#he made me late for work cause he bought my dad the wrong kind of electrolyte drink that dad cant have because hes got sensitivities to

[thermitetermite]

I return from the grave for one night only to post a Helluva Boss AU. Enjoy my delulu AU about a Christmas tree capitalist clown spider demon and his adopted cyborg clown son.

Also there is swearing and mentions of Fizzaroli's accident.

Mammon being a half decent step-dad AU

Mammon hears about Fizz much earlier though the grapevine (Paimon complaining to all royal demons about how his son got rid of all their shit bc of some clown kid)

Interested, he attends a show in disguise.

He finds that Fizz is good. Like, really good! Dollar signs start popping up in his head. Also the little bugger kind of reminds him of himself.

Immediately asks to buy Fizz from Cash Buckzo. He refuses at first because Fizz is his star but with strong negotiating tactics (money and threats) he caves.

Fizz is nervous about leaving his only home behind but is excited to be "adopted" by Mammon! His hero!

It's giving bought by One Direction vibes

At first Mammon was planning to just train him to be a child actor/clown, give him a TV show and pawn him off to someone to actually raise full-time. He wanted to be the convenient step-dad, not a full time parent!

That changed after the first couple nights with Fizz living in his mansion.

It started with Fizz handing him a red balloon horse.

"Alright, not bad kid, but can ya make a balloon unicorn?"

Fizz ran off to attempt to make it. That'll keep him busy for a few hours, guess that meant he could make some calls and... He was back already with the completed unicorn.

"Give me another!"

"Uh, alright ya little bugger, why dontcha make a Quevie?"

This back and forth happened for the next few hours, with Mammon judging the balloon animal, giving a few pointers when he messed up, and Fizz making the next animal he asked for.

Damn, this parenting shit is easy.

It eventually got so late that Fizz fell asleep on the couch trying to complete a kangaroo.

Sighing, Mammon picked Fizz up and carried him to the bedroom he hired someone to decorate. He tucked him into bed and finally after an entire day was able to make a call.

However, the first call he made wasn't to the networking company or his broadcasting station. Instead, it was to Lucifer, his self proclaimed best friend and a successful parent.

"What is it Mammon? Do you have any idea how late it is?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just had a quick question for ya. What do children eat? Cereal? Oats? Ice cream?"

Needless to say, Lucifer had a long talk with Mammon about how to raise a kid, stating it'd be hard work.

After hanging up and going to bed, Mammon had only one thought on his mind. To raise this kid better than any of the other Sins could. His boy would be talk of the town and the best clown in all of Hell.

That first week of parenting went about as well as you'd expect.

Mammon had the approach of being "The fun step-dad" which included eating candy for every meal, teaching him swear words and showing him how to do all the tricks he thought a capable child could do.

(These tricks may or may not have included tax evasion and driving)

Speaking of, Mammon insisted on bringing Fizzaroli everywhere. Including work.

"Mammon, sir, I'm sorry for filing the paperwork for the expansion of LooLoo Land wrong- is that a child?"

"Yeah, this is my boy. Look attem. Ain't he talented!" Cue Fizz hanging off one of his arms. "Whatdya think Fizzie? Should we keep or fire him?"

"Fire!"

"You heard the boy! Off withya, ya bloody cunt!"

"Bloody cunt!"

Mammon would belly laugh whenever Fizzaroli would copy his swearing or accent. When is children swearing NOT funny?

Mammon's definitely the type to have tons of pictures in his wallet of his kid. Fizzaroli does get a TV show, lots of interviews and the spotlight often but whenever someone asks Mammon about him he immediately opens the photo wallet.

(He would kill anyone who even touched it)

Of course he still has some of the Mammon-ness we know, bribing and pushing Fizz to do shows, acts, commercials and more, causing Fizz to start getting overwhelmed.

Then one day Fizz's accident happened (it's a canon event)

Mammon practically broke down Belphagor's door when he got the news Fizz was hurt, demanding his boy get the best treatment in Hell.

Mammon didn't sleep for the entire time Fizz was in that hospital bed, sitting beside him for days at a time just thinking about how he nearly lost him. He couldn't lose him.

When Fizz woke up/was stable, Mammon was there during his emotional moments. When Fizz asked if Mammon would replace him he scoffed.

"Fizzie, why would I replace you? You're in recovery right now. A break. Yer fans are dying to see that Fizzie face when you get outta here. You're more popular and more in demand than ever. You do the recoverin and I'll show you the huge profit we return."

Mammon to English translation: It's stupid to think I'll leave. You'll be able to return to the stage, I'll make sure of it. You'll get better and I'll be here with you.

Fizz eventually recovered but needed limbs so Mammon sent a request (demand) to the best mechanic in Hell, Asmodeus. If anyone could make limbs for his boy it'd be that rooster fuck.

Of course just because Mammon had faith in him didn't mean he wasn't picky in what he delivered.

"Can ya loop your arm like a bendy straw?"

"Uh, no."

"Then it's not good enough for you!"

Mammon practically sent Asmodeus a list of limb adjustments and upgrades that needed to be done every other week. All other times he had Fizzie trying all these different therapies, practicing with his limbs, and occasionally try doing a trick. (Not clown car driving after last time). Eventually he was mostly satisfied with the work and to celebrate "Ozzie not *HONK*-ing up" he started teaching Fizz how to play the guitar.

Cue a bit of a time skip of say 7 years.

Fizz has his hands in nearly every facet of entertainment. News, sports, cooking competitions (which he surprisingly sucked at), and of course comedy. Fizz didn't want to say it but doing so much had him tired, stressed, and anxious. He was doing this for Mammon, the person who gave him everything. He couldn't just let him down. He'd seen what happened to those that failed him. All those people who got fired for mistakes they made. He couldn't fail.

At the same time Mammon wants to get into the robot doll industry. Not sex dolls because he can't stand the thought of his (boy) brand being sold like that. Instead personal assistance robots that have all the features. It can make coffee, teach you yoga, be a parent, etc. but of course he needs the mechanical help of Asmodeus again.

Once again Fizz is taking trips to Lust to oversee the production of the robots. After 2 years of this the robots are completed (a huge financial success) and Fizz asks Mammon if he can stay with Ozzie.

Mammon is surprised but ok with it as long as he visits and does a show every now and again. Especially guest judging the Clown Pageant.

He doesn't realize Fizz and Oz have a thing until the Clown Pageant (his final one in canon)

Once it comes out, oh boy, Mammon goes full demon mode. Shit gets ugly. Mammon goes on his normal rant (minus the "raised you like the son I didn't want" part) and Fizz, unwaivering because he's seen this a million times, retorts back with all the anxiety Mammon caused. The acting and shows. How it weighed on him. How he was so scared of fucking something up and getting kicked out.

"I'd never kick you out! You're the crown jewel of my empire! My runt turned pick of the litta! I made you in my image! If I pushed you hard it was because you could be better! I raised you! You've got my training in your back pocket so I knew you could be a better clown than I ever was! All of this was for you!"

Eventually Mammon breaks down and asks why Asmodeus. He's worried about their relationship considering he's known Asmodeus since the beginning of hell.

"Why do you need to date him when you have my empire! If you need money, we have it! If you need companionship, we can buy it! If you need power we have that too! We built this empire! Your talent brought in a fortune and you've seen how to run the business! If you need your own power or your own space you can have it!"

"I'm not with him for any of those things! I know I have everything else here! But I love him Mammon! He takes care of me. He's kind, sweet, handsome, and supports me even on my roughest days. I love him."

"...he makes you feel safe?"

"Yes."

"He treats you good?"

"He treats me amazingly."

"You love him?"

"With all my heart."

"...ok."

"Ok?"

"I... Respect your decision. I'm going to make it about me but please bear with me. I know I haven't been the best at raising you. I can be overbearing. And clingy. And I pushed you to do a lot of things that were hard or uncomfortable or er... greedy. I haven't been the best influence on your life but I did my best and if I had to I'd do it all over again."

"Mam..."

"Up up up, let me finish ya little shit. You know I have a hard time letting go of things. And I was kidding myself when I thought I'd have ya forever. I forgot how fast ya implings grow up. I thought I could keep ya safe and smilin but I couldn't even do that right. The second most painful thing I experienced in my life was gettin kicked from heaven. The most was seein you in that hospital bed. I've been smotherin ya since. Yer my boy and I wanted better for ya. Thought I could protect ya if I pushed harder. Taught ya more. Did more shit with ya. But in the end you were always gonna have ta leave ta find a life of yer own.

Mammon paused, taking a familiar but heavily deflated remnant of a red horse balloon from under his hat

"I'm at least glad ya took somethin after me. Yer greedy like me and ya landed the best bachelor Hell has ta offer. I... I don't want to let ya go but... Ya need to do this. Live yer life kid, and live it better than me."

The fucking stadium was in tears (me too tbh)

Before Fizz could say anything (he was choking on his words) Mammon extended a card with his sigil on it.

"Remember I'm always here. Please... Call me if ya need me."

Fizz wrapped his robotic limbs around Mammon, bringing him in for a tight hug.

"I love you, Dad."

Mammon cried on that stage, hugging the son he always wanted.

[thisisdefinitelyacreativename]

I'm so mad at my brother rn mannnn

[change-the-world-someday]

I'll Be Here

Oh boy I'm back baby. Here's a Derek Shepherd x Teen!reader bc I just started Grey's Anatomy. I'm well aware I've had stuff in my inbox for over a year, and frankly I'll get round to them soon. I hope this tides you over.

Derek Shepherd x Teen!Reader

Summary: Who'd have thought the child of Derek Shepherd would suffer with something even he can't cure?

A/N: I've been twitching a lot lately so this was a comfort write. Derek and Meredith don't have a relationship, and there's a bit of canon divergence.

⚠️TW⚠️ Talk and descriptions of twitching/tics

—•—

You knew the moment you woke up you were going to have a bad day.

Your alarm went off at the bright and early nine and as you made a move to turn it off, your arm twitched, almost pushing it off your nightstand. You let out a sigh, leaning down and managing to shut it off and sit up.

Until you neck starts to snap left and right, tensing and relaxing each muscle.

“Fuck’s sake,” you mutter under your breath, standing and stretching, well, as much as you can before your twitches start up again. You makes your way downstairs, finding an empty kitchen and a note on the counter. You manage to pick it up and read it.

Sorry, I got called in today. Let me know when you’re up

— Dad

You shake your head, whistling and shaking your hands. Great, so you're alone on a day where your twitches are worse than normal. You sigh and head back upstairs, almost losing balance on the stairs, and takes a quick shower before trying to style your hair. With difficulty, you get changed before reaching over and grabbing your phone. You grip it tightly, until it’s flung across the room.

“Shit,” you mumble, reaching down and picking it up. You open your messages, trying to text your dad.

Y/N

Hi, up. Bad today

It’s short, and to the untrained eye, might seem pretty rude, but to you and your dad, is a warning. Heading back to the kitchen, you try to eat a bowl of cereal. Instead, you managed to spill the cereal twice, drop milk on the floor, and then poke yourself in the side of the face a few times with your spoon instead of eating.

Your phone buzzes.

Dad

Do you need me at

home?

Y/N

No. Just bad

Dad

Do you want to come

to the hospital? You

can stay in one of the

offices if you want

You think about it for a moment, though you don’t get too long before your phone starts ringing. You pick up.

“Hi—” you whistle “—hi Dad.”

You hear him sigh. “Hey kid. Do you want to come in today? I can make sure no one stops you and you can come straight to the office.”

You click, your neck jerking forward. “You sure? I’ve—“ you whistle “—never been there before. I don’t want—“ you click “—to become a case study.”

Your dad laughs lightly down the phone. “I won’t let them. Just make your way over, and keep your earphones in. Music helps.”

You nod, before your neck twitches to the side and cracks, making your dad wince audibly. “Okay. I’ll let you know—“ you whistle and sigh, clearly getting frustrated with yourself.

“I get it. Don’t work yourself up; it’ll only make it worse. See you soon. Love you.”

A ghost of a smile passes across your face. “Love you too, Dad.”

—•—

Derek hangs up and leaves the store cupboard, almost bumping into Dr Bailey as she marches past.

“Watch where you’re going, McDreamy,” she scolds and Derek smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Bailey narrows her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Y'N's coming here. They're having a bad day,” he replies and Bailey nods, immediately catching on. “No one else knows.”

Surprisingly enough, you haven’t met anyone from Derek’s work, except for Bailey and even then, that was an accident. You'd bumped into her on a bad day and Derek had to explain what was wrong. Ever since, Bailey’s had a soft spot for you.

“Not even the chief?” She asks and Derek shakes his head. “Did you warn them?” He nods. “Well, there’s not much else you can do.”

“They're texting me when they’re a few minutes away. If I get caught in surgery, can you meet them at the doors please?”

The two stop in the corridor, Bailey pulling him over. “I have my own schedule too, Shepherd.”

Derek nods. “I know, but you’re the only other person here they know, and you know how they can get in places they don’t know…”

Bailey looks around. “If you’re caught up, you owe me one.”

Derek smiles and nods, a look of relief on his face. “Thank you.”

—•—

You're walking down the street to the hospital, constantly readjusting your earphones so they don’t fall out. Your neck keeps snapping to the side and jerking forward, earning a few odd looks from strangers. You sigh, a few minutes away from the hospital, and pull out your phone. Before you can do anything, though, you promptly throw your phone on the pavement.

Thank god your dad bought you one of those industrial phone cases. You pick it up, dodging people as you go to call your dad. He picks up after two rings.

“Hi, I’m—“ you click “—a minute away.”

“Okay. I don’t think I’m going to be able to meet you at the doors. Just walk through, take the stairs to the fifth floor, and come down the hall. I’ll be in the break room, second door on the left.”

Your eyes widen; you're going to be by yourself? Walking through a hospital? Where no one knows you?

“O-Okay,” you stammer out and your dad sighs.

“I’m sorry kid. Everything’s going to be okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”

He hangs up and you take a breath, nodding to yourself. You pocket your phone and turn your music up as loud as it can be. Your dad was right, it does ease your twitching, though not as much as you'd like.

Fall Out Boy blasts through your earphones as you walk through the doors of Seattle Grace. You refuse to make eye contact with anyone, your neck twitch making it a lot easier to achieve. You click as you make your way to the stairwell, making your way up.

You don’t hear the calls of concerns from the interns following you, trying to catch up to you.

By the time you reach the fifth floor, the two interns have gone to find Dr Bailey to try and assist them, and Dr Shepherd who can help with the disorder being presented. They haven’t had someone who needs medical attention blatantly ignore them and go to a certain department before.

You lose your balance a little as you walk through the doors to the fifth floor, your neck jerking left and right repeatedly, muscles tensing and relaxing. Your hands are shaking and you walk like a new fawn.

You reach the door and push it open, whistling and clicking as you do so. At least you can see your dad today.

—•—

Derek knows immediately what kind of day is happening when you steps into the room. You're a jerking mess, neck and shoulders tensing and relaxing as though given electric shocks. You're whistling, clicking, and your eyes have recently started screwing shut, temporarily blinding you.

And that’s with your headphones in.

“Hey Y/N,” he greets, gently taking one earbud out of your ear and leading you to the seats. At least if you're sat, you have less of a chance of hurting yourself.

“Hi Dad,” you reply until a whistle comes back out. “S-Sorry.”

“Hey,” Derek places a firm but kind hand on your shoulder, “don’t apologise. None of this is your fault.” There’s a silence between you two, only broken by the sound coming from the removed earphone. “Fall Out Boy? Nice choice.”

Your neck snaps but you give a small smile. “Thanks.”

“Do you want something to eat? Did you manage to get some breakfast?” You sigh, your hands twitching and trembling, which tells Derek everything he needs to know. “Is it a bomb-site there?”

You shake your head. “I managed—“ you whistle “—to clean up. Took ages.” Your neck jerks forward. Derek sighs, putting an arm around you and pulling you into his side. You've always been wary; you never want to hurt your dad accidentally but Derek doesn’t care. You're his kid, and nothing will change that.

“You’re okay. Do you want some lunch? We can go to the cafeteria—they’ve got some pizza in there that’s actually pretty good.”

You nod, knowing anything you try to say will be interrupted by one of your twitches. You walk alongside Derek, trying your hardest to suppress your twitching as you make your way through the hospital and into to lift, where a few others are going to different floors. Derek notices, and leans into your ear. “You don’t have to hide it here, kid. Promise.”

There’s an audible sigh of relief from you as you let out a scatter of twitches, your neck jerking forward as you whistle and click. Your hands shake and flap and you let it all go. A few of the doctors and nurses turn around to look at you, but one harsh glare from Dr Shepherd makes them all go back to minding their own business.

You exit the lift and walk through the corridors to the cafeteria. You join the queue and you feel Derek keep an arm around you, trying to help you ease your twitches. You're grateful, though you both know there isn’t much either of you can do to stop them. You sigh, putting your earphones back in and blasting some music, this time Hozier.

Derek watches you struggle, sympathy panging through his heart. He hates that you've been cursed with this, and the worst part is they can’t find anything that’s causing it. It’s not like there’s a tumour or growth on your brain Dr Shepherd can operate on, you're just stuck with it.

“Dr Shepherd, good afternoon. Who’s this?” Lindsey, the server behind the food counter, greets. Derek smiles.

“Afternoon Lindsey. This is my kid, Y/N. They're joining me at the hospital today,” he explains, gently tapping you on the shoulder and causing you to take an earphone out. “Y/N, this is Lindsey.”

“Hi,” you greet, before your neck jerks forward yet again, cracking. The two adults give a wince and Lindsey gives you a small smile.

“What would you like, hun?” She asks. You look over, or does so as best you can. You can barely stay still long enough to read the menu. “We have a standard pizza or pepperoni pizza today. We also have some ham, chicken, or cheese sandwiches and salads. Or a few pastries we can heat up if you’d prefer.”

You give her a grateful smile. “Can I—“ you whistle “—have pepperoni please? And a—“ you click “—bottle of water?”

“Sure thing, and you Dr Shepherd?”

You put your earphones back in, trying your hardest to stop twitching. The problem is, the more you try to stop it, the worse it gets. It takes a few minutes for you to get your food, and when you do, Derek carries both trays to a table and sets them down. He takes a seat opposite you, giving a small smile.

“Thanks Dad,” you thank, pulling one earphone out so you can hear the conversation. You pick up the plastic fork and spear a few chips, but before you can eat them, your hand twitches and you throw it on the floor. You sigh but before either you or your dad can make a move to pick it up, someone else does it for you.

“You better be more careful. I don’t want fries on my shoes.” You recognise that voice anywhere, and smile as you look up at Dr Bailey. You let out a small laugh.

“Hi Dr Bailey,” you greet, whistling as your head snaps to the side and back. She smiles at you.

“Heard you were coming and through I’d say hello.”

—•—

“Guys, shut up,” Cristina hisses. “Do you see?”

“See what?” George asks as they quieten down. She nods her head and the table of interns turn around to catch sight of what’s going on. Dr Bailey is talking Dr Shepherd… and you sat with them. You're not dressed in any kind of hospital gown, nor are you wearing scrubs, so who are you? And how are you making Dr Bailey smile?

Meredith watches, catching sigh of your hair, and her eyes widen. She reaches over, slapping George on the arm.

“What?” He asks.

“It’s them,” she replies, “the person from earlier. Y’know, the one who didn’t check in at reception and took the stairs. The one who ignored us!”

George’s eyes widen too, and the two get up and start to walk over, ignoring the protests of Cristina and Izzie as they reach the table. You're struggling to get a sentence out, whistling and clicking as you try to tell Dr Shepherd about something.

“Dr Shepherd!” Meredith calls out, making the conversation halt between you. “Are you with a patient?”

She misses how you cringe. Dr Shepherd frowns, which only deepens more at the crack in your neck as it jerks forward. “Dr Grey, Dr O’Malley, how can I help?”

“W-We saw, erm, this kid walk straight through and up to neurology without checking in. Do you want us to check them in and get a better examination? We were going to come to you for a consult when we saw them anyway, but since you already seem to know them…” George trails off and Dr Shepherd looks between you, the interns, and Dr Bailey.

An awkward silence falls between you, only disturbed by the occasional whistle or click from you. “I can get a wheelchair if it’s easier.”

“No need,” Dr Shepherd cuts in. “They aren’t a patient, their name’s Y/N. They're my kid and they're accompanying me to work today.” The two interns look at each other, mortified. “Now, if you excuse us, we were just having lunch.”

Your hand flexes again, making you throw your fork on the floor (the second one in the space of fifteen minutes) and sigh. You go to pick it up, only for George to beat you to it. “Here.”

“Than—“ you click as your head jerks forward “Thank you.”

“Don’t you two have places to be?” Bailey asks, less than impressed with her two interns in front of her. They both nod and scurry off, back to their table to tell Cristina and Izzie about Dr McDreamy’s kid.

—•—

“I don’t know how they cope with it,” George muses as the group of four interns sit on some beds in the back corridor, waiting to be paged for something.

“Yeah, twitching all the time. God, I’d kill myself if I had them,” Izzie continues. “Would ruin my chances at both medicine and modelling. And a lot of other things, probably.”

“Do you think they wanted to go into medicine? Y’know, before they started twitching? Or have they always had it?” Cristina asks. “Or do they have a tumour?”

“For your information,” a voice cuts in, making all four jump and turn to the source, meeting the likes of Dr Shepherd, “Y/N wants to be a lawyer.” He walks down the corridor to them, everyone’s cheeks turning red a the prospect of being caught gossiping. “The tics developed about eighteen months ago, just before we moved to Seattle. It’s not a tumour, or any kind of swelling; in fact, we have no clue what set it off.”

“Have you done an MRI? CT?” Meredith suggests and Derek nods.

“We ran everything. It all came back clean.” He looks at Cristina. “They did want to be a doctor. When we realised we couldn’t cure them, they were upset for weeks. They—“

“Talking about me?” A voice calls down the corridor and Derek’s face splits into a smile, something that doesn’t go amiss by the others. You whistle, making it to the group and taking a seat next to your dad. You lean on him… until your neck twitches and you almost fall back. Derek’s hand shoots out, supporting you.

“We were just—“ Izzie tries to say before you cut her off, clicking in the process.

“Let me guess.” You whistle. “The doctor que—“ you click “—question and how I live with—“ your neck jerks to the side “—it.”

Your dad gives you a smile. “Ten out of ten for you,” he smiles. You nod.

“Well, I used to want to—“ you click “—be a doctor, until we found out this is incurable.” You whistle. “Pretty soul-crushing.” Your neck jerks back, and if it wasn’t for your dad’s hand, you would’ve hit the wall. “And we’ve learned to adapt to it. There are—“ you click “—days where I’m fine, with only a few, and days—“ you whistle and everyone can feel the frustration radiating off you. Still, no one chooses to finish your sentence, letting you get it out yourself “—like this.”

—•—

For a while, the six make general conversation, until, slowly but surely, you start to drift off. It isn’t until there’s an odd silence that Derek notices, and he has a smile on his face as he looks down at you, asleep on his shoulder.

“They look so… peaceful,” Izzie comments quietly, the others agreeing.

“Yeah. We’ve had a few rough days this week. God knows they need the rest,” Derek mutters. He shifts to look between the four. “Any of you wake them, I’ll make sure you’re banned from the OR for a month.”

Everyone’s eyes widen as they nod in unison; they’re all begging for a chance at more surgery. Carefully, Derek manoeuvres you so your head’s lying in his lap, body stretched out on the hospital bed. He carefully cards his fingers through your hair, detangling it as gently as he can.

The interns’ pagers go off, assigning them jobs and the four rush off, leaving Derek and you to rest. He smiles, getting himself comfortable sitting on the end of the bed, back against the wall.

“Get some rest, buddy. I’ll always be here for you.”

—•—

Hope y'all enjoyed. I know it's pretty different from what I usually write, but this is for my own comfort so...

Sorry not sorry

Taglist

@breadsticks2004 @criminalsmarts @rororo06@ogmilkis@ssebstann@herecomesthewriterwitch @garcias-batcave @spidey-reids-2003 @lovelylaurens@sataninsatin@snarky--starky @mcntsee @averyhotchner @dindjarinsspouse @lovers-in-japan-reign-of-love

[lucy90712]

Fabio Quartararo- When in Monaco

The Monaco gp has been the absolute best experience of my entire life as I've been a fan of motorsport for as long as I remember because my dad was always into it and when he was around all we did was talk about racing and watching races together. When I was young I never got to go to a race as money was tight but since I started working I have saved everything to be able to go to my first race. Seeing as I worked to hard to get the money I decided to save enough to go all out and get tickets to one of the most iconic races the Monaco gp and it has been entirely worth it. The whole weekend I've had the biggest smile on my face as getting to watch the cars go past in real life is like a dream come true and I get an adrenaline rush every time one of them speeds past so I can only imagine what its like actually driving one. As much as its been a fun experience parts of it have brought along sad memories as I keep thinking that I'm experiencing this just as much for me as for my dad as he never made it to a race before he passed and it was the one thing he really wanted to do but never did which is why I've really made the most out of the entire weekend.

In terms of making the most out of the experience many people have told me you have to go to one of the parties after the race as they are insane so in the spirit of enjoying every part of a race weekend I decided I would go to one despite my hesitation at first. What helped to convince me is that I met a few people while at the track who invited me to one specific party with them which seemed less of a free-for-all and more of a proper event which made me less nervous about the amount of people that would be there. Part of me was still nervous as I know a lot of the drivers and other celebrities will go out after the race and I don't know what I'll do with myself if I happen to bump into any of them but my dad would tell me to just go for it so thats exactly what I'm going to do. With the party not starting until late I had plenty of time to get ready in my hotel room until I was completely happy with how I looked but even after a few hours I still wasn't sure about the dress I had bought with me as it seemed a bit much to me even though I know people will be wearing much more flashy outfits.

Soon enough though there was no time to fret over it anymore as my new friends text me to say they were leaving and so I grabbed my things and headed to the place to meet them inside as we were staying in different hotels. When I got there there was security guards and a small line of people waiting to get in so I joined the back of the line wondering what I had gotten myself into until I got to the front. The security guard asked for my name so I gave it to him thinking I must just be in the wrong place and he would soon send me away but he opened the door and let me in. Inside there was music playing and the place was like a regular club but it was nowhere near as busy as a regular club and it looked much nicer inside. As much as there wasn't as many people it still took me a good few minutes to find the girls that invited me but when I did they handed me a drink straight away.

All night we just danced together and drank probably a bit too much but it was really fun and for once I actually enjoyed myself and let loose a little. At one point though I lost my friends and was kind of just stood around by myself before I decided to just leave and head back to my hotel for the night. On my way out I wasn't paying attention to where I was going so I tripped over someone's foot and ended up bumping into someone else causing them to spill their drink. I was fully prepared to end up on the ground and even braced myself for it but when I felt a pair of arms around me I realised that I wasn't going to keep falling and opened my eyes to see what was happening. When I looked up I almost fell to the ground for real this time as the guy stood right in front of me with his arms around me was the Fabio Quartararo the motogp world champion. He was even more attractive in person than he was on the tv and I could feel myself blushing as it finally sunk in that he had his arms around me and was looking right into my eyes. Despite my shock I managed to stand up thinking he would let go then but his he didn't and he kept a hand on my waist while I tried to get some words out to thank him.

"Thank you for that and sorry about making you spill your drink something made me trip" I said rambling a bit

"Its all good just want to make sure you're alright" he replied

"I'm fine but I better get going" I said

With that he let go of me and I continued on my way out of the club but before I could make it 5 meters some guy decided to push me out the way pretty forcefully to the point it sent me flying into a small pile of broken glass that hadn't yet been cleaned up which of course cut my foot. Luckily there was a wall which I managed to use to stop myself and to lean against as I composed myself. Just when I thought the last 5 minutes couldn't get more hectic Fabio came back over to me and took my hand to lead me out the club and because he was well known people just got out our way making it so much easier to get to the door. Once outside he walked me over to a nearby bench and made me sit down next to him which I took as an opportunity to look my my foot which was much worse than I thought as there were cuts on both of my feet and they had blood all over them.

After sitting for a few moments Fabio asked me where my hotel was which I hesitated over telling him for a moment out of instinct but I quickly realised that I could trust him not to do anything as he had been so nice to me so far. Once I told him he got a car to come and pick us both up and take us both back to my hotel as he insisted on making sure I got there ok. On the short car ride we actually got to know each other a little but as before we hadn't technically told each other our names so we started with that. Of course I know who Fabio is but it was nice to actually get to know him for who he is outside of racing and he was nice enough to actually want to know a bit about me. He listened to everything I had to say and even asked questions to get to know me better and I could tell that he genuinely wanted to know about my life despite me being just a normal person which I really didn't expect.

Eventually we made it to the hotel and Fabio helped me up to my room as my feet were really starting to hurt from the cuts and I was maybe a little drunk so walking wasn't exactly the easiest thing. When we got there he took the key card from me and opened the door before leading me to the bathroom where he made me get on the counter and then ran off again. He came back after about a minute with a first aid kit which he used to clean the cuts before putting plasters on every single one of them which made me laugh as my feet were covered in plasters at all sorts of angles. Once Fabio was happy he helped me down and I went to sit on the bed tapping the space next to me to get him to sit down with me because for whatever reason I wanted him to stay so we could talk more. He happily took a seat next to me and handed me a bottle of water to help sober me up as well as some painkillers to help with the inevitable hangover and the pain in my feet.

Our conversation from earlier continued and Fabio opened up to me a bit telling me more about he side of his life people don't get to see which was interesting to hear about but to me it was more that he actually chose to tell me those things when we haven't known each other long at all that stood out. We were both incredibly comfortable with each other already and we felt like we could talk as if we've been friends for years which was such a good feeling as I haven't had that kind of bond with anyone since my father passed. As soon as that crossed my mind I decided to tell him as my judgement is a little worse that usual but also because I would love to hear someone say that to me. Me saying that started a bit of a deeper conversation where we both lost our natural filters and just talked about anything and everything including my father which Fabio was so good about as he just let me talk and then when I got a bit sad thinking about old memories he comforted me.

"Your dad would be so proud if he could see everything you've done and how you've completed his dream for him" he said rubbing my back as a few tears fell from my eyes

"Thank you that means a lot especially coming from you as when you first joined motogp my dad loved you and thought you'd go far but he never got to see it happen although as usual he was right" I joked

"Thats lovely to hear he sounds like a great man and I'm glad I can live up to his expectations" he said

The two of us laid on the bed for hours talking about just about everything like we had known each other for years. Before we knew it the sun was coming back up and the clock on my phone read just after 5am it was like the time just flew by because we were having so much fun laughing at each other's comments. With it being morning it meant I had to leave to head back home at some point but I didn't want to leave as I have had such a good time this weekend but as they say all good things must to come to an end and this time is definitely one of those. When we both realised the time silence filled the room as if we both realised that this meant our time together was coming to an end as we had normal lives to get back to but we didn't want to leave the little bubble we had created.

"This has been so much fun thank you for sticking with me despite me being an absolute disaster" I said breaking the silence

"Its all good you weren't that bad trust me I've seen worse plus I've had a lot of fun too its been great getting to know you" he replied

"I do want to ask you something though and of course you don't have to but I was wondering if you wanted to come to the next race in Barcelona as long as your free" he added

"I would love that but don't feel like you have to bring me as you feel bad" I said not wanting to be there just because he was sympathetic of my life

"Oh no I'm not doing it because of that I just really want to see you again and I'd love to have you there to support me" he said

"In that case I would love to go" I said

~~~~~~~~~~

Before Fabio and I separated that day we exchanged numbers and have been texting or calling everyday since then which has made our friendship even stronger and made it really feel like we have been friends for years. Today however I will get to see Fabio in person again as I'm flying out to Barcelona for the race out there. Its still funny to me that just two weeks ago I'd never been to any race but after this weekend I will have been to two which I would never have thought could happen but I guess when in Monaco anything can happen.

I've been so excited about this weekend ever since I left Monaco but typically the week has felt so long. Every day I've been at work way longer than I usually would be as I've been trying to make up hours so that I can have this weekend off and because I've just been so busy so I'm glad that I'm going to get away for a bit. Despite desperately needing some sleep I woke up at just before 4am even though my flight isn't until 12 which means many hours of waiting around and not knowing what to do with myself. With my many hours I decided to just get up and double check everything that I had packed to make sure I had everything I needed which of course I did as I spent ages packing to make sure I had everything. I also spent some time cleaning my apartment as it had been a it neglected the last few weeks as I've been so busy and so some things had become a bit disorganised. Tidying really made the time go quickly as before I knew it I had to get ready as my taxi was coming to take me to the airport.

After a few hour plane journey I finally touched down in Spain and I text Fabio right away as he asked me to text him when I touched down so I did it before I got distracted with collecting my suitcase. He text me back pretty much straight away telling me that he had got someone at the airport to meet me and bring me to the track. It felt highly unnecessary as I'm not anyone special who needs picking up from the airport but it was appreciated as I hadn't yet decided how I was going to get around all weekend. I tried to get a bit more information out of him as to who I should be looking out for but he just told me it would be obvious which sounded a bit ominous to me but I trust him. After a few texts back and forth Fabio had to head to an interview as it is media day but he said he should be free when I get there and so he would come and give me a tour of the paddock.

My suitcase took forever to get off the plane but eventually it did so I grabbed it and headed towards the exit of the airport to look for this person that was supposedly waiting for me. I looked around for a few moments before I realised what Fabio meant about it being obvious as he was stood right there with a big smile on his face which was very unexpected as I was sure he would be too busy to come and meet me at the airport. He walked over to me and gave me a hug right away which almost made me fall over as I wasn't expecting it but he was holding me so tight that I was pretty much rooted to the ground. We stayed like that for a few minutes before he let go and grabbed my suitcase for me so that we could head to the track, as we walked he gave me a look which I understood right away so instead of saying anything I grabbed his hand and he laced his fingers with mine right away. That made my heart beat at a million miles and hour and butterflies flutter in my stomach but I still loved feeling his hand in mine because I would be lying if I said I didn't have feeling toward Fabio.

He led me out of the airport and to his car which of course was much nicer than any car I've ever been in before or even seen to be honest. Being the gentleman that he is Fabio opened the door for me before running round the back to put my suitcase in the car and then get in the drivers side like it was a race but I guess thats what sportsmen are like. Once we were both settled Fabio started to drive and along the way we got to talking about the weekend and how he was feeling and he was a little bit nervous as its not the best track for Yamaha but he said he was confident in his ability and hoped he wouldn't lose out too much. As we drove we went back to talking like we did in Monaco and we're back to being completely comfortable around each other which was great because I was worried that maybe things wouldn't quite be the same but I had no need to worry as I felt just as comfortable with him today as I did then.

Soon enough we arrived at the track and Fabio again opened my door for me and he handed me a paddock pass for the weekend so that I could be in his garage and the Yamaha hospitality. We had our passes checked and entered the paddock which was just so incredible as there was so many people and buildings around and the atmosphere was nothing like just being in the grandstands. I was in complete awe as we started to walk around as there was just so much going on but Fabio pulled me out of my daydream when he started to talk and give me a tour of the paddock by telling me what each building was and little fun facts about them. Along the way he also introduced me to any other riders he saw who were all incredibly nice and welcoming.

The last thing we did is go into the garage where Fabio showed me all his things like helmets and gloves before he then showed me his bike. It looked so much cooler in real life than on the tv and had way more buttons that I ever thought it would but Fabio was able to tell me what every single one of them did although I forgot them all pretty much instantly. Once he showed me everything he had a cheeky grin on his face before going over and getting one of his helmets and whispered to one of his mechanics which confused me until he came back over and asked if he could put the helmet on me. I accepted and he put the helmet on as gently as he could while his mechanic turned the bike on and put it on a stand behind us which Fabio them helped me onto and stood in front to take pictures. He took a few pictures before taking the helmet off and taking a few more where you could actually see my face and not just a helmet that was way too big for my head and once he had done that he came over and got me to rev the bike which was scary to start with as it was so loud but I got used to the noise in the end and just enjoyed listening to it. With that Fabio drove me back to my hotel where we got dinner together before he had to head back and I wanted to get some sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

The entire weekend has been incredible as I have been watching every session from Fabio's garage and hanging out with him in between sessions where things have gotten a little flirty at times but nothing too serious. As much as things have been a bit flirty most of that has come from Fabio as I'm useless at flirting and can't make even a single flirty comment without either stuttering or blushing like crazy. I have been trying my best to let Fabio know I'm into the flirting while also keeping my flirting to a minimum as not to embarrass myself which I think has worked alright as he keeps complimenting me and making the odd flirty comment. All of the flirting has made me start to really think about how I look so for the race today I got up early to pick out a nice outfit and spend a bit more time on my hair and makeup and still make it on time.

As soon as I got to the track I realised how much busier it was now that its race day as there was so many more cameras around and team members rushing around doing last minute preparations or attending meetings. Fabio was also in a meeting so I headed to the Yamaha hospitality when I first arrived to get myself some coffee and just relax before things get a bit crazy and overwhelming. While I was sat down many people came in and out but at one point I noticed Fabio's brother, his wife and their kids come in who he had told me were coming and introduced me to through a phone call. They came over to sit with me and we got to chatting a bit while the kids ran around letting off some steam before they then got tired and came to sit down.

"Are you y/n?" Fabio's niece asked me once she sat down

"Yes I am" I replied with a smile

"So your the pretty friend uncle Fabio keeps talking about" she said

"I guess so" I laughed trying to shrug the comment off

"He really loves you and he won't stop talking about asking you on a date which daddy says he should do but he's scared you'll say no, would you?" She asked

"Well I don't think I would but he would have to ask to find out" I said

I was in complete shock at what she was saying as although I knew Fabio and I had been flirting a bit I didn't know he had been talking about me to his family and wanting to ask me on a date. My brain was about to implode with the amount of thoughts running through it but all of them were either excitement that Fabio had the same feelings I did and the others were surprise that he felt that way. Soon enough though a smile appeared on my face that I couldn't get rid of even if I tried but I didn't really want to as I was just happy that things were looking up in my life and I felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.

After talking for a bit the day got under way and everyone kind of did the own thing until it was time for the race which was when everyone gathered together again to watch and just hope that Fabio could do enough to get the win. He got a great start and took over the lead in the first corner and from then on it was just a complete masterpiece of a ride with him getting more and more of a gap to the rider behind by the lap. On the last lap everyone was so tense hoping that he could just bring it home and that he wouldn't make a mistake that ruined all the hard work. That worry soon changed into excitement and relief as Fabio came across the finish line and everyone in the garage celebrated with each other before the needed team members headed down towards parc ferme. The rest of Fabio's family were heading down to greet him and got me to join them although I planned to mostly stay out the way as they and the team deserved his attention more than me seeing as we only met only like a week ago.

Soon enough he came in and hopped off the bike jumping into the crowd of mechanics and other team members there before giving his niece and nephew a hug along with their parents. Next he turned to me and gave me a hug and looked into my eyes for a moment before clearly deciding to just go for it as he grabbed my cheeks and kissed me which took me by surprise but I still managed to kiss him back before he pulled away a few seconds later. We both had such huge smiles on our faces and it was evident that there was feelings there to anyone who was watching us.

"I wanted to wait to do that but I just couldn't so I'm also not going to wait to ask will you go on a date with me?" He asked

"Of course I will" I answered

"Great I'll pick you up from your hotel at 8 so be ready for the best date of your life" he joked running off to get his trophy

[deadbiwrites]

a video of supergirl grabbing lena luthor's ass starts circulating and it's very embarrassing for sc but extremely funny to their friends

(I am SO sorry. Where do these hide? Why do I never see them? How long has this been here?!

Anyways, have some cute nonsense!)

The day starts like any other, honestly.

Like, sure, Kara’s never thrilled when she wakes up 20 minutes late and has to use superspeed to get through her morning routine and into the office on time, but it happens regularly enough that she’s just sort of used to it by now. Like, the sky is blue, the grass is green, she manages time poorly. Whatever.

But she does get to work on time, with just enough to spare that she can make a brief detour to Nia’s desk for the coffee her protege has already bought for her, thank her profusely (with perhaps minor promising of firstborn children), and slip into the morning meeting just as Snapper, James, and Lena start handing out assignments for the day.

“Well, well, good of you to join us, Ponytail. Let me guess, a family emergency kept you out all night again?”

‘I mean, that Abraxian wasn’t my family, technically, but someone’s family, so…’ “Something like that. Sorry.”

Lena catches her eye and quirks a brow in question, but Kara just shrugs easily and sips her coffee, pulling a silly face at her friend when Snapper’s attention moves away from her. When her eyes uncross, she can tell Lena is fighting not to laugh, eyes sparking with mirth as she bites her lip. Kara takes another sip of coffee, feeling a bit smug that she can get Lena to smile without even having to say anything to her. That’s real talent, right there.

Especially since Lena has to stand up at the front with James, who has been by turns cold, dejected, and surly toward her since their breakup (a big, real, final one) a few weeks prior. Lena had said that the whole thing was a mistake, that she should’ve never gone for it in the first place because she’d been right the first time- they’d had some chemistry, after all, but it certainly wasn’t compatible long-term. 

Which… Kara can certainly relate. Like, a lot.

Especially about the whole… James being kind of wounded about it part. That part had really sucked- when he’d done it with Kara, who he’d gone on like, a date with, it’d resulted in him deciding to become a vigilante. Rao only knows what he’ll do when it’s someone he dated on and off for over a year...

“Ponytail!”

Kara jumps, realizing too late that her wandering attention hasn’t gone unnoticed. “Yes, sir?”

Snapper rolls his eyes. “Great, now that you’ve stopped orbiting Saturn, you wanna go get that article started?”

Kara’s eyes widen slightly in a panic as she realizes that she has no idea what he’s talking about. “Uh…” Behind his back, Lena catches her eye and nods subtly. Thank Rao. “Yes. I super do.”

Lena snorts, James sighs deeply, and the meeting is adjourned.

**

“So what exactly am I supposed to be doing today?” Kara asks Lena as they stroll out of the conference room together.

“Well unfortunately for you, you have to interview a big-time CEO. You have a meeting scheduled with her in three hours.”

“You?” Kara asks hopefully.

“You’re very sweet,” Lena chuckles. “No, Elena Watts. She’s a real estate developer, and she runs a nonprofit organization for homeless youth. It’s one of the articles we’re doing for next month’s spread. Contrary to popular belief, Cat and I weren’t the only women with high-profile jobs in this city. ”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool! Have you met her?”

“Not personally, no, but I have donated to her charity- it’s a very good cause, especially the outreach they do with queer youth.”

Kara elbows Lena gently. “You’re such a softie.”

“Mmm, maybe. But if you tell anyone, you’re fired.”

Kara clutches a hand to her chest, feigning horror. “Why Miss Luthor, what a blatant abuse of power!”

Lena shrugs. “I’m a Luthor, darling, I have to keep up appearances somehow.”

“Ouch,” Kara laughs. “See you at lunch?”

“Only if lunch includes a milkshake- I have a teleconference with both boards today. Unless you feel like joining me?”

“Wow, well as fun as that sounds, I’m gonna go do literally anything else.” Her comms crackle to life, alerting her of a hostage situation downtown, and Kara sighs. So much for a work day. “Alright, well, I’m, um, gonna go… see what I can find on Elena Watts. Maybe over another cup of coffee at Noonan’s.” She widens her eyes a bit, trying her best to convey that she’s going to be on Super-duty for a little while.

Thankfully, Lena picks up on it and grins. “You just want sticky buns.”

“Lena, I always want sticky buns. They’re like, my second favorite thing to eat.”

“Oh? What’s the first?” Lena asks, voice just a bit lower than usual. 

Kara opens her mouth and closes it, flushing slightly as she averts her gaze and adjusts the laptop bag on her shoulder. Stuff like that has been happening more and more, and she’s not 100% sure what to do about it. Because on the one hand, it makes her stomach do flips and tie up in knots and makes her brain do this… staticky thing where nothing filters in or out, just a pleasant buzz of how funny and smart Lena is and how much Kara likes hanging out with her and being flirted with (because that’s definitely what’s been happening, even if neither of them is really ready to address it) and just generally looking at Lena.... who is currently biting her lip and grinning up at Kara, and that buzz makes her kinda dumb, which is just really unhelpful. But on the other hand, it’s also kinda awesome and Kara really enjoys it, and-

“Kara?”

She spaced out again. Crap.

“Um. What time are you free for lunch?”

Lena sighs, seeming slightly disappointed that Kara isn’t flirting back at the moment (and thank Rao Lena can’t read minds), but she smiles back easily enough as they step off of the elevator. “I should be done by two.”

Feeling emboldened, Kara turns so she’s walking backwards in front of Lena and grins. “It’s a date,” she says with a grin, ducking forward to press a quick “friendly” kiss high on Lena’s cheek. She whirls and jogs out the double doors, leaving Lena smiling exasperatedly after her.

**

It is genuinely baffling to Kara that people still commit crimes in National City. It’s not even an ego thing, really, since Kara tries to keep herself humble (even when she manages to wrap up a hostage situation within twenty seconds of arriving on-scene without injuring any of the criminals or damaging the building too badly). Like, yeah, she gets that there’s a certain element of crazies who just sorta gravitate to places with a local hero, the big-bads who have their own suits and geek-toys and abilities. Them, Kara gets. Kinda sorta. But the regular ones, who are armed with like, pistols? Or knives? Just regular man made stuff without even the benefit of magic or kryptonite or something?

Why? 

She’s sure that if she asked, Lena would have some sort of statistical thing about large cities and poverty and all sorts of other factors that would end up making Kara feel like a jerk for being uncharitable to the criminal element of her city, but at the moment she’s mostly too annoyed by the fact that she has to spend her weekdays chasing them around instead of chasing stories.

Once all the hostages are freed and the cops secure the scene, Kara departs, flying into the alley behind Noonan’s and changing into her regular clothes before she heads inside to do a bit of research before her meeting with Elena Watts in a few hours (just because she’d used it as a cover doesn’t mean it was a bad idea…). She finds her favorite little two-person booth tucked into a quiet corner, plugs in her laptop, and gets to work, asking the waitress to please keep both the coffee and the sticky buns coming.

She gets a surprising amount done by the time she needs to leave for the interview, having a good foundation for what she wants to write and who Elena Watts is.

Ms. Watts turns out to be a pretty nice lady around Eliza’s age, if a bit busy and distracted by the steady flow of people in and out of her office. She answers all Kara’s questions with aplomb, happy to elaborate on most every point and eager to draw attention to the rising issue of homelessness among children and teens in the US.

“When I was young, my dad lost his job at the auto plant. It was supposed to be a temporary layoff, but the factory never reopened. We ended up losing the house, and we lived so far from our extended family that staying with them wasn’t much of an option. We lived in our SUV for six months, sleeping at shelters every now and again, if we could find one that allowed families to stay together. We showered at the local YMCA. Five people and a dog, living and sleeping in an old station wagon- even now, it sounds ridiculous. Eventually, we got back on our feet, but I never forgot that. It was just six months, but it was- and remains- the scariest, most uncertain time in my entire life, and it shaped me in a lot of ways I didn’t expect. And there are kids and families who do that for years. I just want to help them the way I wish that someone had been able to help us.”

At the end of the interview, Kara thanks her profusely for her time and for sharing her story before hurrying off to CatCo to type up a draft for Snapper (“What’s wrong with you, Ponytail, why is everything you bring me sappy and sentimental?”), which she finishes an outline of just in time to send it off before running to Big Belly and L-Corp for lunch with Lena.

She greets the newest in a series of secretaries (Anna? Amy? Ava? Lena’s really missing Jess, these days, but from what she’s told Kara, Jess is kicking butt in her new role as VP of Operations and will probably take over for the COO when he retires in a few years), and the girl waves her in distractedly.

And that’s when Kara’s day goes from normal to not, because inside the office are two masked men holding a stone-faced Lena at gunpoint on her balcony and demanding… something, probably. Kara’s a bit distracted by the loaded gun aimed at Lena’s head.

“Hey!” she yells, attracting both their attention. They whirl on her and Lena’s eyes widen in alarm, and Kara suddenly realizes three things- 1) she’s in her Kara Danvers clothes, not the supersuit, 2) she can’t speed into the suit now that they’re both looking at her, and 3) she has no plan.

Crap.

“Who the hell are you?!” one of them demands.

Kara… doesn’t have a good or snappy answer for that, and instead does the only thing she can think of- she throws the large milkshakes she’s carrying at them as hard as she can.

Which, in retrospect, is too hard, apparently because while yes, it is both funny and gratifying to see two grown men get absolutely leveled by a tasty dairy treat to the face, the one closest to Lena manages to elbow her in such a way that she falls backwards over the rail with an instinctual scream that makes Kara’s heart fly into her throat. She whips off her glasses, and by the time she’s out the window and speeding toward Lena’s flailing form, the suit is materialized. She gets under Lena, catching her carefully and dropping a bit further before slowing down (because she’s been made aware that when she doesn’t, the people she’s saving may as well be hitting the pavement), finally coasting to a stop about 20 feet from the ground.

Lena’s face is screwed up in a forced sort of focus, her hands clutching tightly at Kara’s shoulders and cape as she holds her breath.

“Are you okay?” Kara asks quietly.

Lena swallows thickly and nods, eyes still firmly closed. “I’m alright. Thank you- I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure how to get out of that one.”

“What was that? What did they want?”

Lena cracks an eye open. “Oh. you know, just my quarterly assassination attempt. I think my mother was starting to miss me, so she wanted to reach out.”

Kara snorts. “That really shouldn’t be funny.”

“Maybe not, but here we are.” Lena shifts a bit in Kara’s arms, cheeks a bit flushed from the adrenaline rush, and clears her throat. “Not to be rude, Supergirl, but do you think that perhaps we could continue this conversation… on the ground?”

“Oh. Oh! Yeah, sorry. I forgot we were, uh, flying.”

Lena chuckles as they ascend slowly back up to her office. “You forgot you were flying?”

Kara shrugs with an easy smile. “I guess you have that effect on me.”

Lena huffs a laugh against Kara’s neck, eyes squeezed shut again. They alight on the balcony, finding the two men still unconscious, covered in Kara and Lena’s lunch. Lena sighs as Kara sets her down, pinching the bridge of her nose. “What a mess.”

“Yeah, sorry, I sorta… panicked.”  

“I was so looking forward to a milkshake too…” Lena laments playfully.

“Well, then I have good news and bad news,” Kara says. She reaches out and gently wipes a bit of her own chocolate shake from Lena’s cheek with the pad of her thumb, tucking it into her mouth on instinct to get a taste of it. “The good news is, you do, in fact, have some shake on you!”

“Whats the bad news?” 

“Also that you have some shake on you.” Kara laughs, gathering the two men in her arms and hefting them a bit so they’re easier to carry. “I’ll get you another one. Be right back.”

She drops the men at the police station with a brief explanation before flying back into the office. Lena hands over her discarded glasses with a wry grin.

“I figured you’d need these before the police arrive.” She’s putting on a brave front, but she’s clearly still more than a bit rattled, if her too-bright eyes and thundering heartbeat are anything to go by. Kara steps closer and opens her arms in invitation, and Lena doesn’t hesitate to step into them. “Thank you,” Lena says fervently, tucking her face into Kara’s shoulder and wrapping her arms tight around Kara’s waist. 

“Always,” Kara promises, daring to press a reassuring kiss to Lena’s temple (and getting a bit of Lena’s strawberry shake for her troubles) before wrapping her up even tighter in her arms. “Are you actually okay?”

“I mean, my fear of heights has been reaffirmed,” Lena jokes, “but aside from that, I’m not hurt.”

“Good. I don’t like, love people pointing guns at you. Just so you know.”

“I’m not a fan either, for the record,” Lena drawls, burrowing even closer. “Even though I know you’ll save me, it still puts a damper on my day.”

Kara huffs a laugh. “Same.”

They stay like that for a few minutes, until Lena’s calmed down enough to stop shaking and calls her assistant (Audra, apparently) in, telling her what’d happened and that the police would be arriving shortly to take her and Kara’s statements, and please advise the security team to let them up discreetly. After the cops arrive, it’s a blur of questions, and Kara has to concentrate on telling the story of how she’d panicked and thrown the milkshakes at the men, and one of them had knocked Lena over the balcony (all true), and Kara had yelled for Supergirl, who had knocked the men out on her way to Lena (also technically mostly true. Technically. Mostly.). The police are sure to tell Kara that next time, she shouldn’t throw things at people with guns, and also to tell them both how lucky they are that Supergirl had shown up when she did.

“She’s always there when I need her,” Lena agrees, throwing a sly wink over the officer’s shoulder at Kara.

Kara just shakes her head and smiles. Even almost dying isn’t enough to make Lena not flirt with her. The woman is truly a marvel.

Kara’s comms crackle again, accompanied by Alex’s custom ringtone on her cell, and after assuring the police that she has no issue with giving another statement if they need her to later, hurries over to the DEO (making a quick stop in the back alley to change into her suit).

**

When Kara arrives, she’s told that J’onn and Alex are waiting for her in the Directors’ offices. She makes her way there, waving to the agents and scientists she knows. But it’s very weird, because every time one of them sees her, they start giggling before quickly hurrying off in the opposite direction. Like, literally everyone is whispering and pointing and giggling, and it’s giving Kara such visceral flashbacks to high school that it’s all she can do to not check her cape for a taped on sign that says ‘Kick me’ or ‘Freak’.

(Kids are mean.)

By the time Kara gets to her destination, she’s fully paranoid, sure that someone’s playing a prank on her, somehow, and that everyone but her is in on the joke. She opens the door with more force than intended and catches it just before the handle puts a hole in the wall, throwing Alex and J’onn a sheepish smile. She closes the door extra gently and leans against it heavily. J’onn and Alex just stare at her, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“Busy day, Supergirl?” Alex asks, and after half a lifetime of spending time with her, Kara recognizes that she, too, is trying not to laugh. 

Kara’s had enough. “Okay, do I have something on my face? Or on the suit? Is someone messing with me?”

J’onn’s brow furrows. “No.”

“Then what’s the deal? Why is the entire DEO like… laughing at me? Did someone accidentally vent the lab fumes out into the main hub again?”

“No.”

“Did someone see me crash into that billboard last week?”

J’onn’s frown deepens. “What?”

“No,” Alex answers.

“Then why is everyone laughing at me?!”

“I mean, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because of that,” Alex muses, nodding toward the big TV on the wall beside Kara.

She steps back to watch the news coverage of her dealing with the hostage situation this morning and frowns. “What, those guys? That was routine, what’s so funny about tha-”

“No, no, not that. That,” Alex clarifies, cranking up the volume.

“...reports are saying that the CEO of L-Corp, Lena Luthor, experienced an attempt on her life early this afternoon. Sources claim that she fell from a considerable height-”

“Hey, she was pushed,” Kara corrects.

“Shh!”

“...caught by Supergirl, who may have gotten a little… familiar with her.”

And there’s a video (clearly recorded on a cell phone but not the worst quality Kara’s ever seen) of Kara catching Lena and slowing to a stop above the sidewalk, of them talking quietly, of Kara’s hand definitely on Lena’s-

“Oh. Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Alex drawls, clicking the TV off with relish, a large, evil-big-sister grin spreading across her face. “Congratulations, Supergirl- the world just watched you grope Lena Luthor’s ass.”

“But I’m not- I wasn’t groping, I was catching! My hands weren’t… If it was groping, I’d be all up on her, and I wasn’t!”

“Camera begs to differ. It’s already trending on Twitter in National CIty.”

Kara puts her head in her hands and groans. “Why?! I was trying to save her!”

“You were definitely trying to save part of her,” Alex agrees. “Granted, it’s a very nice part...”

Kara’s head pops up, and she shoots Alex a look that’s between a pout and a glare. “You’re not helping.”

Alex feigns confusion. “Am I supposed to be helping?”

“Alright, enough,” J’onn cuts in before Kara can retort. “We just wanted you to be aware. I don’t think that this is going to be taken for anything more than it is- a humorous moment in the middle of a successful rescue. You shouldn’t worry about the press.”

And truth be told, Kara isn't worried about the press- she’s worried about the fact that she’s going to have to face Lena after this. Lena, who she knows for a fact has google alerts set for herself, Kara Danvers, and Supergirl, a gesture which is normally actually sweet and kind but is right now definitely gonna bite her in the-

“Okay! So, is that all?”

Alex blinks, looks over at J’onn, and shrugs. “I mean, yeah. Try not to make a habit of groping your crush when you’re in the suit.”

“I wasn’t groping her-”

Alex grins. “So you admit you have a crush? Interesting…”

“Alex!”

**

J’onn’s prediction is mostly right- no one seems to be taking the shots of her grabbi- saving Lena as anything other than a funny blip of a moment in their coverage of it.

He was wrong about the sheer scale. The clip had gone totally viral in a matter of hours, and seemingly every major network in the country has run the clip at least once as a bit of filler-fluff, and almost every major network anchor (including the ones at CatCo, the traitors) has made at least a passing joke about Supergirl being ‘Super-Handsy'.

Which means that Kara is very late getting back to Lena’s office with replacement food. But like, she’s been busy, okay? It’s not like she’s avoiding Lena, or something, because she’s embarrassed- which she isn’t, because she didn’t do anything bad or wrong and-

Anyways, it’s well past sunset by the time Kara gets to Lena’s office door again. She hesitates outside it for just a moment before shouldering the door open and knocking tentatively.

Lena’s attention jerks from whatever she’d been absorbed in to Kara, and a relieved smile blooms across her face. “Hey there.”

Kara finds herself equally relieved to not experience a repeat performance of earlier scary situations. “Hi,” Kara says, unable to resist smiling back. She raises the bags and cup carrier. “I bring grease and milkshakes. Again.”

“Oh thank god, I’m starving,” Lena says, rolling her chair away from her desk and rising into a deep and probably much-needed stretch. Kara very determinedly does not stare at the slight sliver of soft tummy that appears between her blouse and skirt at the motion. “I’ve been staring at this screen for several hours. And Sam called to yell at me- she says hello, by the way- she and Ruby are in town next weekend.”

“Good!” Kara crosses the room to the couch as Lena does, easily spreading out the veritable buffet of fast food she’d brought over the coffee table. “I mean, not good that she yelled at you, or that you’re still at work, Miss Luthor,” she says pointedly, receiving only an unapologetic shrug in response. “But good that, um-”

“I get it,” Lena chuckles, resting a hand lightly on Kara’s knee and boy, if that doesn’t make Kara’s brain go fuzzy and dumb again… “Thank you, for checking in.”

“Of course I was gonna check on you, Lena,” Kara huffs. “Plus, I know you probably didn’t get lunch, so…”

Lena hums around a mouthful of burger, chewing until she can politely speak again. “Well it’s delicious. Did you make it yourself?” she teases with a sly grin.

“Oh, yeah, totally. Slaved away over a hot stove for this- I just wrapped it in Big Belly wrappers so you wouldn’t feel bad about it.”

“Very clever.” Lena pops the lid off of her milkshake and drags a fry through it (an advanced culinary delicacy Kara had horrified her with initially but had eventually become a bit of a guilty pleasure). “Although I have to say, traditionally you’d have to buy me dinner before you grabbed my ass.”

Kara chokes on a pickle. “Oh no,” she groans, dropping the burger onto the wrapper on the table and dropping her very red face into her hands as Lena laughs beside her. She peers out from between her fingers. “I am so sorry, I was just worried about you hitting the pavement and like, catching you in the least jarring way and I wasn’t paying attention to where my hands were and I didn’t even notice until I got back to the DEO and-”

“Well I have so say, I feel a bit offended that you didn’t even realize you were copping a feel...” When the only response is another groan and a deep flush spreading from Kara’s neck to the tips of her ears, Lena relents. “Kara, Kara, it’s fine!” she laughs, pulling Kara’s hands away from her face and giving them a grounding squeeze. “Nia’s been sending me memes about it all day, which has improved my mood significantly. On the grand scale of fallout from assassination attempts, this one was at least funny.”

“I know that’s supposed to be comforting, but all it makes me wanna do is wrap you in bubble wrap forever,” Kara informs her.

“Pass on that. But seriously, don’t worry about it- I know it wasn’t on purpose- unfortunately for me, you’re too noble to do something like that,” Lena laments playfully.

And whether it’s the knowledge that Lena is not, in fact, upset, the overall weirdness that has been this day, or this delicious burger fueling it, Kara feels a bit emboldened. “Hey Lena…”

“Yes?”

“What if I wanted to grab your butt? Just, y’know, as a hypothetical. For future reference.”

Lena quirks a brow at her, fighting a smile as she contemplates this. “Hmm. Strictly hypothetically?”

Kara scoots a bit closer on the couch. “Sure.”

 “Well, you’ve already bought me dinner…”

“And lunch, technically. Even if I gave it to the bad guys.”

“True. Plus you saved my life, so that gets you some points, probably.”

Kara pauses in her sly scooching. “Oh, hey, wait, no, that’s not-” 

“Kidding, Kara. I know you’d never use that to your advantage. I, however, have determined that strong moral fibre and nobility do, in fact, earn you more points, which is my choice on the matter and you get absolutely no say in it.”

“Oh. Um, alright, I think.”

Lena stares off into the middle distance, tapping her forefinger thoughtfully against her chin. Finally she shrugs. “Yes, I think you’re fulfilled the prerequisites for a bit of grab-ass today.”

Kara snorts, Lena laughs, and soon enough Kara takes her up on the offer.

**

“Hey Kara, remember that time you grabbed Lena’s ass and it made international news?” Nia asks around a mouthful of mushu pork.

“You mean last week? Yes, I remember,” Kara drawls. Beside her/halfway sitting on her lap, Lena snorts.

“That was the best.”

Alex glares. “Um, excuse you, no. No it was not. I had to sift through so much thirsting over my sister on like, every social media platform. It was the worst day of my life.”

Brainy’s brow furrows. “Surely that cannot be correct, Alex. Statistically speaking-”

Alex holds up a hand, cutting him off. “Trauma can’t be measured, Brainy.”

Kelly chuckles and presses a consoling kiss to Alex’s cheek, and it makes the tough agent melt into a doe-eyed puddle of mush that Kara snorts. And she says they’re gross... Kara sneaks a glance at Lena from the corner of her eye, and she catches Lena looking at her. She leans close and jostles her gently as she drops her head onto Lena’ shoulder. “We’re never gonna live that down, are we?”

“Probably not.”

“We have the worst friends.” When this elicits nothing but a chuckle, Kara tips her head back to see Lena still looking at her, a soft smile playing at her mouth and shining in her eyes. And like, this whole thing they’re doing is new, with the kissing and the actual dates and the... everything else. But the thing where Kara catches Lena looking at her and she doesn’t look away? That freakin’ knocks her out, every single time. “Hey,” she manages.

Lena grins down at her. “Hi.”

So yeah. Maybe the initial circumstances weren’t ideal, and she doesn’t love the mockery that’s been heaped upon her by all of her friends and loved ones (including Winn, who’d sent a missive from the future that literally just said ‘LOL’). But the fact is, Kara muses as she surges up just enough to kiss the corner of Lena’s mouth, that she doesn’t regret a thing.

[loveelle]

Only as Friends

Alive!Luke Patterson x reader AU

Request from Anon: Can we get maybe a rich/playboy Luke Patterson x reader were he is best friends with Carrie and can basically get any girl he wants and sets his sights on Julie’s equally rich, feisty and incredibly confident BFF who wants nothing to do with him? Even though she finds him incredibly attractive?

A/N: There’s no need for this to be so long. I literally just- *face palms* Let me know what you thought my dear anon because I went totally off script I think?

WC: 7.1K (I literally love long fics, I’m not sorry anymore)

MASTER

---

Luke’s eyes traveled down the body of the girl in front of him as he smirked. “So, what are you doing this weekend?” he asked, leaning in slightly and catching the girl’s gaze on his lips before they flickered up and she shrugged.

“I’ve got no plans.” She smiled sweetly and fluttered her lashes.

“Perfect.” Luke brushed a hand over a fallen curl in front of her face as he spoke. “I was thinking maybe we could-“

“Nope!” His words were cut off as Carrie round the corner, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the girl.

Luke threw a smile and wink at the girl before he faced front and let Carrie lead him down the hall. “I was talking to her.”

“Oh yeah?” Carrie quirked a brow and threw a glance back to the girl who was staring after Luke. “What’s her name?”

Luke thought for a second, his brows pinched together before he wore a confident smirk. “Sarah.”

“Stephanie.” She deadpanned.

“Well… I got the first letter right.” Luke threw his arm over Carrie’s shoulder and he’s already forgotten about the girl.

“Yeah, congrats.” Carrie patted his back and they walked to homeroom. “Seriously though, do you have to flirt with every girl you find in the hall?”

“What, like you don’t?” she rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore her best friend and turn to the few members of her band. Luke sneered at her playfully behind her back, earning a few giggles from the girls but he didn’t pay attention to them. His focus had shifted entirely when your laugh rang through his ears, pulling his eyes up to the door where you walked in with Julie Molina on your arm and smiles on your faces. From here, Luke couldn’t tell what your conversation was about, but he could tell that you were beautiful beyond belief and he was struck.

He licked his lip impatiently, watching you drop your bag on a desk not far from him as he shifted in his seat to tap Carrie’s shoulder. “What?” Carrie’s whisper was sharp as she glared incredulously at him and his eyes which were still glued to you.

“Who’s that?” He nodded in your direction.

With a huff, Carrie glanced over and shrugged. “Julie?”

Luke rolled his eyes. “I know who Julie is, Care. I’m talking about the girl next to her.”

Carrie did another look before humming as she understood. “Oh, that’s Y/N. She’s Julie’s best friend. Used to live here, but her dad had to move for work a few years ago and her mom and her moved back, maybe a week ago, because her parents divorced.”

Leave it to Carrie to know all the gossip in others’ lives. “Y/N.” Luke whispered, letting your name roll off his tongue and he decided he liked it.

Carrie narrowed her eyes, watching her best friend before she shook her head. “No, that’s not happening.” It was Luke’s turn to be confused. “You and Y/N. Believe me, Luke, Y/N isn’t going to be one of your hookups.”

He groaned, letting his head fall back and unknowingly catch the attention of you across the room.

“J, who’s that?” you mumbled to your best friend, ripping your eyes from the brown-haired boy who wasn’t wearing sleeves. You got no answer when you saw she already had her nose buried in her songbook. You grabbed her arm and shook her. “Julie!”

“Oh, sorry.” She sighed out and glanced back to where you were looking again. “Luke Patterson.”

You nodded your head and gave him a once-over. You were still learning your way around the school, so you weren’t surprised you missed him, but you were surprised that you missed someone so handsome.

“Is that all you’re going to say?” you raised a brow before something clicked in your brain. “Wait, do you mean Luke ‘I-think-I-am-in-love-with-him’ Patterson?” Julie winced at the mention of her former infatuation with the boy.

“Yes, that would be him.” She grumbled and slowly closed her book. “But that was before that whole playboy act he’s got goin’ on.”

Pulling your eyes off him, you scrunched your face. “Playboy?”

Julie nodded before her face turned stoic. “Please don’t tell me that he just got hotter in your mind.”

“Whaaaat? Noooo.” You rolled your eyes playfully and Julie let out a laugh that you had to match, clinging on to each other. “I’m serious!” your chuckles subsided. “I’m not into the flirt with everyone act.”

“Hello, Ladies.” Your conversation was diverted by the sudden appearance of none other than the boy himself. You were slightly worried he heard you, but you didn’t care.

“What do you want, Luke?” Julie asked and you hid a laugh at how fake her smile was.

At the sound once again, Luke found himself smiling. “Not much, Molina. I just wanted to get to meet your friend here. Y/N, is it?” Your brow raised as you nodded, not doing much to stop your eyes from flickering down his body. Something Luke noticed. “I’m Luke. I’m in a band, maybe you’ve heard of us? Sunset Curve. Maybe I could play for you sometime. I play guitar and I’m the lead singer.”

Oh wow, just to add to his act, he’s in a band? Shocker.

“That’s great.” You told him, watching his smirk deepen before you could hold back a guffaw. “And I really don’t care.”

Luke’s frown was sudden, and Julie couldn’t help but laugh so loud, attracting the attention of most of the class. Your amusement at her actions didn’t go unnoticed by Luke who was scanning your face to see if you were messing with him. He slunk away in defeat when you weren’t paying attention and sunk himself into his chair, his legs going up to rest on the table and his arms crossing in a pout.

“How’d it go?” Carrie asked pointlessly and only received an incoherent mumble from Luke. “That well then? Huh. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she will fall for your act.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice as Luke nudged her shoulder, getting her to finally give in. “Face it, Luke. Y/N’s not the kind of girl who’s going to throw herself at you. Believe me, I’ve tried. She’s better than that. Besides, her dad has so much money he could probably buy her a boyfriend.”

“More money than me or you?”

“No, of course not.” Carrie huffed out in annoyance before she took a deep breath. It wasn’t often that Luke met someone that made Carrie jealous, the last time it happened was when Julie got back into music after her mother’s death, coming back stronger than ever. “If you want to waste your time trying to win over Y/N, be my guest. But until then, keep your feet off the desk.” She pushed Luke’s feet and they landed with a thud on the floor. His pout deepened and he scooted forward to rest on his elbows, directing his pout your way as you talked to Julie and now Flynn who had joined after he left.

“Hey, Y/N?” Flynn sat at the desk in front of Julie and you as she looked over your shoulders. You hummed, prompting her to continue. “Why is Luke Patterson giving you puppy dog eyes behind you?”

Julie immediately choked in laughter as you push her shoulder, but neither of you turned around to look at him. “It really doesn’t matter.” You said before diverting your attention to pulling out your books.

Once you weren’t looking, Flynn turned to Julie with awaiting eyes. “Luke came over and tried to hit on Y/N and she just blew him off.”

“Oh my god, Julie!” your groan caused the two girls to laugh and you to shake your head. “I don’t- I just didn’t- I’m into those types of guys, okay?” The girls looked at you like you were insane, and you pressed your lips together to hold back your annoyance. “I hate you both.” You grumbled and Julie threw her arm over your shoulder and pulled your slumping frame into her embrace.

“And we love you too.” Flynn mocked your attitude despite the quirk of her lips and Julie squeezed you before letting you go. They started into their conversation as you sat back and listened, only managing your attention away when your phone buzzed. It was your mom telling you she had to stay late at work today, hopefully getting home before you were asleep.

Shoving your phone into your pocket, you bit your lip. “What are you guys doing after school today? Wanna hang out?”

When they both gave you sad looks, you knew their answers already. “I can’t.” Julie spoke first. “After I snuck out yesterday to hang out, my Tia tried to convince my dad to ground me until graduation.”

You grimaced. “Your Tia is scary when she wants to be.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I managed to walk away with only a few days.”

“Huh, go Mr. Molina.” You shrugged and turned to Flynn. “Flynn? My beautiful, kind, and hopefully free best friend?”

“I can’t go either. I’ve got a math test tomorrow, but thanks for the compliments.” You crossed your arms as you leaned back in your chair.

“Fine, I don’t need you two to have fun. It’s LA, I’ll go and relive our childhood. Alone.” It was Julie and Flynn’s turn to roll their eyes at your dramatic act before the teacher decided to get homeroom started and your conversation broke.

---

You’d been walking and shopping for a few hours before you ended at the beach, basking in the feeling of the ocean air on your skin as you juggled the few bags of things you’ve bought. Your hands were starting to get tired as you tried to switch a certain bag between them, but only managing to drop it and knock its contents onto the concrete below you.

“Crap.” You whispered out and tried to pick it up, but with the other bags in your hands, it wasn’t working as well as you hoped.

“Let me help.” You heard as someone kneeled next to you and nicely put the few fallen things back into the bag with you.

You sighed out of relief. “Thank you so much, I didn’t know that would be so hard.” Your sentence was almost cut short when you looked up at saw that your savior was Luke Patterson. He was smiling widely at you as you both stood up and you adjusted your grip quickly before you found a comfy hold.

“It was no problem.” Luke shrugged, not dropping the look off his face. If he wasn’t so attractive, you would’ve looked away by now.

“Right, well thank you again. I’m gonna get going.” You started to turn around and barely walked a few paces before Luke rushed in front of you and kept you from leaving.

“You know, since you’re here, and I’m here, and there’s an ice cream place right over there,” he pointed behind him to where you could see the ice cream shop’s colored sign not far away, “maybe you’d want to stop and get some?”

You bit your tongue, turning away from him momentarily before you couldn’t help the small smile escaping. “Fine.” You said, seeing Luke celebrate quietly. “But only because Ice Cream sounds really good right now.” Luke nodded and before he got another idea in his head, you had an addition. “And only as friends.”

“Only as friends.” He agreed before reaching for reaching you’re a couple of your bags. You gave him a confused look and he sighed. “As much as I would love to watch you struggle with carrying those, let me help?”

You relented, handing him a few bags that were slightly heavier than the others before you walked the way to the shop in silence, well aware of the looks Luke was giving you. You opened the door of the shop, or at least you tried to before Luke beat you to it, holding it open for you to enter. You thanked him before walking inside and dumping your things at the nearest free table.

“What kind would you like?” Luke asked you, glancing at the flavors and you joined him, checking that they had your favorite before asking the worker for a cone of it. Luke did as well and before you move to pay for your cone, as well Luke’s as a thank you for helping you, you got another text message from your mother. It was her telling you that she wasn’t even going to be home tonight because she was spending it at a “friend’s” house.

You scoffed at her message, quickly texting back a short response before shoving your phone back in your pocket in time for Luke to hand you your cone. You were about to reach for your wallet before he stopped you. “I paid for the both of us while you were distracted.”

You raised a brow at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged, not even bothering to argue with you on that thought before he moved to the table you claimed, and you weren’t far behind him. “So, who texted you?” Luke asked between licks of his ice cream. “Your boyfriend?”

You laughed at his not-so-subtle inquiry and nodded. “Yeah, he was wondering what time I was getting to his place tonight and if I’d bring the largest box of condoms I can find.”

Luke paused slowly, his eyes flickering from his ice cream to your face before he narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have a boyfriend.”

You smirked and took a lick of your own ice cream. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.”

There was a small silence between the two of you as you focused on your ice cream, noticing Luke do the same before he started drumming his fingers against the table in a way you knew something was getting at him. “Do you have a boyfriend?” His voice sounded different than it did earlier, almost softer.

Your eyes met his, and you shook your head. Luke looked relieved for a moment before he was back to the attractive grin that he’s worn all day. “I don’t, but thanks for actually asking and not trying to be smooth about it because that definitely was not.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the one who lied about having a boyfriend.” He pointed his dessert at you, and you laughed quietly, putting your hands up in admittance. Luke smiled at your laugh before he collected himself again.

The conversation between the two of you was small as you both talked a little about your hobbies and friends, but neither of you could deny you had fun talking.

“So, what were you doing here?” you asked and gestured to the beach. “I didn’t peg you for a beach guy.”

“Hell yeah, I am.” Luke said enthusiastically, and you raised your brows in surprise. He laughed at your shocked face that you tried to hide by eating your ice cream. “Nah, my uh, my band and I usually play down on the pier, that’s what we were doing before you showed up.”

You nodded as you listened to his story before furrowing your brows. “Wait a minute, did you leave your band to have ice cream with me?”

Luke froze momentarily and looked at you sheepishly. “What would you say, if I said yes?”

“Did you leave your band to have ice cream with me?”

“No, I left my band to help you pick up your bag.”

“Luke!”

“You’re better company!” He defended and you let out a scoff mixed with a laugh. “Look, it’s fine, they wanted to take a break anyways.”

“So, you just left them to what? Try and flirt with me?”

“No.” he said but you didn’t believe him, and he knew it. “Maybe?”

You finished up eating, reaching into your wallet, and pulling out a few dollars for your ice cream. “Thank you for helping me and for eating with me, but I’m really not interested in a hook-up, okay? I don’t do playboys.”

You stood up, slipping the bags on your arms and pushing the money across the table to him. Luke’s brows furrowed as he jumped up to stop you. “P-Playboy? That’s not me, Y/N.”

“Really?” He nodded. “So, you don’t flirt with every girl you come upon because you want her?”

“No.” He couldn’t hold your eye contact until you were silent, and he had to look back at you. “Look! I’m not a playboy.”

“I’m not interested, okay?” Luke didn’t bother protesting as you walked past him this time, barely sparing a glance back before you were out of the store and down the block.

After standing alone in the ice cream place for longer than Luke wanted, he turned around to leave before stopping in his tracks when a girl stood awfully close in front of him.

“Hi Luke!” she beamed and he stepped back, putting some distance between the two of them.

At first, he didn’t recognize her, but once he did his eyes widened. “Hey… Sarah?”

“It’s Stephanie.” She giggled and Luke faked a laugh.

“Right, Stephanie.” He started to move past her before she stepped to the side and cut him off.

“Are you still free this weekend? Maybe you want to come over and… you know?” She smirked at him and Luke smiled at her, feeling a pit in his stomach because he knew you were right.

“Actually, I can’t this weekend. Band practice.”

“Maybe next weekend?”

He swallowed thickly, trying his best to let this girl down nicely. “Listen, Stephanie, I’m sure you’re a nice girl, but I’m just not sure this is going to work out with us.”

“Are you breaking up with me?”

Luke scrunched his face. “I don’t think- We weren’t dat-“

“Fine! Have fun with Y/N then.” Her voice raised and Luke stepped back slowly again. “Don’t think I didn’t see you two getting cozy in that booth together.” She turned around and stormed off, leaving Luke very confused.

“Okay?” He asked at her sudden shift of character before he left the shop himself to rejoin his band.

“How’d it go?” Reggie called out when Luke came sulking back.

At Luke’s silence, the band laughed out. Luke took a seat on the bench end of the bench next to Alex. “I’m a playboy.” He expected his friends to deny his claim, but they remained silent and only shot each other’s looks. He turned to them, giving them looks of disbelief. “You guys think I’m a-“

“No, we don’t!” Alex cut Luke before he could finish his sentence, but he knew his argument wasn’t going to be a strong one as Luke quirked a brow at him. “But you do go through girls like you go through guitar picks.”

“Why does this bother you all of a sudden?”

“Because Reginald,” Luke sighed out and leaned back on the bench and crossed his arms. “Y/N doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“And? Just move on to the next girl who smiles your way.” Bobby joked and made Reggie and Alex chuckle, but Luke just groaned.

“No, it’s not like that. Y/N, she’s different.”

“Different how? You guys had one ice cream for 30 minutes.” Alex said, not understanding why you were suddenly a big deal to Luke.

Luke tried to figure out what made you different, but he couldn’t think of anything that made sense. All he could think about was how your laugh and smile made him feel and how for the first time as a girl walked away from him, he chased after you.

“I don’t know.” Luke sighed out, turning to his friends for help, but it was obvious that they didn’t know either. “Whatever, let’s play.” He jumped up, wanting more than anything to get his mind off you.

---

Your house was quiet as you got back, exactly what you were expecting. A big house was nice, but when you’re all alone it’s a little, well, lonely. Dropping all your bags at the front door, you slipped over to the couch and plopped down on it. You couldn’t help as your thoughts moved onto Luke. It was fun to spend time with him today, but you couldn’t just be a hook-up to him, or anyone. You’ve had enough of that at your old school and once you moved back, you promised yourself you were done with those types of boys. But that didn’t make passing up Luke any easier.

You needed a second opinion or at least an opinion that wasn’t your own, so you called Julie.

“Hey, underachiever.” You chuckled into the call, happy Julie and Flynn allowed you into their nicknames, although yours was still in the works.

“Hey, good-for-nothing.” Julie chuckled back and you gasped through your laughs.

“Julie Molina, what have I ever done to you!” you faked sadness, hearing Julie’s laugh quiet only because she pulled the phone away from her ear.

“I was just trying it out, okay? Now, what’s up?”

You played with the hem of your shirt, trying to figure out what to tell her. “I hung out with Luke today.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t ‘oh’ me, J.” you huffed out. “I went shopping and spilled one of my bags and he showed up to help me pick my things up.”

“How heroic.” She joked and you chuckled. “That doesn’t really count as hanging out, Y/N.”

“No, but getting ice cream after and talking kind of does.” Julie fell silent and after a few moments, you sat up quickly, already knowing what she was thinking. “It wasn’t a date.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

“You thought it.” You mumbled, closing your eyes and relaxing back on the couch.

“Did you?”

It was your turn to be silent before you shook your head then realized she couldn’t see you. “I don’t think so. It’s like- I’m not interested in being one the girls he goes after, but…”

“But you had fun?”

“Does it make me a hypocrite if I say yes?”

“Just a little.” Julie and you laughed at her joke. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Ignore him?” You didn’t need to see Julie to know she was giving you an unimpressed look. “Seriously Julie! I’ll just ignore him until he loses interest.”

“And if he never loses interest?”

“Oh, he will. Guys like him always do.” That you were sure of.

Julie and you stayed on the call for a few more hours before your phone was about to die and you had to get up and plug it in, saying goodbye to her in the process. Once the call was over and your phone was plugged in next to the couch, you scrolled through the notifications you missed. There wasn’t a lot, and they were mostly boring ones, but one of them caught your attention.

Unknown Number

Hey, it’s Luke. Carrie gave me your number. Wanna talk?

You stared at the message for far longer than you’d care to admit before you tossed your phone on the table with a grunt and turned the tv on. Scrolling through the channels wasn’t as distracting as you hoped, especially when your phone started ringing. You expected it to be Julie, but when you picked it up to look, you were greeted with the same number you just read from Luke.

You hesitated before answering. “Calling? Really? Were you even sure this was my number?”

At the sound of your voice, Luke involuntarily smiled. “I hoped.”

“What did you want to talk about?” you said getting straight to the point.

There was a pause on Luke’s end before his laugh sounded in your ear. “You know, I don’t remember.”

“And why is that?”

“Ooh, that I can’t tell you.” Luke waited for you to respond, but when you didn’t, he knew you were waiting for him to continue because you weren’t letting him off that easily. “Okay, I don’t remember because the moment I heard your voice, I forgot.”

You snorted, covering your mouth with the back of your hand. “What a line, Luke!” you guffawed, always shocked by his nerve. “How many times have you used that one on a girl?”

Luke knew what it sounded like. “Never.” He answered honestly, hearing your laugh quiet a little as he continued. “Yeah, yeah. Keep laughing but I’m being honest.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Because I haven’t really given you a reason to.”

His words made you frown a little. “Should I believe you?”

“I want you to.”

You nodded, chewing your lip slightly as you tried to figure out what you were feeling. The butterflies that were starting to flutter in your stomach unnerved you, but if you were being honest, you kind of liked the feeling. “Well, how are you going to make me believe you?”

Luke was silent and if it wasn’t for the small shuffle of what you assumed was him moving in his room, you would’ve thought the call ended. “Did you have dinner yet?”

“What?”

“Dinner? You know, the meal you eat usually when the day is ending.”

“I know what dinner is, Luke. And no, I haven’t eaten yet. Why?” you glanced to the fridge, hoping your mother had at least gone grocery shopping for you, something you should’ve checked hours ago.

“Do you like pizza?”

---

Luke pulled up to your house half an hour later with your favorite pizza in his hands and a smile on his face as he knocked on the door.

“It’s creepy that you know where I live.” You told him as you opened the door and let him in out of the cold.

Luke frowned. “You gave me the address?”

You nodded and put your hands on your hips. “Yeah. It’s also creepy that I just willingly did that.” You mumbled to yourself, wondering how the hell you allowed Luke to just be in your house, bringing you food, no less. You pointed, “Living room is over there. I’ll get plates.”

Luke took the time to glance around your house when you were gone and he made his way slowly to the couch, stopping at the shelf of pictures. There were quite a few of when you were younger that made Luke smile involuntarily as he picked them up, studying them for a few minutes before putting them back. He was on his third picture before you came back in with plates and cans of soda.

“Oh, good. You found the pictures.” You huffed a laugh, peering over your shoulder to see he was staring at one of Julie, Flynn, and you almost a month before you moved. The three of you were in Julie’s studio and singing, Julie and you in front of mics as Flynn brought some of her home DJ equipment. You were positive your dad recorded it, but Ray managed to snap a picture during your performance.

“You sing?” Luke put the photo back and you hummed, turning to the couch and letting him follow you.

“Sing? No. Hold a tune? Still no.” you admitted, hearing Luke laugh at your joke as you both fell on the couch and you passed him a plate.

“Come on, tell me the truth.” Luke pushed and you grinned.

“Fine. Yes, I can sing. I just don’t.” You shrugged and grabbed a slice of pizza and taking a bite.

“Why not?” Luke asked as he copied you. You looked back over to the picture from across the room, a smile settled across your face as you told him. Luke sat and listened to every word of your story, smiling at the cute bits, laughing at the funny ones, frowning at the sad parts and when it was done, he asked questions prompting more stories from both of you. Once again, the conversation between the two of you was easy, almost like breathing in.

Some conversations were harder though and when Luke and you finished a fairly easy conversation, you knew it was time to breathe out. “Why’d you bring me pizza, Luke?”

His eyes stayed downcast as he picked at the pizza and gulped. “You were right.” You raised a brow. “I do flirt with every girl.”

“Did you not know this?”

“No, No. I did.” He admitted and he finally looked up at you who was watching him carefully. “I guess I just never cared enough to do anything about it until now.”

“What changed?” You asked and before Luke could answer, you held a hand up. “And don’t say it’s because you met me. That’s cheesier than this pizza.” You held up the pizza, watching the melted cheese slowly move off before you stopped it, not wanting to ruin your slice.

Luke just chuckled at you, letting his brows raise momentarily as he nodded. “What if it was you?”

“Then I’d say you’re full of it.”

He licked his lips, an action of habit that pulled your eyes down before you made yourself look away. Luke smirked at you. “I saw that.”

You scoffed with a small smile. “Am I supposed to care? Back to the question.”

Luke leaned back on the couch, throwing his arm on the couch. “You are really not like other girls, are you?”

“Because I’m not falling at your feet?”

“Because you’ve got me falling at yours.” Your eyes stayed staring into his for what felt like an eternity. A part of you doubted he was genuine, that this was just another line or move that he used on girls like you and they all fell for it. You would be damned if you did as well. Another part of you looked past the doubt, remembering how much fun you and Luke had on your “date” at the ice cream shop. You wanted to believe him.

“What do you want out of this?” you gestured lazily between the two of you as you turned on the couch to face him. Luke shifted to do the same.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re so lucky you’re good-looking because you are really not good at this talking thing. It’s amazing you’ve managed to seduce half the school.”

“I don’t seduce them!”

“Oh, yeah and I totally believe you.” You pretended to be genuine, and Luke caught on, knowing you were mocking him as he chuckled.

“So, you think I’m good-looking?”

You rolled your eyes with a groan, falling back on the couch enough to grab a pillow to bury your face in. “That’s what you got out of that conversation? How does your ego even fit in your body?”

“Eh, it’s a tight fit.” He joked and you couldn’t help the laugh that broke free before you stopped it, finding it impossible to wipe the smile off your help. Luke leaned forward and pulled the pillow out of your hands before pulling you up, and you found yourselves closer than you had ever been. Your breath stilled as his eyes found yours.

There had never been a time in Luke’s life where he felt what he was now. He’d been this close to many people before, but none of them caused his heart to flutter or his hands to sweat. None of them knew how to make him laugh with just a look or smile just by hearing their voice. None of them were like you. That’s what made you special and if Alex asked him again what made you different than all the rest, that’s what he would tell him. He’d tell him that one day, he could imagine himself falling in love with you.

His eyes fell to your separated lips, moving slowly with each breath you took. Luke’s hand cupped your face gently, cradling it in your hand as his thumb ghosted over your lips. His touch sent shivers down your spine in the perfect way as he pulled his eyes back up to look into yours. You knew it was probably a bad idea- hell, it definitely was a bad idea, but you wanted to kiss him. You wanted to kiss him so badly that you found yourself nodding softly before leaning in. Luke reacted quickly, his hand slipping off your face to the back of your neck, tangling in the lower section of your hair as he pulled you close. Both of your eyes closed as Luke and molded into each other. You grabbed his shirt, fisting it in your hands as Luke’s arm wrapped around you. You let out a moan against his lips as he pulled you into his lap and the action allowed him to deepen the kiss, an improvement you happily accepted.

It wasn’t until your hand started to move down Luke’s shirt before he pulled away, surprising you both. You were breathing a little heavier now, as was Luke, and when you realized you were still on his lap, you got off. The magical trance of the kiss was now broken as you pushed yourself as far as you could on the couch.

Luke and you stayed silent and refused to look at each other. You scolded yourself in your mind, wondering how you allowed yourself to kiss him. You didn’t know why he pulled away and while you worked up the courage to ask him, you couldn’t help but guess why. Maybe he didn’t like the kiss? You did, you really did, but that didn’t mean he did. Maybe he was no longer interested? If that was the case, he would’ve left the moment you got off him. Maybe you were a bad kisser? Nah, you definitely had people that would’ve told you.

In Luke’s mind, he was freaking out. For the first time when he was kissing someone, he wasn’t thinking about just getting them in bed. He was thinking all about you. He thought about the way you felt pressed against him and so close that he could even smell the shampoo you used. He thought about how he could feel your smile against his lips and how he would’ve killed to always feel it just like that.

“I have a feeling your nights don’t usually go that way.” You broke the silence, making Luke’s eyes shoot to yours before he quickly looked away in embarrassment, wiping his palms on his jeans.

“Um,” He began before gulping, “yeah.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Or do you wanna go home and pretend this never happened and tomorrow I get to watch as you flirt with another girl? You ignored the thought in your head and waited for Luke to answer.

Finally, he shook his head. “No, I um, I think I should probably…” he trailed off and your heart sunk a little as he pointed to the door. He stood up before you could even say anything and he collected his things, leaving you on the couch as he started toward the door. “I’ll um, I’ll see you tomorrow!” he called out before he rounded the corner and a few seconds later, you could hear the door close.

You were left there in a daze, trying to figure out if the last few minutes really just happened. You kissed Luke “playboy” Patterson and he literally ran away.

This… This was a new low.

---

Luke sat in his bed that night staring at the ceiling and waiting for a sleep that would never come, at least, not when you occupied every thought in his head. After the first hour of laying there, he grabbed his phone. Your contact filled the screen as he looked at it, wanting to call you and tell you exactly why he ran out tonight, but he couldn’t do it. Instead, he called the one person who warned him how bad this whole thing would turn out to be.

“It is 2 am, you better be dying or dead to call me this late.” He heard Carrie’s sleepy voice through the phone as he glanced at the clock. He didn’t realize he stayed at your place that long.

“Well, hello to you too.”

“You don’t sound dead.” Carrie mumbled and yawned into the phone as Luke tried to figure out what he would say to his tired friend.

“I kissed Y/N.”

There was complete silence from Carrie, not even the shuffling that Luke could faintly hear a second ago from her trying to get comfortable. “Damn.” She said softly. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Luke. And I definitely didn’t think Y/N was going to be one of your hook-ups.”

“We didn’t- I only kissed her.” Luke cursed his stutter as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple.

“You didn’t hook-up? Then what happened after you kissed?” Luke froze, remembering the exact look on your face as he scrambled out of your house.

“I left.”

“You left?”

“Carrie, I ran out of her house.” Luke groaned. “I literally stopped us mid-kiss and then a minute later ran out.”

Carrie was silent again and Luke was certain she was trying to process how stupid he was. “Why would you do that?”

“I… have no idea.” Luke admitted. He didn’t know what possessed him to run out like that. The whole way home, all he could think about was how he wanted to continue kissing you or at least tell you how he felt, not run out of there and leave you with no clue.

“Well, if you didn’t hook-up with her tonight, then I think you just lost your chance.”

Her words made him pause. “Carrie?” He heard her hum in response. “I don’t think I want to just hook-up with Y/N.” There was another pause after his words, and he knew Carrie was waiting for him to elaborate. “I think I really like her.”

“Wow. That’s deep.”

He groaned at Carrie before hearing her laugh at him. “You’re not funny, Care.”

“Tell her how you feel, Luke. If you really actually like her, then make sure she knows you’re not just looking for a hook-up.”

---

Heading into school the next day, you were dreading seeing Luke. You didn’t know what to say to him or if he would even talk to you and with each passing minute, you felt a little less worried. That is, until you walked into homeroom at the end of the day to see Luke watching the door like a hawk. You tried to ignore him as you walked to your desk and plopped into the seat next to Julie who gave you a worried look.

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird all day.”

“Not really.” You mumbled, scooting your chair closer to her, and in a whisper, you told her everything that happened last night after you hung up the phone with her. Julie’s jaw was on the floor by the time you told her Luke ran out.

“I can’t believe it!” She whisper-shouted and you sighed in relief.

“I know! I couldn’t believe he ran out either!”

“No!” You furrowed your brows. “I can’t believe you kissed Luke and you didn’t call me right away!”

“J, it was like after midnight and I was a little embarrassed and traumatized that he literally left me there.” You spoke slowly, hoping she would help you figure out how to get over these feelings that keep you up all night.

Before she could say anything, she felt a tap on her shoulder and the two of you looked up to see Luke smiling uncomfortably at her. “Mind if I sit there?” He pointed to her seat. She looked to you for permission and after a few seconds of crazy glares being exchanged, Julie let Luke take her spot.

You turned to face forward as he sat down and looked at the side of your face, you waited for him to speak up. “I’m sorry about last night.”

“Which part? The kiss or-“

“No, no, the running out part.” Luke cut you off before you could finish, and you nodded awkwardly. “That was stupid.”

“Yeah, a little bit.” You told him and Luke’s stomach fell when he saw the way you clenched your jaw, obviously upset about the situation. “Look, I don’t know what happened and I don’t know why we kissed, but-“

“I like you.” Your breath stopped at his interruption of rushed words, making you very confused about what was happening. Luke quickly picked up on it as he tried to explain. “I got scared last night because I was figuring out that I really, really like you and when we kissed, I just shut off, I guess.”

“So, you left?”

“Well, it was easier than having this conversation when all I could think about was kissing you again.” When you let out a laugh, however small it was, Luke was beginning to think things could be looking up. “I’m really sorry for everything last night.”

“Don’t be sorry for everything.” You told him, reaching forward to grab his hand. Luke’s heart skipped a beat at the warmth of your touch as he watched your hands met and he slowly turned his over so he could hold yours. “The pizza was really good.” It was Luke who let out an amused laugh this time as he shook his head and let his hair drape over his face. You joined him in laughing, feeling your cheeks heat a little. “I guess the kiss was… pretty good too.”

“Pretty good?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” You deadpanned and he put his hands up in the air before taking yours again.

“Would you let me take you out on a date?” Luke asked after a beat of silence, using the courage he’s accumulated after a night of Carrie hyping him up over the phone.

You smirked at him. “Only as friends?”

Luke shook his head. “Not a chance. I meant a real date, hopefully, one that would be followed by a second, then a third, a fourth, then-“

“Woah!” You laughed out and Luke joined you. “Slow down there, Patterson. Let’s just get through one, okay?”

He nodded. “Deal. So, what do you say? Will you go on a date with me?”

You smiled but were reluctant. “What about all the other girls in the school? You’d give them up?”

“They can find their own choice of dates. I’ve got mine right in front of me.” You bit your tongue, trying not to smile as you rolled your eyes.

“You’re still as cheesy as ever,” Luke shrugged, he didn’t mind being cheesy if he got to see your smile come from it, “but it looks like you’ve got a date tonight.”

.

.

.

.

[333sth]

dove. (frankie morales)

chapter i. previous.

pairing: frankie morales x ofc (’dove’) no use of y/n.

warnings: mention of ptsd/military service, language, violence, brief mention of torture/kidnapping, injury detail, fighting.

summary: frankie was going to propose, until dove found the ring and ghosted. even santi can’t track her down.

rating: mature. wc: 1.6k

next

Dove was a nickname coined by an old general during her training. He was a traditional man, though not disrespectful. It was a term of endearment that probably softened the influx of powerful women breaching into the male territory. He’d drawled, ‘I ought to call you Dove – I ain’t never seen a girl so swift, yet so fuckin’ lethal.’ She kept the boys in line too, he’d noted. When Benny got too reckless, or Tom’s temper ran away with him, she was the first to snap them out of it. In environments where peace was a very distant concept, she played the peacekeeper.

One time, during a two-month deployment in Nigeria, the group was shoved in the back of an ancient pick-up truck for six hours. Dove was wedged between Will and Frankie, sweltering in the humid air. The stale smell of sweat mixed with blood and diesel was permeating the air, and they were three hours from the nearest checkpoint. To pass the time, she asked them what they’d do if they weren’t special forces.

That was easy for Will – he’d be a teacher of some kind. Benny waffled about sports, making some brash comment about how he’s got to channel all his aggression somewhere. Tom and Santi couldn’t come up with anything that suited them more than the forces, which was not surprising. Frankie would still be a pilot somehow. Dove had never seen him more comfortable than in the pilot’s chair.

Dove dreamed of owning her own bar or café, somewhere relaxed and laid-back. A beach perhaps, somewhere quaint and peaceful, where the air is warm well into the late evening and the waves are gentle, collapsing onto the sand like white noise. She imagined the hum of conversation meeting tinkling music, beach lanterns dotted around the decking to cast an ambient glow beneath the stars. Maybe a chef on weekends could make bar snacks. Tom had snorted at that, throwing a jab about how she can burn the water they use to make their dried food sachets.

The men had recalled this conversation, desperately trying to fathom where Dove might have taken off to. It was met with an aching nostalgia for the type of teammate she was too. That conversation had been a tactic, a peaceful one, to prevent the terrible concoction of adrenaline, exhaustion and heat forming an argument in that truck. She was a natural tactician as well as a good friend.

Frankie had recounted each country they had been stationed and exactly how Dove had felt about them. She had loved Argentina, even when she got shot and Will spent three hours with his finger crammed in the wound to stop the bleeding. But she also liked Jamaica, Brazil and Hawaii. None of their contacts in the forces had any trace of her, not even Santi’s in South America. Her family were none the wiser – they brushed it off, her dad mumbling something about it sounding like her usual antics. 

All he had was a scribbled note that read, ‘I need space. I’m safe. I love you.’ It was folded neatly in his wallet, like he was carrying the last piece of her that he had. 

*

Mexico. That was where she was. A small town on the West coast that had enough life to keep her occupied, and the guarantee of anonymity.

If people asked, she was a retired nurse, which wasn’t entirely untrue. She told them she spent a lot of her career in humanitarian aid, to explain the occasional jitters on a rowdy Friday night and the nasty scars. There was a particularly gruesome one leading from the base of her throat up to her bottom lip from a knife fight. She told them it was shrapnel, flung from a collapsing building, and she was lucky it didn’t catch her jugular. The locals had gasped in awe at her heroism. She’d flinched against the memory of how her own knife buried into her attacker’s throat instead. 

A few days into her move, Dove had found what could only be considered a derelict shed on the beachfront. It was probably the remains of an old boathouse. With some help from the locals, she had restored the ageing planks of wood. What was spare formed the bar and some rustic furniture. She pieced together a jumble of second-hand bar stools, chairs and lanterns that made for an eclectic combination. It had character and history in its walls, rather than some swanky, expensive build devoid of any personality. It was exactly what she had dreamed of, huddled in hypothermic temperatures or insomniac in her cot at base, sleep beyond her reach.

It didn’t change the fact that every time she entered her bedroom, the old polaroid of Frankie pinned to the wall hits her like a ton of bricks. Frankie knows she took it – it was pinned to the fridge at their home before she left. It’s quintessential Frankie, sat with his arms folded to his chest, biceps straining slightly against an old denim shirt that was getting a little too snug post-retirement. It was at a barbecue, his skin tanned and flushed from a day in the sun drinking, tousled hair peeking out from the sides of a dog-eared cap. Every time Dove glances at it, she wonders if he still has that hat. 

‘Of course he has,’ the voice in her head snaps back. Any piece of clothing she’d suggest replacing would be countered with, ‘over my dead body’. The man was sentimental, a little too attached to his home comforts. She’d also bought it him in a seedy gift shop in the middle of nowhere as a joke. 

“To add some variety,” she’d said. He would never let it go now.

Once, Veronica had eyed the photograph on her mirror and asked, “Who is he then? An ex?”

Veronica, or Roni for short, had lived in the town her whole life until university. When she graduated and moved home to save money, she needed a job. Dove needed a friend, so she took her on as a bartender. She was young and giddy, but harmless. More importantly, she was too self-absorbed to notice or even care that her thirty-something year old boss had bullet holes in her back.

“Something like that.” Dove had replied, rifling through her sorry excuse for a makeup bag. She’d closed the bar early to have a rare night off in the next town over, which had considerably livelier nightlife. 

“You never talk about relationships. Or men.’ Roni observed, peering over Dove’s shoulder to eye another photograph. It was a group picture of the boys, huddled in the same fraying booth in their favourite bar back in Florida. “Looks like you were spoilt for choice.”

Dove scoffed, meeting her friend’s twinkling gaze in the mirror. “Shut your mouth. They were friends from work.”

“Were? Does that mean you can’t set me up now?” 

“They’re almost twice your age. You’d tire ‘em out.” Dove set down the lip-gloss she dragged out for special occasions. “Come on, I’m not getting any younger either. It’s already passed my bedtime.”

Thankfully, that was enough to amuse the younger girl into linking her arm and hauling her out the door to the taxi, no more questions asked.

*

The hollering of spectators and thudding of skin slapping against the mat was reduced to a distant buzzing in Frankie’s ears. It was dimmed by the incessant ramblings of Santiago and Tom, discussing the files Santi had put together on Lorea. He could feel the reawakening of his rusty military senses as he follows the familiar tactics, mentally registering his agreement or noting what he might do differently. He doesn’t vocalise it though, because he hasn’t even agreed yet. Joining the debate would inadvertently signal his agreement. He didn’t want that.

There was a shadow lingering in the space on the bench beside him. It was an empty presence, not Will, who was hooked on the cage of the ring yelling encouragement to his brother. Not Benny, thumping his leather gloves together with his teeth pulled harshly over his mouthguard, judging his competitor with a predatory glint in his eye. 

The opponent was a monster, but he lumbered like his limbs were filled with lead. Frankie notes that Benny, nimble and tall, will have a breeze tiring him out. Dove would have joked that it wasn’t worth coming, that they’ll be sat here until their asses are numb watching Benny play cat and mouse. His chest twinges. Sometimes it’s too easy to remember what she’d do, what she’d say. He wished he knew what she’d make of Santiago’s proposition. She always saw through Pope’s glamourisation and Tom’s greed. 

What Frankie misses while he observes his pitiful surroundings is Tom and Santi descending into a hushed conversation. Tom nudges Santi, “You got anything on Dove?”

Santi sighs, long and solemn, “Maybe.” As Tom’s face quirks in interest, he holds up his finger, “It’s just a hunch.”

“A hunch is better than what we’ve had in the last year.”

Santi takes a sip of his beer, casting a glance at Fish, whose eyes are trained on the floor and the swirling contents of his cup. He knows him well enough to know his thoughts are the only thing that have his attention.

“I worry about him. We all do.” Tom whispers. “Getting busted just made things worse.”

“Don’t get his hopes up, man. It’s nothing solid. It’ll crush him if I’m wrong.” Tom nods solemnly before Santi continues, “A friend of mine saw an ex-Delta in a bar, a woman. He knew ‘cause of a tattoo she had on the nape of her neck.”

Tom’s eyes widen. In front of them, Benny lands a sickening punch on his opponent’s nose, complimented by an audible crack. He’s barely breaking a sweat, dancing around as the guy heaves and stumbles forward. 

Santi’s gaze doesn’t break from the ring. “Mexico. I think she’s in Mexico.”

[bellakitse]

When the world throws you off the track (I have your back)

“I’m just glad my son’s tender heart didn’t cost him this time,” he finishes with a half-smile, looking at TK like he’s waiting for him to agree. Instead, TK frowns at the words and the tone with which they are said.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he questions, feeling his hackles rise as the man gives him a confused look.

+

Gabriel stops by Carlos' place and finds TK, they have a conversation about Carlos' decisions.

Warning* there is a passing line about police brutality 

TK is lounging around on his boyfriend’s couch, resting like he promised he would, while Carlos is at the market when the doorbell rings. He frowns slightly at the sound. He and Carlos aren’t expecting anyone. The team had wanted to stop by, but Carlos, being overly protective after his latest accident and head injury from just two days ago, had pushed them off till the weekend.

He gets up slowly from the nice cocoon Carlos made him before he left, figuring that maybe his boyfriend needed help with the door. Carlos only went to get a few things for dinner, but TK knows how he likes to wander the shops, always coming home with more than he set out to buy.

“Did you buy out the market again, babe,” he asks as he opens the door, coming up short when it’s not his boyfriend struggling with groceries, but instead his boyfriend’s father standing on the other side, eyebrow raised at his greeting. “Mr. Reyes,” he stammers out, caught by surprise at the man’s presence. “Uh, hi?”

The man gives him an amused half-smile in return. “Hello TK, may I come in?”

“Oh!” TK exclaims, feeling himself blush, rushing to answer. “Um, yes, of course. Please come in.”

Gabriel tips his hat at him, taking it off once he steps into the living room, looking around as he stands in the middle of it.

TK fidgets behind him quietly as Gabriel’s gaze pauses on his little nest on the couch before turning to look at him, his lips twitching as he looks at him up and down. TK follows his gaze, his face growing hotter as he remembers that he’s wearing one of Carlos’ old APD shirts and sweats, both a little too big for him.

“Carlos is at the market,” he blurts out, feeling off-center as Gabriel studies him. “He said he was gonna make chicken tortilla soup?”

“Sopa Azteca?” Gabriel questions with a smile. “His mama would make it for him when he wasn’t feeling well as a kid. He better make the tortillas fresh, or Andrea will have words with him if she finds out.”

TK chuckles, feeling some of the tension leaving his body. “Carlos makes pasta from scratch because from a box is a crime – his words. Pretty sure he feels the same about store-bought tortillas.”

Gabriel huffs, his amused expression letting TK know he’s familiar with the argument. “His mama will be proud. Those two take cooking very seriously.”

TK lets out a snort at the understatement. “Oh, I know. I’m not the greatest in the kitchen, and as a result, he doesn’t let me in there without supervision.”

Gabriel lets out a chuckle at his words, helping TK relax further.

“Can I get you something to drink?” he offers, remembering his manners.

“Water, please.”

TK nods, quickly making his way over to the fridge as Gabriel sits on one of Carlos’ love seats.

“So, TK, how are you feeling?”

TK pulls out two bottles of water, turning back towards the living room. He hands Gabriel one of them before sitting across from him, trying to tidy up his blankets. “I’m okay. I had a headache for the first day, and I’m still a little banged up, but mostly I’m fine.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Gabriel tells him. Silence settles over them after that. TK picks at a loose thread of the blanket as he tries to think of what to speak about. Noticing this, Gabriel puts him out of his misery. “So you’re probably wondering why I’m here?”

“Yes – no,” TK stumbles over his words. “I mean, this is your son’s home. I’m sure Carlos has told you,  you are welcomed any time you want to come over.”

“But you’re surprised I’m still here when he’s not,” Gabriel finishes for him with a grin.

TK gives him a shrug, not bothering to correct the man when he’s right. He is curious.

“I came to tell him that the case against him is officially closed, and he’s been taken off suspension,” Gabriel informs him, pausing when TK lets out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank god,” he says with a smile of his own at the good news. “I’m glad that’s settled.”

“Me too,” Gabriel answers before shaking his head softly. “I’m just glad my son’s tender heart didn’t cost him this time,” he finishes with a half-smile, looking at TK like he’s waiting for him to agree. Instead, TK frowns at the words and the tone with which they are said.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he questions, feeling his hackles rise as the man gives him a confused look.

“It means that he’s lucky it worked out in his favor,” Gabriel frowns back at him. “It could have blown up in his face if he had been wrong.”

“But he wasn’t wrong,” TK shoots back tightly, his skin feeling tight with irritation. He recalls Carlos’ face as he told him everything that had gone down between him and his father, his hushed words as he confided that even though his father said he was proud of him in the end, he didn’t entirely feel it was true. He remembers his boyfriend’s hurt face, and it makes him angry.

“TK, this could have gone really badly for him,” Gabriel argues, his frown deepening.

“Yeah,” TK agrees sarcastically. “If he hadn’t trusted his instincts, if he hadn’t led with his kind heart, that man would have blown up. Not could have, would have. I spent time with the psychos that strapped the bomb to that victim; they killed one of their own right in front of us. They would have set that bomb off if Carlos arrested him, killing that poor man, Carlos, and his partner. Carlos’ compassion saved them all, as well as my team and me. And here you are acting like it’s a weakness, a failing of his, when if more cops were like Carlos, then maybe the public wouldn’t have to take to the streets every other week in this country,” he finishes hotly, all but shouting by the end.

He’s breathing hard as he tries to rein in his anger. Looking over at the older man, he finds him looking stunned.

“Well – “ Gabriel clears his throat. “You certainly have strong opinions.”

TK closes his eyes for a moment, taking a long slow breath and then another. “I would apologize,” he starts, his voice calmer even if the rest of him isn’t. “But I’m not sorry,” he says bluntly, pressing his lips together. “Your son is incredible, as a person and as a cop. I’m not saying that because I’m his boyfriend. I work with Carlos. I see how good he is at his job, and a big part of that comes from being one of the most compassionate people I have ever met.”

Gabriel says nothing to that. Instead, he watches him, studying him, and even though TK knows he should probably stop now, he has one more thing to say and can’t hold it back.

“I love your son, Sir,” he says quietly, his heart beating so loud it echos in his ears. “I love him, and I have made it my job to protect and defend him from anything and anyone who would cause him pain, and if that includes you too, so be it.”

Gabriel opens his mouth, and TK braces himself for his response, only for the door to open again as Carlos walks in.

“Babe, I found those tangerines you like on sale,” he says with a smile, stopping short when he sees they’re not alone. “Dad?” he questions, shooting him a look. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Gabriel looks at him for a moment before standing up and turning towards Carlos. “I came to let you know the investigation’s done and stayed to talk to TK for a bit.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Carlos smiles softly, first at his dad and then over at him. TK tries to return it, but the conversation he’s just finished makes it difficult. Carlos gives him a questioning look, but TK turns his focus back to Gabriel when he clears his throat. 

“Well, I should get going,” he says, focusing on his son. “Your mother is making ribs tonight, and you know I don’t like to be late to those.” 

Carlos nods, giving his father a slight nod, but his attention is still on him.

“TK – ” Gabriel starts, and TK braces himself. “It was...interesting talking to you. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow at that, the questions clear on his face.

“You boys have a good evening,” Gabriel finishes as he heads for the door. He stops by Carlos and claps his shoulder. “We’ll talk later, mijo.”

“Yes, sir,” Carlos nods, holding the door for his father, closing it behind him. He turns back towards him, brow still raised. “Wanna tell me what happened here?”

“I may have told your dad off?” he says hesitantly, letting out a groan when Carlos’ eyes widen at his words. “Oh my god, I told your dad off,” he repeats, mostly to himself as what he’s just done catches up with him. He drops his head into his hands and lets out another whine. “I can’t believe I did that.”

Carlos moves; TK can hear him walking towards the kitchen, placing the groceries on the counter before making his way over to TK. He feels the couch dip next to him with Carlos’ weight, but he doesn’t look up at him. He only lifts his head when Carlos places a hand on his neck and gives it a comforting squeeze. 

“He’s gonna hate me now and tell you to break up with me,” he tells Carlos, only half-joking, dread quickly spreading through him.

“My dad doesn’t hate anyone. I’m not sure he knows how, and he sure as hell will not hate the man I love,” Carlos answers thoughtfully. “But even if he did, I’m not going to break up with you because my parents want me to. You’re stuck with me, baby.”

TK smiles, letting out a huff of laughter as Carlos smiles back at him.

“Tell me what happened,” he asks softly, taking TK’s hands in his.

TK leans back on the couch, letting out a sigh before he speaks. He starts from the beginning of Gabriel’s visit and how awkward it felt. He’s honest about what he said, giving Carlos’ hand a squeeze when he makes a face at his dad’s words. He bites down on his bottom lip as he recalls his reaction, feeling embarrassed by his outburst but even now not feeling sorry about it. He meant what he said; he’s going to do his best to protect Carlos, even if it means from his own family. Wrapping up, he holds his breath as Carlos stares at him, mouth open and eyes wide.

“You really did that,” he whispers, his disbelief clear; it makes TK cringe.

“Yeah,” he whispers back, remorse slowly starting to set in. So much for Carlos’ parents liking him. “Fuck, Carlos, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help it. He started talking, and I saw red – “

TK stops explaining. He can’t speak when he basically has a lap full of Carlos. His boyfriend all but crawling into it as he wraps his arms around his shoulders and hugs him for dear life. TK instinctively hugs him back just as hard. His hold tightening when he feels Carlos shake.

They stay like that for a few minutes as TK runs his hands up and down Carlos’ back. When Carlos pulls back to look at him, he’s thankfully not crying, but TK can see the emotion in his big brown eyes.

“Thank you,” he says softly, and TK feels overwhelmed by the love he feels for the man in his arms.

“Anytime,” he answers, his voice rough from his own emotions. He takes in the gratitude and love he sees in Carlos’ expression and swallows hard, feeling overwhelmed by it himself. “I love you, Carlos. I’m always going to have your back no matter what. We’re a team.”

Carlos smiles at him. It’s a little wobbly, but it’s tender, and it’s there. “A pretty damn good one too.”

TK grins, a chuckle passing his lips as the tension inside him dissipates at Carlos’ words. “Yeah, we are.”

 ֎֎֎

 Hours later, when they find themselves once again on the couch after filling up on Carlos’ delicious soup, his phone rings.

TK holds his breath as Carlos shows him the ID that says it’s his mother. He doesn’t understand as Carlos speaks rapid Spanish with her, but he lets out the breath trapped in his lungs when Carlos starts to laugh, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he looks over at him.

“Si, Mami, he’s a firecracker,” he says into the phone, his smile teasing when TK looks at him with wide eyes, realizing he is the topic of conversation. “I’ll ask him and get back to you, okay?” he says to his mother, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “Okay, I’ll call you back–love you too, Mami.”

Carlos hangs up the phone. He doesn’t speak for a moment. Instead, he throws his head back on the couch and lets out a chuckle. TK waits despite being on pins and needles.

“Dad told my mom about your conversation,” he starts, lifting his head to look back at him with a smile that is both surprised and happy. “They’re both impressed with my protective boyfriend, and mom is feeling left out on getting to know you,” Carlos continues with a twinkle in his eye, his smile only growing as TK stares at him. “So she’s inviting us to dinner at the house this weekend if you would like to go.”

“They don’t hate me?” TK can’t help but ask, shocked at the request.

Carlos’ expression goes soft at his question. He leans in, giving him a gentle kiss. “Hate someone who obviously loves their son?” he questions, shaking his head. “No, baby, my dad doesn’t hate you, and my mom sounds like she’s ready to adopt you into the family,” he continues with a quirk of his mouth. “How do you feel about being a Reyes?”

TK blushes at the question. He knows it’s said in jest, but he can’t help the way his heart speeds up at the thought of him sharing Carlos’ last name.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” he answers honestly with a small smile of his own when he hears Carlos’ breath catch. “In the near future,” he finishes with a shrug he pretends is casual.

“In the near future,” Carlos repeats, amazement coloring his words. He looks at him for a moment before shaking his head, the smile on his face bright and beautiful. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You do that,” he answers smartly. He gives Carlos a kiss on the cheek before he cuddles back into his side. “We should get a pie from that bakery we like on Winston for dessert.”

“Is that yes to dinner?” Carlos questions into the side of his face.

“Of course,” he answers, his focus on the tv even though his heart is racing. “If I’m going to be a Reyes someday, I should probably make nice with the in-laws.”

He feels Carlos smile against his skin. “Not nervous?”

TK lets out a snort, turning his face to look at his boyfriend. “Scared shitless,” he says with a wry grin, but it softens after a second. “But you’ll be there, and I can handle anything with you by my side.”

Carlos smiles at him. He leans in, pressing his forehead against his. “We’re a team.”

[writingsbychlo]

💭

Ayyy Congrats Chlo! Can I get a 💭 of Noah when his girl is pregnant? Like how is he through it snd when she's in labor?

no more requests, the sleepover is over, I'm just finishing up what's in my inbox!

I got so carried away with this

he would be so good by the labour stage

but lets be real, he takes a hot minute to get adjusted

now, don't get me wrong, this was planned

and he is damn excited to be a dad

you've been taking folic acid and vitamin D and all the good stuff

and you were both elated and crying when the test came back positive

but he does take a moment to actually realise what it means

like he did not think that far through, if he's honest

rubbing your back throughout morning sickness

but like, he doesn't quite get it

you have a significantly lowered sex drive

breast tenderness and morning sickness and he is kinda sexually frustrated

it takes him a moment to adjust to that because y'all had been pretty active before, and he has to take care of himself now

not to mention, you're a lot more sleepy

he knew you'd get sleepy, but he expected it to come later, not as early in the pregnancy as the first few weeks

so there's a lot of things that have to be cancelled

like concerts and things

but he was looking forwards to them

and it causes some arguments to begin with

like when he went to the concert with boyd instead

and you'd put a blanket and pillow on the couch for him

or the argument that came with him insisting that he could ride the bike a little longer

and the little strop he gets in when you throw out all the foods on the list your midwife gave you after your first antenatal appointment

"you can't eat them, but I can! why do we have to throw it all out?"

"because you're supposed to be supporting me!"

"I am supporting you, but I still want to eat my food!"

"fine, keep it then!"

and he feels bad two weeks later when you go to game night

and derek and stiles have laid out an awesome looking spread

with charcuterie boards and cheeses and crackers and wine

and he knows how much you love all of that stuff

and you literally can't have any of it

in fact, you brought your own meal, which is a salad and plain crackers and it's not exactly game night material

and so he does some research into food and writes down everything you can and can't have

and he watches a video on best recipes for pregnancy and he makes one for you

a little surprise dinner for when you get home from work

"what's all this?"

"well, you know, your meals look kinda' miserable. but, you're literally growing our child, so you should get to eat nice things, and I googled a good recipe for pregnancy safe meals."

noah getting laid that night

and afterwards, when you're asleep on his chest, he realises how easy it is when he stops thinking it's gonna be a struggle

at around about 7 weeks, you start getting more emotional

crying more at movies and getting mad at random things and being a lot clingier than usual

which he doesn't mind, of course

but it freaks him out sometimes

"noah, what the fuck?" while in tears and he's freaking out because he has no idea how bad he fucked up or what he did "there's a dead bird in the garden, noah, that's got to be some kind of omen, oh my god, what if you die? why would you just die, noah?"

so he cleans up the dead bird

but now you're mad because you're worried about him abandoning you

"baby, if I was gonna' abandon you then why would I have married you, huh?"

and it takes him a hot minute to get used to that too

however, he also learns how to direct it at other people for his own amusement

"hey, baby, did you know that stiles wears socks to bed, even in the summer?"

"you wear socks to sleep in the summer? you're sick, stiles. you're sick. I don't want you near my child, you're weird, you and your socks and your sweaty toes can stay away. you're so gross."

"what the fuck?"

and noah just laughing his ass off about it

you also have to pee a lot more so noah has to take that into account

you're still fully able to go hiking and do the things the two of you love doing

but he has to plan in your pee breaks

not to mention, you're still throwing up every morning

so, he can't plan too much, but he does plan a little weekend getaway for you both

with a privately rented cabin so that you can throw up each morning in peace and don't feel like you're being watched

panicking when you get spotting at week 8

and that really throws you both through a loop

rushing to the hospital and he's unfamiliar with driving your car

so it stresses him out to know he's useless in emergencies

it turns out to be nothing

but noah is pretty sure he's never cried that hard

not to mention, in a public bathroom, just so he didn't scare you

and when he gets home, like, fuck, it's a reality check for him

he starts getting driving lessons

he has a license and all but he's rusty

and he wants to be prepared, so he starts taking lessons

he also starts checking out bigger cars for the two of you

because your little car won't do in a few years

"you know, not that I'm complaining, but I've noticed you aren't wearing bras anymore."

watching your cheeks go fucking warm as you get all embarrassed

"do you wanna go shopping, get some comfier ones?"

"you are gonna go pregnancy bra shopping with me?"

"well, considering how proud I am when I get to go regular bra shopping with you, I think pregnancy bra shopping is the same."

going with you to get tests and scans done

literally crying again when you hear the heartbeat

"we made that, oh my god."

texting everyone he knows when you get your due date estimate

holding your hands when you have to get your pregnancy vaccinations

actually taking notes when the midwife starts talking about making a birthing plan and getting things sorted before you get to the third trimester

and he does a lot of research on birthing plans and starts prepping

going on every shopping trip with you

"I want to get the nursery painted, like, a while before the baby comes. so we can air it out for fumes."

"we can go check samples out this weekend."

"well, I mean, that's soon, like, really?"

"yeah, whatever you want, sunshine."

getting laid again

and when the morning sickness goes away, he starts getting his late morning sleep back

starting to get self-conscious about extra pregnancy weight gain

and noah doing everything he can to reassure you

but as you get into the second trimester, your sex drive suddenly jumps back up

and he fucking loves it

because that's a lot of unprotected sex and a lot of making out and a lot of touching

and honestly, something about it is really turning him on

"baby, I don't know if it's your glow or the fact that I am literally so in love with you, or maybe the months of not having sex, but I've literally never been this hard."

"shut up and fuck me, you can compliment me later."

"'kay."

throughout your second trimester, you get everything done

the nursery gets decorated and the furniture is built and it's perfect

there's only the little touches now, like mobiles and clothes and such

he also bought the new car, and traded yours in

and he arranged for you to get lessons in it too, so you know how to drive a bigger car before you get too pregnant to drive safely

crying the first time the baby moves. so much fucking crying.

and getting so excited every time

it's few and far between in the middle of your second trimester, but it's so meaningful

starting to go to pregnancy classes

and he also signs you both up for a pregnancy exercise class

that is supposedly meant to make labour easier because of the pelvic floor exercises

having a few days where you're nervous around him

thinking he did something wrong

"I think I'm gonna want to take an epidural."

"that's what you've been so worried about?"

"well, yeah. I read all these pamphlets about how it's so controversial and sometimes the dads don't like it, an-"

"I want you to be happy, okay? it's gonna be a happy time, so whatever you want, we'll do, okay? I want you to smile when you look back on the birth of our baby."

"I love you, so damn much."

"I love you so damn much."

finding out the sex of the baby, neither of you wants to wait

telling everyone it's a secret until the baby shower

your bump really starting to come in at the end of the second trimester

as well as headaches and backaches and stretch marks

and noah always making sure to kiss it better

a lot of nice warm baths and washing your hair for you

the baby starts responding to touch and sound, though

noah starts talking to the baby a lot

telling them about your day and rubbing lotion on your stomach

the baby getting hiccups for the first time

in the beginning of the second trimester, you start choosing names

more tears when you settle on a name

the third trimester is where you really start feeling it

you’ve got mood swings, you’ve got backache, and you’re getting a lot of odd cravings

all of which noah indulges for you

some make him gag and he actually cannot watch you eat it

banning food in bed

it caused an argument but he won that one

announcing the gender at your baby shower

you and noah dressing in white while waiting for everyone’s guesses

it’s a girl!

you announced it via a little cake cutting ceremony that was pink inside

using those last few weeks to decorate the nursery with teddies and buy clothes

when you finally go into labour it’s actually while you’re hanging out with stiles and derek

thinking it’s just cramps for a while

because you’ve been having cramps, you think it’s fine

until

“uh, (Y/N), you know I love you, but did you pee on my couch?”

“excuse me, I did not pee on your couch an- oh my god, they’re contractions.”

noah literally choking on his drink

you rubbing his back as he tries to cough it up

panicking so much that his whole fucking birthing plan goes out of the window

“the bag is at home!”

“what about your pillow?”

“fuck! fuck! fuck!”

derek is the only calm one because stiles is;

“HOLY FUCK, IM GONNA BE AN UNCLE, GIMME A NEICE!”

and noah is 

“HOLY FUCK, IM GONNA BE A FATHER!”

so derek coordinates it all while you just kinda sit there and watch it all

“okay, well, her contractions are now, like, eight minutes apart, so maybe we should get a move on.”

telling stiles to take you to the hopsital while he takes noah to pick everything up

and off you go

stiles is fucking buzzing the whole way there

calling your hospital to inform them you’re on your way

getting to the hospital and being greeted by your midwife

“lovely to see you again, mom and dad”

“I DIDN’T MAKE THAT.”

“thanks, stiles.” your midwife being confused. “this is the uncle, they’re twins. dad is on his way.”

“I’M THE UNCLE!”

“stop shouting stiles, the baby won’t come out, you’re scaring it back up.”

“sorry.”

stiles holding your hand

noah arriving five minutes later with more than enough stuff

“I didn’t know which pjs you’d want after so I brought options!”

after a good few hours of labour, and noah being there for all of it, your baby is born

literally crashing right after and sleeping for a while

“‘bout fuckin time you woke up, noah won’t let me see my niece ‘til you have. hurry up.”

“I will punch you so hard you’ll be glad you’re in a hospital.”

“that’s my wife”

“sorry.”

meeting your daughter with noah, and having a moment

because he’s put her in a little pink striped onesie and she’s got a baby beanie on

“she’s got your nose.”

“you can’t tell that, she’s like six hours old.”

“i can hope.”

finally taking her to meet stiles who practically dies on the spot

he cries a lot when he finally gets to hold his niece

“stiles, derek, meet ‘hope claudia stilinski’.”

[apherod]

Rubian Soulmate AU

I finally finished writing it ahhhh

I eventually decided that I was going for a sketch-style writing for this. Just short bits and pieces here and there, piecing together some scenes, but not fully fleshed out into a storyline (it coincides with the original story mostly anyway)

So here it is! Enjoy!

This is a Liam and Ruby Soulmate AU requested by an anon (possibly @thedarkestcrew?) ask, in which damage done to one half of the soulmate pair would translate to the other half. 

Word count: 4400

===

Liam

“Where did all these bruises come from?”

I was driving through Highway 95 in Maryland when I noticed the bruises crowning my knuckles. They just…appeared, like petals floating to the surface of water. It is possible that I punched something—or someone—at some point in the last few days, or tripped and fell, and using…my fists to break the fall? But I don’t recall doing any of that.

Then again, my head hadn’t been the most reliable in these past few weeks, either.

They weren’t the first. A couple of weeks ago, I woke up with a cut on my upper arm, and the blood drenched half of my sleeve, but the sleeve wasn’t torn or cut, so it couldn’t have been me… Another one came a few days after that, when I was driving, and a sudden searing pain came to my wrist, like I was burnt by a frying pan, but that part of my skin wasn’t even touching anything. The list goes on.

I think I’m going insane.

Some people…some who are lucky enough to find their soulmates, found themselves with identical wounds on them, because when one half of that bond gets hurt, the other one suffers, too. Mom’s bruises never translated onto our birth dad. Maybe that was why he was so okay with hurting her. It wasn’t until she met Harry, did that magic—or curse—work on both of them.

But that’s exactly that—it only happens after you’ve met the person. If I’ve somehow met her, and didn’t know who she was, then I’ve really screwed up. Big time.

It couldn’t have been anyone in Caledonia, otherwise I would’ve known. No one from home, either. There weren’t even that many of us left. Could it be someone from East River? For some reason, I just couldn’t be sure… There’re this weird quality in my memory when I think of East River, glowing tinge surrounding everything, blurring details, and flaring up the edges, making it hard to see for too long.

Also, if I met her in East River, why isn’t she with me?

If she’s really out there, I felt sorry for all the pain I’ve caused her in the past few days. When I narrowly escaped that group of Skip Tracers, my arms were all cut up, real pretty. I can’t imagine the horror she must have felt when her arms just, out of nowhere, started spontaneously bleeding half of her blood out.

I really ought to take better care of myself, even if it’s just for her sake.

When I crossed the state boarder into Pennsylvania, I managed to find an old payphone, and left a voice mail for my brother to let him know where I am, and that I’m coming his way. I didn’t want to—asking for Cole’s help was one of the few things that I genuinely want to avoid—but I’m really desperate.

The truth is, just imagining him gloating about this—about me needing his help—was almost enough to make me turn around. Think about the last time I asked for his help… didn’t work out so well, did it? But whatever Cole has to offer, whatever nightmare I have to live through going back to the League, is better than being hauled back into the camp.

I don’t think they’d actually take me back into a camp, anyway.

When I got passed the wrong Wilmington, I briefly glimpsed the road sign that read US 13, and a voice suddenly rang in my head.

Turn off here. It urged.

The feeling was distinctly different from my reluctance to meet Cole—it was a drive, asking me to go somewhere, rather than run from somewhere.

Whatever it was, I can’t listen, no matter how hard I wanted to, no matter how it warmed my heart just thinking about that impulse, like it would lead me home, even though I had no idea how.

I got into the city of Philadelphia, and found my brother’s apartment soon enough. When I got into his building, a woman threw me a sideway glance that made my hair stood on their ends.

Please don’t recognize me, please don’t recognize me, please don’t recognize me… I muttered in my head while I pressed the buzzer. The door swung opened, and I was snatched inside by a forceful arm.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Cole snarled before I could even lay eyes on him properly. “Why didn’t you call me when you got here?”

He looked much better than me, that much was clear. Cole never had any wound that wasn’t his own, and from the looks of him, he hadn’t seen much action lately. His hair was clean-cut, brushed neatly away from his face. He was wearing a white shirt and dark blue jeans, with metal-frame glasses which were clearly without diopters to finish the look. In this getup, you’d expect him to be a graduate student in U Penn, not a high school dropout.

“I… I didn’t have any money to place a call.” I muttered, feeling my voice getting smaller. Gosh, I hated this. I hated that I felt like a child again. I took off my jacket, and hung it on the peg right next to his. They were two identical black leather jackets, which Mom bought us years ago—she got them a couple of sizes bigger than we were at the time, in anticipation that we would eventually grow into them. Cole did, whereas I felt like I still hadn’t.

Cole let out a long and harsh breath, and gave me a scan head to toe. “You’ve seen better days.” He commented eventually, a subtle amusement in his tone. “Even for you, this is a bit excessive…” He gingerly lifted my right wrist, and got a good look at my forearm, all cut up.

You don’t say. I wanted to retort, but didn’t. “What are you doing in Philly?” I asked as I retracted my hand.

Cole raised an eyebrow. “You really want to know?”

Maybe not. “I’d probably know eventually, wouldn’t I?” I said.

He scratched his chin, frowning. “You know what this means, right? You know where we’re going?”

“Look, if I could just find Mom and Harry…” I began, but he raised his hand and stopped me.

“No,” He snapped, “We don’t have that kind of time. My assignment here is done. I’m being extracted at midnight, which is in less than four hours, and if you think I’d let you out running into the wild and being hauled into a camp again, you’d have another thought coming.”

Choose me. I remembered the subtext of what Cole said that night when he left home, and now it was ringing in a different tone. Now I don’t have a choice.

“All right.” I sighed. “Whatever you say.”

He frowned deeper. But it took him a while to say something. “Look, I know the last time you came with me, it didn’t end so well, but things are turning around.” He said, palms down, pacifying. “I promise, just stick it out a few months.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

He bit his lip. “I just do. Trust me.” He said, then gave me a tight smile, “Tell you what, I’ll go get us something to eat, and you clearly need a shower.” He took off his glasses, grabbed the keys, then, as if remembered something, added with a grin, “Do not, drown in the bathtub.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes.

Before he could open the door, though, I stopped him. “Cole,” I began, but didn’t really know how to finish.

“Yeah?” He prompted.

“Have we...” I caught myself just for a moment. What am I doing? “...have we ever been to Virginia Beach?”

Because that…memory? was so vivid, that I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there, calling me at every moment I so much as allowed my mind to idle for a second. But it also had that bright glare around it, like it didn’t really belong to me, like I was seeing it through a mirror, into a different dimension where we were all happier people.

Cole was there, looking exactly like how he was now, but Claire was also there, and that didn’t make any sense…

“No…?” Cole said, “We lived in Wilmington. We went to Wrightsville, remember?”

Of course I do, but… I shook my head. “It’s just… I kept seeing this…memory, that we were there, and Claire was there, too…”

Cole pressed his lips tight. I know mentioning Claire’s name would probably put him on edge, but it’s not like I have other people to talk about her with anyway. A part of me wanted to be a bit mean about it, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I didn’t have the strength.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, voice rigid. “Just go take your shower. I’ll be back with the food.”

And he left, leaving me alone in his white and bare apartment.

I still couldn’t be sure that it was a good idea coming here. If I’m being honest with myself, it wasn’t even about my negative view on the League, or what it had turned my brother into, but that…I’m not sure how to be his brother anymore. I’m not even sure that he needs a brother.

Hell. Looking around this place, I got the feeling that a brother wasn’t the only thing he didn’t need. But then again, knowing how Cole kept his room, it was maybe a good thing that he had so few belongings here. This place…it didn’t even feel like someone actually live here; there were so few things breaking the white of the walls, it was almost glaring to my eyes.

I first went to check his bed, to see if he still has that weird habit—falling asleep with cigarettes still in his hand. His bedsheet looked clean enough; nothing charred. No ashtray, either. Maybe he quit.

Satisfied, I went to grab a t-shirt and a pair of pants from his closet, and dived into the pressurized water in his shower.

I can’t remember when was the last time I had running water. Probably…when I was in the League’s safe house? Gosh. My skin is so filthy, the water only started running clean after a good ten minutes of scrubbing, and I was scrubbing hard.

I was extra careful when I cleaned my arms, though. Not particularly because I was scared of pain, but more that I didn’t want to hurt this…person who might share this unfortunate connection with me, however low the chance might be. I didn’t want to make her suffer even more—somehow, I knew it was a her, for reasons I couldn’t quite put into words.

When I got out of the shower, I felt like my entire body had been turned inside out. My skin was glowing pink against the white tiling of Cole’s bathroom. He is an inch or two taller than me—which was sore to admit, but hey, I went through puberty in a lot worse condition than he did—so his pants hung a little too long around my ankles.

Then I finally got a good look at myself in the mirror. Damn, I looked awful. The dark shadows under my eyes were so purple, they looked almost black. Not to mention the countless scratches and bruises. There was a new one on my left cheek, just above the jawline. Whether it was mine or hers, I didn’t know.

Just as I threw the towel over my head, and started rubbing the water away from my hair, I heard it—siren. It began from a distance, a low wailing, but it was enough to set every hair on my back on its end. As I flew out of Cole’s shower, grabbed my jacket, and rushed to the window side, the siren got closer—and multiplied. The sound of them were like a harmony from hell.

Should I run? Should I stay?

I should run.

Even though they might not be coming for me, I knew better than to push my luck—it hadn’t really been on my side recently, and that woman who looked at me a second too long when I got in the building was probably proving me right. I threw the apartment door open, and on a second thought, ran for the roof instead of the ground floor.

I can reconvene with Cole later. I need to stay out of sight now. Cole’s a smart guy, he knows what to do in a situation like this.

It had started raining. I tripped on a mossy patch on the rooftop, and almost broke my jaw, but I stood up and kept running. I pushed myself over the ledge of the next building, and sprinted for the fire escape on the far end. The sound of the first bullet fired almost made me lose my bearing when I lowered myself onto the metal shaft.

They are on the other side. There were two fully populated buildings between me and those bullets, and they were firing at someone else—which means I’m not who they’re after. These are all good news.

Right?

Since when had I been that lucky after I turned twelve?

I pulled the hood of the jacket over my head, and dove into the shadow of the next alley. The gunfire had stopped, which meant that they probably got whoever they were after. I took the long way around the block, trying to get a hang of the situation, getting an idea of where I could find Cole without being spotted—

Oh, I found him alright.

Fuck. No. Fuck.

I only caught sight of him for a second before they slammed the back of that van shut, and in that brief second, he looked up, and he saw me.

No.

Christ. No. I… I got him caught. I did… I did this… Why didn’t I warn him? Why didn’t I go to him as soon as I heard the siren?

What have I done?

If you’re caught, you’re disavowed. I still remembered that phrase like it was etched into my skull. If anything encapsulates what I hate about the League the most, this is it. And now, Cole is going to be another casualty under that cold hard rule. The thought almost made my knees buckled, but instead of crashing down, I up and ran.

I ran. From this nightmare of my own making.

+++

Ruby

“Ruby!”

The scream came before the punch could land. I didn’t register what was happening in that first moment, not until the blood was dripping down my elbows, and staining the blue mats under us.

“Go to the infirmary!” Coach Johnson ordered, and I gladly obeyed. I could hear the whispering judgements forming even before I left the training room—what was that? What’s wrong with her? Where did those come from?

I knew exactly where they came from.

If Chubs was here, he’d likely yell at me for not getting these wounds taken care of immediately, but I simply…couldn’t. I ran for the shower stall, being careful not to stain the curtain, and turn on the tap.

With the water pouring out the showerhead, steaming up every bit of air around me, blurring my vision, I finally let the tears fall.

My arms didn’t hurt that much. At least, not as much as my heart. The bruises were bearable—who doesn’t get those occasionally living in the wild? I got one every other day even just from the training. But these cuts…he was in danger. Maybe he only got away with it within an inch of his life.

The only consolation I had was that I wasn’t mortally wounded, which meant he wasn’t, either. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t regret my decision of letting him go every second of every day.

If I did that to protect him, all these wounds and bruises only proved how wrong I was, how in vain my suffering had been.

“Ruby?” Cate’s voice.

I swallowed hard before answering. “Yes?”

“Are you all right?” She asked, standing outside of my stall.

“Yes.” I lied.

“Coach Johnson said you were hurt—” She didn’t buy it. “Look, if you don’t want to go to the infirmary, I can take a look—”

“I’m fine.” I cut her off. The timer on the tap beeped, warning me that the water would start running cold. My blood was dripping down from my fingers, dropping into the shallow water on the concrete floor like roses blooming in the snow.

“Ruby, I can see the blood.” Cate said dryly, then softer, coaxing. “Come out, please. Let me dress your wounds.”

Only if I could just close my eyes, and pretend for a second that the person who was waiting for me with antiseptic was Chubs, not Cate. If only I could pretend that these wounds were mine, not of the boy that I dreamt of every night for the past few months.

If only I could pretend that they were here with me, or that I wasn’t here at all.

I sighed, and brushed the curtain open. To Cate’s credit, she didn’t flinch at the sight of me. “Oh, Ruby…” She said with a tone like I was a stray cat ready to be put down. She reached out, and gingerly lifted my hand to get a better look at my arm.

“Press on it.” She handed me a towel, and sat down on the bench before patting the empty space beside her, motioning for me to join her.

I did as she said as she tore open a paper package. “This is going to hurt a little…” She gently dabbed the fabric square on my wounds, and I hissed out of reflex. I hated this. I hated showing her my weakness, and I guessed, in a weird way, she understood that. She didn’t comment on any of it, only continued to wrap my arms up in silence.

“There.” When she’s done, both of my forearms were wrapped entirely in gauzes.

“Th…thank you.” I managed to choke out.

She gave me a tender smile. “Don’t mention it.” She stood up, collecting the empty packages off the bench, and turned to leave.

Before she was out of the door, however, she turned around, and said, “You know, you get those wounds together, and you heal together, too.” She paused for a second, “You’re…not entirely helpless in this situation.”

Ten minutes after she left, I was still sitting on that bench, pondering her words. I didn’t even know what she said was true, but if it was, it meant that when I took care of myself, I took care of him, too. That, somehow, didn’t seem so bad.

I wondered how Cate knew that. She and Rob were clearly not soulmates, and I didn’t even know why she would want to date him, even without considering that fact. Rob—ruthless, arrogant, hateful—was everything opposite to what she seemed to hold dear.

But then again, she probably didn’t understand why someone would find their soulmate only to let them go on their own.

That day when I let Liam go, I made a decision that I would be whoever the League wants me to be, and make it so that they wouldn’t miss him. And for the longest time, I had kept to that promise. But not today, not now.

I just want to be myself again, even if it’s just for a moment.

So I brushed open the curtain to the stall, and allowed myself to be vulnerable again, for everyone and no one to see.

+++

His eyes traveled from my face to where the water had collected on my chest, and I raised my arms just that much higher.

His mouth half-opened for what I was sure to be a snide remark, but whatever it was never managed to pass his lips. His face froze, brows drew together, and he reached out. Before I could shift away—to where though, I had no idea; my back was already against the wall—he grabbed my wrist, and lifted my arm.

“It was you.” Cole said with a tone of half astonishment, half…anger?

“What was?” I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to hide how much I felt like a kid being caught red-handed, stealing candy bars.

He threw me a “really?” look. “Don’t insult my intelligence.” He snapped, “These are Liam’s, aren’t they?”

I almost asked “how do you know”, but that would confirm his suspicion. “What makes you say that?” I asked instead.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not playing games with you.” He huffed, “Soulmates should stick together. What were you thinking sending him out into the wild? Do you have any idea how dangerous he is to you? Or you to him? The poor bastard doesn’t even know you exist!”

“And as long as I stay in the League, that fact shall remain.” I said, more resolute and calmer than I thought possible.

He blew out a sigh of exasperation. “Look, I don’t care what kind of sainthood complex you have going on, I’m telling you—you are not doing either of you any favors, and if you think this is somehow a good idea, I beg you, think again, because you definitely look smarter than this.”

“What do you know?” I retorted, finally couldn’t keep the lid on my anger anymore. “Do you have any idea how much he hates it here? How hard he was trying to avoid this place before you drag him into this mess?”

Cole really laughed. “You think I don’t know?” He raised an eyebrow at me, and I met his glare head on. “I was the one that let him go when he got away that first time.” He tried to brush his hair back with his hand, but it gave out a weird flex before he could reach his head. “And I’ve seen enough soulmates pairs in my life to know that I never want one. Have you any idea what would happen to him if you were injured when he was on the run? Soulmates stick together so they don’t double their chances on dying, but I guess no one ever set your logic straight, did they?”

My head was so flushed with anger that I actually let him finished.

“Go find him.” Cole snapped. “And for Christ’s sake, stay together this time.”

+++

Liam

“I didn’t need freedom; I needed you!” I half-screamed, trying to get the frustration out past the chaos raging in my head. How could I—? How could she—? What the hell—?

On the receiving end of my scream, Ruby’s face was painted with grief, lined with tears that almost made my anger buckle. Almost.

“Did you just…not want to be with me anymore?” Facing her silence, my pain came out softer eventually. Please, just tell me, and I will leave you alone.

“No…” She choked out. “I… I was wrong.” She swallowed hard before continuing, and despite the anger still roaming my vein, I wanted to reach out and touch her. “We should…we should stay together. I knew I couldn’t bear to see you with the League, see them take away all the good in you that I love…”

“Is that how you think of me?” I snapped before I realized what I was doing, “That I am so weak that the League is bound to break me?”

“No!” She shook her head violently, “No, I don’t think you are weak… If anything, I think you are much stronger than me. But I was weak.” She finally looked back at me, her green eyes gleaming in the dim light of this dust-covered room. “I’m so sorry.”

Before I could react to what she said—I didn’t even know what I was going to say or do—the sound of a gunshot broke every single thought clean out of my head.

Ruby was running before I could do anything about it. She pushed the door of the shop open, and another shot blew open the window on the outside, shattering the glass all over the floor.

“Ruby!” I shouted as I dodged, crouching with my hands over my ears, but she was already up and running again, out of the door and behind the woman that was escaping the scene—with a gun in her hands.

“Ruby, stop!” I shouted again, got on my feet to catch her, but I never manage. I skidded on the broken glass, and fell, hands first, into the shards.

I heard her hiss. She stopped dead on her way, and whirled around to find me on the floor, holding my right hand on my laps, pressing it against the fabric of my jeans to try and stop the bleeding.

The blood was dripping down to her fingers. As she walked slowly towards me, the red, looking almost black, dropped on the dust-covered floor, leaving a spotting route, marking her path. When she knelt down beside me, finally close enough to touch me, I found that she was smiling. A totally mirthless, wry and painful smile.

“Give me your hand.” She said softly, almost like a whisper.

“You should treat yours first.” I said, trying to catch her hand, to see how much of a damage I’d done.

“We only need to treat one of us.” She let out a small breath, almost like something caught there. “We get them together, and we heal them together, too.”

That, somehow, broke through all the mess in my head and reached my mind. I let her take my arm, and carefully wrap her scarf on my hand, all the while her words played on repeat in my head.

We get them together, and we heal them together, too.

When she was done wrapping my hand up, the wounds on her hand stopped bleeding, too. I didn’t know why—I wasn’t even completely over that anger or frustration—but when she placed her hand in mine, a tender “there” escaping her lips, all I wanted to do was kiss her.

Instead, I gently enveloped my fingers around her hand. “There.” I said, pressing my good hand over hers.

And we stayed in that silent, that touch, just a little while longer.

+++

[fandomnetworks]

HE’S WEIRD.

PART 1  PART 2

Summary: Your past comes to light and the uncomfortable truth seems to intrigue the DEA agents. 

Pairing: Javier Peña x Reader

Word Count: 3.6K

Warnings: Violence and Cursing

Authors note: A lot more of the reader’s past in this part, I felt like it would be a great foundation for future parts. I promise there will be more Javi interactions in the next. Also if you haven’t read the first two parts I’d highly recommend you do!

Thanks my lovelies. 

Were you fabricating lies straight through your teeth the night your so-called friend left that voicemail? Absolutely, and you hoped Peña did not call you out on your bluff. His quizzing eyes made your stomach hurl inside. Thankfully, he was too tired to be "dealing with you" and stopped asking questions. He headed out of your apartment once you assured him you wouldn't go out again, and if anything happened, you'd call him or Steve.

-----

It had been about two days from the time Peña last visited your apartment. Instead, in his place, Steve would see you at night; he was far nicer than Peña and would even bring you food that Connie made or food he bought for dinner. But tonight, you offered him freshly baked cookies you had spent nearly half of the morning looking for all the ingredients.

Taking a seat at the dinner table, both you and Steve had a coffee mug in your hands. He usually stayed about 10 minutes before leaving, and today was no different. "Javi told me some guy is bothering you?" He said in more of a question than a statement tone.

Something inside you stirred; you felt something but couldn't explain the feeling. Your cheeks became red, as you thought, what else did they talk about you when you weren't around. But you also felt terrible that you were lying to one of the few good people you've met since moving back to Colombia. But you weren't ready; you hadn't collected enough information yet to bring your plan to life and take that motherfucker down.

"Yeah, an old fling that didn't spark back up."

"You know, you should be careful with guys like that," Steve noted, eyeing your facial expressions, taking a sip of his drink.

If it hadn't been for the boost of adrenaline due to the two extra spoonfuls of coffee in your cup, you would have never reacted faster than Steve when your phone went off. His arm was just about to stretch out and pick the phone when your body lunged forward.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lifting the phone from the receiver, you avoided all eye contact with him. You knew the look he was giving you, and between the man you knew was calling and Steve's attitude, you would have collapsed.

"Hello?"

"Mira, yo se donde vives, no me estes jugando con tus chingaderas." (Look, I know where you live, don't play your shit with me).

"Yes, hi, how are you?" You covered the speaker of the phone and whispered to Steve, "it's one of my college friends."

"How am I? Fucking mad, next time I see you, I'll make sure you pay for this."

"Lovely," A smile appeared on your face, "I'm glad to hear you're doing great. Hey, but listen, I have company; I'll call you back in an hour. Talk to you in a bit."

Even though your heart was beating a thousand times a minute, your facial expressions remained free. You tried comprehending that he said he knew where you lived. He, of course, could be bluffing and lying; it wouldn't be the first time. This only infuriated you and made you want to catch him so much more. He couldn't hold your life, your emotions for the rest of your life. But if you did nothing to stop him, he would continue to torture you and the rest of Colombia.

It wasn't much longer until Steve departed, telling you that Connie was probably wondering where he was.

---

Before your brother became president and before you had left for New York, your family was already in the spotlight. Your mom was a well-known doctor, and your dad was in politics himself. That meant people of high society always surrounded you. In one of the many parties hosted by your parents, you met a man named Santiago Matias.

At first, he was the kind of man to open doors for you, call you love names, buy you gifts, and take you out to eat often. His personality and his charm won you over. After a few weeks, you soon found him on one knee proposing to you.

The first red flag you should have noticed and ran in the opposite direction was how mysterious and quiet he was about his life. All you knew was that he was the child of one of your dad's close friend group.

You never thought that the ounce of cocaine in his pockets was just a sample he was giving out to people. He was a drug dealer.

If you had known the truth and the extent of his dealings, you would have never been associated with him. You would have never accepted his gifts and gestures if you knew the refined gifts of luxury were bought with narco money. You would have never fallen asleep in his arms and let his hands roam your body if you had known those hands had been used to take life. And you would have never kissed his lips knowing that his commands caused the death of dozens.

You took off the nearly $5,000 engagement ring and threw it at his face when you confronted him of his "work." You told him you never wanted to see him again, and you hoped he rotted in hell.

Now, you were out for revenge. You felt disgusted that you were once associated with him and needed to bring justice to all the people he ever harmed. When you were 17, the only thing you knew was that you wanted to be as far away as you could from him and that type of lifestyle. But after all these years, you were out for blood, and there was no stopping you.

He had connections to Pablo Escobar; if you could bring Santiago down, maybe just maybe you could bring a piece of information to the table and help bring Escobar down too. Santiago was a chesspiece to Escobar's game, and you were ready to destroy their empire and slaughter the world they created.

You might be "just the president's sister," the damsel in distress, but you had your own demons too.

---

The night was coming to an end, and the clock on your wall read 9:48 p.m. The phone rang for a total of 4 times, and you were sure he wasn't going to pick up; yet, the deep voice of your ex-fiancé sounded through the speaker.

The call only lasted 20 seconds. He only got in a hello before you responded, "6 p.m., you only no one else, at Chonche's." And you hung up before he could answer.

You would get as much information as you could from him at Chonche's restaurant. Once you were close to him, you'd bring him down.

6 p.m. would give you just enough time to meet up with him, extract as much as you could and be back home before Steve's regular visit at 8.

Easy right?

---

Wrong.

According to the leather watch on your left wrist, it was 5:58 p.m. as you entered the restaurant. The knife on your waist dug into your skin every time you took a step. It was a good reminder that you had it in case you needed it. You had tried covering your face and image by covering your body with black clothes and a dark baseball cap. The restaurant wasn't particularly a family-friendly one. Now that you thought about it, you had never seen a single child walk in here, especially not voluntarily.

In fact, every, every person in the restaurant, which was only about five people, including the bartender, was a drug dealer, narco, or a murderer. You laid your head low as you took a seat on a worn-out leather stool at the bar, far away from the men sitting at the back of the room.

Your heartbeat could be heard in your ear, the sweat accumulating around your forehead wasn't going unnoticed by the fabric of your cap. Why wasn't Santiago here? He was always on time, never a second early or late. Something was wrong. Did he set up a trap? Was this a mistake? Was he even coming?

The bartender came up and asked what drink he could get you, and you ordered your favorite beverage. Your leg began to bounce due to the anxiety you started to feel in your chest. Looking down at your watch, it read 6:02.

The front door swung wide open, the face of your ex-lover was nowhere, instead in his place was fucking Javier Peña. Quickly ducking your head, you were surprised it didn't snap.

Had he seen you? Your cheeks turned a light shade of red as the bartender walked up and handed you the alcoholic drink.

Looking back at the entrance where Peña once stood, a sigh of relief escaped your lips; he hadn't seen you.

But then you began to think. Why was Peña in a place like this? Was he a narco? Was his DEA position just a stunt? Was Peña a Santiago? Of course, he was; you only found dangerous men attractive. Your hindsight was absolute trash. Maybe he grabbed the drugs he collected during raids and resold the-

"What are you doing here?" Peña's voice whispered in your left ear as you turned the stool to look at him.

"Are you one of them?" You asked, hoping to hear the correct answer and not the one you were dreading.

"What? No. Have you been following me?" Solely by him towering over you, he started to get some stares from the men across the room.

"I should ask you the same question. I was here before you." You took a sip of your drink, trying to remain calm. If Santiago found you with a DEA agent, he would think you were setting him up and would leave.

Instead of taking a seat next to you, Peña placed a steel grip on your bicep, "Answer my question."

"Would you at least take a seat so they can stop looking at us?"

"No, we're leaving." He pulled you up from the stool.

"Let go of me."

Without answering you, he pushed you out of the restaurant. You let him. There was something wrong due to the lack of your ex's appearance.

Once outside, the two of you walked a few meters away from the restaurant; he pulled you to the side, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and asked, "What were you doing in there."

"I was meeting someone."

"Who?" he was clearly upset by the way he corned you against the wall, his face nearly inches away from yours. He was so close; you could smell the lingering scent of his cigarette fumes, the cologne on his neck, and could see the fine lines that made up his lips.

"San-"

The sound of a loud explosion to the left of you ended with the tear of tissue in your eardrum, making you lose most of your hearing. A fire came blazing from Chonche's windows. The glass from the windows shattered around the ground you had just walked on a few seconds ago. The windows of the businesses around the restaurant broke as well.

Peña instantly launched at you; he used himself as a shield to protect you from danger. The gun that was once inside the worn-out holster was now in his hands as he pointed it at anything that caught his attention.

The sounds of car anti-theft went off; sirens were blaring as paramedics and police officers began to make their way. The sound of wood burning tickled your ears, the crackle in any other situation would be soothing, but right now, it made Peña hyperaware of all the danger around you. In contrast, you could barely hear anything. Everything around you was going in slow motion except for Peña's lips when he turned to look at you. His lips were moving, but you heard jack squat. The way his mouth was opening wide with every word he said and his eyebrows knitting towards each other, you could conclude he was for sure yelling.

You nodded, not knowing what else to say or do.

Which only made him more enraged.

He pulled you out of immediate danger, his hands holding on to you as he pushed you towards his car. He was silent. And you were in no bit surprised. With the amount of adrenaline running through your system, the only thing going through your mind was how to breathe normally again and how to get your hearing back. His main priority was to get you inside his car and make sure no one was following.

Once inside, you asked, "Where are we going?"

He glanced at you quickly before looking back at the road, "Good, you can hear now. Who were you suppose to see?"

"Santiago Matias," You looked at him for a reaction but were somewhat surprised his face remained emotionless. "He's my ex-fiancé."

The worn-out, bruised knuckles on his hands turned white as the grip on the steering wheel became stronger. "You were engaged to him?" Now, the face of disgust was plastered on his tanned face. His words were said through gritted teeth. If you hadn't been paying close attention to his words, you wouldn't have heard him.

"I didn't know what he did when I first met him." You were about to tell Javier Peña about some of the worst times in your life, and you were afraid. You explained how you met, how he manipulated you after the honeymoon phase. What did you know about life at the age of 17? He was nearing 28 when you met him, and he used your naiveness against you. He was just starting his killer life, and as soon as you found out about his "work," you broke things off.

One day while you were walking around a local market buying some groceries, you reached to a vendor's stand. You went to pick up a couple of apples when the elderly lady working the stand caught your forearm. She lifted your wrist to her eyes and began to yell. She claimed that the bracelet you had belonged to her deceased daughter. You were immediately telling her that the bracelet was given to you for your six-month anniversary. She disagreed, pulling an old folded picture from her pocket. It had her daughter with the exact bracelet, down to the customized stones. She asked you to take it off, and you'd find the name Amalia engraved inside of it.

Your face became red; you knew that the name was on it. Of course, you did; you bragged about it to your friends. It was one of the most beautiful bracelets you'd seen. The word Amalia, you had assumed was a brand name. Never had it crossed your mind that it was a personal touch for a girl.

Santiago was known to give you gifts at all times of the week. He seemed like the kind of guy your dad would be proud of. Little did you know that as the elderly lady spoke about your fiancé, your relationship would soon begin to fall apart like a game of Jenga. Never in your worst nightmares did it ever cross your mind that the gifts he got you was bought with narco money or collected from deceased bodies. The woman told you that Santiago Matias had killed her family, including her 3-month-old grandson. The only reason that she was saved was because one of Matias' men knew her personally.

There and then, you took off the bracelet and handed it to the rightful owner. You didn't know what to say or do. Due to the man you were in love with, her whole family was gone. How many other families had he ruined? That very day, you broke off the wedding and told him you wished him a slow death. That you never wanted to see him again, and if he ever came near you again, you'd kill him yourself.

You left to get your bachelor's that very fall and seemed determined never to come back. However, as the short four years passed, and as you began to study to enter a masters program, you were pulled back home. The threat against your brother made him weary, and he wanted you close to home where he could protect you. That's how you ended up trading your comfy apartment with the hot neighbor to Colombia's small apartment. Thankfully the only thing that didn't change was the hot neighbor part.

Once you had finished explaining that time in your life, Peña made eye contact with you as the car came to a stop due to the traffic, "Why didn't you do anything?" The mood in the car shifted from frustration to confusion.

That was your worst regret of your entire life. Maybe if you had stopped him back then, he wouldn't have an empire today with the world's most famous narco. You felt uncomfortable under his harsh and intense gaze. The right words seemed to escape your lips as you tried forming the correct sentence. "I...I don't know. I didn't want to think that the man I was willing to marry could do such a thing."

You closed your eyes, not wanting to look at him, and took a deep breath. You had never told anyone the real story behind your first and probably only fiancé you'll ever have. Turning your head towards the window, you opened your eyes and looked at the passing cars as traffic began to lighten up. The only way you thought you could make things up was by bringing him down.

And apparently, Peña thought the same way, "Well, I don't know what to tell you Y/n." The car began to move, and so did the wheels of his brain as he began to plan out a solution.

"Listen," You turned to look at him, "I've been trying to set up a meeting with him for a while now. Today obviously didn't go as well as I had planned. But I'll try again. I can set up another meeting. It's the least I can do, right?"

He pulled into the base where Steve and Carrillo were, setting things up for tomorrow. Peña looked at you with a look of 'are-you-stupid.' "No what? He just tried killing you." He pulled into a parking spot.

"Exactly-" Both of you got out of the vehicle, walked towards the building; his long stride compared to yours made you trail behind him. "I-we can use that and-"

"No." He cut you off, just as Carrillo and Steve walked out of the building. You looked down at your watch; it read 7:02.

"Hey, where have you been?" Steve questioned Peña, quickly saying hi to you before pulling Peña to the side and updating him on the movement of their operation.

When Carrillo approached you, out of instinct, you gave him a quick hug. It had been a while since you had seen the handsome Colonel, and you did miss his snarky remarks. At first, he was tense but soon loosened up to your touch and hugged you back.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Peña staring at your interactions with Carrillo.

Small talk emerged. You asked him how he'd been and asked about the two soldiers who had stayed by your side all those weeks. In return, he asked if you were readjusting to the climate of Colombia. You also admitted you had missed him and invited him over to your apartment. (A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do)

But before he could ask you the purpose of your visit, you told him you had information about Santiago Matias. Which he instantly became intrigued. Once the Colonel caught on to Peña's lingering eyes, he asked you, "What's his problem?" The two of you fully turned to peer at him. Javier quickly glanced at Steve, pretending y'all hadn't caught him.

Brushing it off, you said, "I don't know, he's weird." A chuckle came out of Carrillo. He signaled for both men to follow him as the four of you made it inside the base.

---

Inside, you and Steve took a seat at a large table in Horacio's office, while he and Peña stood in front of you.

Quickly telling them the truth about your relationship with Santiago, you told them everything Peña had just heard and the explosion at the restaurant. In a heartbeat, you were getting a stern look from Carrillo and Steve telling you how stupid your plan was, asking you what the hell were you thinking.

"So what Peña and I were thinking was, I could bait him out by meeting up with him again."

"I didn-"

"What?" Steve yelled, looking at you and then at Peña, giving him a look of, are-you-serious.

"I did not agree to that," Peña stated, taking a seat on the table next to Steve. "We can use Y/n to..."

.

.

Fast forward an hour, countless coffee and whiskey refills, papers skewed around the table, and on the bulletin board, you had a phone to your ear. This time the room was full of soldiers and some higher uppers, which did not help your nerves. Carrillo, Murphy, and Peña sat around you, urgently and stressful waiting for Santiago to pick up.

After the second ring, you could hear your heart pounding in your ears. It felt so odd that the man you were willing to marry all those years back, now made you afraid.

Just as the third ring sounded through your ears, he picked up.

You motioned for Peña to start recording.

"Hello?"

"I'm alive, mi amor."

TAG  LIST:

(Let me know if you want to be added!)

luvzoria smoke-and-sunset xletmetaste-yoursmilex youcancallmeaphrodite

Also sorry for any typos I’ve been editing and revising this for the past week and I have like 3 other versions of how this could have played out. ALSO I really want to incorporate a jealous Javi in the next chapter. 

Again, thanks lovelies for taking a moment to read! 

[jk9bangtan]

ƬΉΣ ΉΛƬΣ YӨЦ GΛVΣ -2-

Series: (✎) On going

Genre: ♔ Smut / ♤Romance / ♘ Angst

Warnings: lots and lots of angst, Jungkook hurting y/n, a lot of hurtful feelings, disappointment, angry Jungkook, Jungkook Jealous, mention of pregnancy, a little bit of smut, swearing.

Teaser: "I don't love you. I don't. All of this was planed. He told me that he will give me money if I gave you to him in our wedding night and that's why I married you. I love money I don't love you"

Word Count: 1534

Parts: part1, part2, part3, part4, part5,.....??

Part 2

Title: Pregnant

Two month after the incident

Jungkook was still sitting on the couch his gaze not moving away from y/n. The urge of hugging her and touching kept coming to his mind but he knows he can't. Not after what he did to her.

A knock was heard on the door made him get out of his thoughts. He walked towards the door and as soon as it opened it revealed the old man that took all the happiness that he had once.

"Where is Y/n. The old man said walking inside.

Jk: " She is not-" Jungkook was suddenly cut by y/n.

"I am here" Y/n quickly said waving to the old man.

Jungkook's eyes widened up at the smile that was place on y/n's lips. He felt his heart squeezing at the feeling of her smiling seeing this jerk.

The thought of her smiling to this bastard drove him crazy.

How and science when did they become this close.

"Hey babe" the old man greeted her as he hugged her.

"Hey" y/n replayed hugging him back.

Her eyes met with Jungkook's eyes and she noticed how sharp they looked.

The old man broke the hug his hands still on each side of her waist. He placed a peck on y/n's lips making her open her eyes wide.

Jungkook grabbed the vase placed on the table as soon as he saw what that old man did in front of him.

"W-why are you here I-I think you should go to work. You will be late." Y/n said quickly making Jungkook stop.

What's wrong with me. I should know that they did all of this. They may even went further than that.

"I wanted to see you before I go to work. Because I missed you." Mr. Kim said caressing y/n's cheek. "I will see you tonight" the old man said winking as he walked his way out of the house.

As soon as y/n shut the front door Jungkook grabbed her from her wrist and and pulled her towards her bedroom.

Y/n P.O.V

Grabbing my wrist he pulled me towards my bedroom. He harshly pushed me on the bed letting my body fall on it. He looked at me his eyes full of rage. He hovered over me and brought his face near mine.

Jk: "since when did you become this close to that bastard" He asked not moving his gaze from me.

Y/n: "move" I said trying to push him away with my hands.

Jk: "I asked since when did you become this close to him?!!" He yelled pining both of my hands above my head.

Y/n: "the past month" I said as I looked away from him.

Jungkook harshly grabbed my chin and moved my face towards him again.

Jk: "How?!" He asked His eyes darkening more than before.

Y/n: "By knowing him well" I said looking at him in the eyes.

Jk: "And how is that" He growled, his grip tightening on my wrist.

Y/n: "Let me remind you of the reason he bought me! Of course we will be this close after what we've been doing" I harshly spoke wearing a cold expression.

Jungkook brought his hand up to my face as he tagged a strand of my hair behind my ear. His fingers moved further down as he caressed my skin on his way. My heart started beating fast as my gaze never left his face. I saw him gulping and then gritting his teeth. His fingers touched a spot on my neck pressing on it.

Jk: "Did he give you this?" He asked his eyes moving towards me again

Jk: "I said did.he.give.you.this!" Jungkook yelled making me close my eyes and take a deep breath.

End of Y/n's P.O.V

No ones P.O.V

Jk: "I said did.he.give.you.this!" Jungkook yelled pressing more on that specific spot.

Y/n: "Yes!! So what. And why do you care. We don't have any kind of relationship between us. You are nothing to me. So please leave me."

Jk: "In you dreams" Jungkook said crushing his lips onto hers.

Jungkook's hands caressed all around y/n's body as she tried to push him away.

Y/n: "S-stop" she managed to utter as soon as she broke the kiss.

Jk: "One time!! I know you want it!! Just for the one time... let me have you!" Jungkook said grabbing y/n's dress from the bottom and quickly taking it off.

He felt himself go crazy at the sight of her marked by another man. He new this will happen but why does he feel like that when everything turned real.

Y/n didn't move. She did crave for his touch even after what he did to her. "No leave me. I don't want it." She wanted to say but she couldn't.

Jungkook didn't waste a minute. He thought her silence means she is agreeing but in fact she was fighting the urge of letting him touch her.

He looked at her lips and dropped his own lips on them once again. Kissing her hungrily and full of passion. He felt how she didn't respond to his kiss. He looked up at her seeing her expressionless face as if she is saying do whatever you want I don't care anymore.

Driven crazy by her state, he moved down to her neck spreading his mark all around her neck and chest. As soon as his eyes landed on That specific spot were that bastard's mark was placed, he swooped down on it. He opened his mouth placing the marked spot between his teeth. His teeth tightened on it making y/n Yelp from the stinging feeling. Her hands reached Jungkook's shoulder pushing him away, but instead Jungkook bit on it more.

Jk: "You don't want me to replace it with my mark?" He asked his eyes leaving that marked spot and landing on y/n's eyes.

Y/n: "It's not that! It just-I" y/n stuttered trying to say that she pushed him because of the pain. But words didn't come from her mouth cause Jungkook attacked that marked spot again. He placed his lips on it but this time he didn't bite, he sucked it till it turned from a red mark to a bluish purple.

He traced his tongue on it moving his hand to grab y/n from her waist. "That's better," he whispered. He moved his right hand from her waist to her back unclasping her bra. His other hand moved towards her shoulders sliding the strap down. The hand behind her back moved to the front bringing the bra's wing with it. As soon as Jungkook moved the bra away and tossed it on the ground Y/n quickly brought her hand on top of her chest. Jungkook noticed that and quickly grabbed both of her hands pining each one on each side of her head.

Jk: "Don't hide them. I wanna see." He said his gaze full of lust and cravenness. His eyes moved towards her chest and a growl left his mouth. His eyes suddenly darkened, as his breath quickened.

Jk: "They are bigger than before" He deeply looked into y/n's eyes. "Did he only play with them instead of making you feel good down there. I bet his d** is small that's why." Jungkook said a smirk on his face

Y/n: "It is not" y/n said looking straight to his eyes. Jungkook felt his heart beating faster but this because of what she just said.

His face turned cold and expressionless. His hand suddenly gripped y/n's neck looking at her eyes coldly. Y/n didn't badge making Jungkook more furious.

He quickly grabbed y/n from her thighs spreading them wide open.

Jk: "It looks like you've forgot that you are my wife?!"

Y/n: "Kind of! But wait please be gentle because I am pregnant." Y/n said making Jungkook freeze in his place.

Jk: "W-what?! P-pregnant" Jungkook stuttered as he moved his hands away from her.

Y/n: "Yes! But you know what, I don't know who's surname will the baby have. Yours or The babies real dad" Y/n said laughing hard.

Jungkook looked at her, not knowing what to say. His heart heaved and his brain blocked out.

Jk: " A-abort the child" he quickly spoke the first thought that came to his mind.

Y/n: "What"

Jk: "You heard me!!! Abort the child! You will no longer be my wife if you give birth to the child." Jungkook yelled as he moved away from her.

Y/n: "I won't do that." Y/n replayed with a non caring voice. She grabbed her clothes and put them back on.

Jk: " You will! I don't want his child to live with me!!"

Y/n: " You had to think of that before selling me to him. And he said he will take good care of the child, so the baby won't live with you. The baby will live with his real father." Y/n said a smirk on her face.

Hehehe 😈

MASTERLIST

Please tell me if you want to be added to the taglist. Thank you!

[yespleasetommyshelby]

Should've said no - Adam Ruzek imagine

Based on the song 'should've said no' by Taylor swift

Warnings: some strong language? No happy ending maybe?

-------

It's strange to think the songs we used to sing, the smiles, the flowers, everything, is gone... Yesterday I found out about you, even now just looking at you, feels wrong...

I frowned from my place at the kitchen table, looking over the pictures that littered the walls, not only in here but all over the apartment, the whiskey that sat on the side that I bought because he's never liked the wine I drink, the special coffee and the mugs that all reminded me of him which any other day would have me fighting the smile from my face, but today, today they made me feel sick.

'I'm sorry, this isn't the first time and I thought you should know.." accompanied by a picture of Adam and his ex Wendy, lips stuck together in time, an image that will be forever seared into my brain.

Memories of late night walks, our dates, the flowers he would bring me at work, the times where we'd ride in his car and sing lyrics at the top of our lungs with no care about just how bad we sounded, all gone. In the blink of an eye Adam had thrown our whole relationship out of the window for an 18 wheeler to demolish in seconds.

The door opening and closing forced my eyes open, the now cold cup of coffee mocking me as it sits there, the contents long forgotten about. Lifting my eyes to meet the figure stood in the kitchen door way I frowned and looked down.

How is that only yesterday I couldn't stop staring at the man I love, loved, and now just looking at him feels all kinds of wrong?

You say that you'd take it all back, given the one chance, it was a moment of weakness and you said yes...

"Hey babe." He spoke first, my eyes falling onto his lips as the pet name came, the simple word accompanied by the feeling of being punched in the stomach.

"Where was you Adam?" I asked calmly, wanting to see which excuse he'd use this time.

"The case ran over."

"I was with Jay and Kev."

"Helping my dad out."

"The case took a turn for the worst, the whole team had to stay late, I would've text but I didn't want to wake you." He spoke, calm and collected, small smile on his face, jerk.

"The whole team huh." I let out a small humourless laugh, of course he's got his excuses ready. "That's strange." I sighed faking slight confusion as I picked up my phone, pulling up the text that Kim had sent the night before.

"Yeah, been a long night." He shrugged heading over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.

"Oh I bet." I chuckled, shaking my head slightly as I slid the phone over the dining table for him to see. "I bet Wendy's exhausted." I growled, my anger washing over the faux-calm I was trying to maintain, finding slight amusement in the way his eyes widened and his face paled.

"Y/n.." he trailed off, putting my phone down on the table before running his hands over his face and through his hair, looking at me with nothing but guilt. "Listen, it was a mistake okay? A one time, stupid, immature mistake. She was just there and I'd had a couple drinks and I don't know, I don't know what to say other than it was just a moment of weakness." He rushed out, moving so he was stood next to me, taking my hands in his before I pulled them away and stood up from the chair, the force causing it to fall backwards onto the tiled ground with a bang.

You should've said 'no', you should've gone home, you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go, you should've known that word, 'bout what you did with her would get back to me...

And I should've been there in the back of your mind, I shouldn't be asking myself why, you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet, you should've said 'no', baby and you might still have me.

"A moment of weakness? Weakness? That's what you're excuse is? She fluttered her eyelashes and that was it, you was weak enough to throw everything we've ever had under a bus just for a little fun with an ex?" I raised my voice, not quite shouting yet as I know that the neighbours across the hall have young children.

"Yeah, I swear that's all there was to it." He started talking again, his words falling on deaf ears as the tears starting to build up along with the anger that has festered inside for the last 12 hours was making me see nothing but red.

"You should've said no Adam! You should've thought about me! About coming home to me! Was I even on your mind at all? Did you think of me once while you were out fucking her behind my back?!" I yelled, the thought of the children just moments ago gone as he stood looking at me with a small frown.

"What do you want me to say?" He sighed, pushing his hand through his hair for the hundredth time. "I made a mistake and I'm sorry!" He said quietly, or maybe it was at a normal volume and my mind was just fading out his words.

You can see that I've been crying, baby you know all the right things, to say, but do you, honestly, expect me to believe, that we could ever be the same?

You say that the past is the past, you need one chance, it was a moment of weakness and you said yes...

"Do you know how badly you've hurt me?" I asked, my shoulders dropping as the first of the tears started to fall. "I know what I look like Adam, I know you can see that I've spent all night crying over you, how you broke me." I finished with a whisper, shaking my head slightly at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"Baby no, don't cry, please." He pleaded, his voice shaky as he came over and wrapped his arms around me, leaving me to cry into his chest. "I know I fucked up, and I fucked up so badly and I can never, ever, apologise to you enough for it to make it okay, but the past is in the past, just give me one chance. One chance to prove that I can be the man you need me to be, I'll do anything to prove to you just how much I love you y/n, please." He whispered, resting his head on mine as he sniffed quietly. "I'll get you all the flowers I can carry, the fancy dinners, jewellery, we can get married and have kids and have the life I know you've wanted since you were younger, you've just gotta give me one last chance." He finished his speech by giving me a slight squeeze, his arms hugging my waist as though I'd disappear if he let go, which wasn't exactly wrong.

"No, Adam." I mumbled shaking my head and pulling out of his hold, taking a couple steps back so his arms fell to his sides. "I'm not stupid, I know that this isn't the first time it's happened, and I'm not naive enough to assume that it would be the last either." I sighed, crossing my arms across myself in attempt to hold myself together.

"You know, you really do have all the right things to say don't you, talking about getting married, having kids, but do you honestly expect me to believe that we could ever be the same after this? After you broke my trust and my heart all in the space of one night, I don't think I can ever look at you the same way again." I spoke with confidence, ignoring the slight shake in my voice as I narrowed my eyes at the guilt ridden man in front of me.

You should've said no, you should've gone home, you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go. You should've known that word, 'bout what you did with her, would get back to me.

And I should've been there in the back of your mind, I shouldn't be asking myself why, you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet, you should've said no, baby and you might still have me...

"Please y/n!" His sudden yelled made me jump slightly, watching as he started to pace the length of the kitchen. "What do you want me to say for you to believe me? To believe that it was a mistake that I regret! You want me to beg? I'll get on my knees and beg you for the rest of my life!" He sounded frustrated as he suddenly turned and dropped to his knees infront of me, his hands folded together as though he was praying. "Please y/n, don't give up on me, on us, just yet." He whispered, his tear filled eyes shining into mine, my heartbreaking ever so slightly more as he did.

"It's not going to fix anything Adam." I sighed turning away from him for a second to compose myself. "You shouldn't have to beg me Adam, you just should've said no, you should've told her that I was waiting for you and came back, to me!" I cried, wiping at my cheeks only for new tears to replace the old ones. "If you would've just said no then maybe you might still have me." I whispered as I walked out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, where I'd left his bags that I had packed at 3am this morning.

I can't resist, before you go tell me this, was it worth it? Was she, worth it?

"Y/n... please.." I heard him beg from behind me, ignoring him I pushed past with the bags in my hand and dropped them by the front door.

"Goodbye Adam." I whispered sadly, making my way back into the kitchen, pausing in the doorway and looking back to where Adam stood silently staring at his bags in the hall.

"Was it worth it?" I asked suddenly, his head snapping up to me as of surprised to hear my voice again. "Losing everything we had? Was she worth it?" I clarified, putting emphasis on the 'she'.

"You know she wasn't." He muttered sadly, shaking his head. "Nothing is worth losing you." He sighed, rubbing his jaw as he looked back down at his bags.

"Yet you've lost me anyway." I whispered sadly, a lone tear running down my face which I hastily wiped away as Adam picked up his bags before opening the front door.

"I love you, y/n, and no matter what I always will." He said, looking back over his shoulder with a small, sad smile on his face.

"Bye, Adam." I whispered looking down to the ground, leaving him to make his own way out.

As soon as I heard the lock of the door click into place signalling it's locked I dropped to the ground, knees up against my chest with my head low, my arms pulling my knees closer to me as I let myself sob for my own broken heart.

You should've said no, baby and you might still have me...

----

Feel free to send in any requests 😁🥰

[c-c-cherry]

Part Four Headcanons!!

@tyriantyrant​ Father...I’m so sorry this took so long...but it is finally here. The moment has come. 

@jjadegreen​ is and always will be my headcanon buddy and she really took the reins on this one because my stupid mushy brain could barely think of ANYTHING. Go check her out. She makes good shit. If you like headcanons you’ll love her. 

Without further ado, join us on this long-awaited half-crack half-serious journey once more:

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Okuyasu

-He swallowed a spoon. Like...one of those tiny collector spoons...

-Don’t ask me how Okuyasu managed to do this, but he did.

-He was sitting in his room trying to think of something cool he could do in front of Josuke and he was like 

”Bro what if I did some kickass spoon trick” (Yes, he did find a little collector’s spoon at an antique shop and bought it cause it was shiny)

-It did not go well

-He choked on it for like a solid 2 minutes before he FUCKING SWALLOWED IT and sat there for 15 minutes like “oh shit oh fuck-”

-His dad was just watching from the corner like ;-;

-At first he’s like “ahh it’ll be fine, right?”

-”Right?”

-Then he starts thinking about it a bit more and realizes how fucked he probably is

-He COULD call Josuke but he really doesn’t want to explain to him that he not only swallowed a tiny fucking spoon but he also did it while simultaneously trying to think of something cool to do in front of him

-So he doesn’t call Josuke

-Instead he paces around, trying to think of some solution:

Can I throw it back up or something?

Should I like...drink that stuff that makes metal dissolve? That’ll work, right? Shit wait-

Maybe it’ll just turn out okay?

-His chest is on FIRE and he’s absolutely convinced that this is the end for him

-He calls Josuke

-There are tears...many tears

-Our boy Josuke rushes over and starts freaking out because all he knows is “Oku’s hurt” and when he bursts through the door Okuyasu’s just sitting on the couch crying and Josuke’s just “???”

-He’s the most supportive bro tho and sits down on the couch and is like “oh shit bro did you need emotional healing instead? I gotchu either way” :’)

-He reaches over to hug him and Oku jumps back in a panic and screams “NO DUDE DON’T JOSTLE THE SPOON”

”...”

“..the spoon?”

-He tearily explains the spoon

-It ends with Josuke punching the spoon out of him with Crazy Diamond but he found the entire situation so fucking funny because Oku is so fucking mortified

-he swore not to tell a soul and keeps to his word but he buys Oku a tiny spoon every goddamn chance he gets

Rohan

-Most of the time, Rohan does not embarrass himself

-But sometimes our man slips up a bit and most of the time people don’t notice the dumb shit he does cause he’s always doing dumb shit

-But this is different

-Picture an almost empty house...instant ramen wrappers everywhere...alcohol has been consumed…things have been done...

-Rohan thought this was the best time to answer some of his fan’s FAQ’s (he puts them at the end of every new issue)

-He answers most of them fine but once he comes to the “how tall are you?” question his mushy stupid brain decides to put “about ten inches.” (GOD I'M BEGGING YOU IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS REFERENCE OPEN GOOGLE AND LOOK UP “how tall is Rohan Kishibe?” PLEASE PLEASE I BEG)

-Just for fun

-Because his editor will just fix it, won’t they? Even if he wakes up the next morning and forgets about it, it could never get past the other stages of publishing, right?

-Wrong.

-It manages to slip past every single stage and before he knows it, the latest issue is out and it says he’s almost a foot tall

-He’s reading the one of the newly published copies at breakfast and SPITS OUT HIS FUCKING LUKEWARM SHITTY TEA

-He calls his publisher and just like “uhhh...hey...what the actual fuck guys?” and apparently NONE Of THEM NOTICED??

-They swipe them off the shelves and re-edit them but by now its far too late

-Josuke and Okuyasu have already made jokes about squishing him

-He gets fanart of him being the size of a pencil (which he’s convinced are also done by Josuke and Okuyasu)

-The banned issue where Rohan discloses his supposed “true height” is a novelty collectors item in the manga community now

-This is Rohan’s legacy now. This is how he will be remembered

Josuke

-He wanted to be super edgy when he was around 14

-And what better way to be an edgy 14 year old than with cigarettes??

-The problem is that he’s a literal fucking dumbass and doesn’t know how they work

-Like at all

-He somehow gets his hands on a pack and tries to do it in front of his friends to impress them

-He doesn’t light it. He just...sucks on it??

-He sucks really hard on the unlit cigarette while all of his friends watch and there’s this really long silence and all of them are thinking “yeah is this actually how it works though?”

-Josuke’s like “waitwaitwait I can make smoke come out of it watch” and sucks way too hard on it and IT GETS LODGED IN HIS FUCKING WINDPIPE

-He starts choking because he really really, doesn’t wanna swallow this thing and all of his friends are like “OH SHIT SHIT”

-There’s always that one homie who knows the Heimlich maneuver and on that day, the Heimlich is maneuvered.

-He coughs up a wet cigarette covered in nasty throat juices and his mouth tastes like shit

-He’s still totally shocked about what just happened and just kinda starts laughing but everyone can tell that its forced

-Everyone forgets about it and he’s too embarrassed to tell a soul but the Heimlich kid and him make eye contact in the hallways sometimes and he’s always reminded of that fateful day

-This is the soul reason why Josuke never smoked in high school and probably never will again

Koichi

-This might seem off topic to start but please just bear with me.

-why, for any reason, does Koichi know who joseph is??? Joseph is an American Real Estate agent. Why would a 15 year old Japanese kid be like “oh yeah that famous real estate agent Joseph Joestar”???

-well I present to you the most top tier headcanon: Koichi is a real estate fanboy.

-he planned to be a real estate agent before getting wrapped up into stand shenanigans

-But, being 15 and having REAL ESTATE as one of your biggest interests is not something you really want people knowing, especially considering the fact Koichi is a huge nerdy real estate fanboy for Josuke’s DAD.

-He buys these real estate magazines made for 45 year old men like once a week. They are what he looks forward to every week.

-one time Josuke and Oku come visit and see a magazine on Koichi's bed.

-He totally panics and dives for the magazine and tries to hide it, acting all nervous.

-Josuke and Oku immediately assume it’s a… y’know, NSFW, not for kids magazine.

-Because why would koichi need to be embarrassed about any other kind of magazine?

-So antics ensue of Josuke and Oku pestering koichi about the magazine, teasing him and begging to know what he was hiding

-after a few days, Koichi begrudgingly admits that the magazine is the “SPECIAL JOSEPH JOESTAR INTERVIEW ISSUE” which he bought 3 years ago and has reread countless times.

-Okuyasu laughs really hard and Josuke is like “...you mean my dad.....” and koichi wants to DIE

-They buy him real estate merchandise for his 16th birthday and EVERYONE thinks it’s some kind of joke gift but koichi is internally grateful

Jotaro

-Jotaro is not very good during social situations. That is very obvious.

-but when he hears that Koichi got a girlfriend, he decides he wants to be a cool…uncle? Nephew? Father figure? Mentor?

-so one day, Koichi and Jotaro are chatting while they go on a walk and Yukako walks by

-Koichi blushes and waves at her, she waves too

-Jotaro thinks, ‘alright. Time to show koichi I’m a cool guy’

-as Yukako walks away, Jotaro nudges koichi and sorta smirks

-Jotaro forget a few very important things about himself and Koichi:

-first of all, Koichi is so short, attempting to nudge the kid ended in Jotaro violently jabbing his elbow into Koichi’s skull

-Jotaro is much stronger than he thinks and Koichi, while he can take a hit, is very much weaker than Jotaro

-so an attempt at a simple nudge ends in Koichi being jabbed in the skull, flung into the road by the force of the hit, and hitting his head, hard, on the cement.

-needless to say Jotaro called and ambulance and Yukako tried to literally murder Jotaro

-He ended up with a mild concussion, but no long term damage.

-Jotaro is Not Good At Words so he apologizes in weird awkward ways like buying koichi stuff, quietly handing him 5,000 yen at random times, taking him out on the town, etc...

-Koichi keeps insisting it was an accident and he’s alright, but Jotaro feels AWFUL

-He NEVER lives that moment down in his mind

-It’ll be 2008 and Jotaro is visiting and he’ll just look the newly married koichi in his tiny eyes and say “hmhghggggg is your head ok”

-and koichi is like “IT WAS 9 YEARS AGO MR JOTARO PLEASE”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

That was a wild ride I’m so sorry

Did ya’ll have a favourite? I gotta say, real estate Koichi is just...Jade, thank you for that...

Have you seen our embarrassing part 5 headcanons yet? If not, go check that out!

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 24

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Halloween chapter, part 2.

A/N: Yay, an update! I think some of you are gonna be happy about the characters that are being introduced in this chapter... Also lots of Caleo dorkiness (and canon references) in it! And you'll get to see if you were right with your costume guesses :D

Also like I already mentioned last week, this is the last chapter that I have written so far (when I started posting this fic I tried to make sure I'd have at least 7 chapters ready so I wouldn't have to stress about deadlines... and here we are now) so it is possible that updates may slow down a bit, at least if the chapter wants to become long. But I am still /trying/ to keep up with the regular updates the best I can :) So worry not!

Now, enjoy and let me know what you think!! Ps. somehow we’ve managed to pass 50k words already :O

Words: 4040

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

…

“Hi, you guys!” Piper, who was dressed as Wonder Woman, greeted Leo and Calypso first when they arrived, gesturing for them to come in.

“Hello! I was afraid Argo II had decided to stop working because you guys are late,” Jason the Superman noted as he offered to take Calypso’s coat and put it in a hanger by the door.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Jason, that possibility did cross my mind as well,” Calypso said, casting Leo a meaningful look. “But no, not this time.”

“We’re only 10 minutes late!” Leo protested, checking the time from his phone. “I was busy finishing something… and Calypso took her time preparing herself as well. She probably did her wig for like two hours.” He gave her a not so serious side-eye.

“I did not!” Calypso said defensively. “Yeah, I straightened and combed and braided it but that took me maybe 15-20 minutes so he is highly exaggerating.”

“Don’t worry, Calypso, we know he does that a lot.” Piper smiled at her reassuringly. “Speaking of your wig, though, you look very cute! That hair reminds me of the style you had before my makeover. You’re dressed as the mythology Calypso, right?”

“Yes, I am,” Calypso said, pleased that Piper had figured that out so fast. “I thought it would be fun to be a bit self ironic for once. I haven’t really had a good reason to sew recently so this was a nice excuse to do that as well.” She made a small twirl to show the dress better.

“That dress really looks great!” Piper told her. “I would gladly commission you to sew me clothes; it’s so hard to find anything nice from the clothes stores these days. But Leo.” She turned back to him. “I see someone hasn’t bothered to get a costume. I wasn’t expecting that from you because you’re always so excited about them.”

“No, you got it all wrong.” Leo wagged his finger at her. “I do have it here, but as I told Cal, it would have been too difficult to wear in the car.” He dropped his bag on the floor, causing a loud thud as it hit the ground.

“Alright. Care to give us any hint what it is?” Piper asked curiously. “Seems heavy.” Calypso wondered if this was something they did every year.

“I’m just saying that it’s inspired by some movies that united us three,” Leo noted mysteriously. “But that’s all, you’ll see soon!”

“My mind is blank now,” Piper said. “Jason, what movies have we watched with him?”

“The first one that comes to my mind is Star Wars,” Jason reminded her. Suddenly both Jason and Piper’s eyes widened in realization. “Could it be?”

“Oh no, Leo you didn’t!” Piper doubled over in laughter when it occurred to her what Leo’s costume most likely was. “I can’t wait to see this!”

“I hope you took pictures with Festus!” Jason couldn’t keep his poker face either, and Calypso watched their reactions with confusion.

“Don’t worry, I will show them later.” Leo grinned, unperplexed by Jason and Piper’s laughter. “Now, where can I change?”

Piper showed him an empty room where he could get into his costume in peace, while Calypso started looking around the house on her own. Even though the place seemed rather fancy, Jason and Piper had managed to make it cozier with their personal objects. A lot of them had seen life and were worn but somehow they still fit in with the newer decorations.

As Calypso reached the living room, her focus went to the guests who had already arrived at the party. She waved at Annabeth and nodded awkwardly to Percy. Even though she and Annabeth were friends again, she wasn’t quite sure how she should act near Percy so ‘reserved’ felt the most natural reaction. She couldn’t help but smile a bit, though, when she registered their costumes: Annabeth had a Chiton just like her, although grey instead of white, with some silvery accessories and a beautiful owl shaped brooch over her chest. Perhaps the most impressive part of her costume was the Greek styled helmet that was used in battles and that hid most of Annabeth’s curly ponytail. Calypso was quite certain she was dressed as Athena, the Greek goddess that according to her was the one she identified herself the most with. Percy on the other hand was wearing sandals, shorts, a tropical shirt, and a belt with fishing equipment and he was holding a fishing rod in his hand. Calypso couldn’t quite figure out who he was supposed to be, other than some sort of fisherman.

“Hi,” Calypso greeted them as she got to hearing distance with them. “You guys look nice. You’re Athena, right?” She asked Annabeth. “Matches my theme, don’t you think?”

“Sure does,” Annabeth nodded, eyeing Calypso’s costume. “You look pretty much exactly like how I imagine the mythology Calypso.”

“Thank you. Coming from you it’s a big compliment.” She turned Percy. “I can’t figure out who you are, though. You don’t seem like a Greek god?”

“I am, though,” Percy replied. “I’m Poseidon.”

“Ooh, so that’s why the fishing gear!” Calypso realized. “But I don’t think the Greeks had tropical shirts quite yet.”

“No, you’re right in that.” Percy shook his head, smiling a bit. “But I’m basing this on the version in the Peter Johnson series. That’s how he was described in it.”

“I didn’t know you have read that too,” Calypso said, “But makes sense. Um, the Poseidon and Athena of the mythology hated each other, though. Not that it’s really my business, but I hope you two are doing fine…?” She asked a bit nervously, not wanting to be the reason for their issues.

“Oh yeah, we are,” Percy confirmed immediately. “It’s just an old joke – back when Annabeth and I were reading the Peter Johnson books I used to say Poseidon is my godly parent and Athena Annabeth’s, and that just kind of stuck with us.”

“Alright.” Calypso accepted Percy’s answer, turning her attention back to Annabeth. “By the way, where did you get that helmet? It definitely looks fancier than most of the plastic ones you see at costume shops.”

“My father collects these things,” Annabeth answered, lifting the helmet from her head for a moment. “I’ve told you he’s also a historian, right? Well, one of his friends wanted to make a replica of the ancient Greek helmets with some modern machines and dad bought this from him. I’m not saying this is 100 per cent accurate but it looks pretty cool, in my opinion.”

“It does,” Calypso confirmed.

“You came with Leo, right?” Percy asked then, to which Calypso nodded. “Where is he? I can’t wait to see his costume; he usually goes for something that is way over the top. Last year he was Hiccup from How to Train your Dragon and he had made a Toothless costume for his dog. I’ve also seen pics of him as Iron Man. Yes, with a full iron costume.”

“I can believe that of him,” Calypso chuckled, imagining Leo in the said costume. “He just went to change into his costume because apparently he couldn’t drive in it. He didn’t reveal what he was going to be, but it does sound like something extravagant.”

“I missed his costume last year but I’ll be sure to have a camera ready when he shows up this time,” Annabeth said happily. Calypso was relieved that the conversation was going this well; she hadn’t known what to expect beforehand because this was the first time she was in the same room with Percy since the ‘incident’. Talking with him now, though, made her realize that holding a grudge wouldn’t be smart and he seemed to think the same way.

“I just realized,” Calypso decided to change the topic, “that I’ve never heard the story of how you guys know Jason and Piper. So how did that happen?”

“It’s a funny story,” Percy started, smiling at the memory. “Jason and I used to be the captains of rivaling soccer teams when we were around 16. Well, one time Jason’s team was visiting us but we were playing in an arena that had just been renovated so I hadn’t been there before. I may have been a bit late from our team meeting and I was a bit lost so I decided to ask one staff lady where I was supposed to go. Somehow she got our teams mixed up and I ended up in the locker room of Jason’s team. Some of Jason’s teammates said that my expression was worth seeing when I realized the mistake but I dunno about that. The funny thing was that somehow the same thing had happened to Jason; he had also been late for the meeting because of traffic or something and he had gotten into my team’s locker room. Well, after the game we had a good laugh about it together and ended up talking about other stuff as well and noticed we have a lot in common. That’s how we became friends. When we moved into the same town, we started training together at least a few times a week.”

“Piper and I didn’t learn to know each other until Jason and she started dating a couple of years ago and they invited Percy to some party where I went with him. To be honest, I was a bit suspicious about her at first because we seemed very different but eventually we learned to respect each other’s qualities. And here we are,” Annabeth added.

“Those are some cool stories,” Calypso said. “It seems like a funny coincidence that somehow we all ended up in this city even though most of us are from somewhere else. Like Leo is from Texas, I am from Greece…” “Speaking of him,” Annabeth had to muffle his laughter with her hand, “I believe we are finally getting some answers about his costume.”

“Oh… my gods” was all Calypso could say when she turned to the direction Annabeth was looking at. “You’re really something else.”

Leo was completely hidden inside his costume, but Calypso could practically hear him grinning at their reactions. The costume looked very much like in the movies; golden (just painted, not real gold, because there was no way Leo could afford something like that) plating forming a droid with big round eyes and an ability to speak lots and lots of different languages: C-3PO from Star Wars.

“Holy shit, dude, that looks so real.” Percy gaped at Leo. “I’m starting to understand why you spent so much time in your room the past few weeks.”

“Why C-3PO, though?” Calypso asked once she managed to put her poker face back on. “Does that have some story behind it?”

“Because, duh, it looks cool!” Leo exclaimed with a mechanical voice from inside his costume. “I dunno, ever since I first saw C-3PO as a kid I thought it would be cool to be able to build something like that. And hey, his ability to translate like all the possible languages is pretty neat. Me? I just know 3.”

“Isn’t it uncomfortable in there, though?” Calypso asked. “That thing must be heavy.”

“Sunshine, I’m always uncomfortable. But this was a childhood dream of mine so I sure as heck am not backing off now,” Leo said with determination.

“A stubborn one, aren’t you?” Calypso stated. “Even I have to admit, though, that you have certainly done some thorough job with it. Hey, I should take photos before I forget! You don’t get to see this every day.”

The others dug their phones up as well and for a while Leo just made silly poses while they took pictures, clearly enjoying the attention his costume got. Eventually he started demanding that Calypso should join him for the photos but she was a bit hesitant at first.

Leo argued: “Come on. Greek mythology meets Star Wars? You don’t see a crossover like that every day.”

“Can’t argue with that, I suppose,” Calypso said and went next to him. “Well, do we have some kind of story for Calypso and C-3PO’s meeting?” she asked as Percy and Annabeth waved at them to look at the camera.

Leo considered her question for a moment. “Oh, how about this? C-3PO somehow ends up on Calypso’s island - because duh, Calypso is cursed so she can’t leave the island…”

“You seem to know surprisingly much about Greek mythology, just saying…” Calypso noted while trying to smile for the photos, resting her hand on the metallic shoulder.

“I told ya, Sunshine, you can blame tía Callida for that…” Leo reminded her. “Anyway, I imagine those two don’t really like each other at first because they’re so different but eventually they learn to respect each other’s skills; C-3PO can translate basically any language and Calypso is good at all kinds of handiworks, which is hard for a droid.”

“And? What happens after that?” Calypso asked curiously.

Leo considered it for a moment. “C-3PO doesn’t really wanna leave Calypso’s island but he has galaxies to save with his friend R2-D2 so he has to go but he promises to come get her afterwards.”

“Aw, Leo, that is kind of sweet,” Calypso commented, suddenly aware of the metal arm that had snuck around her waist. “Does he… does he ever return, though? Shouldn’t that be impossible?”

“For a human, maybe, but he’s a droid,” Leo noted. “Unfortunately during a big battle he blows up badly but the ever so faithful R2-D2 collects the pieces and finds someone who can rebuild him again. And boom, he makes it back and lives happily ever after with his goddess.”

“What’s the term you use when you enjoy a fictional relationship a lot?” Calypso asked. “Shipping?” Annabeth nodded at her. “I don’t know, Leo, to me it sounds like you ship those two. Isn’t that a bit weird?” “What, why would that be weird? I’ve seen people ship…”

“I see these two have gotten into a full on nerd mode again,” Annabeth said quietly to Percy while they were waiting for the flatmates to stop their bickering so they’d be able to take the photos. “Not projecting themselves into their characters, right?”

“No, definitely not,” Percy agreed.

Eventually Leo and Calypso stopped bickering and Annabeth was able to take the pictures. Even if Leo was mostly hidden by his costume, Calypso felt a bit self conscious about the fact that these were the first photos of them together. They did a few goofy poses because Annabeth and Percy told them to, but Calypso thought she probably looked more embarrassed than funny in them.

Once they were done, Leo went to Annabeth who was going through the photos and bowed his head a bit to see them better. “Hey, these do look pretty cool! It’s probably just the lighting but here you look like you’re blushing to some funny comment C-3PO made.”

“Show me!” Calypso yelped nervously and took the phone from Annabeth. When she saw it, she could immediately tell Leo was not wrong; she really was blushing. “Yeah, it’s definitely those candles in the background that do it… And I think it’s pretty warm in here, maybe all the people here heat this room…”

“OK, if you say so,” Leo said but Calypso imagined that he was looking at her suspiciously through his costume.

Trying to get the others’ attention to something else, she said: “So, who else has arrived so far?”

“Nico and Will. I think they went to get some snacks from the dining room,” Piper, who had just entered the room, answered.

“Leo told me that Nico is Jason’s relative, but what about Will?” Calypso asked her.

“Will is Nico’s boyfriend. This is the first time we’re meeting him but they seem very good together. At least he seems to have a grounding effect on Nico, and he actually listens to him, unlike most of us. Um, sorry, it’s a long story, one that I should probably save for another time. Nico may be a bit hard to approach sometimes but he is a very nice guy when you learn to know him. Just… been through a lot. I guess like many of us here. But he seems way happier now,” Piper said, and as if on cue, they could hear some distant laughter coming from the dining room.

“We should start a traumatized college kids’ club,” Leo attempted to joke, and the others hummed in agreement. Maybe she did belong to this group after all, Calypso thought. If only they knew, though…

“This just got cheerful,” Percy said, interrupting Calypso’s thought process. “Who’s up for blue candies? Get them before Will and Nico eat them all.”

“I heard that, Jackson!” Nico entered the room without a warning. “No offense to you or your mom but blue candies aren’t exactly my thing.”

“Hi, Nico,” Percy greeted him, seeming a bit flustered after Nico’s comment. “You haven’t met Calypso, right?” He pointed at her.

“No, I haven’t,” Nico took a quick look at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Alright, in that case, this is Calypso Astal. And Calypso, this is Nico di Angelo,” Percy introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you,” Calypso approached him, but he seemed to evaluate her for a moment before he took her hand.

“Likewise,” Nico said finally. “I think Jason has mentioned you a few times.”

“Oh. That’s nice,” Calypso said a bit unsurely, like every time she met a new person. The lonely years still had a toll on her, and even though she liked spending time with her friends, meeting new people was always a bit nerve wracking to her. “You’re his relative, right?”

“A distant cousin,” Nico answered. “Yeah, our fathers are related, but I have my mother’s last name and Jason has his.”

“I take it your mother has roots elsewhere, based on the last name?” Calypso asked.

“She was Italian,” Nico shrugged. “I lived there my first years too. But now I can barely remember those times.”

Calypso noticed the use of past tense, but she thought it was probably better to not ask about that in the middle of a party. “Oh. I’ve been to Italy a few times. I’m originally from Greece.”

“What brought you here, then?” Nico asked.

“Dad’s work,” Calypso responded in a tone that told everyone she wouldn’t elaborate on that topic more. It seemed to have become a habit to her.

“Anyway,” Leo, who had managed to stay quiet for a surprisingly long amount of time in Calypso’s opinion, stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Nico, a little bird told me,” he looked at Jason, “that your boyfriend is a Star Wars geek. Is that true?”

Nico took one look at Leo’s costume and his mouth twitched when he realized why Leo was asking. “He is, but don’t let him get started on it, or else he will never stop. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend, I prefer calling him…”

“A significant nuisance?” Will showed up from the dining room, carrying a plate full of food. “Don’t mind him, he just warms up a bit slow.”

“Yes, this is Will,” Nico sighed, addressing those who hadn’t met them before. “Sometimes he’s a nuisance, sometimes he can be quite OK. When he’s having a good day.”

“Same back at you, dear,” Will laughed. “Did I hear someone mention Star Wars, though?”

“You did,” Leo said, stepping forward so Will could see his costume better. Needless to say, Will looked beyond thrilled.

“Oh boy, here we go again,” Nico said quietly before Will even had time to comment on the costume.

“Woah, that must be the best C-3PO costume I’ve seen. And yeah, I’ve seen a few so I don’t compliment you for nothing,” Will assured.

“Thanks, man, I did spend quite a while with it,” Leo said, high fiving Will. “Glad someone here appreciates good things.”

“I still hope you’re not one of those fans who have only seen the most recent movies and not the originals,” Will noted.

“Heck, no!” Leo exclaimed immediately. “The original three for the win! Mom and I used to watch them a lot… um, when I was little. She was a big fan. But the newer ones just don’t feel the same.” Calypso had a feeling Leo had almost said something else, but he had changed his phrasing at the last moment.

“You have a pretty good taste,” Will said approvingly. Then he finally realized he hadn’t even asked Leo and Calypso’s names before getting into the geek mode.

“So, who are you two? I already met Percy and Annabeth earlier but I don’t think I know you guys yet.”

“I’m Leo Valdez, and this is my, um, flatmate, Calypso Astal,” Leo introduced. Calypso hoped there was a better word to describe their relationship than a ‘flatmate’ but at the moment it was probably the best and the safest option there was.

“Flatmates, huh?” Will repeated. “How did that happen?”

“I was in a hurry to find a roof over my head so I put in the application that I also accept mixed flats,” Calypso replied. “I didn’t meet Leo beforehand because, um, that would have been a bit difficult to arrange in this case, but it worked out OK.” Calypso noticed Leo was looking at her from the corner of his eye, and she realized she had never even talked about that option before. The truth was that she had had to plan her leaving very thoroughly so her father wouldn’t notice and she had driven to Indianapolis as fast as possible, with no time for second guessing.

“And my flat happened to have a room free because our boy Jason decided to move in with Beauty Queen,” Leo added to that story. “It’s really no stranger than that.”

“Oh, right, someone must have mentioned that you and Jason used to be flatmates,” Will recalled. “I just didn’t connect the dots.”

Jason had apparently finished welcoming the rest of the guests because he joined the group in the living room. “That reminds me, I don’t think I’ve asked you, Calypso, if Leo still leaves his dishes undone and if he has empty milk cartons in the fridge.”

“He used to do that?” Calypso asked with amusement. “After seeing his room that’s not so hard to picture, but no, he’s been pretty tidy in the common area. Although one time he bribed me to do his dishes for him in exchange for some of his food.”

“It was a good deal!” Leo protested. “You didn’t have to cook and you also got to taste some Valdez’ sizzling hot quesadillas so I’d say it was a win-win. Besides, you didn’t seem to have anything against that.”

“Alright, I will admit the quesadillas were pretty good,” Calypso conceded. “But a true gentleman offers them without even asking. Well, other than that he’s been OK,” she told Jason with a playful twinkle in her eye.

“I guess he really is able to change his habits, then,” he replied. “At least when the flatmate is someone he...”

Before Jason had time to finish his sentence, Leo intervened: “Folks, do we really have to be talking about my cleaning habits in front of people I don’t know? The first impressions are important, especially when it comes to Supersized McShizzle!”

“We’re just being honest, Repair Boy.” Calypso couldn’t resist booping his metal covered nose. Apparently she just didn’t know how to not cross the line with this boy, she sighed in her mind.

“Is that all? Where’s the feisty Sunshine I know?,” Leo said in a low tone, so the others could barely hear his comment, coming out almost flirty.

“Shut up,” Calypso answered equally quietly but held her gaze at him.

“Ahem,” they suddenly heard Piper’s voice behind them. “In case you’ve stopped with the flirting, I’d like you to meet a couple of people.”

Calypso turned to see the newcomers and as she recognized the Hunter badges both of them had attached to their shirts, something in her mind just suddenly turned off.

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Whatever It Takes

Sebastian’s daughter spends half the time with him and half with her step-mother. Her step-dad goes too far, causing her to run back to her father.

A/N: I ended up combining two requests with this since they were both such good ideas! I hope both of them love it! 

-

           “Please don’t make me go,” you begged your dad as he looked through the apartment to make sure you weren’t leaving anything. “I hate it there.” He, of course, thought you were bluffing. He knew your mom wasn’t the best, but he had full confidence in her as a mother, at least. And he’d seen the house she lived in. It was fine. But he didn’t see how things really were.

           “You have to. It’s what…” He sat down on the arm of the couch.

           “What the court says, I know. But I’m old enough to decide for myself, and I wanna stay with you. Please?” You didn’t know how bad things would have to get for him to let you stay. He was your best friend, and you’d already bent the rules to be able to spend most of the summer with him. But today you absolutely had to go back before your mother threw a colossal fit.

           “You know I wouldn’t let you go unless I absolutely have to, and I absolutely have to. Unless you want to petition the court, there’s no way around it. You have to spend half the time there, it’s what we agreed on.”

           “Yeah, when I was five! Before everything hit the fan!” As soon as your mother had divorced Sebastian, she’d moved in with some crazy guy in his mansion in the Hamptons. And the guy treated you like absolute shit, so your mom did too. They bought you off their backs; every time you threatened to tell the court something, another Louis Vuitton headed your way. You were sick of it, and you were ready to make your own decision and decide to stay with your dad. He was an actor, and he was gone between Atlanta and California and New York, but at least he loved you. You knew he loved you, unlike your mother. Your mother loved the image of a perfect family, even if on the inside it was every kind of abuse but physical. You didn’t want to worry your dad unless you absolutely had to tell him, so you kept your mouth shut.

           “Things didn’t hit the fan, your mom married an asshole and now you don’t want to be there. I get it. Really. But we’ve been over this time and time again, sweetheart. You have to. Unless you have evidence that something’s wrong, they’re not going to change it now. And they already hate me because I’m an actor, because apparently that means I’m not stable.” You knew that wasn’t true. He was the most mentally stable person you knew. You could tell he was at his wit’s end, but you wanted to keep pushing. You wanted to stay. Any bad day with your dad was better than a good day with your mom.

           “Fine,” you said softly. You tried to hide the fact that you were about to cry. You really didn’t want to leave. You had left in the middle of a fight and you knew things were going to be even worse when you came back, especially if you told them that your dad had taken you to California with him without asking them first.

           “I love you,” he said as he stood up, noticing that you were visibly upset. “You know that. I’ll call the lawyers again and see what they say. It’s been a few years since anything happened, so maybe they’d be willing to hear you out. But don’t get your hopes up, okay?” You nodded and hugged him tightly, trying to regain control of your breathing before it got worse.

           “Okay.”

           “I’ll help you load up.” One by one, you got your bags in the overly luxurious SUV your mother had bought you, and before you knew it he was handing you a twenty for something to eat along the way. “Please get real food and not just iced coffee,” he insisted. You got into the driver’s seat and smiled. At least he knew enough about you to know that was your plan.

           “Only because you asked nicely.”

           “Drive safe, babe, okay?” You nodded and started the car, checking the blind spot monitor before driving off toward the highway. You spent most of the time in the car making an internal list of all of the terrible things your mother had done, even though you knew it wouldn’t be enough and you would never care to write it down.

           You settled with cruise control for most of the drive, even though it was a bumpy road back to East Hampton, and finally pulled into the perfectly landscaped driveway of your step-dad’s mansion. There weren’t any other cars in the driveway, so you assumed your mom was off shopping, as usual, and your step-dad was probably cheating on her because that was just how things worked. You were only half joking when you thought about it.

           “Hello?” You called when you reached the house, just to make sure. You strained your neck to look up to the balcony, the huge chandelier reflecting in the bright sunlight. No one was home, except maybe one of the housekeepers. You took your things up the elevator, because the house was just that crazy, and settled back into your room. Your room there was gorgeous. Blair Waldorf would be jealous of it. But it wasn’t you. You and your dad had painted all of the furniture in your room at his house, together, and you’d picked everything out until you had to leave. Your dad had finished the room, too, and he knew you so well that it was perfect. You loved it. You hated this room. What a problem, right? Sheets getting changed every day, a private closet full of designer clothes… What a terrible life it was. That was how they reeled you in; if things looked good on the outside, it meant that nobody would dare look on the inside. It was a dollhouse. A shitty, expensive dollhouse.

           You spent most of the afternoon unpacking everything and changing out of the clothes your mother hated seeing you in. Instead you changed into an uncomfortable but put together outfit and waited. You were unpacking your makeup, thinking about seeing if one of your friends wanted to go to the beach later, when your door blew open. It was your mother, fresh from a shopping trip.

           “I see you’re back,” she responded. “How was it?”

           “Great,” you said. “How is everything here?” Your mother shrugged.

           “It’s the Hamptons. Roger is having some friends over tonight, so don’t ruin things for us.” You internally rolled your eyes. “That means…”

           “Stay in my room,” you interrupted. “I know.” That was another thing – your mom and step-dad wanted you out of their way as much as possible. That meant being all but locked in your room when guests came over. It was like you didn’t even exist. That was another difference – your dad couldn’t wait to show you off, especially because you were interested in film.

           You did what she said. You stayed in your room, thankful that you kept snacks up there, and watched TV for most of the night until everybody left. You could tell that they were ridiculously drunk, but that wasn’t new. You wanted out of there, once and for all, and just in case someone tried anything, you set your phone to record sound before putting it in the pocket of your sweatshirt. You walked down the stairs, seeing the cleaning staff working in the kitchen, and made a beeline for it. Before you could get there, though, your step-dad grabbed onto your arm.

           “You’re back, I see,” he said. He was too close for comfort and you tried to wrestle your arm away, but you couldn’t. He was too strong. You could feel a bruise forming on your arm. That would be a fantastic picture.

           “Yeah,” you replied.

           “Thank you for not making any noise earlier. This was too important to have you mess up.” You knew he was just being an ass, but it hurt. Were you really that bad?

           “Yeah, whatever. I’m going to bed.” You started to walk, but he didn’t let go. “Can you let go of me?” He did what you asked, finally, and when you pulled your arm away there was a bruise on it. You hoped it would fade, but not before you took pictures of it. Maybe them being like this was a blessing in disguise. Still, though. They’d never gone so far as to put a hand on you.

           You were careful in the coming week. Beyond careful. You slipped in and out, minded your own business, and made yourself as scarce as possible. But they had a rule that you had to come home each night, so you did. As soon as the town curfew kicked in, you were home. They always found a reason to come to your room, whether it was lecturing you about leaving your car in the wrong spot in the driveway or taking the wrong towel out to the pool. And your step-dad kept getting more and more violent. As soon as one bruise would fade, another would start on your arm or your shoulder from him just grabbing onto you too hard. Of course your mom wouldn’t do anything about it. She only looked out for herself. You didn’t want to worry your dad, so you just pretended like everything was okay.

           “I’m glad things are going well,” he said over the phone one night. “Maybe they just needed some time.”

           “Yeah,” you responded. You were being fake as hell and you prayed that he didn’t notice it. You were also trying not to cry. That night had been a bad one; they’d had guests over without telling you and you’d gone down the stairs. You had another bruise on your wrist, and this time there was a fingernail mark, too.

           “Listen, I gotta go, I’m meeting up with some people for a dinner meeting.”

           “Okay.” You felt stupid, but you didn’t want to let him go. Your eyes filled to the brim with tears. You just wanted him. “I love you.”

           “I love you too, sweetie.” You hung up the phone and crawled back into bed, letting the tears roll down your cheeks. You wanted to go home. You had friends, sure, but you felt so lonely in that huge house with people who hated you. You were sure your mom and step-dad wouldn’t even care if you left. You wanted to test it, but you were scared. You let yourself cry a little more, just to get everything out, and decided to watch TV until you felt a little better. You wanted to watch LOST, the show you and your dad had been watching all summer together, but you didn’t want to watch it without him.

           It was late before you finally went down to the kitchen again, bare-footed so your feet wouldn’t make much noise, and tried to get some water. Unfortunately, you weren’t the only one with the idea. Your step dad was sitting there, at the table, drinking. As always. He was draining a bottle of rum that probably cost more than your car did.

           “Well, well, well,” he said. “Haven’t seen you the past few days.” That was right. Because you were avoiding him.

           “Yeah,” you tried to hide it with a shrug as you reached for a glass. The last bruise he’d left had disappeared, and hopefully it wouldn’t be replaced. “Haven’t been feeling well. I think I’m getting sick or something.” Your step-dad smirked.

           “Sure you are. Or maybe you just don’t want to see us. You want to run off with your real daddy, I know that, but you could at least try to be a part of this family.” Your eyes were filling up just as quickly as your glass was with ice. You switched it over to the water. You had a bad feeling in your stomach.

           “Okay,” you responded calmly. “I’ll try and make a better effort. I’m sorry.” He walked up to you then, like he always did, but he didn’t do anything. Not at first.

           “Sorry for what? Being such a little bitch all the time?” That was crossing a line. He’d never called you that, not to your face. You were always just the brat to him. Not bitch. You wanted to end the conversation. Fight or flight kicked in and you wanted to run away. Maybe you could take the back staircase. It was quicker, and you could lock your room so he couldn’t get in. You were frozen in fear, breathing heavily, about to start crying again like the little kid you were. He grabbed your arm, for real this time, and you noticed that you were shaking. This was going to leave a darker bruise than normal, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to see you upset.

           “That’s what I thought. Cry-baby. Go run off, see if we care. We’ll get full custody, anyway.” So you decided that’s what you would do. You walked away, noticing that he didn’t follow you, and he probably didn’t think you were serious. He was probably thinking you were going upstairs to cry, which you were. But you were going to pack, too.

           You packed as many of your clothes as you could get in a suitcase, a full backpack with your laptop in it, and the few pictures you knew you would want. You threw your makeup bag into another bag and started cleaning up the room. By the time you made up the bed and cleared the closet out, it was like no one even lived there. You went out to the balcony. He was in bed. Your mom had gone to bed long ago. So you lifted up your suitcase and brought it down to the entry hallway. It was pouring rain outside, but you didn’t care. You had to get out of there, fast. You started your car with your phone, turning the lights off so you wouldn’t be seen from their window, and loaded everything back into the car. The time to drive back to the city was two hours normally, but you could cut it down. It was nearly three in the morning, you knew that, but you had to get out of there. The last thing you did was leave the house key on the kitchen table, along with the two credit cards they gave you that you almost never used.

           You must have looked like a mess to anyone driving alongside you – you were still in your pajamas and a wet raincoat, your car was packed full, and you were crying. But you hit traffic at the bridge and, by the time you pulled into your dad’s garage, you could tell that the kitchen light was on. He was awake. You shut the car off and took your phone with you, walking up the stairs to the first floor.

           Your dad was standing there, making one of those protein shakes he always drank. He looked like he was about to go for a run. He looked over at you as you entered, eyes wide, and shut off the blender he was using.

           “You’re supposed to be at your mom’s!” He said.

           “I had to get out of there. I can’t stay there,” you explained. “I have it recorded, but I had to get out. Please just let me stay.”

           “Hold on, hold on, you drove here in the middle of the night by yourself?” You nodded. “Do they know?”

           “No.”

           “Jesus, Y/n. I need to call the lawyers right now. Do you know what you just did?” You took off your rain jacket, letting it fall to the floor, and held out your arm. The bruise was dark purple and clear as day. “Did he do that to you?”

           ��Yes. I have all of the pictures and I recorded all of our conversations. I’m sorry I came here without telling you but I had to get out of there.” You could see the rage burning in his eyes, but it wasn’t for you. The first thing he did was wrap you in a hug, tightly, and that was enough. You let yourself start crying, again, just because you were so relieved. Nothing could hurt you here. Not your mom, not your step-dad.

           “I need to call the lawyers. Go un-pack for me and we’ll figure this out, okay, honey?” He rubbed your back for a second as you prepared to pull away from him. You went to go unpack your bags and your dad started calling everyone he knew to call. You doubted they would even care that you were gone, but you definitely didn’t want to cause a media frenzy that would make your dad look bad. That was the absolute last thing you wanted to do was screw him over. Finally, the calls were all over and your dad walked into your room. You’d taken a shower and changed clothes by then, warming up from the cold rain. You’d driven with your air on full blast the entire time without even realizing it.

           “Hey,” he said. “I called the lawyer. They’re sending some police and CPS over to talk things through, but it looks like I can get full custody at least temporarily. You might have to go to court for it, but…”

           “I don’t want to. I just want out of there.” He sat down beside you on the bed, pulling you in.

           “I know you don’t want to. And it’ll be hard. But they hurt you. Multiple times. And you literally have all of the proof you need on your phone. They’re not gonna hurt you again, I won’t let them. Whatever it takes.” You nodded, sniffling a little. You were such a crybaby. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it before.”

           “Nobody did. He never started acting like that until I got back.” He ran a hand through your hair.

           “It’s over now, okay? You’re home with me.” You were resting your head in his shoulder when there was a knock at the front door, followed by the shout that it was police. He offered you a hand and you took it, like you always did, and walked down the stairs.