#honestly he would pacify them and then while their eyes are empty he would just be like giving some solid life advice

[hanzajesthanza]

don’t let me reread because i saw this

and an image of reynevan pleading innocent like the crying cat meme flashed across my mind

[sfwregressionfanfictions]

Xavier Thorpe x Little! Reader: Visions of Little You

Requested: Xavier has a dream about the reader being little, now he’s testing the water.

She/Her/Hers

w/c: 2416

Xavier had visions in his sleep a lot. It could be when someone was gonna fall, the monster that was in the forest by the school, or just random moments from people. Most of the time, he did not mean to pry into peoples personal lives, honestly, he had a hard time controlling it. However, sometimes he was able to focus on one person or searching for one moment in the future. It was rare for him to succeed, however, sometimes he would spend the night seeing the person he cares for most in the world. 

Xavier was having a rough day, he longed for nothing more than to care for a little one. To have someone need him. He tried to distract himself, however, his mind kept wondering back to what he yearned for. With a huff, Xavier decided to just take a nap, and when he woke up go to dinner with his friends. Today he focused on her, on his (Y/N). 

(Y/N) was the girl he was in love with, his best friend, they toed the line between partners and bestfriends. She was so small, or perhaps it just seemed like it due to the fact he grew over the summer. He liked to imagine one day being able to take care of her, have her cling to him all the time and not just when she was worried about getting lost or nervous about new surroundings. 

Xavier lied flat on his back, closing his eyes and focussing on his girl. Visuallizing how she looked in class, the smell of her shampoo and the sound of her laugh. Soon, he was a sleep and in his vision world. He was standing in (Y/N)’s room, he was near the front door. The room was empty, but the water in the bathroom was running. She had to be showering. 

Xavier wandered around her room looking at pictures, snooping ever so slightly. He looked in the drawers where she kept her snacks and movies primarily, maybe he could surprise her with something she was low on. Soon the bathroom door swung open and (Y/N) came out wearing a pretty little pink skirt (or overalls) and one of his off-white sweaters, it was probably left behind last time he was over watching a movie. He smiled at the sight of her trying to pull up her knee high socks. 

The laughter stopped after she had the pair completely on. (Y/N) quickly bent down under her bed and grabbed an old shoe box. The box was thrown onto her bed, she quickly followed, throwing herself onto the bed that was a little too high off the ground for Xavier’s comfort. He kept telling her that it should be lowered but she kept saying she wanted to make a little cave under her bed, although she still hasn’t.  

Xavier was quickly ripped out of his train of thought at the sight of (Y/N) pulling out a pacifier. He wasn’t shocked, honestly, he saw the signs but assumed he read to far into them. But there she was regressing, by herself. He wanted to stroke her hair and put on cartoons for her or even ask to colour pictures together. Maybe at dinner, she would let him help her eat, or serve her food, or maybe carry her tray. 

The wishes from before came to life with a fury, now aware there was a chance for him to actually care for her the way he hoped he could. He sat on her bed aware she couldn’t hear, see or feel him, he rubbed her back the best he could without being able to actually touch her. Xavier glanced at the clock, excited to end his vision/astoprojecting journey and experience the real world. Dinner would be in 45 minutes, he had to leave and wake up.

Xavier shot up from his bed, tumbling off his bed in a rush to get to the shower and get into his casual clothes. He only paused to text (Y/N) that dinner would be soon and that he would be at her dorm to walk her to dinner. He was met with an “mmmkay”, this was how she relied on days off, now it made sense. She replied like that while regressed.

Xavier must have set a record while getting ready, as he was done in lightening speed. He was stood out side of (Y/N)’s door, knocking lightly as to not spook them. There was rusttling and the sound of stuff being thrown around, she must be hiding her regression stuff.

The door slowly cracked open, to expose a doe-eyed (Y/N). She had wide eyes, and slightly chapped lips. Her voice was small and slightly whiny, “What are you doing here?”

“Here to pick my favorite person up for dinner, bet you must be super hungry.” Xavier said with a reassuring smile. 

“Oh,” She sounded like she had just remember, “i gotta get ready…”

She left the door open as she walked back into the room moving to slide her feet into her shoes, and grab her phone. Xavier closed the door as he entered, “Xavi, can’t find my chapstick.”

He turned to see his best friend with misty eyes, obviously on the cusp of slipping or having a melt down. She probably felt bad for holding him up. “That’s okay, I have one for you. How about we tie your shoes and get your belly full?”

With a nod, (Y/N) started to fumble with her laces. She was closer to slipping back into littlespace than her thought. He quickly swooped in when she started to become more frantic. “It’s okay. Here is the tree and here is the bunny. The bunny runs around the tree and dives into its home.”

The second shoe was quick work, he stopped at the end to ask if she still was up for dinner. She said yes, so they began the walk. They walked hand-in-hand, and xavier put her phone in his pocket, as her pants did not have pockets.

“I MISSED YOU SO MUCH” Enid screamed throwing herself at the two as if she didn’t see them in class a few hours ago.

“You are suffocating them.” Wednesday said blandly from behind her ‘roommate’, like anyone believed they were just roommates. “I thought I was the one that had those tendencies.”

“We missed you too, Enid.” Xavier said as Enid disentangled herself from the pair. (Y/N) began to shrink into his side at the spontaneous stimulation and loud noises. Xavier squeezed her hand to try to soothe her.

“Can we get some food now? I am starving!” Ajax said, Xavier and him had the same terrible day.

They all began walking in, grabbing their trays. Xavier grabbed 2, passing one to (Y/N). She carried it just fine until food started being placed on it, then she started to struggle with keeping in level and holding up the weight of it. Luckily, most of the food service had a counter infront to rest your trey in. At the end, Xavier came up with an idea to help her.

“Hey, could you fill up out glasses, I’ll carry our trays over to our seats. I hate having to balance the water on the trays!” Xavier said, trying to act normal, however his voice still remained overly gentle with her. She nodded, not noticing what he did. 

Xavier was quick to pick up both trays with ease, carrying them to the table. Xavier stayed standing to watch (Y/N) filling the drinks up clumsily. She started carrying them slowly but carefully, searching the room for her group. A haphazard smile formed on her face when she spotted them.

As she wobbled her way over some of the drink spilled over the side of the cup but she didn’t notice. She was focus on getting back to the table. Once there the glasses were placed down and she was offered some handsanitizer to hopefully stop her from getting sticky hands. 

“So how was everyones day?” Enid asked once they were all sat.

A corus of ‘ehhhh’s filled the table. Soon separate conversation began, wednesday was listening to a play-by-play of enids entire again most likely for the second time today. Ajax leaned over to Xavier, “Yo, is (Y/N) okay?”

Xavier looked over at (Y/N), she was pushing the food around her plate. Her grip on the fork was like a toddler gripping a crayon. The food needed to be cut, she obviously was unable to do so by herself. “Oh, she just had a rough day and is tired, don’t worry!”

Xavier pulled back from Ajax and leaned towards (Y/N) again. “Hey, need some help? The meat is a little tough to cut, can I do that for you?”

“Yesh, please” She said quietly, looking up at him with a small glimpse of nervousness that he was catching onto her. However, he said nothing more as he pulled her plate over, using his fork and knife to cut her food into small bite size pieces. He pushed it back infront of her. She began to eat clumsily, trying her best to scoop or stab at her food.

The meal went quickly, Enid and Wednesday were the first to leave, as Wednesday had to go do her hour of writing. Ajax lingered chatting with Xavier and at (Y/N). However, soon he wondered off to talk to other friends. 

“Hey, wanna get a to-go box for desserts and go back to my dorm?” Xavier asked, whispering in her ear. Looking at the food still left in her plate, “We can pack up your food too…”

“Yesh, pease…” (Y/N) slur, rubbing her fists against her eyes.

“Okay, how about you start thinking about what you want for your sweet and i’ll get out to-go boxes!” Xavier said, only standing up after she nodded. He moved quickly getting the boxes, not liking the idesa of her being little alone in the middle of the caf. Luckily when he got back to her, she was smiling up at him, looking dopey. 

He quickly packaged up her leftovers and then put the trays on the rack above the trash can that was right next to them. “C’mon, lets get you something tasty.”

The pair made their way over to the dessert bar, Xavier carrying both boxes. “Can I have the sprinkle cake?” 

Xavier smiled, “Of course you can.”

The cake was pretty far back on the bar, so xavier had to get it for her. Packing it away, grabbing something for himself and a rice krispy treat. Soon they were on their way back to Xavier’s dorm.The closer they got to the dorm, the more (Y/N) got nervous. She was gonna fully slip, she’s been slipping the entire evening. She has to leave or she will be stuck telling him about her secret.

A small part of her mind whispered, but he’s an outcast too, he won’t think it’s weird. He cares about me, he always looks out for me! He loves me when we are big, so he will at least tolerate me when I am little. They promised to marry each other if they are single later in life, they were each others first kiss, they promised to always be their for each other. 

They stood in front of the door to his room, he was swinging it open with one hand. He entered first to turn on the light and place the food on his desk. She slowly staggered in, closing the door. As the hall disappeared from view, the stress took over, she was on the verge of slipping, however, was bigger now than ever before.

“Xavier…” The sound of his full name, not a nickname, made his head shoot up. He moved over to be right in front of her. “I think I have to tell you something.”

“Okay, do you wanna sit down on the bed?” Xavier asked, she nodded. They moved to sit down.

“I- I should have told you this earlier, cause now it’s hard…” She says getting teary eyed.

“Oh baby, it’s okay, nothing you say could ever make me love you less.” Xavier said, running a hand up and down her back trying to soothe her.

“I, umm, well, when I get stressed or um if something really bad happens, umm, I- my head gets all fuzzy and I start to umm well…” (Y/N) hiccuped in a few breaths of air, “I- I REGRESS!”

Xavier went to speak, however, her sobs cut him off. “Oh, baby!” He was quick to grab her and pull her into his lap. He bounced and rocked her lightly, while kissing her temple mumbling against her skin. 

“I- sorry! ‘M sorry” She cried. Still being hushed and comforted.

“It’s okay, I had been thinking you might be a little, but I had a vision earlier and I know baby.” Xavier spoke, his voice was calm and reasuring. “Baby, who’s been taking care of you?”

She just shook her head, indicating she wasn’t being cared for in littlespace. Her tears were slowing luckily, just resting in her lashes and on her waterline. Xavier in that moment swore to take care of her in everyway until she asked him to stop or found someone she liked better.

“Little one, can I take care of you when you feel little?” Xavier asked, hopeful.

“You want to be my dada?” (Y/N) asked, eyes wide and voice growing small again. She was regressing farther into space with little to no fight, the sleepiness overtaking where the stress once resided. 

“Yes, would you like that?” Xavier asked, rocking his sleepy baby.

“Yesh pease!” She gurgled back, nestling into his side.

“Let’s take a nap and finish our food later.” 

Xavier and (Y/N) layed on his bed and snuggled, as she began to drift towards sleep. Her hands gripped his shirt, one trying to make it’s way to her mouth. Xavier moved the fist away from her mouth and placed his thumb between her lips, resting weight in her tongue. She suckled and hummed, sleep soon took over her. 

Xavier stayed up staring at her, he wanted to be everything for her. He was gonna spoil this girl rotten. The little shoe box was soon going to grow to a storage box in Jericho.

[mysteriesatthecoffeeshop]

Old Green Eyes and other Lores from the Chickamauga Battlefield

(Note from our hosts: We apologize for the quality of Episode 1 of our podcast - we are new to this and have since increased in quality and decreased in awkwardness. Thank you)

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The Chickamauga Battlefield is located in the northern part of Georgia in a city called Fort Oglethorpe. If you ask around, locals will describe the area as "beautiful" and "serene" during the day, and I agree! During the summers - I recall looking out on the lush rolling fields, watching the tall grass sway with the wind. The sky is the brightest of blues, the sun is shining bright, but the canopy of trees keeps you tucked away from it's rays. The battlefield has some of my best memories.

The name "Chickamauga" is Cherokee in origin. The land originally belonged to a smaller branch of the Cherokee Nation known as the Chickamauga Tribe. Although there are many variations of the word Chickamauga - some historians believe that is comes from the word "Chicamaco" meaning "dwelling place by the water" - water, referring to the Chickamauga Creek (two short tributaries of the Tennessee River that run north and south) . However, many believe that the word actually means "River of Death". (Which is honestly very accurate as you will soon find out)

With the amount of people that come to battlefield to sight see (or you know - catch pokemon because every grave stone/ monument is a pokestop) It's hard to believe that this is (basically) a large graveyard that once was covered in the blood and corpses of soldiers. Evidence of a battle that is deep rooted in the history of the south. On September 20th 1863 - the last cannonballs were shot. The Confederacy had won after three hard days of hell on Earth. It was considered the first major win for the confederacy but it came at a cost - The Confederacy had 18,454 casualties while the Union had 16,170 casualties.

Note: Casualties = killed, wounded, missing, or captured

The Battle of Chickamauga was considered the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War (for the number of casualties) right after The Battle of Gettysburg.

So yeah the battlefield is hella haunted, and if you were to ask anyone from the area if they had any stories - most of them will.

My dad for instance - told me that there was a time in his life where he had to drive through the battlefield at around 4-5am every morning in order to get to work. Now, my dad doesn't scare easily at all, nor is he one to make up stories. According to him, shadows can be seen walking or dashing across the road, even if you have your high lights on.

Remember how I said earlier that there was a a canopy of trees there? Well because of that - it is pitch black at night and I have definitely been spooked a couple of times driving through (okay - it's not hard to spook me. Jump scares, no matter what it is, will always get me).

Another incident that had happened within my family was when my niece was about two or three years old. My sister in law and her mother decided to take her for a stroll in the battlefield. It was a beautiful day and they wanted to get some fresh air. This would be my niece's first time going to the battlefield as my sister in law and brother had just moved back home from being stationed in North Carolina. As they strolled past one of the open fields my niece began to giggle. This was odd to my sister in law as my niece was asleep in the stroller with a pacifier in her mouth just a few minutes prior. She brushed it off only for her to giggle again a few minutes later. She asked her what she was laughing at and the toddler's response was "Mommy. Look at all those silly people. They're so silly. They're all falling down." She lifted up her arm and pointed her her little finger out to the empty field. My sister and her mother high tailed it out of there. There was no way for a toddler to know or even understand what went on there, not to mention there had been no talk of the battlefield prior to this event. Could it be that she was watching a ghostly replay of civil war soldiers dying on the battlefield?

There are also other known beings in the battlefield other than shadows and apparitions:

Old Green Eyes The Lady In White The Headless Horseman Bodies in the Bloody Pond Another note to add is that the Civil War was not the only occurrence of death in the area:

So, does Chickamauga earn the name "River of Death"? Are these beings actually out there or is a whole city of people just seeing things? Find out more by listening to Mysteries At The Coffee Shop on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more!

If you loved this article or video and want more, feel free to add us on social media:

This article was written by: Chalena K.

[maybankxw]

Could you do like a blurb for Pacifier? Just to check in and see how they’re doing? ☺️

𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫

𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛: 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭 (post story) 

pairing: jj maybank x fem!reader

warnings: mature content ahead! [ fluff; mentions of violence; unprotected sex; talking about kids; ] minors dni!!!

summary: jj talking about her

word count: 1.8k

a/n: thank you sm for asking! because i didn’t even realise how much i missed them until now, it’s JJ’s pov and the guy is whipped but honestly as he should, she’s so in love with him too, i promise. enjoy!

links: masterlist / taglist / ask box

any feedback (comments, reblogs, anon asks) would be appreciated! (gif is mine)

My head was in between her thighs as we laid on our bed. Everything here became ours since she moved in and I couldn’t be any happier with the decision I’ve made. Her fingers played with my hair, fiddling with the dump strands. It was around nine in the evening, she’d made dinner, while I showered after a long day at work. I had to return the money she paid for my fine, so I got a job as a waiter and part time lifeguard. We had a good life. 

Her parents were hesitant about me and the whole Topper situation, who, by the way, still gave her an apologetic look whenever we crossed paths, but we were working on it, slowly. The only things that mattered to me were what she thought of me and her safety.

She still wore the blue ribbon tied around her wrist, I got myself one too, it matched the color of her eyes. It’s been months, we lived together, I grew to love her even more, I learned things about her and she felt like family, like home. 

Her favourite color was purple, she still loved sour red raspberry tea, she only drank it three times a week so it won’t seem overused and she won’t get tired of it. She loved music, blasted it every time I was out. Whenever she cooked, something was always on, loud or quiet, it had to be playing. Her favourite song was ‘talk tonight’ by oasis, it said: ‘I wanna talk tonight, ‘bout how you save my life’ and that’s what she did to me, she saved me, made me feel safe and calm. My pacifier.

We had a plenty of midnight talks, we fucked a lot, we made love even more. Her scent was all around this house, her toothbrush kept a company for mine, which stood lonely for ages and her shower bottles filled the empty space in a bathroom cabinet.

I watched her smiling, the only times she cried were at the movie endings. I hoped with everything I had, that the reason of that beautiful smile was me. She stole my shirts and never wore pants, only her underwear, I didn’t complain.

She loved the windows opened, a breath of fresh air was always appreciated and she adored the rain. It wasn’t raining a lot here but when it was she never missed an opportunity to get outside and just stand and watch, inhale and consume the power from it. Once we ran home in the rain after our late evening swim, she never looked more alive and I watched her, mesmerised.

“When I was thirteen, I thought I’d become a superstar or an actress, magically noticed by someone who’d want to take care of me and promote,” she spoke as she kept playing with my hair and my grip on her hips tightened, “So dumb of me,” she sighed, shifting, caressing my temple with her thumb, “What did you want to be?”

“I don’t know,” I frowned, not really remembering much about those years of my life, “I think I just didn’t want to end up like my dad.”

“I’m sorry.”

I turned and kissed the inside of her thigh, “We can talk about it, it’s actually kind of relieving I can talk about him with you.”

“Tell me more about him then?” she threaded her fingers through my already messy strands, slicking them back off of my forehead.

“I lived by ‘it won’t always be like this’ mantra. One day he hit me and I locked myself in my room, sat on the edge of my bed, covering my ears, but then realisation hit me — I’d grow up, I’d move the fuck out of that house and start a new life, so I kind of waited for it to happen. I think the moment came,” I let out a breathy laugh, feeling her still. 

Propping myself up on my elbows I flipped onto my stomach, planting more kisses on the insides of her thighs, fixing my gaze on her pretty face, “We had good moments too, he bought me ice cream and taught me to fish. When he didn’t drink he was bearable.”

“I wish I was there to comfort you,” she whispered, stroking my cheek, looking me right in the eye, I couldn’t help it, I buried my face into her belly, the waistband of her panties levelled my lips and I left another soft kiss.

She flipped us to the side and winded her hands around my neck, keeping my face buried into her skin, threading her fingers through my hair again and again, “You know, when we first met,” she swallowed thickly, I could hear it, “I didn’t plan on falling for you. You were fun to be around, I didn’t lie about anything what I said that night on the couch, but for a while I wanted you to be a distraction, just it, because I was scared of not being able to give the love back,” I brushed my nose against her stomach and she inhaled abruptly, “But then,” she licked her dry lips, “The more time I spent with you, the more I never wanted it to end. It was only about sex at first, but then sex became more than just fucking on your couch when I was mad. I was worried where’d you go, jealous of who you were with and lonely at nights when you didn’t hold me to sleep.”

She sniffled a little, rubbing little circles on the side of my neck, “You don’t even know how much you mean to me, JJ Maybank.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, I needed to kiss her. Pulling away from her arms, I crawled over, straddling her waist, leaning close, locking my eyes with hers, “I do, because you mean the world to me.” I kissed her, fuck we kissed thousands of times, but it always felt like the first one. 

It was soft and so loving, soothing and caring, I sucked on her lower lip, retrieving and slipping my tongue into her mouth. She rolled us over and now she was the one straddling me, pushing her palms into my chest as we kissed, not ready to stop yet.

My fingers grazed her underwear, she was getting wet. Always for me. I pressed my fingers harder and she moaned, catching her breath in the back of her throat. My cock hardened, pressing her belly and she grind herself slightly, eliciting a groan from me. I stroked her bare skin, covering my fingertips in her wetness, grateful.

She dragged my boxers down, making my cock jut out to my stomach and rubbed the tip, spreading the pre cum over the base. I replaced my hand with hers and pushed her panties to the side, caressing her wet slit and slipping just one finger inside. She buried her face into the crook of my neck, allowing me to finger her. Adding another one, I curled them inside making her bite my shoulder, a smile tugged on my lips. She enjoyed it.

Lifting her up, I slowly sat her down on me, a cry burst out of her as I started moving back and forth in a slow pace, easing myself inside until I was buried all the way in her and her ass met my thighs. Her shirt went off and her breasts looked so tempting, so close to my face my breaths became rapid. I took a mouthful, sucking and grazing her nipples slightly as she moved her hot core on me, mind clouded with the intimacy and our uneven breaths. I did the same with her other breast, taking a hold on her hips. 

“I fuck you almost everyday,” I grunted, bucking my hips up to meet her movements, “But you’re so addicting, I can never get enough.”

She was riding my cock, with my arms tight around her body, our bodies locked together, her chest against mine. We kissed again, hot this time, still loving, but with more fire in it. I laid her to the side, thrusting a little faster, diving into her chest and sucking on her nipples again, leaving them wet and throbbing.

“JJ,” she whimpered, arching towards me and I smiled against her skin, palming her other breast.

I pulled out and slid down, swirling my lips over her clit, sucking mercilessly, gliding lower, licking a stripe up, parting her and tasting her on my tongue. Taking her swollen bud in my mouth again and releasing with a sloppy sound, that invaded the room. My girl. Only mine.

Hips flexed and I drove into her again, my eyes immersed hers, hazy and dark with desire, drunk on sex, “I love you so much, you know this?” I rasped, skimming her hip, propping it higher, so I could go deeper, “I love you and I love fucking you in every way possible.” 

I moved faster, taking handfuls of her tits, kneading them, while kissing her and fucking harder and faster, triggering her orgasm.

“Please, come inside,” she whispered, breathless as the bed bounced with us, the headboard banged against the wall slightly.

She was on the pill, but fuck if she wanted my babies, I’d let her have them. 

I propped her legs over my shoulders, quickening the pace, listening to her moans, watching her coming, I loved it. Her eyes closed as she screamed, while I dove deeper into her, bringing my thumb to flick her clit, feeling her clench. My cock twitched and she tightened again, I stilled, letting her grind herself on me, feeling her ripples intensifying, my cock jerking and the cum rushing out deep inside her.

Moving a few more times I allowed us to savour the moment and retrieved, watching the thick white liquid leaking out of her entrance.

She panted, looking at me, drowsy, with a faint smile on her face, “What if I get pregnant?” she laughed under her breath, her chest heaved up and down as she turned to the side facing me and bracing her leg over mine, jerking, still sensitive, when her clit brushed my cock.

“I’ll be the happiest person alive,” I murmured, pulling her close and planting a kiss on her temple, “Have you ever thought about it?”

“What, kids?”

“Yeah,” I propped myself up on my elbow, coiling the strand of her hair over my finger, “A boy or a girl? How many?”

“Have you?”

“Not really, but I think I wouldn’t mind as long as the kid is raised in love and prosperity.”

“I don’t mind either,” she bit her lip, suppressing a smile, trying to hide her face from me.

“What?” I smiled, curious, giving her hair a short tug, to bring her attention back to me.

“I would want to have your kids one day,” she whispered, fiddling with my necklace as if she never saw it before.

“Is that so?” I whispered back, closing the remained distance between our faces, taking her lips into mine, clutching her back and pushing her onto my body.

“Mhm.”

tags: @icedcold @maybankforlife @novxturient @mackenzielovee @alwaysclassyeagle @kaelibaby @sunset-styles @nope-thanks @absolute-fcking-chaos @tomhollandlol @langcvn @loveyru @rottenstyx @lovin-aurelia @rafecameronswhore @sansasdove @herejustforjj @ameliaalvarez06 @my-baexht-ls @luversgirl @wannabestarkeysgirl @liamthedunbar @instabull @dudenhaaa27 @jessmaybank @ofherscarlettwitchways

[theonewiththefanfics]

Paranoid (one-shot)

Synopsis: Loki wasn’t paranoid. I mean, that was before he met the Reader. Ever since then, all day every day he can only think of her, what she’s doing, where she’s going and what’s happening to her. All because she’s a grade A dumb ass.

Pairing: Loki x fem!Reader

Genre: fluff, maybe toiny bit of angst

Warnings: Reader has one brain cell and even that is not used, swearing, a lil bit of sad thoughts and general idiocy.

Word count: 3430

He was paranoid about her. Always. With every step he took. No exceptions. And it wasn’t how you might think. He’s not paranoid she might find someone better even though he thinks she deserves it. He’s not paranoid to have his heart broken and smashed into pieces because she carries it on velvet palms wherever she goes. No. It’s just that Y/N has quite the knack of getting hurt. And she’s been out on a mission for a month. Without any contact. So it was safe to say Loki was more than worried.

You could say he’s overreacting, but when it comes to his girl, it’s pretty much in the range. In fact, this is the calmest and collected Loki had been during the thirty-two days she was away, all because Y/N was finally coming home, and he could lay his green eyes upon her body to assess the damage.

When they had first met, Loki had had no idea what kind of a tornado he’d let in his life. Even the Black Widow had warned him about the woman before there had been any inclination something more than a friendship could bloom.

“She’s an absolute dumb-ass without a survival instinct,” Nat had said through a laugh, a beer bottle pressed against her rouged lips. “Honestly, I can only hope you two get put together on a mission just so you could see how big of an idiot she is. Bigger than Scott, and that’s saying something.”

In the meantime, Y/N was laughing away, head thrown back and eyes closed. “No,” she’d pointed at the redhead after nearly choking on her coffee as she pressed a tissue against the liquid that had dribbled down her chin. “I do have a survival instinct. I just don’t have a self-preservation instinct.” 

“And what’s the difference?” the Asgardian prince’s black eyebrow rose in question.

“When shit goes down, I do try to, you know, get out in somewhat of a single piece. It’s the before it happens that I don’t do.”

“You mean thinking?”

Y/N clapped her hands in excitement. “Exactly! I don’t do the thinking bit!”

That should’ve been his warning for what kind of chaos she’d bring to his life. 

It started off small with her inability to walk into the adjoined kitchen area without stubbing a toe or bruising the side of her hip against the countertop. Then it evolved into him noticing how Y/N didn’t press the button to release her toast when she thought it was in at prime toastiness level, instead, she grabbed a fork and full-on jammed it down there (DON’T DO THAT), not caring whether she’d get electrocuted or blow out the fuses in the facility. It escalated all the way to her getting trapped in an ex-Hydra base, and her first thought being not to use the window as an escape route, but rather line the sides of the room with explosives and bring the whole floor down while she hid underneath a table. He was genuinely surprised Y/N was still alive. 

But with the chaos also came serenity. She’d sneak into his room with glimmering eyes and a new book in hand, slipping under Loki’s cold sheets to lay against him and explain why the new piece of literature was ‘the actual shit’ and ‘if he didn’t read it right at that moment, she’d gouge his eyes out cause he didn’t deserve them.’

Obviously, they were empty threats, and as Loki rolled the before mentioned green eyes, he’d gently take the book out of her hands while Y/N quickly scurried out of the room to come back five minutes later with two teacups in hand.

Y/N would snuggle up against him and listen to how his voice expertly wove the words into the story, but one time it was different. The day on which the nature of their relationship had flipped upside down, had followed the same routine they’d been having for around three months since they’d become friends, but then not even ten minutes later he felt her wet tongue completely press against his bare shoulder. By that point, after everything she’d done, he didn’t even question it, simply turned the page.

“Did you burn your tongue on the tea, darling?”

“Noube,” she muffled out not letting her tongue off of his chilled skin.

“You know there’s another way I could cool it down.”

“Eah? Ike aht?”

“I could kiss it better.”

Instantly Y/N had peeled herself off from him and stared at the god, the pink muscle hanging out of her mouth like a dog’s on a hot summer day. Loki just stared at the wall. 

He hadn’t meant for those words to escape him; he’d actually always meant to suppress his feelings for the girl until the day the world stopped spinning. In fact, that’s what he’d been doing ever since she’d returned from a mission in East India seven months prior, battered and bruised and his heart had lifted to the heavens at the sight of her simply smiling and breathing.

Loki could hear her swallow harshly, and then she whispered, “don’t offer something you won’t go through with.”

His head snapped to look at her because the tone wasn’t the teasing lilt he’d gotten used to. This woman sitting half-covered by his black bedsheets was no longer the self-assured, confident and no-shit’s-given person he’d grown to love. This woman was looking at him with fear of rejection and yet unmistakable hope in her eyes. 

Slowly he closed the book, not even caring to mark the page he was left on and put it on the side of the bed before leaning over and without hesitation cupping Y/N’s cheeks and pressing their lips together and they sagged against one another at the euphoric feeling. 

Her hands in his hair felt like paradise as she cradled his head in an attempt to pull him closer, and she gasped when he did slip his tongue in her mouth, eagerly accepting the intrusion. But then she just had to ruin the moment by snorting in his face, though Loki couldn’t hide the smile that appeared on his own.

“What? What’s so funny?”

Y/N scrunched her nose. “Your tongue’s really cold.”

“It did the trick though, right?”

She looked like she was pondering it for a bit, and in the meantime slid her legs up so they were now wrapped around his waist. “Dunno. Might need another treatment. You know, so we’re sure it’s cured.”

He didn’t argue for even a second because Loki couldn’t believe his life at that moment. It was filled with giggles, and short breaths as they stole kisses from one another as much as possible, and soft caresses that sometimes turned into biting fingers that dug in the other’s sides whenever a teasing remark slipped past their swollen lips.

His heart flipped in his chest when Y/N threw her head back in a cackle, exposing her neck to him where he laid loving kisses. 

He’d never been more scared of a feeling.

He was terrified of how easily she’d gotten ahold of his heart.

But fuck him, if Loki didn’t love it and wouldn’t dive headfirst into it again.

Though now, when she’d finally returned home after the mission, he was kind of regretting it as Y/N was being wheeled off the Quin-jet on a gurney, one of the hands that had so tenderly braided his hair just a month ago now limp over the side of the stretcher as the other covered a hole in her side that was oozing blood.

White-hot fury blazed through his veins, as he saw the Captain step down the track and onto the landing pad, though fortunately for the blond super-soldier, the god didn’t get to him as he decided to follow Bruce and Tony who were taking Y/N to the med bay. But even knowing the love of his life was being treated by the best of the best, didn’t pacify him especially when they refused him entry into her room. 

“Loki, Loki, calm down,” Nat, who’d been on the mission with Y/N and Steve, pushed against his chest to keep the god away from busting through the door. “They won’t let anyone in until she’s been stitched up, but it’s nothing big… I mean on her scale. She just decided to be dramatic and passed out on her way back.”

He wanted to fight, he wanted to make each person that stood between them crumble underneath him, but he knew it wouldn’t do him or Y/N any good. Loki huffed, letting his shoulders drop and then pressing his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose. “How bad?”

“Umm, Marrakesh level, so, nothing too lethal.”

“By Valhalla,” Loki dragged a hand across his face. “That woman will kill me one day. Not directly, no, but I’ll have a heart attack just because of her recklessness.”

Nat snorted and crossed her arms. “I did warn you.”

“Not enough.”

“Hey, don’t blame me! You were the one that fell in love with her.”

That Loki didn’t have a comeback for, so instead, he just huffed and plopped down into one of the chairs that lined the wall outside of the med bay.

“Our lives would be quite dull without her though,” Nat said, joining the god on the chairs and releasing a restrained groan, as she shuffled into the seat. She most likely had a dislocated hip but had practically bitten Steve’s head off when he told her to go and get checked. She, just as much as Y/N’s boyfriend, needed to know their firecracker was alright.

“Yeah,” Loki sighed. “If only she had one more brain cell in that head of hers, maybe we could live in somewhat of a peace.”

Not even two minutes later, Tony threw open the doors and allowed them to enter, but by that point, everyone had heard the arrival of their teammates, and they wanted to check on them. For example, Thor wanted to see if Loki had murdered anyone yet, but as it turned out, he didn’t need to worry about that. Instead, he needed to worry about his brother’s girlfriend.

“Loki!” Y/N squealed seeing the raven-haired god come into her hospital room. “That’s ma man!” she said to Bruce, who only rolled his eyes already used to the way the woman was while coming out of it. “It’s ma Loki Loki, bo-boki, Banana-fana fo-foki, Fee-fi-mo-moki, Loki!”

She dramatically pointed at the other god standing beside him.

“Oh, and that’s his brother Thor, Thor, bo-bhor, Banana-fana fo-fohr, Fee-fi-mo-mohr, Thor!” Her hands slapped against her cheeks as she squeezed them and wiggled them up and down making her words shake. “My-y-y-y-y fa-a-a-a-a-a-ce fee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-ls li-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ke cotto-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n.”

“That’s 'cause you’re high,” Tony said.

Y/N was instantly on it. It was like she was on crack and on steroids and a sugar rush while at the same time doing a hundred miles an hour. “Hello, High. I’m dad.”

Tony looked at the ceiling in despair. “That’s not how that even works.”

“Why’s she like that?” Loki asked sitting down next to Y/N on the bed, who suddenly busied herself with the reflections of the sun the golden cufflinks of his shirt sleeves threw. Especially as his face went to caress her cheek, but she grabbed his wrist in a white-knuckling grip and moved it in certain angles to create reflections on the walls. 

        The billionaire sighed. “We gave her a sedative cause when we started to stitch her up, she woke up and almost kicked Bruce in the nuts, but after a little breakdown of the situation by Steve, it turns out there was some gas involved in the mission, and I guess the combination of the two chemicals have flung her in the stratosphere.”

        That wasn’t a good word, as it turned out it was almost like Bucky’s trigger words, given how Y/N immediately screeched out, “Walking on air, living in the Stratospheeeeeeeeeeeeere!”.

        “Wow,” Nat sighed. “Mutemath would hate her.”

        Y/N stuck her tongue out at the redhead. “You’re mute math, how ‘bout that? No one likes to be name called, you bully.”

        “Yeah, okay,” the redhead chuckled as she patted Y/N’s foot. “You’ll survive. I’m gonna have a nap.” And with that she left limping on her way, Steve following so he could scold her into getting her hip put into place by a professional, not by him or Clint. 

        One by one the rest of the team did as well, knowing that they could rest with easy hearts as Y/N was safe, stitched up and sound. Well, as sound as being completely drugged up could be.

Tony checked her vitals one more time before turning to Loki, who’d refused to leave her on her own, one, because he loved her and wanted to know she was alright, two, because he didn’t trust normal Y/N to not do stupid things, let alone this version. 

“Speaking of naps,” Tony said, “if she doesn’t pass out in the next ten minutes please do your mumbo jumbo and make her. She needs rest. I’ve put in some pain meds with a sleepy side effect, so hopefully, she’ll be out like a light in no time.”

Loki sighed, as he felt Y/N rub her cheek against the silken material of his shirt. “Of course.”

With that, the billionaire left, muttering something about how her generation would be the last generation if they didn’t stop being so stupid. Not that Loki would disagree, his girlfriend being a prime example of that.

Y/N hummed Loki’s name quietly, which made him look down at the love-sick puppy dog eyes she was giving him. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

“Yeah, darling?”

“Mhm,” she hummed, snuggling against his side. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he muttered, kissing the top of her head. “Do you wanna lay down?”

She scoffed looking up at him and tried to shove him off the bed, confusion riddling his face until Y/N said, “I have a boyfriend who I love very much. I’ll cut you before I sleep with you.”

“Yeah.” Loki groaned standing up. “Alright.” Green seidr appeared to weave around his arms, and with a flick of his fingers, her eyes started to drop closed as she slid down the sheets and snuggled up in the place where Loki had been sitting.

He dragged a hand down his face and huffed, plopping his body in the armchair which was in the room deciding to sleep for a bit until Y/N woke up. Although he was a god and didn’t need as much rest as mortal people did, he’d sure as Hel need all the energy he could gather because once his girlfriend was awake it’d be chaos all over. 

Loki didn’t get much rest though when a light touch on his shoulder disturbed him from his sleep.

Slowly his eyes fluttered open, mouth stretching in a smile as Y/N’s face looked down on him with a happy expression. 

        “Hey there, sleepyhead.”

        “Hello, dove,” he muttered, kissing the inside of her palm. “You up?”

        She nodded, whispering, “Yeah. But do you think you could help me with all these wires? I wanna go to our room.”

        Her words were what hit him, making Loki jump up, realising Y/N was out of the bed when she was supposed to be resting.

        Gingerly, despite all the protests from her mouth, he took her under the legs and put her back in the hospital bed. 

        “But – “

        “I will tie you down here if you try to step out again.” His voice was deep and filled with a threat he fully intended to fulfil, but Y/N in her Y/N fashion just wiggled her eyebrows and Loki handed a carton of juice and stabbed the top with a straw.

        “Kinky. I like it. But let’s leave it for our own private time.”

        Pinching the bridge of his nose had become a motion Loki was now all too familiar with. Not even after all the time, he’d put up Thor’s bullshit had he had to do that. He was quite certain his fingers had left indents on his skin. 

“What happened on the mission?” he asked, placing a pudding cup and a spoon on the nightstand.

“Dude came out of nowhere,” Y/N said sipping on her apple juice. “Like he just appeared behind me and stabbed me in the side. Talk about rude, right.”

“You need to be more careful.”

Y/N raised her eyebrow. “I am careful. ‘S not like I go out to get stabbed on purpose.”

But Loki’s tone had lost all lightness, as she exasperated. “No, I need you to be more careful.”

“I am. I –“ but she didn’t get a chance to finish as Loki racked a frustrated hand through his hair, snapping at her. “No, you’re the most reckless person I’ve ever met and you think getting stabbed and inhaling chemicals is not a big deal, but it is, and I can’t do this anymore… I can’t lose you.”

And although it was said with anger and frustration, Y/N could see the underlying pain and fear. His family had all but abandoned him, and we’re not talking about his biological one. All he had left was Thor, and Loki would never admit it out loud, he dreaded the day his brother would disappear from his life.

“Loki.” She took one of his hands and pressed a kiss to his cold knuckles. “You could never lose me.”

A bitter chuckle settled between them as he looked up at her. “But I could. You’re so carefree and fluttery while doing things that could kill you, it scares me half to death.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But I have to.”

Loki’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

“Because if I don’t all the darkness will just settle on me, and I’ll never be able to get out of it.”

Loki squeezed her hand in encouragement, and after taking a deep breath Y/N elaborated. “I try to ease myself with the thought that I’m saving people, and helping humanity, but at the end of the day, I’m still taking lives. It’s not like they, you know, the bad guys’ think they’re the bad guys. They’re not doing it because they think they’re evil. They’re fighting for what they think is right. That doesn’t mean it is, but we’re all villains in someone else’s stories, and if I start thinking of it, I don’t know if I’ll ever stop.” A shuddery exhale left her lips, and this time it was Loki taking a hold of her hand. “I need to let myself be a bit crazy. Because if I don’t, I don’t know how I’ll go on. I promise I don’t do it because of some wish to get killed in the process. It’s just that… it makes it easier to look at the world, to not think for a moment about the bad.”

“Can you just promise me something?” Loki’s tone was soft as a feather’s touch as he sighed, understanding where she was coming from. More than once his own dark thoughts tended to overcome him, but in his world, it was Y/N who brought in the light to dissipate them. He hadn’t gotten to the point where he could do it himself, so he supposed he had to at least be happy she’d found a way to fight them off herself, even if it made him fear for her.

Y/N nodded. “Anything.”

“Just – just try to think before you do anything.”

That set both of them off into a fit of giggles as she raised their clasped hands and pressed a kiss to his cold one. “I can try.”

“Promise.”

“I promise to try. Though, I’d say don’t get disillusioned. I’m still the same crazy person you met before.”

A soft smile graced Loki’s, face and he brought Y/N’s hand to his lips where he pressed a kiss to her warm skin. “Wouldn’t want it any other way. Though, as much as I doubt, you’ll heed my request, you could do one thing for me?”

“And what’s that?”

 “Stop jamming forks in the toaster.”

“Absolutely not!” she scoffed. “How else am I supposed to get the bread out?”

“You wait for it to be done!”

“It takes too fucking long!”

Although Loki would fight tooth and nail to somehow keep Y/N safe and would use everything in his arsenal to make sure she took care of herself, he’d never change her even if it made him paranoid.

Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take):

Everything tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64​ @supernaturalbaesduh​ @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl​ @sea040561​ @staryeyedgirl​ @deathbyarabbit​ @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91​ @dalilx​ @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns​ @averyrogers83​ @in-the-end-im-still-trash​ @gallifreyansass​ @dewy-biitch​ @avxgers​ @unlikelygalaxygiver​ @magicwithaknife​ @ollyoxenfrees​ @bnhvrdy​ @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl​ @sj-thefan​ @teenwolflover28 @lestersglitterglue​ @im-squished​

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Hiddles/Loki tags: @marvels-queen-bee @julierousing98 @maggiesimps @horrorx570ximagines​ @luluthegreatandterrible​ @bambamwolf87​ @drakesfiance​ @artbysteph87 @beets1bears1battlestargalactica

A/N: I hope everyone’s staying home and is alright during these crazy times.

I’m back writing for ma boy Loki (I had a dream about that Loki - Tom Hiddles look-alike that is on TikTok that we were cuddling, so I’m on a Loki and Tom lovin’ wave)

P.S. my tags are always open :)

P.S.S. what did ya think?

[morganaspendragonss]

I hope that you are doing well! I love the your writing! If you are open to a Tarlos fic request: TK to Carlos after the doctor has told him Carlos might not make it through the next 48hrs "I cannot imagine life without you, please don't let me live my greatest fear. I won't survive."

Carlos has been working a case and it happens that he becomes a target. He starts getting messages at work, at home and becomes paranoid but doesn't tell TK, but TK can see that Carlos is on edge. Carlos picks a fight with TK so that he goes to stay with Owen for a while. Carlos does this to protect him, let him at least stay away so that if anything happens, TK is safe. Then one night, Carlos is alone at home and someone breaks in, torture ensues and he is barely clinging to life. He calls 911, Grace answers and he can barely get the words out "it's Carlos, send help". ��

holly's august extravaganza day 10: i can't imagine my life without you

thank you!

ao3 | 1.9k | descriptions of torture, major character injury, angst, hopeful ending, open ending

TK knows he’s annoying people. The atmosphere in the ambulance is thick with tension whenever they’re out on a call, and it’s not much better back at the firehouse. He tries to keep his distance, occupying himself in the gym or aggressively doing chores, but he can’t avoid everyone forever and his bad mood is starting to spill over.

Like when he and Nancy fell back into their old pattern of snipping at each other, or when he nearly bit Paul’s head off when he asked what was wrong. It was less the question itself—though TK certainly doesn’t want to get into why he’s so out of it—and more the way Paul phrased it. Nobody likes to be asked ‘trouble in paradise?’, particularly when the answer is yes.

He just doesn’t understand. It had come completely out of left field—one minute everything was fine, the next Carlos had turned to him with guarded eyes and a clenched jaw, and said six words that sent TK’s whole world crashing down.

“I think we need a break.”

Carlos hadn’t explained why; when TK had tried to push, he’d turned it into a fight, until TK had no choice but to leave. He’s been staying with his dad for a week now and he desperately misses his boyfriend, torn between wanting to go over and check on him and wanting to give him space.

He’d settled on a text, a simple you okay?, which still felt woefully inadequate. Carlos had been on edge for weeks before the blow up and TK hadn’t been able to get a word out of him about why.

The text is still unanswered, though it’s been marked as Read.

TK huffs and hauls himself up into the ambulance to check stock. He knows Nancy has already done it and she’s going to be pissed if she catches him, but he needs to keep his mind occupied somehow, lest he start to spin out. But the peace he finds is short-lived, as not ten minutes after he starts, TK looks up from his clipboard to see Judd approaching, hands held out in a pacifying gesture.

It has the opposite effect, TK’s nerves becoming that bit more frayed at the spooked animal treatment he’s getting, but his pointed glare does nothing to deter Judd. Nor does turning his back and returning to work, as he finds out when Judd’s heavy footsteps stop behind the rig and don’t move away.

“TK,” Judd says, his voice suspiciously rough.

TK doesn’t bother turning around, hoping it will get the message across. “Fuck off, Judd,” he says, which would normally be a guarantee of riling him up enough to get him to either leave TK alone or engage in a more physical manner.

At this point, TK doesn’t really care which reaction he gets.

Unfortunately, he’s not in luck today. Which, honestly, tracks.

“I got a phone call,” Judd continues, undeterred, “from Grace. Now, I figure you’ll be getting a similar one soon enough, but we thought it might be better if you heard it from us first.”

TK sighs and hangs his head, reluctantly turning around. “What?” he snaps out. When Judd doesn’t react, not even with a raised eyebrow, a quiet dread begins to pool in his gut, a little voice in the back of his head telling him he already knows ‘what’.

He tries to push it down, but there are very few reasons why Grace would call Judd and ask to talk to him. TK takes the proffered phone in a shaking hand, his heart starting to pound as he lifts it to his ear.

“Grace?”

“Hey, TK.” Grace’s voice is gentle, as it always is, but there’s a soothing note to it now, and more of the pieces start to slot together in TK’s head. “Listen, honey, I’m at work and I just got a call come through. I’m… I’m so sorry, TK. It was Carlos.”

TK’s breath catches, tears pricking the back of his eyes. “What do you mean?” he demands, voice shaky. “What do you mean ‘you’re sorry’?”

“He was… I don’t know. He was barely able to talk, but it sounded real bad. EMS 122 were in the area at the time so I sent them out; they should have arrived at the hospital by now.”

And TK… TK doesn’t know what to say to that. He slumps back on the bench in the rig, breathing turning shallow as he imagines what could have happened to Carlos. The last time they’d seen each other—the last time they’d spoken—it had ended with them throwing insults across the kitchen island and with TK packing a bag and slamming the door behind him.

The thought that it might be the last memory they have together kills him inside.

He needs answers. Before he can face this new reality, he needs to know what happened, which means there’s only one thing he can do right now.

“Grace?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“I want to hear it.”

*

Judd has followed him up to the mercifully empty bunkroom, refusing to leave after both his and Grace’s attempts to dissuade him had failed. TK ignores him for the most part, but he does give in to his request to put the phone on speaker. Much as he wants to deal with this on his own, it is a kind of comfort to have Judd’s steady presence next to him.

“Are you sure about this, TK?” Grace asks for the millionth time. TK appreciates her concern, but he needs this. He needs to hear it for himself.

“I’m sure.”

“Alright then.”

He hears a few clicks and then the recording starts, Grace’s voice coming over the speaker.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

No response.

“Hello?”

The silence continues, broken only by static, and then what TK recognises as heavy, gasping breaths.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

A few more seconds pass, and then, “Grace.”

TK has to suppress a sob at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice—though, if he didn’t know for sure it was Carlos, he wouldn’t have recognised it. His words come out ragged and hoarse, riding on breaths that seem to be getting slower and more laboured by the second. TK clutches the phone tighter in his hand, biting down hard on his lip.

“It’s… It’s Carlos. I… Send help. Please.”

“Carlos, can you tell me what’s wrong?”

But Grace goes unanswered, and TK suddenly notices that he can no longer hear the sound of Carlos breathing. His own breaths hitch, his lungs refusing to expand properly, and his vision blurs with tears as he curls in on himself, hands braced on the edge of the bed and gripping tightly onto the covers.

He doesn’t notice Judd taking the phone back, nor is he aware of him moving to sit next to him until he’s being pulled into a strong embrace, TK’s head cradled against Judd’s chest. Judd whispers things TK doesn’t hear as his hands gently rub his back, the touch grounding him as he loses himself to tears and the overwhelming pain in his heart.

Five minutes later, TK’s phone rings.

Fifteen minutes after that, they arrive at the hospital.

*

“Please,” TK whispers, clutching onto the hand in both of his. “Please don’t make me do this. I don’t… I don’t want to live a life without you in it. I can’t, you understand me? I can’t. If you leave, I won’t survive it, so you just hang on for me, alright? Forget what the doctor thinks, you keep fighting, and come back to me. Please, Carlos. Please.”

TK looks up, hoping to see Carlos’s beautiful brown eyes staring right back at him, but of course they’re not. He might never see them again, which is something TK is still trying to wrap his head around. That’s not the only thing either; Carlos has so many injuries that he’s struggling to remember them all—the only thing he does remember with horrific clarity is the doctor’s words when he’d asked to speak to TK privately.

“We’ve done what we can, but I’m afraid Officer Reyes’s wounds are grave and there is a significant possibility that he may not make it beyond the next 48 hours. If he does, then we will re-evaluate, but currently his chances of recovery are slim. I’m truly sorry.”

TK wipes away a stray tear and presses a kiss to Carlos’s bruised knuckles. His other hand is completely shattered, and TK can barely stand to look at his face; it’s been beaten to a pulp, there’s a patch over one eye, and whoever attacked him even went so far as to rip out some of his teeth.

It’s grim, and that’s to say nothing of the rest of his body. Torture is the only word to describe what happened to Carlos—brutal, savage, and without mercy, somebody tortured him in their home.

And he was alone.

*

“Son, you didn't know.”

“That’s no excuse. I left him.”

“Carlos pushed you away. He was trying to protect you.”

“And where was I when he needed protection?”

“TK—”

“Don’t, Dad.”

*

“TK, I really shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Please, Mitchell. I need to know. Carlos knew something was going to happen but he chose to drive me away instead of letting me in. I just… I just want answers.”

“...I’ll see what I can do.”

*

Carlos makes it through the 48 hours, but not without incident. Somewhere around hour 32, the machines had started going haywire, summoning an army of doctors who shoved TK out of the room, leaving him to stare in through the blinds as they worked to save Carlos’s life.

They’d done it, but it had taken TK hours to come down from the resulting panic attack.

*

“Oh my god.”

Mitchell is standing at his shoulder, watching him warily as he flips through the file she brought him from the station. She keeps looking around anxiously, as if her sergeant is going to appear and arrest her for misconduct at any moment, but TK only has eyes for the images and words in front of him.

“Did you know about this?” he asks, gesturing to the myriad of threatening messages they’d apparently found in Carlos’s desk.

She shakes her head. “We noticed he’d been acting weird, but we figured something was going on between you two. He never said a word to anyone that I know of.” She pauses and sighs shakily, placing a comforting hand on TK’s shoulder. “We, um. We found some at your house, too. In Carlos’s nightstand.”

TK stares, first at Mitchell, then at the file, then at Carlos, still just as silent and motionless as he’s been since the day all this happened. “Why?” he breathes, and he doesn’t know which one of them he’s addressing the question to.

*

The doctors are amazed when they get to a week and Carlos’s heart is still beating. He still has a ventilator breathing for him and there’s still been no sign of him waking up, but he’s not giving up.

TK wants to say that he never doubted him, but he can’t ignore his paramedic training. He’d heard how badly Carlos was injured; he’d seen the crime scene photos and all the blood coating their bedroom.

(He’d needed several minutes in the bathroom to recover from that sight)

Much as he didn’t want to admit it, all the signs pointed to Carlos not making it.

But he’s still here. Still fighting. And TK can’t help but let that little bit of hope into his heart.

[slothspaghettiwrites]

07. Midterms

Midterms - Sleepless in Stark Towers

Story Rating: Explicit, 18+ only

Warnings: self hate, light stalking, pining, developing relationship, sleepless idiots, college stress, finals, some fluff, poor proofreading

Relationships: Tony Stark x Plus Size!Reader/OFC

Word Count: 3139

Summary: It's midterms week at school. Tony watches. Things take a step forward.

A/N: I’M BACK! Sort of, kinda, I’m gonna try and get this masterlist all the way up to date but I mean, I apparently can’t keep a writing promise to save my life. 

<< 06. The Interview | 08. Fall Break >>

This wasn’t a new level of creep, I’ve hacked plenty of security footage before. Super easy. What was creepy was me watching you work in the studio all the time. I’d be working in the lab and I’d have the low-quality security feed playing in the background. It was like we were working together again, which had been great. And after the graffiti incident, Peter had asked if I would help keep an eye on you, seeing as we seemed to be close. Then again, the kid had a weird look on his face when he said that, a look that screamed I’m plotting something, possibly to change JARVIS’s pacifier controls again or take over the world. Honestly, it was hard to tell with him. 

But right now, I was watching my favorite talk show instead of chatting with the rest of the team on our way home from a mission. I lied and told them I’d be sleeping, which did make me feel like only 5% shitty because Clint thought it was funny to make an old man joke at me, before flicking down the faceplate to the suit and pulling up the studio camera. Your midterms started today, which meant you should be studying. It seemed like you were doing that, working through flashcards while you paced the empty studio at two in the morning.

“Fuck calculus,” You threw the cards into the air, before rubbing your eyes. It was hard sometimes to not laugh at your antics, this being a perfect example. Calculus seemed to be your worst subject, the one you struggled with more than anything. “I don’t even know why I try, at this rate, Imma have to be a hooker anyway.”

Um, no, Sweetheart. Though Pretty Woman was an okay movie, I wouldn’t let you do that.

“Okay, bitch, one more hour of studying, then we are gonna do some art.”

Well, that is certainly one way to motivate yourself.

For the next hour, you read from your art history book. Out loud. It wasn’t until you shouted, ‘boom bitch’ and slammed the flappy softback book closed that I realized I had fallen asleep.  My whole body twitched and I ripped my helmet off. Clint snickered, still cleaning and oiling his bow. I ran my ungloved hand through my hair and across the stubble growing over my cheeks. Momentarily, I thought about hopping out of the quinjet. I could probably fly faster than this. I could be in my workshop or in bed like a fucking regular human being. Literally, anything could be more productive than just sitting here pretending I wasn’t being a fucking creep. 

“Romanov, what’s our ETA?” I shouted up to the cockpit. 

“30 minutes till we start our descent. Why? You got a hot date, Stark?” She peered around her seat.

“Perhaps I do,” I smirked at the redhead. By the time we land, there would obviously be no hot date, or anyone waiting for me at home, but it was nice to dream you’d be there.

Barnes burst into laughter, slapping his knee like fucking old man he was. 

“You got something to say, man bun?” I turned to the super soldier. 

“No, ‘course not. Just thinking about my new favorite stories I started watching the other day. Gotta lot to catch up on,” Bucky did that stupid thing with his face, the one that makes you think he’s innocent, but I knew. I knew what a fucking hellion he was, just like fucking Steve.

“Steven, control your friend or I will launch him into space,” I threatened, pointing at Barnes. 

“Both of you stop it. Don’t make me turn this jet around,” Steve turned around to first to stare at Barnes then at me. 

“No, you’d nose dive into the ice first before you turn it around,” Bucky crossed his arm, and I couldn’t control the laugh that exploded from me. 

“That’s it, I’m hiding the remote,” Steve turned around again, ending the conversation. 

“You can’t do that,” The brunet cried. 

“Watch me, Buck.”

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Watching you struggle with your studying. Whenever I wasn’t in meetings with the Avengers, or Stark Industries, or literally doing anything around other people, I watched the studio. You practically lived in that room. Occasionally there would be other people with you, but after a quick greeting, you’d plug your earbuds back in and get back to work. Other times, you’d speak so animatedly with your professor. He was… okay looking I guess. I definitely didn’t notice how you perked up when he praised your work or tenacity. I definitely wasn’t jealous, because you technically weren’t with me. I did, however, tuck that little bit of knowledge away for later to test out… for science purposes. 

Right now though, you were, what I could only assume, rage drawing a still life of dead flowers, broken phones, and some kind of book with a skeleton hand tucked into it. I watched, fascinated, as you tore another sheet off the board. Something about this wasn’t coming easily to you, and that seemed to make you frustrated, even more so than calculus. 

“Jesus, why am I trying so hard? It's just a vanitas sketch, why does it gotta be so deep? Well, you dumb bitch, it’s because you can’t do anything the easy way,” You massaged your scalp causing some of your hair to fall out of the messy bun you’d thrown it up in a few hours earlier. “Okay, let’s just rearrange some of these bits and adjust the lighting. It needs more drama.”

“Baby, just sleep on it and you will feel better in the morning,” I begged the screen, staring at the clock it was just after midnight. 

You had your calculus midterm in the afternoon and hadn’t left the studio since yesterday morning. Your hand blindly reached for the Stark cup on your station, probably filled with some flavored 

ice coffee beverage that you shouldn’t be drinking so late. The straw was guided into your mouth clumsily, not taking your eyes off the still life set up.  

“Tony, what would you do?” I blinked and shook my head when you said my name. 

“Sleep on it,” I stated, making no move to leave the lab, my own work next to me, half completed. 

“I can’t sleep,” You turned to the camera, a frown on your face. “I tried all those stupid tricks the school counselor recommended.”

Well, that was news to me, I hadn’t realized you were seeing a professional about your struggles. Good for you, Sweetheart. 

“Nothing works, I keep having horrible anxiety dreams about my stupid calc test. I haven’t slept as good as I did with you probably since puberty hit,” You laughed sitting down again in front of your easel, back straight as a lance. “But we all know how I reacted to that, like an idiot. It’s not fair to you, me being a creep,” My breath caught in my throat, coffee mug frozen on my lips. Broad, black charcoal strokes began to appear on the paper, “On one hand, I’m like let your freak flag fly, you do you boo. You deserve to be happy. But then I remember you are a person, with your own feelings and problems and wouldn’t want to touch me with a 10ft pole, so I reel it all in.” 

“No, I’m definitely winning the creep contest here, Honey,” I smirked to myself.

“I just can't get you outta my head,” You sighed heavily, working in silence for a few more moments. More broad strokes appear on the paper and you carefully blow away the dust.

“Pete said the stupidest thing ever the other day,” I could hear the smile in your voice, but it sounded sad. “Said you had a crush on me, but I know that ain’t true. No one would have feelings for me... but I guess that’s okay, being unlovable. I just gotta get used to it first. Been told it enough as it is, just really need to let it sink in now.”

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

“Sometimes, I really am a dumb bitch. If I’m talking to a security camera, I really need to go to bed,” you huffed a final long sigh before cleaning up. 

I wanted to rush out of the tower and straight to you. I wanted to prove Peter right and show up Steve and Bucky for making those stupid comments. I wanted to hold you and show you how much I wanted you. I wanted you to give me the chance to love you. 

“JARVIS, clear my schedule from 2:30 pm.”

I cried during the calculus exam. The water works started when I got to the second page, having barely been capable of completing the first one. My brain just didn’t work this way, I couldn’t figure out the step to finishing the equations. But I forced myself to complete it, because anything was better than nothing and I prayed that the professor would at least give me partial credit for showing my work. My head hung low when I handed over my exam and I speed walked out of the lecture hall before anyone I knew stopped me. It was bad enough I handed in a tear stained test. I wasn’t going to let anyone else see my puffy, red eyes. 

It was surprisingly sunny for mid October when I stepped outside. It only burned my eyes more. I wrapped my oversized scarf further around my neck and face to beat the blistering wind. Crispy, dead brown and red leaves formed little tornadoes in the wind. Maybe I would finally make the jaunt over to Central Park during the long weekend to look at the changing leaves. It certainly wasn’t autumn in Indiana, a vibrant array of greens, reds, oranges, and yellow, but there was a special beauty to watching the season change here. 

My nonexistent Spidey senses betrayed me once again. As I watched the leaves twist and twirl outside at the edge of the courtyard next to the hall, lost in my own little world where there were no midterms or math at all, I was jumped. One second I was wading through a memory of leaf piles and hot apple cider, the next I was tumbling into the dry, hard grass. 

"Jesus fucking Christ," I screeched, flailing my arms out to beat off the attacker.

"That never gets old," Peter grinned, rolling off of me and leaping back up to his feet. 

"Kid, c'mon, low profile," Tony frowned at him, before offering me his hand. 

A blush erupted on my cheeks and neck. I took his hand, mostly trying to push myself off the ground first before he had to actually do anything. Tony's hand was warm and rough, his innocent touch sent a shiver down my spine. 

When I was back on my feet and dusted off, I assessed my two visitors. Peter was dressed like he'd spent most of his day at his internship, but Tony wore old, oil stained jeans and a flannel shirt that looked just as work worn and way too big for him. He also had donned a navy trucker hat. His blue shades gave him away though, if you asked me. 

"What are you guys doing here?" I smiled, genuinely happy for a distraction from that awful exam.

"We are kidnapping you," Peter snatched my backpack from my shoulder before I could even protest, a devious grin on his face.

"Technically, we are here for a visit of the college for Peter," Tony explained, crossing his arms over his chest. Large, muscular arms that I hadn't thought about recently in the shower. 

Staaaaaahhhppppppp. Not the distraction I was asking for God.

"Aka, we are practicing our undercover skills," Peter qualified.

"Do you think tackling a civilian won't break cover?" Tony asked, turning fully to Peter with an incredulous look on his face.

"I, uh, well, I mean," Peter began to stutter.

"Technically, I was the target, Tony," I stepped closer to Peter, who threw his arm around my shoulder.

"I have acquired the target," he beamed.

"Jesus Christ, you two will be the death of me," Tony rubbed his hand over his eyes, askewing his sunglasses briefly. "Do you wanna spend your break at the tower?"

"Please say yes," Peter begged, shaking me for extra measure.

More people were filing out of the lecture hall, a few of them doing a double take to Tony and then me then Peter and finally back to me before just shaking their head like they’d seen a ghost or something. I looked from the brown puppy dogs eyes I was getting to my left, to the hesitant, tired eyes in front of me. This was just asking for trouble.

“Sure,” I shrugged. “Let’s head to my dorm and I’ll get a change of clothes.” 

Tony's shoulders sagged slightly, letting out a breath of air and a relaxed smile graced his face. Peter’s energy level skyrocketed, jumping up and shaking me more with excitement. Our little trio walked across campus and the few blocks towards the dorm building I was staying. Even as Peter babbled on about how fun it was going to be, a four day weekend of nothing but goofing around, eating loads of sugar, and binge watching the entire Star Wars saga, I could sense something was up. I nodded along to what he was saying, but my eyes kept flicking to Tony, watching him assess everything around him. You couldn’t have missed the frown on his face when I opened the door to the dorm building, the single, ancient deadbolt that guard a gaggle of young women from the outside world.

I led the procession up two flights of stairs, down a long hallway, and made a right turn to the second last door on the right side. Another old, scratched up deadbolt was unlocked and I jerked open the door enough to peer in. Thank god, my roommates seemed to be out at classes. I pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked in. There was little ceremony, what with such a small room and very few personal items I had brought along. 

“You have bunk beds,” both of them spoke at the same time, varying degrees of disgust and excitement. 

Peter yanked back the curtain of my makeshift cave and plopped onto the half made bed. 

“I was held prisoner in a cave and I had more space than this, Honey,” Tony seemed genuinely concerned by the small amount of space not occupied by furniture, poking at different things, opening the slim wardrobes. 

“If you are trying to help me grab clothes for the weekend, that one’s mine,” I pointed out and that was all the invitation he needed. 

“Do you wear anything that isn’t sweatpants or flannel shirts?” Tony flicked through the few clothes I had brought with me.

I had loads of clothes back in Indiana. I didn’t bring them because I couldn’t… justify looking nice or feeling on display, I guess. My style was deeply rooted in feeling comfortable, something I struggled with at the best of times. When packing up enough clothes to move with, I had initially had a small selection of ‘nice’ clothes laid out. Things that I could maybe wear to a job interview or possibly, maybe even, a night out with my roommates or friends I had made.

But then Nathan made a comment that I would probably gain at least 15lbs if not more during my first semester, so what was the point? Who was I going to try and look nice for anyway? He knew what I looked like under all the layers, so why try and dress up an old shoe?

Those ‘nice’ clothes, the ones that made me feel a bit girly or cute or empowered even, were tucked back away into the closet of my childhood bedroom. Bag shirts, leggings, sweatpants, and hoodies replaced them. Clothing that I could use to hide away.

“Yeah, I wear leggin’s and sweatshirts too,” I emptied out my school bag, tossing the books I wouldn’t need at Peter. I tucked my travel art supplies into my backpack before turning back to Tony, waiting for him to either hand me clothes or step away. 

“There is just so much variety here, I don’t know how you choose,” he sighed dramatically before shouting. “These are the same shirt!”

“Wrong, this one has a massive paint stain on it from an art project over the summer,” I pulled the shirt in question out of his fist and showed him the sleeve splattered in different shades of blue paint. 

“Who wears flannel in the summer?” Peter flicked through the calculus book I’d thrown at him. 

“Flannel is an all year round fabric.” It was soft and I needed that comfort in the summer. “Tony, I only need clothes for four days, what are you doing?” I stared at him with his arm load of clothing. 

“Is this not clothes for the homeless? I don’t understand?” He pulled a confused face before he smirked at me. 

“Four tops, two bottoms,” I pointed at him, before pulling my sleep shirt and bottoms out from underneath my pillow. 

Peter made very suggestive and aggressive eye contact with me when he saw them. A sly grin formed on his lips and I gave him my best ‘don’t you dare’ eyebrows. The pajamas were stuffed into the bottom of my bag. Tony handed me the requested number of items, neatly folded. Those were slid into my bag and I shooed him away enough to get socks, underwear, and a fresh bralette. 

“Don’t forget your swimsuit.” 

The words came out of Peter’s mouth like it was nothing. And then I remembered the last time we’d actually swam together was when we were 11 and he, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben had come to visit for the 4th of July. We’d spent all day splashing around in one of those blow up pools in the backyard while the adults did whatever adults do when kids were around. I don’t remember Mom and Aunt May getting in a fight that visit. 

After a long moment of hesitation, I pulled out the one true bit of athletic wear I owned. The one piece racing suit was black and thick strapped. Rather than being high cut like most swimsuits, it had legs that went to just above my knees, with one of them being a red colorblock. It revealed a bit more of my back than I would have liked, dipping to just above my butt, but it covered my thighs and supported the girls well enough.

“Alrightie, that is everything, let’s go,” I grinned.

[earthfire-75]

I don't know what to say about it,

When all you ears have turned away,

But now's the time to look and look again at what you see,

Is that the way it ought to stay?

Kashmir

Chapter Two, Part One:That’s the Way (Sleepwalking)

(Author’s notes: co-written with @nature-and-music and beta’ed by @lady-jane-revisited )

I woke up the next morning and got out of bed. It was then I realized that I was indeed in a bed, when I had fallen asleep on the couch. Robert must have moved me when he came up to the room. I shook my head and went back out into the main room to get my clothes, quietly and quickly getting dressed. Sure enough, there was Robert in my place on the couch. I took the room key once more and made a dash out to the hall. Unfortunately, I was stopped by Cole.

“Enjoy yourself?” He asked sarcastically. “Honestly, though, I figured you’d be coming out of Jimmy’s room. Since he found you and all. Such disloyalty.”

“Do you actually know what happened last night, or are you just talking out of your ass?”

“I know how things work around here, girl. More than you do. It would have been bad enough if you had been with Jimmy. But Robert? That just looks bad for you. Half the other roadies already think you're getting special treatment just because you’re a girl. Myself included. This? Just reinforces that assumption.”

“I’m sorry, should I have slept out in the hallway? You know what, I don’t have time to stand here and justify to you where I slept last night. I have things to do before I officially start my job this morning. If you’ll excuse me.”

I stepped forward, trying to walk past Cole, but he stuck his arm out to stop me from leaving. Thankfully, before he could say anything further, G came around the corner. Less fortunately, Rogina was right beside him. It seemed they had been talking, but stopped upon seeing the scene in front of them. Rogina came to my side, glaring up at Cole, but it was G who spoke.

“Is there something wrong?”

Cole immediately dropped his arm and straightened his posture. “I was just explaining to the newbie that employees don’t sleep with the band. Even if she is a girl.”

G’s eyes narrowed at Cole. “I wasn’t asking you.”

“And I was explaining that it’s none of his damn business and I got a couple of things to grab from the drug store across the way because I currently have no toiletries or anything to pack my stuff in.”

“You’re right, it isn’t any of his business. That being said, you were supposed to get everything you needed yesterday.”

“I know and that’s on me, but everything was so rushed yesterday. And I know it’s not going to be any less so today.”

G sighs but nods. “Five minutes. That’s all I can give you, my dear.”

“You’re just going to let her go?”

“Yes, and if you’re the reason she’s late coming back because you refuse to get out of her way, not only will you be picking up her slack, you can carry her things as well!” G boomed at him.

Rogina piped up beside me, “I’ll go with her, help her get what she needs so it goes faster.”

Cole just threw his hands up and stepped to the side. “Fine!”

Rogina roughly bumped her shoulder into Cole as she walked past him, glaring daggers at him before we headed to the elevator. We were silent for some time as we made our way to the drug store across the street.

Rogina grabbed a shopping basket, “Sorry that you had to go through with that Anj. Cole’s always been fucking prick that loves to cause trouble.” She tossed in hair brush, “If he or anyone gives you trouble, let me know.”

I smiled as I added in shampoo and conditioner bottles, “Thank you. I’ll be okay, I can handle him.”

Rogina sighed as she placed a tube of toothpaste in, “Well let me know if he does anything, okay?”

“I will. Come on, we better hurry.”

We had managed to grab what we could during those five minutes. Having her here was great, given the time crunch and that she could help me find the necessary items that I would need, plus a backpack to my belongings. She offered to help pay for some of the items, but I let her know that I could take care of it. Once we were done, we hurried back to the hotel and found everyone in the lobby. G and Bonzo were conversing with Cole, their arms were crossed as they stood before the bearded man.

Robert spotted us and walked over, “There you are, is everything alright?”

I nodded, “Yeah, I just needed to get a few things-”

“No I mean, I heard about what happened this morning. G told me. I’m sorry Anjelika,” he continued.

“Really, I’m okay Robert. Besides he can say and think whatever he wants to,” I assured him. “I doubt he’ll be much of a problem anyway.”

Robert’s eyebrows pulled together, “Even so-”

G’s voice bellowed, “Alright everyone, make sure that you have what you need! It’s time to head out!”

And with that, we all grabbed our stuff and made our way out to the buses.

Robert had been kind enough to already have my things with his, so I was able to quickly transfer it all to the backpack. He mentioned something about needing a bag for my dresses so they wouldn’t get all wrinkled, but I didn’t have time to respond, quickly closing up the backpack and getting on the roadies’ bus. At least the trip to the venue wasn’t all that long.

Once there we got out and started unpacking the equipment to take inside and set up while G took the bands to go talk with the venue owner and crew. The whole process took quite a few hours and we took a break for lunch before resuming. We finished about three hours before the show was to start and slowly, everyone else left the stage.

Alone at last, the other roadies, Cole included, left the stage after everything was set up, I went to pick up the acoustic and sat at one of the stools and began to play. I didn’t know it, but I was being watched by Robert and Jimmy at one side of the stage, Rogina on the other.

“Life detaches

Much less loved

A taste familiar

But watered down

And each day passes

Into the next

Like television

Flickering unseen”

“She sounds so sad,” Robert whispered to Jimmy.

“She sounds…lost,” Jimmy responded thoughtfully. “There’s something else, too. I get shivers whenever I hear her sing.”

“I breathe

But I don't often think about it

Anymore

It's become a habit

Those embers fragment

That fire was

Just a fracture

In the ice“

Bonzo came up behind Robert and Jimmy. “Hey, guys!” Robert and Jimmy shushed Bonzo at the same time.

“Okay…” he responded in a whisper. “But why are we watching Anjelika like a bunch of creeps and whispering about it?”

“Do you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Do you hear a voice from my side?

Sleepwalking“

“Because,” Robert whispered sadly, “I don’t think she would keep doing this if she knew she was being watched.”

“She’s turned down every opportunity to play in front of an audience, even as a backup. But, for me, it isn’t just that. I get the feeling she isn’t telling us everything.”

“And poetry

Fills an empty room

With science broken

And confused

And my desire...

Becomes a pacifier

I need to feel

Alive & awake”

“Everyone is allowed some secrets, Jimmy. You, of all people, should understand that,” Bonzo said pointedly.

Jimmy finally looked at Bonzo with a raised eyebrow. “You know something we don’t, don’t you?”

“Do you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Do you hear a voice from my side?

Sleepwalking”

“S’pose I do?”

“Care to share with the class?

“Not my story to tell, Jimbo,” Bonzo shrugged .

“Something aging

In the water

In the damage

To my soul

The wishing fire

Is still alive

And I think his heartbeat

Will not die

How can I give

Anymore of my life

Away…”

“Fine, keep her secrets too.” Jimmy walked away.

Robert and Bonzo sigh and shake their heads at their friend. Both of them know that Jimmy won’t let it go so easily. He never did.

“Do you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Do you hear a voice from my side?

Sleepwalking.”

“I just want her to be ok. No, more than that, really. I just…don’t know what to do.”

From her side of the stage, Rogina finally stepped out of the shadows toward me, a broad smile on her face. “That was beautiful, Anj. Robert’s right, you really should show off your talent.”

I smiled and ducked my head, given that my face was red. She had been nothing but good to me and for some reason, I had a harder time resisting her charms. Not that it was easy resisting Robert’s. Instead of answering her, I started to play again, something that might be more familiar to her. Tom Petty’s Breakdown, even taking on the singer's more southern dialect.

“It's alright if you love me

It's alright if you don't

I'm not afraid of you runnin' away, honey

I get the feeling you won't”

“There is no sense in pretending

Your eyes give you away

Something inside you is feeling like I do

We said all there is to say”

“Baby, breakdown, go ahead and give it to me

Breakdown, honey, take me through the night (baby, baby, breakdown)

Breakdown, now I'm standin' here, can't you see?

Breakdown, it's all right”

“It's all right

It's all right”

The next thing I knew, Rogina sang along with me as well. Her singing started out softly at first until she reached the chorus and her voice came out strong and powerful like a mountain. While I was familiar with Daltrey’s voice, to hear it before me was something else. As we continued, we found ourselves singing in such a lovely harmonious manner that the world around us seemed to have stopped.

The song came to a close, she placed a hand on my shoulder, “You have a great talent Anjelika.”

“Well compared to you, I seem like more of an amateur,” I joked.

“No Anj, your voice is lovely and so is your playing. That song you were singing before, I’ve never heard of it.”

I looked down for a moment, “Oh it’s just a little something that I’ve been working on.” I stood up from the stool and placed the guitar down, “I better get back to work.”

“Anj-”

I had already made my way off the other wing, only to see Robert, Bonzo, and Jimmy there. My face was flushing as I walked past them. I felt like such an idiot! What on earth was I thinking? The show was to start fairly soon and I had a job to complete. The ticks on the clock continued as everything from lighting, technical matters, clothing, and the instruments were put into place. The doors to the stadium opened and the fans made their way inside. The more dedicated fans were attempting to do what they could in order to get as close to the band members as possible. Security was already on the matter and they kept their composure as they desperately hoped to catch a glimpse of their idols.

I walked through the hallway with a black coffee in hand, hearing the echoes of varying conversations going on between roadies. I would offer a smile as I passed by, some would offer one back, others would give me a look of disdain. Cole was within my sights and so I kept my eyes facing forward. I kept my distance from him as I moved out of the way.

Cole blew a cloud of smoke in my direction, “On your way to give ol’ Plant a little ‘warm up session?”

I kept my back to him, “Why don’t you go do that yourself? Since you seem so keen on the idea.”

G walked over, “You two ladies fighting again?”

Cole answered back, “Actually I was just about to check on the boys.”

G raised a brow as he watched him walk away, “How are you doing Anjelika?”

“Well things seem to be going well for my first day.”

“Good. Now since this is your first night, I don’t expect you to know everything that happens. You might feel a little confused about how we do things at first, but you’ll learn pretty quickly.”

I nodded, “So how long do you think tonight’s show will be?”

G took out a cigar and lit it, “I reckon about three and half, four hours tops. I’ll have you out on the wings to help with instruments for right now. I want to see how you do tonight, then I’ll add more duties to your list.”

“Thank you Mr. Grant.”

I felt a gloved hand on my shoulder. Following the black leathered glove, I was greeted with the sight of Alice Cooper wearing a leather ensemble. His eyes and sides of his mouth were marked in his signature look.

“How do I look?” He asked

“Like a freak,” I answered with a smile.

“Why thank you,” he responded kindly with a genuine smile. “See you after the show.”

He and his fellow bandmates excitedly made their way down the hall, ready with their instruments in hand. They greeted the cheering crowd with the first notes and so the first act of the show began.

I gave all the support I could from the sidelines and adjusted guitars, restringing them when needed. His act lasted for a little under an hour and I gave him a hug in congratulations when he came off the stage. The Who were next and as Rogina passed me, I gave her a hug as well and a kiss on the cheek, despite my better judgment. “For luck.” I explained with darkened cheeks when she gave me a questioning look.

“Thank you,” she responded with a smile, then headed out onto the stage to join her bandmates. Halfway through their act, Rogina made some anecdote about life on the road and as a woman in rock music. She mentioned me, though not by name and dedicated the next song to a “special someone”, all the while looking at me and began to play ‘Love Ain't for Keeping’.

When their act was done and Rogina came off the stage, she came up to me and gave me a proper, if chaste, kiss before going back to the changing rooms. Then it was time for Zeppelin, the last act for the night. I hated how heartbroken Robert looked as he walked past me on his way to the stage. I had been so worried about getting my own heart broken…

“Wow, Anj…Rogina too? And poor Robert had no idea, did he?”

“Shut the fuck up, Cole,” I seethed.

“Or wha-“

I was beyond done with the man, if he could be called one, I whirled around and decked him, knocking him to the floor. Standing over him now, I took a fistful of his shirt and hauled him into a sitting position and got in his face. “You really need a lesson in minding your own fucking business. Do yourself a favor and keep Rogina’s name out of your mouth and the next time you decide to butt into my life outside of actual work, I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass, you’ll be eating my steel toe boots!” I hadn’t realized it, but my eyes were glowing as I spoke.

I stood back up to find G standing there, but he didn’t say anything to me, just gave me a nod and I went back to doing my job. G had security take Cole to another room to get looked at and bandaged up as his nose was bleeding a little.

I marched into the hallways, grabbed myself a beer, and found an isolated area to sit and cool down. The day hasn’t ended yet and Cole continues to be a nuisance. I had hoped that after today he would have gotten the message. I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and quite frankly I wasn’t in the mood to talk. At this point I didn’t care who came over, I was angry and I needed some time to be alone. Yet my ears perked up when I heard a familiar voice.

“Anjelika,” Rogina softly called. “Are you alright?”

She took a seat next to me, but I scooted away, keeping my eyes on my beer, “I’m fine.”

“I saw what happened from the changing room.”

I uttered under my breath, “So? It’s resolved, let it go.”

[red-0ak-tree]

joplittle action 20 + dialogue 1!

20. Not-wanting-to-let-go hug + 1. "Is everything okay?" White Ribbon Nights

{READ ON AO3}

The dining room was empty as Thomas collected the glasses from dinner. He could hear the noise from the smoking room, Crozier and his guests sharing stories over a nightcap of brandy and cigars. Thomas hoped they wouldn’t be up long. He was accustomed to showing guests to their rooms at the end of the night, but tonight his feet were aching and the sooner he could wrap up down here and get to his own room, the better. 

Crozier didn’t host frequently. He was really rather solitary, all things considered, but decorum demanded that he host some of the Admiralty on occasion. It was always a relatively simple affair, less than a dozen guests over for dinner and drinks. Captain Fitzjames nearly always attended, he and Crozier had grown close after the discovery of the Northwest Passage, though Crozier still tried to deny he was entertained by Fitzjames’s tall tales. Thomas Blanky was a frequent guest as well, along with his wife Janine. Blanky always made Crozier laugh. That was good. 

Tonight Lieutenants Graham Gore and Henry Le Vesconte were in attendance, too. That was as good as it was bad. Gore was a kind man, who always greeted Thomas by name as though he were a friend and not just a member of Crozier’s household staff. 

Le Vesconte was troublesome though. He matched Fitzjames drink for drink and fed into his storytelling. That usually meant an extra two hours before anyone made it to bed for the evening. 

Crozier lived far from town, and his house was big enough to room half the Admiralty. Nobody left for the evening after dinner at Crozier’s house. They tucked themselves into guest rooms and left the following morning after being fed on tea and toast, and whatever else they required to pacify lingering headaches and the aftereffects of good alcohol. 

Tonight there was another lieutenant in attendance. Thomas tried to keep his eyes to himself but it was always difficult with Edward Little in the room. A fond smile crept over Thomas’s face as he reached Edward’s abandoned seat and began to clear the glasses. 

There wasn’t a name for what they shared. Thomas didn’t need to name it to know it was true. Stolen kisses in the belly of the ship, whispered confessions in Little’s narrow bunk on Terror, and now, whenever they could, furtive glances and hurried sexual liaisons in the many rooms of Crozier’s greathouse. 

Thomas collected Edward’s empty wine glass. There was a slip of ribbon twisted around the stem. Thomas smiled in earnest, then. 

It had started on Terror, before they ever overwintered at Beechey. They’d shared enough glances by then, brushed hands far too often for it to be by accident. Their first time together was messy and hesitant, cramped in Crozier’s storeroom. They learned after that to take it slow. To set aside time for one another, even when time was scarce. 

A ribbon, tied around the stem of a wine glass, passed from tray to Edward’s spot at table meant Edward should expect Thomas in his quarters that night, after the rest of the ship had bedded down. Edward would return the ribbon after a day or a week, tied around the stem at the end of dinner for Thomas to collect with his nightly tidying. A promise, a summons. Thomas always went. The lieutenant was a generous lover. 

It continued even now, back in England. They were all celebrated sailors now. They had been welcomed back as heroes after discovering the Passage. Even Thomas had been allowed a bit of the honor, his name in the paper, a nod from the Admiralty. Nothing truly changed, though. When Crozier returned to sea, Thomas followed. When Crozier remained on land, Thomas served him. 

And when Edward Little wrapped a white ribbon around the neck of a wine glass, Thomas took his meaning and found him under cover of night. 

Thomas removed the ribbon and tucked it in his pocket. He finished collecting the glasses and took them to the kitchen to be washed. He tidied the dining room, then took a tray of drinks to the men in the smoking room. 

The air was thick with cigar smoke and laughter filled the air. Le Vesconte was waving a hand toward Fitzjames, nearly knocking the tray from Thomas’s hands as he stepped toward the lieutenant to offer him drinks. Thomas stepped back deftly, careful to keep the drinks balanced, and felt a hand on the small of his back. 

“Sorry, Jopson,” Le Vesconte said, reaching toward the tray and taking a drink. “Didn’t see you there.” 

“Careful now,” a familiar voice said just behind him. Thomas nodded at Le Vesconte and turned toward Edward, who dropped the hand he’d outstretched to steady Thomas. 

Edward was smiling lazily, only half his mouth responding to the command. He had a cigar in one hand, elbow bent, smoke curling softly from where he held the cigar just away from his shoulder. His shirtsleeves were rolled up on his forearms. 

“Brandy, sir?” Thomas asked. 

“Thank you.” Edward took a small glass and held it up, as though toasting a cheers to Thomas. He sidestepped Thomas to return to the spot on the sofa beside Gore. 

Thomas took a turn around the room, and told Crozier to call for him when they were readying for bed. He felt Edward’s eyes on him the entire time. He’d never been very subtle. Thomas didn’t mind. He liked it when Edward watched him. 

It was another hour at least before everyone departed for their rooms. Thomas made sure everyone’s hearths were warm and well stoked, bid goodnight to the other men, and found his way to Edward’s room at last. He didn’t knock. They never knocked on white ribbon nights. Thomas was already expected, and knocking might alert other members of the house to strange going ons. It was better to slip in silently. 

Edward was standing near the window when Thomas entered. He shut the door quietly behind him. Edward didn’t turn. His hands were buried in his pockets as he surveyed the moonlight. Thomas padded across the room and rested his hands on Edward’s hips briefly before winding his arms around his trim waist, hugging him from behind. 

Hands, warm from wool pockets, came to rest on Thomas’s forearms. He still didn’t turn. That was unusual. Edward wasn’t one to hesitate when Thomas was in his room. He was a needful thing, kissing Thomas messily and shoving hands beneath Thomas’s waistcoat. It was always Thomas that urged them to take things slow, to enjoy one another’s company and languish in the time they shared, even if they never had half the time they wished. 

“Is everything all right?” Thomas asked, squeezing at Edward’s middle lightly. He rested his chin on Edward’s shoulder, looking out into the moonlit courtyard beyond the window. 

“Yes. Great, really.” 

It didn’t sound great. Edward said the words like a curse. Thomas pulled away and nudged at Edward’s hip, urging him to turn and face Thomas in the low light of the room. There was that half smile again, eyes tracing the shape of Thomas’s face. There was a crease between his brows, though. It gave Thomas pause. 

“Has something happened?” 

“I’ve been promoted,” Edward wet his lips. “Commander, now.” 

“Oh,” Thomas grinned. “Well then, congratulations are in order, yes?” 

Edward’s frown deepened and the smile he forced disappeared entirely. It pained Thomas. It seemed even when good things befell him, Edward was filled with melancholy. Thomas wondered if there would ever be happiness for him, or if he would always be haunted by a ghost of sorrow. He was a somber man. Perhaps that was his lot in life, just as it was Thomas’s lot to love a man that carried his own raincloud.

“I’ve taken orders.” Edward took Thomas’s hands, turning his gaze to look at their linked fingers. “North again. I’m to lead my own expedition.” 

“Edward, that’s great--” 

“I’ve already asked. I’ve been assigned a steward by the Admiralty. I shan’t be allowed to take Crozier’s, anyhow, but I did think--” Edward broke off his own sentence with a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. Two years, they said, but it may be more. I’ll miss you.” 

Thomas’s first instinct was toward playfulness. To tease Edward, remind him that he’d have his own steward now and the title of Commander, besides. A man like that would never be lonely, would have pick of anyone he liked. But Edward wasn’t that kind of man. He wouldn’t take another lover. Though they had never exchanged promises of monogamy, Edward obeyed it. He had chosen Thomas, and would stand firm in that. 

“I’ll miss you, too,” Thomas said honestly. He squeezed Edward��s fingers gently. “But we’ll see each other again.” 

Edward sighed, then surged forward to wrap his arms around Thomas’s waist. He pressed his nose to Thomas’s neck, breathing deeply. They were pressed together from thigh to chest, and Thomas could feel the slight tremor of Edward’s breath. Thomas circled his arms around Edward’s back, stroking along his spine. 

“Oh, Edward,” Thomas said softly. “You are such a sweet thing. I’ll be here when you return.” 

“You might not,” Edward’s voice was muffled against Thomas’s neck. “Crozier is considering a voyage of his own. If you depart while I’m still at sea, it may be years until we see one another again.” 

The possibility certainly posed an issue. It was the risk they always took, Navy men as they were. There was never to be any marital bliss for the two of them. No honeymoon on the beach, no lakehouse in which they could retire and enjoy one another. They were men bound by duty, constrained by the laws of the land. They found love in stolen moments. Such was their lot in life. 

Thomas sighed and turned to press his nose into the curl of Edward’s hair. The best he could do was to memorize the feel of Edward, the scent of him, the warmth of his hands on Thomas’s back and the width of him in his arms. 

“Then it may be years,” Thomas agreed. “And it will be me who comes home to you.” 

Thomas began to unwind his arms, intent to step back and take Edward’s face in his hands, kiss him until he understood that no matter the years, no matter whom came home to whom, Thomas would still be waiting for him. Edward didn’t allow it. He tightened his grip around Thomas until the embrace was nearly painful. Edward’s nose was pressed hard against the crook between Thomas’s neck and shoulder. Thomas chuckled, but it was a sad sound. He raised his arms again and clutched Edward tight. 

“Darling,” Thomas pressed a kiss to Edward’s curls. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. It will be hard without you here and I will suffer with every day I’m apart from you. But we will see each other again.” 

Edward let out a shaky breath but didn’t remove himself from the embrace. 

“I won’t ask you to wait for me,” Edward said. “It’s not a fair thing to ask of anyone.” 

“You needn’t ask, and yet I will obey it.” 

“Thomas--” 

Thomas forced them apart then. He pulled away from Edward and held him at arm’s length, his hands on Edward’s biceps. Edward looked miserable, eyebrows knit, a downturn to his pretty mouth. 

“Here,” Thomas fished the ribbon from his pocket and took Edward’s left hand in his own. He tied the ribbon delicately around Edward’s little finger and pressed his lips to the smooth fabric. “I won’t love another until you return it to me. That’s a promise.” 

Edward flexed his fingers, looking at the ribbon across his skin. 

“Even if it takes years?” 

Thomas smiled, soft, warm. He nodded slowly. 

“Even if it takes years. Even if we see each other again as old men, hunched and gray.” 

Thomas was in Edward’s arms then, and kisses were pressed to his cheekbone, his nose, his lips. Messy and excited, the way Edward’s always way. Thomas soothed him, slowing the kiss, memorizing the taste of him. No matter what the future held, they would always have this. It was worth taking slow, committing to memory. 

No matter if they had hours or mere minutes to share, Thomas would savor every second of it. And no matter if the distance between them lasted two years or twenty, Thomas would remember. Remember Edward. He was rather difficult to forget, afterall. 

[imagine-loki]

Green

TITLE: Green CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: One-shot AUTHOR: fanfictrashdump ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki getting offended because he has been forced to share a loved one’s attention with… Baby Groot.

RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS: Honestly, this is such a stupid concept, but it flashed into my mind and made me laugh so damn hard that I had to write it. Language! Yelling and subsequently apologizing to a child. Punching. Severe timeline issues (who gives a crap that this doesn’t make sense? I did it for the lol’s). 

SUMMARY: Loki is not used to having friends. Loki is not used to sharing friends. Loki is just a soft boi. That’s it. That’s the fic. 

But, seriously, apologize to kids when you do something wrong. 

=

Loki deepened the lines of his frown into a more intimidating scowl. The expression seemed to do little to sway the enthusiasm of the little twig, barely out of his flowering pot, as he clambered on the couch and gurgled his words.

“I am Groot,” said the little one, scaling up Loki’s trousers to tug at the casual green tunic, hoping to get the demigod’s attention. “Groooooot. I am Groot.”

“No,” Loki snapped, making the tree cower back just the slightest. “I am not in the mood to play. Now, get lost.”

“Groot?”

“If I fetch you your glass of water will you leave me alone?”

The tree nodded, eyes wide and bright as he stared at Loki with rapt fascination while he conjured a cup of water. The enthusiastic, wooden applause he received for such a feat was even more endearing, but Loki would not allow himself to dwell on the cuteness of this… this manipulating thief.

Loki had began his week much like everyone else at the Tower had.

The team piled into one of the conference rooms where they were met with a talking raccoon and a green-tinged woman who hastily left the seedling in their care, claiming they were off to a battle they couldn’t take him along for. Everyone had cooed and aww'ed at the little ceiba tree who waved enthusiastically and giggled his one phrase at the attention. Loki thought the little one was rather cute, and being versed in All-Speak meant that he could easily understand what the child was saying, and he didn’t seem particularly irritating. He would even admit that he sort of looked forward to spending time with someone who did not stare at him as though he were a plague.

It wasn’t until his carers had left that problems truly began.

Lily had skidded into the conference room fifteen minutes later in her familiar fashion of being tragically late to everything. Her cheeks rosy from having jogged five floors up to get to them, but her blue doe eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Stark had likely sent her a text to inform her of their new, temporary ward, and Lily being Lily… well, the woman seldom let an opportunity to interact with plants pass her by. Her face split into a brilliant smile as she bent over just enough to be eye-level with the little tree on the table.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she cooed, offering her hand to him.

Groot had gripped her index finger with his fist and her veins sparked green at the contact. He gasped excitedly at the change. “I am Groot!”

“Aw, you’re so sweet. I’m happy you’re here, too. Do you want to go play upstairs?” The tree nodded effusively and jumped straight into her waiting arms. Lily had barely glanced in Loki’s direction as she left.

Now, Loki was a creature of habit. It wasn’t that he was irritated that Lily was spending every waking moment with the creature or that she used such a soft and soothing voice to talk to him. It wasn’t even that she so easily gave the seedling little nuggets of affection that were just a little sweeter than what she afforded anyone else… No, it was that his perfectly crafted routine was thrown for a loop. That was all.

A gasp broke Loki from his reverie.

“Groot!”

Loki growled as more than half of the contents of the cup he had just given the child flooded his lap. Groot looked more than apologetic, that childlike worry flooding his features before quietly apologizing again. That didn’t deter the annoyance from the past few days from bubbling over inside of Loki. His rage worked to disguise whatever other emotion he was trying to suppress.

“All you had to do was sit still. How bloody hard is that to do!?”

The child’s lower lip trembled. “I-I am Groot–”

“Loki!” Cold fear doused the god of mischief’s spine at the voice. “I was barely gone for three minutes. What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. He spilled water on me–”

Lily’s attention was already diverted away from him as she kneeled in front of the tree and tried to pacify him. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t cry!” Groot managed to fit a few words between little hiccupping sobs. “No, Loki doesn’t hate you. Why would Loki hate a tiny little sapling?” The last of the question was hissed with a dark scowl thrown over her shoulder in Loki’s direction. “No. He just has a tummy ache and it’s making him a little testy. In fact, he and I are going to go to the hallway so I can give him his medicine. OK?”

Groot nodded reluctantly, wiping at his eyes with still-green fingers.

Lily beamed at the tree and stroked away the tear tracks on his cheeks before rising to her full height. Without even looking back, she grabbed Loki by the scruff of his jumper all but dragged him behind her to the empty hall.

“Now, before you start yelling at–oof”

Loki doubled over as he hugged his stomach. For such a small, slight creature, Lily could definitely pack one hell of a punch. When he managed to wrench his eyes open, there was green fading from her veins and she was shaking out her left fist which looked suspiciously like a tree stump for a moment.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

“He was being a bother and a brat–”

“He’s a sapling, Loki. A baby. Babies drop things. His hands are the size of an acorn, what the fuck do you expect?” Loki had enough sense not to reply, instead choosing to take great interest in his shoes in a sheepish manner. “Why the hell do you hate him? Did trees do you some great harm? Is keeping you alive by giving you oxygen such a great fucking burden on you?”

Loki scoffed. “Yes, yes. It’s always me. I’m always wrong. I’ll go up to my rooms and you don’t have to hear from me again, if it’s such a bother! I’m sure you’ll have much more fun with–” He snapped his jaw shut at once, his mouth having run just a little further than he would have liked.

“Are you jealous? Is all of this just because your stupid ass is jealous?”

“Well, you certainly like him more than me–”

“He’s a talking tree, Loki. I am a plant mutant. Of course I was curious how our connection would work. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, he’s a baby who needs to be watched and we’re the only ones who speak his language!”

Lily swallowed the remainder of her rant at the sight of Loki blinking rapidly to keep his green eyes from overflowing with tears. She sighed, releasing whatever tension she had locked in her shoulders with an exhale. This was about so much more than just Groot tagging along for the week, she knew. Her hands reached for and gripped at his charcoal jumper, her touch more gentler than a second before. With a light tug, she brought him close and wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest. It took a moment for Loki to realize he was safe and return the hug.

“You’re still my favorite person, Loki,” she admitted, vaguely feeling him nod and rest his cheek on her crown. “I am capable of taking care of Groot and still have you be my best friend. I’m complex that way,” she joked.

“I was being stupid, I know,” he whispered. “I yelled at him. He’s only a child.”

“Yeah, but you can go apologize and mean it.” Loki nodded once more and Lily released him. She gestured back the direction they came from and silently ordered him to go apologize.

Loki swallowed whatever pride he had left rattling inside his chest and marched back into the lounge. With a sigh, Loki kneeled in front of the sofa, his frame relaxed and every trace of ever being cross forgotten from his features. Groot glanced up wearily at the Prince, fidgeting slightly in his seat.

“I’m sorry I lost my temper, little one. I wasn’t feeling well–not that that gives me any excuse. I should not have done it and I hope you can forgive me.”

“I am Groot?” The sapling’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Something hurt inside Loki’s chest and he knew he would be feeling the brunt of guilt for a long time to come. “No, Groot. You did not do anything wrong. It was all my fault. I apologize.”

Groot nodded, but still looked uncomfortable.

Loki worked his hands in a circular motion until there was a clear orb suspended between them. The orb undulated and splashed in place–water kept in place by magic. Gripping it lightly between his thumb and index, his held it out to the tree.

“Here. This way, if you drop your water, it won’t spill and you can carry it a little easier.”

“Groot!” Flexible little branches closed around the orb and brought it up to wooden lips for a sip. After a moment the sapling laughed and chattered away about the wonder of the orb and Loki found himself unexpectedly puffing up with pride.

From the doorway, Lily knocked lightly on the frame, prompting them both to turn their attentions toward her. A small, knowing smile barely pulled at the corners of her mouth as she watched Groot clamber over onto Loki and hold onto his neck.

“Do you want to show Loki the flowers you grew?”

“I am Groot! I am Groot!”

“OK. Let’s go then,” she settled, waiting for Loki to join her at the doorway.

As they walked together towards the garden, Lily searched for Loki’s hand and gave it a warm squeeze. His half-startled, half-hopeful gaze lingered on her until she reluctantly let him go to open the double doors to the indoor garden and his senses flooded with fresh, vibrant rainbow hues, instead. Perhaps there were better colors than envy green.

[tabbyrp]

🎤 for a trope filled drabble

[x] [x] [x]

“Hey. Hey.” Persistence earned Tabby a single glance of acknowledgement. “My nose itches. I don’t suppose you could, like, untie me for two minutes so I can scratch it.”

Despite unleashing all of her charms, with big sad eyes in the mix, their captors remained unmoved. Sighing, Tabby slumped back against the wall.

“Which trick was that?” From a similar position beside her, with hands bound at the back by a thick white zip tie, Corinne merely sounded curious. Not afraid or quivering, as any normal person might be during an armed robbery gone sour. “Was that the ‘annoy the bad guys so they leave’ tactic, or ‘humanize their victims’.”

“Option three. My nose is really itchy.” Several years of hopping from one tropical island to the next had darkened the freckles upon Tabby’s face, and the marks bunched in as her nose wrinkled for emphasis. “Besides. Today is already enough of an epic fail. I’m not going to pretend to be a big damn hero. I am going to sit here and wait until these dudes and their showdown with the local law enforcement comes to its natural conclusion.”

To call the past few hours eventful was an understatement. The plan had been for a quick layover, swapping of boats, and on to the next destination. Easy. Something they’d done time and again. Except today the boat seller suddenly decided he didn’t want local currency. He wanted US dollars, forcing Corinne and Tabby to detour to the local bank. Barely two seconds after joining the queue for the sole open teller, the men with guns had come bursting in.

“Do you think we got set up?” Amid the panicked screams from the other customers, Tabby hissed the question in Cory’s ear. Her friend merely gave a resigned sigh.

“Honestly, Tabs, I can’t even tell anymore if it’s bad guys out to get us, or just bad luck.”

Maybe the robbers were having a rough time too. If the whole bank heist was designed around stealing the sizable lump sum Tabby had been hoisting around in a duffel bag, the criminal masterminds had neglected to dole out appropriate bribes. The police had come squealing up right as the bank teller withdrew the last note from the till, her hands shaking so hard the money resembled the blur of a humming bird’s wings.

Half an hour in, nerves had settled into stillness. From the ceiling, three-blade fans kept their slow rotation, filling the silence with a steady hum, if doing little to actually keep the air circulating. Beads of sweat dripped down exposed skin. Corinne’s loose cotton shirt clung where damp patches grew, and Tabby fared no better. She regretted wearing white, even with an old bikini beneath. Their captors wore masks, the cheap plastic Halloween type with elastic over the ears. Lion was the leader. Dog paced around nervously and then there was Devil. When that flame red visage turned towards Tabby and Cory, her gut twisted into knots. It was a relief each time he rotated out of the main room, sweeping over the rear with his assault rifle cocked from the hip.

More time ticked by. Lion took a phone call from the negotiator, ending with the handset being slammed down, causing a few nervous jumps. Dog and Devil swapped their positions, leaving Tabby’s favorite Devil looming over where the hostages sat in a messy row. Of the several people unfortunate enough to have been in the bank at the portent hour, Tabby and Cory stood out as the obvious tourists. Maybe that was enough to draw Devil’s attention. Maybe he was restless. Or maybe their lack of fear provoked him.

Devil breached the distance his compatriots had maintained. Empty eyes locked onto the two women, daring them to respond when he dragged the tip of his rifle over the hems of their shorts. Their silence proved insufficient, and he dug into Tabby’s thigh, metal pushing through denim, speaking for the first time as he detailed with French’s usually luscious vocabulary what played through his imagination.

Even while Tabby’s stomach rolled violently, she simply lifted her chin in defiance. “Je t'emmerde, connard.”

Devil pulled back his gun, flipping the direction. Tabby tracked the shift in muscles and angles, knowing he intended to smack the butt of the rifle right in her face, and there was nowhere to dodge.

Except, Corinne was faster. The thugs had only bound their hands and Cory’s heel shot out, getting Devil right in the knee cap. “Stay away from her.” Even through the language barrier, the woman’s fire burned bright, the yell echoing from wall to wall. Devil stumbled back a step before recovering, taking Corinne by the collar and hoisting her upright, just to slam her back into the unforgiving concrete of the wall. It must have hurt her friend, and she hated it, but Tabby still took her chance to aim for the man’s shins, getting in one good, distracting blow. The commotion forced Lion to leave his post at the counter before mayhem could complately break out. Rapid French passed back and forth between the men, too colloquial for Tabby to completely follow. Dog returned from the rear, head cocked as if trying to catch up on what he missed.

Devil was gesturing wildly, furious, with the Lion trying to pacify him. The subordinate angrily shook off his leader’s grip, making what sounded like a suggestion to take the two women to another room, when Dog lifted his rifle. Bang. Bang. Two shots and both Devil and Lion slumped motionless to the ground.

One of the hostages began to scream. Then another. Cory merely turned to give Dog the space to slash a knife through her restraints. The blade swapped hands while Tabby clambered to her feet, Corinne freeing her friend of the ziptie while Dog hustled over to where the robbers had piled the money. He stayed low and moved fast, grabbing the duffle bag that Tabby had originally carried into the bank, then nodding for the women to follow him.

Corinne paused only long enough to tell the other hostages to stay down, to wait for the police to come bursting in, with better French than Tabby possessed. Tabby herself was already making a move, following Dog out the door to the back corridor. Inside, the original Dog lay sprawled across the floor, his naked body pointed towards the ceiling, his chest unmoving.

“C’mon. This way.” Dog – or rather, Aaron Cross, - gestured down another corridor into an office designed for some level of management. Whoever it was felt they deserved air conditioning, even if the main rooms did not, and a vent hatch to the pipes hung open. Without needing a prompt, Tabby let Aaron hoist her up, her small fingers finding the ladder he had prepared so they could all get the hell out of there.

Once outside, Aaron dropped the canine mask onto the dusty road, leaving it to rot while they walked back towards the boats, shucking a layer of the original Dog’s clothing along the way. “Did you know I was already inside when you began to cause that ruckus?” As the two women exchanged glances, he let out a sigh. “I guess not.”

“Hey, before you give a lecture. One, they were assholes and deserved it. And two….” Tabby waggled a finger before quickening her pace, giving Corinne some privacy to thank Aaron in her own way. “I knew our own personal big-damn-hero would come to save the day.”

[jisungscaramel]

rendezvous | seungmin

❀ genre: angst with a dash of sauciness and fluffy minnie, college au, pianist reader ❀ pairing: seungmin x reader ❀ word count: 1.1k

[warning] mature content, verbal and emotional abuse (not from seungmin though)

Your eyes were closed as your fingers glossed over the pristine black and white keys, delicately pressing them to a formula that was imprinted in your muscles.

With every note, your eyelids squeezed together harder, attempting to forcefully push any thoughts out of your mind. 

I don’t care about what you want.

But it was to no avail. Your frustration crescendoed with the melody, overflowing the empty auditorium. 

You can marry him or you can live on the street.

You slammed your hands aggressively on the piano, eyes bursting open. The angry sound echoed, clearly not needing any assistance from the pedal. 

“Are you okay?” an unfamiliar voice called out. 

‘Fuck,’ you mentally cursed, not knowing you had company. 

“Sorry to bother you,” he sat next to you on the bench. “I was tuning my cello in the back and when I heard ‘Nocturne in E Flat,’ I had to see who was playing it.”

You had to admit: he was handsome. Yes, he was conventionally attractive - to you at the very least - but his most striking feature was nothing physical at all. It was his warm aura, the energy that radiated from his smile made you feel so safe, and you hadn’t even known him long enough to know his name. 

“You like Chopin?” You asked with a raised eyebrow. 

He shyly rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m familiar… but are you okay? Did something happen? I know we just met a second ago but if you need a stranger to vent to, I gotchu.” 

You hesitated, carefully considering his offer. But instead you chose to swallow down your preexisting anger. “No… that’s okay. Thanks though, I appreciate it.” 

“No worries… I’m Seungmin by the way. I’m a first year transfer.” 

You told him your name in turn. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise.” His smile brightened. “Do you mind if I listen to you play?” 

You shook your head. “Stay if you want.” 

Three… 

You counted down in your head as a preventative measure - the last thing you wanted to occur was another burst of negative energy, especially in front of someone you just met. 

Two… 

You inhaled the scent of lingering lacquer on the black polished wood. 

One… 

And exhaled the frustration of shattered dreams. 

As your fingers dexterously glided over the keys, you peacefully floated on the delicate waves of music. 

Seungmin rode that wave with you, harmonizing his voice with your playing. 

His voice was just like his aura: warm, friendly, sweet… safe. 

You couldn’t help but look over and smile, a smile which he returned. Somewhere deep down, you hoped this wouldn’t be the last time you’d see him. 

And it wasn’t. 

Without coordination, you would rendezvous in the little lecture hall in the music department: 9:00PM, every night - it was the earliest you could go there without worrying about a class rudely interrupting your time with the piano. Days passed, then weeks. He’d meet you there without fail. 

In your unstable world, he was your stability. But on this particular day, it wasn’t enough. 

“What happened?” Seungmin rushed toward you with concern when he saw you slumped in one of the front row seats.

He sat next to you, searched your expression with genuine concern. You didn't know what to do. “It’s my mom,” but your mouth acted before your turbulent mind could come to a concrete decision. “She…” You took a deep breath. “She’s forcing me into an arranged marriage.”

“Can…” he was choosing his words carefully, “she do that?” 

You snickered. “Legally?” You turned to him, eyes laced with bitter sarcasm. “Of course not. But she needs more money and I’m just a commodity to her, so forcing me to be some stranger’s house wife and give up music was her 'only option,’ or so she claims… I don’t know what to do.” 

“What will she do if you say no?” 

“She already gave me an ultimatum. Either I agree to the terms by tomorrow or she’s cutting me off.” You covered your eyes, smiling in frustration. “Bloody hell.” 

Tears began dripping from your covered eyes, “I’m totally fucked,” and they fell from the edge of your jaws. 

You felt a tight grip on your upper arms, pulling you up to your feet, and before you could process what was happening, your head nestled into the crook of Seungmin’s neck. His one hand slithered around your shoulder to carefully cradle the back of your head while the other secured you by the waist. 

You felt the steady beat of his heart pulsing through your veins. The metronome pacified you. But Seungmin didn’t think it was enough. He delicately combed his fingers through your hair. His vocal chords vibrated against your skin as he hummed softly to you. 

“It’ll be okay,” even as he spoke, his voice carried a soothing melody. 

“Bullshit,” you scoffed. 

“No, really. I told you, I gotchu. Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you. I promise.” 

Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he wasn’t. Honestly, it didn’t matter, because in that moment, you wanted to believe it was the truth. 

Your hands wedged their way through your connected bodies to rest on his shoulders. “Thanks, Seungmin.” 

You pulled back just enough to see his face, and you placed a kiss on the side of his lips. Instinctively, his face shifted, cradling your lips with his. There was something so delicate yet deliberate about how he moved; the sensation hijacked your senses, siphoning the clouds in your head.

As if he hadn’t realized what he was doing, he tore his face away from you. Heat radiated from his cheeks, tinting them pink. There was no hiding the picked up pace of his heart through your pressed bodies. “What are we doing?” 

“You’re distracting me.” 

“What do you mean?” 

You paused for a moment in contemplation, then you sighed, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. “I just… I don’t know. I don’t know what came over me. I just don’t want to think about anything right now. I-” 

He cut off your rambling with another kiss, this time with more aggression. You pivoted your conjoined bodies, pushing him down onto one of the seats so you could get up on his lap, knees barely wedging to the sides of his hips with the constraint of the arms of the seat. 

You poured all your energy into him, grinding your clothed hips against his.

Lips biting, tugging, you’re a fucking failure-

Voices moaning, groaning, such a goddamn ingra-

Hand roaming, groping, you- 

The cold sound of your mother’s voice dwindled in your head until not a trace could be found - you wished it could stay that way.

“What if s-someone comes in here?” Seungmin mutters as you littered his jaw with kisses up his ear. 

You bit the lobe of his ear, hot air reverberating off his eardrum, making his nerves shudder. “So what if they do?” 

[babysizedfics]

I need to know about doctor mama lo taking care of a sick baby Virgil if you would like pretty please. I dont wanna ask on the in character blog cuz I feel like it would be weird to ask for details and lo seems kinda busy anyway lol.

hey tumblebee!! yeah yeah lets do this, Im gonna write it so that ppl who dont follow the other blog can understand too

WARNING IF U HAVENT ALREADY BLOCKED THE TAGS ILLNESS TW AND VOMIT TW THEY ARE VERY PREVALENT IN THIS

also this is a VERY long headcanon!!

so last night vee got ill, he had been regressed in the afternoon with patton and he was acting much more fussy than usual - not being entertained by his cartoons, not having the energy to play with his rattle, pretty much constantly whining and pouting and he gets very wriggly when he's fussy

patton assumed it was because vee had been upset earlier that day. at one point vee started gripping his stomach, and patton assumed its because he was hungry and could smell the food roman was cooking

but when dinner came around no matter how hard patton tried he couldnt get vee to eat a morsel - he kept turning his head away from the food and whining. at one point patton and logan both managed to convince him to eat a spoonful but his face crumpled with a wince and it looked almost painful for him to swallow it. it was at this point logan noticed he had a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead

things fell into place quickly after that - logan checked his temperature and it was indeed slightly higher than was healthy, they noticed vee's hands were trembling and he was constantly on the verge of tears :(

while patton cleared away dinner and excused roman who wanted to go and craft in his room, logan took vee to his bedroom and tried to check for more symptoms, since vee was non verbal and unresponsive totheir questions. he tested his tummy by pushing it a little to see if the pain got worse when he released it (this is a test for appendicitis) but there was no reaction thankfully except vee being upset by logan not cuddling him. he checked his throat for any redness or infection, nothing.

vee's crying became more pronounced and eventually he was in constant tears, occassionally pleading 'mama mama' through sniffles and hiccups and whines of pain :(( Patton brought him a baby bottle of cooled tea made with fresh mint leaves since that is supposed to help stomach pains. though he left the room again since logan thought it was best not to crowd virgil. Vee's crying had dissipated but he was strangely silent and seemed almost loopy now. he only drank a little of the tea before he pushed it away with a gag.

logan immediately took him to the bathroom knowing what was coming, and sure enough vee threw up into the toilet, crying between gags. logan dutifully managed to keep vee in his lap the whole time and held his hair and rubbed his back, telling him he was such a good boy the whole time

Thankfully it didnt last long as there wasnt much in vees stomach to be emptied. he was shivering and sweating and flushed and had lost all energy. he wasnt even crying anymore, just whimpering under his breath. with a bit of a struggle logan managed to show him how to rinse his mouth out with mouthwash - though he had to hold vee over the sink and pat his back to make sure he didnt swallow it

during all of this patton wasnt able to help because of his heightened empathy, if he sees someone throwing up the likeihood is he will too and that wiuldnt be very helpful! so instead he drives to the store to pick up some medicine and ice pops - and comes back with half the store including some actual baby medicine smh - ((im actually begging u to read that linked post i think its so funny))

it was originallly meant to be logans night to put roman to bed but understandably patton took on that task instead. after roman was drifting off patton pokes his head into vee's room. he had hoped to find lo and vee asleep but they werent. they were lying in the dark with an in the night garden audio story playing on a portable speaker and with vees salt lamp and star night light lighting up the room in a soft glow.

logan offered a strained little smile and nod to patton as he stroked vee's hair and cuddled him close. vee was completely out of it honestly. his body was wholly lax against his mama, his lips were in a permanent pout and his eyes were puffy and wet. he barely even acknowledged his papa coming in, his teary eyes just settled on him for a moment then dropped back to the bedsheets without a reaction. he kept lifting his thumb up to suck on it but logan kept capturing it and apologising as he brought it away. Vee shouldnt suck on his thumb and logan doesnt want to give him a paci while he's ill. understandably, baby vee was completely miserable.

patton asks if logan thinks vee could handle a popsicle or plain crackers at the moment but logan disagrees. he doesnt expect either of them to get much sleep so he will make sure vee eats something in a few hours. with a gentle kiss on vee's forehead patton goes off to bed, confident that logan will be able to look after vee and will come get him if theres any issues

logan and vee really dont sleep much at all. Vee drifts off for a few minutes at a time then gasps awake from vivid fever dreams. logan keeps ice cubes in a bowl by the bed for vee to suck on if he needs to cool down and wraps a couple in a flannel to press to vee's head when his fever rises in the middle of the night.

around 3am logan jolts awake and realises he had drifted off. and vee isnt anywhere in the room. he panics momentarily, bolting up from the bed and dashing to the closet to see if virgil is in there - which he tends to do when he is overwhelmed - but then he hears sniffling from the bathroom.

he finds vee, no longer regressed, curled up against the side of the bathtub with his bangs clinging to his sweaty head. vee is the palest person logan knows but he looks positively grey at the moment

'can i help in any way?' he asks, aware that he doesnt need to baby talk at the moment but still eager to look after this bundle of miserableness

virgil just groans under his breath and clutches his knees to his chest. 'i.. i didnt know what to do with the..' he gestures vaguely to something on the floor

logan notices virgil, being not regressed anymore, had obviously wrestled off the diaper he had been changed into the night before and not known how to dispose of it

'its ok, ive got it' logan wraps it up in a bag and puts it in the trash can they have in the room for just this purpose

'sorry.. m stupid' virgil croaks

'You're not stupid.' logan says firmly as he washes his hands 'You're ill and probably delirious from the fever. it's alright virgil'

theres quiet for a bit longer, virge's head pressed against the porcelain edge of the bathtub likely in an attempt to cool his fever. logan stays there with him for a while just waiting. then suddenly virgil starts sobbing and buries his face in his hands.

'sweetheart, tell me whats wrong please' logan hurries to kneel beside him, lifting his hands away from his face. that wouldnt help the fever

'i dont feel well' virgil cries pathetically, tears rolling down his face.

logans heart breaks 'no, you dont. i'm sorry little one, i know its not nice'

at the nickname virgils thumb raises to his lips again, which logan hurriedly intercepts. 'i'll make you a deal, okay? you're allowed to use a pacifier, but you have to use the same one everyday until you are better. we will need to sterilise it every night too.'

vee sniffles and nods, then chokes 'm not a baby right now though'

'that doesnt matter. you dont need to be regressed to want one of your pacis, vee'

vee is unresponsive and starts scratching at his pyjama pants. logan gets a feeling he isnt saying something. then he notices virgil's pout is much more infantile than his adult ones. 'are you feeling little, baby?'

with a harsh shake of his head vee starts crying again. he whispers 'dont wanna be a b...' then cuts himself off and whimpers

logan cards his fingers through virgils damp bangs. he knows what virgils mind has jumped to. 'were you going to say you dont want to be a baby?' he lifts virgils chin up to look at him 'or that you dont want to be a burden?'

virgils pale lip wobbles 'same fing'

'no sweetheart, no no no,' logan sits on the tiles beside vee and pulls him into his lap. virgil goes willingly. logan rocks his baby as he says 'youre always always allowed to be a baby and its never ever going to upset your family. even if you're an adorable wonderful brave baby boy alllll of the time' he scribbles his finger on virgils rosy cheek and delights at the tiny smile it earns him. 'but especially when you're feeling yucky. you feel a bit yucky today dont you, little one?'

vee nods with a pout

'but yknow whats not yucky? softies and pacis and diapers and lots and lots of cuddles with mama' he holds virgil tighter to prove his point. vee sighs and drops his head to nuzzle against his mama's neck. logan feels he still has a slight fever. 'i know what might help you feel less yucky. does my sweet baby want a sweet ice pop?'

thankfully vee nods against his shoulder and grips tight onto his pyjama shirt, preparing for when logan lifts him up

he first makes sure to change vee into another diaper and even decides that he should wear one of mama's t-shirts as a light dress so he doesnt get as overheated by his pyjamas. at this point vee actually giggles for the first time pretty much all day as he feels the tshirt swish lazily around his legs. logan makes a mental note to observe whether little vee might want to try wearing dresses if the feeling sparks this much joy (at this point logan is unaware that vee has secretly been trying skirts and dresses in his room for months, and roman found out a few weeks ago, but vee isnt ready to tell the cgs yet)

by the time vee is in his diaper and mamas tshirt dress and has a paci and jiji clutched to his chest he is a lot calmer and happier. he's still very ill and exhausted and teary, but theres a tiny smile on his face instead of a pout. in the kitchen he picks a strawberry ice pop and it goes down well, logan convinces him to have a cracker too though vee is in such a young headspace by then that he is just sucking on it, which logan supposes is fine too

by the (real) morning vee is still regressed and has managed to have a couple hours undisturbed sleep. its not much but its better than nothing. logan didnt fare much better. by then vee misses his papa and asks for him and logan hands the responsibility over to papa patton, trustinf the other caregiver enough to catch up on a quick power nap himself

but yes, the main thing is vee thought being ill was a burden enough that he shouldnt be regressed too, but logan makes him see that its okay. vee is regressed pretty much the whole time he is ill over the next few days because its stressful and painful and its a lot easier to feel comforted when ur a baby

yeah! gosh that was long, theres probably a billion spelling mistakes! feel free to ask follow up Qs if i missed anything u wanted to know abt this event

[hideawayintheimaginationworld]

Ok so in the story about Matt you said Lefty found Spring Jr is it ok if we get a short story about Lefty finding them and everyone reaction's to the bab

“You're a strange little creature...”

Lefty was trying to prompt a response from the little Bunny he found, the Bunny in a sense reminded him of SpringBonnie, but with more greenish fur and silver eyes, it also was the size of an infant.

It also was covered by blood and it smelt weird.

The smell reminded Lefty of a dead body.

Having a sensitive nose, he easily sniffed the odour and saw the little guy across the road, wandering without purpose, Lefty quickly realised it didn’t just look like a kid sized SpringBonnie.

It acted like one.

Not being aware of road surroundings.

Lefty had a sneaking suspicion it smelt like Fazbear Entertainment's brand of supernatural bullshit, and being a kid too, so he followed the kid, trying to lure it out of the street and into the house, worried a human would see it and immediately call the police, or worse the little one could get run over by a car.

He had to bribe in the end, retrieving a bag of Candy, he was thankful Halloween wasn’t so long ago, so he was able to get out the leftover sweets and used them to draw the kid inside.

Once inside, Lefty locked the door, trapping the kid, but he— well Lefty assumed it was a male, if it had a gender— didn’t seem too worried and actually looked at Lefty like he expected more food, probably haven’t eaten in while, so Lefty was happy to offer food.

He wouldn’t live with the smell however, Lefty didn’t realise how bad it was until later, when he felt queasy and realised he couldn’t focus on washing the dishes.

So he geared himself up, getting rubber gloves, the custom gas mask he wore to block out smells, which covered his nose, mouth and lenses over his eyes, and he approached the child, almost like it was ticking time bomb to defuse.

He didn’t put up a fight to being lifted up and taken upstairs.

He didn’t even fight when he saw Lefty fill the bath.

In fact he looked curious.

Lefty wondered if he had never seen water before.

Regardless, he didn’t know where it came from, but he treated it like a child since it had obviously child behaviours.

Now Lefty was washing him in the bath, the water wasn’t deep, and Lefty was holding one hand to hold him while using the other to scrub around.

Lefty already emptied the water once because it turned red within two minutes.

Now Lefty was washing out the lotion he used to clean the skin of the sticky residue, wondering what it even was, he thought it looked like a bodily fluid but he wasn’t sure and didn’t dwell on it.

The bunny seem to enjoy the bath, trying to splash in the water, even trying to eat the bubbles that formed.

Lefty tried to think of where this thing came from, reasoning this thing didn’t appear to be something that was built.

But rather born.

And that should be impossible, as Lefty knew, they can’t reproduce.

But this thing could be a parasite... and if that's the case... I’m obligated to destroy it.

The bunny didn’t look bad in the slightest.

No one is born good or evil, he knew that, I'll search for whoever made you... but it's best if you live with me... living on the streets is not only dirty but dangerous.

With that decided, Lefty took him out of the bath, he brought out a towel and wrapped him up, debating where he could possibly sleep.

“So what is it?”

Breakfast was quite a spectacle for all, aside from the fact Lefty made French Toast

Lefty had set down Spring Jr, as he named him, on the sofa, he had obtained a spoon that he was using like a pacifier, much to Lefty's annoyance.

Lefty grabbed the handle, trying to pull it out of his mouth, while the kids watched him playing tug of war with a little bunny.

“I don’t know... I found it... I feel like it has Fazbear Entertainment written all over it...” Lefty answered.

“God, I’m sick of bull...” Alec huffed.

He knew they were all sick of the nonsense, considering everything that happened, like curses, killer animatronics, body swapping, possession, and sentient robots.

“I am honestly too... I’ve been debating...”

“Debating what?” Greg asked.

“Technically... I can quit... when we were made, Henry actually got us our own power of attorney in a nutshell.”

“You have a lawyer?” Millie questioned, surprised by the fact.

“All of us do, so Fazbear Entertainment can’t legally make us do anything we don’t want to... and I think it annoys them a lot... the only thing is... where would I get a job somewhere else? I mean it would be a pain but I could work somewhere else, it'd take a lot of effort, I think they pay us so we aren’t tempted to leave...”

“You can open your own restaurant,” Alec said, Lefty couldn’t tell if he was joking, “Seriously, you're a great cook and you are very patient.”

“I don’t know about it... but back to this... I'm going to sneak around the Archives... this is what I'd like you to do... watch this Bunny.”

“Well it seems calm... aside from the fixation on the spoon...” Oscar added.

“I might need to find something better for it to chew on, like a soft toy...”

“A tennis ball,” Greg immediately said, sounding serious.

Lefty laughed for a second, “How about no for now...” He finally pulled the drool covered spoon out of his mouth.

Lefty brought some stuff back and was studying it, he was reading some “confidential” documents, to which he found laughable how easy it was to take without getting caught, seriously he once got inside houses that were more secure than that building, all he needed was to break the keypad out of the wall and connect the fuse to unlock the door.

He was sitting on the sofa, Spring Jr was at his side, he had found something new to chew on— the spatula, which wasn’t bad since Lefty didn’t have to use it for anything at the moment, Lefty had made dinner and everyone went to do their own things at this time. Alec was sitting next to him, using the TV to play a game, Lefty was sort of interested, Alec said the game was called “A Hat in Time”.

Lefty shifted though the forbidden knowledge, stopping when he saw something, he read it a few times before confirming something he didn’t know.

Fazbear Entertainment had made a game in the works.

A game called Springtrap's Revenge.

It sounded like it was based off William Afton, which Lefty thought was tasteless, considering everything that happened.

He knew the history and it could take hours trying to put it into a correct timeline, the basics were that an unknown of kids had been murdered, Lefty knew the most about the original six, but they were more he kept learning about, Ennard, an incomplete prototype was possessed by a child Lefty had no idea existed, as the kid had a bad foster family and he was never confirmed to be dead until recently.

It sicken Lefty, considering now he had kids, true they were older than all of William normal victims, but Lefty considered himself a fiercely protective parent, and he had actually gone against people who threaten his kids, nothing violent, enough to teach them a lesson.

Lefty's phone lit up, as a message came in, Lefty thought it might be Fetch asking for treats but saw Mr Emily instead and immediately looked at it.

“Plan was success, we aren’t associated with Fazbear Entertainment anymore.”

Lefty smiled, he waited for this day, as did everyone.

Now they could hopefully stay to pull away from the tragedies and evil.

The foundation was corrupt.

But the future was bright.

Considering Lefty had a family now too.

He stopped working and watched Alec playing his game, he wasn’t one for video games, but having a teenager who was kind of obsessed with games (Alec did still study and did chores), Lefty got interested in the games, as a result, he had actually made good memories being a second player with Alec, laughing and smiling.

“We still have to find out where you came from...” Lefty muttered looking at Spring JR.

He then watched Alec for a few minutes before saying, “So you collect like little hourglasses in this game?”

“Yes.”

Pause.

“I might get some ice cream, you want some?”

“Yes, please.”

“Daddy?”

“What?”

“Is it calling you Daddy?”

“No... it's looking outside and saying Daddy... like he lost his father or something...”

Pete and Chuck were watching Spring JR along with Lefty.

“I think it's creepy...”

“I have to wonder... who does this thing see as its Daddy?” Lefty muttered, “Regardless... I'll try my best with it... I need to find out what Springtrap's Revenge might be...”

[sixmapleleafs]

father material // frederik andersen (part 3)

Sitting on your bathroom floor crying with the positive test in your hands, you thought that was the most terrifying moment of your life. Then when you went into labour you changed your mind. However, you realised that actually this was the most nervous you had ever been about anything, you were sat in the waiting room with Amelie in your arms as Freddie sat quietly beside you. The appointment you were waiting for would basically determine whether or not everything you’d been doing since Amelie was born was right, if she’d gained weight and was healthy then all your literal blood, sweat and tears were worth it. And if not, well then you were pretty sure you would feel like a failure.

Freddie noticed that you were acting different as soon as he knocked on your door, you’d scrambled around the apartment all morning changing both yours and Amelies outfits three times because it just didn’t feel right. You knew people would judge you for being a young mother but you never thought their opinions would bother you this much. The drive to the hospital was quiet, Freddie tried to make conversation but your answers meant that it didn’t lead to much.

You still hadn’t spoken about the kiss you’d shared the night before. Auston and y/f/n had come home after their date night, bursting through the door seconds after your lips had separated. Freddie left shortly after and you’d gone to bed still blushing. But currently you couldn’t think about anything other than your daughter. Sure, she seemed fine, good even, but you weren’t a doctor and there was a nagging voice in your head saying that you had been doing everything wrong. You couldn’t stop your leg from bouncing nervously as Amelie stared up at you, it was like she could tell that you weren’t yourself today.

You looked up when you felt Freddie’s hand rest just above your knee, stopping your movement and giving your leg a gentle squeeze. “Are you ok?” He whispered as to not draw attention to you. You nodded giving him your best attempt at a smile but he saw right through you.

“Amelie Y/l/n” the nurse called as she stepped around the corner. You shot up from your seat, adjusting Amelie in your arms as Freddie grabbed the carrier and diaper bag from the floor. You followed the nurse down the hallway until she opened the door for you, “the doctor will be with you in just a minute” she said with a smile and you thanked her before she turned back towards the waiting room.

Freddie set the baby carrier and diaper bag down on the floor, the light thud echoing throughout the quiet room, “hey” his hands ran down your arms causing you to look up into his eyes “I’m sure everything will be fine, you’re doing an amazing job”.

“What if I’ve messed everything up? Or I’ve been doing everything wrong the whole time?” You said, your voice wavering slightly which you blamed on the post partum hormones.

“You haven’t messed anything up y/n, Amelies perfectly happy and I’m sure the doctor will tell us she’s completely healthy as well, there’s no need to worry” he said his hands rubbing your upper arms in an attempt to comfort you as best he could. Amelie let out a little squeal from your arms and Freddie laughed a little before saying “see even Amelie agrees with me”. You smiled a genuine smile for the first time that day before the doctor entered the room.

“So sorry for the wait, it’s been a crazy day” she explained as she quickly scribbled something down on her clipboard. “How are we doing today?”

“A little nervous” you said honestly and she laughed.

“Nothing to be nervous about” she said as her eyes quickly moved to Freddie’s large frame, “I’m glad to see you brought a friend”.

“Actually this is Amelies father” you said blushing a little.

“Ah wonderful” she exclaimed and Freddie moved to shake her hand. You’d explained your situation to her during one of your appointments when you first got pregnant, and she’d been extremely supportive throughout everything.

“Freddie” he said as they shook hands “it’s nice to meet you”.

“Dr Foster, I’m happy to see you two found your way back to each other” she said giving you a small wink as she turned to place her things down. You giggled a little at her actions, she really was more of a friend than a doctor at this point. “So shall we see how little Amelie is doing?”

The appointment went well, Amelie had gained weight and even grown a couple centimetres. You almost cried when Dr Foster said that she was a perfectly happy and healthy baby, you smiled so hard that your face hurt and you practically jumped into Freddie’s arms to hug him. Dr Foster laughed as you brought her into a hug too, before lifting Amelie off the scales and into your arms. You had to answer a few more questions about Amelies eating and sleeping patterns, Freddie stood quietly behind you taking in as much information as possible.

Then you moved onto how you were doing, Dr Foster made Freddie wait outside with Amelie whilst she gave you a physical exam before she quickly finished up some paperwork and said you were free to go. She gave you a wink as you said goodbye and you laughed when Freddie gave you a confused look.

“Everything ok?” He asked as you walked out of the paediatric department.

“Yeah all good, just a check up” you explained as you led him towards the parking lot. He nodded, turning his attention to your daughter when she started to fuss in the baby carrier he was holding. He quickly soothed her and placed the pacifier she’d dropped back into her mouth and you smiled at how good he was with her.

“So y/f/n said you have a game tonight” you said after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah we’re playing the blue jackets, it should be a good game. What about you? Do you have any plans?”

“I think y/f/n wanted us to do something together so we’ll probably have a movie night or something”.

You continued your conversation as Freddie put Amelie into the car and you placed the diaper bag beside her before climbing into the front seat. Freddie dropped you both off at home since he had to get ready for the game tonight, y/f/n greeted you at the door with a smirk and you rolled your eyes preparing for the interrogation you knew was coming.

-

When you woke up the next morning you were confused when you realised Amelie wasn’t crying, you jumped out of bed and almost had a heart attack when you saw that her crib was empty.

“Y/f/n?” You practically screamed as you ran out of your bedroom. “Y/f/n?” You yelled again when you didn’t get a response. Amelies cries always woke you and y/f/n never took her in the mornings so you were freaking out.

“Y/n what’s wrong?” You heard Freddie’s voice from behind you and you turned around so fast you almost fell over. He was stood in the doorway with a muslin cloth thrown over his shoulder, his hair was messy and he was just wearing a hoodie and sweats.

“Amelies not in her crib” you said so quickly he almost didn’t understand you. He smiled softly and you looked at him confused.

“It’s ok, she’s in her bouncy chair in the kitchen” he explained.

“Wha- how?” You were so confused as to what he was doing here in the first place.

“I got here early so when I heard her start to cry I took her before you woke up, she was helping me make you breakfast well I guess brunch” he said motioning towards the kitchen. You followed him as he continued, “I figured you don’t get to sleep in very often so I thought I’d let you sleep a little longer”.

You nodded as you bent down to see Amelie, who was in fact sat in her bouncy chair in the corner of the kitchen. Freddie quickly rescued the eggs before plating up the food, it smelled amazing and you just stared at him dumbfounded as he moved around the kitchen. He smiled when he turned around and walked out of the kitchen with the plates in his hands, he returned quickly bending down to unclip the strap of the bouncy chair and pick Amelie up.

“It’s going to get cold if you stay there any longer” he teased as he started to walk out of the kitchen again. You followed him, sitting in front of your plate watching carefully as he placed Amelie down on her play mat gently so he could eat as well. You ate in a comfortable silence, it was actually really good and you were starving so this was the perfect morning overall.

“So how long have you been here?” You asked as you sipped your orange juice.

“A few hours, I got here around six then gave Amelie a bottle when she woke up, I hope that’s ok” you nodded as he continued, “then we played for a while before we decided to make you something to eat”.

“You didn’t have to get here that early” he just shrugged and smiled.

“I don’t mind, I would have just been waiting in my apartment until I came over anyway”

“I thought you had morning skate” you questioned, feeling bad that he’d missed something because of you.

“Turns out it was optional” he explained and you nodded. Amelies cries tore your attention away from how domestic this whole thing felt. Freddie was up at the speed of light and you followed behind him.

“She probably needs a diaper change” you said and he nodded. You took her into your room to change her as Freddie cleared the table, you checked the time for the first time that morning seeing that it was almost eleven. Looking in the mirror you cringed, your hair was a mess and your pyjamas were simply a hoodie and some sweats, you ran a brush through your hair quickly before going back into your living room. “All done” you announced and Freddie reached out to take her from you. It was just then that you realised how sore your boobs were, figuring you needed to pump since you hadn’t fed Amelie since last night you excused yourself again.

As soon as you were done you poured the milk into the bottles and placed them in the fridge like you usually did. Freddie had kept Amelie entertained whilst you were busy, showing her pictures of his teammates on his phone and explaining who they were even though she was too young to understand.

“And that’s your uncle Auston” he said as you walked around the corner, “you probably know him already since he’s dating aunty y/f/n, he’s probably woken you up a few times like he did when I first met you”. You smiled as you watched them interact. “Now this is my mommy, she lives in Denmark which is very far away. But she wants to come and see you as soon as she can and she’s going to bring my brothers and my sister as well as my dad, so you can meet all your family from Denmark. Ah, here’s a picture of me with all of them, there’s your uncles and your aunty and then your grandpa and there’s daddy in the middle” he looked up when noticed you were stood in the doorway.

“Sorry I didn’t realise you were there” he said blushing a little, you laughed and assured him it was ok.

“I have to do some laundry and things, are you ok to watch her?” He nodded and you got to work cleaning up the apartment a little before moving onto laundry. By the time you were done it had been almost two hours, you smiled when you saw Freddie laid on the couch with Amelie asleep on his chest. Upon further inspection you saw that Freddie was asleep too. It must of tired him out today, it was his first full day of being a father really. You pulled your phone out to take a picture of the two of them before heading to the kitchen to get a bottle for Amelie, she was due to wake up any minute for a feed.

When she woke up you picked her up gently so you wouldn’t wake Freddie and sat in the armchair so you could feed her comfortably. Freddie woke up shortly after and you spent the rest of the day just watching tv and get little things done around the apartment. The sun started to set and Freddie suggested ordering pizza so you didn’t have to cook, you agreed instantly and you both feasted whilst Amelie had her final nap. You teased him about how pizza probably wasn’t a part of the teams approved diet but he just laughed you off. You ended up playing 21 questions whilst you waited for Amelie to wake up, unknown to you Freddie just wanted to get to know you better and even though it seemed childish he thought it would be a good way to learn more about your life.

“I was going to give her a bath tonight, do you want to stay or you can go if you want- I mean you don’t have to-” you rambled on as you settled Amelie in your lap once she woke up.

“I can stay, I don’t want to impose but I should probably learn right?” He said rubbing the back of his neck like he was nervous. You nodded and told him to follow you into your en-suite bathroom which had a tub. You handed Amelie to Freddie before turning the taps on to fill the tub with a small amount of water, you grabbed the baby shampoo and body wash then set up the baby bath seat after the water was ready. You explained everything to Freddie as you did so and he nodded.

“Then you just place her in the seat so she doesn’t get full covered in the water and it’s very important that water isn’t too hot because babies have very sensitive skin” you said as you placed Amelie into the water. “You also have to be careful not to get her belly button too wet because it’s not fully healed yet”. The water splashed a little as Amelie moved her feet and you made funny faces at her which seemed to excite her even more, you grabbed the little rubber duck and gave it to Freddie. “She normally likes the little ducky” you told him and he started to play with her. You showed him how to wash her hair without getting the shampoo in her eyes and then quickly washed her body before instructing him to get the yellow bath towel that had a duck on the hood to wrap her up in. Once she was all wrapped up in the towel you took a few pictures to send to your mom and a few with Freddie in them too.

“Could you...um...maybe send them to me so I could send them to my mom?” He asked hesitantly.

“Of course, do you want any others of her? I’ve got loads” you said smiling warmly.

“Yes...please my mom wants as many as possible” he said his smile matching yours. After you’d got Amelie into her pyjamas and she’d fallen asleep you and Freddie made your way back to the couch, your mind instantly went back to the last time the two of you had been in this situation but you quickly pushed those thoughts aside and opened up your camera roll.

“So which ones do you want me to send you?” You said scooting over so you could show him, you tried to hide the blush that covered your cheeks as he rested his arm behind you so you were pushed up against him completely.

“Is it bad if I say all of them?” You laughed but shook your head, you couldn’t blame him your baby was fucking adorable and your own camera roll was 95% pictures of her. “I only have this one” he said showing you his lock screen which was in fact a picture of Amelie, she was sat in her bouncy chair sleeping and she looked adorable.

“That’s so cute, when did you take it?”

“This morning, she fell asleep whilst I was making breakfast” he said smiling and you realised how close you really were. His face was inches away from yours and you could feel your cheeks heating up.

“Um I’ll just airdrop the ones I have then or maybe we can make a shared album for pictures of her” you suggested quickly turning so he couldn’t see how much of an effect he was having on you. You didn’t want to admit it but you were starting to fall for him, everything from the way he smiled to how good he was with Amelie made it hard to see him as just her father. But there’s no way he could feel the same, right?

[logical-little-lies]

A little someone playing with Virgil’s jacket zipper while sitting in his lap, then just unzipping it all the way and burying themselves inside the jacket while Veevee holds them and coos at them

Your Shirt’s Soft, Vewy Cuddly!-Agere!Sides AU (pt.30)

a/n: I don’t know if you wanted little ro but I feel like he’s been getting tons of attention recently+ i don’t do a lot of little pat/cg virgil much anymore I NEEDED TO REVIVE IT IN THE MOST ADORABLE WAY POSSIBLE

Don't ask Virgil how he ended up with baby Patton, it was honestly really complicated. Logan was taking care of him, but now Logan was occupied researching something with Thomas to help him on a future project, which needed Roman's aid. Leaving Virgil to take care of the baby when he regressed.

"M' sorry," Patton mumbled around his pacifier, looking down and swinging his legs slightly from his spot on the kitchen counter.

"For what, baby?" Virgil questioned. He used to take care of Deceit, this honestly wasn't to hard. He filled a bottle with milk and put it in the microwave to warm up. Patton only whined slightly in response. Virgil sighed, using his fingers to life his chin and make him look up. Patton wore his yellow onesie, and under it, a pullup. That was a new thing, he only had accidents sometimes when little, but Logan found that his little liked diapers when he was very small.

"Why're you apologizing, little one?" Virgil repeated, 'booping' the button of his new pacifier. It was a pastel blue generation one pacifier, with the phrase 'littlest babey' in round letter beads. Roman made it for him with the help of Virgil during craft time, Logan found the gift adorable.

"Being little at bad time, n' yous has to take care of me! I-i should be big, " Patton was obviously having trouble talking, and the pacifier in his mouth wasn't helping. Virgil's face softened.

"You don't ever have to feel bad about being little, okay? There's nothing saying that you 'should' be big, because you're regressing for yourself and I don't mind taking care of you. The only time you have to be big is when you need to get your job of helping Thomas done, but right now, you don't need to. So you can be as little as you want," Virgil kissed his forehead.

"Mkay, veevee," Patton mumbled. Virgil gave a smile, turning to open the microwave before it went off. Virgil then spooned a little sugar and cinnamon into it, twisting the lid with the nipple on it and carefully shaking it.

"You're such a good baby, I added extra sugar!" Virgil spoke in an over-excited tone, acting as if his words were supposed to be kept secret, causing Patton to giggle. Virgil picked Patton up from the counter, resting him on his hip. One thing he noticed is that, while they never physically shifted in appearance when little, sometimes they would be just a little shorter, and much lighter.

Virgil brought Patton to the commons, sitting on the couch and moving the boy to sit on his lap. "Mouse, p'eas?" Patton gave puppy-dog eyes through his glasses, and Virgil couldn't help but melt. He moved his hand, and used his powers to make Mickey Mouse start playing on the tv. Patton cheered, "T'ank yous!"

"I'm gonna take this," Virgil spoke softly, pulling at pacifiers handle to take it out of his mouth. He tugged at it, and Patton bit down on the nipple. "Patton," He gave him a warning look, causing Patton to huff before allowing Virgil to take the pacifier. "Now, was that so hard?"

Patton shook his head, making grabby hands towards the bottle of warm milk. "Chill out, it's coming," Virgil wrapped his arms around Patton, causing him to cuddle closer. Patton put his mouth on the nipple of the bottle, bringing his hands up to hold the bottle. For a few seconds, Virgil held it to steady it. "Got it, baby?" Patton nodded, so Virgil moved his arms to wrap around him waist.

Patton finished the bottle in record time, "That was fast," Virgil took the empty bottle, holding out the pacifier again. Patton happily took it. "If you need to go potty, let me know," Virgil knew that with how small he was at the moment, that was not likely gonna happen. He wouldn't say anything until it was to late, but Virgil would be sure not to yell at him.

Patton shifted so that he was only partly in his lap. "Hmm, here," Virgil open scooted over to the corner of the couch, leaning against it longways, with his legs horizontally on the couch.  Patton climbed in between his legs, laying his head on his chest. Virgil was sitting so that he was still sitting up, but comfortably leaning on the couch.

At some point, Patton lost interest in the cartoon, playing with the zipper on Virgil's jacket. "What'cha doing there, baby?" Virgil seemed amusing by this, chuckling lightly. Patton looked up shyly.

"Just playin, sowwy," he went to move his hand and drop the zipper.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Virgil assured. Patton smiled, fiddling with the zipper again, content with the predicament. At some point a few minutes later, he accidentally managed to unzip the jacket slightly.

"Oh!" he seemed shocked, having not meant to do this. He giggled, pulling at it again in curiosity, until the jacket was unzipped fully. Impulsively, Patton cuddled into the fabric of Virgil's soft shirt, burying himself in the jacket in the process.

"Baby?" Virgil was very amused, and found this action really cute.

"Your shirt's soft, vewy cuddly!" Patton giggled, scrunching his nose and giving a cute little huff from it.

"Hmm, I suppose curiosity leads to the best discoveries," Virgil moved his hand to play with Patton's hair.

"Veevee?" Patton mumbled a few minutes later, after silent cuddling.

"Yes, darling?" Virgil spoke softly.

"I love yous, so much. You're my best friend!" he giggled.

"And you're mine, little one," Virgil gave him an adorable smile.

Yes, Virgil loved Roman. Yes, Patton loved Logan. But before either of their relationships, they had each other, Patton was the first to accept him out of the core sides.

Patton, especially Baby Pat, would always reach a soft spot in Virgil's huge, emo heart.