#he also has a minor brain bleed from said concussion

[adventuringblind]

Band-Aids are for Speed

Lando Norris x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Street Racer AU

Summary: The five times she patched Lando up, and the one time he patched up her.

Warnings: Injury descriptions, broken bones, cuts, bruises, blood, illigal street racing, car accidents

Notes: Author is not a doctor but has watched medical dramas... don't judge my knowledge!

Side Note: I hope le requester enjoys this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi

The first time she met Lando, he was siting in the emergency room waiting to be stitched up. She quietly hums to herself while setting up as the other nurse changes places with her.

The deep gash on his arm makes her wonder what he did to get it, but she also knows better then to ask. He doesn't look like he's in the mood to talk anyway.

It takes approximately three minutes for her to retract that statement. "So, you come here often?"

The question takes her so of guard that she doesn't know what to do with it aside from take the next few seconds to process. Is it not obvious that she works here?

"Do you mean the hospital? Or in this room specifically?" She laughs lightly at the ridiculousness of her patient and blames the minor blood loss.

"Nah, I mean in my presence." He smirks.

She tries to focus on her work. "Can't say I have."

"Would you like to be in it more?"

He gives her his number before he leaves. He dots the 'i' in his name with a heart.

She texts him the second she gets him to ask if he's bless her with his presence again.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

In the few months they've been seeing each other she's learned that Lando is obsessed with cars. It's cute when he jumps into excited rants about his favorite subject.

With the amount they've been talking, it's not shocking that Lando texts her in the evening. She assumes it'll be another silly joke. Instead she's met with frenzied sentences and misspelled words about need medical attention.

She doesn't hesitate to drive to his place. In hindsight, she really should've asked him why he didn't go to A&E when he's bleeding all over the bathroom floor.

"Please tell me you didn't get jumped." She kneels down and sets about getting him a position where she can see what she's doing.

He groans in pain as she moves him. "Nope! It was spectacular though."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I crashed the car but still won." He lets out a triumphant hoot.

This man can never give her all the details at one. "You got in a car accident?! How is that winning?!"

"Because I won the money... duh." He's definitely delirious now. Probably has a concussion. "Oh, I didn't tell you? I street race."

There's that strange part of her that is intrigued and curious to know more, specifically because that adds to his sex appeal (like he wasn't hot enough already). The logical side of her brain that is currently staring at Lando bleeding says otherwise. "Uh, no... you didn't."

"Well isn't that unfortunate! You coulda seen me crash today if you had."

Lando is half asleep by the time she is done. She's barely able to wrangle him into bed with how uncoordinated he is. It's useless keeping him awake.

She turns the lights off and is about to leave - "Will you stay?"

"I can, yeah, do you want me on the couch or is there another bedroom?"

"In bed with me. You can stay here - with me."

Against her better judgment, she does.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

She doesn't usually work the weekend shift but one of the nurses is on vacation and she could us the extra hours. She leaves her phone on vibrate in her pocket in case of a 'family emergency.'

Said emergency being Lando who is more accident prone on the weekends. Somehow, less accident prone in the car and more when he's doing normal people tasks.

Sometimes she wonders if her gets hurt on purpose just so he has an excuse to see her. She keeps telling him he doesn't need one - just in case - but he still calls and she goes. It's not like she has much else to do with her time aside.

She really shouldn't be shocked when he ends up in emergency clutching his arm. He gives her a bashful smile and tries to awkwardly wave. "Hi."

"And what, my love, are you in for this time?"

"I slipped on the stairs..."

Another male, a tall brunette who she knows as George, hits him playfully on the head. "No he did not! This idiot decided it would be a brilliant idea to tie a skateboard to the back of Alex's car and sit on it while Alex drove."

She throws a stern look at Lando and his smile goes from bashful to downright embarrassed. "You're lucky it's just you're arm."

By the time he's set free into the world to make more impulsive decisions, she makes the executive decision to make him wait until she's done working. He puts a pout on his lips, but it goes away when she sends him to the cafeteria.

They drive home listening to the indie station. The one he's made her fall in love with.

"Thank you, again."

"You've got to stop thanking me, Lan. It is literally my job." She laughs a little at herself for that one.

"Yeah, but, that's not all. You're the only person who doesn't freak out on me for doing stupid shit. Like I know I shouldn't do it but it gives me that adrenaline that racing does." The sincerity in his voice nearly takes her off guard.

"I can't tell what to do, but I'll always be there when you need a patch job."

"And I'll be there when you need a ride." He winks.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

The first time she's at one of Lando's races, she can feel the thrumming in her heart. The excitement of the start and the fear that he could possibly die doing this.

He jogs over to her right before the start. His hands clumsily find her waist and he smash his lips on hers. "For good luck." He whispers as he pulls away.

She doesn't let go, however. She pulls a band aide out of her pocket and sticks it to his hand. It's a crayon, but she highly doubts he'll care to much.

"What's this for?"

"I had a little girl today who told me that Band-Aids give you speed. I thought you might try it."

"When I win, it'll be all because of you."

Lando does win. She buys more Band-Aids with some of the prize money.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

She's there when the crash happens. The boys had deemed her the official medical personnel. Which she's glad for, since they are the ones getting her to the crash site. In record time - it has to be - she's sure she's never gone this fast before.

She dives out of the back of the truck to the driver side door. Lando sits there, a few visible cuts, but he's smiling at her. She has half a mind to give the boy an earful, but refrains since he did just crash.

It takes her, Alex, and George to get him out of the car and into the truck. She stitches him up before they go home. In her car, mind you, since the one Lando drove is out of order.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be - just - please remember that I can't fix every kind of injury."

They curl up in bed together. The long night having drained them both of their energy.

"Maybe, but at least my odds of surviving until my thirties have gone up with you around."

"At this rate, you're more likely to die doing dishes then driving."

"That was one time!"

♡♡♡♡♡♡

It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was supposed to go home, not end up back at her job.

Granted, she's here for a different reason now. One that's not her fault and she's pissed about it. She's going to explode with emotions. Her body hurts so much.

Fucking drunk drivers. Who gave them the right to say it's her fault? Telling her she's lucky it wasn't worse.

A soft knock at the door draws her attention. Lando stands there look mildly disheveled. Still, he has his hands on his hips and rolls his eyes. "Whatever am I going to do with you, my love? Always getting into accidents!"

He comes to lay beside her on the bed and she wiggles to make accommodate him. He pulls out a box of bandages from his pocket and proceeds to put them everywhere she has a new mark.

The stress of it all finally breaks through. She sobs into his shoulder and clings to his sweatshirt. "Thank you."

"Hey, none of that. I owe you for all the Band-Aids you've used on me and all those times you've patched me up."

"Does this mean I can drive your car now? Since I have extra speed?"

Lando raises his eyebrows. "Maybe not drive, but I can think of other things we can do with speed." He wiggles said eyebrows suggestively.

"How about, a speedy recovery? You have plenty of those."

"Alright fine, a speedy recovery - and I'll be here for all of it with a plethora of crayon Band-Aids because I bought them all just for you."

[yukihime-mikeys-girl]

A fresh start

CW - angst, abuse, drunk abusive household, guns, death, character death, swearing, yandere-type behavior, toxic relationships, higher deities, devil, suicide, blood, mentions of physical and verbal abuse, blood, character death, pain, fluff, abandonment issues.

A/N - Sooo, this is going to turn out longer than expected. I am saving the Harleys in hawaii idea for something which will be after a couple more chapters. 👉🏻👈🏻 please bear with me. 💖 I hope everyone who reads this, enjoys it.

Please do not repost it to other sites. Reblogs, likes, and comments are appreciated.

MINORS DNI.

PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS SERIES IF THE ABOVE WARNINGS TRIGGER YOU.

Mikey x OC

A fresh start

There is too much light, is your first thought. You want to open your eyes, but the bright light is hurting your irises. You close them again. You hear a few voices above your head. It sounds like your homeroom teacher, who also teaches you math, Tanaka sensei and a female voice, it has to be the nurse from the infirmary. Which means you are in the infirmary. Since your eyes don’t seem to want to open, you perk up your ears to listen in to the conversation. You cannot seem to remember a thing from before you blacked out. Now you want to know why.

“It seems to be a light concussion to her head. Mostly caused by her anemia. She needs to take it easy for a while. I will write a note and send it to you through her when she wakes up. Please sign it and ensure that you tell her to show it to her parents, Tanaka-san.” Says the female voice.

Tanaka-san sighs, before agreeing with her. You hear footsteps receding. Tanaka-san seems to murmur to himself after that, thinking you are still out of it. “Aah, how do I send the note to this girl’s house? Knowing the condition at her house, it will only get worse for her. Poor girl, there should be someone for her. Hmm... it does seem like that delinquent listens only to her, maybe I can get him to work something out for this. Yes! You have a good brain Ren, ahaha, l/n-san, don’t worry, I won’t send the note to your house and cause more problems.” After this, he starts walking away with purpose in his step. You know that Tanaka Ren sensei is trying to look out for you, since he knows what kind of household you come from, and so, he’s planned something, but what you cannot understand is, which delinquent was he talking about? You usually don’t talk to anyone. There’s only that blonde monkey in your class who keeps pestering you. Tanaka sensei said someone ‘who listens to you’... Hmm, now who could it be seeing as you don’t talk to anyone unless necessary. Anyways, you’ll know in a few days, who it will be. Might as well buckle up and try to be nice to the new person who’s going to try and help you out of this predicament. You absolutely cannot have that report going home, else things are going to become a lot worse than what they already are.

__________________________________

You wake up after a while. It looks like it could be around 5pm in the evening. You hear voices beyond the curtain which separates you from the other bed. You recognize the voice of the one of the two people who are talking, and surprisingly, it’s of the blonde monkey who keeps pestering you in class. You’re about to ignore him and go away when you hear the other unfamiliar voice talking. “Mikey, are you really okay? You seem to be bleeding from the head. That was a bad one. Can you recognize who am I? does your head hurt? Maybe waiting for a couple more hours is not such a bad idea.”

Your heart thumps loudly in your chest. Why and how is he bleeding? Why his head? Not liking this one bit, you rush to get out of your bed and tear at the curtains forcefully. Somehow, you were panicking for his sake a lot more than your own. Although you see him as nothing but a pest, you cannot help but feel a little scared and wishing that he was fine.

What greets your eyes is a skinny frame with just pants on. Mikey was in the process of putting his shirt back on after the check-up when you barged in on him.

Your cheeks start to heat up a speed that would put lightning to shame. You immediately do a full turn and cover your face while trying to walk away. This was not what you wanted to see. You just wanted to make sure that he was okay.

Realizing that you had seen him half naked, Mikey cannot help but blush, while Draken, who was sitting beside him smirks and tries to control his laughter as best as he can. This was epic stuff!

“Sooo... what next? Wanna work out a bit? At least the next time you want to show her your body, you might as well have some defined abs right? Just having the skills to beat up delinquents without having abs to attract the one girl you like is bad, Miikeeyyyy...”

Teasing his friend, Draken makes a run for it, before Mikey realizes what he meant. He DID not want to get beat up, but the prospect of teasing his friend like this was just too tempting.

Once Mikey understands what Draken meant, his blush intensifies. Damnit, next time he met Draken, he was going to beat his ass. But he could not help think, maybe he was also right. Hmm, guess it’s time to try and work out a bit so that he was better at wooing his lovely l/n-san.

______________________________________

You don’t realize that running away, you’ve now reached your class. It’s empty except for your bag and Mikey’s bag which is present on the desk beside yours. Not wanting to see him and be reminded of today’s incident, you quickly start to pack up your things. As you do this, you realize that you left your shoes back at the infirmary. You were literally stupid enough to just run without putting your shoes on. Groaning about this, you pack your bag and are about to head towards the infirmary to get your shoes. You’re busy looking at your feet, muttering how could you be so stupid, while simultaneously trying to put on the bag straps on both your shoulders. You don’t look up while walking.

Bump!

You bang your head on something sturdy. Yelping about falling on your ass, you close your eyes, bracing yourself for the impact. So much for the school being empty.

But you don’t seem to land on the ground. Looking up, you want to thank and apologize to your savior seeing as you were the careless one.

Your eyes meet a pair of stunned black orbs. He’s holding you close to him, so that you don’t fall. Your shoes are in his other hand.

So much for running away with a little bit of grace and dignity. Mikey had brought your shoes and also saved you from falling down when you bumped into him.

Being in such close proximity to the blonde male, you can clearly inhale his woodsy pine-based soap. Coupled with the fact that you’d just seen him half naked a mere half an hour ago, your cheeks start to heat up. There is nowhere to run to, since he’s holding you close to him.

“I’m so sorry, Sano-san, I honestly did not see you there.” You mumble through blushed cheeks. This seems to break him out of his reverie, and he lets you go, so that you can stand at a proper distance.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, l/n-san, it happens with most people. Hope you are not hurt.” He says with that smile on his face. The smile that makes you feel weird things in your stomach and your heart.

“I suppose these belong to you? You left them there, after... ahem, after y-you, ran away.” Now he’s the one blushing, since he seems to remember the incident as well. You’re face is literally burning now.

Seeing no escape from this anymore, you bow suddenly and heavily towards him, in order to apologize, but in doing so, you have now effectively hit him in the face with your head.

Oh God! Did you have to be such a klutz in front of him!?

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry Sano-san! I really didn’t mean to hit you in the face! I’m so sorry! Sorry for barging in the other time and incredibly sorry for this as well.” You start to apologize profusely for being an idiot in front of him.

It’s his time to get flustered with the way you sound so cute while apologizing. He feels his heart is going to burst. Schooling his expression, and planning to make use of this chance, he fakes the pain saying, “Oww l/n-san! Your head is just too strong. It hurts so bad! What am I supposed to do?”

You’re panicking now. You look up and see him holding his chin, while pouting at the pain. Totally falling for his trick, you start to cry and remembering how close you are standing to him, you walk a step back and bow so low, you are literally on your knees. You might as well be kowtowing to your ancestors. Sniffling through it all, you apologize even more profusely, “I’m so sorry, Sano-san, please, tell me what I can do to fix this. I’m so sorry for being a klutz. I will pay for your treatment, please, please, please, I’m sorry.” You are in tears with snot on the ground while saying this to the blonde boy.

He feels a little bad for teasing you like this, seeing you cry. Looking outside, he sees that the sun’s last rays are nearly fading. It would be dark soon. It won’t be a good thing for a girl to walk home alone. Thinking this, he looks back at you, who’s still on the ground, scared to raise your eyes to him. Seeing you like that breaks his heart. He feels bad and so, to make things a little easier for you, he crouches in front of you and says in a soft voice.

“Hey, hey l/n-san, it’s not that bad, please, get up. It hurts yes, but nothing a little ice cream will not fix. Let me tell you what. You buy me one, and let’s call it even for you hitting my chin, yeah? It’ll help numb the pain.” He ruffles your hair as you look up to him. God, you looked cute even with a snotty nose and puffy, he thinks. Believing him, you nod and start to wipe your face.

“Let me get my bag real quick and let’s go?” He asks you. You nod saying, “Yes, okay. Let me put on my shoes. Thank you for bringing them.”

So that is how you found yourself walking side by side with the blonde monkey who usually used to just irritate you in class. It feels nice to not walk home alone, you think. There is a comfortable silence between the two of you, as if you’ve known each other from a long time is what you think.

Unfortunately, Mikey seems to be on a completely different track. He cannot believe he is finally getting a chance to talk to you, and best of all, extort a dessert from you. You! His long-time crush since kindergarten! His mind is in shambles, and he cannot seem to keep the blush from his face.

‘No, if you’re this quiet, you’ll never get her to open up. Think Mikey think! Start a random topic! Fast, damnit!’

__________________________________

“So, l/n-san, do you usually walk home alone?” he asks. He knows the answer, but he just wants to talk to you.

“Yeah, I usually walk home alone. Don’t really have friends. What about you Sano-san?” you ask him.

‘She’s talking to me, instead of the usual ignoring, yes!’ is what he thinks before replying, “Hmm, I usually go home late, but mostly, Mitsuya walks with me. He stays close to my house.”

“Who’s Mitsuya?” The question is out of your mouth before you know it. So much for not bothering with people.

“Oh, he’s my friend and the captain of the second division in Toman!” he says with pride.

“To-man? What is that?” you ask him, intrigued.

“Yes, Toman, or Tokyo Manji gang. It’s my gang. Draken is the vice leader, while Mitsuya, Baji, Hanemiya, Pah-chin, Nahoya and Mucho are the captains of the 5 divisions. I am the leader.” He says this with a big smile, proud of what they have created.

Smart as you may be in studies, putting two and two together is not where you shine, but this time, thankfully, you connect the dots.

Tanaka sensei had said, he’d speak to the delinquent who only listens to you. And you know that only this blonde monkey is the one who usually tries to engage you in a conversation, or get you involved in any way in his daily life. Which means, Tanaka-sensei would ask Mikey to help you cover up your issues?

You groan in frustration. You’re going to have to be nicer to him and actually talk to him, so that your work would be done. So much for a smooth sailing school life.

Mikey thinks you groaned because he told you that he was in a gang. What he didn’t know that your mind was running a mile a minute. He starts to feel bad, that you cannot accept him the way he is, and so, he plans to walk away from you once you’ve paid for his ice cream. He still plans to make sure that you reach home safe.

Finally, the two of you reach the café close to your house. Sitting opposite each other, you ask him what ice cream he wants. He seems distracted and asks you to choose. You look at the menu and order two mint-choco sundaes. Now it’s his chance to groan. Why do you seem to like such weird flavors, he thinks. You look at him with a questioning face. When he does not still respond, you ask him, “You don’t like mint choco?”

Surprised that you asked him that, he replies, “Eh, not so much. I have not tried it actually. I have always bought either strawberry or chocolate sundaes here. Is it any good?”

Your face lights up at the chance of getting to talk about mint choco. Honestly, if there is one thing you are enthusiastic about, that would be your mother’s chocolate cake and the mint choco sundae of this specific café.

“You have honestly never tried Mint choco!?!?! You, my friend, have been missing out on the best thing in life! Mint choco is a blessing. It is the one flavor which beats all others! I used to love chocolate before, but then, this one time, I was angry at my old friends teasing me for being so plain, and so, to prove them wrong, I ordered mint choco. Since then, it’s been mint choco for me all the time.” You keep rambling, telling him how mint choco is the best flavor out there, but he is honestly, not listening to you, whatever you’re saying seems to be going over his head because he’s busy drinking in your expressions. You, who were always poker faced in class, you who never spoke to anyone, were emoting in front of him. He was 80% sure, you’d not opened up like this to others, but then he heard you say, old friends. Maybe they had seen you like this? He didn’t know why, but it made him jealous. He wished you'd be like this only for him.

Waiting patiently for you to finish your monologue on mint choco, he keeps staring at you, while his elbows are on the table, palms balled into fists which are supporting his cheeks on both sides. Anyone could see he was smitten with you. Well, that is basically everyone but you. Because you were busy talking up mint choco.

The waitress finally brought your sundaes to the table.

“Now, Sano-san,”

“Mikey”

“What?”

“Call me Mikey, l/n-san” he says.

“Oh... Mikey...” It seems like you are tasting the foreign name on your tongue for the first time.

“Okay, Mikey-san, so now, take a spoon of the brilliant mint choco sundae while I gauge your reaction on how good it is.”

“Not Mikey-san, just Mikey.” He says irritatedly.

“No, it’s going to be Mikey-san, we don’t even know each other very well.”

“No, it’s just Mikey. Mikey-san sounds so weird”

“Mikey-san”

“Mikey”

“Eat the sundae please, Mikey-san”

“Miiikeyyyyy- mmph-“

He’s still busy trying to get you to say Mikey, when you shove a spoonful of your sundae in his mouth.

Grinning evilly, you ask him, “so how is the mint choco sundae, Mikey-san?”

His cheeks are red and his mouth is full of the sweet treat. 'l/n just fed me her ice cream?', he thinks. Blushing furiously, he shuts up and starts eating.

“Oh myyyy~ This is shoooo gooood~” he mutters, while swallowing.

“I think, I'll switch to mint choco too!”

“Yes! Welcome to team mint choco!” you say enthusiastically.

“Only on the condition that you call me Mikey. I really don’t like Mikey-san” he pouts and says.

You feel it’s a small price to pay for getting him to like mint choco. Honestly, your obsession with this flavor of ice cream can be scary sometimes.

Taking a spoonful of the sundae to your own lips, you agree with him, “Okay, Mikey it is. But you are going to be team mint choco. Promise?”

He is blushing so hard, it looks like his whole face is on fire, as he nods. You hadn’t realized it, but you’d fed him the ice cream from your spoon and now, were using the same one, to dig into the delicious treat. Mikey realized this and he sees this as an indirect kiss. He cannot seem to calm down, so he immediately starts stuffing his face with his own sundae, in the hopes that it will cool the butterflies in his stomach.

After eating the ice cream, you pay for the both of you and start walking towards your house. He follows beside you.

“I can go home on my own, Mikey” you say.

“Yeah, but it’s too dark, and I live on the same side of town. Let me walk you home.” He replies.

You don’t argue, since you seem to enjoy his company.

“By the way, l/n-san, why did you say, old friends? I don’t mean to pry, but you seem to usually be by yourself. Did something happen with these friends of yours?”

Your expression turns sour. “They... ditched me. Stopped talking to me after an incident. Since then, I have stopped making friends. There’s no place for those kind of people in my life, who plan to leave me. And eventually everyone does. At least everyone has till now, so I don’t like making friends anymore. It hurts when I invest so much of myself, just for them to walk away.”

You don’t elaborate further, but Mikey now knows enough to know why you are usually seen alone. And honestly, he’s seen his fair share of selfish people, so he somewhat understands your plight.

“Can you give me a chance?” he asks sincerely.

“What?” you’re confused. Chance for what?

“A chance to be your friend. I will promise right here and now, that I won’t ever leave your side, no matter what happens. And it may sound cliché and common, but I am a man of my promises. I always keep my word.”

He is pained to see the empty look in your eyes when you look back at him.

“I’m sorry, Sano-san. I have lost enough of these so called ‘friends’ and I have enough personal baggage in my life. I am not interested in being friends. I can walk home from here. Please take care of your injury and goodbye.”

Saying this, you run from him, before he has a chance to stop you. You ran because you didn’t want him to see the tears in your eyes. You seemed to like the blonde monkey and so, being friends with him would be a million times harder. If he walked away, you somehow knew you would break.

Mikey looks in your direction, till you’ve disappeared. His resolve is made. He is going to worm his way into your life and be the friend you deserve. And hopefully, down the line, a little more than just friends. Doesn’t matter that you don’t like him because he’s in a gang, he will force you to be his friend.

And so, he too, walks towards his own house. Maybe Shinichiro-niisan would have ideas, he muses to himself while walking.

Previous | Next

@tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang @evesou707

[morkleemelon]

off the ice || chapter 4: don’t look back

previous || m.list || playlist || next

pairing: college hockey player! mark x fem. college figure skater! reader

genre: fluff, sports au, college au

word count: 6.5k

warnings: blood, mention of surgery, description of injuries, swearing, financial struggle

author’s note: huge thanks again to my beta readers @writing-frog​ and @skiimmiilk​ for being a great help to making this story better! the slow burn fire is finally burning in this chapter and I’m so excited :) if you haven’t been listening already, I highly recommend the playlist for this chapter! enjoy~

“What do you mean ‘it’s fine’?,” you sobbed, gripping the side of her hospital bed. You wanted to give your best friend a hug, but you didn’t want to risk hurting her more. Yuna’s right leg was pinned into an apparatus, the intricate metal carefully holding together the broken bones, her usual perfect skin marred by scratches of red and patches of blue. 

“I mean what I said”. Even with a sore voice and her current situation, Yuna managed to speak with dignity.

“And Ms. Kim is right,” the doctor agreed, jotting down a prescription on her clipboard, “the surgeries went well and she is in stable condition. The good news is that with proper rest and physical therapy, she will be able to walk again. Now, it’s my duty to be honest with you. You said you’re a figure skater?”.

“Yes”. Yuna uncurled her fingers, inviting you to hold her hand. You accepted it, bracing both of you for the bad news. Ten sat at the other side of the bed pressing her other hand to his lips.

“While we cannot rule out the possibility, the likelihood of you being able to skate again is very low. Especially for the next few years”. 

Yuna’s tough façade started to crumble at the shocking reality and her lips trembled as she choked back tears. You pressed your forehead to her hand as you hid your own tears from her. 

“God damn it!”. Ten yelled, getting up and kicking away the stool he was sitting on. The loud bang was followed by the sound of quiet weeping. “I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight. I shouldn’t have told you to go to the car first. None of this should’ve happened, god damn it”. The older boy cried into his palms as he placed the blame on himself. 

“Please settle down and refrain from disturbing the patient,” the doctor warned, “but we would like to talk to you about the details of the accident, Ms. Kim, now that you’re awake and stable”.

Yuna nodded, a few tears escaping and rolling down her scraped-up cheeks.

“Your right leg is broken in three places upon impact with the vehicle: two in the femur and one major area in the tibia. You then sustained minor external injury as you fell to the pavement, scraping your arms and face. We will run additional tests later on to determine if you also have a concussion. If you can remember any details of how this accident happened, please describe them to me and we can notify the police to help find the suspect”, the doctor continued.

“I,” Yuna cleared her throat, “I was at a party last night and I had a bit to drink. We stayed pretty late and Ten is close with the host, so we just decided to sleep over. Then this morning, I woke up early and I wanted to go on a drive to clear my head. Ten had to get something so I left the house first. I- I checked both ways before I crossed the street to his car, but before I knew it… it came out of nowhere and I was on the ground. I don’t… I can’t remember anything about it. The next thing I remember was being in the ambulance with Ten”. 

“I heard the whole thing happen,” Ten added softly, “I was inside the house at the time and I heard the screeching tires and Yuna screamed. By the time I ran outside, the car was gone and Yuna was bleeding on the ground”. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist. “All I could do was call an ambulance. I- I didn’t see the car or the bastard driving it. All I could do was sit with her in the street while we waited. She wasn’t waking up and all I could do was sit with her. I couldn’t even move her because I was afraid it would make it worse and she was bleeding everywhere. All I could do was sit there”. 

Tears stream down your face as you listen to Ten break down. The normally bright and optimistic man now had his face in his hands, hiccupping uncontrollably at the thought of how close he came to losing the love of his life.

“Hey,” Yuna groaned, struggling to keep her own voice steady, “baby, I’m okay. When we met, you were hurt and struggling, but you got through it because we were together. We’re still together and we can get through this too”. She touched her fingers through his hair gently. 

“Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Kim, and both of your friends. The police are currently asking for witnesses for your hit-and-run case and will update you with any findings. These are your prescriptions”, the doctor slid the piece of paper onto the counter, “the nurse will come find you later to talk about your treatment. For now, I’ll leave you all alone”. 

The room fell silent, only interrupted by the occasional sniffle as the doctor shut the door behind her.

“Hey y/n?”. Yuna turned her head gingerly to you.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I can’t do the competition with you now. I promised I would but…”

“Don’t even… how could you worry about that right now?”, you sobbed, “don’t you worry about it, Yuna, the competition doesn’t matter at all. I’m just glad you’re okay right now. You should focus on getting better, not worry about me of all things”. 

“Y/n is right,” Ten agreed, “you were there for me when I got hurt. And when I thought there was no way out, you held my hand and pulled me up from the darkness. Doctor says you have a good chance of walking, so let’s get you there first. Then we’ll work on beating the odds and getting you back on the ice again”. 

“You guys…” Yuna smiled slightly, careful not to strain her bruised jaw. 

“I’ll come visit you as much as I can,” you promised, “I can bring my sleeping bag, clothes, and a jar of peanut butter. We can just be roommates here instead. There’s free AC and disney band aids too, it’ll be great”. Your attempt to lighten the mood was well received as the couple chuckles together. 

“By the way, I called your parents while you were in surgery and they’re on their way over now. They should actually be here soon,” Ten noted.

“I’ll leave you guys then,” you offered. There was a two visitor limit and you didn’t want to intrude on Ten and Yuna’s chance to have some private time before her parents bombarded her with concern. Not to mention Mark has been sitting in the waiting room for a few hours now and you wanted to be respectful of his time too.

Offering your last words of support to Yuna, you shut the door quietly behind you. Dabbing at your watery eyes with the edge of your sleeve, you attempt to fix your run-off makeup using your phone camera. Everything felt kind of numb. The events of the last 24 hours were surreal and staying up the whole night with Mark certainly did not help as the tiredness was catching up to you. Concern, upset, worry, and frustration formed a thick cloud in your thoughts. Your brain was like a jammed printer and the thoughts were not processing. You were in shock to say the least.

You shuffle your way down the hall to the waiting area and look for Mark’s familiar blonde hair. You spot him fast asleep in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as he leans his head back against the wall. His mouth is slightly agape, forming a soft ‘o’ as he breathed steadily in and out. Seeing him sleep so peacefully made you relax a little. 

At least there was something good about today.

“Hey,” you whisper, shaking him gently. His eyes blink open slowly, wincing at the bright hospital lights. 

“Hey,” he croaks, rubbing his eyes as he sits up straight. “How’s Yuna? Did you get to see her?”.

“She’s…,” you pause, “she’s okay. She said she was okay when I saw her just now and the doctor said she’s stable but…,” your voice trails off. 

“But what?,” Mark asked gently, placing a comforting hand on your back. You look around to make sure there was nobody around who could overhear. A few people sat around the waiting room a ways away, texting on their phones or flipping through the free health magazines. The receptionist’s monotonous voice droned on as she answered a phone call.

“The doctor says that Yuna might not be able to skate again,” you murmured. Even though the doctor made it clear before, saying the words out loud felt extremely surreal. You imagined if it were you lying on the hospital bed hearing this news. To not be able to skate again… it was too awful to comprehend. Tears roll down your cheeks before you could help it, dangling from the point of your chin before falling onto your green volunteer shirt. 

Mark thought about what he could say in reply to the devastating news, but decided it was best to not say anything at all. Pulling you in for a hug, you cry silently into the crook of his neck. You wrap your arms around his torso and hold on for dear life. 

The next few weeks pass by rather uneventfully after the incident, at least comparatively. Police were still on the case of Yuna’s hit-and-run perpetrator, but they struggled to find witnesses when the crime occurred so early in the morning. Even the local CCTV didn’t cover the area where it happened and the driver was still ultimately at large. 

The Lee’s and your other friends texted in the group chat plenty and you grew much more comfortable with having them around. Mark drives you to the hospital to visit Yuna a couple times a week and the three of you would eat lunch together in her room for a small sense of normalcy. It was a tough transition for you nonetheless- your best friend and roommate who you were used to seeing every day now was now seemingly so far away and your time together was reduced to a few hours a week. However, the initial shock of the situation eventually faded and the two of you came to terms with how things were. Yuna and you agreed to not cry about it anymore until she got started on physical therapy and gave recovery her best shot. Thankfully, Ten was there with her everyday and night, so it was bearable for her. 

Mark’s always been sweet about your comfort zone, too, never pushing you to talk about your feelings yet at the same time, always there for you when you needed him. Neither one of you brought up the almost-kisses, the first reason being you weren’t ready to remind yourself of the horrible things that happened afterwards and the second being that Mark wanted to respect that you needed time to process it. 

So the days tick by and seeing Mark became part of your daily routine. It was something you looked forward to when you got ready in the morning and although you didn’t really know it, it was something you needed to make your day feel complete. His good heart shined more and more to you everyday as you chose to continue to accompany him to Sunday volunteering. You got to witness how Mark’s eyes glowed whenever he talked to the people he served. He treated everyone there as if they were his own family and even though many of the people he helps are much older, he continues every conversation with sincerity and maturity. 

In addition to walking you to class everyday, Mark now has a special seat next to you in the front row of your economics lecture, leaving Jeno and Ten snickering behind you as they watch your close interactions. You ate lunch at the willow tree by the basketball court on the days you weren’t visiting Yuna. After a while, you grew used to the dirty looks from the girls across the court, even glaring back when you met Hillary’s fiery stare. Nonetheless, you developed a comfortable social routine and everything was going quite well, except for one abundant issue weighing heavily on your shoulders.

The middle of October rolls by and you grind your way through your evening shift at Frankie’s. Thankfully, it was a Tuesday, so late-night stragglers weren’t an issue. You finish scrubbing down the counters in the kitchen and wipe your hands on your waitress apron. Unfortunately, it was your turn to close so you were the only one left working tonight. Your back ached from the hours of waiting tables and your cheeks hurt from the wide smile you offered all of your customers, rude or not. Sighing, you count your tips for the day.

A bell chimes from the door.

“Sorry we’re closed-,” you stop your words as you see the figure illuminated by the low diner lights. 

“Is it too late for me to talk with the pretty waitress?” Mark grins, unzipping and taking off his wind breaker. You roll your eyes but your smile tells him you aren’t actually annoyed.

“The pretty waitress is covered in barbeque sauce and all purpose cleaner. Proceed?”

“Oh no, not barbeque sauce! Cancel request! Cancel Request!”

You laugh, throwing a nickel at his dramatic show. 

“Wait, give that back to me. I need every tip I can get,” you say, holding out your hand to receive the coin. Mark obediently picks it up, handing it to you as he takes a seat at the bar. You thank him, flipping through the crinkled, greasy bills from the tip jar. The creeping disappointment must have shown on your face because Mark broke the silence.

“Not a good night?” His words were careful. He understood you were under a lot of stress recently, but he didn’t have the heart to pry further and make you tell him why, which you appreciated. Mark assumed it was about Yuna or grades, but you never confided the real reason of how much your financial situation really scared you.

“Not a good…” you debate telling him everything. On one hand, you didn’t want to come off as needy or desperate. You were infamously bad at sharing your burdens with others. On the other, you wanted to tell Mark because you know he would listen and it would make you feel better. “Not a good anything,” you finally admit, setting the scraggly bills down on the clean counter between you. 

Only $26.84 for the whole night.

Mark’s soft brows were creased in concern as he waited for you to elaborate. He rested his chin on his knuckle, watching you pensate your feelings carefully. You meet his soft gaze, his eyes telling you that it’s okay. You let your shoulders relax, not even realizing the tension they were carrying.

“I…,” you start, letting out a small sigh as you walk your way around the counter to sit on the stool next to him. He spun his stool so he was sitting facing you. You pick at the mysterious stain on your apron. 

How do I even tell him about this? Hey Mark, I’m broke! I might drop out because I don’t have money for school, thus ruining everything my parents and I have worked for. 

“I guess I’m just worried,” you resolve after a minute, “I’m worried because, well, because of money”. You wince at hearing the words out loud but continue before you could take it back, “my parents are working really hard to get the money for my tuition, but things aren’t looking good for next semester”. You continue to tell him about how you’ve been picking up extra shifts to try to save up, but skating fees and money for basic necessities eats whatever you earn right up. The thought of quitting skating to save money came to your mind, but you never followed through because that was as much of a necessity as anything. A miracle occurred with the skating competition, only for some sick bastard to hurt Yuna. You asked around but everyone already had a partner or were too busy to participate in the competition. So now you could either go rob a bank or take a gap year and hope you’ll be able to return. Mark listened to your qualms quietly until you finished.

“The competition, did you ask people who aren’t on your team?,” Mark inquired, resting a reassuring hand on yours.

“Yeah, I even asked the girls on JV, but nobody wants to do it since they think they can’t win,” you confirm with a sad nod.

“That’s so dumb,” Mark stated, “you’re like, the best skater ever. Even the worst girl on JV could win if they did it with you”.

You look at him in surprise. His thumb ran comfortingly across your knuckles, sending tingles down your arm. A blush creeps onto your cheeks as you look back down at your joined hands. To be honest, you weren’t really sure what you guys were: officially, you were just friends at the moment, but anyone could see that there was something there. As of late, too much has been on your mind for you to possibly sit down and ponder it. Neither one of you has confessed feelings of any sort, but the night at the lake couldn’t just be ignored. And do normal friends hold hands like this?

“Right, tell that to them. Nobody wanted to be my partner, so yeah, I’m kind of in a pickle with tuition right now”

“Well can anyone be your partner?,” Mark asked.

“What do you mean? Like, just ask random strangers to skate with me?”

“No I mean like… I could do it”. His expression was serious, alluding that he meant every word of his ridiculous proposition.

“You could-” you stop to consider, “I mean I guess? I don’t think Coach Tanya said anything about the participants needing to be on the team… or be a girl. But there’s a big problem we’re not considering.”

“What problem?”

“You don’t know how to figure skate”. You free your hand from his and punch him lightly in the arm. 

“But I play hockey and I’ve skated all my life,” Mark bargained, pointing to himself smugly and shrugging, “how hard can it be?”

“How hard-” you wheeze. You laugh out loud as the serious boy looked on indignantly. “Figure skating is miles different from what you guys do. Y’all go, what, forwards and backwards? Can you do a jump?”.

“I can too do a jump,” Mark defended.

“Okay, what about a single axel jump?”

“Uh…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” you giggle, grabbing the counter and spinning your stool around. Mark watches you endearingly.

“Y/n” the sound of your name stops your childish break and you look at him expectantly. “What if I practiced every day. I can learn your uh- single axis”

“Axel,” you correct.

“Axel. I can learn this axel jump and I can practice it and whatever else you need so you can do the competition”. You couldn’t tell if he was being serious, but your heart skipped a beat nonetheless.

“Deadass?” 

“Deadass,” Mark nodded. 

“Why… why…”. You struggled to find the right words.

“Because I like you,” Mark interrupted, “and I want to do this for you because it would make you happy. I’d streak across campus fully nude and screaming if it made you happy”. 

Did he just...confess?

“It would,” you nod seriously.

“It would? Which part? The competition or-”

“No, the streaking,” you shake your head, ignoring the steady increase of your heart rate. You press your lips into a flat line and nod to feign seriousness. Mark paused before getting up. He reached for the hem of his shirt, sighing before lifting it up over his head. 

“Let’s get this over with,” he sighed, reaching for his belt buckle. You shriek, shielding your eyes from his half-nude appearance. Although you didn’t want to admit it, you let your eyes linger on his lean torso through your fingers.

Damn, maybe hockey does have some benefits. 

“I was kidding! Please put your clothes back on!,” you cry. You heard him laugh as he pulled the fabric back on. 

“Okay I’m decent. I’m decent,” Mark assured, taking his seat next to you again. “But seriously, I meant what I said and you don’t have to reply until you’re ready. I completely understand if you don’t know yet. Just know that I am here for you and I,” he grabbed the edge of your stool and pulled it firmly so you were facing him, “really like you. As more than friends”.

You felt surprisingly confident; the stress of life always went away when Mark was around and you forgot all about the scattered pennies and nickels on the counter. Although his confession was so sudden, you had a feeling it was coming eventually. It didn’t feel shocking, but more like… finally. That being said, you were unsure of what to say. You weren’t sure you were ready for a relationship and most of all, you weren’t sure about your feelings for him. The last thing you wanted was to say you like him back and have it end up not being true. 

Like always, the understanding, patient look in Mark’s eyes told you that he would wait for you to reply when you’re ready.

“Okay”. You smile. 

“Okay”. He mirrors.

“Let’s do it, the competition,” you decide.

“Really?”

“Yeah, let’s give it our best shot! After all, it’s a crowd vote and your popularity might gain us favor,” you tease, poking his chest. “What time is it?”

“It’s 9:48pm, why?,” Mark replied, checking his lock screen. You hopped off your stool and began untying your apron.

“You drove here right?”. He nods. “Then there’s somewhere I wanna go if you’re willing to drive”. You shove your tips for the night into your bag. 

“You know I’m always down for you,” Mark smiled, grabbing your jacket off the rack and helping you into it. He stood in front of you and zipped you up without you asking, fixing the hood so it was proper. You watch him in silence and awe as he smooths down the wrinkles by your collar carefully and slings the strap of your bag over his shoulder without a word. It’s always these things, the little things, that leave you speechless.

The drive was pleasant. Mark put on your favorite radio channel and the two of you vibed comfortably to the acoustic music, the only interruptions were your quiet directions to the desired destination. You examined Mark’s face as he focused on the road, tipping his head back and forth to the beat with one hand on the wheel. It was dark, but the passing street lights illuminated his features in mesmerizing flashes, almost as if they were afraid to show his face for too long, the beauty would be too much to handle. His cheekbones were especially accentuated by the small smile on his lips. Looking at him made you feel… calm.

You pulled into the familiar parking lot. The blue neon lights above the building reading “Skate City” buzzed with electricity as the two of you got out of the car. 

“You wanted to come here? To a kid’s roller rink?”. Mark chuckled as he shut the driver side door. 

“Make fun of me now but you’ll see why” you rolled your eyes, walking through the building door which Mark held open for you.

The interior of the building was just like you remembered: the dark, ragged carpet was covered in colorful squiggles and dots resembling an abstract representation of worms and confetti. If that wasn’t bad enough, the matching wallpaper and UV lights topped off the hallucinogenic nightmare of a roller rink. Usually, it was also filled with the screams of children. Due to the lateness in the day, the rink was empty and usual disco funk was turned off. You would think it was closed if it weren’t for the man watching TV behind the counter.

“Mr. Joseph,” you call out with a wave. The man grunted, pulling his feet from off of the counter and shuffling through the mess of papers to find his glasses. He was an unassuming man in about his early forties, balding, pot-bellied, and proud. Nobody would guess that he was the man who taught you to skate all those years ago.

“Why, is that Miss y/n?,” Mr. Joseph exclaimed, rounding the counter to hug you.

“How have you been, Joe?”

“Well, you know me. I’m gettin’ by. Who’s this fella over here?”. Joe adjusted his specs and squinted at Mark.

“This,” you nudge the shy boy forward slightly, “is my friend, Mark. Mark, this is my family friend and former coach, Mr. Joseph. Also known as Joe,” you introduce.

The two men exchange a firm handshake.

“Nice meeting you, Mark. You treating her right?” Joe narrowed his eyes.

“Um so,” you cough, saving Mark from the awkward question, “Joe, we need skates for Mark”. 

“Wait but I already have skates, y/n-,” 

“No, you have hockey skates, Mark. You’re gonna need proper figure skates if we’re gonna do this competition right,” you explain. 

“Competition, huh,” Joe gruffed, waddling into the back room and motioning for you to follow. 

“Yeah, I don’t know if my parents told you, but Yuna was in an accident and now she can’t do the pair skate with me. Mark’s a hockey player but,” you glance at him with a smile, “he offered to pick up some skills and be my partner”.

“Here,” Joe smacked a pair of skates into Mark’s arms, “try these, boy”.

“Thank you, sir”. Mark bowed and went out to the bench to try them on.

Once he was out of sight, Joe leaned down to you, “you like this boy?”.

“Stop!,” you cry, covering your reddening ears with your hands.

“I’m just saying,” Joe held up his hands innocently, “I can tell he likes you by the way he looks at you. Even from meeting him just now”.

“Yeah… I just,” you stop to think about it. Well it’s true he likes you...

Do you like him?

You look to the door where you could see his shadow lacing up the new skates. You wish he would hurry back. Being without him felt like something was missing. Even if he was right around the corner, it didn’t feel good that you couldn’t see him and feel his reassuring presence. Realization began creeping in and you turn to look back at Joe’s I-told-you-so expression. He gave you a pat on the shoulder, “Make sure he’s good to you”.

Mark’s figure reappeared at the doorway, oblivious to your pounding heart and emotions which were becoming slowly more apparent. You watch endearingly as he stepped awkwardly into the room wearing the skates, stretching out his arms to maintain his balance. 

“I think they fit!,” Mark beamed at you, causing the butterflies in your stomach to migrate all around. 

“That’s good, boy. Take them on the house,” Joe guided him back out to take them off before he could hurt himself. 

“Oh no, sir-”

“Please, they were collecting dust in that storage room. Nobody wants men’s figure skates anymore these days and I’m glad to help y/n out” Joe dismissed. 

“Joe,” you stop him, wrapping your arms around Joe’s neck to give him a big hug, “thank you,” you whisper. 

“Of course, kiddo” he pat your back, “you make me proud”.

After chatting for a bit longer, you bid your goodbyes to Joe as he locked up Skate City for the night. In the car, you hold your breath and turn towards Mark. Strangely, your head was in the clouds as you examined his face, a face you’ve grown so familiar with in the past few weeks, yet seemed brand new. Suddenly, he leaned in close, close enough to count his pretty eyelashes, warranting your breath to hitch in your throat. Unaware of your, Mark places the box of skates in the backseat and sits up straight again to buckle his seatbelt. You let out the breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

Right, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.

“So, are you tired or do you wanna do some skating today?,” you finally ask.

Mark flashed you a crooked smile, starting the car, “Y/n, I’m always down for you. School rink?”.

You nod. 

The whole drive back to the school was noticeably more awkward, at least to you. You tensed  at every word he said and felt your heart clench when he hummed along to the soft radio tune. Saying nothing or giving short, one word replies, you didn’t trust your voice to say more. Instead, you opted to look out the window at the passing scenery for the fear of Mark noticing your flushed expression. You tug uncomfortably at your jacket collar, beginning to regret asking him to skate tonight. Ironically, and perhaps foolishly of you, you’ve received his confession yet you’re unwilling to admit the good news of mutual feelings to yourself. What should you do or say? Surely it’s not right to just say ‘I like you! I figured it out haha let’s date!” out of the blue. 

Pulling into the sports center parking lot, you notice the locks on the front door.

“Oh crap, I forgot it’s a weekday. The rink is closed after 11,” you mutter, slightly relieved at the thought of heading home to sort out your feelings alone. 

“Don’t worry, we can sneak in through the side door,” Mark answers nonchalantly, getting out to open the car door for you. You don’t disregard the kind gesture and instead feel the familiar pressure in your chest again. 

And sneak in you did. 

Mark had clearly done this a few times judging based on the way he led you confidently to the obscured side door which was propped slightly open with a rock.

You went your separate ways in the eerily empty stadium to your respective locker rooms. Splashing your face with cool water, you attempt to rein in your fiery flush. 

How should I bring it up? Or do I wait? He already said he likes me, but what if he didn’t mean it? 

After changing into your skates, you take a deep breath and head out to the ice.

He was already there waiting for you by the railing. Mark must have heard your footsteps approaching and he turned to give you a warm smile. 

“You’re right, y/n, these skates are kinda different”. He tapped the toe pick into the padded floor.

“Yeah… right,” you mumbled, struggling to meet his bright eyes. 

He’s so cute.

Pale moonlight streamed through the glass ceiling panels and illuminated your surroundings. Mark’s hair made his face glow silver and his eyes sparkled with the reflection of the moon. His face fell at your weak response, reading it as disinterest.

You open the gate and skate out onto the ice in front of him. Mark tentatively skated out to follow you, wobbling slightly at the different sensation. You reach out to grab his arms and steady him, meeting his gaze briefly before blinking away. You loosen your grip on his sleeves, the contact making your feelings go wild.

For a few moments, the two of you silently glided across the ice. For the first time ever, it seems, you weren’t sure what to say to him.

“Listen,” Mark finally spoke, struggling to a stop. He looked down at his skates thoughtfully, “If it’s about what I said earlier, if it’s about me liking you and that made you uncomfortable, I- I take it back. I feel like I didn’t give you a chance to say no if you wanted to-”

“No it’s-,” you interrupt, skating slightly ahead, “It’s not that”. 

“Then why are you acting so strange?,” Mark asked, struggling to keep up.

“I just,” you circle to a stop at the middle of the rink. How do you even begin to explain how you feel? Never in your life have you felt like this about anybody. Never in your life have you felt so special and so cared for than when you were with Mark. You would have been lucky enough just being able to know him, but he even likes you. Out of all of the people he could have chosen, he chose you.

Mark careened to a halt behind you, waiting for you to finish. You take a deep breath.

Now or never.

You turn around to face him. 

“What you told me in the diner, tell it to me again”. Your voice came out weaker than you had intended.

Mark’s eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and worry that you were upset with him. He wanted to pull you into a hug, tuck that piece of hair back behind your ear and tell you it’s okay if you didn’t love him back.

“I-,” Mark cleared his throat from his emotions, “I said that I like you, y/n. I like you as more than friends”. He looked down towards his feet but before he could blink, he was crushed in between your arms as you jumped to hug him. Your face fit perfectly into the crook of his neck and you breathed in his familiar, warm scent as he wrapped his arms delicately around your waist. The force from your impact caused both of you to drift slightly, but you kept steady. Not brave enough to look him in the face, you whisper your confession to his ear.

“I’m ready to answer you. I… I like you too. As more than friends”

Mark’s grip tightened around your waist as he lifted you slightly off the ice. Spinning around, he curled his fingers into the fabric of your sweatshirt as if he never wanted to let you go. Your heart swelled at the feeling as you held onto his sturdy shoulders. Neither of you needed to say anything more. He pulled you close so there was no space left and you listened to the gentle rhythm of his heart beating for you.

Pulling away at last, you rest your forehead against his. Your eyes fluttered closed but you could feel the tip of his nose brush gently across yours, his warm exhalation fanning across your lips. 

“You don’t happen to have your phone on you, do you?” Mark mumbled deeply, savoring the moment.

You let out a small giggle, “no, do you?”.

“Nope”

And with that, you tilted your head up ever so slightly and Mark cupped your cheek to bring your lips together. You melt into his kiss and touch, allowing the way his soft lips moved against yours to express his silent affections. Exhaling through your nose, you sigh into the kiss, moving your hand to rest at the back of his head to pull him in deeper.

Finally.

Mark ran his thumb affectionately across your cheek, his lips speaking of all the times he’s wanted to do this. Your fingers lace their way through his soft hair, loving the way he reacts as you tug against the strands slightly. 

A loud bang from a closing door causes you to pull apart finally. The bright beam of the security guard’s flashlight flashes across the ice as the two of you look on like deer caught in headlights. 

“Hey, you two! Get out of there!,” the guard shouted, pointing a finger at your embracing form.

“Run!,” you whisper yell, pulling him quickly towards the gate. The two of you run as quickly as you can in your skates, pulling them off before you enter the hallway. 

“Hey! Stop right there!,” the guard yelled, stumbling down the stadium stairs.

“Quick! In here!” Mark tugged you into the boys locker room, shutting the door before the guard could see and ushering you quickly to hide in the gap between two lockers. You squeezed in with him, panting softly as the adrenaline pumped through your body. Mark’s arms wrap around your body to pull you closer as the guard opens the door. The flashlight flicked menacingly across the dark room. You hold your breath as it comes particularly close. Finally, seconds that feel like hours pass and the security guard grunts before deciding to move on. You exhale in relief. 

Mark rests his chin on top of your head and you realize how closely you’re pressed together. You giggle into his chest, loving how warm he felt. 

“I can’t believe that I get to hold you,” Mark whispers. His fingers draw invisible shapes across your back.

You nuzzle your face into his tee shirt. “Well I can’t believe we’re doing this in the boy’s locker room after being chased down by security,” you mumble against the fabric. His chest sounded a low vibration as he chuckled back, moving his hand up to stroke your hair. 

“You are so, so beautiful, y/n,” he moves to kiss the top of your head, “I don’t know the words to express how beautiful you are to me”. 

You press deeper into his body at the words you’ve always wanted to hear. Lifting your face up from his chest, you press a small kiss to his lips, heart jumping at the still-new sensation. It was sweet, his lips ghosting over yours breathlessly as you nestle your nose gently against his in a slow eskimo kiss. 

“I’ve liked you for so long,” Mark whispers in between kisses, “I’ve wanted to do this for so long”.

You answer by gripping the fabric of his collar to pull him in deeper, moving your lips rhythmically against his. 

“I think I’ve liked you for a while too,” you admit as you catch your breath, “I just didn’t understand it. Or some part of me wasn’t ready to admit it”.

“That makes sense” Mark rests his forehead on yours, smiling, “I would have waited a thousand years if that’s what you needed”.

Again and again, he captivated you with his words. He was so good to you and never made you feel like you were anything less than perfect. Day after day, his patience with you never faded and slowly, you let him break down your walls. His comforting smile and optimism always filled you with reassurance and peace. 

So standing there, making out in the boy’s locker room, illegally, in the dead of night on a Tuesday, you became sure. You were sure that you wanted him in your life. You were sure you wanted to try to be a part of his. As you pressed your lips to his and as he ran his fingers through your hair, there was no turning back.

previous || m.list || next

[jbbuckybarnes]

keeping a promise - p.d.

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, flirting, cute beeps A/N: “Imagine getting your comfort characters jacket / cape.”

COMFORT CHARACTER MASTERLIST

You heard your name screamed through comms, drowned out by alarms going off inside of your jet. The wing started going in circles towards the current dark side of Tatooine as you tried to get all the levers right to prepare for a crash landing that hopefully wouldn‘t kill you. „BB-12, E-protocol R-engine S-E.“ You heard faint beeps from above as you saw the sand come closer and closer. With a push in the engine still working and his redirection of the jet you were at least not flying a complete nosedive anymore. „NOW!“ You yelled as you dragged back as far as you could to land flat. With loud dragging, cracking and booming noises accompanied by overwhelmed beeps above you in-between, you were shaken around in your cockpit, knocking you out. „Y/N. Y/N. Please please please wake up. C‘mon, don‘t die on me after this amazing crash landing, I need to compliment you on that, do you hear me? Don‘t kriffing die on me! Y/N?“ You heard through cotton clouds. „Poe?“ You whispered and slowly opened your eyes to darkness and a dimly lit cockpit and Commander. „Thank maker, you‘re not completely messed up.“ He sighed with gratitude before opening your safety belts. „Ouch.“ You whimpered as your arms were moved out of the shoulder safety. „What hurts, Y/N?“ He frowned concerned and saw you mouth *Brain* before he chuckled. „I lost contact shortly after you were shot out of the sky. Don‘t know when they will come, so you better not be bleeding out.“ He mumbled with a soft smile on his face, before picking you up out of the seat and out of the jet entirely. You were put down in the cold night sand and had your overall opened up, „I‘m gonna check your ribs, yeah?“ „Yeah.“ You mumbled still half out of it. Warm fingers gently pushed around your upper torso until you whimpered, „Yup, that‘s gonna be all colors of the rainbow by tomorrow.“ „I‘ll go crazy if you don‘t give me some painkiller.“ You groaned and heard a huff. „BB-8?“ You heard a little *On it!*

You felt a spray around you face and then your ribs and mumbled a little, „Thank you, little orange.“ „Little orange?“ You heard Poe chuckle and grinned back with closed eyes. „Well, mine is pale pink.“ You shrugged and instantly hissed at the pain. „Don‘t move until that painkiller sets in. Don‘t need you crying, yeah?“ He smiled and got your hair out of your face. „You‘re such a pain in the ass, you know that?“ You mumbled as you slowly felt your headache swell down. „Heard it before.“ He mumbled and played with the sand before looking up at you again and frowning. „What?“ You dipped your head and felt your concussion become more manageable. Has this absolute idiot given you bacta or something? „You‘re shaking.“ He commented and grabbed your forearm gently. Now that he mentioned it and the adrenaline went down, you felt the cold temperature of the desert night. He got up and went to his X-Wing to get something, before coming back with his jacket. „Why aren‘t YOU freezing?“ You asked with a raised eyebrow. „I worked on Kijimi, I‘m used to it.“ He shrugged and put the jacket around your shoulders. „Thank you, really.“ You looked up at him and saw a look of pure softness on his face. „You wanna cram into my jet to not completely freeze to pieces until they come?“ He asked, holding out his hands. You nodded and grabbed them, having your world spinning again seconds later and being caught by your Commander. „Alright, that‘s one hell of a concussion. Let me carry you, yeah?“ He spoke softly to not cause more headaches. A minute later you found yourself on his lap in his pilot seat, the cockpit closing up, „This is on the fine line between cozy and I‘d kill you if we stay like this for more than 5 hours.“ He mumbled against your shoulder. „If I wouldn‘t need my BB unit, I‘d just fly us back.“ You chuckled and pulled the jacket closer around you. „It looks good on you, you know?“ He commented and watched your reactions. „Of course it does, like everything else I wear.“ You chuckled lightly. You weren‘t gonna let this chaotic idiot flirt with you while you had a concussion. That sounded like a recipe for disaster. „You can keep it later, if you want.“ He pulled it closer around you, pulling you closer to him in the same movement. „Oh, I don‘t think I need one. I have like 3 in my closet back on base.“ You leaned back against his shoulder. „You can never have enough jackets.“ You heard and chuckled.

There was a comfortable silence for a while, staring up at the night sky without any light pollution. „I really thought I‘d lose you there, you know?“ He murmured and grabbed one of your hands laying above his arms winding around you. „I would‘ve been okay with that.“ You shrugged, this time there wasn‘t pain. „Really?“ He asked, a little surprised. „If it‘s for something good like this? Yeah. I‘d rather die for a better world than stay alive for how it is now.“ You explained while watching some spaceships zoom by in the night sky. „We‘re close to the end of the war, wouldn‘t want you to die now.“ He squeezed your hand. „Like I said, I‘d still be okay with that.“ You knew he was frowning at what you said. „What does a better world look like for you?“ You heard softly spoken behind you. „No war, freedom for everyone who wants it, a unified galaxy but enough self identity for every system or planet. Maybe living on a green planet in the middle of nowhere, just not doing anything but surviving and finally being an individual again without a group mentality for war anymore. Maybe flying places here and there, but overall just not doing these things anymore. I like flying, I don‘t like fighting.“ He took everything you said in for a second before responding, „I understand you so well. But I think I couldn‘t live without a cause to fight for in the end.“ „You have integrated war as your identity.“ You pointed out and felt his hand loosen around yours. „Yeah, I guess so.“ He mumbled with a sigh. By the morning you were rescued, including your ship and BB unit. You had managed to sleep in two shifts, had almost gunned down a group of Jawas and had talked about flying a lot more. On the flight back a medic checked you through and gave you the go and no-flying time of a week. When you landed on Ajan Kloss you just wanted to sleep in your mass of blankets you had acquired over the years of missions in marketplaces. „Oh, I almost forgot. Here‘s your jacket.“ You held out your jacket to Poe while keeping up with his pace. „I said you can keep it.“ He smiled at you and pushed it in your direction. „Fine, but don‘t expect me to wear it until we win the war.“ „I can live with that.“ You‘d wear it if you‘d win the war, you promised yourself. ___ The battle of Exegol had ended in a massive victory. The only thing left to do was stabilizing the areas the first order had controlled. There was a massive celebration going on at the base and everyone that had survived this dilemma was overjoyed, dancing, hugging and just having a good time. After you landed you went straight to your room. Poe had landed not long after you and was subtly looking around for you after reuniting with his friends. That was until he saw you walk out of the living compound in a jacket that used to be his a couple months ago. *Don‘t expect me to wear it until we win the war.* He remembered. Suddenly this was the best reward for not giving up in the middle of that battle. You saw him running towards you just in time to prepare for being picked up and swung in a circle. „You look good.“ He eyed you before his eyes went back to your smile. „Just keeping up a promise.“ You scanned over his face. He looked happy, tired, lost, a little hot with all the minor cuts on his face, but mainly relieved. „A green planet in the middle of nowhere, huh?“ The corners of his lips twitched up. You looked around, „Maybe our ideas meet in the middle.“ „Yeah, maybe they do,“ he mumbled, getting closer. Before he could make it more dramatic you grabbed his neck and pulled him toward you for a kiss. A long beep came rolling towards you and you both broke the kiss with a chuckle. You crouched down to his height and pet him, „Thanks for keeping this idiot safe.“ His head went to the side a bit, before looking at your jacket and up at Poe. You could only imagine the nod coming from him behind you as there was an excited long beep emitting from the droid. *I have a mom!* That threw you off-guard for a second before you started laughing. „Oh, BB-8. You‘re a tiny mess. And you also have a sibling if we go by that logic. BB-12 is still getting fixed.“ The small droid rolled around you happily, beeping a little song. You stood back up to look at Poe, „So, what‘s the plan, General?“ His jaw tensed for a second, „Maybe drop the title, because that‘s dangerous territory coming from your mouth off-mission.“ You stepped closer and whispered into his ear, „Maybe you just need to control yourself better. General Dameron.“ You saw his entire body tense up and his eyes close with an annoyed huff, partially because he knew you were right, but mostly because he hated that you knew how to push his buttons. „The plan is building a better base, Commander.“ He answered coolheaded, staring ahead. „Alright.“ With a big kiss on his cheek you turned around and played with BB-8...still in his kriffing jacket. Why did you have to do that to him today? He didn‘t have a long time to think about it, too many civilians from the battle wanting to speak to him.

[melmac78]

Of leather tooling and love

(Tag mini bang 2021)

Here’s my story for @tagminibang. I want to thank @tracybirds for their amazing art and working with me. Also, I thank them being extremely patient with learning about leather tooling and for adapting to the time zone difference to get this put together.

(I added my own art piece - “John’s” astronomy cuff… mark I, and will link directly to tracybirds’s art when I can fully figure this out).

•••••••

John Tracy was mad... so mad he was making an indelible mark that would take forever for someone to wipe away or cover up.

Fortunately it was leather, and he was tooling a design so no one would really want to cover it up, but he still was at points surprised he wasn't punching holes in the design… or the table.

A chirp however made him question the latter.

“John, please do not hit the table so hard. You are making my processors overload,” gently scolded EOS as the man was swinging the rawhide mallet.

While fortunately her interruption didn’t make him miss, allowing him to add to the octopus design, John set the leather tools down and sighed. “I’m sorry EOS,” he said gently.

“I accept your apology, but I do not understand why stamping cowhide will help your anger,” said the AI.

“As I said, it’s leather tooling, and it’s better to use my anger for something creative,” John said quietly.

“Even this … item?”

He looked at the cuff he was working on again and gave a half smile. “Even this wallet,” the astronaut chuckled.

After giving EOS a task to do, reminding her not to adjust the gravity back to zero to avoid any spills from his work, John looked at the project again.

He sighed, understanding his curious “data child’s” curiosity. Leather tooling, while a bit outdated in some people's eyes, was one of the few learned talents and gifts he still had from his Grandfather as well as his Dad.

And - it reminded him of Gordon, in good and bad times.

Gordon… his brother with the wacky sense of dress.

The aquanaut preferred to wear on average two leather bands and then a woven smaller band with the first two oyster pearls he found.

That's why he stopped - at the moment, it felt as though if he took out more anger on the mallet and metal stamping tool, he was hurting Gordon. Triple if he managed to hit it so hard it tore through the damp leather.

Who knew Gordon’s penchant for being the only one to wear leather wrist bands would save his life?

A week and a half prior... he chose to wear two broader bands on one arm and his usual one on his other.

They were nearly the width of a cuff, with designs that took forever to explain to EOS. It was an unusual decision, but one that the brothers were thankful Gordon made.

They had been called out to a rescue - a skyscraper fire in Houston, and all land based brothers had been called as it required high rise rescue.

Gordon had been on level 70 of the building, rescuing an unconscious woman. He had secured the victim in with his harness and started to use the pulley to get them to the top of the building for Thunderbird to lift them to safety.

An explosion had knocked them for a loop, smashing Gordon into the building.

Gordon took the brunt of the hit, slamming into the frame.

In spite of the helmet, he too was knocked out. Worse, the grapple slipped, and glass shards, still stuck in their mounts, sliced down his forearms.

It cut the neoprene... and through part of his thick leather cuffs.

When they recovered both victims, Virgil and John immediately triaged the two. She had a minor concussion and smoke inhalation.

Gordon however not only too had the bump on the head - thanks to the helmet taking the brunt, he also a dislocated shoulder, and a few cracked and broken ribs.

But what was the immediate concern at the time of the rescue was his arms, particularly the wrists. They took the brunt of the damage.

The leather bands however, saved his life. They made what would've been life threatening - if not fatal, slashes on his wrist to mostly superficial cuts.

The bands though were completely destroyed as far as wearability. Virgil would have to apologize for cutting them completely off - but not why - later.

Gordon was taken to a hospital in Houston's esteemed Medical Center, where he went through multiple surgeries, a few pints of blood, and lots of rest.

That was a week ago, as Gordon had a healing rib rebreak, nicking his lung. It was repaired, the bleeder stopped, but Gordon had to be put under sedation for a couple of days to ensure the site healed.

Though they had lifted the sedation the day prior and were waiting for Gordon to come out of it, the family would have to wait couple of days before he could return to Tracy Island.

That lead to where he was today.

John sighed, and looked around Thunderbird Five.

He had been practicing some leather tooling at University of Houston's art department.

That was before a space rescue needed both him and Alan, and afterword, he stayed on Five to keep apprised of a possible hurricane.

Well that and have an excuse to decline another lecture invite from NASA.

John was thankful that U of H understood his need for privacy, and that having a PhD in Aeronautics and Space allowed him some special favors.

The positive it included the use of one of the art studios to leather tool...

The negative? The trade off was as long as he also donated one of his famous astronomy tooled leather cuffs for a fundraiser.

He had already finished the band for the auction two days prior, complete with the antique leather dye, golden paint accents in the star constellations, and steampunk like swing hinge cuff. Not the easiest to make, especially setting the rivets for the cuff.

Worth it to John - small price to pay, but would reap rewards for U of H’s generosity. He’d bring it to them when he visited Gordon again.

The astronaut then looked at the octopus carved and stamped on the wallet. "It was too damn close," he said out loud, but at the same time, he was thankful. This was for Gordon later on.

John then smiled at the thought. It was indeed for his aquanaut brother, one they could’ve lost in that fire.

He was about to stamp the leather again... when a beep startled him.

The astronaut asked EOS to answer it, and the image of Virgil came out of the monitor.

"Gordon's come to," said Virgil.

"Fully?"

The older brother shrugged. "Mostly, but he should be fully alert by the time you get to the hospital," he said, then frowned. "He's asking about the leather bands... especially the one that was 'Mom's belt'."

John furrowed his brow.

Yes, that belt bracelet.

Fortunately the one bracelet Gordon hadn't worn that day.

Unfortunately, the one Gordon duplicated - with varying degrees of success, he did wear nearly daily.

John could imagine Gordon’s initial reaction… he’d feel the same way.

"Virgil, Gordon didn't wear that cuff that day," he said. "He intentionally put a small Thunderbird stamp on his so he didn't confuse the two."

Virgil nodded. "I know, but you know him and anesthetics... gives him the wrong memory if he's not goofy from it," he said, then chuckled. “Last time he was trying to feed Parker poster pancakes on the USS Lexington.”

John scoffed at the memory. "That one still has Parker perplexed," he said, then stood, stretching. "Try to talk him down from his confusion. I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to get something."

Virgil noticed John’s labors on the table and quirked an eyebrow. "What about the wallet you're working on?"

"It'll be fine. The leather can be dampened again to finish it up. I expected it to be a longer project over the bracelets I made at U of H,” he said, putting the stamping tool and mallet down.

The artist noticed John’s attempt to deflect, and his eyes twinkled in mischief. "So… how many projects did the University ‘con’ you out of for the auction this time?" said the artist with a teasing smirk.

He wasn't going to give his younger brother too much grief - he still owed the University at least one hand blown glass vase.

"Just the one - the astronomy cuff."

Virgil gave a soft whistle. "That one? You won't even make that one for me."

"Then bid on the one they're selling," snarked John as he cleaned up the rest of the leather tooling supplies.

Virgil merely laughed - yeah, he was going to bid if anything to help a department who helped his brother cope through this.

John then picked up a box wrapped in sea turtle wrapping paper. "I'll be there shortly,” he said walking to the space elevator.

“FAB.”

********

Gordon Tracy looked out the windows of his hospital room from his hovering hospital bed and signed.

He was thankful he wasn't stuck with a view of the generators. The hospital still hadn't gotten over teasing him - gently - about calling them "Donald Duck" in a post-anesthesia comment the other time he was there for an injury.

Here, it was a view of one of the garden parks the area had.

What he wasn't thankful for was the fact he lost the leather band that was made from his mother's belt.

He looked at the long bandages wrapped on his wrists and lower arms and sighed.

Sure, Virgil kept insisting it was not the band, but he knew his bracelets.

Yes, he had to admit they had to be fully cut off too keep him from bleeding out through his wrists - he knew one cut was still too close.

Still though... he had to concede if it was gone, it was his mother protecting him.

Even Scott had told him point blank it was the only time he was thankful Gordon had forgotten to take the bands off.

Rumor had it Scott was even considering consulting with Brains to create leather arm bracers.

His theory was if it worked for the cowboys in the 1800s and 1900s, why not the technological cowboys of today?

Gordon looked at the sky and smiled. "Thanks Mom for watching over both that woman and me," he said, then looked at the bands.

There were blood stains on them, which were not going to come out.

Sure, they could be dyed dark before being stored, most likely black, and he could have John help him there. That said, it was not going to matter when they had been made unwearable when Virgil cut them off.

There were the button and hole fixtures sure... but the aquanaut understood Virgil was going to slice first, apologize for saving Gordon's life later.

Blood loss didn’t wait for bracelets.

A knock at the door shook him out of his thoughts. "Come in," he said, adjusting the bed to where it floated back to connect with the main vitals scanner.

John entered and smiled at seeing his alert brother, the first time he'd been fully awake since before the accident.

"Hi Gordon, how are you feeling," he said, wincing slightly at the cliche.

His fish loving brother just smiled, but the astronaut didn't miss the sadness in the cinnamon colored eyes. "I'm having a whale of a time... too bad the lake below probably only has ducks," he said, chuckling slightly.

“Must be going ‘quackers’ then,” joked John, only to watch as Gordon fiddled with the remains of the bracelets. John coughed. "Gordon..."

"I know. They had to be cut off in order to save my life," the aquanaut said, sighing. "It's just... this was mom's - look at the paisley here..."

John put his hand over both his younger brother's and smiled. "It isn't the one made with Mom's belt, trust me,” he said, smiling, then pointing to a detail. "See? Here's the thunderbird stamp you used for yours."

Gordon took a closer look, and his eyes widened slightly.

John was right... it was indeed there, just had been cut in half by the cutting tools. Well he hoped so and not the glass, but that was a story left unsaid at the time.

"It's not mom's," the aquanaut whispered instead, tears of happiness flooding his eyes.

The astronaut smiled and gave his brother a gentle hug. "No it isn't. I made sure the one with Mom's was in the fire safe - just in case, on the Island before Alan brought me to the hospital," he said gently.

The two hugged gently for a while, the mix of hospital bluster and soothing sounds from the Muzak in the hallways mingling between the brother's hushed tones.

After a few minutes, Gordon sat up, and noticed the sea turtle box his brother was holding. "Funny looking NASA paper," the aquanaut teased, chuckling softly when John rolled his eyes.

He knew John tried to avoid the facility if possible.

Not because he didn't enjoy it, but because the last time he visited the center, Mission Control crowded him the point he fainted from the social claustrophobia.

Alan found it amusing.

EOS found it amusing to force Alan to eat freeze dried brussel sprouts and liver with onions meals every day his last rotation on Thunderbird Five for his "rude behavior."

Both men chuckled in the memory, and John handed his brother the box. "Nope, this is for you, a get well soon present," said he said.

Gordon carefully opened up the box, which John had purposely wrapped the two parts separately due to the shoulder being strapped, and gasped.

Inside were two bracelets.

One was similar to his mother's belt, but the paisley and flower design that was in his mom's band was adjusted slightly to include southwestern printed sea turtles and a squid stamp John had custom made. Like his mother's, it was dyed a medium brown.

The other... took Gordon's breath away.

The edges were done in a simple border - scalloped with the occasional octopus and sea turtle stamp in between the scallops. It was dyed mahogany.

It was mostly just border stamped... because the concho fastened in the center was the showstopper.

It was a golden sea turtle, swimming in the middle of a pewter center. “How?…”

Seeing Gordon's eyes water, John chuckled. "Yes, I remembered that concho. Had trouble finding it, but fortunately the store on the Sam Houston Tollway found one and put it aside for me," he said as he put a hand on his brother's uninjured shoulder.

Gordon put the box down and wiped away the tears with his good hand. "Got a bit of hand sanitizer in my eyes. Strong stuff," he said, and John scoffed.

"Yeah, sure... you want me to help put it on your … good wrist?" John said, and coughed when Gordon shot the arm out. "Whew... you weren't kidding on the hand sanitizer,” he laughed, waving the fumes away.

"Yeah... apparently it's 'essense of moonshine' I think. It probably kills germs 10 years before they’re born," Gordon smirked.

The bands fit perfectly, and had a simple button and hole fastener so the doctors or even Gordon could take it off with a push if needed.

John watched his brother admire the bracelet, even taking a few photos of the laughs and chuckles his brother made as he showed it off.

Gordon then paused and looked at John. "You made these right?" he inquired, looking at the antiqued looking band.

The astronaut nodded, and Gordon continued, grinning slightly in memory. "How many bands did the University get you to make in exchange for the use of the studio this time?"

"One - and before you ask, the astronomy one,” John said, touching a button on his baldric to ensure EOS didn’t talk about the wallet. She still had a proclivity to ruin surprises - especially if it was one of John’s younger siblings.

Gordon, knowing how much money usually got raised to but one of these bands, looked at the bands and then John. "Worth every cent," he said, smiling warmly as the nurse came in to check Gordon's vitals and bring dinner.

John took this as a note to head out, but before he left, he looked at his brother, who was bragging about the bracelet his older brother made.

And making it very clear how to take it on and off so this one was not cut off.

The astronaut gave a gentle wave to his brother. "I'll be back later," he said, and headed out.

Hearing the chuckles Gordon made again, John's smile broadened. "Yes, it was worth every single minute and cent to hear that laughter," John murmured, but it was priceless to have his brother saved by those other bands.

Now... how he was going to steal the remnants of the old bands to repurpose into a hippie cuff for Gordon was another story

[disasterfandoms]

You Shouldn’t Be Alone || A Seal Team Story

(this is a horrible gif as this has nothing to do with Ray)

Summary: Amelia has a no good, terrible, very bad day; with heartbreaking results.

A/N: My brain wouldn’t shut up last night so it finished this story part of the story. This is a three parter, and it’s part of the ao3 series myself amd @bravo-four-seal-team created. This is set early season 1, before Clay joins the team. It’s mostly Naima, Amelia, and Ashley this chapter, with Trent coming in later.

TW: injuries, hospitals, mention of death, mention of people coding, mentions of health spiraling, implication of miscarriage, mention of grief, mention of pain meds

Taglist: @twentydavid @bravo-four-seal-team @a-kate3 @rebelwrites @chibsytelford @supervalcsi @jayhalsteadfan-2417 @thegirlwhoisalwayswriting @mrsmarvelous1995​ @velvetcardiganbucky​ @itsonautopilot​ @pinkrockstar19​ @galaxysanduniversesinmymind​ @abby-splace​

Amelia was just so, so tired of today.

Everything that could go wrong, did. The morning started with a minor argument with Trent, nothing they couldn’t handle, but still annoying. Then, a rude stranger ran into her, causing their coffee to spill all over her scrubs, resulting in her having to change into surgery scrubs when she got to work. 

Work was an absolute nightmare: back-to-back-to-back codes, rapids, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. She had a patient die, got another, then they died. 

And now she’s a patient in the ER.

Every breath she took included a sharp pain from her broken ribs resisting. Her left arm is in a sling, broken collarbone, apparently; her body littered with massive bruising. Swollen lip, stitches on her right cheek. Massive black eyes, a broken nose that was corrected a few minutes ago. Grade I concussion, so while the best-case scenario, still annoying. Her throat was sore from the hands trying to end her; that’s going to bruise badly later, she noted. The bruises, scratches on her arms will heal; they might be the least irritating injuries she sustained today. Her sore back and bruised pelvis from being slammed against the wall may be the most annoying. Her legs are in surprisingly good shape, a dislocated knee being the only injury that’s worth noting. Nothing came as close as devastating as to why she was bleeding, though. 

She shook her head, wincing as she did. She won’t go there; no one is to know about that one except for her, her medical team, and Trent. Fuck, Trent. He’s going to be devastated, or relieved; she honestly still can’t tell how he felt.

 That injury in itself would garner a lot of pity. She despises pity. Everyone around her was trying to do it, though, from her nurse, Naima, to her coworkers who keep coming down to check on her. She appreciates the concern, she does, but she’s okay; it could have been a lot worse. 

 Needs a new chain for her locket, once again, stupidly annoying. It’s her comfort blanket; it lets her have what’s special to her near her heart at all times. Again, nothing that can’t be fixed, but also stupidly annoying.

Naima threw the curtain back, came into her space, and then closed them to give the two nurses some privacy. 

“Dr. Mann would rather you stay overnight to make sure you’re stable, and that way Dr, Leigh can do the procedure in the morning.” 

Amelia shook her head, then winced again. She really, really needs to stop doing that! “No way in hell, Naima. I’m fine; I just got a little banged up! And I’ll come back in the morning for the procedure.”

Naima sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. God, her friend was stubborn. “Who’ll drive you? That sling stops you from even considering driving yourself.”

“So, you mean to tell me that I can’t drive home?”

 “Amelia Rose Carter! You know better than that. I’ll try to convince Mann to let you go, see if we can arrange a follow-up visit or something in the morning. I’ll call your emergency contact on file, see if they can come to pick you up.”

“No!” Amelia attempted to scream, but her voice still sounds strangled and barely came out above a whisper, “Please don’t call him. He doesn’t need to know, not yet.” Amelia, begging? This is something Naima hasn’t seen from the young nurse. She could swear she saw tears starting to form in the young woman’s eyes, whether from pain or the thoughts racing in her head.

Naima crossed her arms, walking over to lean on the stretcher beside Amelia. “Amelia, is your emergency contact someone you’re afraid of?”

Amelia would have smiled, laughed at the thought, even, had her lip not be swollen, and her throat didn’t feel like fire. “No, Naima. If you looked in my file, you’d see why. He’s just very protective of me, and while I love him more than I thought I could love anyone, his care will feel like suffocation. And now I sadly know what that feels like,” she paused and listened to Naima chuckle. The older nurse then apologized, but Amelia made a motion to stop that; she’s glad someone could laugh at her dark humor. “He’s going to be so pissed about in the morning, though. We were so close to telling everyone that we were-” she stopped, tears welling up in her blackened eyes again, but Naima got the point. She grabbed the battered woman’s uninjured hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

“Okay. So if not him, then who do you want to be called? I know you mentioned a brother?”

“Scott, yeah. He’s out in the field, I think. You wouldn’t want him here. He’d take one look at me and then want the name of the patient who did this and probably threatens to kill them.”

“Okay, so boyfriend and brother are off the list. Anyone else you can think of?”

“Boyfriend’s sister? I don’t know her that well, except for the times I helped take care of her last fall. She’d be able to drive me home, though, at the very least.”

“What’s her name, and do you have her number?”

“Ashley Sawyer, and her number is in my phone,” Amelia pulls up the number and continues to speak while Naima copies it down, “Be warned, she told me she doesn’t like hospitals. You may have to break HIPAA and mention my name for her to answer the second time.”

“Second time?”

“She’ll hang up once you get out that you’re a nurse at St. Samuel’s.” This made both women chuckle. 

“Okay, I’ll go try her cell, just rest for a while, okay? Need some more pain meds before I leave?”

“You know I hate pain medicine, especially morphine. Makes my head fuzzy,” Amelia declined, she definitely didn’t need that if she had to go home to her apartment.

“Okay. I’m gonna go call her, okay?”

“Good luck.”

Little did Naima know, she was going to need it. 

Getting back to the nurses’ station, she talked to the doctor, who agreed to discharge the stubborn nurse as long as Amelia came back to the ER if she was having any complications. While the Dr. worked on getting the discharge ready, Naima called the number she received and waited for a voice on the other end.

“What do you want?” The voice said snappily, clearly irritated by someone calling her.

“Ashley, this is Naima, I am a nurse at St. Samuel’s Ho-“

Click. 

Naima sighed, preparing to call the number again. Amelia at least warned her of this happening. She picked up the phone, dialed the number, and waited for a response. This time, the number went straight to voicemail. “Ms. Sawyer, this is Naima, a nurse at St. Samuel’s Hospital. A significant other of a family member has asked that we call you to come to pick them up when they’re discharged. Please call back at this number, thank you.”

She hung up the phone and hoped that Ashley would hear the message before too long. 

Within half an hour, the same phone rang again, Naima picked up the phone and answered, “St. Samuel’s ER this Naima speaking, how can I help you?”

“You called this number a half-hour ago?” “Is this Ms. Sawyer?” “Who else would it be?” “Ms. Sawyer, this is a hospital and this isn’t my personal phone here. I’m asking for clarification, as there are about 10 phone calls per hour on this phone alone.” “You called me for a reason, snap to it.” “Yes, your brother’s girlfriend, Amelia, has asked me to call on her behalf for you to come to pick her up upon discharge,” “Shit. Is she okay, and why me?” “She’s been injured fairly well, with several bruises, several broken bones, and a dislocated knee. The doctor asked she stay for tonight, but Ms. Carter is refusing. She requested you, claiming your brother would be ‘too suffocating’”

Naima heard the woman laugh on the other end of the phone. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing since it’s clear she’s banged up pretty well. Not wrong about Trent, though.”

Wait. No, that can’t be. Well, shit. Naima pieces together what she knows about her friend’s boyfriend. Oh, she’s so telling her husband about this.

“If you agree to pick her up and take her home, you can come at any time and I’ll come out to the waiting room and bring you back. I must warn you, though, she looks rough and shouldn’t be left alone tonight. She’ll probably ask you to take her apartment to leave her be. Don’t.”

“Shit, is it that bad?” “It’s not great. The concussion she sustained would be the main worry. That and god forbid she fell and no one was there to help her. She’ll need someone to bring her back in the morning, as well, and she’s incredibly stubborn about being able to drive herself,” “She got injured, and you all are going to make her come back to work the next day?” “What? No, ma’am, she has a procedure unrelated to her injury in the morning, and claims she’ll come in and do it outpatient instead of staying,” “She’s as stubborn as the rest of us, damn,” she paused, sighing into the phone, “I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Okay. Let the front desk know to alert me when you’ve arrived and I’ll bring you to her. Thank you, Ms. Sawyer.”

Click. 

Sighing, Naima went back to filling out the paperwork, figuring out how or when she’ll confront her friend about dating someone on her husband’s team. For now, she’ll finish the paperwork on another patient, waiting for Trent’s sister to arrive.

[creaticare]

Heroes Rising pt3. (But Analysis)

This was written as I watched the movie, and based off what I remembered from the first time so If stuff seems a bit out of order it’s because I wrote a bit from memory. Also the movie took me like 2x longer than normal to watch because I was writing this as I watched.

What if some of class 1-A hadn’t made it, like I mean died during the final battle. This is also just a analysis of the injuries that everyone should have by the end of the battle. 

Lets starts with these two, logically speaking Momo and Yuga got buried under a giant pile of rocks once their quirks had been majorly depleted. That means they would be way weaker than their normal forms, which contributes to the fact they should be dead after that. 

Now let’s move onto Ashido, it clearly shows that after she got the hair’s into her leg then fell down a couple levels of rocks she was bleeding from the head. I’m not saying this should have killed her but this would definitely leave her with I’m guessing a Major Concussion. 

Then we got Sero, he is first hit straight in the face with a rock that breaks into his helmet and probably makes contact with his face. I’m guessing by the force of the rock being thrown that would probably break a bone in his cheek and/or jaw. Then we see him get thrown probably over 8+ feet tumbling the whole way, which would leave him out of commission as it shows, I also think that would give him a few fractures in his body. 

Next Subject Kirishima, when they go through with Todoroki’s plan he was hit with the full power of Chimera’s blast. This should have caused chipping of his unbreakable form, because you could tell the amount of raw power that blast had by how Chimera took down the forest. So Kirishima logically should have been chipped apart and starting to bleed out as soon as he returned back to his normal form. Also for Tsuyu, Iida, Todoroki, and Kirishima all their eye’s should be a bit worse now because of how bright Chimera’s blast is, that amount of light being shone straight into someone's retina would definitely cause some permanent damage.

Iida and Tsuyu got smacked together and you can watch as they fall, blood falls along with them. This means that something had to have caused blood to come out of them, it could have been a outer injury or internal injury. Internal Injuries is something that probably a lot of the characters would have from the different events in the fights. Those two or I think at least one of them got a Internal injury from that collision, because it might not have seemed like a hard hit, but the power Chimera possesses can make it so you would know that was a hard hit. Then also you will see they are both bleeding from their heads which like I have said multiple times already, probably means they have concussions just like Ashido.

Todoroki, it does not matter that he can regulate his own body temperature for this. When he freezes Chimera from the inside out he gets a lot of major frost bite. People probably over look this fact since ‘Oh he can regulate his temperature’ no it will still leave a lasting effect on the outside of his body. Also you can watch that he passes out before he can Manually warm his body back up, that means his heating up process will take a bit longer. The cold for too long probably messed with some of his internal organs and that is not good for the body. You also should be able to hear when he does his inner monologue of ‘did we do all that we needed to do’ his speech is way slower and his breaths sound more cut off. The exhaustion and frost bite were already taking a tole on his body and brain as soon as the fight was over.

Time for Jirou and Ojiro analysis, they tried to face Nine head on even though they have some of the weaker quirks (not meant to be a jab at them I love them). Ojiro was shown to still be a bit Injured from the first fight, while Jirou did not have any major Injuries to show. Both were taken into the Jaws of what I think is a Blue Dragon skeleton that Nine has direct control of. They are then crashed into the wall of the castle, this definitely would cause something more than a light scratch. This would probably result in multiple broken bones scattered all throughout both of their bodies. No doubt that Ojiro’s tail would be broken in many places, since he was probably slammed into the wall on his back first, which means his tail would actually make contact before anything else.

Shoji, he was carrying Katsuma and Mahoro when Nine had started shooting the lasers at him. Minor cuts are shown to be inflicted on his arms, but they never show what is really happening to his back. His back was what was taking most of the shots, and the first couple that are shown don’t seem to affect him much. His hero costume might be made of special material but at some point it would need to give in. So if you think about it enough his back should be all sliced up and burnt from the lasers. He literally sacrifices himself so that the two of them could get farther ahead and away from Nine. During the Fire Tornado when debris and ruble was about to fall on Katsuma and Mahoro you see him fling his body to cover them. Also right before the screen goes to show the full castle the scene shows a giant rock that looks like it falls straight onto Shoji’s back. If this was incase the fact then his spine would either be fractured badly or broken. Don’t get me started on the amount of nerve damage he would have from a rock falling straight onto his spinal cord.

This is a add on too Jirou, Ojiro, and Shoji. Ojiro and Jirou show up to help Shoji against Nine, and let the kids run. The two of them should have been out of commission but they weren’t because it’s a movie. But all three of them or Just Ojiro and Shoji hit Nine’s force field and then were flung through walls. Even if Jirou wasn’t on the force field it had expanded and probably picked her up also and sent her flying through the wall. But as I have said many times before Bricks and Bones don’t mix, that equals many broken bones.

Kaminari, yes he can take electricity but only so much. I think that when he got struck with the lightning bolt that messed up more bodily functions then they thought it would. His blood stream probably absorbs the electricity or at least some of it. My mind also believes that some blood cells absorb too much and they can burst in a unnatural way.

During the major storm and fire tornado you could see lightning striking all over the place. More than once those strikes probably hit close to some of the others who are already out of commission. If any of them actually got struck which someone probably did (I’m thinking about the four near the water when I say this), that would mess up their brain functionality.

Sato, it isn’t much but when he has to hold up the ruble from falling into the cave that probably causes a good deal of Mental and Physical strain on him.

Tokoyami was litteraly buried under ton’s of rock and ruble, their should have been no way he survived that. Because a human body would not be able to take that amount of strain for as long as he had. It doesn’t matter if it hit dark shadow first in the end all the weight was put onto his body.

Don’t even get me started on Bakugo and Deku, they were tossed around a lot between all the battles. After their first battle they got healed by people with healing quirks and Katsuma cell activation. But I still think they would have some residual fractures and stuff, since the healers said they couldn’t do much about the bones, and I doubt Katsuma is strong enough to heal breaks fully. SO when they get thrown around during the final battle that probably cracks lots of bones, their rib cage’s probably being a big target. If their ribs are broken and they are being thrown around that means the bones shift, it is lucky that it didn’t pierce their lungs, cause if it had they would have been out of commission and killed. Then their is also the fact that they have probably gotten a lot of blunt force trauma to the head, this could cause major concussions that would render movement hard or even impossible. You also have to take into account that Deku breaks his bones just by using his quirk. While Bakugo’s quirk probably leaves some burns of varying degrees depending on how long he over uses it, which in that battle he probably went far past his limit.

Both Deku and Bakugo are taken into the jaws of the Dragon Skeletons as Nine goes over his Monologue about his new world. When they dissed him the were dragged along the ground still in the mouths of the skeletons. That would be a lot of unnatural twisting and turning that gets put upon the body. When the jaw starts to close on their stomach’s that probably puts pressure on Rib’s that were most likely already broken. When Deku proposes his Idea to Bakugo you need to look at his body closely, he is hanging so that his head is upside down. But also his one arm is so unnaturally limp, his shoulder looks like it has been dislocated, that is the only explanation for how far back his arm is in that position. But also like I said Deku breaks his bone’s with his quirk, for a short time Bakugo also had the quirk and used it so he also broke some bones cause of it.

In the Finale Finale battle (I meant to say Finale twice) there was ruble falling everywhere, there was no way in hell that didn’t land on someone. Like the whole part of the island was scattered with Class 1-A rocks needed to have landed on someone during that battle.

Deku and Bakugo literally fall head first towards the ground once the battle is over. you can’t tell me that they somehow landed gracefully on their backs and that was that. They probably hit their heads very hard on the ground which would have them out for I would say at least two days.

Now this one has something to do with all of the kids of class 1-A. All of them had been thrown around in the battles, more than once hitting their backs on something very hard. Depending on the severity of the hit this should have left them Paralyzed. Some if you look close enough have even hit their necks, which is a even stronger case to show that they should have gotten Paralyzed.

So there’s that 1,854 word Spiel, this was actually a lot of fun to write. But this is what I feel everything would have come out as if it was a bit more realistic and that was me going a bit nice.

[prongsmydeer]

Ayesha Liveblogs Class Action Park

“Gene was effectively kicked off of Wall street. So he did what anybody in this situation would do... buy up two ski resorts in Vernon, New Jersey.” That’s how I deal with all my career-related angst 

“Gene turned to his old buddy Bob Brennan, always there to find cash or investors any time Gene had a wild new idea” bdjdjjfkdbf find u a friend like Bob, I guess?

“Who we got? How about these teenage employees” oh NOOO

If your employer makes you call him Uncle maybe that’s a warning sign 

Gene giving his teen employees $100 every time he puts their lives in unparalleled danger has a similar energy as my dad giving me $5 when I was sad but 150 million times worse 

You know, if they had advertised the slide as a slide that could bite you like a shark, they might’ve been able to play off the teeth thing in their stride (in any case Slidey McBitey did not slow them down?)

“You couldn’t go down the canonball loop if you were too small, you couldn’t go down if you were too big” the Goldilocks of Dangerous Water Park Features

The way that everyone in this documentary says ‘water’ as ‘worder’ is very Jersey

I mean it absolutely doesn’t surprise me that there were no engineers involved in this but wow that’s a choice

The animations in this documentary in place of stock footage are truly on another level:

The accompanying dialogue to these images: People who Six Flags or Disney wanted nothing to do with; these guys would literally track Gene down at amusement industry conventions. You can tell these guys went and did bumps of coke and went just [unintelligentible] fuckin’ let’s just drill a slide right in the fuckin’ middle of the mountain and it’ll shoot ‘em 20 feet in the fuckin’ air--

“It was not fit for a safe ride by the average person in public” you don’t say, Bob Krauhlik, Head Lifeguard

I mean those like... bubbles for people to roll around in exist? Why couldn’t Gene have invested money in developing those in the seventies and just had people go down a very slight hill? Must EVERYTHING in this park be a deathtrap

The fact the Ball Man (presumably) survived the ride collapse, the freeway, and falling into a swamp,,, invincible

“We started sending employees off of [the airborne slide]” These guys really needed a union

“He’s gone on to lead a normal life” jhfkjhkjf the disclaimer

Honestly a built-in bidet/lota situation in a water slide doesn’t sound bad

Gene fulfilling my lifelong dream to get to lay on the baggage rollers at an airport

“The Aqua Skoot was also home to a thriving bee nest” I hope the bees were okay!!

“You’re probably concussed, and you have like a hundred and fifty people from New Jersey just being like ‘Pussy! You fuckin’ bitch!” this sounds in line with everything I know about New Jersey

“No lifeguard every blew a whistle and was like, ‘Hey stop chanting the word ‘pussy’ at this injured, bleeding person’“ I would pay money to see any lifeguard I know say that

Bob Krauhlik said: The first rule of Action Park is we don’t talk about our suppressed traumatic memories of Action Park

“Just literally imagine teenagers you know right now opening an amusement park” As someone who knows MANY teenagers this scenario sounds terrifying

“I was a good girl, so I wasn’t really involved in much of the shenanigans that took place” if u say so Faith

“I may have attended one [party]” HA I knew it 

This cattleprod story reminds me in a horrible way of a Paris Metro authority memory but long story short people will try to attack you physically if they think u cheated a $3 ticket; capitalism warps the brain

“But if we’re so bad, why don’t they just make a new town?” I’ve never heard a whiter sentence in my life

“He was a cool dude” [cut to] “I think he was a piece of shit” POETIC CINEMA

Gene annoying the state of New Jersey into relinquishing their land... incredible 

“Gene was free from the pesky state of New Jersey” is that what it says on the sign when you cross state lines into Pennsylvania 

“It might’ve attracted a more, say, working class clientele” ah the water park class divide

I don’t know what kind of mindset for just bodily-functioning all over the pool but I hope I never reach that point 

You really should need a sobriety test to operate anything motorized I think they could’ve made thousands on a Go-Kart breathalyzer

“It had a top speed of over 60 miles an hour, it was worth it” said Ed the Park Operations Manager, about driving a go-kart on the highway

“Action Park had full-on, Miami Vice-grade speed boats, where riders regularly tempted fate by treating them like bumper boats, a common action, that would send many a guest tumbling into a pond murky from leaked gas and oil, and known by employees to be infested with snakes” Somehow that sentence got worse and worse with time

The guy who literally crushed another person with his boat and then moved to the next ride: I pretend I did not do it

“He wound up getting getting ejected from the park” they said, about a person literally attempting to set other patrons on fire:

Bob the Lifeguard really speaks with way too much fondness in his voice of trying to throw carts on top of people sliding down a fibreglass and concrete slide

“On an an average day, you would have 50 to 100 people injured” the 80s were a lawless time 

“Gene Mulvihill had a vision of a place where there were no rules - something between Ayn Rand and Lord of the Flies” strike that this is the whitest sentence I’ve ever heard

HAHAHAHA I can’t believe the lawyer is now explaining Action Park with the argument that the 80s were a lawless time

“[D*nald Tr*mp] realized it was too wild, too nuts even for him” kjghkgjhkg this comment aged poorly 

The audacity of this man to blatantly exhaust everyone into submission

Kayaks did nothing to deserve being associated with electrocuting water park attendees 

Every time I think this documentary can’t get worse they introduce a new concept like The Death Zone at the Grave Pool 

“They expected to drown at the Action Park Wave Pool“ DID THEY, BOB? DID THEY REALLY?

“Nobody should ever be the second person to die in a wave pool, you know why? ‘Cause after the first person dies in a wave pool, close the fuckin’ wave pool!” Chris the Comedian has summed up this entire documentary in two sentences 

This documentary has intentionally saved the worst for last this whole interview with the family of the (first) deceased is deeply upsetting 

The Wave Pool death happened a week before the Kayak death??? THEY DIDN’T EVEN CLOSE FOR A WEEK???????

“Its time came and went” IS THERE EVER A TIME FOR A WATERPARK WHICH KILLS MULTIPLE PEOPLE 

Weird that the woman whom Gene got fired from her job and who deposed him became his friend

“Was he a villain or a victor” I think that’s a false dichotomy you can be victorious at villainy 

“The spirit of Action Park lives on today in the Fyre Festival” Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t remember Fyre Fest killing anyone

“Fyre Festival’s bullshit, man. Gene gave you everything he fuckin’ promised you” grievous injury???

There’s also something weirdly poetic about the name of the park going back and forth from Mountain Creek to Action Park and vice versa every few years 

I’m gonna leave off with this not: Not a single visible minority was interviewed for this documentary as a park attendee or employee and while that’s probably more a product of selection bias and New Jersey it’s also all the argument you need for diversity in any field. Diversity of thought and culture does not a loop-de-loop-death trap make 

[crinkled-emotions]

Temperatures Rising || Maxi x Harrison (Bondi Rescue)

I was watching a really recent episode (season 14 somewhere?) and poor Harrison got sized up by this guy who wanted to bash his brains out simply because Harrison approached him about being creepy toward a 15 year old girl. Huge respect to Harrison for being so good about that situation by the way, he handled it really well. Anyway, so this guy didn’t end up beating up Mr Reid but I wondered what would have happened if the guy had tried to. Tommy’s a cool bloke too, so no beef! Tommy’s a younger guy and Harrison has a little more experience under his belt so it makes sense as to why he would take the situation into his hands. Anyway, Harrison gets beat up and Maxi’s there for the aftermath. What a sweetheart.

The cameras surrounded Tommy, Harrison and the irritated Brazilian man, the crew completely silent as Harrison tried to talk him down. Tommy was lowkey tucked behind Harrison, done deliberately by the older lifeguard just in case things got violent. With the cops nowhere to be seen- dealing with another situation- Harrison knew he could make a citizen’s arrest, or he could talk the guy into leaving the beach without any interference from the other boys in blue. Jesse had radioed to tell them the cops would be on their way shortly, but with the guy becoming more and more violent Harrison wasn’t sure he could wait that long. Besides, if the guy wanted to he could head for the hills in a split second.

“Why are the cops coming?”

“You know why mate, you can’t be touchin’ minors like that.”

“But why?”

“Mate, you need to understand that you’ve done something wrong.”

“I simply saw a beautiful girl on the beach, is that a crime?”

“Worse than that, you kissed her and threw another into the ocean without her consent.”

Harrison was sweating from stress and the 47°C heat, but he tried to focus on what was going on. This guy, while small and nimble, could probably pack one hell of a punch- Harrison had very quickly learned not to underestimate people who looked unassuming. Just the fact this guy had thrown a girl into the water was enough to keep Harrison aware. Tommy was hiding behind him still, a half step to the left though so Harrison could move if needed.

 ------------

Another ten minutes pass. Bystanders are watching with anxiety rippling through the crowd, but Tommy steps up to wave them off. Most leave in search of cool air, ice cream or something cold, but a couple hang around. Harrison has his eyes focused on the offender, irritation flooding his veins. Where the fuck are the cops when you need them?

Jesse radioed in again as nerves started to run through Harrison.

“Jesse to Hux, the cops are probably another ten-ish minutes. If you’re worried he’s gonna do a runner I’ll send Hoppo down to escort him, but at the moment we’re just gonna have to watch him. Are you good to do that?”

“Huxy to Jesse; I should be okay. Tommy’s down here, is he okay to be here despite only being a trainee technically?”

“Jesse to Huxy- Tommy’s good mate, you’ve done this before so you know what to do. If you’re worried about him put him on crowd control, I can see the people around you from here.”

“Huxy to Jesse; Cheers mate.”

Harrison turned his radio down, clipping it back on to his belt. The offender was watching him right back, clearly annoyed at being held without an explanation. Harrison could see he was becoming more agitated, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold him on the beach.

“Look, mate, I’m really sorry about the delay, apparently the cops are tied up on the street, so we’re gonna have to just hang here a little longer.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong!” The man yelled, grabbing Harrison by the shirt. Tommy appeared, about to get between them when Harrison stopped him.

“Go get Jesse, tell him to get Hoppo and the cops down here asap.”

Tommy bolted for the buggy, peeling out of the crowd and heading for the tower. Harrison watched for a few seconds then turned back to the situation at hand, wincing when the guy tugged his shirt again.

“I did. Nothing. Wrong. Let me go!”

“Mate this is beyond my control-“

“-I’m not your mate!”

Harrison blinked; just in time for the guy’s fist to come into connect with the lower left side of his jaw. He fell to the boiling sand like a sack of kiwi fruit (pardon the pun), grasping his cheek. He knew without feeling that his nose was bleeding, and he stood after a moment to see the guy had taken off. Innocent bystanders had been shoved, but a couple pointed in the direction the guy had gone. Harrison thanked them, taking off. His radio on his belt crackled, before Tommy’s voice sounded.

“Tommy to Harrison, me and Jesse are on our way but Harries can’t see you anymore; is everything good?”

Harrison panted, speaking into his radio as he dashed.

“Harrison to Tommy and Hoppo; the guy has taken off, I’ve still got an eye on him. Hop, make a citizen’s arrest?”

“Go for it Harrison, get him off the street if you can. The cops are nearby; I’ll let them know what’s going on. Have you got witnesses?”

“Yeah, uhhhh, half of the beach at least?”

Hoppo laughed, before he became serious.

“We can see you Harrison, we’ll be there soon.”

“I got him, go and cut him off on the street just in case I can’t get there in time.”

“Tommy to Harrison; I’ve gotcha mate.”

The radio clicked off and Harrison willed his overheated, exhausted body to keep going in pursuit of this guy, watching out for tourists who had no idea what Harrison was doing. His legs ached, his lungs burned, and all he could think about was hitting up the apartment complex pool with Maxi later. Harrison blinked, and all of a sudden his target was close enough. Another couple paces and he could get him. To one side he could see a cop motorbike and to the other one of the beach Can-Am’s, but that wasn’t important to him in the moment.

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

The guy turned behind him and spotted Harrison, eyes widening. At just the right moment Harrison made a heroic leap, grabbing the guy by the hip and pulling him to the paved ground. They slid a metre, before stopping. When the offender made an attempt to get up Harrison pinned him to the ground, turning him on to his stomach and using his shirt as makeshift handcuffs that would work long enough for the cops to do the real deal.

“Harrison!”

With the ordeal over Harrison’s legs became wobbly when he tried to stand, and he promptly collapsed again. Hoppo and Tommy were there soon after, helping him up. An ambulance rolled up and Harrison looked between the two lifeguards in confusion, chest still heaving.

“I don’t- I don’t understand- why- I’m good, I swear…”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry. That was incredible Harrison, well done. Take tomorrow off, okay? I’ll drop your stuff at your place after work.”

Hoppo’s blue eyes radiated care and paternal warmth, something Harrison hadn’t felt since he left home to start lifeguarding. He only had Maxi and the boys on the beach, but with Hoppo there Harrison realised he felt safe. His eyes began to close from exhaustion, and Hoppo turned to the paramedics.

“I’m coming with him.”

  ------------

“Is there anyone who can take him home, someone he can stay with?”

“His uh- his partner’s at home, I’ll give them a call.”

The doctor nodded, checking Harrison’s vitals once more.

“Okay, I’ll have someone come in and stitch him up, then he should be okay to go home. If he starts vomiting or becomes disoriented bring him back in straight away.”

“No worries. Thanks, doc.”

The doctor left the room and Hoppo turned to Harrison, who was asleep in the bed. The side of his body that had slid on the paved ground when he caught the guy was gashed pretty badly, from his shoulder to his knee and down the offside of his foot. Luckily it seemed the excessive heat from the day’s soaring temperatures had cauterised most of the bleeding, but a couple of the wounds were large enough to need a couple stitches to aid with healing. He also had bruising around his right eye from where he’d been punched, the bruising a green-brown along his jawline. There was a gash on the other side where he’d bumped his head, but the doctor had cleared him of concussion so far.

Hoppo sighed; it was time to call Trent.

  ------------

“Hop, I haven’t heard from you in forever! What’s new mate?”

“You won’t want to have heard from me after this. I’m not sure if it’s on the news yet but Harrison did something incredible today that could potentially have saved quite a few girls from a creep on the beach. In the act of catching this guy, he copped a couple… battle scars.”

“Shit! Is he okay?”

Maxi’s voice deepened, conveying concern for Harrison.

“He needs stitches and he’s got a few bruises; he’ll be pretty sore and sorry for the next couple days but… he’s going to be okay. It was something from a movie Maxi; truly something I haven’t seen in ages.”

Maxi hummed; he could sense there was something else his boss wanted to tell him.

“The docs said he’ll be clear to go home once he’s had the stitches; I have to get back to work, but I was wondering if you could pick him up?”

“Yeah- yeah, yeah course. I’ll be there in a couple minutes, I have a day off; I’m not even on call at the station.”

“Thanks Maxi; he’ll be glad you’re there. He’s sleeping right now, but is there anything I can pass on to him for you?”

“No, no that’s cool. I’m just jumping in the car Hop; I’ll be there in a bit.”

“No worries Trent; take it easy and keep the aircon up high.”

Maxi laughed, and through the phone Hoppo heard him turn it up high.

“Gotcha Hop. See you soon.”

  ------------

Voices whispering in the room woke Harrison from his sleep and he groaned, his good arm going over his eyes as he tried to adjust to the bright lighting. The voices stopped abruptly, and then he felt someone sit on the bed beside him.

“I gotcha Hux, I gotcha. Take it easy.”

“T-Trent?”

Harrison tried to open his eyes to get a glance, but the harsh lights made his head hurt and he cried out, burying his head into Maxi’s side. Maxi sighed, running a hand through Harrison’s sun-bleached hair. The tips, usually brown like the rest, were now borderline platinum blonde from being at the beach a majority of the week. Maxi had to admit, it looked like Harrison had tried frosted tips.

“You’re okay, it’s just me and Hop. Deep breaths; focus on bringing air in then out.”

Harrison’s hand came up to grab Maxi’s, and they sat there for a moment while Harrison calmed down. Hoppo had found the light switch and dimmed it so Harrison wouldn’t be so badly affected, earning a grateful smile from Maxi. The eldest lifeguard left the room, closing the door behind him so Maxi and Harrison could have some time together.

  ------------

“Okay, I’ve signed the discharge papers so you’re good to go. Trent, you know when to bring him back?”

“Yeah doc, I gotcha. Thanks.”

With Maxi’s help, Harrison got off the hospital bed and stood, wincing.

“Okay yeah, I can’t wait for the pool.”

The doctor smiled, doing a final check over Harrison’s file.

“Looks like you’re good to go. If you have any questions, either of you, there’s a 24 hour clinic available on the Bondi Junction road.”

Maxi hummed, wrapping an arm carefully around Harrison’s gashed hip, giving his good one a nudge.

“We’ve got this, right Hux?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna be fine. Thanks for this doc, really appreciate it. The cameras will probably be here in half an hour or so.”

Harrison was clearly exhausted but he still had the twinkle in his eye that made Maxi smile, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“C’mon, let’s get going. You need the pool, a shower, and some aloe vera.”

Harrison nodded, using Maxi as leverage to walk.

  ------------

In the car Maxi kept his hand on Harrison’s thigh, making gentle circles as he drove. Harrison fell asleep pretty much the second he had his seatbelt on and slept all the way back to their apartment. Maxi went between checking him and keeping an eye on the road for the entire fifteen minutes, making sure Harrison wasn’t in any more pain than he already was. Just as he was pulling into the parking area Harrison groaned, shifting his head away from the bright outside to the darker inside. His eyes opened and he squeezed Maxi’s hand, Maxi glancing at him mid-park.

“You good?”

“Mm. Jus… tired. Can we skip the pool?”

“Course. How ‘bout the shower?”

Harrison nodded, eyes closing again. Maxi chuckled, turning off the car- yes; he could park and talk at the same time. He was just that talented. He grabbed everything the doctor had suggested from the passenger seat floor and rubbed Harrison’s shoulder, making sure he was awake.

“I left the aircon on for ya.”

“Thanks Trent.”

  ------------

With one arm around Maxi’s shoulders and the other carrying the pharmacy bag Harrison made his way into the elevator and through their door to the couch, pretty much collapsing straight away. Maxi disappeared into the kitchen and Harrison heard the clinking of ice hitting glass, before he reappeared with that glass full of ice and water.

“Doc says you need to keep drinking so you don’t get heatstroke. Keep it slow.”

Harrison sent Maxi a withering look as he took a sip before placing the glass on the coffee table. He sat up, pulling Maxi on to the couch beside him. He took his boyfriend’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I’m okay, y’know. We deal with assholes all the time.”

“I don’t know about you, but assholes don’t punch lifeguards just trying to do the right thing.”

“Maxi-“

“-Harrison, when Hoppo called me I was really scared you’d been really hurt. Just let me freak out for a second, since you’re not.”

Harrison fell quiet and Maxi doubled over, head in his hands. He sucked in a deep breath, releasing it after a couple of seconds before he straightened and pulled Harrison into his arms.

“Yeah; you scared me, but you’re okay. That’s what’s important.”

Harrison hummed, nuzzling against his boyfriend’s neck.

“I’m gonna be pretty busted up for a couple days; Hoppo gave me the rest of the week off to recover.”

“Awwww nooooo, poor Hutz,” Maxi teased, giving Harrison a fake pout. Before he could say anything, Harrison’s lips were on his, and he instinctively closed his eyes. Damn; even with a half busted lip and some face bruising, Harrison was still a good kisser. They pulled apart, and Maxi brushed his thumb over Harrison’s bruised cheek. He winced, and Maxi pulled him into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay. Really glad.”

“I was scared for a second there; I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Maxi glanced at Harrison who had moved to rest his head against his shoulder, the pair stretching out on the couch. Even though it was way, way too hot to do anything even remotely close to snuggling they still sat together on their couch that was probably too small for this, a mess of arms and legs and abs. Every time though, Maxi found Harrison on his lap and Harrison seemed to like that- for being someone willing to speak up when things go to shit, Harrison was quite the cuddler too. Maxi kissed the not-bruised side of his head, sighing.

“How about you get some sleep, and I’ll watch the cricket?”

“Mmm… tells me when we bat.”

Just like that Harrison was drifting off to sleep, one arm wrapped around his stomach while the other had found Maxi’s shorts to take hold.

“Thanks,” he murmured. Maxi glanced down with a smile, and then turned up the air conditioning. If Harrison was going to stay there, that aircon was going to work overtime.

[girls-scenarios]

Catch Me If You Can

Idol: Yeonwoo (Momoland)

Prompt: Hi! I love your works! If I may ask, could you write a scenario where Momoland’s Yeonwoo is a wanted criminal (you pick the type), and the reader is the police officer trying to catch her? Thank you!

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: Momoland came out with another bop in I’m So Hot! I wish Taeha and Daisy could have been in this comeback as well but I’m in love with the song! Anyway. This is such a cool idea, I love this kind of dynamic. Since it was left open to me to decide what kind of criminal she would be, I made her part of a gang. Sorry it took me so long to finish, requests like this are a lot of fun but require a lot more planning than the more simple requests do. I hope you enjoy though!

Warnings: Blood, injuries, abuse(?), mentions of death, minor cursing

♡ Tip Jar♡

When you’d first entered the force, you’d been young and naive. You’d believed that right always triumphed over wrong, and that there was a distinct difference between good and bad people. You’d believed that bad people deserved their sentences, and that what you were doing was the right thing to do. Now, you were older, wiser, seasoned in the world you’d been consumed by, and you knew not all of this was true. You knew all of this because of one person.

It all started when you moved up in rank and your officers assigned you to help some detectives with their cases in local gang activity. That’s when you were made aware of her. Yeonwoo. Around your age, beautiful, and potentially deadly.

“Really? This girl is involved in a gang?” You could hardly believe your eyes as you looked over the file, but the detective you were assigned to just nodded, eyes never leaving his computer.

“You’d be surprised with the types of people we find in gangs. Not all criminals are hardened mob bosses and tattooed, ugly men. This girl, Yeonwoo, we know she’s important. She’s involved in something and she’d potentially dangerous. We believe she might have been involved in the deaths of as many as fifteen people, mostly rival gang members. But every time we get close to getting her, or finding proof, she slips right through our fingers. We can’t catch her, so we want you to have a shot at it.” You looked down at the photos in the folder again and swallowed. She was so pretty.... But you had a job to do.

“You can count on me, detective.”

“Good. I thought so.”

Your job was to find her, and it took you a few days, but you did. It was easy to lose her in the crowded downtown city she frequented, but you’d managed to track her into a restaurant near the train tracks at the end of town. It wasn’t a very good neighborhood, and suddenly, you were very glad that you were undercover.

The restaurant was really just some raggedy burger bar, and as you stepped inside, you carefully looked around, stuffing your hands down into your pockets. A few people sat scattered inside, but not too many. She stood at the bar, talking to the bartender, and you swallowed, trying to fit in and not look suspicious as you walked up and took a seat at the opposite side of the bar. You weren’t supposed to drink on the job, but you might have to....

She moved, and you watched as she headed for the bathroom. Maybe you wouldn’t have to.

“What can I get ya’?” A rough voice sounded from behind the bar and you squared your shoulders.

“Could I just get some fries for right now?” He grunted and turned around, obviously miffed that you were sitting at the bar and not ordering anything to drink. “By the way, where’s your bathroom?”

“Back that way,” he said, pointing as he turned around, and you stood up, walking back there after sending him a worried glance. That was one guy you really didn’t want to cross, even as a cop. A shiver went through you just thinking about it, but you tried not to think about it, shaking your head. The girl. You had to find the girl....

“Looking for someone?” You jumped and looked up. At the end of the hall stood the girl, Yeonwoo, her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. She was so pretty up close that your mouth went dry and you stepped back out of instinct.

“Uh, no?”

“Don’t lie to me, I saw you following me back there. Do me a favor and tell your station that they need to send out someone who isn’t quite so obvious.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said, holding your ground. “I’m just trying to go to the bathroom.”

“Sure you are. You have a lot to learn, don’t you?” She let out a laugh and shook her head. “You’re lucky I’m the nice one. Just don’t cause any trouble and I won’t hurt you, okay?” You froze up as she walked towards you, but she just placed her shoulder on your shoulder, patting it hard before she disappeared back into the bar. You watched her go for a moment before slipping into the bathroom and letting out the breath you’d been holding, pulling out your phone. She was right, you still had a lot to learn.

Steeling your shoulders, you looked at yourself in the grimy mirror. You were going to catch her, even if it took years to do it.

-

Catching her would end up being much harder than you’d originally thought. She knew you, and you knew her, but even when both of you knew she’d done wrong, she could wiggle her way out of it. But you’d figured out what she was doing. It was her job to slip through the cracks in enemy gangs and destroy them from the inside. Nobody would guess that she, a beautiful young woman with dainty features and thin fingers, was the reason for their undoing. But you knew. You watched every move she made, and she knew you were watching, waiting to unravel everything about her.

She wasn’t your only case to work on, but she was the main one. Everything in your world seemed to revolve around catching up to her, playing her at her own game. That was, until that day.

You’d stumbled into the wrong place. It was your own fault, really. You’d known that the old factory was being used to hide drugs, it was all connected to Yeonwoo somehow, but you’d gone in alone after a call anyway, thinking that maybe there would only be a few people inside and that you could take them. Only it was a trap, and you’d been dumb.

“You really thought you were tough enough to come in here alone, didn’t you?” The man above you sneered as you coughed, trying to recover from the kick delivered to your stomach from his steel-toed boot. You’d remembered to send your location and the call before coming in, so your squad should be on their way over. You hoped.

“Take the radio off ‘em, boss. They might a’ called in backup,” said one of the men standing by the door, and the “boss” above you let out a grunt as he leaned down to shove you onto your back and grabbed your radio, along with the taser you’d been hoping to hide, before kicking you in the head.

“Throw her in the basement,” he said as he walked away, leaving you on the ground with spots swimming in your vision, groaning in pain. “And make sure that they won’t be able to talk.” A few men descended around you, but you couldn’t even make out their faces as your eyes drooped closed, a dark cloud enveloping your head. As they yanked your body up from the ground and you drifted out of consciousness, you couldn’t help thinking that this was end. And you didn’t realize it then, but the face swimming behind your eyelids wasn’t a family member or a loved one: it was her.

When you woke up, the first thing you noticed was the tight ropes cutting into your skin. You were tied to a chair in a dark room with one window near the ceiling where you could just see a sidewalk. A searing pain ripped through your head and ribs as you moved, and you winced, immediately closing your eyes again. You were in a bad situation. Even if your squad was outside, the likelihood that they’d get to you before any of the gang did was slim. The pain in your head told you that you had a concussion, and you were pretty sure that boss’s steel-toed boots had broken a couple ribs. If you had internal bleeding, it might not even take the gang coming back to off you.

Taking a deep breath to try and chase away the fear clouding your mind, you thought. What could you do? The window was big enough to escape through, but you’d have to get out of this chair first, and you’d never been trained on how to wiggle out of ropes while tied to a chair. You couldn’t even stand, as your ankles were tied to the legs of the chair, so moving around was out of the question. They’d also stripped your of your belt, so you had no tools to speak of. All you had was your hands, but they were numb from the tightness of the ropes, and pretty much useless. What could you even do?

A noise came from the door and fear jumped back into your chest, your brain racing. You couldn’t die like this, you had to fight back somehow-.

“Well, didn’t you manage to get yourself into a sticky situation.” You knew that voice, and your eyes widened as the person became visible at the door. It was Yeonwoo. She’d cut her hair short to her shoulders and dyed it slightly, but you could recognize her easily. You’d spent too many hours with her not to.

“What are you doing here?” She shrugged her shoulders and closed the heavy door behind her, eyes locked into yours.

“Infiltrating a rival gang, until you showed up. Now I have to save your dumb ass.” You stared, taken aback. Had you heard that right?

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re throwing a wrench in my plans here.”

“Why save me? I’m trying to put you in prison!” You narrowed your eyes. “Are you just trying to get my hopes up only to kill me yourself?” She rolled her eyes in response as she moved behind you, and you could feel her working at the ropes that bound you. Your heart pounded in your ears, but you could still hear her as she spoke.

“That’s true, but my life would be boring without you. Nobody else has ever gotten as close to me as you have. Plus, I’ve never met any officer with your level of determination for good.” Your hands fell free, and you worked your fingers, trying to bring back feeling as she moved up to the ropes around your arms and torso. “So basically, I can’t let you die.” You brought your arms around to the front of your body as the ropes fell away and she walked back into your line of sight. “But I also can’t let you blow my cover, so as a thank-you for saving you, don’t talk about this, yeah?” She sent you a wink as she leaned down to cut away the ropes around your legs and ankles, and your heart jumped without your permission. What was this?

“I don’t really get it, but thanks,” you said, looking up at the window. You could hear the faint sound of sirens outside.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to get caught here. But try to be more careful from now on, I don’t like seeing you hurt,” she said as she stood up with you. Before you could react, she leaned forward to press her lips to your cheek, making you jump and stare at her with wide eyes. “See you next time, (Y/N).” And just like that, she’d disappeared back through the door she’d came from, leaving you staring after her with your heart jumping around in your chest, making you question everything you were thinking.

After a moment, you came back to reality and shoved the chair you’d been imprisoned on over to the window. Standing on it, you worked at the rusty screws until the fell out, letting you pry the cheap frame from the window. Glass shattered under you as it came out, and a rush of fresh air hit your face, but you didn’t pause to relish it, quickly climbing out. Tiny pieces of glass cut at your skin as you crawled through, but you hardly felt them, ecstatic to be out and free. The sirens were louder now, and you pressed your hand against the wall, catching your breath as you moved towards them. Something told you to turn around just as you reached the corner, though, and when you did, you were just able to catch a familiar figure ducking out of the factory and running into the maze of alleyways behind it. You could go after her, catch her, just like you’d been wanting to do. But her words echoed in your head, and your cheek tingled, leaving a drop of doubt in your mind as you turned the corner.

Your squad was there, and your sergeant turned, his eyes widening as he saw you. “Officer (Y/N), you’re alive! What happened in there?” He took one look at you and turned, yelling out for the paramedics. The truth was on the end of your tongue, but you weren’t going to say it. You knew you weren’t.

“I was stupid and went in alone, only to get caught. They took my belt, including my radio, but I managed to get out through a window.” Paramedics swarmed you, and your sergeant shook his head, not seeming to notice a thing about your story. Not that he would expect you to lie.

“Be more careful next time, officer.”

“I will. I’m sorry.”

-

The next time you found her, you weren’t even looking. You’d been at a club, sitting alone at the bar as your friends had already wandered off. Your head still hurt, just a little, and you were nursing a drink as you stared down at the worn wood of the bar top, lost in your own mind. It had been a few weeks since the accident, but you just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why had she saved you? Sure, she’d explained herself, but you still didn’t understand it. Was she just toying with you?

The idea made you annoyed, and you slammed your empty glass down onto the bar as you stood, muttering something about getting some fresh air even though no one was listening. The alleyway behind the club was empty and dim, lit by ugly yellow light from dim streetlamps. Pounding bass could still be heard from inside, and you sighed as you sat down on the steps, rubbing your face.

“Having a hard time, officer?” At first, you wondered if you were drunk and imagining things as you turned around. But no, there she stood, leaning against the wall beside the door you’d just come out of, dressed in a leather jacket and leather pants with her short hair pulled back into a small ponytail. Your tipsy brain told you that she looked hot, but you tried to shove the thought down.

“Are you following me now? What are you even doing here?”

“I hear that from you a lot, officer,” she said as she moved away from the wall to come sit beside you on the steps. You eyed her warily, but didn’t move away as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Want a smoke?”

“I don’t really smoke.”

“Neither do I, unless I’m stressed. And you look like you’re stressed.” She was persuasive, especially in your state, so you reached over and accepted one, ignoring her smirk as you let her light it and brought it to your lips. You didn’t like the taste of cigarettes, but you’d be lying if you said it didn’t calm you down. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“And why should I tell you? You’re really comfortable around me considering I’m trying to convict you for murder.”

“You’re pretty comfortable around me considering I could be convicted for murder.”

“Touche.” You watched the smoke from your lungs curl up into the night air. “You’re the most confusing criminal I’ve ever chased, you know that?”

“How so?”

“I never know what to make of you. You’re a bad person, you’ve killed people and both of us know it. But you also save my life and offer me cigarettes in gross alleyways.” She let out a laugh and flicked her ashes onto the ground.

“Your fellow cops have killed people, does that make them bad too?” Her question settled into your brain, and you closed your eyes.

“Well, they were people that deserved it. They made the decision to get into that situation.”

“How do you know the people I’ve killed didn’t deserve it? All of them were bad people too. People you’d put away for a couple years to life. Plus, not everyone killed by cops deserves it. One killed my dad, you know.” You let your eyes drift open and looked down at the cigarette, watching as it burnt down.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t really know what to think anymore.” For a moment, the two of you sat in silence. Then she shifted beside you.

“You want to know why I saved your life, and why I’m out here with you even though I could be inside partying and getting free drinks from dumbass bartenders?”

“Do tell.”

“Cause you’re real. I’ve met my fair share of cops, seen them work and seen what they do. Almost all of them are corrupt somehow. Almost all of them have biases, secrets. But you.... You’re really doing this because you believe in keeping the peace and working for good. I bet you’re the only one out of your peers who would rather get beat up than just shoot a person and get it over with. There have been plenty of times where you could have offed me and blamed it on self defense, but you never have. You do things the honest way because you’re honest. And I really respect that.” The words almost brought tears to your eyes, but you blinked them away and dropped your cigarette onto the ground, grinding it out with your foot.

“Thank you, I guess. I’m still trying to process all of this.”

“I just wanted you to know that I’ve never killed a single person who didn’t hurt someone else first.” She stood to her feet and dropped her cigarette as well, and you watched as she stamped it out. “Nice talk, officer. But you should probably get back inside before someone sees you conversing with a criminal.”

“Like anyone other than me would recognize you like this.” Again, she laughed, but it was different this time, and when you looked up at her, she was smiling. Really smiling, like you’d never seen before.

“True. See you around, (Y/N).”

“See you, Yeonwoo.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jackets and walked away, and you watched her go until she’d disappeared into the shadows. Then you stood, dusted off your pants, and took in a deep breath. You needed another drink.

-

It was months later before you saw her again. She dropped off the face of the earth, even to you, and you busied yourself with your work, trying not to think too much about everything she’d said but doing your best to be good. You rescued kittens from trees, helped kids find their parents, bought food for the homeless people on your route and volunteered at the local shelter. But you weren’t blind. You now looked at criminals with a new gaze, wondering why they were doing the things they were doing and making sure they weren’t being framed before doing your job. It was exhausting to be the voice of reason, the good cop, but you did it because as soon as you thought about just giving up a little bit, her face as she talked about her father jumped back into your head and you couldn’t let it go. So you continued, but never told anyone the reason why.

Then, a few months later, she returned. You had come home from a long day at work, thinking about taking a long warm shower to soothe your muscles before collapsing onto your bed, only for the hair on the back of your neck to stand up as soon as your hand touched the doorknob. Something was wrong, and you moved into a more careful stance as you unlocked and opened the door. There was a stir in the air, like a window was open, and you reached over to turn on the light. Just like you’d suspected, the living room window was open, and your eyes widened as they moved to the floor below. There was blood. Blood all over the window, blood on the wall, blood trailing across your wooden floor.

“What the fuck,” you hissed, closing the door behind you and moving further into the room. The trail of blood led to the bathroom, and you followed it with slow steps, eyes scanning the hallway. What was going on?

The light was on, and you stopped in front of it, hand moving to your taser just in case as you moved into the light.

On the floor with her back pressed against the door and a towel in her hands was Yeonwoo, and you immediately dropped the taser, hands coming up to muffle a gasp as she looked up at you. “Sorry, (Y/N). I didn’t know where else to go.” Her voice was labored, and you could tell she was in trouble. There was a hole in her arm where she was pressing the towel, bruises all over her face and arms, and her feet her bleeding as well. “I can’t go to a hospital and I don’t have anyone else.”

“What did you get yourself into this time,” you said, voice breaking as you gathered yourself, stepping into the bathroom to get a better look at her wounds. “Who did this to you?”

“Let’s just say that not everyone is as wonderful as you are when they catch someone,” she said, eyes closing as she rested her head back on the door. “Am I gonna die?” You swallowed, shook your head, and turned around to dig your first aid kit out of the cabinet.

“Not if I can help it. It might hurt, though.” She let out a long sigh.

“Even if I die, I’m glad I get to die beside you.” Tears climbed into your eyes, but you wiped them away and opened the kit, pulling out the things you needed as you tried to remember everything you’d learned in your emergency aid classes.

“Don’t say that. I’m not going to let you die.”

“You mean it?”

“I mean it. Do you trust me?” She opened her eyes and looked into yours. You’d never seen her like this, and it was unsettling, but you made yourself strong for her.

“I trust you.”

“Good. I’m going to get to work now, okay?” She nodded and closed her eyes again, and you knew she was telling the truth: she trusted you, and you were not going to break that trust.

“Okay.”

After you’d fixed up her wounds and made sure she was stable with lots of liquids before laying her down to sleep in your own bed, you walked out into your living room. You had a lot of cleaning up to do, especially since you knew no one could see this. It would be a lot of work, but you rolled up your sleeves. You were used to hard work.

Soup was warm on the stove and the floor was clean when Yeonwoo woke up once again. You heard her shift in the bed and looked up from where you were sitting on a chair near her, reading one of your books about first-aid.

“(Y/N)?”

“I’m here, Yeonwoo. You’re safe.” She held out her arm, the healthy one, and you stood up, walking over to take it. “Do you need anything?” She shook her head, looking up at you.

“Just for you to promise you won’t leave me alone.” You smiled, reached down to brush her hair away from her pale face and check her temperature. Thankfully, her fever from earlier was going down.

“I promise. I’m right here for you if you need me.” She smiled back up at you and closed her eyes, at ease.

“You aren’t going to turn me in?”

“Of course not,” you said, squeezing her hand gently, “I think I’ll just keep you for myself.”

“What does that even mean? That’s kind of creepy.”

“I was trying to be sweet for once. Appreciate it.”

“No,” she said, but she was still smiling, opening her eyes again. “Thank you, (Y/N). For everything.” You knew you could get in trouble for this, and you knew your younger self would be appalled, but you didn’t really care. The woman laying in front of you was more important than everything to you, and you were willing to risk everything to make sure that she was okay.

“It’s about time that I was able to return the favor.”

“Is that why you saved me? Because of the favor? Or because you wanted to catch me?” You rolled your eyes, leaned down to kiss her on the cheek just like she’d done to you so long ago. Now that you were older, wiser, you’d lied plenty of times, both in your job and in your daily life. But right now, you knew you were telling the truth. And you hoped that she knew it too.

“Of course not, I could have caught you a long time ago. I saved you because I care about you.”

“Good, because it looks like I care about you too.”

[ruinmylifc]

[ muse #1 ] ●● is that cillian murphy? no, that’s just dante armstrong, the 45 year old cismale who is a 𝐅𝐁𝐈 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓. some say they’re self-destructive & unpredictable, but their family and friends will swear they’re efficient & candid. when i think of them, i think of at least sleepless nights, bullet proof vests, movie nights with the family, confidential case files, last minute therapy sessions, hidden gun holsters, sunday night roasts, clean shaves. i wonder if his family knows that 𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑. ●●

yeah, i did another thing and this one is gonna stick bc well... if you look under the cut i have given you all of dante and myself so i apologise for the length but it just flew out of me. i haven’t even put any wanted connections bc that would make it 10x longer. just love me and i will love you all the same.

trigger warnings: medical terminology, chronic illness, hospitals, vomiting mention.

i’m proud to present dante sean armstrong, eldest son of eris dorothy (nee may) and basil wayne armstrong. his sister was born two years later and then came his younger brother another three years after. 

his childhood wasn’t exactly rainbows and glorious days of splendor, but it wasn’t horrendous either. their family lived on a property in the countryside and owned some animals. farm work and chores were to be done every day as well as keeping up with their school work.

both of his parents were strict and enforced a lot of rules and there were to be no questions asked. they hounded into the three of them the importance of working hard and providing for the family and that’s stuck with dante. he wasn’t allowed to get away with the things some of the kids these days do ( eyes at all you rebel lil shits ) and dare he disrespect his parents, he’d be punished for it. 

UPDATED NOV 24: with that being said, his parents didn’t show their love physically but they showed it in a lot of other ways. long holidays to the beach, constantly spending time together on the lake, picnics, going to sporting events when they could, traveling sometimes, card game nights. spending quality time together was their way of showing love. to this day, that is still how they show their children their love. 

dante is incredibly intelligent ( unlike myself so i’m sorry pls bare with me ) and that could be seen from day dot. he was hitting milestones before the average child was and his parents saw potential in him. they pushed him harder than his siblings, with school work and work on the property. basil originally wanted dante to take over the property but once he hit high school, he knew there was no way he was going to be able to keep this boy there. 

he graduated high school top of his class with a full scholarship to boston uni for law, so he packed his bags and he was off. he only saw his family at major holidays whilst he was at college as he put his head down, bum up and studied hard with a job on the side. 

with that being said he played as hard as he worked and knows how to have fun, so he says anyway. when the armstrong wife comes along we will plot when they met and we will go from there but aside from that! he was a bit of a player, enjoying the attention and action if you catch my drift. 

UPDATED NOV 24: cue graduating college, moving to ashcroft in his early twenties and he went to work in the force for two-ish years until he was qualified, fit enough and had the experience to apply for the fbi as a special agent. blood, sweat and tears went into this passion of his and lord behold, he got in. it’s fair to say that dante should be married to his job, bc he honestly loves it so much and worked so hard to get in. it’s a bit sad. that’s where he’s been since his mid twenties. cue actual marriage and along came their first child.

UPDATED NOV 24: the main goal in his life when children started coming into the picture was to go out everyday and protect his family, no matter the cost. if he worked a 80 hour week to solve a case or to lock up criminals, then so be it. that was more people who cold potentially hurt his family behind bars.

dante is a family man as much as he can be, but he finds it hard to separate work and home as they both mean so much to him. so yes, he is a workaholic and the things he has seen through the years as brought him night terrors but he loves his family to death. anyone touches them and he will go wild.

ADDED NOV 24: dante is one of those parents that has always said it how it is, not wanting to lie (to a certain extent) to them or shielding them from the dangers of the real world. he is a softy especially in times when his family are upset, things are happening, appts needed, etc, but he shows a lot of tough love. before he joined the fbi and the kids were little, he was as soft as one could be but with the trials of his line of work, he had to learn to be tough. that unfortunately comes home with him, like his work.

ADDED NOV 24: if there is a problem, dante wants ppl to tell him about it straight away and not cut out minor details. he needs to know everything and as soon as possible so he can help, can work it out whether that be work, social life, family, etc. he is v unpredictable with his response too so one day if someone doesn’t come to him abt something for a long time, he could be rather tame and just move on with it. on another day, he could go off his rocker. you can’t really pick it esp when he comes across as being cold. (he’s not!! he is really warm with those he trusts and loves i SWEAR)

dante not long had become a supervisory special agent when mateo’s case came up. dante found himself being emotionally drawn to mateo and the situation at hand, having always struggled with not letting things get personal. so he offered him protection, took him in and opened up his home for him. of course, keeping him around is detrimental to the case and there’s no way he will be letting him go any time soon, but dante cannot help but feel protective over him. he is putting his family at risk by bringing him in but he doesn’t regret it and is more determined to resolve the case. 

UPDATED NOV 24: emilio is now caught and dante is suspended for using his weapon. now begins the process of gather evidence, trials, etc. 

personality. 

he is completely unpredictable ; you may think he’ll react to a situation one way but will completely go the opposite. he says things that would be unexpected from him and he keeps shit real. he won’t sit there and talk abt the world being a wonderful place bc he will laugh in your face and tell you to fuck off to fairyland. he’s seen too much shit and done too much shit to know that life is not a movie.

he can come across as cold but he just doesn’t like to talk if he has nothing to say and he has a resting bitch face, sorry. 

UPDATED NOV 24: it can take a lot to anger dante but when he gets angry, oh you know about it. he’ll yell and throw things and throw a tantrum if it’s really bad but most of the time, he tries to keep quite calm. if it involves his family getting hurt, he’ll get violent, period. no one touches his family. 

THIS: as much as he keeps a guard up due to his job and is a somewhat strict parent and whatnot, he is a sweetheart. he’ll make his kids breakfast in bed on the weekends and would come in and kiss their heads when he’d come home from work and he’d be the one setting up easter egg hunts and is MUCH more affection than his own parents. his family’s happiness brings him happiness and they’re really the only people that see him smile often. also, he won’t go to work without telling them all he loves them. always. even if they’re sick of it.

UPDATED NOV 24: also, he beats himself up and is normally the one that tears himself down to shit. once he has his mind set in a bad way, he’ll tear himself to pieces and he really is his own worst enemy. and it’s bad. like, he beats himself up about everything and even won’t sleep at night over little things like having a fight with the kids, or not filling in paperwork right, or not speaking to his wife one night bc he is just too Stressed. v much is not okay

ADDED NOV 24: bc of this he tends to push ppl away, very badly too. he doesn’t think abt himself often and just wants to make those he loves happy, but he just??? can’t sometimes??? and i think that can be so frustrating

bonus point ; he is a very passionate lover!

secret.

in terms of his secret!! when he was in his final year of college, dante was mucking around with a group of friends throwing a football and tackling one another in between lectures. he had run backward off of the grass onto the path to catch the football and one of the guys ran and tackled him, knocking him to the ground with a very nasty blow to the head.

knocked out cold, dante was taken to the hospital were he had a severe concussion but there was no bleeding in or around the brain. 

after this he became violently ill ; he knew that concussion caused disorientation but this was weeks, even a couple months after the incident and he was still having trouble. he suffered from severe headaches, vomiting, eyesight troubles and even his personality changed. 

dante knew he wasn’t okay so he went to a couple doctors, had a bunch of neurological tests, ct and mri scans and he was then diagnosed with non-communicating acquired hydrocephalus. basically, the blow to his head caused one of the ventricles in his brain to block which restricted the flow of csf ( cerebrospinal fluid ).

with that, a shunt was surgically inserted in his brain to drain the excess fluid to other parts of his body and he has lived his life with this as his own personal secret. he hasn’t told his wife or children and his siblings and parents are the only ones who know ( bc they were by his side ofc ). 

UPDATED NOV 24: he’s had regular check ups every so many years and as of lately, the shunt has started to play up and he’s suffering from headaches for a while now. will he do anything abt it? probs not. there has been too much going on for him to even think about himself. 

[thewildheroine]

Fly Away |Part Thirty-Three|

Warnings: Abuse mentions, coma, severe injury, minor gore, near death, nightmares

Word Count: 4.5K

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

A/N: Ok so this is literally my favorite chapter that I’ve ever written. I just love it a lot. Like... fnjbejkwbjkfbk it just makes me happy. I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as I did and if you like it please reblog loves!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

(OH! and a lot of old dialogue/lines were brought back in this chapter. (; )

|Masterlist|

|Part Thirty-One|  |Part Thirty-Two|  |Part Thirty-Four|

She suffered from severe laceration all over her body, the majority on her back, eight broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a dislocated shoulder, a concussion, a puncture wound just below her right hip, a deep stab wound that caused internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, and a bruising along her spine.

The woman pauses. I don’t know who she is, but Stephen keeps calling her Christine. She sounds like a doctor from the way she speaks. If I astral projected I could see if I was right. I don’t want to use magic right now. All I want to do is sleep.

Our scans haven’t shown any serious or long-lasting damage to her brain but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up. She taps her foot on the floor, considering what to say next. Stephen, can I speak to you alone?  I hadn’t known there was anyone else here with us. The other person doesn’t speak, doesn’t grunt or disagree. Whoever it is just stands and leaves.

Once they’re gone and the door shuts the woman begins speaking again.

I understand that magic and spell-casting is your line of work Stephen —

The mystical arts.

I scoff to myself.

—but you’re bringing kids into it now? She’s sixteen!

I’m not the one who brought her into it in the first place, Christine! Stephen yells back. I pray no one hears them. It was her piece of shit father who forced her to do this when she was a toddler. I only wanted to protect her and I…

His voice trails off, but I know what he was going to say next. I failed. That was going to be the next word. Failed. After that summary of my injuries, I might be tempted to believe it.

I’m sorry Stephen. I didn’t—

It’s okay, he reassures her . I just—I wanted to keep her safe even when I didn’t actually care. When I found her she was a nuisance but she was my responsibility. Now she’s still my responsibility and she’s definitely still a nuisance, I chuckle in response, but she’s special. Now when I actually do care and she’s hurt I—I feel like…

I feel the faintest sensation of a rough, scarred hand covering my own. The energy around it is pained… sad. I frown and try to grab it back. No matter how much I will it though my fingers refuse to move.

Like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

She’ll be okay Stephen, Christine reassures him. She’s going to wake up.

There’s silence. I will my mouth to move while there is a chance for me to be heard, but my lips stay locked together, unable to open.

She won’t forgive me though, he tells her. I tried to save her. I sacrificed myself so she could get out, and yet she still ended up hurt. Her body will heal, but what about her mind? Y/N’s father had already hurt her so much. What will this do to her?

If she’s anything like you, she touches my other hand, then the pain will allow her the opportunity to grow.

Stephen doesn’t reply to Christine’s encouragement. Instead, his other hand wraps around mine. Christine’s fingers pull away from me and I listen as she crosses the hospital room, stopping at the doorway.

Don’t stay too long, okay Stephen?

He says nothing. The door shuts with a soft thud, leaving the two of us alone.

I think I hear him sob.

Stephen had left a long time ago. At least it felt like it did. He left and the other person who was here with me never came back. By the lack of noise, I assume it must be night time. Just like when I came back home.

Being in this state, a coma they said, it feels like I’m sitting outside my own mind, blind and only able to hear. I know I’m still apart of my body, but it just doesn’t feel like it. It feels like I’m floating. Like I’m rising higher and higher without any fear of the consequences. I can’t seem to remember what it’s like to be one with myself.

At least I can sleep.

I’m falling.

The sun hangs above me, calling for me to come back. I don’t reach out though. My arms stay locked to my side and I keep falling.

I wonder when I’m going to hit the ground. Each sound makes me flinch, but the impact never comes. Soon enough I’m more annoyed by the dream than frightened. I’m falling. The sun is shouting. I never meet the earth below.

I feel my hair around my face, resisting gravity and pulling upward. My dress does the same. It’s the same dress I wore during the press conference.

I had done things, said things, that I wasn’t proud of. Even. Now I’m working to accept that some of what I did wasn’t my fault.

My father’s face flashes in front of my face.

Whatever you do, it will be influenced by me, by the experiences you’ve had because of me.

“Stop it,” I beg softly.

You’ll never escape my hold. I’ll always be a nagging voice in your head, one that you will listen to.

“Please…”

I’ll always be a part of you, Y/N.

“Stop it!” I reassert. He’s still there.

You can’t kill me in any way that matters.

“STOP!”

I find myself staring in the mirror sometimes and listing off all of the things I hate about myself until I’m saying things that aren’t even real or just flat out don’t fucking matter at the end of the day.

I’m falling.

My arms feel a little looser, but I still can’t reach out for the sun. The ground does not come to claim me.

I’ve never done this. Goodbyes I mean. I never had the chance to. My mother died before hello, my father disappeared without leaving so much as a note, and people have left my life before I could even find a way to care enough to say goodbye.

I want to stop falling.

It’s you guys or me. My magic or the end I fear more than anything else. Your end. The end of everyone I love.

I just want to sleep.

This is the story of how I come to the end of myself.

Let me touch the sun.

Thank you for loving me in all the ways I never thought a person could and then loving me more. I may have found my end, but thank you for making it a good one.

The sun.

This was the story of how I came to the end of myself. I am the Icarus… And I have loved the sun far too deeply not to burn for it.

I only want to touch the sun.

But I’m falling.

It enhances her in ways she doesn’t even understand yet.

Green flashes in front of my eyes, tinting the gold sun.

I’m saying Y/N would be our only hope.

I can move my hands.

It has always been a part of her and we have absolutely no right to remove it from her without her wanting it too.

Feeling returns to my forearms.

Your magic which enhanced the time stone.

I roll my shoulders.

Your magic was a gift from destiny itself and by fusing the time stone with it you were able to gain full access to its powers.

I reach towards the sun.

Your magic is your soul, and as long as you’re alive your soul will want to come home.

And I finally meet the ground.

I don’t want to sleep anymore.

There’s the sudden rustling of plastic as someone enters my room. The monitor next to me beeps consistently.

Like always, I’m sitting in the passenger seat of my own body. No one except for Christine has been coming in lately. She talks to me like I’m going to miraculously open my mouth and reply. She tells me the time, luckily, as well as the weather, the news. She even tells me who is coming in to see me. That’s how I know it’s Tony who walks through the door.

I listen as he walks to my bedside and places something down. He paces the perimeter of my room for a moment before finally settling in the creeky chair designated for me. Maybe they think it will wake me up sooner.

I brought you flowers, he tells me. A sort of weird tradition to me since they die so quickly. Little ironic for a hospital. Not that I’m saying you’re going to die. You’re too stubborn for that. He speaks like he’s distracted, but I guess he usually is. His fingers tap against a machine by my head.

You know, I’m sort of hoping you can’t hear any of this, Tony says. Rhodey says he didn’t hear my whole coma speech while he was out and neither did Happy. Knowing you, you probably will remember this for some reason.

There’s a lull as though he’s finally taking a moment to take in my appearance. The chair creaks.

Why?

I roll my eyes. “I’m pretty sure you guys already had this discussion.”

I get why you saved us and the Earth because of the whole hero thing. That I can understand. But why did you trust us, Y/N?

Oh.

You had no reason to, he continues. You’re father… he practically tortured you. You were abused mentally, verbally and physically. You were abandoned and used over and over again. He came back only to taunt you. There was no reason for you to trust any of us. After what happened to you people might say it was dumb of you to trust us. Yet you did.

I smile. “Yet I did,” I reply.

We didn’t do much to deserve it.

“Neither did I.”

We kidnapped you from school, tossed you in Bruce’s lab and let Strange deal with you.

I laugh.

What I’m trying to say is sorry.

“Don’t.”

I’m sorry for dragging you into this.

“Stop it, Tony.”

Maybe if we just let you live your life you wouldn’t be here in need of a coma monologue.

“You’re right.” I wish he could hear me. “I might’ve ended up somewhere worse.”

I’m also saying thank you, Y/N, Tony says. I know you were never one for trust. Trusting adults at least. Why should you have been though? What with your father. But I want you to know that I have never felt so much genuine pleasure as I did when I realized you trusted me. You had no reason to. I pulled you from the life you knew, I forced that stupid fucking bracelet on you, I forced you into being an Avenger, but you trusted me. So wake up. Someday just wake up so I can yell at you for drinking too much coffee and tease you for kissing Peter. Just wake up, and I promise I will show you I am worth trusting.

The chair creaks again, telling me he got up. I have a press conference today. Since you messed with time we went back to a couple of days after your interview and everyone is making me handle the news. I listen as he walks back towards the door, stops, walks back towards me and ruffles my hair.

“Really?” I chide angrily.

Have fun in your coma, Y/N. He opens the door to leave again. I’ll see you later.

I’m falling.

The part where I hit the ground is coming up.

I reach for the sky, but this time I land on something cold. It’s freezing in fact. Tilting my head to the side, I look to see where I am. Below me is a rippling black mass. I jolt and try to push myself, but the tar of Dormammu’s hand is holding me down. All I can do is stare up and into his neon purple eyes.

But they’re not purple.

They’re the color of my father’s.

His gaze is sharp and unyielding. He glares down at me like I’m a worthless ant that happened below his foot.

When will you realize this single lesson Y/N? You are not the hero of this story. You are the Icarus. You yearned for the light and warmth the sun provided you with after never having seen it. Y/N, you were destined to fall at some point. We all are. This hope you harbor within yourself was just the catalyst to your own destruction.

I sob weakly as the darkness begins to pull me in. “Just let me touch the sun.”

You’re worthless, he tells me.

“The sun.”

You were born worthless, the tar wraps over my mouth and I’m suddenly tugged under, and you will die worthless.

Hey Blue. His voice pulls me out of the darkness.

Peter.

Sorry for not staying long yesterday, he says. So he was the other person in my room. After your doctor asked me to leave I went to go check on everyone. Then I wanted to swing around the city.

“You were distracting yourself,” I reply, even though he can’t hear me. Even though I can’t open my mouth.

I may have been trying to distract myself.

I laugh.

You know when you left me at Kamar-taj, guilt shoots through me, I thought you were gonna come back a lot quicker. I thought I was gonna open my eyes and boom, you’d be standing in front of me looking victorious. Like you’d just conquered the world. Like you had just saved the world.

The chair creaks. I hear something sounding like a backpack full of books hit the floor.

Cause that's what you did. You saved us all. You killed Dormammu. You turned back time, he exclaims. You were the hero…

But you don't look like you've won, he whispers. You —you—

Something sounding like choking comes from where Peter is sitting.

You just look hurt, Y/N. His hand finds mine. I just want to hold it back. I just want to hold his hand. You're so pale and there are so many cuts. How did you get so many cuts?

“It's okay Peter.”

I feel so helpless, Y/N, he confesses. There's nothing I can do to help you and I'm supposed to be Spider-Man. I'm supposed to save people, so why couldn't I save you?

“I had to save myself, Peter.” He squeezes my hand hard. I hold back my wince “I had to be my own hero in this story.”

I don’t want to tell you to wake up, he says. You deserve to sleep, Y/N. After all you’ve been through. You deserve the chance to really rest for once. You have suffered more than I can ever comprehend. All you’ve been through, all you’ve done is a testament to how strong you had to be. For once you don’t have to be strong anymore. You can sleep.

If you are somehow awake in there though, he continues, then I want to say this at least. The day you left, you told me you loved me. I never said it back. I feel a familiar pair of lips on my own. They’re so soft. Softer than the day I left. I want to kiss him back but I stay locked to the bed, unmoving, unresponsive. He stays close even when we break apart so I can feel his breath on my skin.

I love you, Y/N L/N, he proclaims. You’re my hero and I love you for that and so much more.

Beeping suddenly fills the room, though it’s not from the monitor. Peter’s presence over me disappears and I’m left cold on the hospital bed.

I have to go now, he informs me, but I want you to know you can stay asleep for as long as you need to Y/N. You deserve to sleep. You deserve the damn universe, but if all you want is to sleep then you sleep. Just remember that whenever you wake up I’ll be around. You could sleep a thousand years and I would find a way to be with you when you wake up. Maybe try to aim for the tomorrow though.

Then Peter’s gone

And I’m falling again.

Every time I have this dream or see these visions there’s always something different. Every time something changes.

This time I’m not falling.

I’m running.

I’m running on air. Running straight down towards the ground. Oblivion. I can’t help but wonder what happens when I meet the ground. I hear the feral sound of Dormammu above me, his hand chasing me down. The planets are falling in on Earth, destroying everything.

I keep running.

People have been coming in the past couple of days. My friends, the Avengers. At least I think they have been. They weren’t loud enough and their presence didn’t make the dream end. Now I can’t stop running. The dream won’t end because I can’t reach the ground and I certainly won’t touch the sun. Dormammu might catch me first.

I remember the feeling of my ribs breaking. The memory makes me collapse. All the pain at that moment is surreal and the dream slows to match my new pace: a weak crawl.

Hey Y/N. Stephen.

“Wake me up,” I beg to him. He can’t hear me though. No one can. I am silent.

I always pitied people who would try talking to those they loved while they were in a coma, he tells me. The chair creaks. I keep crawling from death. It seemed so desperate to me. Last resort. Congratulations Y/N. You’ve managed to bring me to the last resort. I don’t know where to start though…

I feel my collarbone snap. The scream that tears itself out of my throat brings with it blood. Too much blood.

I used to have a sister you know? God, she was nearly as stubborn as you. Nearly. She’s the reason I became a doctor. She did pass away though.

“Stephen.” I try to force my mouth to move. I try to force my fingers to flex or my eyes to flutter. My body remains paralyzed on the bed though.

I feel my dad’s kick to my stomach.

My sister got sick, and she depended on me to save her, but I couldn’t. You’re a lot like her. That same glow in your eyes, the same humor, the compassion, but there is the smallest difference in your persistence.

My fingers are beginning to bleed from clawing at the air. Every breath is like being stabbed. I feel the force of an explosion throw me onto the side, the fire singing my skin. I keep crawling. Dormammu lets out another monstrous scream.

My sister wouldn’t give up on me, Stephen continues. You, Y/N? You never ever give up on yourself. You’re so strong.

“I don’t want to be strong anymore,” I whimper.

There hasn’t been a day where the universe hasn’t wanted to run you six feet under. Every day there is a new struggle. Every day the same villains come back to haunt you. But you’re so damn stubborn. Even when you seem to be gone, even when you believe you’ve given up on yourself, you’re still fighting. You refuse to lay down and beg for mercy. You want to have faith. You want to be the hero. You want to live.

My hands stop clawing at the air. I stop feeling pain. Dormammu’s hand stops chasing me. The dream stops.

“I want to live.”

That’s what’s so special about you. I’ve never met someone who wants to live as much as you. Even when you’re walking towards death itself, I start moving towards the ground again, you’re clinging to life. You’ve always had your hands around it. In your sixteen years of life, you’ve become the greatest treasure death can hope to possess. The pain in my chest fades away. You lay your life on the line, but you always hope for the great escape.

I can breathe again

Don’t stop being stubborn now.

I stand.

Don’t let death creep up on you. If you find that you can’t be stubborn anymore, let me be stubborn for you. Let me remind you that you are the most heroic, persistent, compassionate, and complex person I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

I turn towards Dormammu.

Let me promise you that you won’t be waking up for nothing.

I wait and listen.

Stark and I, we have an idea, Stephen tells me. I want to take you under my wing Y/N. I want you to be a real prodigy. My prodigy. I can take you to Kamar-taj and teach you everything I can.

I spread my arms out. Deep inside I can feel my magic humming in preparation.

With me becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong suggested something to me. It’s only a suggestion. If you’d accept, we- I would like you to be Guardian. It’s an old practice. The role hasn’t been used for hundreds of years, but I think you would be worth bringing it back for.

I smile up at Dormammu.

Then one day, you would take my place.

My feet disconnect from the air, and I fall backward.

I can hear the heart rate monitor. I can hear the shrill beep that announces I’m flatlining. I can hear Stephen shout my name, I can hear the doctors rush in but most of all I hear the wind. It bursts past my face, shooting through my hair and curling around my finger tips.

“Running just seems to be all I’m good at.”

The wind is magic. It’s my magic. It’s mine to bend and shape and enhance. The wind is mine to use. All I need is wings.

“Hey, Y/N, you are an incredible person and I know that running away can’t be all-”

“But I am good at it. That’s what you’re saying, right Vera? That hey, you can do magic and shit pretty well but yeah, you are pretty good at running.”

The ground is coming closer. Stephen is still screaming at me to get up. I will. I will get up.

As he said, I want to live.

“I had the choice to run away right then and there. You knew I had my sling ring on me but I stayed.”

“Why?”

“Because I am so fucking sick of running.”

Finally, I turn my head to the sky. I look past Dormammu, past the falling planets and I see the sun. I raise my hand towards it.

I had a moment to learn how to crawl...

A familiar weight collects on my back. One that I’ve missed dearly.

...A second to walk...

My magic hums excitedly in my fingers. It’s ready. I’m ready.

...A minute to begin running...

It’s time for me to stop running away from the sun. This entire time I’ve been falling away from it. All this time I’ve only been reaching for it as I let myself come closer and closer to the ground. Now I know what I need to do.

I unfurl my blue wings. The wind bends around them, pushing past the feathers and magic within them.

...All without falling…

Everything is screaming around me. Dormammu, the planets, the heart monitor, Stephen, my magic, the wind. Everything is screaming except for me. I am the center of the hurricane.

...Before I forced myself to jump…

I want to live.

...And fly away.

My wings snap against the wind, pulling away from the ground and towards the sky. Everything in between doesn’t matter. It is only the ground, the sun, and me. Everything else disintegrates. Dormammu, the planets, the scream. It’s just me flying towards the sun, basking in the warmth it is offering.

I pound my wings harder and harder, the exhilaration of finally feeling it on my fingers motivating me to go higher faster. It is so close. Close enough for me to feel it in my heart, filling my veins. The sun is home. It is what I fell for and it is what I will rise for.

This is the story of how I only came to the beginning of myself.

I am the Icarus…

And I have loved the sun far too deeply not to fly for it.

“Y/N!” That is the very first thing I hear as I’m waking up. Then a beep. Just one for a moment. Then another and another until the noise has turned consistent.

My fingers clench around the covers, squeezing the blankets.

I can move.

I sigh, more thankful than I’ve ever been and start opening my eyes.

At first, it is only light. Bright white light that makes me wince and turn my head away. There’s something on my face, around my nose and mouth. I don’t pay much attention to it for now. I’m too focused on feeling. Something in my chest aches horribly. Like someone lit it on fire for the past minute just to see what would happen. The rest of my body hurts, but not in that way. Everything else feels much number. The pain in my stomach, my collar bone, my head. It all just pulses faintly. A small reminder of all that’s happened.

Then there’s a hand on my own, scarred and ruined and familiar. I try to smile despite the stinging in my face where I must’ve gotten cut by debris. It hurts but I think I succeed in making the corners of my lips turn upwards.

“Y/N?” Stephen asks this time as though he needs to check that I am, in fact, alive. I turn my hand over and squeeze his fingers.

Opening my eyes again I look up. The light is still there but it isn’t as bright as before. I can finally see that the thing on my face is a resuscitation mask and the burning sensation was from the defibrillator on the metal table.

I look at Stephen last. He’s staring at me, just staring. It looks like he’s watching a ghost.

Fearfully, I look down at my hands to make sure I’m actually connected to my body and not floating around in my astral form.

When I’m positive that I’m really here I reach up with my free hand to pull off the mask. Stephen sees what I intend to do before I do it. He pulls it off for me instead and places it on the metal table.

I blink my eyes hard to try and get rid of the blurriness that almost feels stiff. Nothing feels right. Everything is just a little warped. Not much but enough for me to notice. My eyes feel useless.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Stephen reassures, capturing my attention again. “It’s going to take a bit before you get your bearings. Just stay calm.”

I nod, my head feeling like a ton of bricks. I try to come up with something to say. Something that might relieve the tension. There are still doctors standing around, making sure I don’t die again.

“Well,” I croak, my voice rough from not being used for so long, “that was horrible.”

A/N: I’m going to begin cross-posting Fly Away as well as my other stories on @thewildheroine-archives

For anyone who would like to not wait for me to upload the rest, the other chapters are already on my Ao3. Thank you for taking the time to read. Please comment what you thought or reblog.

If you’d like to be tagged let me know :)

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[wonderlandmind4]

Delicate Stages: Epilogue

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x OFC Ana Rios

Warnings: Language, mild PTSD. Explicit Sexual Content 18+. Mentions of Nightmares, Minor Character Death

Summary: Bucky Barnes agrees to participate in Deprogramming Sessions. What he gets is not anything like he expected.

Sometimes I wonder when you sleep Are you ever dreaming of me....cause I know this is delicate...

Words: 7.5k+ @justreadingfics @nerdyandproud9 @buffy-morgendorffer-01 @kat-lives

A/N: Here we are. This is the end of Delicate Stages. First, thank you to everyone who read, liked and commented on this monster of a story! I seriously can not thank you all enough. Thank you for being patient with me as I dealt with my loss, so I also really appreciate that. Thank you to my friend who allowed me to text her all sorts of silly little things and for helping me get my head straight when I needed it. I can't tell you the amount of sleepless nights and down time at work I had to write this story. This has become my baby, and I'm really proud of it and I'm baffled by the attention and praise it's received. With all that said, please enjoy, the final chapter of Delicate Stages.

10 months later:

The past ten months have been a fucked up roller coaster ride.

It starts only three days after Bucky drove out of Ana’s life. Max finds her, pulling her outside on the patio and carefully wrapping his arms around her in one of the longest hugs she’s ever received. He sits her down, then solemnly tells her the bad news.

Jared Sharp has passed away.

Although Ana has already heard a summary of what happened, Max divulges his side of the story. Jared was the one to realize what was happening, how he ran along with Max to help them out, and when they got there, Jared tried stopping it. He was critically shot and Max tried everything he could to keep him from bleeding out.

She’s heard this up until that point. Max continues, tells her that Jared asked if he saved her, and for some reason, he lied. It made Jared smile, said that Alex would be happy, and that was the last thing he said before he passed out. His body couldn’t come back from the trauma of the wound and gave out.

Ana had been peering out into the distance while Max talked. Her eyes sting, she blinks once, twice. Something wet falls onto her cheek and she realizes then that she’s crying. Her and Jared never got along while working, and he may have hated and blamed her for the wrong reasons, but he was trying to make up for it. They were beginning to get to know one another, understand each other. Her brother loved him for plenty of reasons, and Ana is disheartened that they could have been friends for more than a few weeks.

In the end, Jared wanted to protect Alex’s sister. He wanted to prevent anything further, he wanted to save her and Bucky, and it earned him a bullet to his chest. Ana leans forward, allowing Max to gather her in his arms as she cries quietly against his chest. She mourns the loss of Jared Sharp.

The long days morph into longer nights- some sleepless, some filled with nightmares of the aftermath- busy days, tear filled showers, bottles of wine, and working non stop. Especially after discovering the little notebooks Bucky left behind just for her. Honestly, Ana thinks it would just have been better if he'd taken those with him, instead of leaving them in a neat pile in her nightstand for her to find. Then, as she goes through them, page after page filled with nothing but his thoughts about her, she thinks, maybe not.

The first time she had gotten the nerve to go through one, she cried. Well, she laughed, then cried, maybe it was a mixture of both. She swears James Buchanan Barns could be a famous poet if he wanted to. It's these words, his words, his thoughts and feelings, that Ana rereads over and over, keeps close to her heart, and under her pillow. She feels slightly pathetic. She just misses him every single day, and Bucky's words just reassure her that no matter how much time passes, no matter how far the distance, no matter where he is, that he still loves her. That he will come back to her like he promised. It's her little bit of home she holds onto.

Home isn't a place, it's a person, it's a feeling; Bucky took that with him.

It's been a week since Ana has cracked open one of the little books, the binding worn by this point. It's not her fault, she's been keeping busy, more than usual. She's been working in the Medical Ward, offering her reports and help to any agents and Avengers coming back from missions. 

Ana has absolutely refused to join any new mission and not just because of her knee, to the point of where Tony no longer asks her. She'd rather just sit back, wait anxiously while cuddling Ezra, and do her Empathetic Healing. She tries not to use her Energy Alchemy anymore, at least, not until it stops making her weak.

Sometimes, while she's waiting, or alone in the compound, Ana wonders into Bucky's room. She's already took all his pillows, now piled up on her bed, and a left over shirt or two, but she sits on his mattress, staring at a navy blue hat he left behind. Sometimes, she falls asleep, curled up in the middle of the bed that still smells like him, and sometimes she wakes up to Steve covering her with a blanket. When that happens, he doesn't coax her to get up or move into her room, instead, he sits beside her, pats his lap for her to rest her head on, until she drifts off again. Misery loves company, they say.

The last seven days however, have been crazy. Ana had been dealing with filing reports, even proof reading others, and the team just came back from a four day mission, uncovering yet another HYDRA base. 

The mission went smoothly, but Steve still came back pissed off, and it took Ana quite some time to calm him. To be honest, she didn't try that hard, because when Steve becomes angry about the situation, it allows Ana to let her own feelings out because, yes. She is still upset and angry, and fuck, she just misses Bucky.

As does Steve, who takes it out on the punching bag next to her favorite one. When Ana catches him during these times, she challenges him to knock all the bags off the chains, they end up making a game out of it. Ana punches with all her might, until she can no longer control her powers, using energy to blast the bag right off. It always ends with them falling to the mat laughing. It’s cathartic for them both.

*

Three hundred and twenty-three days later, Ana is banging her head against the island marble top. She hasn't emailed Telly in a long time, both busy with their own lives and projects, but Ana is stuck on a mental health device that Tony has been trying to come up with and inquired her help. The concept being able to replicate what Ana can do, by healing the mind from emotional and psychological trauma. Maybe she if smacks her head hard enough it'll knock her intelligence back into her brain.

“You’re going to give yourself a concussion, and I will not be explaining that to Pepper.”

“Why? Because your fiancé will have your ass if I’m hurt?”

There’s a hand now between her forehead and the counter top, cushioning her blows. Ana narrows her eyes at Tony as he picks her head up.

“Why don’t you take a vacation?” He offers, his dark eyes flashing in concern.

“I agree!” Steve shouts from the couch as he sits up straighter, overly eager.

“Me too!” Wanda pipes in, pulling her attention away from the card game she’s teaching Vision. Those two have been growing closer and closer the past several months.

“I can’t. I’m too busy.” Ana glares at both of them.

Sam, who has been eating his lunch on the patio speaks up. “Not too busy to clean my wings! Four times. They didn’t even need a cleaning.”

Ana rolls her eyes.

“It was entertaining to watch you do that though.” Comes Natasha’s voice from behind her.

Ana spins in her chair not at all hearing her walk in. She snatches the untouched spoon and jar of Nutella that has been sitting next Ana for a while. She hasn’t cracked it open, mainly because it was making her sad. She still has the one Bucky gave her on her bookshelf. No one touches it.

“It wasn’t a suggestion.” Tony asserts, ignoring everyone. “I’m telling you. Start packing and pick a location, anywhere you want to go and I’ll have my jet bring you there.”

She groans.

“Why don’t you visit your friend? That pen pal of yours.” Steve suggests, giving Tony a pointed look over her shoulder.

“Pen pal.” Ana mutters while Natasha leans against the counter, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Tony claps his hands together. “Yes. Besides, Pepper will have my ass for real if she finds out how stressed you’ve been.”

“I am not s-”

“You’re hair has been falling out and FRIDAY clocked your BP at 139 for at least-”

“Okay, I got it, thanks.” Ana snaps.

It’s true, she’s been purposely overworking herself. Jumping from one agent to the next, then the issue with helping Peter Parker’s Aunt May come to terms with finding the truth about his identity as Spider-Man. Which was shocking news to everyone, minus Tony. Not to mention the lack of sleep and still ignoring the Bucky shaped hole in her heart.

“Fine.” She sighs exaggeratedly. “I’ll go visit Telly.”

“Thank god. All this negative energy was making me antsy.” Wanda teases, wiggling her fingers.

“Negative!?” She pauses, then shrugs. “Hush and help me pack.”

***

Wakanda is the most beautiful, stunning place Ana has ever seen in her life. The scenery blooms in front of her eyes, the color of the sky seem more vibrant, as do the plants, the landscape. It's the incredibly advance technology that has her mind reeling. It takes her breath away. She can't help thinking, as she slowly and takes in all the new sights with wonder, that Bucky would adore this place. She ignores the pang of longing in her heart.

Ana arrives to her destination, the ramp of the jet she came in lowers as she goes to grabs her bags. She’s stopped by one of the stunning women who had offered to pick her up in the first place. She introduced herself as Okoye. She politely holds her hand out, her dark skin almost illuminating in the sunlight along with her intricate red and gold uniform. Ana insists she can carry her own bags, that it isn't a problem, until the woman levels her with a stern look.

Once Ana exits the jet, she's led down a beautiful hallway, that leads into a wide, expansive laboratory. Her mouth drops open. The ceilings are high, two entire walls display floor to ceiling windows overlooking the countryside. There’s a plethora of technological advance machines and devices, all futuristic and expensive; Ana is afraid to walk too close to them, lest she break something. Everything in this lab makes the one back home look like a child's play toy. They come to a halt on the left side of the lab, behind someone standing by a table of weapons.

"Princess Shuri," Okoye introduces a tilt of her golden spear. “AnaRosa Rios."

Ana balks at that, because Princess!? Telly sent the Princess of Wakanda to greet her? "Uh-" She squeaks dumbly, blinking in surprise.

The young woman, a teenager, dressed in all white with multiple braided hair wrapped up into a bun, turns. She beams brightly, waving excitedly. Then it clicks. Telly is Princess Shuri of Wakanda, which means she is the sister of T'Challa, the Black Panther. The King of Wakanda. Holy shit.

Shuri rushes to her, Ana automatically opens her arms to greet her with a hug. It isn't awkward or weird, since they've talked for so long, have shared so much, that it feels like a seeing an old friend who's moved away. Once they pull back, they break out into giddy chit chat and laughter, mainly because Ana had no idea who Telly truly was, but Telly- Shuri, knew who Ana was for a while. That is, until Shuri reminded her that she did in fact introduce herself way back in their first message to each other. Ana is just dumb and was overly impressed by her intelligence that she just opted to nickname her Telly.

Shuri pulls back completely, squatting down until she's level with Ana's knee. “How’s your knee holding up in this rusted thing?" She inquires with a beautiful accent. "Brother told me it was damaged again. Stark technology failed?”

Ana shrugs sheepishly. “In his defense, I don’t think he was prepared for a five pronged electrical disk to be shoved into my knee? It somehow countered the rods between the bones and disabled them. That's a lie. It literally yanked them from my bones." She winces like she can still feel the pain from the moment it happened. Her entire knee throbs occasionally, even with the temporary brace she is currently wearing.

Shuri pursues her lips. “Hmmm. It was painful, yes?” She gently taps the brace with her fingers.

“Excruciating.”

“Why did you wait so long to see me?" She stands up, crossing her arms. "I offered to help when you told me about your knee the first time."

Ana waves her hand around. “I was really busy and I was handling the pain the best way I could. I’m here now though.”

Shuri looks like she wants to say something else, but hooks her arm with Ana's own. “Come. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

She steers Ana towards the opposite side of the room, past the little workshops with objects she can’t quite see. She tries taking in the amazing sights of the laboratory, but she's being pulled too quickly. They head towards the Health and Healing area in the back, stopping by the Wakandan version of an MRI machine. Ana’s eyes widen, she drops her arm.

“Oh my god.” She breathes.

Shuri nudges her arm. “I thought you’d like it.”

Ana is amazed. “Shuri, you literally built a knee. This is incredible!”

The artificial knee appears more advanced than anything she has ever seen. It’s navy blue, nearly black in color, clearly made from a material not yet accessible to other countries. A thin piece of what looks like golden cartilage cushions the joints, along with golden tendons and ligaments.

Ana steps up to the table, examining the artificial knee. “It operates like a real one, right? No limited range of motion?”

“Correct. It’s better than a real one. It’s one-hundred percent vibranium. It's kinetic as well, so it’ll absorb any shock impact and converts it into energy.” Shuri explains excitedly. "Goes perfectly with what you can do. The surgery for it isn’t as invasion as a normal, less advanced knee replacement. Your recovery would be days, weeks possbily, rather than months.”

Ana claps her hands, ecstatic. “Does that mean I have my leg strength back?”

Shuri laughs. “Yes! You can land a powerful strike. The best part however, it converts into a positive source of energy throughout your body. I gathered all the information you told me and decided to build it that way to give you more endurance.”

“You're amazing, Shuri.” Ana compliments, focusing back on the knee to take in the details.

“One other thing.”

Ana turns to face her, eager to learn more. Then her heart stops in her chest, air ceasing in her lungs. She can barely feel her expression melt into shock and briefly thinks that she is going into shock. Time seems to stand still, and a warmth begins to spread throughout her bones. The breath she had been holding in without her knowledge leaves her mouth in a quiet huff. It takes her seventeen seconds to breathe again.

Bucky.

Bucky is standing there. 

Bucky is standing right there. Bucky is standing several feet behind Shuri, who is probably smiling so wide, but Ana doesn’t see her. She doesn’t see anyone or anything surrounding her other than Bucky. Bucky who has a soft little grin on his lips as he stares back at her. Bucky, who she had been dreaming of standing in front of her for months, is right there.

Ana has to be certain this is real before she truly reacts. She blinks rapidly, but the illusion doesn’t disappear. She twists her injured knee until it hurts, but she isn’t dreaming. Bucky is wearing a white tunic, threaded with intricate designs that look important, royal. His trousers are a gray loose fitting material leading to his bare feet. 

Clearly the past ten months has done him good, since he now has a brand new prosthetic arm, sleek and dark blue interlaced with gold. It’s his face though, that kickstarts Ana’s heart up again. He looks serene. His blue eyes are bright and clear as the sky, popping vividly against the color of his shirt. Any cuts and scabs are long gone, and half his hair is twisted back into a bun, the length now just above his shoulders.

“Hi Annie.”

It’s daybreak after the longest period of darkness. That simple nickname, that gentle little greeting finally makes Ana’s feet unglue from the floor. This is real, and Bucky is real and it’s not another heart wrenching dream. 

Ana sprints towards him, closing the few feet between them. She jumps, Bucky catching her instantly, wrapping her thighs around his hips. Ana kisses him. Bucky tightens his arms around her waist, pressing her close and kissing her back with fervor.

“Your knee!” Shuri cackles from somewhere behind them. They ignore her. “Love sick colonizers.”

Ana’s hands are in his hair, gripping and pulling his head closer. Their mouths open against each other’s and she has missed the way he tastes. Bucky moves his arm up her back, his own fingers tangling in her hair, kissing her harder. It’s bruising and perfect, ignites a furnace deep within her soul. Ana begins to slip, so she drops her legs, but Bucky holds her tighter to his chest. Unfortunately, they break apart, just barely, grinning wildly against each others mouths. Bucky brings his right hand up to cup her jaw.

“You came back to me.” Ana whispers, tears welling up in her eyes.

Bucky laughs softly, freely, and it’s the best sound she has ever heard. “Promised I would, love.” He kisses her again.

Her hand slips from his long, soft hair, falling onto his left shoulder. She breaks the kiss once more, gazing up into his watery blue eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

“You have no idea.” He exhales, swiping his thumbs along her cheekbones. He peaks her nose. “I have missed your pretty eyes.”

Ana melts into him. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. Better. Brand new.”

Overwhelming relief crashes over. Ana beams, tears escaping her eyes. She’s so happy in this moment.

“I love you.” Bucky conveys strongly, nudging his forehead against hers.

"I love you, too. Oh my god. This is real right? Please, please tell me you're real."

"I'm very real, doll face."

"God." Ana reaches up to tug his hair, only to pull him back down for another long, overdue kiss.

“I’m fixed, Ana, it’s gone.” He mumbles against her mouth.

She pulls back, completely gobsmacked. “What- I mean- how- what?”

Bucky smiles so wide, his eyes squint, those cute crinkles appearing by the corners. “Shuri. She did this thing with-” he breaks off laughing as Ana places quick little pecks all over his face, “-the scientists and the-” Ana kisses his mouth, “-thing."

“Very eloquently put.” Shuri cackles behind them.

Ana grabs either side of his head, slipping her fingers into his thick, long hair, accidentally loosening the bun. She rubs her thumbs against his temples, senses his warm energy seeping into hers. 

“Fuck,” She mutters, beaming at him. “I’m so happy for you, baby. How do you feel?” She has to ask again.

“Free.”

The rapidly beating heart swells even more inside her chest. Her stomach flutters, warmth spreading throughout her veins. All she ever wanted was for Bucky to be free from Hydra’s monstrous tentacles. Ana weeps from joy.

Gentle thumbs wipe away her tears, as Bucky tenderly hushes her with sweet little coos. Once she gathers herself, she turns around in his arms, Bucky wrapping them around her chest. 

“Shuri, this is incredible. You are incredible!” Ana exclaims. “How were you able to do it?"

"Come! I'll show you!" She chirps excitingly, grabbing Ana's arm, pulling her from Bucky’s hold to dragging her across the lab. 

He makes a noise of protest, but Shuri ignores him. They come to a stop by a large holographic digital panel. She taps her fingers swiftly on the screen until images of what must be Bucky's brain pop up.

"We used our most sophisticated bi-scanners to create a one on one digital representation of his brain." The insanely intelligent princess explains, expanding one of the images. "The progress we made was tested and retested again in the digital construct, that way there was no damage to the physical brain tissue."

She turns her attention on Ana. "I was worried about that. If the tissue would be damaged in the process of deprogramming the words, of pulling them apart, since they were basically embedded into his DNA at that point. All interictally woven."

Ans shakes her head in disbelief. She knew how deep HYDRA's brainwashing went, seventy years of wiping his mind and repeating those words made a giant impact. A long term affect.

"As you already knew," Shuri continues, "there was no simple solution to just erase mental programming, especially after 7 decades. There's no delete button, and you were right, Ana. The majority of his programming was linked to the trigger words. The last thing we wanted to do was remove all of who Sergeant Barnes was. All his loves, his hates, his whole personality- when trying to destroy what Hydra made him into. 

“The hardest part was rooting out the extent of his memories that had the greatest amount of control over his physical actions. The ones that had been manipulated due to their deep emotional trauma. Which was quite a few."

Ana hums in agreement, surprisingly able to follow along. Shuri goes on.

"I ran an algorithm that was able to flush the influence of the trigger words out, all while retaining the core context of those original memories. Essentially, I was able reboot him."

"Does-" Ana speaks up, her voice raspy, taking all the information in. She clears her throat. "Does that mean, his memories..."

"They're all there." She grins brightly at her. "All his memories, and traits, everything that makes Sergeant Barnes himself, is all there. Old memories, and new ones, important ones."

She places a gentle hand on Ana's shoulder. "I was careful. I made sure to keep all his memories with you intact as well. The healing session you told me about, evidently, helped me out more than expected. By performing that, you essentially tied stronger, newer memories, thoughts, feelings, loves, into his brain.

“It was much easier to separate what Sergeant Barnes felt with those memories, what he began to associate the former trigger words, as good. Even beforehand, the words weren't as deeply rooted as I anticipated. Which is a result from your Deprogramming Sessions as well."

Ana frowns, befuddled. She had been staring at Bucky as he fawned over the vibrainum knee meant for her. Bucky glances up, and she tears her eyes away, locking her gaze back to Shuri. She mulls the words over in her mind for several long moments, her heart picking up speed just a little at the implication.

"So...what you are saying is-"

"You did not fail me." Bucky's voice interrupts her from behind.

Ana turns, blinking. He was just on the other side of the room two seconds ago. He's smiling at her, that one where his mouth is tilted up to right, and the corners of his eyes are soft.

"Precisely." Shuri concurs. "If it weren't for you, our process would have been longer and much more invasive. This took around fourth and a half months. It would have been quicker, but our country briefly had civil disagreements with an outsider."

"Wait. Then I really didn't..." Ana shakes her head again, trying to comprehend all of this information.

Everything she has been beating herself up with, everything she felt immensely guilty of, that weighed on her like 20-ton weights, wasn't true. That she truly did not fail in helping him. All those nights she spent crying into her pillow, all the nights she spent alone in their spot on the roof, driving herself into a nearly depressed tail spin. All that time she spent knowing that she could have done more, that maybe if she did something differently, that none of what happened would have happened.

"Annie."

The nickname she once despised pulls her from her thoughts. Bucky is standing a few inches in front of her, placing careful hands on her cheeks, his touch delicate. Ana revels in the contrast of his hands, warm and cool, allowing it to ground her. She's beginning to feel overwhelmed with everything from the past hour. Arriving in a place she had no idea exist until a day ago, thinking she was here to visit for a new knee, then having Bucky surprise her, to the information about how Shuri and her team were able to fully deprogram him. She feels dizzy.

"You with me, darling?" Bucky murmurs, smoothing his thumbs over her cheekbones. His eyes are so incredibly blue, and she is drowning in them. Wants to drown in them forever.

"I didn't fail you?" She breathes, still trying to comprehend it. She brings her hands up, curling her fingers over his wrists.

His eyes crinkle as his expressions turns fond. “No, you didn't. You were a big part in helping me." He leans closer, pressing his forehead against hers. "Between you and I, you were the greatest part. You are the greatest part."

Then he kisses her, gentle and tantalizing, the sensation melting right down to her bones. It causes her knees to buckle, her right one throbbing, but the love of her life wraps his arms around her shoulders and waist, supporting her against his body. Ana can't help it, a few tears escaped once more as she hugs Bucky around his back.

Shuri decides to speak up. "Your broken white boy is fixed!" She exclaims.

Not expecting that at all, Ana pulls away cackling loud and unabashed. She barely hears Bucky sigh, before she turns and launched herself at Shuri, embracing her in a tight hug.

"You are an exceptional genius!" Ana tells her, tears still blurring her vision. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Her friend laughs in her ear before she leans back. "When my brother told me exactly who Sergeant Barnes was-

"Bucky, Shuri." He interjects. He's ignored.

"-I had to help." She goes on as if Bucky hadn't said a word. "Not just for scientific reason, which is a major breakthrough for Wakandan artificial intelligence, but for the both of you as well. You became extremely sad in your emails, Ana, and his most recent memories were just as sad. I knew this would make you both happy. Captain Rogers too."

Ana beams at her, until it clicks in her brain. She takes a step back. "Oh my god, Steve knew this entire time!"

No wonder he was eager to take Ana here. That little fucking punk. When she gets back she's going to smack Steve in the face with his shield, then she’s going to have to thank him in the biggest way possible when she goes back. She looks at Bucky, who is laughing now, his mouth open and head tilted back.

If she goes back.

***

"You've been sitting on a never-ending supply of Winter theme nicknames for him, and I'm only now finding out about it?" Shuri asks, crossing her arms and glaring at Bucky.

It took a while for Ana and Bucky's reunion to die down, even having several of the Wakadans working in the lab clapping for them. It felt physically impossible to pull away from each other, and even now, Ana has her arms around his lower back, her head pressed against his chest over his beating heart. Bucky has his flesh hand in her hair, his left hugging her spine.

"I think you have plenty of your own nicknames for me." Bucky responds flatly. Ana perks up at that. "No. I'm not telling you either, darling. This information is very dangerous in both your hands."

"I'll just tell her later." Shuri winks at her.

"You don't stand a chance, Bucky." Ana simpers. She hears him huff exasperated. "You love me." She leans back to look at him, and he's already peering down at her.

"With every fiber of my being." He tells her with conviction.

Her heart swells. "I've missed you. I love you."

He kisses her deeply, until Shuri clears her throat. Bucky pulls back, shrugging unashamed. "I’ve missed those nine gold dots.” He gently brushes his thumb under her eye. “Would you like to see where I live?"

Ana ignores the little pang in her heart at the words. "That sounds like a line, Buck."

They stare at each other, goofy grins on their faces. Ana feels likw this is her own  homecoming, wrapped up in his arms.

"Go, go." Shuri shoos before Bucky can reply. "Enjoy your time, Ana. We can talk knee replacement surgery when you are ready. No rush.”

***

White Wolf.

It's what the Wakandans dubbed Bucky. It's what T'Challa and Shuri named him during his recovery. Ana finds out that the people have essentially adopted Bucky and have accepted him into their society and culture. He explains all of this to her, as she traces her fingers all over his new arm that seems utterly benign.

She can't get over the beauty of the vibranium prosthetic. It's so very different from the other, then again, this new arm was made with careful tenderness from people who genuinely hold Bucky's interest as important. As someone who is indeed a human, with complex thoughts and emotions. Someone who isn't viewed as a weapon, as an asset.

Bucky allows her to play with his fingers, twisting and turning his wrist, pulling his bicep closer to her face. The technology is amazing, beautiful. The design reminds her of the kintsukuroi artwork she has in her room. Ana traces every single line of gold she sees; around his fingers, his knuckles, the lines in his palm, around his wrist, up his forearm, over his bicep.

"To repair with gold." She whispers, accidentally interrupting Bucky.

He stops talking and laces his fingers with hers. Then he lifts her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. Ana smiles at him, before leaning into him, kissing him softly on the lips. As he brings his right hand up to rest against her chest and taps her collarbone, she vaguely remembers never believing in a one true love before. But as they sit alone on the freight train that takes them from the Lab, through the city and into the country side, she thinks maybe she was wrong.

*

Bucky quite literally pulls Ana along through a small village made up of scattered huts. Animals ranging from chickens, to sheep, dogs and even some cats run around. He shows her around the little farm he works on three days a week. He points out the animals, the little goats and sheep, some chickens and lambs. He points out his favorite little goat, who he named Rosa because she's a stubborn little thing that likes to kick at hay bills. The fact that Ana's full name ends with Rosa doesn't go unnoticed, and Bucky blushes when she mentions. He tells her that moving hay bills and other manual labor makes him feel whole, that he can be helpful.

Bucky admits, his voice quiet as he pets Rosa on the head, that most days he doesn't even use his left arm. Keeping it locked in a case up in the lab and working with just his right arm makes him feel more human; feels more like himself. That during this recovery process, he had begun accepting himself as who he was. It made Bucky feel like he wasn't just a weapon, and his old Soviet made arm was just an everyday reminder that for seventy plus years, that's all he was.

"I think that's why I was always so cautious with it around you." Bucky confesses, voice barely above a whisper. "All I saw was this horrific thing that could hurt you and I couldn't get rid of. I was stuck with it."

Ana  understands, and to convey that she does, she presses a light kiss to his temple. As Bucky leads them towards the furthest hut just on the outskirts of a small lake, they're surrounded by children with beautiful dark skin, dressed in traditionally wraps with white and yellow tribal paint on their faces. They're all shouting in their native language, but the kind expression on Bucky's face tells Ana that they're calling his name. Not Bucky; White Wolf.

He drops her hand in favor of picking up one of the smallest boys, swinging him around in the air. The child giggles brightly as the others all eagerly wait their turn, pining for his attention. Ana's heart blooms warmth, her cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so wide. Bucky is so at ease here, content and comfortable, and the little pang gently kicks at her stomach. Ana ignores it once more as she is suddenly being pulled toward the lake by three girls, who then force her to sit on a boulder.

Bucky makes his way over to them after several minutes of throwing each child up into the air. He chuckles under his breath when he sees the braids in Ana's hair. The girls have been chatting excitedly, and although she doesn't understand a word, she's content to sit there and listen, taking in the life of the small village. Some of the older villagers offer her friendly waves and smiles, an elderly woman stopping by once to hand her some beads to give to the girls.

"They're saying you have thick beautiful hair." Bucky translate her as he sits down.

One of the youngers boys from earlier had follow him, and climbs into Ana's lap, taking her hands and playing with her fingers. "I figured." She smiles over at him. "They love you here."

"Yeah, I guess they do." He agrees, pinching one of the tan beads in her hair.

"Umfazi!" The girl behind her giggles. "Umfazi!"

Bucky clears his throat and turns to playfully poke the girl in the arm. His cheeks, Ana notices, are tinted red.

"What did she say?" She questions curiously.

"It's not important. She's just being silly."

Ana narrows her eyes, but lets it go in favor of tickling the little boy in her lap

***

After spending a few hours in the village, Bucky brings Ana to his apartment just on the outskirts of the city. It's an open yet cozy concept, despite modern touches and all types of advanced tech she has never seen before; sleek appliances and even an entertainment center. Bucky lights up while talking about it, a brilliant smile on his face, telling her how cool and amazing the tech is and Stark hasn't even begun to scratch the surface of what this country has and can do.

It's here that Ana finally realizes what that panging in her heart is. It feels like she's being shot all over again, steel bullets twisting her insides around. A bitter taste fills her mouth and she swallows it with the painful flutter of her heart as well. 

Bucky has found his place here; recovering, becoming healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally. His excitement and awe of every little piece of aspect hasn't dimmed once, despite living here for months.

"You're happy here." Ana states quietly, interrupting him. "You love it here."

Bucky's smile falls from his mouth, a frown setting in as he takes her hands. "I'm happy you're here with me. I'm happy with you."

He leans down to press his lips to her forehead, then trails his mouth down to her temple, her cheek, to her nose. He traces his fingers up from her own, to her arms, until he is cupping her jaw. Ana gazes up at him, her heart pounding against her chest, her cheeks heating up under his touch. He is looking at her with so much love, so much adoration, that any seed of doubt she was beginning to have fades away.

When Bucky presses his lips against hers, it's tantalizing, nearly burning her bones and melting against his solid body. Ana snakes her arms around his waist, pressing him closer, because at one point she couldn't handle three days away from him, and three hundred and twenty-three days was horrible. She grips his shirt, trying to hold off the sudden emotion swirling in her chest. She must gasp against his lips, for Bucky starts to walk her backwards, his tongue prying her lips open.

Something wet escapes her eyes, and Bucky swipes his thumbs over them. She doesn't know how they got from the kitchen to his room, onto the bed, but she doesn't complain. Ana brings her hands up to tangle her fingers into his long hair, when Bucky takes them both, interlocking their fingers and pressing them on either side of her head. He pulls back to stare into her eyes, and Bucky's own are wet.

Ana gives him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Bucky. I love you, so much, and I'm incredibly happy to see you, you have no idea. Or you probably do. I just..." She trails off, lip quivering.

"It's alright, Ana." Bucky soothes softly. "I get it. I love you, I missed you." He kisses the tip of her nose, then pulls back. "I was in cryofreeze on and off for decades, and from what I remember, I didn't dream too often. This time was different. I dreamt of you, Annie. Your face, your laugh, your touch. Just being with you, and when I woke up, there was a moment where I thought you there with me. When I realized you weren't-"

He breaks off. Ana untangles her left hand, reaching up to wipe a tear on his cheek away. "It was horrible without, and I know that isn't fair for me to say-"

He kisses her to cease her words, and it's a very Bucky like thing to do. It makes her stomach flip.

"I nearly begged them to put me back to sleep after they fixed everything. Because being awake, knowing how far you were from me..." He shakes his head, his eye glazing over for a moment. He blinks, then smiles down at her. "I want to show you how much I missed you. I want to show you how fucking happy I am right now."

*

Bucky sits back on his heels, and it should be comical, him sitting there naked with how turned on he is, but it’s not. His hungry gaze pins Ana to the spot on the bed, her heart beating wildly as he continues to stare at her, as if he’s seeing her for the first time. Bucky doesn’t need to show her how much he’s missed her or loves her; Ana can feel the emotional energy radiating off his skin. However, he’s still too far from her.

Ana lifts her right leg, hooking her heel over his shoulder, the vibranium base feels smooth and sleek. She tries pulling him in, however, Bucky wraps his fingers around her ankle, moving her foot so he can kiss the Veni Vidi Vici tattoo on the outside of her foot. He then kisses her ankle, trailing his lips up to her calf. He places feather light kisses over her injured knee, the marks from disk faint against her olive skin; the brace had been carefully place to the side.

He continues kissing up her inner thigh, her stomach swooping as Bucky moves closer to her center. He ignores her there, opting to lean over and kiss the left side of her hip, where the scars from years ago begin. He drags his lips across her navel, his beard tickling her skin and kisses the newest scar left behind by a bullet. Bucky moves up to kiss the tattoo on her ribs, her skin erupting in goosebumps as his breath fans over the words.

He skips over her breasts, slightly heaving with her labored breaths. She has to bite her lip to keep from whimpering as he tenderly kisses the second bullet scar on her shoulder. Bucky grazes his teeth over her collarbone, tapping his thumb twice, before trailing his lips up her neck and behind her ear, kissing the lotus flower tattoo.

“Bucky,” Ana gives in with a whine, her mouth dropping open as his hard chest grazes over her nipples. “Please."

“Shhh, baby.” He murmurs over her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “I’ve got you.”

His hands find hers, lacing their fingers together as he finally kisses her lips. He keeps his mouth soft, delicate, the love he feels for her seeping into her bones. She loves him just as much, but it’s been ten months, and that’s ten fucking months too long. Ana wraps her legs around his waist, tugging him close, until his hard cock is pressed between her legs, sliding against her clit.

They both groan into each other’s mouths at the contact. Bucky brakes their hold from their hands, lining himself up, pressing into Ana. He goes slow, gentle despite how wet she is,. It’s been ten months without this, and the rush to feel each other skipped any foreplay. She breaks away from their kiss, throwing her head back and gasping quietly as he fills her, feeling every inch of him. He slips his left arm under her waist, holding her close and locking her there, as he takes her right hand away from her own, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

A soft nip to her neck makes Ana move her head back, meeting Bucky’s blue-eyed gaze. His eyes are blown wide with lust, nearly hidden with the love that is shinning in them. With shaky fingers, Ana brushes his hair back, bringing him down until their foreheads touch. He smiles down at her before capturing her lips once again.

On the first thrust, Bucky keeps it tantalizingly slow and deep, already hitting that sensitive spot insider her. Ana wraps her arms around his strong back, digging her fingers into his shoulders from a mixture of pleasure and dull fleeting pain from his size. Bucky pauses, allowing them to both catch their breaths and adjust, chuckling into each other’s mouths. Ana moans into a kiss after Bucky starts again, slowly continues to roll his hips, keeping each thrust deep and perfect. 

Everything feels like it’s on fire, the air nearly sizzling around them. Warmth seeps into her skin from Bucky, igniting every one of her veins and makes her heart pound against her chest. She vaguely wonders if he can feel just how hard it’s beating for him. Ana feels their energies wrap around each other, comforting, warm; home.

Bucky presses her hips down harder, groaning as her walls flutter around his cock for a moment. At this point, he’s barely pulling back, just keeps grinding deep inside her, her clit brushing against his pubic bone. Their kiss is nothing more than open mouth panting, gasps and whimpers being swallowed down once in a while.

It’s all so overwhelming, especially when Bucky begins to whisper sweet words into her lips, into her neck when he has to duck his head down for a moment. Ana’s nails bite into the skin of his back, holding him closer than ever, their bodies fitting together as if the past ten months never happened. It feels like their first time together, though much more emotional, the distance making everything more passionate.

“Bucky,” Ana whimpers, her eyes fluttering. “Babe, please.”

Bucky kisses her fluttering pulse in her neck before reconnecting their foreheads. “I’ve got you, my love.” He murmurs, keeping his gaze locked on hers.

He pulls back further this time, snapping his hips forward, slow and hard and it’s perfect. With each small thrust, the tip of his cock brushes against that spot, making Ana’s toes curl. Bucky continues the leisurely pace, just opting for longer, harder thrusts. It causes waves of pleasure to roll through her stomach, her walls clenching around him tighter and tighter.

He thrusts once, twice, three more times, before the fire and waves crash together, sending Ana over the edge as she comes hard around his cock. She holds onto Bucky, moaning and mewling into his mouth as he kisses her again, her hand slipping from her shoulder into his damp hair. He gasps into her mouth as her walls constrict around him. He snaps his hips two more times before Bucky follows right after her.

*

They’re panting side by side, slowly coming down from their passionate love making, skin sweaty and cooling from the air around them. Ana’s heart hasn’t stopped pounding since she turned around and saw Bucky standing the lab. She feels sedated now, a bone deep satisfaction she has come to miss. She could lay in this spot forever, except that she’s still too far from Bucky, so she makes herself move.

She hooks her right leg over his thigh, rolling over to press up against his side. She wiggles around, draping her arm over his lower abs, trying to pull herself up his chest. He wraps his arm around her hips.

"What are you doing?" Bucky chuckles, breathy little sounds that make her heart flutter.

"Trying to get as close to you as possible. Keep you next to me." She says, still wiggling.

"Darling, I'm right here. It's not like I'm just going to disappear into thin air." However, he helps shift her around until she’s comfortable.  

Ana shushes him. "You never know, and I need to keep you close to me. Forever."

Bucky kisses her eyebrow. "This is real, right? I'm not dreaming again?"

She taps her thumb against his collarbone twice. "I'm real, Bucky.” She moves her hand down to the middle of his chest. “This is real."

He brushes her hair away from her temple, shifting until he’s looking her in the eyes. "Annie. Stay with me?"

Ana feels her entire body light up like the stars, and she can’t be sure if it’s just a metaphor, or if her energy is doing something to make her feel like that. Either way, she smiles softly at the man she loves with all her heart.

“Of course.”

Bucky smiles brightly at her, crinkles and all.

“My Winter Snowflake.”

*******************************************************************

A/N: Umfazi means wife in Xhosa, which is apparently one of the languages spoken in Wakanda. What Shuri explains is from the upcoming comic, Infinity War Prelude.

Previous  

**To anyone who wants to continue Bucky and Ana’s story feel free to read the Sequel: Delicate Stages of Life  Set Ten months after Delicate Stages. Looking into the life of Bucky and Ana. Life in Wakanda is filled with love, laughs, some tears, all emotions, lazy days, goats, hot springs, a soul connection, and something dark that looms over Bucky’s and Ana’s domestic bliss…

[rangernatelambert]

For @shieldspatriot who requested post battle Nate with Nate not being as okay as he looked with an adrenaline crash.

Also the Ao3 link HERE

There was an echo coming from the streets, it took Nate a moment to realize it wasn’t coming from a concussion.  He had spent a good minute doing a mental evaluation and it was enough to know that the echo wasn’t just his mind playing tricks on him.  Sure, he most likely had some sort of concussion but at worst he had a minor concussion and was pretty sure the only thing he had to worry about was the trickle of blood coming from his side.  Of course, that was implying that his safety was his main worry, which to be honest didn’t even crack the top five.  What did crack the top ten was the echo that was screaming through the street reminding him that while Jake was taking care of one problem, the mission wasn’t close to complete.

Nate crawled out of the escape pod, putting his arm against the edge of the case to lift himself out, feeling the tug at his side.  As much as he tried, he couldn’t suppress the groan as he pulled his side feeling what he could only describe as an inferno flare up and down his side.  Leaning against the side of the pod, he closed his eyes and counting to ten like his mother had taught him when he was a little boy and wanted to cry for whatever reason.  He had gotten to seven before he heard, “Ranger Lambert?”

There was a tone of worry and hesitation in the voice.  And opening his eyes, there seemed to be a gathering of cadets surrounding him.  Part of him wanted to cry more looking at them, they were so young, too young to be here with those lines of worry.  But, after years of training, he pushed those feelings down, he needed to be the strong one here for these children.

Ignoring the pain in his side, Nate pushed himself straight up off the pod and looked at the teenagers in front of him.  “Right. This job isn’t done yet.”  He said sternly, it was all muscle memory on how to take charge of a situation.  “There is still a maniac loose in Tokyo and I heard a voice coming from that direction.” He said, pointing down the street he had hoped the echo had come from, praying that it wasn’t the fog that kept clouding his vision.  “You guys find what restraints you can and bring them to my location.”  

“What are you going to do?” One of the cadets asked, and Nate feel as little bit of worry creep up that he can’t remember the cadets name, something he knew before. But names weren’t a big deal right now, he reminded himself, shaking his head a bit to untangle the webs that he feels have crawled into his head.

“I’m going to go find Newt.” Nate said in what he had hoped was a firm voice even though he felt like he was moving.  “Now go get the…stuff and bring it to my location.”  A little unsure about how he could no longer remember the word he was looking for at the moment.  But the cadets seemed to have a lot more on their minds because they just nodded and took off in search of whatever it was he sent them in search of before.

Taking a steadying breath Nate took off running, his whole body protesting the sudden movement.  Included in that sudden movement was his stomach swaying menacingly making Nate take in air through his nose to calm his stomach. He was already running slower than usual to keep from tilting over too much, he didn’t have time to stop and puke up his guts while he was at it.

Luck was apparently on his side, thanks to Newt monologuing from the top of the building, that makes it easy even for his injured head to figure out which building.  There was a part of him deep down who wished Jake was there, knowing he would find it amusing that the guy they are trying to hunt down is monologuing from a roof like one of the villains in the movies that Jake used to love to drag Nate to when they were young cadets.  He wasn’t sure if the breeze was drying tears or sweat to his checks, but Nate was starting to recall why he hated concussions so much, other than the obvious reasons.  

Luck may have been on his side in finding the building, but it was not on his side in finding a building with working electricity.  Nate stared longingly at the elevator which was not lit up, there was no way he would be able to make it up to the top of the building without an elevator.  His next thought was did he really trust the cadets, once they got there, to go up there alone without knowing if Newt had anymore tricks up his sleeve.  His last thought before heading towards the stairs was the most compelling one: what if Newt has another plan that will hurt Jake.  With a small cry, which he allowed himself, he started to ascend the stairs, not noticing the now consistent trail of blood he was leaving behind him as he climbed.

Climbing the stairs wasn’t like it had been when he had been running, which that was burning pain, climbing was more like walking in someone else’s body, which he both understood slightly better because of drifting, but it also meant he had to make sure to hold onto the hand rail as he climb to prevent falling.  Already his feet had slipped out below him half a dozen or so times, or at least it felt this way.  He might have been exaggerating that number, for better or worse, he could barely tell what was actually real at this point.  Everything was becoming slightly tunnel vision, making up just concentrate on getting to Newt.  Once Newt was dealt with, the mission would be over, the world would be safe, and Nate could sleep for about 60 years.

The door to the roof was open which Nate thanked every god out there, knowing full well he couldn’t kick his way through a screen door at the moment let alone a huge metal door.  Instead he opened the door as quietly as he could, but it seemed it didn’t matter Newt was too far into his own head, something that Nate could understand at the moment.  He knew he should be grateful because he had no plan on what to do if Newt was ready to fight.  As it was, it only took a few steps, a small moment to gather his strength before winding up and knocking Newt to the ground.

Nate gave an announcement of the capture of Newt into the radio before slumping down next to the limp body, wishing he could be that limp right now.  He wasn’t feeling any pain any more, which was good or at least he thought at the moment.  Taking out his gun, he aimed it at Newt in case he tried to move.  Part of him wondered if he should just shoot him and get it out of the way but he knew that was the wrong way to go about it.  There was enough blood on his hands, he wasn’t about to add anymore, especially since there seemed to be literally blood on his hands and he really wasn’t sure where all of it came from.  

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before a pile of cadets tore through the door with some ropes, ties, and hand cuffs that included a fuzzy pair that Nate was sure there wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to have him ask where they found that.  “Good job, guys.”  Nate said, gesturing with his gun to the man in front of him, “Tie him up, reinforcements should be coming to get us soon.”  Nate knew that he should get up to help the cadets, but he knew if he moved, there was a good chance he was going to blackout. Thankfully none of the cadets said anything, though he also did not notice the nervous looks that they were giving each other in regards to himself.  

Never in Nate’s life had he been so happy to hear the sounds of helicopters, nor to see Doctor Gottlieb. Nate watched as other officers helped load Newt onto a gurney, noticing how Doctor Gottlieb’s hand came to rest on Newt’s arm.  He watched as the cadets followed them out and Nate smiled at the hand reached out to help him up before his vision went completely black.

When Nate woke up the pain in his side was back along with the worst headache he had ever had and a strong desire to be dead.  He must have said that last part out loud because there was a loud chuckle followed by “too bad”.  Nate opened his eyes to see Jake sitting in the chair next to his bed, magazine perching his lap.  He tried to read the magazine cover but it only seemed to hurt his head more.  “Are you actually with us this time or are you still delusional?”

“What?”  Nate asked roughly before Jake produced a small bowl of ice chips, giving him a few until Nate was able to get out better.  “Did we save the word?”

“No.”  Jake said, rolling his eyes.  “Amara and I saved the world, you just managed to bleed your way across Tokyo.”

“Huh.”  Nate muttered, reaching down to his side only to have Jake swat his hands away.  

“Don’t touch that.  You’ve already had to be stitched up three times because you woke up and tried to go back to work like an idiot.”  Jake lectured, but he gave him a look that was very judgmental considering Nate couldn’t remember doing that.  “I voted to tie you to the bed, but Amara said that was too kinky and she didn’t want to hear of me doing things like that and Jules suggested a watch system so that’s what’s happening.”

Somewhere around the part of Jake tying Nate to the bed, his brain broke a little.  “Um, well, uh thanks for, you know, looking out for me.”

Jake rolled his eyes again. “Obviously.  Though next time you het MAJORLY INJURIED, maybe try just sitting the fuck down and waiting for help instead of trying to save the day.”

“You were still out there,” Nate blurted out, really hoping that he was on drugs that he could blame later. Though it sounded like he could also blame a list of injuries.  “Had to make sure you were okay.”

Jake opened his mouth to respond but closed it, it was one of the few times Nate had ever seen him pause like that.  “Yeah well, I didn’t exactly want to come back and find out you had died because you’re a stubborn asshole.”  He said, before adding softly, “I know it was drilled into you that you have to be this perfect soldier thing but you’re still human you deserve a break.”  It wasn’t often Jake brought up things had seen in the drift, but when he did he knew that he was supposed to take notice of what was being said.

Nate laughed softly.  “I remember the last break I took.  It was that week we went to that because in Mexico because you wouldn’t shut up about it.”

Jake smile.  “And my dad made us bring Mako to be a ‘good influence on us’ but really she kept out drinking us and daring us to do stupid things.” Jake’s smile dropped, and so did Nate’s stomach knowing he shouldn’t have brought up Mako.

“I still don’t know how I ended up sleeping in the pool floaty on the roof.”  He said softly, succeeding in getting Jake to smile back at him.

“Don’t ask me, I’m just glad my dad never saw the tattoo I got.”  Nate laughed, not remembering how the tattoo was gained, Mako refused to say, but he did remember Jake’s reaction to find it.  “We should do another vacation when you get cleared.  Maybe we could take the cadets somewhere fun.”  

Nate paused, trying to read Jake’s face to see if he was joking.  “Yeah…yeah that could be fun.”  

“Hey.”  There was a knock at the door before Amara poked her head in.  “You guys decent?”

“What kind of question is that?  What do you think we’re doing in here?”  Jake asked, his face puckering in disgust.  

Amara just shrugged.  “I share a room with a bunch of people, always best to ask.”  She said before turning to Jake.  “Doctor Gottlieb needs to run something by you, I’m here to watch Nate.”

“I am a grown man, I don’t need a babysitter.”  Nate protested weakly but was shushed by both Jake and Amara simultaneously.  

“Don’t let him do anything stupid while I’m gone.”  He instructed Amara before turning to Nate.  “I’ll be right back.”  

Jake paused, putting his hand on his shoulder, before looking back at Amara who gave him a small impatient glare.  After a moment Jake leaned down and Nate could have sworn he kissed his cheek before leaving the room.

Amara settle into the chair Jake previously occupied, kicking her feet up onto the bed and picked up the magazine.  “Ooh good an article on an experimental kind of wire.  Want me to read it to you?

“Uh, sure?”  Nate responded.  Apparently, it was the right answer because Amara started to happily read the magazine article as Nate felt himself slowly drift off to some much needed sleep.

[jarienn972]

The Recreant - Part Three

Here’s the next chapter where Emma is finally back home so yes - this one brings on the angst.  This also delves into the first of a couple of slightly controversial topics as the mystery that led to the attack deepens.

Complete Story on AO3  or  FF.net

Part One and Two on Tumblr

7:01pm

Situated on the third floor, Storybrooke Hospital's tiny Intensive Care Unit was just steps away from the elevator. Designed for the care of no more than four patients needing special care and round the clock monitoring, the unit had its own dedicated nursing staff and even its own operating room. While it didn't see a lot of traffic - even with the town's isolation and often torrid developments - it was a necessity in a magical town where it wasn't exactly possible to airlift patients to another facility. They'd had to adapt to take care of their own and currently, Killian was the only patient they were tending to. He'd come out of surgery only a few minutes earlier so the team was scurrying about, darting in and out of the doorway off to the left of the nurse's station that was positioned in the middle of the floor, right in front of the elevator doors as they parted for Emma.

Her heart was heavy with uncertainty and she was both physically and mentally tired as she glanced around for Dr. Whale, tempted to poke her head into the room she knew her husband occupied, but she resisted – for now. She'd spoken to the doctor not fifteen minutes ago and he'd implored her to meet him as soon as possible, again not really getting into a lot of detail. Just the mention of the words "Intensive Care" gave her chills and she wasn't feeling any less uneasy as she stood here now, slightly nauseated by the overwhelming scent of disinfectant in the air, even as she caught sight of Dr. Whale strolling toward her.

"Emma," he greeted her while tugging off a pale blue surgical cap and tossing it into a bin labeled soiled linens. "Why don't we talk over here?" He directed her toward an almost claustrophobic waiting room off to the right of the elevator which was spartanly furnished with only a battered black leather sofa and a scarred wooden armchair that appeared to have been borrowed from someone's office (sometime back in the mid-1990's maybe).

She nodded, moving slowly and apprehensively as she awaited Whale's assessment of her husband's injuries. She lowered herself onto the sofa and steeled her composure, finally looking up at Whale to make eye contact as he sat down in the chair across from her. If she hadn't already been so upset, she might have been distracted by his ridiculous spiky platinum hair, but she fought to remind herself that she was here for his medical expertise, not for a fashion lecture.

"Okay," she began, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for all that he would have to say. "You wouldn't really tell me anything over the phone. I know this must be bad or you wouldn't be so evasive."

"I wasn't intending to be evasive," Whale replied sincerely. "I simply intended to have this conversation in person and in private."

"Then be honest with me – how serious is this?" Her question was blunt, but that was not unexpected.

"Let's just say that it's a good thing that your husband is so hard-headed," he said, trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but the expression on her face made him change his approach immediately. "Someone gave him quite a beating."

"That much I already know," she stated, done with the small talk. "I need you to fill in the parts I don't know."

"Emma, I don't know if he's lucky or just stubborn, but he's holding his own. My best estimation is that he suffered at least four blows from his attacker's weapon. Do you want me to spell out what I believe happened?" Emma nodded her response, knowing that this was going to be painful to hear, but she wanted as much detail as he could provide. "Okay, then… While I can't be 100% certain of the order the strikes were delivered, my guess is that the first blow caught him completely off guard because it was the most indirect. It caught the left side of his head, causing the laceration across his cheekbone and a hairline fracture of the temporal bone above his left ear. The second injury may have been a defensive one as he may have either struck back at his attacker or brought his arms up to protect his head. Either way, his left forearm took the full force of that blow –fracturing both bones just above the leather prosthetic device he wears.

"He may have been semi-conscious and already falling down or just too weak to retaliate at this point because the other injuries were to his back – one across the middle of his back that fractured several ribs and sent fragments of those broken ribs into his lung and spleen causing massive internal bleeding. The last blow struck the back of his skull causing a severe concussion, a second hairline fracture to his skull and bleeding within the cranial cavity. For the moment, the intra-cranial bleeding has ceased and the fluid was drained, but we're going to have to keep a very close watch on it over the next 24-48 hours as well as the swelling."

Emma sat there motionless for a moment, trying to absorb it all – her emotions raw as she pictured Killian being on the receiving end of the assault Whale had just so graphically described. The assailant had to have been strong and fast to have pulled off such as brutal attack with little or no retaliation from Killian. She couldn't imagine him not fighting back – unless he wasn't physically able to.

"Were there any defensive wounds aside from the broken arm?" she wondered. "Anything that would indicate that he fought back against his attacker?"

"Your father asked me the same question and my answer is still the same – nothing that I observed. There were no bruises or scrapes that would indicate he'd struck someone. All we found was gravel and debris from the alley."

"What about on his hook? If he did take a swing at his assailant with his left arm, maybe he landed a blow before his arm was broken?"

"You'll have to check with your father on that one. Killian didn't have the hook on him when the paramedics brought him in. Last I spoke to your father he was still searching for it at the scene." Emma's eyes drifted downward toward the grey floor tiles as she struggled to maintain her focus, but she finally had to relent and let the frightened wife slip out from behind the tough as nails sheriff and savior façade.

"What are his chances?" she asked after a short, uncomfortable silence.

"Honestly, Emma, it's really too early to say. The surgery to repair his broken ribs early was successful as was the second procedure to drain the blood and fluid that was building up inside his cranial cavity, but there's still a great deal of swelling that we're trying to alleviate with medication, and if that doesn't work, he might need additional surgeries to keep that under control. Once all of the hemorrhaging and swelling are completely stopped, we'll be better able to assess if there will be any permanent damage. We'll also know a lot more once he regains consciousness." She couldn't fight back the tears any longer as the reality of what Whale meant sunk in – they were concerned that Killian might have suffered permanent brain damage. Whale found a box of tissues on the window sill behind him and handed it to her without judgement.

"Okay, then - I need to go in there and heal him," she stated as she wiped her eyes with a wadded up bit of tissue, trying hard not to completely lose her composure. "You know my magic is capable of healing his injuries."

"Yes, I'm well aware of your magical abilities, but I'm going to warn you to try to resist some of that temptation."

"Why?" she wondered, taken aback by the thought that Whale would suggest allowing Killian to continue suffer if he didn't need to. "Why put him through all of this pain?"

"Because there's no way to know if it would even work," the doctor replied honestly. "It's one thing to heal a broken bone or mend a cut. It's altogether different to tamper with the intricacies of the human brain. We've never had a situation like this before – someone with your particular light magic who can heal and we don't know what effect that magic would have. I don't know that it's a gamble you want to take."

She paused to reflect on his words, knowing deep down in her gut that he was right. If she took a gamble with magic and something went wrong, she knew she'd never be able to forgive herself. "I guess I understand," she replied with a deep sigh. "Can I at least see him now?"

"For a few minutes," Whale agreed. "He's not really ready for visitors, but since you are the Sheriff and I really don't want to get tossed across a room again, I'll make an exception this time. I will warn you that he's going to look frightful and I'm going to remind you about giving into the temptation. If you want to heal his more minor injuries, I won't stand in your way, but please, just remember what I said."

"I do understand," she repeated. "Right now, I just want to see my husband."

"Of course," Whale smiled, right before he asked something that cut straight to her heart. "By the way, have you told him yet?"

"Told him what?" she started to say, then stopped abruptly as she realized that he meant the test results he'd shared with her a few days earlier. She'd planned to share that news over dinner when she'd returned from Boston – dinner plans that they'd had for tonight. She'd wanted it to be a special occasion, but now… "No, he doesn't know yet. The Boston trip got in the way."

"Then tell him now. Good news like that can go a long way toward helping him recover," Whale insisted. She forced a weak smile onto her face at the thought of it. Just one more thing she hadn't wanted to think about right now… She shouldn't have waited.

Dr. Whale called the two nurses out of the room so that Emma could have a few minutes of privacy – well, at least what little privacy could be afforded by a glass partition and a fabric curtain. She went in knowing that the harsh, far too bright artificial lighting would amplify and exaggerate all of Killian's visible wounds, but Whale definitely had not lied about how awful he was going to look. She knew she was holding her breath as she took her first look at him lying silently on the narrow bed just a few feet in front of her. A crisp white cotton sheet and a lightweight beige blanket covered the lower half of his body, the covers tucked lightly around his waist and legs so as not to drag or get caught in the wheels of the mobile hospital bed should he need to be moved quickly. His exposed skin looked pallid under the harsh florescent lights, further emphasizing the deep, dark contrast of his bruises. A shiver found its way down her spine as she recalled the last time seen him this still and even two years later, the unwanted memory dampened her eyes. He barely resembled the man she knew. This man looked fragile and sullen, but at least his fighting spirit remained. Whale had staunchly reminded her how fortunate he was. He'd survived two surgeries already, had been given three units of blood to replace what he'd lost and she now knew the uneasy feelings she had experienced that morning likely stemmed from the moment he flat lined on the emergency room exam table before being successfully resuscitated and rushed into surgery. She should have been here…

She struggled to find a place to touch him where she wouldn't disturb some sort of wire or tubing. They were just everywhere – connecting him to all sorts of machines and monitors. Of course she knew that they were there to help keep him alive, but it was hard not to focus her attention on them. There was some sort of thin rubber tube taped to his right nostril and another extended out of the corner of his mouth. Tubing from the IV followed the curve of his right forearm to his wrist and hand where the needle was inserted into a vein and secured with tape. She knew there were other tubes in places she couldn't see – some in places she didn't want to think about, but with the severity of his injuries, it was fully expected.

Almost listlessly, she allowed her gaze to drift down to his chest which was unexpectedly mostly bare except for the wide swath of gauze that wrapped most of his midsection, covering the site of the earlier surgical incisions. Through the semi-transparent bandaging, she could see the deep purple bruises along his left side where one of the attacker's blows had struck him with such force that his rib cage had splintered and drove bits of bone into his lung. Small specks of dried blood stained the gauze in spots where it had seeped around the sutures.

It took more strength than she thought she'd need to allow her eyes to return to his face as the sight of his injuries brought back far too many painful memories of seeing him battered and beaten in the Underworld. The only difference was that this time, the torture had been inflicted on his living body by some unknown assailant rather than at Hades' bidding. There was an angry crimson gash across half of his face that had been stitched back together and bandaged, but the dark, almost black bruises peeked out from beneath the stained cotton fabric. In fact, most of his head was wrapped with gauze bandages that left only tufts of his dark hair visible along his neck and at the crown of his head. It was no secret that those bandages covered the tiny holes Whale had been forced to bore through his skull to access and drain a pocket of blood and fluid that had formed between his skull and the outer layer of his brain. A hematoma - she remembered what it was called and because of it, he had a scattering of small electrodes and wires positioned on his scalp so they could monitor his brain activity for any indication of trouble.

But it was those little electrodes that scared her the most – more than anything else he'd suffered because they were the symbol of the full gravity of their situation. This wasn't a case where someone had struck him to merely incapacitate him. Whoever had attacked her husband had done so with such brutality that the intention had clearly been to kill him, but why? What had been the motivation? Did they have to be worried that the would-be killer would return to finish the job?

"Who did this to you?" she asked aloud, not really caring if Whale or any of the nursing staff overheard. "Why did they do this to you?" Finding a spot to squeeze in next to his leg on the narrow hospital bed, she gently placed her hand atop his, her index finger tracing the edge of the vinyl identification bracelet that encircled his wrist. Her thumb grazed over his fingers, so strangely void of his ever-present rings. "Just who did you piss off this time, Killian?"

Unwilling to just sit there and stare at his visibly painful injuries, she had to do something to help – even if it didn't seem like much. She'd keep the promise that she made to Whale, but she was determine to do what she could. Her left hand still resting on his, she unfurled the fingers of her right and held them just inches above his fractured and splinted left arm, allowing the magical glow that emanated from her palm to mend those bones, then she passed her hand above his torso, repairing his damaged rib cage and completing the work that Dr. Whale had begun earlier in the operating room. When she was finished, she allowed herself the faintest little smile of satisfaction as she watched the bruises fade away. It really wasn't much, but she felt a little less guilty knowing that when he woke, he'd at least be spared some needless pain. She'd seen him suffer with broken ribs before so in the long run, this was better. She only wanted to spare him some of the agony and she ached to heal the rest. Not certain right now if she could isolate her magic just to the superficial wounds on his face, she left the nasty gash and bruises on his cheek alone, even if they did look horrific.

"I wish I could do more for you," she told him as she tenderly caressed the unscathed right side of his face, her thumb lightly brushing the scruff along his jawline. "You're on your own for the rest, but we're going to get through this and we are going to find out who did this." Knowing that Whale was likely going to kick her out of the room soon, she thought about the second part of her conversation with the doctor. With no certainty that Killian could even hear her in his comatose state, she had to go on pure faith. "You had better pull through this because there's no way I'm raising a Jones baby by myself."

There – she'd said it. Maybe he'd heard her. She hoped he'd heard her and now knew that he was going to be a father – well, in another eight months or so. While she hadn't expected his eyes to miraculously spring open and have him be completely healed, it wasn't the emotional, celebratory moment that she'd envisioned when she revealed that they were expecting. Instead, there were only the bleeps and blips from machines and all she herself could manage were tears.

She caught a glimpse of Dr. Whale heading her way in her peripheral vision and her heart sank just a bit at the knowledge that she'd have to leave her husband's side. Standing back up, she allowed herself to stoop over briefly to plant a scant kiss on an uninjured spot on his forehead. "I'll be back later," she promised, not really wanting to leave, but not in the right mindset to engage in a battle with Whale either. It was already after 8pm, so it was doubtful that the doctor would allow her to come back tonight, but she'd see what she could negotiate once she regained her composure. No matter what, she planned to stay close by. "You hang in there for me, okay?"

With a last squeeze of his hand, she stepped away from the bed and tried to stem the flow of tears as she slowly made her way out of the room, heading back toward the elevator. She'd remembered seeing vending machines downstairs on the main floor and even though caffeine wasn't really on the approved list of substances right now, she really needed coffee to get her through what was shaping up to be a long night. She stepped into the waiting elevator and decided she had better check the messages on her phone to make sure she hadn't missed out on any more important news. Apparently, most of her family and friends already knew to give her some space as there was only one quick "I love you, Mom" text from Henry and a missed call from her father. When the doors parted on the first floor, she made her way down to the guest lounge between the Emergency entrance and the hospital's main lobby before she called David back. She needed her coffee first she decided as she quickly deposited a handful of coins into the machine before pressing the speed dial button next to "Dad" on her contact list then made her selection for black coffee as she waited for him to answer. She wanted the strongest brew she could get right now.

"Emma – glad you called back," David's voice greeted her. "Are you back in Storybrooke?"

"Hi, Dad and yes, I'm back. Got here just about 7 and came straight to the hospital. What's up and can it wait?" she wondered as she retrieved the steaming cup of brackish liquid from the dispenser. The dark beverage didn't smell much like coffee, but at this point she didn't even care.

"I'm sorry to bother you. How's Hook doing?"

"As well as can be expected right now," she replied. "I just left him a few minutes ago."

"So then you haven't been home yet?" David asked, a rather unusual question for him to ask right now.

"No," she responded with a new degree of concern. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I got a call a few minutes ago at the station - one of your neighbors reported lights on inside your house and the front door was standing open. I came over to check it out and the whole place has been tossed."

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Someone broke into our house? Really?" This day just kept getting better… "Someone beats the hell out of Killian and someone else breaks into our house on the same day?"

"The two incidents could be related," David suggested.

"That's what worries me. Does it look like a robbery or does it seem like they were looking for something?"

"Personal, not professional opinion – I think they were searching for something. They didn't take any of the electronics including your laptop which was sitting right out in the open on the kitchen counter."

"What the hell is going on today?" she sighed, taking a sip of the coffee and immediately regretting it. The so-called beverage was simply too disgusting to drink. "Ugh…are you still at our house?"

"Yes. You want me to stick around until you get here?"

"Please. I'll be there in a few minutes. I've gotta stop and get some decent coffee first. This is going to be a long night…"

8:18pm

Emma's stomach was churning as she reluctantly climbed her own front steps onto the porch, immediately seeing the gouge marks around the deadbolt and doorframe where someone had pried open their front door. How had her neighbors not seen that earlier? It had never really crossed her mind that they'd need to have a security camera installed – assuming that the home of the Sheriff and Captain Hook would be off limits to burglars. But then this didn't seem like a robbery attempt.

She scanned everything in her sight, trying to take note of all of it before she took a step through the doorway into their parlor. The door had clearly been forced open, likely with a crowbar. Deep, uneven gouges in the wood indicated that the criminal had been in a hurry – not really caring if they left behind tell-tale evidence of the break in. Amateur, she thought. Someone with more experience wouldn't have entered through the front door in broad daylight or would have simply smashed the narrow sidelight window and reached inside to open the lock. Again, pointing to this not being a robbery.

Inside their home, furniture had been overturned and haphazardly searched, but while a few items had been broken, nothing valuable appeared to be missing - at least not at first glance. As her father had mentioned, her laptop was still sitting on the kitchen counter, although now next to the sink instead of beside the coffee maker where she'd left it. Cushions from the sofa and chair had been tossed onto the floor, but the television mounted on the wall was untouched. She could feel her cheeks reddening, burning with increasing rage, not only because someone had violated their home, but also at the fact that her gut was telling her that this was undoubtedly connected to the attack on Killian that morning. She had no way of knowing which incident had occurred first – the assault or the break in – but nothing was going to convince her that the crimes weren't related. No way these two events were just a coincidence. She'd long ago learned not to believe in those anyway.

Emma was so hyper-focused on her visual inspection of the first floor of her house that the sound of a creaking floorboard on one of the stairs momentarily startled her. She swirled her head around to make eye contact with her father as he descended the stairway from the second floor and found herself having to push back a little shiver as her mind decided to remind her that is should have been Killian coming down those stairs to greet her home from Boston, not her father bringing her into an active crime scene.

"Sorry, Emma," David apologized. "Didn't mean to startle you. I didn't hear you come in or I would have come downstairs sooner." He didn't realize how awkward his words sounded until they'd already spilled out of his mouth. "I'm sorry – that didn't quite come out right."

"It's really okay, Dad. I should have let you know I was here. I just got caught up trying to visualize the way it's supposed to look so I can try to figure out what whoever broke in here was looking for. I'm guessing the rest of the house looks pretty much the same?"

"Essentially. Lots of things moved around and upended but valuables seemingly untouched," he explained. "I just don't really know where you and Hook normally keep things to get an idea if anything is actually missing."

"Give me a few minutes to take a mental inventory and I'll let you know," she replied as she made her way across the parlor toward the stairs. David caught her upper arm as she brushed past him, making her pause and look directly at her father. "What?"

"Are you okay with this?" he wondered. "It can wait until later if you need a break. You've had a lot thrown at you today."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "If I can figure out what they were looking for, it'll be a huge step toward solving this mystery and hopefully find out not only who destroyed my home but also who beat Killian half to death."

"Sorry this mess had to pull you away from the hospital. At least Whale was nice enough to let you see him."

"It's okay," she sighed, knowing she really didn't mean those words. She would much rather still be at Killian's side instead of investigating a crime at their own home. "And yes – I got to spend a few minutes with him. He's a horrific mess right now and there's only so much I can do to help him."

"You couldn't heal his injuries?"

"Not all of them," she stated with a slight crack in her voice. "Whale asked me not to try healing Killian's head injuries and I do understand why. What if I reset something in his neural pathways that gets mixed up and suddenly he can't speak or walk anymore or if he suddenly loses all of his memories? I'm sure that in his 300 or so years of existence that there are things he'd love to forget, but I can't take that chance…" She realized she was rambling, but she was so close to her breaking point and she'd be damned if she was going to allow her emotions to get the best of her. "Right now, all I want to do is figure out what the hell the person who invaded our home was looking for…"

David instinctively knew not to argue with his daughter when she set her mind to a task. Only she would be able to contend with the pain and the anger when she reached this mindset, but it didn't mean that he couldn't offer a bit of assistance. "Let me know if you need my help."

"Could you please call Henry and tell him to stay at Regina's tonight? I don't want him walking in on this," she said, then had to wonder how much her son knew. "I suppose he already knows what happened?"

"About the attack? Yes. I told him myself so he wouldn't be wondering where Hook was. He doesn't know that the house was broken into though, but I had already suggested going to Regina's after school because I didn't want him to be alone. Your mother and I would have invited him to the loft, but we figured Neal might pester him a bit too much."

"Good thinking. Okay – give me ten or fifteen minutes to take a look around upstairs." This wasn't going to be easy but she had to do it. She had a promise to keep.

Emma slowly descended the staircase not quite twenty minutes later, carrying an olive green canvas backpack. David almost opened his mouth to ask her about it then quickly realized that she had grabbed a few items she needed because she didn't plan to spend the night there.

"So – what's the verdict? Anything seem to be missing?" he asked her instead.

"Here's the thing - there was only one item that I couldn't seem to locate. I mean, there might be others, but at a quick glance, the only thing that appears to be missing is the silver pocket watch I bought Killian for his birthday. I remembered it had been laying on top of the dresser last week because it wasn't keep time correctly. Killian was going to take it back to the jeweler to see what was wrong with it, but I was so busy preparing for this stupid trip to Boston for the hearing that I honestly didn't notice if he had dropped it off or not."

"You think whoever broke in could have taken it?"

"Maybe - unless for some reason he was carrying it today?"

"I picked up all of his clothing and personal effects from the hospital this afternoon. They're all bagged in the evidence locker at the station and while I haven't had much of a chance to check through everything, there wasn't any type of watch listed on the inventory sheet."

"What would be so special about a little silver pocket watch that would cause someone to turn over our entire house just to locate that single, solitary item? Does that make any sense to you?" Emma was trying hard to wrap her head around the probability, but no matter how hard she attempted, breaking into a house to steal a pocket watch made absolutely no sense to her.

"Well, no," David replied, equally dumbfounded that the watch was the sole missing item. "I'll check with Mr. Blackstone at the jewelry store tomorrow morning and see if he has the watch in his possession. If not, I'll make sure that a description gets out as stolen property."

"Good. Let me know what you find out," she stated as she slung the backpack up and onto her right shoulder while she waved her hand to magically switch off the lights.

"Emma, why don't you come and stay with us at the loft tonight?" David suggested. "I really don't want you to be alone tonight."

"Thanks for the offer, Dad," she responded with a meek smile as they stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind them. Since there wasn't much left to latch it, she used a quick magic spell to seal the doorway shut ensuring that no one else would get inside until she'd had a chance to properly repair it. She could have done so with magic instantly, but her mind was already elsewhere. "I won't be alone though."

[footyplusau]

Radar off, but Giants get the points

OFF-TARGET Greater Western Sydney has stormed away late from North Melbourne for a 42-point win at Blundstone Oval in Hobart on Saturday afternoon.

The Giants won 15.19 (109) to 10.7 (67).

They dominated the inside-50 count with 71 to 49, including a massive 29 in the second quarter, but couldn’t make that count on the scoreboard until the last quarter, when they kicked six goals to two.

The win takes GWS to 2-1 for the season, while the Kangaroos remain winless.

Talking points: Remember, it’s ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’

Ahead at every break, the Giants didn’t ever look in doubt in the southern capital, but they battled early inaccuracy.

The talented Josh Kelly finished with 31 disposals and a goal, after a week in which a reported massive contract offer from North dominated the news, Callan Ward had 29 disposals and a goal, and Dylan Shiel had 27 disposals.

“It has been a big week (for Kelly) and we know there’s going to be a fair bit of speculation on him, but I thought he handled it really well,” GWS coach Leon Cameron said of his star midfielder post-match.

“He’s such a professional kid he just gets on with it and he knows when to put things out of his brain and just get on with business.”

Toby Greene and Jeremy Cameron booted three goals each as the top scorers for the Giants.

Steve Johnson’s 500th goal made the 33-year-old the 55th player to rack up the milestone, but it didn’t come smoothly.

Johnson’s first chance came in the opening two minutes when a scrappy kick went askew for a minor score.

Then early in the third quarter the half-forward launched premature celebrations after a score was subsequently ruled to have come off his knee.

Just a minute later, from two metres out, Johnson made sure of his 500th goal.

It stretched the Giants’ lead to 20 points from which the Roos didn’t recover.

The result leaves the Kangaroos winless for the season, while the Giants are now 2-1.

The Roos were without tall forward Majak Daw who was a late withdrawal from the clash after suffering concussion at training during the week.

There were a couple of inspired performances for the Roos including Braydon Preuss, who finished his third game with two goals, 16 disposals and 26 hit-outs.

“(He was) really, really impressive,” Brad Scott said of the 206cm Queenslander. “(He) took another step forward again today after a step forward last week.

“Marked the ball really strongly around the ground, competed well in the ruck, so he’s got a bright future.”

Captain Jack Ziebell recorded 28 disposals and a goal in his 150th game.

MEDICAL ROOM North Melbourne: Majak Daw was a late withdrawal for the Kangaroos, failing to overcome the effects of a head-knock sustained at training on Friday. Daw didn’t travel to Hobart as a result of the concussion, but is expected to return for the Good Friday fixture against the Bulldogs next round. 

Greater Western Sydney: Ryan Griffen had his head taped during the first half to stem bleeding after a knock, but far more worrying for Giants’ fans was the sight of Griffen emerging from the rooms on crutches after half-time and spending the rest of the afternoon on the back row of the interchange bench.

Phil Davis also came off second best following a heavy collision with Jack Ziebell and will be assessed further in the coming days for potential shoulder damage.

NEXT UP North Melbourne can look forward to a ground-breaking match against the Bulldogs, entering new territory for the AFL in the inaugural Good Friday fixture at Etihad Stadium.

For the Giants, it’s another road-trip, but this time for a home fixture at UNSW Canberra Oval against Port Adelaide

NORTH MELBOURNE     3.2    5.4    8.6    10.7 (67) GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY     3.4    6.11    9.15    15.19 (109) 

GOALS North Melbourne: Preuss 2, Goldstein, Ziebell, Swallow, Brown, Dumont, Clarke, Garner, Turner Greater Western Sydney: Cameron 3, Greene 3, Lobb 2, Reid 2, Johnson, Hopper, Kelly, Ward, Wilson 

BEST  North Melbourne: Ziebell, Hansen, Preuss, Mullett, McDonald Greater Western Sydney: Kelly, Ward, Cameron, Greene, Shiel, Mumford

INJURIES North Melbourne: Daw (concussion) replaced in selected side by Clarke Greater Western Sydney: Buntine replaced in selected side by Corr, Griffen (leg) 

Reports: Nil 

Umpires: Curtis Deboy, Justin Schmitt, Chris Kamolins 

Official crowd: 8758 at Blundstone Arena

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