#here in a week or two! Gonna do a big post hence the wait!

[cookiebean2019]

WHOA- WHERE DID YOU ALL COME FROM?!

UH- Thank you??? 😭💖✨

I haven't even posted all that much due to midterms so seeing this blew my mind- May not seem like a big number to some, but to me it is! Especially all within one month!

But for now, here's a Shadow Milk Sketch as a thank you!!!

[tremendouscreationperson]

Logan x Reader pt.10

Omg Im so sorry I'm not consistent with posting, it's my nans 70th so I am off this week so I should be able to be a bit better

Also my bestie's bestie and her wife got tickets to the eras tour without me and are going today so I needed Logan to comfort me - hence the posting 🤣🤣🤣

There be hysterectomy talk in this one

<<Part 9 Part 11>> Masterlist

Logan seemed to have fucked most of the anger out of his system. Not all. He was still frosty but he now spoke with you, entertained your small talk. 

“You hungry?” He asked, various fast food joints passing you by. 

“Yeah.” The nurses had given you food but after certain activities you weren't going to pass anything greasy up.

“What’d’ya want?” 

“Literally anything.” You scanned the street and pointed to the McDonalds. “That'll do.” Can't go wrong with a Maccas. 

“What you thinking?” 

“I dunno, do they still do the big n’ tasty?” 

“No.” He pulled into the car park. “You want to go in and look at the menu?”

You did but time was of the essence. “As long as we're quick.” 

“We can be quick.”  He hummed, reversing into a space.

You both hopped out of the jeep and entered the building. It was fairly dull in here. Wasn't McDonald's colourful? Full of children's characters and clowns? It was grey and brown and sleek and boring. 

Logan walked past you and tapped on a screen. It displayed all the different menu categories. 

“McDonalds has screens now?” You laughed in disbelief. You tapped the ‘whats new’ option. Everything had gotten bigger. There were larger nugget meals and burgers and wraps. 

Garlic cheese dippers, selects and all sorts of tasty goodness. 

You chose yourself a triple cheeseburger meal and some nuggets on the side. He picked a chicken box, a Big Mac meal and an array of sides. 

“You sure that's all you can eat?” You joked. 

“Fast metabolism.” 

“Are we going to be able to fit this all in the car?” 

“Yeah.” He pulled out his card. 

“Oh wait!” You quickly pressed the back button and ordered a strawberry milkshake. “A peace offering.” 

Logan's brows pulled an inch but he didn't comment. Laura was yet to have a milkshake, diabolical behaviour on your part. 

Your order number was 66. There were a lot of numbers before you so you perched on the back of an unoccupied booth.

Logan stood straight next to you, as though he was standing guard. So you decided to take advantage of that. Of him watching out for you. Your mind wandering to your ‘new’ body. You could heal. That was crazy. You still didn't understand the science behind that. The TVA had painlessly taken blood, spit and plasma samples. They had checked you for any diseases the Void could offer but the illuminati didn't. How did they have your materials to meld with the regenerative ones? Maybe they didn't. Surely they wouldn't just experiment with you though. Hopefully you weren't a guinea pig. 

“How fast you reckon it's gonna be?” You questioned looking at your wrists. 

“I dunno, twenty minutes max?” Logan turned from the screen to look at you. 

“No.” You giggled. “Healing.”

“Oh.” His eyes flickered to where you had exposed your wrist. “I wouldn't know.” 

You thrust it towards him. “Will you do the honours?” 

“Are you being fucking serious?” He stepped back. “After everything I've said you think I'd just cut you?” 

Okay okay, that was maybe a poor move on your part. “I guess?”

He rolled his eyes. “Ain't happening.” 

You grumbled but formed a field, manipulating it into a thin disc, making sure one edge was paper thin. Even a paper cut could show you.

The slice you had planned didn't work so you had to try again and yes! Well, maybe don't be too happy.. what would Dave say?! 

The cut was teeny. It was about ten centimetres but the little dot of blood told you it wasnt superficial. There was at least an element of actual harm. 

“I hate you.” Logan folded his arms. 

“No you don't, just watch.” 

The cut did nothing.

The two of you just staring, transfixed, at your wrist. 

“Maybe it has to be deepe-ahhh.” 

You could feel a warmth, it was hot. Red hot. And your skin was stretching. You could feel it tying itself together. None of this was really visible but the line did close. You had imagined healing wouldn't hurt... Yet here you were. 

You smirked up smugly. “It works!” 

He huffed but you could see how happy he was. His eyes were lit and his lips had tugged upwards. 

“Brilliant, eh?” 

“It's pretty good.” He kissed your crown. 

~~

You couldn't wait for the lift. Too excited. But taking the stairs wasn't an option so you did in fact wait for the lift. 

Gosh it took fucking forever.

Logan hadn't let you out of his sight, barely leaving to collect the food bags. He was really fucking happy. 

You were going to be safer than ever. 

All he could imagine as you lay in the hospital bed was “what ifs”. He knew it was entirely possible that he could hurt you. He knew he had nightmares and had had to buy a new mattress before due to them. He knew his claws came out when you fucked so what was to stop them when he was scared?

He hated the ideas so he projected them onto the one that had hurt you. 

Laura.

Laura was him. 

He'd never deny that. 

She was a younger version of him. 

She was the one that hurt you and I'm a way that spared Logan. 

She was to blame. 

“Laura!” You called as soon as the elevator doors opened. “Baby?” Jogging towards her door. 

You then halted. 

“What-ho-how do I approach this?” 

Logan didn't know. If he hurt you he'd be fucking distraught. He would kill himself a few times just to feel nothing, to stop the guilt. “Just be yourself?” 

You let out a whine but carried on and knocked at the door. It was open. The pressure of your knock opened the door. 

“Laura?” Your voice was unsure but you pushed the door the rest of the way and entered the dark home. 

The curtains were drawn and the lights were all off making it almost impossible to see her slip through the bedroom door, looking worse for wear, and stick to the corner. 

She was still wearing the clothes she had worn that night. Blood covering her hands and splattered across the mateiral. Her hair was unwashed, her eyes hollow, she hugged herself as she watched you move into the room. 

“Baby.” You raised the cup. “I finally got you that milkshake. It's strawberry. I think chocolate can sometimes be a bit meh so strawberry is the next best.” Why were you rambling?

Laura's eyes flicked to the cup and then to your ever present shadow: Logan. 

“I'm gonna… put it on the table?” You placed the cup in-between the two of you. “It's nice." 

She didn't make any movements.

Let's just cut to the chase then. “Laura, I'm fine.” You gestured to yourself. “In fact Tony Stark was able to alter my genes. I heal like you and Logan.” 

Her brow twitched. 

“Look.” You repeated the field and sliced across your arm. Laura's eyes widened and she gasped at the blood. Ah fuck. Maybe you shouldn't have. “Laura, just watch. It takes a second then it w-orks.” 

She watched your skin sew itself back together and her eyes watered. 

“Baby,” You weren't going to stand there and let her cry. “I'm coming over.”

She didn't back up, letting you stride to her. You immediately pulled her into a bone crushing hug, and she sobbed into your shoulder. 

“I'm fine and I don't blame you.” You repeated over and over again. “I love you.” She clutched onto your back, her body shaking with sorrow. “I don't blame you. You're my baby and I love you.” 

Logan took a step forward causing her to tense. 

“Lo stay back on this one.” You shushed into her ear, threading fingers through her hair. “It's okay Laura, he's not going to do anything.” 

It took a while but she did ease back into the embrace, her tears slowly creasing. 

Laura stepped back, looking at you with fat wet eyes. She gave you the tiniest nod and stepped around you to pick up the milkshake. 

She handed it to you and you took a drink. “I'd never poison you, love.” 

Laura seemed satisfied that you didn't die so took a drink herself. 

You could see the thoughts zooming through her mind. It was cold. Thick. Tasted unlike anything she'd had before. But she liked it. 

Laura drank silently from the straw and gave you the smallest hint of a smile when she released it. 

“I knew you'd like it baby.” You grinned down at her. “Right, we have to get you cleaned up.” 

~~ 

You'd run the bath for her and insist she hop in. Laura removed the crusty clothes and did follow your instructions. Neither of you cared that she was naked. You were past that. 

“Is it warm enough?” 

She nodded. You'd all become accustomed to cool water due to the Void so we're careful when running baths or turning the shower on. If it was too hot it felt suffocating. 

You dunked her sponge into the soapy water and plucked her hands in yours to clean them. The movements were methodical. You cleaned her wrist, then her palms then her knuckles and lastly her nails. She's ripped off the false ones, leaving her natural nails on show. 

When the water was a burgundy colour you let it out and refilled the tub. Laura sat and watched. “We're going to do your hair now. Tilt your head back.” 

You flicked the tap to connect it to the shower head and turned it on. The water splurged out and you hummed softly to undercut the noise. Laura let you rinse her hair. There were bits of dry blood and a leaf? in it. El had said she had run away. Good on them for finding her and bringing her back. Good on El for replacing the mattress and bedding. You'd have to thank them. You loved them so dearly for looking after her. 

Laura's eyes were tired by the time you'd finished. She stood and you wrapped a towel around her shoulders. 

She sat on the lip of the bath so you could towel dry her hair with a smaller towel and comb it. 

“Someone looks sleepy.” You kissed her nose. “C’mon, let's go to bed.”

She took a shaky breath and frantically shook her head. 

“It's okay.” You shushed her. “I'll take you to bed but I won't get in.” 

It broke your heart to see her allow that. You wanted nothing more than to tuck her under your chin and sleep soundly with your bubba. 

Laura pulled on a night shirt and eased into the bed whilst you quickly ran the spray over the tub, erasing any signs of blood. 

You found her in the bed waiting and sat next to her. Your hand smoothed her hair and you found yourself humming a long forgotten tune. It took seconds for her to sleep. 

~~

Logan was on you in an instant - the second - you walked through the door. He squeezed you tightly. 

“I'm okay.” You reassured him. “She's just-it's weird seeing her like that. She's normally so strong.” 

The two of you parted and you let him kiss your forehead. “You're a good mom.” 

You chuckled. “It's not easy.” 

“No.” His head shook. “But you are.”

You don't know why but the determination in his eyes made yours water. You sniffed and looked away. “She likes milkshakes.” 

“Of course she does.” He shrugged. “I do.”  You rolled your eyes at his reply but before you could argue he spoke again. “I'm sorry. I've been a dickhead.” 

“I can get why.” You placed a hand on his sideburn. “I do. But she's just a kid.” 

He nodded and kissed your palm. “You have no idea what would've happened if I lost you again.” 

You did know. He would've gone fucking feral. He would've killed Laura, then the others would've gotten involved and they would've fought and killed and not cared for the consequences. “You didn't lose me.” 

He smiled and bent his neck to kiss you. You met him halfway on your tiptoes, replicating the same amount of need. 

You both knew you were fucked. The world was fucked. Both were damaged goods. The chances of finding each other was next to none yet here you were. Kissing in your shared apartment. 

“I love you.” You whispered into the kiss, Logan used that to his advantage and delved his tongue into your mouth. You hummed letting your own dance with his. 

His hands cradled your face and spine. His palm was so big against your cheek, it made you feel safe. At home. He would protect you. 

You had to break the kiss to breathe, panting against his ear as he kissed his way to your nape. He loved your nape and you loved the way he nipped and sucked it, it was him claiming you. Him owning you. And when he bit down on your neck all your feminism flew out of the window. You would do anything for this man.

The hand on your cheek had travelled down to your chest, cupping a breast and giving it a delicate squeeze. You were still wearing that Deadpool set, with no actual cup, so when his thumb grazed over your nipple you felt everything. 

Logan wasn't one for slow. You knew that to be true because of the way he fucked you previously. But here he was taking his time. Savouring each hitch and groan that tumbled from your lips. 

You were actually being a bit useless here, letting him kiss and fondle you without doing the same. Quick to remedy that your hands found their way to his belt, fingers grazing the skin under his vest, and you tugged him that bit closer.  

Logan crowded you now. He was all you could see, hear, taste, smell and touch. He was all you needed. 

“Logan.” You breathed onto his lips, kissing him again. His lips were smooth, a nice juxtaposition to his gruff hair. Oh, but you loved the scratch. He was so manly. So hairy. He was everything rolled into one. 

You sensually licked his lips as your fingers unhooked his belt. 

Logan's half lidded eyes watched you as you pushed your tongue further out, keeping eye contact as you bent to make your mark on his neck. 

He groaned as you sucked, tongue swirling across the marred flesh. It then made its own way to his chest, kissing and sucking where the vest would allow. 

You gave him one look and he immediately removed the fabric. “Good boy.” You whispered against his pecs. Kissing them and letting your teeth catch certain areas. 

Logan watched with a baited breath and you slowly sunk to your knees. The unbuckled belt sitting at his hips as you unpopped the button, pulling the zipper all the way down. 

He let out a shudder when you nuzzled your nose against the visible boxers. Tugging the jeans down so you could kiss him through the fabric. You'd never get over how big he was. 

He was long and thick and if you thought his dick looked comically large in your hand you knew it would be difficult to swallow down. 

Still though, you teased him through the fabric. Kissing his head and sucking the wet patch. It was gloriously salty. 

“Y/N.” He muttered his hand making a home in your hair. 

You looked up at him as you pulled him from the boxers. His mouth was permanently set in a small ‘o’ but it widened when you licked a stripe from shaft to tip. 

You loved this. This fearsome warrior. This feral beast. The reason to genetically alter you, to ensure he was happy. Was putty in your hands. He would do anything for you. 

Maybe it was fucked up at at this precise moment you understood his plight. Why he was so angry. Why he had taken it out on Laura. She was technically to blame - never in your eyes though - and you got why he snapped. 

You sucked the head again before delving deeper. Yeah, you were right, it was far too big but you had hands for a reason. 

Pumping with your mouth and hand you make sure to be delicate. For some reason you wanted this to be soft. You wanted to treat him. Your Logan hadn't minded a bit of teeth but you tried your hardest to keep them away. 

He was trying to suppress his moans, trying to keep cool but he was dying. You were perfect. 

How were you this perfect? 

How did you know what he needed? 

Every fucking day! 

It was like you were a mind reader. 

Maybe you were. 

Maybe they'd altered you that way as well. 

Logan's hips urged to jut forward but he didn't want to ruin this. This was something he hadn't really experienced. This was sweet. This was soft. 

He was quick to fuck but no this wasn't that. You were being too nice for this to be called ‘fucking’. He hates to say it because you were literally just sucking his dick but this was definitely on the “making love” spectrum. 

“You're perfect.” He groaned out. “I fucking love you.” 

You hummed in response and he had to quickly pulled himself out. He could've spilt right there and then.

“Bed.” He ordered. “Now.” 

He wasn't going to cum in your mouth, no, he was going to fill you up. He was going to fuck you so full of his cum. He wanted you dripping.

You frowned cutely, your lips swollen and pouting was fucking amazing. Your cheeks were hot and your eyes were glassy so as he lifted you - pulling you closer - he got to see you. To really see how messy you were. Hair out of place and a line of drool on your chin. Fuck.

He wanted you.

He was going to lock you in the room.

You were his.

No one else's.

“I'm going to fuck you full of my seed.” His lips spoke against yours, not kissing you just touching you. “I'm going to fill you up.” He'd never felt like this before. “Breed you.” 

You shuddered and smiled but then your brows pinched. 

“Logan,” You pulled back to look him in the eye. “I- I don't have a womb.” 

The man stopped in his tracks. “What?” 

You chuckled. “Why else do you think we've been fucking the way we have with no consequences?” 

He made a noise. It made sense. He hadn't smelt the change in your cycle like he had the girls. “Yeah, I guess.” 

“I didn't realise you didn't know.” You looked guilty. “I'm sorry.” 

“No.” He kissed the corner of your mouth. “Don't be sorry.” 

You groaned non sensually. “Have I just killed the mood?” 

“No.” He shook his head and kissed your nose. You knew he was lying. 

“Logan. Don't shut me out, be honest.” 

“I'm just surprised.” He was truthful. “My Y/N had hers.”  

You bit your lip. “If I tell you what happened the mood will definitely be killed.”

He was curious. “C’mon.” He tucked himself back into his boxers and pulled his jeans back up before leading you to the sofa. You sat down, tucking your legs under your chin. He was sitting facing you, giving you his full attention. 

How do you say this in a way that won't set him off? Couldn't you go back to sucking his dick? That was so nice. You sighed. “The scar on my back...”

He lent forward, elbows on his knees. “I'm going to get angry again aren't I?” 

“Stryker had this man in his possession. He could make you see whatever he wanted you to see. Logan didn't know it was me.” 

//

It was confusing to wake up in the infirmary. Jean and Beast looking down at you. 

“Y/N.” Jean breathed in a sigh of relief. “I was worried.”

“You always fix me up.” You joked, feeling very sore. Your back and stomach were aching. It felt alien to be in this much discomfort. 

“We had to perform a procedure on you.” Beast clasped one of your hands. “It's very serious. You will be fine but we had to make a decision.” 

“Okay?” You were even more confused, trying to sit yourself up a little. The pain in your stomach didn't allow for that so you flopped back down.

“You were pierced by Logan and flung across the facility. When you landed you hit your front. A piece of piping damaged your womb and we were unable to save the organ.” 

As Hank spoke you got flashes of the scene. You didn't recall a pipe but you remembered the agony, calling for an evac. Begging for Logan's help. 

“To save my womb..?” You slowly understood. “So I've had a hysterectomy?” 

Jean tried to sooth you, placing a hand on your shoulder. “It is a small price to pay, we could've tried to save it and risked infection, risked your health.” 

“I'm not upset.” You told her matter of factly. “I'm just trying to figure out what happened.” You weren't upset. It wasn't a thing you'd thought of at this age. You weren't really the mothering type. Yeah, you looked after the students but that role was more ‘wine aunt'. You weren't fit to be a mother. Logan would be a good dad though. Oh, you'd have to tell him. 

What would he say? 

He'd naturally be upset he hurt you but would he forgive himself just to dislike being with you? What if you being unable to give him children was an issue? 

~~ 

You'd been transferred to your room. It was lovely and cosy. Blankets everywhere, pillows strewn and the wooden accents of Xavier's mansion felt more like home than being with your mother. 

You wondered how she was. What would she say about you being barren?

Sitting and sulking was how you spent your days. Food was brought to you - as you couldn't really move - by different members of your family. Scott brought flowers, Ororo made you a gorgeous curry, Jubilee gifted you a teddy. 

Each member of the team was welcome but you were waiting for him. 

They'd all told you he was taking it hard, drinking more, fighting more, caring less and less about his safety. He felt like shit but you didn't blame him. 

You felt guilty for not realising sooner it wasn't Logan. Your fields could stop his claws, they had in training. The two of you were paired up a lot to show the newbies how to fight. You worked well together and it was only a matter of time and rolling about on the floor before he asked you out. 

You decided at the end of the first week that if he wanted kids you wouldn't make him stay. You couldn't. You'd push him away, if needs be. 

It was day twelve when he knocked at the door. You could move, had showered - careful with your stitches - and dressed yourself for the first time. 

“Y/N.” He spoke by the door. 

You looked up from the Hobbit, smiling wide. “Logan, hi.” 

“I'm so so sorry.” He eased his way in, looking uncomfortable in your room in a way he had never previously. 

“Logan, it wasn't you, love.” You closed the book, placing it on your nightstand. “It could've been anyone.” 

“But I hurt you.” 

“I'm okay.” Wasn't exactly the best argument but it was true.

He shuffled over to your bed and sat delicately at your side, his feet still touching the floor. “I couldn't face you. Couldn't see you bruised because of me.” 

The bruising had gone down. You were looking normal again. “Again, babe, I don't blame you.” 

“You should.” His eyes left yours and he looked at the floor. 

The need to comfort him was so strong but you held back. Remembering yourself. You couldn't get too lost. Not when you were lacking. “Do you want kids?” 

The questions surprised both of you. You didn't mean for it to tumble out of your mouth but it had and now it was sitting heavily amongst you. 

Logan looked back at you perplexed. His eyebrows met but he stared into your eyes, considering your question.

He'd almost killed you. He could've killed you. His hands harmed you and you were asking if he wanted kids. Yo- he loved you so much. He should stay away. You'd get hurt again he knew you would. 

But he loved you. Whenever he imagined a future - and that wasn't often - he saw you with him. And now he saw a little girl and boy. The boy looked like him and the girl looked like you but they acted like the other parent. He could see a soft mummy's boy being coddled far too much and a cute feral girl who was ready to take on the world. He could picture them. 

Picture you full with your child. His child. You were glowing. 

“I think we'd be great parents.” He hadn't realised his eyes were watering, quickly swatting the tears away. He'd almost destroyed that future, the one you were offering him. 

You bit your lip and nodded silently. “I think we should break up.” 

~~

Four months later he burst into your bedroom seething. 

“Are you fucking serious?!” He yelled. 

You jumped, snapping the Lord of the Rings shut. “Logan?”

He had left when you broke up with him. Becoming a renegade, a fighter, a mercenary. Whatever it took to forget you. 

It wasn't until Storm needed assistance - fighting off the brotherhood by the cul-de-sac Logan was passing through - when she told him. 

“You ended it because you can't have kids?!” His hands were on his hips and he was pacing back and forth. “I thought I…” He sighed shakily. “I thought I fucked up. I thought the idea of me wanting children with you after almost fucking killing you was terrifying.” 

“Lo, I can't have children.” You explain. “I will die and you will live and that's it. If you find someone that can give you kids then you won't be as lonely. You could have a family.”

He stopped pacing and stared at you. “That’s the most stupid argument I've ever fucking heard.” 

It was but it was all you had.

“I know but I didn't want you to feel trapped.” You sat up and he suppressed a gasp because you were wearing one of his shirts. After all this time you still wore his clothes, it did something to him. Inside his chest ached. “Down the line when you wanted a child and I couldn't give you one… I didn't want you to resent me.” 

“I would never.” He vowed. “I have spent these past months trying to forget that I fucking love you. I could never resent you.” 

Tears oozed from your eyes and you wiped them away. “I'm sorry.” 

He didn't want to break this easily. Didn't want to give in but you were crying. His girl was crying. Logan scooped you up in a hug and kissed your forehead. “Don't ever lie to me again. I don't care what it's about. We'll handle it together.” 

You nodded. “Okay. I promise.” 

\\

Logan sat back, resting his spine against the sofa. "It's okay." He decided. "We already have Laura, we don't need any more."

You smiled. "So you forgive her?"

"'course I do." He heaved a sigh. "Just gotta actually apologise to her."

"I love you." You leant over and kissed his brow. "You look so sexy when you're grovelling."

He rolled his eyes and playfully shoved you off.

Part 11

@littlecrowtime @geeksareunique @lovelyvaderx @br3nt-12 @st1nkabutt @maximumchilddreamland @catiwinky @twinkywink @ravenmedows @electricreader @racetrackheart @vulgarfuckinvirgo77 @bisasterbisexual @tzurue @narniansmagic @seamlessepiphany @4ria790 @caramelatae @mei-simp @slightlymediocree

[6leggedhorse]

Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

I haven’t posted all week like I should’ve and I’m here to say why. I want to start this off by saying that Uni isn’t easy for some people, for me it’s easy usually. However with an internship twice a week sandwiched in between that makes it a little harder, and that’s okay, I can do it. Now that I’m taking a personal day on Fridays, this will improve my mental health and only working twice a week may not be what I wanted but it’s what I needed. However school has gotten harder, I am in a group for one of my classes and they’re involved in sports. That’s great, nothing wrong with that at all, but the issue is that they’re doing everything last minute and giving me very little time to do my part as well as very little information.

There’s no consistency in our communication; I wanted to get a head start and complete the first project early, all things considered, I considered everyone’s schedules and thought if we got this done early, it’s gonna be less stress for everyone. But unfortunately, they don’t think the same way, and putting me in a time crunch to get stuff done isn’t something I’m comfortable and okay with. For the first project, I got one set of notes for a bit and then the other two and I didn’t perspectives or any more details so my ability to write, which I know I’m good at, wasn’t put to good use and potential. So for this project they were doing the same thing, and quite frankly I was and still not happy about it. At this time a bit before I began to take Fridays off, I began to get stressed out even more. I put off studying a midterm and paper for a social work class.

I felt so overwhelmed and loaded, I got so stressed out and angry, I felt like I was being put into a position where I didn’t matter and neither did my mental health. So I found a last minute solution to our project, we needed to go to a specific event for our class project. And they waited until and I mean UNTIL the very last minute on last week, no one communicated. I didn’t say anything for this project because I wanted to be flexible and allow them to address it because last time on the first day of school, I sent the first text in our group chat asking when to get the first project started and shocker, no said anything until it was due the last possible second. So for this project I crowd sourced more events and information on social media, they wanted to play last minute bull crap again and I was not having it.

I feel as though my boundaries have been crossed soon after the post, I got comments on events AND I emailed my professor letting him know what was going on. He told me not to work with them this one time and submit it on my own which I will be doing in parts today (ADHD-I makes it difficult to focus.) hence why I NEED to get a head start on things to not get to this point. I don’t mind small assignments but this is big, and when I get overwhelmed I procrastinate because an amalgamation of unfinished projects is incredibly overwhelming and scary I just avoid it. So they began to complain over the group text and I unplugged from it to take time to think and care for myself. I have yet to open the texts, for now, my sanity matters, they don’t get to ruin how my day goes.

So, you may not hear from me for a hot second so please try to be patient, and on top of all this I have a shitty mentor in the place I intern at. She is just so rude and talks down to me and my fellow interns, and my mentor herself increases my anxiety, it’s getting to a point where I’m ✨depressed✨. Next seminar I will be talking to my Liaison and finding a new group to work with. This sucks because I love writing on here, I love writing in general, it’s so therapeutic to me but school comes first. I will let yall know when I come back. Which hopefully by next Monday I will be, things get worse before they get better I need to roll with the punches and chaos, if there is any I trust, it’s Loki that’s for damn sure.

[onthewaytosomewhere]

Yesssss! And it’s food related too so it fitssssss 😁😁😁

Ok so #7 Fried eggs and Bacon (BuckTommy)

Aaaaaand (because you know I want two 😁)

#8 Crème Brûlée (FirstPrince)

😁😁😁😁😁😁 thank you thank you in advance! 💕

okay luv here ya go - 2 of them once again lolz - i'm kinda surprised neither of them got smutty lolz

since there's 2 and not they're not exactly short behind the cut lolz

#7 Fried eggs and Bacon (BuckTommy)

Evan’s at the stove, turning the bacon in the pan when Tommy comes out; he’s got the eggs on the counter next to the stove waiting to be started. Tommy comes up behind him and wraps his arms around him; he leans back into his chest briefly before pulling away and smacking his chest. “No, hanky panky near the stove, especially with bacon, that shit splatters everywhere.”

“Then, why are you out here cooking in just your boxers?” Tommy runs his eyes up and down his body and Evan can feel the blush blooming across his chest and up his neck. “Not that I’m complaining about the view at all. But if it’s that dangerous, shouldn’t you at least have that apron you love on?”

Evan laughs and swats at Tommy’s hands, which are moving toward his hips. “Because I didn’t have someone out here distracting me, so it wasn’t a big deal. Now go sit down or get some plates and whatnot out, something else that isn’t distracting me, so I can get these eggs in the pan.” Evan turns to the stove, turns the burner on under the pan for the eggs, and lets it warm up. He cracks the eggs into the pan, cursing to himself as the first two yolks break as they hit the pan; he slows down, and when the third and fourth yolks also crack, he gives up. “Fuck it, these are gonna be scrambled eggs,” he says, grabbing the whisk as he cracks the last two in one-handed. Of course, they land perfectly, but it doesn’t matter now.

Tommy stands at the counter next to him and asks, “Is there anything I can do?”

Evan glances his way with a smile. “Besides, not distract me so I don’t screw up the eggs even further?” He chuckles and continues, “If you want toast, you could throw some in the toaster.” He motions to the loaf of bread and butter sitting near the toaster.

“Toast duty, got it.” Tommy throws him an exaggerated fake salute and places a quick kiss on his shoulder before turning to the toaster.

Evan is still amazed at how easy this is. The camaraderie, with the addition of the hotness, is something he didn’t get from the women he’s been with. He likes feeling like he’s not only here in his place with a lover but also a friend. The eggs are almost done when he hears the keys in the lock on his door, and it is opening. He glances over and sees Christopher walking in and sighs.

“Christopher, welcome. I see you stole your dad’s key again. Does he at least know you’re here this time? You’re just in time for breakfast. Tommy will grab another plate and put you in some toast. You know where the juice is.” He guesses that the more some things change, the more others don’t.

#8 Crème Brûlée (FirstPrince)

Henry is sitting across from him, each of them leaning on an arm of the loveseat, and he is practically fellating the spoon he is using to eat the crème brûlée they are sharing for dessert. Alex can’t seem to take his eyes off Henry’s lips, the way his tongue darts out to swipe the crème brûlée off his lip. He watches as his tongue licks the spoon clean and sees how Henry’s eyes close briefly in near-rapture as he savors the flavors of the custard and the hard sugar layer over it. Henry’s eyes open, and he smiles across the loveseat at Alex.

Alex loves the look of Henry’s skin with just a bit of tan like it has now. They’ve been here at the lakehouse for a week by themselves, and in a few days, everyone else will be joining them. Hence, why Alex has been taking full advantage of the lack of anyone else there to have this little nightly, usually post-coital tradition with Henry. Dessert on the loveseat in boxers. On the nights he hasn’t just orgasmed, it’s enough to make him take Henry off to the bedroom and have his way with him.

On nights like tonight, when he has, it’s a wonderful reminder of the newfound joy Henry has now. For some reason, he’s even freer here at the lakehouse than back home in the brownstone. Of course, every visit is a bit tense for both of them at the beginning, no matter how much they reclaim every bit of the area, a little bit of that first visit remains. But tonight, there is none of that; tonight, Henry is so at one with himself that Alex cannot help but fall even more in love with him, even if he didn’t know that was possible.

“What are you thinking about?” Henry asks, startling Alex out of his thoughts.

He smirks and replies, “You.” It’s such a simplified version of all his thoughts, but also the truth, as even though his thoughts may have been ramble-y or wandering, they kept coming back to Henry. He’s the thing Alex thinks about most, so it’s no surprise that when Henry finishes off the last of the dessert, he leans across the loveseat to kiss the flavor that remains from his lips, following the flavor into his mouth with his tongue, tasting that thing that is distinctly Henry beneath the sweet of the dessert that lingers.

They kiss for what may be moments or hours. Alex is unsure and in no hurry to figure it out, content in this moment to be wrapped up in Henry’s arms as he pulls him closer and kisses him a little more.

[moonlightrichie]

I swear, in a week I will have seen The Goldfinch, and I will not post about anything else for 3 months after that

[eddie-van-munson]

Class Ring (Eddie Munson x Reader)

***********

PART TWO PART THREE

Summary: Eddie and the Reader are married and none of the Hellfire boys realized it. Just a little blurb based on this post by @gayheadphones! Let me know if I should add to it!

Warnings: Fluff, Cursing, Sexual Refrences, a Little bit of Making Out

(I will get a "Read More" cut on this ASAP. Requests are WIDE open! PLEASE leave requests!)

***********

"Harrington." Eddie bellowed, spreading his arms proudly from where he was perched upon his throne. "Approach your Dungeon Master."

"Jesus, man. If you're gonna make it weird I'll just go." Steve rolled his eyes, shuffling foward  as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm not making it weird. Sit your ass down." Eddie pointed to an empty lawn chair that had been pulled up to the table. Eddie flipped through his book for a new character sheet.

Dustin plopped down next to Steve, "This is Gareth. He's the drummer in Eddie's band-"

"Corroded Coffin." Eddie corrected as Gareth waved at Steve.

Dustin rolled his eyes, "This is Jeff. He shreds  for..." Eddie shot him a look. "Corroded Coffin"

Eddie gave him a satisfactory nod.

"And of course you know Lucas, Mike, Erica. Where's Y/N?" Dustin frowned, noticing the empty chair.

Eddie stretched his arms lazily behind his head, kicking his boots up onto the table. "She's being a babe. Making us-"

"Bagel Bites!" You announced carrying a messy, hot cookie sheet full of the, slightly burnt, snacks. "Get 'em while they're hot."

You tossed the tray haphazardly onto the card table where the boys had slung their jackets and backpacks. Eddie bit his lip through a grin, patting his thighs for you to come sit as the others swarmed the tray.

You blush, giving him a coy look as you stalked over to where he was sprawled across his throne. He grinned mischeiviously as you sat in his lap, letting your arms slide up his chest and around his neck as he pulled you into a messy kiss.

You smiled against his lips as he pecked yours one last time, mussing your hair playfully. You scrunched your nose.

"Get that shit out of here!" Dustin yelled through his bite of Pizza Bagel.

Eddie pulled you into another showy kiss out of spite, lifting you further up into his lap and giving your ass a playful slap, but the kiss quickly broke into laughter at the other boys groans.

"C'mon man. How do you expect us to play if you two are having sex on the damn table?"

"Hey!" He yelled, pointing at Mike accusatorily. "I will make love to my woman wherever and whenever I damn well please!" You whacked his thigh with a roll of your eyes and he giggled, rubbing your back fondly as you laid your head against his chest.

The last bagel bite polished off, the boys sat back down. Mike crossed arms, "How come Y/N gets to be here every week? I thought we had a no girlfriend rule?"

Steve snorted, "You guys are just swimming in female attention, huh? That's why you made the rule?"

Eddie ignored him, "Three reasons, Wheeler. A, Y/N's a part of Hellfire. She's got a character. She's on the roster. She's a damned good player." He tugged a lock of your hair playfully. "B, I can do whatever the hell I want. Hence the title, Dungeon Master."

Steve chuckled to himself.

"And C..." The room went quiet as Eddie smirked. "Y/N's not my girlfriend." You giggled softly.

Mike rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Just because you haven't made it official or something doesn't mean she's not-"

"Yeah, Munson. She's hanging all over you-

"What do you mean she's not-"

"Wait..." You and Eddie frowned, looking at one another.

"Did I never tell them?" Eddie laughed, eyes going big, "I thought they knew!" You turned in his lap, back against the front of his chest. His arms wrapped around your waist. He quirked a brow suspiciously. "Nah, They're fucking with us."

"No we aren't!"

You looked at Eddie again and he laughs, shrugging, "I could've sworn I've told them. Like, multiple times."

"Told us what? What, are you like, friends with benefits or something?" You and Eddie both broke into laughter, which only annoyed the boys further.

Dustin looked to Steve, who had realized very quickly what was happening, and was now just smiling to himself in amusement. "Dude, just tell us!" He whined

"Look at her hand, man." Steve shrugged, sitting back in his chair. Y/N tilted her hand towards Dustin, revealing a dainty ring.

"So what?" Dustin frowned, exasperated. "She has a class ring!"

Eddie laughed, grinning. "No, Henderson. She has a wedding ring."

The room froze, before ultimately erupting with a chorus of confused high school boys.

"What? Wait...What?"

Mike looked bewildered. He met Y/N's eyes. "You're married? Who the hell are you married too?"

"To me, asshole!"

Steve laughed heartily as he watched the scene, grinning.

"Since when are you two married?" Lucas looked at the two of you skeptically. 

"I was 19 and she was 18 so that's??" He counted on his fingers. "4 years ago now."

"I don't buy it." His basketball shoes squeaked as he sat back down in his chair, cockily.

Eddie didn't budge, just pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans and flipped through it. You laughed against his skin as he skimmed past two condoms to find a dog-earred wedding photo. He passed it to Lucas, who the boys immediately swarmed to see it for themselves.

Eddie chuckled softly and you looked up at him over your shoulder. He pulled out a second photo that'd been tucked away behind it. A much dirtier photo he'd taken of you, naked and his, on your wedding night. He grinned mischeiviously and kissed you below your ear, nipping at it playfully. "I think I'll keep that one to myself, hm?"

 You blushed, burying your face in his chest with an flustered smile. "Jesus, Eds, why is that in your wallet?"

"Because it's incredibly valuable." He explained, as if it should have been obvious. He shrugged sheepishly, ears going pink. "And uh...you never know when you might need it." You snorted, returning his earlier gesture with the playful tug of one of his curls.

"So you guys got married after Y/N graduated? So like, after your first senior year?" Mike thought aloud.

"Highschool sweethearts, baby. Almost seven years, now. That's a record."

"Are you guys gonna have kids?"

"Dustin." Steve scolded, only to be replied to with an indignant, "What!?"

You just laughed, "Why, Henderson? You looking for a babysitting gig?"

"Oh my god. Absolutely not."

You grinned, and Steve laughed as you shot him a knowing wink.

"We've been....casually trying." Eddie admitted, embarrassed. He scratched his neck, ears going pink.

"Holy shit! You guys have been....and we didn't even know!?" Mike looked offended.

 Lucas looked disgusted, "God, please tell me you haven't tried in here."

"Right where you're sitting, man." Eddie teased. Lucas shot up from his chair, making you fall into another fit of giggles.

"You know, I'd totally forgotten you two got hitched." Steve admitted. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Mr. And Mrs. Munson."

"In the flesh, Harrington." He shot him finger guns.

***********

[findafight]

I posted 7,803 times in 2022

145 posts created (2%)

7,658 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@galahadwilder

@bbq-grillmaster

@phoenixyfriend

@hyenasnake

I tagged 2,374 of my posts in 2022

#qitup - 345 posts

#stranger things - 311 posts

#sw - 302 posts

#video - 213 posts

#steddie - 148 posts

#steve harrington - 134 posts

#platonic stobin - 111 posts

#finda's rambles - 89 posts

#ml - 71 posts

#finda writes stuff - 57 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#jim is down for it and afterwards goes 'that was wild. when can we do it like that again?' and spock is like 'in seven years' jim goes oh🥺

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Middle-aged rockstar Eddie on twitter is so funny to me he'll have very professional tweets about tours or releases etc and promote causes he supports but then he'll be a little chaos gremlin like

"the first time Steve and I actually met I held a broken bottle to his neck. Think that awakened something in him. 😈"

And Steve replies

"Robin told me I sucked on a daily basis, Jonathan punched me in the face, two weeks after Nancy pointed a gun at me I told her I loved her. You ain't special"

And Eddie replies an hour later with

"WAIT A SECOND STEVE DID YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON JONATHAN"

While his followers and fans are like...what is going on and who is Jonathan. Why is Eddie Munson airing his relationship drama on twitter dot com. WHY DID HE HOLD A BROKEN BOTTLE TO STEVE'S NECK

2,113 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

#4

I am a hardline Steve is a "boring queer" truther. Yes he's bi and genderqueer!! Does he change pronouns? Nope! It's easier to use he/him and he doesn't care. Does he wear anything other than high waisted mom jeans and sweatshirts? Absolutely not. Just because gender means next to nothing to him both for himself and in regards to attraction doesn't mean he's going out of his way to do anything about it. He knows he looks like Just Some Jock but he's comfy!! His ass looks good! What more is there to clothes than that!

He goes to bed at ten and wakes up at six-thirty for a run before work. His favourite show is M*A*S*H. The most outlandish thing he's done besides Monster Killing is name his rescue cat WoodChipper because it kept trying to eat his porch.

3,596 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

#3

Steve shows up to work one day with a baby bjorn complete with sleeping baby on his chest and Robin is like Steve....what the fuck?

And Steve says "I would've called you last night but she'd only stop crying when I held her and my parents were fighting, obviously, and I had to figure out how to make her bottle then I fell asleep with her on top of me and I think my dad legitimately forgot about us even though this is his fault, and there's no one to take care of her so I had to bring her. Sorry."

That is a lot and answers very few of Robin's questions.

"who...is she?"

Steve brightens and smiles down at the baby who's tiny baby fist is scrunched up in his work vest. "Oh! My half sister. Her mom works for one of my dad's business partners and brought her to my parents while they were away last week so they came home, mostly to dump her off on a nanny they forgot to hire--hence my baby holder here--and fight. Turns out dad cheating is easier to ignore when there isn't actual proof of it."

"oh. Woah."

"yeah. Anyways, ready to rewind some tapes?"

So they start work Steve logging returns into the computer and cupping the baby whose name I don't know yet's head. Then the little baby wakes up, making little baby noises, and Robin is not one for babies really, but Steve coos and picks her hand off his chest and waves it at Robin.

"see, that's your auntie Robin! Say hiii auntie Robin!"

The baby chews her tongue at Robin and blows a spit bubble.

And how is Robin supposed to not be charmed by that?

"awww," she says, letting the baby grab her finger, "yeah, I'm your auntie Robin. Your big brother's gonna take care of you so good huh? You'll know your way around retail in no time."

Steve giggles.

It is then that The Gremlins decide to show up and Cause Noise. Baby sister starts to cry and Steve takes her to the back to get her to calm down and change her, comes out (ignores the party's questions. Giving them Ultimate Mom Pose with Bonus Effect of Baby) hands her to Robin who is a little nervous but she will not let her new niece (?) Down, and goes back to find and heat up a bottle.

Eddie, who drove the gremlins and was looking for something in his van comes in, sees Robin holding the baby and is like huh? What's this?

And then Steve comes out with a bottle and a baby blanket over his shoulder, reaches for the baby from Robin and tries to get her to latch on the bottle with quiet words and gentle hands and Eddie is not okay he's not fine he's having a melt down because Steve with the kids is one thing but Steve with a Baby is something very different and he should not be expected to keep it together seeing this

Part 2.

Part 3

5,784 notes - Posted October 23, 2022

#2

Rockstar Eddie au in the 90's and there's rumours he is ~homosexual~ right. So the whole band is in an interview, and the journalist asks

"so, Eddie, what do you have to say about those rumours ?"

"what rumours" (he knows exactly what rumours)

"the rumours about you having slept with a number of men. About being, ah, gay? Seeing as you've never had a public relationship with a woman, and some of the songs you've written could be seen as, ah, insinuating things."

(at this point Jeff and Gareth make Significant Eye Contact. They know what's about to happen.)

Eddie nods. "Ahhh. THOSE rumours. Well, gotta say, don't believe everything you hear!" He pauses just enough for the interviewer to open their mouth and interrupts. "I mean," he leans forward with a wide grin, "obviously I am a flaming queer. We know this. [Insert song title here] is clearly about gay sex, duh, I'm not exactly a subtle man. It's the sleeping around stuff that's just plain rumour. I've been happily in a committed monogamous relationship since '86!"

this is obviously not how the interviewer thought any of this would go. They are scrambling. "O-oh? Would you like to... Elaborate on that?"

Gareth speaks under his breath "oh no, now he's not gonna stop" as he looks to the ceiling. Jeff's face is valiantly trying to not smile.

Eddie is vibrating. "Oh absolutely! Okay, so we're from this Podunk Indiana town in buttfuck nowhere, right? Steve and I met when-"

"Eddie please, man. I can't believe you held out this long but we have an album to promote and if you start gushing about Steve we'll be here forever. Please, Eddie." Says Jeff, smiling.

Eddie proceeds to pout as his bandmates ignore his grumbling about never getting to talk about Steve and Jeff and Gareth are like Eddie you waxed poetic about his chest hair in song literally five minutes before this interview. PLEASE let us talk about music I'm sure people will clamour to get an interview exclusively about Steve. You'll have time to talk about him to the press just let us have One Last Interview that isn't just Eddie Talking About Steve Time. Please.

9,948 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

When someone comes out Steve's immediate gut reaction is to drag their taste in romantic prospects. Robin rejected him and came out and he went full "okay fine but please like BETTER girls oh my god" like the Mean Girl he is. God bless.

When Will blurts that he's in love with Mike (which... Yeah Steve knew that one.) Steve goes "okay there's nothing wrong with liking boys but why wheeler?? You can do so much better Will. Seriously. Literally anyone else." And will is just ?????? He just said he liked boys and Steve's biggest issue is that it's Mike?! "Mike is being a jerk!! He's ignoring you!! Dump his ass, Will!" Most confusing acceptance ever.

Eddie confesses to Steve and the man blinks at him like "but...I'm a prep?? And bitchy? And have had, like, five concussions?"

And Eddie is like "what the fuck are you talking about"

"I'm just saying I doubt I'm your usual type! Obviously I like you back but you could probably do better"

"Steve are you saying my feelings are reciprocated while also being self deprecating n order to insult my taste in men?"

"oh. Yeah. Oops."

Lucas and max come out without specifying crushes (except on each other) so there is no need to drag them for their taste in men or women.

Dustin is like "I literally only like Suzie" and Steve is like "I know this and I love you (and her)" BC Suzie is amazing and helped save the world too. And grey ro/ace Dustin.

The only person whose taste he doesn't criticize is Mike and that's because when he says he's in love with will Steve just goes "he's too good for you" and nothing else.

12,144 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[chuckbass-love]

Johnny smut#4

Hello lovely anon. Thank you so much for this request, again, i’m sorry for the long wait but i didn’t want to write this when i didn’t have much motivation and then have it turn out any less than perfect. I hope it’s worth the wait for you and that you enjoy it.

Also a lil A/N for everyone: To everyone who has requested, i’m gonna get back on it and try and get at least 2 or 3 out per week if possible. I lost motivation for a hot minute but i’m back. I love you all so much. Also, part 7 to only love can hurt like this will be up sometime in the next week or so. I’m still working on it but i already can’t wait for you all to read.

Disclaimer: My work is not to be posted anywhere else other than MY Tumblr, Wattpad and Ao3 without my permission. However, reblogs are welcome.

Pairing: Johnny Storm x Fem!Reader

Prompt #4: “You’d better be quiet if you don’t want to get caught”

Warning: Smut, explicit content, sexual intercourse, hair pulling, choking, mouth covering and swearing. 18+

Word Count: 5,160

GIF NOT MINE!!! Credit to @mcustarks go check them out❤️

Best Friends Brother

As your eyes glance around the beautiful garden filled with white chairs either side of the aisle with flower arrangements all the way to the alter. You can’t help but feel utterly enchanted by the scene, it’s stunning. However, you’re in the wrong place right now, Sue specifically asked you to meet her out back to help her get ready but as soon as you turnaround to head there, you bump into Johnny of all people.

To put it simply, Johnny isn’t exactly your favourite person and you’re not his either. Well, that’s a lie. When around others you don’t get along, you don’t hate each other you just don’t really have much to say since he’s always so cocky and you’re his older sisters best friend. But behind closed doors, the sexual chemistry is off the charts and you’ve spent too many nights tangled up in his sheets to count on two hands.

No one knows about your late night rendezvous though, especially Sue. And she can never find out. It would hurt her. You’re her best friend and Johnny is her little brother. So it’s a secret and it will always remain one.

“Wow” his lips curl up into a genuine smile as his eyes take in your figure in the floor length  dark purple bridesmaid dress you have on “you look, great” he says as he tugs on his bottom lip with his teeth, clearly unable to stop those dirty thoughts running wild in his head.

“Just great?” you ask, brow raising slightly before you chuckle and move to walk past him but he grabs your arm just in time to stop you from going anywhere “not just great, but gorgeous. In fact if this wasn’t my sisters wedding then i’d say you were the best looking one here” he turns his head in your direction, his dreamy blue eyes meeting yours, both filled with lust and need. But you can’t do this here. Today is Sue and Reed’s day.

“Johnny” you whisper lazily, the feel of his skin on yours makes you shiver with desire for him to fill you up, kiss you and make you cum around his cock multiple times but that will have to wait. You really need to snap out of this. So you do, you blink and look back up at him before slowly pulling away from “Sue needs me now, i have to go” and just like that he’s behind you, watching as you walk away. Mostly just to watch the way your ass moves in that dress. You can’t say you blame him though, your ass does look good.

The second you step foot indoors you hear Sue moaning about anything and everything to who sounds like Alicia.

“Your saviour is here” you announce and Sue turns around, beaming at you and you can’t help but stare at her. She looks absolutely breathtaking and her dress is the most beautiful you’ve ever seen. She looks just like a princess.  Alicia then leaves to go and check on Ben, leaving you two to it.

“Sue, you look amazing” tears brim in your eyes, drowning out your vision, she spots it immediately, rushing to hand you a tissue “don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’ll ruin your makeup”

You take it from her, dabbing underneath your eyes before taking the eyeliner from her to re do what couldn’t be saved in time “i can’t believe you’re finally getting your big day” you finish zipping up her dress before helping her out with her veil.

“Well i’ve waited long enough” she laughs as you finish up and you turn her round so she can look at herself in the mirror.

“Now, i just need to finish my make-up. Help a girl out?”

You don’t even bother to respond, instead you start helping, picking up her bag of products. Her foundation is done so it’s just her eye makeup and lipstick that’s left to do. You go with a nice subtle smokey eye with a little silver glitter on top. Then to finish it off you apply some nude lip gloss to her lips before leaving her to do her own mascara, you would hate to mess it up after all.

“Oh i forgot to check with you, is Johnny outside?”

Even the mention of his name has an obvious effect on your body and it’s something you’ve never been able to control but instead of letting it show, you put your poker face on, clearing your throat and mumbling a quick “yes” and thank god she doesn’t catch on or say anything. You must have hid it well.

“Right, ladies the guests are arriving now and Reed is helping them all to their seats so are you ready?” Johnny pokes his head into the room and Sue nods, letting out a deep breath.

He glances at you before Sue walks over to him to make their way to the other room in which she’s going to be leaving out of to walk down the aisle, leaving you standing there sighing.

Guess it’s time for you to take your own place too. You follow closely behind them and then you and Alicia wait for your queue to go, she goes first, then you. Flowers in hand, smiling around at all of the guests, every one of them dressed up in bright colours, wedding hats galore. And as you take your place next to Alicia at the side of the alter, you watch your best friend walk down the aisle with pride. She means the world to you and if there’s one person who’s the most deserving of happiness, it’s her.

Reed wipes away tears as she stands next to him and you feel your heart melting, more tears forming. Johnny watches you from across the way, wiping your own tears of joy before his focus shifts to the vows.

Sometimes he gets urges to ask you out on a date but as quickly as those urges form, they fade. There’s not a chance in hell of you saying yes to him and he knows it. He’s just a hookup and he’s no stranger to half platonic relationships. He’s never particularly been one for commitment anyway but something about you changes his mind. Since you’ve been Sue’s best friend for god knows how long now, he’s watched many guys come and go in and out of your life. He’s watched and even listened to the many times Sue has held you whilst you cried and to tell the truth, he’s never been able to fathom why anyone would ever want to hurt you. Why anyone would ever cheat or leave you. He always had the biggest crush on you and it’s never left. 

Hence why one day he made a move, giving you his best cheesy pick up line at a party Sue threw one weekend. But you ignored him, it was only 2 hours into the party and you weren’t drunk enough to be taking him seriously. However, multiple drinks and shots later, he tried his luck again, and he hit the jackpot. You took him up on his offer. Whilst Sue was in the other room trying to clean up after her guests, you were in Johnny’s room, stripping off in-between heated open mouthed kisses.

It’s pretty obvious where that lead and the next day, you were so mad at yourself for letting it get that far. You cursed alcohol and your stupid brain as you quickly re dressed, repulsed at yourself and your actions. That’s when Johnny shot up, trying his best to make you stay, shutting the door as you tried to open it and standing in the way. You made eye contact with the player and he kissed you. You can’t recall anything else other than feeling captivated by him. His lips moved in sync with yours like they were always made to touch and you couldn’t control the way your body yearned for more.

And the rest is history. Since then you’ve been late night texting and meeting up whenever you could to hook up. Johnny eventually got his own apartment too which only lead to more often than not, the pair of you fucking like rabbits.

It hasn’t just been hookups though, as much as you’d love to lie and pretend that it doesn’t mean a thing, it does. You like Johnny, of course you do. He’s actually the only guy that’s ever been able to make you cum. The only guy who isn’t completely selfish in bed. He makes it all about you, every dam time and you feel torn when it comes to him. A huge part of you knows the two of you feel something deeper and more than just sex. You feel something more intimate. It’s definitely not love but it could be, one day.

Before you know it, you’re ripped from your Johnny themed thoughts as everyone starts cheering and clapping. You join in, watching Reed kiss Sue passionately before the two of them walk back up the aisle. You, Alicia, Johnny and Ben all follow behind with the guests joining in.

The reception is just inside and as soon as you all enter, the music begins. The real old school music. You’re The One That I Want from Grease. The DJ really has a way of luring everyone onto the dance floor right away. Usually at weddings, everyone sits down drinking and chilling before the buffet food comes out but not this wedding.

Sue grabs your hand and the two of you re enact the classic Sandy and Danny scene, overly dramatic though of course and unbeknownst to you, Johnny is watching your every move, unable to stop himself grinning like a cheshire cat. It’s very clear you’re having the time of your life and all he wants is to be able to dance with you.

Once the song is over, you walk around the room to look for the table that you’re going to be sitting at until you hear “over here” and you know that voice anywhere. You turn around to find Johnny sat down, a large glass of wine next to his beer. He ordered for you? Why?

“You’re next to me, hope that’s okay” he stands up, helping you into your chair and tucking it in for you before taking his seat again and sliding the glass of wine to you.

“White wine is still your favourite, right?” nerves fill his voice as he keeps his eyes locked on you “yes, it is. You remembered. Thank you” you waste no time in taking a big gulp of it, you can practically feel yourself getting aroused just by sitting next to the man and to think you’re going to have to deal with it the whole day is torture.

You press your thighs together, trying your hardest to stop whatever is happening in its tracks.

“You not going to dance some more?” he asks, sitting back in his chair, one arm draped round the back of yours “maybe in a minute, i’m still recovering from the first one” you giggle nervously, scared of being seen with him. Sure, you were put with him by Sue herself but what if your farce comes apart now, after all, he is being nice to you and the resting bitch face is missing instead a happy expression has taken its place.

Maybe no one will notice since it’s Sue’s big day, that could be the excuse you use if anyone says anything but then again, why should you care to make excuses? If you enjoy his company that shouldn’t be an issue. Maybe Sue won’t care. She’s always wanted Johnny to settle down with someone nice and you’re nice, right? She’s also wanted you to find someone too. But her best friend and brother getting together probably isn’t what she had in mind.

The song Crazy In Love by Beyonce comes on and Sue practically summons you to the dance floor, so you down the rest of your wine before you rush over to join her. Skipping the regular moves, you and Sue both start dancing like it’s just the two of you. No move off limits as you both grind your hips in circles, shaking your asses and laughing your heads off. She is the only person in this world that can make you laugh like that and you feel incredibly lucky to have her and to be here for her big day.

As your moves get more risqué you catch Johnny adjusting his cock in his dress trousers before drinking more of his beer.

The tension is building within you and you’ve never had to fight temptation so much in the whole year that you two have been doing this. You’re usually very good at waiting and making him wait for it but right now, it’s too hard. The next song that comes on is Check On It by Beyonce, again.

The more of the song that you dance to, you notice the lyrics surprisingly match your situation and a wave of confidence drenches you like rain.

If you got it flaunt it, boy I know you want it While I turn around you watch me check up on it Oh you watchin me shake it, I see it in ya face Ya can't take it, it's blazin’, you watch me in amazement

You continue to show off your best assets, making sure you tease and wind him up more before you make any kind of move which is what you usually do. Any time the two of you fool around, you make him wait and earn it, but it’s one of many reasons why he loves hooking up with you, you’re not easy, you know your worth and you’re 100% worth the wait.

The song finishes leaving yourself and Sue breathless almost. Reed stalks closer, handing his bride a drink and you head over to the bar to get another for yourself before sitting back down again. The buffet will be available soon and you’re desperate for something to eat. Peckish isn’t the word.

“Hello again” Johnny beams and you sip some more wine, a rather big sip yet again before you respond “hello. Are you gonna sit here the whole night?” you question with genuine curiosity, he only really danced a little when the Grease song was on but that’s about it and you aren’t oblivious to the other women checking him out.

“No i intend to dance i just need to be drunk enough for it first”

“I see, maybe then one of those lovely ladies will get a chance to dance with you” you say, observing one in particular who has been staring non stop.

“Please, i’d rather dance with you”

Your heart skips a beat and dare you say it, your vagina develops one. He’s such a sweet talker.

“You looked good out there, y’know” he motions towards the dance floor as if you didn’t already clock on to what he meant and you can’t deny the way your cheeks start to heat up as you thank him shyly.

That’s when he leans closer to your ear, his arm round the back of your chair again as he rasps “and that ass of yours in this dress, baby you got me so hard” his breath fans your neck as he returns to his normal sitting position but he doesn’t miss the way your breath hitches at the dirty comment. He knows all too well the effect he has on you and you know the effect you have on him.

In the past all it’s taken for him is for you to bite your lip and stare him down for him to get hard before. You’re his weakness.

Before you can even go to respond to him though, he clears his throat, tapping away on his phone as he stands up “anyway, if you’ll excuse me, nature calls” he slips his phone back into his pocket, walking away towards the toilets which just so happens to be right behind the DJ.

Your phone buzzes and you check to see a message from him ‘You coming?’ the text reads.

And that alone is enough for you to choke on your own saliva. You quickly sip your drink before standing up yourself and making your way over to the mens toilets. Thank God no one saw you.

“Johnny” you whisper yell until one of the cubicle doors opens, the bigger one at the end. He winks at you as he appears in the doorway and you strut over to him, allowing him to pull you in and lock the door. Your body is flush against his as he starts to kiss your collarbone first. If Johnny is anything it’s a man who loves to savour the moment. He hates quickies and loves to take his time with you.

You’re obviously not the first woman to fall victim to his touch but you’re the only one right now and you’re glad that he’s had experience, it’s clearly made him all the more sensational  in the bedroom.

“Oh” you throw your head back on a quiet moan, hoping not to be too loud despite music blasting outside making it impossible for anyone to hear you.

“Every time you dance, you drive me crazy. Shaking that perfect ass of yours in this dress, making me want you so bad” his lips hover over your sweet spot, his breath fanning it just like it did before.

You wrap your arms loosely round his neck as your back arches and his lips attack your neck like a man possessed, everything about this moment should feel wrong and yet it feels so right. The thought crosses your mind that everyone is out there dancing and most likely eating now all while Johnny is playing with your dress, lifting it up to reveal the new panties that you brought for today. Purple lace to match your dress.

“Oh baby” he groans, tugging on his bottom lip at the sight as his fingers wonder down and slip inside. His cold palm cups your sex making you shiver in surprise before he makes you forget all about it by spinning you around so that you’re pressed against the wall. Caged in by his muscular body as he towers over you.

He presses a chaste kiss to the back of your neck and heat starts to rise to your cheeks, you can’t contain the flustered feeling that fills you. He’s always had a way of being so dominant and stealing all control from you in an instant, since you’re so used to the roles being reversed in your life, he was more than into changing that. And to tell the truth, it’s one of the many reasons that you keep coming back. He pushes you out of your comfort zone in more ways than one.

His fingers play with the flimsy material of your new panties, grazing over your clit multiple times until you’re poking your ass out into his hand. “Someones keen, huh?” his low, raspy and taunting chuckle fills your ear sending shivers up and down your spine and causing goosebumps to form all over your hungry body.

“Please, Johnny” you beg pathetically, once again pushing back against his hand in hopes that he’ll get a move on and touch your properly. Which of course he does. You know he can never resist your charm. All the more reason why he’s slipping your panties to the side now so that his fingers can circle your arousal covered hole, almost dipping into your honey pot but holding back.

“Beg for it” he growls, taking your right earlobe between his teeth and biting down lightly “beg like the good girl i know you are” he continues and you gasp before breathing out a quick plea “p-please touch me Johnny, i need it” as your hands find purchase on the wall.

The feel of his knee spreading your legs apart gets you all the more excited for what’s the come and that’s when he gives you all that you’ve been craving, slipping two thick digits inside of you, coating them in your juices as they hit that spongy spot. He’s never had much trouble when it comes to finding your weak spots, he knows your body inside and out at this point and there’s not a time where you don’t cum when you’re with him.

“That good baby? My fingers getting that little cunt ready for my cock”

Your eyes roll to the back of your head in reaction to the pure filth leaving his not so innocent mouth and just as you go to let out a near enough pornographic style moan, throwing your head back too, the restroom door opens making you stop yourself. Footsteps make their way to one of the cubicles that just so happens to be next to the one your in.

Johnny then takes it upon himself to pull his drenched fingers out of you, reaching his hand in front of your face and shoving them into your mouth for you to suck on, using his free hand to undo his belt and now you know that you’re done for. You know exactly what he’s about to do. His cock rests at your entrance, staying there for a second before he slides in. Your walls welcome him in the best way, wrapping around his cock as he splits you open, stretching you beautifully yet again just like he does every time. The all too familiar feeling consumes you.

“You’d better be quiet if you don’t want to get caught” he mutters in hushed tones, switching it up so that his hand is fully covering your mouth, suffocating you as he drags his cock along your warm velvety walls deliciously. Obviously you don’t want to get caught but right now the anticipation of what could happen is enough to make you clamp down around him, earning a hiss.

A noise that obviously catches the attention of whomever is next door to your cubicle since the unsuspecting gentleman speaks up “are you okay in there, man?” shit. It’s Ben. You feel a wave of shame wash over you as Johnny picks his pace up slowly “yeah, everything's fine” he chirps, as if he has all the time in the world to converse when he’s buried balls deep inside of you.

“If you say so” Ben responds before flushing, washing his hands and then leaving the room. Now it’s just the two of you again. Johnny takes full advantage of the alone time by pushing you right up against the wall, your cheek squished against the tiles, his calloused hands splaying across your ass cheeks now and spreading them apart. Only so he can take a good look at the way he disappears into your tight chanel with ease.

“Doing so well baby, taking this cock like a fucking pro” he grunts, wrapping his hand around your neck and pulling your head back with the help of his other hand grabbing a fistful of your hair at the scalp but keeping your whole body pressed into the wall.

Sinful moans escape your mouth and at this point you’re way past the point of caring or trying to be quiet. Unless someone walks in then you’re going to let go and revel in the feel of him. The way his body traps you in makes your clit pulsate, you love being manhandled and you always have but only by him.

Anyone that takes even so much as a look at Johnny, they think ‘player’ and they’d be right but they’d also think he’d never be the type of man to be as filthy as he is in reality. Not only has he got a foul mouth on him but he’s kinky not to mention skilful in more areas than one. Dick and tongue game on point as well as those magical digits of his and the way they dance across your sex both delicately and brutally all at the same time.

You’re certainly not complaining though. 

“Fuck, Johnny” your back arches even more so than it was before as you shakily cry out his name with the kind of want that only he can spur on “what is it baby?”

“Don’t stop, i’m so close” you whimper desperately.

His pace is now rendering on animalistic as he fucks you into the wall with such vigor, wanting nothing more than to feel you come undone all over his cock, something he’ll never grow tired of.

“Come on then baby, give it to me” he eggs you on, keeping one hand wrapped around your neck still, tightening as the seconds tick by whilst his other hand smacks down on your exposed ass cheek, making it wobble a little which earns him a satisfied hum.

The two of you go crazy with you pushing back to meet his thrusts and him spanking your ass, both of you hungry for that release.

All of a sudden though the blaring music coming from outside stops. Making you panic. Johnny on the other hand is so close to reaching his peak and he knows you are too, so he doesn’t bother to stop.

But you hear the faint laughs of the wedding guests before what sounds like the DJ addressing everyone. Fuck. This better not be the speeches. You had one planned and so did Johnny.

He continues to fuck into you, grunting, growling and panting in your ear, driving you closer and closer to that edge. You can feel the coil twisting and turning in your stomach, on the verge of snapping at any second and you don’t think you’ll be able to hold back the noises when it happens.

“Gonna make you cream all over this cock baby and best believe i’ll be filling this sweet cunt up with my cum”

You rest your hand over his around your neck as your whole body starts to shake. You clench around his cock some more and just as you can taste the orgasm, the addition of his fingers pressing down on your clit push you off the edge and your head drops back onto his shoulder. The music starts up again, allowing you to really enjoy this. Your mouth hangs open whilst you scrunch your eyes closed, seeing stars as you fall into a pit of ecstasy. You can feel your legs shaking and threatening to give way but luckily for you Johnny moves his hands to your waist, wrapping around you so he can hold you up whilst he comes close to reaching his own end.

“Fuckkkkk, squeezing me so good baby”

You do it again for good measure and sure enough, he twitches inside of you, his hot cum painting your walls just like he said and a fucked out spent smile forms on your face making him laugh when he sees.

He rides the two of you through your highs before his thrusts come to a halt and he slowly pulls out. He then grabs some tissues, dropping to his knees and pressing yet another chaste kiss to your clit this time before cleaning you up. He can see that you’re struggling to stand so the second he’s done he rises to his feet, pulling you flush against him and then proceeding to push you up against the wall.

The two of you stare deep into each others eyes for a couple seconds, both of your chests rising and falling as you try to normalise your breathing. That was certainly an adventurous, dangerous and thrilling experience, one that you won’t be rushing to partake in again anytime soon. But it was amazing to say the least. The way he’s looking at you right now makes you want to throw caution to the wind and kiss him. So you do. You crash your lips to his, wrapping your arms loosely around his neck and as expected, he kisses back. His grip tightens on your hips, pulling you even closer if that’s even possible.

“What was that for?” he asks as you come up for air and you shrug, not even sure of what it was yourself. But all you know is you like him and this isn’t just some fling to you, some form of messing around until the two of you get bored. There is a genuine connection there, one that you can’t wait to explore some more.

“I don’t even know” you giggle, pecking his lips again.

Silence falls upon the two of you before he finally blurts out “go out with me” as if he’s telling you rather than asking.

“What?” you furrow your brows in confusion.

“Go out with me, on a date”

“I thought Johnny Storm didn’t do dates” you quip back, raising your brows with a smirk to match “i don’t but i’d like to try if it’s with you” and that alone warms your heart. The same heart that’s been crushed and broken so many times before and it’s almost like he’s mending it. Not that you’re complaining.

You take no longer than a second to think before you’re agreeing and kissing him some more. That’s when the music stops and you both look at each other.

He quickly zips up his pants, doing his belt up again and shrugging his jacket back on before turning back to you. With you both now looking decent again, you get him to check your makeup, he wipes the stray bits of mascara that smudged before kissing your forehead.

He lets you leave first whilst he waits an appropriate 2 minutes before he heads out too. No one suspected a thing and now it’s time for the speeches.

This is definitely going to be a wedding to remember...

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

Me and all my hoe personalities after writing this one: 

General Tags: @deadlymistress24 @coffeebooksandfandom @chris-butt @holtzkinnon @mychemicalimagines @llamadelreyx @haus-of-bitch-talk @buckstaybucky @thewinchestergirl1208 @chrissquares @patzammit @dummiesshort @cevans-fics @americasass91 @toni9 @aaliferous @bradfordmyworld @thereisa8ella @kaminorogers @yassspose @randomsevans 

Just Chris & His Characters Tags: @onetwo3000 @persephonequeenofthedead @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @rynabarnesrogers @princess-evans-addict @stxvercgersslut @chris-evanslover @bval-1 @thejemersoninferno @denisemarieangelina @janeyboo @evansphnx12 @whxre4cevans

LMK if you wanna be added to my tag list...

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 14

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: The guardians keep trying to include you in various activities to keep your mind off what's troubling you since you won't talk about it. However, one of these activities turns out to have a, shall we say... slightly less than desired outcome.

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: Thank you to @quillsandtypos, @theambracer88, @mcugiggles, @marvelouslyfluffy and all the anons who participated in my questionnaire post! As you probably guessed, I'll be using the answers (and any future ones, if anyone else still wants to play) to complete some fluffy scenes in the story! Also, for my records this chapter ends on day 23 of the Guardians living with reader. Enjoy!

Word Count: 4,683

Rocket, though he finally had a way to repair the device, had decided to wait a bit before actually doing so. Hell, he had waited this long, certain that his smuggling had been in vain once he found one of the parts had broken on... ahem, "departure," so what was another day or two? It was obvious they were going to be here awhile anyway, so he wasn't too rushed.

One might wonder, how was Rocket able to smuggle anything if SHIELD had searched him, already having found and confiscated contraband he had hidden in his "back pocket?"

Well, Rocket wasn't an idiot. He knew of other ways to smuggle goods on his person. Or, in his person, rather. That being said, maybe to say he wasn't an idiot might be giving him a bit too much credit... Swallowing the pieces of a small data pad might not have been exactly the safest thing to do, though he had given himself a pat on the back for rightfully assuming the Terran's wouldn't think to put him through a body scanner.

He had been damned lucky that nothing had gotten lodged or had punctured any of his innards on the way through, but hey, it worked, didn't it?

Well, mostly.

As said, a part had broken on "departure," which he of course blamed on Gamora and Mantis for rushing him in the bathroom that first day. If that bug-eyed chick didn't have such a tiny bladder then he could have allowed for a more "graceful landing."

No matter, he now had a way to fix it thanks to you. This had admittedly softened his attitude towards you the tiniest bit, though he wasn't going to admit it, nor was he going to completely let his guard down. Use of your workshop was probably just another bribe to win his favor, after all. Just like the bed. He was definitely going to take advantage of it, don't get him wrong. He wasn't just not going to use the tools available to him. Just like he wasn't going to just not sleep in the bed you built him. It was better than sleeping in the crib, though he had been grateful the crib had been left in the room when you left the bed. He had been hiding the pieces of the smuggled device under the crib's mattress -the only good use he saw for it, other than the fact that Groot actually slept pretty well in it- because boy, if the others had found out he had smuggled that in, they would have been pissed. Hence, why he wasn't in too big a hurry to fix it just yet.

Perhaps it couldn't hurt to maybe fix that broken stool in the shed for you, though. Just for a warm up, not because he thought he owed you anything, of course.

***

The evening of the check-in you had found yourself with nothing to do and back in the thoughts that had plagued you since the couple came, and you once again considered pouring yourself a glass or two of whiskey.

Yondu had been leaning against the counter enjoying a snack when he saw you retrieve the bottle from the fridge. Remembering the previous night he raised an eyebrow at you. The last thing he wanted was to witness a repeat, but thought he'd still keep an eye on you. Cut you off again before/if you started to look a little too "weepy." He had doubts that you even remembered what you'd done the previous night, and this was confirmed when he made a lighthearted comment about, "Ya goin' to take it easy tonight, or will I be needin' to cut you off again?" and you raised an eyebrow at him before saying, "What? You didn'- Oh right- I think I do remember you taking my drink now that you mention it," as you set the bottle on the table and went to retrieve a glass from the cupboard.

You now sported a slight blush and, pausing your actions, asked, "I um, didn't say or do anything embarrassing to have warranted that, did I?"

Yondu looked you right in the eye, and lied. "Nope. It was just clear ya had a bit much. Figured I'd save yer wimpy Terran liver." He laughed at your slight pout and added, "Ya just whined at me fer takin' yer drink and then fell asleep. Nuttin' too excitin'."

Yondu could see the relief on your face and it solidified his lack of regret of not telling you. Sure, he might have wanted to crack the mystery to see why you were the way you were, but not like that. He hadn't expected the previous night's display, and if anything, it made him feel like he should back off. Yes, it prompted more burning questions, but even he knew there were some things you just didn't pry into.

Around that time Peter and Kraglin came into the kitchen, messing about and horse-playing. You considered telling them to break it up, but then decided you didn't actually care enough as long as they weren't about to break anything... or anyone. You were about to make your standard polite offer of a drink when suddenly a rip was heard and Peter whined out, "Aw man! You ripped my favorite shirt!"

Sure enough, their rough-housing had managed to rip the seam along the left-shoulder of Peter's dark blue shirt, leaving a sizable hole of a couple inches long that revealed another white shirt underneath.

You rolled your eyes and told him where he could find the sewing kit.

Peter looked at you sheepishly and said, "I don't know how to sew."

You sighed and said, "I guess I'm not doing anything..." and you began to walk towards him and the exit of the kitchen, abandoning the bottle of whiskey on the table without having poured a drink.

Peter took off his ripped shirt and in a surprised voice said, "Oh!- Thanks-" starting to hand you the shirt as you walked past.

You didn't take the shirt, just looked at him as a laugh escaped your throat. "I didn't say I'd do it for you. I meant I'll teach you." With that you cocked your head towards the door and headed out towards the sitting room.

As you walked away you shook your head and muttered something Peter couldn't hear but assumed was an insult as he blushed both from embarrassment at his mistake and from hearing Yondu and Kraglin now laughing at him. He wordlessly followed, not wishing to make more of a fool of himself.

Watching Peter leave, inspiration struck Yondu. It might be overstepping, and might have been a long shot, but it was worth a try. He nudged Kraglin in the arm to get his attention. "Ya remember last night? How things got a little too..." he searched for the right word.

Kraglin finished for him, "Sad? Yeah. I remember." He caught sight of the bottle on the table. "She back at it tonight?" He and Yondu hadn't discussed what happened when he had returned to the kitchen after walking you to your room. It had gone unsaid that you were in a bad way.

"She was gonna," Yondu answered, "but then you two came in and gave her something to distract herself. Might not hurt to keep doing that for a bit."

"Ya wanna keep her busy?" Kraglin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Better than watchin' her drown herself in a bottle," Yondu replied flippantly with a shrug, but Kraglin could see through his blasé attitude.

He was slightly surprised, but not completely opposed to Yondu's suggestion. You had been drinking a lot the past few days. It didn't take a genius to see that something was obviously wrong, and he knew better that drinking like that only made sad feelings worse. If this had been the Eclector, and you part of the crew, he or Yondu would have cut you off well before now once they saw the pit you were digging. You just don't let sad people drink themselves into a stupor. It's bad form. But this wasn't the ship, and you weren't crew, and they couldn't stop you. They were in your house. They've barely known you for three weeks. He knew they couldn't just order you around, but if a little bit of distraction kept him from seeing you looking that sad again and kept you from hiding in the bottom of a bottle, he was for it.

Yondu spoke again, more or less repeating Kraglin's thoughts back at him. "I know we're on her turf, but someone's gotta do somethin'. It's bad form to just let h- to just to let a person drown like that. She needs to get her mind off what's been troubling her."

Kraglin examined the former captain's features. There was something else there. An emotion behind his eyes the first mate was familiar with after years of faithful service. Cap'n might not always be the best at admitting his softer feelings, but Kraglin knew. He could see it.

It was a look similar to the one he wore after he finished telling Rocket just how alike they were, right before they went to fight Ego. It was the same look in his eyes he had shortly after Peter came aboard the Eclector as a boy and it was decided he wasn't going to be delivered to Ego. One Kraglin even thought he recognized being on the receiving end of when he was a younger lad on the crew.

Kraglin smiled, a soft mix of understanding and sadness. "Sir," he said gently.

Yondu grunted in response and glanced at him.

"First, I do agree with ya, we should help keep her mind off it, but I just gotta say this too." He sighed before continuing. He knew Yondu wasn't going to like what he was about to say, but they were alone now, so he felt safe to say it. He knew if he said this in front of anyone else it'd a a surefire way to put Yondu dangerously close to whistling territory. "We can't be getting too attached, now."

Yondu glared at him. "Who said anythin' about-"

"Sir, all respect and all, but I think I can say I know ya better than anyone else here." Kraglin said, having cut Yondu off with a slight chuckle. "I can see it, I can tell when you're getting attached." His tone got slightly more serious, more comforting. "I don't think it'll be good for ya to get too attached, sir. We'll be leaving here eventually, and we know she ain't gonna be coming with us."

Yondu set his mouth in a firm line and stared Kraglin down hard but didn't say anything. He knew his first mate was right, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. Finally he answered with, "I ain't gettin' attached to nuttin' or nobody."

Kraglin sighed. If he knew anything else it was that Yondu could also be stubborn as hell. If he wanted to live in denial, well there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. "Alright, sir," he said with a shake of his head. "I believe ya." He didn't, and his tone betrayed that, earning him a narrowed eyed look from Yondu, but they dropped the conversation, at least for now.

***

Showing Peter how to sew went fairly smoothly. He seemed to grasp the concept well enough, watching you sew the first third of the tear - not the easiest task with your brace on- and then repeating what you had shown him on the rest himself. He finished soon enough and thanked you before leaving the table.

However, almost immediately after that Kraglin showed up with something ripped and asked if you could teach him too. You sighed, and mildly scolded him about how come he couldn't have asked while you were showing Peter, but you agreed regardless. Again, it wasn't exactly the easiest task considering you only had a limited range of motion to move your arm, but you managed. After he finally seemed to get it (he asked a lot of questions, even if he understood, assuming it'd be helpful to keep you occupied for longer) you noticed it had gotten dark out, and you were tired anyway, and so when it looked like he had a handle on it you decided to just go to bed.

***

The next day it seemed like people just kept asking you to do things. Not like they were ordering you around, but more like asking you to do things with them, which they hadn't often done.

It wasn't all bad, but you had the feeling it wasn't just a coincidence that they were seemingly trying to keep you engaged in various tasks and activities after Maria had informed you that one of them had expressed concerns about your well-being. You didn't know if they were now acting on their own or if Fury or Agent Hill had suggested it, but either way you figured you'd just roll with it. If you made an effort maybe they'd be happy and drop it.

That morning, before you realized what was going on, Mantis came to you with a book on plants and asked you to help her identify different plants around the property. You had almost said no, perhaps another time, but then you saw the expectant look on her happy face and decided you had time to kill anyway, so what could it hurt?

It was about when you were asked by Mantis and Drax to join the others for a game of UNO that you started to suspect what was going on.

Before this, Peter had kept coming up to you wanting to show you funny videos he found, having recently discovered the YouTube app on the TV; Yondu had come to you with an archery book and tried making small-talk asking about Terran types of archery; and Gamora and Kraglin asked you to help ref while everyone sparred.

You had agreed to reffing, feeling a little better than you had been all those days you had refused and now therefore not seeing any reason not to.

It was a slight bummer though, needing to sit on the sidelines and watching others train, but you supposed watching them to see if they knew any cool 'space moves' couldn't hurt. Plus, watching how the raccoon was able to hold his own against human-sized opponents was always interesting. Groot sat with you, not being permitted to spar with the others (except for when Rocket would decide to pretend spar with him, just to make him happy) and he was adorable as he played with the grass, so it wasn't all bad.

After that everyone else was pretty much tired, but Groot came up to you with the car you had given him, holding it above his head. You raised an eyebrow and looked to Peter, who informed you that the little guy wanted you to push him on it. You did, because how could you possibly say no to that?

What was cute to Peter, however, was the fact that no one had prompted Groot to do that. He just genuinely wanted you to play with him.

After a while of playing with Groot is when Mantis and Drax had come to you about playing UNO. Now you were getting a hint of what they were doing, but you agreed to play a few games with them anyway. You even caught yourself actually starting to have fun.

Around suppertime Peter came up to you, asking if you could teach him how to cook something. He talked about how he thought it'd be fun to learn to cook more things from his home world, and also reminded you how you did say several times that he could 'help you cook later.'

You sighed and after some more prodding from Peter you finally agreed, asking him what he might like to learn how to cook.

Peter looked like a deer in the headlights before admitting that he didn't actually know. He didn't remember a whole lot of different Terran foods from when he was a kid, and he was now drawing a blank.

You nodded towards the kitchen and told him the two of you would figure it out.

After looking for a bit you decided on a vegetable stew, mostly because this had been unexpected and you hadn't pulled any meat from the freezer to thaw.

Peter was surprisingly not bad at it. He handled the knife safely, he cut the vegetables evenly, and he listened as you told him what to do and when. You wondered if he had some experience cooking before, but you didn't ask.

After dinner Gamora wouldn't take no for an answer on helping with the dishes, of course using your injury as an excuse. You sighed, but allowed it, agreeing to dry while she washed, still under the impression that if you just indulged them for a bit they'd eventually stop and start leaving you along again.

Just as you finished Peter came to the two of you asking if you wanted to see a new movie he found on Netflix.

Figuring it wouldn't hurt to make an effort, you agreed to watching a movie with them and followed into the sitting room, wondering what film he had picked out.

Turned out, he had chosen a horror movie. Candy Man.

You sighed. Obviously you weren't completely immune to jump scares, but you didn't really mind horror movies. You could even go as far to say that you enjoyed most of them. However, you were concerned about Mantis, who you could see sitting happily on the rug in front of the couch next to Rocket as you entered the room.

"Are you sure this movie is appropriate for everyone?" you ask Peter.

"What? You scARed?" Rocket taunted with a smirk, and it was then that you saw Groot on the rug as well, having been sitting in Rocket's lap.

You roll your eyes and explain that your concerns were for the wooden child and Mantis, as your time spent with them hadn't made you very confident that they would recieve a scary movie well. "I'm more concerned the movie's gonna give them nightmares," you explained as you took a seat at the end of the couch.

Gamora seemed to agree with you, but the two of you were outvoted. Rocket just rolled his eyes and snarked that he bet you were scared, and Mantis assured excitedly that she could watch it. Groot, even though you couldn't understand him, also seemed adamant. You had a feeling they didn't really know what they were getting into, but combined with the fact that Mantis was an adult, and Groot wasn't your child, and Peter was doing his best to convince you and Gamora that everything would be fine, you eventually gave in, stating, "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. She better not crawl into my bed tonight. I'll send her your way."

Peter just laughed and shook his head, not taking you seriously, before turning out the lights and taking a seat next to Gamora at the other end of the couch. Kraglin took the last available seat between you and Peter and Rocket smarted off again.

"If you're gonna get scared maybe Kraglin will hold your hand!" he laughed as Peter turned on the film.

You rolled your eyes at him and crossed your arms over your chest, refusing to look at Kraglin to give the rodent any satisfaction that he might have succeeded in embarrassing you. This, Kraglin was grateful for, because he was sort of an easy blusher, and he didn't want you to get the wrong idea. He just gave Rocket an unamused look, but he was also grateful the lights had been dimmed so that Yondu couldn't see him blushing and then tease him for it. Whether or not the former Ravager captain would actually believe Kraglin might have managed to develop feelings for you wouldn't matter. That fact that Kraglin had just told Yondu the previous night that he shouldn't be getting attached would be enough for him to jump on it and tease the hell out of him purely out of spite.

Despite the movie being old, it was still relatively new to you. You had heard about it, thought you remembered seeing a commercial or maybe a clip or two of it over the years, but this had been your first time actually watching it.

It was about halfway though and nothing terribly scary had happened yet. There was the flashback scene of a little boy having been mutilated that made you cringe, as any show that featured little kids being harmed always hit a sore spot, but it didn't really show much more than a bloody bathroom.

You were starting to think it probably wasn't going to be any real scary scenes, but then Candyman started to call the college lady's name, and it actually made you fight a shiver. You didn't know why, but creepy sounds were one of the few things from a film that could actually strike fear in your heart. Thankfully it didn't last long. You weren't looking forward to being teased for jumping or shivering at a movie that wasn't really even that scary.

At least it would mean that Mantis would be unlikely to crawl into your bed scared tonigh-

Candyman just shoved his hook through the college lady's medicine cabinet.

Half of everyone jumped, including you. Among those startled was Kraglin, and he shot you a glance that you purposely didn't return, not wanting to answer to any cocky smiles or teases accusing you of being scared.

A shot came on the screen centering on the baby Candyman took and you tensed, worried he was going to kill it, but you were relieved to see that he only let it suckle on his finger.

Kraglin felt you tense and then relax beside him, and he frowned, remembering the other night. He considered asking if you were alright, but then thought better of it and held his tongue, instead watching on as a scene played where the lady was now stuck in a mental hospital, having been believed to have killed her best friend and said baby from the previous scene.

Yondu didn't think he liked this movie, but he continued to watch in silence. He didn't want to see kids being hurt, and he had also tensed at the previous scene. Like you, he was sure that the bad guy was about to kill the baby. However, as he was sitting in his usual spot in the armchair, his tension went unnoticed.

Mantis let out a short scream when the lady summoned Candyman and he killed the psychiatrist. You sighed, realizing this wasn't looking good for her staying in her own bed tonight. Little did Peter know, you hadn't been kidding. If she tries to crawl in with you, you're sending her right to him, seeing as it would be his fault.

The lady was now exploring Candyman's lair, and you started to get a little tense at the creepy sounds of his breathing, and you mentally cursed whoever mixed the sound for this movie.

You got even more tense and fidgety when he opened his robe to reveal a ribcage full of bees. You only hoped no one noticed to tease you for it. Body horror was another thing that never failed to make you shudder.

Eventually the movie started to come to a close, a scene played where the lady's jerk ex-fiancé was having flashbacks to how good he had it with her now that she was dead, and you thought it was just going to end on a sad note.

That is, until he said her name, Helen, five times in the mirror (just like Candyman) and she came back and killed him with the Candyman's hook. Her sudden appearance made you startle slightly, and you heard more squeals from Mantis. You sighed again. Yep, she was definitely not going to sleep tonight.

The movie was finally over and Peter got up to turn on the lights. He turned to see you giving him a glare and he smiled. "What? Was it too scary for you?" he jeered.

You just pointed down to Groot. He had his head buried in Rocket's chest and was softly whimpering. "I told you that movie wasn't for kids."

Rocket scoffed at you and told you he would be fine, then turned it on you, saying how he felt you jump at least three times from where he was sitting.

You rolled your eyes and ignored him, turning to Peter and this time gesturing to Mantis, who still looked a bit shaken. "I meant what I said. She tries to crawl in bed with me, I'm sending her to you," you say, leaving to go to go get ready for bed, both because it was now late, and to avoid any inevitable further teasing from Rocket.

The others seemed to have much the same idea about bedtime, and a few of them followed you up the stairs.

You let Mantis shower first, hopeful that if you went after her that she might hopefully be asleep by the time you got out. However, when you finished your own shower, Peter had thought it'd be funny to jump-scare you as you exited the bathroom, grabbing your shoulders and shouting, "CANDYMAN'S GOTCHA!" which resulted in you jumping a mile with a noise you'd deny was a shriek before you turned to punch him in the arm scolding, "Damn you!"

He, along with Rocket, only responded by laughing their asses off at you. You thought you could also hear Drax's own booming laughter down the hall from his room, and you caught a glimpse of Yondu and Kraglin sharing amused glances and snickering from their shared room.

Your face getting warm at the fact that he had actually managed to get you pretty good, you then just storm off to your room, ignoring Rocket's teases that he bet that you'd be the one crawling into Mantis's bed tonight.

You shut the bedroom door behind you to see Mantis awake and clutching her bear for dear life. Whether she was just already awake due to nerves or you had woken her with your startled cry, you didn't know, but you flicked on your desk lamp for her, turned out your overhead light and crawled into bed without a word.

Sometime later, long enough for you to have drifted off into a decently sound enough sleep to be dreaming, you were startled awake by someone crawling into your bed.

Guess who. That's right. Mantis.

You groaned and turned to see she had already crawled halfway into your bed before you stopped her by rousing. "Mantis," you groaned, pointing towards the door, "go climb into Peter's bed. He's the one that chose the movie."

Mantis tucked her chin sheepishly and admitted she had already tried that, but his and Gamora's door had been locked.

You stared at the ceiling and sighed. Clever bastard.

You made a mental note to squirt lemon juice in his coffee in the morning before letting out another groan. "Ugh, fine. But just this once," you allowed, ignoring the fact that this would actually technically be the second time. You were also not actually quite as salty as you let on. If anything, you should maybe thank her for waking you from a bad dream involving the Candyman's ribcage full of bees, but you weren't going to tell her that.

She smiled gratefully and thanked you as she snuggled in.

You sighed quietly and Mantis fell asleep quickly. At least she didn't snore.

You spent the next bit before you fell asleep yourself contemplating different ways that you might be able to annoy Peter for sufficient payback.

[cjsinkythoughts]

FATWS One Shot #3 - Stars, Stripes, and Bubbles

Word Count: 1912

Warnings: Cursing, Fluff, erm…a Relationship that You Want to Happen but Know Never Will

Setting/Characters: The first part of Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 after Steve’s hostage mission; Reader, Steve Rogers, mentions of Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, and Nick Fury

A/N: This…isn’t what I thought it was gonna turn out to be. But I like it, it’s cute, and I needed something pure with the shield after that ending scene, so I’m posting it.

I have a few more One Shots planned that take place during TWS so I’ll be writing those today and tomorrow. This week is a lot less hectic than last week (I was being trained in another area of my job last week, hence crazy hours), so expect more One Shots coming this week. Again, I’m trying to post them chronologically, but there might be some out of order depending on what you guys request and when, which is totally fine!

For today, I have the Reader meeting Sam (which is kinda what this was supposed to be, but…oh well) and more about the notebook planned. Also Reader meeting Bucky unofficially for the first time because he’s, you know, brainwashed and stuff. Later this week I’m planning on AoU stuff which will include the Party Scene and Wanda interactions.

If I can get through those by Friday when the new episode comes out, I’ll start on CA:CW which will include Reader officially meeting Bucky and possibly the airport scene if you guys are interested in that. Then I’ve got some Wakanda scenes and some Peter interactions. If not, I’ll start CW:CA next Sunday. Once the backstory is set up and completed chronologically, I might go back and just write some drabbles and stuff of random moments - kinda like this one. 

I did get a request earlier for Bucky’s perspective on the dancing scene in Part 4.2, so I’m planning on doing more rewrites of scenes in Bucky’s perspective, but that’ll come after the One Shots, so hopefully next week.

I think that’s all…umm…yeah. Once again, not beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you so much for reading! I’m so glad you’re all enjoying this almost as much as I am! Be kind to yourselves and others! Enjoy reading and stay tuned!

FATWS Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts Masterlist

The beeping of the timer made you groan and set down the book you were digging into. You were just starting to get to the good part, but the food smelled so good, so you decided it could wait.

You were so focused on your task of getting your breakfast ready that you didn’t hear your front door open or the footsteps that followed it shutting, the thud of boots hitting the floor just around the corner. Setting the ready food on the counter, you jumped at the arms that wrapped around your shoulders and waist.

“Shouldn’t you be more observant for a spy?”

You gave a hum at his deep voice, tilting your head slightly as he placed his cheek on your shoulder, nose pressing up against the column of your throat. “Shouldn’t you be heading over to the Triskelion for your debriefing with Fury?”

He growled at the mention of the mission he was just sent on yesterday morning. The first few assignments he had surprised you with how quick they were over, but then you remembered yours were a bit different than his and you got used to him being back within the next couple days.

“We don’t have secrets right? I’m so fucking tired of secrets.”

Your eyebrow quirked up as you turned to face him, his hands slipping down to your hips. You took in his state; he was still in uniform, dirt on his face, hair unruly, the shield on his back gray with the dust that covered it. He obviously hadn’t even gone to his own place yet, meaning he just got back. “What happened?”

He huffed, letting go of you to rub his face tiredly. “Natasha. She didn’t tell me that Fury sent her to do something other than what we were supposed to be doing.”

“They’re spies, bubs. It’s what they do.”

“You’re a spy. You wouldn’t do that.”

Chuckling a little at his comparison, you shook your head. “Our relationship is a little…different than yours and Nat’s.”

“I wish they’d put you on my missions. I don’t know why they don’t. We work well together, don’t we?”

You snorted. “That’s probably the reason.” At his confused look, you shook your head. “Never mind. Just…we’re closer. I know you better than they do. You can’t compare them to me. It isn’t fair.”

He grumbled, eyes glancing down to your feet. “They still should’ve told me.”

“Hey,” you tilted his head back up to meet your gaze. “It was a hostage mission, right?” He nodded. “Did you save the hostages?” Another nod, which made you shrug. “Then there you go. You did your job and you saved people. It was a success. That’s all that matters.”

“He got away.” Steve argued. “He got away because she didn’t feel the goddamn need to tell me-”

“She was following orders. Don’t be mad at her.”

“You’re right.” His quick admission stunned you for a moment, until he continued speaking. “It’s Fury’s fault. I think I’m gonna go-”

He started moving away, but you tugged him back, shaking your head again. “Not yet, bubba. You can talk to him later. Let’s get you cleaned up first. Then we’ll eat and you can tell me how that run you went on yesterday was. Okay?”

His features softened and he nodded, setting his forehead against yours. “Okay.”

You had half of your dresser sectioned off for Steve’s things. SHIELD had moved him to DC about a year previous to be closer to HQ, especially after the Helicarrier became decommissioned for repairs. You already had an apartment in DC - it was where you stayed for the most part, hence the reason you were more than willing to stay in New York for a couple years. 

The moment he moved in about ten minutes from you, you knew, just like in DC, he’d be spending a lot of time at your place. Which is why you made the executive decision to have him bring a bag over one night and unpack his stuff.

It wasn’t the first shower he took at your place and it most certainly wouldn’t be the last.

While he was cleaning up, you got to work washing his suit and the shield. You teased him by saying you’d just throw his suit in the washer and the shield in the dishwasher, but you wouldn’t actually.

His suit was air drying by the window and you were at the sink scrubbing off the shield, wishing you had a backyard and a hose, when he padded back into the room, hair plastered to his forehead, dripping down his temples, sweats and a t-shirt clinging to his body. He shook his head, leaning on the counter besides you. You always found it amusing how big he looked in your tiny kitchen.

“You know you don’t have to do that, right?”

You scoffed. “If you think I’m gonna let you walk around in that disgusting thing all day, you, my friend, are nuts.”

He chuckled, moving behind you and setting his chin on your shoulder, his larger hands stopping yours from their movements. “At least let me do this, then.” He murmured, taking the scrub brush from you, spreading the bubbles over the rings of the shield.

“You can help me. But I like finishing what I started.” You whispered back, reaching for a clean rag and dunking it into the soapy water, wiping down the star in the middle.

He placed a gentle kiss to your jaw, relenting easily. “Fine.”

You two worked in silence, the water running over the shield, taking the dirt and grime with it, hands occasionally brushing each other. Almost finished, Steve placed his hand over yours, moving it over to a certain spot. “The brush won’t get it.” He explained, his low voice sounding right beside your ear.

Smiling, you turned your head to look at him. There was a crease between his brow as he concentrated on getting rid of the smudge on the precious metal. Your lips turned up when you noticed a dark spot on his jaw he must’ve missed. He looked at you with a grin when you started giggling. “What’s got you giggling so pretty, honey?”

Letting go of the side of the shield you were holding, you reached up to wipe the dirt on his jaw that he missed with your thumb. “Can’t let that handsome face of yours get stained. And, speaking of stains,” you turned back to the shield, holding it up for the both of you to look at, the soft light from the window above the sink making it shine even more. “You think we got it all?”

“Hmmm. I think you missed a spot.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “What? Where?”

He leaned closer to the shield, face right besides yours, cheeks practically brushing together. “Right…here.” His hand that you didn’t notice cupping water, came up and splashed your face.

You let out a shriek, stepping back, further into his chest, your jaw dropped. “Steven! My pjs!”

He cackled, leaning back and holding his chest, before gasping when you did the same thing back to him. “You’re on!” He grabbed his shield and filled it with water, making you squeak and try getting out of his hold. Stupid Super Soldier strength. He dumped it on you, water falling on your head, sliding down your back and making your pajamas stick to you. You quickly retaliated, grabbing the facet and turning it towards him, laughing at his shout.

The water fight continued for a few more minutes, bowls and cups coming into play, with Steve diving behind the counter and you slipping on the floor.

“Woah, there, honey!” He chuckled, the chortles coming from your lips reassuring him that you weren’t hurt. He leaned over you, reaching his hand out. “You okay?”

You nodded, taking his hand. “Let’s call it a truce, yeah?”

“Truce? Hell no! I won!”

“You did not! You just got lucky!”

He pulled you up, tugging you close. “Alright, alright. Fine. A truce. Let’s get you into some dry clothes, now. Don’t want you gettin’ sick, honey.”

You shook your head. “That’s actually a myth.”

“I’ll take note of that.”

An eyebrow of yours raised. “In that little notebook you never let me read?”

He smiled innocently. “Maybe. I added something else yesterday.” He informed you while tugging you down the hall to your room.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man Soundtrack.”

You hummed with an approving nod. “Yeah. That was a good suggestion. Who gave it to you?’

“This guy I met on my run.” He shrugged, heading over to his dresser as you grabbed a couple towels. “Sam Wilson. He seemed like a good guy.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded, grabbed another set of sweats and a shirt, before turning to you and taking the towel you handed him. “Yeah. He served two tours in Afghanistan. Now he’s working down at the VA. Told me to drop by sometime.”

“Aww.” You stood on your tiptoes to ruffle his hair. “My bubba’s all grown up and making friends.”

He rolled his eyes, ducking away from your hand and running his own through his hair. “Yeah, yeah.” His smile dropped as he looked at the clothes in his hand. “I think I’m gonna head out now. I should talk to Fury.”

You frowned. “You have all day, Steve. Just eat first, okay?”

“Okay.”

He was holding something back, you could tell. Picking out your clothes for the day, you decided to question him about it. “What’re you thinking about?”

Your backs turned to each other, you started changing, just as you’d down countless times before. “I was thinking about going to the Air and Space Museum again. If you wanna come.”

“You know I do.”

It was quiet for a few more minutes, only the sound of rustling clothes and zippers filling the air. “I-I think I’m gonna go after. To see her, I mean.”

You froze, keeping your heart and your breathing steady so he wouldn’t pick up on anything. “It’ll be good for you. She…she always knows what to say.”

“So do you.”

You cleared your throat, finishing with the final touches of your outfit. “I actually forgot that I have some stuff to finish up at HQ today, so I dunno if I’ll be able to go-”

His hand grabbed your wrist, turning you around, eyes pleading and face fallen. “Please. Please come with me. Honey. I need you there. With me. Please.”

You inwardly cursed yourself for falling for those puppy eyes, a soft sigh leaving your lips. “Okay, bubs. I’ll come with you.” You might regret it later, but the relief that washed over his features was worth it for now. The power he had over you scared you, especially since you knew he didn’t realize the hold he had on you, but you couldn’t help it. It happened quickly, swiftly, and you were down before you recognized it. And you didn’t know how to deal with it other than taking it one day at a time.

“Let’s go get some breakfast, now. I can promise it’s at least decent.”

The beam he shot you made your heart flutter no matter how hard you tried keeping calm. “I’m sure it’s better than anything I could ever make.” He pulled you close, lips brushing over your forehead. “Thank you.”

“For what?” You sighed, leaning your head against his, eyes closing.

“Existing.”

***********

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All Works Taglist (Open):

@happygoreading​

@bibliophilewednesday​

[arhvste]

MIYA ATSUMU - PROVE EM WRONG 

- summary - irked by his brother and his wife’s flirting in front of him, astumu decides it finally time to prove to his family that he too has settled down and with someone he genuinely loves at that - fluff - x f reader

- an - this is the alternative route to the osamu fic i wrote which is based off of this ask an anon sent in earlier, someone suggested i do both brothers with this plot and i think they were joking but i did end up getting a little carried away and writing two different routes for it so here u go >:)

-

“Oi, Samu! Stop flirtin with ya wife right in front’a me and get cookin, I’m starvin!” Atsumu whined as he rested his head against the kitchen prep counter which was currently occupied with countless cooking utensils scattered across the cool metal surface and various ingredients dotted around.

“Yer just jealous I have a gorgeous wife and you don’t” With a smug smile, Osamu wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist bringing her  in close enough for him to press a quick kiss to her flour dusted cheek.

“Yuck! Not over the food I’m beggin ya!”

She giggled and pulled her husband back in close to her before turning to give a quick smile to his irritated twin.

“Perhaps we should find you a girlfriend Tsumu! I know a few people who I’m sure would be at least willing to go out on a date with you.”

“Yeah, you’d probably have to pay em first!”

Atsumu huffed before sitting up properly with a smirk painted across his face.

“Actually, no need. I’ve got a girlfriend already.”

Osamu narrowed his eyes at his brother unsure whether to believe him or not. Atsumu was known for being sly especially when it came to him.

“Really? How comes we’ve never met ‘er then?” Osamu quizzed, eyes boring into his complacent brother’s.

“Cause she’s always busy and when she’s not she’s usually at my practices, besides, media’s a pain in the ass we don’t want them following us and bein annoyin wherever we go.” Atsumu spoke matter-of-factly.

Still not buying his brothers claims, Osamu thought of something that would surely catch Atsumu out of his potential lie. He nodded towards his wife to back him up and she sent him a knowing smile already knowing what he was thinking.

“We were thinkin of having the family over this weekend for dinner cause we’ve got an announcement to make, why dont’cha bring yer girl with you?” Osamu observed his twin watching for any signs of panic or discomfort but Atsumu’s face stayed content as if he was trying to provoke the couple in front of him.

“Lemme see if she’s free, I only have training in the morning but I’ll check if she’s got anythin going on before I drag her out.” Atsumu pulled out his phone as he stood up after checking the time. “Ah shit, I gotta get back, Omi’s gonna kill me if I’m late one more time, see you Saturday I guess.” He shrugged and waved to the confused pair left in the prep kitchen.

“Yeah, see you and yer girlfriend then.”

Atsumu smirked as he headed out to leave for practice, the sudden excitement for Saturday to arrive flooding his mind.”

If there was anything Atsumu loved more than you, it was proving people wrong.

“y/n! Baby I’m home!” Atsumu called out, entering the sleek apartment closing the door securely behind him.

“Coming!” Your melodic voice called out to your boyfriend bringing a smile to his face. He heard the sounds of your feet padding across the heated floor towards him. After a few seconds of waiting, you finally reached your tired boyfriend who offered you a lazy smirk as he brought you into his arms.

“There’s my girl.” He muttered pressing a feathery kiss to your cheek before pulling you in for a deep kiss to your lips. He pulled you in even closer, hand supporting your lower back and the other moving down to give your ass a quick squeeze signalling for you to jump so he could carry you. Never letting his lips leave yours, Atsumu dragged his hand from your back to help his other hand in supporting the weight of your body now your legs had instinctively wrapped around his slim waist as your hands carded through his soft golden tufts. He carried you over to the couch and sat, having you straddle his waist before pulling away to allow yourselves to catch your breaths.

“What’s gotten you so worked up?” you huffed as you leant back slightly to look into his glinting eyes.

“Nothin much, saw Samu and his wife earlier… they don’t believe you exist.” A pout etched onto his face as you raised your eyebrow.

“Should I be offended?”

“Nah, guess they’re right, they haven’t met’cha yet, but we’re both so busy we never found the time to introduce ya.”

You hummed as Astumu pouted, face buried in your neck, his warm breath tickling your neck.

“Actually,” Atsumu began. “Would’ja mind comin to meet them on Saturday? Like, my whole family. You can say no if yer busy or if yer not ready I totally get-”

You shut the boy up with a quick peck and smiled gently at him.

“Tsumu, I’d love to meet your family.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course.”

Atsumu felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder, he didn’t think convincing you would’ve been that easy. He was confident that you would’ve been open to meeting his family at some point, but there was still the lingering thoughts of doubt in which you may not have thought he was taking you or the relationship seriously, but after seeing your genuine smile and hearing your firm answer, Atsumu’s doubts washed away and a satisfied and relieved smile came over his face.

“They’re gonna be so mad when they see just how hot my girlfriend is, yer gonna show everyone who comes up, I just know it angel.”

You playfully hit your boyfriend's chest with a firm look on your face as he laughed.

“Don’t say that! I bet your family's great Tsumu, I can’t wait to meet them.”

Although you’d already said yes to meeting his family, Astumu felt his heart warm at the sound of you saying you were excited to meet his family. The fact you were happy to be involved even more in his life only made him want to let you even further in if he could. Atsumu was never really one for long-term relationships hence why he’d never bothered introducing any previous girlfriends to his family because he knew it would end eventually due to the fact he had to spend so much time travelling and at training. He had been taking a break from dating when he met you. You were introduced as the new MSBY social media manager, you were given the task to run the team’s official social medias, monitor the player’s accounts and keep an eye on certain articles while organising interviews and event appearances. It was a big job but you took it head on from the get-go thoroughly impressing Atsumu who made no attempts to hide his interest in you. Hell, he even went as far as to get scolded by you a few times for posting some risky shirtless pictures to his instagram purely for the fact he knew you were monitoring the accounts and that you’d see them.

5 months later and Atsumu had finally convinced you to let him take you out on just one date. But one date soon turned into two, then three, then seven and the rest was history. He wasn’t sure why you’d eventually given into his persistent flirting and whining but he didn’t particularly care either. He had you now and that’s all that mattered. You were the only girlfriend he’d had who understood and accepted his demanding work schedule because you yourself were on a similar schedule which he thanked the heavens for. Thinking back, Atsumu probably should’ve brought you to meet his family sooner but with the excitement of constant games, intense training, interviews and event appearances and grasping onto whatever time he could get alone with you, proved to overpower the thoughts of how significant it is for your partner to meet your family.

Whatever, they were getting the chance to meet you this weekend so better late than never he supposed.

Saturday rolled round quickly and you and Atsumu were exhausted from a weeks worth of demanding work but there was no way in hell Atsumu was going to forget about how he needed to wipe his brother's smug smirk off his face when he introduced his incredible girlfriend.

Dressing nicely, the two of you rushed out of the apartment a little later than planned but Atsumu didn’t mind. Being a little late just meant more people would arrive before him allowing him to make a big entrance and cause a scene about who he’d brought along. You weren’t an accessory to Atsumu and he hoped you weren’t thinking that’s what today was about. Sure he had a petty side goal, but he was genuinely proud of you and would show you off whenever he could especially in front of the other MSBY players who’d only scowl at him when he’d wrap his arms around your smaller frame from behind while mouthing a ��mine’ for the other men to sulk over.

You arrived after a 15 minute drive and Atsumu opened your door for you guiding you up towards his twin’s spacious home.

Knocking a few times, Atsumu gave your hand a quick squeeze of reassurance as you felt your heart pound ever so slightly quicker at the thought of meeting your boyfriend’s whole family.

The door was opened by Osamu who already had a look of amusement written across his face, ready to ridicule his brother for lying. His face dropped when he saw you holding his brother’s hand and blinked a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

“He didn’t pay you to come with him did he?” Osamu questioned with shock as Atsumu sent a sharp flick to his brother’s shoulder. You hummed in amusement before smiling lazily at your boyfriend’s twin.

“My presence is an extremely high price, I doubt he would’ve been able to afford it if he wasn’t so persistent and annoying.”

“Tsumu, I approve, I like her.” Osamu snickered before letting the two of you enter his warm home filled with members of the Miya family.

A chorus of welcomes came their way as many family members rushed over to gush over how ‘out of Atsumu’s league’ you were and ‘why had you wanted to date someone as messy as him’ only for you to laugh brightly and tell his family countless stories about Atsumu’s antics at training and post match celebrations.

Astumu didn’t even mind you were poking fun at him every so often, growing up with Osamu had gotten him pretty used to it but he was more focused on how naturally you fit into his family. It was like you were meant to be a part of it. 

Watching you as you spoke and laughed with his family, Atsumu let his thoughts wander to when and how he’d eventually go about making you officially part of his family one day.

general taglist → @atsumuwoah @bloody-bella @bbymilkbread @miracleboy420 @doggonudez @atsunakaashi @peteunderoos @tsukishimagizzard @saturnfarie @toffees-main @zumisace @boosyboo9206 @totorosleaff

[teresa-moyocoyotzin]

short recap of my thoughts on 5x09

okay so i was gonna rewatch the whole episode and do a blow-by-blow reaction post but i’m not sure i’ll have time and i kinda wanna focus on watching my fave scenes from the show before tonight. also, everyone else’s reaction posts p. much sum up my thoughts lol 

nonetheless, i just wanted to give my main takeaways on the episode a week later, in case anyone cares where i’m at going into the finale! gonna go over the things i liked first, anyone who wants to just remain positive and not see any salty takes might wanna just stick to reading the first part b/c i definitely rant a bit at the end lmao. we’re still having a fun time tho 😂

THINGS I LOVED

- i mean... i think we know LOL

- obviously. i loved james and teresa’s i love you scenes, and kisses, and OOF THAT SEX SCENE. if someone had told me we were gonna get that scene back in like 2017??? i probably would have started literally floating. i totally respect that people had very specific ideas of what they wanted out of those scenes and could have different feelings about it but NOT ME BABES I AM ECSTATIC!!! i did go into the episode with a ~feeling~ that we were gonna get at least one ILY in the episode, and i just had a feeling it would be james, or at least that he would say it first. i’ve already explained in my meta about the scenes why i think it makes sense that he said it first and why i love it that he did, so i won’t go into that here. but i went in having really no expectations for it other than that it was gonna happen! i was debating about whether it would happen really casually while they’re talking, or in like a big action scene, or really dramatic or what, and what i would prefer, and i came to the conclusion that i would love it no matter what lol, but i was really into the idea of james just. fucking. saying it. while they’re just talking about something really casually. so therefore i was pretty happy with it when we got sort of a mix! they’re talking about teresa’s insane death trap of a plan so there’s that drama of “i don’t want to lose you esp. not before saying ILY” kinda thing, but it’s also just. so simple and sure! and then teresa’s i love you is like the perfect scene for me where one character is super focused on something else (in this case, trying to protect the woman he loves! agh!) and the other is just like.. i love you!!!! SO GOOD

- let’s see, what the hell else happened in this ep?

- oh okay i really liked james and teresa’s vibes this episode, they were so focused on each other and had this very ride-or-die feeling about them like they knew that each of their plans was increasingly stupid and desperate and might not even get them where they wanna go, but they were IN IT TOGETHER no matter what 😭i wish we had gotten a callback to that line but at this point, i’m p. sure they Know they’re in it together, and we do too. so it’s okay. i love that teresa still asks his input and considers his opinions even if she does her own thing anyways haha 

- oh on that note, i LOVED the moment where their plans to kill Kostya aren’t working and Teresa says something like “If I can meet with him in person, I can kill him myself” and James just has this LOOK that just is the epitome of the “I am in love with a women who is DESIGNED TO STRESS ME OUT” meme lol, it made me giggle, v classic QOTS moment 

- oh and of course, I LOVED that scene with devon and james at the end!!!!!!!! i was also confused about how james was showing all his emotions in that scene esp. since he tries to be stoic about his feelings for Teresa around Devon, but now that i’ve read a few people’s thoughts about, it i’m fully on board w the theory that james and teresa already knew this was coming, b/c they’re smart, and b/c james knows devon wouldn’t have let him walk away to save Teresa at the beginning of the season without motivation (like having him in place to kill her when she’s no longer useful to the CIA) and THEREFORE james was sort of “overacting” to make it believable to devon (and the audience lol) that he didn’t know this was coming, didn’t want to do it, but felt like he had to, rather than the fact that they were already plotting a fake death. that makes a lot of sense to me and makes me really love all the layers to that scene. it does give me a little bit of hope that the finale ~teresa’s not really dead~ reveal will be at least a little well executed and not just shoved in at the very end. we shall see though! 

- alright i think that’s what i loved about the episode, if u don’t wanna hear me bitching about the little things then u should probably stop here!! just have to get out some of my saltiness lol 

THINGS I WAS ANNOYED ABOUT

- i’m just gonna get it out of the way, yes, i too was supremely annoyed at the amount of KA and Pote take suburbia; it was all 1000% predictable down to the raccoon and the cookies, and the point could have been accomplished in exactly 1 scene, maybe 2, certainly not like 10 or however many we got. whatever. ugh. 

- okay. OKAY. chicho. we need to talk about chicho. i for one, am not mad that he called pote, my boy was stressed. I AM HOWEVER, mad at the writers for making pote come back after saying he trusted chicho to take care of teresa now. like. it totally devalued THE WHOLE THING!! imo, pote shoulda stayed his ass at home where we had to watch him settle all episode, and chicho should have gotten THE HERO MOMENT HE DESERVED (esp. cuz he’s on first name basis w teresa now??) which ALSO WOULD HAVE MADE THE SCENE WHERE TERESA GIVES CHICHO THE DISTILLERY AND THE BAR SO! MUCH! MORE! MEANINGFUL!!!!! or just made it make sense at all? like .... i’m just so confused by that whole plotline like what was the point? chicho does nothing but call pote and gets T’s whole legacy in NOLA? 

- and don’t even get me started on how it makes ZERO sense that pote would have had to charge in at the last minute to save teresa when JAMES THE SNIPER W AMAZING AIM WHO IS LITERALLY. IN LOVE WITH HER. is standing outside like. ur telling me james and chicho (who again, is supposed to be her #2 after james now) just stood there like “oh hey pote yeah you go ahead we’ll wait here good luck” like WHAT also.. how did pote get past all the guards that made james stay outside? are we meant to believe pote is that sneaky? y’all. it just. doesn’t make sense. this whole plot situation maddens me more than anythings tbh UGH JUST MAKE IT MAKE SENSE 

- oksana’s daughter..... what’s her name again? idk b/c we only MET HER THIS WEEK....okay this amuses me but i’m also annoyed b/c like. there were so many other women who could have taken that spot in the opening sequence... Lil T, Castel, hell even Isabela??? Like idk how they could have done it but they put so much effort into her plot in the first seasons that i really thought she was gonna end up w/ Teresa in the end.. idk that would have been kind cool, Camila’s two “daughters” eventually working their way out of the life together..again idk how they could have realistically done it but i really do wish it had been someone we met before. if it had to be someone new this season, they could have introduced her earlier instead of one of the seemingly dozens of random guys we knew for 1 episode before they died... like.. give her some depth please. is she even gonna be in the finale? honestly she better be after making us listen to pote welcome her into the family... like the family u were supposed to leave so u could have an actual baby pote? the family that’s literally dispersing as we speak? also.. since when did pote love oksana so much anyways? also...... just.. if teresa’s gonna have some sort of daughter figure or whatever she’s supposed to be, wouldn’t it make sense to have her be the one to give the big welcome to the family speech? idk y’all..... i’m amused but also baffled at the sheer lack of planning behind this. did no one realize they needed someone for the opening scene until like. halfway thru the season? did they plan to have it be castel but they couldn’t get her for filming (hence all the weird castel plots?) INQUIRING MINDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. it’s whatever tho lol 

- i just hope that what’s-her-name gets a lil bit of plot in the finale esp. since otherwise it might just be pote running around being pissy (i don’t actually think that haha but i am a lil nervous that teresa won’t come back until the last few mins and i’ll have to spend all episode looking at boaz and devon and pote and KA.. i haven’t looked at any spoilers tho so i’m still hopeful! i will probably make a post about my hopes going into the finale a lil later, both realistic and unrealistic :) 

[faebriel]

ok ok I'm insane and couldn't pick one so have two (no need to answer both if you don't want to)

“You talk to him.” Not kindly, but he does.

“I’m used to him,” he shoots back. “I’m the only person who is.”

That makes Niki feel something, some uncomfortable tug in her chest. She mentally kicks herself. It’s not jealousy, she reminds herself, because despite the near-cliff jumping and the long nights without food and the nuclear fallout that has punctuated her last few months, being jealous of Tommy would be the least reasonable thing she’s allowed herself to be, maybe ever.

“You don’t believe me,” Tommy says flatly. “You never - eugh.” He cuts himself off with another ragged sigh, running a hand down his face. “Look, Niki, it’s - we were all together in Pogtopia, right? But I was there first. With him. And you didn’t see the start of it, it was horrible, and I’m glad no one else saw the beginning of it either but it was still just so shit and he kept saying all these terrible things about Tubbo and Fundy and you and,” he takes a shaky breath, “then, when I died, I saw him.”

Her breath catches in her throat.

Well, the voice in the back of her head whistles. If you were still wondering about all this afterlife bullshit, if you want to know where you’re going after your third life, here you go.

and

“You didn’t even - this isn’t about L’Manberg, Wilbur!” Niki shouts.

And then he stops, breathing hard, and he looks at Niki the same way he does whenever her voice is being drowned out in a crowd - the way he does when he wants to hear her, when he wants to know what she has to say.

“What else is there?” he asks.

Niki freezes. Stock still, unable to move, unable to breathe, ice threading its way through her gut, her chest, her shoulders, chilled down to the bone. With slow-dawning horror, she can feel hot tears welling up behind her eyes, sitting in her throat, threatening to spill over into a sob. She swallows - to keep her cool, to stay calm, to keep it together -

And then, something in her chest just snaps.

“You said you’d come back for me!” she cries, and her voice hitches on the lump of tears at the back of her throat and god, she sounds absolutely pathetic. Wilbur’s face softens immediately, which somehow just makes her feel even worse. “In Manberg. When Schlatt put me in prison, and you and Tommy were in Pogtopia, you said you’d break me out when it was safe. I waited for weeks , Wilbur. It was… it was horrible.”

“Niki…” a kaleidoscope of emotions flicker across his face, and he seems unsure which to settle on. “We got you out though, right? After the festival.”

“You looked for the button first,” she says quietly, and he stills.

Her sniffling sounds embarrassingly loud against the quiet background of night.

thank you sm!!! i’m gonna put these under the cut because they got a little long sorry (tw for discussion of suicidal ideation)

to preface: tommy is kind of the accidental but incredibly necessary invisible support beam for niki and wilbur’s making amends in bitter. niki cannot accept wilbur’s actions and apology without first acknowledging her own actions and making steps towards an apology, because otherwise it kind of falls flat? in that ending scene niki finally gets what wilbur is feeling and wilbur finally gets that someone else knows how he feels (it’s not perfect 100% yet, but…. that’ll get explored later)

onto the actual snippet! “tommy talks to wilbur - not kindly, but he does” was very important to me! tommy has stuck by wilbur ever since pogtopia, but the tragedy is that he is not equipped to deal with wilbur’s issues, and it shows. wilbur’s first stream after revival depicts this really clearly, where tommy tails wilbur around the whole time but insults him, is still stuck on calling him the villain, physically fights him at some point, etc. on one hand this isn’t healthy but on the other hand tommy is actually around, which is more than can be said for basically any other ally wilbur has had on the dsmp, maybe excluding his dad, who literally killed him lmfao.

this whole issue is exacerbated by the fact that tommy believes that he is the only person who properly understands wilbur, the only person who gets what happened to him, and feels like wilbur is generally his burden to bear. he failed to stop wilbur from both 1. hurting other people and 2. killing himself after the pogtopia-manberg war - and he doesn’t trust wilbur not to do either of those things again, so he’s stuck hovering around wilbur while wilbur is inadvertently setting off his own trauma and feeling responsible for any way he might fuck up and hating that but not wanting to leave. tommy’s memory isn’t perfect and he isn’t a perfect narrator, what he remembers from pogtopia the most were the scariest parts and that’s understandable but it means he’s holding wilbur to the worst expectations of behaviour (and he does so very vocally). the others showed up later, sure, but in tommy’s eyes he’s the only one who saw wilbur’s descent, and by the time they showed up wilbur had already changed irreversably. tommy tries to rationalise this by splitting the ‘different wilburs’ apart from each other in his head (he does this in canon too - there’s one quote from like late 2020 where he says he and tubbo need to keep on going for who wilbur used to be, not who he became, even though they’re,, the same person), and no one challenges that perspective, so he just keeps doing it even though it’s not healthy for him or wilbur.

and then limbo happened and, oh geez, THAT didn’t help jhfaskjjfsa

tommy is on a bit of a knife edge with niki in this fic. niki’s in this state of “ok, he’s annoying whatever, i’m moving on”, but all tommy knows is that she tried to kill him that one time, disappeared off the face of the map, joined a book club with two people who definitely do not like him, and now is just acting weirdly mellow and polite. she is not someone he wants near wilbur bc what the fuck is she gonna do? what is he gonna do? who knows. he’s frustrated that niki doesn’t seem to acknowledge how he’s feeling (especially bc once upon a time she would have been someone he trusted to acknowledge them - they were friends, they fought together) and he’s taking a big step by telling someone about his concerns here, especially bc tommy doesn’t really like talking about them at all. he wouldn’t be saying absolutely anything to niki if he didn’t truly believe she should stay away from wilbur, even if he’s wrong about him. (sometimes i think i write tommy as a little too emotionally mature here but it all goes out the window when wilbur’s brought up. idk if that balances it out)

ok onto niki: this is the first she has actually heard of limbo! she’s only just come around to the fact that resurrection is possible at all. death is kind of a touchy subject for niki both in general and re: wilbur in the fic - she’s coming off of a period in her life where suicidal ideation was, uh, a big thing (whether you want to read that into canon or not is subjective, that’s just the angle i went with in this fic). the sudden existence of a life after death, miserable as it is - and whether she really believes in such a place, when it only exists in tommy and wilbur’s words - that is a lot of information for her to absorb all at once. death is a weird connection point for tommy and niki here, coming right off of the fact that they’ve just acknowledged each other having those problems - tommy, out of, yknow, altruism, would very much like to keep niki out of that place, and niki is quietly reckoning with the fact that that is where she would have sent him. the concept of limbo from the perspective of a character with no experience of it, even secondhand, is so interesting to me like what kind of eldritch location would you feel like you’re living in asghjkl

(also - i gotta be honest the jealousy angle here but mostly when she’s talking later about dream not deserving wilbur’s companionship kinda came out after this post came across my dash while writing. whoops /j)

-

fun fact, this is the very first snippet of bitter that i ever wrote! all the way back in may!! this is like the moment of the fic - it's where the miscommunication that niki and wilbur have been having is shattered entirely - and so sticking the landing was uhhh kinda important to me lol.

wilbur's entire being in this fic is basically consumed by L'Manberg - he equates his self worth to it entirely. in his eyes, everyone (rightfully) hates him because of what he did to L'Manberg, because L'Manberg was corrupted and he himself with it, etc. niki tries to tell herself this, and while it definitely does form part of her issues with him, it was the betrayal that causes her this much pain - that he seemingly brushed her and their friendship off entirely when he supposedly left her for dead in manberg. because here is what we as the audience know: wilbur couldn’t leave niki in trouble when he heard her life was in danger, even when he was trying to find the button (pretty much the only thing he sees himself as having left at this point) and so he returned. here is what it looks like from niki’s perspective: wilbur told her to wait in manberg until it was safe to come to pogtopia, laid the place with TNT, went to blow up the place, and only returned when he couldn’t find the detonator (and then the first thing she saw him do in pogtopia was encourage the pit behaviour but that’s not what we’re talking about asdfgh). that is massive miscommunication and it’s been brewing between them for months - to make a quirky little reference to the title, niki has been carrying that anger with her so long it's gone bitter. it was never just about l’manberg with niki - not that anger, not her and wilbur’s friendship (hence the little flashback earlier in the fic, bc niki’s relationship to anarchism and statehood or statelessness juxtaposed with her friendships with wilbur and eret - she loves l’manberg bc she loves wilbur, but she loves eret too and those national ties don’t undermine that - is Real Interesting to me) - so when wilbur asks what else there could possibly be (because in his mind, what else could she have bothered staying around for?), she just fucking breaks.

“Niki freezes. Stock still, unable to move, unable to breathe, ice threading its way through her gut...with slow-dawning horror, she can feel hot tears welling up behind her eyes” - prose discussion time! heat and cold are two big throughlines in this fic - particularly for niki, cold is what she is. admittedly when i started with it i mostly wanted to subvert hot = angry and cold = dead but i kinda ended up enjoying this take on it for what it is instead of just as a subversion (also i like the idea of revived people running hot, their bodies r working hard to keep em going). she’s holding onto her feelings and refusing to deal with them, she’s frozen over. descriptions of cold are key to niki’s mental state throughout the fic - cold weight on her chest, feelings of frostbite when she and wilbur hug the first time, ice cold water during the dinner scene, waking up in the cold flat, etc. this was an attempt at describing a more visceral feeling of like, when you’re really mad and you can just feel the adrenaline running through your veins. always felt more cold than hot to me. when she starts to cry, the facade she’s been putting on is finally thawing out and cracking the ice she’s buried her feelings under. (also gives an excuse to write warm comforting hugs towards the end /hj). it’s a loss, it’s catharsis, it’s a whole mess.

and ofc this is all news to wilbur and he feels terrible, because as unintentional as it was, he really really hurt her - because the destruction of l’manberg fucking sucked but above all else wilbur hurt the people he loved because they loved him so much and not in spite of it, because they cared about him so deeply and his death was a massive blow to them. this hasn’t even dawned on him, because how could it? he respects deeply niki (lowkey respects her opinion more than his own at this point) so he has to listen, because it’s niki (“and he looks at Niki the same way he does whenever her voice is being drowned out in a crowd - the way he does when he wants to hear her, when he wants to know what she has to say” - because he does), and what she says fucking floors him. in his eyes, he failed her by putting her in danger and then by destroying her home - the idea that she valued him and their friendship so much flies entirely over his head until this moment, and he is forced to re-evaluate the mindset that has motivated him since… basically since pogtopia! the way i write wilbur is like… yes, he’s one of niki’s closest friends and he’s more aware of her insecurities and issues than most (which is why he does always take the time to listen to her, etc) but he does over-idealise her a bit. tbf, i think he does to some extent with everyone (calling tubbo strong on the anniversary stream, for example). also the fact that he really wasn’t around for niki’s lowest moments as a character! he still thinks of her the way she was in l’manberg - confident, steadfast, respected - and this moment shatters that for him as he realises exactly what effect he and his death had on her and everyone else, not just by his actions, but because they loved him and cared for him so deeply.

sorry that this got horrifically long!! and thank you so much for sending snippets in <3333

[bluegarners]

“someone slips on ice and gets hurt... hurt/comfort pls!” ~anon

For 12 Days of Batfam prompts! 

Gotham is cold.

He doesn’t mean that metaphorically, like Batman would normally brood over. Sure, Gotham was pretty heartless when it came to certain things, and yeah, Bludhaven wasn’t any better, and sure, Gotham sometimes felt like one endless cycle of insanity day after day, but he’s getting away from the point.

He’s talking about the frigid kind of cold. Not the kind of cold where snow falls lightly from the sky and dusts the world in white. Not the kind of cold where it’s just chilly enough to put on a jacket and some gloves and start a fire (a contained and safe fire, mind you- arson is not part of that description) and maybe sip some hot chocolate and roast a couple marshmallows for the heck of it. 

That’s the kind of crisp weather Dick would like, but as he said: Gotham is cold.

Which brings him to where he is now, jogging in place and trying his best to stay warm on what may be the most boring stake-out he’s done in months. His suit isn’t built to be warm. It’s not bulky and though it has kevlar in it, the material is meant to help stop bullets and deter knives from gracing themselves into his, unfortunately, vulnerable organs. Point being, the skin tight and relatively thin suit he’s wearing isn’t built for Gotham’s icy chill. 

His fingers had gone numb a while ago, and Dick’s absolutely sure he’s sporting a new shade of blue lipstick from Fenty Beauty, and were someone to see him, Dick’s also certain they might mistake him for Rudolph. He wouldn’t mind being recognized as such an icon, but it wasn’t exactly the sort of thing to intimidate criminals with.

Efforts at staying warm prove futile, and the exercise he tries to do without being obvious also does little to put back some feeling into his toes. He’s thinking about calling it a night, the drug deal he’d been hoping to catch the last few weeks a bust, when a classically suspicious white van pulls up. It’s laughable, in a way, how stereotypical some of Gotham’s “lesser” villains could be, but Dick’s not one to complain.

Makes his job easier after all.

Two men exit the van, shuffling through some contents in the back. They’re both wearing ski masks, somewhat appropriate for the weather actually, and seem to be in a hurry. Hushed whispers go between the two as they wait stoically by the front doors of the van, what looks to be a small ziploc back clutched in one of the goons hands. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s a drug deal, or at least something related to it, and Dick feels a smile creep onto his frozen face as another person slowly walks up to them, shifty and anxious.

A newbie then, Dick thinks, crouching down and carefully making his way closer to them from his vantage point. Must be a kid then.

Based on the height and general demeanor of the newcomer, it’s safe to assume that the buyer is indeed a teenager, at most a young adult. Perhaps not even old enough to buy alcohol. How they heard about the new drug, and where to get it, was a bit surprising, but seeing as the deal was happening in the poorer districts, Dick was sadly not perturbed. 

There are few quick words exchanged, an envelope of cash being handed over for the ziploc baggie, and Dick knows it’s time to finally take action. A good thing too, seeing as it feels like the soles of his boots had become suspended to the frozen concrete.

His entrance startles both parties, the men in ski masks immediately reaching for weapons and the teenager backing away, stumbling over himself in an effort to run. Perhaps if they were more experienced, or at the very least a second more prepared, they would have been able to put up some sort of defense. As it were, though, Dick had been stalking this particular drug for weeks. He knew where most of the suppliers were, knew what areas they liked to sell in, knew their demographics and the supply chain, and also knew who and what the dealers consisted of. 

This “new” drug was really just a potent mixture of PCP and bath salts. A dangerous combination, but not valuable enough to have competent dealers and proper weapons for protection. 

Which is why the take down of both men lasts all of about seven seconds, Dick easily knocking them out before they could reach for any weapons they happened to have in that van of theirs. He’ll give them props for trying though- it’s not everyday Nightwing, of all people, decides to ruin your one job.

With the dealers out of the way, Dick turns back around to see the teen, baggie in tow and still clutched tightly in his fist, booking it across the street. It’s dark enough to the point where the boy just looks like a flighty shadow in the night, but the flickering lamp-posts give just enough light to show exactly where he was heading. The confidence in his gait suggested that he knew where he wanted to go, and if Dick had to make a hypothesis, he’d say the kid was heading home. 

The only place in the world that could feel safe after something like this.

Dick feels a frown pull on his face, the skin tight from being exposed to the bitter air, and not for the first time, feels a smidgen of sympathy for the situation. He brushes it off though, shelving that particular thought of his to the back of his mind, and grapples onto the building over, pulling himself over the ledge. 

He follows the kid from the rooftops, leaping over gaps and darting across fire-escapes to keep up with the twists and turns the teen took. If he knew he was being tailed, then the kid was doing a pretty good job at evading, but he was no match for someone who had trained for years doing this exact thing. Dick may live in Bludhaven now, but Gotham would always be his first home. He knew this city almost as well as Bruce, and the only reason he didn’t know just as much was because he hadn’t given his soul away to it just yet. Bruce had shaken hands with the city and signed away his being when he donned the cowl. 

Dick was attempting to do the same with Bludhaven.

The kid bolts into an alleyway, coat flying behind him in his mad dash, and Dick thinks now is the time to stop the chase. He descends from the rooftop, landing in front of the breathless teen, and holds out a hand firmly. It’s a little funny, the scene he makes. Not only does he look like Rudolph, but with the pose he’s made for himself, he might as well be a crosswalk guard with his hand up to halt speeding cars.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he says, not unkindly. “Let’s do this the easy way, kid.”

The teen takes a step back, the drugs held tightly against his chest. “You’re… you’re Nightwing.”

“The one and only,” Dick smiles, taking a step forward. 

“But-but this is Batman’s city. Why are you here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Honestly, kid, that’s not your biggest concern right now. If I were you, I would be worrying about how to explain those drugs you’ve got there.”

As if realizing the contents of the baggie for the first time, the teens eyes dart to it, panic setting in as the situation’s gravity, and what it could mean for him, overwhelms him.

“Th-These aren’t mine,” the kid tries. “I-I swear I wasn’t gonna use them.”

“Uh huh,” Dick says, taking another step closer. “Why don’t you try again, uh, what’s your name?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

“Okay,” Dick shrugs, easing his way nearer. “That’s fine, I’ll just call you Buddy. Now, Buddy, there are two ways this can go. One, you give me that bag and you’ll only be reported for minor drug possession. Gotham has a fine ranging from 30 to 50 dollars for that sort of crime, so it won’t be too bad. The second option is, well, I don’t think you want the second option. So, what’s it going-”

Now, Dick could blame about ten different things for what happened next. He could blame his mouth, as he gets too chatty with the younger ones sometimes. He could blame the poor lighting, seeing even more difficult at this time of night. He could even blame the wind for being too loud, lest he would’ve heard the quick intake of breath and shuffling feet. 

Dick could blame many different things, but as it were, Nightwing was being pushed, hard, and he hadn’t seen it coming. 

The unexpected shove throws him off balance, arms waving in the air for some sort of hold, and Nightwing probably would’ve been able to stop the fall on any other night, but, as he keeps being sorely reminded, Gotham is cold tonight.

Gotham’s cold was unforgiving and instead of snow, it produced ice. And, lucky him, a patch of black ice presented itself right where his unfortunate footing was trying to find some stabilization. His feet fly right out from under him, all four appendages now in the air and flailing comically.

Dick has the awareness to at least look where he’s falling, craning his neck just so, and he internally groans as the sight of an open garbage can meets him. For whatever reason, Gotham liked using metal cans, of all things, and this one did not have a lid on it. 

Fantastic.

He can’t catch himself, his arms out of his control (Dick also blames the cold for the numbness in his hands and, hence, lack of grip), and it’s all he can do but brace for impact. Oh, he’s so going to-

The side of his head slams into the rim of the metal bin, and the world goes white. He crumples against the frozen ground, boneless and suddenly without vision. Something warm, or decidedly extremely cold, slides down his neck and Dick can barely keep his eyes open. There’s no pain, at least not yet his muddled head reminds him, but he can’t seem to move or do anything for that matter. Sensations fail him and the lack of any visuals besides the blaring white and static in his eyes scares him. His tongue feels fuzzy, and there’s something smooth and metallic dribbling past his lips, but his biggest concern right now is getting up.

Laying here, injured, was a big no no. Vulnerability was a dangerous thing. If he could just… If he could just move his arm, he might be able to do something. Call for backup maybe. There’s a drug bust that’s going to go down soon and he’s been tracking these guys for weeks now and it would be a shame if they were to get away. Those drugs were dangerous after all, and in the wrong hands could get someone killed. It could get kids killed. It could get his… his buddy killed. Did he have a buddy? Buddy?

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Dick hears the distorted voice from above, the sound crackly and pitchy. 

“Oh, god, I-I swear- oh my god. I didn’t mean to do that, I swear, I swear. Oh my god, what do I do. What do I- oh my god, I killed him. I killed him.”

If he could, Dick would roll over and try to console the obviously panicking person. He can’t exactly make out everything they were saying, but it sounded bad. What happened? Were they hurt?

A hand is jostling his shoulder now. 

“Sir, Nightwing, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please wake up, I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Wake up, wake up please. I’m sorry, oh my god, I didn’t-”

Another sound pings in his ear, like the toll of a tiny bell, but Dick doesn’t have the presence of mind to really register it. It’s the last thing he hears before the static overpowers him and the white disappears.

.

.

.

Tim hates being sick. He hates being benched even more, but he’s only benched because he’s sick. So maybe he actually hates being sick more than being benched. He’s not sure.

The head cold he’s been nursing, begrudgingly, the past few days has been steadily getting better. He woke up this morning without feeling like his head was being squeezed into a compressor, so it was progress. Alfred still won’t let him drink anything but water, something about hydration being key, but as he sips some hot chocolate from his favorite mug, Tim thinks that what Alfred doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

He’s on monitor duty currently, a task assigned to anyone who wasn’t out on patrol. Barbara was on a break tonight, taking the time off to sleep and try to catch up on other things, so it was left to Tim to handle the comms. It’s boring, horribly so, but it’s the only thing he’s allowed to do without being wrestled to his bed to rest.

He begins pinging everyone for their hourly check-in, a new protocol Bruce decided to implement after “the incident” (Tim still believes that the check-ins are unnecessary- it only happened one time! One time!), and waits for their response. He gets a few pings back, Spoiler being the only one to actually say hi, and waits for Nightwing to answer. 

A minute go by and Tim pings Nightwing again. Most likely, Dick was distracted. He’d said he was on a stake-out tonight, hopeful to catch some dealers in the act. Maybe he finally did. Maybe he didn’t. Tim doesn’t really care; the warm drink in his hands was making him sleepy.

Another minute passes, and Tim lethargically pings again. Concern is slowly seeping into his stuffy brain, but he’s deciding to give Dick a little more time to answer. Dick was a chatter-box sometimes, and though he doesn’t have a headache right now, Tim’s not eager to gain one.

“This is Red Robin, requesting a check in,” he says into the comms, frowning a bit when there’s still no answer. “Nightwing, report.”

He’s technically not supposed to do this, privacy being a very important part of all their lives, but the silence was making him nervous. With just the slightest bit of hesitance, Tim opens the communication line so he can listen to what, exactly, Dick is doing. The comms are two way, and with Tim having access to the main port, he can time into anyone's’ comm and hear the situation. Typically it’s yelling or curses on the other end, the normal reason for not answering the ping being a fight or some unavoidable situation.

What Tim isn’t prepared for, however, is the labored breathing that sounds horribly wet and pained. Like someone was breathing through a straw and drowning at the same time. Okay, not a great analogy, but he’s caught off guard and suddenly very aware of the fact that Nightwing is injured and, probably, incapacitated. 

There’s someone in the background as well, their voice not quite decipherable but panicked all the same. It’s definitely not a voice Tim recognizes and that amps up his anxiety a bit more. 

Quickly tuning to the shared channel, Tim urgently says, “Nightwing’s down. I’m sending out his location. Whoever is closest needs to get there ASAP. Someone’s with him as well, but I don’t know who it is. They might’ve been the one to attack him.”

“Robin and I are close. ETA two minutes,” Batman grunts, the slight pitch change an indication of his worry. “Is Nightwing’s comm broken?”

“No,” Tim sighs, unable to do anything more but listen to it all unfold. “He didn’t report in for the hourly. For whatever reason, he can’t respond. He’s injured, but I don’t know to what extent. He might be unconscious.”

“How long has he been down?” Robin demands.

“I don’t know,” Tim responds, growing frustrated. “He didn’t say anything earlier or call for backup.”

“Have Agent A prepare things,” Batman orders. “Treatment for hypothermia may be needed. Batman out.”

“Robin out.”

The moment of silence after is haunting, but the feeble breaths that come through a second later make Tim’s stomach churn. It fills the Cave, echoing and reverberating sounds of sickness and hurt.

He can’t turn it off though. He has to make sure Dick is okay. That he’s still breathing because although it’s grating and gut-wrenching to listen to, it’s a sign of life.

Tim hates being benched.

.

.

.

The one hundred and twenty three seconds it takes to get to Richard’s location is tense. It’s a blinking blue dot on the radar, flickering in and out as they draw nearer and nearer to the dank alleyway Nightwing was laying in. 

Batman and Robin had opted to patrol with the Batmobile that night, the bite of Gotham’s frost a needless pain to endure. Damian hadn’t made a comment about Richard’s foolish idea to do a stake-out in below freezing temperatures, it wasn’t his place to ridicule the man he looked up to on something so trivial, but Damian thinks he’s regretting that decision a bit. 

Richard listened to him. Not all the time, and frequently the older man possessed more knowledge on what was to happen, but he did consider Damian’s advice and for that, he was grateful. Now, Damian wished he had just slapped the man to get him to see straight. Clearly, the plan had been inane from the beginning, and now Nightwing needed to be rescued and assisted. 

An imbecilic situation.

They reach the entrance, or perhaps exit, of the alleyway, the path too dark to see clearly through. As soon as he opens the door, Damian hears the sounds of flighty footsteps and immediately plunges into the dim. He can see the figure now, a gangly and awkward excuse of a man running to the other end of the alley. Damian can sense Batman behind him in his pursuit, the comfort of backup strange. 

If this man, who they were chasing, was strong enough to incapacitate Nightwing, one of the best fighters in the world, then they may have a problem on their hands. 

Damian stops short though, almost falling onto his face as the gleam of ice appears in his peripherals. It catches the light of a dull and yellowing streetlamp, but it’s just enough to reflect onto the ice and reveal yet another figure, slumped over and unmoving.

Careful of the ice, Damian approaches cautiously, peering closely at the lump of mass laid against the brick wall. Batman keeps in pursuit, and soon, his cape disappears from the alley, determined to catch the fleeing perpetrator. Robin is alone now.

Taking out a flashlight from his belt, Damian directs its beam to the form and nearly gasps.

It’s Nightwing. Richard.

Immediately rushing closer, Damian is startled to see the sheer volume of blood weeping down the older man’s face, a stream of red that flows down his jaw and soaks the hemline of his suit. Taking in the situation, Damian sees the knocked over trash bin, a corner of the top suspiciously rust colored. Additionally, the ice patch that’s near the base of Richard’s feet, and the position he currently lays in, would suggest that Richard had fallen or been pushed over, slipping due to the ice. 

The amount of blood still flowing out of Nightwing is concerning, but if it was from a head wound, then it wouldn’t be surprising. As Richard liked to say, head trauma was the most dramatic trauma. 

The older man is unconscious, lips blue and face much paler than would be healthy. He doesn’t respond to Damian’s attempts at waking him up, including shining the flashlight directly into his eyes after peeling away his mask. However, in doing so, Damian also learns that Richard may be suffering from a concussion or worse, as his pupils barely contract when he passes the light back and forth.

“I have the suspect,” Batman says into the comms. “A teenager named Ben Purole. He claims he pushed Nightwing, resulting in him hitting his head on a garbage bin.”

Damian nods to himself, satisfied with the confirmation. “That is likely,” he responds, applying pressure to the now located head wound. “Nightwing is suffering from head trauma, perhaps a concussion, but appears to have no other wounds. He is bleeding and unconscious though. It would be wise to get him treated quickly.”

There’s a grunt on the other end to signal affirmation and less than twenty seconds later, Batman appears, carefully taking Nightwing into his arms and walking towards the Batmobile still parked at the entrance of the alley. Without prompting, Damian opens the side door, crawling in after Richard had been set to lay down.

The movement and sudden change in temperature seems to rouse him, a groan escaping his lips. Before Damian has properly fastened his seatbelt, the Batmobile is off, gliding easily across the icy roads. Father doesn’t like to drive fast during this kind of weather, though he knows the tires of the vehicle are built to grip onto slick surfaces, but there is a sense of urgency in the way he weaves between cars and runs lights.

“Wh’ happn?” Richard slurs from where his head rests in Damian’s lap.

“You were being brainless,” Damian responds, sniffing slightly, “and slipped gracelessly into a trash bin.”

“Skate?”

“No, you did not skate. What you did could hardly even be called falling. It was tasteless.”

“M’ head hurts.”

“Like I said,” Damian whispers, annoyance fading, “You fell. I believe your head collided with the edge of a metal bin.”

“Bleedin’?”

“Yes.”

“Con..concuss...con…”

“Yes, it is likely you have a concussion. You will be scanned when we arrive at the Cave to be sure.”

A moment of silence passes, nothing but the growl of the Batmobile’s engine to shake it.

“Richard?”

“Mmfph?”

“Are you… Are you alright?”

Two seconds.

“M’ cold.”

“Oh,” Damian says, slightly embarrassed. That was obvious, really. Why had he not provided a blanket yet? Or any sort of jacket or heat pad? Perhaps it was not just Richard being brainless tonight.

Gingerly, Damian shifts about, searching for anything that might provide warmth for the duration of the drive. He finds nothing though, the majority of their winter equipment most likely in the trunk. Richard’s lips are still blue and his shoulders shake in what might be shivers. His skin is cold to the touch, eyes squeezed shut and pained, and Damian cringes at the drying blood beginning to crack around his cheeks.

Now, Damian could provide multiple excuses for his next course of action. Not excuses, no, not that. He’d come to the reasonable conclusion that Richard was cold and may have hypothermia. There was also the conclusion that Richard most likely needed comfort, as he was still greatly disoriented and concussed. Damian’s actions were for the sole purpose of providing means of ensuring Richard’s safety as well, as even though Father was a good driver, one could never be too cautious, especially on such icy roads.

So, yes. Damian draping himself over Richard’s body in an awkward hug was purely for safety reasons. He intended to provide warmth with his own body heat and it was purely for Richard’s comfort. Nothing else. It was to help Richard. Damian did not need anything nor did he seek comfort. 

The hug was for survival reasons. Yes, survival. Exactly that.

Damian will never admit to the small smile that crept up his face when Richard hummed, a small and frozen grin of his own spreading.

The rest of the drive was spent in easy silence and when they arrived at the Cave, Tim and Alfred were waiting for them. By then, Dick had become slightly more coherent. Not exactly lucid, he still slurred his words just the slightest bit, but it was safe to conclude he was in no real danger.

Of course, as soon as he was cleared, Bruce took one last glance at Dick before heading back out again. Damian stayed in the Manor, watching his brother sleep on the cot they kept out for occasions like this. Dick had been given three blankets and a hot pack to hold onto. Hypothermia hadn’t set in, but the bright pink of his fingers and toes were a sign of future trouble if they didn’t immediately correct it.

Hours later, some time in the early morning when the sun had just barely begun to rise, did Bruce return. Alfred had sent both Tim and Damian back up to the Manor, a reprimand of something along the lines of, “Heaven forbid you two be the ones to catch a cold rather than Master Richard tonight,” shaming them enough to carry themselves to their respective rooms and settle in.

Taking off his cowl, Bruce’s eyes instantly travel to his eldest, still swamped with absurdly fluffy blankets and a ridiculous amount of pillows. He’s by his side in seconds, gazing at the color that had returned to Dick’s cheeks. Running a hand carefully through his son’s hair, Bruce frowns as he feels the familiar bumps of fresh stitches, his mouth pulling down further when he sees Dick’s brow twitch in irritation.

He keeps his hand there for a moment longer though, closing his eyes in what might be thankfulness. He’d left to check the garbage bin Dick had slammed into, scanning it for signs of rust or other ill-effects of time. Bruce had felt a surge of relief when he found no signs of oxidation in the metal, calling Alfred to tell him that tetanus was unlikely. Seeing Dick lay there, unresponsive and slurring, had scared Bruce more than he wanted to accept.

He’s a man always prepared for the worst, but never knowing what to do in the aftermath. That part of him that whispers his greatest fears screamed at him tonight, only subsiding once he’d returned. He was a coward, he knew this, but there was hardly anything else he could think to be.

“Bruce?”

He opens his eyes to look down, taking in the sight of his eldest son, rosy cheeked and smiling, no longer covered in red stains and frost. It was a good sight. A great sight. Bruce isn’t religious, but he might even call it a blessing.

“Hey, chum. How are you feeling?”

Dick responds by leaning into Bruce’s touch, content and warm. There’s a suspicious wetness building in the graying man’s eyes, but neither make a comment. It was rare, these moments between them. Far and few between, but appreciated nonetheless.

“I hate the cold,” Dick grumbles, sinking further into the mass of blankets. “Winter in Gotham sucks.”

As if on cue, a hearty sneeze erupts from out of Dick’s nose, startling the both of them. Dick sneezed like he was a married man with three children; purposely loud, dramatic, and with enough force to throw his back out. Bruce blinks, processing the sneeze and trying to decide if something like that was even meant to come out of a person, much less a concussed person. 

He needn’t think too hard about it though as a giggle, yes a giggle, makes itself known, filling the Cave with a lightness it doesn’t often experience. 

Dick is laughing and it’s one of the most beautiful things Bruce has ever heard, and he can’t help but chuckle too.

Gotham is cold, but the small med-bay felt like the warmest place in the world.

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Event! SP Granny’s Tailor Shop: The Issue of the Gold Delivery Man, Chen Fei Chapter 1: Chance Encounter (偶然相遇) Translation

“I didn’t expect this to be how my encounter with the gold-awarded delivery man, Chen Fei, went.”

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join my Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Event story tag will be #For Light and Memories

It was a rare weekend without any customers. I was flipping through the design books on the shelves of granny’s little store and taking down notes as I went.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and soon, it was evening. After packing all the materials away, I gave a big wide stretch, ready to head home for the day.

❖☆———————————★❖    

However, I was greeted with a mountain of express delivery boxes as soon as I opened the door. 

When did they get here?

And right beside the piled heavy boxes was a young man who had his eyes shut tight. His head was tilted to a side and he was leaning heavily on the post behind him, with dense beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

Even the gentle evening breeze didn’t seem to do anything to help him.

MC: What's going on here!?

Waste Collector: Hu? Kid’s not gone yet?

I was just about to voice my doubts when the waste collector slowly rode past in his tricycle. He stopped to explain.

Waste Collector: I saw him doing deliveries this afternoon. It’s such a hot day and he was sweating buckets, but he didn’t seem willing to take a break. He said it was the last one and that he’d rest after.

Waste Collector: I had other recyclable materials to collect, so I left after giving him a bottle of water. Never thought that he’d still be here.

My gaze fell upon the bottle of water that had been placed to the side, just as the waste collector had mentioned. The plastic bottle was completely drained and was also slightly deformed after an entire afternoon of exposure to the scorching sun outside.

The bottle’s already in such a sorry state; there’s no way a person would be any more comfortable being in the vicious heat.

❖☆———————————★❖    

I thought about it for a while before pulling the key out of the door’s lock and re-entering the shop.

I’d return to my grandmother’s shop every week, but sometimes, I wasn’t able to head back to Guangqi City on the same day due to bad weather or things that suddenly cropped up. Hence, I always kept some commonly-used daily necessities in the shop, just in case.

❖☆———————————★❖    

I pulled out a U-Shaped pillow from the cabinet and was about to put it around the back of the delivery man’s head. But, what I didn’t expect was for his eyes to snap right open the moment I touched him.

He didn’t seem completely awake, but the words that he uttered in confusion were inherently panicked.

❖☆———————————★❖    

????: Mngh? Why am I asleep?

????: No, wait. Wasn't I doing a delivery?

????: I'm gonna be late!!!

He blinked, looked around in a daze. His eyes, sporting two huge and dark eyebags, widened in shock when he saw me.

????: Huh? ...And you are…?

I picked up the U-Shaped pillow that had dropped onto the ground and tapped on the signboard of my grandmother’s shop.

MC: I’m the owner of this shop. I just found you lying in front of my shop with all the delivery packages.

He seemed to snap back to his senses almost immediately. He instantly shot up, hastily bowing and apologizing.

????: S-Sorry for troubling you!

????: These deliveries are supposed to be my last, but I was too tired, so I leaned against the post, thinking of resting for a bit. I never expected to fall right asleep like that.

MC: Don’t worry about it. I’m not in a hurry. Do you want to rest a while more?

????: N-No thanks! Please sign these; I need your signature for the express deliveries!

He handed me the delivery papers. I was just about to sign on it when a brief and cheery ringtone sounded.

????: Hello…? I’m gonna be done soon. You want me to help you deliver your stuff for you? What happened? Mmhm… mmhm. You have something on again today? Okay… Yeah, I’ll be right there.

He stuffed the papers I signed back into his pocket, turned around, and sprinted off into the distance. However, he’d been in so much of a rush that he seemingly missed the fact that there were stairs beneath his feet, stepping into thin air.

I quickly rushed forward to catch him.

MC: I don’t think it’s wise to be pushing yourself that hard… And, if you were to go on a delivery run like this, you may make a mistake, or worse, lose the package you’re to deliver.

The delivery man pondered my words for a while before nodding gravely.

????: You have a point… Can I sit here for a while? I’ll be fine in a bit.

❖☆———— ⊹ The Issue of the Gold Delivery Man, Chen Fei ⊹ ————★❖

⊹ Next Part: (Chapter 2: Deeply Troubled)

[crystalninjaphoenix]

The Tower

A Stitched Story

JSE Fanfic

So given how this AU is *so close* to being finished, I’m gonna go a little off schedule for these last couple stories. Hence, this one being posted this week instead of next. Might we be able to finally get rid of those menacing strings in this entry? Well...not exactly. There seems to be a side effect. And before they can figure out a way around it, all hell breaks loose. Enjoy ;)

Tagging @septic-dr-schneep for inspiring this AU with this post.

Read where it started: Stitched Together | Season One | Season Two

Previous Season Three stories: Torn Apart | Tales to Tell | Threads | Twice Bitten, Never Shy | Two of Souls

Taglist (finally): @bupine @violet--majesty @ari-trash

“It’s going to be fine,” Chase muttered, bouncing nervously in place. “It’s allll going to be fine. It’s going to work out.”

Are you alright, Chase? JJ asked, giving him a look of concern. Do you not like elevators?

Chase laughed. “It’s not the elevator that worries me, it’s what’s waiting on the floor once we get there.” It was also the fact that Jackie was holding onto his arm tightly, head resting on his shoulder. Clingy as usual. But hopefully, that wouldn’t last long. Because right now, they were going to try to destroy the strings.

The magicians had proposed it the day before. They thought that using magical fire or electricity would be able to get rid of them for good. After a short talk, all the boys had agreed to try. Hopefully, once the strings were gone, Jackie and Marvin would...well, not go back to normal. They knew that was impossible now. But they’d be friendly, at least. In the best-case scenario.

The elevator dinged, and Chase and Jameson stepped out into a long hallway. This was the sanctuary’s very top floor, reserved for any magical testing that might go wrong. Apparently it was heavily protected. It didn’t look like much. Just like all the other halls, it seemed like something you’d find in a hotel. But then Chase noticed all the doors were made of metal. Ah.

Jack and Schneep were some ways down the hall, waiting outside a door, sitting on a bench against the opposite wall. The moment Jack saw Chase and JJ approaching with Jackie, he stood up and waved. “Hey!”

“Yeah, I see you, Jack.” Chase waved back. “Can’t miss you.” They quickly closed the distance. “Are things—ow!” He looked down. “Schneep did you just whap me with that thing?!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Schneep twirled his white cane like a baton, causing everyone to back up. “I was just confirming you were here.”

“I—don’t you, like, sense souls or something?”

“Chase, please. I still cannot see you.”

JJ chuckled a little, the sound muffled. Is everything ready?

“Yeah, all the magicians are getting ready.” Jack pointed at the door, which was labelled ‘Dangerous Reaction Room 7.’ “When they’re ready, you and I are supposed to go in, while Schneep and Chase keep an eye on Jackie out here, to make sure nothing happens with him while we get rid of the, uh...S-T-R-I-N-G-S.”

“He can spell, Jack, he is not an idiot,” Schneep said.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think he’s listening,” Chase muttered. He tried to pull his arm away from Jackie’s grip, but he held on tighter, making Chase grit his teeth to ignore the uncomfortable closeness. “Do you two really need to go in the room? I mean, look at that sign. It says ‘dangerous’ on it.”

“Yeah, well, JJ’s shields will be really helpful,” Jack said. “But you’re right about me. They want me to tell them if anything happens with the soul bits that are part of the...well, you-know-whats. And I was like ‘Don’t you have instruments or something for that?’ and they were like ‘Yeah but we’re not going to risk something happening to them’ and I said ‘But you’re okay with something happening to me...a living person’ and they said ‘You’ll be fiiiiiine.’” Jack sighed. “Anyway, I’m not gonna argue. It’s too much effort. And anyway, I want to see those green bastards gone.”

Before the discussion could continue, a voice came through the door. “We’re ready!” Yvonne shouted. “Come on in!”

“Well, good luck, bro, both of you,” Chase said.

“Yes, break a leg,” Schneep added. “Or do not. Actually, please do not break anything.”

JJ gave another muffled giggle, and Jack smiled. “Thanks, guys. We’ll see you soon.” He reached over and pulled open the door, and the two of them disappeared into the room. When the door shut behind them, it briefly glowed with a yellow light, then returned to normal metal.

The room beyond the door was entirely bare, its walls, ceiling, and floor reinforced with metal. Waist-high metal walls made a circle in the center of the room. Griffin, Delyth, and Yvonne were all gathered around that circle, with Griffin holding a pair of boxes. In the center, the strings were lying in a bowl-like shape built into the floor. They were trying to wriggle up the sides, but were evidently having trouble grasping the slick metal, and kept falling back down. JJ gave Jack a look. This isn’t a very encouraging room.

“Yeah, I know, it’s like...I get this is for safety and all, but it just feels like things are about to blow up.” Jack closed the door behind him, sealing the room. “You guys just...have a place like this?”

“Yes, of course.” Griffin walked over to the two of them, taking something out of the first box and holding it out. “Here, please put on these goggles, in case of shrapnel.”

That is even less encouraging, JJ signed, but took the offered goggles and put them on. Jack did so as well. This whole thing felt less like getting ready to cast a spell and more like the start of a dangerous scientific experiment. One where things could explode.

Delyth was busy reading something on her phone, lips moving silently. “Are we uh...are we ready?” Jack asked.

“Sorry, just reviewing.” Delyth shut off her phone and put it away. “Fire and lightning aren’t my specialties; it’s been a while.”

“You sure you should be casting it, then?” Yvonne muttered.

“Yes, of course. I’m still a highly skilled agent, and if I must say so myself, probably the most powerful magician in the sanctuary at this moment.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. You want to continue with that horn-tooting, or should we get started?” Yvonne pulled her own goggles down over her eyes.

“I say we should start now,” Griffin said. “Eventually those strings are going to climb their way out of the target zone.”

The five of them gathered around the circle. Jameson, wary, half-held up his hands, weak circular shields flickering in between all of them and the strings, ready to snap into greater strength the moment they needed to. “Alright, I’m about to start casting,” Delyth announced. “We’ll start out with a slow burn, and hopefully that’ll be enough. If not, I’ll increase the severity until they’re gone. Ready?” Everyone nodded. “Good.”

Delyth reached forward, muttering a spell under her breath. Above the circle, directly over the strings, a small, pale purple fireball appeared. It started off the size of a golf ball, but as Delyth slowly lowered the gently burning flame into the circle, it grew to baseball size, then to about the size of a basketball. Below the heat, the strings started skittering frantically, like a cornered animal. They tried to climb the walls, but once again fell back.

When the ball of flame hit the bottom of the bowl, it burst, filling the entirety of the area in a liquid way. In the fire, the strings became panicked, twisting and tripping over themselves in any attempt to get away from the flames. They were unsuccessful. But apparently, so was the fire. The strings were not burning, though they certainly acted like they were. Jack closed his eye to look at the strings in his soul vision, but saw no change there, either.

“Nothing’s happening,” Yvonne said cautiously.

“Indeed.” Griffin nodded. “Delyth?”

“On it.” Delyth clenched her fist, and the flames filling the bowl disappeared. “These next spells are going to be a bit more...pyrotechnic.”

“Oh shit.” Yvonne took a few steps back. Jameson, agreeing with the sentiment, strengthened the shields just a bit.

Delyth raised her hand, then brought it down with a fierce shout of a spell word. A fireball slammed down into the bowl, exploding at the bottom with a loud bang! Purple flames licked at the sides of the walls, and the strings thrashed frantically, some of them clustering together. Delyth repeated the spell one, two, three more times, making everyone cover their ears. The fire inside grew, but the strings were still intact. Now starting to look frustrated, Delyth started chanting. Fireworks of hot purple magic exploded repeatedly in the bowl, causing ear-splitting snap! snap! snap!s every time they blew, giving off smoke.

But the strings were still there.

“Keep it up!” Griffin shouted over the noise. “It’s possible that we’re doing damage, just slowly!”

“Right!” Delyth took a deep breath, wiped her forehead, then raised her hand and sent another fireball down into the bowl, this one sending spears of fire into every direction. The bowl was now full of searing purple flames, yet the strings remained. And so, Delyth started another spell.

A bolt of purple lightning crashed into the bowl, adding yet more flames in addition to smaller branches of electricity that remained, crackling, connecting between the walls. And she did it again. And then sent more fireworks. And another fireball. And another electric spell.

Outside the room, Schneep and Chase remained sitting on the bench, Jackie now in between them. When the first bang! echoed from the room, the two of them jumped in unison. “What was that?” Schneep hissed.

“A spell, probably,” Chase said. “Uh...sounded like a big one. Do you think it worked?”

There was the second bang! Schneep flinched, then muttered, “Apparently not.”

“Right.” Chase looked down at his hands, twisting his fingers.  “I guess we won’t know until they come out if it worked.”

“I suppose not.”

Chase sighed. He really, really hoped this worked. Maybe things wouldn’t go back to normal afterwards, but it would be better. Things would be...what was Jackie doing?

He paused in his hand-wringing to give this situation a better look. Jackie was rocking on the bench, forward and backwards, gripping the fabric of his pants in white-knuckled fists. Chase blinked, and stared. Jackie’s expression...it was pained. Every time one of the bang!s went off, he flinched, not out of surprise, but as if he’d been physically struck. “Uh...Jackie? Are you okay?”

Jackie didn’t respond. His mouth opened just a bit, letting out a small groan. Schneep stiffened, turning towards Chase. “Is everything okay?”

Chase didn’t get a chance to answer. “No,” Jackie whispered. “No, no, no, this—this isn’t okay.” He gasped as more loud noises came from the room, then suddenly doubled over, both hands shooting upward to press against his chest. “This—! This—! Isn’t okay!” He cried.

“Jackie!” Chase and Schneep shot to their feet in unison, Schneep backing up and holding his cane defensively, Chase standing in front of Jackie and crouching down again so he could be level with his face. “What’s wrong?!”

“Hurts. Hurts.” Jackie was shaking, all the color drained from his face. “It hurts! It hurts!” He lunged forward, grabbing Chase’s shirt and burying his face in it. “Make it stop!”

“I—I’m sorry, I can’t,” Chase said, at a loss for words. “I...Schneep, can you go—”

“No!” Jackie choked the word out from behind a sob. “Schneep, don’t leave.”

Both Chase and Schneep froze. That was...the first time Jackie had actually acknowledged any of them by name. Anyone other than Chase. “I...okay, I will not leave,” Schneep said slowly. “What should I do?”

“I don’t know,” Jackie shook his head. “I don’t know, I just—just stop it! Make it stop!”

“We—we can’t, Jackie.” Chase instinctively wrapped Jackie in a hug, holding him tight as he continued to rock back and forth, crying into Chase’s bandanna. “What’s wrong? What does it feel like?”

“I—I’m dying,” Jackie rasped. “I-I’m dying again. Chase, I don’t want to die again.” He let out another sob. “I—I’m being torn into pieces. Please, someone. Just stop this! Please!”

Schneep suddenly stepped up next to Chase. “Jackie, I am going to take your pulse, okay?” His voice was surprisingly gentle, and Jackie nodded, letting him press his fingers against the pulse in his neck. “Okay, okay. And your temperature. You need to back up a bit so I can feel your forehead.” Jackie did so, trembling a bit as Schneep put a hand on his forehead. “Scheiße,” Schneep hissed.

“Oh no, it’s in German, that’s not good,” Chase said. “What’s wrong?”

“He is burning up.” Schneep hurried over to the room’s door, hand trailing across the wall to find the doorknob. “And I think I mean that literally.” He grabbed the handle and turned it. Only to be met with resistance. Locked. His face drained of color. “Hey!” He started banging on the door. “Open it! Stop the whole thing, for god’s sake!”

“I’m going to die again,” Jackie said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. “No, no, I don’t want to die again. I don’t want to go to hell.”

“You weren’t in hell, Jackie,” Chase said, trying to sound reassuring. “A-and it’s going to be fine.”

“Hell,” Jackie insisted. “Hell hell hell. Awful things...happening. Bits of my brain swirling around. So...angry. So much hate. It ate at me. Us. There were two of us, a-and we were just one, and I wasn’t sure—who am I? Chase, who am I? Chase, I don’t know.”

“You’re Jackie,” Chase emphasized. “Jackie Parker. The guy who decided to be a superhero because you thought you needed to. The guy who offered to let Marvin move in after he decided to sell his house. The guy who would babysit Lily and Moira when Stacy and I were too busy. A good guy. That’s who you are.”

Jackie was quiet for a moment. And then, softly, he asked, “Are you sure?”

Before Chase could answer, a loud crashing noise came from the room beyond the door. Jackie screamed, and fell forward off the bench, only held up by Chase still holding him. “Stop stop stop stop stop stop!” He shrieked, writhing and seizing. His temperature continued to rise, and Chase could feel the heat radiating from his entire body, like standing near a fire that was getting increasingly larger.

“Scheiß drauf!” Schneep kicked at the door under the handle one more time, then dropped his cane and reached to the side, grabbing his scissors from out of nowhere. He made a downward slashing motion, suddenly causing a membrane of yellow magic to appear over the door. It lasted for only a second before Schneep cut through it, leaving it in tatters. Then Schneep stepped forward and disappeared, teleporting straight into the room.

There was a lightshow of lightning happening in the center of the room. Jameson had his shields raised against any possible threats, and everyone except Delyth had backed up to around the edges of the room. In contrast, Delyth was stubbornly staying her ground next to the circle, hurling spell after spell at the strings, voice starting to crack and rasp as she shouted the spell words.

“Stop it! Shut it all down!” Schneep yelled. 

Delyth looked over at him. “I’m making progress!”

“That is the problem!” Schneep ran at her, hands outstretched, and managed to grab her arm before she sent it down to cast again. “Stop it!”

Delyth shook him off, readying herself for another spell. But before she could cast it, the blue shield in front of her suddenly slammed into her stomach, knocking her to the ground. Immediately, the lightning fizzled out, and any fire slowly died into pale purple embers that soon stopped glowing. Jameson lowered his hands, and glanced back at Delyth. Sorry, he signed, circling his fist on his chest.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked. “Why’d we have to stop?”

“Something is wrong with Jackie,” Schneep explained hurriedly. “I-I think we are hurting him.”

Jack’s eyes widened, and he ran out of the room. Jameson followed shortly thereafter, and then Schneep. The magicians stayed in the room. Yvonne walked over to help Delyth up, and Griffin approached the circle in the middle, taking the lid off the second box he was holding so he could put the strings inside.

While the magicians cleaned up, the boys gathered around Chase and Jackie. “What’s wrong?” Jack asked. “What’s happening?!”

Chase looked up at him, not answering. Jackie had calmed down considerably once the spellcasting had stopped, and was now shaking and gasping for air, face pale and hair damp with sweat. He continued to hold onto Chase, who luckily didn’t seem to mind as much as he might have in other circumstances. Glancing upward, his eyes darted around the people surrounding him. “...Jack?” he whispered. “Schneep?” Then he looked at JJ, and frowned, confused. “Who’re you?”

“I...” Jack was temporarily at a loss for words. With this spellcasting, they’d been fully prepared for Jackie to lose it and start fighting to get to the strings, but this? They hadn’t even considered this. He seemed...normal. “This is Jameson, Jackie. He, uh...he’s a friend. But he can’t talk.” JJ waved, looking understandably nervous.

“Are you okay, Jackie?” Schneep asked urgently. “How do you feel?”

“...bad,” Jackie said after a while.

Chase laughed a bit. There were tears in his eyes, but he wasn’t sure what emotion was causing them.

“Where am I...? H-how did I get here?” Jackie looked around some more. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“It’s a long story, Jackie,” Jack said. “We need to know if you’re okay, that’s all you need to focus on for now.” He paused, then closed his eye to activate soul vision. Usually, he’d see a mess of red and blue light in Jackie’s chest when he did this, but this time it was...different. The red and blue were neatly separated out, forming a circle that was roughly three-quarters red and one-quarter blue. But it wasn’t going to stay that way. He could see the edges where the colors met starting to swirl and shift already. “I don’t think we have much time,” he said in a hushed voice.

“Jackie, what do you remember?” Schneep asked. “Can you tell us? Quickly?”

“I-I...that depends on what you mean by remember.” Jackie shut his eyes tight. “I...there was...it was horrible. I-I saw—there were these—horrible, horrible things. Awful things, ha-happening to people. You guys were there. But I don’t know. I-I don’t know if they were all real or just my thoughts. Maybe both, but I...” He bit back a sob. “...I don’t know which were which. And just...so much...hating. I was so...felt so...much...hate.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Chase murmured. “You’re going to be alright. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Jackie, I have a question,” Schneep said. “Do you remember...did you and Marvin do some sort of spell? In your apartment?”

“Spell...” Jackie’s eyes suddenly shot open. He reached up and grabbed something around his neck. That amulet. That broken amulet, one of the pair that Anti always wore. “That spell! That—I didn’t—I didn’t—I didn’t want—”

“What? Did you not want to do the spell?” Schneep asked.

Jackie shook his head. “I did, at first. But then—he lied to me—”

“Marvin?”

“Yes, he didn’t tell me everything, I—I didn’t want that, I tried to stop it—” He suddenly froze. “Oh my god.” Reaching up, he covered his mouth with a hand as tears started to swell in his eyes. “Oh my god, I killed him.”

“What?” Chase asked, shocked.

“It was an accident! I just wanted to stop it! We got in a fight, I-I had a knife, I—he wasn’t supposed to die! I didn’t want to kill him!” His breathing sped into hyperventilating as he started rocking back and forth. “It was an accident! I—if he didn’t move—if I’d just been more careful—he wasn’t supposed to die! I wasn’t supposed to kill him!” The last sentence was ripped from his throat in a scream, and Jackie doubled over, curling over his knees and covering his head with his arms.

“Jackie, Jackie, it’s fine, we believe you!” Chase bent over as well, trying to keep his head level with his. “It wasn’t your fault, and we know that. It’s fine. You’re going to be alright.” For a moment, Jackie was frozen in that position. “Hey, it’s okay.” Chase patted his back, and at that, Jackie moved, leaning into him. “It’s okay.”

“...Chase.” Jack’s voice was low and warning, but Chase didn’t hear him.

“It’s all over now,” Chase said reassuringly, giving Jackie a hug and straightening, pulling him into a kneeling position. After a moment, Jackie responded, wrapping his arms around him. “It’s alright. It’s...” Chase paused. “You’re uh...squeezing pretty tight there. Could you loosen up a bit, bro?” Jackie didn’t answer. In fact, he started to squeeze tighter. “Jackie, I—I really don’t like this.” Chase started to squirm. “Jackie?”

Jameson finally stepped in, quickly pulling Jackie away from Chase. He didn’t seem to mind much, eyes now looking a bit glazed. His head turned around absentmindedly, not really looking for anything. “Where are we?” He asked. “Where’s the rest of me? It’s close...we think.”

Chase quickly backed away, scrambling to his feet. Looking shaken, he walked all the way until his back was pressed against the hall wall. “What...what happened?” He asked quietly.

“It’s weird,” Jack said. “His soul...the two colors were separated, but they were starting to mix together again. Then he started talking about—about killing someone...and it all just snapped back to being all jumbled up.”

“Marvin,” Schneep muttered. “He was talking about how he accidentally killed Marvin. During the transference spell, it sounded like. They fought, and it...must have...” He turned around, burying his face in his hands. It was hard to imagine. And he didn’t want to imagine it at all.

“Yeah, that would cause some problems in the spell.”

The boys jumped in unison at the sound of the voice, and looked over to see the magicians had left the room. Yvonne, noticing them all staring at her, continued, “I mean, I don’t think it’s ever happened before. If it has, it was probably a long time ago. Long enough that all records of it are gone now. But I imagine the spell would want to keep going—black magic like that almost has a will and drive of its own—but without both of the participants, it couldn’t, so it just messed their souls up.”

“God...” Jack breathed.

That must have been terrible, JJ signed sadly. 

“I imagine so,” Griffin said gravely. “But I’m afraid I must ask...do we want to continue with the spellcasting?” He held up the box. “We were actually making some headway there near the end.”

“Are you crazy?!” Chase, though still a bit rattled, was put together enough to whirl on the magicians. “We almost killed Jackie!”

“There was no guarantee that was going to happen,” Delyth said calmly. “The chance that he would have survived is equal to the chance that he would not have.”

“You know, I think he would not have,” Schneep stated flatly. “I may not be a doctor anymore, I may be blind, even, but I can still fucking recognize when someone is having a crisis.”

“And the point of this is to get rid of the strings, not Jackie and Marvin,” Chase added, folding his arms. “That is the last thing we want.”

“It might not have killed him,” Delyth repeated. “And besides, while these strings exist, they’re both a high threat—”

“Are you fucking insane?!” Jack shouted. “Are you asking us to kill our friends?!”

“No!” Delyth shook her head furiously. “Alright, what if we took this in short bursts? That took a lot of my magic, anyway. We’ve damaged them slightly, if we keep this up—”

There’s still a chance they’ll die once the strings are gone, JJ interrupted. I understand you’re concerned about what might happen, but this isn’t the way.

“Yeah, Mae, I knew you were strict, didn’t realize you were heartless,” Yvonne emphasized.

Delyth took a step back, shocked. “I didn’t mean—I...I’m sorry. I didn’t want to come off that way.”

“Don’t do it again,” Chase said in a surly tone.

“But what do we do now?” Jack asked quietly.

“That is not clear,” Schneep said. “But one thing is. We cannot destroy the strings.”

“Then...what can we do?” Chase whispered.

Nobody had an answer for that.

— — — — — — —

The sudden pain in his chest was fading. Still, he could only lie on the ground for a few moments, panting and shaking. What was that? Why had that suddenly happened?

...where was he?

Marvin sat up, looking around. This...looked like some random street. The buildings were tall but run-down, and there were no cars or pedestrians in sight. He must have collapsed right onto the sidewalk.

...how did he get here?

He reached up to his face, and felt a mask covering half of it. What? He pulled it off. This...looked like his mask, except snapped in half, with the white ceramic stained blue. Hadn’t he seen this? Or...had he just imagined it?

Attempting to stand up, Marvin winced, falling back down to a sitting position. His feet really hurt. He could remember walking...so much walking. For days, it seemed like. And his stomach was turning in on itself. He hadn’t eaten anything in...in...he couldn’t remember.

“Hello?” He called. “Is...is anyone there? Um...help?”

He tried to recall the last thing he remembered. And immediately regretted it, as all he could find were visions of people suffering, horrible, gruesome sights. Were those real? Or were they just thoughts he’d had? Shaking his head to physically ward off the images, he tried to remember something else. He had been...angry. Full of rage so hot it was like it was physically burning him. But everything was disconnected, broken, shattered. Held together by tenuous strings. His mind was in pieces. He’d been pulled apart.

Suddenly cold despite the sun overhead, Marvin wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing his eyes to hold in tears. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine,” he muttered. “It’s fine, it’s...” He let out a sob, and started rocking back and forth. That helped. Tapping his arm with his fist helped, too. What was happening? Why was it happening to him?

What...

He...

There...

Feel...

Marvin shook his head, climbing to his feet and holding the half-mask close to his chest. He was coming apart again. Bits of him were...they were...mixing up. Again. He couldn’t...think...

What else did he remember? What...we...I...you...? Us...? He didn’t feel...whole.

“No, no, no, no.” Jackie pressed a hand against his head. Jackie? No, he was Marvin. Or...was he someone other than both of those? No, he was Marvin. Marvin Marvin Marvin...

He didn’t feel whole. Why? Because...he was broken...?

His hand brushed against his neck. There were...stitches...strings...there. Stitches. Strings. Strings. Strings. Strings.

The rest of him. The rest of them.

He could feel it. He couldn’t feel it for a while there, but something had changed. Now he sensed where they were, clear as day, easy as following a sound.

Turning in that direction, he slid the mask back over his face, and smiled. Now he knew. Now he would be brought back together. He headed straight in that direction, any pain and discomfort instantly forgotten. He had to find the rest of him.

— — — — — — —

The whole group had quickly dispersed after aborting the spellcasting. Griffin and Delyth had disappeared to wherever they usually spent their time, Jack, JJ, and Chase had retreated to their rooms with Jackie in tow, and Schneep had gone down to the basement to do some more training. But not long after, he found he wasn’t in the mood. He just...kept thinking about what they were supposed to do next. Maybe if they put the strings somewhere else, somewhere far away? But where would even be far enough? Eventually, he left, taking the elevator back up.

The doors dinged open much sooner than he expected. That might have been surprising, if he hadn’t sensed the presence of someone on the other side. “Oh! Hey, it’s you.” Yvonne’s voice. “You mind? I can wait for the next lift.”

“No no, is fine.” Schneep stepped to the side, feeling her brush past him.

“Thanks.” The elevator doors shut, and he heard the sound of Yvonne pressing a button.

“We are on the same floor, yes?” He asked. “Are you not going to your room?”

“What? No, I am, I just pressed it again. Y’know...cause I wanted to press the button.” Yvonne giggled a bit. “Huh. Didn’t realize that could be confusing if you couldn’t see what was happening.”

“I did not either, until just now.” It had been months since he returned to the waking world with his sight missing, and he was still learning new things.

“Hey, actually, can I ask you a question?” Yvonne said.

“Go ahead.”

“How’d you manage to get through the protective spell around the reaction room? That’s supposed to prevent anyone from barging in and interrupting everything, but you just teleported right in.”

Schneep frowned. “Well, I just...when the door would not open, I thought there must have been some sort of magic protection. And I was right. So I...I did not think about it too much, actually, I just grabbed my scissors and cut right through, then jumped inside.”

“Huh.” Yvonne paused. “Are these scissors of yours...magic?”

“I am not sure, actually.” Schneep reached forward and grabbed them, pulling them out of a pocket in thin air. “They seem very normal to me, what about you?” He snipped them a few times for emphasis.

“Yeah, they look pretty normal.” Yvonne paused. “In uder’m magima,” she muttered. There was a cool breeze, and then she said, “Nope, I couldn’t pick anything up. They’re just regular-ass scissors. Guess that must be part of your magic, then. To cut straight through wards? Hey, do you mind if I call you some time? We can go on a trip to some of the most protected ABIM storages.”

“Ha ha,” Schneep said. “I suppose that—” He suddenly stopped.

“What? Something wrong?”

“We stopped moving,” he said. “But the doors are not opening.”

“...oh. I hadn’t noticed. That’s—oh my god!”

“What?!”

“The lights went out,” Yvonne said in a hushed voice. “Is there a power outage? That...shouldn’t happen.”

“Why? Are the lights magic?”

“No, but I don’t think sanctuaries would be prone to blackouts.” She banged on the elevator doors, then pressed several different buttons. “Ugh. This is taking too long. Can you teleport us out?”

Schneep raised an eyebrow. “I could, technically. But I should warn you first, teleportation is not a pleasant experience.”

“Hey, I’ve tried it...once. Twice. Anyway, it was fine for me then.”

“You cannot do it again?”

“Nah, can’t remember the spell.” He could practically hear Yvonne shrugging.

Schneep sighed. “Alright. I will do all the work, then.” He held out a hand, and Yvonne quickly grabbed it. Making sure he had a firm grip on her, he thought about where to jump. He had no idea where they were in the building, and he could only really imagine the basement, his room, and the ground floor. That last one would probably be the most convenient. They could just take the stairs. Debatably, his room would also be helpful, but he didn’t want to bring someone into there without asking Jack if he could, since they shared the space. “And going now.” So he jumped.

Instantly, they were back on the ground floor. And instantly, Yvonne yanked her hand away. “H-holy shit,” she breathed. “Holy—” She stumbled away, bracing herself against the wall and taking several deep breaths. “You weren’t kidding.”

“I did warn you,” Schneep pointed out.

“That is not normal teleportation. I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s not normal.” Yvonne paused. “Wait...do you hear that?”

They both fell silent. Some ways away, there was the sound of crashing and shouting...some sort of fight. In unison, they ran towards the sound.

Rounding a corner, they ran right into a magical battlefield. The ground was broken up, with purple crystals protruding from the floor and stabbing the air. The wallpaper was singed with purple flames, and a couple of the doors had been knocked off their hinges. The moment Schneep rounded the corner, he ran into a long, blue string, which immediately wrapped around his torso and pulled him down with a yelp.

“You two!” Delyth was holding her own against her opponent, eyes glowing pale purple. “What are you doing here?!”

“Mae!” Yvonne gasped. “What—”

“It’s Marvin,” Schneep said through gritted teeth. “Isn’t it?”

“Maaarvin?” That voice identified him shortly before he came into sight, stepping out of one of the rooms with broken doors. His broken mask was firmly on his face, set above a wild grin. “Is that who we are?” Blue strings of magic danced in the air around him.

“Oh fuck.” Yvonne took a step back, raising her hands instinctively. On the ground beside her, Schneep was struggling with his scissors and the thread entangling him.

“Get out of here!” Delyth demanded, thrusting her hand forward to conjure a purple crystalline shield, deflecting the wave of blue strings that flew at her. “I’ll take care of this!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mae, you’re running out of juice!” Yvonne protested. “Look at how faint that shield is!”

“You need to get to the strings! That’s what he’s—” She was cut off as one of the strings wormed its way under the shield and wrapped around her ankles, yanking her upwards.

“Mae!” Yvonne reacted instinctively, hurling a ball of pale blue magic at Marvin, knocking him to the ground and making him drop Delyth. “Oh, sorry!”

Marvin got to his feet, swaying for a moment. He glanced upwards towards the ceiling, and grinned even wider. “We’re really close,” he muttered. A ball of wriggling blue thread spawned in his hand, and he threw it upwards. Once it hit the ceiling, the strings spread out in a fan, digging into the plaster and causing white dust to fall down onto Marvin below.

“Oh no you don’t!” Yvonne swung her hand, sending a wave of magic at the strings and knocking them to the ground. Frowning, Marvin turned his attention to her. More strings appeared in the air, slithering in a way that seemed distinctly hostile.

Schneep finally managed to cut through the string wrapping him up, and he scrambled to his feet. “I can make sure the strings are secure,” he said. “You two hold him back.”

“Got it.” Yvonne raised a shield, then reached down and helped pull Delyth to her feet. “We can handle this.”

Schneep nodded, and jumped away, just before Marvin lunged forward at the two magicians.

His jump took him to the floor directly above him, though he fell a few inches onto the floor. Not bad, for being entirely unsure where he was going. But it sounded like he hadn’t escaped the chaos on this floor, either.

“Got him!” The scene he’d stepped into had Jack, Chase, and JJ struggling with Jackie. Jack had managed to grab Jackie, wrapping his arms around him in an effort to hold him back from...going somewhere. “Guys, can you—”

“Let go!” Jackie twisted around, and suddenly there was a flash of red light. Jack cried out and staggered backwards, suddenly bleeding from a cut across his cheek. Immediately, Jackie started to run again, only to run into a wall of blue light as Jameson created several shields around him, trapping him in.

“What is going on?!” Schneep asked.

“Oh Schneep! Jackie just went crazy all of a sudden.” Chase hurried over to Schneep’s side. “It was weird, he was talking about ‘the rest of him’ again.”

“The rest of me!” Jackie whaled. He started pounding on the shields—no, not pounding on them, stabbing them. With bits of red light, long and sharp and almost shaped like a knife. “I need to get to them! I need to—”

Jameson flinched, and one of the shields abruptly shattered. Jackie wasted no time, dashing forward, right past Schneep and Chase, and running up to a closed door. With another flash of red magic, the door was cut right in half, wood folding to the ground, and Jackie disappeared inside.

“No!” Jack cried. He and the other three hurried forward, into a dimly-lit room filled with coppery boxes. Jackie was quickly knocking them aside, until he found one the size of a shoebox. Grinning maniacally, he pried at the lid, but it wouldn’t open. “Stop him!” Jack shouted.

Chase dived forward, tackling Jackie to the ground. He shrieked, but managed to keep hold of the shoebox. “No!” Jackie yelled.

“Give me that!” Chase reached for the shoebox, but Jackie held it away from him. Of course, the other three quickly stepped in to help, with Schneep managing to grab the box, Jack prying at Jackie’s hands, and Chase and JJ holding him down. Jackie shouted, struggling and twisting, and soon the whole situation devolved into a wrestling match on the floor of the room. It only lasted for a few minutes before one wrong kick knocked down a nearby stack of boxes, which came crashing down onto the four of them, momentarily stunning them all.

Unfortunately, Jackie recovered the quickest. He pried the box away from the others and scrambled backwards. “You don’t understand,” he hissed. “We need it. We need to be whole. And we will have it! We will—!” Suddenly, he stopped. And looked down. And then, out of nowhere, he laughed. Raising one hand, sharp blades of red light appeared in the air.

Jameson immediately tried to shield the others, but it turned out, that wasn’t what Jackie was planning. The blades plunged downward into the floor around him in a neat circle, slicing right through. And then the floor gave way, and Jackie fell through the new hole onto the floor below.

In the room beneath, Marvin had been locked in a fight with Yvonne and Delyth. Well, mostly Yvonne, as Delyth’s magic was quickly draining. Shades of blue magic traded blows, blasts pushing back strings and strings wriggling through shields. Then the ceiling was cut through, and Jackie landed on the floor behind Marvin, who immediately froze and spun around. His face split into a wide grin.

“Bell, they have the container!” Delyth shouted, pointing at the coppery box in Jackie’s arms.

“On it!” A pale blue wall sprang up in between Jackie and Marvin, stopping Marvin just before he was able to pull Jackie to his feet. “Now what?”

Jackie got to his feet, looking at the wall of magic. And he laughed. He raised one hand and swiftly brought it down, cutting through the air. An arc of red light ran right into the blue wall...and it instantly shattered. Yvonne gasped, stumbling back. A trail of blood started to leak from her nose.

Marvin grabbed Jackie by the hand, and they both smiled the exact same smile. Then he spun around and sent a wave of blue strings at the magicians. Delyth tried to conjure another shield, but it was much too weak, and the strings cut right through and pinned both of the magicians to the walls.

“No!”

Something flashed in the faint light, and Marvin cried out, stumbling back. He’d been stabbed. A pair of scissors was sticking out of the back of his shoulder.

Schneep had dropped through the hole Jackie had made. Now, he stood behind Jackie and Marvin, expression twisted with anger and his eyes glowing turquoise light. There was a second pair of scissors in his hand, and he lunged. Marvin sent out another wave of strings, but Schneep disappeared, reappearing on the other side. Jackie whirled around and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from using the scissors he was holding. Except that now Schneep had a third pair in his other hand, which he opened wide and slashed, hitting Jackie’s other arm, the one holding the coppery box. Jackie yelped, and dropped it, only for the box to be caught in a net of blue strings and pulled over to Marvin, who picked it up.

Jackie and Marvin looked at each other. “Getting out,” they said in unison.

Marvin sent a few more strings Schneep’s way, who disappeared and reappeared behind the pair. But shortly after doing so, Jackie made a slashing motion, and an arc of red light hit Schneep in the chest. He cried out, falling backwards from the force of it. The moment he hit the floor, Jackie and Marvin grabbed each other’s hands and ran, right out the room and down the hall.

“They’re heading to the front!” Delyth shouted.

Jack, Chase, and Jameson, hearing the shout, ran for the front entrance, though it was far away. Schneep climbed to his feet and jumped, beating them there. But it was too late. By the time the group arrived there, Jackie and Marvin were nowhere in sight.

For a moment, all they could do was stand there, staring at the empty lobby in shock. Then Chase fell to his knees, Jameson collapsed on the nearest chair, and Schneep dropped his scissors. “They got away...” Jack breathed. “They...we have to go after them.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes. We have to, now.” He buttoned up his coat. “We cannot waste any time. Jameson, could you track them?”

“Wh...am I super out of it, or did you not have a coat just a minute ago?” Chase asked. “Where’d you get that?”

“I, ah...don’t...know.” Schneep blinked, running his hands over the black coat he was wearing. “But I recognize this feel. It is my black one, yes?”

“Yeah, but...how’d you get it?”

“And I’d like to know how you got like two other pairs of scissors.” Yvonne and Delyth appeared in the lobby entrance, both breathing hard from running and still with blue string wrapped around their limbs. “Like...seriously, where did those come from?” Yvonne tried for a laugh. It failed.

“Look, I think we have more important things to think about,” Schneep said irritably. “Jamie, can you track them?”

Jameson nodded. “He said yes,” Jack told Schneep.

“Good. We have to do it now, or—”

“Whoa, no way any of you are going out there now,” Delyth interrupted.

“What?!” Chase got to his feet and whirled on her. “Did you see how fast they broke in here?! Do you want to know what the two of them could do with those strings?!”

“It’ll probably take them a while to get the container open,” Delyth said calmly. “It’s designed to be unable to open without the proper authorization. Right now, we can’t just go barging in there, we have to have a plan.”

“Barging in there is a plan,” Jack protested. “We can’t let—”

“No.” Delyth’s voice was firm, unshakable. “Somehow, Marvin got right through our wards. Facing an opponent like that—two opponents like that without a plan? I can think of little more foolhardy.”

“I’ll tell you what’s more foolhardy,” Chase said coldly. “Letting those two have time to open the box, get together, and form Anti again.” He laughed hysterically, grabbing his hair and pulling at it. “That’s what they want to do! You’ve heard them! They’re all ‘we need to be whole,’ and ‘whole’ is Anti! That motherfucker! We can’t—can’t let that happen! We just got rid of him! We were going to fix everything!”

Delyth, please, Jameson signed. I understand your caution. It will be dangerous. But time is of the essence. We need to go NOW if we want to have any chance to prevent this. Chase pointed out how easily and swiftly they broke in and found those strings, they won’t have trouble with the box they’re in.

Jack translated all this, and added, “Plus, you haven’t seen Anti like we have. We...we still haven’t told you everything he’s done.” He swallowed nervously, eyes shadowed for one moment. “There were things that were just too...too hard to talk about. A-and he might have a grudge against you, too, if he reforms. We can’t let...any...anything ha-happen.”

Delyth looked thoughtful for a moment. But then she shook her head. “We can’t risk it. Besides, we have to look at the wards. Figure out why Marvin attacked now.”

“It has to do with us trying to destroy the strings, I am sure,” Schneep mumbled.

“If this Anti reforms, we can protect you—”

“That is not the point!” Chase shrieked. “We had to go through hell to get Jackie and Marvin separate again! We might not be able to do it a second time! We have to go now!”

“Mae,” Yvonne said softly. “I think you’re right.”

“You do?” Delyth said, clearly surprised.

“I mean, yeah, we’re not in any shape to fight right now. Especially you and me.” Yvonne touched her bloody nose. “I think we should go get cleaned up in the clinic. These guys can rest in their rooms. Once we’re all good, we can discuss what to do next.” She looked over at the four others, making significant eye contact with all of them. “In fact, we should go now. It’s on this floor. And you guys should definitely go upstairs while we do this. We might be a while.”

Delyth sighed, thankfully not catching on. “Alright. Let’s go. I know you four are anxious, so we’ll be quick, we promise.”

The boys were silent, but they all nodded in unison as the two magicians retreated back into the halls. They remained silent as they listened to the retreating footsteps until they could no longer be heard.

Schneep whirled around. “Jamie? You really can track them?”

Yes, definitely, Jameson said. I’ve been practicing while in this hotel, finding random things. He held his hand out, eyes scrunching up in concentration. A spinning blue disc formed on the tips of his fingers.

“Should we get weapons?” Jack asked.

“I’d like my gun,” Chase said.

 “One moment.” Schneep reached to the side, hand disappearing into a pocket. When he pulled it back out, he held Chase’s gun. “Here you are.” He tossed it in Chase’s general direction.

“Whoa!” Chase leaned heavily to the side in order to catch it. “Your aim’s still as bad as ever, I see.”

Schneep chuckled. “Jack? Do you need anything?”

“Um...no, not now. Maybe I’ll reconsider later.” Jack looked over at Jameson. “Alright, let it go, JJ.”

Nodding, Jameson flung out his arm like he was throwing a frisbee. The tracking disc spun off, disappearing quickly through the front entrance. The four of them ran after it, with not a single ounce of hesitation between them all.

No more waiting. They needed to finish this now.