#he thought he lost both of them to the Metal Virus he's gotta have some serious ptsd from that

[number-one-shadisper-shipper]

As promised, my post- Metal Virus Chaotix oneshot is up!

Even though it's finally over, everyone's been pretty traumatized by the Metal Virus. Vector had been worried that Charmy would have a hard time dealing with it. After all, the kid was only five. But he never expected the real problem would end up being an emotional ninja with abandonment issues

[plus-size-reader]

Forgotten

Thomas x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2326 words

Warnings: none

Summary: WCKD isn’t the only one with secrets. The Scorch has a few secrets of its own

—————————————————————————————————

It would have been stupid of the gladers to think they were the only ones left.

While it was true that WCKD had taken to picking and choosing who got to survive, that didn’t mean there was no one else left outside of their domain. It just meant that the few of you that had survived were better at it than the rest.

Sometimes you called them the forgotten, those who WCKD couldn’t use that got left behind. In the beginning, it was like your own little maze, made up of all those who didn’t mean anything to anyone because they couldn’t use you.  

You were left for dead at the mercy of the scorch, and while some people had survived, as the time ticked by, fewer and fewer of those forgotten ones survived.

Most of them ended up as cranks, at the hands of the virus that had torn through the life  you once knew.  It was all you had now, and as treacherous as it was, the scorch was your home.

It was all that was left.

Which was why you were so shocked to see such a big group of them still alive out here, not deterred by the dust storms in the desert or the cranks who would surely tear them apart if they got the chance.

All in all, they were way out of their depth.

You had been staying here, in what was now little more than a bunker while now, keeping a close eye on the compound to the east. WCKD got shipments of supplies sometimes, which you had taken to ripping off occasionally.

Stealing from them was hardly the worst thing you’d done out here.

It was what you had to do to survive.

However, the last thing you’d been expecting here was a group of strangers, somehow still alive against every threat in this place. Though, from the looks of it, they hadn’t been out in it very long, which could have been the reason for that.

You watched them for a while, trying to figure out who or what they were, before eventually, you decided that you had to do something about it.

They weren’t going to survive out here on their own.

What you were doing went against your every impulse, of course, as you had learned not to trust anyone or anything, not even the other survivors that could be found bunkered down all over the scorch.

The only person you could trust was you, and even that was iffy sometimes, but for some reason, you felt differently about them.

Maybe it was because they were so desperately fighting for survival, ro maybe it was just because you’d been alone for so long but whatever it was, you had already made up your mind.

They needed your help, or they were going to die out here.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you” you called, just in time for one among them to flip the switch to the power grid. It may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but only if they knew even less about this place than you thought they did.

Both men in yoru view tensed at your appearance, but didn’t have any time at all to address you before the crank you’d loving been calling Doris for the past six months slammed against the bars of her cage.

She was here when you showed up here and once you’d decided that there was no risk of her getting out, it was easier to keep her alive than to put her down.

In your experience, having one around that wasn’t a threat to you, helped you keep tabs on what would draw in the rest.

“Follow me” you suggested, rushing off in the opposite direction of two of the other cranks, glad to find out that at the very least, the two of them could run. If they couldn’t, you would have been forced to leave them behind.

Just because you wanted to help them didn’t mean you were all of a sudden willing to die for strangers.

You would help them, or at least try to help them, for as long as you could. The actual survival was their responsibility, what they had to do out here because they wanted to. Everyone that survived out here had to want it.

If you didn’t, you died.

That was just how it was, and nothing was going to change that.

The pair of them shared a look, just one, before following your lead. The next few minutes went by quickly, more quickly than anyone could have predicted, as you raced toward the exit, meeting up with quite a few others in the process.

From the looks of it, the gang's all here.

You didn’t say anything more until you had made it safely, for the most part, out of the building, the door closed tightly, one metal door between you and them. All of you, with the exception of one, had made it out in one piece.

“What were you doing back there? What's going on? Who are you?” came the parade of questions as you walked, already sort of leaving the rest of them in your dust. While they clearly had no idea what was out here, you did.

...And you weren’t itching to see any more of those things tonight.

“Y/N, I was living there but I guess I’m not anymore” you decided, only looking back at them to answer the first of what you assumed would be a million more questions. The more ground you could cover before the sun went down, the better off you’d be.

If they thought one of them getting bit was bad, it was going to get so much worse in the dark. Those things thrived in the dark.

“Living there, with those things? You’ve gotta be mad” one of the scoffed, immediately forcing you to stop again.

Once again reminding you why you normally shied away from helping other people all together.

“You came out of a maze, didn’t you? Cause you definitely haven't been out here” you hummed, eyeing the blonde incredulously, though when an answer did come, it wasn’t from his lips. Instead, one of the original two you’d found, Thomas you thought you’d heard, spoke.

He was lost.

“Yeah we did, you didn’t?” he wondered, a genuine look of confusion dressing his face for a second. They hadn’t really considered an alternative, and why would they?

All this time, they had been under the impression that there was nothing out there in the scorch, but you were living proof that was a lie. It made him wonder that if that was a lie, there was a good chance other things had been too.

They just couldn’t be sure what.

“No, I grew up in the scorch” you shrugged, doing your very best to ignore the way their faces twisted up when you said it out loud. Of course they couldn’t understand what that was like, because no one could.

Only people who’d done it could even imagine what it was like.

The gladers weren’t exactly thrilled about this situation, but as uncertain as they were of you, it was clear that you were that much more concerned about them. Clearly, all this time out in the scorch had made you paranoid.

Rightfully so.

“You live out here? In this?” the blonde repeated, clearly missing the point of this conversation entirely. You wanted to make this as quick and concise as possible so as to not have to talk about it again but that wasn’t about to happen.

Not with all these shanks asking so many questions.

“Alright, I’m gonna need some names. Then I’ll tell you all about the forgotten ones” you decided, folding your arms crossed your chest, keeping as calm as you could be given the circumstances.

You didn’t have all day to sit around talking about this. From the looks of their friend, you didn’t even have till sundown anymore before you had at least one crank to deal with.

“That’s Minho, Frypan, and Teresa” he, Thomas, started, pointing each of them out in turn before moving on to the next.

“Over there is Aris,” the shortest of them.

“That’s Winston”  the soon to be crank

“This is Newt and I’m Thomas” he hummed, making it clear that there was some kind of connection between all of them that was much deeper than you would have thought, and confirming that was in fact his name.

At the very least, you had that going for you.

“There used to be more of us, out here, but as the time passes, there’s less” you started, deciding that a deal was a deal after all.

You told them you would explain this whole thing, after all.

“I’ve been on my own for a while, moving around to stay alive. Sometimes I stole from the WCKD supply trucks from the compound where you came from, but they aren’t even the biggest threat” you allowed, letting your eyes linger on Winston for a moment.

You knew that to them, he was family, but it was hard for you to see him as anything more than a ticking time bomb. You had just lost too many friends to cranks over the years to feel comfortable with him like that.

It was only a matter of time.

Thomas nodded as you spoke, thinking over each and every one of your words carefully.

After all, to the best he could tell, you had been living there all this time and when he stopped to think about it, it made sense. All those kids in the maze, they were there because they were immune, and they needed to be protected, but they weren’t the only ones left.

There was no way everyone else was dead.

Someone had to be alive somewhere, out there in the rubble, which wasn’t exactly wrong. There were plenty of people left, hiding out all over the scorch, just trying to survive.

“We’ll figure something out” he muttered, following your gaze to the male, who was currently holding tightly to Minho’s shoulder just to keep upright.

So far, it was just a sick feeling in his stomach and a dizziness clouding his thoughts, but soon it would be much more. You knew all the sighs, far too well, and you could have pinpointed exactly how it would happen.

It was a race against the clock.

“You can’t promise that. You don’t know this place like I do” you whispered, turning back around to continue on your way, not willing to discuss this any further. You wanted to believe in a cure as much as the next person, but you weren’t blind.

You didn’t get to be so naive.

“So why help us then? You clearly think this whole thing is hopeless anyway” Thomas called, jogging slightly to catch up with you, the rest of his group taking up the back. It wasn’t exactly easy to move through the sand, but you made it work.

All in all, it was easier for you than it was for them, just because you’d been doing it for longer.

You sighed, looking at him through the corner of your eye, desperately trying to understand what it was he wanted from you. This was a lot harder for you both than need be, as neither of you had a good history of working with others, but it was what it was.

It was plain and simple.

You didn’t want something to happen to them.

The Scorch had taken so much from so many people and you didn’t want to let it take anything else from anyone else if you could help it. At the very least, you could help guide them in this world they knew so little about.

It was all anyone could do, because there were so few of you left.

“Because it’s important,”

Thomas seemed to be determined to keep his family safe, and you could respect that. After all, he wasn’t the only one who’d had one, and you hadn’t been as successful as you’d hoped in your own quest.

If you could help him keep his people alive, you weren’t going to turn a blind eye to that.

“I lost my people, but you don’t have to lose yours” you decided, remembering the countless friends you’d had and lost over the years. The Scorch was real and dangerous, where nothing was ever guaranteed.

Between WCKD and the cranks, you’d lost everything. They would get bit; if they were immune, World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department was on top of it, and if they weren’t, they died.  

News of the immune, even out here, was hard to keep hidden. They were valuable, and as best you knew, WCKD was already tracking them down.

Thankfully, you knew how this went down, and if they had a shot out here, it was with you.

“You would do that for us?” he questioned, unsure of what in the world was happening here. He thought he understood the world, though he understood what was going on but every time he got any information, it flipped all over again.

Thomas just felt like he couldn’t win, no matter what he did.

“Yeah, but you have to know Winston isn’t going to make it. He probably has half an hour left, at most” you whispered. There was no way you could guarantee he had even that much time but he certainly didn’t have any more than that.

It wasn’t really the news you wanted to give him but you didn’t have much choice in the matter. He’d been bitten and since he clearly wasn’t immune, that wasn’t going to change.

“Yeah, yeah, I know”

None of this was going to be easy but at the very least, he won’t have to do it alone.

[kinetic-elaboration]

August 21: 3x04 And the Children Shall Lead

Okay, I’m finally going to write up my thoughts on And the Children Shall Lead. I think I’m (mostly) over all of my excessively-strong emotions about this ep lol. Maybe going through my notes will bring them back. Or maybe not. I’ve felt very tired and uninterested in everything today so it’s hard to tell. So far the process is not going well: tumblr ate my first attempt at a post, like literally I wrote a few lines, clicked to a new tab, and when I clicked back the post was empty so thanks for that, and I keep on just generally not being interested in the task. So, we’ll see.

The tl;dr is that I don’t see why this ep is considered one of the worst. I actually really liked it!

Single-color jumpsuits: the fashion of the future.

Another old Kirk friend! (This isn’t even important lol; it never comes up again or matters that Kirk knew this guy, but we must always be reminded that he is the best networker in Starfleet.)

“He’s dead, Captain.” Not “he’s dead, Jim”?? Sounds wrong.

“The enemy within.” I thought that was a S1 ep?

Ah, another bunch of creepy kids. In pajamas this time, apparently.

Kirk is not having fun being the center of their creepy little rhyme.

RIP to McCoy but my diagnosis is “alien shenanigans.”

“I’m sorry, Captain Kirk.” Such a polite little alien.

McCoy corralling the kids

This sounds a lot like Miri, except purposeful—something targeted all the adults but left the kids, just like the virus in Miri affected all the adults, but not the kids.

…A disturbance in the cave!

Lol at Kirk’s anxiety face. I feel you, man.

Spock’s never experienced anxiety? My first thought is ‘sounds fake’ but actually… maybe he really hasn’t.

“There has to be an explanation.” This is the MOST Jim line.

I like these kids. They’re actually pretty cute. Also love Kirk trying to relate to the kids.

Where are they? Is this Sulu’s greenhouse lol? I love it. They should have used this set more.

“That place is for adults.” Gotta say, I wrote this down but now have no recollection what it actually refers to. The bridge? I think it’s the bridge.

Are they performing witchcraft? Intriguing.

“Friendly angel”—nothing creepy about that at all.

Got a little alien cult going on here. Every time I feel anxiety from now on I’m going to assume it’s an alien cultist nearby.

“We’ll pursue this in my quarters.” Wink wink.

Can’t fool Uhura.

Never mind. Yes you can.

For someone who wanted the kids guarded all the time, Kirk sure was ok with them just traipsing around the bridge. I mean the guards are at the door but like…they’re only at the door.

Never really thought about how there’s apparently an…engineering component... to flying the ship? I don’t know, I don’t really get it but it’s cool.

"Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth." Damn. Great line.

BAND OF MARAUDES. That’s a cool backstory for the dead alien society. Basically, they’re ghosts. Greedy ghosts. Alien ghost pirates.

Great triumvirate scene. McCoy want to protect the kids and Kirk’s like “…but the ship, though?” Which is fair!!

What does the ghost want? Um, a ship to maraud in, were you not listening to Spock’s exposition of the back story?

No don’t beam anyone down!!

Love any time Spock pushes someone else out of the way so he can man the transporter. He’s somehow the second-best expert on it on the entire ship.

Eeek, low-key gruesome death there. Look, I know that this is one of the scenes that haters love to point out as a reason to despise the episode but I personally don’t think deeply enough into the transporter situation to wonder how much information they have or assume before they beam people anywhere. Also…weird alien stuff is happening, guys. Just attribute it to that. Also also, if you’re gonna nitpick like that, be prepared to hate all of TOS.

THE KIDS STOLE THE CAR.

“Sulu, what did you to do my ship?”

Uhura’s watching this little witchcraft scene from the background like ‘aw, so cute.’

“Call upon their beasts.” Metal.

“Go to your stations.” This little kid is a future Captain in the making.

SPACE KNIVES

Kirk's like "Oh no, my crew is deserting me, I'm gonna have to fly the whole ship by myself AGAIN.”

“Captain, why are we bothering Starfleet?” Et tu, Spock?s

How did they get to Spock? He doesn’t seem scared of anything…more like he’s under the influence of a general hallucination, like the others seeing the planet on the screen even after they left orbit.

I remember this part, with Kirk freaking out. Spock doesn’t like it one bit.

He’s just being a littttle Dramatique.

Cannot believe that all Spock has to do is say “Jim” in a quiet, intimate voice and Kirk is immediately okay. Just let it out of his system, grabbed onto his friend, heard his own name, and the beast is defeated.

“My Vulcan friend”? Lol.

Kirk’s face when he realizes they’ve got Scotty too…

“Go away or we’ll kill you.” That was legitimately creepy. Scotty gone rogue.

Aw, Spock was worried about him again.

“Without followers, evil cannot spread.”

“Where did you hear this order, Chekov?” / “The voices in my head.”

It’s interesting that Kirk and Spock can’t be manipulated—perhaps because they have each other?

Enough of this—fight time!

That guard sounded like he really liked that nerve pinch; he was kinda moaning as he went down.

“Spock, corral them to their rooms.”

Outta the chair, brat.

Is Kirk going to defeat the alien evil using logic?

Summoning the “angel” by using the old recording is very clever.

When did they decide to start calling him the Gorgon?

“It lost its power in the light of reality” = “I looked into Spock’s eyes and knew myself again.”

HE IS GENTLE. It’s true and you should say it.

And he doesn’t even dispute it. “AND we are ALSO very strong.”

"You are full of goodness. Such as you cannot be changed."

So the girl is Jankowski.

This is very Candyman. The alien needs their belief to live. When they cease to follow him, he literally disappears.

Honestly, this whole alien scheme starts to look equal parts silly and sad, trying to call the crying children "generals.” They’re babies!

McCoy loves to see children in tears lol.

Kirk just hands them all off to McCoy, like ‘well, my work here is done.’

Okay, now we reverse course to pick up those stranded security guards still on the planet, right? Right? No? Okay, guess not.

Uhura, immediately ready with the paperwork lol. Now IS the time.

The end!

Now to try to interpret all of my other, more general notes.

The way I interpreted Spock being able to defy the mind control was that he was affected by Kirk. Because he clearly was affected, but then when he saw Kirk starting to freak out, he looked concerned, and then got them both off the bridge—he had a breakthrough of clarity long enough to understand he needed to get off the bridge. Then he’d be away from the kids, and they wouldn’t have as much control, and he could snap Jim out of it, too.

Like I’m sure his Vulcan resilience could easily have been part of it, too, but that resilience wasn’t enough to keep him from being affected at all—and of course they could have easily written it that way—and it seems obvious that his moment of clarity was caused specifically by watching Kirk starting to lose it. There are so many shots of him specifically watching Kirk and the guard.

The K/S vibes were so strong. Spock was so protective, then they get in the lift and Kirk basically clings to him. All he has to do is say Kirk’s name and Kirk is fine, which is basically the power of true love. And then even outside of that scene… for the whole rest of the ep, they’re a duo. It’s not just Kirk against the Evil of the Week, it’s Kirk and Spock, working together at every turn. Neither of them could have done it alone.

it's a pretty classic trope, in fact, especially in s1, to have Kirk all alone, abandoned by all...where he's the last man standing, the one who has to run the whole ship and save the whole day. Naked Time, This Side of Paradise, and Trouble with Tribbles (kinda) all come to mind. But this time he has Spock! You see the progression of their relationship in that.

I really enjoyed this episode in general. Lots of classic tropes: creepy children; surprise alien; old alien society not as dead as we thought; Kirk has to run the whole ship by himself (with Spock); heroic!Kirk saving the day… It has it all. It’s clearly revisiting some older themes and ideas, but in a sufficiently unique way that it doesn’t just seem like a rehash of an older plot. In some ways, it felt like a Classic S1 episode to me. It has some Miri elements, some Charlie X elements, some Naked Time elements…

I literally don’t understand why it’s so disliked.

Skimmed the wiki and the only specific criticism in there is that Kirk shows an “unmistakable hostility to the children.” Well first of all, he doesn’t. He might not have the best manner with them, but why should he? He’s certainly not mean or cruel to them. He recognizes they’re a danger to his ship, and to the whole planet of Marcos-12, which by the way is objectively true, but that’s not being hostile. McCoy is the one who represents ‘exclusive care for the children’s welfare’ in this ep, but he CAN do that, because he’s not the Captain. He represents that perspective, he gives his opinion, which is both his job on the ship and his role on the show, and then Kirk takes that into account while doing HIS job, which is running the ship. McCoy would have literally let the kids take over their ship and conquer the galaxy as part of their grieving process lol. Kirk was right and I should say it. (Also btw he understands that killing the kids might be an option—but he obviously doesn’t actually do it.)

I actually think this ep is a great example of the triumvirate functioning--McCoy reminds Kirk that the children are just traumatized children, and Spock reminds him that he's responsible for 400+ people on the ship, and Kirk makes the decisions that vanquish the evil, save the ship, and free the kids.

And look, even if you don’t like this episode, you’d have to argue very hard to convince me it’s the WORST, as in worse than Spock’s Brain, worse than The Alternative Factor, worse than Assignment Earth (not even a real TOS ep!), worse than The Omega Glory.

Some stuff I actively liked: the concept of the alien taking over the children specifically (both creepy and…kinda makes sense? That they’d be vulnerable); the message that the followers of demagogues can be both truly dangerous and objects of sympathy; the backstory of the evil empire of pirate aliens—and how greed doesn’t die; the witchcraft aesthetic, ESPECIALLY when paired with the kid antagonists, since kids are so into that like chanting, incantations, rituals thing; that the ep used every single main character (when was the last time a TOS ep did that?). Also I thought the kid actors did a good job!

The theme about the authoritarian and the cult followers was actually quite resonant, I thought; inevitably made me think of Tr/ump and his Tr/umpies. Just like in this episode, you must have some kind of… if not sympathy, at least willingness to do the hard work of deprograming and then bringing them back to the fold, or else the country is never going to heal and it’s never going to be able to go forward in a positive way. It might not go forward at all! But fuck it’s hard to have that sympathy; they’re so abhorrent. Here, you see the terrible things the kids do, and yet sympathy isn’t so hard, because they’re kids. You see how much they are victims/pawns also. And so in that sense, Kirk’s ability to deprogram them is comfortingly optimistic—a little bittersweet, as TOS often is, because the kids have done horrible things and seen horrible things and now they’ll have to live with it, but comforting nonetheless.

I can’t even think of that many things I didn’t like in the ep. Mostly just nitpicky things. Like, was McCoy a little inconsistent in what he thought should be done with the kids? Yeah, but we get the general idea. Did Kirk drop the ball when he let them hang out on the bridge? Yes, especially as he knew how dangerous they were at that point, but I actually don’t mind it so much because they’re kids—it’s understandable that their true dangerousness didn’t fully compute to him. I don’t see that as a mistake or sloppy writing tbh. And was it an amateur hour mistake to beam two people into space? Yes, but it made up for it in being creepy and upping the stakes of the ep.

I guess I could see how the fist gesture could be seen as a little silly. But the other option, having them speak rhymes each time, would have been distracting—and probably also looked silly! Also, as my mom pointed out, it looks like a kid’s game (sorta like the start of rock paper scissors) so it fits appropriately with the theme.

I really liked how they wove in the aesthetic of kids’ games, kids’ manners of playing, into the narrative. Kids can be really creepy! They like creepy things! So the ring around the rosy rhyme at the beginning—a quite disturbing chant, of course, about the Plague, that is also very commonly sung by actual kids—foreshadows the summoning chant that brings the alien to them. It’s all of a piece. And just like the rhyme is just a rhyme, and they don’t know the real meaning behind it, they probably also don’t fully understand the meaning of the summoning chant or the alien that comes with it. It’s all one big game to them.

It’s interesting that the alien seemed to play off their desire both to punish their parents for working too much ("they like the planet, they're always busy") and to have freedom from parental rules (how they react to any instructions from adults, the alien's promise that the whole universe will be their playground, etc.). He really picks their sore spots as kids specifically and turns them into his “generals” accordingly. Like all kids, they don’t think too much about the larger consequences of their game because in some ways, it really is all just a game to them.

I liked how the episode characterized Kirk’s ability to interact with kids. He’s not bad with them at all, but he’s not like McCoy or Chapel either. He “wants to communicate with the future adult in the kid,” as my mom put it, which is perfect. He doesn’t exactly treat them as mini-adults—he doesn’t say inappropriate things to them, and he does simplify his language and his ideas for them—but he does treat them very seriously. And he’s probably best at one-on-one interactions like with Tommy. I think this makes total sense for his character: he doesn’t have kids (David aside lol), he doesn’t have younger siblings, he doesn’t work in a place where he’d see other people’s kids, he doesn’t get to see his nephew much, etc.

…Okay those were all my notes. I know I had other thoughts that were a little less scattered later, but… I’m tired. And most of it is probably in here in some form or another. I also found a list of, like, actual critiques of the episode, and I was considering going through them and addressing them all, and I might still do that. But I think that’s for another day.

[weeniewrites]

Lost Connections

Zombie Kenma x g/n reader part 2 

part 1

1.8k words

tw: animal death (kenma eats a rat), descriptions of a panic attack, gore, general unsanitary things

____________________________________

There’s so many things to ask him. How’d you get here? How’d you get hurt? Where’s Kuroo? But 

1. How would you even make that a yes or no question? and

2. Isn’t that rude? 

For now you’ll swallow the temptation, the ever present temptation, and pretend that those thoughts don’t exist. Continuing your antisocial rat shut in of a life with the addition of a much rattier appearing friend. Speaking of,

“Kenma, do you wanna clean up? There’s a river near here and it might feel better?”

His head lifts his from his staring contest with the floor, looking blankly at you.

“Right, too much at once. It’s hard to limit what you say when you’re not used to talking you know?” A head tilt

“Yeah I suppose I’m preaching to the choir. You can’t really talk anymore can you Kenma?” Unresponsive

....

Geez. Sometimes he really does feel like a corpse, he is one but, there’s those moments he’s more expressive. It feels like he’s actually understanding you. Right now you might as well be talking to the wall.

“You still there Kenma? Didn’t decide to actually kick the bucket this time?”

A nod

“Okay that settles it. We’re going out.” There’s no point in keeping him here, tied up like some animal if he gets nothing out of it, not because you haven’t cleaned up this space in a while and his general stench isn’t helping, but because he’s just, not moving as much and the silence without him shifting around is unsettling. How you’ve gotten so used to having another  occupant in your space so quickly is beyond you.

But how to go about this. There haven’t been any mishaps besides that initial misunderstanding with the shushing, and his discomfort with wearing a gag (assuming that's what that was?), how could you travel with him and stay safe despite his slower pace... hmm...

“Actually, wait here. I’ll be out for a bit, gotta check something.”

You grab your pack of essentials, paranoidly checking that the handle of your bat hasn’t started cracking or something since the last time you used it and wave him goodbye, leaving him alone for the first time.

GOD you reek! It made sense why you couldn’t clean off last time. Somehow you haven’t turned into a human zit despite the crusted blood from the last zombies you downed. You certainly don’t smell like you’re ready to entertain company, not that Kenma cares.

You’d fallen out of the habit of patrolling, realizing how fruitless it was when as a single person you could just hide, not needing constant supply runs like your previous group. But if you were going to take Kenma out you needed to make sure no undead would get in the way. Could another zombie make him more aggressive, like those ones in the hoards? Maybe they instinctively group up for strength. How does a virus give a corpse instincts anyway? You shake your head to get those unanswerable questions out of your head for the second time today.

    The towns dead silent, absolutely nothing creeping out on your usual path. The new found knowledge that they can indeed smell has planted a new worry that you’ll somehow draw them out just by existing. Your footsteps are quiet from ages of practice and the chatter of birds easily drowns you out. Your only company is the usual animals and the corpses you’ve already dispatched, decaying at an increased rate now that they’re finally gone for good. You... really need new pants. Kenma needs new clothes too with how torn up and gore covered his own are. You shiver. It’s hard to avoid thinking of how painful whatever happened to him must’ve been, whether in life or death.

    So new clothes. The houses along the street are fairly intact, only general wear from the elements affecting them. None of them look boarded up but that doesn’t mean someone couldn’t be inside. You can handle a couple undead, a living person would be a whole ‘nother ordeal. But it’s not exactly hard to pants a zombie. A squishy squishy ooze of a previous person covered in a buzzing layer of insects. You’ve got this. Risking an encounter alive or dead by breaking into  a house isn’t worth it. So just, pants. the zombie.

Considering you crushed the head, its bottoms are fairly clean. Please don't be commando, pleaaaase don’t be commando please- you squeeze your eyes shut, grab the ends of the pants legs and pull, removing it in one surprisingly smooth go. YES, it's wearing underwear! Nothing to see besides, oh god it shit itself, god thats, ew ew ew ew ew WHY DID YOU THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA! Into the plastic bag it goes. Hightailing it to the river is sounding more appealing by the second

Stepping carefully around the edge to find a shallow slow moving area is easy enough, though the rocks crunching underfoot make you cringe. Kneeling at the side, you rinse your hands off before you even dare touch your bag to grab the soap. Geez it's a relief to start to feel clean. Have you been neglecting that? First the space you sleep, now your body, avoiding going out out of fear of the few undead you ever see. File that away for later, focus on the now. Around the nail beds, under the nails, stripping off a shirt, get the pits, dunk your hair in, carefully scrubbing where the crusted blood’s basically sealed to your skin. Pants, underwear, socks, walk in fully and try to focus. Can’t get lost in your thoughts with an overwhelming full body chill forcing you to stay in the here and now, fully aware of your body and where you are. A slower moving part of a river, in a nice forested area, in the middle of the day. Surrounded by birds' songs and squirrels running around you. Bugs skip along the water's surface and twigs and leaves rush past you in the faster paced sections.

After a few minutes spent standing there, steadily getting colder, you move on to washing everything you wore there as well as what you took from the zombie. The pants look like they’ll fit Kenma? The waist is a drawstring one at least. It's calm repetitive work. There’s satisfaction in allowing yourself to be outside, clean and present.

________________________________

    Your clothes are still wet as you make your way back but they’ll probably dry before you get home... probably. It’s been too long since you’ve seen Kenma and you’re getting antsy, both from nerves and curiosity if he’ll even be willing to change into new pants. At least you’d have a spare now.

    Creaking the door open, you’re about to announce your presence but pause at the sound of rapid shuffling and creaking metal. It’s so dark compared to outside that even with squinting it's hard to fully make out what's going on inside but his limbs are scrabbling, flailing in their attempts to pull him across the floor. The rope around his neck and chest is more taught than you ever hoped to see it. The pipe he’s tied to creaks under a surprising amount of strain. Throwing caution to the wind you rush in, able to more clearly make out the growling and huffing he makes in his efforts to, scratch that, success in catching a rat that was scurrying past him. His hand latches into the poor thing, nails biting into the flesh. Before you can even react it’s between his teeth, tearing in as it squeals, flails, attempts to scratch back as its last twitches of life leave. He’s ravenous, the one pupil blown out as gore coats his face from his small feast. And then, once every ounce of gamey meat is gone, he stills, not reacting to the blood dripping off his face and fingers or to you.

    Slow breathing. Slow steady breathing. You need to stay calm. Need to either run out of here or close the door before the smell of blood attracts something else. Slow breathing, steady breathing so he won’t hear. Stay. Absolutely. Calm. One step back. Two steps back. Three-

Kenma’s returned to staring at the floor, fingers tracing patterns in the places he’d scratched before.

Four? Your heart is pounding but this behavior, it's predictable, a little different, much different with the scent of blood in the air but its, he attacked a rat. He didn’t attack you but he could but he didn’t but he hasn't, not even while you’re asleep he hasn’t. He hasn’t tried to hurt you once just BREATH.

You don’t notice him staring at you as you slide to the floor and shudder and cry.

______________________________________

The sun has started setting by the time your panic attack reaches its end, the floor wet under your ass from your clothing. Shivering from the aftershocks of adrenaline as well as the cold you stumble up to slide the door closed. The air is crisp and almost fresh inside now. Too tired to berate yourself, you cross the room to your blanket pile across from Kenma, grab two, and pull it without the motivation to pick it up, instead letting it drag behind you.

    “Kenma” you croak “I’m about to do something really stupid, so don’t, don’t break my trust okay. You don’t want to hurt me?” He nods, no hesitation. “Then hold still.”

    The blankets are dropped a few feet away from him and you kneel at his side for the first time since tending to his wrist. Palms open, approaching slowly, your arms enter his reach to undo the first knot. The rope slides away from him easily and you shimmy if off just enough to dump it on the floor beside him.

    “I don’t know if you get cold I don’t, I don’t care just, here.” You present a blanket to him and want to cry all over again when he doesn’t react. Why would he. What part of him even remembers what it's for. Idiot. He twitches as you start to wrap it around him but otherwise obeys your request. Still. He’s staying still.

    His head tilts as you wrap yourself in a blanket too, plopping ungracefully to the floor next to his good side. Energy finally running out with no dinner to speak of, you lean on his shoulder and enter a restless sleep.

______________________

    It’s always hard to get motivated to get up. Nothing to look forward to. No change, just the dull monotony of survival, fear, and paranoia. Why get up. Why wake up at all? There’s a crick in your neck and you grumble at the pain as you shimmy a little closer to whatever your head is resting on, readjusting to be more comfortable. In your barely conscious state you can’t catch the way Kenma’s eyes move from the door to you, before continuing his stare down with the one entrance inside.

You fall back asleep easily, morning can wait until later.

_______________

Taglist: @beanst0ck (hi!!!)

[behindheremeraldeyes]

title: duty calls chapter 2

[ch.1] [ffnet] [ao3]

summary: It’s been a while since the Uchiha moved out of her apartment, and so far, living with his best friend has proved itself to be quite the challenge. The pandemic was still far from over, and though they were both following the orders and staying inside, their hearts ached for the one who had to stay out there.

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a/n: It’s finally here! Chapter 2 of Duty Calls, as we were all expecting it, and I just gotta thank you all for the wonderful feedback I’ve received after posting chapter 1! Here in Brazil, things are still far from being controlled, and though my family is fine, It’s still overwhelming to see all the numbers rising every day. I’ve tried to use a bit of my experience to continue this story and even if I know it was my way of coping, I understand that, for someone else, it might be too much, so take it easy, ok? Times are though, for sure, but we’ll get through this! Again, I hope you enjoy this fic, and as always, I would love to know your opinion on it! 

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And in a matter of 3 weeks, the city of Konoha was no longer the same.

Though safety measures had been taken and people had been careful, it all proved itself pointless once the first case of the new coronavirus was confirmed. The patient was a young man, around his thirties, who had just returned from a business trip to the Sand Country. The protocols were followed and he was isolated from the rest of the society, but by the time the sanitary agents had finished talking to his neighbours, the second case was confirmed, and eventually, the third, fourth, tenth and the hundredth. The numbers wouldn’t stop as countless new cases were popping up every day, and it was possible to see the silent fear that had taken over the city.

At first, the infection was nothing but a faraway reality to most citizens. It was just something people were talking about on the news and no one really felt like it had anything to do with them. They thought it would never happen to them. However, the virus got closer, to the point where everyone knew of someone who tested positive. Most stories, sure, were about asymptomatic people who had nothing more than a headache, but whenever those stories escalated— whenever someone they knew ended up unconscious and with a tube down their throat— that was when people got really afraid.

In every district, rough metal doors now decorated the streets, and instead of colourful shop windows inviting the costumers to come inside, only closed signs and motivating messages could be seen. “It will pass”, “we will get through this”, “stay inside” and so many others that would only be seen by those who had a good reason to leave the safety of their houses. Those messages— and so many other entertaining initiatives suggested by digital influencers and famous artists—, for sure, were very uplifting at the beginning of the whole pandemic, when most people actually believed everything would be solved in a week or two.

Up until then, the COVID-19 was nothing but a global adventure for those who weren’t sick— or at least didn’t know they were—and it would be over before anyone got the chance to even become bored. It would be a chance to take a break from everything and sleep until noon for a couple of days before life returned to normal.

'Soon it would all be over', they said, and people were truly satisfied with just that.

'Soon'.

But as the days went by and the situation started to go south, people realized that their precious ‘soon’ would take longer than any of them had initially planned. 

By the end of March, people weren’t as excited as they used to be, and now, as everyone watched as Spring went by through closed windows, hope was no longer a familiar feeling and fear had invaded most of the residences around the city. The citizens had turned pessimistic regarding the uncertain future, and some of them were even going through the 7 stages of grief as they mourned their long-lost life.

Times were tough. For those who could stay at home and for those who couldn’t but forced themselves to, times were really tough. 

Even for those who don’t usually go out that much, staying stuck inside 4 walls was proving itself to be quite the challenge. Staring at the same things and at the same people— if there even were people— was starting to take its toll on everyone, and there were days when it was just too much. Sure, every case was a case and people reacted differently to the current situation, but eventually, everyone was due to get sick of that life.

And Uchiha Sasuke was no exception. 

After his girlfriend kicked him out in order to protect him, the raven haired boy ended up staying with his best friend. For they were always together, Naruto’s guest-room was basically the Uchiha's spare room, and it’s proven itself quite useful whenever he and the pinkette engaged in one of their lover’s spat. 

They didn’t fight much, but when they did—well— it was better to stay out of it.

Still, even if he didn’t have to spend two months sleeping on a couch, to say sharing the apartment with the blonde was easy would be a huge lie. They’re too different, both of them. Though best friends since they were in their dippers, both Sasuke and Naruto have very strong personalities and it doesn’t take much for them to start a fight. They’re stubborn, hot-headed and neither of them would even dream about admitting to be mistaken. In other words, chances were that they would end up killing each other before the end of the quarantine.

The Uchiha needed space. He needed a full day without listening to that annoying ‘dattebayo!’ or seeing those ramen cups pilling up all over the sink. The blonde wouldn’t move a finger to help with the chores, and if it depended on him, the trash would stay there until it decomposed itself. Naruto is a slob and living with him has made Sasuke reconsider his early life choices. 

How could someone who leaves his unwashed clothes all around the place be his best friend? 

Their friendship, as the Uchiha concluded, was not meant to be put to test like that. They should have never been forced to share the same roof for more than 7 days and the pandemic was nowhere near its end.

There was no way both of them would survive another month together. They had to do something. They had to talk things through and establish some rules in order to make that whole experience less traumatic. Sasuke was more than aware of that, but there was just no way he would be the first to suggest anything, no.

Naruto would have to grow up and admit to be a failure as a productive member of the society.

And until that happened, the only thing the raven haired boy could do was sulk. Sulk and take long showers so he could completely ignore Naruto’s existence for a while.

Yes, those long showers were probably the one thing keeping the Uchiha from murdering his best friend, and right now, he was really glad to be taking one. The warm water running down his skin, soothing his muscles and taking his mind away from the messy apartment. During his showers, he could, for once, think clearly about what was happening in the world, and most importantly, what was probably happening to his girlfriend.

What could she be doing at that moment? Was the hospital already crowded? Was she okay?

Though they face-timed every day, it still wasn’t enough for him to ask all the questions that haunted his dreams and to just talk about nothing in order to make up for the lost time. Day after day, whenever her pretty face showed up on his computer screen, Sasuke could feel a heavy weight being lifted from his chest. Normally, she would be smiling and her bright, emerald eyes would shine brighter whenever he said anything about wanting to kill Naruto in his sleep. 

After talking about their respective days, he would ask her if she was eating and sleeping properly, and even if she would always try to change the subject at that point, he would glare at her until she talked so he could scold her for being irresponsible. He would, then, ask her if she needed anything and tell her to go get some rest before the call ended. They never parted with a ‘goodbye’, choosing, instead, to say ‘I'll see you soon”. Even though they had never really talked about the reason behind that choice of words, through the silent glances exchanged by their eyes, it was possible to tell they both knew it.

Oh, they knew it too well. For she is a front-liner and he is no fool, they knew better than to just believe things would be solved in a matter of days. It would be long until they could finally meet face to face again— until they could feel their hands brushing against one another and the scent of their bodies pressed tight— so they figured that, in the midst of the chaos that was now wiping the world, they could allow themselves to be fooled by a white lie. 

Their soon would come. When, they didn’t know, but it would come before either of them could say goodbye.

Though the hot water was doing wonders to both his body and soul, the Uchiha knew he couldn't stay there forever. After releasing a defeated sigh, he turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. Water was still dripping from his hair as he dried his body, and the steam surrounding him clouded the mirror and every glassy object inside the bathroom. Apparently, he had spent too much time in there this time, he thought, but couldn’t find it in himself to care. He ran his fingers through his soaking, dark locks, ruffling them a bit as to prevent them from sticking to his face. He took a deep breath, then, and finally decided to leave his private, sacred shrine.

With no rush or excitement, the door finally opened and all the steam came out with him. The towel was still wrapped around his hips, and silently, the Uchiha started to make his way towards the bedroom. The apartment was quiet, at first, and he wondered if the Uzumaki went to the convenience store in order to buy more of that industrialized ramen he loves so much. Even if both him and Sakura were always telling him that he shouldn’t leave the house unless it was very important, Naruto apparently considered ramen a vital necessity.

He really is an idiot, Sasuke thought, as he was getting closer to his room. His hand was about to reach out for the doorknob, but before he could turn it—

“Ha! You look really funny like that-ttebayo! Have you ever worn so many clothes? And can’t you take some of them off?”

The Uchiha stopped. It was Naruto’s voice, and apparently, he was talking to someone. Dark eyes widened for an instance when he realized that it was coming from inside of his room, and before he could act on that, Sasuke allowed his best-friend the benefit of doubt regarding his reasons to be there.

Could the dobe be having a private conversation with someone? Was it work related or could he be chatting with a girl? That idiot should better not be doing anything disgusting or—

“Okay, I see that you have to go now. As soon as he leaves his beauty shower, I’ll let Teme know you called. Bye-bye, Sakura-chan!”

Sakura, Sasuke thought, as his heart skipped a beat. Why was she calling at such hour? It hadn’t even been 5 hours since her last shift had ended, so what was she doing awake at that moment? There was something wrong, he thought. He really should ask her and—

Shit.

His mouth went agape as soon as he remembered Naruto’s ��bye-bye’ and before he could even think, the door was already flying open.

“Oi, Naruto, don’t hang up—“

“Ah!” Naruto screamed, blue eyes widening as he rolled over the bed and fell on the floor. Luckily, he was wearing wireless earphones, so the computer— Sasuke’s computer— didn’t share the blonde’s fate. 

“Tch.” Sasuke scoffed, clearly not caring if Naruto was fine or not. He walked pass the blonde in order to reach his computer, but his efforts proved useless for the call had already ended. The Uchiha closed his eyes in annoyance, cursing himself— and Naruto— for not being able to talk to the pinkette. For a couple of seconds, he kept staring at his computer screen, wondering if he should call her back or not.

What if it was an emergency? No, Naruto wouldn’t have been so calm if that had been the case. Maybe she just needed something from him? But that could wait until after she had slept. Thanks to his current state of overprotection towards her, his mind was playing tricks on him and nothing seemed logic.

What could she possibly want from him? And why wasn’t she calling from her usual ID? Could it be that she had been robbed or—

“Ouch!” The blonde said, sitting with his legs crossed on the floor. “Why the hell did you scare me like that, teme!? That hurt-ttebayo!”

“Stop whining like a child, Naruto. Why the hell didn't you tell me Sakura was calling?”

“Because you were taking your precious shower.”

“So what?”

“Last time I interrupted your you-time, you scolded me for hours and told me never to do that again!”

“But this was Sakura calling. It was important!”

“So was that documentary about koalas!”

“You are an idiot, Naruto!” The Uchiha sighed, walking towards the desk near his bed to reach out for his phone. He was clearly aware that trying to discuss that matter with the blonde would lead to nothing, so he decided to just skip all that nonsense. “I'm just gonna call Sakura and ask her myself.”

“Don’t sweat it. She won’t answer you-ttebayo.”

“And why not?”

“Because she’s finally opened her eyes to see the big jerk you are.”

“Naruto!”

He giggled. It was always too easy. "She's busy right now.”

“Busy?” He lifted his brows in confusion, checking the hour on his phone just to make sure. “Why is she busy right now? She said she wasn’t be going back to the hospital until later tonight.”

“Yeah…about that” Naruto started, scratching his cheek with one finger. “She said there was a problem at the hospital and she had to go cover for someone who tested positive.”

“What? Did she have to go now?”

“Yep.” He nodded. “In fact, she even called from the hospital computer. I barely recognized her with all of those masks and glasses. I took a screen shot of her for future blackmail-ttebayo!”

“Fuck.” He cursed, closing his eyes in pure annoyance and using his fingers to massage his temples. Apart from the dobe’s stupid idea of fun, knowing his girlfriend was already back in the hospital made his heart feel heavier inside his chest.

If they were asking her to get back and cover for someone, Sasuke figured things were probably getting worse out there. It was expected for some health professionals— if not most of them— to be contaminated, but seeing a person who’s always working so close to other various diseases being defeated by this virus was never really easy. In fact, whenever that happened, the entire world was silenced.

Another soldier was down. Another health worker, just like Sakura, who would be lucky enough if they were able to stay home and healthy for 14 days.

Knowing things like that were happening so close to his girlfriend and knowing she would be the one suffering the consequences left him even more worried. She was probably still tired from the previous night, and knowing her like he does, Sasuke was sure she wasn’t even aware of that. Haruno Sakura is a workaholic, has always been. She loves her job and she’s one hell of a good doctor, but all that love and dedication has taken its toll on her life many times before.

For working has become her coping mechanism, Sakura tended to forget about herself whenever the hospital demanded more from her, and now, during the pandemic, things were no different. In fact, they were getting worse and worse by the day, and even if Sasuke called her every day to guarantee she was doing well, it was not the same as when he could actually be there.

She was ignoring herself, he knew. On March 28th, when they called her in order to wish her a happy birthday, the pinkette didn’t even know what day it was. He had scolded her for that, sure, but he knew it was useless. She was going to keep working herself to the bones, and the only thing he could do was face-time her during dinner time.

Really helpful, he thought, bitterly. Still, it was better than nothing. Every victory against workaholic Sakura was already a great victory, and considering the current scenario, it was all he could do.

Almost all.

“Did she say anything else, Dobe?” He asked, his voice filled with displeasure. 

“Oh, right!” He nodded, eagerly. “She also asked you to order her some groceries online since she won’t have time to go to the supermarket herself.”

“Hn.” The Uchiha started, sitting on his bed and getting his laptop in order to access the website of her usual grocery store. Since the beginning of the pandemic, that small shop near her apartment has developed a delivery service for usual customers, and they were even making a special offer for people who were still out there. It was really nice to see so many people looking out for each other, and on behalf of his girlfriend, he could only thank those kinds of initiatives.

“Oh! And she also said not to pay for her. She told you to use her credit-card or else she will be pissed like last time-ttebayo!”

“Tch. That audio she sent me was unnecessary.”

“I thought it was very hilarious.”

“Shut up.” Sasuke pouted, his eyes staring at the screen and choosing the items. 

“Heh” Naruto smirked, crawling so he could approach the Uchiha. "What are you gonna buy her, Teme?”

“The essential, of course.”

“Essential?!” The blonde repeated, a bit exasperatedly. “Jeez, teme! Let me see it.” The blonde stated, reaching for Sasuke’s computer in order to see what he was adding to the cart.

“Oi, knock it off!”

“Onions, tomatoes, vegetables, raw meat… You really don’t know how to buy food, bastard.”

“What? I don’t see what’s the matter with these things. It’s what I usually buy for us. It’s enough to prepare good and healthy meals.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they are, but you’re forgetting something very important.”

“Oh, really? And what is it?”

“We have time to cook. And when I say we, I mean you.” He started, with a grin on his face. “She probably gets home exhausted most of the days and she definitely doesn't have enough energy to cook, so you have to buy something easy to prepare."

“Are you saying we should buy her a stock of frozen food and instant ramen; and ignore all the rest?” He said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. 

“Well, not a stock, but she definitely needs some frozen food and some bowls of instant ramen."

“She needs to eat properly, dumbass!”

“She needs to eat, bastard!” the blonde started, and even if the tone of his voice didn’t change much, somehow, the Uchiha could see the concern hidden in his words. Though he knew he wasn’t the only one worried about Sakura’s safety, sometimes, he tended to forget Naruto could also be a decent person in times of need. “Once she has enough energy and time to prepare decent meals, then we will worry about the properly part.”

“Hn.” Sasuke closed his eyes for a second before giving the blonde his usual stoic face. “I’m gonna put on some clothes. Don’t spend too much on this crap or else she will be mad and I will blame you.”

“Yosh!” A smile showed up on the Uzumaki’s face as he scrolled around the shop’s website. After spending some time isolated and helping his older neighbours with the groceries, Naruto knew exactly what he should buy for his girl-best-friend and he knew she would be thankful for a bowl of ramen whenever she got home and didn’t feel like cooking.

And so, even if leaving Naruto unsupervised around his things was quite a risky decision, Sasuke put on his clothes and left the room. He had his phone with him, and as soon as the blonde said he was finished, the Uchiha sent his girlfriend a message.

‘Groceries Ordered. Call me when you get home.’

After sending it, his dark eyes kept staring at her picture, a longing feeling taking over his heart. Sasuke remembered when she took that picture of herself, and mostly, he remembered how happy they all were while having dinner at Naruto’s favourite restaurant. It was just the three of them for the night, and even if he normally hates crowded places, for the first time, he hadn’t been bothered by the people around them. They were all laughing and her smile that night was brighter than all the lights of Konoha.

Her smile…

At that moment, in the middle of that mess, he couldn’t really recall when was the last time she truly smiled. In a matter of weeks, not only the pinkette, but all of them were deprived of reasons to be truly happy. They were worried, scared and too immersed in this pandemic to even think about happy.

Happy would happen after life got back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as it could get.

Without noticing, he took a deep breath, locking his phone screen and heading towards the kitchen so he could start preparing lunch. Waiting for a fast reply would be useless, he knew. Sakura barely had time to breath, let alone text someone; and using her phone at the hospital was yet another risk of taking the virus home. She would answer him when and if she could. And until then, he would do what he had to do.

As a normal citizen, he would continue to do his part. 

–––––––––––––––––––

Her reply didn’t arrive until later that day.

The clock was already striking past 11pm and the blonde had long succumbed to his dreams. The midnight edition of the national news was about to start, and if the Uchiha had to be honest, he didn’t even know why he had left the tv on the news channel in the first place. The stories were all the same, the cases were growing and people were being hospitalized. They were all the same— and he knew it— but he had decided to leave that on anyway, and right now, after his phone had buzzed inside his pocket, he realized he had probably drifted off at some point.

His eyes blinked slowly as they adjusted to the bright screen, and though he had just woken up from a nap, all of the sleepiness had disappeared as soon as he read the notification with her name. 

At last, he thought.

He used his fingerprint to unlock his phone and slowly, he stood up from the couch. He turned off the tv, and as he had started his way towards his room, he read the message she had just sent him.

‘I'm home. R u still up?’

‘Yeah' He answered, shortly, opening the door.

‘How about Naruto?’

‘Fast asleep.’

‘Ok. Is it too late for me to call you?’

Tch. Silly girl, he thought, clearly not even considering her concern. ’Turning on my computer. I’ll call you in a minute.’

‘Ok.’

While his computer loaded, the Uchiha made sure to connect his ear pods so they could have a private conversation. Though he was glad to know she was already home and answering his texts, he couldn’t seem to ignore that odd feeling growing inside his guts. He tried to shake it off while clicking the face-time icon, but it was of no use.

Maybe, he thought, it had something to do with the fact that he had just woken up. Maybe he was still a bit sleepy or, maybe, it was just a side effect from the pandemic playing tricks on him.

Yes, he was definitely overreacting, he concluded, as his ears were filled with those continuous beeps. Sakura was fine. She was certainly—

Oh, fuck.

As her image finally showed up on his computer screen, his eyes widened in pure shock and he was sure his sudden reaction didn't go unnoticed by his girlfriend. His lips slightly parted and he could feel his heart sinking inside his chest. Her face was red— swollen, even— and her eyes were bloodshot, emptied of any glimpse of light. Red, prominent lines were drawn across her face, going from the bridge of her nose and down until her chin, as they perfectly delineated the marks of the masks she had to wear during the whole day. Her lips were pale, filled with cracks, and though there were no tears at that moment, he could tell they were brimming her eyes.

The girl with the prettiest of the smiles and the brightest of the eyes was, at that moment, in the brink of a breakdown. She was biting her lower lip as if to hold back more tears and he could see the way her eyes fidgeted from the screen.

It was as if she couldn’t look him in the eyes, as if she was ashamed, guilty or even both. She looked so frail and uncharacteristic that, for a split of second, it felt as if that girl— that destroyed image that was meant to be Haruno Sakura— wasn’t her at all. He had never seen her like that, not even on her worst days. 

Sakura…What on earth had happened to her? 

After a couple of seconds spent in a deafening silence, the Uchiha bit the insides of his cheeks, forcing himself to break that state of pure horror. He blinked a couple of times, and then— only then— he was able to let his voice out. “What happened?”

No reply. Her lips started to tremble as she looked away from the computer, trying her best to recompose herself.

“Sakura.” He pressed. “What the hell happened?”

“Oh, my, I can’t do this.” She looked at the screen, her body language growing anxious by the second, her hands reaching for the mousepad. “I-I knew I shouldn’t have called you, I’m sorry. Everything is fine. Go back to sleep.��

“What!? No! You’re clearly not fine. Don’t hang up!”

“I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun, I—“

“If you do, I’ll take my car and drive to your place right now, Sakura! Don’t hang up.” He said, firmly, and thankfully, that made her stop.

“I-I don’t wanna trouble you.”

“Tch, don’t be stupid. I told you to call me if anything happened.” His voice held somewhat of a rough tone, and for a second, he could see that roughness had managed to make her listen to him. He took a deep breath, then, and after what felt like an eternal pause, Sasuke decided to be the one to start the conversation again. “First of all, just answer me this…Are you safe?”

She nodded, slowly, as if her head felt too heavy above her shoulders. “Yeah.” Her voice came out as a whisper, and though it was too fast, it just felt too much. It felt troubled, and if he dared say, ashamed, as if her safety was something unfair. Condemnable, even.

“Talk to me, Sakura.” His voice got lower, though anger still boiled inside his veins. Sasuke knew better than to let those emotions get the best of him, but he couldn’t help but what to blame someone— the whole world, for all he cared— for the pinkette’s current state. She was falling apart, and though he could see her in a screen less than 30 centimetres away from him, it pained him to know she was miles away from his reach.

Her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened again, it was as if she had gathered some courage to finally put her feelings into audible words. She breathed in and out, but still not really looking into the webcam of her computer. “We’ve registered the first deaths today.” She started, her voice was rough, and though she was trying to sound professional— one of her many coping techniques— her emotions were taking the best of her.  “And though it’s never easy to lose a patient, this time…Geez, It was so much worse.”

His heart skipped a beat at her words, and though he had listened to many of her hospital stories before, this one felt different. It felt heavier, macabre. “How worse?”

“We were making the rounds around the ICU when this guy, around his 70s, started calling our names. He sounded breathless and his oxygen levels started to drop so fast…” She bit her lip, her hand reaching out to her chest, clinging to her shirt. “He had been stable for three days already. He was making jokes and we even helped him call his wife yesterday because we were going to send him to a normal room, Sasuke-kun…But then, he suddenly couldn’t breath and—“ She paused, trying to find the next words as a tear slipped from her right eye. “—and when I saw it, my colleague was already intubating him and I was doing compressions because his heart had stopped, just like that.”

He could hear the sound of her exasperated breath, and for he knew she was still not done yet, Sasuke remained silent, giving her time to recollect her thoughts. There was still so much she had to let out. So much she had bottled up inside her chest and was now getting the best of her.

Such a strong woman. He wondered how much she had endured until it got that bad.

A muffled sob escaped her lips, and he knew she was ready— or anything remotely close to that— to continue her narrative. “He didn’t make it…We attested his death after half an hour or so, and now I remember looking at the people around me and we were just so…so taken back, you know? We weren’t expecting that outcome from that man, no. He was—“ Another tear slipped, and her voice cracked. “He was fine. He was recovering and he told his wife he was gonna go home. God, she cried so much on the phone when I told her.”

“Oh, Sakura…”

“But that was not all.” She swallowed, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “Right after the impact of his death, a nurse called from the hallway, saying there was another patient in need of immediate assistance and… And we just left him there and it was as if we were relieving that whole thing, but with a woman around her 50s, instead.”

“And what happened to her?” He asked, lowly, though he was already sure of what her answer would be.

“We lost her, too.” She closed her eyes, dropping her head in mild despair. When she lifted it back, more tears were streaming down her face. “I knew we would not be able to save everyone from this virus and I knew there would be deaths, eventually, but…But I never thought we wouldn’t have time to mourn each of them. I thought we would have had time to think and to pay our respects before we were summoned again.” She gritted her teeth, anger now visibly spread across her exhausted featured. “Sasuke-kun, I thought things were going to be more humane even with those who died, but I was wrong! Now, they’re just numbers and there will be more like them soon. And their deaths will be on us!”

“Don’t even go there. It was not your fault and—“

“Yes, it was! We couldn’t save them, Sasuke-kun! And worse, we’re probably the ones spreading this crap out there! When we come home and when we go check other patients…This is on us."

“You’re wrong!”

“No, I’m not! People are scared of us, Sasuke-kun!!”

“What!? Who the hell would be stupid enough to be scared of you!?”

A smile filled with scorn and mockery took over her lips as she lifted her right hand. She was holding a white, small paper that looked like a post it, and as she turned it to the webcam, Sasuke just couldn’t believe what he was reading.

‘You’re gonna kill us all! Get out!’

His lips went agape as his mind tried to find the right words to describe what he was feeling. Seriously, how could people be so low? How could they be so cruel and insensitive towards another human-being who was just going home? These people really are beyond any salvation, he thought.

“I’ve found this note on my door when I got home today… And even if I don’t know whose handwriting is this, most of my neighbours are averting their eyes whenever I see them from afar… So, yeah, I guess I’m not imagining stuff."

“Sakura, you can’t let it get to you. These people don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Yes, they do, Sasuke-kun.” She spoke, a little louder now. “They’re trying to protect themselves by staying at home and I’m the one bringing the virus to them! They will get sick, and then…And then they will be just number, too.”

Bitter tears were now flowing down her face and he knew she had finally let go of the very last string that held back her emotions and her anxieties. She was sobbing furiously, now, and at that moment, he really hated himself for not being there with her. Though he understood everything and was even tired of hearing her voice lecturing him about staying away, fuck, he just wanted to stomp out of the apartment and go to her. There wasn’t much he could do, for he couldn’t really give her the answer she wanted, but watching from afar as she crumbled apart was just too painful.

It wasn’t fair. That virus wasn’t fair to its victims and it sure as hell wasn’t fair to the front-liners who had to see such horrors repeating themselves day after day. The lack of a cure, the pressure to save lives and the uncertainty of the days that were to come. Just like her, many health workers were feeling powerless and lost in the middle of that chaos, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. In fact, even though people on Tv were showing their gratitude towards those who couldn’t stop working, reality showed how fear corrupted the human heart to the point where they didn’t think twice before being assholes in order to try to protect themselves. 

Those were certainly rough times, where physical contact was banned, certainties were non-existent and there was no guarantee that anyone would find a solution before the next tragedy occurred.

The world was hurting. People were hurting.

But more importantly, for him, his girlfriend was hurting. And even if his heart was breaking for her, he knew he had to say something— anything— to help her get back on her feet. That was why she called, after all. She wanted his help since she was clearly not being able to manage it on her own. He had to help her. He had to be strong for both of them so she could once more be strong for those out there.

For she’s a practical and strong-willed woman, the Uchiha knew better than anyone that simple and heart-warming words would be of no use in order to calm her down, no. He would have to appeal to her good sense and her logical side. He had to remind her that, even if she was losing the battle, she was also the only one between them who stood a chance to win.

“Sakura.” He spoke, sounding firm so she could look at him. Her face had turned even redder due to the tears, and for an instance, he swore he saw her younger version who used to cry whenever the other kids were mean to her. He really had to bring her back. “What are you going to do now?”

“…What?”

“I've asked you, what are you going to do now?”

“I-I don’t know, I—“

"Are you going to give up?”

“Give up? No, I—“

"No doctor is forced to work during a pandemic if they don’t want to. You can quit, spend 14 days without leaving your apartment and then you can run back to your parents’. That’s an option.”

“Run back to my parents?” She asked, and the indignation behind her words gave him a certain hope that he was following the right direction.

“Yes. To be honest, I would feel quite better if you did it. Knowing you would be safe would spare me a lot of negative thoughts. We could even be together. That would be a good option, right?”

Through the cameras of their computers, they stared into each other’s eyes, and he made sure not to let his serious expression melt into a soft one. Dark eyes clashed against emerald ones, taunting them and daring the girl to take a stand. He was offering her a way out of that whole thing. He was showing her that there was another option if she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore.

Sakura could always give up and he had to make that option clear for her.

Clear enough so she could take the next step.

“Fuck you, Sasuke.”

Bingo.

Her eyes, though still red and a bit lifeless, were looking at him with a condemning stare. Though she had been looking like a child for the past hour or so, now he could finally see the traces of the mature woman she is. And even if it was still not enough to consider his job done, Sasuke could now hold onto something in order to bring her back.

“What? I’m just giving you an option.”

“No, you’re not.” She scoffed. “You know exactly what you’re doing, you jerk. You’re giving me a stupid option we both know I would never take just so you can make me feel less shitty.”

“Well…is it working?”

“…Maybe.” She said, softly, the tears now slowing down. “What will you do now?”

“Me? Hn, I should be the one saying this, don’t you think?” He looked at her with warmth in his eyes and he hoped she could feel it. “What are you going to do now, doctor?”

At first, she just stared at the screen, but slowly, her head started to move until she was nodding it up and down. Tears were still coming and her lips were still trembling, but she didn’t look that desperate or broken anymore, no. Sakura was slowly gathering her pieces, and he felt more relieved to see her like that. The pinkette took a deep breath, then, and he knew at that moment she had finally made up her mind. 

“Probably something stupid.” Her voice came out, softly and unsure.

'Now that’s the Sakura I know.’

“I'm going back.” She continued, lowly at first, as if to taste the sound of her words as they were thrown into the universe. “Shannarou, I’m going back to that hellhole because that’s the only place in the middle of this mess that makes me feel slightly better with myself. I’m going back because that’s my job.” Her voice came out with all the confidence he knew she would be able to muster that night, and he figured that was their small victory of the day. She didn’t look that scared anymore, and perhaps, she was getting ready to move on for the night.

“Tch, there’s something definitely wrong with you, Sakura.”

“Yeah…I guess there is.” She said, softly, wiping the last tears that were falling from her eyes. “I guess not even a pandemic will keep me from working too much.”

“You're probably right, but…” He offered her a comforting smile, looking away from the webcam for a second before returning his attention back to her eyes. “I'm proud of you.”

Judging by the way her emerald eyes widened, it was possible to say his words caught her by surprise. Apparently, tears started to pool around her eyes once more, but she stopped them before they could fall. Her lips slightly curled up at that, as in a shy reaction, and even if he normally wouldn’t have said that, well, he figured she was in need of those words.

“Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I don’t know what would’ve happened if it wasn’t for you.”

“Hn, that’s easy, you would’ve been stubborn like always. And though I’m sure you would’ve figured out what to do on your own, it might have taken you a little longer to reach that conclusion.”

“Maybe you’re right.” She started, tugging a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. “Damn it, maybe I really do need to start listening to you.”

“Better late than ever.”

Better late than ever, indeed. Slowly, she was coming to her senses and he knew there was nothing left for him to do. From that moment on, it was up to her, and more than anyone, he knew she would pull through it.

“Yeah…”

“Oh, and now that you’ve mentioned it, have you eaten anything already?”

“I guess not.” She bit her lip, her demeanor clearly showing she hadn’t even considered that until that moment.

“Tch, you’re worse than Naruto. Go eat something, will you? You need to refill your energies."

“Fine.” Sakura said, taking her laptop in hands as she started walking down her hallway and towards the kitchen. 

“Do I want to know when was the last time you ate?”

“Probably not.”

“Tch.”

She placed the device on her kitchen island and turned around to open her cabinet to grab a pan. “Come on, you’re the chef here…What can I do that is easy and good enough for your standards?”

At that moment, though he knew she was clearly teasing him, the Uchiha couldn’t help but remember the Dobe’s words earlier that day. And though he would normally not care about those things, he figured he could make an exception. It had been a rough night, after all.

“Do you have instant ramen?”

“Instant ramen?” She asked, confused. “Are you really suggesting that?”

“Aah.” He nodded, as if that was the most normal thing in the world. “I'm getting hungry, too and I think there’s still one bowl left. What do you say?”

Her face was a bit surprised, at first, but eventually, her expression changed and a soft, grateful smile took over her lips. In a swift move, she put back the pan and got herself a bowl of instant ramen. “Instant ramen it is, then.”

“Hn, I’ll go get one for me, too.”

“Okay…” She began, and he watched as she started to prepare the noodles. He was making his way to the kitchen with his laptop in hands, and it didn’t take much before they were both waiting for the water to boil. “Now we just wait, right?”

“I guess…Naruto is the expert here.”

“He certainly is.” She agreed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. Her eyes were half closed, her head tilting a bit to the side. “Sasuke-kun…?”

“Uh? What is it?”

“I know it’s late and you must be tired, but…Can you talk to me for a bit longer? Just tell me about your day, I don't know.”

Her voice was soft at that moment, and he noticed the way she was genuinely curious about his day. Though she was still far from normal, Sasuke figured that was the closest to normal she would get in a situation like that. For the first time during the quarantine, he saw her, not as a doctor working bravely on the front lines, but as a young woman who had the right to feel insecure and scared.

They were all scared, after all. Why couldn’t she be, too, right? Just like everyone else, Sakura had the right to feel everything, and sometimes, feeling came with an overwhelming price. It hurt, it made her cry and doubt herself, but mostly, it made grow. As a woman and as a doctor, Haruno Sakura was growing and blooming like the flower she is.

For the better or the worse, that was how things were now.

And no matter what the future had in stock, they were going to face it together. Even if they were separated because of the virus, their hearts would be connected, always. 

“Of course.”

“Good.” She smiled, weakly, and at that moment, they knew that, in the middle of that mess, they could finally allow themselves to enjoy some good, instant ramen for dinner.

––––––

a/n: Okay, so… was it too much? From the beginning, I had this angst prepared for this story, and believe it or not, most of Sakura’s lines were based on real conversations shared by doctors. The note, too, was very real. It happened to a health worker here in my country and it just broke my heart when she told that to the press. Times are really weird right now, and it’s ok to be scared, but we can’t turn against each other! We need to spread love and empathy, not the other way around. If you need anyone to talk to, I’m always here! I’m a bit of a mess and I take a long time to answer, but believe me, I AM HERE! Anyway, thanks for reading it! Hope you’ve enjoyed it! Stay safe and stay inside!

[holdin-out-for-a-hero]

Rookie Chapter 11 (Leon Kennedy X Reader

Words: 2916

A/N: Sorry it took so long! I’m gonna wrap this up in a chapter or two and then get working on Carlos Oliviera

"She's not FBI, she's a mercenary." Annette said between breaths. She lay in front of you, holding onto her bloody side.

You knew it. All this time you knew she was hiding something and it felt so good being right. The way she acted didn't seem right for FBI agent (though you had never met one.) But she did have a surprising skill set, which is what made you trust her word in the first place. That skill set made even more sense for a mercenary, though, and a smile crept onto your lips. You looked over to Leon, who stood stiffly in place.

"And the G virus will go to the highest bidder, right?" you spoke, Annette nodded.

"That's bullshit!" Leon scoffed, though unconvincingly. He knew it was true, and you could tell. The poor boy couldn't get over his little crush, could he?

"Leon," you said "You know it's true." He didn't answer. "Who do you trust more? Me or Ada?" You began again, with no response. "If you trust me, we'll destroy the virus and Raccoon City will never happen again. But if you trust her, all you can do is hope you're right. You've got to pick."

He looked anywhere but your face.

"What's the FBI going to do with it anyway? We can end this right here."

For a moment, anger flashed on his face. Then shame, and then, nothing.

"Let me talk to Ada first, give her a chance to defend herself," he said.

You sighed, opening the door in front of you. Then the beeping started again.

"Self destruction protocol activated, use the central elevator to get to the bottom-level train platform."

Both you and Leon broke out into a sprint.

Down another hallway and into the main shaft, you and Leon almost forget what you were arguing about. That is, until she showed up. She stepped out from behind the elevator and unlocked it with her security wristband.

You stopped running at the sight of her, waiting for Leon's reaction. He slowed down into a walk, and you followed behind.

"Y'know I was just thinking about you," he began. What was he doing, you thought.

"That makes two of us" Ada began, looking up as the walls started shaking. "I was getting worried."

"You know we make a good team, but I gotta ask you something."

"Do you have the sample?" She asked, trying to rush this exchange.

"Oh he's got it alright," you said. She gave you a confused look, but it fell away once she held out her hand.

"Just give me the sample and we can get the hell out of here!"

"Before we do that... We ran into Annette." Leon said, his voice low. Recognition flashed across Ada's face: she knew what was about to be said. "She claims you're not FBI."

The walls around you were still shaking, a stark contrast to the collected demeanor of Ada, who was no longer in a rush to get out of here.

"Oh, Leon..." she turned her head, a fake chuckle escaping her lips. In one swift motion, she pulled out her gun and aimed it at him. "Why couldn't you have just handed over the sample?"

Within a second you and Leon had your guns out too.

"Because I realized, as much as I wanted to trust you, I couldn't."

"I really hoped it wouldn't end like this," Ada said, her finger hovering over the trigger.

"So that's all this was... I was just some pawn to you?" He said, biting his lip to stop its quiver. She looked at him, fighting back the guilt that was rising up. Not the he or you could tell. Her demeanor was a steel wall, you only saw what she wanted you to.

"Look, I'm just doing my job."

"And I'm doing mine, so drop that damn gun!" He yelled at her, taking a step forward. "I'm taking you in."

Ada wasn't focused on you. She was focused on only Leon and the sample. Your gun was pointed at her head, and you knew you could end this right here, right now. Your hands began to shake as you held the pistol, because much as you wanted to, you couldn't. You couldn't kill another living person, no matter the circumstances. But she couldn't know that, so you squeezed your gun to stop your hands from shaking.

"Hand over the sample, Leon." She said slow and firm, "I don't want to hurt you."

Half of the bridge fell behind you, making you and Leon stumble forward. Still, Leon trained just gun on Ada. The building was really falling apart now; none of you were gonna make it out if they continued their standoff.

"The building is about to collapse, Let's just get on the elevator!" You pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. They stood a few more seconds, before Leon put down his gun.

"Then shoot me, but I don't think you can."

She kept her gun on him for a moment, before pointing it on you.

"Don't you dare!" Leon shouted. Ada just smiled. Your eyes met, and though she kept her devious smile, her eyes told a different story. Her facade was crumbling. She couldn't shoot you either.

"Hand me the sample," she said to Leon. He pulled the vial from his front shirt pocket.

"Don't give it to her," you said calmly. He looked back at you, into your eyes, and knew you had a plan. What scared him, though, was he had no idea what your plan was. Still, he had to trust you. This was bigger than the two of you; he couldn’t let the sample get into the wrong hands, so he dropped the vial back into his pocket.

"He's not going to give it to you, so why don't you shoot me?" You said, cocking a brow. Her head jerked from you to Leon.

"Don't test me Leon, give me the sample" she growled at him.

"He's not gonna do it. Now shoot me, I know you've wanted to all night.”

"Y/N what the hell are you doing?" Leon shouted. This was your plan? Of all things, this? Sure, his original plan was similar, but Ada really didn’t like you. Taunting her seemed like an easy way to get killed. But then he saw Ada's eyes, too. She couldn't shoot.

"Do it!” You yelled at her, sporting a grin of your own. She glared at you, her own lip starting to quiver, but she did nothing. "You can't can you?"

She dropped her gun, looking down in defeat. You had beaten her. You had broken down her facade, and she was weak without it. Guess she did have a soul...

A gunshot rang through the crumbling lab. But it was not from Ada's gun. Nor from yours or Leon's. You watched as blood trickled down from Ada's shoulder, too shocked to process what had just happened.

Leon looked back at Annette, who's bloody hands were wrapped around a pistol.

The rest of the bridge shook, Plummeting Ada off it's side, Before she fell, though, Leon dropped down to catch her arm with both of his hands. The virus dropped from his shirt pocket, but he didn't notice.

"I got you!" He strained

The building continued to quake, debris and dust falling from the ceiling.

"Leon..." Ada said.

"Hold on, I think I can—" Leon tried to lift Ada up, but the sudden motion made the rest of the bridge start to collapse. The metal platforms Leon had just crossed slid into abyss below. Leon lay on the last platform that looked like it could fall any minute.

"Leon!" You screamed. He was about to lose his life and all you could do was watch. You had ran towards the elevator as soon as the bridge started shaking, and at first you didn't even realize Ada had slipped. It wasn't until you looked behind you and saw Leon laying on the platform that you knew something was wrong, really wrong.

"Forget it." Ada said.

"Shut up— I've got you!" Leon hissed, straining his body to stay on the slipping platform.

"It's not worth it." Ada said. And for the first time that night, her words were genuine. Leon stared at her, until he felt her struggling to leave his grasp.

"Don't do this,"

Ada looked down at the abyss below, then back at Leon.

"Take care of yourself, Leon. And take care of her too.”

She slipped out of his grasp, and fell out of his sight as gracefully as she had first entered it.

Arms grasped around his waist, struggling to pull him up from the bridge. It was you. They say some people get superhuman strength in times of emergency, and that must have happened, because you pulled him to safety.

You stood up, and held out your hand for him to grab. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed your hand and stood up. Your eyes met for a moment, and you saw the tears he wouldn't let fall. You squeezed his hand before leading him to the elevator.

The ride in the elevator was uncomfortably silent, and through the glass walls of the elevator you could see the lab going up in flames. There were explosions everywhere, smoke pouring out of every crack and crevice.

Things weren’t looking good; there was a big chance you wouldn’t make it. You didn’t want to think about what the odds were.

The elevator stopped and you arrived in what looked like a control room. Monitors of varying sizes covered the walls, and below them were panels with buttons and levers.

"Who's that? Leon said, pointing to one of the monitors. He stepped forward, looking around the control desk, and pressed a few random buttons.

"Hey, don't press those! You don't know what they'll do!" You scolded him. But then he pressed another, and the closest monitor flashed the face of the girl from the courtyard earlier.

"Claire!" Leon yelled into the speaker.

"Leon? You're down here too!" She replied.

"Look, the whole place is coming down. Listen to me, you need to get out. Fast!"

"Yeah, there's a way out!"She said. You held your breath. "Where are you now?"

The screen then filled with static.

"What the hell?" You said, frantically pushing buttons in the hopes the video would come back.

"I thought you said we shouldn't press buttons," Leon cocked a brow. You glared at him.

"Warning: Ten minutes until self destruction"

Fire. As you and Leon ran to find an exit, fire surrounded you. Explosions everywhere, the heat unbearable. And then, the tyrant.

"Why can't it just leave us alone!" Leon yelled, running in the other direction and through another fiery hall. His hand gripped yours, making sure that you wouldn't get separated. He couldn't lose you, he had just lost Ada.

An explosion filled your path with flames, and in that split second when neither you nor Leon moved forward, a large, gloves hand wrapped around your neck from behind and lifted you off of the ground. You struggled to breathe, and the little air you could catch was smoke.

"Don't touch her!" Leon screamed at the creature, who didn't even flinch. He tried shooting at it, but nothing happened. He tried all of his other weapons but to no avail. Finally resorted to punching it in its side. Maybe he'd hit a kidney (if it even had any) and it would let you down. He was getting desperate.

Just before you lost consciousness, there was another explosion. The force knocked you away from they tyrant, and onto the metal bar floor, which had broken from the explosion. Another burst sent you flying down to the floor below you.

Leon jumped down to your level, just before many more explosions separated you from the creature.

He pulled your head into his lap as you choked for air, the smoke only made it harder to catch your breath.

"Eight minutes remaining before self destruction" the intercom spoke again.

Suddenly, your lungs filled back up with air. You jumped up, a bit too quickly, and steadied yourself on the nearest wall.

"We gotta keep going," you said to Leon.

You and Leon had no idea where you were running or how the lab was even set up, but there was no time to waste. There was only time to act.

Leon pulled down the lever in front of him. The two of you were on a large platform used for transportation. It followed a set path down to the lowest level of the lab. Just as it started moving, there was another explosion. You turned, and within the dust and flame emerged a familiar figure. This time, it had lost its trench coat and it's blue arm was mutating. It jumped down onto the moving platform, flames still covering its body like it had just crawled out of hell. Then, it charged towards you and Leon.

"Divide and conquer!" You yelled at Leon. So you and him struggled to keep the beast at bay. Unfortunately, this one was a bit more intelligent than William, which meant it still hurt you and Leon quite a bit.

You and Leon were losing your stamina quick, for you had been running and fighting all night. The creature, on the other hand, just got more and more aggressive as time went by.

A weapons case fell onto the platform, and from the corner of your eye, you saw a flash of red. Could it be? No, there's no way.

The monster lunged at you, and you lunged to the floor, grabbing the rocket launcher from it case. It turned around, making eye contact with you, and with one pull of a trigger its upper body was nothing more than sludge on the ground.

The platform arrived at the bottom level of the facility, and you and Leon jumped off of it. You ran out of the nearest door, and noticed train tracks in front of you. A familiar whistle and the sound of thunder let you know you found your way out. Eyes wide, you looked back at Leon, who was just as relieved as you.

You were gonna make it.

Within a few seconds, the train appeared from out the tunnel, and you and Leon chased after it. Perfect timing too, because the structure was falling apart behind you. Leon lunged and grabbed a metal bar, pulling himself up in between the cars, then he turned to you, and reached for your hand. You ran as fast as you could, but you couldn't meet his hand. Finally, you jumped, and he caught your wrist, pulling you up next to him.

Both of you caught your breaths, for the first time all night you had felt peace. You looked over to Leon, who was fiddling with the ID wristband Ada gave him, and then you remembered. This journey was not without its losses. Even after all that happened, you couldn't hate her and you're not sure why.

"I'm sorry, I know you kinda had a thing for her," you said, trying to comfort him.

"A thing?" He weakly laughed. "No, no, I just really looked up to her is all. I thought she was this kick-ass FBI agent, and I just wanted to be like her, y’know? Like an idol, I guess. She kissed me, but I never kissed back.”

“Oh th-, Oh," you caught yourself before an ‘oh thank God’ came out of your mouth. Leon furrowed his eyebrows at you, but then turned back away.

The corners of your mouth lifted a little, you realized all of your jealousy, all of your anger was blown way out of proportion. She may have kissed him, but he didn't reciprocate. You were partially relieved, but that still doesn't mean he likes you. Sure, there was tension. Lots of it. But he may have something with Claire too... Wait, Claire?

"Where's Claire?" You asked. Leon's eyes widened, for he had just been talking to her a few minutes ago and had already forgotten about her.

"Who's running the train?" He asked. The two of you jumped up and busted open the door of the closest train car.

Upon entering, you were met with two faces. One of which was Claire, thank God. A little girl was by her side, too, with striking blonde hair and blue eyes. She reminded you a little bit of Annette, strange, you thought.

"Leon, Y/N!" Claire said, approaching the two of you. She stood there a moment, looking between you and Leon’s faces. Neither of you were looking too pretty right now, but hey, neither was she. "We made it," she finally said, "Just like I said we would."

"And who's this?" You asked, turning to the little girl. Claire wrapped her arm around the little girl's shoulder.

"This is Sherry."

"Hey Sherry," Leon waved to the girl. She smiled up at him.

The whole train shook, knocking you off of your feet and into the body next to you, Leon.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, steadying you. And just like that, your false sense of safety fell away. You didn't want to know what just happened, or what caused it, but looking at the faces of Claire and little sherry, you knew what you had to do.

"We should check it out.”

[lurafita]

Rich!Tony/Artist!Peter, part 2

Go here for Part 1

Okay. Gotta be honest, this part isn’t that much more interesting than the first part was. But I did some actual research for this one and most of the artworks described in the text were inspired (or unashamedly stolen) from this site: https://theartofeducation.edu/2017/10/26/11-fascinating-artists-inspired-science/

So, let’s get this done!

The Art of Science and the Science of Art

While self-satisfaction might not be very virtuous, Pepper couldn't help the proud smirk that spread over her face, as she watched Tony all but fawn over the different artworks.

“Are you seeing this, Pep? This is a glass model of a magnified virus cell. They installed tiny light sources in specific places and angles to show how and where the cell interacts with the human body. And then there is a whole other set of lights and mirrors that indicates which parts are targeted and gradually destroyed by an antiviral drug. Actually, the way the mirrors are positioned here... yep. If you go around the pedestal and look at it from the different angles, it's like a little movie. First you see the lights indicating the parasitic effect of the virus on the body, then the way the drugs counteract the effects, and once you reach full circle; Ah, see here? Now the lights and the mirrors and the shadows create the effect that the virus evaporated. Damn, that's clever.”

Tony walked around the pedestal once more, trying to make out the positions and calculate the angles of all the lights and mirrors used.

Pepper's previous gleeful smirk softened, as she watched her boss move on to the next exhibit, a gorgeous piece created with metals and specially coated glass. The reflected images and light created 'Sun Drawings', that moved and changed in response to sunlight and the passage of time.

Having been Tony Stark's personal assistant for almost 8 years now, Pepper had learned much about the inner machinations of the man. And at his very center, Tony Stark was an engineer. A mechanic. He could talk theoretical physics with the best of them, but he preferred practical results. Tony's work had a purpose, a direct impact.

Which was one of the reasons why he wasn't normally swayed by art.

“Okay, this here? Classic movie effects. Chemical reactions used to visualize the images of a nuclear explosion, but it all happens under a microscope.”

While the billionaire could certainly appreciate beautiful art, something that was nothing more than 'nice to look at' held no value to him. It was the same reason why he had tons of one night stands, and hardly any actual relationships in his life. He was at first attracted to a person's physical beauty, which usually led to sex. But when the sexual need had been sated, mere physical attraction wasn't enough to keep him interested in the person he had bedded the night before.

“Now this, this is art. Applied physics at its finest. Do you see how the magnets interact with and against each others polarity? This is a perfect demonstration of the symbolism behind the theory of gravitational forces.”

It was why Pepper had jumped on the chance to get her hands on the tickets to Peter Parker's first ever art exhibition. He had been steadily making a name for himself over the last two years, and the redhead had seen some of his early works while she was on vacation in Europe. The young man had been set up in a corner of a street market in Marseilles, and with the help of various visual and practical effects, had explained the complex mechanics behind aerodynamic principles, to his wide eyed and utterly fascinated audience.

“A model of Nikola Tesla's early design for a solar collector made by modern computer code. See this section here? That's programming code for data extraction. In this context, it translates to Tesla's attempt to convert the energy of solar rays into electrical power. It serves as a parallel between combining old and new resources. See? This is the kind of art one can actually talk about. Not a painting of a stupid fruit bowl.”

Whereas Tony used his genius and understanding of different areas of science to create and improve, Parker used his to teach and inspire. Parker's art was something that Tony could not only relate to, but also admire, because it had purpose beyond it's beauty.

The hour that Tony had initially given himself to suffer through the showcase had long since passed, as the billionaire found himself unable to curb any of his enthusiasm, as he grew ever more fascinated with every new piece of art. Other people milling about the rooms 'oohed' and 'aahed' as they inspected the different works of the artist, sipping on their glasses of complementary champagne. But Tony doubted they could truly grasp the idea; the genius behind it all.

He was going to buy it all. The whole exhibit. Everything. He wanted those pieces in his company, in his home, in his workshop. He wanted to have the computer coded Tesla piece in his office, as a symbol of Stark Industries work on renewable energy. He wanted to gift the glass model of the virus cell to Bruce, to celebrate the biochemist's latest break through in the field.

He wanted both the magnetic force field work and the microscopic chemical reactions in his workshop, as a source of constant inspiration. His fingers itched with the want to create, the need to pour his skills into his work.

He wanted... He wanted to meet the artist.

When they had made their way almost full circle around the exhibit, they stopped at what appeared to be the last of the show cases. This one was different from the rest. For one, it was made out of Play Dough, though that was a fact Tony only realized by reading the description. How the hell this Parker guy had managed to form a completely genuine looking circuit board out of such an inferior material as children's clay, he could only guess.

He wanted to talk to the artist.

Another thing that struck Tony was that this circuit board looked somehow familiar.

He leaned in closer.

“This one section here looks like a rather awkward welding job. The connections between the wires seem a bit clumped. I would put it down to the use of Play Dough, but the other details on the board are so clean... You know, this looks almost like-”

“-the circuit board you built when you were five years old.”

Both surprised by the new voice, Pepper and Tony quickly turned around. Just a step behind them stood a young man, dressed in a casual but nice enough suit, with deep brown eyes, fluffy looking chestnut hair and a shy smile. Pepper recognized the man she had seen in France right away, and held out her hand to him.

“Mr. Parker. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Virginia Potts. But please, feel free to call me Pepper. Everyone does.”

The artist took her hand with a pleasant smile.

“In this case, I insist on Peter. And the pleasure is mine, Pepper.”

Tony could hardly wait for the handshake to end, to insert himself into the introduction.

“So you are the surprisingly gorgeous face behind all these beauties. I'm-”

“Tony Stark. I know. I'm a big fan of your work, Mr. Stark.” Parker smiled brightly (and blushing heavily) at him and eagerly reached for his hand. Then he shyly nodded to the pedestal display. “Your earliest work included.”

He wanted...

“Just Tony will do. One question, though. Why Play Dough? I may not have been very skilled with the welding equipment back then, but I do remember using the actual parts needed.”

Peter turned to his work, a helpless sort of smile on his lips, as he explained.

“When I was in my last year of highschool, and it was time to make a decision regarding college, I felt helplessly defeated. Was I supposed to attend one that focused on all the things that fascinated me about science, or one that focused on all the things I loved about art? I didn't know if I would ever be able to meet the expectations others had placed upon me, and the ones I had placed upon myself. I became wary and anxious about every choice I made. Constantly questioning myself if it was worth it to try to combine the things I loved, or if I wouldn't be able to hold on to both at the same time. Science versus art. Wanting to pursue such opposite things seemed ridiculous. But then my teacher gave us the task of writing a paper about a person that had greatly influenced our society and progress. I chose to write about you. And during my research, I found an old newspaper article, front page, about the young Stark prodigy, who was already showing the whole world how smart he was. The ordinary 5 year old makes crayon drawings and forms simple shapes out of Plasticine. A few can already read some of their children's books, but many are still more focused on the pictures in them. But the 5 year old you broke out of the limitations perceived for kids, and defied expectations. And I thought to myself ‘Hey, if Tony Stark can build a circuit board at such a young age, then maybe I can find a way that doesn’t mean I have to give up on one of the things I love.’ So, I guess I used the clay to symbolize what was expected, and your final design to show how you rose above.”

That shy little smile again. He wanted...

“In fact, you have done nothing but risen, Mr.- Tony. You have been a great inspiration for me, over the years. Quite possibly even a bit of a muse, if you will.”

Tony was a bit stumped, honestly. He had never been lost for words before. Thankfully he caught himself quickly. 

He wanted...

“So, philanthropist, billionaire, genius, muse.” (Had he just replaced his usual playboy title with ‘muse’?) “I like that.” (He did.) 

Peter.

“As your muse, I get dibs, right?”

A confused little head tilt. 

Cute.

“Dibs?”

On you.

“On the art pieces.” Tony elaborated with a sweeping gesture of his arm. “They are up for sale, right?

“Oh, yes. It’s uhm... we will hold an auction in a bit, after I have officially introduced myself to everyone here and said a few words.” Peter looked distinctly uncomfortable with that bit.

Tony was just opening his mouth to say something else, when suddenly Pepper inserted herself back into the conversation. (He had admittedly forgotten that she was there.)

“Peter, I think the woman over there is trying to get your attention.”

They turned to see a middle aged woman in an elegant dress, subtly gesturing to him. Peter grinned a bit ruefully as he turned back to his two companions.

“That’s my aunt, and also kind of my manager. I guess it’s time for my big entrance.”

He offered his hand once more first to Pepper, then to Tony.

“Pepper, Tony, again, it was a pleasure meeting you. Since it’s an auction, I can’t exactly grant you dibs, as much as I would like to.” He grinned at Tony. “But about 75% of all our revenues tonight will be donated to The Future Hope Foundation, which is a research center focused on developing cures for different diseases, speacially in children. I will be talking a bit more about that one in my speech, provided my severely repressed stage fright doesn’t hit me in a few minutes. So just know that whatever you decide bidding on, it will be worth it.”

Tony wanted to keep holding on to that hand. A hand that was just as calloused as his own, but still somehow softer and more delicate.

“I’m sure it will be.”

You will be worth it.

Just as Peter turned to leave, he cast one last look at the Play Dough model.

“Take a look at the note beside the general description before things start going, would you?”

Then he and his aunt vanished out of the room, to prepare for Peter’s introduction.

Curious now, Tony and Pepper turned back around to the pedestal and found what Peter had been talking about.

‘Of all my works, this one is my favourite, not only because of what it represents to me, personally, but also because of the person who inspired it. Unlike many of the other pieces, that are named after that which they represent, for this one, no other title than

Indomitable

could have ever come to mind. This is the only piece in the show case that will not be part of the auction. As this one already belongs to Anthony Edward Stark.’

“Pep.”

“Yes, Tony.”

“If I win every single auction bid, which I will, I would be entitled to a date with the artist, right?”

“You are probably still going to have to ask him the old fashioned way.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming tonight. Without further ado, it’s my sincere pleasure to introduce you to the man whose art work has brought you all here.”

Tony smiled. “I can do that.”

“I proudly present to you, Peter Parker!”

_________________________________________________________

The End.

Thanks to everyone for reading and liking the story! I hope you all enjoyed it, even though the story ends before Tony and Peter’s relationship really begins.

Thanks to the original prompt giver as well, due to the research I did for this story, I was able to see quite a few amazing art works.

Tagging: @unicornpower5301 -->why isn’t this stupid tag working?

[spootiliousrps]

Little Shop of Stanner

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like tony/bruce, and science bros.

Stranger: [I'm aware this prompt is silly, but I'm doing it anyway, don't bother bitching at me about it. In which Tony has decided to dabble in bioengineering a la Little Shop of Horrors (since he may have watched it for the first time drunk one night and thought Audrey 2 was a great idea), and his plant has gone completely out of control. JARVIS is sending a mass text with an incorrectly called Code Green - incorrect because, last your character checked, the Hulk was relatively calm. J can text anyone you want. Tony's going to get hurt.] Warning: Code Green, level six laboratory. J Please remain calm and evacuate the surrounding levels immediately. J

You: ((reading))

Stranger: [[Hey, thanks. (: ]]

You: [[Np! Idk why anyone would bitch unless their just assholes. I think it's super cute :3]]

Stranger: [[Haha, thanks. :3 I've literally been told "It's not a silly prompt, it's just trash" and I'm like ????]]

You: [[Do you have a preference on paragraph lengths once we're out of text?]]

Stranger: [[I'd prefer more than one-liners, just so I have something to respond to, but I'm pretty flexible past that.]]

You: [[Well, I doubt they offered up any prompt now did they? So, they can suck my big toe XP]]

You: [[NP, babe I got you! Replying now!]]

Stranger: [[Fucking shit, right? XD I'm just like "LOOK I KNOW IT'S DUMB BUT I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE BECAUSE I FINALLY SAW LITTLE SHOP AND THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD BE HILARIOUS." And hay, thanks!]]

You: Bruce was surprised by the text, glancing down at himself just to be sure he hadn't lost his mind and gone green some how. Nope, still the same nerdy pale he usually was. Which... was actually a bit more concerning than if he wasn't. What could Code Green mean if it wasn't the big guy? He typed away on his phone quickly, already moving for the door. What's going on, J? What's Code Green? B

You: [[I know right?! I had a Dragon Age AU that I just HAD to have and got the same reaction. -.- ppl are just pricks.]]

Stranger: There's a crash from downstairs, and a shout followed by what could only be described as a roar - and Tony dodged behind a car as a long vine reached out to try and grab him, tearing into the hood of the Beemer he hid behind. "Goddamnit--You piece of shit! Calm down!" Why had he thought this was a good idea? He couldn't even teach the thing to talk. I am uncertain as to how privy to Tony's recent bioengineering attempts you are, Doctor Banner. J But Code Green was the only protocol I had that I could offer out to keep others away from floor six. J He has not written a protocol for a large plant. J

You: Bruce gave a snort of laughter. Large plant? How dangerous could that be? It was the wrong question to ask. Tony was always so self destructive the thing could have released some sort of poisonous gas or its possible it was eroding the foundations of the building with accelerated growth; the possibilities were endless. The thought had Bruce's amusement fading instantly. Where is Tony now? B

Stranger: In the lab with it, sir. J Tony jumped back as two large vines from the plant snagged the car that he was behind, flinging the car into the wall nearby before it was starting to slink forward, snarling and snapping the opening of its pitcher portion open, revealing large teeth. "Oh, fuck," he breathed, eyes widening. It was learning movement before it could talk. /Great./ "J, give me the suit, give me the suit /now/--" Before it could unite with him, though, he was grabbed by another vine by the leg and slammed to the ground, a smaller flower with sharp teeth budding on the vine and biting into his leg as he howled with pain.

You: "You could have led with that." Bruce grumbled under his breath, shoving the phone in his pocket and breaking into a run, heading for the lab. Surely, JARVIS would have asked for assistance if Tony needed it... Then again, Tony probably programmed him to make sure everyone else was safe first. The stupid Playboy was self sacrificing like that even if Bruce was the only one to think so. Regardless, he wasn't going to allow his friend to deal with whatever it was alone. How bad could one plant be? A bit of trimming and they'd be done, right? He took the stairs two by two, bolting through the door labeled 'level 6' and heading for the lab.

Stranger: JARVIS warned that Bruce was coming - and Tony shouted "No! Goddamnit, fucking--lock him out!" before the plant lunged forward, wrapping a vine tightly around his torso and squeezing as another flower budded, snapping into his side and blood blossoming into his clothes. "Ow! Shit--" He groaned in pain, twisting and fighting against the vines as the giant pitcher plant started to pull him in, teeth gnashing and pitcher opening wide.

You: Bruce slammed into the metal and plexiglass door as he came to a stop and took in the sight before him. Tony wrapped up in moving vines that were obviously constricting around him squeezing him. The living plant seeming to take small bites out of him. It was straight out of those Hentai videos Barton put on his computer as a joke, only with more clothes. It had taken Bruce weeks to get the virus off his laptop. Regardless, it was obviously not going well. He gave a small curse as he punched in the code to open the door and he was informed that an override would be needed. He spat out another four letter noun before punching in his override code and gave a frustrated growl as he was locked out once more, anger growing. "I swear to god, JARVIS if you don't let me in right now I'll wipe this whole system and you with it!" He threated, already working on getting the panel off to do just that. He focused on his breathing, doing his best to calm himself, knowing that the green had already invaded his unusually brown eyes.

Stranger: Gasping for air, Tony writhed as he was pulled into the air, the plant letting out an inhuman growl - and as he was brought into the pitcher he was able to kick out, collapsing part of it and causing the plant to throw him sharply to the ground. He bounced, blood splattering where he hit, and he gasped for breath he just couldn't catch as the plant skittered forward, vines wrapping around his legs and pulling, making him howl in pain, before he was thrown into the air and against the wall nearby. All JARVIS did, as opposed to arguing with him, was quietly unlock the door and slide it open - and when the plant heard the movement, it froze with Tony dangling in the air again, snarling and almost seeming to watch the door.

You: Bruce gave a sigh of relief as the door slid open and he straightened, moving cautiously forward. Taking stock of what he knew about the thing. It was carnivorous; most carnivorous plants preferred thin soil, with almost no nutrients, specifically nitrogen. They tend to like sunlight and a lot of water. Something tickled the back of his mind... something about ammonium and pH levels. "Tony. Are you alright?!" Bruce called, gaze on the plant as his mind continued it's calculations. Typical plants would die when given too much water... but he knew that wasn't the case with most carnivorous species... So what? What could he do? Too much nitrogen wouldn't do it... The ammonium popped into his head once more but he still couldn't place why it was important and he cursed his scattered mind. He was too concerned for his friend to really focus.

You: [[Gotta love Wikipedia]]

Stranger: [[Right?? I love carnivorous plants anyway. I had a venus flytrap for a long time that I named Ferdinand. He died after being shocked when he was repotted, lmao]]

You: [[OMG thats so cute! Also RIP Ferdinand.]]

Stranger: Tony, panting for air, shook his head quickly and closed his eyes tightly. "No," he croaked, blood dripping towards the ground. "Bruce, you've gotta get out of here. Why the fuck did I think making an Audrey 2 was a good idea?" he managed, hissing in pain as the teeth ground into his thigh where the plant had bitten him, blood staining the flower's teeth and petals. "It's gonna eat you, dude. It's been trying to eat me for almost an hour, now." [[RIP Ferdinand T-T I want a pitcher plant next, though. I'm told they're easier to take care of, so.]

You: [[I was given an Aloe plant last year... I killed it within the first two months ^^;... I was given another one as a grad gift a like six months ago... I've replotted it since then and it's still alive and well... It truly is a miracle... I am not good with plants.]]

Stranger: [[I'm not either, so I feel you. xD That's awesome though! I love aloe plants, too.]]

You: "You should have asked for help." Bruce snapped before bolting for the chemical cabinet and yanking the door open, praying he got to the ammonia before the plant got a hold of him... or Tony for that matter. "Just hold on! Keep it distracted!" He called, shoving the large bottles aside hastily, back to them both. [[I do too... They're also suppose to be difficult to kill... but... idk about that.]]

Stranger: Tony wriggled again and gasped as he saw a vine go straight for Bruce - and he yelped, a third flower biting into him again as he tried to warn Bruce that the plant was going to grab him. Before he could say anything, though, the vine wrapped around Bruce's torso to lift him into the air and pull him away from the chemical cabinet, the vines on Tony pulling him back in towards the pitcher once more.

You: Bruce grunted as he was yanked away from the cabinet, hand still clutching the bottle he had managed to find. One of those same flowers dug into his arm and he grunted an pale green infecting his skin briefly at the sudden danger. He managed to fight it down as he kicked at the vines desperately. He had never been that athletic and the struggling was quickly wearing him out. The adrenaline that pulsed through him made it difficult to think however but he finally dug the pen from his shirt pocket and stabbed the thing repeatedly, trying to force it to let go.

Stranger: The vine recoiled momentarily before it tightened around Bruce, pitcher opening again and more of the flowers attacking him on the same vine - but Bruce wasn't the one, yet, that was being pulled in. The plant threw Bruce against the wall, slamming him into it and pulling him back into the air again to try and get him to stop stabbing the vine. Tony, meanwhile, was gasping sharply for air as the vine tightened, his legs being forced into the pitcher as he hissed weakly in pain, trying to kick at the inside of the pitcher where all of the teeth were. He was quickly losing air, however, and he slumped forward, quickly fading into unconsciousness as the teeth started to close around his body.

You: The hit against the wall would have broken a few bones if Bruce had been anyone else but the green guy wouldn't allow him to get hurt. His vision faded for a moment at impact, the pain coursing through him. Somehow he managed to keep his hold on himself as he forced his eyes open, pain pulsing through his head. The image of Tony, slumped unconscious as he was being dragged closer was finally what broke him. His body went slack, Bruce surrendering to the anger and pain that was a constant in his life. A moment later and he was crying out, his body feeling as if it was breaking and rearranging it's self as he was pushed aside to watch with the eerie since of presence of body with lack of control. He grew larger and larger, head hitting the ceiling as an inhuman scream echoed in the room and he watched as the Hulk burst forward, ripping away the vines that had held him without a single thought.

Stranger: The plant recoiled when the vines were ripped away, breaking from the main pitcher and writhing for a moment as they hit the ground before they grew still. It snarled, then, teeth gnashing and grinding into Tony's body, and that seemed to wake him up again before he was grunting in pain, pushing at the teeth and trying to get the pitcher back open again. Coughing heavily, he could feel the digestive juices of the plant making the bites he'd already recieved burn as he grit his teeth, trying to pull himself out of the pitcher once more.

You: It only took a moment for the Hulk to reach him. His large hand gripping the plant and practically ripping it in half, spilling the juices to the floor. He tossed the chunks of plant aside as he reached down to pick up Tony. His fingers curled around the small man's body as he pulled him up, his free hand yanking away the vines that had curled around him before tossing Tony aside as well, as if unconcerned by him. His attention was wholly on the creature before him as he began to rip and tear and pound and pulverize the entire floor shaking as he turned the beast into a green gooey pulp.

Stranger: The plant tried valiantly to fight back, screeching and trying to attack the Hulk even as it was being ripped apart - and Tony hit the ground hard, gasping weakly for air as he curled in on himself, feeling his ribs ache with every gasp. He bled and his body hurt, but he was still alive - and he had to push himself back, away from the pulp that leaked over the ground as he closed his eyes tightly.

You: Bruce sat at the back of the Hulk's mind, allowing him to have his fun. Besides, the beast was difficult to control when he was so focused on destroying something... Not that Bruce had much control anyways but he had managed to sway the monster here and there over the years. It wasn't until the plant was unidentifiable that Bruce pushed at the beast's mind. Tony. Tony. Tony. Tony. He chanted, banging on the sturdy walls that was the green consciousness. The Hulk gave a huff of frustration but finally turned to glance at the 'puny iron suit man'. The image of Tony curled in on himself bleeding and cough panicked Bruce. His alarm apparently started the Hulk as he jumped toward him. The giant peered down at the Playboy curiously. Bruce felt the Beast's mind consider squashing him, making Bruce scream at him angrily.

Stranger: When he heard the Hulk over him, he grunted and opened his eyes slowly, looking up at the Hulk before he offered a faint, wavering smile. Everything hurt and he could feel bruises blossoming where he hit the wall - but at least he was alive, and the smile communicated that. "Thanks, big guy," he managed, hoarse as he finally sat up slowly, fingers shaking and body bloody as he looked up at him. "I don't think I was gonna get rid of that otherwise.."

You: 'You think?!' Bruce yelled in annoyance making Hulk grunted as it sank down into a seated position, slamming his fist into the floor. 'What the hell were you thinking?!' Bruce demanded, knowing Tony couldn't hear him as he pounded on the confines of his prison. "You stupid, ignorant-" He continued, causing the Hulk to slam his fists down with each insult.

Stranger: [[Fuck, I'm so sorry, I gotta go to work! Thanks for this. :) If you see me with this prompt again - because I guarantee i'm the only person with it - flag me down and we can continue!]]

Stranger has disconnected.

[stephicness]

Hello! It would be very interesting to know your headcanon about Ravus - android. And about Ardin - android, if possible, please.

Well, dear anon, if you’re talking about the headcanons I have based on the PROTOCOL writing I did for Android!Ravus, a fair portion of the headcanons originated from @chocobro-hijinks and their initial headcanon concepts for the Android!AU. I highly recommend you follow them and have a look at the headcanons they wrote for it! Because they’re the biggest inspiration for this AU and my writing for it! C:

But despite me taking a good deal of inspiration from their headcanons, I do have my own thoughts on Android!Ravus and Android!Ardyn too, especially as I was writing PROTOCOL (and potentially more to it too. I gotta find which notebook I wrote my notes in. lsejlkresj). I have thoughts on Ardyn too, but I’m not going to reveal those just yet – considering that I’ve recently spurred up the inspiration to write more within the Android!Ravus AU context, and Ardyn makes a pretty important appearance within the story that I can’t reveal yet. c:

But instead, here! Have some Android!Ravus thoughts, including a pre-story background on him and some bonus details and headcanons too~

ACCESS APPROVED – Android!Ravus Headcanons

RAV-N0X, Aeternia Build – Military Class Android, Status: DECOMMISSIONED

The History

Initially an android designed for war, the designers at Fleuret Industries wanted to create a model that far surpassed those that have come before it. Not just from FI itself, but from its competitors over at Aldercapt Corporations, for example – whom specialize in military contracted androids.

The difference between what Fleuret and Aldercapt, however, came from two things: the type of specialization for the androids and the type of intelligence used in them.

In Aldercapt’s designs, he oriented his androids around more combat technology. Able to withstand the arsenals that man could throw at it, his androids were unstoppable machines of war, frightening forces that were ultimately meant to be cannon-fodder in the end.

In Fleuret’s design, she wished to create androids that could assimilate with the general populous as spies and infiltrators. Realistic in appearance, they could extract information and use methods of mercy or ruthlessness on the enemy as needed – a valuable asset to turn the tides.

In order for Fleuret to do that, she designed a special type of intelligence for the Aeternia Build prototype, one capable of learning and adapting to the highest degree – as if they could truly pass for a human: artificial intelligence.

It was something that Aldercapt could not simulate in his war-machines, and it was a technology not seen for ages – since the retired Lucian Enterprises went out of business. One that was dangerous but desired among those within the technology world.

And so, Aldercapt attempted to steal the Aeternia Build’s AI programming for replication. During Fleuret’s first exhibition to showcase her life’s work, A;dercapt Corporations attempted to unleash a virus that would steal the AI’s information and programming.

But Fleuret had designed this AI to retaliate when it felt as if it were being hacked. She feared it would never come to it, but alas, it did. And the results of the hacking proved to be devastating.

The android lashed out, glitching and physically lashing out at Aldercapt to stop the source of the hacking while his systems shut out the virus. But seeing it as a sign of danger, authorities attempted to stop the android once and for all before it attempted to kill someone.

Backed into the corner, Fleuret’s design called for an alternative plan – should the infiltrator android ever be caught in a predicament where information could be extracted from it. So, it activated its self-destruct protocol.

Fleuret wasn’t ready to let her work destroy itself however, rushing to calm it down and override its security protocols. But alas, it was too late. The android had turned to flame, igniting its creator along with it.

Both the Aeternia Build and its creator, Sylva Nox Fleuret, had been lost that tragic day.

Because of what had happened on the day of the exhibition, Fleuret Industries lost reputation within the world of technology and was forced to discontinue its work on the Aeternia Build androids and shut down its operations with the loss of its founder. Her work was lost and destroyed with the detonation of the RAV-N0X Aeternia Build.

The only thing that remains of its legacy is a viral video, showing the monster of an android lashing out and killing its creator.

The Character of RAV-N0X

The full title for this android is the Military-Class Android RAV-N0X, Aeternia Build Prototype Concept from Fleuret Industries. However, he was programmed by his creator with a ‘name’ to grant certain people access to override his AI self-sentience. Only three people are known to have access to these commands, two of them not alive and the third being you.

When you say his name, Ravus, you’re able to command him to do almost anything, but his AI can still determine if he wants to accept the command or not. He’ll decline your commands if it puts himself into harms way or those who possess the name override.

Due an involuntary system wipe, Ravus doesn’t really remember much of his previous owners or the research facility where the Aeternia Builds were being created. He prefers to leave it that way.

Despite Ravus being seen by millions VIA the viral video of the prototype malfunctioning, the appearance of the first prototype model was far different than his current model. His secondary design allowed him to look slimmer and more handsome than the first designs.

After being repaired by you (the main character of PROTOCOL), he still possesses fairly limited functions of his left arm. Since it isn’t apart of what Fleuret Industries had, he lacks compatibility with the arm. Or so you assume. It might also be because it’s an Aldercapt-designed arm.

Due to Ravus’s highly-advanced AI system, he possesses an ability to hack into other android and technology systems and ultimately ‘command’ them. He takes full advantage of this when he spies on what you do on your computer, mostly to ensure your ‘safety.’

This hacking ability also triggers often if you and him were to argue and Cindy happened to be around. He’ll deactivate Cindy to keep her from hearing your argument before you have to shout at him to make him stop giving you more things you’d have to fix later.

His prototype design started off with a polycarbonate and metal framework, but the model you stumble upon later re-designs himself with a silicon body to replicate flesh and attire mixed with kevlar to allow even more bullet-resistance in terms of combat.

There is one one model of android that ever really saw him in use once: the LIONHEART Cor-X Model, which was a military combat android recommissioned by Fleuret to test out the RAV-N0X’s combat efficiency. The LIONHEART was able to win, but not the second time around.

Despite being an AI with the ability to learn and make its own decisions, Ravus finds it hard to do things for his own sake. Having been obeying orders from Fleuret or other scientists for most of his creation, he finds it odd that he can suddenly dictate himself as he resides with you.

Nevertheless, he attempts to fulfill his duty to you – paying you back with his service as a bodyguard and a protector while trying to do the task he was given since his creation: to assimilate to society and to learn alongside the humans.

He just has to stop frying your toasters. You’re getting tired of having to buy and replace them.

[hannahindie]

At the End of All Things: Chapter 1

Characters so far: Dean Winchester x Jo Harvelle, Sam Winchester x Amelia, Bobby Singer x Ellen Harvelle, Castiel, Garth Fitzgerald, Ash Word Count: 2,662 Warnings: Nothing but a little bit of language, but there will be eventual gore, violence, more language, angst, major character deaths, adult situations, the whole nine. Author’s Note: This is an AU/Crossover between Supernatural and Walking Dead. I’ve brought some characters back from the dead since it is an AU, and it’s going to be chock full of ships. This is the first time I’ve written an AU or a crossover, so bare with me while I work out all the kinks. lol I’ve always wondered how the Winchesters would make it in a world full of walkers, so this is my take on it. Thanks goes to @trexrambling and @pinknerdpanda for jumping on this crazy train and beast of an idea, and helping me me maker it better. You guys are the best and I love you.  I hope you enjoy! As always, tags are at the bottom, and if you’d like to be added or don’t see yourself, please let me know!  If you do not like The Walking Dead, AUs, or crossovers, please let me know and I can remove you from future tags. Any feedback is welcome. :)

The end. That's how this story begins. Because truthfully, the end of the world was the start of something else. A whole new world where the living met the dead with a clash of teeth against skin, metal against bone. The world that was supposed to be saved, the one where Sam said no and the battle between Lucifer and Michael never happened, the one that should have been saved from the Croatoan virus, had found itself being destroyed by something else entirely.

At the end of all things, when the dead outnumbered the living and everything seemed lost, the Winchesters once again took it upon themselves to save the world. Although it seemed like a doomed mission from the start, powered by false hope in less than reliable information, the rest of the ragged group they called their family refused to be left behind. What they didn't realize was that they would meet an equally tenacious group along the way.

Sam and Dean Winchester were about to find out that the world had changed far more than they could have ever imagined.

Dean woke slowly, the sun coming through the partially open blinds warm on his face, and groaned as he stretched out. The soft figure next to him stirred gently as he moved, her long hair cascading over one bare shoulder as she shifted closer to him and slipped a slender arm across his waist. He blinked away sleep and looked down on the still sleeping woman, and a small smile turned up the corner of his mouth. He ran his thumb down her jawline, then carefully tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled in her sleep and nuzzled into his shoulder.

“For the end of the world, this ain't a bad way to start the day,” he thought to himself as he watched her slowly begin to wake up; her eyes squeezed shut tightly, her legs stretched out first and her toes curled, and then it seemed like the rest of her unrolled as the stretching moved up her body. He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and her eyebrows drew together as her nose scrunched up and she finally opened her eyes. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said quietly, and she smiled as she closed her eyes again.

“Good morning to you too, handsome. What time is it?”

Dean glanced over at the beat up clock that they'd somehow managed to keep ticking, although whether it was actually accurate remained to be seen, “7:30.”

She sighed, “I'm supposed to work on laundry today. I need to get up.”

Dean moved his hand from her neck slowly down to her breast. “Aww, come on, we can lay here a little bit longer, can't we?” he asked as he lazily swirled his finger around the pebbled flesh before tweaking her nipple playfully.

“Dean Winchester, that's how we got in this trouble to start with.”

Dean grinned as his hand wandered further to land on the small bump at her waist, “I don't think it was any trouble.” He kissed her gently on the neck and smiled against her as her laugh echoed in the quiet room.

“Joanna Beth Harvelle! Quit foolin’ around with that Winchester and get out here and help your mother!”

Jo sighed and sat up as she grabbed her shirt from where it hung on the bedpost, “Duty calls.”

Dean grabbed Jo by the waist before she could stand and kissed her stomach, “Tell that woman the mother of my child should get to sleep in longer.”

Jo shoved him playfully and stood to pull her jeans up, “You tell her that and see what happens.” She bent down and kissed Dean on the forehead. “Everyone's gotta pull their weight, even baby Winchester.”

There was a faint knock on the door, followed by a muffled voice, “Dean, it’s Sam. We need you outside.” Dean groaned and fell back against his pillow. Jo opened the door and Sam smiled at her. “How're you doing, Jo?”

She smiled back, “Good, good. What’s going on that you need Dean?”

Sam shrugged, “Could be nothing. Chuck said he had something he needed to talk about. You know how Chuck is.”

Jo laughed, “Yea.” They were interrupted by Ellen yelling for Jo again and she rolled her eyes, “I better go before she has a coronary. See you later.”

Dean sat up and watched as Jo wandered down the hall and turned the corner, then looked back to Sam, “What's going on?”

Sam was quiet for a moment, then took a deep breath before answering, “Garth and Ash are back.”

“Explain it to me again. Like I'm five.”  Dean leaned against the counter, his arms crossed.

Garth smoothed out the map, then pointed to where they were currently located, “This is us. Alexandria is about a six day walk from here, D.C. maybe a half an hour north of that. We made it to about here before we had to stop.” Garth pointed at an area close to Alexandria.

“If it's only a six day walk, why in the hell were you gone for so long?” Dean asked gruffly.

“It's a six day walk if you go straight at it. That ain't what we did. We meandered a bit, stayed as close to cover as we could. I don't know if you've met us, we ain't exactly you and Sam. Not to say I couldn't kick some ass, know what I'm sayin’?” Ash flipped his long mullet from his shoulder. Dean narrowed his eyes but remained silent. He had a lot of respect for Ash, but there were moments he could throttle him.

Ash must have noticed and cleared his throat, “Anyway, just in case you missed it the first time, this what we think the compound in Alexandria looks like.” He motioned at Garth to hand him a marker, then slid over a piece of wax paper he'd had Jo bring to him earlier. He carefully laid the wax paper over the map and began tracing over what he and Garth had found. He stopped, leaving one side of the box open.

Sam pointed at the open side, “What about that?”

Garth shrugged, “We don't know for sure. There was an...incident. Not sure what exactly happened, sounded like they lost a couple of their people, and so we followed them home after. We had to be careful, so we stayed on the outskirts and tried to map out how big of an area it is. It rivals ours. They seem like good people, but we were afraid if we let them see us, they wouldn't let us leave. They kept that side heavily guarded, so my guess is that's where the actual entrance is. We got as close to D.C. as we could after that, but between the weather and it just being us...we couldn't risk it.”

Ash tossed the marker on the table, “I ain't gonna lie to you, it's rough out there. I honest to God don't know if ol’ Dick is up there working on a cure or not. My guess would be no with all those biters everywhere, but if we are gonna try to find him, we’re gonna need more than the two of us. That lab is right in the middle of biter central.”

Sam sighed and looked at Dean, “What do you think?”

Dean stood quietly as he stared at the map, his arms still crossed and eyebrows furrowed. Sam knew that look. It was the look Dean got when faced with an impossible situation that would likely get them both killed, but in the end would be for the greater good. So when Dean looked up at him, still silent but saying so much with just his eyes, Sam squared his shoulders and said the one thing he always said to Dean in this kind of situation.

“When are we leaving?”

“Absolutely not! You don't always have to be the one that fixes things, Dean!”

Dean ran a hand over his face, “Jo, if this cure exists we have to make sure it gets distributed. Dick Roman is...well, he's a dick. He'll take advantage of this as much as he can. Me and Sam can stop it-”

“Why? No one expects that! What they expect is for the two people who hold this damn group together to stay here. We don't know that that cure is real, we don't even know if that lab is up and running. And you heard Ash and Garth, something bad happened to those people in Alexandria. You're wanting to go right towards it!” She absent mindedly rubbed her bump, and Dean sighed. He slowly walked towards her and pulled her into him.

“Jo…”

She shook her head, “No, Dean. This world is dangerous enough as it is. You are going to be a father, you can't be as reckless as you were before.” She pulled away from him and stopped in the doorway, “I love you, but you're an idiot. Find someone else to go.” She went outside and slammed the door behind her.

“I take it that didn't go well.”

Dean turned to see Sam standing in the doorway to the kitchen, “You could say that,” Dean scoffed, “How'd it go with Amelia?”

Sam shrugged, “About the same. Didn't have the baby card to play against me, though. Although I'm not sure I would put it past her.” Sam sighed and sat down at the table, his eyes on the map that Ash and Garth had left behind.

“Why are you even with her, Sammy? Because where I'm standing, it seems like you're just putting up with her because you don't want to be alone.”

Sam’s jaw clenched, “Do you think the lab is even a real thing?”

Dean rolled his eyes, “Alright, ignoring our feelings, check. Don't say I never tried.” Dean sat across from Sam and leaned his head into his hands, “I don't know, man. I know it's been years...that rumor could have been from the beginning of the turn. But I don't see how we can just ignore it. And if we can stop this, if we can save the world for my kid and everyone after us...isn't it worth it?”

Sam nodded, “Yea...it is.” He ran his hand over the outline that Ash had drawn, “What if we can get these people to help? That could double our force if we were able to make it work.”

Dean sat up and stared at the black outline of Alexandria. It was iffy, getting that group to help them. Especially if they had trouble of their own. But if they were willing…

“I don't know, Sammy. Who knows if we can trust them, and even if we can, whether they'd be willing to do it is a totally different story. It could be worth a shot though.” Dean stood and shoved his chair in, “We need to talk to Ash and Garth. Maybe we can get a couple others to go with us.”

“What about Jo?”

Dean sighed, “She's just gonna have to understand. I'm doing this for her. I'm doing it for our kid. I'd do anything for them, even if that means risking my life for an uncertainty if there's even a fraction of a chance I could keep them safe.” He paused, then looked over his shoulder at Sam, “What about Amelia?”

Sam shrugged, “She’ll come around.” They both moved toward the door to leave, and Sam paused with his hand on the door knob, “It's not because I'm scared of being alone. She needed someone, and there wasn't anyone else. I'm just...I love her. It's just different than you and Jo.” He threw the door open before Dean could answer, but immediately stopped and Dean ran into him.

“What the hell…” Dean trailed off as he saw the group of people standing outside his house.

Ellen and Bobby were at the front of the group, and Bobby took a step forward, “We've got some words for you idjits and you're gonna damn well stand there and listen. You ain't goin’ on some wild goose chase all by yourselves. If you go, we all go. Family don't end with blood, boys. And if that ain't gonna work for ya, you ain't goin’.”

Dean opened his mouth to argue and immediately shut it. Jo walked over to Dean and grabbed his hands, “Where you go, I go. If it's important enough to risk your life, it's important enough for us all to try. You need the manpower, you've got it.”

Dean shook his head, “I can't risk you, Jo. I can't let you go…”

“Let me? Since when have you ever ‘let’ me do anything? I can take care of myself, but you know I'd be safer with you anyway. You know I'm right.” Dean looked at Jo, then to Bobby and Ellen, and his gaze finally rested on Cas, who was surrounded by an entourage of women as he leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. Cas nodded at him, a grim smile on his face, and Dean looked back at Sam who nodded once and raised his eyebrows.

Dean kissed Jo on the forehead and pulled her close, then surveyed the rest of the group who were looking at him expectantly.

“Well, I guess we'd better get ready. All of us.” He felt Jo tighten her arms around his waist and he hoped that the decision he'd just made didn't get them all killed.

Read Chapter 2 HERE.

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