCI and he called this cutie. He sounded genuinely happy for him and immediately came over to celebrate. He'll never forget how amazing that day was.

Slowly uncurling himself and sighing, the man opens his eyes. Fredrick is staring at him like he's an expensive painting on the wall which causes him to blush. He's never looked at him like that so openly before. It caught him off guard. Maybe this really is the right time, the man thought hopefully.

"You're awake." the man remarked with a grin. "It's so like you to wake up the one time I was asleep." he teases.

Fredrick scoffed but stayed silent trying to cover up how much the action irritated his injury. This prompts the man to gently put his hand over Fredrick's and ask if he's alright. His heart monitor speeds up and as if on queue the nurse walks in. Seeing them holding hands, she's now completely certain her unprofessional assumptions were correct. Fredrick instinctively pushes the man away out of embarrassment. Sadly, he's far too used to it at this point to complain.

"Good to see you both awake for once." She joked, nodding toward the newly awoken man. "Now you can stop all that pacing, right? Your boyfriend is gonna be fine."

The remark made Fredrick simultaneously overjoyed and annoyed. He got butterflies but how dare this nurse be so unprofessional! She can't just make assumptions like that! Yet they both waited for the other to object and neither spoke up.

Only after the nurse left were they able to meet each other's eyes. Both unsure but hopeful as they tried to read the other's face. The man broke the silence but neither would break the stare.

"There's something I need to tell you." Fredrick tried everything to smother the concoction of emotions he felt at hearing that. "When I got the call and heard about everything, it broke my heart to think I almost lost you. I'm sorry if this changes things between us but I can't pretend anymore. I love you, Freddy."

Happy tears threatened to run down the broken man's cheeks as he tried to comprehend what he was hearing. Was he dreaming? It had to be the pain medicine, right? If that wasn't, the way his own confession slipped out effortlessly definitely was. He even admitted to having feelings for him before they ever spoke.

"Oh, was that what all the staring was about?" the man snickered causing the injured man to jolt more than he should have.

"YOU KNEW?!" Chilton exclaims in horror.

He just laughs lightly in response which causes Chilton to huff with his own little smile. They fall into a comfortable silence. Both hopeful with a weight lifted off their shoulders. They had questions and concerns about their future together but those could wait for now. With his hand holding Fredrick's, all his worries melted away. They would get through this, together.

[kezibun]

This is a raffle prize fic for @rainbowut

From my Through the ages series. The theme is in the future, space.

Characters: Sans, Axe (HT Sans), Pluto (OT Sans.) Bow (@rainbowut) and Jupiter, (OT Papyrus,) who is only mentioned.

Ship: Bow x Pluto

I got a little carried away... This is one of my longer ficlets and just so you know this is my very first time ever writing sci-fi.

I really hope you enjoy.

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

Through the ages:

Bow and The Crew of Starglider Nine.

It’s getting hard to breathe.

You should panic.

But you don’t have the energy.

Cold.

Hungry.

Alone.

Helpless.

Everything is deathly silent, the silence of the void, of space.

This isn’t how you thought it would go.

“The powers out. That’s never good,”

A voice? Are you hearing things?

“You connected to any com’s?”

“One step ahead of you.”

Two? People?

“Hello? Anyone there?”

You try to scream for help, but don’t make a sound.

“You see anyone?”

“No. Not yet… wait.”

A moment of silence…

Please. Help. Please.

“Sans!! I found someone. A human I think. Oxygen’s too low… critical condition.” A static crackle sounds, “Pluto to Axe! We’re coming back asap. Get a human med kit ready.”

…

“How’s everything going?”

“Alright.”

...

You slowly open your eyes…

It’s bright. You can’t help but groan as you stir awake.

“Is she waking up?” A voice chimes.

“Maybe.” A deeper voice replies.

You open your eyes fully. The room is small but bright. Too bright, and two skeletons are standing over you…?

You rub your eyes. “Did I die?” you mutter.

“No,” Laughs the shorter skeleton. His hood looks fluffy.

You sit up. You see the machines, the med supplies, the pure whiteness of the room. There is this unmistakable sterile smell. You try to recall… What had happened?

You gasp, “You… you saved me!?”

“Yup,” Fluffy hood replies.

The taller one just nods.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m ok thanks, um... How long was I out?”

“48 hours.” Tallboy shrugs.

“Oh wow, a while then… thank you though, for this.”

“It’s no problem, right?” Fluffy-hood looks to Tallboy.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Oh, right, we should introduce ourselves.” fluffy hood facepalms, “The name’s Pluto, I’m the captain here.” he gestures to the other. “this is Axe our medic.”

Axe raises his hand in a lazy wave.

“Right yeah um, you can call me Bow.”

“Bow… that’s a nice name, it’s nice to meet you Bow,” Pluto says.

“Likewise.” You give them a little smile. “And uh, Pluto, Axe, thank you both for helping me.”

“No problem, and um, Welcome aboard Starglider Nine.” He then looks at a clipboard in his hand. “I have a few more things to do before dinner and uh… you need to rest up, Axe will look after you, I’ll um… maybe I’ll see you later.” The door sides open then closes behind him.

“Like he said you should rest…” Axe mutters. “Just ask if ya need anything.”

“Ok.” You nod and lay your head down, it’s not the comfiest bed but it’ll do for sure, you’re still so tired, you need to heal up, so slumber takes you swiftly.

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

Sans, Axe, and Pluto sit around the table. Pluto writes ‘meeting objective: Bow?’ on a holo screen in the middle.

“I don’t trust her.” Sans crosses her arms “what was she doing out there?”

“You heard the report, She was possibly from that ship that was attacked,” Pluto replies.

“Weren't the other survivors found on the other side of the crash?”

“Could have just drifted further.” Pluto shrugs.

“Oh, have you heard back from Jupiter yet?” Axe pipes up.

“Not yet, he said he has quite a bit on his plate and he’ll get to checking our request soon.”

“What are we gonna do till then?” Sans asks.

“First we need to look after her, heal her up then you can ask any of your questions I suppose.”

“She’s almost fully recovered,” Axe informs. “Should be up on her feet by the morning.”

“Well, she’s your responsibility, Captain Pluto.” Sans gets up and sends out a half-hearted salute. “I’m heading to bed.”

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

You wake again, it’s much darker now, the lights are a dim gold, slowly getting brighter if this is anything like. The ship you used to. Work on. Then this was the morning cycle. You sit up looking around, some small lights over some of the medical equipment flicker. Apart from the occasional beep, the room is quiet.

I should check.

You look around, definitely alone. Pulling your sleeve up, to uncover your silver bracelet, you press a sequence onto it, and the data glow, illuminating the room. All there, no corruption. Perfect. You deactivate it and then notice something.

A little pile of books sit on a table next to you, a note, in almost printed levels of neat writing on it that reads, ‘in case you got bored.’ a doodled flower in the corner.

That's sweet.

You look through, it’s a very random mix of books. You don’t get time to read any though, not before the door slides open.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Was that Pluto? He doesn’t sound right... “Hey, Pluto!? Kid’s awake,” he calls behind him. Guess not.

Pluto comes in not long after. “Thanks, Sans.” he nods before coming over. “Morning Bow, how are you doing?”

“Much better.”

“Good, if you’re up for it, I can give you a quick tour then you can join the crew for breakfast. If you, well if you want to? That is.” He holds out a hand to you.

“Sure why not.” You take his hand and stand, a little shaky you haven’t walked with gravity for a while now, but you gain your balance.

He lets go of your hand but makes sure you’re steady. “So obviously this is our little med bay,” he leads you out. “Down to the left is our engine room and the storage at the end of the ship.”

You look left as he gestures, there are two doors both labelled as he said.

“And behind me,” he steps aside. “Is the bedroom and washroom.”

You nod taking a mental note of the layout.

“This way is our living area.” he directs you down the small corridor to an open area, a small sitting space to the right, kitchen and eating area on the left.

Axe is sitting at the table eating and you spot the back of a skull of another skeleton lounging on a couch.

“The cockpit is just up there.” he points to a door past the open area. “You got it?”

“Yeah think so.”

“Cool if you need anything just ask, now how does breakfast sound?”

“Some food sounds great about now.”

“Alright what can I get you?”

“Just anything you’ve got spare.”

“I’ll get on that. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thanks.”

You figured you might as well sit at the table. You give Axe a little wave, he gives you a little nod as he eats his breakfast.

“Sans.” Pluto says, his tone a little annoyed, “if you’re eating over there, I swear-.”

“Yeah. yeah, I know, you’re Bro will kill us if we mess up the ship.” he sighs making his way to the table, hot dog in hand.

“Hey kid, names Sans. Sans the skeleton. I’m the mechanic.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Bow, I-, well, I was a pilot…”

“A pilot hey?” Pluto chimes as he places a plate of warm freshly generated waffles in front of you. “Hope you like waffles.”

“Thanks.”

He sits at the table with a plate of his own waffles.

“You know.” Sans hums. “Pluto’s our pilot. Aren’t we down a co-pilot at the moment?”

Axe nods. “Some of our usual crew are out on different missions.”

“I don’t mind helping out if you need.” You chime.

“I mean you don’t have to…” Pluto reaches for a bottle of chocolate sauce. “But like If you wanna help I wouldn’t stop you,” he mutters, pouring chocolate over his food. “Oh so, did you know chocolate sauce was part of the first meal ever eaten in space so many centuries ago?”

“I didn’t. So you’re into history?”

“Oh well… only if it’s... I mean a just little.” Did his skull flush a little? Or was that your imagination?

Sans chuckles a little. “Anyway kid, can I ask you some questions?”

You nod. “Sure but can I ask one first?”

“Shoot.”

“Have you guys seen any more people? Lost in space like how I was?”

“Not personally.” Sans shrugs.

“But we’ve heard reports,” Pluto adds. “Are you missing some family? Or friends?”

“Not really, I was just worried, I hope everyone got to safety.”

“Well, there have been many reports of people from the Skytanic cruiser being rescued. Is that the ship you’re from?”

“Yeah. That's the one, it’s so good to hear.”

“So what happened?” Sans leans on his hand.

“The ship was attacked.” You looked down. “I don’t know much more than that, all non-essentials were told to make a swift retreat to the closest escape pod.”

“Aren’t pilots kinda essential?” He leans forward, you don’t like how he seems to stare right through you.

“Well yeah, I wasn’t on shift at the time, I feel a bit bad because I was supposed to be but I switched with someone else. I really. I just hope they made it.”

“I’m really sorry Bow, I hope they made it too.” Pluto sympathises. “We could look through reports to find them? If you’d like.”

You shake your head. “I’m worried I… I don’t want to know if she didn’t.” You sniffle. “I’d rather just hope for the best.”

A blaring alarm sounds. Red lights flash. Everyone jumps.

“What in space?”

You all rush to the cockpit.

Asteroids. Asteroids everywhere.

Pluto jumps into the pilot seat, halting the ship to a stop. “How the supernova!? But the… I set the course yesterday.” he turns and sighs. “Sans, I left you in here for 2 minutes last night, what did you do?”

“I uuh… may have knocked it..? I thought it was fine.” He shrugs.

“Go get your tools, we’ll probably need them after this.”

“Kay…” Sans disappears.

“Now to get us outta this mess.”

You jump into the co-pilot seat, determination in your eyes. “Let me help, I’ve manoeuvred asteroid belts like these loads.”

“Thanks. And Axe can you get on the canon.” Pluto cracks his phalanges. “Alright, let's get this over with.”

“Up!”

“Down.”

Thud!

A small asteroid bashes the back of the ship.

“Left.”

“Fire!” an explosion before you, spraying tiny rocks over the place, some hit with a dull metal clink.

Steering in sync took a moment, but you got it as the adrenalin takes over.

“Down,”

“left.”

Operating the thruster gear helped as you swerve through the floating rocks.

“Danm.”

A tight squeeze scrapes at the sides of the ship.

Sans appears in the cockpit again. “That wasn’t good…”

“No duh.”

Finally, the ship is out in clear space. The alarm stops.

You all huff a sigh of relief.

A different beep then sounds as a holo-display of the ship pops up… red marks of damage scattered everywhere.

Sans clears his throat. “Yeah, we’re gonna need to land.”

“Alright.” Pluto taps at his wrist tab until it displays a map.

There’s pretty much nothing in this area. Pluto zooms in on the closest inhabited planet.

Sans shakes his head. “We won’t make it that far. It’s risky but if I have to, I can suit up and go out to fix it.”

You look over the map, you recognise it.

“Hey wait.” The boys look to you. “I know of this planet not far.” You reach for the map. “May I?”

Pluto nods.

You scroll to a tiny unnamed dwarf planet that’s orbiting a small star.

“This little planet, it’s uninhabited because of a lack of drinkable water but the air is breathable. Not great if you need parts but if all we need is to land? It should be close enough.”

Pluto taps at the ship’s controls again. “The ACM is operational if we need to print parts. What do you think?” He looks over at Sans.

“Yeah, It’ll do.”

“Axe, you good with that?”

“Whatever you need.”

“That’s settled, let’s go.”

It wasn’t long until you found the small planet, Pluto landed the ship safely despite the worrying sounds of crunching and cracking of the bashed ship as he did so.

With all the gear collected the four of you step out to set up camp, while sans repairs the ship you all need to stay out as much as possible according to their proto calls.

You step out on the dry ground, the heat waves over you. The dusty rock stained teal by the rich minerals, the sky a pale green, the orange-yellow star shines above your heads the size of your fist.

Each with a small emergency pod those pop up boxes that connect to make small rooms for a crew shelter. They took minutes to set up so Pluto then set up a solar generator and a little camp kitchen. You help string up lights and set a perimeter barrier. You help Sans a little even though you're, not the greatest mechanic, you at least could pass him some tools.

Before long you’re all sat centre camp enjoying a meal under the deep purple sky with the dim flickering solar lights.

“There’s something nice about sitting under the stars like this.” Pluto hums.

“Yeah, been a while.” Axe agrees.

“Gotta say, those 3 moons look way nicer from down here.” Sans muses.

You nod looking up as you eat, there is something about hand-cooked as opposed to generated food that's just so good.

“This food is amazing, I’ve not had a meal like this in a while. Man with a cool ship like yours why don’t you have a stove and eat like this more often?”

“Fire hazard,” Pluto shrugs. “Plus generating food is easier on missions and the less cryo-food on board the better. Only emergency supplies for a few days are carried.”

“Oh fair, fair.”

“How was food on the Skytanic?” Sans asks.

“Yeah what was it like? I heard every few weeks they even got a delivery of fresh foods.” Axe looks almost like he’s daydreaming.

“Um, well, unfortunately, staff got generated meals but the guests got real cooked meals.”

“That’s a shame.” Axe sighs.

“Oh I had a question,” Sans queries, “how come you said if you’ve manoeuvred through asteroids if you pilot a cruiser?”

“You see before I worked there I just liked flying around in a small ship, and well when I’m on break I still like to.”

“how’d you know of this little planet?”

“I’ve actually stopped here before for a little rest when flying solo.”

“Cool, how come you stop by here of all places?”

“Sans, do you have to interrogate Bow every conversation?” Pluto huffs.

“Come on, I just wanna know her a little better.”

“It’s ok.” You say even though it wasn’t really, not that you can admit that.

The conversation was minimal after that before you all headed to your pods for the night. You were restless, space lag? Or maybe guilt, whatever it was you had enough. You get up sneaking out your pod, out the perimeter barrier. You need some space, and you’ve been here before so you know the perfect place.

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

The rest of the crew woke once the day had officially begun. Pluto rings the bell on your pod.

“Hey Bow, we’re having breakfast.”

No reply.

“Bow?” He knocks just in case the bell is faulty.

No reply again, he starts to get a little worried. He taps at his wrist screen. Pod empty appears in red writing. He taps some more. Pod door last active 1 hour ago.

“Guys we have a problem.”

After pondering what to do, should they follow? Should they wait? Pluto’s com rings.

He answers, a holo of his brother, the main captain, projects from the little device.

“Little early for a report isn’t it?” Pluto jokes.

“BROTHER, I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING,” Jupiter says, his tone deadly serious.

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

You walk back a shiny rock in hand.

“I knew it,” Sans exclaims.

“Knew what?” You ask, everyone jumps.

Pluto then looks at you seriously. “Where have you been?”

“I went for a walk, Look I found this in a crystal cave not far from here.”

“A likely story.” Sans rolls his eyes.

“What?”

“Bow we need to talk.” Pluto crosses his arms.

“Ok just let me put this in my pod.”

“NO. Now.”

“O-okay,” You nod and stand waiting. “Is this because I didn’t tell you I was going for a walk? If so I’m sorry. I would of but you were all asleep.”

“Come with me.” he sighs.

You follow as he takes you into his pod, he taps at the panel until the bed disappears replaced by a table and chairs.

“Sit.”

You do so. He sits opposite you. A holo appears before you and your heart sinks.

Your name is in red above your picture. Wanted felon. Member of the Novablade pirates.

“Care to explain?”

How could you think you could get away from this?

“I’m sorry,” you mutter looking down.

He clears his non-existent throat. “For what exactly?”

“I’m sorry for lying to you all, I didn’t know if I could trust you yet. But please let me explain.”

“Be my guest.” he waves his hand, tilting his head.

“I never wanted to be a space pirate. I was dragged into the gang. Ever since I’ve been trying to find a way out. The ship was hit by the Skytanic’s protectors. Minimal damage but I knew one missing escape pod from that area would go unnoticed, I made the split minute decision to run. I stole some data while I was at it. But I made a little miscalculation, and my pod drifted into deep empty space until you found me.”

“What data?”

You click your bracelet a map displays. “The whereabouts of all the Novablades bases, stop points. Anywhere they might hide. I want to stop the suffering they cause, I just couldn’t take it anymore.” You finally look up at him.

He looks away. “How can I know you’re telling the truth? You’ve lied to my face before.”

“You don’t have to believe me, I know after something like this… you probably can’t. You.. can drop me off at the next inhabited planet, or take me to the closest law enforcement or even leave me here for dead if you’d like.” You sigh.

“Sans, what do you think?” He says to his com.

“I think you’ve got the truth this time buddy. Especially if she’ll willing to hand over that data.”

Pluto looks up to you.

“Have It.” you slide the bracelet over the table to him.

“I need to report to my brother to see what he thinks. Sit tight.”

He takes the bracelet and leaves you there.

An hour passes and Axe brings you breakfast, leaving promptly without a word.

Another hour of boredom. Sat in a pretty much empty box.

After a third hour, Pluto comes back looking a little happier. You sit up hoping to hear some good news.

“I have some bad news. You’re under arrest.”

You sigh. “That’s fair.”

“The good news is.”

You lookup.

“Your story in mind, and in exchange for the data, we’ve struck a deal and the galactic law have permitted you the opportunity to stay under our watch in galactic community service as a member of our crew for 10 years, or you can go to trial for the crimes you’ve been linked to but then you’re looking at jail time. I’ll let you think on that.”

“I’ll take it.”

“What?”

“I’ll join your crew. I’ll do the community service. I promise I won’t do any funny business. I just out of Novablade.”

“You know the galactic law can then send you on any mission they please?”

“I understand, sometimes that involves cleaning space, scouting, getting rid of threats, delivering random supplies and stuff. Ya don’t try opting out of a gang without looking at your options.”

“Alright. I’ll let my Bro, I mean our captain, know the news.” He gives you a little smile. “Don’t let us down.”

“You can count on me.”

He opens the door. “Can you give Sans a hand with repairs?”

“Yes, Captain.”

You head over to where Sans is working. You hesitate.

“Took that deal then kid?”

“Yeah… and um, I’m sorry for lying to you all.” You sigh.

“Don’t sweat it kid, and I mean you were pretty good at it.” he chuckles.

“You saw right through it though didn’t you?”

“I got a knack for it,” he shrugs, “mind passing the sonic polydrive?”

“Sure.” you pass him the tool.

“Ya know, I have a knack for seeing people’s guilt, but Pluto sees the best in people, literally, I swear he reads people motivations.”

“Oh?”

“Think he was mostly annoyed at himself cuz he thought he misread you or something.” Sans chuckles.

“You think? I was worried I’d completely shattered any trust any of you have in me.”

“I mean you kinda did.” he passes you the polydrive back.

You put it in the toolbox.

“Hold this for me,” he asks.

You hold the metal panel in place while Sans secures it.

“But he wouldn’t have asked Jupiter to strike that deal if he didn’t think you were genuine.”

“That’s nice to know, thank you.”

“Just know if you mess with us you’ll have a bad time.” His tone went dark.

You shiver.

“But if you don’t mess with us you’ll be fine.”

“I promise, I’ll be as good as gold.”

“Then we’ll have no problem.” he finishes attaching the panel and steps to the next area to fix. “Polydrive.”

You hand him the tool.

“Ya know Pluto really feels responsible for you.” Sans looks over his shoulder as he works.

“Really? How so?”

“Well, not only cuz he takes being captain seriously but also cuz he found you. He dragged you outta that escape pod.”

“He saved me?”

“We all helped but yeah, pretty much.”

You help Sans fix up the rest of the ship, taking a lunch break in the middle of course, and finally, a little before sunset the ship was up to safety protocol. You could have taken off there and then but Pluto suggested you all stay one more night.

You wanted to get a really good look at the sunset. You missed it yesterday because you were busy working but you love the sunset here. Of course, you couldn’t go alone anymore, But Sans was too tired and Axe was cooking tonight. Pluto though was more than happy to venture out with you.

You take him up to the little cliff you like to sit at the few times you’ve visited here.

You sit side by side watching the green sky fade into hues of pink and purple as the orange star slips behind the rocky mountains in the distance.

There is a comfortable silence before Pluto breaks the quiet.

“You know, this planet is a similar size to the planet I’m named after.”

“There’s a planet named Pluto?” You giggle. “Where’s that?”

“In, the milky way. It’s a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt in the solar system.”

“How did you get named after a planet In the solar system?”

“it’s a family name from back when monsters and humans lived on earth, and when space travel first started, apparently my ancestor named his son after his favourite Planet in their system in tribute, and It became a family name.”

“Oh come on, people coming from earth is just a myth.” You giggle.

“Well I like myths.” he chuckles back.

“Where did your name come from Rainbow?”

“I don’t actually know.” you shrug.

“Let me look it up.” he looks it up on his device.

“Your’s comes from earth too. Apparently, when the sun’s rays hit the rain from clouds just right it made an arch of every colour in the sky. I found a picture.” he shows you the rainbow on his screen. “It’s just as pretty as you…”

He rubs the back of his skull, which is dusted in a galaxy blue highlighting the cute little freckles across his cheeks.

“Thank you.” You feel your own face warm up.

“S-say… I think this planet needs a name, do you want to name it together?”

You nod. “Any ideas?”

“We could call it Pluto the 2nd.” He laughs.

You laugh with him.

“Ok being more serious. What does this planet make you think of?” he looks over the landscape.

You think for a minute. “Weirdly enough water.”

“But this planet is as dry as a bone.” He giggles.

“I know, I know, but look at the colours.”

“Yeah, yeah, I see it.”

“We can’t just call it water though.” you think… but you’re stumped.

“Oh, so when on earth people named planets after mythology.”

“That would be cool, do you know much about mythology?”

“I said I liked myths, didn’t I? So I know a little.”

“Is there any water-themed myths?”

“Quite a few I think, you know I scanned in a book about myths so let me check.”

“You have a book? I thought they were all gone?”

He just nods, focused on reading. “Here, a list of mythological water creatures, any look good to you?”

You read through the various names. “What about Cetus?”

“I like it.” he chimes. “What if we call the biggest moon Lerna, after the coast the Hydra lived in?”

“That’s so cool. We could call the other two Scylla and Charybdis after this sea monster and its whirlpool?” you point to it on his display.

Pluto nods. “I love it. I’ll submit those names right now.” he gives you a big smile.

The sun is completely down now, so you head back for dinner, ready to wake in the morning and start this new life, with a new crew.”

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

Hope you liked uwu

QQ Outertale was a special request but should I add Pluto and Jupiter to my usual line up?

I had fun writing this space boi.

[hellowkatey]

it's late night writing hours my guys. so here's a little bit of what happens before and after Echo gets absolutely wrecked by a cafeteria tray in Aftermath

2.6k words ~ CW: PTSD/panic attacks/medical trauma

For a glorious moment, Omega revels in the chaos she had started. She isn't quite sure what foodstuffs make up the greasy loafs that are served in the trooper's mess hall. Whatever they are, they make a satisfying splat noise when hitting armor, and get quite a bit of air when thrown.

Now, the revolting loafs are sailing through the air from every direction. Omega ducks behind Hunter as he decks one of the clones clear across the table. His other hand reaches back to lightly pat her upper arm, as though to make sure she's still there. Her heart soars at the gesture, and she grins as wide as her face allows while jumping on the table to chuck another handful of food at a trooper winding up to punch Echo. It smacks him in the cheek, distracting him long enough for Echo to land a left hook of his own.

Crosshair is still seated, ducking out of the way of projectiles while continuing to shovel food into his mouth. Omega watches with great amusement as Echo is kicked backwards— straight onto Crosshair's tray. His face begins cycling through the stages of grief, and ends on anger. She can't help but giggle at him slamming his fist on the table and whipping his ruined tray like a frisbee, hitting three separate troopers in the process. Though he seemed hesitant to engage earlier, he lunges at a clone that has Tech in a headlock, sending all three of them in a tangled heap.

Omega's adrenaline is pumping, heartbeat in her ears as she takes a running start and throws herself onto the shoulders of a clone. The room blurs as he whirls her around, hands trying grab her small arms. When he can't seem to whip her off, the clone suddenly bends forward at the hips, bucking Omega down onto the table. He obviously didn't expect her to be so light because she slips from his grasp and slides toward the end of the table, the air getting pushed out of her lungs. She lies still for a few seconds, breathing heavily.

What she's above makes her adrenaline high suddenly vanish. In the window that overlooks the cafeteria, Lama Su glares down at the food fight. Standing next to him is a military officer— high ranking by the looks of him. He sneers at the flying food and the troopers, saying something to Lama Su with his lip curled in disgust. She's seen his expression before on the faces of others that come to tour the facility. People revolted or offended by the very idea of clones. They're the type of people that seem little too interested in the decommissioning process. Omega has not idea who this is, but he looks official and that gives her a bad feeling.

With her breath back in her chest she rolls to her stomach just in time to see Echo sitting on the floor in the midst of the fighting. He also stares up at the officer and Lama Su, disgust across his own pale face. Does he know him? she wonders.

But as he is distracted by their spectators, the clone he knocked to the ground picks up an abandoned tray and raises it above his head.

"Echo, watch out!" Tech yells, reaching out to the cybernetic clone, but getting tackled to the ground before he can do anything. Omega's eyes widen in horror as the trooper puts his entire strength behind the tray as it swings, slamming into the side of Echo's head.

"Echo, no!" Omega screams as he pitches to the side, eyes already closed and mind dead to the world before he even hits the ground. She quickly presses a button on her commlink that alerts medical to her location and jumps off the table to weave through the troopers that have been momentarily distracted by the jarring sound of a metal tray hitting cybernetic implants.

Tech has fought his way to Echo's side, two fingers pressed against his neck as he yells out his name. The rest of the Bad Batch has taken notice of their fallen brother now, and suddenly the entire atmosphere turns serious. Wrecker isn't laughing anymore as he picks up clones and literally throws them out of the way to clear a path. Hunter and Crosshair, who were displaced to the other side of the caf, now run across the top of the tables, landing punches and throwing trays without breaking stride. Tech has hoisted Echo over his shoulder as the rest of their squad form a protective circle facing outward. Omega slips behind Hunter, unable to take her eyes off Echo's unresponsive face.

"We need to get him out of here," Tech says, his eyes flickering to every one of the cafeteria entrances. Probably doing a calculation of some sort for the quickest way to the med wing.

"Medical is on their way, we can meet them in the corridor," Omega offers, but the others don't seem to process that she's even there. She cowers at Wrecker's side, anxiety that they're upset with her eating away at her heart.

"Keep tight, let's move," Hunter says, and they all seem to know exactly what that means. Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair flank Tech on both sides and at his back as they run toward the exit.

They nearly pass the medical droid rushing toward the caf with a stretcher.

"Wait!" she yells, louder this time. Even if they're mad at her, at least she can try and make it up to them. This time, they actually listen to her. "This stretcher is for Echo,"

The boys look at one another and then seem to accept this. Tech gently places his unconscious brother on the stretcher as Nala Se comes rushing around the corner. The medical droid wastes no time and performing a quick scan.

"CT-1409 preliminary assessment: head trauma resulting in loss of consciousness. Patient is stable but require further testing."

"Echo isn't going to like that," Wrecker mutters.

Nala Se's blank eyes flicker from the unconscious clone to a food-covered Omega a she comes to a stop at the foot of Echo's stretcher. The medical assistant can already tell she is in for a big lecture after this stunt.

"Take CT-1409 to the medical-wing," the Kaminoan scientist says in her airy voice. "Omega, assist in the transport."

Omega places her hand on the side of the stretcher, avoiding the hard gaze of her mistress. "Yes, Nala Se."

The Kaminoan now looks at each of the others. "All clones involved in the cafeteria incident are required to be assessed for injuries," she says. "You will report to the lower level medical wing immediately."

A weak chorus of "Yes sirs," rings out and the Kaminoan continues down the hall toward the caf.

Omega starts pushing Echo's stretcher toward the medical wing, feeling the heavy footsteps of four shadows trailing behind her. Apparently a direct order wasn't enough for them.

"They won't let you guys in while he's getting tests run." Omega says while staring straight ahead. Looking at them now will fill her with too much shame.

"We're staying with him," Hunter replies as-a-matter-of-factly.

"You'll get in trouble."

"We're already in trouble, what's breaking one more rule?" Wrecker says.

Omega suddenly stops, forcing herself to look at them. They all have varying degrees of worry etched across the faces. She locks eyes with Hunter, hoping she can at least get him on her side. The last thing she wants is to be the reason they get in trouble again. "At least go get your check-up and clean the grease off your armor. If you show up with me, covered in food, then you'll have to change into medical gowns... and I'll get in trouble." Hunter's eyes soften slightly, but she can still see his hesitation. He doesn't want to get her in trouble, but this is also one of his brothers she's telling them to leave. She knows how deep loyalty runs for these men.  "I promise I won't leave his side until you come to see him."

"We'll be back in ten minutes," Hunter says after a heavy sigh. "If he wakes up before then, comm us."

"You got it," Omega nods in understanding. Though the others don't seem too happy about leaving Echo, he gives him a pointed look and their shoulders slouch with compliance. Omega starts pushing the stretcher again and is halfway down the hall when Tech appears at her side.

"Echo does not do very well with medical tests," he explains, staring at Echo's prone figure rather than directly at Omega. "I recommend, from experience, to wait until he is conscious and aware of what is being done to him before performing any procedures outside of contactless scans."

Her eyes wander over the complex configuration of wires and tubes that wrap around Echo's head and body. She looks back to Tech, nodding.

"Thank you for telling me. I will do what I can to make sure he's okay."

Tech gives her a small smile, turning around, but then pausing. "Oh, and when he does wake, he might start swinging. So keep your distance and remove any possible projectiles." With that, he starts jogging after his brothers. She cannot tell if he was joking or not.

Omega lets out a shaky breath, holding back the urge to cry as she pushes Echo into the medical wing. AZ takes over as she ducks into the scrub room to change her soiled clothes.

Somehow trying to stand up for her friends has turned into one of them getting hurt— she didn't want that to happen she just... wanted to show them she was on their side. For a little while she did feel that incredible rush of belonging. But was it worth landing Echo in the medical bay?

Of course not. They'll never let me be one of them now.

It was dumb. Provoking a room full of troopers that already have it out for the Bad Batch was a thoughtless act. Nala Se is no doubt going to remind her of that and use it keep her sequestered from now on.

Omega emerges in fresh clothes as AZ is completing the brain scan. Echo is still unconscious.

"Is he gonna be alright, AZ?"

AZ's bug eyes always make him look like he's pitying whoever he's looking at. "CT-1409's"

"Echo," Omega interrupts him. "You can call him Echo."

The droid pauses, taking a moment to process that request.

"Patient CT-1409, a.k.a. Echo's scans are clear of skull fractures or bone contusions. My preliminary assessment is that he has sustained a mild concussion consistent with blunt force trauma. He will require a brain tissue scan to ensure there is no bleeding or clotting,"

"Good," Omega lets out a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"Your services will not be required further, Omega. You are free to return to your assigned duties."

She glares at the droid, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm staying, AZ. I promised the guys."

"But mistress Nala Se summoned you to the sub-level medical wing. You must go."

"No!" There's no way she's taking orders from a AZ. Even if he is her friend. "I'm staying here until he wakes up."

AZ shakes his head, his unexpressive droid face somehow looking disappointed. He hovers over to Echo to begin performing the tissue scan, and Omega goes to look for a blanket or something to make their patient more comfortable.

The distinct whirring of the scan is interrupted by a sharp gasp. Omega turns as Echo starts to flail.

"No! Get them off," he gasps, his arms swinging but hitting nothing. There's a clouded look in his panicked eyes as they frantically search the room.

"But my tests are not yet complete," the droid tries to explain while continuing to move closer. Omega is already running across the room, shoving AZ to the side.

"Echo, Echo, it's—" his unfocused gaze shifts from the corner filled with bacta tanks to her. "It's okay. It's me, Omega." His chest rises and falls as though he's been running for miles, and she raises her hands so he can clearly see them. "I understand." As his breathing slows, she realizes that AZ must have attached a heart and respiration monitor to Echo while she was changing. She slowly reaches down to pull them off of him. "I don't like being hooked up to their machines either."

A few brief memories float passively through her mind. Wires and needles and tubes coming from various places on her body. The sticky feeling of bacta on her skin and gathering between her fingers and toes. Silent tears streaming down her face every time she saw the instrument cart was full for the day.

Omega releases him from the monitors and looks up at him. Echo is still coming out of his panic, but he seems calmer now. He looks at her as though she has seven eyes and two noses, but at least he finally sees her.

"Hello CT-1409," AZ pipes up.

"His name is Echo," Omega reminds him.

"My name is AZ-34521189..." as he drones on with his serial identifier, Echo and Omega exchange glances. She offers him a comforting smile and though he doesn't really react, he does scoot himself further from AZ and closer to her, which is good enough for now. When AZ finishes, his body spins around on its axis, and Wrecker's voice suddenly rings out through the med wing.

"Ha! Told you he's alive!" The rest of the squad, now clean of grease, stroll in. "You owe me two credits," Wrecker says, jabbing a finger at Crosshair. They seem surprisingly relaxed, most of them nodding or even smiling at Omega as they gather around the foot of Echo's bed. The fact they even acknowledge her is unexpected.

AZ turns to the rest of them to give his assessment. In the mean time, Omega turns her attention back to Echo. His eyes aren't glazed over anymore but he still seems uneasy. Definitely uncomfortable sitting on a medical table. Omega has overheard the rumors of what happened on to him— how Echo was an ARC trooper that got captured and experimented on. It's obvious from his chemically bleached skin and the complex assortment of cybernetics that he's been through a certain kind of hell. But judging from how he reacted to a simple scan and heart monitor, she cannot imagine how bad it must have really been.

She decides to take the risk and lays her hand gently over his. His wide brown eyes look from the rest of his squad to her hand atop his, and then finally to her. Echo gives her an appreciative nod and a slight smile. Warmth fills her body again, stronger than it was when they were joining her in her food fight pursuits.

The young medical assistant looks to the others now, only to find Hunter has been ignoring AZ's grand reveal that they are genetically defective and is instead watching her. The sergeant's lips form a curious half-smile as he watches her pull her hand away from their injured brother. The giddy warmth in her chest builds even more. They aren't mad at her after all. In fact, she gets the feeling that they might even like her. Or, at least, acknowledge her existence-- which is progress from earlier.

Omega realizes that maybe grand gestures shouldn't be her approach in trying to get them to notice her. Maybe just showing them how much she truly cares about them is enough.

Definitely no more food fights... unless one of the others is the one to initiate it, of course. If that's the case, Omega will be the second one to throw the greasy Kamino caf loafs.

[lady-himbo]

Roommate Blues

Roommate!Ethan x F!Reader (platonic)

Reader isn’t doing great with COVID, college, and Christmas.

Word count: 1255

Warnings: cursing; hecka stress; mentions of coronavirus and travelling; panic/anxiety attacks; mentions of being nonverbal; mentions of ADHD; mentions of medication, forgetting to take medication, and medication effects

Notes: Despite this being the first written thing I’ve posted on this account, it’s purely self indulgent. It’s based almost entirely on my life situation right now, which is… dope. Also, the gif is mine. Please do not repost without credit.

“Goddamn it!” The sound of the space bar being slapped several times has Spencer lifting his head from his position on the living room couch next to her with a confused little tilt that flops his ears. Any other day, it would’ve been adorable, but she wasn’t having it. “What the motherfuck?!”

Spencer whines, pressing his nose into her wrist, as if telling her to take a deep breath. She almost accepts, but during her inhale, her browser refreshes just as her document loads to save, which crashes her computer.

Her scream of exasperation is so loud it carries into Ethan’s office. He’s blissfully unaware, his headphones snug over his ears as he chatters to himself, streaming a new game. Twitch chat, ever observant, picks it up before he does, and concerned messages start to flood in. He notices after a couple minutes, when chat has sufficiently worked itself up.

“You guys heard a sound? What was it?” He pushes his headphones off just as a muffled “FUUUCK!” comes through the walls.

“What the f- Uh, I’m not sure what that is.” Chat is freaking out, telling him to go check. “It might be my roommate; she’s having some… everything troubles right now. Hang on, guys, I’m gonna make sure everything’s okay.”

He switches to the ChairGameplays screen and actually sprints upstairs. Spencer is at the top of the stairs, his little feet tapping impatiently before he takes off, looking back to make sure Ethan is following him. Spencer leads him to the living room, where his roommate’s laptop is blue screening on the coffee table, a mug is laying on the floor in a puddle, several books and piles of papers are scattered across the room, and a quilted lump is curled up behind the couch. He closes her laptop, picks up the mug, and quickly piles the papers onto the couch, before carefully kneeling down next to the shaking lump.

He taps the floor a couple times to indicate he’s close to her, then gently pulls a little bit of the quilt up. She’s laying on her side with her knees pushed up into her chin, holding her phone close to her chest; he can hear soft music coming from the earbuds she has in.

When she opens a single red, puffy eye, he gives her a soft smile. “Hey bug, what’s the matter?” A moment goes by, and then she pulls herself up, wiping her wet cheeks and pulling out an earbud.

“Everything,” she mutters, and he gives her a sad, knowing smile. She’d visited her family a few weeks prior to keep the peace during the holidays, but given the state of the world, she’d been feeling guilty about it ever since. After she’d gotten back, quarantined, and taken a negative test, her first time actually going around the house without a mask was to take down Christmas decorations, which had put a damper on her already sour mood. Shortly after, she dove headfirst into college (even though the semester hadn’t started yet,) which meant working on a paper she hated, trying to iron out some wrinkles in her schedule through email, and preparing for a class she was TA for. 

Between the guilt of travelling to appease her family, the loss of the holiday cheer, and the looming presence of a new semester, she’s so stressed she’s barely functioning. Her glassy look and trembling figure are a sign that function is... minimal. Ethan sighs, pulling the blanket up enough that he can slide in next to her. “Do you want advice, comfort, or both?” he asks softly.

“Both.” She’s almost whispering as she drops her head down onto his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. There’s the soft  click of nails on the floor, and Spencer nudges his way under the blanket as well.

“What do you want advice about?” He’s done this enough that he knows how to be selective with his advice. He knows she doesn’t want him to solve her problems, but she knows he’ll help if she needs it. It’s a balance.

“College.” He’s glad she’s speaking; it’s much scarier when she’s nonverbal.

“Okay.” He strokes her hair for a moment while he deliberates his words. He wills any ADHD back for just a moment so he can help her. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to take a day off.” She grunts and squirms in protest, but he continues. “You’ve been working really, really hard, and I’m super proud of you, but you need to breathe. You’ve still got a couple weeks until anything starts, and you’re so ahead of schedule. It’s really scary to watch you beat yourself up and you don’t even notice, because you’re so strong but you forget you need breaks.” He gives her a minute to process. “You take your meds?”

She shakes her head ‘no’, and he tries to contain his disappointed sigh. “You forget or not want to?”

“Forgot.”

“That’s what your meds are for, goofus!” This makes her laugh, which makes him smile and Spencer’s tail wag softly. She’ll be okay. “Here’s the plan. You go take your meds, and you’re taking a break. It’ll just be for the rest of today, if you want. That’s the minimum. Today.” He can feel her nod hesitantly. “We can make some food and watch a movie, go for a drive, take a nap, you can come stream with me, or-”

She goes stiff. “Wait, were you streaming?” He hums in confirmation. “Oh, did you leave chat? I’m sorry, go back to streaming, I don’t wa-”

He shushes her and tightens his grip on her shoulders. “Chat told me to come check on you. Even if they hadn’t, I would’ve still done it. You’re my friend, bubs, and I gotta look out for you.”

She turns and tightly wraps her arms around him. “Thanks, Eef.” She pauses, before huffing out a small laugh. “You sap.”

He gasps, feigning hurt. “Names? How dare?! I’ll tell chat on you! Well, if you want. I don‘t want to make you uncomfy or anything.”

The glimmer returns to her eyes. “Only if I get to sit with Spencer and watch the aftermath.” She holds up a pinky.

He takes it, rolling his eyes in faux annoyance. As if he could ever be annoyed by a pinky promise. “Deal.”

After grabbing food (and medication) from the kitchen, they parade back down to Ethan’s office. She makes a cozy nest of blankets next to Spencer on the couch, who snuffles happily at the presence of his human housemate.

“I’m back!” Ethan sings excitedly to chat. “And we’re all okay! College was being stinky. … Why are you guys talking about toothpaste brands? Actually, I’ll leave that to you.” He waits a few seconds for replies to roll in. “Yes, yes, she’s fine now! Just a little overwhelmed. … ‘What happened?’ For those of you who just joined or joined while I was gone, my friend and roommate, friend-slash-roommate... froommate!” He giggles at the new word. “Froommate was having a bad day upstairs and I went to go check on her! She had the roommate blues… froommate blues! She okey now.” She gives a thumbs up from her spot on the couch, which Ethan confirms to chat.

Spencer licks her hand as she pats his soft fur, Ethan relays chat’s messages to her, and, from her spot on the couch, she feels a little less awful.

[massivedrickhead]

Survival Comes With Sacrifice

The Stowaway/Bechloe AU no one asked for and no one wants to read.

This will spoil the shit out of the ending of Stowaway so be warned!

Angst ahead. I mean… you’ve seen the film, you know what happens…

Thank you to @zoe-levenson for being my beta for this 💖

Read on AO3

With her hands resting on the back of her head, her elbows digging painfully into her thighs, Beca forced herself to slow her breathing down.

In. Out. In. Out.

If she didn’t prevent a panic attack - and quickly - then it would be too late. She wouldn’t be able to do what she needed to do.

In. Out.

Just like she’d taught Chloe.

Chloe…

No. If she thought about Chloe now, she’d lose any resolve she had.

She could hear the muffled sniffling of her crew around her, the heavy breathing of Stacie, who had just returned to the ship with her.

No one wanted to say it, but she knew they were all thinking it.

“I dropped it,” Beca said, voicing that collective thought. Her voice catching despite every effort to keep it steady.

“It was an accident,” Chloe said, her own voice calm.

Beca had no idea how she could be calm right now. The second they received warning of the solar storm and Beca and Stacie had had to abandon their mission, Chloe must have known that was it for her.

“And someone’s going to die because of it,” Beca said, not meeting her eye.

“We still have one canister up there. Maybe… if we could get to it, three of us will make it,” Stacie said.

“The storm will last hours,” Commander Aubrey Posen said, clenching the fist of her broken arm, hoping the pain will keep her grounded. “By the time it’s safe to go out there, there’ll be nothing left.”

“But-”

“We’re talking deadly radiation. A guaranteed death sentence.”

“I’ll go,” Chloe said. “It’s my fault we’re even in this mess.”

“You aren’t trained for this,” Aubrey said. “I know you want to help, but if you don’t make it back, another one of us will still die.”

Chloe let out a huff of frustration. “I can try,” she said.

“You aren’t throwing your life away on the off chance you’ll make it,” Stacie said. “I’ll-”

“No,” Beca said, cutting her off. “You have a partner back home. A family. We... I lost one canister. That’s one life gone,” she said. She looked up and made eye contact with Aubrey, her commander. Her friend. “If we don’t get the other, that’s another life gone.”

“No,” Aubrey said.

“I’m the one who dropped it.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“I can do this,” Beca said, smiling now. “It should be me.”

“Beca,” Chloe said, her voice finally showing some fear. “Please. You can’t do this. I can’t let you do this.”

“I’m not asking for permission,” Beca said, still trying not to look at her. She looked at Aubrey again. “I can do this.”

Aubrey blinked back tears, and nodded. “You know I’d have done it if I could.”

“I know,” Beca said, standing and pulling up her suit.

“Beca, please don’t do this,” Chloe said, sobbing now. “Please don’t leave me. We’ll think of something else.”

“If I do this, all three of you live. If I don’t, two of us will still die,” Beca said. “Think about your sister back home. Think about Stacie’s family. Aubrey’s family. There’s no one waiting for me to come home. It should be me.”

“No!” Chloe said, shouting now. Angry tears spilling down her face. “This can’t be the only way. You can’t throw your life away.”

“I can,” Beca said. “If it means you all live, then I can. And I’m happy to.”

“Someone say something! Aubrey? Stacie? You’re going to let her do this?”

“Chloe,” Stacie said, softly, “this is the only way.”

Chloe let out a scoff.

“I know this is hard,” Aubrey said, putting her hand on Chloe’s arm.

“I don’t want to do this without you, Beca,” Chloe said, pulling away from Aubrey. “I love you.”

“Please don’t make this harder,” Beca said.

“You aren’t going to say it back?”

“Of course I fucking love you,” Beca said, closing her eyes as tears spilled down her cheeks. “That’s why I have to do this.”

Stacie stood up and gave Beca a hug, their foreheads resting against each other.

“Send your kid to Yale,” Beca said, causing Stacie to laugh and cry at the same time.

“Asshole,” she said, sniffing. “I’m so sorry, Beca.”

“I know,” Beca said. She turned to look at Aubrey.

“It’s going to be rough out there,” Aubrey said, trying to keep her composure. “You’re gonna start feeling sick, tired, and you’re gonna be pelted by stuff that’s going to burn your skin.”

“I’ll try not to die before I get the canister back,” Beca said.

“You know you won’t be able to come back in,” Aubrey said. “And we won’t be able to communicate once you go outside.”

“I know,” Beca said.

“So she dies alone too?” Chloe said.

“Chloe, you aren’t helping,” Stacie said.

“Fuck you, I don’t want to make this easy. I don’t want this to happen at all,” Chloe replied, her voice laced with fury.

“Nobody wants this,” Aubrey said. “If there was literally any other option we’d be doing this.”

“Chloe, I killed someone when I dropped that canister. If I do this, you live. Stacie lives. Aubrey lives.”

“But you don’t,” Chloe said, her voice breaking.

“I know,” Beca said. “But I fought so hard to keep you alive. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“Baby, please.” Chloe cupped Beca’s face with her hands and kissed her.

“I need you to make it, Chlo’,” Beca said, closing her eyes as Chloe’s thumbs stroked along her face. “You need to survive. You can’t give up once I’m gone.”

“Beca, it’s time,” Aubrey said.

“Okay,” Beca said, taking a deep breath. “Okay. I love you all.”

“No,” Chloe said.

“Please make it to Mars, and make it home. Get them to make a statue of me or something.”

“Beca, please.”

“It’s okay, Chloe.”

“No it isn’t!”

Beca took a step back, out of Chloe’s embrace, and put her helmet back on.

“I love you,” she said, moving towards the airlock.

“No!”

She grabbed Beca’s arm and pulled her back.

Aubrey and Stacie each took one of Chloe’s arms and pulled her away from Beca.

Beca rested her hand on the airlock door, and took one last look at them.

Chloe was fighting to get away from the others, and had even managed to remove her arm from Stacie’s grasp.

Beca pushed down on the handle, opened the airlock, and stepped inside. Chloe broke free as she closed the door behind her.

She couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she could see Chloe screaming and banging against the glass of the door.

Beca gave her one last look, and climbed the ladder up and out of the hatch.

The journey up the tether was worse this time, but she felt less afraid. Her fate had been sealed the second she stepped out into the storm, and now all she had to do was make it up and down without dropping the canister.

As she climbed up to the halfway point, the canister attached securely, she really began to feel it. Her head was throbbing and she was nauseous and tired, and her body was sore and burning. She licked her dry lips and felt a sharp sting. They were already chapped and blistering.

Going down was easier, but she took her time, knowing she couldn’t drop this one.

She landed gently, the canister safe in her arms, and walked back towards the hatch on shaky legs.

She saw Chloe watching her through the window, her face tear streaked.

Beca held up the canister in triumph, and carried on her walk.

She opened the hatch and lowered it back into the airlock.

She wished she could go back in. She knew she was done for. She couldn’t be saved. But she wished she could die with her friends at her side. With Chloe holding her hand. Maybe with an extra dose of pain meds to ease her off to sleep before she died.

But she supposed it could be worse.

Better this than slowly suffocating.

Better this than having to watch Chloe die. Or Aubrey or Stacie.

She sat down on the edge of the walkway, her legs dangling off into open space.

Her breathing was getting ragged now, and she was still being peppered by bursts of radiation.

But at least the view was good.

Her eyes remained fixed on the bright red star ahead, and her last thoughts were of home, and Chloe.

[desolationlovers]

ughhhhhhh somebody fucked up at work and a bunch of frozen stuff got left out of somebodys order and has been sitting out for an hour so it all has to be thrown away and it was a lot of shit. and im worried since i took the order out im gonna get blamed even tho i looked for that frozen stuff for a solid 15 minutes and my coworker that was in charge said just go ahead and take it out. and my boss has been getting really mad about that bc its been happening a bunch but this is one of the only times i was actually involved with the order that got messed up. i feel like everything i screw up on im gonna get fucking fired for. but this is one of the most costly screw ups ive been involved in. so like im WORRIED worried. and i dont have anxiety meds on me and i dont get off till 9 and i drank caffine this morning and its been really busy anyways so we are nearing panic attack levels. not there yet but :(((( and now were SO behind bc of dealing with that aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[honesthammie]

From my prompt list:

4) After reaching your 16th birthday you gain the ability to see everyone's red strings of fate and on your 18th you finally get to see yours, except yours dissappears into the ground/sky.

Fandom:Doctor who

Pairing: 13 x gender neutral reader

This is my first fic on tumblr. I know its hella long and not all of my fics will be like this. This came to me from a dream I had recently. I love Jodie and I decided to write the spider episode from a different perspective. I may have change the episode slightly to fit the reader. I am thinking of doing a part 2 but it may be a while before I do as I have deadlines and stuff to keep up with. The next part may be more fluff between 13 and yourself. I know this didn't have much but it's something. I'm also sorry to any Americans reading this, I love yas but its just the personality I put to go with the readers personality. I'm also sorry for any spelling mistakes as I'm doing this on my phone.

Summary: spider episode with a small change I'm plot to accommodate your beautiful self in this fic

Warnings: slight description of a couple of panic/anxiety attacks, swearing and a bit of angst. Long intro for small fluff. And it's a part 1 do I guess a small cliffhanger is a warning?

Beep beep beep. Your alarm starts blaring in your ears, waking you up with a start. You glare at the interrupting machine before turning it off. After such a crazy night, you did not want your sleep so rudely interrupted. Why did you have a crazy night? It's your 18th birthday today and your friends decided to visit your place for a little house party, last night, to celebrate and now you have a pounding headache.

You groaned as you realised, you would need to take some pain meds before you even think about going back to sleep. Slipping out of your bed, you walk to the bathroom and find the cupboard with all sorts of medicinal and bathroom bits and bobs. You then grab the glass that you placed there in preparation for the definite hangover. The glass was a little cold to the touch but you filled it with some cool water from the sinks tap.

You took two, just so you could have a longer sleep. You waddle back into your bedroom and just as you get comfy, you widen your eyes at the memory. You needed to see your mother today, she said she had a gift for you but she would only be at home until 11. You looked at the machine that you hated for the time. It was currently 10:05. You jumped to your feet and rush to get ready.

As you walked outside, you saw the regular red strings that you saw everyday. Why do you see strings? You honestly didn't know, but you knew their purpose, it helped match 2 soulmates together. But something seemed a little off, there was no one on the street anymore, so why could you still see one line of destiny? You decided to follow the string south, down to your own (s/c) hand which was now slightly shaking at the sight.

"Fuck. Fuck,fucky fucking fuck. Why now? Why me? What the shit is going on with me?" You curse to yourself. You could feel your breath getting rapid and your head started spinning slightly. You quickly unlocked your car and sat down to help calm you down. You took a few deep breaths and focused on your senses.

When you eventually calmed down, you decided to look at where the string led. Oh, how you shouldn't have looked. It didn't go in any way of a compass, it went straight up and past the clouds. How? You had so many questions but you had to focus on the day ahead.

You had been to your mothers house and collected your new (fave game series) and your card. You were incredibly thankful as you have been saving up to buy it for yourself one day. You had played the previous games and loved every one of them and to say you were excited was an understatement. You almost ran back into your place if it wasn't for needing the key to access the gates.

Living in a gated community helped you feel a lot safer but it did also make you a big target for thieves to practise picking locks. No one had figured out where the hidden camera that kept alerting the authorities was though. Even you have tried put of plain curiosity but you got stumped after the 10th day of searching. You were sure you looked in every possible hiding spot, yet the camera always seemed to evade you in the pointless game of hide and seek.

As you unlocked the gate, you felt a twitch on your finger. The string was moving down and at a very fast pace, almost falling speed. You looked up and saw a small black dot heading towards the ground, if thats your soulmate, they would certainly be dead the second they meet their fate. When you could no longer see the dot, you kept your eyes glued to the string, waiting for it to disappear like everyone else's did when a soulmate died.

After five minutes, the string was still there and was still as red as ever, like no harm had come to them. But thats not possible. No creature could survive that especially from that great a height! You were beyond curious and quickly went into your living room and searched on all your social media for anyone else that may have spotted the dot in the sky, yet no one had but you knew (b/f) had another massive fight with their roommate, Stella, over whose turn it was to do the dishes again.

If you didn't know that Stella was in a relationship with another, you would have sworn those two were in a relationship. You giggled at the silly thought, "if Stella ever goes through a break up with her, I'm totally gonna set those two up."

You give up on finding anything out today, maybe it'll be on the news tomorrow and you set off to go on an online shopping spree, you had a few codes and now, thanks to your wonderful mother, had a little cash to spare and you did see that gorgeous top on sale. Once you had spent the day either shopping or gaming you decided to head to bed but you couldn't stop thinking about that dot and what the red string meant for you.

When your alarm had went off, you hit it and got dressed for your new job at some hot shot posh hotel run by an aspiring American with High expectations and little experience with Sheffield. You had been told you wouldn't get to meet him much and you were beyond fine with that, you hated Americans, simply because you hated violence and guns were the big no on your weaponry list of avoidance. You didn't mind weapons in video games, those were harmless to the outside world. You didn't mind verbal violence though, it was all you had to defend yourself with and in Sheffield, that was better than nothing. You were very short tempered when it came to your anger but you found that it was either verbal or physical, you chose to be verbal.

You looked at your phone for any messages from (b/f) and had a good luck message. You replied with a smiley face and a "ill need all the luck I can get. I've heard from a few employees that he can be a real asshole for no reason and fires people just because they made eye contact for too long. It's like he suspects someone is out for his blood."

After 2 minutes you received a reply from from them. "You better be on your best behaviour then, young lady!"

"That's the problem. I wonder what the record is for the quickest a person has got fired? Because I may break that, you know me! I don't exactly do as I'm told, that's why finding a job has been so hard. Anyway, I best get ready, gotta look the part! First impressions and all!" You replied with a nervous face. What you failed to notice was the red string no longer pointing towards the sky and you were making it shorter with every step you took. You did give up on finding out about the strange dot and came to the assumption that it fell in a lake, there were plenty of them around.

You walked into the swanky looking hotel and noticed the cobwebs that definitely were not there two days ago when you had your interview, yet they looked like they had been there for weeks. You would have put it down to Halloween decorations if it wasn't for the fact that it was June. You decided to not ask in case this was some sort of strange new American trend that your boss was following to help bring in the youth. It does help make it fit into Sheffield a lot more with the run down and abandoned look. It would need some rust, water damage, mold and cracks to finish the look but it was a start. If you had to be honest, the spider webs helped bring the place together. It was way too posh for Sheffield but you had to lie and say you love it in order to get hired. Just from that lie alone you knew exactly the personality of your boss, arrogant, vain and ignorant.

"Hello, you must be my new helper! I'm Najia, your second in command here. As you can see, there are loads of spider webs so they should be priority. If you could start cleaning in the south west second floor and continue that floor, that would be amazing. Now here's your cleaning trolley and if you happen to finish the floor early, send me a little message through the walkie talkie and I'll give you another room or floor. Do you have any questions?" Najia spoke softly. She seemed lovely and it was shame that she had to be in a place that would get more damage than its worth.

"Just one question: why so many spider webs?"

"I don't know, they just seemed to have appeared, I thought it was silly string from some teenagers that managed to break in somehow but it is actual spider web. It wasn't here when I left last night. I guess I'll have to ask someone about that."

And with that you separated and got to your floor when you finally noticed a slight burning sensation on your finger, it wasn't hurtful. It was like putting the finger in a really hot bath. You looked down and noticed it now pointed downhill and seemed to be glowing a shade of gold ever so gently that you would miss it if the weird sensation didn't make you look.

You left your trolley outside a toilet to make it seem like you were in there when really you had wondered off to follow the string. You would probably lose yourself in the maze of hallways that all looked the same as the last if the string didn't help lead you to a ballroom. You opened the door and instantly screamed. A giant spider was walking towards you, however you couldn't get out, you had used a staff door which needed a key card to use from this side as the other side still needed to be fitted and you left yours in the trolley, near the toilets. And the massive spider seemed to be blocking the other way out so you were trapped.

You weren't scared of spiders but seeing them at the size of a van did intimidate you. You started shaking from fear of what it would do to you. Out of pure instinct, you put your hand out to protect yourself and the sound of 8 legs against wooden flooring had ceased. The only sound was your laboured breathing. It stayed like this for what seemed like hours but in actuality was only 5 minutes. You opened your eyes slowly to see 8 more stare right back. 8 eyes that showed fear but no intention of harm. Instead the spider gave you space to breathe by walking back a few feet. Then it seemed to be watching you, studying your next move to see if you were a threat and whether or not it should kill you.

You stayed still for a moment, wrapping your head around what had just happened before gently walking towards the creature with both hands forward to show them clean of weapons. You decided to try and speak to the spider to see if it can understand you.

"Hello. I'm new around here, I'm sorry if I'm trespassing on your area, I wasn't aware of you being here to be honest. I mean you no harm, if anything, I want to help you but unfortunately, I'm stuck in here aswell." You spoke carefully as if it was a child that was afraid. You gently put your hand in its head and it seemed to understand your good intentions and your situation as it let you pet it. Now you were close, you started to admire it and realised it wasn't poisonous or venomous, it was just a regular house spider. But you couldn't figure out how or why it got this big but it did explain the cobwebs everywhere.

You had been with the spider for hours and it seemed like Najia either didn't care or has gotten fired as she hasn't asked about you. You had spent the time talking or singing to the spider. She, as you found out after looking it up, seemed to put her body around you to protect you. You had even met a couple of her children as they gave you food from the cafeteria to nibble on when your stomach growled.

Eventually the burning on your fingers turned up massively and was causing you pain. The spider seemed to sense this and wrapped her web around your finger to help cool it down a little. It didn't help but you showed gratitude anyway as she was only trying to help in anyway she could. You gave her a small smile and her eyes seemed to show sympathy in return.

Then the doors opened again and the sound of several feet walked in. "Oh thank god. I thought I was never going to be found in here." You thought to yourself as you heard the voices mumble to each other and probably about Betty and what's the best way to get rid of her. You would have paid more attention if your finger didn't feel like it had caught fire and was tight as if your soulmate was amongst those that had walked in.

Now you were nervous. How would you introduce yourself? What did they look like? Were they male or female, not that you really cared? So many questions made you feel lightheaded so you grabbed onto Betty to keep yourself planted.

Then the door opened again and a familiar voice echoed in the hall and you knew exactly how he'd want to deal with Betty and after your bond today, you would rather die than her. She was obviously innocent here and maybe the others could see it. Then you heard the familiar click of a gun safety being taken off and your body reacted before your mind did and you jumped in front of her to stop him, although you had a feeling it wouldn't, but it was worth a shot for the others to stop him.

"Don't you fucking dare shoot that gun Dickhead! Not without going through me!" You spoke with fire in your eyes and maybe a slight mix if fear aswell. That's when you looked over at the new group of people. They all seemed trustworthy enough.

There was Najia, who welcomed you here earlier and she looked sad, so she had definitely been fired. Then there was another woman who looked a lot like her, you guessed she was a daughter or something and she was pretty and definitely somone with authority with the way she stood and held herself, maybe she is a police officer? A man who looked as though he was in his 50s and definitely did not belong in this weird group. A young man who looked of a similar age to the police woman, maybe they are friends.

Then you laid your eyes on one of the most beautiful woman, no, human, you had ever seen and would probably never see again. She had short blonde hair in a bob. They seemed to be brunette at the root. She had beautiful chocolate honey eyes that glimmers with so much emotion and age well beyond her years, like she had experienced thousands of years before this moment. You also noticed her odd sense of style but you admired her boldness and it did look amazing on her. You decided she could only be described as sunshine and rainbows.

Then you noticed her hand And a familiar red string that was also glowing a beautiful subtle gold. Like millions of tiny golden stars circled around the string in a beautiful dance of love. Your eyes started to follow the string down and back to your own. She was your soulmate. That goddess that stood before you, was to be yours forever some day.

Then you looked into her hypnotic eyes before you remembered where you were and what situation you were in. And you realised everyone was staring at you for your previous action towards a spider.

"If you want to keep your job, I'd suggest you move out of the way silly girl!" Your boss grumbled in a threatening tone.

"Nope. You are about to hurt an innocent creature that is stuck and terrified. You built on top of landfill and didn't bother to check and thought of no consequences. This is your fault. Is this how you would treat a child that was a mistake after a one night stand or something? Would you shoot a child that had no choice?" You spoke with confidence yet more nerves now she was there listening to every word. When he didn't answer you shouted "Answer me! Would you shoot your mistake of a child?"

He glared at you. "This is different. This is an animal. A pest. It needs to be killed so more can't be born! I made my mistake and now I'm fixing it!" He bellowed just seconds before a shot was made from his gun. You had expected pain but instead you heard a horrible shriek from behind you.

You quickly turned around and petted her whilst whispering sweet words as she took her last breath. You stood up and made your way over to the murderer. You couldn't stand him and you were so tempted to take his gun and shoot him with it, but you didn't. With fire in your eyes and pure hatred, you slapped him hard enough to leave a mark and maybe a bruise as a reminder of his shitty choices. "You can't fire me because I fucking quit you arrogant dick! She had caused no harm to you or I and I'm sure if you would have sorted it sooner, so many more lives could have been saved as she only had humans because flies didn't fill her anymore! She was so kind and just so afraid. I hope you lose everything you pathetic sad sack of boiled shit! You are truest one of the lowest excuses for a human I have ever met and if we meet again please be very afraid, because next time, it won't just be a slap you have to worry about! It'll be your balls as I cut them off beacuse men like you shouldn't repopulate the planet! You horrid scum! I hope your empire fucking collapses!" You spoke with venom lacing every word. You were seething and boy did his face look punchable. Instead you walked away with your middle finger proudly being the last thing he sees as you walk out the normal doors.

Once you were outside, you sat in the steps and finally let out all the emotions. You cried so hard, over your loss of yet another job and a newly found friend. You screamed at him with a string of curses that would offend just about anybody. You suddenly felt somone sit at the side of you. You knew who it was when the string was burning more than ever before and yet you couldn't feel it over the pain your heart.

"You did brilliant back there. You chose, not just your job, but your life over a creature you barely even knew! If you wouldn't have jumped in when you did, I don't think her children would've had a chance to escape to my TARDIS because he's going on a hunt right now for the rest of them. Sure, you didn't save her but you saved so many more lives than you think. And I know each one is eternally grateful for what you did. I know I would be." Her words were certain and sympathetic. They seemed to calm you down instantly. Or maybe is was the way she talked that helped with her soft but strong voice and you knew you already couldn't get enough like it was the best drug ever. You could listen to her all day and yet, she had said very little to you. It was a strange effect but you liked it.

She fell into a silence for a while just keeping you company as you came to terms with had happened.

[icaruspendragon]

Hey friends! After months of therapy/new meds, I’ve finally found the motivation and inspiration to not only start reading again, but start writing! I’m pretty excited, so here’s a snippet of my newest project.

Not a lot of her stuff had made it with her from California to New York. But that was okay she kept telling herself. A fresh start and whatnot. No one knows her here. No one knows what happened to her. She can just go to class and go home and focus on graduating and getting a job and maybe moving out of the country. Maybe to Italy or to Greece or England. That was her plan at least. And everyone knew that Annabeth was big on plans. Naturally, this plan seemed to go awry almost instantly while she was trying to move into her brand new one bedroom apartment. She had thought about trying to find a roommate, but the thought of being in close quarters with a stranger made her chest feel tight and her palms sweaty, so she had decided that this would be a solo adventure.

She had told her dad and stepmom over and over again that she could make the move by herself, that she wouldn’t need them to help her move, they didn’t need to spend the money to travel and to take time off of work and who would watch her brothers? Even though she didn’t have that much stuff she was starting to get overwhelmed at the boxes the movers were bringing up in what seemed like an endless stream and setting just inside her front door. The apartment had come pre-furnished, so that was good at least. She didn’t think that she would have been able to bring most of that stuff with her, anyway. She had been sleeping on her couch for months and didn’t think she’d be able to keep that up for much longer. She was trying to make a mental list of everything that she would need to go out and get tonight. New pillows, blankets, sheets, curtains, etc. She would need to find a place to get that stuff, hopefully somewhere that also sold groceries. She didn’t want to have to spend all day running around a new city and trying to unpack and trying to keep herself from having a panic attack.

She was trying to keep her mental list running and keep an eye on the movers and keep inventory of what was in the boxes and what she would need to unpack first and where they were putting the boxes that she would need to unpack first while standing out in her new hallway, trying to stay out of the movers way when she heard laughter. She looked over and saw two girls. One tall with olive skin and dark choppy hair and the other a whole head shorter with wild curls and tawny skin, both chatting animatedly about something. Annabeth was trying to tune them out and hoping that they wouldn’t notice her, and if they did, that they would just keep on walking. She wasn’t in the mood to be social. She hadn’t been in the mood to be social in quite some time. She wasn’t sure she remembered how to be social anymore.

“Hi! Are you moving in?” The shorter one asked. Of course they noticed her and of course they stopped. Annabeth swallowed and turned to face her, trying her hardest to plaster what she hoped was the approximation of a friendly smile on her face.

“Yeah.” She responded, hoping that the conversation would stop there.

“Oh, cool!” The girl responded. “Looks like we’re going to be neighbors. I’m Hazel, this is Piper, my roommate.” Hazel, apparently, gestured towards the girl standing next to her.

“Annabeth.” She introduces, nodding at them, hoping no one wants to shake hands.

“Nice to meet you.” Piper offers, a small smile on her face.

“Likewise.” Annabeth responds even though she doesn’t feel the same. Now that they’re closer she can see just how beautiful the two girls are and sense the ease with which they’re navigating this new situation. Annabeth feels a pang of jealousy. It doesn’t matter, she tells herself. She’s just here to go to class and get out of her. Not to make friends.

“What’s your roommate’s name?” Piper asks, one beautifully sculpted eyebrow raised.

“Oh, it’s uh, it’s just me.” Annabeth tells them, resisting the urge to avert her eyes to the floor. She knows deep down that these girls are just trying to be nice and warm and welcoming and whatever, but she really doesn’t want the reminder of just how alone she is. Not right now. Not right here.

“Where’d you move from?” Hazel asks, eyes following the mover bringing more boxes in.

“San Francisco.” Annabeth tells her, trying her hardest not to be short with this girl who is trying her hardest to be nice to a stranger, it’s not Hazel’s fault that Annabeth’s stomach drops at the mention of it.

“That’s cool. I’m from Malibu. Are you here for school?” This time it’s Piper who speaks.

“Yeah.” Annabeth responds. She knows that she should be giving them more than one word responses, but she wants nothing more than to hide in her new apartment and not come out for the rest of the night. She didn’t think that interacting with other people would have this kind of toll on her.

“I’m from New Orleans, so Piper and I both know what it’s like to be far from home.” Hazel tells her sympathetically. Annabeth offers her a tightlipped smile in return.

“Pipes, are the boys doing anything tonight?” Hazel asks, turning to her roommate.

“Are they ever doing anything?” Piper responds, laughing.

“Be right back.” Hazel tells her and then sets off down the hall.

They both watch her walk down a few doors, stop at one, and then enter without knocking.

Annabeth finds herself looking at the floor, trying not to feel too awkward in the silence and trying not to get overwhelmed. She’s never been that great at small talk and she hadn’t really planned for all of this to happen. She’d been going and going since yesterday, thinking about the next task ahead, not stopping to think about anything else. If she starts to think about literally everything else going on she’ll start to spiral.

Piper speaks up before Annabeth can get too in her head, “What are you studying?”

“Architecture.” She responds and then a moment passes before Annabeth remembers that it’s the polite thing to do to ask Piper the same. “What about you?”

“Communication and environmental studies.” She tells her.

“Interesting combination.” Annabeth responds, because she really thinks that it is but then she’s afraid that it came out snarky and even though she doesn’t want to be in this situation, she doesn’t want to be seen as rude.

“Oh yeah,” Piper tells her, smiling, “I couldn’t make up my mind and I wanted to do something that would end up helping people one way or the other so I decided to do both.”

Annabeth just nods because she can’t think of a way to respond. She’s saved from having to try and come up with something else to talk about or standing in awkward silence when she hears a door open and sees Hazel come out with four boys in tow.

“Ah. Reinforcements” Piper says but Annabeth has no idea what that means and the prospect of meeting even more strangers makes her want to vomit.

“What?” She asks, but before Piper can answer her, Hazel is calling down the hall.

“Annabeth, this is Jason, Leo, and Frank. Boys, this is our new neighbor, Annabeth.” Hazel states, pointing at each boy is turn. Jason is tall and stocky, Leo is wiry and thin, Frank is just big.

She is assaulted by a chorus of hellos and heys and smiles from all directions. Annabeth has no idea why her new neighbor has brought out what seems like half the building, but she really doesn’t want to stay to find out. Thankfully, one of the movers calls her over to inform her that all of her boxes are now in her apartment. She signs a sheet of paper and thanks the man for his work. She turns back around and sees five pairs of eyes on her.

“Did they bring everything up?” Hazel asks her.

“Uh, yeah.” Annabeth responds, wondering why they’re all still standing there. She really just wants to get inside and sit in silence for a few minutes before getting to work on her next plan.

“Where’s Percy?” Piper asks, turning to the boys.

“He’s at his mom’s watching Estelle.” One of the boys, Jason, tells Piper.

“Well then, I guess he’s excused.” Piper says.

Annabeth notices the playful banter between the two, between all of them, really. The ease with which they are all interacting. She’s never had a big group of friends like what they have. It had always been just her and Thalia. And she had always thought that she was okay with that, but now she and Thalia were separated by thousands of miles and one impenetrable secret, as she observes the five strangers in front of her, she feels the snarls of jealousy growing in the pit of her chest again.

“Percy can make it up to us later, we need to get started.” Hazel tells the group.

“Started?” Annabeth asks.

“Yeah. We’re gonna help you unpack. It’ll take you forever by yourself!” Hazel responds, the excitement in her voice palpable.

Panic instantly rushes through her veins. This was not on the list of things that could potentially happen today. Annabeth didn’t have a plan for this. She had one for if her stuff got lost, if the movers were late, if all of her stuff arrived broken, she even had a plan for if something happened at the leasing office and she wasn’t able to pick up her keys for her apartment. She had made zero plans that factored in overly polite neighbors and their squadron of male helpers.

“Oh, you really, I mean, it’s fine. You don’t need to. I can, I can handle this.” Annabeth tells her, floundering. Trying to find a way out of this.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Hazel responds. “I saw how much stuff they were bringing up, and it’s already pretty late in the day, between the six of us, we’ll all be able to get it knocked out in no time.” And dammit, she’s still smiling. Annabeth doesn’t think she’ll be able to get out of this one. Not without being considered a huge bitch. And she knows that she should be grateful, she really does, and she’s trying very hard to be, to be grateful and thankful and a whole host of other nice feelings and words that these five perfect strangers would be so willing to give up their evening to help one imperfect stranger unpack the boxes that have weighed her down all across the country. She is trying very hard.

“It’s really no big deal. I had planned on doing it all by myself, anyway.” Annabeth tells them.

“Well, now you can plan on having some help.” Piper tells her, gentle smile resting on the corner of her mouth. “You can try and fight Hazel all you want, but once she makes her mind up about something, it gets done.”

The big guy, Frank, laughs and Hazel shoots him a look.

“What?” He says, raising his hands in defense, “You and everyone else knows that Piper is right.”

“Whatever.” Hazel responds, rolling her eyes, but there’s no malice in the word or the gesture.

“Welcome to the building, Annabeth.” Leo tells her as he opens her door and just walks into her apartment.

[brunchbitch]

The last day and a half has been so stressful 😩 we were supposed to fly to Boston yesterday morning at 7:15am. We were at the airport two hours before our flight, but we still missed it bc delta only had two agents working at the special services line for at least 50 customers. We were in the line for over an hour, raced through security, (luna was terrified and scratched up my arm when I took her out bc we didn’t have time for private screening and I don’t blame her, poor thing - so loud and hectic and lots of people). Bc we were in such a rush and both had a scared cat in our arms, we were trying to just get everything through the X-ray and completely forgot to take out our electronics. We got to the other side and one of the tsa agents looked at me like I was an idiot and was like “you didn’t take out any of your electronics…” and I was like oh I’m sorry! A said “we’ve got a lot of things we’re trying to keep track of” and he just looked at him and said “I don’t need an excuse” and sent the bag back through.

When we finally got through security it was 7:08 and our flight left at 7:15…and we still needed to take a train to another terminal. At this point we just accepted that we weren’t gonna make it and I just sat down and started crying. A was very frustrated but sooo sweet as soon as he realized I was crying. He crouched down in front of me and held my legs and rubbed them and said “it’s ok sweetie, it’s ok. We’re gonna be okay. We’ll figure it out. I’m right here.” 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Then of course there were no open seats on any flights on any airline for the rest of the day. So we rebooked a flight for today at 3:30pm. Our bags had already been sent through and we weren’t sure if they made it on the plane so we left without them. Bc I’m a dummy and didn’t think ahead, I had no clothes, no meds, and no toiletries which were all in my checked bags.

My brother picked us up from the airport (it was like 105 degrees) and we went back to my parents house. As stressed and frustrated as I was, once we finally got settled there, we had a really lovely time! We didn’t do much, just cuddled in bed with the girls in the AC and talked and napped, ordered food, and watched a movie that night. Then we got to sleep in today and got to the airport three hours ahead of time so we reached the gate with plenty of time and it was sooooo much less stressful. We did a private screening for the cats at security and the tsa agent was super nice and asked me to give each of them a scratch behind the ears from him bc he didn’t want to freak them out any more than they already were.

So now we have about an hour and a half until our flight leaves and we’ll get into Boston tonight at midnight. A had to cancel on all his clients for today so that was a bummer. He’ll also probably have to go to bed right away when we get back so he can get up for work in the morning, so I’m actually happy we got a nice day together to cuddle and just be together! I’m so glad he was with me throughout that situation bc if I was alone with the girls I probably would’ve had a panic attack!

[spaceskam]

For the fanfic mash-up thing: how about 10 and 72 for Malex?

this prompt is literally like a year old whoop. from this prompt list 

10. airport/travel au & 72. stranded on a desert island

warnings: plane crash, anxiety, injury, open ending

ao3

Michael Guerin hated planes.

He spent most of his life avoiding them which was easy. His childhood rendered them virtually nonexistent and his adulthood had always carried the excuse of poverty. It worked out. Until now when he found himself five seconds away from throwing up on his ex-something as they waited to board the plane.

“Are you sure you don’t want to even half of one?” Alex asked. He’d basically been trying to feed Michael his anxiety meds from the moment he realized Michael was nervous. It was painfully attractive and annoying of him to try to take care of him like that.

“You need them more than me, that’s why they’re prescribed to you,” Michael argued.

“You’re going to have a full blown panic attack if you don’t calm down,” Alex said, “Why didn’t you tell Isobel you were scared of planets?”

“And ruin her dream destination wedding that she can finally have because it’s her second one and she doesn’t need to have everyone come out, just the ‘nearest-and-dearest’, and that your brother took off of work for, and that you pulled strings to get me a last minute passport for? Absolutely not,” Michael said. He didn’t have to look at Alex to know he was rolling his eyes.

“You might ruin it anyway if you show up having a full blown breakdown,” Alex said.

“Shut up, I’m fine. I am perfectly and entirely fine,” Michael said, taking a deep breath, “I don’t need your help.”

“Okay,” Alex sighed.

And he was able to pretend that that was the truth until they called for them to board the plane.

Michael was shaking and sweating and already looking for exits. He didn’t know why he was so fucking scared. Nothing bad was going to happen. The plane was going to land and he was going to be absolutely fine. Fine, fine, fine.

He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, buckling himself in immediately and identifying the little oxygen mask. Alex sat on the side near the aisle and Michael sat by the window. He didn’t look out of it though, instead choosing to look straight ahead.

Isobel was already there, ready to have her lovely wedding to Gregory in Cabo and Michael was going to be there if it killed him. Max and Liz were flying there from California and that was their wedding party. It was small and just about immediate family. And Michael was going to be there.

The plane started to move and Michael was gripping the arm rests like it was the only thing saving him. He hated this. All the way up until Alex reached over and laid his hand on top of Michael’s. He fiddled with it until he locked their fingers and squeezed.

“You can crush my hand, it won’t hurt me,” Alex promised him. And if it were any other situation, Michael would’ve sat there and let himself overthink every tiny thing about the fact that Alex was holding his hand. However, he was way too scared for all that and just squeezed and ignored Alex’s soft laughter.

Even after the plane took off, Michael didn’t let go. He clutched Alex’s hand until his started to cramp up and then he powered through the cramps to keep holding onto it. He just stared forward and tried to will away the bad feelings.

And it was all full and games until the plane shook.

“It’s just turbulence,” Alex said, voice soft and promising. Michael swallowed harshly.

“You promise?”

“Yeah, it’s normal.”

But then it happened again and worse.

Alex didn’t say anything that time, just rubbed his thumb soothingly over the back of his hand as the flight attendant asked everyone to put their seat belts back on. There was rough winds, they said. Michael swallowed harshly.

“It’s okay,” Alex said, giving his hand a little squeeze.

Except it wasn’t okay.

Things started to move too fast, the plane was shaking and waving through the air. People were screaming, the flight attendant requested they put on their oxygen masks. And Michael knew this was going to happen. Bad, bad, bad.

Alex held onto him and stayed completely stoic. Michael almost felt guilty about that. He was staying calm because he wanted Michael to stay calm. He should get to freak out too, right?

Then they were going down.

-

Michael Guerin hated planes.

And now, in the middle of the woods, with the plane suspended amongst trees in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people screaming and hurt and dying and dead, he felt like he had a completely valid reason to hate them. He hated them more than anything in the entire world. Higher than Jesse Manes and snakes.

With a little unconventional use of his power, Michael had gotten himself and Alex safely to the ground. Sort of safely. There was a doctor on board and a couple other soldiers assessing everyone and trying to help them, triage them. Michael didn’t feel bad putting his full focus onto Alex.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,” Alex breathed, eyes closed as he laid on the ground. Somewhere during the plane going down and him trying to keep Michael calm, he’d taken a dislodged tray to the thigh. It was stuck in him and he was still trying to act calm.

“Alex,” Michael breathed. He’d thrown away his panic for the time being. He was still a little shaky, but he had his priority set on this man as it always should’ve been. “Alex, hey, I’m gonna get it out.”

“What? No, no, don’t do that,” Alex said, shaking his head. His hair was matted to his forehead and he was pale and he was bleeding and this was unfair. “Could make it worse.”

“No, look, I’ll make a tourniquet,” Michael said, already ripping his shirt to tie around his thigh.

“No,” Alex said, shaking his head and pushing at his shoulder, “No.”

“Alex,” Michael said a little desperately, “I need to get it out so I can try to heal you.” That got his attention.

“What? No, no. No, no, no. There’s people.”

“I don’t fucking care, Alex, you’re hurt!” he argued. Alex shook his head.

Alex was able to keep his stoic composure up until he tried to move a little to show he was fine. He let out an involuntary groan of pain and then gasped as it moved another way. A few heavy breaths later, Alex nodded.

“Okay, heal it,” he whispered. Michael nodded and immediately tied the fabric around his thigh and went to remove the tray. He moved slow and Alex did his best to stay calm. He had to admit, it was impressive how calm he stayed.

Blood gushed as the tray was removed and Michael hated it. He immediately covered it with his hand and was preparing to try his damnedest to heal him. Alex grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait,” he said, "Wait.”

“What?”

“Just, wait,” Alex said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, “If you do this, will you be able to feel my feelings?”

“Only if you want me to,” Michael assured him. That was, at least, what Max had said. “But I can’t promise you won’t be able to feel mine even when I don’t want you to. So, if you’re, like suddenly in love with me after this, don’t trust it.”

Alex gave a breathy laugh, squeezing his shoulder before he moved his hand to his jaw. “I’m already there, I’ll let you know if I feel anymore.”

“Okay,” Michael said, taking a deep breath as he pressed his hand over the wound. He felt like that just added fuel to the fire already brewing in him. “Okay, thank you.”

He’d been practicing for awhile now with Isobel and Max and he’d been getting pretty good at it. The main problem was that he usually didn’t do it when he was this stressed out. Alex was hurt. Actually hurt. He could’ve died. And they hand’t even fixed their bullshit yet.

It took a few seconds, long seconds, almost a minute, but eventually his mind swirled and blurred and he slowly pieced Alex back together from the inside out. He didn’t scream, not wanting to draw any attention to himself, just fed on Alex and the fact that he loved him more than anything.

After draining himself into Alex, he tipped forward a little and caught himself on the ground. So he sat there on all fours over Alex’s lap and just breathed and tried not to focus on the fact that this was bad. Alex getting hurt was just the tip of the iceberg. There were in the middle of nowhere after a fucking plane crash and Isobel’s wedding was still happening.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked.

“Are you?” Michael asked right back. Neither of them really gave appropriate answers.

Alex swallowed and grabbed his head, pulling him into his chest. Michael let himself fall and breath him in.

They were going to be okay.

There weren’t any other options.

[supernaturallyobsessedchic]

When He’s Sick

Pairing: Dean x reader

Warnings: sick!dean (it’s a thing, trust me), man flu (most women in relationships, also maybe some gay men would know the constant struggles when their man is sick the ‘man flu’ (usually it’s a cold)), mentions of depression, mentions of panic attacks, fluffiness

Word Count: 2,466

a/n: was reading @supernatural-jackles​ preference list, the title is same as her preference when the boys are sick. Here’s my imagination running wild when I should be preparing to post 7 Days to Die. But, Dammit Jen’s so good, plus, Jen, I hope this is okay...I never talked ahead of time with you about it, this happened spontaneously....I guess read and let me know if it’s all good. If not I’ll remove it.

~

They had been in the town for a number of days. Hunt finished, long finished. But it turns out, someone, somewhere, somehow, the boys got sick with a nasty virus.

Sam was the first down and out. Not throwing up, but heating up with a fever. But his gut feeling like he isn’t going to last. Even if he ate something light on his stomach.

Y/N offered a small variety of foods to the giant. Saltines, applesauce, banana, toast, mashed potatoes, soup, anything light. But he turned it down.

She heard retching in the bathroom. That leaves with the older Winchester. Now when he’s sick, he’s sick. Really sick. Hearing him lose the contents of last night’s supper told her he wasn’t going to be able to keep anything solid down. At least not heavy. But they need to eat something.

He came out after washing up, pale as a ghost. If not dead already. It worried her, seeing how pale he was.

“Any leads on Dick?” He asks, words slurred. A garbled burp escaped. Only to turn into another throw up session. When he felt something coming up, he turned at his heel to make it to the toilet.

It had been weeks since Bobby’s death, Dean was running himself ragged finding Dick. Both him and Sam both wanted revenge. But at least, Sam knows when to stop to sleep and eat. But Dean, has one speed. Go.

She could only shake her head. He needs to take a break.

“You are in no condition to keep this up Dean.” She says from the door.

“Rain or shine, I’m hunting Dick.” He says. He hears her snort. “Oh grow up.” he groans as another wave hit him. Only making him groan louder, unable to throw up.

She took the time to head out to grab some supplies for them before they leave to head to the hunters cabin where they hid out, but also primarily lived.

Grabbing canned soups, broth, and even grabbed a thing of potatoes to mash up. She had weird, not so traditional ways of getting nourishment when sick but also something to be easy on the stomach.

Driving back she heads to their room. Sam still in bed, sound asleep. She hears a moan from the kitchen. To find Dean on the floor.

“Dean!” she says, concerned. Dropping the groceries on the table before rushing over to help him up.

“I’m fine.” He slurs.

“You’re not fine, you’re on the kitchen floor for no reason.” She says, helping him up.

She could feel the muscles in his arms trembling, they were fatigued.

“The floor moved on me.” He mumbles.

As she struggles to get him up right, she had his back at her chest, so his head fell back on her shoulder. He was out of it. But she wraps an arm around to touch his forehead.

“Dean, you’re burning up. We need to cool you off.” She says. Pushing him up to his feet.

“Seriously, I’m fine.” He continues.

He’s up, but knees weak nearly gave out. She has his arm around her shoulder as she practically dragged him to his bed. When his but landed on the side of the bed he didn’t stop the rest of his body to fall onto the bed with a significant bounce.

“No you’re not. You got something, you and Sam both. You threw up, and are running a fever. You need to stop and rest. It’s not gonna kill you.” She says.

He didn’t have the energy to fight her. He doesn’t even fight her when she takes his boots off. Undressing him down to his t-shirt and boxers, tucking him in bed under a thin layer of sheets.

I’m gonna have to play nurse. She thought.

Pulling the thermometer out on the boys. Sam rang a temperature in the hundreds, but it was easily manageable.

“102, just rest up Sam, ‘kay?” she says.

Sam nods. “No problem, this sucks.” He groans.

“I’m making some soup and mashed potatoes. It’s cream of chicken and veggie soup. What’s best is you could also put some of the soup on the potatoes.” She suggests.

“Sounds good, my stomach has calmed down some, so I’ll try some.” He says.

“That’s good.” She says.

“How’s Dean?” he asked.

“His fever is nearing 104, he ate a few saltines before taking the fever reducer. He’ll try to throw up, but it just turns into dry heaves, I can tell they hurt. Whatever he got, it’s worse than what you have.” She says.

“If he gets worse?” he asks.

“He might need to go to the hospital then. For all I know it’s just the flu.” She says.

“The flu can get bad though.” Sam goes.

“In kids and the immunocompromised. And the elderly…And the uninsured…” she listed.

Sam chuckled. “It’s so sad how it’s preventable, but the government makes it a fucking hassle to just take care of your own health.” He says.

“And they die as the end result, because the meds they need or the care they need are too much for them, and they can’t get them. It’s wrong on so many levels. It’s like they’re bullies stealing our lunch money, they’re holding it out of reach and we’re too short to grab it.” she says.

“That’s what I was thinking of saying. But I’m not thinking straight.” He says.

“It’s the fever. Rest up Sammy. I’ll tell the caretaker we’re staying until you two are a little better. At least better enough for the road trip back to the cabin.” She suggests.

“I know I could, him I’m worried about.” Sam says. She nods, agreeing.

 She was only able to get them the room for a couple of more hours before they had to move out. Sam was able to eat her soup and potatoes, Dean not so much. The smell of the food made him gag.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I just made it look like your food smells awful, and it don’t. it smells amazing, my stomach is just in knots.” Dean whines, rolling on his side in his bed.

“It’s okay Dean, I know. I could tell you wanted to try but your stomach is making it rough. I’ll just pack it up in some topper wear and I’ll pack us up and drive us back.” She says.

“Um, no, you’re not driving my car.” Dean says, trying to get up. Only to dry heave while getting up, lurching forward, nothing coming up.

“Dean, you’re in no condition. Neither is Sam. I couldn’t get us to stay longer. You’re just going to have to deal with it.” she says. “I’ll help you out to the car when we’re ready.” She says.

 The drive was smoother than it could have been. Dean passed out in the back seat; Sam curled up in his usual sleeping position when it came to sitting in the passenger seat.

She didn’t like driving older vehicles. They drove like boats, and this was worse, it was a truck. The year wasn’t that far off, but it was old enough. The four door truck had comfy, inviting seats that took Sam and Dean into dreamland in the instant they got comfortable.

She managed to get the cabin just fine, unpacking without jostling them awake. She got their beds ready with cleaner sheets, Sam was easy to wake up. He was eager to get into a bed. Dean was reluctant, already cozy and relaxed he was content with sleeping in the truck.

“Dean, you can’t stay in here. You’ll make your fever worse.” She says, nudging him awake more.

“Fine.” He mumbles, sitting up sluggishly. Shoulders slumped.

“Come on Dean, I’ll help you.” She says.

“I can walk myself.” He snaps. He’s grumpy.

She snapped her hand away from him, letting him walk himself. But kept to herself after that. But it didn’t really stop her from checking in on him.

Cleaning the cabin she put on her phone her music she’d sing to while doing such chores. Grew up on country music she listened to some old Keith Urban Music, from his albums Defy Gravity, Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy thing, and Be Here, she dusted singing along to Standin’ Right in Front of You.

“Y/N, please stop singing! I’m trying to sleep!” she heard Dean shout from his room.

Feeling guilty, she just hummed the song as she cleaned. She felt bad for a minute, the feeling sticking with her throughout her cleaning.

She cooked up more soup for the boys, cleaned, and once done she just jammed out on the couch with the TV on Spanish Soap Operas. Trying to shake the guilt feeling she had early, as it crept back up on her.

 That night, after the boys ate and got situated for bed, one Winchester had something on his mind.

She was watching cable television, surfing here and there trying to get away from Spanish Soaps, but always finding her way back when finding nothing else on. She heard the floor creak behind her.

Her headphones were off, music off, just relaxing watching TV, she turned to see the older Winchester standing adjacent of the couch. Looking exhausted.

“You’re not coming to bed?” he asked. Voice still rough from being sick.

“I’m not tired. Besides, you need the bed. You’re still sick.” She says softly.

“You’ve been cleaning all day, taking care of me and Sam, you’ve got to be exhausted.” He says, something off about his tone.

“Dean, it’s fine. Just go back to bed, rest.” She says kindly.

He doesn’t say anything to that, but sits on the couch with her.

“Do you even like Spanish Soap Operas?” he asks, hiding a chuckle.

“I don’t like Soap Operas period.” She says. “But we got only cable TV, and it’s 2 in the morning. There’s nothing on.” She says.

“I’m sensing there’s more going on.” Dean goes.

“Dean, why are you up in the first place?” She asks. “You’re sick, you need to rest to get better.” She adds.

“Well see, there’s this girl. She’s more than a friend to me. I’ve been kind of a dick to her lately.” He says.

“Dean, it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have babied you; I should have kept it down when I was cleaning. It’s fine.” She says.

“And I know how sensitive you are, and can be. You love to take care of those you love. I’m the same way.” He says. “I guess I was more mad at myself for getting sick, I was so fixated on finding Dick I even didn’t care how sick I got.” He adds.

“You got a drive in you it’s scary, but it’s fine Dean. You’re only human. You have limitations, we all do. But you got to recognize your physical limitations and give yourself a break, and then get back at it again when you’re better.” She says.

“Back at you sweetheart.” He goes.

“Huh?” she asks.

“You got to know your mental limitations too. I’ve noticed how quiet you’ve been getting since we got sick. Plus, in the past, I’ve seen it happen. Sam mentioned it to me, Bobby knew it. Depression. It’s no joke Y/N. You got to take care of yourself mentally too.” Dean says.

She locks up, her walls going on. And he sees her tense. “And it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. but you can’t bottle it up. You got to deal with it. But you don’t have to do it alone.” He adds.

She nods, fiddling with her fingers.

“What has that demon told you in your head lately?” he asks.

“I’m not doing good enough to care for you or Sam.” She says quietly. Voice beginning to crack. “Stop trying.” She adds.

“You know that’s bull shit right?” he asks. He can see her shake her head.

“You snapped at me, yelled at me to keep it down.” she says. “That’s when it started getting bad.” She adds.

“And now?” he asks.

“It’s saying he’s going to throw you out; he doesn’t want you or your issues. You’re too much for him.” She says. Her throat holding back a sob.

“I’d never do that to you. You’re more than my friend, you’re my girl. I know I haven’t been the best friend lately. But I’m here now. Yes I’m sick, but I want to be there for my girl.” He says. “I’ll kick this demons ass for you, just tell me what you need.” He adds.

“I’m about to have a panic attack, I can feel it come on, can you hold me through it?” she asks, her voice disappearing.

Not saying a word, he invites her in his arms, and the two cuddle on the couch as she cries her eyes out, shakes and trembles, and works to get her breathing under control.

After a while she fallen asleep in the Older Winchester’s arms, when a wooden creak can be heard in the living room.

“How is she holding up?” Sam asks, walking in.

“She’s asleep now, that was a bad attack from the looks of it.” Dean says.

“How are you feeling by the way?” Sam asks.

“Better, but still a little under the weather. You?” He says.

“A bit better. Just a sore throat now.” Sam answers.

“I say we take care of her tomorrow, even if she’s not sick, but she needs us.” Dean says.

“I agree with that.” Sam says. “You up to carrying her or?” He asks.

“Dude, I’m exhausted. And I really don’t want to move her. Just grab us a blanket and some pillows, we’ll crash here.” Dean says with a groan.

“Sure thing.” Sam says with a tired smile. Heading into Dean’s room, grabbing a few blankets, a couple of pillows and heads back to the couch covering them up, and handing Dean the pillows.

“Night Jerk.” Sam goes.

“Night Bitch.” Dean says.

 Sun rose high that morning. Dean woke up with, feeling a warm spot on his chest. Seeing her still asleep, not moving from her spot.

Brushing a strand of hair back, his fingers grace over her forehead. His brows furrow when he feels how warm she feels.

She moans, waking up, causing a dry cough.

“Sounds like someone got sick.” Dean says.

“I feel sick too.” She says, her voice rough and scratchy.

“I finally get to return the favor, and take care of you for a change.” He says with a big grin, hugging her close making her giggle.

“I’m loving it so far.” She says hugging him back.

~

Copying and reposting someone else’s content is plagiarism and illegal. This work is property of supernaturallyobsessedchic. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. An electronic reference link to the original posted work may be provided for purposes of promotion or assistance of publication by the readers discretion, if proper credits are given to the author in the re-post. 10/2/2020

~

Dean Taglist:

@pandazombie69​, @luci-in-trenchcoats​, @supernatural-jackles​, @becs-bunker​, @mlovesstories​, @winchesters-favorite-girl​

[one-boring-person]

Only Traitors Consort With The Damned (Part Nine)

The Lost Boys x reader

Warnings: violence, blood imagery

Context: The first of the SRS has arrived, but thankfully not in large numbers.

A/N: hopefully I'll have a more Halloween-esque part to this out next weekend, so stay tuned for that!😁💛

Masterlist

A shiver runs through my body as I move silently through the back streets of Santa Carla, my hand resting on the gun holstered at my hip, gloved fingers tapping lightly on the deadly weapon as if in anticipation, my muscles taut and ready to spring into action. Unsurprisingly, a cool wind is blowing through town, the late October chill easily seeping into my new, stolen black denim jacket, the new outfit the boys found for me acting as a suitable disguise, seeing as the SRS uniform from before is a little too conspicuous, though the chains rattling quietly by my thigh are a little distracting, and the studs adorning the variety of clothes are a little superfluous, but it does it's part well enough. Thankfully, I got to keep my boots, so at least I'm not getting blisters from any new ones.

Biting my lip, I turn down yet another deserted alley, quickly scanning it for danger, noting the lack of people instantly, though there are a few cars and bins sitting by the surrounding walls here and there, each of them providing sufficient cover for a person, or multiple persons. Slowly, I edge forwards, watching the surroundings for any movement, aware that there could be danger at any moment, my heart pounding as I clock the lack of sound in the area, suddenly aware of the fact that there are no working streetlamps on this particular strip of alley, leaving it completely cloaked in darkness. Uneasy, I stop still, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Very carefully, I take off my gloves, placing them in my pocket as I listen closely to the eerie silence, watching the dark space in front of me, hoping to catch anything, should it come closer.

My head snaps round in the direction of a muted footstep, my fingers wrapping around the stock of the gun, pulling it from its holster and smoothly cocking it, flicking off the safety as I turn towards the noise. Mechanically, I lift the weapon a little higher, calming my racing heart before I step over towards the car the noise came from, holding my breath as I try to make out any shapes in the suffocating blackness, finding it nigh-on impossible to do so.

As I approach the car, I lift the gun higher still, edging around the seemingly abandoned vehicle, keeping my eyes trained on the space in front of me, my training kicking in as a dull calm spreads through me, keeping me from moving erratically, everything around me filtering out as I round the bonnet of the car.

A sudden blow to my upper back throws me forwards into the wall ahead of me, the air leaving my lungs as I collide with it painfully, tears springing to my eyes as my nose makes contact, the gun falling from my hands. Recovering quickly, I duck down before the second punch can come, a stifled yelp of surprise escaping my attacker as their fist connects with the hard surface, their knuckles most likely cracking from the force, causing them to reel back a little, leaving me time to spin around and jump back upright again. Without pausing, I swing my fist round into their exposed ribs, feeling the bones give slightly under the impact, my other hand coming round to land a hard blow to their descending face, their body whipping to the side in response. I move closer, intending to grab them, only for them to suddenly lunge forwards and shove me up against the wall, fists pummeling my sides, low grunts of pain leaving my lips as I grab their shoulders, but to no avail.

After a particularly well-aimed punch to the centre of my collarbones, I have to suck in a sharp breath of air, wincing as pain explodes through my chest, rendering me momentarily incapable of retaliating, giving my attacker the perfect opportunity to grab my hair and throw me away from the wall, my body violently crashing into the car bonnet as they drop me there, pain quickly spreading through me as I make contact. Under my weight, the windscreen cracks and shatters, shards of glass digging into my back as I skid over them, my attacker advancing on me with a newfound confidence, my eyes swiftly spotting the knife in their hand. Ignoring the blood pouring from my nose and mouth, I quickly roll to the side to avoid a sudden downwards thrust of the blade, dropping off of the car and onto the floor, going to get up, only to be stopped by a hand grasping my hair again, yanking my head back and pressing the knife to my throat. Eyes going wide, I take hold of their arm and press against it, feeling the icy sting of the blade just cutting into my skin, panic starting to well up in my body as I fight against their strength, only to find them slowly overpowering me.

With one last push, I drive an elbow backwards, catching them in the knee with enough force to make them buckle a little, giving me the chance to duck out of their grip and throw them onto their back on the floor, swiftly pinning then down as I grab my own knife from my pocket, wincing as they manage to use their's to leave a long gash down one of my arms. Putting my knife to their throat, I press down until they stop struggling, the two of us breathing very heavily as we calm ourselves, both waiting for the next move.

When nothing happens, I go to lean back slightly, only for my captive to suddenly write underneath me, kicking me backwards a little so that I have to stretch out my arms to keep myself upright. In doing so, however, I manage to lodge my knife in their thigh, a scream of agony tearing itself from their lips at their self-inflicted wound, blood starting to ooze out from around the base of the weapon, colourful curses and swears aimed at me accompanying the whines and whimpers of pain that follow. Climbing off of them, I swiftly grab their wrists and use the rope at my belt to tie them together, ignoring their pleas and begging, the voice now distinctly male as they try to appeal to my better nature, seemingly forgetting that they just tried to kill me.

I don't look at their face, turning to their newly sustained wound, thinking things over, before making a split decision. Pulling another rope from my belt, I tie it around the top of his thigh, pulling it tight to stop the bleeding, choosing to leave the weapon in place as I work, eventually telling him to shut up as he continues to ramble on.

*

"Who the hell is that and why the fuck is he here?!" David growls at me as I eventually manage to drag the Scout into the cave, a trail of dirt mapping out the path I used as I manoeuvre my way around the messy interior.

"This," I start, dropping the man's legs as I find a better source of light, "Is a Scout, someone sent to find me before the rest of the Clean-up Team arrives. He's here because we're taking him hostage."

Kneeling down beside the now-unconscious man, I turn my attention to the knife protruding from his leg, quickly deciding how to go about this. Taking hold of the Scout's knife, I carefully cut away the fabric of his trousers around the wound, gently testing how tightly the knife is wedged into the muscle, before dropping the weapon in my hand and grabbing a piece of nearby cloth.

"A hostage? Why are you taking a hostage?" David continues to interrogate me, scowling at me as I yank the knife from the wound and use the fabric to staunch the flow of blood that rushes out.

"So that I have some leverage over them when they come for me, though I'm not too sure how well they'll react to this." I muse out loud, only now realising that the platinum blonde vampire across from me is having a hard time controlling himself, "Sorry, I forgot that this would be difficult for you guys."

A small part of me is glad that David is the one who volunteered to stay behind tonight to keep watch with me, given that he seems to have the most self control (apart from Dwayne) when it comes to blood; if it was Paul, the Scout would be dead by now.

David just huffs, sitting in his wheelchair sullenly as he waits for me to finish, blue eyes watching me as I examine the wound.

"Hey, do you think you could get the med-kit from my rucksack, please? I need to stitch this or he'll bleed out." I ask him quietly, hoping he'll agree.

The vampire rolls his eyes, but stands and gets the kit anyway, handing it to me with a grunt. Thanking him, I take out a needle and thread, sterilizing them both as I prepare them for use, removing the makeshift bandage from the wound and leaning in to start sewing the edges shut.

"Where did you learn to do that?" David asks suddenly, breaking the silence.

"This? I learnt on the job, a few years ago. Some werewolf caught me with its claws when I got too close. I had to stitch myself up, so I learned from the experience." I explain dismissively, remembering the incident well.

"A werewolf?" The vampire questions, seemingly confused, "Where was that?"

"Somehwere in Texas, I think. I don't really remember the specifics. Why?"

"Oh, I wasn't aware that there were still werewolves in this country."

"Really?! You can't possibly think you're the only supernatural beings left in the U.S?" I ask, incredulous.

"I've been stuck in Santa Carla for as long as I can remember, so I wouldn't know." He chuckles in response, "What're you gonna do with him when he wakes up?"

I shrug.

"Talk to him, interrogate him. I just need to know how close the SRS are to finding me."

"How close do you think they are?" David queries quietly.

I sigh to myself, sitting back on my heels as I finish the job.

"Honestly, I'd rather not think about it."

Part Ten